Hedon’t
Sports is a funny thing. It’s like real life, only it’s not real life. We are drawn to sports because it is a microcosm for life. We get to play voyeur and watch a person develop from a kid to a man to a grown-ass man. We see him learn the ways of the world on his journey from being a wide-eyed rookie to a hardened, smart veteran. The other thing we like about sports is, unlike real life, there are clear winners and losers.
Since wins and losses are black and white and our lives are constantly filled with various shades of gray, real life/sports comparisons don’t normally hold up. When I felt lazy at my previous job, I’d sometimes think to myself, “I’m no better than that whiny, entitled bitch named Vince Carter.” This isn’t really an apt comparison, though. There are surely mitigating circumstances – Vince had reasons for his behaviour and they are probably totally different than the reasons for mine.
As far as mitigating circumstances go, there are none better than those annoying things we need to do our work but have no control over: our co-workers. In real life work settings, no matter what our industry, job or pay scale, we all know some people who just drive us up the wall. The people who have seniority and don’t seem to ever do anything other than hang out by the coffee machine. The people who never get asked to do ‘special projects’, who seem to escape the criticism that accompanies the rest of the employees. The people that seem ‘untouchable’. The people who never seem to do anything, but when it’s job cutting time they always seem safe and when it’s pay raise time they always show up. And while they never show up with a bunch of coffees for the rest of us, they’ll be first in line when someone brings in a box of doughnuts.
You know someone like this, I know someone like this, we all know someone like this. Well, the Toronto Raptors have someone like this. His name is Hedo Turkoglu.
I had an ex-girlfriend who was obsessed with this karma and energy stuff. Since she believed in it so strongly, I’d have to hear about it fairly often. One of her favourite target in her rants was the “energy vampire,” someone who manages to sap other people of their strength and energy. My opinion was that it was a bunch of crap (I kept that to myself since I am sane – telling your girl she’s crazy tends to not work out well). That was until I met the person I described above. No, not Hedo Turkoglu, the person at my previous work who made it so unbearable to work there that I had to tell my boss off and walk out.
Before it got to that point, I (at that point the hardest working member of my ‘team’) lost all will to work. The work environment became hopeless. Here I was, a competent and capable worker putting in a full day’s work every day and loving the challenge whilst other people took a more laid back attitude. It didn’t bother me much because we were all equal and if I’m stuck at a desk for 9 hours every day I’d rather be busy than not. Besides, I love having responsibility. Even if I wasn’t making any more money than the rest of my small team, I enjoyed ultimately being responsible for our relative success.
This lasted for almost 2 years, until a small promotion shook things up. One of my better friends received what was essentially a promotion in title only, no added job duties and a very small raise. My boss however, in his wisdom, decided that my friend would be too busy to continue doing his old duties and that they would have to be moved to the most capable person on the team. I got all of them.
Again, I didn’t mind this since I love responsibility and a good challenge. Life continued on normally but when it was my turn to talk to the boss about what my raise would be, I was told there was no room in the budget to give me a raise. Despite my doing about half of my boss’s job and all of the newly promoted guys’ jobs on top of my own job that already involved more time and energy than anyone else’s.
My thinking was, “Fine, there is a recession and money is tight.” So everything remained good in Eric’s World. The problems didn’t start until I found out that the laziest, most frequent absentee person in our team had managed to get a 5% raise. This guy was the weak link; he would nap and frequently use his cell phone at work. He passed off work to other people after he’d been too lazy to do it himself, ruining people’s days. After a few months of this, the rest of us began lobbying for him to be moved. Six months of the entire team lobbying for the guy to be removed and he got the raise the rest of us were denied.
Suddenly, our little team was far from equal. Two of our six were making fairly substantially more money than the other four, despite the other four of us doing roughly 85% of the work. That’s when the laziness started creeping in for me. I explained to my boss that I didn’t have time in the day to complete all the tasks I had on my plate. “Fine,” my boss said. “You do a lot, let’s shuffle some responsibilities around.” A band-aid was put on the situation.
The problem really began when the newest member of the “I got a raise” club saw what I had done and went and tried telling my boss the same thing… SUCCESSFULLY! He managed to get half of his work passed off to the other three people who were already over-worked. Now not only had I become lazy but the other three members of our ‘team’ became lazy and, worse, disgruntled. The first person to leave was a friend of mine named Ragoo. She told off our boss something fierce on the way out. Since she quit, naturally there was work to be split up. Which was split between myself and the other two remaining competent workers.
Within six weeks all four of us who actually functioned at work were gone. In January I was told that my boss fired my friend who had been promoted and our department, which had previously been the best of roughly 20 others in a national company, was now consistently near the bottom. In three months one lazy guy receiving a raise managed to cause four good employees to quit and one good employee to get fired. My experience there is why I’ve been sounding alarm bells about Turkoglu for so long.
I am a notorious homer. I defend the Vernon Wells contract. I defended Wade Belak. I defended Milt Palacio. There generally isn’t a single person who wears a Toronto jersey I won’t support. I may not support the management who brought them in, but anyone who plays for my team is someone who is part of my extended family. After all, if a player is in over their heads, it’s not his fault he is being put in a situation he can’t handle. Players are at the mercy of a coach and general manager and no-one guaranteed that the people in those positions are always going to be competent.
An athlete’s job is simply to show up and do their best. That’s it. As long as they meet that modest modicum of success for athletes I have, I will have their backs any day of the week. So what if Vernon Wells is overpaid? True, his offense has dried up, but who’s been protecting him in the line-up? He is still one of the best defensive centre fielders in baseball and he hustles out every ground ball. Again, it’s not his fault JP “I’m functionally retarded” Riccardi wasn’t able to find a single decent power hitter in 8 years.
Turkoglu on the other hand doesn’t even PRETEND to be busy when the boss walks by. He IS the jackass from my office who got a 5% raise despite being useless and after getting the raise managed to do even less. In real terms, a 5% raise on a $25 000 salary isn’t even very much money, and it wasn’t a results-oriented business. In sports, his lack of effort directly affects the ability of his teammates to do well, and in turn directly affects their own abilities to earn raises. Not to mention that his pay isn’t a few hundred dollars more than his colleagues, but millions of dollars.
How is Antoine Wright supposed to feel going into a free agent year, when he is killing himself for his team but can’t get minutes over someone who not only doesn’t pretend to try but doesn’t pretend to care, let alone pretend to actually be productive.
How are Amir Johnson and Reggie Evans supposed to feel when they both have half the skills of Turkoglu, yet work five times as hard while making one-fifth of his overall salary?
How is Andrea Bargnani supposed to improve when he sees his closest comparison on the team, a potential mentor for him, spend his days loafing around and acting lackadaisical?
How is Chris Bosh supposed to feel when he sees the guy who was supposed to be his second banana, the missing piece on a talented team, playing and acting like he’s on a stroll with his wife? Bosh is a guy who looks like he goes home and practically cries after every loss, you don’t think his main help on the court not ever showing up might upset him after a while?
How is Jay Triano supposed to feel knowing he HAS to play Turkoglu lest Turk become MORE of a disruptive force in the locker room? Knowing if he doesn’t find a way to turn Turk into SOMETHING somewhat effective he could get in trouble with HIS boss for not utilizing a $50 million asset?
How are Jarret Jack, Jose Calderon, Demar DeRozan, Sonny Weems and the rest of the roster supposed to feel when they’re asked to defer to a glorified pylon with legs? What are they supposed to think when they watch Turk again not bother to get a hand up? Again not hustle back on defence? Again laugh off a bad loss and a bad effort? We’ve all heard basketball commentators talk about how energy is contagious; doesn’t that mean the inverse is true too? If I was a professional athlete getting sat behind someone who loafed around but was very well paid, and thus needs to be on the floor, to say I would be displeased would be akin to saying Kevin Garnett doesn’t enjoy losing very much.
I like to think of myself as a bit of a realist. While we like to think of athletes in different terms than ordinary people, ultimately they ARE ordinary people who just happen to be extraordinarily skilled. I wouldn’t expect a pro athlete’s mental makeup to be too different from my own. Are they mentally tougher, stronger and basically everything more than me? Of course, they’re pro athletes. But they are still humans and we’re all wired using the same technology. My reaction when I saw laziness being rewarded was to gradually stop caring. I was mentally tough enough that it didn’t poison the work environment for me, I still enjoyed coming in every day, but the rest of my team didn’t. Not only did they stop caring but they began to loathe the company. They began to loathe coming in to work every day. I don’t know that this is the situation that the Raptors are dealing with, but I have a hunch that it is.
Sports is a results-oriented business and the recent results speak for themselves. The other day, after weeks of crappy effort and blowouts, Turkoglu didn’t play against the Denver Nuggets. Against one of the top teams in the league conventional wisdom said another probably bigger blowout was on the horizon, but somehow the Raptors found an energy and effort that had been lacking since the All Star break. What changed? Well, Turk wasn’t there. There’s a different energy, a different vibe around the team that just disappears when Turk-a-do-do is around. Not just last game but also in the various other times that Turk was away from the club for his varied and borderline plausible reasons. While my theory as to his laziness and lack of emotion may be wrong I don’t think that any Raps fan could disagree that there is a different vibe around the Raptors when Turk isn’t there.
As a result of this, Turkoglu has reached new ground in my history of sportsfandom. I am, and have been for some time, cheering for him to get seriously hurt. When I say hurt, I mean as in out for the season hurt. I’ve never wished that on the players that I’ve ever ‘hated’ in my life, let alone a player on my own team.
Sports is similar to real life, after all. Again, we all know people who we love working with but, god bless ‘em, they just aren’t great at their jobs. And, no matter how great of a person they are, YOUR life would be much easier if they were in a different department or a different job entirely. There’s no inconsistency in real life with liking someone as a person but not as a coworker. That’s how I view sports hatred. When I talk about hating athletes I’m talking about hating them as an athlete, not as a person. I’ve never met Vince Carter. I don’t know what kind of man he really is, if he’s cool to hang out with, or if he’s generous with his time and money away from cameras. I only know him as an athlete. As such I loved him as an athlete and now I hate him as an athlete. While I may drunkenly scream obscenities at him from my seat, I’d probably very politely say hi and thank him for his time in Toronto if I saw him on the street, despite my ‘hatred’ of him.
Turk however has transcended sports hate for me. I have realized that I legitimately hate Hedo Turkoglu. If I saw him walking down the street I would either scream obscenities, spit, or just turn red and walk away to avoid somehow making him worse. Remember, this man plays for MY Toronto Raptors! Turkoglu has managed to personify everything I hate about modern athletes. Entitlement? Check. He needs the ball to be effective, doncha know. Laziness after a big contract? Check and check, no explanation required. Lack of hustle and emotion? BIG check. But hey, jogging 60-70 feet to get back on defence once every ten to fifteen minutes IS something. Lack of desire to fit in to a ‘team’, and a system? “Ball”. I’d call him a mercenary but mercenaries are actually EFFECTIVE.
I’m no coach or General Manager, hell I’m not even a real writer, but I know a problem when I see one and I know a solution when I see one. The only addressable problem the Raptors have is Turkoglu, assuming Bargnani continues to develop, particularly on the glass. This Energy Vampire is a cancer that has infected the locker room and the only solution is to operate and remove the cancer permanently. Whether that’s through injury (paging Shane Stant, Shane Stant there is a phonecall for you), trade or even in a worst case scenario a buyout he needs to be as far from the Toronto Raptors as possible. I mean restraining order far. This team will NEVER be able to succeed as presently structured unless Turk makes a serious attitude change.
The Raptors are an emotionally fragile team. Maybe on Orlando it didn’t matter if Turk had a bad attitude or was lazy. After all, Dwight’s personality is a bit strong if you hadn’t noticed. He’d be happy if you told him he had to get 4 teeth pulled. But Toronto isn’t Orlando and Chris Bosh isn’t Dwight Howard. Bosh is a brooder, from what I can see. He WANTS to win. Scratch that, he NEEDS to win. He’s the type to dwell on losses to attempt to figure out what he could possibly have done to change the outcome of the game. He lives and dies with the success of his team. And when he sees his teammates uncaring while he goes home and agonizes over what he has to do to make the team win, it has to hurt. And what hurts him hurts the whole team. And what hurts the whole team hurts the city. And me. So please Mr Colangelo, I’m begging you. Remove this cancer from me; it’s eating away my insides. If this cancer isn’t cleared up, I fear Bosh will have to flee for safety. And so might I.
Tags: Hedo Turkoglu
March 28th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
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March 28th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
canadians don’t know basketball HEDO IS THE BEST!!!! and don’t deserve a low rated team like toronto raptors !!! what a shame for him sitting on the bench….HEDO PLEASE LEAVE THERE YOU DESERVE ALL THE BEST !!!
seninleyiz her zaman !!!! HEDO FOREVER !!!
March 29th, 2010 at 2:23 am
Well, there’s a well thought-out rebuttal.
March 29th, 2010 at 2:55 am
You are talking as if everyone except Hedo is playing wonderful in this team.
The problem here is that Hedo can do good things with a team that knows what its is doing, which has a game plan. He is not going to be successful with a team that is running around like headless chickens.
Amir Johnson, Reggie Evans and Antoine Wright -sorry to say this but- are all losers, Bargnani just plays for the statistics.Jose Calderon is too egoistic,Bosh will be leaving this season so i am not gonna comment about him.
I dont know what you expected from Hedo when you know that you have the worst coach (Triano really sucks balls, i havent seen a coach who is this bad at reading a game, he is successfull on calling timeouts at ridiculous times tho ) and the worst defense in the league.
Hedo is not a superstar however he will perform the job that he is given to him. Of course hedo is to blame as well, when i see him play even i can sense that there is something wrong, i guess that is what they call chemistry.
Blame Brian Colangelo if you need a scapegoat, Hedo was not the player you were looking for and he is going with the flow of the team at the moment, he picked the wrong team, he should have chosen Portland over money.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:39 am
I have been watching Hidayet for last 10 years. He played in finals two times but couldn’t win the championship. Anyway, Not everybody has to like Hidayet, it is perfectly normal. People think that Raptors has potential but unfortunately it has the worst team defence in NBA. We thought in European players are good defenders but not the ones in Raptors. Jose Calderon, he doesnt know what he is doing on the court, as a p.guard he is not looking to set up plays, instead he plays for himself. It is not easy to play with that kind of player. What about Bargnani? He is just there for his own statistics, not doing so well anyway, and how many times did you see him helping Bosh on defence? Bosh..well he is super talented, however, he is not a tough defender. Hidayet needs a team with a good team defence, he runs high when there is a good system. I think he knew Raptors wasnt a stepping stone for his career, I don’t know why he didn’t wanna be a part of a team like Portland. It is hard to understand. Now toronto media will be all over him. Because they are looking for a fall-guy. I am sad because he has been told many times that he is going for a bad team for his career. He could have been an important part of the team in Portland. But he chose money. I hope he will be traded this summer, or he will spent the 5 years as a guy who was forgotten at the bench, it is clear after tonight …after Bosh left, raptors will play for the first draft selection. So ..it is unfair to say he is the biggest problem in Raptors.. even if Hidayet left, Raptors will remain the same if they do not change as a team. Starting with GM…
March 29th, 2010 at 4:22 am
Eric wagman, go support another team, this looser toronto team sucks. what else hedo can do? they all a bunch of looser players. go and watch something else. who cares u love hedo or not. hedo is the best
March 29th, 2010 at 7:16 am
Yes Hedo, leave there, go back to Turkey; I’m sure they’d love you there and you’d fit right in.
March 29th, 2010 at 9:37 am
i think this article is a mistake. what do u expect of hedo? shooting and scoring like kobe or lebron? no. he is a leader which make the team better. hedo is not good ok. but the team? is raptors a contender for NBA title? dont make me laugh. if calderon plays as playmaker, nothing goes well. hedo is not the only guilty. the writer of this article is too sujbjective.
March 29th, 2010 at 9:56 am
HEY TURKISH PEOPLE, HEDO IS GOING OUT TO THE CLUBS EVERY NIGHT AND GETTING DRUNK. He is out of shape, and he is cheating on Banu with the sluts in our dance clubs.
This guy has put in NO effort in Toronto, and has gotten lazy and selfish due to his new contract. Our team isn’t good, but he is definitely one of the reasons why. He has sucked dog balls this season.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:05 am
This guy is by far one of the laziest NBA players I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t run back on defense, he doesn’t attack the basket, he skipped the entire pre-season because he was tired, and now he was just benched for the whole game because he lied to the team when he said that he had the stomach flu, and then later that night went out to a nightclub and got drunk.
What a complete disaster of a signing. This guy’s old general manager in Orlando even said that he wasn’t worth the money he got.
What a drunk.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Agree. Hedo please leave. Do us all favor.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Some folks are saying that Hedo’s contract can be compared to Hoffa’s in terms how bad it is. I don’t think that’s fair to Hoffa, because poor guy was trying – he just did not have enough talent to be in the league. I could never blame a player who gives his best. He just did not have skill set nor talent to survive in this league.
While Turk is sort of border-line average player in this league, he capitalized on a good run that Orlando had last year. His market price went way up, thanks to that run. Colangelo bought it, as he desperately wanted to bring anybody in just to keep Bosh happy. The front office pampered Hedo all this time, and his attitude became Iverson-like.
If only his talent would match Iverson’s.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:33 am
My point isn’t that Turk has taken a championship contender and ruined an epicly good season, but that the team given its players contracts wont be able to improve until Turkoglu is gone. Hes making good to decent players worse (he was advertised as a guy who makes good to decent players better by stretching the floor and making good decisions. Neither of which has been shown). Next year, if Bosh stays it’s essentially the same team as this year (YAY!), if he leaves and we do a sign and trade it’s the same team but with another star instead of Bosh, so the same problems remain (YAY!). Hedo fleeced Colangelo and the Raptors.
And Steve is right. He is going out and getting drunk, hitting on girls in clubs, weekly. WEEKLY. We see pictures of it ALL THE TIME on facebook. These things get around. I’d love to see Turk go to Efse Pilson, it’d help Maccabi’s chances in the Euroleague every year. I wouldn’t wish Turk on any team in the NBA. Not even the Clippers. The dude is a bum. Thats all there is to it. He’s a freaking bum.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Also, one of the reasons I support Toronto sports teams is because they represent my city. Hedo is NOT someone that stands for what I believe the ethics and values of Toronto are. If the team that I support no longer represents what I stand for, am I a turncoat for saying to them we need a break? Or are they the turncoats for going against what the fans stand for? If you feel that you would like him representing you then I say good luck to you and I hope that you’re opinions of him are proven right. But right here, right now, the fact of the matter is the guy is a bum (see above).
March 29th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I remember Hedo from his rookie days with Sacramento. He was down to earth fellow, willing to learn and accept his role on the team.
The problem with Hedo nowadays is his attitude, self-created illusion of an all-star type of player. The media and the front office who pampered him all this time, contributed to this disaster, portraying him as our biggest FA signing ever.
He was tired to take training camp because he played for Turkey last summer? Tony Parker, Ronnie Turiaff, Ersan Ilyasova, Marcin Gortat and many others played on the tournament too. I never heard them complaining about fatigue.
You are asking – why Hedo chose Toronto over Portland? Money, my friend, money. He confirmed that himself. I totally understand that everybody needs to make living, earn more — but at least try to be professional about it. I mean, if somebody is stupid/desparate enough to give you 53 million contract, at least try to pretend that you care, right?
This disaster will hopefully initiate complete house cleaning in TO, and that starts with Colangelo.
March 29th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Although it is too late for the Raptors, I am glad that the general public finally realizes what kind of basketball player Hedo Turkoglu really is. Every (real) Magic-fan knew that Hedo was an overachiever in Orlando. He didn’t deserve the contract offer that he got from Otis Smith (which he refused because he needed to ‘take care of his family’) and he definitely doesn’t deserve the contract that Colangelo handed to him.
I feel sorry for the Raptors but I am glad that Turk and his annoying, nut-hugging, excuses-making fans are gone from O-Town.
BTW, Eric, that is a very well written article. I wish you and your team all the best.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I read an article last year about diet and pregame food and it mentioned how before one particular Orlando game, Dwight Howard filled up on McDonalds and Turk ate an entire cheese pizza. Howard is young, a physical freak, and a goofball. The McDonalds is not a good idea but probably not too detrimental to his game. But when you are 30 years old, getting paid millions to produce wins on the basketball court, you don’t eat an entire cheese pizza before a game.
March 29th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Good article. We had Turk here in San Antonio one year and he bolted for Orlando and more money. What a shame and a waste. I thought some of Manu would rub off on him. I asked one of the coaches here if Manu Ginobili’s dad had fathered any more Manus. He laughed and said, “They don’t make many like that, but I wish they did.” We all could use that kind of heart. Love Bosh by the way.
March 29th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
This is unbelievably awesome. I also love the fact that the people disagreeing with you seem to have, at best, a tenuous grasp on the english language.
Bravo!
March 29th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
With the utmost level of sincerity, I know exactly where you are coming from. The sad part is that you have a mass of Hedo fans who can’t see the forest through the trees and any knock on him, regardless of how well thought out and how appropriate, is received as nothing but hate for the MJ of Turkey.
The truth of the matter is that most Magic fans knew this about him, and were not sad to see him go. Sure, he had his moments in the 4th quarter of some games, and played relatively well in the playoffs, but what about the first three quarters of every game? What about the first half of last season when he sucked it up because Jameer had the ball and not everything went through the hands of Hedo? (He didn’t starting picking up his level of play until the seconf half, after Jameer’s injury). What about defense? What about those half-hearted drives toward the rim (well, in the general direction, but I guess that’s close enough) that end with him throwing his arms (and the ball) into the air flailing and hoping for the refs to bail him out?
Truth be told, what he is doing is nothing new. You can blame Hedo for his lack of effort, lack of conditioning, even for the Turk-o-flu, but at some point, you also have to blame management for not seeing this coming, and offering him way more money than he deserved.
There is a reason Otis Smith told Portland they “weren’t missing out on anything” when Hedo went to Toronto instead.
March 29th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
With the utmost level of sincerity, I know exactly where you are coming from. The sad part is that you have a mass of Hedo fans who can’t see the forest through the trees and any knock on him, regardless of how well thought out and how appropriate, is received as nothing but hate for the MJ of Turkey.
The truth of the matter is that most Magic fans knew this about him, and were not sad to see him go. Sure, he had his moments in the 4th quarter of some games, and played relatively well in the playoffs, but what about the first three quarters of every game? What about the first half of last season when he sucked it up because Jameer had the ball and not everything went through the hands of Hedo? (He didn’t starting picking up his level of play until the seconf half, after Jameer’s injury). What about defense? What about those half-hearted drives toward the rim (well, in the general direction, but I guess that’s close enough) that end with him throwing his arms (and the ball) into the air flailing and hoping for the refs to bail him out?
Truth be told, what he is doing is nothing new. You can blame Hedo for his lack of effort, lack of conditioning, even for the Turk-o-flu, but at some point, you also have to blame management for not seeing this coming, and offering him way more money than he deserved.
There is a reason Otis Smith told Portland they “weren’t missing out on anything” when Hedo went to Toronto instead.
March 29th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Thanks to everyone for the kind comments. Though it is very very depressing that everyone who follows a team Hedo used to play for had the same nodding sadly reaction. Ah well, we Torontonians got the opportunity to learn the hard way.
March 29th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Toronto is a historically great hockey town with a relatively little basketball experience. That probably explains why the majority of the media/fans exacerbate a bad situation looking for scape goats. Hedo is not a bad player – any one who saw him with the Kings or even in last years finals (where he was easily the most effective Magic player on the court) knows this much. He thrives in specific situations and specific systems. Obviously, the Raps, with no Defensive presence in the paint to discourage drives and far too many players who need the ball in their hands to be effective on offense are not the best situation for him. Furthermore the coaching staff seems to have been reluctant to tailor the offense to him for fear of alienating other players. This team was NEVER a championship contender and was built to keep Bosh around. Apparently that was a mistake as Bosh has reverted back to form after the Allstar recruiting contest/game.
March 29th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Paul, that’s an awesome comment.
Kelly Dwyer (who linked to this post and expanded on it today – http://bit.ly/cD0yN4 ) tried to warn everyone multiple times about who Hedo really was. He’s brought up the pre-Jameer injury Hedo you speak of, too.
Raptor fans even got a chance to see it up close last year at the ACC. I was there for this game: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=AlQexUC5qfCRB3FULaiS8R94PKB4?gid=2009010428
March 29th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Great article. As a huge raptor fan it hurts so much to see this season flushed down the toilet. After too many frustrating nights of going to bed angry, I’ve had to pretty much cut myself off from them and emotionally detach myself. The relationship was far too unhealthy and I’m happy to say I’m on the rebound and doing well. I actually watched the Miami loss where they gave up a 17-pt lead and other than the occasionally twitch it barely fazed me.
As for Turk, I’ve hated him since day one. Everything Eric writes is bang on and I don’t think there’s one non-Turkish person on the planet that would disagree that Turk is a complete bust, a terrible wasted of money and a major cancer in the Raptors dressing room that will haunt this team for years to come unless they figure out a way to trade him.
At this point I’d be ecstatic if we could sign and trade Bosh and include Turk in the deal….yup that’s how much I hate Turk, I’d actually be happy to see Bosh go if it meant Turk went as well.
March 29th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
im turkish. 53 million usd contract? if he comes and wants to play in turkey no team will offer him over 10 million for 5 years.. its sure …
if you can ; find out how he played with turkey national team last championship…
Sorry Hedo if you are reading this but you are not the Hedo we knew from years back.. if you have a contract go and play for the “Turk” name you carry on your shirt. you may not be able to score a 3 point but you cant run “bad” or you cant fight bad..
March 29th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
Cheap shots, disappointing article.
Hedo isn’t the only player who had a bad season despite his contract. It’s very cheap to start giving real life examples immediately.
Same guy played 10 seasons w/ 75 games/season average, no single disciplinary incidents. Same guy played 10 seasons with sentences full of “underrated” words. Same guy played same defence last year. Same guy played more post-season games than any Raptor on the planet. Same guy had never any dispute w/ any of his coaches. Same guy had been a pass-first guy for all his career who made his teammates better.
Raptors and Hedo is not a good match. Even without Hedo, Raptors is a terrible defensive team and Triano did nothing to improve that. He also did nothing to use Hedo’s strengths, comparing to SVG. Hedo made a very bad choice by choosing Raptors over Blazers, where he would be a better fit.
Listing his weaknesses just because a GM decided to give him big bucks, and showing him like a complete villain is wrong.
It’s easy to kick someone when he’s down. One year it’s Carter, another it’s Hedo, same story. It’s always one guy, who committed every sins. Small thinking, missing the big picture.
Boring.
March 29th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
You know, for Cavs fans (like me) this makes last year’s conference finals worse. At that point, us fans who didn’t know how lazy/selfish he really was could accept losing two games on Turkoglu shots, because heck, he must be a great player. It stings a lot more now that he’s shown he’s average at best, has no love lost from previous fanbases, and is alienating his current fanbase.
This was an excellent read, Eric. One thing that puzzles me: surely there are other examples of team cancers or players who represent all the worst things about sports. You mentioned Vince Carter as one. What makes Turkoglu’s and Carter’s lack of effort as Raptors different for you? Is it the fact that Turkoglu’s laziness is the norm, while Carter was deliberately tanking to force a trade?
March 29th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Thank you Toronto for taking Hedo!
:)
March 29th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Thank you thank you thank you. Andre Miller is great.
March 29th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
As for me and pretty much all Portland fans, we are extremely grateful to the Toronto organization. We owe you one. :)
March 29th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
ball
March 29th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
What I’m addressing in this piece isn’t the results he brings on the court. Players have ups and downs, we all know that. Raptors fans know at best this team is the 5th best team in the conference. What Toronto fans look for is effort. Our fan favorites over the years have been guys cut from the Reggie Evans or Amir Johnson cloth, and that may well be because of the hockey influence. But our complaint isn’t with his play so much as his attitude and his lack of effort. We have no problem with crappy players as long as they play hard. This year is more important than most due to the desire to keep Bosh around after this summer, so his taking it easy while essentially the rest of the city is going all out to keep Bosh is not a good look. But if you truly believe Hedo isn’t a bad player (at least right here and right now), you clearly haven’t watched much of the Raptors this year.
Also the patriot in me has to mention that the first pro basketball game was in Toronto, and basketball as a game was invented by someone who grew up a few hours from here. We know our sports. The majority of the hardcore basketball fans don’t like hockey at all (ask James) and never watched it. I wouldn’t write off a fanbase that has had a team for 15 years simply because “it’s a hockey city”.
March 29th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Eric Wagman has a man crush on Turk and is just jealous
March 29th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Carters lack of effort (while equally disgusting to me) was far more warranted given the wars he had fought for the Raptors and the fact that there were promises made by the organization that were not met. He also only really stopped trying when he was pushing for a trade. Turk isn’t tradable, he’s in the first year of his contract and has no history with the team or city. It’s not like he can just rest on his laurels, as far as we’re concerned he has none.
Other big difference, Carter cared about winning. The whole Vince situation in Toronto was like a bad breakup, but make no mistake, at least Vince WANTED to win. Even if he didn’t really know how (Warning to all Magic fans reading this, you could be writing the above article VERY easily by the end of this year or next. Just a heads up)
March 29th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Every knowledgable basketball fan in Orlando (all 3 of us) was delighted to see Turk go. For every heroic last-second shot, there were oodles of dumb decisions, “stomach flu” episodes, and blown defensive assignments. The Raptors overpaid for this shiftless bum and it will haunt the franchise for the next 5 seasons. Sorry.
March 29th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Excellent post. the raptors had enough faith in him to give him about 30 million more dollars than he was worth – doesn’t hedo owe it to the raptors to try even a little bit? on one hand i’m so glad that he pulled a brett favre on my blazers. then again, chris bosh is by far my favorite player, in large part because he takes the failures of his team so personally and kills himself over hedo’s laziness and lack of basic motivation. it was blatantly obvious last year that based purely on talent and potential hedo wasn’t worth even close to his contract, and now the deal looks dumber considering his total lask of regard and respect for the fans, teammates, and organization.
by the way everyone, when you’re done here make sure to check out http://www.arjun-allthingssports.blogspot.com for candid and insightful analysis. case in point: last summer I repeatedly insisted that hedo wasn’t worth the hype
http://arjun-allthingssports.blogspot.com/2009/07/hedo-turkoglu-and-maybe-some-other.html
http://arjun-allthingssports.blogspot.com/2009/06/nba-offseason-thoughts.html
March 29th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
As a sign at the Rose Garden said when Toronto was in town, “Thanks Mrs. Turkoglu for Andre Miller.”
There but for the grace of God go we.
March 29th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
[...] The Handlebar: Eric Wagman is a big fan of the Toronto Raptors, but has some not-so-nice things to say about Hedo Turkoglu, calling him an “energy vampire.” [Outside the NBA] [...]
March 29th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
What really stuns me is that you Torontians think your team is a contender. Bosh is counting down to leave. Calderon is a messy defender with only the FT feat. Bargnani always focused on his own stats, and never really playing to win (show me one play he passed when the team needed it, and do not give me the pure shooter crap).
What did you expect from Turk? You did not get Wade, you got Hedo.
BTW, Bosh is one of the most overrated centers ever. Nobody is even afraid of him, penetration takes basket or and-one for granted.
March 29th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
I don’t think there’s anything different about Hedo since he came to the Raptors, he was always a loafting bum who showed a few flashes of brilliance.
the problem is his contract. Hedo went from an underrated clutch player to an overpaid bum the moment he put the pen to the paper
March 29th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Hey Eric just wanted to say that your post was really thoughtful and provoking. I can’t say that I understand wholly the situation is in Toronto, but I can say I understand your hatred for lazy people. Keep up the good work man.
March 29th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
“The Raptors are an emotionally fragile team” describes exactly what the issue is here in my opinion. Yes, I do agree there seems to be a serious issue with Hedo’s motivation, but not being a basketball expert, I’m reluctant to pass too much judgement. As a sports fan in general, it’s obvious that if you’re emotionally fragile, you’re not going to win. Period. You might be good in the regular season, finishing above .500 while beating those young, rebuilding, or just bad teams… but when it comes to winning when it matters most, sorry, it just won’t happen. Great teams, true winners can simply transcend in times of great adversity. This would be one of those times. To be completely frank, more testicular fortitude is required. Go through a check list of great teams in every sport, and tell me which of them was “emotionally fragile”. If you’ve ever played sports growing up, you were likely on a team that had balls, and you were absolutely on a team that had none. You know which one did better.
Good luck Raps, we love you… and we hope you grow a pair soon.
March 29th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
You are completely wrong in this post. You are absolutely a real writer. And a hell of a writer, at that. Kudos on a great piece.
March 29th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
That was one of the funniest rants I have ever read. It reminded me of penning a long letter to a ex girlfriend while drunk ( and on other things ), realizing I had sent it I penned another really long one DENOUNCING the drunk, coked up letter and then, being really angry and drunk, I just cussed her the next time I saw her because I was upset I denounced my first drunk letter.
This was a great piece on Turkoglu. It seems if you had this brewing for some time and it came out absolutely perfect.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:08 am
I am a basketball fan from Hong Kong. I kind of like Hedo but you all know this year Hedo didn’t and not going to play well. However, this article to me is kind of…unfair.
First, who the hell in earth doesn’t know Hedo is a average defender at best? You can blame Hedo for his defence but how about some others Raptors? Are you sure Hedo is the main problem of Raptors’ bad defence?
The moral hazard? Sure, IF you guys know pretty well what’s going on in the locker room. I can’t give any comments under the circumstances that I don’t have much inside information. Team chemistry is really a problem I think but if you guys think Hedo is the lone guy contribute to this you are quite stupid.
The contract part? I agree with you guys saying he’s overpaid. Even I like Hedo but I don’t think he worth that kind of contract. However, he’s a guy who can do some damage on offence and a killer in clinch time giving he’s motivated. He’s not worth 53 mil over 5 years but 35~40 is quite reasonable.
For me, there’s whole lot players you can blame for this sinking team and I would but Hedo to my list too. But hey, how about the fact your team has a 3s shooting center and bunch of one dimension players who also overpaid in my opinion doesn’t help either. It’s really easy to blame someone but it’s hard to give some good advices I guess. IF I am the GM I won’t sign the players he did at this price but this is a FACT already so finding solutions to me is much better than blaming someone. Maybe trade Andrew for a defensive oriented center and sign a defensive stopper at 2 like Dahntay Jones. These are my opinions and feel free to blame me.
Kai
March 30th, 2010 at 12:12 am
Sorry for my poor English writing I hope you guys know what I mean:)
March 30th, 2010 at 12:39 am
I feel that trailblazer fans owe something to Toronto. You guys are like the buddy that throws himself on the grenade. I keep thinking that Hedo could have been in Portland if not for the Raptors. You win a medal in my book.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:52 am
Man, that was great. And as a fan, it must be even more depressing to realize this douche is going to take up 15-20% of your salary cap for the next four years…and good luck getting rid of a 30+ year-old, no-defense-playin’, 40% shootin’ SF WHO MAKES 10+ MILLION A YEAR. Franchise-killer.
As for his defenders, the excuses about the “system”, trying to blame other players, the coach, the GM, everybody but Hedo..that’s just weak. Frankly, Hedo “playing as hard as I can AFTER STAYING OUT ALL NIGHT GETTING DRUNK IN CLUBS” is not. good. enough. He took the money. If he doesn’t get in shape, bust his ass every night and figure out how to fit in with the team and coach, he’s cheating the fans, his teammates and the people who sign those big paychecks.
A cheater. A loser. A dog. A thief. That’s what Turkoglu has been this year. He’s an embarrassment to all Turks, frankly, and you embarrass yourselves worse by excusing him. Eric was spot on.
March 30th, 2010 at 2:34 am
As a Blazer, I’m glad we dodged that bullet. For those Raptor fans that rubbed it in our faces, look who’s laughing now. Enjoy the rest of He-don’ts contract!!!! LOL
March 30th, 2010 at 4:37 am
A well worded but somewhat offbase rant.
Turdo came to you exactly as advertised. You got less than you paid for because even a bad player can excel or at least function in a good system.. And Toronto Has NONE.
No defensive scheme.
No offensive scheme.
No friggin coach-NONE!
Defensive schemes are key. A pick and roll will make mincemeat of any good individual defender. Coaches have to have
a. A defensive PHILOSOPHY. In Orlando it was. Shot goes up? Everyone except Dwight Howard SPRINT BACK (they are already with a headstart since most are camped out on the 3 point line anyway) -forget the rebound.
This works well 90% of the time,stops the fast breaks (but sucks when you really NEED to rebound and cant undo your whole life of not doing something)
YOU CAN MAKE SOUP FROM A STONE -
-But you have to add salt, chicken, vegetables and water
AND turn on the heat!
I humbly submit that even Kobe Bryant would curl up and die entering that abyss of coaching and me-first teammates (not counting the aforementioned well intentioned and well hustled, but otherwise unskilled players)
March 30th, 2010 at 5:40 am
Damn good read Mr.Wag, you know, you had me at the office bit. You may have even sold me with every bit of the article completely. But when you said what you said in replies to this post about Hedo, i had to STAND UP, Pause everything, and Applaud you. That is what it means to be a fan, a homer, and to root for a team. It’s not the fact that Chris Bosh lives and dies by his team, and the city he represents, but that he actually believes in it. He fights for you guys and represents you with every bit of his heart. He’s a real guy, and i remember him when i graduated in 04 in the Dallas area, i’ve always known he would be great wherever he went.
But it’s a damn shame when you get a guy like Hedo who, whether he was or not, is supposed to be not just a great player, but a key that can help the offense flow, and a three point threat, an all arounder. Toronto was IN THE PLAYOFFS LAST YEAR. If i’m not mistaken, all but a few of those pieces were on that squad, give or take a Shawn Marion the Raps should’ve been BETTER with Hedo, Andrea, and Chris Bosh.
People are saying, “Oh Calderon does this, and Andrea does this” But they were at least in the playoffs last year man. Now they’re just playing for a draft pick, that’s how drastically worse things have become with Hedo, i think this article ruffles your feathers because it’s BRUTALLY HONEST. And any other time, maybe i’d say it’s too harsh, but again. Wags has my permission simply because he’s a real homer. What is wrong with society and sports today when you allow a player like this, a Coach like Ron Washington of my Texas Rangers, not only to sully the name of a proud organization, but to represent MY CITY, like that when a normal guy like me is no different, save for my athletic gifts.
That’s just unacceptable.
March 30th, 2010 at 9:39 am
Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to read the piece. It was damn long, and that so many people whether they agree or disagree took the time to read and comment is just amazing. I’d love to reply to each of you but that’d wind up being more words than the story in the first place, so suffice it to say that I say thank you sincerely to everyone who read and commented.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Great article, Eric. But I come as a Blazer fan not to congratulate but to rub a bit more salt into the wound
We all know the Hedo free agent signing story. He was a Big Name and would demand a Big Contract — and the Trail Blazers made him that kind of offer because, well, Hedo was so the missing link that would make us competitive in the powerful west. Apparently, Hedo was awesome last summer.
Turk verbally accepted Portland’s offer but changed his mind after Toronto swooped in and the rest is history. Blazer management looked like fools and the fans were deflated. Hedo took the Raptor contract partly because, according to reports, Toronto was a more cosmopolitan city compared to that backwater in Oregon and was not a decision based so much on basketball per se. Maybe that was an indication of where Turk’s motivation and intentions were.
Anyway, Portland ended up signing Andre Miller almost as an afterthought and for far less money than Hedo’s offer but, it turns out, he might be just what the team needed. Miller is one the unheralded vets in the NBA who has spent his career working hard and keeping his mouth shut and, perhaps as a consequence, would’ve never been considered for the kind of contract Hedo got. Plus Andre is the ironman of the league with 600-something consecutive games played without sitting out which in itself is amazing.
Basically, the Raptor’s prevented Portland from making a serious mistake and I have to wonder if karma, the stuff Eric’s ex-girlfriend often spoke of, had anything to do with all this.
Thanks and good luck ahead. Hopefully Toronto can get rid of Hedo with minimum long term damage.
March 30th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Toronto could have been the best in the league if Hedo wasn’t there, huh? Give me a break guys. Look at the team. You can blame everybody for the poor team play. Despite scoring the best, how many turnovers Bosh is playing with over the past weeks?. Despite being a 7 footer, how many rebounds Andrea can get? Beginning of the games Weems/Wright seem to do good, but down the stretch, what they can do? We saw Weems missing two free throws last night that could have yield a loss. No comment on the PGs, anytime a good PG play against them, they’re being raped easily. Remember the last Jazz game? Oh wait, it was again Turk’s fault leaving the game halftime. They were going to win it otherwise, right?
Anyways, I think Raps must start playing better as a team. They did their best when Jose was out in December. They better bring back that spirit. It’s not just Turk’s fault, or any other individuals. Team team team! I still believe they are going to do a good job in the playoffs if they can improve their team play.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
The attitude issue notwithstanding (and not really following the Raptors I don’t know enough to take a position on that), the Turkoglu signing never made sense to me from a basic basketball talent standpoint. Looking at his game and the Raptors lineup prior to his arrival, it seemed pretty clear that the things Turk is best at (ballhandling, playmaking, shooting) the Raptors already had guys who were capable of doing, while the things he’s worst at (defense, rebounding, physical toughness) they were desperately in need of. It seems to that, as a general rule, if you’re putting together a team (not just a sports team but a team oriented to accomplish any goal) that paying big money to a new member who duplicates skill areas where you’re already strong (without actually excelling in those areas beyond the members you already have) without doing anything to shore up the areas where the team is weak is a misallocation of resources. I can’t imagine how Colangelo could have looked at the Raptors and concluded that what they most needed was another soft, jumpshooting, nonrebounding, nondefending 6′ 10″+ player.
March 30th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
No I think I’ll blame Hedo. No one said he was a superstar, nor did they expect him to be. He doesn’t show up for work, he doesn’t sweat and it’s irritating. At least act like you care, he missed the second half of a game he started with a tummy ache, then he missed the next practice and 2 games. Then someone caught him in a Toronto bar late at night. That bs attitude affects everyone in the locker room, and if he went to Portland the same thing would have happened. I’ll admit Triano is not a great coach but motivation doesn’t seem to be a problem with anyone else on the team, except maybe Bargnani. No one would be complaining about him if he looked like he cared. I think this article, though very verbose was actually spot on. I can’t blame Colangelo too much either because someone else would have overpaid anyway. He played well in the last year of a contract and decided not to show up once he got it.
March 30th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
To all the Turk fans – the issue at hand here is not whether or not Toronto would be the best team in the league without Hedo. Rather, the issue is the fact that Hedo is not putting in ANY EFFORT. For someone being paid 10 million a year, at least show the effort. Also, his attitude of not caring is poisoning the team spirit and taking away from the effort others are willing to put in. Why would you want to play your hardest if someone who’s being paid many times your salary is not there leading by example? So yes, the blame is squarely on his shoulders on this and he can’t dodge it – put in the effort, give it your best shot, and the fans won’t be so critical of you. Be a true professional athlete, not just another bum who’s trying to collect a big pay check without putting in the work.
Whether or not the Raptors made a bad decision offering him that big contract/would be a better team without him is a whole different discussion.
March 30th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
This is extremely well written. I’ve never particularly cared about the Raptors, but after reading this I felt sympathetic towards your players (the ones who try hard) and fans. Actually “empathetic” would be the right word, because every basketball team (including the one I support) has had at least one Hedo at some point or another. The office example you described in detail could be easily be applied to so many walks of life.
March 31st, 2010 at 2:50 am
He bought the trouble for $50m.
He knew it was gonna be like this. Many people knew it. This is money, what makes you make good/bad decisions or write this article..
March 31st, 2010 at 10:57 am
Turklogu has been terrible this season, if you really think otherwise, you’re letting national pride completely blind you, Turk. No WAY he is worth the $53million his contract is for. Again, if you claim to believe that he is, you’re either a liar or a moron or both.
March 31st, 2010 at 10:59 am
If you honestly think Hedo is the best, you have ZERO knowledge of the game of basketball.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:00 am
“no. he is a leader which make the team better.”
umm…no he isn’t.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:06 am
Don’t cry, it’ll be OK.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:13 am
“Toronto could have been the best in the league if Hedo wasn’t there, huh?”
Well, ou asked the question. Nothing in the article even comes close to stating that. But it is pretty clear that Turkloglu hasn’t done much of anything to make the team better. At all.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:03 pm
If you can’t see how many players are finding clear looks to the basket with Hedo’s assists, you don’t know anything about basketball. Especially, look at most of Jose’s, Jack’s, and Antoine’s 3s. I’m not talking about the last games, through the season. How many clear looks they got with Hedo’s assists?
I know nobody said the quoted remark in the discussion but everybody insinuates that he’s the only reason Toronto is losing and when he plays well, no team can stand in Toronto’s path.
March 31st, 2010 at 4:28 pm
I understand how much Turk means to you, believe me. I’m an Israeli, if someone was slamming Casspi I wouldn’t like it either. But you have to be honest in your assessment of the guy. I’m a MASSIVE Raptors fan. This was NOT something I wanted to write, or ever thought I would. It saddens me that its come to this. Go check my Raptors predictions if you don’t believe me, I really wanted and thought Turk would be good. But he’s not. The reason he’s not isn’t for the things he’s doing on the floor, but for the attitude hes developed (or apparently has had for a little while). Entitlement and laziness. Those are two indefensible qualities in sports in my opinion.
I don’t ask that you agree with me, you’re obviously entitled to your opinion. If you don’t feel that those things are detrimental to a team, that’s your opinion. But changing what the argument is about is a logical fallacy, and won’t win you this argument.
Besides, as someone who’s watched the Raptors all year I can safely say that the Raptors team plays significantly better (top to bottom) when Turk isnt out there, even without all these clear looks that he’s creating that you speak of. If you can find 5 different clips of him this year creating an open shot for somebody (creating, not just receiving a pass looking around then passing to bosh or bargs in the post), you’ll have proved your point. I wouldn’t waste too much time looking for those though.
April 1st, 2010 at 7:22 am
To the city of Toronto, the Toronto Raptors, and the fans of the Toronto Raptors,
Thank you with all our heart for getting that cancer out of us at the 11th hour. Had you not intervened, we would have proceeded directly to oblivion. You saved our team at the direct expense of your very own, and we cannot thank you enough. Good luck getting an owner to touch that P.O.S. player and contract. No one in the NBA is that stupid. You know… Al Davis is slipping these days, and you might be able to get back a decent outside linebacker for him. Or a shit sandwich-either way.
Our deepest sympathies,
Rip City
April 1st, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Thanks Steve for the info but I guess one of the women you mention he cheated on his wife must be one of your relatives. Why this anger?
April 1st, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Eric, it is just enough you go to Raps website, and check the 6 minute highlight of any game you like. You’ll see what I mean. I don’t mean the assists he makes to Bosh/Bargs easy hook shots. I mean the 3s Jose/jack/wright makes.
April 10th, 2010 at 7:31 am
This is an amateur, short-sighted, and biased piece that really misses the point. Turkoglu, is having a horrible season and this no one can argue. But if you look at his career, he has never been lazy, arrogant, and was always the underpaid over achiever. He even spent several seasons playing alongside Rashard Lewis who was paid multiple times what Hedo was making AND even took an All Star spot away from Hedo several years back when most agreed that Hedo deserved it more than him.
A good writer should be able to put his annoyance of a player aside and try to think of reasons and solutions. What you have done here is nothing more than a childish rant on an easy target on a terrible team.
As someone else said – this was a boring and unimaginative read.
April 10th, 2010 at 11:42 am
Well, there you go. Your opinion is here for the world to see. “Zzzzz.” Care to show us YOUR writing? Or why you’re more qualified to judge sportswriting than Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo!, who called it “fantastic work”?
April 11th, 2010 at 4:13 am
Your reaction to my comment is really childish and defensive – my writing is not the point here. As for Kelly Dwyer…he’s an arrogant know-it all who also puts a lot of bias into his work. Definitely not what I’m looking for in sports journalism.
Since you asked here’s an example of my writing: http://armchairgm.wikia.com/Sports…_It’s_a_Helluva_Drug
Many flaws I’ll be the first to admit, but at least it’s original.