Re: Anderson trades

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

I totally agree. I also get frustrated with the way Peter May reports
sometimes. It's fine to write a sports gossip column or to editorialize, as
long as you call it what it is. To be fair he does do that on occasion, but
what I find distasteful about Peter May is he routinely puts a
pseudo-factual veneer on his own gossip and biases. Just because he is a
sports journalist (as opposed to covering international affairs or
whatever), that doesn't excuse him to practice the profession below basic
journalistic standards. I mean the guy works for a major newspaper, after
all.

The thing with May is that he rarely expresses a strong opinion openly ("I
dislike Walker, Pitino etc."), preferring instead to disparage people while
hiding behind blatantly unsubstantiated or twisted facts. One of many
examples I recall was when May successfully created the media rift between
Pitino and Walker as a result of the missed off-season workout, even though
Ron "The Saint" Mercer and others never showed up either (they were
"excused"). As I recall, Pitino's exact remark was something like "Angry?
No. Disappointed? Yes..." (you could guess from the answer exactly what
May's leading question was). The next day's May column loudly broadcast
that Pitino was "disappointed" in his star player. When the kid got wind of
it (Pitino normally never criticizes a player through the media, rather
than face-to-face & behind closed doors) he was genuinely surprised and
hurt and said so, earning his "punk" nickname etc.

Sorry to dredge up stuff you've heard from me before (ad nauseum). In
general, I'm less critical of Peter May this season than last.   I hated
that guy last year.

****

Alex Wang wrote:

> If you read Peter May's Sporting News team report on the Celtics,
> he suggests a Rodney Rogers trade for Anderson. I hate the way this
> guy "reports." Seriously, it's ridiculous speculation but May makes
> it sound like its something the Celtics are actually considering.
> There is a big difference between Barros or Battie, who Pitino was
> supposedly willing to trade, and Anderson.
>
> This Gary Payton rumor evidently has surfaced outside of a Minnesota
> mailing list. I suppose if Seattle was really hot for someone in the
> draft (Odom?) and NJ landed high enough to get it, it's possible.
> I'd personally think that the Celtics should offer any combination of
> players not including Walker and Pierce, and sweeten with draft picks
> if necessary, to land Payton. Mercer, Anderson, Potapenko would be a
> possibility since Polynice will probably land elsewhere in free agency.
>
> Alex