Let's do a media survey/poll

Howland prefers to take that literally.

 

Tom Asbury? You gotta be kidding. He's one of the best guys I've dealt with in 41 years in the biz.
Every year, when I had to broach the topic of him leaving for a different job, he promised me he'd let me know when it was going to happen, that I wouldn't get beat on the story. When he got the Kansas State job, he refused to let K-State make the announcement until he personally gave me the information.

 

Nicest: Marty Biron
Oddest / Most Eccentric: Pedro Martinez
Most Available: Phil Martelli

 

He was at K-State when I dealt with him. Maybe he changed after a few years of learning from the Grandmaster of all coaching dickheads (Snyder).

 

Career-defining (so far): Mia Hamm and members of the 2002 World Cup women's soccer team; Allan H. "Bud" Selig. Though the commissioner, in his 10-minute sit-down with me, lightly sprayed saliva on me a couple times.
Funniest to recall with college colleagues: Van Chancellor, who kept calling me "ma'am" over the phone. For the record, I'm a male, and I had a cold that day.

 

I covered the 1999 women's World Cup and all of the players were nicer and more accessible than any human could have possibly wanted.

 

Having encountered the Chuckster at an after-hours bar in Birmingham at 3 in the morning after an NCAA Tournament game at the BJCC, and an impromptu 20-minute conversation with two colleagues, it's the truth. Really funny, cool, witty, you name it.

 

Shaq might be up there for funniest, but that would require that you could tell when he was joking (and nobody who has ever covered him has been able to do this...) and when he's not.

 

Barkley is an all-timer. Funny, smart and almost always willing to talk no matter what the subject is. That's pretty rare in a superstar.

 

Nicest: Bill Self, Jack Pardee
Funniest: Charley Barkley, Abe Lemons
Oddest: Mike Leach
Friendliest: Self
Most interesting: Former NFL DE Sean Jones, Bob Knight
Surliest: About 100 different baseball players.
Most difficult to understand: Hakeem Olajuwon
Best quote: Cedric (Cornbread) Maxwell, Mychael Thompson
Worst quote: Too many to count

 

Most intelligent: Pat Haden
Biggest asshole: Rod Carew
Most intimidating: Bob Gibson
Most difficult to figure: Barry Sanders, Sandy Koufax (tie)
Classiest: Steve Yzerman
Most competitive: Jerry West
Coolest: Dick Butkus

 

It's interesting... I don't doubt Ditka was a nightmare to deal with when he was a coach, but every time I dealt with him from 2002 on, he was just about as nice and accomodating as he could be. He'd call me back, he'd give me multiple numbers where he could be reached...