NBA Hall of Fame trainwreck ... Peter Vecsey

That's the path Doyel will take

 

Apparently, you weren't at the Super Bowl back when I used to be there. Granted, it's been a few years, but back in the day, the night before the game (when everyone was finally done with all their crap for the week), Mitch would manage to find a piano in the hotel and he'd play while a bunch of reporters sang off-key to whatever oldies we could think of. Mitch could play any tune you could name, just like that. It was uncanny, and lots of fun, too.

 

Albom collaborated with Warren Zevon, I believe. I think he co-wrote "The Hockey Song," if I'm not mistaken.

 

As someone who covered an NBA team for nearly a decade, here's what you need to know about Vecsey: He wants your help but he will never help you.

 

It is nothing short of amazing to see people who think the NBA started with Michael Jordan ripping a guy like Peter Vecsey. What a complete joke.

Here is a guy who has devoted his life to covering the game, but he gets knocked by people who couldn't hold his jock on his worst day. The reality is that he has forgotten more about basketball than most folks on this board will ever know.

Since when does somebody have to be a nice guy or well-liked to get the job done? Give me a break.

Peter has always done it his way and never kissed anybody's ass. That's why he has enemies.

Over the course of his career he has gotten a lot more stories right than wrong. He isn't afraid to take chances, which sadly separates him from many in the field today. The NY Post, USA TODAY, NBC, TNT, NBA-TV all hired him for a reason.

Read further down on Pearlman's blog and you will see somebody claiming to have sat at Peter's table writing that Jordan left before Peter started speaking, not during the speech.

Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

 

Fact: Jordan walked out during the speech.
Fact: Event organizers were wildly giving him the throat-slash-cut sign for at least 15 minutes.
Fact: Vescey walked up to two of those guys afterward and said, "It's my night. These people were here for me."
Fact: A way-up-there NBA person said afterward, "He was worse than we even hoped."
Fact: He was told that an outburst Friday night would get him ejected.

I do agree with Wilt on this point: "Peter Vescey. What a complete joke."

 

Old-timers like me remember stickers that said "Accuracy! Accuracy! Accuracy!" on our desks.

Something tells me it does not mean "a lot more stories right than wrong."

 

I guess "not afraid to take chances" means willing to publish poorly sourced crap. Bravo!

 

From the descriptions of how bad it was, Vecsey should have turned the tables and walked out on Jordan's speech.

 

SO HOW THE HELL DID HE GET IN THE HOF?

No one seems to know.

 

When Vecsey said on NBC that Jordan's gambling in AC during Knicks playoff series wasn't a story, that should have trashed his HoF -- and journo credentials -- right then and there.

But then, maybe HoF voters were just throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks...

 

Having never had as much as a passing interest in the NBA, I have no idea who Peter Vescey is.
Having had a moderate interest in women's hoops, I do know who C. Vivian Stringer is, and the one time I interacted with her came away impressed.
Seems like I got the best end of the deal.