Press Box fights or screaming matches

[shotglass]

Alan Robinson had a memorable meltdown on press row at our state wrestling finals, but if I'm not mistaken, that was directed at a rent-a-cop.

ALAN? Are you serious? I can't see him ever raising his voice!

Yes, it was quite the talk.

Wow, he is one of the most pleasant and kind people I know.
If he goes off, it must be your fault.

Oh, the rent-a-cops are on a power trip at most state finals we have. And they clearly believe the media are of little use to the event.

 

[Orange Hat Bobcat]

The old story 21 dug up about Mariotti and Telender threatening to come to blows in the press box got me thinking. How common is this? And is Rick's quote right on, or a bunch of unprofessional bull?

"In all honesty," says Telander, "anybody who's ever written deadline journalism who hasn't gotten in a fight in the press box is somebody I wouldn't want to hire. People who aren't there don't know what it's like. People don't know the incredible pressures and tensions. People melt down all the time."

Have you ever gotten into a confrontation in a press box?

Once, on a 100-degree night in a press box with no AC, I was covering a college football game that ended in overtime 3 minutes before deadline. The team I was covering was ranked in the top 25, and is a fairly successful program from a BCS conference. They had just been upset in the season opener by an upstart, unranked program on the road. (Tiny town, awful press box, perhaps one of the worst Division I boxes I'd ever been in, but a huge deal to this school, which had never beaten a Top 25 team.) The Upstart Program's PR staff had been acting upprofessional all game -- cheering in the pressbox, cheering over the internal PA, using nicknames instead of real names on big plays by their team -- and after the game, some of them were singing the schools fight song and yuking it up quite loud. Stressing hard to get something better for the second edition, I somewhat rudely asked them to please be quiet, and was ignored. At that point, something in me snapped, and I yelled, loud and angry, "Would you please shut the fork up? There are people here trying to do their jobs!"

I'm sure they thought I was big-city scribe, acting like a big-city asshole, and I felt bad about it later, but they piped down, and the other guys who covered my team thought I was a hero. That's the closest I've ever come to a "press box fight," but I'd be interested in hearing some of your stories, with or without names.

Was it Akron or Kent St.?

I would also guess OU, it has AC.

Akron or Kent have never defeated a BCS school.

Didn't Akron beat Pitt?

Northern Illinois over Maryland?

Without going back through old media guides (because I can't find them), I'm sure Akron and Kent State have beat BCS-conference teams — and I know Ohio beat Pitt last season — but I'm not certain whether either the Zips or Flashes have beat a ranked team.

How did we jack this thread into a MAC football discussion? Blech.

 

[markvid]

How did we jack this thread into a MAC football discussion? Blech.

 

[shockey]

Almost forgot about a classic in the Devils lockerroom (I think after a practice) between  Rich Chere of the  Star-Ledger and some woman reporrter from Asbury Park.

rich vs. some chick sounds about right. ;D ;D ;D

 

[maberger]

Almost forgot about a classic in the Devils lockerroom (I think after a practice) between  Rich Chere of the  Star-Ledger and some woman reporrter from Asbury Park.

rich vs. some chick sounds about right. ;D ;D ;D

might that have been kisha ciabattari, as in (from AJR of June 1996):

Phil Esposito , general manager of Tampa Bay's NHL hockey team, the Lightning, discovers that there is a price to pay for using choice words while talking to a reporter. Esposito was fined $10,000, the maximum allowed under NHL rules, for what the league called "inappropriate, vulgar and sexist" comments directed at Asbury Park Press reporter Kisha Ciabattari during a locker-room interview. Apparently Esposito told Ciabattari that he wouldn't talk with her if she were the last person on earth. Ciabattari responded by saying that made her lucky. Esposito then proceeded to deliver a litany of four-letter words, culminating in what the Press daintily described as "a profane statement about a sex act." Ciabattari laughed off the incident and chose not to write about it, but Press management stepped in on her behalf to request an apology from Esposito.

 

[lono]

There used to be a female reporter from the Orlando paper on the NASCAR beat. She thought she was a lot better than anyone else, that the regulars were just a bunch of bums, etc.

She went off on a long rant one day and started telling everyone how good she was, how she was the only one with a shred of integrity and how she was going to be the standard by which everyone else would be judged.

She concluded with: "I'm so good, that if you look in the dictionary under 'R' for reporter, you'll find my name," she huffed.

Without a moment's hesititation, Bruce Martin looked at her and said, "Ah, that's the problem! I was looking for your name under 'C.' "

 

[Keystone]

I've told this story in a past thread, but it bears repeating.

I was covering a girls basketball state final about 15 years ago and I was in my assigned seat. A couple seats down, a TV reporter -- who's there to cover the same team -- takes a seat. It's the first game of the day and press row is pretty empty, lots of open seats.
Anyway, in the third quarter these two guys come up. One taps TV guy on the shoulder and jerks his thumb without saying a word. TV guy asks him what's his problem and the other says to the effect: "Get the f*** out of my seat."
Now, TV guy was in the other guy's assigned seat. However, the other guy was being an ass about it from the start. TV guy waits for a timeout, stands up, and says "here's you're f****** seat, ass****." I thought TV guy was going to get decked, because the other jerk had a mean scowl on his face the entire time.
Turns out the guy who badly wanted his assigned seat was from some fanboy recruiting newspaper, and really had no business being there anyway.

And here's one from my Carolina League days: I actually had the radio guy from the visiting team get into a spat with the official scorer. Radio guy would wait until the commercial break and start yelling at him across the press box. The scorer would invite him over to his side to "talk about it," but radio guy had to go back on the air. Happened about two or three times. Radio guy would then rip the scorer on the air. I was sitting about halfway between them, so I would've had to break them up.

 

[markvid]

There used to be a female reporter from the Orlando paper on the NASCAR beat. She thought she was a lot better than anyone else, that the regulars were just a bunch of bums, etc.

She went off on a long rant one day and started telling everyone how good she was, how she was the only one with a shred of integrity and how she was going to be the standard by which everyone else would be judged.

She concluded with: "I'm so good, that if you look in the dictionary under 'R' for reporter, you'll find my name," she huffed.

Without a moment's hesititation, Bruce Martin looked at her and said, "Ah, that's the problem! I was looking for your name under 'C.' "

Wow.

 

[write then drink]

AP legend Ralph Bernstein, who had to be in his late 60s or early 70s at the time, punched the Eagles' PR director in the face in the press box at the Vet

nailed him pretty good. PR guy, Ron Howard, tried to get a few punches in but the two were separated pretty quickly

who knows what they were arguing about

it was hilarious

 

[boots]

Ron probably deserved it. he could be an arrogant sob.

 

[SixToe]

Furman Bisher, years ago, punched out a TV camera guy prior to a presser.

I wasn't there, unfortunately, but the story goes Furman was sitting there and the camera guy set up his tripod right in front of him. Furman asked him to move, since there was ample space. Guy smarts off to him and takes a shot in the chops.

Guy moved his tripod.

Also, many years ago, two guys in our shop got into a post-game, deadline screaming match in the press box about their story angles. Neither are in sports now.

 

[KP]

Allow me to rephrase this. Other than D3 wanna-be Temple, Kent State or Akron have never defeated a BCS opponent. Technically, Temple was. My apologizes.