Whoah

Pat Riley and the Miami Heat solidify their status as the most loathsome coach and most loathsome team in the NBA. Reuters reports:

Riley gave Bush a jersey and then told the audience: "I voted for the man. If you don't vote you don't count."
Addressing reporters later, Riley denied that he had injected politics into the ceremony. "I'm pro-American, pro-democracy, I'm pro-government," the coach said. "I follow my boss. He's my boss."

As Jason Zengerle reminds us, Rasheed Wallace had a much choicer response when it was the Pistons' turn to meet the President. The interesting thing about the Heat's loathesomeness, in my view, is that their star, Dwyane Wade, while not my favorite player, is also totally non-loathesome. Thus, it's hard to be happy when he gets injured. At the same time, given the way it screws Riley and the rest of his crew of washed-up losers, it's hard to be upset.

2/28/07 4:05PM del.icio.us this incoming links

Comments

Riley's a douchebag. This is news? And regarding the loathsomeness of of Wade: don't oversell it.

Posted by: SomeCallMeTim on February 28, 2007 04:20 PM

Open italic tag f---ing up the program, Matt.

Posted by: dj moonbat on February 28, 2007 04:26 PM

No - you're his boss.

Posted by: otto on February 28, 2007 04:28 PM

Yes, you need a close italic tag. In related news, why the hell doesn't the blog-publishing program detect and patch unclosed tags?

Posted by: mk on February 28, 2007 04:31 PM

Anybody who uses that much hair gel is either a mafioso, a Republican, or San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. And seeing as how modern-day Repubs are pretty much wannabe mobsters and Newsom is an ally-cuckolding politically-expeditious alcoholic, that's quite douchetastic company. What's more, royally fucking over Stan van Gundy was a very Newsom-esque betrayal. Methinks the Axis of Hair Gel awakens!

Posted by: Gregorio on February 28, 2007 04:42 PM

Now I can't hate Riley so much any more. On a related note, thanks to Agent Zero for shooting 7 for 25 last night!

Posted by: Al on February 28, 2007 04:47 PM

What am I missing? Riley says it's important to vote. He doesn't say, unless I'm misunderstanding, that you suck if you don't vote Republican.

Posted by: Steve on February 28, 2007 04:49 PM

It's clearly started in Article II: "The President shall be the Coach in Chief of the National Basketball Association."

Posted by: Aaron S. Veenstra on February 28, 2007 04:50 PM

Weren't Riley's Lakers supposed to embody social-democratic statism?

Posted by: Wade on February 28, 2007 04:55 PM

Apropos of the above, I would remind people that, when David Robinson made his truly loathsome "love it or leave it" remarks concerning Steve Nash's and Nick Van Exel's opposition to the war, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (who previously coached at the Air Force Academy) pointedly refused to endorse Robinson's view. Popovich would only say that that's what's great about America, people can disagree.

Posted by: kth on February 28, 2007 05:00 PM

when David Robinson made his truly loathsome "love it or leave it" remarks concerning Steve Nash's and Nick Van Exel's opposition to the war

Wow, I hadn't heard that one. That's disappointing.

Posted by: SomeCallMeTim on February 28, 2007 05:02 PM

Hey Steve- voting for Bush is bad enough. But admitting it— nay, trumpeting it in the national media in light of the last three years is sheer insanity. That hair gel must be seeping into the ol' man's brain. Supporting Bush is technically permissible but morally indefensible in 2007; yes I am intolerant. I am intolerant of willful ignorance, pigheaded malevolence, or unbridled greed. Into which category does Riley, Bush Voter, fall? Those are the categories; check all that apply.

Posted by: Gregorio on February 28, 2007 05:25 PM

If you want to see Riley at his best, click here. Painful.

Posted by: thehim on February 28, 2007 05:27 PM

damn Riley is such a prick. Since Wade is out, I wish he would go on leave again.

Posted by: MP on February 28, 2007 05:29 PM

I couldn't find the quote, though the controversy is mentioned on Steve Nash's Wikipedia page. Wingnut sports pundit Skip Bayless is also quoted as saying Nash should just "shut up and play". Nice to know Bayless is a Laura Ingraham fan.

Posted by: kth on February 28, 2007 05:30 PM

thehim: Yikes.

On an unrelated note, is A.C. Green still a virgin?

Posted by: Antid Oto on February 28, 2007 05:40 PM

I think Riley just made these comments to distract from his lack of an exit strategy from the Heat coaching job. Where's Stan Van Gundy when you need him?!

Posted by: bwunderlick on February 28, 2007 05:47 PM

I'm no Bush guy either, but if I'm not mistaken, there are tens of millions of Bush supporters, even today. Are they really all reprehensible human beings?

That said, Riley is a total dick.

Posted by: too many steves on February 28, 2007 05:49 PM

Leave Riles alone, you resentful bully. If you want to talk about loathsome, talk about the Wizards hideous new black and gold uniforms.

Riley actually gives 100% of his campaign contributions to Democrats and Democratic causes. He donated to America Coming Together PAC in 2004, which in turn, gave money to Barack Obama. All Obama supporters owe Riley some slack.

http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/

Posted by: Just Karl on February 28, 2007 05:59 PM

"...there are tens of millions of Bush supporters, even today. Are they really all reprehensible human beings?"

Yes.

Posted by: bob mcmanus on February 28, 2007 06:04 PM

bob, you must be a fun guy to hang around with. Have you polled your friends yet and purged the Bush voters?

Posted by: too many steves on February 28, 2007 06:16 PM

i love that people who think of themselves as progressive have no problems finding tens of millions of their fellow citizens reprehensible, beyond the pale, etc., based on a single data point. you have to have no sense of irony not to realize how much that smacks of hitler or stalin or any other world historical hater (though i guess following stalin makes some sense if you're so far left you're right). where's your famed tolerance now? does that only extend to people in other countries who might do truly reprehensible things but get a pass based on misguied relativism? why doesn't relativism extend to republicans?

Posted by: dj superflat on February 28, 2007 06:18 PM

On an unrelated note, is A.C. Green still a virgin?

I'm not sure, but that video certainly helped his efforts to remain celibate.

Posted by: thehim on February 28, 2007 07:00 PM

but if I'm not mistaken, there are tens of millions of Bush supporters, even today. Are they really all reprehensible human beings?

I think you mean tens of thousands, right? Of course, I'm one of them, so I can joke.

Posted by: Al on February 28, 2007 07:14 PM

http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/

Hey, that's cool! I wonder why Muhammed Ali gave $2000 to Anne Northrup?

Posted by: Al on February 28, 2007 07:29 PM

"bob, you must be a fun guy to hang around with. Have you polled your friends yet and purged the Bush voters?"

Purged my last Republican friends and family members back early in the Reagan administration. I still have some cautious and polite contact with independents and Libertarians.

Posted by: bob mcmanus on February 28, 2007 07:42 PM

you have to have no sense of irony not to realize how much that smacks of hitler or stalin or any other world historical hater (though i guess following stalin makes some sense if you're so far left you're right).

Really does smack of Hitler, yeah. I'm sure everyone with any sense of irony agrees, although frankly, I didn't know irony was required in order to make Hitler comparisons.

Let's count up all the people who claim millions of their fellow citizens are subhuman because they happen to be gay. Heck, let's count up all the dittoheads who believe liberals are evil God-haters. Oh, wait, can't complain about those people, because they never claimed to be tolerant! And if you say anything bad about them, then you're just as bad a hater as they are. Oooh, the irony.

Posted by: Steve on February 28, 2007 07:46 PM

you have to have no sense of irony not to realize how much that smacks of hitler or stalin or any other world historical hater

You have to have a pretty poor sense of history to believe that finding people who voted for and continue to support this (deeply unAmerican) Administration reprehensible is comparable to the various acts of Hitler or Stalin which we find so horrific. Or so I would think. But, then, maybe what troubles you about Hitler and Stalin is different than what troubles everyone else on the face of the earth.

Posted by: SomeCallMeTim on February 28, 2007 07:59 PM

love that people who think of themselves as progressive have no problems finding tens of millions of their fellow citizens reprehensible, beyond the pale, etc., based on a single data point.

I think using the phrase "beyond the pale" in a non-Israel thread is beyond the pale.

you have to have no sense of irony not to realize how much that smacks of hitler or stalin or any other world historical hater

Godwin strikes again!

Posted by: DJ Ninja on February 28, 2007 08:28 PM

Hey dj superflat— the difference between me and old Iosif Vissarionovich Djugashvili is that I believe in educating and debating my woefully deluded opponents, and self-righteously "praying for their souls" if all else fails. But your Coulteresque invocation of Hitler and Stalin to assault my glaring "liberal intolerance" raises an intriguing point: could Repubs and NeoCons benefit from a little political rehab? If they can steer Haggard straight, perhaps with a couple intense, prayer-filled spirit weekends we can instill the historical perspective and human decency necessary to shift the most diehard Freepers leftwards— perhaps eventually to embrace my insidious "secular-progressive" mindset. We could round up all the bush voters and force them into our "NeoConcentration Camps." How does that sound? I'll start sewing patches on dress shirts, you can start purchasing some precious, 2nd Amendment protected assault rifles. ¡Viva la Revolución!

Posted by: Comrade Gregorio on February 28, 2007 09:20 PM

I wonder why Muhammed Ali gave $2000 to Anne Northrup?

Because someone else is in charge of his finances?

Riley needs to be told, quietly, that you can't be 'pro-government' and pro-Bush, since that codpieced fuckhead hates the thing.

Posted by: pseudonymous in nc on March 1, 2007 12:11 AM

anent Ali: "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. "

Posted by: Jeffrey Davis on March 1, 2007 09:08 AM

FYI A.C. Green got married a couple years ago and apparently consummated successfully.

Posted by: CH on March 1, 2007 09:58 AM

so sensitive, aren't we. i find it funny that it's somehow debatable that saying you're willing to write off roughly half of your fellow countryfolk as "reprehensible" is little different from the intolerance demonstrated by the far right towards gays or the kkk towards blacks or whatever. as for the suggestion that dehumanizing the opposition is the first step on the road to mass slaughter, that's not particularly controversial so far as i know. oh, i forgot, your intolerance is just right, because, you know, it's rational or something. see, me, when i find someone's views abhorrent, like the way portions of the far right thinks of gays, i try to distance myself from that by making sure i don't do the same in turn and say all people who believe that are themselves reprehensible. many of them may be, but many are likely misguided, ignorant, all sorts of stuff.

but you're right, let's all just cast stones, much more fun that way (and likely to lead to serious fights).

Posted by: dj superflat on March 1, 2007 01:54 PM

You're starting to sound like the DCCC. I have plenty of "conservative" friends and yes, even family members. And none of them support Bush any longer; even the most diehard among them can barely muster up a positive thing to say about Iraq outside of "Saddam's gone." Now, as a bleeding heart liberal, I'm all for loving thy enemy, but there's a difference between tolerance and calling a spade an articulate, bright, clean and nice-looking spade. If you have a functioning brain and currently support this administration, you MUST be some combination of stubborn, delusional or malevolent. You cannot live in the fact-based world and genuinely defend the actions of this insane regime. I am sorry dj superflat, but the only thing a Bush supporter gets from me is my deepest condolences.

Oh, and good job invoking the KKK. NAZIs, KKK, what's next? Armenian Genocide? Darfur? Hiroshima and Nagasaki? I'm sorry that my anti-Bush bias drives you to the rhetorical fringe, buddy. Maybe while you're out there you can go Encyclopedia shopping with Ann Coulter and Ted Rall.

Posted by: Gregorio on March 1, 2007 02:28 PM

you really have to get over yourself. the notion that you can presume to judge millions upon millions of folk based on one data point is just plain silly. not really worth the bother, but if you'd like me to introduce you to objectively smart, balanced people who nonetheless continue to support bush, i'd be happy to do so (this isn't appeal to authority, but the assumption that it's all just ignorant folk is kinda silly, and can be demonstrably proven false (oh, you're right, the sample group of conservatives you may tolerate conclusively proves something about millions of other folk, very scientific (by contrast, i've only gotta show you a couple unreprehensible bush supporters for you to be demonstrably wrong)).

and please don't presume you know my politics, if you read this carefully (assuming you can do that), i've not commented on the merits of the positions, rather the meta-question of why demonizing -- sorry, calling reprehensible -- all those who disagree with you seems defensible rather than silly. i recognize histrionics is fun, go to.

Posted by: dj superflat on March 1, 2007 05:09 PM

objectively smart, balanced people who nonetheless continue to support bush
These aren't hipsters from that Squelched article, right?

The Heuristic Squelch

Hipsters Rally Around Bush
Sean Keane, Square, Vol.14 Iss.2

A recent Gallup poll of likely voters shows a surprising groundswell of support for President Bush in the hipster community.

"Bush's handling of the war in Iraq is so bad, it's good," explained Moffitt Library employee Erin Reardon, wearing a Halliburton trucker hat and a "Lugar '96" T-shirt. "The kitsch value of his corporate deregulation efforts and incredibly regressive tax policies is off the charts."

The Bush presidency inspires nostalgia for many hipsters. Fans of 1980s cultural landmarks such as leg warmers and jelly shoes can relate to the "retro" Bush administration's deficit spending and massive military buildup. Groups of hipsters gather to watch Bush's speeches, ostensibly for their ironic entertainment value, while VH1's Best Presidency Ever has garnered spectacular ratings among the prized 18-to-34 demographic.

For some hipsters, the presidential choice boils down to defying the mainstream and even their own judgment. A sombrero-wearing hipster was succinct in his explanation. "Why am I voting for Bush?" he asked. "Because I hate him."

Posted by: Gregorio on March 1, 2007 06:18 PM

brilliant -- so ironic, i can't even tell if it's onionesque without looking it up (hipsters have done stupider things). back now, see that it's satire. awesome. thanks for directing me to a great mag (you can never have too much brilliantly biting satire).

Posted by: dj superflat on March 1, 2007 06:47 PM

Fighting fire with fire, how cute! In this case, it's irony with sarcasm, but... OW my brain hurts! I'll just settle for being dismissive and patronizing, pal! Say howdy to your intellectual Bushies for me; if they're not the CEOs of Exxon and Halliburton already, they are missing out on some serious cheddah!

Keep it real, dawg! WOOf!

Posted by: Gregorio on March 1, 2007 07:41 PM

actually, i was serious about the mag, i like it. and i hate to disappoint, but i'm not republican (i'd respond the same way if (e.g.) you claimed all people who support the death penalty are reprehensible, even though i'm opposed to the death penalty). why do people have such trouble distinguishing between (i) one's position on an issue and (ii) one's opinion re whether a given position is insane, reprehensible, whatever. for many people, the two fairly often diverge (i like how the spurs play ball, but i understand how one might hate it; i understand being in favor of the death penalty, even if i'm opposed in most cases; i supported the invasion of afghanistan, but understand why people would oppose it; i ride my bike to work, but don't villify those who drive; etc.).

Posted by: dj superflat on March 1, 2007 08:17 PM

I believe your charity of spirit is an asset in some cases, but I believe you are being far too forgiving of Bush apologists. Also, glad you like the Squelch. I write for them intermittently, and it's mostly cock jokes. I did a political piece on Stephen Colbert ironically winning the South Carolina Governorship, but they cut out the funniest part— a fugitive slave hanging from South Carolina's Palmetto tree. That said, I like making top tens about cocks. Isn't it great how now we're internet friends? Maybe there's hope for these wacky Dems and Repubs after all! I have faith! I can almost see Hannity and Colmes finally consummating their long-seething sexual tensions on air, live, as a tearful Sean Hannity shouts "Freedom for All People" with Colmes rocking with orgasmic ecstasy inside his burly co-anchor's tender backside.

Oh barf, I've done it again.

Posted by: Gregorio on March 1, 2007 08:31 PM

am i evil cause i thought the palmetto tree bit was funny? as for the hannity porn, that's just creepy. anyways, cheers.

Posted by: dj superflat on March 1, 2007 08:56 PM

funny in a southcarolinastillscaresme way, that is (colbert, by contrast, is generally just funny funny).

Posted by: dj superflat on March 1, 2007 08:58 PM

Only in America!

Posted by: Don King on March 1, 2007 08:59 PM

güzel sözler chat

Posted by: güzel sözler on August 23, 2007 10:36 PM

sohbet chat

Posted by: sohbet on August 23, 2007 10:40 PM