Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 14, 2009

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

2007 Boston Red Sox

Manny Ramirez has dropped all pretense of hustling out of the box, choosing instead to admire his home runs from home plate -- even when they hit the top of the wall and bounce back (see: ALCS Game 5). Now the diminutive Dustin Pedroia has gotten into the act, flipping his bat Bret Boone-style after belting a home run in Game 7 of the ALCS. Then there are the wild celebrations and wacky dances (see: Jonathan Papelbon). If the showboating isn't reason enough to dislike these guys, there is always Curt Schilling, who is just as outspoken and opinionated as he is talented. What follows is a collection of some of the most infamous teams in sports -- teams that were so good and yet so obnoxious that fans either loved them or loved to hate them.

2006-07 Florida Gators

The greatest moment in Florida trash talking history: Joakim Noah blowing a kiss at a UCLA cheerleader (he claims she had been taunting him all along). Then there was Al Horford's little dance every time he scored, and a coach who would leave after the `Oh-fours were gone and then come back a few days later, and the fact that they predicted a second national championship during the celebration after winning their first ... but mostly it was all about Noah, who made a habit of outrageous celebrations.

1994 New York Knicks

Pat Riley learned his lesson well from the Bad Boys Pistons, molding the early '90s Knicks into a facsimile of those rough-and-tough Pistons. Led by John Starks, Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley, the overachieving Knicks scratched and clawed their way to the Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets.

1980s-90s Miami Hurricanes

The Hurricanes capped their decade as college football's renegade program in style, crushing the Texas Longhorns 46-3 in the 1991 Cotton Bowl despite getting flagged for a litany of personal fouls. They set the tone early, injuring Texas' returner on the opening kickoff. The signature moment would come on Randal Hill's 48-yard touchdown reception, after which he ran up the tunnel and did his six-shooters dance. Four years earlier, Miami drew national scorn for wearing army fatigues while arriving in Phoenix for a Fiesta Bowl showdown with Penn State.

1988-90 Oakland Athletics

The Bash Brothers (Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco) would punctuate their home runs (of which there were many) with their forearm "Bash" celebrations at home plate. Dennis Eckersley would cap every save with a windmill fist pump-and-point gesture at the batter. And, oh yeah, Rickey Henderson was on these teams. What made it all the more irritating is their amazing consistency -- 306 wins and three consecutive AL pennants.

1986 New York Mets

They boozed, brawled and pranced their way to the World Series championship. No curtain call was too superfluous to pass up, and no slight was too small to get worked up over. As Jeff Pearlman noted in his book, <i>The Bad Guys Won</i>, the Mets were so rowdy they trashed the team plane on the way back from winning the NLCS in Houston. In fact, he reports that one of the reasons the team was dismantled over the next several years was to get rid of the bad apples -- of which there were many.

1990s Dallas Cowboys

With the same star receiver (Michael Irvin) and the same head coach (Jimmy Johnson) as the Miami Hurricanes teams of the 1980s, it's no surprise these three-time world champion Cowboys engendered some of the same antipathy with their brash style. And that was before anybody found out about the "White House."

1989-90 Detroit Pistons

Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn were the enforcers of the "Bad Boys," who won back-to-back NBA titles on the strength of their suffocating defense and unrelenting physical style of play. Rival stars such as Larry Bird and Charles Barkley would be the first to testify to that.

1985 Chicago Bears

Their funky quarterback Jim McMahon mooned helicopters before leading the Bears to the Super Bowl XX title. They did the "Super Bowl Shuffle." Their vaunted 46 defense left a trail of maimed quarterbacks in its wake as Chicago finished the season 15-1. In the playoffs, they allowed a total of 10 points in three games. They would bring in defensive tackle/kitchen appliance William "The Refrigerator" Perry to run in touchdowns from the goal line, just to pour salt on the wound.

1977-78 New York Yankees

Bombastic Reggie Jackson was the straw that stirred the 1977-78 World Series champions, a tumultuous crew known as The Bronx Zoo for their endless clubhouse turmoil, backpage headlines and sniping with equally-bombastic owner George Steinbrenner.

1991-92 Duke Blue Devils

They were good, they had the swagger of national champions, and they stomped on chests. Or at least the most hated man in Kentucky -- Christian Laettner -- did, making his mark on Aminu Timberlake's chest in the 1992 regional final, then going on to hit the winning shot. Afterward, Coach K wasn't exactly a bundle of sportsmanship. Even his mentor, Bobby Knight, didn't speak to him for months following that tourney.

Michigan's Fab Five

Before showboating was synonymous with college basketball, there was Michigan's Fab Five of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. They introduced the baggy shorts, became fan favorites overnight and were the beginning of the flashy play -- and no one likes flashy play when it only goes one way.

1970s Oakland Raiders

They were scruffy pirates who refused to live by any of the NFL rules at the time -- they didn't dress up for road trips and they sat on their helmets during practice. The Raiders of Ted "Mad Stork" Hendricks, John "Tooz" Matsuzak and Jack "The Assassin" Tatum were the ones who cultivated the intimidating Silver and Black persona, all while displaying a "Commitment to Excellence" in the standings.

Broad Street Bullies

They won two Stanley Cups with David "The Hammer" Schultz. Pop quiz: Where does the nickname come from? Maybe from Schultz's ability to do what he did in one of the era's most famous fights, when he hammered the Rangers' Dale Rolfe. The Bullies were only fun to play against if you enjoyed getting your teeth extracted.

Big Bad Bruins

Bobby Orr revolutionized the game as an offensively-gifted defenseman with a not-so-charming personality. The Bruins won Stanley Cups in 1970 and '72 and made for good rivals of the Broad Street Bullies.

1960s Boston Celtics

The Celtics under Red Auerbach were famous for a few things: winning (nine titles in 10 years), Bob Cousy's showboating and, of course, the cigar Auerbach would light when a victory seemed to be in hand.