It was an unexpected development, a disturbing development. We needed some time to collect our thoughts and reconcile our feelings about it. We were waiting until we could find a way to express our concern properly.
Luckily, while we waited, Wizards center Brendan Haywood came through and did it for us.
On July 24, former Celtics reserve Stephon Marbury broadcasted a 24-hour live chat. He sat in his kitchen, sans shirt, ranting and raving and answering fan questions as an average of 2,200 people tuned in for the madness. He didn’t sleep. He just talked — about hating the haters, about love and peace, about visiting Israel and more.
It was supposed to be funny. It was, for a couple hours. Then, it wasn’t.
We’ll leave the rest to Mr. Haywood. Ladies and gentlemen…
“At first it was cool, but after a while it just became disturbing. He’s on YouTube crying with no shirt on for no reason, sweating while his boy’s rubbing his shoulders. What’s that about? …I don’t understand it. He’s dancing to a song called ‘Barbie Doll,’ doing like stripper moves. I have no idea what’s going on with the guy. It’s almost like he’s trying to end his own career. There’s not a GM out there that would touch Marbury right now… Have you seen the ‘Barbie Doll’ clip? Click on YouTube and go to Barbie Doll.”
–Washington center Brendan Hayward, on Hardcore Sports Radio, on Stephon Marbury’s 24-hour live chat
"We're 8-4 against them this season. We beat them half the time."
— Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, in the New York Daily News, on their season record against the Yankees before Boston’s 20-11 loss on Friday
“We all know how that [expletive] works. It’s not like I’m the most friendly guy ever. But I’m not going kiss somebody’s [expletive] just to have somebody vote for me. I’m not going to get outside my comfort zone just to make sure that happens.”
–Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett, on WEEI, on the politics behind Cy Young voting
"He [J.D. Drew] said to me in the [ninth], he goes, ‘I don’t know if I can finish this game.’ I said, ‘Look at the scorecard, you have to. We already put a pitcher in to run.’ That’s all we had to do was put somebody out there in right — like a circus. So we’re trying to take care of him for a couple days.’’
–Terry Francona, in The Boston Globe, on right fielder J.D. Drew asking out of the Aug. 14 game against the Rangers, when the roster was so thin that Clay Buchholz was used as a pinch runner
"I needed a chance for my groin to catch up, and it worked out that I had a couple of days with the day off. Definitely, when I came back and started playing, I felt a heck of a lot better than I did going into it."
–Drew, in the Globe, after hitting two home runs against Toronto upon recovering from a sore groin
"Sure, there have been times when I was tired, but when the game ended, I was always glad I played. When you start looking for reasons to pull yourself out of the lineup you’ll find yourself doing it more and more. A lot of guys have ended careers too early by getting into that habit of wanting time off.”
–Red Sox legend Carl Yazstremski in the Boston Herald
“What do you expect? Who are the Red Sox playing? The Yankees. What else do you expect but some controversy involving the Red Sox and Yankees? I was misquoted.”
— Hall of Famer Jim Rice, on Yahoo Sports, on comments he made that insinuated players like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez cannot compare to the players he played against
“Guess we might as well pack it up and call it a year.”
–Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay, on sportingnews.com, after Boston fell a game behind Texas in the wild-card standings earlier in the week
"I think it's always best if you can [be open and speak your mind] — because if you don't, you can end up holding so much stuff in that at the end of the day it can be combustible. That's how we ended up with the last coach."
–Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, in the L.A. Times, on former coach Eric Mangini
“We’ve got to try to win some games. We’re against the ropes, you know? It’s all about winning games right now. That’s it. We can’t be losing games right now. You’ve got to win as many as you can — so your family can watch you in October on TV.’’
–Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, in the Globe, after Boston dropped two of three to the Rangers
“It’s going to be an absolute battle all three games. … It’s going to be fun. They’re a good team. We’re a good team. It’s at their place, and they want to send a message.”
–Yankees RF Nick Swisher, in the Hartford Courant, prior to this weekend’s three-game series against the Red Sox
“I mean, not right at the moment. Could it happen? I don’t know. We’ve coached some fast players. [I] coached Michael Bates in Cleveland, and he was an Olympic sprinter so they weren’t any faster than Michael Bates and he was a good football player for us. So, yeah, we’ve had those kind of, over the course of my career, I’ve coached those kinds of players, those kinds of sprinters and those kinds of athletes.”
—Bill Belichick on the possibility of Usain Bolt joining the Patriots
“I felt 10 pounds overweight today. After an off-day like that I had yesterday, I just, my body wasn’t clicking. It wasn’t in that usual state that it’s in after the off-day.”
–Papelbon, in the Globe, after struggling to hold the Blue Jays at bay in Boston’s 10-9 win on Tuesday
“I didn’t expect much after only two-and-a-half days.”
–Vikings quarterback Brett Favre, in the Kansas City Star, after completing one pass for four yards in his 2009 preseason debut
"Oh, it just feels great. It feels like a car ran over it."
–Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, on ESPN.com, after injuring his Achilles’ tendon when left tackle Max Starks accidentally stepped on it during practice
