Talking NFL

Since I began this blog, I have had the utmost respect & admiration for the writers over at Cold Hard Football Facts. Now I have a sincere case of man-love for them.

But first, some background on our story: for those of you unfamiliar with the work of one Mr. Ron Borges of the Boston Globe (aka. Mr. Wonderful), well, let’s just say he is a Patriot ‘contrarian’, to put things mildly. Now, with regards to being a sports writer who pokes holes in the current team & management - I really don’t have a problem with that, per se. In fact, most cities need this voice of dissention to offset the rest of the pom-pom waivers that make up the local media. However, in Borges case, he has brought a new level of douche-baggery never before seen in this art form. (Here’s his Globe staff picture:)

He has so infuriated the writers over at Cold Hard Football Facts and Boston Sports Media Watch, that last year, they combined to pen the epic, “Fire Ron Borges, the Broadsheet Bully” article. Here, you’ll find most of the reasons why Boston sports fans cannot stand Borges. Among them:

- Predicted a 73-0 win by St. Louis over New England in Super Bowl XXXVI
- Said on the radio, “I use to think that the fans were smart around here, but they’re drunk.”
- Said, “Anyone who would choose Brady over Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is “an idiot.”
- For the divisional AFC playoff round, was caught picking the Chargers in the Boston Globe, then the Patriots on MSNBC.com (will the real Ron Borges please stand up?).
- Took a swing at boxing writer Michael Katz, who wears a neck brace, walks with a cane, and was described as an overweight man in his 60s.

What’s even more amazing than that last accusation, is Borges interview with Boston Magazine, in which he is not only unapologetic for his actions, but he hits a 10.5 on the douchebag meter.

- When responding to the quote about calling Boston fans “drunk” and “idiots” his reply was, “I didn’t used to think that, but I’ve met some of them.�?
- Regarding the Michael Katz incident; “[he] is no cripple. I knocked his cap off. Then he hopped up and started swinging his cane around like Zorro, so I had to disarm him.�?

Amazingly, he says all this while ‘drinking a pink smoothie through a straw.’ Can you talk about beating up another guy while drinking a pink smoothie? Somebody get the Man Law guys over at Miller Lite on this one…

But of course, his big claim to fame is going after Coach Belichick, which he’s done ever since he arrived in Foxborough. He started off by declaring that he should have drafted David Terrell over Richard Seymour (how’s that working out?). He has also compared Bill to Emperor Hirohito on sports radio. When confronted on this in the Boston Mag article, his response was, “at least I didn’t call him Hitler.�?

Most recently, he has taken some thinly veiled shots at the coach’s character, due to Belichick’s divorce & allegations about a relationship with a married woman. When asked about some of the more questionable attacks he makes, Borges had this to say:

“Sometimes I wish I had a better filter. But then I wouldn’t be where I am. Or it would be phony. And that’s worse to me.�?

As Morpheus would say; fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

On Sunday, the boys over at Cold Hard Football Facts got their smoking gun, care of a reader tip. They immediately published a story revealing that Boston Globe sports writer Ron Borges had apparently plagiarized an article written originally by Mike Sando of the New Tribune in Tacoma, Washington. In the CHFF posting, they provide not one, not two, but SIX clear examples of plagiarism.

This is where you have to give the boys over at CHFF props. When your opponent accidentally hands you a loaded weapon, you go for the kill. So not only did they post a link to Borges story and a link to the Mike Sando article, but they passed on the emails to what appears to be the entire executive staff of the Boston Globe with the encouragement to “pass along your greetings to the Globe bigwigs” and ask, “Is this what you call plagiarism?”

Before you know it, the CHFF blog site was littered with copies of angry emails sent to the Globe (My personal favorites are the “worst column I’ve seen…in my 58 years”, “sh!t-can him!” and “Colts fan could be more objective than Borges”, written by a Colts fan (I know that doesn’t have anything to do with the plagiarism, I just thought it was funny…)

Later in the afternoon, Deadspin got their claws on the story, meaning that sports fans across the country were being introduced to Ron Borges - douchebag extraordinaire. Apparently, by late evening, the Globe had seen enough, and published the following statement on Boston.com:

The Boston Globe today suspended without pay for two months a veteran sports reporter, Ron Borges, after allegations that he had plagiarized a portion of a football column from another sportswriter.

…and David slew Goliath.

So what does this all mean? First and foremost - if you plagiarize, then you are a douchebag. If you were all ready a douchebag, and then get caught plagiarizing, you are a d-bag squared. Also, in life, they say you reap what you sow. So when you plant the seeds of hate throughout your career, you can’t be surprised when one of those seedlings comes back and takes a big bite out of your ass. Is Borges completely cooked? Probably not, but there’s a big hole in his reputation (or just a bigger hole, depending who you ask), and he might lose some of those other gigs he currently has (HBO.com, MSNBC.com, WBCN, ESPN Radio). It will definitely get worse for him before it gets better.

All thanks to the boys over at Cold Hard Football Facts. Well done, sirs. Well done, indeed.

Ron Borges, Cold Hard Football Facts, plagiarism, Boston Sports Media Watch, douchebag