Joey Barton - Linkracer photo

Was Dennis Rodman different or as bad as he wanted to be?

UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is a bad dude - Adam Etheridge photo

Sports Notes - BAD BOYS DENNIS RODMAN & JOEY BARTON

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

When it comes to bad boys in sports the NBA's Dennis Rodman and the English Premiere Leagues Joey Barton are same, same but different - WHO IS Cain Velasquez?

Sunday August 14, 2011

BAD DUDES MAN - BAD F'n DUDES

When it comes to bad boys in sports the NBA's Dennis Rodman and the English Premiere Leagues Joey Barton are same, same but different as they say in Asia via a film title. For us as bad as they think they are they make us laugh… in a good way. To borrow a few words from the Rolling Stones Mick Jagger as we apply it to human behavior… IT'S A BITCH.

While watching the Arsenal vs. Newcastle game last night it was like a scene from back in my old neighborhood. When Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton grabbed Arsenal's Gervinho by the throat and pulled him up off the pitch after Grevinho went down with what Barton apparently perceived as a dive in his run towards the goal the fight was on.

The result being that the 22 boys from the hood (teammates) went to their respective colleagues rescue. With just a slight open handed slap on his face said to be from Gervinho, Barton tumbled to the ground like a ton of bricks which is not so good for a tough guy's image. Grevinho was given a red flag and sent off while Barton and all of his theatrics was given just a yellow card and he continued on.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger felt that to be fair both should have received a red or yellow card. Barton got the best of this tussle but not an Academy Award.

Barton first came to our attention as a Man City player in Bangkok, Thailand prior to the 2005-06 season in a pre season friendly against Bolton. Barton was on the mark with a dynamic strike on goal with a sliding right footed scorcher into the net. Who is that guy we asked?

He then goes after Bolton's then bigger than life Ivan Campo and tries to assault him on the pitch to which Campo flicked the smaller Barton off of him like a flea of an elephants back. Life went on and the game ended without another incident but Barton's torment didn't.

At the teams hotel the then 23-year-old Barton got into an argument with a 15-year-old Thai football fan. Barton assaulted the fan and the team sent him back to England to take some chill pills. More incidents followed in Barton's sorted career with a strong possibility that more hot tempered incidents will follow.

Barton has been described as the dirtiest player in the premiership, a style reflected in the high number of fouls he has committed during his career. He received 39 bookings and three red cards during his time at Manchester City. This physical approach was occasionally criticized by Kevin Keegan as excessive. Opta statistics rated Barton as the tenth best tackler in the Premier League for the 2004-05 season.

He was recently banished from team practices and told to practice alone due to his twitter tweets complaining about his displeasure with the way things are for him at Newcastle.

Given that Barton is not an exceptional player but a hard worker and a positive defensive force on a squad the question is will he chill out and realize his potential as a footballer? Stay tuned…

On the other hand Dennis Rodman continues to be a main attraction on our NR web site as he ranked 4th in our most recent NR To 10 ratings. Rodman received his Basketball Hall of Fame induction Friday. On the court Rodman was perceived as a bad dude earning him the name as a bad boy.

During his acceptance speech he admitted that he wanted to be different. That compliments what he told me when he first dyed his hair blond and was a new member of the San Antonio Spurs. What's up with that I asked? "Something different," was his reply.

Rodman went on to be as bad as he wanted to be. He acted in three action films and received negative reviews. A film was made of his life. After his NBA career was over Rodman settled down and is married with 2 children. He has come to terms with his mother who threw him out of the house as evidenced by her attendance at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Rodman has accomplished what he set out to do... be different. In the process he was an integral member of five NBA title winning teams. He may not be the person that others want or wanted him to be but for sure HE IS THE ONE AND ONLY DENNIS RODMAN.

In both Barton and Rodman's state of affairs Rodman was and Barton is consistent in their behavior. Like it or not they are not fake. Can one consider giving them credit for that? That's up to you.

MORE BAD DUDES

For the badest dude that we've ever seen award goes to the UFC's Cain Velasquez.

Former NBA star Charles Barkley said it and Caine Velasquez lives and is it i.e. bad dude man bad F'n dude. With the two big gashes under former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar's eyes was proof that Velsaquez has taken the title and reputation from Lesnar as being the badest dude on the planet. Lesnar gave himself that title. Amazingly Velasquez did it in 4:12 of the first round October 23, 2010 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California at UFC 121. Velasquez simply ripped the bad dude Lesnar apart.

Lesnar who has a massive Robo Cop build entered the fight as the favorite and had a 40 pound weight advantage 270-230 over the former two time NCAA All-American wrestling champion at Arizona State University.

Velasquez remains undefeated with his 9-0 record. He hasn't fought since the Lesnar fight but is scheduled to meet Junior Dos Santos November 19th in UFC 139 in San Jose, California.

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