Mustang71, Cuban handled the loss to Miami with class, even staying on the court after game 7 was finished to lead the cheers for the Heat, and shaking hands with the members of the team. True, he bitched about the officiating during the series, but anyone could see that there were some real stinkers by the refs, and not just in Miami's favor, they blew 'em both ways.
I will agree with the Stockton addition. He's dirty in all the little ways. If John Stockton was a football player, he'd be the guy that bit your leg at the bottom of a pile. Watch him close up for a while and you'll see more elbows, slaps, hand checks, body checks, and blatant pushes and forearms than Michael Jackson ever thought of. Lester Hayes was so covered in stick 'em when he went on the field, his Raider teammates used to joke that balls would stick to his shoulder pads, jersey, and helmet. The old Raider Myth is that Lester was working out one day in practice, didn't see the pass coming, it hit him right between the numbers and just stuck there...on the back of his jersey.
Yerfatma- your right. I just thought that would give you a better judgement of his character. But about the "pushing" thing, I dont consider it list worthy, do you?
I'm not a big Reggie Bush fan, but I do think "the push" shouldn't have made the list. Ask just about any lineman, and he'll tell you that there's holding on every play. DB's get accolades for taking "good" pass interference penalties because the play would have led to a score otherwise. There are horror stories about what goes on under the pile when there's a fumble. My point is that guys consciously choose to do things on every play that are illegal, because they think the reward of a big play (or preventing one) is greater than the risk of getting caught. Bush cheated, the refs missed the call, his team scored. Was it wrong? Sure. Was it any more egregious than diving at a receiver's ankles and tripping him up because he's got you beat for the winning TD? I can't see it that way. Reggie just got caught on camera on a decisive play in "The Big Game". Otherwise, most of us would have completely forgotten it by now.
But about the "pushing" thing, I dont consider it list worthy, do you? No, even as a Notre Dame fan I can't claim that. My feeling is if you're making such a list, it should be people for whom cheating was entertwined with their game.
What about Dewayne Wade? He got away with pushing off Dirk Nowitzke with 1:20 to go in the final game of the NBA championship this year. Nowitzke got called for the foul. On the ensuing play, Wade pulled Josh Howard's jersey to keep him from shooting a three with about :50 left. No call.... Dallas was down by one when he pushed off and down by three when he pulled the jersey. No harm, no foul, right?!
Oh, by the way, I could care less about either team, but it was so obvious....
Don't forget about the E.Germans olympic "WOMEN'S" swim team.
GoHorns & The_Black_Hand: You were correct about Lester Hayes' use of stick-um, but so did Fred. It seems that Lester (a rookie in 1977) learned the trick from Fred (a rookie in 1965), and the NFL actually made it illegal in 1981, so until it was outlawed, I guess it wasn't actually cheating. At least, it didn't hurt Fred in the eyes of the Hall of Fame voters.
You helped me see basketball as the sport of cheaters. Odd...
You helped me see basketball as the sport of cheaters. Odd... WTF are you talking about?
And no such list would be complete without Boris Onischenko, Soviet modern pentathlete with rigged fencing sword (it would register a hit at the push of a button, as opposed to when one actually landed).
The 1972 Soviet Olympic basketball win over the U.S. This one sure dates my ass.
Yeah, I agree with mjkredliner. I don't see it as cheating until it was outlawed. Just like the Andro situation with McGwire. Not cheating until outlawed by MLB.
