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Ranking Boston’s greatest sports villains, with Kyrie on the mind originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Everyone loves a good villain. Without Lex Luthor, Superman is just kind of a self-righteous drip. Without Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker is merely a petulant brat whining about power converters. Without the Wicked Witch or Hannibal Lecter … you get the idea.
Boston sports has seen its share of villains, dating back to Harry Frazee and his sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees, birthing one dynasty and burying another. The mere presence of a player, coach, or executive we love to hate immediately ratchets up the drama – finally vanquishing the Yankees in 2004 felt extra special because we knew George Steinbrenner had to watch it.
This brings us to the 2024 NBA Finals, which ostensibly pit the Celtics vs. the Mavericks, but are really just as much about Boston vs. Kyrie Irving. The traitorous guard packed a multitude of sins into his short Celtics tenure, and he undoubtedly will be the focus of ire when Game 1 tips off in TD Garden on Thursday.
But where does he rank among Boston’s biggest villains of the last 50 years? In honor of Irving’s No. 11, here are the top 11 scoundrels, malefactors, and reprobates in Boston sports history. (If you’re wondering why Bernard Pollard, destroyer of Patriots, doesn’t make the list, it’s because his knockout blows of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski lacked intent, unlike some others on this list).
11. John Henry
A recent addition that five years ago would’ve been unthinkable. John Henry, overseer of four World Series titles, a villain?
Ever since the firing of Dave Dombrowski, though, Henry has morphed into the worst kind of owner – absentee, disengaged, miserly. The Red Sox have become irrelevant on his watch, more concerned with the rest of their vast portfolio than the club that puts the “Fenway” in FSG.
Transform a marquee franchise into an afterthought through conscious (in)action, and yeah, you’re a villain.
10. David Price
He manned up in the 2018 playoffs and the Red Sox don’t win a World Series without him, but Price was so poisonously miserable in Boston that he deserves…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ranking-bostons-greatest-sports-villains-173203836.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-06-03 17:32:03
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