In light of the recent news stories regarding the collapsed Ron Artest trade to Sacramento (which looks like it might happen after all), I have a question: Who would get your vote for the most self-centered personality in sports today. Here’s my list of nominees: all you sports buffs, feel free to weigh in with your own.
1. Terrell Owens – “T.O.” epitomizes everything wrong with professional sport. After throwing teammate Jeff Garcia under the bus, Owens essentially talked his way out of San Fransisco. After balking at a proposed deal to the Ravens, Owens teamed up with Donovan McNabb to lead the Eagles to last year’s Super Bowl. What a difference 12 months can make. Owens single handedly wrecked the Eagles season with his preseason holdout and his cancerous antics. He stands as the most self-centered figure on the sporting landscape.
2. The aforementioned Artest – 6 weeks after requesting a trade from the Pacers, Artest nixed last night’s proposed deal to the Kings. The Pacers were relying on Artest to be a key contributor in their run at Eastern Conference dominance, but his self-centered attitude torpedoed those aspirations. Anyone who takes on this headcase can expect more of the same. Remember this is the same guy who wanted to take a month off at the start of the ’04 season to promote a rap album. He followed that up with the ugly incident we’ll always remembe him for: rushing into the crowd to confront a fan.
3. Chad Johnson – Mr. Self Promotion. Everytime he performs one of his asanine end zone celebrations, I long for the humility of Barry Sanders, who ALWAYS tossed the football nonchalantly back to the ref after every TD. The reason: he didn’t want it to look like he’d never scored a touchdown before. Class.
4. Barry Bonds – Every sport has a few prima donnas, but none are as egotistical as Mr. Balco. From the lazy boys in the clubhouse, to the big screen that can only be seen from HIS locker, to his refusal to even shag fly balls with his teammates, Bonds communicates loud and clear that he’s different than the rest of his teammates. It says something about a guy when he hits his 500th career home run and none of his teammates so much as move a muscle to congratulate him. Bonds may stand atop the MLB homer list someday but rest asurred, he will stand there the same way he played the game…alone.
5. Latrell Sprewell – Mr. “I’m just trying to feed my family” continues to be unemployed. In light of the poverty figures I cited yesterday, I can’t even dignify Sprewell’s idiocy with further comment.
already & not yet 
Ed,How do I get the pictures of the random Hispanic people off my page? I’ve tried a few things….I need help.
1. Brian Bosworth goes down in history as a very self-centered person. He once made “I hate Boz” posters and sold them to the fans in Seattle, without them knowing he had provided them for sale.2. T.O. is up there as the most egotiscal in my opinion. Anyone who makes that much money, and then wants more because he says he’s so good…sheesh.3. Pete Rose: After betting on baseball, showing he cared more about himself than his team, he releases a book to tell everyone he lied about lying.honorable mention: Ricky Williams, Curt Schilling, A.J. Pierzynski
I’m a Chad Johnson fan. He doesn’t fit in with the rest of yours. There isn’t anger, hostility or sociopathy connected with his behavior. Just fun. Yeah, not necessarily humble but not self-destructive either.
Rose ranks up there with the worst of ’em. Anybody who would skew the sanctity of the game by betting on his own team (at least as a manger, probbaly as a player) puts his own interests above that of his own team. Granted, there’s not much sanctity left in baseball these days. Johnson fits in perfectly with the list. I’m ranking the most self-centered individuals in sport. Nothing screams self-promotion more than Johnson’s idiotic end zone antics. All you did was catch the ball, CJ. Walk off the field and go thank your quarterback, your offensive linemen and your offensive coordinator before you celebrate. And how can a Steeler fan root for Chad Johnson?
All Chad Johnson does is catch the ball. He has to rely completely on at least 7 other guys (quarterback, center, line, blocks) for the ball to get to him. A receiver should never be self-centered. I’ll have to agree he’s up there.
growing up the bengals were my second-favorite team. I’ve always liked them.
That’s like me saying the Cubs are my 2nd favorite team. Guess they haven’t always been in the same division? Don’t know my NFL realignment history…
No,they have always been in the same division. However, when I was 5 I didn’t understand those nuances of the game.
“How do I get the pictures of the random Hispanic people off my page? I’ve tried a few things….I need help.”I don’t see any random Hispanic people…but I do see dead people (hehe).Jason, you’re right–you do need help! 😉
Scott, so were you torn when the Steelers and Bengals locked horns in the opening round of the playoffs? I don’t think I’ve ever met a Bengals fan. Wow.Mike, the random Hispanic people thing was a result of my cache needing cleaning or something(??). I thought having plenty of cache was a good thing. Anyway, another crisis averted by Senor Ed.
No dilemma at all. Steelers are far and away my fav. Although Carson was my fantasy qb this year.