Running the Show... Part 1

It was a cold Wednesday morning.  I come into Comcast headquarters not knowing what a huge day it would be for me.  It was business as usual for me as I sit down and start searching for potential news stories.  My phone begins to vibrate out of control... it was Art.  Due to a personal matter he could not come in.  No biggie, I hold down the fort on Fridays with Mary all the time.  The thing is, it was Wednesday, I was the only person working the web site.  It had to be an eventful day...


So, I was searching for news stories when I see these tweets by Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva (Below).  On Tuesday night the Boston Celtics dismantled the Pistons.  Villanueva claims that Celtic Kevin Garnett said he looked like a 'cancer patient.'  For anyone who is not familiar with Villanueva, he has a disease called Alopecia universalis which causes him to not have any hair on his head. 

A backlash began after Villanueva revealed this on his Twitter page.  The backlash hurt both sides.  Garnett, one of the leagues biggest trash talkers, was accused of crossing the line.  He then released a statement about the incident.


“I am aware there was a major miscommunication regarding something I said on the court last night.  My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact ‘You are cancerous  to your team and our league.’  I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure.  I have lost loved ones to this deadly disease and have a family member currently undergoing treatment.  I would never say anything that distasteful.  The game of life is far bigger than the game of basketball.”

Because of the whole episode, I got to write this.  Trying to keep the fans up to date on the whole situation I created a short article and continue to develop the page every time more information came into the newsroom.

I'm still on the fence about who to believe in this whole situation.  I honestly don't believe that Garnett would develop an extremely eloquent sentence while on the court like, "I personally don't think you are a very good basketball player."  At the same time, Villanueva needs to keep what happens on the court on the court.  What happens between the lines is part of the game.  Trash talking is part of the game, and always will be.

This whole thing is just another reason why Twitter is a great, but dangerous tool.

This whole episode was a rapidly progressing throughout the day.  As more and more information began to pour in about the incident, so did comments from sports writers and bloggers from across the nation.  The criticism was mostly landing on Villanueva, who took the game away from the court.  Even Mary Paoletti could not support her fellow UConn alumni.

Nonetheless, it was my job for the afternoon to keep track of the saga.  Just remember kiddies, the internet is a powerful tool.  Whether it is something that you want to spread, or something you don't, you put it on the internet -- it will come back to haunt you.

That rounds out the first part of my day.  When I get a second, I will write about the second half of my day.  It was much more interesting... much more interesting.  Stay tuned.