Ray Ratto Dogs Hawks

[AHF]

This is one of the most abusive sports articles I've ever seen:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=2121726

Quote:

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Joe Johnson is just taking care of his family, I'm sure of it. He is doing the best thing for his loved ones, trying to give them the security he never knew, and pay them back for all their sacrifices while he pursued his dream to be a 'baller.

On the other hand, he is going from the Phoenix Suns to the Atlanta Hawks, which means:

Joe Johnson isn't masking his intentions: He says Atlanta's the place to be.

a) His family needs a lot of care.

b) His family is roughly the population of Bermuda.

c) His family had to submit to actual human sacrifices for the benefit of Johnson's career.

Otherwise, Joe Johnson is stark staring nuts.

Now we understand that athletics is a fleeting career, and if you can set yourself up for eternity, nobody can sensibly fault you. We also understand that everybody's money spends the same. And we definitely know the Hawks and Suns both play in the best basketball league on the planet.

We get all that.

What we don't get, on the other hand, is this:

They're the Atlanta Hawks, for God's sake! Nobody knows them! Nobody watches them! Nobody cares about them! They are the NBA's irreversible coma! Who in their right mind would volunteer for this?

We get the money, we really do. Money is good for a lot of things, and you can actually buy respect with money. In most places.

Atlanta, though, is one of those places where that equation doesn't work. The Hawks can't pay enough money to get a player respect, because they are the Hawks, and because they are the Hawks, a player can't get enough respect to justify the anonymity. Why, if it weren't for the yellow uniforms, nobody would ever know they were there at all.

And that, children, is why whatever Joe Johnson's motivations might be, he ends up being wrong anyway, simply because of his destination.

There are few places where one can say the money isn't worth it under any circumstances. You can justify $70 million in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Utah, Minnesota, Memphis, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Orlando, Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington.

You need more for Charlotte and Golden State, say $80 million, because the Hornets are new and the Warriors have been so irrelevant for so long. New Orleans, $90 million, because the owners are such incurable whack jobs.

But Atlanta? Horrible. From Phoenix? Inexcusable. Hell, $70 million is chump change, for the simple reason that you are going from a team on the come to a team players have been willing to sharpen a spoon and tunnel through cement to escape.

It may be that the Hawks have a master plan to get back into the Eastern Conference mix (or the Eastern Conference, period, as far as that goes). They are young, they have a couple of intriguing members (Josh Smith, and uh, er, umm), and nobody can stay horrible forever, right?

Well, wrong. The Warriors are into their second decade of playoff-free basketball. The Clippers were a running punch line until this year. The Wizards just tunneled out of their own private hell.

The point here is that whatever the Hawks have in mind, their recent plans have been abject failures. The team is utterly repellent, and any time they get a player of any stature, they either trade him immediately (Rasheed Wallace) or trade him almost immediately (Antoine Walker).

Then again, maybe that is what Johnson is thinking -- get the money now, and then work on getting back to a good situation. Only that's not foolproof either, because there aren't that many good situations.

In short, this is a plea for sanity, for not taking the huge money from a bad team when the alternative is big money from a good one. This is a gentle reminder that the NBA is the most stratified of leagues, that teams do not move giddily up and down as they do in football, baseball or hockey. In the last 25 years, the championship trophy has seen only seven cities. Half the current membership has never won, and the Hawks haven't even gotten to a conference final since 1969.

It's too late, apparently, for Joe Johnson, of course. He made up his mind, and will be wealthier for having done so. But he will also be utterly forgotten, playing in a town that finds the pro game utterly resistible for a team that keeps watching other people have all the fun.

He will be a rich, impactless man. If that's his idea of a good time, fine. But we're going to play the percentages and guess that he will soon lament his choice, even on the first and 15th of the month. There are still a few things money can't buy, amazingly enough, and relevance is one of them.

---

[Admin]

Here it is, a little easier to read

Joe Johnson is just taking care of his family, I'm sure of it. He is doing the best thing for his loved ones, trying to give them the security he never knew, and pay them back for all their sacrifices while he pursued his dream to be a 'baller.

On the other hand, he is going from the Phoenix Suns to the Atlanta Hawks, which means:

Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson isn't masking his intentions: He says Atlanta's the place to be.

a) His family needs a lot of care.

b) His family is roughly the population of Bermuda.

c) His family had to submit to actual human sacrifices for the benefit of Johnson's career.

Otherwise, Joe Johnson is stark staring nuts.

Now we understand that athletics is a fleeting career, and if you can set yourself up for eternity, nobody can sensibly fault you. We also understand that everybody's money spends the same. And we definitely know the Hawks and Suns both play in the best basketball league on the planet.

We get all that.

What we don't get, on the other hand, is this:

They're the Atlanta Hawks, for God's sake! Nobody knows them! Nobody watches them! Nobody cares about them! They are the NBA's irreversible coma! Who in their right mind would volunteer for this?

We get the money, we really do. Money is good for a lot of things, and you can actually buy respect with money. In most places.

Atlanta, though, is one of those places where that equation doesn't work. The Hawks can't pay enough money to get a player respect, because they are the Hawks, and because they are the Hawks, a player can't get enough respect to justify the anonymity. Why, if it weren't for the yellow uniforms, nobody would ever know they were there at all.

And that, children, is why whatever Joe Johnson's motivations might be, he ends up being wrong anyway, simply because of his destination.

There are few places where one can say the money isn't worth it under any circumstances. You can justify $70 million in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Utah, Minnesota, Memphis, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Orlando, Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington.

You need more for Charlotte and Golden State, say $80 million, because the Hornets are new and the Warriors have been so irrelevant for so long. New Orleans, $90 million, because the owners are such incurable whack jobs.

But Atlanta? Horrible. From Phoenix? Inexcusable. Hell, $70 million is chump change, for the simple reason that you are going from a team on the come to a team players have been willing to sharpen a spoon and tunnel through cement to escape.

It may be that the Hawks have a master plan to get back into the Eastern Conference mix (or the Eastern Conference, period, as far as that goes). They are young, they have a couple of intriguing members (Josh Smith, and uh, er, umm), and nobody can stay horrible forever, right?

Well, wrong. The Warriors are into their second decade of playoff-free basketball. The Clippers were a running punch line until this year. The Wizards just tunneled out of their own private hell.

The point here is that whatever the Hawks have in mind, their recent plans have been abject failures. The team is utterly repellent, and any time they get a player of any stature, they either trade him immediately (Rasheed Wallace) or trade him almost immediately (Antoine Walker).

Then again, maybe that is what Johnson is thinking -- get the money now, and then work on getting back to a good situation. Only that's not foolproof either, because there aren't that many good situations.

In short, this is a plea for sanity, for not taking the huge money from a bad team when the alternative is big money from a good one. This is a gentle reminder that the NBA is the most stratified of leagues, that teams do not move giddily up and down as they do in football, baseball or hockey. In the last 25 years, the championship trophy has seen only seven cities. Half the current membership has never won, and the Hawks haven't even gotten to a conference final since 1969.

It's too late, apparently, for Joe Johnson, of course. He made up his mind, and will be wealthier for having done so. But he will also be utterly forgotten, playing in a town that finds the pro game utterly resistible for a team that keeps watching other people have all the fun.

He will be a rich, impactless man. If that's his idea of a good time, fine. But we're going to play the percentages and guess that he will soon lament his choice, even on the first and 15th of the month. There are still a few things money can't buy, amazingly enough, and relevance is one of them.

[AHF]

This secion is my main problem aside from just being abusive to the city of Atlanta:

Quote:

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It may be that the Hawks have a master plan to get back into the Eastern Conference mix (or the Eastern Conference, period, as far as that goes). They are young, they have a couple of intriguing members (Josh Smith, and uh, er, umm), and nobody can stay horrible forever, right?

---

Josh Smith and uh, er, umm...that is all you've got? The #2 pick in the last draft who was projected by ESPN's draft expert as the top player in the draft doesn't rate a mention? The #6 pick in 2004 who was an All-Rookie team member and played outstandingly efficient basketball once he got a starting role doesn't merit a mention? A 26 year old forward who averaged 17 and 7 doesn't rate a mention? What axe is this guy grinding?

Quote:

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Well, wrong. The Warriors are into their second decade of playoff-free basketball. The Clippers were a running punch line until this year. The Wizards just tunneled out of their own private hell.

---

Ok. The Hawks have missed the playoffs like 7 times in the last 25 years. How do they compare to the Warriors, Clippers, etc.?

Quote:

---

The point here is that whatever the Hawks have in mind, their recent plans have been abject failures. The team is utterly repellent, and any time they get a player of any stature, they either trade him immediately (Rasheed Wallace) or trade him almost immediately (Antoine Walker).

---

They got Josh Smith by trading Rasheed and are using a pick from Walker to trade for Joe Johnson. The Hawks have been on their "recent plan" for 1 1/2 years! How fast do you expect this thing to happen? I guess Ratto is counting the Babcock regime in this whose rebuilding/reloading plan was an abject failure but how do you fault trading Rasheed for Josh Smith?

Quote:

---

Then again, maybe that is what Johnson is thinking -- get the money now, and then work on getting back to a good situation. Only that's not foolproof either, because there aren't that many good situations.

In short, this is a plea for sanity, for not taking the huge money from a bad team when the alternative is big money from a good one. This is a gentle reminder that the NBA is the most stratified of leagues, that teams do not move giddily up and down as they do in football, baseball or hockey. In the last 25 years, the championship trophy has seen only seven cities. Half the current membership has never won, and the Hawks haven't even gotten to a conference final since 1969.

---

How many times has the championship trophy seen Phoenix? Oh, never. That is right.

How much money would JJ give up if the Suns matched? $0

Ratto just can't accept that JJ prefers to play in Atlanta rather than in Phoenix.

Get over your West Coast anti-Hawks bias, Ratto, and deal with the fact that Joe Johnson will come to Atlanta.

Get used to seeing more Hawks highlights over the next few years with Johnson and Salim dropping 3s, Childress playing his efficient game and Josh Smith doing all kinds of spectacular things in the air. Who knows that uh...er...ummm guy selected #2 overall may even do something in the NBA.

[AHF]

What is the proper format for that Dolfan. I know it was discussed recently but I tried posting it in "code" and that was clearly wrong. Thanks for cleaning that up!

[Vol4ever]

I can see someone calling the Hawks the drudge of the league the past few years but he has stepped over the line on this one.

The Hawks are probably over paying for JJ, but that is what this franchise has to do at this point in the game. We need butts in the seats and I think maybe JJ will put those fans in the seats.

Also, doesn't this clown realize that JJ is from the south, and on top of that he is the third option in Phoenix??? Maybe he wants to come home to be the man on a young team.

I have critized BK, but I will give him props on this deal.

[WraithSentinel]

I didn't bother wasting my time reading that article. Nothing against you posting the article. I am guessing it is along the lines with the other article such as "Duh the Hawks suck, like the Hawks suck, like oh my god the Hawks suck duh".

They will continue to dog the Hawks. When the Hawks become good either this year or next. Depends on if they add a good Center. They will be praising the Hawks just as they are the Heat.

[drzachary]

Responding to guys like this is just feeding the trolls on a massive scale.

[Wretch]

He gets paid to do this, on such a grand stage as ESPN, and yet comes off sounding like nothing more than a common, clueless, messageboard troll. That sports journalism has degenerated into this...amazing.

[Nicholasp27]

not to mention, he called the charlotte bobcats the hornets!

and this is who espn pays?

[Traceman]

How in the heck can a guy who covers the Warriors have the audacity to dog another franchise? It is the equivalent of a reporter from Cincinnati who covers the Bengals trying to dog the Falcons!

[chillzatl]

that there are people out there who watch, follow and enjoy the Hawks.

rratto@sfchronicle.com

I will certainly be doing the same.

[Admin]

When you make a new post, change the drop down from "using UBBCode" to "using HTML and UBBCode".

Then, paste this code in.

<div style="padding:20px;margin:20px;background-color:#eeeeee;border:solid 1px #999999;font-size:12px;font-family:verdana,arial;line-height:18px;width:700px;">PASTE IN YOUR ARTICLE HERE</div>

Then, just make sure that you put whatever you want pasted into that area between the DIVs and you should be good to go.

Its not the right or wrong way to do it, its just the way that I like so that its easier for me to read.

[AHF]

Quote:

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that there are people out there who watch, follow and enjoy the Hawks.

rratto@sfchronicle.com

I will certainly be doing the same.

---

Here is my response:

* * * * *

Just a few points of discrepency outside of your general distaste for the city of Atlanta:

(1) The um…hmm…er… young players you were trying to remember are Marvin Williams (#2 overall pick; ESPN's pick as best prospect in the draft); Josh Childress (#6 overall pick who made the All-Rookie team); and Al Harrington (26 years old and averaged 17 ppg, 7 rpg last season).

(2) The Hawks have made the playoffs 17 of the last 25 years. They are not like your hometown Warriors. Moreover, check how many NBA trophies line the halls in Phoenix. None.

(3) The Hornets have been in the league since Rex Chapman joined the NBA. The team now in Charlotte is called the Bobcats.

(4) Joe Johnson would have gotten the exact same money from Phoenix that he will get from Atlanta if Phoenix followed through on its promise and matched Johnson's offer sheet. Johnson simply prefers to play in Atlanta as the #1 option back among his southern roots. Deal with it.

(5) "Relevance" in your articles seems to equate with media attention. With Johnson in Atlanta and young talent like Childress, Smith, Harrington and Williams on the roster you can expect a lot more "relevance" in Atlanta. Josh Smith alone will be a regular on ESPN's highlight reels next season.

(6) I totally grant you that the Pete Babcock era in Atlanta was a disaster. However, Billy Knight has been in place 2 seasons (he came in for the 2003 draft when the Hawks had already traded away their lottery pick). His deal of Rasheed Wallace was not a disgrace like you are making it out to be. That deal directly landed Josh Smith (Rasheed for the #17 pick used to select Smith) who is one of the most exciting young players in the NBA. Antoine Walker's trade got the Hawks Marvin Williams (by landing a higher draft pick) and Joe Johnson (the pick is part of the sign and trade for Johnson). Which of those two moves would you take back if you were in charge of the Hawks (knowing full well that Rasheed would not have resigned)?

Bottomline: I think your article reads as a cheap shot at the Atlanta Hawks and their fans. The fact that you omitted reference to players like Marvin Williams, omitted years of consistent playoff basketball and didn't even bother to proofread your article (i.e., Charlotte Hornets) pretty much sums up the article's value.

Matt

[AHF]

Here is my letter to the ESPN ombudsman:

I have a real problem with the Ray Ratto article posted today attacking the Atlanta Hawks:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=2121726

It is tough to know where to start on this so I'll just bulletpoint the issues I have:

* The article's tone is simply offensive to Atlanta and to the Hawks specifically. Lines like "They're the Atlanta Hawks, for God's sake! Nobody knows them! Nobody watches them! Nobody cares about them! They are the NBA's irreversible coma! Who in their right mind would volunteer for this?" are the sort of baiting language you would censor off a message board, let alone publish in a national forum.

* The factual premise is fundamentally flawed. The article criticizes Johnson for going after a few more dollars when the cost is going to a city as terrible as Atlanta. The fact is that if Johnson signed the offer sheet with Atlanta and did not ask for Phoenix to let him go to Atlanta (as reported by Marc Stein), he would get the SAME contract with Phoenix that he will with Atlanta.

* Johnson asked that Phoenix not match the offer - meaning he prefers playing Atlanta and it isn't a monetary issue (since he would get the same $$ if they matched).

* The article takes several baseless cheap shots at the Hawks. For example: - It claims Atlanta has no good young players other than Josh Smith when it has the #2 pick Marvin Williams; #6 pick and All-Rookie team Josh Childress and 26 year old 17/7 Al Harrington. - It claims the Hawks are a wasteland of non-playoff basketball like the Clippers or Warriors when Atlanta made the playoffs 18 of the last 25 years.

* I can quibble with other details (like the fact that there is no Charlotte Hornets team in the NBA or my belief that Josh Smith's dunk crown and ESPN Sportscenter highlights will make the Hawks more relevant in terms of media exposure in the future) but the bottomline is that this article is ill-founded and is nothing other than a smear attack on the Hawks. Our team takes enough abuse so that when a player announces he wants to play in Atlanta it is just unprofessional for a writer like Ratto to bash the team and the city and it is beneath ESPN to run a piece like this.

Thank you for your attention.

* * * * *

Here is a page with a link to George Solomon (ESPN's ombudsman who is supposed to handle issues like unfair bias in reporting):

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...orge&id=2105986

[Guest Walter]

This is an example of thinking you have enough knowledge to talk intelligibly about a subject and having too little to do so. THAT and diversion using some misplaced aggression.

Instant beat reporter status for Ratto in "Modern Jackass".

W

[Plainview1981]

I'm not surprised. You know an article like this

is coming from one of them no matter what the

Hawks do. Not going to waste my life sending him

an email though.

[emeans]

Someone post this guys email address PLEASE!!!

We need to blow his email box out the computer with emails dogging his sorry uninformed butt!!

This is a great organization that has great history and would have one or two NBA championships if it were not for the Boston Celtics.

If you have his email please post it!!

[AHF]

Quote:

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Someone post this guys email address PLEASE!!!

We need to blow his email box out the computer with emails dogging his sorry uninformed butt!!

This is a great organization that has great history and would have one or two NBA championships if it were not for the Boston Celtics.

If you have his email please post it!!

---

The author of the article, Ray Ratto, is posted twice on this thread already but here it is again:

rratto@sfchronicle.com

The email address of the ESPN ombudsman is linked here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...orge&id=2105986

[tmac13]

He is an idiot that just throws out insults to get a reaction..All we are doing by reading or resonding to his crap is feeding his ego..

[TheDude]

i disagree..i think we should..let the guy know that he's made errors..it's not the raged response that maybe he likes..but it's the ignorant parts such as the hornets and the incinuation that the Hawks have always sucked.