The nicest people in sports | Page 2 | The Boneyard

The nicest people in sports

Rip Hamilton was very very nice. I tutored him for 2 summer classes. Incredibly kind and friendly. Not all the players were so nice.


My buddy ran out of gas and knocked on Ivan Lendls house in cromwell ct. He absolutely made sure my buddy was all good. Drove him back to his car with a gas can. Followed him to the closest gas station to make sure he was good. Wildly nice
 
My son played hockey on The Connecticut Chasers. A team for those with disabilities, similar to Special Olympics.Through them we met and got to know several Whalers. All great guys but Stu Grimson and Jason Mazzatti were the best. Totally cool guys and terrific with the players.
 
Not hockey players. They deliberately will hit you in the junk with their hockey stick. Then with a stupid Canadian accent say "Soorry"

I also met Reggie Jackson at Bradley Int when I was early 20s. He was a bit of a jerk. Not complete jerk, I was asking for some of it.
 
I chatted with Bernie Williams at Pepe’s in Fairfield a long time ago. Really nice guy and no one really seemed to realize it was him.

On the Husky front, I went to the UConn/Yale football game at Yale Bowl with a bunch of friends when I was in college even though we didn’t go to either school. Just went for the tailgating. A bunch of the Husky women’s team parked next to us which was a big deal because I had a huge crush on Amy Duran. Unfortunately, there was no love connection that day but I did chat with Stacy Hansmeyer for a while and she was incredibly nice. On the other hand, Kelly Schumacher seemed to want to throw me in a garbage can.
 
superjohn said:
This says everything about what kind of guy Charles Barkley is. This story always stuck with me...

www.wbur.org

My Dad's Friendship With Charles Barkley

Shirley Wang's father, Lin, was on a business trip when he ran into NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. It was the beginning of a friendship.
www.wbur.org www.wbur.org
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Man, this story made me cry. Thank you for sharing. What a good dude
 
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My personal "nice guy" story involves Payne Stewart. His story is truly a real life Ebenezer Scrooge turnaround, as many know.

I was an 8 year old kid at the Buick Classic (now the westchester) and was standing with the crowd as players walked from the 4th green to the 5th tee box. I loved Payne Stewart and my Dad was trying to help me break through the mass of people trying to get a piece of the star. I don't know how he saw me but he came up to the rope asked my dad if it was okay if he picked me up. He hoisted me up, put me on his shoulders and carried me with him to the tee box. It was a blur of emotion but I could hear everyone cheering. Still one of the coolest moments of my life.
My family and I were really hurt when we had heard that Payne died years later. I dont think these athletes understand what an impact they have on normal fans. Despite some social gaffes, He was a very good man with a huge heart.
 
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Do we get to count Keanu Reeves getting an OHL tryout and playing Canadian college hockey (was MVP)? If so, probably him.

Fred Lynn seems like a very genuinely nice guy. Haven't met him in person though.
 
UCTitleTown said:
Shaq.
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John cullen nicest guy ever. Hockey buddies jim craig, rechi and jeremy roenick were all very nice. Other nice athletes i played 18 with that are great, smoltz, glavine, liebrant and mortan andersen. Ozzy smith and bill referety also excellent. Unfortunately, ray Allen not particularly nice. Warrick dunn and chipper jones absolute balloon knots.
 
superjohn said:
Nicest athlete I've ever met is Rick Fox. I was probably 14 years old at a Sbarro's with my parents on the side of the highway in Massachusetts. We get out of the car and as we're walking in I notice Rick Fox is walking in with a woman at the same time. My dad convinced me to walk over to his table to say I'm a fan. Rick Fox then invites me to bring my tray of pizza over and enjoy my meal with him. He asked me where I'm from, what sports I play, asked me about school, we talked about the NBA etc. He spent a good 20 minutes or so talking to me as we ate our pizza. I couldn't believe how nice he was.
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He was also super welcoming as a host when he was at Big State
 
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Met Allan Houston in an airport restaurant, he was with his family - said hello and talked a bit, and he went out of his way as I was leaving to tell me it was really nice talking and put his hand out to shake. Could just tell he was a genuinely good human being.
 
temery said:
When I was a kid, tennis players were the bad boys. Now they're pretty much awesome. I see nothing but smiles when they lose a great point, and friendships that you wouldn't have seen 40 years ago.
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Michael Chang would be an exception. He always seemed to be friendly and polite. I just saw an ESPN special about him which was very good.
 
temery said:
Todd Martin
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He always seemed like a good guy. Solid player but overshadowed a bit by the other US studs at the time. I remember Bud Collins calling him the “Abe Lincoln of tennis”…bc he was tall and had a beard for a while.
 
ShakyTheMohel said:
Charles Barkley has a rep for being pretty affable. I have a friend who ended up chatting with him at a bar..and he invited my friend to join him and his other friends to bar hop that night. Of course he picked up all the tabs…and cut all the lines. I guess if you were someone waiting in those lines you wouldn’t be that crazy about him…lol.
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There’s a video that went viral earlier this year where Barkley went to my undergrad Alma mater which is a tiny D3 in the sticks of NY, and he hit up the town bars and bought everyone drinks all night. Then shouted out the college on TNT. Seems like a great cat, just a dude that knows what’s important in life.

To the original question, I have heard nothing but great and genuine things about my king, Josh Allen. He’s evidently a great dude.
 
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Mr. French said:
There’s a video that went viral earlier this year where Barkley went to my undergrad Alma mater which is a tiny D3 in the sticks of NY, and he hit up the town bars and bought everyone drinks all night. Then shouted out the college on TNT. Seems like a great cat, just a dude that knows what’s important in life.

To the original question, I have heard nothing but great and genuine things about my king, Josh Allen. He’s evidently a great dude.
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Like prostitution and DUI’s?

www.nydailynews.com

Charles Barkley admitted he was looking for sex during DUI arrest

Oh no, Sir Charles! Hoops legend Charles Barkley was busted for suspected drunken driving Wednesday – and made things worse by admitting he was rushing to pick up a woman for a sex act. &#822…
www.nydailynews.com www.nydailynews.com

Kidding aside he does seem like a real, down to earth dude. I’d bang down some beers with CB.
 
RuffRuff said:
Met Allan Houston in an airport restaurant, he was with his family - said hello and talked a bit, and he went out of his way as I was leaving to tell me it was really nice talking and put his hand out to shake. Could just tell he was a genuinely good human being.
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Nicest family in the world. My sister teaches at a school his son attends and I hear nothing but constant praise about both Allan and his wife.
 
Steven Adams in the NBA seems like a good dude. Probably the strongest guy in the league, but doesn’t look to instigate or start fights. In a lot of videos I’ve seen, he’s actually the one breaking them up.
 
RuffRuff said:
Like prostitution and DUI’s?

www.nydailynews.com

Charles Barkley admitted he was looking for sex during DUI arrest

Oh no, Sir Charles! Hoops legend Charles Barkley was busted for suspected drunken driving Wednesday – and made things worse by admitting he was rushing to pick up a woman for a sex act. &#822…
www.nydailynews.com www.nydailynews.com

Kidding aside he does seem like a real, down to earth dude. I’d bang down some beers with CB.
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I met Charles Barkley at a Tyson fight in 1988. He signed some autographs. He wasn't the huge personality he's become.
 
I've run into Dan Orlovsky at Stew Leonard's (Norwalk) a bunch of times. I don't fan boy him, but bring up sick stuff that was done at UConn (I'm 15+ years older). He's always gracious and comments how he's got 4 kids and that's all that matters.....showed him my profile picture, he can't identify Mystic Bowie lol, taken at a fundraiser in Derby many years ago
 
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dvegas said:
I've run into Dan Orlovsky at Stew Leonard's (Norwalk) a bunch of times. I don't fan boy him, but bring up sick stuff that was done at UConn (I'm 15+ years older). He's always gracious and comments how he's got 4 kids and that's all that matters.....showed him my profile picture, he can't identify Mystic Bowie lol, taken at a fundraiser in Derby many years ago
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Dan seems like a great guy. I read that he participated in a 100-hole golf tournament to benefit ALS with his friend Chuck whose mother died from the disease.ALS 100 Holes for Charity
 
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RuffRuff said:
Like prostitution and DUI’s?

www.nydailynews.com

Charles Barkley admitted he was looking for sex during DUI arrest

Oh no, Sir Charles! Hoops legend Charles Barkley was busted for suspected drunken driving Wednesday – and made things worse by admitting he was rushing to pick up a woman for a sex act. &#822…
www.nydailynews.com www.nydailynews.com

Kidding aside he does seem like a real, down to earth dude. I’d bang down some beers with CB.
Expand ...
there is an interview where Ernie Johnson is asked who is easier to work with. Ernie said hands down Charles. Charles is alway in a good mood. Shaq can get moody and will go into a shell. Both do a lot of charity. Shaq always tells you about it. Charles doesn't.
 
A few guys I've met:

Brian Cashman
Freddie Freeman
Dave Winfield
Robin Ventura
Chris Kreider
 
Rory Sabbatini, though oft voted least liked on tour, treated me like an equal human about 12-13 years ago when I was a standard bearer at Travelers championship. He was super nice to me and I will always appreciate that. On the other hand, I walked 2 rounds with Bubba Watson as standard bearer and he didn't speak a word to the volunteers the entire time. Walked with a total of something like 10-15 golfers in total. So long ago I forget. Alot of nice guys like Padraig Harrington, Stephen Ames, Marc Leishman, Jason Dufner but Sabbatini and Watson were at top and bottom of the niceness range for me. Did get signed golf balls for all of them though. (Watson's caddie handed them to us and not him... ugh. Still annoyed by him. Haha)
 
superjohn said:
This says everything about what kind of guy Charles Barkley is. This story always stuck with me...

www.wbur.org

My Dad's Friendship With Charles Barkley

Shirley Wang's father, Lin, was on a business trip when he ran into NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. It was the beginning of a friendship.
www.wbur.org www.wbur.org
Expand ...
Thanks for sharing this. I’d never heard this sorry. Incredibly cool…
 
Devland said:
there is an interview where Ernie Johnson is asked who is easier to work with. Ernie said hands down Charles. Charles is alway in a good mood. Shaq can get moody and will go into a shell. Both do a lot of charity. Shaq always tells you about it. Charles doesn't.
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Met barkley several times at east lake charity event. Very social and fun guy. My sister met him and wife on their honeymoon in bermuda and hung out with them and villanova alumni doug smith and wife. Barkleys invited them to come to their home in phoenix.
 
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