Toughest interviews

Kenny Rogers, he of the infamous Shove the Camerman Episode, was one tough dude to deal with when I covered the Rangers during the time he was there. just never knew what he might do (ask that camerman).

 

Sirs, Madames,

The toughest interview was an amazing one. Patrick O'Sullivan opened up for the first time about years of his father's emotional, physical and ultimtely criminal abuse and subsequent stalking in violation of restraining order. Tough to have someone spilling out in tears in front of you. Bobby Ryan, with his story of living under an assumed name while his father was on the lam from the feds, a close second. Boring hockey players.

Ernie Whitt swung a bat at me half by accident. He'd be on the list. Michael Ignatieff for sure. Pierre Trudeau's least famous son (actually handed off the assignment).

o-<

 

The interesting part is, given where I grew up and worked the media for many years, the hockey players were the BEST interviews and most humble, easygoing, non-diva sorts.

Perhaps I was lucky and got all the broken-in sorts that FotF, Beef and the rest of the Canadian contingent had to endure initially. But again, the football, basketball and baseball sorts could be difficult while the hockey sorts - be it NHL or down in the barely-above-beer leagues - were terrific. Pretty good answers, certainly moreso than the other more-followed sports in the area, and it's funny how the hockey and soccer sorts dealt with constructive criticism so much better than the rest.

 

Pokey Chatman, Pat Hill and Craig Esherick (not his most famous one) have publicly blown up at questions I've asked.

The toughest interview to access was definitely Lance Armstrong, though. His entourage forms a fortified circle slightly smaller than the Louvre as soon as he steps off his bike. Floyd Landis, on the other hand, offered me a bottled water approximately five minutes after he finished his ride and made several off the record cracks on Armstrong.

I accepted the water, too, because it was hot and humid and I was hungover ... sue me. I liked Landis, and he remembered me and gave me a phone interview before his final appeal was shot down. It didn't change the way I reported anything, but I appreciated his accessibility and class.

 

Late lamented 51,

I was joking about hockey players. Generally very good. The earlier you get'em the better. Some dull ones (Crosby, Yzerman, Sakic for three) but few hostile ones. Out of HoF types, Hull and Henderson are dix, a few other idiots, but many are game for anything.

o-<

 

Ben Howland is a closet asshole.

 

Mike Deane claimed I knew nothing about college basketball after his team blew a 7-point halftime lead and lost by 22

 

Did you suggest, "That makes two of us"?

 

They're all tough.

 

Ellis Valentine. Bill Lassiter, Rick Reuschel. Pretty much in that order.

 

Toughest for me: Family of a lady who died in an airplane bombing. Close second: The father of a girl who had died in a drunk driving accident three days earlier.

 

The most difficult interview subjects I've encountered are:

1. Bien Figueroa (manager of the Class AA Bowie Baysox): He made it emphatically clear without saying a word he did NOT like the media. When you asked a question, you always had the possibility he would belittle you or go off on you in the back of your mind as a realistic possibility. Interviewing him was pulling teeth from a hen on a consistent basis. He was a sharp contrast from Don Werner, who managed the club the previous year. With Figueroa, you didn't want to go into his office even if the Baysox won 16-1. With Werner, even if his team lost 16-1, you could go in his office and he'd still make you feel at home.

2. Tom Fitzgerald (former coach of the Columbus Crew): I asked him about his team's then-12 match losing streak to D.C. United at RFK. His response: "I don't need to talk about it, you guys talk about it all the time." To this day, I have never forgotten that quote. At least he didn't have that reaction when United beat his team for the 13th straight time.

3. Thomas Rongen (former coach of D.C. United): I asked about his team's midfield play after a match his team lost. He gave me all kinds of shit for asking the question, even going so far as to ask me where I got my coaching license (which I never even applied for). Before the next home match, John Haydon of The Washington Times came up to me and told me 1) Rongen's outburst was uncalled for and 2) I was absolutely right about the team's midfield play. After a playoff match a couple of months later, I asked Rongen a question to which he originally responded "I don't train [the Miami Fusion], so I don't know," but he later answered another question and I heard him on the tape saying, "I think that goes back to your question forever_town."

At least those last two folks were only temporarily difficult. The first one was a season long affliction.