http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/rockets/5916645.html Richard Justice's current blog's standpoint is completely different from the previous blog's in which he heavily criticized the trade. This guy is just so unreliable and hypocritical that he's just embarrasing himself with his contradictions...
Can someone copy and paste please? I'm surfing on a phone right now and for some reason it won't load the chron site. Thanks.
All he cares about is blog hits, and he'll say anything to get them. He doesn't care what you think of him as long as you keep reading his columns, so the less attention you pay him the better. Remember, don't feed the Trolls, and he's the biggest media troll in Houston.
My guess is that happened right after Maggette said he was considering an MLE offer from Spurs. As turned out, I don't think Maggette was serious about that. Was probably just using that as leverage to get more $ out of GS.
It is pretty long, so I will only quote the first part. It actually appears that he did some research for a change. Can’t fault Rockets’ motive for Artest trade
He didnt really change his mind...he has said all along that its a good move from a basketball point of view. He continues to question Artest as a person. Richard Justice still blows.
I never really had a problem with Justice until I heard his incredibly puritanical stance on the Houston radio show. Artest grew up around heavy domestic violence, according to that GQ article, in which the mom was dishing some out too, by the way. That fact doesn't make the violence OK, but people come from different places; I've got to allow for that. If it were up to Justice, Artest wouldn't find a job in the league. Maybe he would finally get that Circuit City job and the home life would go a WHOLE lot smoother then, I'm sure. (Not.) Not everyone is made out of mayonnaise, RJ.
The only thing Justice is good for is to to tell a few stories, hopefully without stuttering through the whole thing. He has plenty to tell. As with any writer/reporter that ages (and especially if they gain radio/tv exposure), they generally take themselves way to seriously and turn into idiots.
Justice is a great writer for the Astros and baseball in general. Basketball and football............ehh, not so much.
The thing about Richard Justice is that he's actually quite a good writer. I remember when the Rockets were going into the playoffs in 2005 and he wrote this incredible column on how the team had gelled and were really playing great that damn near brought a tear to my eye. Just this weekend he had a great column on the Dynamo that as a fan of that team I just loved. Justice has a way with words, and he knows a good story when he sees one. The infuriating thing about Richard Justice is that he appears to have no real opinions on anything. He's certainly not a stat geek, and I'm not convinced he actually follows the local teams terribly closely. Richard Justice essentially writes about his "feelings," whatever his gut tells him about somebody or some situation or whatever the hell. This makes for some stupendous "feel-good" columns and even his "WTF" columns are well-written. It's just that Richard Justice is so goddamned WRONG so OFTEN that he comes off as this... well, moron. He just rides this crest of emotion; when Mario Williams is drafted, he's an instant bust. When Mario Williams succeeds modestly, Mario Williams is a star. Whatever wavelengths are vibrating his aura, Richard Justice writes. I don't think he wrote that Ron Artest was a bad idea because he wanted to stir the pot or because he wanted more blog hits. I think that's genuinely what he was "feeling" when he was on deadline for a column. Given a little time, after reading a few takes by guys he respects (Adande, anyone?), Justice's feelings swing back like a pendulum. So you get the classic Justice flip-flop. I don't mind at all when columnists change their opinions, but Justice never explains WHY his opinion changed, or even acknowledges the change at all. He's like a politician that way. I've come to regard Justice as what he is: An excellent writer who doesn't have the greatest understanding of sports. What he understands is emotion, legend, archetypes, and heroes. And he understands that he writes well about those things. I don't think he understands why.
Dick Justice He has the POWER to say what he wants but God has made him pay below the belt. Its all in the name folks.
Excellent summary. The only part that could be included is the fact that he is so busy trying to gain listeners for his radio show, that he forgets he's a writer. Controversy brings publicity, whether it is hits on his blog or listeners to the station. Lastly, the more he stirs the pot, the more likely he is to get on ESPN. He's become so infatuated with himself, that he doesn't always give accurate reports (remember the 'Brad Lidge is going to be traded' fiasco last year?).
I would argue that he truly "felt" Lidge WOULD be traded. Justice changed his mind about Brad Lidge just about every day, it was incredible to watch, really. Oh, and thanks.