I was listening to Sporting News Radio over the weekend. John Feinstein was a guest on one of the shows. The host, Chet Koppick (sp) asked him what book he is working on now and Feinstein told him it was on the whole deal surrounding "The Punch" from Kermit Washington to Rudy's face. He said it would be out around October...I assuming just in time for the beginning of next season. That was really all he said about it. I thought that was pretty interesting. Feinstein is a great sports writer and I'm looking forward to seeing what he gets....especially knowing Rudy doesn't like to talk much about the subject. I've heard Washington talk about it many times, a couple on the Rome show. os
I love Feinstein, too. A March to Madness has to be one of all-time favorite books. I am needing to pry away The Last Amateurs from my dad sometime to read that as well. I also read Season on the Brink. I wonder how he'll write a whole book about this one incident--maybe trace the lives of the two guys before and after that night. Interesting.
Doesn't seem like much to write about, to me. Rudy runs to break up a fight, Kermit cold cocks him and gets suspended for the rest of that season, neither player is quite the same... 24 years, two NBA titles, and one helluva plastic surgery bill later, Rudy T is in the midsts of a hall of fame playing/coaching career, and Kermit Washington is languishing in obscurity in the Pacific Northwest, unable to get a job anywhere in the NBA There, I just saved everyone here $19.95 J/K...sounds like it could be an interesting read, especially if he got some good quotes from Rudy himself...
Here's something on it from the Seattle times back on January 20. Sunday, January 20, 2002 NBA Notes: Sucker punch can pack a punch that lasts — ask Rudy Tomjanovich By Nunyo Demasio Shaquille O'Neal's missed haymaker at Brad Miller last week evoked bad memories of Kermit Washington's sucker punch against Rudy Tomjanovich on Dec. 12, 1977. Washington's punch left Tomjanovich — now the Rockets coach — with a fractured jaw, skull and nose. And afterward, neither player was ever the same. The violent blow forced Tomjanovich to undergo five operations, including plastic surgery. The incident was especially jarring because the perpetrator was one of the more affable players in the NBA. Washington insisted he threw the punch instinctively after seeing Tomjanovich's shadow get closer during a scrap between the teams. Washington's image was sullied, and he never landed a job in the NBA later. Author John Feinstein has been working with Tomjanovich on a book about the punch and its effect on Tomjanovich's life. Feinstein said in another story that it is about "how one moment in time can change people's lives" and effect the lives of those around them. Sounds pretty fascinating.
Why is this so "interesting"? Kermit is obviously still wallowing in self-pity because of what happened. Well here's a newsflash, Kermit: NEXT TIME DON'T PUNCH ANYONE! I mean, what does this guy want? Sympathy? I think by writing this book that's exactly what he's looking for. It's a pretty simple story; a story in which I don't think requires to be "read between the lines." He should just forget about it instead of living in the past. He brought this whole situation on himself; he has no one else to blame.
Read the exerpt above. The story is mostly from Rudy's perspective and wasn't written by Washington. It is ALWAYS fascinating to me to see how events shape the lives of people. Washington was a good guy - a journeyman player but not a bad person - and he was villified for something that happened in the heat of the moment. It was horrible. It was a mistake. But, the guy lost his career as the result of one mistake. If Shaq would have connected with Brad Miller, the damage done would have most certainly rivaled the Rudy incident. Yet, that seemed very much swept under the rug. What was the difference there? About 6 inches.
Al Pacino for the role of (present-day) Rudy T. in the movie! Dunno who would play the younger one though.
Kermit is obviously still wallowing in self-pity because of what happened. Well here's a newsflash, Kermit: NEXT TIME DON'T PUNCH ANYONE! I mean, what does this guy want? Sympathy? If you're in middle of a fight, and a teammate of the person you're fighting is coming at you full speed, are you more likely to: (1) assume he's a peacemaker and take your chances by ignoring him or (2) assume he's on his teammate's side and defend yourself in advance ? Suppose also that you only had a fraction of a second to decide.
Truly defending yourself would NOT include throwing a punch-- that's offensive. Are you justifying KW's devastating punch? I though that the Rudy/Kermit fiasco happened away from the original fracas when they were coming back up the court. Anybody know the details?
Thanks Jeff for that info. I'm looking forward to the book mainly because of the writing of Feinstein. It should be the best Rockets related book published. Dreams and Rudy's books were ok, but nothing special. Not a lot of "dirt". I did enjoy Rudy's book because it gave me some look at the early days in Houston Rockets history that I didn't know before. os
Al Pacino?? come on, he's like 4'-6" .... well, maybe not that small, but he's not even close to 6'.... that's funny! they'd have to film him from an up angle all the time! (up angle?? what's the word I'm looking for?)... film him from below looking up!
