I really think we should add a few of our own to this list... Welcome to the Vengeance Scale By Bill Simmons Page 2 As promised, the Vengeance Scale. A few quick primers ... This column relies heavily on reader input: Nearly 1,500 suggestions over the weekend (some of which were redundant, but still ... ). Since it was impossible to give everyone credit without destroying the flow of the column, let's just call this one a group effort. If the Pulitzer Committee ends up calling, I'll share the award with everybody. And thanks to everyone who took the time to write in. I shied away from historical examples (like Stalin deporting Trotsky, or Germany's response after World War I), only because that's probably a whole other column. And I'm not the one to write it. If it seems as if there are too many wrestling examples, that's only because most wrestling story arcs hinge on somebody seeking vengeance. In fact, once we entered the mid-'90s, that was EVERY wrestling story arc. So I concentrated on the classics from the '70s and '80s that set the tone. And if you have something against wrestling ... well, I don't care. MJ appears on the Vengeance Scale a whopping eight times. If that doesn't tell you why he was the greatest NBA player of all time, I don't know what does. The Corleone family is represented a whopping five times. If that doesn't tell you why "The Godfather" was the greatest movie of all time, I don't know what does. I'm sure we missed a couple. So be it. Onto the Vengeance Scale, from 0.0 (least vengeful) to 10.0 (most vengeful). And remember, the whole reason we're doing this is to figure out where Angry Shaq fits in. Anyway ... 0.1 -- O.J. Simpson's valiant attempt to find the "real killers." 0.2 -- The rest of the Rockets after Rudy Tomjanovich was clocked by Kermit Washington ... the rest of the Yankees after Pedro threw down Don Zimmer ... the rest of the Dodgers after Juan Marichal swung his bat against John Roseboro's head ... Rangers fans after the Bruins charged into the stands at MSG in 1979. 1.5 -- Tyson resorting to biting Holyfield's ear in their famous rematch. 1.8 -- George Costanza feeding lobster in an omelete to Jerry's non-lobster-eating girlfriend ... Scottie Pippen's dunk on Ewing's head in the '94 playoffs (the one where he stood over him and glared). 3.8 -- Piazza tipping off all of Clemens' pitches in the 2004 All-Star game (possibly apocryphal). 4.3 -- Guido the Killer Pimp taking all of Joel Goodson's profits ... Lance Armstrong vs. the French ... Marvin Hagler against the world (during the Hearns fight) 5.2 -- Isiah dropping 44 on John Stockton after "Dream Team 1" was announced. 5.3 -- Karl Malone dropping a 50-stitch elbow on Isiah's head the next time they played. 6.0 -- MJ against Drexler in the '92 Finals ... MJ against Barkley and Majerle in the '93 Finals ... MJ refusing to play on the original Dream Team unless they left off Isiah. 6.3 -- Shaq dropping 61 on the Clippers (because they made him pay for extra seats on his birthday) ... MJ dropping 69 on the Cavs (after the Cleveland fans cheered when he took a nasty spill in the first half) ... Charles Barkley dropping 56 on the '94 Warriors (inspired by C-Webb's behind-the-back dunk over him in the regular season). 6.7 -- Michael Corleone coming out of the bathroom at Louis's Restaurant and shooting Solazzo and McCloskey ... Jimmy Snuka's next two months after Roddy Piper rammed the coconuts in his head on "Piper's Pit." 7.1 -- Snoop and Dre taking shots at Easy E in "Wit' Dre Day" ... Biggie recording "Who Shot Ya?" ... 50 Cent creating the word "Wankster" in a song about Ja Rule. 7.8 -- Max Cady in "Cape Fear" ... Cartman's revenge on Scott Tenorman (from "South Park") ... Montresor trapping Fortunado in the wall in "The Cask of Amontillado." 8.1 -- Steven Seagal during the "I'm gonna take you to the bank, Trent ... the blood bank" scene (from "Hard to Kill") ... John Rambo against sheriff Brian Dennehy and his deputies from "First Blood" ... Tubbs and Crockett taking down Calderon in "Miami Vice" (in the classic two-part episode, "Calderon's Revenge"). 8.7 -- Shaquille O'Neal after finding out that the Lakers were trading him for Odom, Grant and Butler (work in progress). 8.9 -- Jesse Owens winning four gold medals in Berlin (in front of Adolf Hitler) ... Jackie Robinson's career from 1947-1956. 9.0 -- Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes burning down Andre Rison's house ... the Lorena Bobbit Era. 9.1 -- Tupac Shakur recording "Hit 'Em Up." 9.5 -- Rocky Balboa holding a dying Apollo in his arms as Ivan Drago sneers, "If he dies, he dies." 9.8 -- Michael Corleone ordering the death of his brother, Fredo. 10 ...? Full Article/ List
8.8-- Rockets down 3-1 in the 95 playoffs to the Phoenix Suns begin their comeback after Barkley's notorious "snake" comment and statements that the Rockets can’t win 2 in Phoenix. Finished off with the ultimate dagger...
