Ron Borges
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Ron Borges is a former sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He is a regular guest on Michael Felger's radio show The Mike Felger Show on 890 ESPN.
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[edit] Awards
Borges has been named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Association of Sportswriters and Sports broadcasters five times since 1999. He also holds the record for most first prizes and overall awards in the annual competition of the Professional Boxing Writers Association. He has also been awarded a half dozen writing awards in the Associated Press Sports Editors' annual competition and his work has been included in the annual anthology "Best Sports Stories" eight times. He has been awarded either a first or second prize 20 times in writing competitions held by the Professional Football Writers Association as well, including multiple awards in the same year three times. In 1995, he was the recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for boxing journalism from the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is one of less than 25 boxing writers to ever receive that honor.
[edit] Criticism
Borges' hostile opinions have frequently earned him criticism. He has severely criticized Bill Belichick; some media figures, including Bill Simmons, have asserted that this is because Borges relied on former quarterback Drew Bledsoe, benched and traded by Belichick, as his primary source of Patriots information. Borges also wrote a controversial column asserting that Lance Armstrong is not an athlete.
“In person, most people have been very kind to me, A few people haven’t, usually when they’re under the influence of some stimulants or depressants. It’s not nice. I don’t like it. It happened to me once in a mall with my daughter when she was about 10 years old. Some guy was cursing and yelling. I tried to use it as a learning experience for her on how not to behave. I’d be lying if I said I thought it was cool. But I accept it. I’m not complaining. I know what this is.”[1]
Ron Borges also played a part in starting the long running feud between the Boston Globe and Boston sports talk radio station WEEI. In 1999, the Boston Globe's executive sports editor banned Globe sportswriters from appearing on WEEI's afternoon 'The Big Show' after Borges appeared on it and allegedly used a racial slur to describe New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu. Glenn Ordway, host of the show defended Borges stating that he was only trying to 'recall Yankees owner George Steinbrenner's infamous description of Irabu as a "fat, pussy toad."[2] Ordway claims he corrected Borges on the air and was surprised when the ban was announced. Two weeks later, Skwar banned Globe sportswriters from appearing on WEEI's morning Dennis and Callahan Show because of its perceived lowbrow humor. After this ban, WEEI retaliated by banning Globe sportswriters from all WEEI programs.[3]
[edit] Altercation with Michael Katz
In June 2004, Borges was involved in a physical altercation with New York Times and MaxBoxing.com reporter Michael Katz at a press conference in Las Vegas. Reports state that Katz was in the process of interviewing boxing promoter Bob Arum when Borges interrupted to ask Arum a question. Katz objected to the interruption and allegedly accused Borges of "being a shill for" boxing promoter Don King. In a column earlier in the year Katz had called Borges "a vomit-smelling sleaze" and criticized Borges for "writing about a fight without revealing he was being paid by King to provide television commentary". Borges responded by striking Katz, who responded by striking at Borges with his cane. Katz was described as "a short, fat man in his 60s who walks with a cane and wears a neck brace because of chronic back problems". The fight between the two was broken up by Arum and his aide.[4][5]
[edit] Plagiarism allegations
On March 4, 2007, Borges was caught in plagiarism allegations after an online reader on ESPN.com's New England Patriots message board revealed that there were extensive similarities between a March 4 article by Borges in the Boston Globe and a February 25 article written by sportswriter Mike Sando of the Tacoma News Tribune.[6] On March 5, Borges was suspended for plagiarism by the Globe, without pay, and barred from broadcast appearances for two months.[7]
[edit] Other Globe columnists on Borges
- “Borges doesn’t care, I think he fires away and doesn’t think about the fans or anyone else. I think he fires away with honesty and candor with no other objective but to tell people what he really thinks. And if people don’t like it, too bad.” -Bob Ryan
- “He’s always expressed his opinions, Bluntly.” -former Globe sports editor Don Skwar.
- “We should have one of those Globe polls—‘Who do you hate more?’ I’ve challenged Borges to see who could get out the vote. It would be close. And it would be a lot more interesting than who’s going to win the MVP.” -Dan Shaughnessy
[edit] Boston Magazine Feature
In the November 2006 issue of Boston Magazine there was a feature on Borges.[8]
[edit] Retirement from The Boston Globe
Less than two weeks after returning from his 2-month suspension, Borges announced his retirement from the Boston Globe on May 18, 2007.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Mr. Popularity - Boston Magazine
- ^ APRIL, 1999 | BaseballLibrary.com
- ^ Don't Quote Me |
- ^ David, Weber. "Heavyweight Times Co. scribes go a couple of rounds in Vegas", Boston Herald, 2004-06-05.
- ^ Cote, John. "Winners emerge from no-decision", ST. Petersburg Times, 2004-06-08. Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
- ^ Cold, Hard Football Facts.com: A cyberspace episode of “24”
- ^ Globe suspends Borges.
- ^ Mr. Popularity - Boston Magazine
- ^ Borges retires from Globe.
Borges' "retirement" came in wake of a plagiarism scandal in which he was caught lifting copy from Mike Sando of the The News Tribune (now with ESPN). Borges is now relegated to writing on his weblog while nurturing a blossoming career as a guest on cable television access shows throughout Greater Boston.
