Ron Borges
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Ron Borges is a sportswriter for the Boston Globe. He is a regular guest on Michael Felger's radio show ESPN The Drive. He is currently on unpaid suspension from the Globe for plagiarism.
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[edit] Boston Magazine Feature
In the November issue of Boston Magazine there was a feature on Borges.
[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 http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/mr_popularity/feature
[edit] Awards
Borges has been named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Association of Sportswriters and Sportsbroadcasters 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 AP 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] Off predictions
Borges was the only one of 49 sportswriters polled to pick Evander Holyfield to defeat Mike Tyson before their first heavyweight title fight, a selection for which he received much international notoriety when Holyfield stopped Tyson one round later than Borges had predicted. His predictions in Super Bowls is less impressive. When asked to predict the outcome of the 2002 Super Bowl featuring the St. Louis Rams vs. the team he covered all year, the New England Patriots, Mr. Borges provide two inaccurate predictions. His first prediction was Rams 35, Patriots 10 and noted that "Speed kills; Patriots are dead." His second prediction was simply Rams 73, Patriots 0. The final score was Patriots 20, Rams 17.
[edit] Criticism
Borges' opinions have frequently earned him hostility. 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]
On March 4, 2007, Borges was caught in plagiarism allegations after an online reader 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.[4] On March 5, Borges was suspended for plagiarism by the Globe, without pay, and barred from broadcast appearances for two months.[5]
