I guess Huff is not happy coming to B-More. Can't say that I blame him. Moving from 5th place to 4th place in the division is not very appealing.
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Orioles fans would the feeling is mutual.
-- Bill O.

Bill, I usually have very thick skin when it's comes situations of "men being men" or "boys behaving badly", but this is now real bad for the organization considering there's now video of not only his words but behavior.

The comments about Baltimore didn't bother me so much, it's his whole "act" on the show and seeing the video myself.

I've gone from being a little angry, but to disturbed. Would the outrage be different if he had Markakis' numbers vs. his own, maybe; however, Huff's appearance in the clip is nothing short of ornery.

The bottom line is that there are still people -- families, kids, along with men and women who look up to athletes with honor (as Pollyannaish and unrealistic as it may seem), and someone like Huff... bastardizes it.
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Anthony,
Thanks for writing. Good numbers, bad numbers ... this would be poor judgement on any athlete's part. As I said, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that it may have all unfolded on him by surprise but then you have to distance yourself from the situation as tactfully as possible. And I agree that there is a role-model responsibility that comes with the public standing and the money.
-- Bill O.

B-More fans have a double standard. I remember Ray Lewis being involved in a sexy video that was released right around the time of the Atlanta fiasco, that many would call in poor taste. I dont think this is much different. People do stupid things. Remember Huff was on shock radio, which does not have the same standards as normal radio does.
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Capt.,
It's not a capital offense but it was looking for trouble.
-- Bill O.

Yes, Ray may have been involved in a video, but he didn't refer to the city's nightlife as a horse's ***. The anger behind this incident from Orioles fans is not solely based on Huff in many cases. We have Tejada demanding trades for years and not running hard around the bases and playing sloppy hotdogging defense. We have Kevin Millar who shows up as "the leader" of this team within his first year, running off more at the mouth than producing at the plate, and almost directly begging to go back to Boston. Even before that we had Steve Kline and his mess. Now, we have Huff, coming off of a poor season and curveballs he couldn't hit in his sleep, refering to the nightlife here as a(I don't need to repeat it). We are sick of this. If you don't want to be here, don't sign here. If you don't like the life here, atleast give the organization its money's worth on the field before you wine about yours off the field. These athletes may not be saints and we all know this, but they don't just get paid well to produce on the field. A part of their job title is to deal with the media and in a respectable manner. It is the responsibility of these players to reccognize when they are in the public eye and the potential backlash that may come from the things that they say. It is bad enough that we have had an owner who is more concerned with dominating the MASN than dominating the actual major league fields, an owner who doesn't take shame in filling our stores with Derek Jeter jerseys when the Yankees are in town. On top of all that, we have players moaning and groaning about being here(no matter the capacity) and playing like(What Huff said) on the field. I don't see any of them giving back their money do I? I think that the frustration has mounted over time for the fans. For example, the team may have approved Millar and that Boston game, but it is Millar's responsibility and a grown man and paid player to take into consideration the response from our city and he had no right to complain about it. He got more excited for them this year and he did when we won a game.The ownership shouldn't have to approve or disapprove anything. He has to take responsibility. I say let them all go back to where they want to be, we can have our 11th straight losing season without them and their mouths.

You do realize Aubrey was on a adult rated radio show subscribers have to pay for. Your "role model" reference in this case is pretty stupid. Children and the Pollyanna types like your self would not even know about it if your paper were more responsible. You decided to expose this story to them.
I believe that would make you the disturbed one.
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Troy,
You're entitled to your opinion on media responsibility. I would suggest that this is a perfect example of the expanded media in the 21st century. The Huff controversy actually got legs on the Internet, especially once it was on Deadspin which has millions of page views. So in reality, the newspaper or any of the blogs didn't initiate the coverage. Maybe 10 years ago, it would not have surfaced. But the Internet age has changed the media landscape. As a journalist, my opinion is that we would have looked foolish to ignore it. You may be interested in a story I believe is running in Friday's paper on the subject.
-- Bill O.

"designated disappointment" Creative, original alliterative writing. Bill O. deserves a raise.
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George,
From your lips to my editor's ears. If it happens, I'll treat for lunch.
-- Bill O.

It is surprising to see a newspaper advocate discipline of Aubrey Huff for exercising his right to free speech on the Bubba The Love Sponge Show. Free speech is a cornerstone of our democracy and the Baltimore Sun should support the 1st Amendment as that is your business. What about when a player makes a comment in your publication that could be construed as controversial, should the player be disciplined then? Do you want the players to be robots? Then your paper is worthless.

You really should not worry about pandering to the sensitive baseball fans of Baltimore, and take a principled stand based on the 1st Amendment protection that your publication enjoys. Aubrey Huff was expressing his opinion and using hyperbole on a comedy show. Comedy is protected speech and you should take the basic protections of Bill of Rights more seriously.

Very Truly Yours,
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Bill,
Thanks for that thoughtful note. Obvioiusly, First Amendment rights are parmount. And if the Orioles were to discipline Huff for what he said, then you might hear something different from me. But we're not talking about legally stifling someone here, which would be an abridgement of those important rights, but rather the court of public opinion regarding taste. You know, if Huff were to have made some important, meaningful criticism ... let's say he chastised the Baltimore fans for not attending the games ... and the wrath of the populace rained down on him. Even though I might not agree with him, I'd be doing a Voltaire. But this radio show thing, even if as part of an act, was just being stupidly silly, in my opinion. I'm not saying he doesn't have the right to say what he did but it's only being realistic to understand that there could be consequences. Again, thanks for taking the time to voice a considered opinion on an important topic.
-- Bill O.

Seriously, you people need to lighten up. You have blown this way out of proportion. No one would have even cared about this topic besides the few that listen to BTLS. Grow up and suck it up. Maybe your town is horse****, clean it up

Bill
I am seeing a lot of traditional media ( newspaper and TV) give the same lame excuse they did not initiate the story. As a journalist, you should be covering articles that are more important. You picked up a story from a website called Deadspin and you think you would look foolish if you ignored it. Wow! I guess newspaper creditibility and sophistication has hit a new low. Why don't you change the newspaper's name to the Balitimore Inquirer? Yes, you are correct 10 years ago this would not have made it into your paper. I think that proves my point.
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Troy,
The story wouldn't have made it into the newspaper 10 years ago because the reach of existing media a decade ago is not what it is now -- not because it wouldn't have been deemed newsworthy. ... Bottom line: The fault is with those who created the circumstances for an unpleasant message not the messenger who delivered it.
-- Bill O.

The forums are blowing up with discussions over this topic. It is unbelivable that this could happen in todays society. Check out whats going on at http://www.bubbathelovesponge.net

Ray Lewis has done more than the video. There has been several cases of his thugs/posse being involved with people, when he has been doing his late night bar hopping scene. Ray is not a saint, but he gets treated as such. Its a double standard.

Huff never once in this interview put down the team, he simply said that he is disappointed in the nightlife scene in B-more compared to Tampa where he played last. I personally think that the Huff interview was a breath of freash air. We finally got an honest ball player telling it like it is. Instead of the same old watered down crap that usually spews from pro athletes. So now he is getting skewered for being honest. Who cares that Aubrey watches porn in his hotel room on the road, its a multi-million dollar a year business, that's why you can rent porn in every hotel, something tells me that Huff isn't the only one watching it, he's just the only one talking about it, he shouldn't be punished for it. The fans of the Orioles and writers need to calm down and focus on not being 27 games deep at the end of the season, or how about lets just tey to get above .500. Huff and his antics are not the reason the Orioles did so horribly this season, so instead of trying to railroad a guy that did an honest interview on an uncensored pay radio service, lets try to get out of the basement of the AL East AS A TEAM!!!

I am disappointed in Child Walker's article today. While Child is correct that he played mediocre ball for a bad team. I do not call the Orioles a small market by any stretch of the imagination. I believe the real small market teams would also find fault with this opinion.
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Capt.,
I think you're missing what Childs' intent was in expressing it that way. I'm reluctant to speak for Childs but the entire passage was "But Huff spent 2007 playing mediocre ball for a bad team in a small market. His case shows that with Web sites hungry for any clip that might attract a few more hits, the embarrassment of sports figures is hardly reserved for the big stars." The point of the article was how the Internet and blogging have changed the media landscape and that a national spotlight can be turned on even C-list public figures ... such as a relatively minor sports celeb Aubrey Huff ... who get caught in a sticky situation. Do you want to argue that Baltimore is a medium-sized market as opposed to small? Okay. But
the point is still the same regarding the Internet and events that would have escaped the media radar in years past, I think.
-- Bill O.

It is surprising to see a newspaper advocate discipline of Aubrey Huff for exercising his right to free speech on the Bubba The Love Sponge Show. Free speech is a cornerstone of our democracy and the Baltimore Sun should support the 1st Amendment as that is your business. What about when a player makes a comment in your publication that could be construed as controversial, should the player be disciplined then? Do you want the players to be robots? Then your paper is worthless.

You really should not worry about pandering to the sensitive baseball fans of Baltimore, and take a principled stand based on the 1st Amendment protection that your publication enjoys. Aubrey Huff was expressing his opinion and using hyperbole on a comedy show. Comedy is protected speech and you should take the basic protections of Bill of Rights more seriously.

Very Truly Yours,

Andy
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Andy,
I never advocated discipline for Huff. In fact, I'd object to that. I said his behavior was silly and implied that for the for the grief it was bound to cause him, a stupid mistake.
-- Bill O.

You are right. It was a minor point and not the point he was trying to make.

The 1st amendment only applies to the government infringing upon free speech. It says nothing about your employer. That said, it seems he was talking about Baltimore's nightlife and as someone who now lives in Tampa and grew up in baltimore, he's correct.