Fansided

Bob Ryan takes verbal hatchet to ‘con man’ Mark Jackson in radio interview

By Jonathan Bass

Jan 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson and current ESPN commentator smiles before the start of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson and current ESPN commentator smiles before the start of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bob Ryan went hard in the paint after Mark Jackson on Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday morning famed sportswriter and commentator Bob Ryan called in to the Dan Le Batard Show to discuss, among other things, the Golden State Warriors and their success this season. While praising the team, Ryan took a not-so-subtle left turn and used the platform as a jump-off to lob some personal barbs at former Golden State head coach (and current ABC/ESPN television announcer) Mark Jackson.

According to Ryan, two years ago he went on the record “thank God,” to say that the Warriors were a good team, but one that was underachieving. In Ryan’s estimation, when the team got, “a real coach not some bible-pounding phony” that they would go far.

The retired Boston Globe journalist then went on to double-down on the “phony” name-calling before disgustedly expressing bafflement over why and how ABC brought the “con artist” Jackson back into the fold. To be fair, Ryan did praise Jackson – albeit in a backhanded fashion, saying that Jackson is good at being a con man.

"“I am on record, thank God, publicly saying two years ago, I looked at the NBA and I looked at the rosters and I looked at what was going on, and I said the most talented team one through eight, at least, in the NBA is the Golden State Warriors. They’re doing OK but I know they could do better. I know if they had a real coach, not some bible-pounding phony that Mark Jackson is, you know, when he isn’t really a legitimate bible-pounder. I’m telling ya’, I know they’ll be better off. I didn’t know that it would be Steve Kerr. I didn’t know that it would be Luke Walton. I didn’t know who it would be but I knew that they were out there. And there were plenty of them out there that could make them a better team, yes.“Yeah, because he’s a phony that’s all…Well, I’m sorry. And I can’t believe they took him back on that broadcast. Oh my God, you know, he’s a con man and he’s done very well at it. I give him credit for being a great one.”"

Here’s the scribe taking Jackson to task.

So begins our first media feud of 2016. And not for nothing, here’s a video of Jackson working the streets with a bible in hand.

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