Randy Moss has had a wild 24 hours: playing against his former team less than a month after being traded and then being waived on Monday. But the most memorable part of Moss’ Halloween was Moss’ press conference, when, in a bizarre twist, he interviewed himself. The veteran receiver announced that he would no longer answer questions from the press this season but he wanted to talk to avoid being fined again.
While Moss’ press conference may be one of the wildest we’ve seen nationally in the past decade, we were able to find some other instances of stars in Boston saying some crazy things, or finding themselves in odd situations. Here’s a collection of some for which we could locate video.
10. March 10, 2010: Nomar Garciaparra retires as a Red Sox
The former shortstop and his onetime adversaries in the Red Sox front office buried the hatchet for a day at spring training so Garciaparra could retire as a member of the team with which he started his career. There were those who questioned the sincerity of Garciaparra, who had some legendary battles with the media.
9. Dec. 9, 2009: An embarrassed Tom Brady gets peppered with questions about his new baby
Brady tried his best to change the subject, but the media continued to pester him about the birth of his son. It would be difficult to recall a birth in Boston that received more attention than this one.
8. July 31, 2007: Kevin Garnett is welcomed to Boston as the third member of the new Big Three
The excitement was at a fever pitch when Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce greeted the public for the first time together as Celtics. Danny Ainge put it best when he said: “This is going to be a lot of fun this year.”
7. Dec. 14, 2006: Daisuke Matsuzaka is introduced to Boston
The interest was intense when the Japanese star flew to Fenway Park to announce his signing with the Red Sox. The deal was reached just before the deadline expired for the team and player to come to an agreement, or else Matsuzaka would return to Japan.
6. Jan. 29, 2008: Tom Brady gets a marriage proposal at Super Bowl media day
This is a week that Brady, Bill Belichick and TV Azteca reporter Inez Gomez Mont probably want to forget. Not only did the Patriots lose to the Giants, but a then-unmarried Brady received a proposal from the Mexican reporter. Mont, who works alongside Inez Sainz, dressed up in a wedding dress and asked Brady to marry her in the midst of the craziness that is Super Bowl media day. Brady went on to marry Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen, and Mont said that she would settle for Eli Manning instead.
5. Jan. 12, 2009: Kevin Garnett talks about Paul Pierce after overtime win over Raptors
Pierce finished with 39 points in 49 minutes and led the Celtics to a 115-109 overtime victory over the Raptors. He led the Celtics with nine of the team’s 22 points in overtime and hit 13 of 26 shots while pulling down nine rebounds. The kicker? Doc Rivers had called Pierce “50-50″ the previous night after Pierce had sprained his right knee that night in Toronto. Even better than Pierce’s performance were Garnett’s comments on Pierce’s play. Why did Pierce dress up as a frog for Halloween? Was his Superman costume at the dry cleaners?
4. May 4, 2010: Dustin Pedroia on David Ortiz’s early season struggles
A frustrated Dustin Pedroia stood in the Red Sox locker room backing David Ortiz despite the designated hitter’s early season struggles for the second spring in a row. In the midst of supporting Ortiz and throwing some jabs at the media, Pedroia came up with a new description of his MVP season: “laser show.” The quote spawned a mini-folk legend and a slew of T-shirts. Ortiz eventually broke out of his slump to finish with his best statistical year since 2007.
3. June 17, 2008: An emotional Kevin Garnett talks after winning the NBA title
After struggling to regain his composure, Garnett said finally winning the title was like defeating a bully at school for the first time. Said Garnett: “I knocked the bully-ass out.”
2. Sept. 12, 2010: Randy Moss‘ Week 1 rant
Sunday wasn’t the only time Moss has provided an intriguing press conference at Gillette. After a relatively quiet five receptions for 59 yards in the season-opener, Moss decided that it would be best to express his frustrations directly after the Patriots’ 38-24 win over the Bengals. In a several-minute rant, Moss said that he was “unappreciated” and speculated that this would likely be his last year in New England. Less than two months later, Moss’ future is much less certain, with Moss possibly making his third stop in less than a month.
1. March 1, 2000: Rick Pitino will not be negative
Pitino was not in a good place when he faced the media on March 1, 2000. After missing out on Tim Duncan in the lottery in 2007, Pitino, the coach and team president, had been unhappy for three years. Add to that, the Celtics had just lost to the Raptors on a Vince Carter buzzer-beater, and Pitino’s frustration with the franchise and the fans of Boston had reached a boiling point. In one of the most famous speeches in Boston sports history, Pitino said that former Celtics stars weren’t going to come walking through the door and save the franchise, and he lambasted the fans for their negativity.