Sports 4 Dorks

A recent edition of ESPN The Magazine had a Q and A with tight ends Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, and the tone of it would suggest that the two were not-so-friendly rivals.

Not true, said the Chargers’ Gates when asked about it today. The players were interviewed separately, Gates said, although the piece made it look like they were responding back-and-forth.

“From what I understood, it was some stuff that was taken out of proportion, as far as the relationship we have,” said Gates, who acknowledged that of this afternoon he hadn’t yet read the article. “From the outside perspective, it looks like two guys who don’t get along.”

A sample passage from the ESPN piece:

AG: We both played college basketball, so in Hawaii a reporter asked if he was a better basketball player than me. He said yeah. It was disrespectful. Scouts used to watch me practice. Can Tony say that? We ended up playing a game of H-O-R-S-E for a TV segment. It was supposed to be fun.
TG: But he was serious.
AG: It was my fault for being so aggressive.
TG: Listen, I’m from Huntington Beach, so I showed up with board shorts and flip-flops. He came out with tennis shoes and basketball shorts.
AG: Of course, I won.
TG: It was just H-O-R-S-E. Mine is more of a power game, anyway. …

Or:

AG: He did give me some good advice on a barber. We even started lifting together.
TG: I wouldn’t call it lifting together. We were just at the same gym. Our relationship is similar to the one I had with Shannon Sharpe in his later years. Shannon was outgoing and accepting — more so than me. And much more than Antonio.
AG: We’re not exactly friends, but things are better between us. At the Pro Bowl this year he was like, “Go ahead, man. I’m getting old.”
TG: Hey, I can still get the job done. He’s got more touchdowns the past few years, but that has to do with offensive schemes. Our hands are equal …

Gates today portrayed his relationship with Gonzalez as one of respect.

“He’s a guy who’s been in this league for a while, (done) a lot of things at his position, set the standard for how this position is played,” he said. “I’m just a guy following in his footsteps.

“I respect him, with the career he’s put together over a substantial amount of time. It’s one of those things where you look at a guy like that and you understand how hard it is to accomplish six or seven Pro Bowls in a row. It’s hard. I don’t care who you are.”

Gates also said the two share a marketing agency — which apparently is run by Gonzalez’ sister. Wonder who she thinks is the better tight end.