The naughty and nice athletes list for 2018

As Christmas approaches, we look back on 2018 in sports and make a list, check it twice and let everyone know who's been naughty or nice in the sporting world. For every athlete arrested for insider trading, there's another who's donating his entire paycheck to charity — and sometimes they're teammates. One Cleveland Cavalier built a beautiful school for children, while another threw a bowl of soup at his coach. From the devils to the angels, from the losers to the winners, from the cowardly to the brave, here's a comprehensive list of the nicest and naughtiest sports figures of 2018.

Naughty 

Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers used their last remaining lottery pick from The Process to create a heartwarming tale. They took Mikal Bridges, a versatile wing player who seemed like the missing piece for their core. His skill set was a perfect fit for the team, plus Bridges had played his college ball in Philadelphia, at Villanova, where he won two national championships. But also, his mom, Tyneeha Rivers, works for the team as vice president of human resources. 

The two were interviewed together on draft night, and it was a beautiful story — that is, until a few minutes later when the Sixers shipped him to Phoenix in exchange for Zhaire Smith and a future first-round pick. This was the cold-blooded Process at its most brutal. The Sixers may have been punished by the basketball gods for breaking up the family when Smith had an allergic reaction to sesame that almost killed him while he was already rehabbing a broken foot. Maybe he had a lump of coal in his shoe?

J.R. Smith: America's favorite shirtless NBA player threw a bowl of soup in an assistant coach’s face, which we later learned was chicken tortilla soup. His karmic punishment may have come in Game One of the Finals when he forgot that the score was tied and dribbled out the clock in regulation. Now he’s stuck on the LeBron-free Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA’s Island of Misfit Toys, as his good teammates are gradually traded away. Unfortunately for J.R., the nature of his contract means the Cavs won’t trade him until next summer, and until then he’s been sent home. He’s probably spending a lot of time at Souplantation.

Clonbrien Hero’s trainer: Irish greyhound Clonbrien Hero tested positive for cocaine back in 2017 but continued to win races and break records throughout 2018, even drawing a nomination for Dog of the Year after a winning streak. But you can’t blame Clonbrien Hero for this scandal because dogs don’t know how to buy drugs. Clonbrien Hero’s trainer, Graham Holland, on the other hand, apparently does. This is the eighth dog he’s trained to fail drug tests since November 2015, and his excuse is simply that people with cocaine on their hands keep petting his dogs. Santa’s not going to fall for that, and neither is the naughty list.

Mychal Kendricks: Though it’s somewhat refreshing to see an NFL player charged with a non-violent crime, Mychal Kendricks got in deep trouble with his insider trading. Kendricks conspired with a bank analyst to share non-public information about upcoming mergers, and the resulting speculation earned Kendricks upward of $1.2 million in profits, for which he rewarded his partner with Eagles tickets and cash. The Browns released Kendricks, the NFL gave him an eight-game suspension, and in his fourth game back from suspension, he broke his leg. Kendricks is scheduled for sentencing in January, at which point he’s expected to get 30 months in prison.

Washington Redskins: They’re perpetually on the naughty list with every year they have a team name that’s a racial slur. At least the Cleveland Indians are getting rid of their mascot, Chief Wahoo, after the 2018 season. But when the 49ers released linebacker Reuben Foster after he was arrested for another domestic violence case, Washington immediately claimed him. Essentially, the team is betting on fans forgetting about his domestic violence charges by the time he’s cleared to play, if he ever is. It was a remarkably cynical move...even for Dan Snyder.

Hunter Strickland: Giants reliever Hunter Strickland already had a bad reputation before the 2018 season. He almost started a brawl during the 2014 World Series, and in 2017, he drilled Bryce Harper in the hip with a 98 MPH fastball, apparently because Harper hit two home runs off him in the 2014 playoffs. (Strickland gave up an MLB-record six home runs that year.) He had a chance to redeem himself and earn some serious money, as Mark Melancon's injury left Strickland as the Giants’ closer to start the season. However, after blowing a save against the Marlins in June, Strickland punched a door in frustration and broke his hand. Clearly he’s never seen Bull Durham or he’d know you don’t punch with your pitching hand. Even though Strickland’s career ERA is 2.91, no one wanted to trade for him. The Giants released him in November.

Corey Johnson and Eddie Greene: Corey Johnson is the CEO and Eddie Greene is the coach of the Newark Flames, a track club in New Jersey, and the founders of the Brick City Invite. The Flames exist, but the 2018 Brick City Invite did not. The duo submitted results for six New Jersey schools that included “significant personal bests” for many runners, none of whom competed because the meet was fake. In fact, one of the schools involved actually hosted its own real meet on the same date. The two also submitted fake results for the 2017 Brick City Invite and the Brick City Invitational — you’d think two guys so adept at making stuff up could come up with a more creative name. Both resigned from their positions, unless those letters of resignation were also fake.

Jim Boylen: Though he has been the coach of the Chicago Bulls for only a few weeks, Jim Boylen managed to make it onto the naughty list. He took over the team when Fred Hoiberg was fired at practice (Boylen didn’t give him a heads up) and proceeded to run the team like a drill sergeant. His practices were well over two hours long and involved tons of running, and even his game-day shootarounds were long. In his third game as coach, he pulled all five of his starters twice, and the team lost by 56 points at home. It almost sparked a player revolt the next day, only Boylen’s seventh as the coach. He made nice with the players, then the team went out and blew an 11-point halftime lead and lost by 19. Boylen took over on Dec. 3, and it’s not out of the question that he could be fired by Christmas!

Nice 

LeBron James: Sure, LeBron James dragged the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, continuing his personal eight-year streak of winning the East. And sure, he won two Game 7 matchups in the process, including a smackdown of the Boston Celtics in their own arena. But what puts LeBron James on the nice list is his unprecedented commitment to education. He opened a public school, the I Promise School, in his hometown, specifically designed for underperforming children. Each kid gets free breakfast, lunch and snacks, access to a fitness trainer and a free bicycle. Students have access to counseling, and class size is limited to 20. There are even GED classes and job placement assistance for parents. There’s no precedent to this effort, which actually adds resources to the Akron School District rather than taking them away. While LeBron may have taken his talents to Los Angeles, he left a legacy behind in Ohio.

Daniel Mengden: Oakland A’s pitcher Daniel Mengden is best known for his unusual windup and meticulously groomed mustache, but this November, he became a hero: a puppy rescuing hero, to be specific. Mengden and a friend helped rescue puppies that had been trapped in a sewer, lowering themselves into the storm drain and fishing out the skittish dogs. Mengden didn’t stop there, as he and his girlfriend then adopted both of the puppies. It’s an incredibly nice thing for Mengden to do, and his boss, Billy Beane, would applaud him for getting pets at such a good price.

Breanna Stewart: WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart had about as good a year as you can imagine for the Seattle Storm. In her third season in the league, the Storm won the title, and Stewart was Finals MVP. This wasn’t a total surprise because Stewart was a four-year national champion at UConn, winning Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament all four years. But she also bravely told her #MeToo story, publishing an essay in the Players' Tribune about her childhood sexual abuse. Stewart subsequently partnered with RAINN, which is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, helping to raise money and awareness and even wearing sneakers with the organization’s phone number during a game.

Yadier Molina: The Roberto Clemente Award honors the baseball player who exemplifies Clemente’s humanitarian spirit. This year it went to St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina for his work helping victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, where both he and Clemente are from. He may have shown even greater bravery on the field, however, when he suffered a “traumatic hematoma” after taking a foul tip to the groin. (Even typing that sentence was painful.) Molina still returned to make another All-Star Team, win a ninth Gold Glove and travel to the MLB All Star Japan Series, presumably with a reinforced cup.

Chris Long: After getting a ring in 2017 with the Patriots, Chris Long of the Philadelphia Eagles became a repeat Super Bowl champion in 2018 — after donating the entirety of his salary to charity that season. His first six game checks went to fund scholarships in Charlottesville, Virginia, and he gave the next 10 to organizations promoting educational equality. That’s after previously founding a charity called Waterboys, which provides wells in East Africa that provide fresh water for over 7,000 people each. This year he’s logged 4.5 sacks for the Eagles and raised his career total to 68. One more sack, and he’ll also be on the “naughty” list.

Kyler Murray: Heisman winner Kyler Murray was a two-sport star. The Oklahoma junior played center field on the Sooners baseball team and was picked ninth overall by the Oakland A’s in the baseball draft. The A’s agreed to let Murray finish out his football career this fall, and Murray proceeded to win the Heisman Trophy, the second consecutive Oklahoma quarterback to do so. Murray dazzled all year but never greater than in the Big 12 Championship, when he threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns and proved that there’s at least one member of the A’s who can win a playoff game. Murray goes back to baseball next year, so that’s a pretty nice way to end your football career.

Japan: In the World Cup, Japan led its game against Belgium, 2-0, through 69 minutes, and then the Red Devils stormed back, equalizing with two headers and scoring the game-winning goal just seconds into stoppage time. This sent Belgium to the next round and eliminated the valiant Japan squad. In this situation, you might expect disappointment — maybe even a brawl in the stands. Instead, Japanese fans stayed after the heartbreaking loss to clean up the stadium. This is especially endearing when you see the elaborate costumes they’re wearing while picking up trash. Not to be outdone, the Japanese team itself left the locker room spotless.

Nathan Eovaldi: Even though he was ostensibly the team’s third starter, Nathan Eovaldi came out of the bullpen for Boston in Games One and Two of the World Series. He won his first two playoff starts and delivered an inning and a third of shutout relief in Game Five. Rick Porcello started Game Three of the World Series but was pulled in the fifth inning, so when the game was still tied in the 12th inning, presumptive Game Four starter Eovaldi came out of the pen. 

The Red Sox scored in the 13th, and Eovaldi was one terrible Ian Kinsler throw away from winning the game in the bottom of the inning. So Eovaldi, the last pitcher left, remained in the game and threw six heroic innings of relief until his night was ruined by Max Muncy’s walk-off homer. This was especially brave since Eovaldi was coming off his second Tommy John surgery and had no guaranteed contract for 2019. But he was so nice, that his reward is a World Series ring and, hopefully, a sweet free-agent deal.