Sportswriters We Hate is a series in which we mock some of today’s prominent sports writers, talking heads, radio hosts and whatever Darren Rovell is considered. We get rather annoyed with these guys’ articles and tweets, and what better way to solve that than to mock them endlessly.

Who do we hate today?

Brent Axe

Central New Yorkers will definitely recognize “The Axeman,” formerly a sports radio talk show host and currently a sportswriter for syracuse.com. Although we really do hate guys like Rick Reilly, Darren Rovell and Peter King, it’s a little different with Brent Axe. We don’t necessarily hate Axe as much as we hate the work he does. He is just not good at it. One sentence paragraphs and One. Word. Sentences. When. Trying. To. Make. A. Point. are just a few of our issues with Brent.

His latest article is a response to a “Most Hated College Basketball Players in the Last 30 Years” bracket done on Grantland.com. A bracket created for entertainment purposes and to generate a laugh or two. Surely no one would take something like this to heart and raise a fuss.

Right?

This time next week, copy machines and printers will be humming in offices across America and brackets will take the place of TPS reports on the desks of millions of American workers.

At Syracuse.com, TPS reports stand for “This Piece of Sh-t”. Especially when Axe is the author.

Goodbye productivity, it’s office pool time.

I do not think productivity means what you think it means. Your day consisted of writing this.

In the meantime, “alternative bracket season” is in full swing.

“Alternative bracket season” constitutes the various websites and radio shows that provide their own spin on March Madness bracket style.

Things like sports movies, women, breakfast cereals, bands, NFL quarterbacks, and “all-time teams” get debated in a tournament format as passionately as who will end up in Atlanta for the Final Four.

Things like women. Women get debated in tournament format. I love this. Every once in a while you’ll get a hint of sexist Brent. He also once questioned why women should be allowed membership at Augusta.

Some of them can be really creative and fun to check out.

NEAT!

Grantland.com put a bracket today that will try and determine the most hated college basketball players of the last 30 years.

What we have here is a website’s story about a website’s story. Journalism isn’t dead, it’s just literally eating itself.

Three Syracuse players made the cut. Eric Devenforf, Derrick Coleman, and Sherman Douglas.

“Notice there are no Buffalo Bills on the list” says a cocky Brent, both swelling with pride and missing the point.

Devendorf is one of the most disliked Syracuse players in recent memory. Devendorf certainly played with an attitude and talked a lot of trash on the court.

This guy? Really?

Let me say that again. He talked A LOT OF TRASH on the court.

You are a terrible writer. Let me say that again. YOU ARE A TERRIBLE WRITER.

Devendorf played with a scowl on his face and did not hide from a back and forth with opposing fans either. His off the court transgressions certainly didn’t help his image and made him a target as well.

Unlike Brandon Triche, who plays with the saddest face you’ll ever see.

I get why he is on the list.

Derrick Coleman would be the first person to tell you that he had a bit of a wild side when he was at Syracuse, both on and off the court. He played hard, he played with passion, and was in the center of the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry when it burned hottest, which were always physical games.

You went to Herkimer Community College.

Syracuse made an appearance in the Final Four, Elite Eight, and Sweet 16 during Coleman’s career and were often on national television.

You spend your day reading Grantland and Clay Travis.

I can see why he is on this list.

I can see why you are terrible.

But how in the world did Sherman Douglas make the cut?

What a waste of time this really is.

Is this one of those “I hate him because he was so good” kind of things?

I hate you because you’re so bad.

I may be a bit biased here as I grew up in Syracuse and was a huge Sherman fan back in the day, but I can never recall Sherman being ‘hated.’

At this point Axe has essentially admitted that this exercise is a temper tantrum for someone calling out his favorite player.

There is a reason the guy had the nickname “The General.” There is a reason he was the NCAA’s all-time assists leader when he left Syracuse. He was the ultimate team player.

Douglas rarely got frisky.

Well I would certainly hope not.

His trademark was the alley-oop pass, but he was PASSING the ball. And who doesn’t love a good alley-oop?

Brandon Knight?

Sure, there was the between-the-legs play vs Indiana at Madison Square Garden.

And he threw down a reverse jam to close out his Carrier Dome career vs Georgetown, but you could count those types of plays from Sherman on one hand.

What types of plays? You are describing regular basketball plays.

Sherman didn’t talk trash, didn’t have an attitude with the press, didn’t have any notable off the court issues, and did not get into any major altercations with opposing fans that I could think of or Google could find.

He was all about TEAM.

You have the worst criteria for hating players.

I checked in with longtime (sorry, Mike) Post-Standard Syracuse basketball beat reporter Mike Waters to see if there was anything I was missing. Mike was just as baffled as I was.

Mike Waters was baffled you were writing a story on this s***.

My Twitter feed blew up with responses like this when I tweeted out the Grantland link on Monday morning.

Did it, Brent? Did it really blow up?

The Grantland Bracket is broken up into 80’s, 90’s, 00’s, and Duke (clever).

Grantland really is the worst.

The other players from the 80’s besides Coleman and Douglas are Patrick Ewing, Danny Ainge, Pervis Ellison, Michael Graham, Reggie Miller, and Rick Fox.

Oh man, Rick Fox? How is he hated after Party Down?

I get almost everyone of those names. But I just don’t get Sherman being in that company if the category is “hated players.”

I just don’t get how your articles are never proofread by anyone.

I have reached out to the writer of the Grantland piece, Rafe Bartholomew, asking why Sherman made the cut. I will update this post with any response from him.

His response: “Brent Who?”

What am I missing here? Why do you think Sherman Douglas made this list?

You’re missing the fact that fans of OTHER teams might not like your favorite players. It’s a harsh reality, I know.

Drop below in the comments section or send me an email to tell me what you think of Sherman being in this bracket. While you are at it, tell me who you think is going to win this.

Brent will NOT vote in a Grantland poll without your help, gang.

I agree with Bartholomew that Chrstian (sic) Laettner will win.

At least no one is taking this seriously…

But Joakim Noah is my dark horse.

Brent Axe is the #1 seed in my “Most Hated Sportswriter” bracket. His article complaining about that bracket will be up in a month.