The People vs. OJ Simpson

[reinko]

Maybe the best two hour lineup in the history of television.

Russ Hanneman's explanation how he wanted the doors to open on his car (last year) was one of the funniest things I have seen on TV.

Agreed.

[Herman Cain]

Thing is, OJ had this national pristine reputation, but locally he was considered a douche.  Much like Marcus Allen.  People that interact with Marcus and a number of others know what complete d-bags they are.  Reggie is the absolute worst.   Folks knew about OJ knocking around Nicole out here as well, so to me that was a national misnomer more than a local one. 

We got up and close with OJ back in the day when he was busted by our guys for stealing DIRECTV.  Busted him in 2001 as the law allowed us to work with Federal, State and local officials to conduct raids of people we knew were stealing.   We caught him in Florida where he had to move to after he was found guilty in the civil jury.  He had protections in Florida he didn't in California. He had to pay $25,000 in a judgment in 2005 for stealing the service.

I had many dealings with him. You are absolutely correct he was a d bag on every possible level.  The miracles of advertising and marketing glossed him up.

[wadesworld]

The second of the five part 30 for 30 on OJ Simpson is getting better than the first.

OJ's interview after his arrest for the beating of Nicole on New Years is absolutely disgusting.

[wadesworld]

Some haunting images in last night's episode.

The combination of having seen the FX series and now the 30 for 30 is really interesting.  The FX series focused more on OJ and the trial and everything that went into that while the 30 for 30 goes more into the history of the LAPD and the racial issues surrounding the case and then gets a lot of good interviews with people that were part of the trial and personal friends of Nicole and/or OJ.

[dgies9156]

I watched both the FX and ESPN versions of OJ. The story is well-known. The mistakes obvious for any objective observer. The trial was simply too long and the sloppiness of the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office in failing to understand there was a Panther in the jury box, that Mark Furhman had a very unfortunate set of tapes and the inability to seal off there crime scene and overseeing the LAPD from the beginning was ridiculous.

Two things were interesting about it. One was the framing of the case in the black/white narrative that was Los Angeles. Frankly, that's why OJ walked. The second was the post-conviction world OJ found himself it. The ESPN piece was particularly good at framing the change in the Juice's life and the aftershock he faced from a public that in many cases no longer idolized him.

Maybe I spent too much time at Marquette, but I never did get why he didn't divorce her, walk away and get on with his life. Obsessions of any kind are just bad for you (except when they involve our Warriors!).

[warriorchick]

Maybe I spent too much time at Marquette, but I never did get why he didn't divorce her, walk away and get on with his life. Obsessions of any kind are just bad for you (except when they involve our Warriors!).

They already were divorced.  He killed her because he couldn't stand seeing her living a life apart from his.

[4everwarriors]

Impressed wit the entire 30 4 30 production, hey?

[wadesworld]

Impressed wit the entire 30 4 30 production, hey?

Pretty good.  Thought the history leading up to the trial was a bit long for my liking personally, and thought they could've gone more into why decisions were made on each side of the trial, but well done overall, as always.

[warriorchick]

Pretty good.  Thought the history leading up to the trial was a bit long for my liking personally, and thought they could've gone more into why decisions were made on each side of the trial, but well done overall, as always.

I actually thought that was the best part.  I have been trying to articulate my kids why O.J. going on trial for murder was such an incredible story, and this series did a great job of explaining his place in American pop culture.

[dgies9156]

They already were divorced.  He killed her because he couldn't stand seeing her living a life apart from his.

Were they or were they separated and in the process of divorce?

[warriorchick]

Were they or were they separated and in the process of divorce?

Divorced in 1992.

[MU82]

Mrs. MU82 and I FINALLY watched all five parts. It had been sitting in our DVR for a while before we had the time.

I loved Part 1 because it reminded me how incredible OJ was as a football player. I grew up as a sports fan in the early '70s, so I don't remember seeing him in college or when he first struggled with the Bills. My memories of his playing days are of how spectacular he was. If he isn't the best RB I've seen, he's in the top few. He was so fluid and ran so tall, but he could cut and had power, too. Dickerson was kind of like him, but OJ welcomed contact more.

So seeing OJ first at USC, which was new to me, and then during his great years with the Bills ... it was really cool.

I also liked how they framed it against the racial times that existed then. No matter where one stands on it politically, it was really interesting, and it helps explain why they really never had a chance to convict OJ.

They interviewed two jurors often, and I got a lot out of those. One was a highly intelligent woman, maybe late-40s or early-50s, who really struggled with so much about the case. She did not believe OJ but in the end, she felt she had no choice but to acquit him because the prosecution failed so miserably. The other was an old lady without teeth who basically said, "OJ is black, the cops were white and racist, and I was never gonna convict him."

I also thought the Marcia Clark interviews were great, very enlightening. I thought the actress who played Marcia in the docudrama was excellent, but Marcia was even better as Marcia - ha!

[Mutaman]

On a scale of 1-5, Jim brown gives Eric a 5 for rushing, a 5 for speed, and a 1 for heart. In terms of "domination" , he likes OJ, Sayers. peyton, and Campbell , in no particular order.

I had forgotten that OJ had world class speed:

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-17/sports/sp-4512_1_years-ago-today

Brown says that oj also had tremendous upper body strength and "a precise sense of when to accelerate". Says he "ran with great determination", "there would be no hesitation before a hit", and "at his best, OJ had a lot of heart".

[MU82]

On a scale of 1-5, Jim brown gives Eric a 5 for rushing, a 5 for speed, and a 1 for heart. In terms of "domination" , he likes OJ, Sayers. peyton, and Campbell , in no particular order.

I had forgotten that OJ had world class speed:

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-17/sports/sp-4512_1_years-ago-today

Brown says that oj also had tremendous upper body strength and "a precise sense of when to accelerate". Says he "ran with great determination", "there would be no hesitation before a hit", and "at his best, OJ had a lot of heart".

That's interesting stuff.

I didn't move to Chicago until after Payton retired -- and my kids eventually attended Walter Payton Prep. I had many conversations with many Chicagoans and when I said I thought OJ was better than Payton, they didn't care for that! In reality, they were 1 and 1A for me, and I'm not really sure of the order.

I loved watching Campbell, too. Also Emmitt Smith for his consistency and toughness, though I don't think he was as good as the others. Dickerson, Sanders and Dorsett were a couple steps down.

Csonka is my choice for "best pure fullback" ever. Some call Brown a fullback because he was big, but Brown usually lined up behind Cleveland's other back in an I-formation. Csonka usually was the fullback; that he was able to get as much yardage as he did from that position, when the defense knew what was coming, was a testiment to his brute strength and the Dolphins' fine offensive line.

Brown and Sayers were before my time, though both are spectacular on film. If I were rating off that, I'd probably dismiss Sayers in best-ever conversation for not playing enough games.

So many say Brown is the best ever that I'm thinking he must have been. It's like when I'll tell my grandkids that Jordan was the best ever ... they'll believe me!

[wadesworld]

That's interesting stuff.

I didn't move to Chicago until after Payton retired -- and my kids eventually attended Walter Payton Prep. I had many conversations with many Chicagoans and when I said I thought OJ was better than Payton, they didn't care for that! In reality, they were 1 and 1A for me, and I'm not really sure of the order.

I loved watching Campbell, too. Also Emmitt Smith for his consistency and toughness, though I don't think he was as good as the others. Dickerson, Sanders and Dorsett were a couple steps down.

Csonka is my choice for "best pure fullback" ever. Some call Brown a fullback because he was big, but Brown usually lined up behind Cleveland's other back in an I-formation. Csonka usually was the fullback; that he was able to get as much yardage as he did from that position, when the defense knew what was coming, was a testiment to his brute strength and the Dolphins' fine offensive line.

Brown and Sayers were before my time, though both are spectacular on film. If I were rating off that, I'd probably dismiss Sayers in best-ever conversation for not playing enough games.

So many say Brown is the best ever that I'm thinking he must have been. It's like when I'll tell my grandkids that Jordan was the best ever ... they'll believe me!

I guess you've never heard of John Kuhn...

[rocket surgeon]

  "Brown says that oj also had tremendous upper body strength and "a precise sense of when to accelerate"."


obviously she said this before she was fillet'd, ayn'a

[GooooMarquette]

On a scale of 1-5, Jim brown gives Eric a 5 for rushing, a 5 for speed, and a 1 for heart. In terms of "domination" , he likes OJ, Sayers. peyton, and Campbell , in no particular order.

I had forgotten that OJ had world class speed:

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-17/sports/sp-4512_1_years-ago-today

Brown says that oj also had tremendous upper body strength and "a precise sense of when to accelerate". Says he "ran with great determination", "there would be no hesitation before a hit", and "at his best, OJ had a lot of heart".

Lots of greats there.   I also think Barry Sanders was right up there with the best of them, but probably doesn't get his due because he retired so early.   In addition to over 15,000 yards, he typically carried over 300 times per season, averaged exactly 5 yards per carry over his career, and less than 2.7 fumbles per year.  And on a team that typically had no passing attack, opponents were always keying on him. Pretty amazing.

[MU82]

  "Brown says that oj also had tremendous upper body strength and "a precise sense of when to accelerate"."


obviously she said this before she was fillet'd, ayn'a

The Brown referred to was James, not Nicole.