Raiders safety Jack Tatum became an instant villain for this 1978 preseason hit on Patriot Darryl Stingley that left the receiver paralyzed. (AP)

In sports, you can’t have the teams and players you root for without having the villains. You know, the players who aggravate you and get under your skin, but who you probably would welcome if they wore your teams colors … or maybe not.

Patriots villain Jack Tatum died Tuesday after a heart attack. The Pro Bowl safety will forever be remembered for his hit that paralyzed Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley in a 1978 preseason game. Though the hit was legal, it didn’t take away the bad taste.

With that said, here is our list of the most villainous characters in Boston sports history. Note that our list is nearly half full with Yankees.

10. Joba Chamberlain

Despite being introduced to the New York-Boston rivalry fairly recently, Chamberlain has already vilified himself in the eyes of Red Sox Nation. In only his first season in the majors, Chamberlain zipped back-to-back fastballs behind the head of Kevin Youkilis in August 2007 at Yankee Stadium. Though Chamberlain was suspended two games for it, there have been other instances where he has had control issues with Youkilis at the plate. Red Sox fans have been adamant that it’s intentional, but Chamberlain denies it. Then again, there was a time when Pedro Martinez had his own problems going inside on New York hitters.

9. Joey Porter

Porter has never been shy with words throughout his NFL career. Leading up to a matchup against the Patriots in November 2009, the Miami linebacker lashed out against New England and most notably, quarterback Tom Brady. Porter criticized Brady for having his own rules when it came to attacking the quarterback’s legs after a game in which Brady seemed to persuade an official to throw a penalty flag after a play. The former Steeler also admitted he possessed a “natural hate” for the Patriots, saying, “Never really too much cared for New England. Still don’t care for New England. The hate’s been there for a while, especially after all the cheating they did back in the day.” In typical Bill Belichick fashion, the New England coach responded by saying, ‘That is not our fight; our fight is on the field.” Can’t help but think though that those comments were bulletin board material that week.

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Welcome to Wednesday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
MLB: Red Sox at Angels, 3:35 p.m. (NESN, WEEI)

AROUND THE WEB:

♦ Monty Poole in the Oakland Tribune tries to humanize Jack Tatum, who died Tuesday at the age of 61, and make excuses for the former Raiders defensive back’s propensity to injure opposing wide receivers. Mike Lopresti at USA Today writes that it’s a shame Tatum never reconciled with Darryl Stingley, the Patriots receiver left paralyzed after a hit by Tatum in a 1978 preseason game.

♦ In the Cincinnati Enquirer, Joe Reedy looks at the pending signing of Terrell Owens by the Bengals, while the Enquirer’s Paul Daugherty writes that it’s “going to be a blast.”

♦ Rick Telander in the Chicago Sun-Times addresses the Dez Bryant situation in Dallas and writes that hazing is a tradition that needs to end.

♦ In The Los Angeles Times, David Wharton looks at the marketing efforts of the Pac-10, which will change its name to the Pac-12 with the additions of Utah and Colorado.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA: In 1976, Don Zimmer replaced Darrell Johnson as manager of the Red Sox. On July 28, 1982, the roles were reversed with another club, as Johnson replaced Zimmer as manager of which team?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “People don’t understand sometimes that it hurts, when you do nothing but work your butt off every day trying to get a team to win, and people already want to watch you retire.” — David Ortiz, during an appearance on The Big Show on Tuesday afternoon

STAT OF THE DAY: 3 — Strikeouts in Tuesday night’s game for Red Sox outfielder Jeremy Hermida, who also made a two-base error on a fly ball in the second inning

‘NET RESULTS: Here’s a soccer celebration for the ages.

A fan catches a foul ball at a Cubs game while holding a baby.

Comedian Denis Leary pitches to David Letterman and Albert Pujols on 53rd Street in New York City.

If Shaquille O’Neal signs with the Celtics, they should never let him sing.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Texas Rangers

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Jonathan Edwards is 64 today.