Recent Comments by opel70

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

Yeah, we go to Kane County Cougars games (single A) and have always gotten seats right behind home plate, partly because of the netting. I was extremely pleased to see that this year they have extended the netting all the way past the dugouts, past the bases, halfway to the fence. Amazingly, this increased netting is actually easier to see through than their prior net, since they have eliminated the poles holding up the net.

posted by opel70 at 11:53 AM on May 30, 2019

SportsFilter Has Switched to HTTPS

Funny it should be brought up, as last week I was going through a Security Checkup with LastPass and was looking to update all of my "bad" passwords, but couldn't find any page here to do that. Guess I wasn't confused. I figured that I just hadn't looked int he right place yet. Well, at least this is the last site where I am using this particular password, so it isn't that bad.

posted by opel70 at 08:36 AM on May 29, 2018

NFL to Punish Players Who Don't Stand During Anthem

And as others have pointed out, the way that statement from Trump was phrased, it really applies to everyone at the stadium. Is every single person in the stadium standing proudly and with respect, during the anthem. Standing proudly at the urinal, or in the concession line? Maybe they shouldn't be in the country?

Slippery slope....

posted by opel70 at 03:14 PM on May 24, 2018

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

Apparently the FDA has approved a blood test that can detect whether someone has suffered a concussion: https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/15/fda-approves-blood-test-severity-concussions/. This article pulls from the NYTimes article. Neither mention how long the blood test takes to get results, so I have no idea whether it would be practical for sports sidelines.

posted by opel70 at 03:52 PM on February 15, 2018

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Russell Wilson's Lateral

Somebody specifically included this rugby video in the comments:
https://youtu.be/box08lq9ylg

Of course, for the NFL to use this type of reference, it would require them to believe that science works.

posted by opel70 at 11:24 AM on December 06, 2017

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

It'd be great if, on appeal, it was raised to two games.

posted by opel70 at 08:22 AM on December 05, 2017

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

He's probably referring to where he lays on the ground waiting for the defender to pass by before getting up. But I think that is on the defender to not reach down and touch him while he is on the ground. He doesn't need to slam down and tackle him, but just reach out and touch while you run by. Seems like a heads up play by TY. If he had jumped up right away Hal was in a position to make the tackle. Waiting a few seconds (probably wasn't even a full second) was just enough for Hal to saunter past, opening the path to the end zone.

posted by opel70 at 01:04 PM on November 07, 2017

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

Oops. Been there. Glad you were able to get it back up and running.

posted by opel70 at 12:13 PM on October 18, 2016

Blue Jays Beat Orioles, Advance to Face Rangers

Rogers Centre is going to be implementing a change in the alcohol distribution policy when the ALDS returns to Toronto. I think that's really all that needs to be done.

You have to chug the beer at the concession stand. No more bringing it back to your seat.

posted by opel70 at 08:34 AM on October 06, 2016

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

This line is what got me:

Part of the problem is that the drug is believed to stay in athletes' system for an extended period of time " up to a few months " so it's possible the Russians on the under-18 team stopped taking meldonium before the ban was put in place.

So, it's possible that they stopped taking the drug when it became banned, but still got flagged for it in their system. Though I guess the coaches / trainers should have been taking that into account ahead of time as the ban date approached.

posted by opel70 at 04:31 PM on April 08, 2016

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

Somewhere along the way, to me, this scenario feels like dealing with stolen property. It is illegal to possess (sell, disseminate, have) stolen property, even if you are not the one who did the stealing. The criteria for that is just that you are in possession of the stolen material, and that you know it was stolen. And since the only way to get this medical information would be for some health care person to "steal" the information, Schefter had to know it was "stolen," and he was obviously in possession of it.

posted by opel70 at 04:04 PM on July 10, 2015

NFL Moves PAT Kicks Back to 15-Yard Line

In prior years, were there any "fake" PAT attempts, turned into two-point conversions? Will that number drop moving the PAT back to the 15?

posted by opel70 at 08:56 AM on May 20, 2015

Obama Proposal Could End Taxpayer-Subsidized Pro Sports Stadiums

Same thing happens when people get a raise. It would make sense to take all of the money from that raise and put it in a retirement account, or college savings account, since it is money you've never seen before. However, most people just absorb that "new" money into their annual expenses. Not really seeing much difference in the long run.

posted by opel70 at 02:57 PM on March 20, 2015

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

In 2006, A&M and the Seahawks reached a settlement agreement giving Seattle the rights to use the phrase, but leaving the trademark with Texas A&M.

posted by opel70 at 09:08 AM on February 06, 2015

11 of 12 Patriots' Balls Deflated, ESPN Reports

So to me, it seems plausible that the balls were given a cursory check pre-game, and "seemed" fine. Then, for some reason, given a more thorough check at half time and were found to be low. How low is anybody's guess at this point. Given how the NFL seems to work under Goodell, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that the "normal" check game balls are given is just what the ball boy reports.

In that belief (cursory pre-game check), by hand is it really possible to tell the difference in a ball within specs and a ball below specs? Especially if you've got to check 24. In how many minutes? Even 2PSI, doesn't seem to be that much of a difference to be able to tell just by a quick feel.

They make a fairly precise rule, and then implement in a careless manner. Seems to me to be similar to bringing out the chains and being short by 1", after the haphazard ball placement during the prior 29' 11".

posted by opel70 at 01:07 PM on January 23, 2015

Despite Vehement Public Claims of Innocence, A-Rod Admitted to DEA He Used Steroids

Wouldn't this give the Yankees grounds for cutting him? I know he got immunity from prosecution, but that doesn't mean he necessarily gets to keep his job.

posted by opel70 at 08:38 AM on November 06, 2014

The Borders of Baseball

The thing I found interesting was seeing the teams that don't show up at all on the main map: Mets, Blue Jays (though this is just a US map), A's. The White Sox name doesn't show up until you zoom in once, though they do have the small grey blob in Chicago.

posted by opel70 at 12:57 PM on April 24, 2014

Ichiro reaches 4,000 hit milestone between Japan (1,278) and MLB (2,722 and counting).

If the Japan league is that much lower, why did his hits stat take that dramatic jump when he switched to the majors? Shouldn't there be a slight drop while he got accustomed to the better players?

posted by opel70 at 04:32 PM on August 23, 2013

States Passing 'Tim Tebow' Bills for Home-Schooled Athletes

I'm sure each state has addressed this differently, but in response to two scenarios brought up here, the article mentions this about the Virginia bill specifically:

"To discourage recruiting, the legislation would require that home-schooled athletes live in their public school districts, Mr. Bell said. They also must have been home-schooled for at least two years to gain eligibility."

True, this wouldn't stop a family from moving to get their child into the sports program of a better school. But nothing stops that from happening for families with children that are not home schooled.

As to the parochial school scenario, I went to a parochial grade school and was a member of the public school marching band. That is a part of the relationship parochial schools frequently have with their local districts. And now, working in the public school system, one of the things we do is work with the in-district parochial schools to determine joint needs. For special needs students this is a federally mandated directive. While not a directive for other services, the contacts are in place to make this an easy opportunity.

posted by opel70 at 03:29 PM on February 10, 2012

Opponent Uses Head, Denies LeBron Dunk

Don't know much about basketball, but wouldn't that be considered goaltending?

posted by opel70 at 09:43 AM on December 30, 2011

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

Tom Brady's agent has proposed essentially the same solution to the 18-game issue that Atheist proposed in the thread way back on Feb 3. Limit the number of games a player can suit up. Atheist, do you have some connections?

posted by opel70 at 09:08 AM on February 11, 2011

Dwyane Wade Brings Terrifying Back

A lot different from the huge fallout last year when the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader dressed in blackface as Lil Kim.

posted by opel70 at 02:43 PM on November 03, 2010

Only 14 FBS Schools Made Money on Sports

And how much money did the Psychology department bring in to the schools? Or the English department? Is the only reason to have sports to bring in money, or could it be that these are just part of the college needs like any other department. Are they counting tuition brought in by the non-athletic major who decided to come because there was a badminton team?

posted by opel70 at 08:43 AM on August 25, 2010

Blackhawks defeat Flyers 4 to 3, win Lord Stanley's Cup

Thanks all for the phonetics lessons. It sure helps to sound not so out of touch with the hoopla. Especially here in the Chicago area.

posted by opel70 at 10:34 AM on June 10, 2010

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

Thanks for the clarification on that rule

posted by opel70 at 08:56 AM on April 19, 2010

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

Ah, the joys of satellite imagery. The process of stitching together all of the satellite images does create some distortion in some instances.

posted by opel70 at 03:13 PM on March 16, 2010

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

Joe Posnanski has, what I thought to be, an interesting post about the futility of stats. How, as we all know, they can be made to say anything you want. I thought it was most interesting in light of Randy Johnson retiring and the posts in that thread about how he should get 95%+ of the ballots when he comes up, because those (HoF voting %) stats are also in this blog post.

posted by opel70 at 09:57 AM on January 06, 2010

Notre Dame Hires Brian Kelly as Head Coach

Part of the problem I see with the timing is the huge wait between the end of the regular season and the start (and end) of the "Bowl season". It leaves the schools looking to change coaches in a bit of a lurch because, as stated above, this is a prime time to be getting new student commitments. Which they have a harder time doing without a coach.

posted by opel70 at 08:54 AM on December 11, 2009

Notre Dame Fires Charlie Weis

Wow, not that this was completely unexpected, but does seem a bit sudden. Though "sudden" isn't exactly the word I am looking for. Guess I mean, they just didn't waste any time. Anyway, maybe the Bears will take note and follow suit with their coach.

posted by opel70 at 03:54 PM on November 30, 2009

LeBron James: Honor Jordan By Giving Up No. 23

Maybe as a tribute to Jordan's multiple comebacks, they can retire it for a couple of years, unretire it, retire again . . . - Richard Roeper

Not necessarily a big fan of his, but I really liked this thought.

posted by opel70 at 10:55 AM on November 18, 2009

Belichick Call Questioned in Pats' Loss to Colts

...the best point of comparison may be Belichick himself earlier this season.

Against Atlanta on Sept. 27, Belichick went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 24-yard line. The Patriots converted. Belichick was hailed for his you-play-to-win-the-game moxie. And in his postgame comments, he sounded strikingly the way he did Sunday night, if a lot more jovial.

Thought this was an interesting point brought up in a NY Times article

posted by opel70 at 03:33 PM on November 16, 2009

The Hoser's NFL Picks 2009, Week Eight -- Halloween Edition

How about a pick for Minn. v. Green Bay?

posted by opel70 at 08:59 AM on October 30, 2009

Opponent: Playing Raiders Was Like a Scrimmage

My point is that sometimes players just fool everyone

Yeah, but you have to then stop playing them.

posted by opel70 at 11:03 PM on October 16, 2009

The Hoser's NFL Pick 2009, Week Six

both the Olympic flame and the Chicago River burning at the same time.

It's the Cuyahoga River through Cleveland that burns.

posted by opel70 at 11:02 PM on October 16, 2009

Brady Quinn's House Up For Sale

The only rider in his contract is an additional $11 million if he takes 70% of the snaps

He probably realized that without the bonus, he needed to downsize. And really, with the two lackluster choices, could this be a reason Mangini is going with Anderson? Since neither QB was really lighting up the scoreboard, might as well go with the cheaper one.

posted by opel70 at 08:32 AM on October 14, 2009

Young Fan Gets Back Ryan Howard's 200th Career Home Run Ball

And really, where were the parents? They just let her go with someone official looking without going with?

posted by opel70 at 06:00 PM on October 08, 2009

Brian Urlacher Suffers Season-Ending Wrist Injury

Former New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks sent his well wishes to Urlacher via a reporter on Tuesday. Banks suffered a lunate bone dislocation during the fourth game of the 1990 season ... ''I was told if a guy working construction had the same thing he'd be out 18 months... It's a serious injury. If that tiny bone in there comes out, it destroys his whole hand. It's an integral part of the bone structure. Anyone who thinks he should be playing through it doesn't know how serious this is. I hope he can come back and be the same player he was before the injury.''

I thought this was a relevant quote from a former player who had the same injury. I had been thinking the same about seeing players with broken wrists / hands just playing with their cast. But maybe this isn't that simple.

posted by opel70 at 09:01 AM on September 16, 2009

Kim Clijsters Wins US Open

I caught the sarcasm, but I do want to echo BI's first comment about editorializing in the FPP.

posted by opel70 at 03:01 PM on September 14, 2009

Oregon Player Flips Out After Boise State Game

And what's with the suspension but he can stay on the team. So he can practice with the team, taking away practice time from someone else, but he can't play in a game?

And from what I read of the apolgy, he didn't actually apologize to Hout, just to the fans, ESPN, and his teammates.

posted by opel70 at 04:29 PM on September 05, 2009

Child's Skull Fractured by Foul Ball

Yeah, we were just at a Kane County Cougars game and thought the same. I told my wife to always have an eye on the batter, even if you were talking to someone on the other side. We were about four rows up, just past third base. A bit too close for my comfort with my three-year old sitting next to me.

posted by opel70 at 04:25 PM on September 05, 2009

Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on 2003 Doping List

So we're just going to get this in dribs and drabs? If they're going to just keep leaking this stuff, why not just leak everyone?

posted by opel70 at 01:24 PM on July 30, 2009

Maple Bats Pose Risk After They Shatter

Also talked about here

posted by opel70 at 02:53 PM on May 27, 2009

MLB vs. NPB

I had read this earlier, and generally I would say that the US teams should not be courting the Japan minor league players. However, since this player is in a team not affiliated with any NPB team, I don't see what the problem is. Since he was open for any of the NPB teams to court, why not any team in general?

posted by opel70 at 08:42 AM on November 20, 2008

US softball team denied gold; Ueno dominant

I do feel the need to jump in and say that eleven of the last twenty-five posts were direct copies of at least part of the article lead. So while I am sure that it is not preferred, and I think it is even mentioned in the site guidelines, copying the article lead has become fairly commonplace.

Though, I do agree that the personal touch is a big part of why most of us come to this site. Not just to read a rehash of an AP article.

posted by opel70 at 04:41 PM on August 21, 2008

The USA gold rush is on....

The last two items you mentioned might have been good ideas for posts on their own, as they had some interest aside from just a laundry list. As it stands, there was no way to know this was some "unknown kid" or that the US was maybe going to win a medal for the first time in waterpolo.

posted by opel70 at 09:01 AM on August 20, 2008

Cheating Eight Year Old

Wouldn't this concept also be used the other way? Somehow signaling the pitcher which pitch the hitter is now expecting, and which different pitch would be most effective in combating that specific hitter's expectation. It seems that historically there have been gains by pitchers / hitters that tilt the advantage on way or the other. Then those gains are negated in a few years by the other group making appropriate adjustments.

posted by opel70 at 10:01 AM on July 28, 2008

Dara Torres, 41, qualifies for Olympics, rewrites swimming records.

I had been watching the trials all weekend while down with pneumonia. I'm glad you posted this story, because there were several times that I thought about doing so, and just never got to it. Pretty amazing, if you ask me. You have here juxtaposed with Gary Hall Jr, on the men's side who, with all of his bravado, wasn't able to get it done. Maybe he'll be back, but this time just happy to be able to give it a shot.

posted by opel70 at 07:49 AM on July 08, 2008

Wiimbledon crowns top 'tennis' champs

OK, so not exactly tennis, but with Nadal's trouncing of Federer this week, I though this could bring some levity in the runup to Wimbledon.

posted by opel70 at 01:28 PM on June 09, 2008

Sports Broadcasting Legend Jim McKay Dies

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posted by opel70 at 12:59 PM on June 08, 2008

NFL Owners Vote Unanimously to End Collective Bargaining Agreement

The old link was pointing to an article that said this might happen. Now that it is official, I'm guessing the powers that be decided to make it current.

posted by opel70 at 02:04 PM on May 20, 2008

It's time to pitch the DH.

I would be the first to say that I am not much of a baseball person. I know the basics, but don't follow it too much. From that perspective, my feeling is that if there was no DH in the AL, why keep two leagues? As far as I see it, the reason to have the two leagues is because the rules a slightly different. Though I guess the same could be said of the AFC and the NFC in football, and the Eastern / Western conference in the NBA. So is the reason just for the sake of manufacturing a rivalry?

posted by opel70 at 02:20 PM on May 13, 2008

Maddux becomes ninth pitcher in MLB history to reach 350 wins

Too bad he's with the Padres, or he probably would have arrived a fair bit sooner. Five tries to get this win.

posted by opel70 at 01:49 PM on May 12, 2008

"Tech doping"? How Speedo's LZR suit breaks swim records

Aren't the swimmers who can actually get one of these suits tops in the world already? True they may not have been world record swimmers, but weren't they already pretty good?

posted by opel70 at 07:49 AM on April 15, 2008

We Tried Baseball and It Didn't Work

Yeah, I work in the software / hardware field and most of this just strikes me as a failed attempt at humor. 1) he decides that they only need four people per team, and then essentially complains that there aren't enough people. 2) he make the decision of only four people per team on the number of bases and then removes most of them, so in his redefined game there should only need to be one person per team (only one base now). He was really trying hard to make this a funny idea, but, in my opinion, he struck out.

posted by opel70 at 11:31 AM on February 07, 2008

Jonathan Papelbon's dog eats World Series winning baseball.

Well, heck, it's still just a ball. I'm not sure how many balls baseball players tend to get to keep, but it football it seems that some players must need multiple storage sheds to hold all of their "special" balls. Do you really think that ball is more special to him than the ring he got? He actually has seemed to me to be more down to earth than many sports stars. And maybe the "history" of the ball feels more "real" to him if he could actually hold the ball to re-live the moments.

posted by opel70 at 08:00 AM on December 21, 2007

Schilling Calls Out The Rocket

But as has been brought up in the past, it is pretty impossible to prove a negative. How do you prove that you never took steroids. Especially when all it takes is for anyone to come out and say, "Yep, I saw him take some."

posted by opel70 at 08:05 AM on December 20, 2007

Redskins' Taylor Shot by Intruder

.

posted by opel70 at 07:50 AM on November 27, 2007

The Curse Of Curtis Leskanic

And I think if we are going to add stories from The Onion, we must have Terry Francona Announces Josh Beckett Will Start Games 1, 4, 7, 2, 6, 3, 5

posted by opel70 at 02:15 PM on October 25, 2007

300:

Another take on who the next possibility could be, picking Oswalt, Buerhle, Sabathia as the top three contenders.

posted by opel70 at 04:11 PM on August 06, 2007

First Base Coach Killed by Line Drive

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posted by opel70 at 04:06 PM on July 23, 2007