- 05:52 AM
- 11/05/24
Understood son, and a bad one. And the next time I come across this guy i'll give him an intentional walk.
posted by longgreenline at 01:47 AM on February 14, 2008
"The Cardinals are coming tra la, la la" - that was the last phrase Harry Caray had generated in St. Louis which he would sing following a Cardinals win during a period where they were making a surge. Caray was suddenly fired for no apparent reason and the following day he appeared in the newspaper with a can of Schlitz. Later it surfaced that Harry Caray had an affair with Busch's daughter-in-law and as soon as Busch found out Caray was gone. Jack Buck did not seem upset about Caray's termination since it elevated him from #2 to #1. The Caray-Buck broadcast team was outstanding and I doubt whether there has ever been one that has been any better.
posted by longgreenline at 03:00 AM on February 11, 2008
Jeffries has eccentric ideas of replacing baseballs with balls of twine, golf balls, heads of dolls, and woolen socks stuffed with paper - and all Finley tried to do was change the color of the baseball from white to orange and they thought he was nuts. Jeffries and his people took a sport that already worked and made it not work. It would be more advisable if he involved himself in a sport that did not work and endeavored to make it work - for example jumping the Snake River Canyon.
posted by longgreenline at 03:04 AM on February 09, 2008
I did not have a dog in this fight and just wanted to see a competitive contest but with an 18-0 team playing a 13-6 team my concern was the game would not be competitive. We all agreed that if Brady took the game over and it got out of hand we would watch something else even if it were just reruns of The Brady Bunch. Not only was the game competitive - it was a giant upset. Just like Petty warned and Manning experienced - there is no easy way out - especially when you are behind, time is running out, and the other team is surrounding you with two guys grabbing your shirt and one pounding your head. And while the Patriot's pounded on Manning's head, Manning and Tyree were getting ready to use their heads to keep the Giants in the game. Somehow Manning managed to extricate himself, circle through the mob, retreat, and find Tyree who made a circus catch. Tyree only caught three passes but that is like saying Rembrandt only painted three pictures. Although Tyree's catch does not rise to the level of the Immaculate Reception, it was one of the best catches in a big game when the game was on the line. Welker's 11 grabs is a good effort for the Patriots but these efforts tend to be diminished and forgotten when they are performed on a losing team. Very few people remember the Snake scrambling 37 yards for a touchdown and giving Oakland a 7-6 lead over Pittsburgh with just over a minute remaining. That is because about one minute later Harris made the Immaculate Reception which won the game for Pittsburgh. Listening to people on ESPN slam New England claiming they were thoroughly whipped and had a failed season leaves one wondering what they were watching all year. Three points away from winning a Super Bowl and a record of 18-1 is a pretty impressive season and nobody is perfect - except of course Shula, Csonka, and the No Names.
posted by longgreenline at 02:46 AM on February 06, 2008
Finally I agree with the Democrats - soak the rich - at least when it comes to NBA players. I don't mind the government taking and wasting their money since they do not have a clue on how to manage it anyway. Their war on poverty includes taking care of people who could not figure out how to live on $20 million. One may conclude that if these people could not play professional basketball then at least 60% of them would be working at Whataburger. That would be bad news for Whataburger since they would likely have trouble even counting change. I admit that I never owned 14 cars and would not know what to do with them unless I owned a used car lot, but I did own a 14-year-old car once - I maintained it and it always got me to where I wanted to go. I can almost sympathize with Sprewell thumbing up his nose at $21 million as not being enough money because he has a family to feed - provided he adopted the state of Alabama. Taking differential equations in college may be challenging but investing and living off of millions of dollars for the duration of life is quite simple. What is difficult is living off $20 a hour and investing for a decent retirement.
posted by longgreenline at 01:21 AM on February 03, 2008
This could have been much worse for Jacobson - had she managed to disparage Muhammad that possibly would have led to her demise by some men with machetes. Jacobson may eventually experience her own roast.
posted by longgreenline at 06:15 PM on February 02, 2008
Tin Cup is the only one of these that I have seen and I concur that it is a dud. The best movie by far is Chariots of Fire which leaves all of the others in the dust or the sand - even the music is excellent.
posted by longgreenline at 11:00 PM on January 26, 2008
I agree with one statement in this article - this is a non-issue. Brown looks as silly now as he did when he was 48 and claimed he could make a come-back and play in the NFL.
posted by longgreenline at 01:30 AM on January 25, 2008
The boy acted appropriately by refusing to wear a Packers jersey. He is aware that the only approved jerseys are Rams and Redskins - if you are a citizen of this town.
posted by longgreenline at 01:28 AM on January 18, 2008
The BCS uses an elaborate system of combining two polls and a computer to rank these teams. Apparently they determined it would be too easy just to take the top 10 teams from their ranking system and assign them to the bowl games so they develop a bunch of more rules instead. This resulted in omitting their #6 team (Missouri) and favoring their #13 team (Illinois) - a team Missouri already defeated this year. They also included Kansas (ranked #8) another team Missouri defeated and finished ahead of in the Big 12. Stoops thinks Oklahoma should play for the championship since "You all voted them (Missouri) No. 1 and we beat them ... for the second time on a neutral field," Stoops said. "No one else played the No. 1 team in the country." Stoops fails to mention that Oklahoma has been defeated twice by Colorado and Texas Tech. Oklahoma was not the only team to play both of these teams - Missouri played both Colorado and Texas Tech this year and defeated them by a combined score of 96-20. Plus there were plenty of teams that were ranked #1 and #2 this year and they were all defeated. West Virgina could not even defeat a 4-7 team and Oklahoma was #2 or #3 when Texas Tech beat them. Missouri was ranked #1 for the first time in two generations and acted like they did not belong there as Oklahoma completely dominated them in the second half. Colonel Travis' group put up a better fight than Missouri did. If Missouri does not show up with enough confidence to beat Oklahoma then they never will. Who really deserves to play this championship game anyway? Plenty of teams were ranked #1 and #2 this year and none of them took care of business. Forget this BCS system. Hawaii is undefeated and even came back from a 21-0 defecit to beat a 4-8 team. Hawaii deserves a chance to lose and they should be in the championship game. No other team in this division deserves to play in the championship game so they should bring in Appalachian State - they started this mess so they should finish it as well.
posted by longgreenline at 02:22 AM on December 03, 2007
I suppose Missouri should be thanking Texas for height profiling Chase Daniel and allowing Missouri to pick up a genuine Heisman candidate. The winner of the Missouri-Kansas game will likely be No. 1 - at least for a week anyway.
posted by longgreenline at 07:23 PM on November 23, 2007
This Day-Rod must be elated. Well, what the heck, Say-Hey-Rod congratulations.
posted by longgreenline at 12:40 AM on November 21, 2007
Nice - not only is New York infested by rats it has a pig infestation as well.
posted by longgreenline at 12:29 AM on November 21, 2007
Pay-Rod what he wants, he enjoys counting his money.
posted by longgreenline at 12:34 AM on November 16, 2007
This is no surprise - I knew they were ready to come down on Bonds. This is not a sad day - what is sad is Bonds' blatant use and denial of steroids. It will also be sad if Bonds is not held accountable for his actions.
posted by longgreenline at 12:26 AM on November 16, 2007
It's about time - Missouri has not been to a major bowl since 1969. Last week Missouri dominated Colorado so well that even if the officials wanted to repeat their blunder and give Colorado 5 downs on every possession Missouri still would have won. Missouri needs to get the job done this year since it may be another 40 years before they can put a quality season together and make a run at a major bowl. But there won't be any easy opponents left. In addition to Kansas they play A&M and Kansas State who both have winning records. Then a potential Big 12 Championship game and a bowl game. When I lived in Missouri someone told me the following: An alumnus went to a Missouri football practice with a potential player and flagged down the head coach. The alumnus raved, "I have a kid here who is good enough to play for you right now!" The coach was unimpressed and barked, "Look, I already have enough kids who are good enough to play for me - what I need is a kid good enough to play for Notre Dame!" If Missouri finishes strong I'll look forward to seeking out the guy who told me this joke and repeating it to him with the schools reversed.
posted by longgreenline at 01:54 AM on November 09, 2007
They invited a clown into the booth - they should not be surprised by his conduct.
This is the same show that hired Cosell for years - the most inept broadcaster of all time.
I am not aware of any broadcaster that has come close to being as despised as Cosell was.
Every time I listened to sports open line during the Cosell era there would be numerous calls pointing out his ineptitude and annoyance.
One of Cosell's problems was he knew nothing about sports - he merely spouted words.
I liked the expiriment of watching the football game with sound and no announcers - similar to being at the game.
Others have told me that many years ago a single individual would call a game by himself on radio - now with TV it requires 3 people in the booth and one on the field.
And many times they miss the action on the field while they are busy opining about something else.
If they can't improve on silence then they do not need to be talking.
I don't know if history repeats itself but Tim McCarver does - he seems to want to repeat himself 3 or 4 times as if no one heard him the first time.
posted by longgreenline at 02:14 AM on October 19, 2007
The only thing Jones is sorry about is getting caught. On deck - Bonds.
posted by longgreenline at 12:09 AM on October 10, 2007
Bonds' steriod use and character problems have been known for years. This is a glimpse of the type of people that Bonds is attracted to and vice versa.
posted by longgreenline at 01:04 AM on October 07, 2007
Initially I had no desire to look at this ball since it looks like any other ball. Now that an asterisk is being attached, it may be worth looking at - for 5 seconds anyway. Ecko spends 750Gs for his 15 minutes and gives the ball away. Apparently nobody cared enough about Bonds to try and save his ball by purchasing it from Ecko, who would have looked like a genius had he been able to double his money in a short period of time. So, the people have spoken and only 19% thought Bonds deserved the ultimate honor of having the ball launched into space in what would have been a super-steroids shot. It would be more fitting if Bonds and the ball were launched together and orbited around Earth. It would be ironic that a narcissist who thought the world revolved around him would actually revolve around the world.
posted by longgreenline at 01:59 AM on October 03, 2007
It's about time - $19 million for a player hitting .279, requiring numerous days off during the season, and saturated with negative baggage. The last time I saw Bonds play the outfield he looked lost. Usually teams expect veteran players to provide leadership and Bonds cannot even do that - many of his teammates over the years have disliked him. I would not be surprised if several of the Giant players helped convince management to get rid of Bonds. Bonds' main concern has always been his personal statistics and he wants to play until he gets 3,000 hits. There is always a team that will take a chance on a problematic player but I doubt that Bonds will be picked up in my city. One of the players recently called him a bad apple and another said his records were tainted. Several people I have spoken to said they would reduce the number of games they attend or not go at all if Bonds were acquired. I don't know if an individual player has ever been responsible for reducing attendance but Bonds could possibly accomplish that in some cities.
posted by longgreenline at 02:47 AM on September 23, 2007
Sam McGuffie is rethinking his decision.
posted by longgreenline at 08:45 PM on September 03, 2007
I have been following this story and the article contains errors/omissions. Most 59-year-olds would have laughed. (Most 59-year-olds did laugh and many had to be helped up off the floor from over-exertion.) His comeback peaked Wednesday with the coach saying he's made the Division III team's roster. (Actually the Sul Ross State athletic department needed money and Flynt agreed to donate $20,000 if they let him on the team.) He could be in action as soon as Sept. 1. (And he could be out of action as soon as Sept. 1.) Flynt's life was supposed to be slowing down this fall (instead, it will come to a halt.) they've moved to this remote patch of West Texas so Flynt can mend an old wound (plus open many new ones) and, he hopes, inspire others (not to engage in such crazy stunts). They keep comparing me to themselves and where they are physically (and mentally) Flynt's position is still being determined, but he used to play linebacker (he cannot play linebacker anymore and the mascot position is already taken). "I told him he's an idiot (and don't hire anyone who graduates from Sul Ross since we gave him a degree), " said Jerry Larned "I feel like I'm married to (George Blanda)," she said. ' Well, it's strength training that builds muscle, increases bone density and burns calories (so buy my training system - please!)," he said. With Vick in the pen, it would be a good time for George Blanda to make a comeback and bring some credibility back to the NFL.
posted by longgreenline at 01:24 AM on August 27, 2007
A good story and quite a contrast from last week. Sometimes good things happen to people who are willing to hang in there.
posted by longgreenline at 03:17 AM on August 12, 2007
Earlier this week I opened the newspaper and discovered Bonds broke the record. The entire front of the sports page was covered with a picture of Bonds hitting the home run. I was so moved by this effort that I cut the page out and looked for an apt location in my house to place it. After considering all options, the bottom of my bird cage was the preferred alternative. Bonds messed on baseball, the bird messed on Bonds, and people are glad this mess is over. While discussing Bonds with others at the beginning of the year, one individual stated that he did not care enough about baseball to want to watch someone like Bonds pursue a record. I retorted that I did care enough about baseball not to want to watch someone like Bonds pursue a record. Bonds has not fooled anyone - he reacted to steroids like Popeye reacted to spinach. This resulted in Bonds influencing the outcome of baseball games and messing with the integrity of baseball. Fly balls that should have been caught for outs go over the fence and ground balls that could have been fielded for outs get through the hole. Baseball would not be worth watching if it were turned into an exhibition similar to professional wrestling or the Harlem Globetrotters. In a sport that pays a lot of attention to records, the home run records have become meaningless. They disrespected Roger Maris and singled him out with an asterisk for no legitimate reason other than he had the audacity to pass Babe Ruth. I don't think Bonds should have an asterisk - that should be given back to Maris, this time as a sign of respect to indicate he has the non-steroid single season home run record. As for Bonds, they can enter his name in the record books with disappearing ink and he can fade away, please.
posted by longgreenline at 02:58 AM on August 12, 2007
Babe Ruth was so dominate hitting home runs that the year he hit 60 he accounted for approximately one out of every 7 home runs hit in the American League. For a player to dominate like that today he would have to probably average two home runs per game for the entire year. In 1968 Carl Yaz was the only player to hit .300 in the American League and he barely made it with a .301 average. The following year the pitchers mound was lowered 5" and many of the stadiums moved their fences in to generate more offense. In the 90s steroids became pervasive in baseball and home runs began flying out. The outfield dimensions of 490 feet to center and 429 feet to the power alley that Ruth played in seems ridiculous even for the modern steroid user. It is difficult to image what Ruth would accomplish if he were playing today with the lower mound, shorter fences, improved equipment, training methods, and steroids. It is likely no one would bother to pitch to him since he may be the guy who could average two home runs per game. The recent criticism of Babe Ruth, compliments of political correctness, assumes he cannot hit a baseball thrown by a non-european looking pitcher. This argument is so inane it is not even worth considering. A more plausible criticism of Ruth would be that he never had to face himself. He only pitched full time for 4 years but he twice won over 20 games. From 1915 to 1917 Ruth won 65 games, the most by any left-hander in the major leagues during that time frame. His ERA ranged from 1.75 to 2.44 as a full time pitcher. He also pitched 35 complete games in 1917. Pitchers today can rarely get past 7 innings. Babe Ruth has been the preeminent player in baseball and retiring his number would be a condign gesture.
posted by longgreenline at 02:20 AM on July 30, 2007
The NFLPA Mission Statement: "We, the National Football Players Association, pay homage to our predecessors for their courage, sacrafice, and vision"... Seems like this multibillion dollar industry treats this Mission Statement more like Mission Impossible. It is ironic that Conrad Dobler, who is 90% disabled (apparently if the man can still breath he is not disabled enough), receives more assistance from an individual in another sport than he does from the sport he played a decade in. Unsolicited gestures like this are apparently commonplace for Phil Mickelson and are rarely publicized. At a recent event, the NFL asked Conrad Dobler and Dan Dierdorf not to use their canes because it might make the league look bad. I suppose if either man fell and exacerbated their football injuries the league would not be concerned. Is the league not concerned how bad they look when a NBA owner has done more for the Kramer Gridiron Greats Fund than anyone in the NFL or that it was three baseball players who helped former Viking Brent Boyd when he was homeless? Conrad Dobler helped transform the "For God, For Country, For 4-9-1" St. Louis Cardinals into the "Cardiac Cardinals" - one of the most exciting teams to watch in the mid 70s. He also tied a NFL record for the fewest sacks allowed in a season. Dobler became a household name almost overnight. Some opponents remarked that if Dobler played at midnight he would be a pro bowl player. Soon after, St. Louis played on Monday Night Football and Alex Karras opened the telecast pretending to be Dobler by wearing fangs. ABC then showed the fans holding signs "Do It Dirty Dobler", etc. which they likely provided. TV began isolating on Dobler and showed him on instant replays just to see what he was doing. This revealed that Dobler was one of the best offensive linemen in the league. Someone asked me last year who my favorite golfer was and I responded that I did not have one. I have one now.
posted by longgreenline at 02:46 AM on July 08, 2007
Kobayashi is a great talent and I hope he is able to answer the bell for the contest. If not, the organizers have already earmarked Mike Tyson as a replacement. Tyson even claims he could win if they change the event from hot dogs to corn. The level of effort is always high in these events - one can always count on these competitors busting a gut every time they go out there.
posted by longgreenline at 01:42 AM on June 29, 2007
I am surprised there is no mention of Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile especially since this list came from England. Many people, such as sports writer Bob Burns, mentioned that Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile barrier was the most notable sporting event of their lifetime. I can't disagree with the Beamon jump of 29' 2.5" being at or near the top of the list since he broke the record by nearly 2 feet when these records are usually broken by just a few inches at a time. Beamon was never capable of even jumping 27' for the remainder of his career after setting this record. The Soviet Union defeating the US in basketall during the 1972 Olympics was a big upset but was a tarnished victory since the Soviet Union was given three chances to beat them at the end of the game. As a result the US players refused to accept the silver medal. The most notable event I can remember is the US hockey team defeating Russia in the 1980 Olympics. Prior to the Olympics, Russia had defeated the NHL all-star team.
posted by longgreenline at 01:16 AM on June 29, 2007
Nifong stated that he would not allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl." This seems to be the only truth Nifong told since Durham is now known for a minister of injustice and a sordid circus atmosphere. Seems everyone has an agenda these days and it matters not who they use or abuse to achieve their personal goal. Nifong was so interested in getting himself elected that he left a path of destruction like a F-5 tornado that included railroading three Duke lacrosse players, depriving them of their right to due process as guaranteed by the 5th Amendment of the Constitution, suppressing evidence, breaking state rules of professional conduct over two dozen times, and committing perjury. Nifong should have been reeled in long ago. Nifong was not the only clown in the circus which included: The gang of 88, Duke University, a stripper, Durham police department, Jackson, Sharpton, Nancy Grace, and a myriad of protesters. Duke University essentially threw its own students and coach under the bus even before there was any credible evidence. The coach was fired, the lacrosse season cancelled, and the students kicked out of Duke. And the clowns kept coming - this time 88 vile Duke professors assailed their own students. The infamous gang of 88 used this opportunity to advance their own racist agenda with a full page ad disparaging the Duke players. The beat went on with numerous protesters banging pots and pans threatening to capture and castrate the Duke players while others hung up "Wanted" posters of the players all over campus. This was supposed to be the preamble to the politically correct event all of these people had hoped for. It didn't happen that way. Moreover, it did not happen at all. The case unraveled and while four men left DNA samples in or on the reckless stripper's body none were from the Duke players. This story never should have gotten off the back page of the local newspaper. It should have also been dismissed in a reasonable time frame once the accusations were proven false. The story would have been relagated to the back page of the local paper had the mix been anything other than white suspects and a black accuser. This mix spews political correctness and agendas. The best idea I have heard is to tax political correctness - this would eliminate the national debt while penalizing hatred.
posted by longgreenline at 03:20 AM on June 22, 2007
There was Bill Walton running down the court rolling his fists over his head reminding his teammates to work the ball around offensively. They followed Walton's direction and this was an example of how five men playing as one defeated five better individual players who did not play as a team. Walton demonstrated how good of a player he was when healthy which was rare in his professional career. Walton played intense defense assuming every shot taken would be missed and he would be the guy to claim the rebound. This was a classic championship where the dog pulled off the upset.
posted by longgreenline at 12:25 AM on June 13, 2007
I remember reading that Babe Ruth once ate 24 hot dogs between games of a double header. I thought that was an incredible amount but compared to Joey Chestnut and Koybayashi it is no big deal. I still wonder how Ruth was able to play the second game. Chestnut exceeded Koybayashi's record by 10% (which would be similar to someone high jumping 8'10"). This sets the table for the 4th of July rematch of Chestnut vs. Koybayashi. Last year Koybayashi rallied to defeat Chestnut but this year Koybayashi will enter the contest as the dog. Chestnut's latest victory in the Southwest Regional earned him a one year supply of hot dogs which gives him the impetus for getting in the worst shape of his life come July 4th. Expectations are high for yet another world record. Barring injury, such as clogged arteries, Joey Chestnut's future is red hot.
posted by longgreenline at 01:40 AM on June 05, 2007
Foreman apparently is tired of taking a grilling on being the Dope part of the Rope A Dope and wants to devise an excuse for losing that fight. Falling for the Rope A Dope is not the only thing he did wrong against Ali. Foreman had no effective strategy and his defense was essentially non-existent. Foreman made very little effort to block, duck, or try to move away from a punch. He extended his arms in front of him leaving his face unguarded where all of Ali's punches were aimed. Foreman constantly moved forward even after Ali landed solid blows. This was target practice for Ali. Foreman threw a lot of punches that did little or no damage since they were picked off or dodged by Ali. After six rounds Foreman was so exhausted from throwing punches and getting hit in the face that Ali could have knocked him out anytime he wanted. Foreman fought a terrible fight that day but he is no dope since he formulated a way to win the championship in his 40s and has become the most successful fighter outside boxing that I am aware of. If Foreman wants to stay that way he should put a muffler on these inane excuses.
posted by longgreenline at 12:46 AM on May 30, 2007
The 517 yard hole-in-one is hard to believe unless they were teeing off a mountain.
posted by longgreenline at 02:02 AM on May 27, 2007
Griffey whipped a heckler without ever throwing a punch - he threw a bag with an old jock instead. Never have I seen a person get awarded a boobie prize and think he won the grand prize. Griffey no doubt was annoyed by this guy and decided to go into the locker room, find the worse item he could, then toss it at this boor. There is probably nothing worse in a locker room than a used jock except for used toliet paper which may have been Griffey's preferred option had it been readily available. This clown actually thinks the paper bag that contained the old jock is "priceless". He would never be a good contestant on "The Price is Right". A new paper bag may be worth 2 cents - a paper bag that contained a used jock is worthless. He also claims that someone offered him $100 for the bag. If he had any sense he would have taken the $100, threw the jock in, and got out of there before the guy got sober. He has a photo of himself holding up the jock with a 3 written on it. I don't think Griffey intended to write his number on it but was trying to estimate the guy's IQ instead. How this guy could afford a field seat is a mystery since he does not seem to possess any skills that an employer would actually pay for. If this is the greatest thing that has happened at Dodger Stadium then I don't need to see a baseball game there. Maybe the Dodgers can have a promotion where they give the first 30,000 fans a jock in a bag and then they can have a stadium full of idiots.
posted by longgreenline at 12:40 AM on May 17, 2007
This man was no prima donna - an excellent ball player and even a better person. Cal, I'll see you at the Hall of Fame.
posted by longgreenline at 09:53 PM on May 11, 2007
Jeff Ruby you made a great play! I concur with Tom Archdeacon - Simpson is an affront to the human race. Simpson's trial was covered by TV and the evidence was so overwhelming against him that any unbiased person could easily conclude that Simpson murdered two people. Simpson benefited from a racist jury that included a former Black Panther then had the audacity to say he would find the real killer - as if the entire human race was a bunch of morons. Some things never change, as Archdeacon pointed out, Simpson remains as arrogant as ever. Still there are people that are so enamored by athletes that they want to admire and associate with them regardless of character and conduct. However, it is gratifying to see that some people like Mr. Ruby, who previously admired Simpson, do not dismiss his egregious conduct. They are so repulsed by what Simpson did to others and disgusted by a legal system that failed to hold him accountable. Simpson should not be in the general population. Jeff Ruby did the right thing - for himself and his customers.
posted by longgreenline at 03:34 AM on May 10, 2007
Another NBA problem - or at least potentially. Wolfers claims there is a bias in officiating, i.e., black officials call more fouls against white players and white officials call more fouls against black players. Since the media and others have very little interest in the former - it is the latter they will focus on. If the NBA attempts to try to favor black players statistically, white officials will be expected to call at least as many fouls against white players as they do against black ones. Better to call a poor game than endure a media circus and termination. The NBA can appoint someone to keep track of these new statistics during every contest to ensure it will be a politically correct game. Potential problems could exist at the end of games where they discover that they need to call some more fouls on white players and there are not any on the court. This could result in forcing a team to substitute a white player in the game for the purpose of calling fouls against him. The NBA is bias in the way it calls fouls but Wolfers missed the mark. Prior to 1980 the NBA had trouble even getting a game-of-the-week on TV. People preferred to watch re-runs of Gilligan's Island rather than the NBA. Then Bird and Johnson entered the league and interest increased. The NBA recognized that they could market individual players and increase fan base. This has resulted in making their top players even better and thus more marketable by favoring them in the officiating. This adds an exhibition element into the game. No other sport attempts to favor its top players by altering the rules for them. Baseball, for example, does not move the fences in for the top hitters or expand the strike zone for the best pitchers. While the NBA currently favors its top players they have also been bias against individuals - Sarunas Marciulionis for example. When this guy came into the NBA his opponets could practically maul him without being called for a foul. The NBA felt they would punish Marciulionis for having the audacity of defeating the United States in the Olympics. The NBA has since changed its tune and recruits players worldwide. Wolfers research appears to be little more than someone trying to get their 15 minutes of fame by applying the "who doesn't fall for the race card" theory. Since Wolfers is focusing on statistics not being equal he should mention that the NBA, with over 80% of its players black, could be considered one of the most racist organizations in the US.
posted by longgreenline at 04:34 PM on May 05, 2007
Not again! Events like this never get any easier. My condolences to the Hancock family.
posted by longgreenline at 12:49 AM on April 30, 2007
This article is inane. The title is "Why baseball is so white". It does not seem so white to me - at least not as white as hockey and bowling or not as black as basketball and football. Does Nevius have the expectation that blacks should be dominating baseball as they do basketball and football? The article does not get much better. According to Nevius, Robinson's 60th anniversary caused many people to check the rosters and wonder why there are so few African American players. I am not sure how many "many" is but I doubt that the people who are motivated to do this type of survey perform it once a decade on Robinson's anniversity but more likely take their inventory whenever they feel like it. Nevius then goes on to attempt to answer his question with the following: 1. Lack of current role models. 2. Rise in video games. Both of these answers are silly. I never liked the term "role model" that seemed to surface in the 80s. It assumes no one is capable of thinking, making decisions, or understanding right from wrong unless there is a "role model" to do that for him. The assumption is that blacks are substituting the time they would normally play baseball in favor of video games but the video games apparently do not affect the time they participate in football and basketball. Then Nevius thinks he found the real reason - Money, since he believes that personal trainers, quality ball fields, equipment, summer traveling leagues, etc. for kids will lead to professional contracts. If he believes this is the case then he should change this article to "Why baseball is for the affluent". He should then compare the cost of baseball to other sports. I know I could afford to play baseball when I was a kid but I could not come close to affording to play golf. Nevius also contradicts himself and mentions the success of kids from Dominican Republic and other countries who play on streets, parking lots, or any other available location. I am not familar with CW Nevius but based on this effort it seems to me that the San Francisco Chronicle could find a more adept journalist.
posted by longgreenline at 03:50 AM on April 26, 2007
Both of these teams were winners in that game.
posted by longgreenline at 12:54 AM on April 21, 2007
Another NBA debacle. Stern states the following about Crawford: 1. "Especially in light of similar prior acts by this official, a significant suspension is warranted." 2. "He must be held accountable for his actions on the floor, and we will have further discussions with him following the season to be sure he understands his responsibilities." 3. "improper conduct" and "inappropriate comments made to Duncan during the game." 4. "failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees." Following this tirade one would think Crawford is too inept to even officiate a junior high basketball game - apparently not, as Stern claims, "Joey is consistently rated as one of our top referees". If Joey is one of the NBA's top referees then where are they recruiting these officials from - people seeking a career change from Jack in the Box? Duncan must be a good guy who is just a victim of Crawford's wanton harrasment - evidently not, since Duncan actually got fined $25,000 for verbal abuse. Duncan claimed he only said three words to Crawford, "I got fouled on a shot". He just admitted exceeding his three word maximum by 100%. Which three words is he not counting? Plus he had to hurl billingsgate to be fined $25Gs - I surmise he does not want to count those words either. Duncan claims that Crawford asked if he wanted to fight him. I doubt this occured unless Crawford referred to verbal fighting and Duncan took it out of context. It was Duncan who said "If he wants to fight, we can fight." Duncan would actually fight an old referee which is an unprofessional and classless act. Maybe Duncan can pick on a six year old kid for an encore. If Duncan thinks he is so tough then why does he not pick on someone his own size and age - like Klitschko for example. It may have happened but I have never seen a referee initiate a fight with a player. The players fight each other as well as people in the stands and it is always the officials who have to break it up. In what other business would employees be dumb enough to attack their own clients? Imagine people taking their kids to McDonald's, purchase happy meals, sit down to eat and then get attacked by Ronald McDonald. This is tantamount to the conduct of NBA players. With Duncan sitting on the bench laughing and not taking the game seriously maybe he should seek a career change and apply at Jack in the Box where they can reinstate the clown.
posted by longgreenline at 01:38 AM on April 20, 2007
This story appears to have credibility since the coach even admitted repulsive behavior and it is also free of a racist agenda that influenced the Duke and Imus incidents.
posted by longgreenline at 09:14 PM on April 15, 2007
Don't blame Imus for this circus blame the media with Sharpton parading along next to the elephant. This remark by Imus never should have gotten any media attention. Everyone everday will say something that will be considered offensive to someone else, however they won't admit it, apologize for it, or lose their job over it. If Sharpton wants to be a leader he should be in front of the apology line. Sharpton was the ring master of the Brawley hoax 20 years ago accusing up to six white men of raping a 15 year old girl. Sharpton also accused a local prosecuter of kidnapping and raping Brawley on 33 separate occasions. The hoax began to unraveled when a security guard for Brawley's lawyers testified that the lawyers and Sharpton knew that Brawley was lying. Sharpton was ordered to pay damages to the accused local prosecuter. This clown has never offered an apology to the accused or to the public for his hoax. Sharpton was probably on the bandwagon accusing Duke players of rape which never had any credible evidence. He should apologize for that as well. I don't listen to Imus but if he had the backbone to stand up to Sharpton then maybe he would have something worth listening to.
posted by longgreenline at 01:51 AM on April 12, 2007
Sometimes nice guys do finish first.
posted by longgreenline at 01:49 AM on April 10, 2007
I do not want to know about this and do not think it is appropriate to broadcast to the public. Why can't everyone keep their personal life private.
posted by longgreenline at 11:08 PM on April 08, 2007
Basketball's Best Kept Secret: Revealed.
And it should have been kept a secret - if anyone were forced to listen to this then they could sue for pain and suffering.