- 03:57 AM
- 12/31/24
Given baseball's sanctimony levels, I am surprised that this hasn't been drowned out with a chorus of shouts that "if you don't want them to shift, learn how to pull the ball!"
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:54 PM on January 27, 2015
This is one of those stories you laugh at because it is silly, but in the back of your mind you kind of feel bad because it could be the sign of a public meltdown of some kind.
posted by feloniousmonk at 03:59 PM on January 14, 2015
Simmons probably has good reason to be in a punchy mood towards ESPN HQ today. Ozzie Newsome either perjured himself or vindicated Simmons' position that Goodell was lying during a deposition today, according to their own coverage.
posted by feloniousmonk at 07:32 PM on November 06, 2014
In the context of LA's bid for an upcoming summer games, I've heard a lot of emphasis on making use of existing facilities. The mayor has been talking about the big investments being in mass transit rather than stadiums. I think it could potentially make a lot of sense for cities in these circumstances where the money can be used for something more than athletic facilities no one wants. Of course, with such a corrupt bidding process, it remains to be seen how that would bear out.
I understand the desire to keep moving these big events around, but building purpose-specific facilities is a waste of money. I think these big games should settle into a pattern of rotating through a set number of cities that are already pretty much ready to host as-is. You can create a new process to allow cities to qualify for the rotation, but the bidding process should be replaced with something that isn't an obvious magnet for corruption and doesn't cause participants to do things like build $>100MM stadiums in remote Amazonian cities which can only be reached by airplane and boat.
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:17 PM on October 03, 2014
It's been many, many years since I've been to a sprint car race and I never much cared for them beyond the spectacle even then, but I do know that they are set up to go fast on slippery dirt and don't handle anything like normal cars so expectations about behavior based on your experience in a normal car don't really apply. You hit the gas to corner in them.
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:05 PM on August 11, 2014
Wow, this story is going to get crazy if that's accurate. The local news just mentioned a possible arrest upcoming.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:34 AM on August 10, 2014
This looks really embarrassing for him from the outside. It looks like he overplayed a weak hand in a power grab, lost the bet, and then only landed on his feet because a friend bailed him out via his newly acquired ownership stake in Milwaukee.
posted by feloniousmonk at 04:53 PM on June 30, 2014
Apparently no one bothered to tell Dan that fantasy season's over.
posted by feloniousmonk at 03:58 AM on January 12, 2014
Shanahan is thinking about benching RG3 for the season. Why not just resign now?
posted by feloniousmonk at 06:10 PM on December 09, 2013
Seems like the stage is being set for Shanahan to leave at the end of the year.
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:46 PM on December 08, 2013
NE doing a fantastic job of reminding me to go to bed early.
Expect it when you least expect it.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:13 AM on November 25, 2013
My problem with the play is that there is no consistency between the way it was officiated and the way Arrington was penalized on the Panther's drive before. It seems Gronk was fouled before the ball arrived, making the question of whether it was catchable moot because he didn't have an opportunity to be in position in the first place. The NFL has crazy rules, though, and you can't really expect it to make sense.
That said, even as a Pats fan, it's hard to get too worked up over this stuff. Just like with the helmet catch, this is what people remember but it's not necessarily where the game was actually lost.
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:50 PM on November 19, 2013
The fact that the Pats briefly signed and played Austin Collie goes to show how unsuccessful they were at replacing Welker. My primary reaction to that was "wow, I really hope this isn't how the first NFL player dies on the field."
posted by feloniousmonk at 03:48 PM on November 16, 2013
I quit Pop Warner 2 years in after the 2nd consecutive coach turned out to be into doing stuff like making you complete your windsprints prior to drinking water in 100+ degree heat and having all of the small kids do one on one hitting/tackling drills with the one kid who was sized like a grown man already. I got the sense that this was pretty much the norm throughout all of the leagues I could've played in and was done with it. This was the 90s and it's hard for me to imagine the culture has changed much. It's not as if the hazards of not letting kids have water when it's hot were unknown until recently. I would advise against it at any opportunity at this point.
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:18 PM on November 14, 2013
As a Red Sox fan, I hope to see the Cardinals again next year, too, so they can lose a third time.
posted by feloniousmonk at 06:52 PM on November 05, 2013
Meriweather must be making up for all of the opportunities to make stupid comments that he missed while with the Patriots.
posted by feloniousmonk at 05:20 PM on October 28, 2013
I doubt many people really care about the constructors title, but I think that's the key here. His Red Bull car almost always has some sort of edge, whether it's KERS-based pseudo-traction control or it's something more prosaic. Vettel's clearly a great driver, and it takes nothing away from him, but there are numerous examples from this year where the car just turns differently from everyone else, even including Webber (when his car hasn't mysteriously broken down).
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:47 AM on October 28, 2013
Is the old gunslinger ready for one last battle?
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:46 PM on October 24, 2013
Baseball really can be such an intolerably sanctimonious sport.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:50 PM on October 19, 2013
ESPN seems to be digging for some sort of Derek Rose type angle with Gronkowski. They seem to be tackier than usual lately, maybe that's just me.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:59 PM on September 28, 2013
Somehow, Mike Lombardi is going to find a way to use those draft picks to pick former Patriots players.
posted by feloniousmonk at 11:18 AM on September 19, 2013
I came here to say basically the same thing. I'm sure they'll use their pick wisely.
posted by feloniousmonk at 07:12 PM on September 18, 2013
I really don't understand why he hasn't tried other positions. Maybe he can't catch very well? Maybe it's about injury risks? Who knows, but from where I am sitting, it seems like he would be a pretty crazy threat as a TE. You know he can run and he adds the extra dimension of being a more plausible threat than usual for "TE option" types of plays.
I hear the Jets need a QB.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:17 PM on August 31, 2013
I have no real opinion on college football, but this story has been unavoidable in the dead weeks of August, so unfortunately I know enough about this Manziel story to think the outcome is comical. Way to reinforce every negative stereotype, NCAA, I am sure this bodes well for the future.
posted by feloniousmonk at 03:36 PM on August 28, 2013
ESPN's reporting seems to assume approval of manager-initiated challenges in MLB will be a fait accompli, but that seems a little optimistic to me.
posted by feloniousmonk at 07:10 PM on August 15, 2013
I thought it was strange how, from certain camera angles, the new Miami uniforms were terrible, almost hard to look at, while from others they seemed fine. It was worst on the high angle shots, so maybe it was a light filter or something on the lenses.
posted by feloniousmonk at 05:21 PM on August 05, 2013
That's a perfect ESPN graphic. I'm sure the stats compare just as favorably over the whole season.
posted by feloniousmonk at 06:37 PM on July 29, 2013
Maybe I am just so fed up with how the media spins it, but I have a hard time taking the stories about self-policing seriously. It probably is just the media's endless nostalgic sanctimony.
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:49 PM on July 23, 2013
I did not expect to get around to checking on the British Open leaderboard today to see Phil Mickelson leading in the clubhouse at -3, 3 shots under 2nd place with no one else in sight. Must've been a crazy day.
Tiger keeps ending up paired with Adam Scott and keeps doing poorly. This has to be getting under his skin.
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:39 PM on July 21, 2013
We still have to wait for this to be official. It's Dwight Howard, anything could happen between now and the 10th.
posted by feloniousmonk at 11:17 PM on July 05, 2013
It sounds like a mixture of offense and defense. The first two look like QB traits to me.
posted by feloniousmonk at 12:41 PM on July 03, 2013
I have to be honest, I don't think the rack and peanut steering will be able to last the whole 24 hours.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:19 PM on June 28, 2013
It really is unbelievable. It's like someone said "now that you're rich and famous you could get away with murder" and he took them literally.
posted by feloniousmonk at 05:18 PM on June 26, 2013
It's first degree murder. You can find transcripts of the arraignment now. Earlier reporting just said he was charged with murder but didn't specify and that boston.com article was a blank stub.
posted by feloniousmonk at 05:12 PM on June 26, 2013
Wow, he is probably done.
"McCauley said Hernandez summoned his two friends, then drove to Fayston Street in Boston's Dorchester section early on the morning of Monday, June 17, where Lloyd, a 27-year-old semipro football player, left his home, got in the car, and then rode south to North Attleborough.
Along the way, Lloyd alerted relatives in a text message, asking them, "Did you see who I am with?" After they asked who, he replied cryptically, "NFL," the prosecutor said.
"Just so you know,'' Lloyd added. It was the last text message he sent before he died, McCauley said.
In the North Attleborough industrial park where Lloyd was murdered, surveillance videos captured the men arriving in the same silver Nissan that Lloyd had gotten into in Dorchester, the prosecutor said.
Once near a wooded area, Lloyd started climbing out of the car, and was shot once, which knocked him to the ground. As he lay there, he raised his arm and was shot multiple times. Five spent .45-caliber spent shell casings were later recovered, McCauley said.
When Hernandez returned home around 3:30 a.m. Monday, surveillance video at his house showed him walking through his house holding a pistol in his hand, the prosecutor said."
posted by feloniousmonk at 04:30 PM on June 26, 2013
So does anyone know if this is felony murder for participation or murder as in they think he pulled the trigger? As of now ESPN doesn't make that clear.
posted by feloniousmonk at 03:45 PM on June 26, 2013
It's not looking good for Gonk. At this point, I wonder about his future with the Patriots.
posted by feloniousmonk at 04:35 PM on May 17, 2013
The "Tiger lied" story is getting pretty embarrassing. I think that there are a lot of people who never liked him but kept their mouths shut prior to the scandal who now feel like they can say whatever they want about him.
posted by feloniousmonk at 03:31 PM on May 15, 2013
This sounds like a manufactured story. This is the actual exchange.
Wyche: Quickly, a Tim Tebow question: With all of the attention this guy gets -- be it good, bad or indifferent -- is it good to have Tim Tebow in the NFL?
Goodell: Well, he's a great young man. And I try to stay out of the decisions about who should be playing in the NFL and on what team. But as a young man, he's just a super young guy, and I sure hope he's part of the NFL going forward. He's just a terrific young man and represents all of the values that I think all of our players do. I'm very proud of our players. I think, as a group, they're extraordinary young men, and I love to see the things they're doing in the community. They're obviously great athletes on the field, but these are great young men, and Tim's a good example of that.
What else would he say? That is the PR 101 answer to a question like that. It says nothing about whether Goodell thinks Tebow is a good player or deserves to be on a team.
posted by feloniousmonk at 08:32 PM on May 12, 2013
As a former resident of Ft Myers and a current resident of Los Angeles, I can only imagine that this has made him and his family the happiest they've ever been.
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:47 PM on April 02, 2013
There needs to be some sort of standards body responsible for regulating safety for anything advertised as a sports event. Basically, OSHA for sports. I think that before operating a professional sport (maybe college, too) management should undergo a certification process of some kind, which would emphasize potential types of injuries, their dangers, and the protocols required to clear players before releasing them from care after an injury with a focus on the brain/other at-risk areas.
The danger is unlikely to decrease but higher treatment standards could save lives. (Who knows if it would've in this case.)
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:53 PM on February 01, 2013
Fine him? I heard Goodell loves the song.
posted by feloniousmonk at 08:08 PM on January 28, 2013
I really hope ESPN decides they don't care about this story.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:26 PM on January 25, 2013
I wonder if the NCAA or some other body is going to bother to come up with rules to protect the recruits in these circumstances. If a coach is going to go out on the road to influence a student athlete's (I know) decision about their education shouldn't that come with some responsibility to the job?
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:35 PM on January 16, 2013
Age is all the Red Sox need to fix their bullpen.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:44 PM on December 27, 2012
Bad day to be the NFL Commissioner.
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:32 PM on December 11, 2012
Greg McElroy winning that game is so perfect.
posted by feloniousmonk at 07:01 PM on December 02, 2012
It feels like a bad idea to remove such a good opportunity for doing something clever from the game. I understand that no one does it, but that speaks more to the coaching mindset than the game itself. I'd love to see a coach come in and do all of those Madden style trick plays and pull it off just for the ensuing meltdown by the former players and other Serious Men who commentate. It'll probably never happen, but why remove something that has the potential to produce moments like New Oreans' second-half-opener onside kick in the Super Bowl?
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:35 PM on November 23, 2012
And somehow, Mark Cuban will never get a team.
posted by feloniousmonk at 06:09 PM on November 20, 2012
The headless chicken consensus on ESPN was that if SF beat Verlander they're a shoe-in.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:24 PM on October 25, 2012
To be clear, by "try something like this" I mean to try not giving their opponents an entire season to come up with a way to defend the crazy new idea they put in place. I'm happy in general that they are winning by focusing on a more fundamental offense (albeit one with crazy pieces), which is reminiscent of the glory years, where you never quite knew how they'd pull it out at the last second (back then, you knew they would) but it also seems like there might be something more to it as they gain confidence with the new system.
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:12 AM on October 22, 2012
My pet theory is that they may be waiting to roll out the high impact stuff until after the bye week, which would hopefully result in pushing the peak back enough so that it occurs during the post season, rather than the 80% mark.
This may well be wishful thinking, but how many times do they need to lose to the Giants before they try something like this? We'll see. I am definitely starting to worry about age though. There are not so many years left for Brady in New England.
posted by feloniousmonk at 02:08 AM on October 22, 2012
I really hope the Patriots are making a concerted effort to not peak too early this year and that's why they have been so uninspiring so far. It may just be the beginning of the end.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:07 AM on October 22, 2012
I don't understand what the F1 telecast directors are thinking. They cut away from what looked like a really close finish for 3rd to show 2nd place sail in unchallenged.
posted by feloniousmonk at 06:12 AM on October 07, 2012
Maybe they really are thinking about selling the team. Apparently the "turning point" happened before the season even started.
posted by feloniousmonk at 07:00 PM on October 04, 2012
Toronto's manager is John Farrell. He left Boston for Toronto not long ago and was one of the front runners for the job before they gave it to Valentine. It's not as random as it might seem.
posted by feloniousmonk at 04:26 PM on October 04, 2012
Good thing they got rid of that bum Francona, right? What a joke.
posted by feloniousmonk at 01:38 PM on October 04, 2012
Bobby V keeps up the good work in Boston. They'll bring home the pennant next year for sure.
posted by feloniousmonk at 05:52 PM on October 03, 2012
IndyCar Driver Justin Wilson Dies After Debris Hit to Helmet
Charlie Whiting, the F1 race director, recently said that they will be moving to a protected cockpit, although I don't think that's necessarily a reaction to this, with F1 having had its own share of safety issues. Indycar needs to rethink their spec for ovals, or cut them altogether. There's too much energy and too little margin for error with their current spec. There's a reason F1 doesn't run ovals, or tri-ovals, or whatever.