- 04:04 PM
- 11/05/24
We'll see. That's why they play the games.
posted by cg1001a at 07:11 PM on September 04, 2004
I'm no fan of Kobe Bryant (other than his superior bball skills), but I still can't believe that the media has subjected everyone to 14 months of this "rape" case. A year ago in this same forum I deplored the media coverage of this case, saying that the case had no substance. It seemed obvious, to me anyway, that this was a case where a rich celebrity met up with a sex partner who, well, acted differently. There are bad people out there, predators: rapists, pedophiles, psychotics. This is not one of those situations. Celebrities have to put up with a lot, but there are privacy boundaries. Thank God it's over. Now I can focus on the Yankees, Cardinals, and BoSox, on the NE Pats and Joe Gibbs, and on Shaq in Miami and T-Mac with Y-Ming, without that ridiculous Kobe Bryant case crap constantly being in the sporting news.
posted by cg1001a at 09:16 AM on September 02, 2004
Can't blame the Nets for moving K-Mart; it's not clear he's worth a max contract. Surprising, though, that the Nets didn't get any players in return. I guess the Nets will take a step back for a while.
posted by cg1001a at 07:18 PM on July 16, 2004
Good point, jackhererra, but I would rate Bulls GM Jerry Krause up there with Jerry West. Because West's team was in L.A., both KAJ and Shaq wanted to play for the Lakers. That's your eight championships right there. The Chicago Bulls, on the other hand, had no tradition, had to create a championship aura from scratch.
posted by cg1001a at 07:47 PM on June 25, 2004
I can't understand why teams still go for size when a 6-6 player (Jordan, Pippen, Kobe, Rip Hamilton) is just as if not more valuable. In the last 15 drafts Olowokandi, Joe Smith, and Pervis Ellison have been TOPs. NBA teams have gotten better over time at drafting, but there are always unknowns. Not even Shaq or Tim Duncan were considered 100% sure-shots for superstardom when they were drafted.
posted by cg1001a at 06:21 PM on June 24, 2004
I disagree with this columnist. Look at teams that had consecutive top draft picks (Rockets: Sampson & Olajuwon, Nets: Derrick Coleman & Kenny Anderson, Magic: Shaq & Penny). None of those teams won an NBA title, and those players eventually didn't mesh. On the other hand, filling specific needs with the ultimate team in mind works. No one paid much attention when the Pistons drafted John Salley and Dennis Rodman in 1986 or the Bulls drafting of Horace Grant and Scottie Pippen in 1987, but those moves were specifically to improve the team's defense. And look at the results. This year's champion Pistons did the same thing with trades, acquiring the Wallace boys. Look at the flack that Detroit Pistons executive Joe Dumars received for selecting Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony in last year's draft. Dumars was ridiculed for saying that his team already had a similar player in Tayshaun Prince. In the finals against the Lakers, when Tayshaun Prince's defense on Kobe Bryant was obviously a factor in the Piston's rout of the Lakers, Dumars' detractors were the ones who looked ridiculous. Carmelo is a heck of a player, but he didn't fit in to where the Pistons were going.
posted by cg1001a at 09:01 PM on June 23, 2004
Was Mark Cuban right or what? I expect, however, that when the NBA season opens this November both Shaq and Kobe are in the Lakers starting lineup.
posted by cg1001a at 12:30 PM on June 20, 2004
thewittyname, exactly when did you spend those two years in Boston?
posted by cg1001a at 12:22 PM on June 20, 2004
(last word) I hear you, I hear you, but you are looking at what the people whose job it is to manipulate public opinion said. I'm speaking as a somewhat knowledgeable NBA fan. When the New Jersey Nets played the Lakers in the finals two years ago that was a situation where I figured the Nets had absolutely no shot at winning the series, none. If the Nets had won that series it would have been inexplicable (except for key injuries or something like that). But when I thought about the Pistons-Lakers series before it started I felt that the Pistons could conceivably win the series if they played well, which they did, and the Lakers did not. There were a few NBA analysts who had a similar opinion.
posted by cg1001a at 08:02 PM on June 17, 2004
rcade, I'm not talking hindsight or Vegas odds...fans who follow the NBA gave Detroit a shot if they played well. "Biggest upset in history" should be reserved for events like Douglas over Tyson or Patriots over Rams, cases where absolutely no one figured the underdog could/would/should win.
posted by cg1001a at 04:04 PM on June 16, 2004
Wiley's quote is just another take on the old Woody Allen line, "90% of life is just showing up". A little too much is being made of the Pistons upset; fans who follow basketball thought from the start of the series that the Pistons could win if they played well. What happened was that they played very, very well, and the series wasn't even close.
posted by cg1001a at 09:33 AM on June 16, 2004
Funny how we sports fans have redefined the word "dynasty", which actually refers to a group that stays in power across changes in personnel, e.g., like the NY Yankees from 1921 to 1964. Like grum above, we now use dynasty to describe a professional sports franchise which wins multiple championships in a relatively short time span.
posted by cg1001a at 01:47 PM on January 19, 2004
I can't dump on Philly the way their fans and the media are doing. They had a good season, finishing strong. And that counts for a lot: I got the distinct impression during the Colts-Pats game that if the game had been in the dome in Indy the Colts probably would have won. So a good regular season record is important come the playoffs.
posted by cg1001a at 11:46 AM on January 19, 2004
From a bball standpoint the Nets are picking up Griffin because of the big hole caused by the retirement of A. Mourning. I guess what Thorn means is...what do they have to lose. Nets really need some help at center and a 2/3 who can score consistently from the outside.
posted by cg1001a at 07:00 PM on December 29, 2003
Dick Paris, Completely agree with you about a college playoff-- what's the purpose? Football fans have the NFL; the college bowl controversies are fun. BTW, I read a biography of Jackie Robinson (the baseball pioneer), and apparently football was very big in Southern California in the 1930s.
posted by cg1001a at 10:38 AM on December 08, 2003
This HOF thing is a pet peeve of mine. Since pro athletes became multimillionaire media moguls, their publicity machines tout any and every star as "HOF" players. (In baseball see Glavine, Tom and Schilling, Curt.) Call me old-fashioned, but I pine for the days when HOF meant you were one of the truly outstanding performers in the history of your sport. So no to Zo. Good comment, Revisited, about Bill Walton. The bball HOF applies not only to the NBA but to high school, college, and international play. Explains why a player like David Thompson, who had a drug abuse-shortened NBA career, is in the HOF. He may have been the greatest college bball player of all-time.
posted by cg1001a at 08:39 AM on December 06, 2003
Joe Morgan is in the HOF and you're not. Hate the broadaster, but love the HOF 2nd baseman.
posted by cg1001a at 11:10 AM on November 26, 2003
Giving the Cy Young to Gagne is pretty close...no way the outstanding pitcher is a reliever from a so-so team like the Dodgers.
posted by cg1001a at 12:20 PM on November 18, 2003
I'm in agreement with Mike McD's comments earlier in the thread. Regardless of Shaq's accomplishments, there's no way someone with so few basketball skills could be regarded as the GOAT by fans. But his off-the-charts size and athleticism do make him an all-time great.
posted by cg1001a at 10:20 PM on November 17, 2003
This is the deal (I love pointing out things like this)...the purpose of the MVP award is to increase fan interest in the sport. Each year there must be an MVP winner in each league. So even if there was absolutely no one even remotely qualified for the award (see NL in 1988), there will be a winner. Under these conditions it makes sense to give it to A-Rod, although I personally would not give it to a player on a losing team.
posted by cg1001a at 10:09 PM on November 17, 2003
Don't like the trade...I think of Nomah as being a BoSox the way Jeter is identified with the Yankees.
posted by cg1001a at 10:32 AM on November 12, 2003
rcade, thanks for that link...an informative article.
posted by cg1001a at 10:28 AM on November 12, 2003
Verrry interesting that Yankee fans clearly want to keep Soriano.
posted by cg1001a at 01:18 PM on November 05, 2003
Verrry interesting that Yankee fans clearly want to keep Soriano.
posted by cg1001a at 01:18 PM on November 05, 2003
Thing is, those comments are pretty cutting. Would they cut each other like that if it was an act?
posted by cg1001a at 10:57 AM on October 29, 2003
Herzog is a good idea, so is TK [Tom Kelly]. When you win with less bullets than the other guys, the manager gets the credit.
posted by cg1001a at 10:51 AM on October 29, 2003
mbd1 - I don't know how far you go back, but were there a lot of Yankee fans in New York during the years 1969 through 1973?
posted by cg1001a at 12:31 PM on October 27, 2003
Response to aacheson: Why, respect for the dead, of course (:-)) Understand how deep Chicago and Boston baseball roots are. The Cubs franchise has had a loyal fan base since the 1870s, Boston since the 1890's. Whereas the Yankees were not popular until Babe Ruth, and most of this current fandom is primarily bandwagon jumping since George Steinbrenner purchased the club and started winning championships. You can look it up.
posted by cg1001a at 10:57 AM on October 27, 2003
Maybe I'm finding out what makes the insufferable Yankee fans insufferable. Two days ago they were all gloating about the 27th World Championship, planning the victory parade. Now they are all over the team. Very insecure, these people.
posted by cg1001a at 10:21 AM on October 24, 2003
Lost in all of this is Joe Torre's own impressive managerial performance in game 7. He slights Giambi and Boone, and they come through. He pulls Clemens without hesitation. He brings in his big guns, Mussina and Wells, again without hesitation. (And it doesn't hurt to have Jeter, Williams, Matsui, and Posada batting in the bottom of the eighth.)
posted by cg1001a at 10:04 AM on October 22, 2003
Even after watching the Cubs collapse and the Red Sox game seven loss, it's hard to believe they happened. Yankee fans are insufferable.
posted by cg1001a at 11:21 AM on October 21, 2003
tieguy, thanks for the Dave Barry link. BTW, anyone who has never read Dave Barry's classic column Sports Nuts definitely should. It's not that long, less than 1000 words. Should be available in a Dave Barry collection (but I don't see any online link to it).
posted by cg1001a at 05:18 PM on October 19, 2003
Easterbrook doesn't like Pulp Fiction??
posted by cg1001a at 05:04 PM on October 19, 2003
MLB and the NHL have farm teams for their teenagers, the NFL and the NBA do not. While it is true that the colleges are free farm systems for the NFL and NBA, let's not forget that college football and basketball paved the way for the pro leagues. They were popular with large fan bases long before the pro leagues hit it big.
posted by cg1001a at 05:30 PM on October 16, 2003
This has become a silly topic, as Weedy's post shows.
posted by cg1001a at 12:36 PM on October 16, 2003
Distasteful, racist remarks by this Jan Stephenson person.
posted by cg1001a at 10:42 AM on October 11, 2003
Yankee fans (like Bernreuther) really take losing hard. Earlier in this post Bernreuther is complaining about the Yankee performance against Curt Schilling in the 2001 WS. As I recall, the Yankees had that won going in to the bottom of the ninth of game seven and lost on a throwing error and a couple of timely hits by the D'backs.
posted by cg1001a at 12:01 PM on October 10, 2003
I used to think the sportswriters refused to give O'Malley credit for Jackie Robinson because of their hatred towards him, but apparently O'Malley was a minority owner of the Dodgers when Branch Rickey signed Robinson. Rickey effectively controlled the club at that time; a few years later O'Malley bought Rickey out and became the majority owner of the Dodgers.
posted by cg1001a at 11:49 AM on October 10, 2003
Thanks for weighing in, patrickje. Every Indian/native American I have spoken with on this issue feels the same way you do. The cause needs a higher profile, though. I get the feeling that most Americans don't think that the offensive Indian names/logos are negatively affecting that many people.
posted by cg1001a at 12:10 PM on October 03, 2003
As Barra says, many people have known that McNabb is not quite as good as his hype, and for him being a black QB has been advantageous. But if you are an NFL commentator, being on the anti-black side of race issues, in a league that is 76% black, is perilous. See Arizona, selection of Super Bowl site.
posted by cg1001a at 11:39 AM on October 03, 2003
rcade, thanks for the link to the Dionne column. Most of us who love sports want to forget about politics when we watch games. That statement captures a lot of the feeling. It explains why for the rest of September 2001 I could not follow sports at all. I've actually been working on a column about why we care so much about sports, but I haven't got it down [yet].
posted by cg1001a at 11:22 AM on October 03, 2003
My point is if in that situation J Fastball goes on to give up 10 hits and 8 runs, most of those runs should count as earned runs. Only the batter(s) who reached base via an error (and anyone already on base) should be considered unearned runs should they score.
posted by cg1001a at 03:49 PM on October 02, 2003
Something I find bothersome in this sabermetric era is MLB's strange definition of an earned run. Apparently the Twins last run was earned, because the next batter hit a double? Counterintuitive. I believe baseball also counts any and all runs scored after a two-out error as unearned, which is also counterintuitive.
posted by cg1001a at 11:07 AM on October 01, 2003
Those Atlanta (non)fans are unbelievable...game 1 of the playoffs and the Cub fans are louder than the Braves fans.
posted by cg1001a at 10:37 AM on October 01, 2003
Oddly enough, David Ortiz for MVP crossed my mind last night. He deserves as much consideration as the other candidates.
posted by cg1001a at 03:18 PM on September 24, 2003
I've often wondered the same thing (9 losses and 4 no-decisions with a 1.12 ERA). Anyone have a further breakdown?
posted by cg1001a at 05:57 PM on September 12, 2003
I visited PacBell Park last summer while in California...hard to believe that PNC is nicer than that! I've never been there, but I hear Camden Yards is really nice.
posted by cg1001a at 09:44 AM on September 10, 2003
Just an FYI correction: Phil Jackson was injured and did not play during the Knicks 69-70 championship season and was a reserve (not a starter) on the Knicks 72-73 champs.
posted by cg1001a at 07:56 PM on September 02, 2003
This, to me is the problem with sports fans, they say they want winners not prima donnas, but then go running to the numbers when a player's value is debated. Yeah, but we can't help it. Comparing [great] players is one of the most fun things about being a sports fan. Jeter will always get props (and a place in the HOF) for being on those Yankee championship teams.
posted by cg1001a at 07:46 PM on September 02, 2003
I find it curious that some people prefer what's inferred by statistical analysis to the say-so of past players. These are flesh and blood athletes, not robots. There are intangibles. There is magic.
posted by cg1001a at 05:11 PM on August 29, 2003
I'd much rather pick up a guy with a sub-3.00 ERA with 12 wins than another guy who's at 4.00+ but won 16. I think this is where Joe Morgan is coming from. Who should win the Cy Young: 16-8 with a 2.22 ERA or 24-8 with a 3.33 ERA? You gotta figure the 24-8 guy, even if he pitched all season with great run support, is going to win the Cy.
posted by cg1001a at 05:05 PM on August 29, 2003
Jerseygirl, good luck to your Sox this weekend. I don't think they will overtake the Yanks, but hopefully it will be interesting.
posted by cg1001a at 04:50 PM on August 29, 2003
Sorry for the regionalism...I agree that all of these division/wildcard races are good.
posted by cg1001a at 12:50 PM on August 29, 2003
jerseygirl, what do you think will happen this weekend?
posted by cg1001a at 11:19 AM on August 29, 2003
Yeah, some interesting stuff. BTW, the mlb.com site has old World Series videos which you can view for a fee. It's called Baseball's Best.
posted by cg1001a at 06:52 PM on August 25, 2003
All's fair in love and war (and when you're making 17mil).
posted by cg1001a at 09:33 AM on August 25, 2003
Mike McD...such hyperbole. (Hey, that rhymes.) Barry compared to Jordan; no way. They both are/were out of this world performers, but neither Barry nor MLB comes close to Jordan's impact. The NBA was probably the #1 team sport in the 1990's because of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
posted by cg1001a at 05:56 PM on August 24, 2003
I think we understand the nuances involved here. By the logic of the people who have a problem with my wording, we know that OJ did not murder two people because a jury of his peers found him innocent in criminal court.
posted by cg1001a at 02:31 PM on August 13, 2003
I stand by my statements. My post does not use the term "non-violent rape", as several of you have. I said I don't think Kobe is a rapist, then I described rape as a violent crime.
posted by cg1001a at 02:46 PM on August 11, 2003
258!
No asterisk needed. Sisler's record was set in 1920, the year the A.L. said, hey, maybe this Ruth guy will put a few extra fannies in the seats if we use a juicier ball. In fact, the top ten hit seasons of all time occurred between 1920 and 1930 with the exceptions of Ichiro and the incomparable Ty Cobb.