- 08:50 AM
- 11/05/24
As much as I'd like to believe that Belichick is playing N-dimensional chess with the rest of the league up to this point, after 7 games I'm starting to think that they are what their record indicates -- a mediocre team playing mediocre football. Luckily for them the rest of the AFC East is mediocre or worse, so a playoff berth still seems likely.
posted by Jugwine at 10:02 AM on October 22, 2012
I don't know. The Yankee batters didn't exactly cover themselves in glory during the Orioles series, either.
posted by Jugwine at 09:29 AM on October 19, 2012
I hear one of the leading candidates to replace him is an unknown named 'Robby Ballentine'. Here's a picture.
posted by Jugwine at 11:59 PM on October 04, 2012
I think a system where there were two wild card teams in each league that had to play a 1 or 3 game series against each other in order to move on to the divisional round would be great. It would finally give an incentive for teams to win their division over getting the wild card when they are in a position to do one or the other. I feel like having some consequence for getting to the playoffs via wild card would undo some of "it doesn't matter how we get there, as long as we make the playoffs" sort of thinking that baseball has under the current system.
I wouldn't like to see it expanded more than that, though.
posted by Jugwine at 11:59 AM on June 13, 2011
GALAHAD: Let us taunt Brady! He may become so cross that he will make a mistake.
ARTHUR: Like what?
GALAHAD: Well,....
posted by Jugwine at 07:56 PM on January 13, 2011
If you want some good hate, check out the tweets to @John_W_Henry during the five or so hours where it looked like the Adrian Gonzalez trade was not going to go through. Here are some examples.
posted by Jugwine at 09:50 AM on December 06, 2010
I'm pretty sure that I could feel Nolan Ryan's seething rage during that inning here in Boston, it burned so intensely.
posted by Jugwine at 10:04 AM on October 29, 2010
It's not even that, though, it's "Some of my mom's best friends are gay."
Weak sauce.
posted by Jugwine at 10:38 AM on August 14, 2010
What's not to get? Whitey Ford isn't as great as you think he is because he never won 20 games in a seasons except when he did and because his managers never thought he was good enough to start game 7 of a World Series even though not all the series he pitched in went seven games.
It couldn't be clearer!
posted by Jugwine at 02:42 PM on August 03, 2010
And of course the sidebar ad is of Michael Strahan crushing a baseball with an aluminum bat...
I don't really understand the resistance -- professional baseball uses wooden bats. If you want to be a professional baseball player, you need to learn how to hit with a wooden bat.
I see that there is a cost issue since wooden bats break, but can't you buy multiple wooden bats for the same price as a high-end aluminum?
posted by Jugwine at 10:27 AM on March 24, 2010
And a quick Googling reveals that this is the only place on the Internet where you'll find the phrase "indoor baseball purists".
posted by Jugwine at 12:21 PM on October 05, 2009
I've seen Belichick win three superbowls, but this is the first time I remember seeing him all choked up!
posted by Jugwine at 10:12 PM on August 31, 2009
I can better understand the 5.2% who left Henderson off the ballot than the one writer who decided to spend one of his votes on Jesse Orosco.
posted by Jugwine at 08:26 AM on January 13, 2009
There's already the swim-bike-run of the triathlon. Women's is over, but Men's is tomorrow, I think.
posted by Jugwine at 10:34 AM on August 18, 2008
This is actually quite amazing to witness. We have a large blind population in our town and I saw our local team running drills in advance of this game while we were walking through the park near our house.
posted by Jugwine at 12:02 PM on July 30, 2008
Let me see if I've got the NFL's thinking on this straight:
posted by Jugwine at 09:24 AM on July 22, 2008
yerfatma: It's from Der Untergang (Downfall, in English)
posted by Jugwine at 02:19 PM on January 28, 2008
"no one" will talk about the 2007 Patriots in 10 years if they lose this Superbowl, "no one" here meaning about 10% of the people that would talk about the 2k7 Pats if they win the Superbowl. I agree. Fair or not, if the Pats lose, they become just the answer to a trivia question. If they win, then they'll considered one of the greatest teams (if not the greatest) of all time. No pressure, though.
posted by Jugwine at 09:17 AM on January 26, 2008
Yes it's very amusing and relevant. If you're living in 1994.
posted by Jugwine at 09:22 PM on August 01, 2007
That's funny. SI just named her one of the 20 People to watch in baseball this year. Apparently she fancies herself a media personality.
posted by Jugwine at 09:17 AM on March 31, 2006
Actually, the Cuban players would be silly to defect directly to America. If they do that, then they're subject to the draft (unless things have changed). In the past, they've defected to places like the Dominican Republic so that they can enter the majors as free agents instead and can name their price.
posted by Jugwine at 09:51 AM on March 22, 2006
Tennessee, Indiana, it's all the same to us Northeastern Liberal Elitists. (remind me never to post before coffee again -- I'm still relearning the ropes after a long hiatus)
posted by Jugwine at 09:34 AM on March 22, 2006
Dang, I'm going to miss Vinatieri. That snow bowl game is burnt into my memory as one of the top football moments that I've wintessed (albeit on TV). I wonder, though, if Adam will get all those endorsement deals down there in Tennessee.
posted by Jugwine at 09:09 AM on March 22, 2006
I never realized how different Leiter's record would have been if Benitez wasn't such a mess in big games. Anyway, I'm sure people will disagree, but I thought Leiter was pretty good in the broadcast booth when he did playoff games on Fox. He always seemed excited to be there and to drop little tidbits that the others (I can't even remember who they stuck him with) weren't privy to.
posted by Jugwine at 08:45 AM on March 20, 2006
Thanks for posting this -- Mo has been one of my favorites since he was setting up for Wetteland. I knew that his steely on-mound demeanor was the opposite of his off-field personality, but I didn't know he was such a mentor to the younger players.
posted by Jugwine at 08:41 AM on March 20, 2006
terrapin: We will not rest until one of Anna Benson's breasts makes the rotation into the Sp*rtsfilter logo!
posted by Jugwine at 09:27 AM on January 28, 2005
Is it just me or is Anna Benson going to need her own distinct category here soon?
posted by Jugwine at 10:51 AM on January 27, 2005
Sounds like the Post and News backpage copy writers will have an easy job this summer!
posted by Jugwine at 10:27 AM on January 11, 2005
Joe Morgan? Even he doesn't know more than the blindingly obvious about baseball, and sometimes I wonder if he even has a grasp of that.
posted by Jugwine at 04:10 PM on October 22, 2004
rcade: Not that I can remember. The worst thing that Jeter does is his overdramatic dodging of inside strikes and overdramatic lunging at outside strikes.
posted by Jugwine at 10:35 PM on October 20, 2004
Man, the foul pole just couldn't move a few inches to the left, could it? Is that too much to ask?
posted by Jugwine at 10:28 PM on October 20, 2004
Well, so much for Pedro's infinite ERA for this game. I was kind of hoping that would be my consolation prize.
posted by Jugwine at 10:15 PM on October 20, 2004
Hey, maybe I should insult the rest of the Yankee bullpen -- that didn't turn out nearly as bad as I thought it would.
posted by Jugwine at 10:06 PM on October 20, 2004
Doesn't matter what Francona does now. Torre put Heredia in.
posted by Jugwine at 10:04 PM on October 20, 2004
Man, there ain't enough booze in the world. Nor enough pie. The plus side is that it will be fun to watch Steinbrenner flip out if the Yankees don't come back. What's the over/under on front office firings?
posted by Jugwine at 09:55 PM on October 20, 2004
Seriously, you look at some of the teenagers and 20-somethings in Yankee Stadium with sour faces, and wonder exactly what they've not got from their team this past decade... See, here's the thing. The Yankees under Joe Torre have become a machine that eats money and craps championships. When the machine breaks down, it just doesn't make sense. It's like when you pay for a bag of potato chips or something out of a vending machine and it gets stuck up in there. You put in your seventy-five cents and dammit you want your snack, even though you just ate lunch.
posted by Jugwine at 09:22 PM on October 20, 2004
Okay, THAT was the loudest I've ever yelled MOTHERFUCKER. I guess now I know how all you Sox fans have felt since, well, since always. Well, at least I can always count on booze to never let me down. Maybe I'll sober up by spring training.
posted by Jugwine at 09:11 PM on October 20, 2004
I've never yelled MOTHERFUCKER! so loud as I did just then. What the HELL? Did the Yankees just use up all their runs in game three?!
posted by Jugwine at 08:42 PM on October 20, 2004
Nomar's side includes two Silver Slugger awards (which are full-size bats) and a Rookie of the Year. True, but it will always feel empty until he gets the one thing he desires above all else: Dan Shaughnessy's head on a pike.
posted by Jugwine at 06:58 AM on August 27, 2004
George Will thinks he's the best commisioner ever, and that's good enough for me! Selig is largely to blame for a lot of the problems with baseball today, most glaringly obvious is the fact that the Expos are still not sold, despite the fact that there are at least three groups of people drooling over the the chance to move them. Why does MLB even own them in the first place? Because Selig wanted to get the Red Sox to his buddy John Henry and his other buddy Jeffrey Loria was tired of going to Canada. Oh, and don't forget about how he tried to buy his other buddy Carl Pohlad out of the baseball business. He even managed to ruin the buzz of a close fought and exciting World Series by announcing it less than a week later. And who can forget that he claimed that "St. Louis is closer to Minneapolis than Milwaukee is" (it's not) when asked whether killing off the Twins would help his own franchise. And it was ever so nice of him to blackmail the state of Wisconsin into giving him a brand new stadium essentially for no money down! He really is a car salesman, isn't he? Selig is no more than a waste of a bad haircut.
posted by Jugwine at 04:10 PM on August 19, 2004
It's just God Bless America. It's not like he's refusing to stand for the national anthem -- that actually would be disrespectful. I think that a well-reasoned and tasteful protest is fine. More power to him.
posted by Jugwine at 01:53 PM on July 22, 2004
This may be the last year that it counts. The two year experiment is now over. If I were in the NL, I would think long and hard about whether they ever want home field advantage again. Also, Scooter is still terrible.
posted by Jugwine at 02:29 PM on July 14, 2004
Well, the question is whether or not Roger would turn down the chance to play half a season with the Yankees (or maybe Boston) and nab another one of them World Series rings. He has a sweetheart deal with the Astros right now and really has nothing left to prove for his first-ballot hall of fame career. With a better team, he may increase his chances of moving into the top ten in career wins (he needs 8 more to be tied for tenth) but unless the Astros give up on their season, he'll probably get that in Houston. From what I hear, though, Clemens has become a cult figure in Houston and seems to be enough of a draw that he may still sell tickets if the Astros finish out another disappointing season.
posted by Jugwine at 03:36 PM on July 09, 2004
Benson is one of those pitchers that just never lived up to expectations, due to injury and inconsistancy. If there're two things that the Yankees do not need, it's more of that. Besides, forget Kris, what about Anna?
posted by Jugwine at 02:48 PM on July 09, 2004
Conventional Wisdom says that Jimy Williams is going to take the fall for the underachieving Astros, but after the All-Star game to save Houston the embarassment of having their fired manager as one of the coaches.
posted by Jugwine at 03:31 PM on July 02, 2004
If Kevin Millar has to walk the plank before that time, all the better. Maybe he needs to Pirate Up?
posted by Jugwine at 09:37 AM on July 02, 2004
Also, there's a transcript from this afternoon's chat with the author here. So this is what it feels like to be scooped!
posted by Jugwine at 02:29 PM on June 29, 2004
This is great news for Jose! I won't speculate on how it might effect his pitching, but it's certainly a happy ending for his family.
posted by Jugwine at 09:53 PM on June 22, 2004
Thanks for this! As a baseball fan and only a casual follower of football, I'd always been told that those NFL owners were all living in a wonderful fantasy land with voidable contracts and salary caps and TV revenue sharing and rainbows and lollipops. It's good to see the other side of this as football's economic system is constantly presented to us as some sort of panacea that will magically make everything better.
posted by Jugwine at 11:55 AM on June 18, 2004
Ladies and gentlemen, our long national nightmare has come to an end.
posted by Jugwine at 07:01 AM on June 17, 2004
In addition to the article, the Morning News also has a cute little graphic on Foul Ball Etiquette. (Registration may be required for those) Not to defend Starr at all, but I think the media frenzy around this kid has kind of gotten out of hand. I mean, the family was on Good Morning America for crying out loud, and people are bending over backwards to give this kid things above and beyond the bats and balls he got in Arlington. When does something turn from feel-good story to a weird media obsession?
posted by Jugwine at 11:49 AM on June 16, 2004
To me, as someone who doesn't really follow the NBA, the interesting thing was that if the games were reversed and it was the Lakers spanking the Pistons all over the court it would have made for five boring games of basketball. The fact that the nominal underdog came out and just dominated for 90% of the entire series was, to me, what turned a dull blowout to a fascinating NBA finals.
posted by Jugwine at 08:02 AM on June 16, 2004
Well, I think that's kind of his point. You can't argue that McEnroe didn't project a distinct personality both on and off the court. He was (and remains) as much character as athlete and it's hard to say the same about most of the top-rated tennis players today. Now, on the other hand, you certainly don't want tennis to turn into pro-wrestling, but I think that it's easier to market players in a solo sport if the fans know a little bit more about the participants.
posted by Jugwine at 10:52 AM on June 15, 2004
So, how long before his name is leaked to the press? It only took Steve Bartman a day and a half to become a household name and all he did was take a ball away from a millionaire.
posted by Jugwine at 12:06 PM on June 14, 2004
Are you kidding? If Nomar went to NY it would be "Enrique Who?" within fifteen minutes. The only reason he's even on the team is because he has unreal numbers against Pedro. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Tejada would consider a move to first for that "all shortstop all all-star" infield.
posted by Jugwine at 10:57 AM on June 14, 2004
What is it about foul balls that turns people into imbeciles? I hope that guy's "female companion" realizes she's with a jerk and kicks him to the curb. Anyway, kudos to the Cards and Rangers, particularly to Sanders who I have a newfound respect for.
posted by Jugwine at 10:19 AM on June 14, 2004
AHL announces new Pacific Division
It looks like Manchester, Norfolk & Glens Falls are getting ECHL franchises as a consolation prize. I haven't heard what's happening in Worcester.