- 02:05 PM
- 01/23/22
| Name: | Howard Titus |
|---|---|
| Location: | Nashua, NH |
| ZIP: | 03062 |
| Gender: | Old Alpha Male, hoping no young stud steals the herd. |
| Member since: | April 08, 2006 |
| Last visit: | January 22, 2022 |
Howard_T has posted 43 links and 4,289 comments to SportsFilter and 3 links and 265 comments to the Locker Room.
Recent Sports Necrology: Over the past day or two the sports world has lost some notable people. Stirling Moss, passed away at the age of 90. He was one of the legendary racing drivers in what some might call the golden age of racing. Moss competed against the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio (a teammate) when Ferrari, Maserati, and Mercedes ruled.
posted by Howard_T to general at 10:28 PM on April 13, 2020 - 2 comments
Rusty Staub Dead at 73: A sad note on opening day, Le Grand Orange has passed away. His career spanned 23 seasons, mainly with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets.
posted by Howard_T to baseball at 09:28 PM on March 29, 2018 - 3 comments
Roger Bannister has Passed Away: Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes has died. The feat was accomplished in 1954. We had a small black and white TV, and film of it was shown on the sports news. I also remember seeing it in the newsreels at the movies. It was a really big deal then, but now even high school kids are running under 4 minutes
posted by Howard_T to other at 04:05 PM on March 04, 2018 - 4 comments
...and Maybe the Dynamite Fizzles: Cleveland is having second thoughts about the Thomas-Irving trade after Isaiah Thomas took his physical. What's up here?
posted by Howard_T to basketball at 03:47 PM on August 26, 2017 - 10 comments
Boom goes the dynamite.: After promising off-season fireworks for the past few years, the Boston Celtics have delivered. A trade of Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Anton Zizic, and the unprotected first round draft pick from Brooklyn in exchange for Cleveland's Kyrie Irving has been announced. Does this put Boston into the NBA finals? What is Cleveland thinking? 2017-18 will be an interesting season.
posted by Howard_T to basketball at 08:49 PM on August 22, 2017 - 7 comments
Per Front Office Sports, NCAA athletes are doing well in the era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) marketing. Football players have received nearly half (47%) of the money so far spent. To my surprise, women basketball players have earned 27.3%, far outpacing their male counterparts who have picked up 15.6%. Perhaps this should be no surprise, because many of the more recognizable players turn professional after a very short college career.
posted by Howard_T at 11:01 PM on January 07, 2022
Another prominent figure in sports has been lost. Dan Reeves, excellent running back on some great Dallas Cowboy's teams passed away at age 77. After his playing career, Reeves went on to coach as an assistant with Dallas and as a head coach at Denver, New York Giants, and Atlanta.
posted by Howard_T at 11:58 PM on January 01, 2022
Wax nostalgic indeed. I was at the Celtics vs Suns matinee yesterday, and they had the usual moment of silence. I admit that I was nearly in tears. I remember watching him many times during my teens and early 20s in the old Boston Garden. On the fast break it would go something like Russell to K C Jones. Sam Jones would fill the wing to the left, and when the defender moved to stop the ball, KC would flip to Sam who would stop about 10 to 15 feet out on the left side for the quick jump shot off the glass. He almost never missed that shot.
I had to look this up, but he was originally drafted by the Lakers. Because he had to fulfill a military obligation, and then returned to college, the Lakers lost their draft rights. Red Auerbach was in North Carolina scouting players in the area, and former Wake Forest coach Bones McKinney, a friend of Auerbach, told him that the best player in the state was not at Chapel Hill, but was at North Carolina College (now NC Central). Auerbach picked him at #8 in the first round without ever having seen him play.
After his NBA career, Jones coached for some years. He finished his working life as a substitute teacher in Maryland.
posted by Howard_T at 02:06 PM on January 01, 2022
One more about John Madden, and it illustrates what sort of human being he was. Begin about 3/4 of the way through, at the 20th paragraph to be exact.
posted by Howard_T at 04:09 PM on December 30, 2021
The Turducken will always be associated with John Madden. This story from 2017 explains how the association began.
posted by Howard_T at 02:27 PM on December 29, 2021
A giant has passed away. John Madden, legendary football coach and broadcaster, has passed away at the age of 85. There are not enough words to describe his impact on sports broadcasting and on sports video gaming. Rest in peace, John Madden.
posted by Howard_T at 11:11 PM on December 28, 2021
I'm a day late with this, but Christmas is a frantic time when you are involved with a church. So Merry Christmas to all. I hope that all have been blessed in the past year as much as we in Howard_T's household. Our son is here visiting for the weekend, and it's always a joy to see him. We had some ice on the roads this morning, and the priest who was scheduled to work our Eucharist couldn't get here. I was on duty as Verger, so rather than disappoint those faithful who showed up, I led a service of Morning Prayer. If you really want to see me in action, look for Church of the Good Shepherd, Nashua, NH, and find the 9:00 AM service of December 26, 2021. Warning! It ain't pretty. So enjoy the holidays, root for your teams, and may all be well with you.
posted by Howard_T at 10:46 AM on December 26, 2021
Someday, beaverboard, you and I will have to sit down somewhere with a copious supply of malt beverage and spend several hours discussing sports, Boston history and traditions, and whatever else the alcohol leads us to consider. No politics please, I fear that divisions would arise, but we still should do this. Perhaps with a recording machine running so the result could be posted on SpoFi. If you could make it into Boston for a Celtics game, I would like to have you occupy either seat 9 or 10 in row 5 of section 316. By the way, this invitation to a discussion or a game applies to all SpoFites who are in Boston during the basketball season or for that matter anytime.
posted by Howard_T at 01:20 PM on December 20, 2021
Boxing was the 3rd or 4th favorite sport for me long before I discovered basketball and hockey. I was a fan in the days of Kid Gavilan and his bolo punch (an uppercut with a windup); Sandy Saddler and Willie Pep were still boxing; Boston's own Tony DeMarco was fighting for the title, but he was robbed in Syracuse by hometown favorite Carmen Basilio. Rocky Marciano, another local boy from Brockton, MA, was rising to dominate the heavyweight division. I have probably forgotten a few, but the late 1940s through the mid 1950s were a great time for boxing.
Every Friday night was special for me. Since there was no school the following day, I could listen to the radio for an extra hour. I cannot forget hearing "The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports is on the air", and waiting anxiously to hear Bill Corum and Don Dunphy describe the action from Madison Square Garden. The broadcast always started with, "The organist Gladys Gooding, the soloist Bill Farrell, ladies and gentlemen our National Anthem"...
posted by Howard_T at 01:04 PM on December 20, 2021
Fenway Park has often been used for football. The field is laid out from the right center field bullpen toward the 3rd base line, roughly paralleling the grandstand seats along the 1st base line. It is 380 feet from home plate to the low wall in right, so adding the few feet of foul territory provides enough room for the field and the end zones. No less than 5 professional football teams have played at Fenway as their home field. The Boston Bulldogs in the 1920s American Football League, the Boston Shamrocks in another iteration of the AFL in the 1930s, and the Boston Redskins of the NFL during the 1930s played home games at Fenway and at Braves Field. Playing in 2 parks is part of the reason for the name 'Redskins'. Originally the Braves when they played in Braves Field, the name was changed upon the move to Fenway Park. George Marshall wanted to retain the Native American symbols used by the team, but he also wanted a tie in with the baseball team whose stadium he used. Thus the name 'Redskins' that kept the Native American image and combined it with the Red Sox name.
Two other professional teams used Fenway. In the 1940s, the Boston Yanks played there.The team was not successful, merged with a team from Brooklyn, and became the New York Yankees Football Team. Ultimately they became the Baltimore Colts and now the Indianapolis Colts. The last professional team to use Fenway is the Patriots. Bench space was an issue for them, so the benches were side by side in front of the left field wall.
posted by Howard_T at 04:31 PM on December 18, 2021
Buffalo fans make a nice but very pointed gesture.
I once had back-to-back games with a team whose coach, Coach J, was notoriously hard on umpires. The first game was a very tight affair with Cleveland scouts set up behind the backstop with their jugs gun watching Coach J's pitcher. The game ended in a 2-1 loss for Coach J on 2 unearned runs. He was all over me on nearly every pitch. 2 days later I had him again. My partner and I had to walk right by him as we entered the field. Coach J said something to me about my indicator. I replied that it was the large print model for the vision impaired. From that point on, every game I had with Coach J began with several minutes of laughter.
posted by Howard_T at 10:54 AM on December 16, 2021
When the virus first hit, this 80-year-old basically cowered in terror. When the vaccine came out, I relaxed somewhat, but I am still careful. I try to live much as I had in the past, but there are concerns. I have 2 underlying conditions that worsen the problem. It makes little or no sense to wear a mask outdoors. Perhaps in a crowd, but with ordinary spacing between people, there seems to be not much of a danger. My son had the virus about 2 months ago. He quarantined, and his symptoms were no worse than a bad cold. He's 33, and had asthma as a kid. He is experiencing shortness of breath from the virus still.
Vaccination is the way to go, but those in political power seem to disregard the reality of natural immunity after having had the virus. Also there is a small number of people who will experience harmful side effects from the vaccine (cardio myopathy, dysmennorhea among women are the 2 I have heard of the most). Those who object on grounds of infringement of liberty, while they might have what is to them an important point, need to take some measures to protect others. Mask wearing is primary. When I lived in Japan, long before Covid-19, masks were a common sight. The people wearing them were trying to protect others. A mask does little to protect the wearer but much to protect others.
This thing will take time to abate, but it will eventually subside. The example is the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. No vaccines, but it went away, or at least it turned into something a lot less deadly. Vaccines help, especially those that work against known variations of virus, non-Covid. Draconian enforcement of a vaccine mandate only causes many people to resist just for the sake of resisting what they see as tyranny.
Final word: Protect yourself and protect others, but don't expect things to get better anytime soon.
posted by Howard_T at 09:32 AM on December 16, 2021
When the virus first hit, this 80-year-old basically cowered in terror. When the vaccine came out, I relaxed somewhat, but I am still careful. I try to live much as I had in the past, but there are concerns. I have 2 underlying conditions that worsen the problem. It makes little or no sense to wear a mask outdoors. Perhaps in a crowd, but with ordinary spacing between people, there seems to be not much of a danger. My son had the virus about 2 months ago. He quarantined, and his symptoms were no worse than a bad cold. He's 33, and had asthma as a kid. He is experiencing shortness of breath from the virus still.
Vaccination is the way to go, but those in political power seem to disregard the reality of natural immunity after having had the virus. Also there is a small number of people who will experience harmful side effects from the vaccine (cardio myopathy, dysmennorhea among women are the 2 I have heard of the most). Those who object on grounds of infringement of liberty, while they might have what is to them an important point, need to take some measures to protect others. Mask wearing is primary. When I lived in Japan, long before Covid-19, masks were a common sight. The people wearing them were trying to protect others. A mask does little to protect the wearer but much to protect others.
This thing will take time to abate, but it will eventually subside. The example is the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. No vaccines, but it went away, or at least it turned into something a lot less deadly. Vaccines help, especially those that work against known variations of virus, non-Covid. Draconian enforcement of a vaccine mandate only causes many people to resist just for the sake of resisting what they see as tyranny.
Final word: Protect yourself and protect others, but don't expect things to get better anytime soon.
posted by Howard_T at 09:32 AM on December 16, 2021
When the virus first hit, this 80-year-old basically cowered in terror. When the vaccine came out, I relaxed somewhat, but I am still careful. I try to live much as I had in the past, but there are concerns. I have 2 underlying conditions that worsen the problem. It makes little or no sense to wear a mask outdoors. Perhaps in a crowd, but with ordinary spacing between people, there seems to be not much of a danger. My son had the virus about 2 months ago. He quarantined, and his symptoms were no worse than a bad cold. He's 33, and had asthma as a kid. He is experiencing shortness of breath from the virus still.
Vaccination is the way to go, but those in political power seem to disregard the reality of natural immunity after having had the virus. Also there is a small number of people who will experience harmful side effects from the vaccine (cardio myopathy, dysmennorhea among women are the 2 I have heard of the most). Those who object on grounds of infringement of liberty, while they might have what is to them an important point, need to take some measures to protect others. Mask wearing is primary. When I lived in Japan, long before Covid-19, masks were a common sight. The people wearing them were trying to protect others. A mask does little to protect the wearer but much to protect others.
This thing will take time to abate, but it will eventually subside. The example is the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. No vaccines, but it went away, or at least it turned into something a lot less deadly. Vaccines help, especially those that work against known variations of virus, non-Covid. Draconian enforcement of a vaccine mandate only causes many people to resist just for the sake of resisting what they see as tyranny.
Final word: Protect yourself and protect others, but don't expect things to get better anytime soon.
posted by Howard_T at 09:32 AM on December 16, 2021
NFL Pickem Champion: Tahoemoj
Congratulations, tahoemoj, your case was well argued and the disposition of your fee is praiseworthy. Well done.