- 04:28 PM
- 04/20/25
| Name: | Howard Titus |
|---|---|
| Location: | Nashua, NH |
| Gender: | Old Alpha Male, hoping no young stud steals the herd. |
| Member since: | April 08, 2006 |
| Last visit: | April 18, 2025 |
Howard_T has posted 43 links and 4,569 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
My picks:
Pacers in 6
Nuggets in 5
Pistons in 6
Lakers in 5
Thunder in 4
Celtics in 5
Cavaliers in 4
Warriors in 6
Top point scorer: Curry
Top rebounder: Mobley
Most points per game: Thunder
Least opponent points per game: Magic
posted by Howard_T at 09:30 PM on April 18, 2025
I never got around to making my picks for Friday. Too busy in the afternoon, then at TD Garden for the game blowout. Maybe my lead to avoid the Costanza will hold up.
posted by Howard_T at 06:23 PM on April 12, 2025
Last Sunday, April 6, rcade asked if "Luke Kornet is always this funny?". There's a definite answer to be found, but first it needs a bit of explanation.
After each Celtics game, on the NBC Sports Boston post-game broadcast, the "Tommy Award" winner is announced. This award is named after the late Tommy Heinsohn, a hall of fame coach and player, and a long time broadcast analyst for the Celtics. During games, Heinsohn would give out "Tommy Points" to players who made exceptional hustle plays. This eventually grew into the Tommy Award, given to the player who showed the outstanding hustle performance, over and above the norm, during the game. It has now become an informal annual award, and Luke Kornet wants it. Go to YouTube and search for "Luke Kornet Tommy Award ad". Kornet's whimsical nature is revealed.
There are a number of Luke Kornet clips on YouTube that reveal his carefree attitude. He's naturally funny.
posted by Howard_T at 06:12 PM on April 12, 2025
Revised picks:
Grizzlies by 9
Too late for Cavs vs Pacers Would have taken Indy by 6.
posted by Howard_T at 07:32 PM on April 10, 2025
Revised picks:
Lakers by 11
Kings by 6
Tough call on Lakers vs Mavericks. Doncic returns (he was ejected last night with 2 techs), and Davis faces his old team. Going with Lakers because they have a little more than Dallas.
Nuggets have gotten rid of their coach and GM. Evidently Mr. Kroenke has made spiritual contact with Red Auerbach, and considers himself the reigning expert on basketball. I like the Kings' chances.
posted by Howard_T at 03:57 PM on April 09, 2025
Revised picks:
Knicks by 11
Warriors by 15 (slam dunk)
Celtics injury report looks like the casualty list from the battle of Antietam. Knicks are trying to keep their position in the standings. Warriors should have little difficulty with Suns. I saw them play last week, and most of the team has given up on the season.
posted by Howard_T at 01:12 PM on April 08, 2025
Is Luke Kornet always this much fun?
In short, yes. His personality this season (and for most of last season) has been that of a happy-go-lucky guy. During the games at TD Garden, the Celtics put up different presentations using Celtics. We get to watch them while the TV audience gets to enjoy commercials. Sometimes they have to identify college mascots from photographs, sometimes they have to guess the name of a teammate from a baby picture. It's in great fun. Last night a picture of a player walking into the arena before a game was presented. The face was blacked out, and the players had to guess who it was. It was an easy one; Luke Kornet was the photograph. The comments soon went from identifying him to commentary on his wardrobe, in this case a long quilted black coat and blue jeans. Soon the commentary turned to his personality. The consensus is that his teammates consider "a laid back dad" sort of guy. He is easily the funniest player in the locker room, and his enjoyment of the game leads to his on-court antics. The latest thing is barking like a dog to recognize an outstanding play, whether his own or someone else's. The hustle play last night, when he rescued the ball at the sideline and then victimized Sarr by throwing the ball off of his leg, is just the latest example. An emphatic signal that it was Celtics' ball (some thought it was a first down signal) followed by barking. The movement is now underway to have the crowd join in and bark along. I am working on my howl now. In a post-game interview, Sam Hauser said that Luke was like a pit bull. Kornet actually owns a beagle, and he says he tries to imitate this. Of course, during the interview, Hauser was asked about the Celtics rebounding. He compared it to a well-assembled charcuterie board, cheese, crackers, fig jam, and a little honey, everything you need. Kornet is not the only "flake" on the team, and while not all the Celtics are as slightly crazy, the whole team is a very loose group.
posted by Howard_T at 11:25 PM on April 07, 2025
My picks:
Pistons by 8
Have to see who's playing and who's sitting before picking. It's that time of the year.
posted by Howard_T at 05:37 PM on April 07, 2025
The new NFL rules are in place. The tush push is still legal, defensive holding is still punishable by a first down and the rest of the changes have to do with the kickoff and overtime. There is one rule that I would like to see changed; that is the false start call. Currently, the play is called dead immediately, and any subsequent action is disallowed. I would like to see something similar to the way that offside penalties are called. For offside, if there is contact or a defender with an unabated path to the quarterback, the whistle goes immediately. Otherwise the play is allowed to run. False start should be enforced in a similar manner. Without contact, let the play run and enforce the penalty later. This would allow the defense to take advantage of a turnover on the play that would otherwise be taken away. It doesn't happen often, but three or four times per season would be enough to justify the change.
posted by Howard_T at 12:00 AM on April 02, 2025
MLB rules give the allowable dimensions (length and circumference), weight, and composition (single piece of wood) of the bat. Other than being straight, round, and wood there are no other restrictions save for color and the amount of tape permissible on the handle. The "torpedo" shape (closer to a mortar round) places more mass toward the handle rather than toward the end. Isn't the allowable "cup" at the end of some bats a less effectual attempt to do the same thing?
This being April 1, I might propose the new "banana" bat which is curved slightly. If swung with the convex side toward the pitcher, the batted ball will tend to go toward the opposite field. Conversely, when swung with the concave side toward the pitcher, the batted ball will tend toward the pull side. If swung with the bend in a vertical plane, the bat will give slightly more coverage of the strike zone. I will be filing a patent application soon.
posted by Howard_T at 11:47 PM on April 01, 2025
I promised updates on the sale of the Celtics as they were available. Jack Simone who writes under the pen name "The Hardwood Houdini" tells of a possible block to the sale by citing an article by Dan Primack in Axios. Primack claims that Sixth Street Partners, a private equity firm, has more money involved than does Bill Chisholm. This violates the NBA rule that limits private equity holding in a team to the lesser of 20% or an amount less than the amount held by the principal owner who must own at least 15%. Primack does not say anything about how much Chisholm actually has invested nor the dollar amount of Sixth Street Partners stake, so Primack should be questioned here. Also not mentioned are the two partners of Chisholm, Rob Hale and Bruce Beal, Jr. How much have they thrown into the pot? My guess is that Chisholm by himself has at least the necessary 15% (about $1 billion), and probably more. His 2 main partners most likely come up with about $1.5 billion between them, and minority interests, some of whom are part of the Wyc Grousbeck group come up with another significant amount. Once all of the pieces are assembled, private equity will not need to put in enough to violate any rules. These guys don't make a move until they have looked at every angle and have it all locked in. Remember that the sale is structured to take place over 2 or 3 years. Thus, Chisholm et al have about 1/2 of the team, and over the next year or 2 will come up with enough investors or money to comply with the rules and complete the sale.
posted by Howard_T at 08:19 PM on March 27, 2025
Truly it's the best day of the year. When I was still umpiring, we always looked forward to once again getting on the field. Here in New Hampshire that often meant waiting a week or two until the snow had melted. I remember more than a few years when one of the coaches would tell me that this was the first time that his team had been on the field. No matter when it happens, opening day is magic.
posted by Howard_T at 02:04 PM on March 27, 2025
My picks:
Pacers by 12 (slam dunk)
Suns by 9 (slam dunk)
Magic by 13 (slam dunk)
Celtics by 15 (slam dunk)
Celtics by 6
Lakers by 5
Desperation mode enacted. I still have a chance to move into 2nd place, but I need every point I can get. Meanwhile, I am suffering from game withdrawal symptoms while I wait for the end of this road trip. The new owner is supposed to make an appearance at TD Garden at the first 2 games in April. The reception will be interesting.
posted by Howard_T at 03:33 PM on March 26, 2025
Of course the news leaped off the screen this morning, and I had to start my research on William Chisholm and Symphony Technology Group (STG). The good news is that Mr. Chisholm is a native of Georgetown, Massachusetts, and he claims to be a lifelong Celtics fan. The other good news is that STG is noted for investing in or purchasing firms in order to build them rather than buying, looting, and dumping. The bad news is that Chisholm owns only 25% of STG, the other 75% being owned by Ramesh Wadhwani, a native of Karachi when it was still called British India. So unless Chisholm is using a serious chunk of his own wallet, there might be some problems here.
The NBA allows any team to be 30% owned by a private equity company, and no more than 20% may be held by a single private equity firm. Thus, it sounds like Mr. Chisholm and his partners are putting up most of the bucks. The other names in the Chisholm group are Rob Hale and Bruce Beal, Jr. Both have Boston connections; Hale is a native of Massachusetts and says he will purchase a house in or near Boston. He could get some help on this from Beal whose family has had a realty and development firm in Boston for 157 years. So it looks like there's enough local blood buying the Celtics to try to keep the team on course. When you are about to get hit with around $280 million in luxury tax, the Jaylon Brown and Jayson Tatum max contracts (Tatum's kicks in next season), and some healthy contracts among the rest of the regulars, some cost cutting and price increasing might be in order. Local reaction to the news is mostly favorable to neutral with the caveat that the new owners do nothing without the approval of Brad Stevens and the rest of the team operations staff.
One very unhappy fan is Steve Pagliuca, a minority owner in the Wyc Grousbeck group. He claims to have put together an offer that was competitive and free of debt. He also says that his group includes a number of people who were also in the Grousbeck group. He issued a statement that contains some sour grapes and a bit of a warning to the new owners. You can find it on masslive.com.
One other bit of speculation on my part is that now there is some serious real estate interest in Celtics ownership, would there be any interest in a new arena? In the past year, the Massachusetts State Legislature passed a bill that changed some zoning of land in Everett, MA, just a few stops on the MBTA Orange Line from TD Garden. The Boston Women's Profesional Soccer Team wants to build a stadium here, but Boston politics is in the way. Also in the way are the residents of Charlestown, in between Boston and Everett, who fear the effects of traffic. Lots of interesting things to contemplate about the sale,and I will try to keep you posted on the local angle.
posted by Howard_T at 06:15 PM on March 20, 2025
NBA Pickem Champion: rcade
Well done, rcade, a nice slightly belated birthday gift for you.