- 02:59 PM
- 12/22/24
| Member since: | May 17, 2006 |
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| Last visit: | December 15, 2007 |
ctal1999 has posted 0 links and 363 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 0 comments to the Locker Room.
Are you kidding me? A 1.79 GAA in the last playoff stretch and no reason he can't do it again. Of course he can take them all the way. He wasn't the main problem. When he was giving up under 2 a game and that roster around him couldn't scrape up enough offense to win out, I find it hard to place much blame on him. When the rest of the team struggled, he pretty much had their backs. They didn't return the favor. If the team gets their collective poop in a group during the next playoff stretch, they can most certainly win with Hasek. Notice, I said CAN, not WILL, so don't bust my chops if they fail to get it together. I'm just saying that the team showed long stretches of dominance on both offense and defense during the season, but consistency was a critical problem. If they can overcome that issue, they can roll.
posted by ctal1999 at 03:40 PM on July 07, 2007
Bishop, you've just illustrated my earlier point spectacularly. I agree with just about everything you said in the post you just put up. My earlier comments weren't aimed so much at your opinions as at how you express them. I do sometimes think that you're reaching a bit on some of your points, but then I'm not in your shoes, am I? I just think that you often come off as belligerent right out of the gate, and that tends to breed immediate defensiveness in response. That's just my impression, and I'd bet that you generally don't mean it that way. Still, it's perception that's going to dictate the reaction. A discussion between reasonable, civil people seems to always accomplish a lot more than heated exchanges and I, for one, find it a lot more palatable. Don't get me wrong. There are people who need to have their heads bashed against the wall periodically, just on general principle, but I don't think you're one of them. I hope you don't think most of your fellow SpoFiers are either.
posted by ctal1999 at 01:21 PM on June 23, 2007
Sorry. It dawned on me after the last post that I'd used the word "sangfroid" when I meant "schadenfreud". Ooops!
posted by ctal1999 at 03:39 AM on June 19, 2007
I say Bishop's right! Those Duke boys are rich and white, so in the interest of social justice, it's only right that they got railroaded. After all, they had the audacity to be at a college party with **GASP** strippers and booze. God knows none of US would ever be at a party with strippers and alcohol, so I say those degenerates are damned lucky that the cops didn't bust in and shoot 'em all. As for Pacman, right on, Bishop. We all know that if he'd been involved, pesky little facts like a total lack of anything resembling his DNA in the samples and video evidence that he was using an ATM somewhere else while the events were supposed to be happening wouldn't even enter into the equation. He'd be cooling his heels in a cell next to OJ...er, wait...no. Anyway, the point is that he'd fry...not, sure how, but he would. Finally, get the hell off the Reverend Al. He's a VERY angry man, and with good reason. Just ask him. He can find all sorts of reasons for being indignant. Some are even valid, so HOW DARE YOU fault him for spouting off and further inflamming an already racially charged situation when he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground concerning the issue? His fully understandable attitude is "She's black, so I've got her back. I don't care if she's the damned Antichrist.", so why would anyone feel justified in expecting an apology? Seriously Bishop, I get where you're coming from. There's been a hell of a lot of injustice heaped on African Americans, and that hasn't ended just because we're in the 21st century. It's wrong, and it makes me sick. If your comment tended to be in the vein of "See? This kind of shit has been happening to blacks since before there even was a United States. Doesn't feel too good, does it? We need to fight this kind of lunacy whenever we see it.", I'd have a lot more sympathy for your position. Hell, I'd be standing shoulder to shoulder with you. At least in a lot of your previous posts, you've argued that there are gray areas in things like the Foley case (which is an entirely valid point, rooted in a healthy and understandable skepticism). The problem is that there's virtually no gray area on this one and your post leaves the impression that you're wallowing at least a little bit in "getting some back" when the opportunity presents itself. There's something to be said for sangfroid when karma catches up with a particularly heinous individual, but it's harder to defend when it's directed at an entire race. Maybe that's not really how you feel, but you certainly leave that impression.
posted by ctal1999 at 02:27 AM on June 19, 2007
Then where's the harm in making a wetsuit swimmer's choice? Sure, you get the advantages...and the disadvantages to go along with them.
posted by ctal1999 at 06:09 PM on June 17, 2007
Is this as relevant to sports as, say, who's going to make the All Star game or win the U.S. Open? Of course not. On the other hand, we constantly discuss athletes getting special treatment (or getting shafted) in their dealings with the law. Like it or not, what Nifong did had a huge effect on several athletes and their sports program. I think that means that seeing how it all plays out is every bit as relevant as whether or not John Q. Public would be in jail for what "Athlete A" did, or if a particular cop was in the right when he shot "Athlete B". The debate wouldn't be so bad if it would remain civil...but we all know from experience that it's not likely to turn out that way.
posted by ctal1999 at 05:55 PM on June 17, 2007
Nicklebacking...Hmmm. It does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?
posted by ctal1999 at 05:02 PM on June 09, 2007
Stofer nibbled around the edge of their complaint. I think the main concern is that it can be, in effect, pirated. Say I buy the MLB package. My buddy, who's moved from Michigan to Colorado, buys a Slingbox and we hook it up to my service as the "home" location. He can now watch his Tiger games to his heart's content and not pay a penny for the MLB package. Of course, if the powers that be at MLB would take their heads out of their asses, they'd design a system that's fan friendly where you can buy access to whatever games you want, with the participating teams getting a cut of the action. Black out the area within a REASONABLE drive of the stadium to protect ticket sales. Otherwise, leave the fans to their fun. Let's face it. My buddy isn't likely to make the trip to Detroit from the western foothills of the Rockies, but if he could buy an MLB package that gave him the content he wanted, it would make more sense than spending the money on a Slingbox anyway.
posted by ctal1999 at 12:18 AM on June 03, 2007
I didn't know much about Casey before he became a Tiger. I've learned about him as a player since then, but it's great to know he's a good human being as well as a good athlete. It's finally fun being a 'gers fan again, but this puts an even bigger smile on my face.
posted by ctal1999 at 09:30 PM on May 16, 2007
You know that this wasn't off the top of his head. His handlers have to have heard some version if this analogy before he just popped it out there...and nobody realized that it would go over like a lead balloon in Packerland? Sheesh!
posted by ctal1999 at 09:53 PM on May 12, 2007
Oscar's grown into a pretty tough character and he almost always keeps his head when the fur starts to fly. Mayweather get's frustrated and emotional sometimes, so I think Oscar gets the thumbs up there. Mayweather has also had somewhat fragile hands in the past, so if he breaks one, it could make a big difference. He's determined enough to fight through stuff like that, but it has definitely made him less effective on occasion. Those are about the only advantages Oscar has as far as I can see. Mayweather is a frickin' little buzz saw. I've lived near Grand rapids all my life and Floyd has acted like a little prick for as long as I can recall, so I hope that De La Hoya slaps that infuriating smirk right off his face...but he'll need to be almost perfect to pull it off.
posted by ctal1999 at 06:10 PM on May 04, 2007
Believe me, Yerfatma, I feel your pain. After we've been in the adult state for awhile, we start to wear out. We have a few years at our peak, and then it all starts to go downhill (even if the closest we come to exercise is watching sports from the couch). I guess what it comes down to is that being an NFL lineman is GOING to take a toll on the body. The difference is that someone who hasn't finished developing faces all the dangers that an adult does, plus potential problems because the anchor points of ligaments and tendons may not be at 100% yet, the bone growth plates are still active and vulnerable, etc. That's the main reason why heavy weight training for teens is a bit controversial.
posted by ctal1999 at 02:56 PM on April 15, 2007
After reading through the first several comments, both pro and con, it occured to me that Drew was to quarterbacks what Lloyd Carr is becoming to coaches. They both have almost all of the needed traits (in spades!), but they've both displayed an inability to make timely in game adjustments when their nuts are really in the fire. People like that tend to do very well on a day to day basis, but stumble when a situation nears crisis proportions. So, are the numbers great? Yup. Was Drew? That's not so cut and dried.
posted by ctal1999 at 02:43 PM on April 14, 2007
Yay-yo, Big doesn't necessarily equal physically mature. Until his development settles into an adult state, he's probably in greater danger of injury. This is much more true of playing in the NFL than other sports, especially as a lineman, because of the demand for heavy impact and nut-busting displays of strength on virtually every play. Running, jumping, etc., are pretty natural actions for any adolescent. Brute force combat is not, and it can really screw up developing bones, joints, ligaments, etc. Okoye could be an exception who happened to mature earlier than most...but if he's not, then concerns for his health aren't too far fetched. He sounds like a wonderful kid, and I hope he suceeds, but I can see where his entry to the NFL could mean trouble, both for him and for future teens who overdo it in an attempt to follow him.
posted by ctal1999 at 02:15 PM on April 14, 2007
In 2005, OU went 0-4?
This system never made much sense to me. Too many kids who were already in the system when all of this blew up are going to get screwed even though they personally kept their noses clean, and the younger players weren't even there when it went down. Sure, they could leave school and hope that they can find a slot at another major college (and most likely have to sit out a year), but how's that fair? It's either that, or stick with Oklahoma and live with playing for a team that's undermanned because they're shorted on scholarships. I say that the punishment should be more focused. If what the guilty players did was bad enough to warrant these actions, then blast them harder. Make them sit out two or three seasons instead of one. If the coaches turned a blind eye and should have been more vigilant, fine their asses. Same with the compliance staff. Hell, fine the university in general. If you want to take away scholarships, delay it until the current crop of players have all had their chance to make it through the system. That means waiting until the 2012-13 season, but it also means that the NCAA could impose a much stiffer penalty. They could cancel ALL football scholarships for a season or two. As long as the decision was announced now, nobody would be able to complain that they didn't know what they were getting into once the sanctions kicked in because it would be public knowledge long before any new players or coaches signed on the dotted line. That approach would take a little longer, but it would put one hell of a dent in OU football without harming any of the kids who'd already made a commitment to the program before all hell broke loose (or who were convinced that the steps the university took on its own would be deemed sufficient). Seems to me that it would be a lot more fair, and you can bet it would get the attention of the people in charge if coaches started to see six figure fines and schools saw fines that wiped out all those bowl revenues, and a season or two with zero scholarships would make them all squeal. In the end, it would get the job done better and avoid penalizing innocent kids.