kirkaracha's profile

kirkaracha
6
Name: Kirk Franklin
Location: San Francisco
ZIP: 94115
Member since: January 23, 2002
Last visit: September 07, 2012
Status: editor

kirkaracha has posted 317 links and 573 comments to SportsFilter and 16 links and 105 comments to the Locker Room and 8 columns.

Sports Bio

The memorable events I've been at were all by luck.
I'm a longtime fan of the Minnesota Vikings even though I've never lived in or even been to Minnesota (Fran Tarkenton was a formative influence).

Sports I watch: NFL football throughout the season, the college football championship game and other interesting bowl matchups (I didn't go to a real college, so I don't have any emotional investment in college ball), the NCAA and NBA playoffs, and the Major League Baseball playoffs. Basketball and baseball seasons are too damn long for individual games to mean much, although I'll go to most any game if I get the chance.

Sports I play: indoor and outdoor soccer. Even though I love playing soccer and I've played it most of my life, it's not that interesting to me as a spectator sport. I played offensive and defensive line on my high school football team, and we played the school that was in the movie Remember the Titans.

Recent Links

Matt Cain pitches first-ever perfect game for the Giants:
"Cain struck out 14 Astros, tied for the most strikeouts ever in a perfect game." It was the 22nd perfect game in major league history and the first perfect game against the Astros.
The Giants won 10-0, with 15 hits.

posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 01:10 AM on June 14, 2012 - 24 comments

Where Are the Champions?: "An interactive map of every championship in the history of MLB, the NBA, the NHL, and the NFL."

posted by kirkaracha to general at 04:20 PM on May 15, 2012 - 1 comment

Freese wins it for Cards in 11th:

Down by two in the ninth, David Freese ties it with a triple. Down by two in the 10th, Lance Berkman ties it again. And in the 11th, a lead-off homer by Freese wins it.
Game 7 is Friday at Busch at 7:05.

posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 01:22 AM on October 28, 2011 - 26 comments

Roger Maris's Misunderstood Quest to Break the Home Run Record:

Fifty summers ago, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were chasing Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a single season, and the country was enthralled...And perhaps because of the intense interest in the season, numerous misconceptions have grown up around the race to 61.

posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 11:10 AM on July 27, 2011 - 2 comments

I consider the following my outstanding experience at Yankee Stadium:
"I got a blow-job under the right field Bleachers, by the Yankee Bull pen." -- Mickey Mantle

posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 06:46 PM on February 02, 2011 - 13 comments

Recent Comments

Matt Cain pitches first-ever perfect game for the Giants

I think the Astros and Rays are among the teams more frequently victimized by no-hits and perfectos.

That was the first-ever perfect game against the Astros and only the fifth no-hitter against them.

posted by kirkaracha at 11:14 AM on June 14, 2012

Brooklyn Nets Unveil New Logo

The Brooklyn Nets: I Call Technical Foul

posted by kirkaracha at 09:42 PM on May 02, 2012

NFL suspends Sean Payton, fines Saints, takes draft picks, and more

Need some cheese?

Fuck that. Favre threw an interception after getting hit illegally high-low by a team that was getting paid to hurt him. No penalty was called; a huge no-call in a close game that went to overtime. The Saints should've been called for a personal foul: the league admitted as much a couple days after the game and fined Bobby McCray $20,000. The Vikings would've had a first down on the Saints 24 with 1:59 left in the third quarter. The game was tied and they would've had a very high probability of at least a field goal. TMQ noted "found four, not two, instances in which unnecessary roughness should have been called against the Saints but was not." We now know that they were getting paid to break the rules, and they got away with it. The Saints cheated, and they would not have beaten the Vikings if they hadn't.

posted by kirkaracha at 10:01 PM on March 21, 2012

NFL suspends Sean Payton, fines Saints, takes draft picks, and more

It's not harsh enough. Gregg Williams should get a lifetime ban. This is too little, too late. The Saints cheated the Vikings out of a trip to the Super Bowl.

posted by kirkaracha at 07:59 PM on March 21, 2012

Patriots Win Laugher Over Broncos

If you're going to give Tebow credit for winning games the Broncos won due to the dominance of the Broncos' D or to opponents' fuckups (i.e., Marion Barber), then you have to give him the blame when they lose. Two-way street. Tebow "lost" this game just as much as he "won" the game against the Steelers.

posted by kirkaracha at 10:43 AM on January 15, 2012

Patriots Win Laugher Over Broncos

Tebow also had a three-game losing streak and lost a playoff game. Where are the headlines saying Tebow blows it again?

posted by kirkaracha at 09:56 AM on January 15, 2012

Tebow & Broncos best Roethlisberger & Steelers

I don't think the Broncos can score enough to go far in the playoffs. Under Tebow the Broncos went 7-5 in the regular season, and are 1-0 in the playoffs. In that time they've scored over 30 points twice (38-24 over the Raiders and 35-32 over the Vikings). They've scored over 20 points three times (they lost 29-24 to the Chargers, lost 41-23 to the Patriots, and beat the Steelers 29-23 in OT). In their other seven games they've scored 18 (OT), 10, 17, 17, 16 (OT), 13 (OT), 14, and 3 points. They can't keep pace with the high-scoring teams in the playoffs.

The Patriot's offense is better than the Steelers', and much better than the Broncos'. The Bronco's defense is better than the Patriots' D, but I don't think it's better enough to overcome the Patriots' offense.

posted by kirkaracha at 01:53 PM on January 10, 2012

Where is Your God Now, Tim Tebow?

Funny how Tebow got all the credit during the win streak but isn't getting much blame for the loss.

posted by kirkaracha at 02:19 PM on December 21, 2011

Green Bay Packers Climb to 12-0

I knew if the Broncos beat the Vikings the headlines would say Tebow Does it Again, but really, he didn't do shit. The Vikings gave this game away with turnovers, poor kick return coverage, bad rushing defense, and nonexistent pass defense. Ponder's interceptions led to 10 points for the Broncos, including the winning field goal The Vikings allowed an average of 33 yards per kick return and started half of their possessions inside their own 20 yard line. McGahee rushed for 111 yards against the Vikings' #6 rush defense. Tebow threw for 202 yards, and at least half of those were to receivers that were uncovered because the cornerbacks passed them off to safeties that weren't there. I give credit to Tebow for scrambling to keep plays alive, but other than that, he didn't do much.

I watched the end of the Denver/Minnesota game

I didn't get to watch the end because the local San Francisco TV station switched away during a tie game with less than two minutes left to broadcast the 49ers warming up.

posted by kirkaracha at 10:48 AM on December 06, 2011

Plummer to Tebow: A Little Less Jesus, Please

Kneeling in private is a sign of humility; kneeling on the sidelines in front of a stadium with 75,000 people and a TV audience of millions of people is not. "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men."

posted by kirkaracha at 05:22 PM on November 28, 2011

The Footage the NFL Won't Show You

The NFL's Anatomy of a Play is pretty great.

posted by kirkaracha at 04:48 PM on November 08, 2011

Comeback Cards Win World Series

Getting to the World Series, winning three games, and coming within a strike of winning the whole thing (twice!) seems like a pretty good job for such a shitty manager.

I've been entertaining myself by trying to come up with a name for a blog that captures the Rangers' greatest moment of woe.

"Hell Freeses Over."

posted by kirkaracha at 04:49 PM on October 29, 2011

Could Rugby Take Off in the US?

What if the NFL evolved into rugby (or something like it) due to the concerns about head injuries? Some people worry about the long-term future of football as parents are increasingly likely to not let their kids play.

posted by kirkaracha at 09:38 PM on September 09, 2011

Peyton Manning underwent surgery today

Howie Long thinks it might be a career ender.

I'm sorry, did you say "Howie Long thinks"? Because I'm pretty sure that didn't happen.

posted by kirkaracha at 09:34 PM on September 09, 2011

Randy Moss announces his retirement

Some of his NFL records:

Most touchdown receptions in a season 23 (2007) Most touchdown receptions by a rookie in a season 17 (1998) Most seasons with 17 or more touchdown receptions 3 (1998, 2003, 2007) Most seasons with 16 or more touchdown receptions 3 (1998, 2003, 2007) Most seasons with 11 or more touchdown receptions 8 tied with Jerry Rice Most seasons with 10 or more touchdown receptions 9 tied with Jerry Rice Most games in a season with at least 2 touchdown receptions 8 (2007) Only player to have 1,600 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns in a season (2003)

posted by kirkaracha at 04:52 PM on August 01, 2011