SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 2 comments

Kobe Bryant announces retirement: Kobe Bryant -- 5-time NBA champion, 17-time All-Star, 3rd on the list of all-time scorers in the regular season and postseason, unconvicted but all-but-admitted rapist -- has announced his retirement via a poem on the Players' Tribune.

posted by Etrigan to basketball at 08:56 PM - 4 comments

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 25 comments

Episodes in the Life of Bounce: "All ball sports are aleatoric structures organized, to greater or lesser degrees, around bounce. Aleatoric structures—structures of planned chance—produce a reliable kind of uncertainty. We don’t know who will win and who will lose, but we know that at the end of the day, there will be a winner and a loser. A ball introduces a second, more uncertain, kind of uncertainty into the fray. Its bounce dances along the edge of our predictive capacity, always almost but never fully under control. At least in the Anglophone world, this second kind of chance—the chance of the ball—seems to be especially important to our contemporary understanding of play. While other kinds of contests are raced, run, rowed, and swum; wrestled, fenced, fought, and boxed; timed, weighed, measured, and judged; ball games are played. And only an athlete who contends with balls (or pucks, or shuttlecocks, or other third objects) earns the title “player.” We become players in and through bounce."

posted by rumple to general at 03:30 PM - 1 comment

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 3 comments

Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 14: The Premier League weekend kicks off with five games today at 10 a.m. Eastern. In our contest, Hillbilly F.C. holds a nine-point lead over Liquid Football. Last week's best score was Merseyside Ziggurat's 80, which featured a captain-doubled 38 from Everton midfielder Ross Barkley (£7.0m) and 13 from Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho (£8.4m). The week's biggest acquisition target is Everton forward Romelu Lukaku (£8.9m), who has scored 34 points in the past three weeks.

posted by rcade to soccer at 05:14 AM - 0 comments

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 4 comments

CFL Playoffs Pick 'Em, Grey Cup Edition: Home field advantage wins again! Edmonton and Ottawa throw their way into the Grey Cup, and are rewarded with a trip to that place where no one has the advantage, ever: Winnipeg in late November. But the forecast is clear and only footballs should rain from the skies. Grab your souvenir umbrella, put on your coveralls, put down your umbrella because it's hard to put on coveralls one-handed, and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 04:28 PM - 10 comments

Big league baseball beneath Big Ben?:
MLB is investigating the idea of playing regular season games in London, England.

posted by grum@work to baseball at 10:53 AM - 3 comments

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 2 comments

NFL Pick 'Em, Week 12: Inadvertent Whistle Edition: The NFL week begins on Thanksgiving with three games in one day -- something our forefathers only could dream about. Philadelphia visits Detroit, Carolina visits Dallas and Chicago visits Green Bay. In our competition, Tommytrump continues to lead the rest of us turkeys. Make your picks, lock your lock and don't bogart the gravy bowl.

posted by rcade to football at 06:16 PM - 24 comments

College Football Belt Backlog: The definitive (I believe) trail from Rutgers-Princeton 1869 to Nebraska-Alabama 1972, this proves that the College Football Belt site starts with the right team. This is how bored I was at work today. Starting at the first recognized college football game (Rutgers vs. Princeton, November 6th, 1869) and using the nearly complete records on SportsReference.com, I traced the lineal College Football Belt through the 1972 Orange Bowl, after which point the good people at College Football Belt start up.

posted by Etrigan to football at 11:22 AM - 8 comments

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 1 comment

Tiger Woods to be a Ryder Cup vice captain in 2016: Ian Poulter thinks it's a good idea. Rory McIlroy is "visibly surprised". Two questions arise: what can we infer from his acceptance of the role about the extent of his back injury, and why would Davis Love III want someone in the team room who hasn't played on a winning US team since 1999?

posted by JJ to golf at 08:15 AM - 7 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 6 comments

Pace Mannion NBA Pick 'Em Contest: Week 5: Week 5 begins (and ends) Tuesday with Hawks/Celtics and Lakers/Warriors, the only nationally televised games of the holiday week. First prize in SportsFilter's NBA Pick 'Em contest is an official ABA game ball.

posted by rcade to basketball at 03:20 PM - 10 comments

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 1 comment

Meet Leroy Stolzfus, the Amish Marathoner: Leroy Stolzfus finished the Harrisburg Marathon in 3 hours, 5 minutes and 45 seconds, less than a minute away from the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. What makes the 22-year-old's run unusual is that he's Amish and did it in slacks, a long-sleeve button down shirt and suspenders. "I'll get there," he said of Boston. "I just got to train a little harder, learn how to not go out too quickly and negative split more."

posted by rcade to general at 03:16 PM - 2 comments

Baylor Takes College Football Belt from Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State didn't hold on long to the College Football Belt, the sport's always-on-the-field championship game. In their second defense, the Cowboys lost 45-35 to the Baylor Bears, who hadn't won in Stillwater since 1939. Third-string quarterback Chris Johnson came off the bench and contributed two long TD passes and a TD run with under 3 minutes left. This is the fifth time the Bears have hoisted the Belt. They play at TCU and home against Texas to finish the regular season.

posted by rcade to football at 11:27 AM - 4 comments

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 5 comments

Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 13: The Premier League weekend begins early Saturday when Watford visit those lovable upstarts Manchester United. Hillbilly F.C. keeps first place, leading Liquid Football by 11. But that story's importance is second to the news that my F.C. Conestoga had a week-best 67 points. I did not curse Jamie Vardy by adding him, as I feared would happen. The Leicester unstoppable goal machine's captain-doubled 18 and Man U midfielder Juan Mata's 9 led the squad. For this week, Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil is most-added and West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet most-dropped. Good luck to all, but primarily me.

posted by rcade to soccer at 04:21 PM - 3 comments

Jacksonville: The Happiest 4-6 Fans in the NFL: The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 19-13 Thursday night, the third win in four games for the woebegone franchise. Blake Bortles and the offense went nowhere until 4:13 remained in the fourth, when fresh-off-the-IR rookie Rashad Greene ran a punt 63 yards to the 5 and set up the first Jaguars touchdown. A sack of Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota as time expired secured the win.

posted by rcade to football at 10:40 AM - 2 comments

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments

Bill Belichick Refuses to Be NFL's Fashion Model: NFL coaches in recent weeks have been wearing military-drab versions of team gear, complete with camouflage and muted logos that are for sale in the NFL Shop in a Salute to Service (But Mostly Commerce!). One NFL coach isn't playing along. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick hasn't even worn a military version of his Hoodie.

posted by rcade to football at 03:34 PM - 6 comments

CFL Playoffs Pick 'Em, Division Finals Edition: Home field advantage works out in the semis, although the Argos could've made things more interesting by asking their secondary to fall down less. Not that I am bitter. But here we are in Ottawa and Edmonton, two places you should never go in November, unless there's a Grey Cup berth at stake. Untangle your earmuffs and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 02:26 PM - 12 comments

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 13 comments

NFL Pick 'Em, Week 11: Nobody Knows Anything Edition: The NFL week begins Thursday night as the Tennessee Titans visit the Jacksonville Jaguars for another Nike Color Rush uni-palooza. Tommytrump continues to lead our contest after a week in which three of us scored 0 points! Make your picks, lock your lock and do the opposite of what you did last week.

posted by rcade to football at 08:40 PM - 30 comments

Pace Mannion NBA Pick 'Em Contest: Week 4: Week 4 begins tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern in SportsFilter's NBA Pick 'Em contest, a game to pick the winners of nationally televised games on TNT, ESPN and ABC. New players welcome. First prize is an official ABA game ball.

posted by rcade to basketball at 01:35 PM - 8 comments

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 9 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 14 comments

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 5 comments

Holly Holm Knocks Out Ronda Rousey in Huge UFC Upset: Holly Holm knocked out Ronda Rousey to take the UFC women's bantamweight championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday night. Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports called it "arguably the biggest upset in UFC history" and said Rousey "was never in the fight." Vegas took a big hit on the fight after giving Holm bettors 6-to-1 odds.

posted by rcade to boxing at 10:27 AM - 9 comments

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 15 comments

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 0 comments

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 8 comments

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 6 comments

CFL Playoffs Pick 'Em, Semi-Finals Edition: Leaves are on the ground, snow is in the air, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are cleaning out their lockers. Yes sir, it's time for the CFL playoffs! It's a fresh start: whether you competed every week in the regular season or watched jealously from the sidelines, all are welcome to join in this three-week sprint to the Grey Cup. Grab your union suit and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 10:03 PM - 13 comments

NFL Pick 'Em, Week 10: David Tyree Edition: This week's NFL games kick off Thursday with Buffalo visiting the New York Football Jets. On Sunday, undefeated New England plays the team that kills its dreams, the New York Football Giants. Tommytrump leads the SportsFilter league by 10. Make your picks, lock your lock and don't knock out your brother at a Cowboys game.

posted by rcade to football at 07:10 PM - 27 comments

Pace Mannion NBA Pick 'Em Contest: Week 3: There's a light four-game schedule this week beginning tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. DeAndre Jordan visits Dallas and LaMarcus Aldridge visits Portland to bring out a great susurration of boo birds. We pick winners and the spread every week in national TV games and new players are welcome. First prize is the greatest basketball in known history.

posted by rcade to basketball at 10:30 AM - 13 comments

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 5 comments

Racism Between the Goal Posts: New research finds black quarterbacks are benched far more often than their white counterparts. "Volz found that, once all the variables were factored in, "black starting quarterbacks are 1.98 to 2.46 times more likely to be benched the next week [after a poor performance]" than white quarterbacks with approximately equivalent skills."

posted by rumple to football at 10:17 PM - 5 comments

Colts Out of Luck as QB Suffers Lacerated Kidney: During Sunday's win over the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck suffered a lacerated kidney and partial abdominal muscle tear, injuries that won't require surgery but will keep him out as many as six weeks. USA Today scribe Lindsay H. Jones blames Colts GM Ryan Grigson for Luck taking a beating this season behind a poor offensive line. "Long-term, Grigson can't keep living this dangerously with his quarterback," Jones fulminates.

posted by rcade to football at 04:17 PM - 3 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 2 comments

CFL Pick 'Em, Final Standings: The final rouge has been kicked, the turf has been rolled up, and the dust has settled: jagsnumberone breaks scoring records and hearts on his way to winning the Pick 'Em in his rookie season. Final standings are inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 10:03 PM - 12 comments

Athletics doping: Wada commission wants Russia ban: The report says London 2012 was "sabotaged" by "widespread inaction" against athletes with suspicious doping profiles. Russia was also accused of running a "state-supported" doping program.

posted by billsaysthis to culture at 04:30 PM - 1 comment

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 5 comments

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 3 comments

Oklahoma State Takes College Football Belt From TCU: After 371 days, the College Football Belt has changed hands. Oklahoma State defeated TCU 49-29 Saturday night, ending the Horned Frogs' title reign after 14 consecutive victories. Both teams were undefeated leading into their sport's real championship game, which has been decided on the field since 1972. The Cowboys have twice been the Belt holder, for two games in 2008 and one in 2013. They visit Iowa State next week, then play at home against Baylor and Oklahoma. TCU's 14-game run was the longest for a champion since Miami's 32 straight from 2000 to 2003.

posted by rcade to football at 08:29 PM - 6 comments

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 1 comment

Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 12: The Premier League weekend opens early Saturday with Bournemouth at Newcastle. In SportsFilter's Fantasy Premier League Hillbilly F.C. retakes the lead from Polo XI. The week's best score comes from bottom-of-table Garland Bombers, whose 97 points were led by Everton forward Arouna Koné's captain-doubled 40 and Leicester midfielder Riyad Mahrez's 15. The Bombers began the season a week late and are creeping up on Outlaws FC.

posted by rcade to soccer at 03:15 PM - 2 comments

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 5 comments

"Shuttering of Grantland Hints at Corroding ESPN Culture, Competency, and Gumption": Awful Announcing's finance director on why he thinks ESPN's cancelling of Grantland is, "the network’s dumbest decision in the five years I have professionally been involved in tracking the company". Linked from there, ESPN.com's former ombudsman on the situation.

posted by yerfatma to culture at 03:34 PM - 6 comments

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 13 comments

NFL Pick 'Em, Week Nine: Blaine Gabbert Edition: Week nine of the NFL season begins Thursday night with Cleveland going on the road against Cincinnati in the battle of Ohio. On Sunday, 6-2 Atlanta visits 2-6 San Francisco and the hometown heroes start Blaine Gabbert at QB and bench Colin Kaepernick. In our SportsFilter Pick 'Em, Tommytrump takes an eight-point lead as we near the halfway mark. Make your picks, lock your lock and watch out for errant Gabbert passes.

posted by rcade to football at 06:16 PM - 25 comments

Pace Mannion NBA Pick 'Em Contest: Week 2: Week 2 begins Wednesday in SportsFilter's NBA Pick 'Em contest, a game to pick the winners of nationally televised games on TNT, ESPN and ABC. New players welcome. First prize is an official ABA game ball.

posted by rcade to basketball at 10:43 AM - 9 comments

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 6 comments

CFL Pick 'Em, Week Twenty: Well, folks, I've got the CFL Tiebreaker Rules open in a background tab, which means it must be the final week of the season. But don't bother to change your calculator's batteries. Leave that mathy stuff to me, and just make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 09:52 PM - 18 comments

U.S. TV viewers for the Premier League broken out by club: Not surprising to see Man United at #1, but Swansea atop City is.

posted by papoon to soccer at 06:33 PM - 4 comments

Titans Fire Ken Whisenhunt, Make Mike Mularkey Interim Coach: The Tennessee Titans have fired head coach Ken Whisenhunt. He was 3-20 leading the team, which has begun this season 1-6. The team's defense has improved to 5th this season after being 27th last year, but the offense has been abysmal, scoring one touchdown and 13 points the past nine quarters. "There's not much I can say," he told reporters after Sunday's loss. Former Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey becomes the interim head coach.

posted by rcade to football at 09:50 AM - 7 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 9 comments

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 15 comments

Steve Williams: Tiger Woods Treated Me Like a Slave: Bitter former Tiger Woods caddie Steve Williams has written a memoir in which he offers this specific complaint: "One thing that really pissed me off was how he would flippantly toss a club in the general direction of the bag, expecting me to go over and pick it up. I felt uneasy about bending down to pick up his discarded club, it was like I was his slave." Williams made an estimated $6 million in the job he compares to slavery.

posted by rcade to golf at 06:30 PM - 6 comments

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 14 comments