Bill Belichick Offseason Simulator: Jon Bois' latest work of gaming genius.

posted by Joey Michaels to football at 04:55 PM - 3 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

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

Tiger Woods Falls Out of Top 100 in Golf: Tiger Woods, who spent 683 weeks (over 13 years) atop the rankings of world golfers, has fallen out of the top 100. He's currently at 104 and sidelined with injury. In February the 39-year-old took an indefinite break from golf and called his play "not acceptable for tournament golf," but he's hoping to be back to play the Masters in April. He has won 14 Majors, the last in 2008 at the U.S. Open.

posted by rcade to golf at 10:52 AM - 8 comments

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

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

Australia bowls out New Zealand on 183: Loving the 93,000-strong support the Aussies made short work of their neighbors to win the Cricket World Cup for the fifth time yesterday. The Kiwis had a difficult start, losing three wickets early but then had a run to 150 when disaster hit and they lost three more for almost no runs. The home side had a terrific innings from captain Michael Clarke and (his replacement as captain?) Steve Smith, needing only five batsmen to run down the win. There were, of course, a few afters ;)

posted by billsaysthis to other at 02:33 AM - 9 comments

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 4 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 - 3 comments

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

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

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

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

The Hidden Value of a Knuckleballer:

"Relievers behind Wright have surrendered an insane two home runs in 107 2/3 innings. That's one-fifth what we'd expect based on their typical performance. If Wright were to make 30 starts in a season, that would translate to roughly an extra win for his team. Starters were about a half-run better in ERA and a run better in FIP when the other team had been thrown off by Wright's knuckleball. Add it up, and Wright could be worth in the range of two wins simply by taking the ball, let alone what he could provide by pitching well."

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 10:03 AM - 3 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

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

Cyclones and Grass Roots Football: The Nerimbera Magpies. The soul of a town.

posted by owlhouse to soccer at 05:40 AM - 0 comments

NFL Drops Blackout Rule for 2015 Season: The National Football League is dropping its blackout rule for the 2015 season. The rule prevents games from being broadcast in a team's home market if the tickets aren't sold out. It's been around since the 1950s, when NFL games were first televised. Roughly one game out of ten was blacked out under the rule as recently as 2004, and in 1996 it was one out of three games. But there were no games blacked out last season.

posted by rcade to basketball at 07:24 PM - 1 comment

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

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

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

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

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

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

The gym on the Titanic, and other early 19th century ocean liners.: "I was up early before breakfast and met the professional racquet player in a half hour's warming up for a swim in the six foot deep tank of saltwater heated to a refreshing temperature." -- Colonel Archibald Gracie, Titanic Survivor.

posted by rumple to general at 04:56 PM - 2 comments

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

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

Can popularity ruin a sport?: Rafa Honigstein on how success has changed the Budesliga.

"That rise to all-conquering prominence has attracted the country’s brightest minds and developed into a highly professional, productive industry. But football’s heightened social relevance is also reflected in the sort of insufferably grim, po-faced seriousness that used to be confined to political struggles or actual tribal conflicts.

posted by yerfatma to culture at 09:06 AM - 12 comments

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

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

Obama Proposal Could End Taxpayer-Subsidized Pro Sports Stadiums: Some interesting news from USA Today: "An obscure item in the president's new budget would put an end to the long-standing practice of states and cities using tax-exempt bonds to finance professional sports arenas, a practice that costs the U.S. Treasury $146 million, according to a 2012 Bloomberg analysis."

posted by rcade to general at 09:14 AM - 24 comments

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

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

The 2015 Cricket World Cup moves on to the knock-out stage: The quarterfinals start tomorrow afternoon (11:30 EDT tonight for those of us not in that part of the world) with a showdown between Sri Lanka and South Africa. We gotta romanticize something, so it may as well be Sri Lankan bowler extraordinaire, Lasith Malinga. Also, Updated Fixtures, Odds and Predictions.

posted by NoMich to other at 10:13 AM - 6 comments

Tim Tebow Working Year-Round on Throwing Mechanics: Former Major League pitcher Tom House runs a performance center for pitchers and quarterbacks whose past clients include Tom Brady and Drew Brees. This interview with House describes in detail how much Tim Tebow has been doing to develop his quarterback skills in the hopes of returning to the NFL at age 27. "We've been seeing him about three days every week, year-round," House said. "Now, he works besides his time with us, but the time he spends working with us on skills, routes and all of those things works out to about two or two-and-a-half hours per day."

posted by rcade to football at 10:07 AM - 3 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

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

John Oliver tackles the NCAA and student athletes: In an extended segment on Sunday's "Last Week Tonight", John Oliver delved into the issue of unpaid "student-athletes" and the onerous and exploitative NCAA money machine.

posted by hincandenza to basketball at 12:50 AM - 2 comments

SF 49er rookie Chris Borland retires at age 24 due to worries about his future health from concussions.:
"I feel largely the same, as sharp as I've ever been, for me it's wanting to be proactive," said Borland. "I'm concerned that if you wait till you have symptoms, it's too late. ... There are a lot of unknowns. I can't claim that X will happen. I just want to live a long healthy life, and I don't want to have any neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise."

posted by grum@work to football at 11:12 PM - 4 comments

Yahoo Tourney Pick'em Pool:
I didn't see one created for SpoFi, so I threw one together.

posted by grum@work to basketball at 09:53 PM - 13 comments

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

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

Your 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket.: And here's the printable version (PDF). I got NC State whoopin up on Carolina in the Final. You?

posted by NoMich to basketball at 08:04 PM - 11 comments

Lewis Hamilton wins with ease in Australia as only 11 cars finish: "Mercedes were in a race of their own at the front" as Hamilton and Rosborg finished more than 30 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettle, who finished third in a Ferrari. This is after the Mercedes cars' won 16 from 19 and took 18 of 19 poles last season. Many of the 11 non-finishers either didn't start or went out in the first few laps; guess some teams need a longer off-season.

posted by billsaysthis to auto racing at 03:25 PM - 1 comment

SpoFi's 2015 Fantasy Baseball League is Active: I will be taking over as commish for ursus_comiter. Invitations have been sent out to everybody who was in the league last year. We have plenty of room for new players as well.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia to fantasy at 12:20 PM - 1 comment

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

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

Formula E Racing Comes to U.S.: The first all-electric open wheel racing series, Formula E, made its United States debut Saturday in Miami. It's the fifth race of the series' inaugural season. The cars are completely battery powered -- there are no combustion engines -- and they emit a high-pitched whir instead of the roar typically heard in auto racing. There are also no pit stops during the race. Instead of running out of gas, the Formula E cars run out of battery about halfway through the 39-lap event. Before that happens the drivers must make it to the pit area where, instead of swapping batteries, they hop into an entirely different car.

posted by rcade to auto racing at 06:21 PM - 6 comments

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

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

"Why not go for 70?": An Oral History of Larry Bird's 60-Point Game.

posted by yerfatma to basketball at 08:29 AM - 5 comments

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

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

Mark Teixeira: Sharing Yankee Stadium with NYCFC Will Suck: New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixiera, asked about sharing the team's stadium with the new MLS team New York City FC: "It's going to suck, but you have to deal with it. It's going to tear up the infield, but there's nothing we can do about it, so we'll deal with it." NYC FC plays its home opener Sunday. Outfielder Brett Gardiner fears that when new grass has to be put down, it will give way and cause ankle and knee injuries.

posted by rcade to general at 03:14 PM - 2 comments

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

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

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

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

The NFL free-agency period begins with a slew of major moves: Including the New Orleans Saints trading TE Jimmy Graham to Seattle, the Eagles and Rams swapping quarterbacks and...

posted by Ufez Jones to football at 07:49 PM - 34 comments

Hassan Whiteside's Cinderella season: may be hitting midnight after his second ejection in a week led Dwayne Wade to make a statement about Whiteside's failings.

posted by yerfatma to basketball at 10:10 AM - 1 comment

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

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

62,000 Welcome Orlando City to MLS in Franchise Opener: Kaka scored an equalizer on a free kick in extra time as Orlando City SC played to a 1-1 draw against New York City FC in the Major League Soccer franchise opener for both teams. Mix Diskerud had scored in the 76th minute on a pass from David Villa to put the visitors ahead. A crowd of 62,000 fans packed the Citrus Bowl, the second largest ever for a team's first game in MLS.

posted by rcade to soccer at 11:33 AM - 3 comments

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 - 4 comments

Yu Darvish May Need Tommy John Surgery: The Texas Rangers had the most games lost to injuries last season and appear to have beat the all-time record. Just a few days into spring training ball they may have lost ace Yu Darvish for the season and possibly more. He's considering Tommy John surgery after an MRI found a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.

posted by rcade to baseball at 01:02 PM - 4 comments

SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle

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

Baseball's fight with fatigue: Last year, less than 9% of position players appeared in 150 or more games. That is the lowest such percentage in major-league history, according to Stats LLC. Run scoring in September last year was 7% lower than it was during March and April, twice as steep a decline as the historical norm. So, as full squads report to spring training in Florida and Arizona this week, teams aren’t worried so much about hitters being ready for Opening Day. They’re worried about keeping them fresh for the stretch run, and they’re exploring myriad new ways to boost their endurance.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 02:09 PM - 6 comments

Bears Receiver Brandon Marshall Traded to Jets: Following the swap to send running back LeSean McCoy from Philadelphia to Buffalo in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso, another NFC offensive star is switching jerseys: Chicago is trading wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets for not-yet-specified players or picks. Trades can't become finalized until free agency begins Tuesday.

posted by rcade to football at 12:16 PM - 2 comments

SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle

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

SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 10 comments

SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle

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

Is Charlie Brown the Worst Manager Ever?: The Hardball Times takes a look at the manager who won two games in 47 years.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia to baseball at 08:55 PM - 2 comments

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 10 comments

Curt Schilling Declares War on Twitter Trolls Abusing His Daughter: After Curt Schilling announced that his daughter had been accepted to play softball in college, both he and his daughter were subjected to vicious sexual remarks by Twitter trolls. Schilling did some online sleuthing and found as many as he could. "She didn't do anything, she never said anything, yet she's now receiving personal messages with guys saying things to her, well let's just say I can't repeat and I'm getting beyond angry thinking about it," he writes.

posted by rcade to baseball at 05:23 PM - 17 comments

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

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

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

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