Archives for October 2016

October 31, 2016

Last Chance U: the college that gives young players a final route to the NFL: "The tiny town of Scooba sits in Kemper County in the vast state of Mississippi. Its quiet streets are home to under a thousand permanent residents and there is little excitement to be found. An isolated Subway sandwich shop is the social hub. East Mississippi Community College stands incongruously in Scooba’s streets. The college houses some of the country’s finest student American football players who dream of making the NFL. They find themselves in sleepy Scooba for two reasons: their grades aren’t up to scratch or they need more playing time to prove themselves to larger colleges. For almost all of the players on the Lions’ playing roster, this is their last chance at football redemption." Their story is also a Netflix documentary.

posted by rumple to football at 02:22 PM - 0 comments

Patriots Trade Jamie Collins to Browns for 3rd Round Pick: On Sunday, Pro Bowl linebacker Jamie Collins played for the 6-1 New England Patriots and wanted "Von Miller money" when his contract expired at the end of the season. Now he's playing for the 0-8 Cleveland Browns after being traded for a compensatory third round draft pick and is much more likely to have a franchise tag slapped on him. The Hoodie can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop ... ever, until you are dealt!

posted by rcade to football at 02:03 PM - 6 comments

October 30, 2016

Wisconsin football fan dresses as Donald Trump, holds caricatured dummy of a lynched Barack Obama: The fan is not removed and the University defends his right to free speech.

posted by rumple to football at 01:48 PM - 1 comment

October 29, 2016

Divorcing Couple Go to Court Over Cubs World Series Tickets: A couple getting a divorce in Cook County, Illinois, are fighting for custody of a World Series ticket to tonight's game 4. John and Nancy Riddle both want the ticket so they can be the one who takes their 12-year-old son. After Nancy's filing argued this is an emergency because the Cubs might not reach the Series again in her lifetime, John's attorney Michael Berger disagreed and tempted fate in his response: "Even if the Cubs lose this time, it is likely -- regrettably -- that they will be back to the World Series again soon."

posted by rcade to baseball at 11:59 AM - 5 comments

October 28, 2016

October 27, 2016

October 26, 2016

Aviation Loses a Legend: This might have only a tangential relation to sports, but Bob Hoover's long time promotion of the Reno Air Races and his former captaincy on the US Aerobatic Team should qualify. Bob Hoover died on October 25 at the age of 94. He was a former Naval aviator, aerobatic performer, and corporate test pilot for North American Aviation. One of his "signature" performances was his demonstration of the capabilities of the North American "Shrike" Commander, a variant of the twin turboprop corporate Aero Commander business aircraft. He would take the aircraft through a series of maneuvers, and for the climax he would kill both engines, feather the props, execute a full loop, and land the aircraft precisely "on the numbers" (that is, the numbers at the end of the runway). His skills were unmatched. My working life was spent for the most part being in, on, under, and generally around aircraft, and Mr. Hoover was one of the giants I respected greatly.

posted by Howard_T to other at 04:17 PM - 3 comments

MLB Commissioner Red-Faced Over Indians Logo: The belief that the Cleveland Indians were phasing out Chief Wahoo has been completely obliterated during the postseason. The Sambo-like caricature is on the team's caps, uniforms and a lot of other branding. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he understands why the logo is considered offensive and will discuss it with team owner Larry Dolan: "I think that after the World Series, at an appropriate point in time, Mr. Dolan and I have agreed we'll have a conversation about what should happen with that particular logo going forward."

posted by rcade to baseball at 03:03 PM - 8 comments

NFL Pick 'Em Week 8: Farewell Arian Edition: The NFL returns Thursday night with the race to glory that is the AFC South. Robby Blake Bortles (QBR 50.2) and the 2-4 Jacksonville Jaguars face Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (QBR 55.0) and the 3-4 Tennessee Titans. Our NFL Pick 'Em contest is led by tron7 with 410 points, followed by Ufez Jones at 404 and rumple at 389. Make your picks.

posted by rcade to football at 09:08 AM - 22 comments

October 25, 2016

CFL Pick 'Em, Week Nineteen: Two weeks to go and it's anybody's game. Huh? Oh! I was holding the scoresheet upside-down. Correction: two weeks to go and it's anybody's Costanza. rcade's already at home polishing his official CFL game balls. Grab your metaphors and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 09:58 PM - 13 comments

World Series Game 1 Preview: The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians meet tonight for game 1 of a World Series guaranteed to end a historic championship drought. Cubs ace Jon Lester faces Indians ace Corey Kluber in Cleveland. Vegas likes the Cubs to win game 1 and the series.

posted by rcade to baseball at 03:18 PM - 3 comments

Arian Foster retires: "There comes a time in every athlete's career when their ambition and their body are no longer on the same page." With a tweet on #UNINTERRUPTED, Arian Foster has retired from football, effective immediately. Ian Rapoport reports that "it's because his heart couldn't take another rehab, even for a minor injury."

posted by Etrigan to football at 12:34 PM - 0 comments

October 24, 2016

Enter SportsFilter's Pace Mannion NBA Pick 'Em Contest: For the NBA season that begins Tuesday, SportsFilter is bringing back the Pace Mannion NBA Pick 'Em. Choose the winner and margin for the nationally televised games each week on TNT, ESPN and ABC (around 6-8 games). Last year was won by Howard T, who left the rest of us in the dust. First prize is a $25 NBA Shop gift certificate.

posted by rcade to basketball at 09:00 PM - 11 comments

Saint Will and the Man Who Shot Him: This spring, a former Saint and Super Bowl champion, Will Smith, was shot and killed by another player, named Cardell Hayes. Their fatal collision highlights the fine line between triumph and tragedy in football and life in the Crescent City.

posted by Ufez Jones to football at 01:54 PM - 2 comments

October 23, 2016

October 22, 2016

October 20, 2016

CFL Pick 'Em, Week Eighteen: What a weird year. The West has clinched a crossover spot and it could be any one of three teams taking it. But the East is just plain terrible and could be the easier route. Will someone tank their way to the Grey Cup? Give tanks for the CFL and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 04:57 PM - 18 comments

NFL Pick 'Em Week 7: Hoodie 1, Surface 0 Edition: Week 7 begins this evening as the Chicago Bears visit the Green Bay Packers. Make your picks and don't lend your tablet to Bill Belichick.

posted by rcade to football at 02:42 PM - 17 comments

Cleveland Indians Advance to World Series: The Cleveland Indians last won a World Series in 1948 and last reached one in 1997. For game 5 of the ALCS this year, manager Terry Francona improbably asked Ryan Merritt to take the mound -- a rookie with one career start and 11 total innings pitched. He kept the Toronto Blue Jays scoreless through 4 1/3 innings, Francona handed the game to his formidable bullpen and the World Series opens in Title Town, Ohio, on Tuesday.

posted by rcade to baseball at 09:40 AM - 10 comments

October 19, 2016

Video games are changing how professional soccer is played:: "Ibrahimovic said that he would “often spot solutions in the games that I then parlayed into real life” as a young player. Mats Hummels, the Bayern Munich and Germany defender, has suggested that “maybe some people use what they learn in FIFA when they find themselves on a pitch.”

posted by rumple to soccer at 12:32 PM - 2 comments

October 18, 2016

October 17, 2016

October 16, 2016

October 15, 2016

October 14, 2016

October 13, 2016

NFL Pick 'Em Week 6: Stand Up for Colin Kaepernick Edition: The NFL week begins tonight as Denver visits San Diego. After five weeks, grum@work is in first at 299, followed by Ufez Jones at 297 and tron7 at 296. Make your picks.

posted by rcade to football at 04:37 PM - 24 comments

CFL Pick 'Em, Week Seventeen: With four weeks to go, rcade and the Calgary Stampeders have one thing in common: nobody's gonna catch them. The rest of us aspire to be like the B.C. Lions: barely in second place and scrambling to stay there. Pump up the adrenaline and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 02:07 PM - 15 comments

October 12, 2016

October 11, 2016

October 10, 2016

October 09, 2016

SportsFilter's Fantasy Hockey League Needs Owners: Koharski's Donuts is returning for a fourth season on ESPN Fantasy Hockey. There are slots available for 5 more owners. Use this link and the password "glazed" to join. The league has a live draft tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern. At 6 p.m. the league will be opened to the public, so join before that if you want in.

posted by rcade to hockey at 08:38 AM - 5 comments

October 08, 2016

October 07, 2016

October 06, 2016

CFL Pick 'Em, Week Sixteen: Two key talking points this weekend: it's Canadian Thanksgiving, and my computer broke. So we have no standings, but we have lots and lots of maple turkey. Pull up a chair and make your picks inside.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 04:47 PM - 17 comments

October 05, 2016

NFL Pick 'Em Week 5: Touchdown John Kuhn Edition: Make your picks for this weekend's games. Results to come.

posted by rcade to football at 09:58 PM - 25 comments

Blue Jays Beat Orioles, Advance to Face Rangers: The Toronto Blue Jays added another bat flip to their playoff highlight reel, a three-run, 11th-inning Edwin Encarnacion moon shot that won the AL wild card game 5-2 over the Baltimore Orioles. The Jays move on to face the Texas Rangers. In a less pleasant flashback to last year's playoffs, a Jays fan threw a beer, nearly hitting Orioles left fielder Hyun Soo Kim as he caught a fly ball.

posted by rcade to baseball at 08:08 AM - 28 comments

October 04, 2016

Maria Sharapova's Doping Ban from Tennis Reduced: Maria Sharapova will be eligible to return to competitive tennis in April after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping ban from two years to 15 months. Sharapova tested positive for the banned heart medication meldonium at this year's Australian Open. The court ruled Sharapova bore "some degree of fault" but "less than significant fault." She's now eligible to return a month ahead of the French Open in 2017.

posted by rcade to tennis at 03:04 PM - 1 comment

October 03, 2016

October 02, 2016

October 01, 2016