February 01, 2010

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle:

A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.

posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 34 comments

Weird stuff happens in Perth. Like ball biting, and rugby tackling pitch invaders.

posted by owlhouse at 07:13 AM on February 01, 2010

In weekend events, Daron Rahlves eats it in the quarterfinal of the skiercross at the Winter X games, dislocates a hip...gets it popped back in, is apparently putting weight on it today, and is by no means a scratch to appear in Vancouver.

(Rahlves, formerly a member of the US alpine team, is best known as the winner of the 2003 Hahnenkamm and for The Crash. He has dislocated his hip three times previously.)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:32 AM on February 01, 2010

He has dislocated his hip three times previously.

That is someone who is completely ignoring what fate/nature is trying to tell them.

posted by grum@work at 12:12 PM on February 01, 2010

What if Martin Riggs felt that way about his shoulder?

posted by yerfatma at 12:50 PM on February 01, 2010

What if Martin Riggs felt that way about his shoulder?

Then Murtaugh would have been "too old for this shit" years ago and we would have never seen a house be pulled over with a truck, or Joe Pesci say "ok ok ok ok" They F you at the drive thru and with cell phones.

In an actual related topic, Did anyone see Shawn White smash his face off of the half pipe and come back an hour later to win gold? Thats almost as good as the skateboarded that fell like 5 stories last year on that ramp. Go X games!!!

(would have attached video of both above events, but the firewall at work blocks everything fun..)

posted by Debo270 at 01:16 PM on February 01, 2010

That is someone who is completely ignoring what fate/nature is trying to tell them.

Hahnenkamm winners tend to fall into that category pretty solidly, all right.

In an actual related topic, Did anyone see Shawn White smash his face off of the half pipe and come back an hour later to win gold? Thats almost as good as the skateboarded that fell like 5 stories last year on that ramp. Go X games!!!

(would have attached video of both above events, but the firewall at work blocks everything fun..)

Heh, not at my work. The bosses would never stand for it. Biff is here. Gold run is here.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:30 PM on February 01, 2010

Thanks LBB

posted by Debo270 at 01:33 PM on February 01, 2010

Early rumors around the Pittsburgh area have Pitt moving to the Big 10. It could be announced as early as this week. This will do wonders for the football program, but leaving the Big East may bring a major drop in basketball recruiting, especially in the NY area.

posted by Debo270 at 01:51 PM on February 01, 2010

Here's the Jake Brown skateboard fall. Hard to believe his worst injury was a mild concussion.

posted by rcade at 02:16 PM on February 01, 2010

Why would Rahlves or anyone else risk the Winter Olympics with an event like the X Games a couple weeks before it?

posted by rcade at 02:17 PM on February 01, 2010

Why would Rahlves or anyone else risk the Winter Olympics with an event like the X Games a couple weeks before it?

I think the X games is a bigger stage for these athletes then the Olympics.
1. The X games are where most of them and their sports got their start. They feel obligated to them
2. I bet if most had to choose between the two events they would choose the X games. They may not get the national recognition, but more of the sponsors that would pay them are at the X games then in Vancouver.
3. The X games cater to this type of athlete where as in the olympics, they are a new and still looked down on sport, especially with the skiing purists.

posted by Debo270 at 02:22 PM on February 01, 2010

In one respect, Vince Young "gets it". It's nice to read positive things about an athlete who is sometimes treated less than well for his play on the field.

posted by Howard_T at 03:03 PM on February 01, 2010

Real Madrid's Guti's "backheel of God."

posted by Mr Bismarck at 03:04 PM on February 01, 2010

Randy Moss played with a separated shoulder for part of the season.

posted by yerfatma at 04:47 PM on February 01, 2010

Why would Rahlves or anyone else risk the Winter Olympics with an event like the X Games a couple weeks before it?

Because it's a bigger deal. Americans view the Olympics as paramount in winter sports because it's the only time that Americans bother to watch winter sports (with the occasional exception of men's NCAA or NHL hockey). Because of this, they forget (or don't know) that the Olympics occurs in the middle of a competitive season for (insert sport name) -- it doesn't replace the competitive season. There are events in all the winter sports leading right up to the Games, and most often not really having anything to do with them (some sports have qualifiers, but again, a quadrennial event doesn't replace a regular season of competition). It's probably a lot more rare for an athlete to skip a major event in order to not "risk" the Olympics than vice versa.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:26 PM on February 01, 2010

No seriously, you guys should check this out.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:33 PM on February 01, 2010

Weedy,

Anything that shows a polar bear in a fighter jet blowing up 'the' Ohio State University, is OK in my book...

posted by MeatSaber at 07:35 PM on February 01, 2010

F1 testing under way.

I love the way manufacturer names are so permeable in Formula One... lots of attention paid to the "first Mercedes F1 car" in decades, but all I can think is "that's a Brawn, aka Honda, aka...."

posted by dusted at 08:01 PM on February 01, 2010

Great video Weedy. At least one Ohio State University was not impressed

posted by tahoemoj at 10:14 PM on February 01, 2010

If it's transfer deadline day, then it's Robbie Keane has a new club day.

posted by etagloh at 10:41 PM on February 01, 2010

I wish we had favorites just so I can favorite that video. So epic.

About the winter Olympics...For those sports, are they actually popular in other countries? Like where good skiiers or snowboarders (ignoring guys with video game endorsements like Shaun White) can make enough money to ski for a living? Or to the point for such events are covered by local sports paper and tv?

posted by jmd82 at 10:53 PM on February 01, 2010

The best quarterback at the Senior Bowl was not Tim Tebow.

Yeah I'm a homer. Deal with it.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 11:27 PM on February 01, 2010

LeFevour has got some serious potential. On the scale of MAC quarterbacks, I think he's got potential somewhere in between Roethlisberger and Leftwich. Many more physical tools than Pennington, but we'll see if he can manage an offense. Leaves Charlie Frye in the dust. Any other MAC QB's I'm missing?

Nothing wrong with being a MAC homer. Go Redhawks

posted by tahoemoj at 11:53 PM on February 01, 2010

As I said during the thread on the Real Championship Game, LeFevour is the kind of QB who NFL staff will look at and think "hmm, yeah": he may come out of a spread offense, but his field awareness and smart decisions under pressure (looking at you, Big Ben) suggest that he's got the right stuff for the pros. If anything, I suspect a few GMs hoped he'd have a quiet Senior Bowl and combine so that he'd still be available in the third round. (I had no idea that so many NFL quarterbacks came out of the MAC; this 2006 piece on their tendency to be good game managers, and stingy with turnovers, sums up LeFevour.)

Or to the point for such events are covered by local sports paper and tv?

You're thinking old-media. The target demo for X Games stuff doesn't watch that much TV and certainly doesn't read the local sports section, and White's care in picking his endorsements means that he's a presence across the demographic that shares those video clips on its mobile phones.

posted by etagloh at 01:25 AM on February 02, 2010

Any other MAC QB's I'm missing?

Josh Cribbs?

posted by bender at 07:59 AM on February 02, 2010

Vince Young "gets it"

I agree with the writer who wrote this piece, "Pretty cool story, I'd say ..."

Thanks for the post Howard.

posted by BornIcon at 08:36 AM on February 02, 2010

Josh Cribbs?

Good call. The position switch made me forget about his amazing career as a Golden Flash.

posted by tahoemoj at 09:37 AM on February 02, 2010

No seriously, you guys should check this out.

Errr, blowing up the Earth? That doesn't really make me want to root for UA.

posted by wfrazerjr at 10:50 AM on February 02, 2010

You will respect that goddamn space polar bear, frazer, and be quick about it.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:41 PM on February 02, 2010

So he blew up the Earth? He already had a hockey arena orbiting the galaxy, so what'd he need the whole planet for? That's one shrewd polar bear.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 09:05 AM on February 03, 2010

Apparently the space polar bear has no mercy and takes no prisoners. So cruel...

posted by BornIcon at 10:03 AM on February 03, 2010

I would just like to take this opportunity to let our future space polar bear overlord know that I have nothing but the utmost respect for him, and that these sarcastic remarks are in no way indicative of the reverence in which I hold his obviously deistic power.

posted by tahoemoj at 10:27 AM on February 03, 2010

It's in Revelations, people!

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:09 PM on February 03, 2010

I would just like to take this opportunity to let our future space polar bear overlord know that I have nothing but the utmost respect for him, and that these sarcastic remarks are in no way indicative of the reverence in which I hold his obviously deistic power.

You got a lil' something on your nose. The space polar bear says doesn't care for his subjects to make a mockery of his absolute power. Be afraid....be very afraid.

posted by BornIcon at 09:15 AM on February 04, 2010

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