04/23/24
March 11, 2010
SportsFilter: The Thursday 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.
Sweden couldn't possibly have lost the women's curling in Vancouver after this amazing theme song.
posted by owlhouse at 07:42 AM on March 11, 2010
ESPNOutdoors blog post suggests President intends to ban sport fishing. Post gets a lot of traction. In spite of the total lack of facts. Found via the fantastic Charley Pierce.
posted by yerfatma at 08:23 AM on March 11, 2010
David Beckham shows his true colors, picking up and donning a green-and-gold scarf which has come to symbolize the "Love United Hate Glazer" movement after Milan's 4-0 defeat at Old Trafford yesterday. etagloh mentioned this yesterday, but I thought I'd drop the article in now. He tries to distance himself from the movement, but it doesn't sound like he tried very hard.
posted by boredom_08 at 08:35 AM on March 11, 2010
There is absolutely no connection between his brain stem and any sort of higher thinking, is there? He reminds me of Manny Ramirez, a man-child who you can convince to say anything.
posted by yerfatma at 09:01 AM on March 11, 2010
Great job by the Sedin twins. We need more of this in pro sports. You hear alot about athletes and charities, but how often do they give up 10%+ of their yearly salary.
The sad part is you will not hear this story on ESPN or the local news, but we will know if Tiger hit the practice range. The artilce is onbly a few sentences. The media sucks.
posted by Debo270 at 10:52 AM on March 11, 2010
but we will know if Tiger hit the practice range
Are they reporting that? Hank Haney has been called in to basecamp Woods in Isleworth according to Golf Digest, fuelling suggestions of: "Tiger to play Tavistock Cup" just before Bay Hill.
Just in case you were, you know, missing the Tiger stories.
posted by JJ at 12:15 PM on March 11, 2010
In other golf news, I was on the same plane with Michelle Wie last week from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. We had that awkward moment in the airport where you look at a famous person too long trying to figure out where you know them from that they then assume they know YOU because you're staring at them and they say "hello". I suppose the fact that I was checking my golf clubs added to the confusion.
She was going to do promo work for the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia tournament that will be held in October. I was going to talk to the Sime Darby people about their rubber plantations.
My life isn't working out how I thought it would when I was a kid.
posted by JJ at 12:25 PM on March 11, 2010
grum, I'm still ofer in Roll Up The Rim right now (0 for 8, although I could say I was 0/9 since I didn't even get a game cup on Tuesday???). What are my odds of hitting a prize tomorrow when I roll again for the ninth time?
posted by Spitztengle at 03:04 PM on March 11, 2010
Spitztengle:
A common misconception among gamblers is that because they've gone 0-for-longtime that their odds of winning on the next try is increased. This is the belief that the "streak" should end.
Not so.
Your chances of winning are still 1-in-9 (same as they should be for every independent attempt).
Side story: I made $64 at the Gold Coast casino in Las Vegas in 1998 because of a friend's unwavering belief that "streaks" are playable.
We were getting ready to leave the casino for the electronics show, and my friend saw that the roulette table had run off 5 reds in a row.
"It's due for a black!"
"No, it's not. The next spin is independent of the previous ones."
"No, it's due! I'm putting $2 on black."
It comes up red.
"Okay, I'm putting $4 on black now."
It comes up red.
"This is crazy. It'll be black for sure. $8."
"I'm going to prove you wrong. I'll put $2 on red now."
Red.
"Damn it! $16 on black! I'm going to run out of money soon if this doesn't hit!"
"I'll let my $4 ride."
Red.
"WTF! $32 on black!"
"I'll let my $8 ride."
"You're a dick."
"I'm proving a point."
Red.
If you are keeping count, red has now come up 10 times in a row.
I've won $16, and he's lost $62.
He's almost insane at this point.
"Okay, I'm almost out of money. $64."
"Hmm. Well, it's 'found money' to me at this point, so I'll let the $16 ride."
Red.
"This is my last $74. I only brought $200 for the whole trip for gambling."
"Don't do it. Just walk away."
"No. It can't come up red 12 times in a row. That's ridiculous."
"Please listen to me. This spin doesn't care about the other spins."
"But the odds..."
"Fine. I'll let my $32 ride. I hope you win."
Red
He's absolutely crestfallen.
The other guys with us are killing themselves laughing, but I just pocketed my $64 in chips and walked to the bus.
Later that day, we came back to the casino and we saw that black had run off 8 in a row. I could almost hear his mind thinking "If I only had some money..."
posted by grum@work at 03:30 PM on March 11, 2010
My life isn't working out how I thought it would when I was a kid.
If your plane seat looked anything like the ones Maylasian Airlines advertise in the Economist, quit complaining.
posted by yerfatma at 04:41 PM on March 11, 2010
True. It was almost as comfortable as a real seat.
posted by JJ at 04:55 PM on March 11, 2010
My life isn't working out how I thought it would when I was a kid.
Show me the SpoFite whose has. At least you were on the pro tour for a few years in your sport of choice.
I have never taken the stage at Whiskey A Go-Go, much less Madison Square Garden as the rhythm guitar player/songwriter of a rock band.
posted by billsaysthis at 04:57 PM on March 11, 2010
Your chances of winning are still 1-in-9 (same as they should be for every independent attempt).
First day of statistics class the prof used a coin flip to show this same concept. Same chance every flip. Last statistics class I ever took.
posted by justgary at 05:26 PM on March 11, 2010
Last statistics class I ever took.
To be fair, that's all you really need to know about statistics to get by in life.
Oh, and how to argue the correct answer to the "Monty Hall problem".
posted by grum@work at 05:34 PM on March 11, 2010
Don't start with the Month Hall Problem. I had a friend screaming at me ITS 50/50!! THESE PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS!! Eventually, I just gave up and we agreed the question was worded badly. Though I really didn't.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:55 PM on March 11, 2010
While the video could have been ended after about 60 seconds, I really like comment #14. I understand that it isn't politically correct, but its still funny
You know, the first three times I watched the opening of this video, I laughed my ass off at the second baseman completely running in the opposite direction. But after watching a couple more times and noticing that apparently everyone who plays baseball over there is a completely deranged psycho, I now think he's the only one with any sense on either team. Think about it. If you played for the orange team, which had a player actually fetch a bat and bring it into the brawl when it was in the outfield, you probably already know you're playing with a team full of crazies. So when you see a player from the other team coming at your pitcher with a bat, do you a) try and defend that player, b) stay on the field and hope no one notices you're avoiding confrontation, or c) get the hell off the field and hide in your locker until the rate of gunshots is roughly equivalent to the time between pops while making a perfect bag of microwave popcorn?
posted by Demophon at 07:10 PM on March 11, 2010
I love the Monty Hall problem, but we don't call it by that name.
Who's Monty Hall?
posted by owlhouse at 07:11 PM on March 11, 2010
Green and gold are really going out of style in Manchester, at least if you plan to attend a match at Old Trafford (or anything else United-related)
posted by boredom_08 at 08:23 PM on March 11, 2010
Re: Monthy Hall - what if you already had a car and what you really wanted was a goat?
posted by JJ at 05:52 AM on March 12, 2010
You're the world's richest Welshman?
posted by yerfatma at 07:13 AM on March 12, 2010
Monty Hall was the emcee of a game show named "Lets Make A Deal".
posted by yzelda4045 at 07:14 AM on March 12, 2010
You're the world's richest Welshman?
I don't like to be pigeon holed. Nor does the goat.
posted by JJ at 09:12 AM on March 12, 2010
I doubt the pigeon's particularly excited.
posted by yerfatma at 10:42 AM on March 12, 2010
Padraig Harrington, history teacher, explains difference in Britain and Ireland
You probably know this but Britain and Ireland aren't the same country.
A reporter at the CA Championship this week didn't totally grasp that, and asked Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion from Dublin, this question.
"If you should win here, would that be a triumph for Ireland or for the British people?"
Well, this is obvious. It would be a triumph for Ireland, since, you know, Padraig is from Ireland.
The usually passive Harrington didn't take too kindly to the ignorance, and responded with this:
"You know, obviously if you're -- by asking that question, you haven't shown very much insight into anything, so I'll let you go do the homework on it. That would be like if a Canadian won here, would it be a triumph for the Americans or the Canadians? If a South American won here, would it be a triumph -- it would be the same thing. I'm not from Britain. I'm Irish. I think you want to talk that to maybe one of the guys from Northern Ireland. I'm from the other side of the Republic: Green, white and orange."
posted by gfinsf at 10:30 AM on March 13, 2010
Hunter says black Latino players are 'impostors'