04/25/24
October 28, 2018
SportsFilter: The Sunday 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.
Instead of a long explanation, NFL referees should hold up a yellow card for the first ejectable penalty and a red card for the second.
posted by rcade at 12:05 PM on October 28, 2018
Old hockey man with slicked back hair gets a case of the vapors after seeing the Hurricanes have a bit of fun after winning a game. Here's a deal for you Mr Fun Police, we'll get off your lawn and in return, you let people have some fun.
posted by NoMich at 12:20 PM on October 28, 2018
For the Joe Buck haters in the group, here's a bit more ammunition. Buck and his partner, John Smoltz, in game 3 were extolling the virtues of the runner from 1st base "tagging up" and taking 2nd on Nunez's catch of a foul ball on which Nunez fell into the stands. I truly wish these so-called experts would read the rule book once in a while. Rule 5.06.(b).3.(C) states that a runner, except for a batter runner, may advance one base without liability to be put out when a fielder after a catch steps or falls into an out of play area. When the play happened, I made the comment to my wife that the runner could advance. I also saw the 3rd base umpire throw both arms in the air to indicate that the ball was dead. Please get it right sometimes.
My other pet peeve applies almost universally to baseball announcers. A batted ball that bounces in the dirt behind the plate is NOT a foul tip. It is a foul ball. The rules are very explicit about the definition of a foul tip; it's a batted ball that goes directly to the catcher and is caught. A ball that bounces off of the catcher's protector or other equipment and is then caught is a foul ball. After a foul tip the ball is in play, but the ball is dead after a foul ball.
That's my rant as a crochety old umpire. You are now welcome back on the grass.
posted by Howard_T at 03:04 PM on October 28, 2018
I don't know why Joe Buck isn't calling the Packers-Rams game on Fox today. It's right in LA. After the game ended, he could just scoot up the 110 a few exits to Dodger Stadium to get ready for Game 5 of the Series.
Buck is more than hyper energetic enough to pull it off and everything he says is so naturally and automatically spot on that he wouldn't really need to prep for both games. He could just ad lib them both on the fly, and no one would notice.
posted by beaverboard at 04:51 PM on October 28, 2018
Cardinals up 3-2 on the Niners in the second, with Beathard coming to the plate.
posted by beaverboard at 05:17 PM on October 28, 2018
The "expert" commentators up here in Canada during one of the inning breaks mid Game 5 lashed into a commentary about how differently the 2 teams were built. According to the announcers, LA had built their entire squad via draft and develop whereas Boston simply loaded up on free agents.
Do these guys do any research at all before commenting? Good god, if this were the Leafs they were talking about they would know what classes the 4th line left winger's second cousin is taking.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:56 AM on October 29, 2018
Having grown up with the legend of the Red Sox curse and their heartbreaking losses, I just realized that there are generations of people who have no idea what it's like for the Sox not to win the World Series.
If the Dodgers make a miracle comeback, there's an opportunity for people my age to carve out a supplementary career in sports devastation counseling.
Every time the Sox do well, I ask God if it means that we have gotten that much closer to there being no further justification for Dan Shaughnessy's continued employment, but thus far, God has had other priorities.