We first used this analogy two years ago when Jorge Posada was enjoying a ridiculous first half en route to his career season. In the perfect “Sell High” fantasy trade, you not only help your own team by leveraging great value for your departing player, you also hurt the opposing team by passing on to them a rapidly depreciating asset. We half-kiddingly cited the precedent of the Germans sending Lenin to Moscow in a boxcar to destroy the czar’s regime from within during World War I; ideally, the player’s inevitable regression to the mean will hurt the team acquiring the player, thus hurting their chances of blocking your path to the title.
Right now, we’ll tell you why Raul Ibanez represents another such opportunity for his owners.Through games of May 30, he had smacked a flabbergasting 17 HR in 178 AB. A full 9.6% of his AB ended up as round-trippers, signifying the hot streak to end all hot streaks. That is more than 2 ½ times his career pace.
Now, since Ibanez became a full-time player in 2002, he has averaged 576 AB in a season. What’s his career average for HR in a season? 22.
Oops.
OK, what’s his previous career high? 33.
Let’s back up a second. If he only reaches the career average of 22 this year – granted, a correction that seems pretty unlikely right now – he will average a “tidy” 1.3% of his AB resulting in HR, assuming he notches his career average of 576 AB. What if he reaches 33 HR? That would mean 4.0% of his remaining AB ending up in HR.
To put that last number in perspective, the years since 2002 have seen 3.8% of his AB result in HR. So for him to match his career HR high within a typical AB range, he would merely have to approximate the Raul Ibanez of 2002-2008.
If you dangle him right now, do you think that that is the Ibanez that your fellow owners think that they’ll be acquiring? We don’t think so either.
Granted, if this is a true career year for Ibanez, he is likely to continue to surpass his career HR pace, but that is a definite gamble. Are you sure that he’s more likely to continue to produce than somebody due for a PROGRESSION to the mean like BJ Upton? Remember, the long fantasy baseball season is all about surfing the waves that materialize over the course of a year. Take your profit in Raul Ibanez if the opportunity presents itself, benefit from the assets you receive in return and watch your trading counterpart wonder why the Ibanez from ’02-’08 is back.
^ Kendry Morales: While he had previously been given scant chances in SoCal, there is no indication whatsoever in the time since he has migrated to America that power numbers such as these should be regarded as for real.
^ Joe Mauer: He is absolutely killing the ball, albeit in a small sample size since he wasn’t healthy for the first few weeks of the season. In a sense, he is additionally the mirror image of Holliday, who was vastly underrated this year because of overreactions about ballpark effects. Mauer is perennially overrated because owners always either assume that THIS will be the year that his power materializes or (more likely) the underrate the extent to which power is THE key separator at catcher (not batting average). If you own Mauer, you have an outstanding chance to feed into the false impressions about him.
^ Russell Branyan: He is quite the tease, putting together stretches like this one every few years. If you own him, you should take your profit immediately.
^ Raul Ibanez: He is riding the biggest hot streak of his life and is due for the inevitable regression to the mean. Think about this: he’s in his first year in a new league. He’s not even done with the adjustment period yet.
^ Jon Lester: As with any pitcher, it’s important to discern if arm problems lie at the root of a lack of success. There is absolutely no indication that this is the case with Lester, who has had a disproportionate lack of luck thus far. These factors generally even out over time, at least to some extent.
^ Magglio Ordonez: He’s making decent contact, especially as of late. With that being the case, there’s no reason to believe that his power will continue to fall off as dramatically as it has.
^ Matt Holliday: We’ll keep him on our “Buy Low” list until his production increases appreciably, not least of which because his numbers are playing into absurd stereotypes about the extent of the “Coors to Oaktown” difference. When you keep in mind that the As are almost certain to move him in his walk year since they are out of contention – and the good chance that he will be moving to a friendlier park – there is no reason other than superstition not to want a piece of him right now.
^ James Loney: This is another repeat participant on our list. Again, though, since he is almost certain to hit at least 13-15 home runs this year – at the very least – the longer he lingers in the low single digits, the more dramatic his progression to the mean will be.
^ Jimmy Rollins: Already showing some very belated signs of life, there is ample reason to believe that this superstar in his prime is once again ready to live up to his potential.
Amazing, no? Well then I found the website linked above, called Slate, and their article called "Parsing the Incredibly Bizarre Sayings of Ichiro Suzuki." And let me tell you, apparently some of the stuff he's said is so much weirder. Including, but not limited to:
(About Tiger Woods) "Tiger is a great golfer, but … when you say athlete, I think of Carl Lewis. When you talk about (golfers or race-car drivers), I don't want to see them run. It's the same if you were to meet a beautiful girl and go bowling. If she's an ugly bowler, you are going to be disappointed."
(After starting the season with a few multi hit games and being asked if that was surprising) "It's not surprising. At the same time, it's not that usual. It's somewhere between usual and surprising."
I never realized that Ichiro was such a strange guy. Regardless, I kept the Ichiro search up. The two videos I found aren't quite as awesome as the quotes, but they're still pretty good.
I'll be honest and admit that I do not follow the NCAA College Baseball Tournament (AKA The College World Series) as closely as some other people but a boxscore caught my eye over the night between the #1 seeded Texas Longhorns and the Boston College Eagles, who needed twenty-five innings to decide their contest.
Texas ended up winning in the top of the 25th off of an RBI single by Travis Tucker which gave the Longhorns a 3-2 win. This ended up being the longest game in NCAA Baseball history, eclipsing the record 23 innings done by Louisiana-Lafayette and McNeese State back in 1971.
The game itself had a start time of 7:02 pm EDT on Saturday and did not end till Sunday at 2:05am est. To put this in perspective, Game One of the Stanley Cup and the Eastern Conference Finals game six were already completed and had finished their postgame wrap-up shows.
The real star of this game was Texas pitcher Austin Wood (pictured above) who pitched 13 innings of work including 12 1/3 of those innings being no-hit baseball. Wood's arm is probably ready to fall off any minute now.
Texas stays alive and moves on to play in the regional championship game and Boston College ends up being a footnote in one of the strangest and longest college baseball games ever played.
Well, the Orlando Magic have moved onto the NBA Finals which means most likely we will not have to see anymore of those MVP Muppet Commercials. (For those of you who don't know the reason why I dislike them, check this link)
Here were some of the more recent ones to come out. I will say that these two were pretty funny, but in general the commercials were pretty bad.
Seems like I've been to ten trillion sporting events since I've been home, especially at Gillette stadium. Today's was a doozy, as a heated game between the Revs and United ended in a 2-1 victory, but only after a questionable penalty kick goal for the Revolution in the 90th minute.
The game started pretty slow, with DC showing a slight advantage but a lot of heading and few chances. Eventually Revolution Matt Reis made an incredible save on a diving header in front, and the crowd went nuts. However, several minutes later Fred (that's his whole name, how cool is that) put in a beautiful goal of a sweet gimme pass from Luciano EmilioEstevez (who my brother thought looked like Ronnie Turiaf, but only thanks to the braids he now sports.
Anyways, 1-0 DC at half even after Taylor Twellman (who had been injured lately) enters and the crowd goes wild. After half however, Chris Tierney (who is terrible) was taken out for Kenny Mansally (an unfortunate name but an okay player) . Mansally made an almost immediate impact, as very quickly into the new half he made a sweet cross that Shalrie Joseph (pictured above) headed in for the tying goal.
So that was awesome, the crowd erupted. Then there were a lot of penalties back and forth and few good chances. A few times it seemed like the Revs should have gotten a penalty kick on bad fouls by DC. However, the ref (who was so huge and the kids behind us kept saying must be on steroids) kept making terrible calls (like giving a card for a tackle in the box but no penalty, or calling the game over when the ball was nowhere near midfield and confusing the entire DC team) and so he didn't give the Revs any penalties.
Until the 87th minute that is. On a nonfoul. So that's awkward.
Steve Ralston nailed it home, the Revs were up in the 90th minute, and they held on for all of injury time to pull out the win. Ra ra siss boom bah, yay Revs!
Final Thoughts:
Best Hawker Ever: Same guy from the NCAA Lax Tourney (it is after all the same stadium). His beauty tonight? He signed this weird guy's shirt after the guy asked him to, and then peddled his diet pepsi with this gem: "Diet Pepsi will add ten years to your life. That's vitality that even viagra can't do. Unbelievable."
Worst fans of the Night: Those kids from Framingham who sat near us. One claimed his high school team could take the Revolution because "they make a lot of dumb mistakes" and then later claimed that soccer was rigged. They were sort of annoying when they called the refs zebras (soccer reds wear yellow and no stripes so it doesn't really work) and kept talking about smoking blunts, but it got real bad when some crazy guy sat near us and they just kept antagonizing him and it got reaaal awkward for the families around us. No question the guy was nuts, but these kids were douches, and I'd really like to see them take on the Revs now to see them get destroyed. Guess I can dream.
Best fans of the Night: The kids next to us. One of them said "I think the refs afraid of yellow," which was adorable.
Man of the Match: Kevin Alston (Ok, not really, but no one was particuarly awesome, and just look at Alston's picture). Plus he shares a last name with Skip to my Lou and Corey Alston, so that's ill.
Technically this would be a FIELD TRIP! but I didn't take any pictures and it'll be a relatively short post, so no special tag.
Anyways, in a game three years in the making, Saint John's of Shrewsbury (16-3) took out Shrewsbury (11-6) in the Quaterfinals of the Central Massachusetts Lacrosse Playoffs. Why was this game so anticipated? Well for one, a prep school will always be natural rivals with the town that it's placed in, and this is very much the case between SJ and SHS, and every game is extremely well attended. Additionally though, Saint John's was the cream of the crop when lacrosse first got big in Central Massachusetts (around 2000). They'd routinely beat local teams by scores of 16-2 and win CMass every year. However, the last time they won was 2003, when yours truly was playing goalie and we lost to Amherst Pelham in States. Since then Saint John's has repeatedly come up empty, with the last two years being most painful since they lost each championship game to Shrewsbury, a former cellar dwellar of the early 00's.
Today SJ finally made it happen, though not entirely convincingly. SJ jumped to an early 2-0 lead before Shrewsbury scored a quick 2 and tied it back up. Eventually SJ pulled ahead, however, and entered half at 8-4. And that would be there difference, as both teams scored 5 goals in the second half, ending the game at its final 13-9 score.
Final Thoughts: Colin O'Rourke, an All American for SJ this year and one of two CMass players this year to get a D1 scholarship, was a big part of the outcome of today's game. Even though he was locked off by a midfielder for most of the game, he still managed to put up a number of goals and assists. He was injured the past two years for the Shrewsbury game, and it makes you wonder if SJ would have won back then had he played...Goalie play is huge, and today proved it. SJ's goalie made some huge saves in the second half that killed SHS momentum, while the SHS keeper wasn't doing it after a solid start...Saint John's continues on into the Semifinals to face Grafton, who beat Saint Peter Marian's today in overtime to advance.
Usually, we ask out barista to create our top five lists but she usually just screws up our orders. I wanted a mocha soy latte, damn it!
1) Erin Andrews: Well, everyone’s favorite sideline reporter Erin Andrews comes in at number one for this week.
Miss Andrews was the sideline reporter for the Scripps Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. which just shows more of her versatility. (At least five dudes, wish for a minute they could be a 12 year old Indian kid)
Then she reveals that she wants to be on “Dancing with the Stars.” Let’s see an attractive sideline reporter who wants to dance in scandalous dresses. It’s your move, ABC. You know what the right call is here. Think how many EA fanboys would tune in.
Also, I did take four years of ballroom dancing, just so you know ABC.
2) The Stanley Cup Finals: The 2009 Stanley Cup Finals are a re-match of last year Stanley Cup Finals when the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games.
Maybe there might be a different outcome this time, it is Detroit after all.
3) Play him off Keyboard Cat: The viral video takes has taken the nation by storm for the past couple of months ranks in at number three.
I remember I had some witty retort on some level, crap. What was it? “Play me off, Keyboard Cat.”
4) Taylor Swift: Everyone's favorite country music singer, Taylor Swift has had some problems with love and well, has a strange way of dealing with it. From a published report, we learn that country musician Taylor Swift allegedly burns pictures of her ex-boyfriends.
This is either really creepy or really creepy. I have heard from some female friends throw-away their man’s stuff but not to this extent.
There are several juicy hooks for the Stanley Cup Finals: "The Chosen One" Sid Crosby's Penguins against THE league's love'em-or-hate'em team, Marian Hossa going up against the team that he so memorably left to chase a championship in Detroit and the rematch angle. Let's start with that one first.
Believe it or not, this series marks the first time in the modern history of the "Big Four" sports that there has been more than ten years between championship rematches in ANY sport. The last time there was a rematch in any major sport was the 1998 NBA Finals when the Bulls beat the Jazz for the second straight year.
As a matter of fact, here's how rematches have gone in all leagues in the last 50 years:
^ The last Stanley Cup rematch was the one that Pittsburgh fans want to cite as precedent: the 1984 Oilers rising up and ending the Islander dynasty after the previous year's defeat. Other rematches came in 1977/78 (Montreal over Boston both times), 1968/69 (Montreal over St. Louis both times), 1963/64 (Toronto over Detroit both times) and 1959/60 (Montreal over Toronto both times).
^ There have been several hoops rematches over the years, although again none since 1998. Before that, LA and Detroit split in 1988-89, Boston and LA split in 1984/85, LA and Philadelphia split in 1982/83, Washington and Seattle split in 1978/79, LA and New York split in 1972/73, Boston beat LA both times in 1968/69, Boston beat LA both times in 1965/66, Boston beat LA both times in 1962/63 and Boston beat St. Louis both times in 1960/61.
^ There has only been one rematch in the Super Bowl era, Dallas over Buffalo both times in 1992/93. Prior to that, in the NFL, Green Bay beat Dallas both times in 1966/67, Green Bay beat the New York Giants in 1961/62 and Baltimore beat the New York Giants in 1958/59. In the AFL, Buffalo beat San Diego both times in 1965/66.
^ Baseball stands alone with only one rematch in the last quarter-century, the Yankees over the Dodgers both times in 1977/78.
So while we haven't seen many rematches in major sports recently, this period of time with so few of them is the historical exception and not the rule.
Now, the Hossa angle ... very interesting. As a notorious Red Wing fan and sadist regarding all things Pittsburgh, I said on our GOON SQUAD program that I really wanted to see the Wings close out the series in Pittsburgh again with Hossa hoisting the Conn Smythe trophy. If that happens, the blue-collar denizens of Western Pennsylvania will end up reenacting the Attica riots on national television. Seeing one of the game's top stars win a championship at the expense of the team he left -- because he expressly felt like he was going to a better team -- is surely one of the more dramatic possibilities in the recent annals of sport.
And certainly, from a marketing standpoint, seeing Gary Bettman's annointed torch-carrier for the league, Sid Crosby, taking on America's Team for the second straight year, is a very, very compelling scenario. The Detroit Red Wings have the strongest national following of any franchise, and they are thus widely hated as well. With four Stanley Cups since 1997 and another appearance in the Finals the previous year, the Wings have set the recent standard of success in the NHL. Pittsburgh won two Stanley Cups in 1991/92, only to be nudged aside by Detroit as The Hockey News Team of the Decade. So this rivalry is actually nothing new, even if it has not been directly manifested on the ice that often.
In terms of position-by-position, the Wings have the most obvious superiority on the blue line even if they collectively underachieved during the regular season. Nick Lidstrom is the game's best defenseman since Bobby Orr and his pairing with another great in Brian Rafalski is absolutely sublime. Brad Stuart and the very physical Nick Kronwall are an excellent second unit with up-and-comer Jonathan Ericsson making an impact in these playoffs as well -- even if he is coming off an emergency appendectomy. Aside from the outstanding Sergei Gonchar, whose injury really contributed to Pittsburgh's rough regular season, the Pens make up their blue line combos with a bunch of Carolina-esque overachievers.
Of course, Pittsburgh wins the battle of forwards purely in terms of the explosiveness of the top skaters. Crosby actually finished behind teammate Evgeni Malkin in scoring this year, a tribute to the capabilities of both. Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin both add nicely to the top lines and as our good friend Russ Cohen of Sportsology has pointed out, the third line combination has developed nicely this year. The Wings have their offense more evenly distributed top-to-bottom, however, and the Eurotwins of Pavel Datsyuk and and Henrik Zetterberg are the best two-way superstars in the league (remember how Hank Z shut down the Pens last year in addition to scoring explosively en route to the Conn Smythe Trophy). There has not been a better clutch playoff scorer than Johan Franzen over the past two years and Dan Cleary was hot in the conference finals as well. The forwards probably equate to about a draw.
The same can probably be said of the goalies, as controversial a sentiment as that might be. Marc-Andre Fleury has the superstar pedigree and is starting to live up to it -- and pretty much singlehandedly stole Game Five of the Finals a year ago -- but Chris Osgood has won two Stanley Cups as a starter. We pronounced him the biggest "X factor" of the playoffs at the outset and he really came alive after a horrible regular season. He has leveraged his recent misfortune for motivation and is playing as well as anyone. That he can be judged as able to stand up to Fleury is a tremendous plus for the Wings.
In the end, my prediction for the Finals matches my preseason pick: Wings in six and Chris Osgood for Conn Smythe Trophy. My playoff record thus far is a tasty 11-3, so if anyone is tempted to dismiss the pick as homerism, think again. To be the man, you've got to beat the man, so bring it on, Pittsburgh!
Anyways, so you'd think that's it, right? Well one last site I found, an ESPN story entitled "Athletes who can make your ears bleed." Johnny Mac was at number 7 on the list, and that's how I originally found the site. But the list also contains links to snippets from guys like Chris Webber, Allen Iverson, Denny McLain, and Deion Sanders. Most of the tunes are terrible, but it's worth a look if you're into that kind of thing. I know I for one couldn't get enough of Barry Zito.
Well, if you were not a fan of the NBA, then your calling was the Scripps Spelling Bee on ABC.
The winner, Kavya Shivashankar, was believed to be the early favorite going in and ended up claiming the ultimate prize. The word that she had to spell was "Laodicean" which is defined as someone who is, "indifferent or lukewarm especially in matters of religion."
Shivashankar won the top prize of over $30,000 in cash and bonds. In this economy, that money will probably be gone just like the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire.
If we have not already gone over this, I still believe that the Nike puppet commercials are one of the stupidest ad campaigns that I have seen in recent years.
Well, here are the puppets singing the theme to ESPN Sportscenter.
In Today’s edition of the Moment of Zen, there some moments in hockey that players would like to forget but nothing is worse than scoring a goal on your own team.
From our friends in the great white north at RDS took a look at the top 10 “own goals” in hockey history.
During my trip through the blogosphere, I came across a couple sites hyping this Japanese tire commercial featuring former NBA player Dennis Rodman.
Well, Dennis was not the only NBA player to do a Japanese commercial that deals with automobiles. Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues did a spot for the 1995 Hyundai Accent. The small diminutive guard played off his image in this commercial.
I'm still playingGoal Line Blitz, where my punter, Bill Melendez, has truly become one of the elite. Not only can he punt really well, but he also is a tackling machine, with 19 tackles two years ago.
This got me thinking about how rare it is to find badass punters nowadays. Back in the day the punter was some position player who could kick well, but now most just catch a ball and kick it 35-40 yards, hoping they won't have to make the tackle. The point is, they just don't make punters like they did in the early days of football. Except for these next three guys, that is:
Tom Tupa - Tupa was one of my favorite players growing up, and while my hometown bias Patriot roots helped, they were not the main reason I cheered him. Tupa was actually drafted by the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988 as a Quarterback, and that's where he spent his time in the NFL until 1992. He was then cut by the Colts (a .5 td/int ratio and a 60.5 rating will do that) and spent a year out of football as he couldn't get a job.
But Tupa was multi talented (he had punted 6 times for 280 yards in his second season) and the Cleveland Browns signed him in 1994 to punt full time. And this he did, punting with 5 teams over the next 11 seasons. He'd probably say that his career highlights included winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2002 or making the Pro Bowl in 1999, but several others stand out more since he's a Punter. Like a 2002 game where the Jets 2 true quarterbacks were injured and Tupa led a furious comeback that fell just short, going 6 of 10 for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. Or this game in college. Or winning 4 games in a season for the Cardinals. Sure he mostly punted in his latter years, but Tupa clearly was a punter with panache.
Pat McInally - Pat's nickname might as well have been panache, as he was about as multi talented as they come. After graduating from HARVARD and scoring the ONLY perfect wonderlic score to date, McInally punted AND played wide reciever for the Cincinatti Bengals from 1977 to 1985. As if that wasn't impressive enough, McInally then created the Starting Line Up figures that sports collecters love today. Lifetime stats for McInally include 700 punts and 57 receptions for 5 touchdowns.
Michael Koenen - When Koenen signed with the Falcons in 2005, Tupa and McInally were both gone and punters had become completely one dimensional. So thank goodness for this throwback, who placekicked a bit in college and hit a 58 yard field goal before halftime in a game his rookie season. Because the Falcons were so impressed with that one kick (and his booming kickoffs) that they made Koenen their Punter, Kickoff Guy, AND Kicker to start the 2006 season. I was so pumped to see a player who could kick so well and in so many ways.
Needless to say, it didn't work. After hitting a few 50+ yard field goals in the preseason, Koenen began the regular season 2 of 8, causing the Falcons to sign Morten Andersen to take over the kicking duties. It certainly was a downer that Koenen couldn't pull it off, but it was also kind of nice because it allowed Andersen to break almost every old age/longevity record that had ever been set by a kicker. The really beautiful part? Koenen is still considered a gem by the Falcons even after his failed try at placekicking, which is part of the reason they franchised him this past offseason to the tune of $2.48 million dollars for one year. Not too shabby for a punter with panache.
Okay, that last Era-ta was a bit weak, so let’s make this more of a journey. Pathways, as it were. Last week I was reading about great military leaders, and especially those Romans of eternal renown. Tangentially, I got to reading and consequently thinking (that’s why we read, write, right?) about the importance homoeroticism has played throughout history, or at least the largeness of its presence. What with the PC war (that’s politically correct, not vs. Mac) and homophobia and homophobia-phobia (which, by the way, is really silly when you break into the realm of etymology and see that homophobia means fear of sameness, which is actually good, but we’ve taken and made what?), we have willfully blinded ourselves to the underlying presence of homoeroticism in popular culture. Let me amend that. We’ve blinded ourselves to the presence of underlying homoeroticism in heterocentric popular culture.
What I mean is, I’m not talking about guys kissing guys as a gross out gag in the American Pie series (or a dance off in a night club followed by assless chaps). I’m talking about the relationship Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn have in Wedding Crashers (thank one of my history profs for pointing that one out). I’m talking about the weird love triangle between Harry Potter, his buddy Ron, and whoever that other person is always following them around. Be more sportsy, Sean. I know. I’m talking about professional wrestling, men slathered up to tussle with each other in skimpy outfits. I’m talking about the banter and towel snapping that any young man who’s been on an athletic team has been witness to. I’m talking about the man crushes we sports fans harbor and condone. And that makes them sound like criminals, like we’re merely tolerating these sentiments. Which I guess is my point. They shouldn’t be simply put up with; they should be celebrated!
Look, Shoals pointed out the latent homoerotic potential in fan-hood’s embrace of Dwight Howard. Watching the Cavs-Magic series and possibly our two most heralded physical specimens, with Roman emperors on my mind, I remembered this suggestion, and thought I’d expand a bit upon it. I want to use something else I watched on tv recently as a framework. I want to look at Good Will Hunting. Bear with me.
I’m not saying the movie is about homosexuality at all, so don’t get all in a huff. And I’m not saying the relationship Will and Sean was at all inappropriate. But if you weren’t made uncomfortable by that scene where Robin Williams pushes Matt Damon a bit too far, and it leads to a positive outpouring of emotion, if you didn’t think Williams was a bit too close for comfort, then you’re not human. And I think that’s part of the point of that scene, to show that people who care about you will go the extra step for you, even if it’s uncomfortable. But, digression. What I really want to use here is the tension that is built up towards eruption in this scene, because a good deal of that tension is homoerotic.
Okay, let’s get the players on this little stage I’ve set. Let’s look at Lebron as the Matt Damon figure. Endless potential. Perhaps untapped. And then you’ve got Kobe, who’s obviously the Ben Affleck character. Not nearly as gifted as Damon (in the movie or out of it), and notable for the scene where he makes it painfully obvious. Kobe and Lebron’s Olympic experience is like that scene. Can’t you just see it in Kobe’s actions, in his eyes, the constant, quiet message, the reminder that he worked to get where he is. The silent accusation (which Affleck makes un-silent) that says I would give my left nut to be able to do what you do. I would make so much out of it. I’m waiting for the day you just take off. You owe it to me.
This ties in with the homoerotic undertone, but first the other characters. Dwight must be the Casey Affleck character. A seeming bit player, he seems just glad to be there. In that last scene, he runs up gleefully to take Damon's place, and eventually he lands a few roles showing him to be just as talented as Damon, if not more so. (Gone Baby Gone, and even The Assassination of Jesse James, and let the record show that Jesse James was the role that saw Brad Pitt strike out for recognition as a solid actor, even reach towards greatness. In this, maybe he's like Kobe - see below - but for the record, I'm not buying it. I thoroughly enjoyed young Brad Pitt, when the thoughts he spooled out on screen were raw and seemingly uncut. Pre-The Mexican stuff, for sure. But he's trying too hard now. It lacks the effortlessness that true greatness holds. He'll never be able to get inside me and shake me up like Sean Penn. Look at Johnny Depp, or even Tom Cruise. Their performaces always show one thought, intense, a firebrand, and then the execute it again and again, perfectly. This you could see in Pitt's 12 Monkeys or Fight Club, but he's thinking too much now. It's a strategy that I think works for Russell Crowe, but Pitt's having a hard time pulling it off. Meryl Streep does it well too.) And then I guess Wade is that other guy, but what’s the point of this? It’s not to look at dispositional relationships. Who needs analogies for that? Rather, it’s to look at projections. Thus, it’s unimportant to call Jordan the math guy and Magic the Robin Williams character, though you could. You’d almost like to say it’s inappropriate to do so, but that’d be missing the point of this whole thought.
Look, there’s that scene. Damon’s in bed with Minnie Driver, and he doesn’t want to let her meet his boys. What’s that uneasiness? Yeah, it’s about him being closed off and uncomfortable with letting her into his world. But it’s also about the dissonance between a male-female relationship, the accepting disconnect that occurs there, and the easy, we all come from one-and-the-same existential cloth (that’s Spinoza, if you want to educate yourself) fraternity of male youthfulness. Even when Damon’s in bed with her, he’s still got his boys right there. If anything, the movie’s about stepping out of your comfort zones (but not as simple as that), realizing your potential and applying it (but not as trite as that), and allowing yourself to do the things that really matter to you (there you go, you could’ve thrown a “but most importantly on there”, keep it going), allowing yourself to open up to the world and be vulnerable and be hurt, allowing yourself to be seen hurting. It’s about differentiating between success and happiness, and knowing what to hold on to. It’s about going out on a limb, even though the limb might snap. Because people, it’s all about that limb. Without it, you’re just a trunk, and how sad is that?
But back to basketball. You could say what limb does Lebron have yet to go out on? But you’d be missing the moment. The greatness of right now, the thing people wear shirts to witness, is the phenomenal extent to which Lebron’s potential potentially reaches. Sobering thought, though. I think it’s almost capped. Which is fine. It’s not to say ten more years of this would be a let down by any reach of the mind. But I think, if something doesn’t change, Lebron’s legacy loses a bit of the breathless quality with which it is currently imbued. See, there’s a reason Michael Jordan will always be regarded as the best athlete ever. And there’s a reason Muhammad Ali is right up there with him. They were performers. They understood the dual nature of modern sports. Yes, it’s about athletic ability and accomplishment. But it’s also entertainment. Some people, like Shaq and, to a lesser extent, Kobe seem too ably aware of this. They cater to the lime light. And sometimes it results in brilliant moments of honesty (Shaq) or at least a burgeoning openness that we seem to be gifted with (the other guy). But it doesn’t necessarily equate to greatness. It’s why Magic and Kareem, I think, were so great at showtime. They were innate performers, albeit on opposite ends of the loquacious-energy spectrum. But they didn’t have to think about it. The big moment was the big moment. Bang! They hit you with it right between the eyes. Unconscious. (Them or you, you’re not sure). In the same line of thinking, it’s why I will always remember the lob dunk over the Jail Blazers as the crowning achievement of that Lakers three-peat team. Shaq ran down the court, too ecstatic to pose, and sought out the man responsible for his glee. They embraced. End scene. (and I think in that pairing, Shaq is the Matt Damon character. The three championships were really like Kobe saying, “It’s not your fault,” over and over again, forgiving Shaq for his less than workmanlike work-ethic. Too bad the hug came too early. Damn that enthusiasm, Diesel.
Anyway, I’ve digressed. The crowning support (can that which holds up also exist as any kind of zenith?) in my idea structure is Jordan’s last shot. Supreme showmanship. And yet, not calculated as showmanship. Calculated as greatness. Every moment of MJ’s reign of terror was an instance of him saying, “You WILL remember me for this. And this. And this.” With too many other athletes, it’s too often, “What will you think of this? What will you think of this? What will you think of this?”
It’s an opening up and a buckling down all in the same, fluid movement. Once Lebron learns it, learns to dictate the moment into greatness, then he’ll have achieved his true potential. He’s too focused on the business side right now. I’ve said that before, and I still really hope that dissipates soon. Maybe he has to lose again to learn. Hungry in a different way. After game 2, I thought maybe he’s already learnt, and it’s just waiting to come to fruition. After tonight, it looks like he’s still not quite there (don’t get me wrong, amazing performance, but still lacking something).
Perhaps part of it, too, is that it’s hard to be unconscious when you have to be aware of the rest of your team. Jordan could trust that his shooters were where he needed them to be. And he had Pippen to do all the things that required actual cogitation. Kobe has Pau, and of course he was the thinking man to Shaq’s juggernaut swath of early 2000s greatness. I almost think Kobe is too unconscious right now. Like he’s spent so many hours pre-programming himself that he’s not in full control of which attack sequences play out when. With him it’s hard to tell if he’s the example of greatness gone over the greatness line to approach parody, or if he’s the ultimate thinker, and he’s simply taught himself to think unconsciousness.
Lebron is often compared to a linebacker, but this season he’s looked more and more like a quarterback out there. He’s perpetually barking orders at his teammates, and they love him for it because he’s probably never wrong. I never got it before, but those pre-game rituals were like a post-touchdown celebration. And they showed a type of unconsciousness that I thought had signaled Lebron’s imminent eminence. But we haven’t seen those so much now, have we?
I think this Orlando series has really proved that Lebron has another step to take. And, in retrospect, I think Dwight has shown himself to be truly unconscious, and thus able to step into greatness almost more seamlessly (of course, James is trying to get himself a new cloth). The Moses comparisons came right away. There’s been no looking back and there’s been no hamstringing at the expense of what MIGHT BE there. No, Dwight’s here and now. He’s so goofy, so unrestrained. How did I not see this sooner? Oh man, whoever comes out of the West is in trouble.
Despite having one of the best road records during the regular season, The Cleveland Cavaliers have found Orlando’s Amway Arena to be a house of horrors. The Magic have taken a 3-1 series lead after taking game four in overtime by the score of 116-114.
Lebron James had another fantastic game with 44 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. However, Orlando’s Dwight Howard decided to put on his “superman cape” in overtime by scoring ten of his twenty-seven points in overtime.
Orlando has appeared to out-muscle Cleveland for most of the series and appeared to be in control through most of this game. Cleveland had chances to win the game but was unable to stop a late three-point barrage by the Magic going into the 4th quarter. The Magic hit a team record, 17 three point shots.
The Cavaliers will have to take the “Boston Red Sox” route to win this series having to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Only seven teams in NBA history has come back from this deficit. At this point, it appears that even the Cavaliers have quit and seem to be planning for next year. Mo Williams guarantee to win the series just appears to look more foolish than anything else.
In the end, the Orlando Magic was only one second away from sweeping arguably the best team in the NBA. However, I think they will be happy with the 3-1 series going back to Cleveland in game five on Thursday.
Very sadly, I was elsewhere when Mr. T sung "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Wrigley Field yesterday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
However, this is defintely a clip worth watching since it is "Mr T." He actually does a relatively good job with it and puts the "Mr T." stamp on it. However, I do think he commited a fashion foul with those pants.
Upon hearing a friend observe that MLB pitching was down across the board this year, we decided to investigate.
Here’s the total MLB ERA through games of Saturday, May 23: 4.46.And here’s the total MLB ERA for last year: 4.32.
So … good call by our friend, right? Well, kind of. We dug a bit further. Check out the total MLB ERAs for all the other seasons this decade:
^ 4.46 in 2007 ^ 4.52 in 2006 ^ 4.28 in 2005 ^ 4.46 in 2004^ 4.40 in 2003 ^ 4.27 in 2002^ 4.41 in 2001 ^ 4.76 in 2000
In looking at this, there’s an odd kind of effect where ERAs in 2008, 2005 and 2002 were lower than in surrounding seasons, a weird sort of once-every-three years phenomenon for which there is no rational explanation.
So what can be rationally discerned about this year’s numbers relative to recent seasons? It’s an article of faith, justifiably so, that hitting numbers get pumped up as the heat and accompanying humidity rise in areas such as Texas and the ‘Nati. In that light, it’s logical to expect ERAs in the swamp areas to continue to rise. Inasmuch as this ERA is basically in tune with what we’ve come to expect every two out of three years this decade, however, don’t look for it to rise much overall. This means that areas less affected by summer humidity – think places such as Seattle and Minnesota – are very likely to counteract what would otherwise cause a rise in the overall ERA.
Keep in mind, though, that we’ve only seen ¼ of the season play out thus far and that volatility could still ensue regarding the numbers. But the moral of the story seems to be that, yes, pitching is weaker than last year, but last year was an example of the occasional outlier that keeps popping up this decade.
After this game ended, a 10-9 Syracuse win in overtime after a furious 3 goal comeback, my brother turned to me and said "This just may be the greatest sporting event I've ever personally witnessed." And you know, I just may have to agree.
Down 9-6 with about 5 minutes left, Cuse finally began to attack on offense after missing the net all day long. But even then, it seemed too little too late, as Cornell had the ball and a one goal lead with 27 seconds left on the clock. It all seemed to be over.
But Cornell couldn't manage to clear the ball. The long pole carrying the ball lost it around midfield, and a cuse midfielder picked it up. In triple coverage, he threw up a behind the back prayer of a pass that was caught about 20 yards downfield by a Cuse attackman. This attackman ran a bit, then got himself into double coverage, but somehow got off a pass across crease to Kenny Nims. Nims, with 4.6 seconds left, threw a single fake on Cornell Keeper Jake Myers before putting the ball in the net. Possibly, or rather probably, the GREATEST twenty five seconds of lacrosse I have ever seen (and the funny thing is, Nims has done this before).
Overtime was essentially all Syracuse's (losing a three goal lead in five minutes killed all Cornell momentum). After a quick strip on defense by Sid Smith (and his flowing locks) Cuse held the ball for about two minutes before finally scoring on an awkward pass and shoot (the goal was on the doorstep, but the pass to set it up was sort of an awkward lob), and the crowd absolutely erupted (There were about 50,000 fans present in total and it definitely felt like 2/3 of them were Cuse fans).
Without further adieu, my thoughts on specifics:
Player of the Game: This is a really tough one. I was all set to give it Cornell Midfielder John Glynn, who scored at least a hat trick and also won nearly every faceoff of the first three quarters. However, it's Cuse who eventually came out on top in the end, and their dominance on fourth quarter faceoffs had a lot to do with that. It's tempting to go with Nims and his game tying goal, or Cody Jamieson (who scored the game winner) or even Sid Smith (who had the excellent strip in overtime to set up the game winner). However, I'm giving player of the game to the player who threw the over the shoulder pass that set up the game tying goal by Nims. For now he will remain anonymous since I have no idea who he was, but his pass could not have been much more perfect, and so I give him credit for an amazing play.
Play/Goal of the Game: The Nims Goal. As if there was any question. Although Ryan Hurley of Cornell made a sweet cut around the crease with a dump to John Glynn to set up one of Cornell's last goals, and that would have been the goal of the game if not for the last second heroics of Cuse.
How Far Cuse Had to Come Back: At around 10 minutes left in the 4th Quarter, the game was 7-6 Cornell and looking close. Cornell's Jake Myers made a huge save on the doorstep, but as he was on the ground a Cuse player scooped the ball up and over him for an apparent goal. However, the player was in the crease, the goal was called back, and Cuse was deflated. Cornell then went on to possess the ball for three straight minutes (including 2 Cuse penalties) until Max Seibald put in goal number 8 for Cornell. It only got worse when goal number 9 scored, but Cuse refused to lay down and take it, and you have to give them credit for that.
Damn You Played Good, Sorry You Lost: John Glynn, as mentioned, played lights out today. Jake Myers, who I've already mentioned several times in this post, also was incredible. His best save (and probably the save of the game) came with 4 seconds left in the first half on a point blank Cuse scoring opportunity, which is pretty strange when you consider how the game tying goal scored. I guess shot opportunities with 4 seconds left were just kind of Syracuse's thing today.
Hawker of the Tournament: I'm tempted to go with this one guy who shouted great things like "Buy my stuff" and "Getch ya Cheesy Deliciousness Here," but my choice is one Italian Ice Hawker from Sunday's Division 2 Game. His classic line? "Get your italian ice here. See the world in another dimension. The Italian Dimension. Unbelievable."
The College Lacrosse Championships at Gillette continued yesterday, and so does my coverage of them here! Sadly a ticket misprint led to me and my brother not getting to the first game until half time, and so I don't have a whole lot to say about Cortland's 9-7 win over Gettysburg. I do, however, have a lot to say about the later game, an 8-7 nail biting win by C.W. Post over Le Moyne.
Meaningless Stat of the Game: Le Moyne had, according to the scoreboard late in the 4th period, beaten C.W. Post 7 times in a row. That streak obviously ended yesterday.
Player of the Game: Without question, C.W. Post's Dan Sciulla. Early on I wasn't super impressed by him, he made the saves he had to and missed the ones that were real difficult (and had a deflection go in that wasn't his fault as well). But as the game went into crunch time, Sciulla turned into an absolute wall, keeping his team in the lead as well as giving them the momentum to score more. For example, at one point late in the game, Sciulla made a stop from a shot right on the crease that drove the crowd wild. However, as Sciulla picked up the ball, a defender of his had a terrible push in the back which gave possession back to Le Moyne. But Sciulla then made 2 more huge saves, and had 2 more (total is 5) before Le Moyne would score again. That's what you need from a Championship Keeper.
Play of the Game: For a while it was tempting to give it to the Le Moyne player who put in the 7th goal and gave his team a shouting chance. But with about 7 seconds left, Sciulla made a huuuuge save on a really good shot and then beat the ball to the line, ensuring possession and the victory. As C.W. Post chucked the ball down field, their fans absolutely erupted, a truly beautiful scene.
WTF Moment of the Game: One Long Pole Midfielder on C.W. Post, who will remain unnamed, cleared backwards every time he had the chance. This strategy works sometimes (and did for him 2/3 times), but it takes a lot more time and kills any break opportunity, so I didn't understand why he kept at it. The third time he tried, however, he was absolutely decked, and didn't try it again.
Short Term Memory of the Game: C.W. Post player Greg Cerar had a terrible push in the back, with possession, right in front of the referee. However, after his team killed the penalty, Cerar came right out of the box and scored almost immediately. He finished with 4 goals, the last on an empty net after his defender didn't lock off on him.
268 Home runs and One Goal: Brooks Robinson scored goal number four for Le Moyne. Nice to see old Hoover making an appearance at age 72.
Player of the Game if Sciulla didn't play like a house on fire AND Cerar didn't have 4 goals: Daniel DeCosta, C.W. Post. This kid had a huge effort play to beat a sleeping attackman to the line on a shot, a huge check that knocked down his man on a later possession, AND a sick sidelines play where he fell to the ground but still managed to keep the ball in his stick and pass it off despite immense pressure. DeCosta had moxie, and he was messing up Le Moyne's game all day long.
Today at 1pm is the D1 Final between Cornell and Syracuse. Hopefully it'll be a pretty exciting game like the D2 final was, but either way I'll let all you readers know how it went!
In this edition of Today's Moment of Zen, Fox made a rather embarassing mistake during the Philadelphia Phillies/New York Yankees game.
Philadelphia Phillies John Mayberry Jr. hit his first career home run and automatically panned to what was believe to be his his father, John Mayberry Sr. who played in the major leagues from 1968-1982.
However, that was not John Mayberry Sr. and provided us with one of the funniest screw-ups that I have ever seen.
This has happened before in the sporting world when during an NBA game, TNT reporter Craig Sager mistook Chris Webber's AAU coach as his father.
In other related Outside the Boxscore news, I will be off on Memorial Day celebrating Oberlin College's graduation for the class of 2009.
Tim Dustin/Rick Morris/and Sean Nagamatsu will be in control for tomorrow.
Enjoy your monday off, everybody. I will see you on Tuesday.
Today Outside the Boxscore brings you something a little outside the general area of BallHype related blogs. Most Lacrosse stuff seems to only get reported on ESPN2 and without fanfare, so I thought I'd give it a little write up since I went to the games today and will be at the D1, 2, and 3 championship games tomorrow and Monday.
Today's games were not what you'd call close. Syracuse spanked Duke after a close first quarter and a half 17-7 in the first game, and then Cornell manhandled top seeded Virginia 15-6 in the night (later day?) cap. So were the games interesting from a tension standpoint? No. But were they fun to watch? Oh hell yes. Here's my thoughts:
Names of the Games (Gotta give the Great Name Hall of Fame some kudos here): I thought that Cuse's Pat Perritt and Duke's Parker McKee were awesome names from Game 1. But Game 2 really took the cake on this one, as Virginia's Steele Stanwick and Cornell's Rocco Romero apparently took a time machine from their 1970's Buddy Cop Movie name roots to play in the game. Not only did they play, but they also played well (2 goals a piece), proving that you can have an awesome name and some talent (sorry Earthwind Moreland).
Player(s) of the Game(s): For the Cuse/Duke game, it's a toss up. I really loved the inspired goaltending of Cuse Goalie JoeyJohn Galloway, but I think I have to give the award to Cuse Attackman KennyMimsNims. 4 goals on 4 shots with an assist and 2 groundballs added in is pretty impressive.
As for the Cornell/Virginia game, my pick is 100% Cornell goaltender Jake Myers. Only 8 saves versus 6 goals allowed, but he had some amazing saves among those eight. These included a point blank rejection late in the first half after the ref blew the whistle/started the play unexpectedly, as well as an amazing rejection near the start of the third quarter. Cornell was playing great anyways, but Myers made sure Virginia never got back in it, and you have to love that.
Shot(s) of the Game(s): In game one, the second Cuse goal was scored by long pole defender Joel White. He faked like he was going to pass it up to someone who played offense for a living and then fired a shot at the cage, scoring a huge goal.
As for game two, I actually was most impressed by a goal by Virginia's Steele Stanwick. He came out from behind X, faked a pass across the crease, and then tucked the ball inside the close side bottom post of the goal. Jake Myers had a read on it and almost got to it, but the shot was executed to perfection, and so it became one of the few goals Myers gave up all day.
Fan of the Games: The Cuse fan in the middle of this picture, whose shirt read "Real Moms Wear Orange" (though to be honest there was a very intense Cornell fan in a straw hat, bright red corduroys, and a nifty belt that was better, I just didn't get his picture). --->
I had a lot of fun at the games today. Tomorrow are the D2 and D3 finals, and I'll try to post a little something about them when I get back from Gilette Stadium.
It appeared that the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to be down 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Orlando Magic but Lebron James refused to let that happen. James hit a game winning three-point shot with less than a second to play to tie the series at 1-1, 96-95.
The Magic had taken the lead with a Hedo Turkoglu jump-shot and the Cleveland faithful appeared to be dissapearing into the "Cleveland is Cursed mantra." Then Lebron quickly silenced the demons with his game-winner.
Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy took blame for the loss since it was his decision to let Hedo guard Lebron on the final play. Lebron commented that it was the biggest shot that he has hit in his career. (You can read more about this critiquing of Van Gundy in my NBA blog, That NBA Lottery Pick)
The series shifts to Orlando on Sunday for game three.
I'm having trouble posting videos from YouTube to Blogger for some reason, and so instead of the regular one awesome video with a story, I give you 3 excellent Ken Griffey Junior blasts from the past (and a creepy bonus video tribute to Alvin Davis and Harold Reynolds)!
1. The Way I Swing by Kid Sensation -Griffey is a featured guest lyricist on this track, and spits such game as "Ken Griffey is a swinger not a singer, a def rhyme bringer. A home run hitter but I'm not a dope slinger" and "If I see a fire, I pull a fire alarm, but if I see a girl I like then I pull her by the arm." It's classic really, Seattle at its 1992 best.
2. Griffey on Fresh Prince - Carleton makes a joke about not knowing Griffey, some girl hits on Griffey and gets rejected, and then Griffey takes a shot at Will Smith. Good stuff.
A little time to think now (and if you're keeping score at home, that's two semi-pop references already: the title comes from an Atmosphere lyric, and the opening is all White Stripes), but not really time to write. Thus, a single shot of Era-ta for tonight. (Right off the bat, sorry for all the parentheticals. I'm in a mood. And where do these pics come from?)
I was thinking about two seemingly dis-contiguous things tonight and found a connection which I'd like to share. The first thing I've been mulling over was, of course, the Lakers' loss at the hands of the wily Nuggets Thursday night. Sigh. Sometimes it sucks being the fan of the underacheiving mega-force. Well, mostly because of the underachieving part. But I was thinking about this in the background while I front-lobally (never confuse me for a brain surgeon, but because it was this kind of cranial crack-shot work, I differentiate between it and the deep thinking that usually occurs in the background, and instead I call this) processed thoughts about who would be fun to share a locker room with (more actual/deep/not-pretentious...okay, not really thoughts on locker room chemistry at some future date). As my thoughts became mixed with my processes (and maybe I'm still mixing, maybe this melting pot is combusting towards implosion...), I centered on Kenyon Martin.
Nevermind what I think/process about him as a potential locker room presence. (And is my eventual discussion of such a topic further removed from reality as it is something that might actually be reported and not simply written upon conjecture?) The Kenyon Martin re-collection schema burst into my second under-grounded-(thought) stream and I realized the connection I'd been slowly mulling towards. See, the second subterranean water source had been welling up from the recesses of lottery fall-outs and after-maths. That's why/how I realized: oh, Blake Griffin reminds me of Kenyon Martin.
At first I thought he was somehow reminding me of Marcus Fizer, but that was too disparaging (that 2000 draft really was terrible). Look, it's not like Griffin is a highly touted defender (and enforcer) like Martin was coming out of college. And it's certainly not a dispositional thing. But perhaps it is a positional thing. The Fizer tell perhaps suggests I still have a tweener-phobia-era hang-up. Okay, they play the same position. And they're the same height. But I think what's really doing it for me is the slow trickle of whispers.
Yes, that's former commanderin-chief Bill Clinton and Hillary too
When I first peeped the inkling that Griffin wasn't the sure thing (edit: sure thing super star, and I can't find that link anymore...what's happening to me?) he's been cracked up to be, gears got set into motion. What did this remind me of? It was nine years ago, and...well, you get the picture. I'm not saying Griffin won't have a solid career, I'm just cautioning my giddily young internal fan against putting too much stock. (not wise anyway, in recession) Griffin could have as strong a showing as Derrick Rose, he could actually do something for that Clippers org., or he could have a career more similar to that of Martin. He could have his nickname stolen by a Sacramento guard half his size. He could play alongside someone who makes you think, "Wait, who was the number one pick? Not Carmelo?" Just saying.
One last note. Despite Griffin's suavette (pls. pron. as in naivette, i.e. soo-AHV-eh-tay), general dapperness, and charisma (the word, btw, taken out of the Atmosphere line that heads this post), his lineaments, or the epidermis thereupon, cannot help but reveal a certain boyishness in him. Almost a bookishness. I'm reminded of a comment I think FD made about Rondo vs. Rose. Rondo is the chiseled from (paradoxical-) primordial rock, smooth criminal. Rose is the acne blushed savant. Okay, not savant, but there again we have that naivette lingering around the edges of I don't know what. Anyway, with Rose and Griffin leading the charge for baby-faced, prepubescent athletes of the future, maybe my call for dorkier ballers will not go unheeded.
And maybe this is all stupid. I know practically nothing about college ball. Still, I wouldn't want to die Robert Zimmerman. I'm not satisfied just wading through the Reed Sea and the Egyptians' vanity, I want to part the Red Sea. Milk and honey for anyone who <3s all of this.
For the past couple of weeks, Nike has been rolling out these Muppet commercials of Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. (You can hear more of my thoughts about these on my NBA blog, “That NBA Lottery Pick”)
This one though is relatively entertaining due to the joke premises at least. The Lebron Muppet decides to some game tape and finds that the Kobe Muppet did something to the DVD.
“Kobe Bryant is unstoppable! What makes Kobe Bryant unstoppable? Is the answer to the question in another question?”
I mean the plots on Baywatch were never really that good. But a tall dude who makes wooden pelicans and apparently seduces young boys by winning carnival games who then falls in the water after being crowded by a gang of really short guys...that's just ridiculous. Not that the idea of a tall dude in a hair suit being an intimidating wrestler wasn't ridiculous I suppose. I really don't get what people were thinking in the world of wrestling in the 90's. Still beats the 80's though.
For those of you who watched the video and are sad because it didn't involve any of the "typical Baywatch cast," here's a clip of Giant Gonzales wrestling Tatanka. And the obligatory Pam Anderson picture.
The Minnesota Twins demolished them by the score of 20-1. Yes, that is correct 20-1. Twins catcher Joe Mauer had a grand slam and drove in six runs.
The Twins scored most of their runs in the second, sixth, and seventh which they combined for 17 runs. The last time that the Chicago White Sox gave up 20 runs was actually to the Minnesota Twins back in 2007.
Serious, Jake Peavy will be there as soon as possible, hopefully.
On last night’s edition of Inside the NBA, Ernie’s Neat-O State of the Night dealt with players who broke the backboard or basket in an NBA game.
This was prompted by when Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard broke the shot-clock during game of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Darryl Dawkins was the king of breaking backboards, Remember Chocolate Thunder!
Before the time of Erin Andrews, Melanie Collins, and Clarissa Thompson; Sportscenter anchor Linda Cohn was every sport's guys female crush.
It has even gotten to a level that Linda Cohn has a fan club at "Linda Cohn Fan Club." The site itself provides every Linda Cohn fact that you ever wanted to know along with pictures that you could for later reference. They also call themselves, "Cohn Heads".
(Rolls eyes)
Reading about this reminds me of AJ Daulerio of Deadspin went on a "date" with her. Sometimes Deadspin has all the luck.
Yesterday I flew home from Rome to Massachusetts, where I'll be writing from for a while. In general the flight home was pretty uneventful, but one thing really struck me, and I figured I'd post it here.
Now a lot of flights now have music channels you can listen to on the flight. Continental has around 20, and a lot of them are decent. One was their hip hop channel, with solid tunes like Diva by Beyonce and Dead and Gone by T.I. with Justin Timberlake. So I listened to it a bit.
And then realized that the DJ was none other than Jalen Rose.
Now don't get me wrong. Jalen Rose was my second favorite player when he played (my first was Mitch "Rock" Richmond and my current favorite is Tyronn Lue, though not for his level of play) and so I give the man credit. But when I thinkof potential Hip Hop DJs, he's not one of the first people that comes to mind. Especially when it comes to airplanes (though the band Trapt was their music DJ, so it isn't like Continental was going with the big names anyways).
Anyways, obviously had to get some quotes. Here's my top three: 3. "That was Dead and Gone, with Justin Timberlane and T.I. lightin' up the sky."
2. "You are officially locked in to the best mix in the sky. What's goin' on? I'm Jalen Rose."
And number 1. "Now that's a smooth cat right there, Kenny "Babyface" Evans."
Much love to Jalen though, even if I think he's not the best DJ ever.
As a bonus, here's a few "couldn't really merit their own post so I'll post them here" things: 1. One of the funniest stories I have ever heard is the "generic dude, fighter pilot" story. The link goes to a story about a french dude named Pierre, but the tour guide on our Scotland trip told it with this dude Bertrand Dixon as the pilot and told it way better. Regardless, read it if you want a cheap laugh.
2. In Rome I stayed at this hostel called the Yellow and had a shot called the Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick to the Face (1/3 each of vodka/absinthe/jager and then some tabasco sauce on top). Solid stuff, but also not really sports related.
3. More FIELD TRIP! posts to come as I sort stuff out here, as well as more of my other usual stuff. Good to be back.
