Baseball Is So Boring Even The Umps Don't Pay Attention
By Robbie GilliesThe best part about the NFL is that it is a 16-game season. Every single game is so important that even the smallest mistake can crush a team's spirits and end playoff aspirations. This is not the case in baseball.
To use an Olympics analogy, the NFL season is like the 100m sprint whereas the MLB season is the marathon. Quick, who won the 100m? Easy right? Usain Bolt. Now how bout the marathon? And that's why the NFL is America's favorite sport.
Baseball is so long and tedious even the umpires lose track of what's going on.
On Thursday, the Angels played the Tigers. Angels' rookie Sean Rodriguez stepped to the plate in the fourth inning and struck out. Just another tiny play in a 162-game season in which one at-bat means nothing...except Rodriguez struck out on a 4-2 count. From the Los Angeles Times:
Neither plate umpire Tim Welke nor Angels Manager Mike Scioscia noticed the mistake. At 2-2, Rodriguez said Welke asked Tigers catcher Brandon Inge what the count was."He said he thought it was 1-2, and I said I thought it was 1-2 also," Rodriguez said. "He thanked me for my honesty."
Welke had the scoreboard reset to 1-2, and instead of drawing a walk, Rodriguez struck out.
The Angels won the game 7-1, and are just a few days away from clinching their division, so this mistake hardly matters, but let's just say I'm glad that football, and it's live-or-die pressure put on every single play, is back this weekend.
Oh, and if you were wondering, Wansiru Samuel Kamau won the marathon.
H/T: Big League Stew
This Weekend, Welcome Back The NFL
By Ryan HudsonAnd say goodbye to boring Sundays, productivity and family. The wait that was seven months in the making will officially come to an end on Sunday, at 1:00 p.m. That's just 44 hours and counting.
So get your snacks and beverages in order, set those fantasy rosters and fire-up the TV. And if you're anything like John Henderson, you'll have someone slap you in the face, hard.
It's football, and it's back. Be happy.
They Can Play and They Try To Write: Athlete Blog Wrap-Up
By Jeff BriggsCurt Schilling endorses John McCain for president and enjoyed his speech last night.
Unlike every other person up for election in this campaign, the Senator can speak from experience about commitment, sacrifice, honor, integrity, loyalty, duty to country, others first, like no other. He had his chance, he passed that test, and many others along the way.Um, not to nitpick, but by "every other person" doesn't he mean the one other person?
Rafael Nadal blogs about his late match, winning the Prince of Asturias award and his diet.
Retired NFL DE and current ESPN analyst Marcellus Wiley is urging Shawne Merriman not to play.
Rays Remain on Top of RCS MLB Power Averages
By Jeff Briggs
The Tampa Bay Rays remain the #1 team in the RCS MLB Power Averages, where they have been since August 22nd. The top-ten sees little change in its residents, with the Cardinals falling out of the top-ten to 13th, and the Yankees climbing back into 10th place.
The red-hot Astros have streaked all the way up to 12th in the ranking averages, making the NL Central the second-strongest division, with four teams in the top-13 (no thanks to the Reds and Pirates, who find themselves 23rd and 29th, respectively). The AL East is still the strongest division, and by a good margin, with its five teams ranked 1, 3, 10, 11, and 20.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is the NL West (15, 18, 20, 26, and 30), where the Diamondbacks still hold a slight edge on the Dodgers, but that could all change over this weekend, when the two play for the title of best of the worst.
Watching Sports Can Make You Smarter (Really)
By Ryan HudsonWith college football fully underway, baseball closing in on its playoffs, and a new NFL season (finally) starting, it's time to get some of those arguments in order to help justify all the sports you're soon to be watching (note: saying, "Can't you rake the leaves yourself?" to your wife or girlfriend is not advised).
Next time you're getting judged for spending 20 hours in front of your television, in just one weekend, try this one: watching sports can actually improve brain function, according to a study done at the University of Chicago.
Being an athlete or merely a fan improves language skills when it comes to discussing their sport because parts of the brain usually involved in playing sports are instead used to understand sport language.."We show that non-language related activities, such as playing or watching a sport, enhance one's ability to understand language about their sport precisely because brain areas normally used to act become highly involved in language understanding," said Sian Beilock, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Chicago.
"Experience...watching sports has enduring effects on language understanding by changing the neural networks that support comprehension to incorporate areas active in performing sports skills," she said.
So the next time you need to get out of a company dinner, or really don't want to miss the OSU-USC game because of another day of shopping, plop yourself in front of the TV, turn on the game, and remind them: it's science.
What To Watch: Weekend Edition
By Robbie GilliesFRIDAY
12:30pm ET - CBS - US Open: Women's Semifinals - Serena Williams takes on Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic faces Elena Dementieva.
7pm - ESPN - Navy at Ball State - Both teams pummeled lesser opponents in week one. This should be a good test for both of these squads. I bet Jason Whitlock is watching.
10pm - ESPN - Diamondbacks at Dodgers - The Dodgers sit just 1.5 games back of the DBacks in the (really bad) NL West. They now open a pivotal three-game series in LA. Fun fact: if the Yankees were in the NL West, they'd be leading by 3.5 games.
Non-sports pick - 7:30pm - Bravo - Dave - With the conventions now over this seemed appropriate. Why can't we have a President like Kevin Kline?
SATURDAY
11am - CBS - US Open: Men's Semifinals - Hoping for another epic Federer-Nadal match, but first, Nadal will have to beat Andy Murray and Federer will have to get past Novac Djokovic.
2pm - NBC - BMW Championship - Follow the leaderboard.
12pm - ESPN - Ohio at #3 Ohio State - No RB Chris Wells for the Buckeyes, but that shouldn't stop them from notching their 800th all-time victory.
12pm - ESPN2 - Miami (OH) at Michigan - The RichRod era didn't get off to such a hot start. He better hope for a bounce-back here or people in Ann Arbor won't be happy.
1pm - ESPN Classic - New Hampshire at Army - Unless you are an alumnus or know someone playing on these teams, you probably won't be watching it.
Continue reading "What To Watch: Weekend Edition" »
Novak Djokovic Hates Mockery
By Jeff BriggsNovak Djokovic was upset with Andy Roddick for mocking him about his plethora of injuries. In an interview on Tuesday, Roddick had this exchange with a reporter:
Roddick: Isn't it both of them? And a back and a hip?Reporter: And when he said there are too many to count …
Roddick: And a cramp.
Reporter: Do you get a sense right now that he is …
Roddick: Bird flu.
Reporter: A lot of things. Beijing hangover.
Roddick: Yeah.
Reporter: He's got a pretty long list of illness.
Roddick: Anthrax. SARS. Common cough and cold.
After beating Roddick yesterday, Djokovic was clearly angry was with the American, and had this to say:
But, wait a minute, wasn't it Djokovic who had this video of him mocking other tennis players, including one Andy Roddick (comes in at the 0:35 mark)?
"Look at me, I'm Novak Djokovic, I hate when people mock other people. That's not nice. I would never mock anyone else. I'm a giant hypocrite."
(H/T: The Sporting Blog)
Red Bull Gives You Wings! Adding Vodka Does Not.
By Robbie GilliesRecently, I read about a high jumper that drank Red Bull and vodka before competing (he was Russian). But without video proof it's not nearly as entertaining. Well, God bless the Internet (and AOL Fanhouse).
In a related story, the Italians didn't fare too well in the men's 4x100 relay, finishing just 11th. But in the six-man Wine Chug, they excelled.
The NFL. It Is Here.
By Ryan HudsonRejoice.
My favorite part is when the guy gets hit.
They Can Play and They Try To Write: Athlete Blog Wrap-Up
By Jeff BriggsRedskins TE Chris Cooley had a busy blogging day for having a game tonight. He gives the Week 1 starting lineups for the Redskins fantasy football league. He also shares some quotes that have got him pumped up this week, including a surprise one from owner Dan Synder. And, he has an hourly countdown to kickoff (a must read), including a card game on the bus ("Euker is our new game of choice, it's almost like a white dude's version of spades.") and a game he played in film sessions that involved loudly yelling the name of a particular body part.
Falcons FB Ovie Mughelli writes some interesting thoughts from his final preseason game against his old team, the Ravens, and how it felt being back in his old stadium as a member of a new team.
Jennie Finch spends her 28th birthday on Oprah.
Jags rookie LB Thomas Williams likes his D-coordinator Gregg Williams.
Darren McFadden is pumped to be starting his NFL career on Monday night against the Broncos.
Rafael Nadal shares a few thoughts about watching other players' matches and what he eats at tournaments.
It's Official: Chad Ocho Cinco
By Ryan HudsonChad Johnson officially changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco late last week, and now, the Bengals are recognizing him as such. From the Cincinnati Bengals' official roster page:
Even his player page has been updated (minus the write-up).
From the Bengals:
"Effective today, the Bengals begin the process of listing the former Chad Johnson as Chad Ocho Cinco for all club business, per the legal change of his surname effected in Florida. The list of appropriate changes will include the player wearing the name Ocho Cinco on the back of his jersey for Sunday's season opener at Baltimore."The No. 85 Ocho Cinco jersey could go on sale at the Paul Brown Stadium Pro Shop as early as Wednesday, said Monty Montague, the Bengals merchandise manager.
When does "entertaining" go too far and become "kinda crazy"?
One NFL Player Says All The Right Things. Another Does Not.
By Robbie GilliesWe'll start with the good.
Anquan Boldin has been upset that he has not received a contract extension while his teammate, Larry Fitzgerald, signed a big one (4-years, $40 million). The way the contract works out, he is set to make about $17 million this season. Compare that to Boldin, who will make roughly $3.5 million this year. The two have had fairly similar stats in their careers, although Fitzgerald had better numbers last season, with Boldin missing a few games due to injuries. But obviously Boldin is worth much more than $3.5 million and thus has good reason to be upset. Despite Boldin's beef he is saying and doing all the right things now:
He looks happy. He's laughing...He said he never considered not reporting to camp and holding the team hostage."It ain't worth it, man," Boldin said. "My teammates work too hard, and I know I'm a big part of the process with this program. If I held out or did anything like that, I'd be letting them down."
"The only thing I did was come out and stated what I believe. That hasn't changed. But the season is here now, my teammates have worked hard, and I know I've worked my butt off, so there's no need to let things linger over into the season."
That is the way you handle a situation like that. Boldin is showing himself as a class act and leader of that team. And everyone knows the Cardinals could use a leader, since Matt Leinart doesn't seem to be up for the task.
And now the bad.
We already reported (read: copy and pasted from PFT) on Tatum Bell stealing Rudi Johnson's bags, but wait, there's more!
Johnson reports that the bags were returned on Tuesday, with many items missing:
"Underwear, socks, credit cards and money. He left my money clip with no money in it,'' said Johnson, adding that about $200 was missing. "He should've taken the clip, too. It's quite stupid if you ask me.''"All of this happened after he got released and came in and got some stuff out of his locker,'' Johnson said. "That's when he scooped the bags up, some real shyster, conniving stuff...He tried to make up some excuse, he tried to blame it on somebody else so I didn't try to entertain something that didn't make any sense.''
Johnson said he would not involve the police.
"I'm not going to the police for this one,'' he said. "I don't need anybody else, I can handle it.''
Bell responded to the allegations:
"I did take his bag, but it was a misunderstanding. I've never had to fight for my reputation like now.''First, he steals the guy's bag, and then he doesn't fess up? If Bell had just come out and said, 'Yeah I stole his bag. I was angry he was taking my job and I got upset. I did something stupid in the heat of the moment,' we'd all be able to have a good laugh and put this one behind us. But instead he is sticking to some story that he mistook Rudi's bags for the bags of someone who was cut that asked Bell to get his bags for him. Just fess up! Fighting is what is HURTING your reputation.
We can all take a joke, and can understand doing something really stupid when you're emotional, but then to try to cover your tracks is not going to help you in the public eye.
Pats Start Atop RCS NFL Power Averages
By Jeff Briggs
The final preseason RCS NFL Power Averages are out, and no surprise, the Patriots are ranked number one.
The RCS averages combine eight other sites' power rankings, who all have their own way of computing rankings (single person, panel, simulations, etc.) to make the most balanced and unbiased rankings possible. Looking at the RCS Power Averages, you can see some large discrepancies between the different ranking systems.
Within the top-ten teams alone there is a lot of variation from system to system, with the largest such discrepancy belonging to the Jaguars, who have rankings has high as 3rd (Covers) and as low as 13th (What If Sports). The Jets have the highest difference between two ranking systems, with What If Sports putting them 6th, and Fox Sports ranking them 27th (although, they last made their rankings on July 31st), but most have the J-E-T-S ranked in the 15-20 range. Two teams all the publications agreed on were the top-ranked Patriots (no lower than 2nd in any ranking) and the basement-dwelling Falcons (no higher than 31st in any ranking).
It looks as if most believe the AFC dominance of the league to be over, as the top-ten is evenly split between AFC and NFC teams. The NFC East is thought of as the strongest division, with all teams ranked in the top 15 (3, 6, 13, and 15); while the NFC West is thought of as the weakest (9, 21, 25, and 28). The NFC South is the only division without a team ranked in the top 10 (12, 16, 19, 32).
Pay Homage To Gamblor: The Return
By Jeff Briggs“The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it's time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!” --Homer Simpson
After a long and exciting off-season, filled with various other sports, the gambler’s true passion is back: NFL Football. This year, I’m so excited for the season that I’m in four fantasy leagues, two survivor pools, and two other NFL picks pools. Far too much to keep track of, but when it comes to online football games, I act like Lindsay Lohan when it comes to promiscuous sex and cocaine: I can't say no to any invitation. This should be an interesting season, as this year, more than any in recent memory, there is no standout Super Bowl favorite.
The ESPN experts like San Diego and Dallas the most, followed by New England. Each team certainly has its problems (Chargers: Norv Turner is still the coach; Cowboys - they are pure evil and haven’t won a playoff game in some time; Patriots - health and age concerns plus an awful preseason). The first few weeks of the season can be a great time to win some money, as Vegas, just like everyone else, is not quite sure who is good and who is bad. If you are a confident with a pick, go lock your bet in; but if you are just guessing, always remember, no matter what time of year it is, Vegas knows more than you. Last season, Gamblor started just around the midway point and went a paltry 67-69-3, but at least the Lock of the Week was 7-2. On to the picks, home team in CAPS:
Redskins (+4) over GIANTS
The Redskins have a new coach, new coordinators, and have changed offensive systems yet again (Jason Campbell is on something like his sixth new system in seven years). The ‘Skins last two preseason games haven't gone well either, with it looking like they couldn't outscore a team of small children. The Giants, on the other-hand, are the defending Super Bowl champions. But, does anyone really think the Giants are the best team in football? They got hot at the right time last year, but now they are missing players on defense. They went just 3-5 at home last year, and Tom Coughlin is 1-3 in opening games with the Giants. I predict a turnaround from the Redskins' poor end to preseason, and an opening day victory for the underdog.
Continue reading "Pay Homage To Gamblor: The Return" »
The Secret Life Of The Phoenix Gorilla
By Robbie Gillies
But this brings about an obvious question: why is there a vacancy? I was able to track down the former mascot coordinator, who asked to remain anonymous, to get his side of the story:
The Phoenix Gorilla? That guy is one messed up dude. I wouldn’t wish this job upon my worst enemy. You should see his contract rider: Voss bottled water chilled to 48 degrees, a bowl of orange and purple m&m’s shaped like the Suns logo. You know how difficult it is to get purple m&m’s if it’s not Easter time?He did these anti-drug and tobacco PSA’s but if he wasn’t drunk by noon it’s just because he hadn’t woken up yet. There’s only so many times you can bury hundreds of dollars a week in alcohol under “Medical Expenditures” and get away with it.
And I know you’re probably saying, ‘but those dunks are so awesome’. Hate to burst your bubble but it’s a stunt double. His lazy butt is camped out in his trailer watching the Discovery Channel.
He didn’t used to be like this but once he became a secret character in NBA Jam his ego went through the roof. He started hanging out with Dan Majerle and the two of them would go out and hit on anything that moved.
He had alienated his best friends. Benny The Bull stopped calling and Hugo the Hornet removed him as a friend on facebook. No one ever REMOVES someone as a friend on facebook.
The only reason the Suns don’t can him is because he has a long-term contract and they have to pay it out regardless. Basically, he’s in the same boat as Stephon Marbury and even crazier, if that’s possible.
H/T: Ball Don't Lie