July 08, 2008
Nanocindy certainly picked the right time to enter the baseball bet. Now that the Brew Crew has Sabathia'd itself up a notch, perhaps it is time that natedogg got in on the game... The Cardinals need Carpenter and Wainwright back as soon as possible.
July 05, 2008
Crazy Baseball Play - finally, the baseball equivalent to this (2005 remake). Check out not only the video highlight (next-to-last clip) but also the delightful photogallery with reaction shots. Something tells me "Shocked Red Sox dude at Yankee Stadium" is about to be a mini-celebrity in Bahstin.
July 04, 2008
A switch hitter vs. a switch pitcher. This happened a while ago but I've been meaning to watch the video. Here it is on the off chance some of you missed it.
June 22, 2008
The World's Greatest Athlete? An interesting attempt by the WSJ, that great sports paper, to choose who is the "best" athlete in the world. [more inside]
May 15, 2008
Bugs Bunny: Greatest Banned Baseball Player Ever. The first non-Slate blog ever chosen to be in the Best (Damn?) American Sportswriting series (2007).
May 13, 2008
Why am I not surprised that major bowling research is being done in Wisconsin?
May 08, 2008
Uneven Playing Field - about the hidden epidemic of ACL injuries in women who play sports. [more inside]
April 07, 2008
...And that happened. Part of a baseball game, as called by John Mayer (1min long) -- this is for everyone who doesn't like baseball but does want a new catchphrase.
March 31, 2008
Nationals Stadium opens. In other baseball news, my hometown Nats moved into their new digs Saturday night -- with great acclaim for every aspect but the guy who threw the first pitch. Fan reaction is largely positive, and it's safe to say that dean of baseball columnists Tom Boswell is on board. The Nats have followed the storybook ending of their opener with another win, giving them the best record in baseball. [more inside]
March 16, 2008
Have you felt like the month of March has come in too much like a relatively sane lion? Would you prefer it went out like a lamb struck with some kind of ovine (<--?) prion encephelitic disorder? Let me interest you in March Madness 2008. Our group name for the third annual AE March Madness is Go LOLcats and the password is physics. You'll first have to sign up with ESPN (or dredge your username and password from the memory banks) and then join the group.
[more inside]
March 02, 2008
My esteem for this man increases every day. "Asked about his favorite place on earth, Gil says this:
'I'm building it right now in my backyard: a replica of Hugh Hefner's pool, only a little better. It has a grotto and everything, but with flatscreen TVs, a kitchen and a bathroom. No bunnies.'"
Much more good stuff in link, including a little sump'in (little nuttin' actually) for the ladies.
February 27, 2008
Looking for a Few Good Fat Men
Attn Montgomery Biscuits fans and others who root by Mascot:
The Florida Marlins are ... hosting auditions tomorrow for baseball's first all-male, all-obese cheerleading squad: the Manatees. They say they want "big bellies with the biggest jiggle, big feet with the best dance moves and enthusiasm that will rock Marlins fans out of their seats."
January 03, 2008
Straight Cash, Homey - field spottings of terrible, terrible fan jerseys. By my rough count Ryan Leaf prevails in appearances over a dead heat between Vinny Testaverde and Shawn Kemp.
By the way, I need someone to take a picture of my John "Hot Rod" "Hot Plate" Williams jersey.
[more inside]
December 16, 2007
This is a good article. It asks many of the critical questions centering around high-powered college sports programs. It leaves me wondering what the value of college sports programs to a university really is, aside from money and recruiting.
But the way that the players are being exploited by the current system is something that really needs to be pointed out and screamed from a mountaintop.
December 14, 2007
The Mitchell Report on Performance Enhancing Drug Use in Baseball came out today, and Names were Named. It looks like it's *both* a bombshell and a whitewash... Looking over the list, one big name stands out and the Yanks are certainly the hardest hit (see sidebar). A huge majority of the names come from one source, Mets trainer Kirk Radomski, which slants things in an NY direction, though a large fraction of the 'roiders on the Yankees are big names (Clemens, Pettite, Knoblauch, Giambi, Sheffield, Brown, Justice).
The big surprises for me are Brian Roberts and Paul Lo Duca -- these are two guys who are always described as "playing the game the right way". Jayson Stark is one of the few warning us to not rush to judgement, though.
The main recommendation (which many thing doesn't itself even go far enough) is to increase testing. I think, though, that the place to start is actually the front office: one of the things made clear is that the GMs actually had a pretty good idea of who was doping, but often went ahead with it anyway. (The situation is obviously more complex than that but it's still very troubling). Right now there isn't really a down side for the *team* if someone uses -- but the league could change that if they wanted.
December 04, 2007
Remember that one time when we we sort of playing Fantasy Football but it sucked and those other times when we played March Madness. Those were great.
Anyway, ESPN is taking it back to the "set it and forget it" ideals of the past with Bowl Mania. Pick the winner of 32 college football bowl games and then rank them in order of confidence. Then forget about it until someone posts the group winner in this thread in a month. Look, that was fun!
[more inside]
December 03, 2007
Hockey Fights - because we all want a little action in our hockey games. The latest fights even have video embedded for quick viewing. [more inside]
November 13, 2007
Seamheads by the Dashboard Light - a story of Love, Meatloaf and Sabermetrics, featuring guest appearances by Phil Rizzuto and Oddibe "Young Again" McDowell.
November 09, 2007
Dear [Judge Edward Redd]... We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in [a Roxbury jail] for whatever it was that we did wrong. [In this case: going on a drunken rampage after the Sox clinched the ALCS]. What we did WAS wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us -- in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a art student, a radical, a recidivist, a college boy and a criminal. Does that answer your question?
November 08, 2007
Booty tosses 2 TDs in Trojans' romp against Beavers - you know the headline author isn't buying drinks at the next newsroom happy hour. [more inside]
November 02, 2007
Choose Your Own Adventure: The Alex Rodriguez Saga - obviously a far-fetched work of fiction but hey, whatyougonnado.
By the way, a pair of good articles that show the other side of Boras. Not the hug-a-puppy side -- there isn't one -- but the if-you-were-an-athlete-you'd-sign-with-him side. (The 99.44% of other articles, about how he's ruining Baseball, Western Civilization and Christmas, are easy to find.) [more inside]
October 26, 2007
The Asdrubal Carrera Hall of Fame, open to anyone in unique possession of a particular first name among Major League baseball players. (Inspired by one of Tim McCarver's flights of fancy during the ALCS).
You may be familiar with Honus Wagner, Eppa Rixey, Boog Powell or Yogi Berra. But have you heard the storied diamond exploits of Firpo Mayberry, Zoilo Versalles, Pi Schwert or Bevo LeBourveau? OK, then how about Mysterious Walker, The Only Nolan, or Phenomenal Smith?
For some dinnertime fun over the holidays, discuss the relative merits of Urban Shocker, Twink Twining, Pussy Tebeau, Bris Lord, Boob Fowler, Crazy Schmit, Creepy Crespi, Cuddles Marshall, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Stubby Clapp and Buttercup Dickerson. (Unfortunately, 12 other players keep Rusty Kuntz off this list.) [more inside]
October 19, 2007
So you're in a pretty good place -- up 3-1 in the best-of-seven league championship series. Only problem is, set to take the mound is the pitcher known to some as Commander Kick-ass of the Fuck Yeah Brigade and to others as 1.78-ERA-in-65-innings-pitched postseason monster Josh Beckett.
Why not dig up an ex-girlfriend to sing the national anthem right before he takes the mound? Stay classy, Cleveland! [more inside]