tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16304503863778268542024-02-21T08:46:49.200-08:00Three and OutSports chatter that promises neither insight nor relevance.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-37873867772923727282008-10-29T19:23:00.000-07:002008-10-29T19:26:07.576-07:00YOUR 2008 World Champion...<span style="font-weight:bold;">Philadelphia Phillies</span>.<br /><br />If I'm dreaming, don't pinch me.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-69636246484507806012008-10-26T21:12:00.000-07:002008-10-26T21:30:28.333-07:00Jamie Moyer and the PhilliesWe were in Seattle this weekend. Well, part of the week, too. Wednesday night we went to the Palace Kitchen, one of our favorite restaurants that happens to have a nice central bar area and a TV, to watch the end of game 1. The bar was full, as it often is there, but a very nice woman let us know when she was about to finish up so we could have her place. In the course of talking to her about the game, which she was also watching, she asked, "Do you think they [the Phillies] will let Jamie pitch?"<br /><br />"He's scheduled for game three," I said.<br /><br />"I hope he does well," she said. "I'm rooting for the Phillies because of him."<br /><br />I thought that was interesting. Then the next person I mentioned the Series to also said they were hoping Moyer did well. I knew Moyer'd pitched for Seattle in his prime, but I didn't know he was such a beloved local figure. It turns out he still has all his charities operating in the Seattle area. It turns out he left on very good terms, unlike some other stars (A-Rod is one whose name is always spoken with some scorn). It turns out that Seattle has very little to cheer for in the sports world right now. The Seahawks were 1-5 until this weekend, when they beat up on a weak Niners team. The Sonics are gone, "replaced" in the NBA fashion by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mariners finished in last place this year. <br /><br />Jamie Moyer is the kind of athlete who's on a first-name basis with the city. Joe Posnanski has more on <a href="http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2008/10/26/moyers-america/">how amazing his performance this year has been</a> from a purely baseball standpoint, but you have to have talked to a few people in Seattle to realize what his performance means to them, even for another team. <br /><br />"I just want him to get a World Series appearance," the front desk clerk at our hotel said. "A win would be great, but just a couple good innings..."<br /><br />Moyer had been lit up in the postseason. First the Brewers, then the Dodgers, teed off on his slow curves. The chances of him surviving more than a couple innings against the power-slugging Rays did not look good.<br /><br />"I just hope he digs in and finds one more quality start," said one of my Seattle co-workers.<br /><br />He did that, and more. The only thing he (and Seattle) could've hoped for would have been to get the W he deserved. But he pitched over six strong innings for his team, gave up only three runs, and helped lift the Phillies to a victory.<br /><br />He's an inspiration, not only to Seattle, but also to me. You may have heard that he's 45. I think he's one of the few active baseball players who's older than I am. Sometime in the next couple years, there won't be any. So I'm holding on to this one, to the guy older than I am who pitched in the World Series and led his team to a 2-1 lead.<br /><br />(I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the Phillies are now up 3-1, but Jamie didn't really have anything to do with that, unless he was giving Joe Blanton a pep talk.)<br /><br />The point of this all? Jamie Moyer is a pretty awesome guy all around. He kind of embodies what I love about the Phillies this year: apart from Jimmy Rollins, they aren't really a flashy bunch. They feel like the kind of guys who just play baseball for the heck of it, even J-Roll. They have fun, but they're smart and articulate (listen to Ryan Howard talk post-game sometime). They're the kind of team, in other words, that could've been tailor-made for Jamie Moyer to join. <br /><br />Let's hope he gets a ring out of it, for the sake of two sports-hungry cities.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-86786846785620409142008-08-20T10:28:00.000-07:002008-08-20T10:35:05.698-07:00Football Is A Mental GameSometimes I want to slap football players.<br /><br />Anquan Boldin says he <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp08/news/story?id=3543594">has no relationship with his coach</a>. "I'm a football player. That's about it."<br /><br />Uh... yeah, so suck it up and play football. Stop whining.<br /><br />And then, Chris Henry <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3542482">on maybe never playing in the NFL again</a>: "To have that taken away from you, that can be really hard. That would have been a tough thing to go through. I kind of went through that. I was scared at one point that I wouldn't have the opportunity to be back on the field."<br /><br />Gee, maybe you should have thought of that before you went out and GOT ARRESTED FIVE TIMES.<br /><br />It hasn't escaped notice that these are both wide receivers, the most insecure position in football.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-64649182960912350552008-08-14T11:50:00.001-07:002008-08-14T12:05:33.442-07:00OlympicsOK, I was trying to do something else and tried to login to Google and wondered why I had a gmail account. Then I saw this link. OH, yeah.<br /><br />I love the Olympics.<br />I love the scandals (underage gymnasts! overdoped cyclists!)<br />I love the sports you never see during the year--at least, you don't see them now that ESPN has baseball and Wide World of Sports is off the air.<br /><br />I have had only one "Olympic Moment" so far, and that was the predictable "US Swim Team Relay comes from behind to win!" I am a little annoyed that experienced sports guys are talking about it like they are idiots. Chris Collinsworth was on last night comparing the other guys to the Packers and Phelps to Favre, saying the other guys were (in essence) jealous and annoyed with Phelps because they said they hadn't been thinking of his 8 medals, they had been focused on winning their one medal. I guess my advantage is that I have never done anything ever so I KNOW that I don't know what they are feeling, so I listen to what they tell me and base my opinions on that, not how I might have felt when Kenny Anderson was a bigger star than I.<br /><br />I do get a bit tired of hearing about Phelps, but I guess they figure you need someone to root for or you won't tune in tomorrow. But the thing is that every person who is at those games is living a dream, fulfilling a long and grueling quest (sometimes it was just the quest for citizenship, like in the case of the Georgian Women's Beach Volleyball team, but it was effort nonetheless). Each person is enough of a story--and once they get past the stridency of Misty May and Phelps and all, to their credit, they do often communicate those stories.<br /><br />oops... running out of time...NedSanyourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10025362211214072155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-37022772631945807172008-07-19T15:29:00.000-07:002008-07-19T16:16:55.488-07:00Racing into the PastI've been watching Formula One racing on a regular basis for the first time since college. Back in those days Michael Schumacher was driving for Benetton and I cheered for him because 1) he was German, an 2) he had a pretty cool looking car. The racing this season has been far more engaging than I remember from back in those days, with three or four teams consistently contending for the podium finishes each week. This<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/1129866.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/1129866.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> week's German Grand Prix though leaves me feeling a bit nostalgic. The <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=49.333624,8.579292&spn=0.026232,0.059223&t=k">Hockenheim</a> track used to be among my favorites. It was over 4 miles long with most of the track sprinting through the woods on long straightaways. It was perhaps the closest thing F1 had to flat-out oval racing, with a few chicanes thrown in to keep the speeds from getting too outrageous. In the late 90s though, the F1 powers that be threatened to leave Hockenheim unless the track was shortened. As a result, the portion of the track that gave Hockenheim its character--the high speed straights through the forests--were snipped out all together, leaving it a boring, unimaginative <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hokenheimring_%282in1%29.png">shell</a> of it's former self.<br /><br />Through the magic of TV, today was the first time I had a chance to see the track in its current state and I find myself torn emotionally. Part of me wishes that they'd kept the wooded portion of the old layout intact, even if F1 refused to race the full layout. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/3993256.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.panoramio.com/photos/original/3993256.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>They got the shorter track they wanted in a re-design. The 'full' track could have been used for sports car races and motorcycles, much in the same way that the 20+km Nürburgring Nordschlief is still used for 24 hour races and public access but is ignored by modern F1 (with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ceX5Wk-zSY&feature=related">rare exception</a>) in favor of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:N%C3%BCrburgring_-_Grand-Prix_Stecke.svg">shorter</a>, less interesting track. Instead, they plowed under most of the racecourse at Hockenheim. That's where the other part of me is happy. Had they sold off the now unused land in order to make room for more commercial development it would have been a tragedy, but at least for now that's not the plan. Instead, the Germans are allowing nature to reclaim the former straightaways. It's a sad, but beautiful thing. These days we so often see forests turn to sub divisions and rolling plains turn into strip malls. It's so rare that we see transformation go the other way.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1630450386377826854"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1630450386377826854" alt="" border="0" /></a>Freelancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09338040080920922092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-724950381504606512008-02-03T19:42:00.000-08:002008-02-03T21:53:16.692-08:00Wow.HE CAUGHT IT WITH HIS HEAD!<br /><br />That was all I could keep chanting after David Tyree made a ... a... 'circus catch' just doesn't do it justice. No words that I can think of really do it justice. All I can say is that it will almost certainly unseat Dwight Clark's as the most clutch catch in NFL Playoff history. It was one of those catches that would be up for an ESPY even if it occurred in the third quarter of a regular season blow-out.<br /><br />It was destined to happen though. You could just feel it. It was the same feeling earlier this season when the Patriots eeked by the Ravens. It was that game, you'll recall, where the Ravens held a late game lead and had seemingly stopped the Patriots on 4th down to secure a victory, only to have they play nullified by a time out that their coaches had called just before the ball was snapped. Another 4th down stop was negated by a false start (one of the very few times a false start was beneficial to the offense), and a foolish Defensive Holding penalty kept New England's drive alive. It all added up to what Tony Kornheiser called a 'tragic inevitability'. New England was destined to win that game, and they did.<br /><br />The same thing unfolded tonight. After Randy Moss put the Patriots up with just over 2 and a half minutes to play, the Giants seemed to get those little breaks... the fourth down conversion... Asante Samuel's feet coming down out of bounds with what would have been a game sealing interception... And then, that... play. I'm sure someone will have a patented nickname for it by tomorrow... 'The Play' is a LITTLE too grandiose, as is 'The Miracle', but whatever they call it... 'it' happened. Even though the Giants were still 25 yards out, it was inevitable that they would win. It was just a matter of how.Freelancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09338040080920922092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-5640154924327260942007-12-13T11:07:00.000-08:002007-12-13T11:25:50.942-08:00Take This Lei and...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://trueyankeeblog.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/roger1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://trueyankeeblog.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/roger1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Wow. Go to http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/index today and look at the map associated with the poll about whether you'd vote Roger Clemens into the Hall of Fame. Maybe it's early in the day, but there are five states that vote "no": New Hampshire, West Virginia, Utah, Nebraska, and Hawaii (Wyoming is split 50-50). What an odd assortment of states. Hawaii voted <i>100%</i> no (as of the time of this posting). What did Roger ever do to the Hawaiians?Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-75054155004856215802007-11-26T10:04:00.001-08:002007-11-26T10:13:38.997-08:00Fly, Eagles, Fly<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www3.turkishpress.com/i-u/SGE.DCR38.241107200801.photo00.quicklook.default-245x180.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www3.turkishpress.com/i-u/SGE.DCR38.241107200801.photo00.quicklook.default-245x180.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After playing the Patriots closer than any other team this year (I think the Colts lost by four), there's a quarterback controversy in Philly! No, not really. Here's the thing, though. The Eagles seem to have a tendency to light up and do well when McNabb is on the bench. Would anyone say that A.J. Feeley is a better QB? Or Jeff Garcia even? Taken by themselves, no. On this Eagles team, well, um... I'm gonna have to go with 'maybe.'<br /><br />What it feels like to me is that McNabb is so talented that when he's in the game, two things happen. First of all, he feels like he has to carry the team, like he has to be the guy who delivers the win. Second of all, the coaches feel like they have this major talent out on the field, and they have to let him play his game. When you've got A.J. or Garcia out there, the coaches run a good mix of plays, the defense usually steps up, everybody chips in. It actually looks, at times like that, as though the Eagles have a good team and a good coaching staff. <br /><br />So the QB controversy that <i>should</i> be brewing in Philly is not whether to start Donovan or not. The controversy should be whether to give Donovan the same mix of plays you give Feeley and Garcia, or that you'd give any QB if you didn't think they had Awesome Talent. Because I think McNabb could've played that game last night as wel as Feeley did, plus maybe he doesn't throw that last interception into the end zone (which I think was when Feeley tried to Make Something Happen as opposed to just taking what the defense gave him, or maybe it was the coaches hoping to take New England by surprise, in which case they are idiots because everyone knows you cannot surprise Bill Belichick, who has a Gray's Sports Almanac from the year 2015 locked in a safe in his office in Gillette Field, and he's just waiting for the day when a kid or a crazy old man comes to ask him about it...).<br /><br />All that aside: great game, Eagles. If there is such a thing as a moral victory in football, going into the 2007 Patriots' house and having a chance to win with a minute left in the game certainly counts.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-31347311379940801692007-11-13T11:35:00.000-08:002007-11-13T11:45:07.687-08:00BSPN"Welcome to SportsCenter. I'm Rich Eisen with Steve Levy. Tonight we'll take a look at the Boston Celtics. Just how good can they be? Could they be the best team in basketball? Maybe the best team of the last twenty years?"<br /><br />"And we'll look back on the World Champion Boston Red Sox and what each of the players on that team is up to. Could they win five more championships before all is said and done? Or is it more likely eight?"<br /><br />"But we start with a look at the New England Patriots. Here, just look at some photos. My God, they're manly. Oh, sorry, Steve, I'm drooling on the desk."<br /><br />"That's okay, Rich. I was lost in admiring Tom Brady's throwing motion and didn't notice."<br /><br />"It is gorgeous, isn't it?"<br /><br />"And just look at Randy Moss jump."<br /><br />*silence*<br /><br />"Wow."<br /><br />"I don't think there is any question, this could be the greatest team in the history of organized athletics."<br /><br />"Steve, I wouldn't be surprised to see them challenge UCLA's record 88 consecutive wins."<br /><br />"I agree, Rich."<br /><br />"In other news, there are some teams outside the Boston area playing, as we can see from the shot of the scoreboard behind Kevin Garnett's head. We'll freeze the frame for a second so you can look at the scores, then we'll have ten more minutes of Celtics coverage followed by Lee Corso asking whether Boston College can get back in the BCS race."<br /><br />*commercial for some mobile phone featuring Peyton Manning*Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-87214372750416820202007-10-31T13:23:00.000-07:002007-10-31T14:14:09.617-07:00It's Not Easy Seeing Green<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://systar.hautetfort.com/images/garnett.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://systar.hautetfort.com/images/garnett.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />In 1996, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/09338040080920922092">Freelancer</a> and I went to a Target store somewhere way off the beaten path to see Kevin Garnett in person. The line stretched halfway around the store by the time we got there, which was fairly late, but we got our stuff signed (a photo for Freelancer, media guide for me--I still have it). We'd seen the Wolves earlier that year, and Freelancer, who has forgotten more about basketball than I know, said, "That kid can play." Seeing him in person, up close, was weird in the same way it's weird to see any professional basketball player up close. They just seem to be built on a different scale (I once saw David Robinson in an airport--same deal. You never ask "is that a basketball player?" You ask "which basketball player is that?").<br /><br />Garnett was huge, not only in person but for the state of Minnesota. He became, like Kirby Puckett, the face of a franchise. When he went silent the summer of the salary negotiation that would soon change the collective bargaining agreement, the state held its breath. He wasn't committing to staying, but he wasn't signaling his departure, either. It felt difficult to get at the truth: he was a 21-year-old kid, still, who was doing the best thing a kid can do in that situation. He was letting the professional he'd hired to represent him do just that. <br /><br />The huge contract he signed was worth it. I was living in Minnesota when Kirby Puckett entered free agency for the last time, and the suspense was similar, the relief even more pronounced this time, because while Puckett was just sliding off the edge of his prime, Garnett had yet to reach his, and this was a guarantee that it would be spent in Minnesota.<br /><br />Sadly, it became clear after several years that "wasted" might be a better word than "spent." Apart from one run to the Western Conference Finals, the Wolves got to the level of "first-round playoff team" and stayed there. Things deteriorated, but Garnett was always the face of the Timberwolves. I don't think it's possible for anyone who hasn't lived in Minnesota to realize how much he represented that franchise. He carried them for years, overcoming McHale and Taylor's borderline-incompetent management until recently. <br /><br />I discovered about a month ago that I can't watch him in Celtics green. It's a painful reminder of what the Wolves could have been, what they gave up, what they are now. Maybe I'll get over it later this year, but right now, it just seems wrong, like the hue is wonky, and I need to adjust a dial on my set to get that uniform back to blue or black. It's not that I hate the Celtics or anything; just seeing Garnett in a different uniform hurts. I don't begrudge him the chance to go somewhere where he has a chance to be winning a title, nor to start over with new management. I'll be rooting for him to get that ring someday, somewhere. But I won't be watching.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-88325461256530253832007-10-16T09:38:00.000-07:002007-10-16T12:40:32.397-07:00Four and Out<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWTqWleZiZHW_ocBRKLtUJLolc7fzzubvYjwAAonaq5miuELahXRY1cpi6SBxniBvOIyX05Al79ECJSqryHCmmPfqvuaexY1sGyl3vkYv_y1tsorLwnqHv499D8gVQ9Wxg1iALeol0_w/s1600-h/Rockies+pic+for+3%26O.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWTqWleZiZHW_ocBRKLtUJLolc7fzzubvYjwAAonaq5miuELahXRY1cpi6SBxniBvOIyX05Al79ECJSqryHCmmPfqvuaexY1sGyl3vkYv_y1tsorLwnqHv499D8gVQ9Wxg1iALeol0_w/s200/Rockies+pic+for+3%26O.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121975926390073458" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUWADy6FaFH8V7oulBmhYfRKeetD-ngyU1qq3-FycZOONsQVkfz-jnI6p6IbiokMzttn3eTdmrH3mZxbeQ2XhyphenhyphenV4BOhp6JFZNTvtEpXMxq2iHJ8mgjGkplBE7_Xktm3zJTe5PKj859ug/s1600-h/Rockies+pic+for+3%26O+2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUWADy6FaFH8V7oulBmhYfRKeetD-ngyU1qq3-FycZOONsQVkfz-jnI6p6IbiokMzttn3eTdmrH3mZxbeQ2XhyphenhyphenV4BOhp6JFZNTvtEpXMxq2iHJ8mgjGkplBE7_Xktm3zJTe5PKj859ug/s200/Rockies+pic+for+3%26O+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121975930685040770" /></a><br /><br />You <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2007/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3065637&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1">may have heard</a> something about an <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/john_donovan/10/16/rockies.nlcs/index.html?eref=T1">unlikely team</a> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=271015127">winning the NL pennant</a> and <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_ballard/10/16/rockies.clinch/index.html">electrifying a city</a>. I can't add a lot from the baseball side, but a couple of us did have the good fortune to attend last night's NL pennant-clinching game, so I thought I'd recount a bit of the experience.<br /><br />When we got the tickets to the fourth game, it was more because Monday worked better in our schedule than Sunday did--driving out from California to see family, the trip planned well in advance of the playoffs, we only started thinking toward the end of the season, "You know...if the Rockies beat the Phillies...nah, don't say it." And when it turned out there'd be a game coinciding with our visit, we grabbed some tickets online from a long-suffering Cubs fan who'd succumbed to a rare bout of optimism (thanks, Gus!).<br /><br />After the Rockies' first win in Arizona, we thought, "you know, we might...don't say it, don't say it!" Then on the way out, we sat in a bar in Vail watching them win in extra innings in Arizona. Sunday night in Colorado Springs we were glad we weren't in the freezing rain, even though Torrealba's homer would have been an amazing moment to see. By the time Monday rolled around, it seemed almost inevitable that we would see the pennant-clinching game, the Rockies' first World Series appearance just 27 outs away against a team that had managed only four runs in three games.<br /><br />We arrived in downtown Denver to see people selling brooms on every corner. Our non-sports-following friends who'd met us for dinner thought, because of this, that the Arizona team was called the "Dust Devils." We explained that they were the "Diamondbacks" and the brooms were because you kill snakes with brooms. Then we actually explained the "sweep" thing. They liked the snake-killing explanation better, and frankly, so did we. Not wanting to jinx the team, we opted not to buy a broom, amusing our friends with the power we felt we had over the team's fate.<br /><br />After dinner, as we got closer to the stadium, we found people distinguishing <i>their</i> brooms by painting them in Rockies colors. The atmosphere was crazy, people hooting and cheering before the game even started. We found Mark's sister, brother-in-law, and friend, rounding out our group, and proceeded into the stadium.<br /><br />We'd visited Coors Field in June, when the Rockies were struggling along toward what looked like another .500-ish season, flirting with the wild card. The upper decks in June were sparsely populated, especially with the light rain falling. Last night, of course, every section was packed. Our seats (sec. 303) were in the very top row behind right center field, but the weather this night was perfect October baseball weather: cool, clear, crisp, with a light breeze. <br /><br />I've been to a few playoff games in baseball and basketball: the Timberwolves' second playoff game in history (loss to the Rockets), and a Twins playoff game in Oakland (their only loss of the series). The energy in a playoff game crowd is a level above a regular game--it's not unusual for chants to go on through the whole game. This one was even more enthusiastic than the Oakland game, because the crowd knew that the pennant was possible. Chants of "Let's go Rockies" came up at least once an inning, late in the game one side of the stadium started to chant, "GO!" and our side responded, "ROCKIES!" Matt Holliday got "M.V.P.!" chants every time he came up. Being a Phillies fan (yes, rooting for the Rockies--besides the family connections, my credo is, if you beat my team, you damn well better win it all so I can say we got beaten by the best), I couldn't let down Jimmy Rollins by joining in to that one--until Holliday popped that homer to dead center in the fourth. After that, I just told myself, "Well, it's for M.V.P. of the <i>series</i>..." Fan favorite rookie SS Troy Tulowitzki got the British football clap, with "TU-LO!" at the end. And of course, every time Eric "we've outplayed them" Byrnes came to the plate, he was greeted by loud and lusty boos (we were saying "Boo-urns").<br /><br />The fourth inning was incredible. We were a little surprised that Hurdle pulled the pitcher so early, but Morales had been struggling and the priority at that point was clearly to keep the rally going. Seth Smith delivered, in spades. His bloop seemed to hang in the air forever, the crowd trying to help gravity with screams of "DROP! DROP! DROP!" And drop it did, just inside the foul line. And if we thought that was exciting, three batters later, Matt Holliday smacked a ball that was by no means a no-doubt-about-it from our angle. It hung in the air over center field while we jumped and yelled, opposing gravity this time, and then dropped out of our sight toward the center field fence. A second later, even people down in Colorado Springs heard the cheers as it landed 452 feet from home plate, scoring three more runs that would prove to be the difference in the game.<br /><br />The energy subsided a bit after that, but being in the top row, we didn't sit down for the whole game. One man came backing up the stairs, eyes riveted on the field as he tried not to spill his beer and cup of fries. In the mid-to-late innings of a regular season game, people get tired, the stadium quiets down, and we usually take that time to do a walk around the stadium. Not last night. Top of the sixth, we started counting down the outs. 12...11...10. 9...8...7. Every strike cheered as though it were an out, every out cheered like a regular-season win. 6...5...4...4...4... Even when it got dicey in the eighth, a three-run home run almost equaling Arizona's entire offensive output in the first three games that brought the game back within reach for them, we kept faith. We knew intellectually that Arizona could come back, could take this game and maybe the next, but emotionally we felt it: there was no way. Fuentes went out, Corpas came in, and there were three outs to go.<br /><br />Then two. Then a double, just to make things interesting. Then one. How fitting it was that Eric "they're just lucky" Byrnes should make the final out, a grounder to Tulo, who rifled it to <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0710/mlb.rockies.nlcs.champs/content.5.html">Rockies legend Todd Helton</a>. Pandemonium. We knew it was going to happen, and yet the actual moment still exploded in the stadium like the fireworks that seemed to go on forever, the "National League Champions" graphic repeating over and over on the screen as though it couldn't quite believe itself either. We kept yelling, cheering, trying to express the incredible elation of the moment.<br /><br />Yes, I'm not a die-hard Rockies fan (note the dorky look in the above picture). I don't have years following the team. This victory probably meant more to just about everyone else in the stadium. But it's impossible to be in that crowd and not soak up some of the dizzying joy of it all, the giddy heights of <i>we did it!</i> Because no matter who you are, you're welcome to be a part of it. I high-fived more drunk people last night than I have since college. Several times, walking through the stadium after the celebration (which was full of awesome as well, seeing the stand set up and the trophy actually <i>right there on the field</i>), I met someone's eye and we'd both just grin for a moment and shake our heads, thinking the same thing: <i>I can't believe this, how great is this moment</i>.<br /><br />I can't say enough about the city and its fans. Rockies banners on the state capital building. "Go Rockies" on every other LCD sign along the highway. The only thing I've seen comparable to it was the love for the Pacers, back in the 90s when I visited Indianapolis during the NBA playoffs. Whether they win the Series or not, these fans deserve their NL pennant, and, what's more, they appreciate it.<br /><br />As we walked around after the game, there seemed to be a fan stationed on every corner getting cars to honk. Security guards drifted discreetly through the streets, but there was no need for them. No rioting for their first World Series here in Denver, just screaming, honking, cheering, more high-fiving. We walked around for a while soaking it in, and when we finally stopped in a bar to warm up, the bartender gave me my non-alcoholic drink on the house. "Go Rockies," he said, indicating our brand-new "NL Champions" hats. "You know we're goin' to the World Series??"<br /><br />We grinned back. "Yeah," we said, "We think we mighta heard something about that."Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-85388073674470125732007-10-10T13:55:00.001-07:002007-10-10T14:06:08.915-07:00An Idea<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.aeropause.com/archives/JMadden.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.aeropause.com/archives/JMadden.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Okay, this might not be 100% appropriate for this blog, but I dunno where else to put it. I don't really follow the ever-changing world of MMOs all that much, but I was intrigued recently when I read about a <a href="http://www.vatsim.net/">Flight Simulator community</a> that has grown up around allowing people to play at being air traffic controllers for all the people flying simulated planes. In other words, there are people who voluntarily simulate what is supposed to be one of the top five jobs that comes up when you cross-index "tedious" and "stressful." (I assume that part of the attraction is that the virtual plane crashes are much less stressful than the real ones.)<br /><br />On the heels of that comes <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/10/10">today's Penny Arcade article</a> in which a noted game designer imagines an MMO based on industrial construction, and does a pretty darn good job of it. Which got me to thinking that people are probably willing to do virtually (ha) anything they would do in the real world as an MMO. <br /><br />So why not play sports? Not just the current incarnation where you take your teams and design plays and control a couple key players, but really...get into the world of sports. Be a player, control your exercise and diet, learn your plays, and get ready for the big game. Be a coach, plan strategies and develop a playbook with signals that you have to teach your players. Be a GM, be an owner, and instead of buying Alex Rodriguez or Randy Moss, go get the services of actual people. Join some friends to run a team, band some teams together to form a league, and let there be as many leagues as necessary. Games take place whenever teams can schedule them conveniently. You could even be a referee or an ump! <br /><br />I mean, come on. If you're going to take a real-world activity and make it virtual, at least make it something fun, hm?Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-52396603360719917302007-10-09T14:55:00.000-07:002007-10-09T15:35:17.332-07:00Being a FanThe blogs have been ringing with the demise of the Yankees--between that and the late-season collapse of the Mets (which I have to bring up as often as possible), it's like heaven for everyone outside the NYC orbital cloud. While it's moderately annoying to have more attention devoted to a team that lost than to all four teams that are moving on (combined), it has sparked some interesting conversations, and one dialogue in particular about what it means to be a fan that interests me specifically.<br /><br />It started with <a href="http://joeposnanski.com/">Joe Posnanski</a>, a recent addition to my blogroll, talking about the "<a href="http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2007/10/08/heartbreak-alert/">irrational fan</a>":<br /><br /><blockquote>[...]somewhere along the way, I did lose some of that irrational fan I had been as a boy, the one who believed that Rick Waits would win 20, the fan who sat in bed and stared at walls for hours when the Browns lost, the fan who screamed “Get a damn rebound, one damn rebound, just one,” over and over at the television when the Cleveland Cavaliers were playing. I guess I believe that most people outgrow that fan much in the same way that most people at some age stop going to keggers and stop pretending they get today’s music.</blockquote><br /><br />We talked about being irrational fans. There are some people I know who have not yet outgrown that phase, and some who have. But that's all tied up with love of the team and how much influence sports has over your life. The important part of that that I took away was that the team for these people was like family. When they succeeded, you felt like a part of that success, and their failures were your failures. Growing up, for many of us, the family we grew up with becomes less important and the family we create ourselves takes precedence. The sports team, at this time, drifts back to a second tier of importance. We'll cheer their victories and lament their failures, but we don't feel them as our own. But still, that bond is there. Win or lose, we love our team.<br /><br />Unless that team happens to be the Yankees. Jeff Pearlman, on ESPN's Page 2, chimes in with this <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/071009&sportCat=mlb">interesting observation</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote><br />Like the Yankees, [Marion] Jones had invested heavily in the modern American way of thinking -- that nothing but first place can be considered a success. That's why Barry Bonds allegedly broke the rules to snap the single-season and career home run records, why Floyd Landis and dozens of others apparently wouldn't mind winning the Tour de France with cheater's gold flowing through their veins, why Shawne Merriman can be suspended for using steroids and named a Pro Bowler in the same season and we're not shocked. It's why, whenever I pass a Little League ball field or a Pop Warner scrimmage or a gymnastics meet for 7-year-olds, there is inevitably a parent (or 10) chewing out his/her kid, not for a lack of effort, but for a lack of results.</blockquote><br /><br />It's not just Yankees fans, of course, but they are the most glaring example, and on an individual level, being a fan of winning has started to supplant being a fan of the game. We were taught growing up that "it's not whether you win or lose; it's how you play the game," and jokingly we would change it to "it's not whether you win or lose; it's whether you win," or, if we were feeling more lofty, quote Vince Lombardi (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winning_isn't_everything%3B_it's_the_only_thing">himself quoting Red Sanders of UCLA</a>) in response: "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." Somewhere along the way, the easier, more personally rewarding and selfish phrase morphed from a twist or a joke into a real credo. <br /><br />Being a fan isn't supposed to be about the results. It's supposed to be about supporting your team, when they screw up (let me run down the last ten years as a fan of Minnesota sports in a nutshell, shall I? Clem Haskins, Gary Anderson, 41-0, Joe Smith, Fred Smoot's boat, contraction), and rejoicing with them when they win. You're not a stockholder in the team, to demand results or else; you're family. You don't give up on family.<br /><br />Again, lest you think that all columnists are stereotypers who don't know how the real fans think, here is a portion of a comment from a Yankees fan on <a href="http://fairandfoul.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/torres-run/">Will Leitch's NYT column of 10/9</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>To root for the most successful franchise in the history of professional sports is not a difficult thing. In fact, if you divide up the years by the 26 WS titles the Yankees have won somewhere in between 1 out of 4 and 1 out of 5. Our time is coming. We will be champions again.<br /><br />I just wonder how you can be an Astros fan, or a Mariners fan. And I’m not sure what is worse, never winning, or winning once, like the Angels.</blockquote><br /><br />The extent to which this person doesn't get it is breathtaking. Of course it's not "difficult" to be a Yankees fan--that's why they make it difficult by demanding more and more of their team. How can you be an Astros fan, or a Mariners fan? You grow up with the team. You learn the players, you watch the game. You appreciate the small successes. You never forget that Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson were Mariners once, that epic NLCS game against the Phils in 1980, Joe Neikro (or was it Phil?) and Luis Sojo and Craig Biggio and Ken Griffey, Jr. Every moment doesn't have to be a championship; every playoff victory is a gift, not a right. That's how you're a fan of any team--including some for the Yankees. Just not many.<br /><br />Because when you come down to it, sports teams really are a family. Love them, hate them, but always come back to them, win or lose. Which makes me wonder if those of us with less idyllic childhoods might be more prone to "picking up" new teams to root for, or why moving to certain cities might or might not inspire you to root for that city's teams, but that's another post for another time. They will never be that perfect family you remember from childhood, but they will always be there for you.<br /><br />Unless they move to L.A. That's where it all breaks down, of course.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-33972450791465373102007-10-04T16:31:00.000-07:002007-10-04T16:37:28.261-07:00Replay It! (So I can have my heart broken in slo-mo)<p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">I'm not sure why so many people are up in arms about the end of the Rockies/Padres game on Monday. Sports talk radio (especially sports talk radio here in Southern California) was abuzz about how this game was proof that baseball needs instant replay just like football and basketball. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Except it's not proof at all.</span> </p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">This wasn't a game lost because of the lack of replay like the Jets/Seahawks 9 years ago when Vinny Testeverde was awarded a touchdown even though replays showed the ball was a good 6 inches short of the goal line. And it wasn't like the Rams/Bucs playoff game a couple years later when a Bert Emanuel catch was overturned because technically the ball had touched the ground even though Emanuel appeared to have it in his control. These were plays that justifiably led to the instatement of replay and the tweaking of the rules. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Monday night's game, however, would not have been changed by replay. Neither controversial call in the game (Colorado's maybe-home-run and Matt Holiday's swipe-or-no-swipe of home plate) would have been overturned had replay been used in that game. Both were too close to call, with no visual evidence that the ball did or didn't clear the fence and no clear evidence that Holiday did or didn't tag. And lest this sound like a pro-Colorado stance, I'll state the had Holiday been called out there is no way the call would have been overturned. It would have ended much the way the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG8Foe1-HoE">UConn/Temple football game</a> ended earlier this season where Temple appeared to score a go-ahead touchdown in the waning seconds of the game, but the call was out of bounds and there was no visual evidence to overturn it other than some body-language cues that he probably did catch the ball.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"> </span> </p>Freelancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09338040080920922092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-77942715994169618902007-10-01T10:37:00.000-07:002007-10-01T15:10:41.848-07:00Fired Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.detroitlions.com/photos/turner091200.GIF"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.detroitlions.com/photos/turner091200.GIF" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Okay, maybe it's just bitterness from getting dropped out of the survivor league (I wasn't the only one), but I find myself in the rare position of arguing for a mid-season coaching change. How do you lose a home game to a team as woeful as Kansas City with the level of talent Norv has in San Diego? At this point, their season is over. I won't say you're going to need a particularly good record to win the AFC West, but Denver clearly has the inside track on that now, and Oakland has been playing well enough that you can't count on either of those games as a gimme (and clearly, you can't count on a KC game either, especially when you're going to Arrowhead). Not to mention that they have to play the Colts, at Tennessee, and at Jacksonville. Heck, even Houston coming to SD is not a cert right now. Coupled with the Bears loss at Detroit, it now looks like the Chargers' win in the first week of the season was a product of a lousy Bears team more than a talented Chargers team.<br /><br />So what to do? Usually I am more cautious about calling for mid-season coaching changes, but Norv has got to know he was on a short leash to begin with, <a href="http://three-and-out.blogspot.com/2007/02/jesus-i-just-had-weirdest-dream.html">given his prior record</a>. Getting blown out at New England was bad. Losing at Green Bay was bad. Losing at home to the Chiefs--sorry, that's strike three. Write this season off and bring in a new coaching staff, let them get used to the players and vice versa, and load up for next season.<br /><br />Postscript: I wrote this before seeing <a href="http://www.firenorv.net/">the </a><a href="http://thecoachiskillingme.wordpress.com/2007/09/30/the-norv-turner-experience-week-4-i-hate-to-tell-you-i-told-you-so-but/">consensus </a><a href="http://deadspin.com/sports/nfl-roundup/norvs-worst-debacle-yet-305475.php">across </a><a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/firenorv/petition.html">blogdom</a>. (Google "fire norv" for more. It's <a href="http://stropsblog.com/?p=128">astounding</a>, <a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071001080315AAmzaof">really</a>. I should buy stock in rakes and Frankenstein torches.)<br /><br />Best line courtesy of <a href="http://deadspin.com/sports/nfl-6%7C00_ish-updates/matt-leinart-is-watching-one-exciting-game-305305.php">Deadspin</a>: "Chargers 16, Chiefs 6 -- Taking a lead in the first half, Norv Turner solemnly made halftime adjustments in the hopes of making the lead smaller or non-existent."Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-64434869313822454732007-09-18T10:18:00.000-07:002007-09-18T10:25:55.861-07:00The "Real Deal"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.loolix.com/2002/12/realdeal.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.loolix.com/2002/12/realdeal.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Overheard during the New England-San Diego game Sunday night on the radio: "Shawne Merriman had 16 sacks in only twelve games last season. He is the real deal." <br /><br />Except, of course, that he only played in twelve games because he was serving a suspension for steroid use in the other four. Have we forgotten already? Really? Did you have to use the phrase "the real deal" in the same breath in which you mentioned his suspension for using artificial performance enhancing drugs?Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-1558618364865452382007-08-12T20:49:00.000-07:002007-08-12T21:03:57.909-07:00Perhaps He Is Speaking In Some Kind Of Code<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/Thomas-and-Mack.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://theassociation.blogs.com/the_association/Thomas-and-Mack.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Here at Three and Out, we like to dig up stories that are under the radar because they are unsurprising or unimportant, but at least are connected to our favorite teams. You might have heard of <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2965350">a little deal</a> two of our teams made a little while back, in which <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3830">Sebastian Telfair</a> was sent to his third NBA team at the ripe old age of 22. He struck the right note in his new city, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/souhan/story/1349951.html">telling the Minneapolis press</a> that he accepts responsibility for his previous problems and is taking steps to correct them. Well, that sounds promising! What kind of steps?<br /><br />"I've taken myself out of New York City and moved to Vegas so I can concentrate on basketball."<br /><br />Wait, what?<br /><br />I mean, come on. I realize he's bounced around a lot, but if he'd picked a city with an NBA team, at least he'd have a 1 in 30 shot at landing there from year to year...Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-84886203226397291422007-07-05T15:38:00.000-07:002007-07-05T15:44:24.997-07:00Fun With Neurotic Red Sox Fans<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDikprTMBjU0oGVh71m83cFDOVZ4yG8iCjIavepYfSsvAriJAA7Sotb0_pKx0ZQ8TGUTgI0tZ02vtdrJ7Pqh7mHd0MbMwhTLQIkPNrHWUsUWAi_Nu1n64HZNyPIup3Cm6867zqXitnTU/s1600-h/r3269970390.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDikprTMBjU0oGVh71m83cFDOVZ4yG8iCjIavepYfSsvAriJAA7Sotb0_pKx0ZQ8TGUTgI0tZ02vtdrJ7Pqh7mHd0MbMwhTLQIkPNrHWUsUWAi_Nu1n64HZNyPIup3Cm6867zqXitnTU/s400/r3269970390.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083846014318279730" /></a><br />As previously reported <a href="http://three-and-out.blogspot.com/2007/01/barry-bonds-seeks-to-join-sport-where.html">right here in this blog</a>, John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, actually did buy half the NASCAR Roush Racing team this winter, and now the partnership is coming to fruition. The target? None other than 2005 Nextel Cup 2nd place finisher Carl Edwards. Carl got a full makeover last week, his car and helmet <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2919825">repainted in Red Sox team colors</a>, complete with a Red Sox logo on the hood and doors and the 9's redone in the font that Ted Williams wore on his jersey. Carl even got to drive his car into Fenway Park and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2007-07-01-notes-edwards-loudon_N.htm">threw out the ceremonial first pitch</a> for Saturday's game vs. the Rangers.<br /><br />As you might have heard, the Red Sox are doing pretty well this year. Best record in the majors, even. Carl's also having a pretty good year after missing the Chase last year - 7th place, pretty solidly in the running this year, and completely dominating the Busch Series by an astounding 784 points. It's far too tempting to draw comparisons between the two, as if Carl was an avatar for the Red Sox's season. Same ownership, right? Similar situations. As you can guess, this only served to further prove that Red Sox fans' psyches are about as formidable as Glass Joe.<br /><br />Carl <a href="http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=nascar-b/news/asn4087788.htm">finished 2nd</a> in Saturday's Busch race in Loudon, NH. Not so bad, right? Except for the fact that his car failed post-race inspections, and was <a href="http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007834152">fined and docked 25 points</a>. Things seemed bright for Edwards in the Sunday Nextel race as well, racing towards the front of the pack and leading a few laps. Towards the home stretch of the race, Edwards pitted. As his tires were being changed, his car <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/autoracing/articles/2007/07/02/pit_stop_mishap_costs_edwards_valuable_time/">slipped and fell off the jack</a>, taking up valuable time - 47 seconds worth, over twice as long as the average pit stop. He got back on the track a lap down and his day was over, finishing 13th.<br /><br />Cars rarely fall off the jacks in NASCAR. It's a pretty rare flub for a team to have to go through. To make an analogy, it's almost like a routine grounder dribbling through an infielder's legs. It just doesn't happen very often.<br /><br />I'm sure the Red Sox will be just fine this year.Arrowedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17038229346211860241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-34873970203974566012007-07-04T13:56:00.000-07:002007-07-04T14:21:37.828-07:00Do You Believe In Hyperbole?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5h6c5rNSoi50uMc5oLpSwd_ldQDQjTGHun_pKsia41qDvQZtIr0niPgQwFmhF1OBbx8qsUAErNq16nAW-sdUsXYf4O4N-kV_G7a1M1zOxMs0ZfTZvGA4te61IWeEiK2EhL2o4u7fB9M/s1600-h/ratatouille_2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5h6c5rNSoi50uMc5oLpSwd_ldQDQjTGHun_pKsia41qDvQZtIr0niPgQwFmhF1OBbx8qsUAErNq16nAW-sdUsXYf4O4N-kV_G7a1M1zOxMs0ZfTZvGA4te61IWeEiK2EhL2o4u7fB9M/s320/ratatouille_2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083454210862817634" /></a><br />Last year, we happened to be working out at the gym on July 4th when Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition was being televised on the four-letter. If you have missed it in the past, I highly recommend it. From the "has eaten" list that stretches the imagination ("one tenth of her body weight in cheesecake ... 97 Krystal burgers in eight minutes ... 8.6 pounds of deep-fried asparagus spears in ten minutes ..."--see the <a href="http://www.ifoce.com/records.php">full list of records</a> if you really want to boggle your mind) to the quirky competitors, including <a href="http://www.ifoce.com/eaters.php?action=detail&sn=100">a vegetarian</a> who only eats meat at "sanctioned competitive events," it's a spectacle unlike any other. “Nothing represents summer and the Fourth of July like the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog-Eating Contest,” <a href="http://www.ifoce.com/news.php?action=detail&sn=538">said Wayne Norbitz</a>, president and COO of Nathan’s Famous, and notorious barbecue and fireworks hater. “This year our nation has new hope for glory.” Wait, what?<br /><br />See, this year's tilt had the added bonus of a challenger worthy of six-time champ and Japanese national <a href="http://www.ifoce.com/eaters.php?action=detail&sn=22">Takeru Kobayashi</a>: San Jose's own <a href="http://www.ifoce.com/eaters.php?action=detail&sn=106">Joey Chestnut</a>, who broke Kobayashi's overall record for hot dogs eaten and seemed poised to unseat the champ and bring the "mustard belt" back to the good ol' U.S. of A. He did so in record style as both he and Kobayashi surpassed his previous record of 59.5, when thanks to an unfortunate "reversal," Kobayashi ended up three dogs short of Chestnut's winning 66.<br /><br />The announcers are just as insane as the contestants. Bringing the championship back to America, the hysterical announcer exclaimed, was "the greatest moment in American sports history." Upon hearing that, an indignant <a href="http://www.jimcraigusa.com/1980-olympic-team.shtml">Jim Craig</a> immediately signed up for next year's contest.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-71341195757509452332007-07-02T00:15:00.000-07:002007-07-02T01:01:32.779-07:00Choking Hazard<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLKe2pa5BtUuR4BdHYyQPQ5tJ6xy1Ps1HvJJmxiD6cQqs92HFNmz_EOPwFlNPPm2TeHjA1DO9bxsgqpG_k_XZxUVAwzojcOzDpmk56pl3rHr5Rf8jroP36OE839hOk6DXAbA3Ahk87Y8/s1600-h/chris+choking.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLKe2pa5BtUuR4BdHYyQPQ5tJ6xy1Ps1HvJJmxiD6cQqs92HFNmz_EOPwFlNPPm2TeHjA1DO9bxsgqpG_k_XZxUVAwzojcOzDpmk56pl3rHr5Rf8jroP36OE839hOk6DXAbA3Ahk87Y8/s400/chris+choking.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082495470441987106" /></a><br />Found this little gem off a comment from the Deadspin Post of the Year, 2007: The Chris Benoit "Deluxe Aggression" action figure! <a href="http://amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000H7G1HC">Get it while it's hot</a>! The best part of it? The little "Choking Hazard" warning in the bottom left. Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night.<br /><br />Once again, proving that most of our (okay, my) content usually originates on Deadspin, here is the winning comment from all the hubbub about this tragedy:<br /><br />"Why didn't his wife and kid just tap out?"<br /><br /><a href="http://deadspin.com/sports/cultural-oddsmaker/whos-the-next-steroid-user-to-murder-their-family-273217.php">Who's The Next Steroid User To Murder Their Family?</a>Arrowedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17038229346211860241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-73613685222374796092007-06-29T15:22:00.001-07:002007-06-30T08:49:28.699-07:00The "NFL Europe" Never Really Existed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.skytonight.com/images/Jupiter_painting_l.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://media.skytonight.com/images/Jupiter_painting_l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The most startling thing about <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2007-06-29-nfl-europe-folds_N.htm">this piece of news</a> is not that the league that began life as "the Waffle" is going away, but that its actual name was "NFL Europa." Europa? Seriously? I guess if you consider the NFL to be Jupiter, then "NFL Europa" accurately describes the difference in scale between the two. Also, then we could call <a href="http://azcardinals.com/nm_files/Image/vsSanFran/openingday.jpg">University of Phoenix Stadium</a> the <a href="http://www-atm.physics.ox.ac.uk/main/faq/redspot_false2.jpg">Great Red Spot</a>.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-22326972366687810012007-06-26T23:17:00.000-07:002007-06-27T00:48:05.997-07:00Rotoworld Gets Their Sarcasm OnRotoworld is a very interesting site. Like many people (but unlike most of my fellow contributors, as far as I can tell), I have a fantasy baseball team or five, and it's indispensable for news on my current players and pretty open about sharing information. There's a sidebar on <a href="http://www.bostondirtdogs.com/">Boston Dirt Dogs</a> for Rotoworld information about the Sox, and occasionally they put out a really funny blurb. I think that's why I like them more than other knockoffs like Rotowire, KFFL, Stats Inc, etc. Plus they've got a nicer website. Anyway, some faithful Rotoworld readers <a href="http://forums.rotoworld.com/index.php?showtopic=6682&st=0">compiled a list of really funny ones themselves</a>, so instead of blatantly steal like I usually do, I'll just link. I particularly like the David Terrell and Taco Wallace ones. The reason for this post, of course, is because I came across a particularly cutting and amusing one tonight:<br /><blockquote>Kason Gabbard - BOS<br />Kason Gabbard issued two of his six walks with the bases loaded in the first and gave up four runs in 3 1/3 innings Tuesday against the Mariners.<br /><font color="blue">It should have been worse, but Manny Delcarmen bailed him out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. The Red Sox just butchered this one tonight. The first mistake was going to Gabbard against a team that is quite a bit better against lefties. They watched him almost completely blow the game in the first. Besides the walk, there was also a bases-loaded HBP in the frame. Then the Red Sox trotted out their worst relievers one-by-one. Perhaps the most incredible moment of the season so far came in the sixth. Lefty specialist Javier Lopez, in his second inning of work having already given up a two-run homer to Richie Sexson, intentionally walked the only left-handed hitter in Seattle's lineup (Ichiro) before being removed from the game. That it worked out hardly made it any less bizarre. Judging from Lopez's presence in the contest in the first place, we can only assume that Joel Pineiro passed away last week and no one bothered to alert the media.</font></blockquote><br />This, of course, is quickly followed by:<br /><blockquote>Joel Pineiro - BOS<br />Joel Pineiro has been unavailable the last two days because he rolled an ankle working out on Monday.<br /><font color="blue">So it wasn't his time after all.</font><br />Source: Boston Herald</blockquote><br />Classic.Arrowedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17038229346211860241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-44311663999827572832007-06-22T00:13:00.000-07:002007-06-22T01:20:25.616-07:00The Joys of Sox<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR09erTKR5o45I4G9TLyvzS7C7c67DkFj4XfjyH1J9tlCgtyT5po5k5STwPODwMiFaC0b4M-S8j0YbogMHGLa6BNufS6NVckQEGO6m9_mdEfNJVrlU28m-SDEycBGCUuEqtVRB1hHMBxA/s1600-h/capt.6813f08f33fa46a3b96646dd0a02da70.giants_red_sox_baseball_bxf110.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR09erTKR5o45I4G9TLyvzS7C7c67DkFj4XfjyH1J9tlCgtyT5po5k5STwPODwMiFaC0b4M-S8j0YbogMHGLa6BNufS6NVckQEGO6m9_mdEfNJVrlU28m-SDEycBGCUuEqtVRB1hHMBxA/s400/capt.6813f08f33fa46a3b96646dd0a02da70.giants_red_sox_baseball_bxf110.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078786947129492450" /></a><br />It's 3 months into the baseball season, right? And this is a sports blog, right? And I am a massive Red Sox fan, right? And the Red Sox are currently leading the AL East by 10.5 games, right? Right. So why hasn't there been any Red Sox-related posts from the most rabid Red Sox fan on this site?<br /><br />Well, for one, pretty much every news site/blog/major television network just keeps talking about the Red Sox/Yankees ALL THE TIME. Give it a rest, guys, or else <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=schreiber_leanne&id=2897260">this old lady</a> is totally going to gently ask you to tone it down.. after she gives you some of her home-made brownies, of course.<br /><br />For two.. Sox fans are big believers in karma, which is amusing considering Yankees fans, as a general rule, are complete akarmaists. Gloating about a big lead is just simply bad karma, and I don't want to tempt fate. I like our team a lot, and think we're going to win the AL East this year. (Gasp!) And yes, every Red Sox win and every Yankees loss makes me happy - not because I like to see the Yankees suffer, but because it means our lead is more and more secure. The most gung-ho about it that I'll get is my response to someone teasing me about whether I'm scared now - "Ask me that again when the Yankees are closer to 1st place in their division than Washington is."<br /><br />I went to two Boston games at <strike>Oakland</strike>McAfee Coliseum a few weeks back just so I could say I actually attended a game or two in this hopefully historic season. We lost both games pretty easily. (Yes, we lost the first one in extra innings, but we all knew Terry Francona wasn't too interested in winning when he paraded out Joel Piniero, J.C. Romero, and Kyle Snyder in order in a close game.) In fact, Schilling had to pitch an entire game himself just to keep us from getting swept. I should have felt upset at their performances, but I just can't. They're too lovable.<br /><br />They're a great team to watch, especially since they have so much fun playing the game. They have a ton of chemistry, unlike another certain unnamed team that is pretty much a collection of All-Stars. It starts from the top, with Manny Ramirez <a href="http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/06/09/manny-ramirez-used-car-salesman/">selling pretty much anything he can get his hands on</a> and <a href="http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/05/08/manny-ramirez-is-enjoying-julian-tavarezs-company">grooming his teammate in the dugout</a> and David Ortiz <a href="http://dugout.progressiveboink.com/archive/jon117.html">hugging the other teams' players</a>, on down to Mike Lowell <a href="http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/06/12/manny-ramirez-might-sort-of-join-the-blogging-game/">wanting to start up Manny's blog</a> and Julian Tavarez.. well, where to start? <a href="http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/05/23/julian-tavarez-has-manny-ramirez-on-his-chest-and-david-ortiz-on/">Wearing a "Manny Being Manny" T-shirt?</a> <a href="http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/05/28/julian-tavarez-dreamt-of-being-a-porn-star/">Dreaming of being a porn star?</a> Even long-time announcer Jerry Remy is getting into the act, pulling a little <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFEvN8SYaDU">air guitar on the air</a> with predictable results and playing Zapruder in the case of the flying pizza. This clip is just about the funniest Red Sox-related thing I've seen all year. Enjoy. I know I am.<br /><br />Part 1:<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oCHge7a-PmY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oCHge7a-PmY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />Part 2:<br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dcKeDPG_lMQ"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dcKeDPG_lMQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Arrowedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17038229346211860241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-34836286400488656492007-06-21T13:44:00.000-07:002007-06-21T13:55:30.408-07:00If Corporations Were Allowed To Vote On All-Stars<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCyM8zJVUX-S3pLXWlxkzkKVFka4vLGdMjN_yzgEN5Dl4SYYcxVwY07LhS6eyBEsa15tInUG9XVvYAXrcbOzF15BP5b29LPbsn5F9nstRWXb85xAUpWONoS28oaTXgSBic4GuYu732nE/s1600-h/allstar+johnny.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCyM8zJVUX-S3pLXWlxkzkKVFka4vLGdMjN_yzgEN5Dl4SYYcxVwY07LhS6eyBEsa15tInUG9XVvYAXrcbOzF15BP5b29LPbsn5F9nstRWXb85xAUpWONoS28oaTXgSBic4GuYu732nE/s400/allstar+johnny.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078623964859567314" /></a><br />My office drinks a fair amount of Diet Pepsi, and in the latest batch, I noticed that one can had a baseball player on it, as part of an All Star Game tie-in. A few names sprang to mind: A-Rod, Griffey, Ordonez, Ichiro, Fielder, Bonds... not all of them leading in votes, but at least close. But no, upon closer inspection, the name of the player on the can is...Johnny Damon.<br />In fact, of the three cases of Diet Pepsi we got in this week, the number of cans with a baseball player other than Johnny Damon on them is: zero. I mean...really? Johnny "<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070619&content_id=2035977&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb#ballotResults">ninth in All Star voting</a> even though he's on the Yankees" Damon? Johnny "one place above J.D. Drew" Damon?<br />When we go to the <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fan_forum/pepsi/2007/clutch_performer.jsp">MLB site</a> listed on the can, all is revealed: "Check out Pepsi's new MLB-themed commercial featuring Johnny Damon and Joe Mauer," a caption under a completely different video entreats us. I guess I can figure out who else is on the other Limited Edition cans.<br />Meanwhile, if this Damon can ever becomes valuable, we've got like a hundred of 'em here.Tim Susmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354987680992285327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630450386377826854.post-64945566403921200592007-06-19T15:54:00.000-07:002007-06-19T16:28:52.817-07:00Kobe Bryant is a Spoiled Rich GirlI had a dream the other day... Okay, it was after lunch this afternoon as I was daydreaming about things I could be doing if I wasn't where I was, which was in the office.<br /><br />In the dream Kobe Bryant was being chased by Scooby and the gang, who were dead set on finding the reasons behind his abnormal behavior.<br /><br />'I want to be traded!'<br /><br />'Well, maybe not!'<br /><br />'Bring back Jerry West and I'll be Happy!'<br /><br />'Never mind! I hate you all! Trade me! Trade me! Trade me!'<br /><br />When Scooby and company finally caught up with Kobe, Fred reached out and pulled on Kobe's face. SCHLOOP! The mask came off!<br /><br />Underneath it was Paris Hilton.<br /><br />Yes, Kobe is a spoiled, rich girl whose never known what it's like to go through a down time. I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone who already has 9 All Star appearances and 3 championship rings before he hit the age of 30. And now! Oh no! He may have to suffer the indignity of playing through a REBUILDING PROCESS! Poor, poor Kobe! Let's all feel sorry for him now!<br /><br />I have some sympathy--SOME--for the great players who ask to be traded in the twilight of their careers to get one last shot at that ring. Guys like Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Ray Bourque, or Cris Carter. Guys who never got that ring (though I have more respect for guys like Marino, Reggie Miller, or John Stockton who stick it out with their teams without crying about never getting their chances).<br /><br />If I were Mitch Kupchak I would trade Kobe.<br /><br />To the Mnnesota Timberwolves, for Kevin Garnett.<br /><br />They could make a Simple Life-like reality show out of it where Kobe would find out what it's like to REALLY have to rebuild and play for a team that REALLY has incompetent management.Freelancerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09338040080920922092noreply@blogger.com1