- 02:10 AM
- 06/20/13
As a Canucks fan, this series is going to be a weirdly excruciating schadenfreude sandwich.
I found myself clinging to a single positive hope - that Brad Marchand might have turned out to be the goat on the overtime goal. Nope, but probably more chances of that to come.
posted by rumple at 01:44 PM on June 13
Manchester City's Carlos Tevez apparently lost his paystub. Count the figures to the left of the decimal, and weep. Something about seeing the pay in such a mundane setting is shocking. Not to mention the 24 GBP fine -- I'm sure that hurt.
Hope the server bounced back up gracefully
posted by rumple at 04:43 PM on November 28
Just wondering where the Wednesday huddle is?
posted by rumple at 02:24 PM on November 28
Just make the PAT less automatic by changing it to, say, a 40 or 45 yarder. With the probability reduced to something like 75%, coaches will go for the 2 pointer more often, and misses will factor into a lot more games = more moments of intense interest for the fan.
posted by rumple at 03:25 PM on November 23
But they won't get revenue from parking, concessions, etc., in the way that is supposedly essential for modern NHL teams to survive and which is a main reason they lobby for public funds for new arena construction. It doesn't add up at all.
posted by rumple at 01:27 PM on October 25
Zidane's headbutt is immortalized in Paris.
posted by rumple at 05:55 PM on September 26
oh dammit, forgot. OK I will pick against the games already played, so to speak.
Washington in 7
St Louis in 7
Flyers in 5
Nashville in 7
posted by rumple at 02:29 PM on April 29
and goofy assertions
It's part of the Scientific process to have and eliminate alternative hypotheses.
Also, it's a 10% difference in penalties called, which given his sample size is huge, it does beg for an explanation. So the old "correlation doesn't equal causation" thing is, as usual, a red herring.
posted by rumple at 08:38 PM on April 26
Think North American professional leagues are aiming for parity? Two extremely close final standings tables from professional soccer leagues.
posted by rumple at 02:24 PM on April 18
Hmmm. Fiskars could sponsor the Clippers. Red Bull will sponsor the Bulls, obviously. Fruit of the Loom gets the Knicks. And I dunno, V1agra gets the Heat.
posted by rumple at 02:17 AM on April 18
Rangers in 6
Boston in 5
Panthers in 7
Pittsburgh in 6
Vancouver in 5
San Jose in 7
Nashville in 6
Phoenix in 7
posted by rumple at 04:07 PM on April 11
He'll be walking with a linp for a while.
posted by rumple at 09:13 PM on March 31
Patriots by 10
Under
Patriots
Patriots
Defence
posted by rumple at 05:49 PM on February 03
New England by 6
49ers by 11
Worst Rusher: Tom Brady -3.0
Longest reception: Gronkowski 44 yds
Third Down: 49ers - 62%
Red Zone: 49ers - 62%
posted by rumple at 02:08 PM on January 22
Beckham signs up for two more years with LA Galaxy.
posted by rumple at 09:28 PM on January 18
By definition, about half the teams in the league are going to consider an "average quarterback" to be an upgrade.
posted by rumple at 01:03 PM on January 16
What? No one picked Brady for long punting average? Never have I been so disappointed in the collective wisdom of Spofi.
posted by rumple at 10:28 PM on January 15
San Francisco by 5
New England by 20
Baltimore by 11
Green Bay by 14
Receiver: Welker
Quickest: Green Bay
Punter - Turk (Houston)
Hey -- on the scoresheet you have folkways bolded for four points but credited with three.
posted by rumple at 10:55 PM on January 13
This is the most bullshit front page post I've ever seen on SportsFilter. Get your own blog, for chrissakes.
posted by rumple at 09:36 PM on January 09
So I didn't follow the NFL at all this year, but since there is 10 minutes left to have some fun with it, here goes:
Cincinatti by 7
New Orleans by 11
Pittsburgh by 8
Giants by 10
Kicker - Suisham
Running Back - Benson
Turnovers - Pittsburgh
posted by rumple at 03:44 PM on January 07
That's a good question, but it's one that could be asked on 10 plays a game when the first tackler on the ball carrier (especially WR, or punt returns) comes in with no use of arms and just tries to lay his shoulder in hard. It's almost a cliche of old fart commentary that tacklers these days aren't using their arms, wrapping up the ball carrier, "football fundamentals", etc.
If Harrison hits McCoy in the chest, not wrapping him up at all, but knocking him on his ass nonetheless, then it is not some kind of remarkable, unusual "not using his arms" tackle - it's something you see multiple times every game.
posted by rumple at 04:24 PM on December 10
It is connected, in that if your loved ones are not allowed to speak up to protect your health, especially when you might have your noggin knocked into not the best of shape, and when you are enmeshed in an extremely macho subculture, then insularity of influence is part of the problem leading to concussions.
In short, McCoy's dazed response was to say he was fine and go back in. The coach's response was to let him. Those are not rational decisions.
Yes, in a general sense a dad shouldn't fight a man's battles, but dammit, someone has to advocate for his brain and huge respect to his dad for crossing that line.
posted by rumple at 04:11 PM on December 10
This seems like a bigger issue than the hit itself in many ways, in that it gets to the most important systemic problem - repetitive hits to the head causing permanent brain damage. A concussed but functional player on the field is a sitting duck - and he threw a completely lame interception right after -- I mean, that is itself a sign of concussion, no? It's not just the guys who get carried off the field unconscious I worry about, as much as it's the guys getting whacked and then going back in, or those whose entire game is a series of 50 sub-concussion head butts along the line.
But the culture of football states that getting your bell rung is part of the game - and yet if there was proper sidelines procedures then if nothing else, the coaches running out of players would change the head-centric nature of the game (and yeah, I'm talking about lineman play here with routine smacking of heads, as well as open field tackles).
rcade - yeah, he will lose his "man card" and that too is another symptom of the problem.
But you know, his dad is not "probably right", he is absolutely 100% right and it's a breakthrough that he is speaking up.
If a culture of disgust and ostracization could arise among players, coaches, parents, and others for chronic offenders that might also help. Matt Cooke, for example, is a bit of a pariah in the NHL, even his own teammates barely tolerate him as a necessary evil (true in Vancouver well before the Savard hit, all the rumours were he was held in contempt, and yet play on he does.....). In the NHL, the recent poll of players was strongly in favour of fighting across the board, while equally strongly in favour of eliminating head shots. Seems kind of contradictory, but I guess there is a sense the former follow from the latter, or at least prevent the latter, and the notion that maybe ?50% of the players will never have a fight in their whole career but any one of them could get Cooked.
My solution - put accelerometers into helmets and have that as part of the diagnostic criteria - above a certain G, then sit out of the game, or a mandatory check up in the doctors office, off field, away from coaches.
posted by rumple at 03:32 PM on December 10
I don't at all have a dog in this fight, but it certainly looks to me like the QB has tucked the ball under his arm and then at the very last minute he pulls it back and tosses the pass. I've seen a lot of quarterbacks scramble and I don't recall them tucking the ball until it is clear they are going to run.
My question is, does that make any difference - tuck or no tuck? I get the ball wasn't in his hand at the time he was hit, so late, but then when Harrison is lining him up the ball is in the tuck and not in a throwing position. His decision to suddenly untuck and throw is not that common from the football I have seen and maybe it somehow fooled Harrison too.
Anyway, the overall concern is the massive helmet to helmet hit which should never be tolerated under any circumstances and warrants a suspension, late or not.
posted by rumple at 03:17 PM on December 10
This is an excellent series which I've been reading for the last few days. I don't recall if it is mentioned in the article, but no surprise the recent news that Boogard's brain shows advanced Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
It is really worth reading the short journal or mini-biography Boogard wrote shortly before his death. The Times has a eccentrically-formatted facsimile of it as well as a transcription (click the "text" tab). It is such a vivid account of growing up on the Prairies in youth hockey culture - it is rare to see such an unlaundered, unedited, so intensely naive account of that way of life. I found myself completely drawn into it - it's comparable to another Canadian classic of working-class memoirs: Roger Caron's Go-Boy.
The facsimile is perhaps a sad window into disordered thinking.
Anyway, Boogard had a lot of fights in Junior and took a lot of shots to the head before he learned how to really use his size. With his limited ice time I wonder if he is the key case of CTE being caused by hockey fights versus the chronic head-smacked-into-boards scenario. It seems in the NFL that it is the routine smacking of heads which may be causing the problem as much as the big impact concussions. I guess what I am saying is, the means by which CTE is produced in Hockey is not yet understood. Boogard's fate suggests fighting, but Rick Rypien's fate - a fast skater who could really play, got significant ice time all through junior, and delivered a lot of hits along the boards as well as fought a fair bit - suggests it is not necessarily that simple.
posted by rumple at 12:39 PM on December 06
I saw a comment to the effect that having the top three teams per division, plus four wildcards would be more fair vs the 4/8:4/7 model. And another comment (I have no original thoughts) that the TB/Florida placement was because the Canadian teams are a huge draw with the Florida snowbirds and retirees from Canuckistan.
posted by rumple at 11:36 PM on December 05
* Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay
Two of these things are not like the others .....
The four respective Conference champions would meet in the third round of the Playoffs, with the survivors playing for the Stanley Cup.
I guess it will be A vs B, and C vs D in the semis? Article doesn't say.
This is good for Vancouver in that it makes way more games within the PST zone, and cuts out the long intra-division Minnesota road trips. Also the play every other team home and away each year makes so much effing sense I am surprised they implemented it.
The seven team vs eight team structure does raise fundamental issues of fairness though. 4/7 chance vs 4/8 chance of making the playoffs is a huge deal. Also, the first two rounds of the playoffs being intra-division [*kaff* "conference"] does raise spectre of monotony of matchups year in year out.
Which might be the monotony of getting clock cleaned by the resurgent Oilers for the next five years.
posted by rumple at 10:40 PM on December 05
Former Red Wings' defenceman Vladimir Konstantinov is rehabbing from his brain injury through art.
Konstantinov was seriously injured just days after winning the 1997 Stanley Cup when a limo he was in crashed.
posted by rumple at 07:42 PM on November 17
HUh, I never realized that about the "Hitmen". Their logo doesn't suggest any connection of course, though it was controversial in its own right and if you're not a wrestling fan then the allusion to gangsterism is a lot more direct.
posted by rumple at 01:58 PM on November 17
I dunno, "Boston Stranglers" would be pretty offensive too, oh but it's all about choking up on the bat.
I don't care how much time has passed, naming your team after a notorious serial sex killer is bad taste and offensive, completely unnecessary, and a rank amateur, small town, highly-insulated, parochial attempt at creating buzz.
The "Calgary Hit Men" is another pretty crass team name but at least it is generic and not about a specific depraved individual. And yes, if in a hundred years I was alive to see the Toronto Bernardos take the field, I'd say that was "too soon", and I hope most people would agree.
posted by rumple at 12:21 PM on November 17
Yeah, Reever played fox to the Spofi henhouse! Just gotta figure out where that one point went!
By which I mean, congrats reever
posted by rumple at 12:11 AM on November 14
Oh hey, I was away so didn't see this chance to redeem my stunning one point loss in the regular season series. Thanks, DrJohnEvans for doing these - fun diversions in a sometimes difficult life!
posted by rumple at 12:09 AM on November 14
Update on two casualties of last Spring's nasty Stanley Cup finals:
Mason Raymond practices with Canucks for the first time since a Johnny Boychuk hit fractured one of his vertebrae and,
Nathan Horton scores two and has an assist against the Islanders, suggesting he may be back in form after the devastating concussion from being hit by Aaron Rome.
posted by rumple at 12:36 PM on November 09
oh dang. Shows how closely I follow the CFL!
posted by rumple at 07:21 PM on November 04
Toronto by 6
Edmonton by 13
Calgary by 11
BC by 9
posted by rumple at 12:01 PM on November 04
Winnipeg by 15
Hamilton by 5
BC by 7
Montreal by 17
posted by rumple at 01:10 AM on October 28
Edmonton by 11
Calgary by 3
Winnipeg by 5
BC by 10
posted by rumple at 04:53 PM on October 21
Howard_T - heh, I was all talk and no walk. Stuck with SWAG and I think I did alright.
posted by rumple at 12:54 AM on October 17
ooh, second place. I better stop wild ass guessing and do some homework on this stuff.
Toronto by 3
Edmonton by 11
Montreal by 20
BC by 5
posted by rumple at 02:52 AM on October 14
Hamilton by 6
BC by 13
Montreal by 21
Edmonton by 17
posted by rumple at 11:07 PM on October 04
Winnipeg by 5
BC by 9
Calgary by 11
Hamilton by 20
posted by rumple at 09:59 PM on September 29
Edmonton by 11
BC by 7
Toronto by 4
Calgary by 12
posted by rumple at 12:21 AM on September 23
Unbelievable picture of the accident. So sad, shocking.
posted by rumple at 01:44 AM on September 17
Hamilton by 6
SASK by 11
BC by 5
Montreal by 18
posted by rumple at 05:48 PM on September 15
Edmonton by 15
BC by 20
Montreal by 4
Winnipeg by 2
posted by rumple at 08:43 PM on September 08
grum. - Manchester United lost much of its team in the late 1950s.
What a terrible thing this is.
.
posted by rumple at 11:18 AM on September 07
BC by 5
SASK by 5
Montreal by 12
Calgary by 11
posted by rumple at 06:53 PM on September 01
And people complain about Oscar Pistorius?
posted by rumple at 06:49 PM on August 30
Another good profile of Oscar Pistorius. Apparently he's been using the same legs for seven years so his improvement across that time is not technologically-driven.
posted by rumple at 02:39 PM on August 25
Not a lot of fanfare leading up it
Indeed - compare to the recent Jeter-o-Rama
posted by rumple at 08:15 PM on August 16
Fighting Sioux Nickname May be Over; NCAA Holds Ground in Agreement
Representative Al Carlson says it's still too early to tell what comes next, but with four days away from a deadline, when sanctions take effect-- the university is planning ahead.
"The reaction was the agreement is in place..the deadline is in place..and things are not going to change pretty much, " says Carlson. "There's a point in time where you have to move on."
Those are words some never thought they'd hear from Carlson; but after years of pushing to keep the UND Fighting Sioux nickname, the NCAA today gave its final no.
"We now know that the consequences of that are greater than realized," says Governor Jack Dalrymple.
The NCAA held their ground saying the price of keeping the logo could cost UND its spot in the Big Sky Conference. Sanctions that go into effect on Monday would include a ban on hosting postseason games and prohibit UND athletes from wearing the nickname and logo in post-season play.
posted by rumple at 04:08 PM on August 13
Montreal by 8
Calgary by 5
Hamilton by 11
BC by 3
posted by rumple at 06:48 PM on August 09
Sean Avery charged with assaulting a police officer.
posted by rumple at 12:43 PM on August 05
Montreal by 12
Edmonton by 3
BC by 5
Calgary by 10
posted by rumple at 08:50 PM on August 04
Frontline did a very good episode on this which I watched last night, also covers head injuries in High School football. There's a good heat stroke interview associated with the show here.
posted by rumple at 06:31 PM on August 03
Winnipeg by 3
Montreal by 7
Edmonton by 12
SASK by 2
posted by rumple at 02:59 PM on July 28
BC by 3
Winnipeg by 4
Edmonton by 7
Montreal by 12
posted by rumple at 11:54 PM on July 19
The Boston Bruins are the toughest team in the NHL
"We need aesthetics of violence, because violence is about pain, and pain is something we all need to understand. We need something in our culture that tells stories about it. Inflicting pain, enduring pain, owning pain. Mastering it. Making it- this thing that all humans instinctively fear, this thing that entire moral philosophies have been invented to avoid- yours. This is a fantasy many of us have and a narrative most of us will sometimes need. Maybe it was needed more when hockey players were birthed in mining towns and logging camps and fans came to the games from the factories and docks, when everyone who came to the barn came from a world of grinding, exhausting, injurious physical labor. Once upon a time it may have been easier to empathize with the idea that sometimes you need to take a blow to make a living- or deliver one to protect you and yours.
The kind of aesthetics- the emotional moments- that hockey provides are not exactly flourishing in the modern world, which is perhaps why the defenders of old-time hockey are so terrified of seeing them eroded further. This kind of art is important to them. They need it, and don't want it to be stripped away just because some other fans are unmoved. So they try to pretend it's necessary for winning and losing, because no one will have sympathy if you simply say, "it gives me the sort of feelings I want to feel.""