- 07:29 AM
- 11/22/09
After watching the clip a few times, it appears to me that he crossed the goal line and then dropped the ball behind him. I'd say that he was easily a yard inside the line when he let go of the ball.
posted by cabuki at 03:05 PM on October 06
Serena had already been warned for unsportsmanlike conduct once in the match for breaking her racket after losing the first set. The rules state that the second infraction is a loss of a point. She probably wouldn't have been hit with the second infraction if she didn't go back for a second heaping of abuse.
I don't know if it was a foot fault or not, but Serena acted poorly in this situation. There's no excuse for making a threatening gesture or statement.
posted by cabuki at 06:59 PM on September 13
No one will throw at Fielder's head. They'll hit him in his big fat butt and the penalty will be paid and life will go on. He didn't showboat without knowing there'd be some consequences, but I doubt he'll hear any chin music.
posted by cabuki at 04:42 PM on September 08
When I was in college, I was on the track team as a decathlete. I took part in a charity 4-man scramble tournament and on one of the par 3s they had a closest to the pin contest. I hit a lousy shot and as a joke, I said, "I could probably throw it closer than that." One of my team mates threw me a ball and said do it. 125 yard par 3 and I unleashed a textbook javelin throw (my favorite event) that landed just on the green and rolled to about 8 inches. I would have won the prize for closest to the hole if the organizers would have counted it.
posted by cabuki at 12:14 PM on November 11
I have been golfing for more than 20 years. My handicap is 6 and I have never had a hole in one,or has anyone I have golfed with.I can not believe this story.
That must mean no one has ever made one. :-/
I've been golfing for about 30 years. I've never made one but come close a couple times. And each of those times was a bit of dumb luck. Partially dumb luck keeping it out of the hole, partially dumb luck getting it close to begin with.
I think by nature, holes-in-one require luck. If they were 100% skill, the pros would do it more often.
posted by cabuki at 12:10 PM on November 11
graymatters: According to the article, "Sixty athletes were eliminated in the second round, either because of low scores or because they were not first in their field." So they considered LeBron the best basketball player and eliminated Kobe and Tony Parker. I don't think it's necessarily fair. As a former decathlete, I can attest that we the best all around athletes. :) For me, I got picked to be a decathlete by my track coach in junior college. I was better than most people in a lot of events, but I didn't excel at any one event better than anyone. Decathlon was what allowed me to compete on the college level. Next to decathletes, I'd put pole vaulters next. They have to have a sprinter's speed and a gymnast's strength and flexibility. In fact, many decathletes that I competed against in college were converted pole vaulters.
posted by cabuki at 03:09 PM on June 20
Great stuff. Not saying I condone this sort of behavior but hey, if the catcher's saying he crossed plays with the pitcher, then he crossed plays. On that note, I don't believe them for one second. This was an intentional strike to the umps grill. posted by BornIcon at 1:48 PM CST on June 18 This is kind of contradictory. At first you say you believe the catcher, then you say you don't. Which is it? To me, there's no way that the catcher was crossed up. He intentionally ducked the ball. The only player with any kind of plausible deniability is the pitcher. He could have just thrown a high fastball and the catcher saw it as an opportunity to get even. (I'm not sure I buy the pitcher being totally innocent, though.) thatch: There's no way he could have moved in time. When you're an umpire, you're expecting the catcher to catch or block the ball and you have to watch it all the way to his glove. The ball was about 2 feet away from the umpire's face when the catcher dropped his glove. He wouldn't even had time to think, "Oh, Shit!"
posted by cabuki at 04:59 PM on June 18
Watching the match on the BBC, you would have thought Federer was beaten by the lowest qualifier in the field, not the World #2 and arguably the best clay court player of this generation. The commentators were practically calling for Federer to retire before he caused himself any further embarrassment. He's made the finals 3 years in a row (and the semi final the year before that). I don't understand why people think he's bad on clay. Maybe they know something I don't.
posted by cabuki at 02:06 PM on June 08
I really don't understand what goes through someone's mind where they think they need to bring explosives to a sporting event. I've been to soccer matches here in Belgium where fans set off road flares and bottle rockets. It's idiots like this that give sports fans a bad name.
posted by cabuki at 03:36 AM on November 14
I've been that stupid before. Right before I moved to Europe, my coworkers took me to lunch at a place that served a habanero burger. I could only eat 1/3 of it before it got too hot to bear. The real fun was later that evening and the next morning as it made it's way out the other end.
posted by cabuki at 10:00 AM on November 09
holden: Here's a good article giving a timeline of the whole thing The essence of the scandal is that someone at Ferrari gave secrets to his buddy at McLaren. Ferrari found out and it hit the fan.
posted by cabuki at 04:32 PM on September 13
I hope this isn't the beginning of a career where everyone remarks, "He could have been one of the great ones. Too bad he was always injured."
posted by cabuki at 02:10 PM on September 13
I think this will kill McLaren financially. It’s obvious at this point that they would have been the constructor champion.
posted by cabuki at 02:06 PM on September 13
I've played in games like that (both on the winning and losing end). Sometimes, you just can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Playing in the Belgian Cup - a national tournament where all the teams from all divisions are split into pools and often sees Division 1 (the highest level) teams playing Division 4 teams (the lowest level - imagine being 18 years old and learning how to throw). A couple years back, I played on a D1 team against a D3 team. To try to make things fair, for each level difference, the lower level team got 3 runs added to their score (so the D3 team had a 6 run bonus). We ended up winning the game 49-6 (the 6 came from their bonus) in 5 innings. There was a mercy rule in place (20 runs after 5 innings) and after we got up by 20, we tried to make outs to get the game over with. It didn't matter what we did - righties batting lefty, using old wooden bats, intentionally hitting grounders - they couldn't get us out. On the flip side, when my team had just won promotion from D2 to D1 for the first time, we ended up getting put in the same pool as the top team in the country. Going into the 7th, we were down 12-6 when we have the inning from hell. We couldn't seem to make a defensive play to save our lives. 1 out, man on 1st, easy roller to short - the ball takes a bad hop and hits the SS in the face. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Next pitch, a high chopper to the 2B and it bounces right over his head. Run scores men on 1st and 3rd. Next batter walks. First pitch, the 8 hitter "crushes" a grand slam to left center 250' away (shortest power alley anywhere). The inning went on and on. Eventually, we got 2 more outs but not before we gave up 17 runs and the mercy rule kicked in. At the end, even the other team was getting embarrassed and just wanted the game over. But at least we got to drink beer after.
posted by cabuki at 08:18 AM on August 23
I was watching this meet live on TV on Friday. It was a bit surreal. They were showing someone get ready to start his long jump and then the camera is panning to a guy laying on the ground with people running towards him. As a former javelin thrower in college, I've witnessed someone get hit in person. The person I saw get hit was lucky, it hit them in the shoulder and bounced out. They ended up with a small puncture wound and a cracked shoulder blade. The person that got hit wasn't paying attention and had wandered into the throwing zone. They pretty much deserved what they got. The long jumper was in the warm up area for the long jump, but for whatever reason, the stadium was setup so that it was right next to the landing area of the javelin. I understand that there's a limited number of space, but they really put the long jumpers in harm's way. The javelin wasn't that far out of the landing zone and it's not unheard of for the javelins to land outside the zone. If anyone is at fault in this, it would be the even organizers.
posted by cabuki at 12:59 PM on July 16
Wow. Just wow. Talk about everything going exactly right (or wrong, depending on your point of view). I can't imagine the feeling the guys from Winona State had when that buzzer sounded.
posted by cabuki at 04:35 AM on March 26
I think the talk about percentages and quotas for players/coaches/etc. comes from outside of this article. For example, I've heard and read more than a few stories about the lack of black head coaches in football at the college and pro level. I hate to see the talent pool shrink no matter where it comes from. It's good that Sabathia's trying to do something to keep his sport popular in his community.
posted by cabuki at 05:35 AM on March 15
I've always thought Pound was an ass. His heavy-handed, over-bearing tactics don't help and even go against the bylaws of the WADA. This was a well written article, but it was just like every other article written about Pound and the WADA.
posted by cabuki at 02:53 PM on January 13
I've always felt Pound hated sports. Everything he does seems to be a personal vendetta against athletes. Last year, he bashed the NHL's drug testing program and Bettman's claim, "We don't have a problem." I think Bettman's fooling himself if he truly thinks there aren't any performance enhancers being taken in hockey, but Pound's response made me think that he believes they're all cheating. He was only given the WADA job because he was passed over as head of the IOC and they felt like they needed to pacify him. Like True Blue said, he's a tyrant and a bully. I'd be willing to bet that he thinks the only reason he didn't win an Olympic medal was that the people who beat him were cheating. And that's my point (yes, I do have one). It's like every athlete is guilty of taking drugs, test results be damned. I think the system needs to be adjusted to be more lenient for obvious errors.
posted by cabuki at 03:10 PM on December 15
For C$995, you'd think they'd include the jersey.
posted by cabuki at 03:42 AM on December 06
I would venture that goalies are spending more time practicing facing shootouts and are watching more video to get an idea of a shooter's tendencies. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard for the scouting department of an NHL team to put together a DVD of each of its opponents' shootouts. And I'm sure that most teams have a pool of about 5 shooters that could take any one of the first 3 shots. After those 5, there's probably less info on the shooters, but the shooters themselves probably have less practice taking penalty shots.
posted by cabuki at 09:14 AM on December 05
If I was a player and my team wasn't in a BCS bowl, I'd think I'd get excited about playing in Hawaii or Las Vegas. I mean, come on, it's Hawaii or Vegas. The Holiday Bowl wouldn't be bad, either. I'd hate to have to go to the MPC Computers Bowl. Boise, ID on December 30th and play in an open stadium? No thanks. Even the travel would suck. They'd probably have to leave the day after Christmas to go up there, then fly home either right after the game, New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. Ugh.
posted by cabuki at 09:05 AM on December 05
It's usually a grad assistant or someone in the SID office that fills out the ballot. They then show it to the coach to let him make any final adjustments. Once, when my wife was working in the SID office at Ohio State (between 1997 and 1999) as a student-athlete, the job got passed to her. She managed to pass it off to someone that wanted to do it and knew more about football than she did. Did I mention she's from Belgium and at the time didn't know anything about football? (Not that she really knows anything now, but after years with me, she's getting the hang of it.)
posted by cabuki at 08:53 AM on December 05
Since I moved to Belgium 4 years ago, I've seen some (what I consider) bizarre behavior from fans in the name of team "support," but threatening the team you follow so they'll throw a match to prevent their rival from gaining on the league leader? I can't even fathom it.
posted by cabuki at 04:48 PM on November 19
I don't think Vick will end up in the HoF. He's exciting to watch, but he just doesn't put up the numbers. I also doubt Jimmy Smith will make it. He's put up good numbers and is a solid WR, but solid doesn't make it into the HoF.
posted by cabuki at 04:34 PM on November 19
As an OSU alumnus, this is sad to hear. He was a worthy adversary.
posted by cabuki at 12:58 PM on November 17
Fence is right. Depression and other mental illnesses are looked at as signs of weakness. People want their heroes to be strong and all-conquering. It's sad that athletes have to be mentally stronger than us mere mortals. I know that's one of the reasons many athletes make it to the top, but not being able to catch a break when they falter has to increase the mental strain.
posted by cabuki at 05:10 AM on November 16
I don't really think it's all that big a deal. Why is flipping the bird considered offensive? Why is "fuck" considered offensive? There are far worse things to do or say.
posted by cabuki at 04:21 PM on November 15
This is 2006, right? It boggles my mind that there are still people that are willing to say shit like that in public, let alone think it in private. I hope he gets a nice long suspension to think about how stupid he sounds.
posted by cabuki at 01:08 PM on November 12
what produtive thing has anything in California in sports done in the last 4 years? I'm not sure I understand what Lionsfan20 means (hell, I don't understand that question period), but Oakland has won their division 2 times in the last 4 years and finished 2nd the other 2 years. They play in an awful stadium and it would be good for them to have one designed for baseball.
posted by cabuki at 03:36 AM on November 10
That's a great story. You always hear coaches talk about how their going to take these boys and turn them into men. It's nice to actually see a coach mean it.
posted by cabuki at 03:24 PM on October 19
I've met quite a few rugby players over the years and there are a lot of club teams in colleges and universities throughout the US, so there is always a possibility it can grow. But, I have to dispute a couple of chico's points. It looks like American Football, and the rules are similar enough that people will understand what they're looking at. It may look similar, but I don't think that's enough to get people interested. It's sort of the same thing with Aussie Rules Football and Rugby. They look similar, but they're different enough that it can be confusing to follow. An action in one sport that's viewed as a heroic play can be a penalty taken at the wrong time. Plus, with the similarity angle, people might just say, "We've already got football, why do we need rugby." Also, for all intents and purposes, college and pro football are the same game. Yet, there are people that prefer one over the other because it's not the same game. ...it has that patina of worldwide acceptance that (believe it or not, rest of the world) does have some sway among the suburban rank & file. Often, this is enough reason for Americans to not like something. I'm not saying this is true for all Americans, but sentiments like that exist. As far as the kids playing it angle, I don't think it will be really a viable youth sport. A lot of parents hate the thought of their kids playing football because of the violence and they're fully padded. Can you imagine their reaction when their kid tells them they want to play a game just as violent as football but without the padding? Don't get me wrong, I like watching rugby and am grateful to my English and Irish friends that introduced me to it when I moved to Belgium. I just thought some counter points need to be presented. I forgot to mention that I think the article makes some good points and if it can attract the LBs and RBs from college that don't go on to the pros, they've got a really good chance to create something.
posted by cabuki at 10:43 AM on October 13
The fact that he's not even the first person to name his kid ESPN makes him even more of a jackass. My first kid is due to arrive in January. His/her name will be Watermelon Juice in keeping with a family tradition of having the same initials and having to explain why you prefer to be called Steve.
posted by cabuki at 08:18 AM on October 09
geekyguy: I follow European football a little and even manage to attend some matches. I didn't say the logo (crest) wasn't there, I was just pointing out the fact that the sponsor's logo is more prominently displayed.
posted by cabuki at 10:19 AM on September 29
I don't see how The University of Phoenix putting it's name on a stadium is any different than any other company putting it's name on a stadium. It's well within the rights of the teams to sell advertising any way they wish. Check out any European soccer club and you'd be hard-pressed to find the logo of the actual team on the uniform. But you'd better believe you'll know who their main sponsor is. Sports ceased being just about the game ages ago.
posted by cabuki at 04:58 AM on September 28
I'm not a Devils fan either, but I am a Brodeur fan. I've enjoyed watching him over the years. I met him once in a bar when he was in San Jose. He seemed like a nice guy. We talked about hockey and traveling and just shot the shit for about an hour.
posted by cabuki at 02:01 AM on September 13
Quietly rioting, that is. When I was a student at OSU (1995-1998), students rioted after games against Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. I'm also pretty sure the students burned stuff after we beat Miami for the national championship. I'm not sure why they do it, but they do.
posted by cabuki at 08:27 AM on September 12
No way!! The Tyres and Angels suxx0rs!! I doubt Mechelen will get a team anytime soon. There's probably only 1 person in that city that even knows what baseball is, and that's because that's where my office is. ;)
posted by cabuki at 11:22 AM on September 01
This article is a good read, but it seemed like it's just taking advantage of the turmoil in the Middle East to publicize the new league. There are leagues all over the world that have been trying to break into the mainstream in countries where Soccer is king that don't get any kind of assistance from former major league GMs and scouts. Or any publicity at all, for that matter. (Full disclosure: I play in the semi-professional Belgian league.)
posted by cabuki at 07:12 AM on August 31
Yankees yank Ronan Tynan from lineup after anti-Semitic remark
I'm glad he won't be there. Even if he meant it as a joke, he needs to learn that actions have consequences, whether he intended offense or not.
And I agree with holden. I've never really liked the "USA! USA! rah! rah!" stuff that happens at most US sporting events. Save the national anthem for games that matter (Super Bowl, World Series, etc.) and leave the "God Bless America" stuff out all together.