- 05:00 PM
- 05/21/13
I, for one, find humour to be a pretty good coping mechanism for a world that doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes
I totally agree. I have a friend who "joked" today by saying his decision to not run in marathons has now been justified. I cringed a little and found it in poor taste, but still a bit funny. And that humor doesn't make yesterday's events any more or less serious than they already are.
I feel a ton of empathy and sympathy for those involved and won't feel vindicated until whoever was responsible has a car battery attached to their nuts.
posted by Ricardo at 01:31 PM on April 16
Lighten up Francis
Any one of you homos touches my nukes, I'll kill you!!!
posted by Ricardo at 02:14 PM on April 05
Here is a link to his website
posted by Ricardo at 02:55 PM on February 15
Ah ... two racists in love. Beautiful story.
posted by Ricardo at 05:23 PM on January 25
That may or may not have happened. We can't assume it didn't. For all we know, this ref was simply making a joke, albeit an inappropriate one.
posted by Ricardo at 01:15 PM on September 26
As I remember, the NFL states refs aren't allowed to play fantasy football and this was going to be investigated. I hadn't heard any outcome after that, but I'm guessing if he were indeed playing fantasy football, he wouldn't be reffing any longer.
And having everyone bagging on the refs is poor. None of this is their fault. They're doing as good a job as can be expected of them. The fault here lies with the NFL and the regular refs.
posted by Ricardo at 10:17 AM on September 26
people do care that what's unfolding in front of them is fairly judged.
I think the word fairly is incorrect. The games are being poorly judged, but I would bet they are indeed being fairly judged. These refs aren't the same as boxing judges in that they aren't on the take making these bad calls (most likely). I don't watch boxing because I know some guy may have it made up in his head before the match who is going to win regardless of what happens. I also agree with phaedon that the bad calls make an interesting story. It isn't ruining anything for me.
posted by Ricardo at 09:46 AM on September 26
because of course this MLB stadium provides unrestricted access to cheap high-alcohol beer
The only argument I have is with the word cheap.
posted by Ricardo at 08:03 AM on May 22
If anyone can claim they won it single handed
Good one!
posted by Ricardo at 11:09 PM on March 08
When I was watching it real time (and even after without benefit of the blue line), I felt he was passed the line. Not sure how you expect him to know that on the field, realtime.
I also often feel a QB has passed the line only to be proven wrong on replay. These guys, QBs and LBs alike, are paid ridiculous amounts of money to know things like where the line of scrimmage is without the advantage of a blue line painted across the field.
You rarely see a QB draw a penalty by actually running past the line of scrimmage and still passing the ball. But often see one jump just before and throw as he crosses.
These guys aren't held to our standards and shouldn't be. I have to think Harrison knew the ball was going to be gone when the hits occurred, yet did nothing to stop or slow momentum.
posted by Ricardo at 09:36 AM on December 14
As a fellow Kopite, I would love to have their Drogba and give them some of their money back.
posted by Ricardo at 03:20 PM on November 29
Rapinoe played okay, but she tried dribbling through 2 or 3 defenders too many times when an open teammate would've been a much better choice.
Can anyone that follows closer than I explain why Alex Morgan isn't a starter?
She lacks some experience and consistency yet. She will probably be a fantastic player in the future. She maybe could've come on earlier for Heather O'Reilly who never looked threatening hen she touched the ball.
The injury to Golden Ball candidate Lauren Cheney probably hurt us more than anything else.
posted by Ricardo at 01:18 PM on July 18
I didn't think Brazil showed poor sportsmanship past the Erika incident. I think they played the way any other team would've played. The crowd probably wanted to boo the terrible refereeing but that isn't as easy as picking out a villain from one of the players. I believe that wrongly fell on Marta. I just couldn't figure out why the crowd was whistling on her every touch aside from the fact she took the second penalty. None of that fiasco was Brazil's fault. I don't think she dove trying to get to the end of the absolutely beautiful flick over two defenders. She just lunged at it trying to get her foot to it and so did Buehler.
I am so happy the US made it through, but Marta deserved better than to be vilified the way she was.
And brainofdtrain, if FIFA's stance is that Hope Solo moved (she did, but laterally and within the rules), it is a stunning statement. I can't say the referee was biased and overall she got many decisions correct. It's just that what she missed were huge calls, the penalty call and red card, the re-take, the Carly Lloyd handball and the offside on Brazil's second goal. The offside is excusable as those are missed every game by the best of referees/linesmen.
posted by Ricardo at 01:30 PM on July 11
The big blue crew did a decent job of making me believe the penalty retake was warranted by showing a US player had encroached into the penalty area before Julianna (I think) took the first one and mentioned Solo probably got the card for arguing it instead of moving off her line. That being said, the play on the ball which won the penalty in the first place was shoulder to shoulder between Buehler and Marta and they both lunged at the ball on their own. It didn't even appear to be a foul of any kind.
I also felt a little fortunate to keep Carly Lloyd on the pitch after her handball. I was a little surprised when Lauren Cheney was subbed. She's been the US's best player and I would've probably gotten Lloyd out. I was worried from that handball on that she was going to commit a bad foul and leave the ref no choice but to put us down to 9.
posted by Ricardo at 09:45 AM on July 11
Hopefully this becomes FIFA's watershed moment and their process becomes much more transparent. I will not be surprised if they carry on with business as usual though.
posted by Ricardo at 12:26 PM on June 01
How exactly is getting a whole nickel off a pitcher "winning?"
I took it to mean they got a nickel off for EACH game they lost ... so as the season wears on, the beer gets cheaper and cheaper. At 100 or so losses, that's about $5 cheaper by the end of the season.
posted by Ricardo at 06:04 PM on May 17
Barcelonas' posession probably leads many teams to frustration which leads to an increase in cards. Teams like Real or Chelsea aren't used to having 30% of the time on the ball and that can be a real flashpoint for some of those players.
I will say that Pepes' challenge was pretty close to a 50-50 ball and probably only deserved a yellow, but was close enough that it could have gone either way.
I can't imagine UEFA will take these comments in stride and will probably hammer Mourinho.
posted by Ricardo at 09:31 AM on April 28
Title IX is well intentioned and has done much for women's sports, but it is horribly implemented and needs to be reworked if it is to bring about the change it was intended to.
posted by Ricardo at 03:25 PM on April 26
Playing the Blue Course at Cheyenne Woods will no doubt be on the bucket list for the Larry Ellison types of the world.
Great line
posted by Ricardo at 10:22 PM on April 20
Dammit! Now I'm gonna get a boner every time I see Tiger play.
posted by Ricardo at 11:27 AM on April 20
I also find it kinda amazing that Pawtucket only used 8 pitchers to get through 33 innings
Rochester only used 5 ... of course they lost.
posted by Ricardo at 03:06 PM on April 18
I always thought a cycle should be defined as hitting for at least what is actually defined as a cycle. In my book, this qualifies as a cycle (ish).
posted by Ricardo at 02:31 PM on April 13
I would have taken out my trusty 9mm and shot the round of my life !
vigilance, maybe no help ... change the c to a t AND ... vigilante
posted by Ricardo at 04:26 PM on March 14
And there I was thinking that it looked like Lisa Simpson doing something unmentionable.
Do you mean Maggie Simpson? I totally see it if so.
posted by Ricardo at 06:39 AM on March 02
I agree with Atheist here. I have fond memories of watching those games with the Fridge and want so bad to feel for him. But when the story line repeats itself over and over, that sympathy tends to fade or at least shift to those who are doing everything in their power to help him. I can't imagine how it must feel to love someone who just doesn't seem to care if they self destruct.
posted by Ricardo at 01:25 PM on February 08
Only if a halfback threw them. Rodgers' 304 yards gets even bigger with more Nelson catches.
I am definitely not saying Rodgers was unworthy of the title ... But ... Nelson dove out of bounds at the 2 or 3 yard line trying to reach the pylon ... easily could've been a TD. He also had another near catch in the corner of the end zone. There was the long throw he let go through his hands. He already had 140 yards. Another TD or two and another 40 or 50 yards, there could have been serious debate about who deserved it more.
And yes I realize another touchdown or two would've padded Rodgers stats a little more. To be sure Aaron Rodger played fantastic football for a good bit of the game.
posted by Ricardo at 12:55 PM on February 07
Rodgers played smart and was sharp. His receivers were not.
Aside from a couple drops, Jordy Nelson could just have easily been MVP.
As for play of the game, I would say a tie between the Mendenhall fumble and the 3rd and 10 to Jennings right after the false start penalty against Green Bay.
The Black Eyed Peas show was over produced to the point of being unwatchable. In their defense, most of these shows are. Long medleys tend to lose steam after 5 minutes and it just becomes background noise. Again, in their defense, they aren't my cup of tea. The Sweet Child of Mine rendition was horrible. In my defense, that is my cup of tea.
posted by Ricardo at 11:39 AM on February 07
The goal from Suarez was an amazing piece of play from Kuyt who looked fantastic last night. I am hoping for great things from Suarez but the goal itself was poorly taken. Bit of a whiff with not enough power to get past the oncoming defender who should have cleared it from the line. I will withhold judgement for now.
posted by Ricardo at 01:04 PM on February 03
I meant we needed Carroll as a result of offloading Torres. He's done well for the Magpies so far this season and if he can carry it over into Anfield we should win a few more games.
We've been sorely lacking at forward for quite some time now and we knew what we had with Torres (lots of flashes of brilliance punctuated by giving the ball away nearly every time he touches it ala Ryan Babel) but now we have the promise of two good strikers. They may or may not pan out, but neither will be any more of a hinderance than Torres has this season. His only good run of form seemed to be the last few weeks leading up to the transfer.
posted by Ricardo at 02:36 PM on February 02
I have to say with his form since before the World Cup, I'm happy to get 50M pounds and get rid of Babel for what could turn out to be a couple consistent scorers. It's too bad we didn't get Charlie Adam, but we didn't need him as bad as we needed Suarez and Carroll.
posted by Ricardo at 03:05 PM on February 01
Doesn't wfrazerjr picking C himself show he has some compassion therefore showing C to be a poor choice for the rest of us. Hence I choose D and an aspirin.
posted by Ricardo at 11:17 PM on January 25
This was obviously the mascot's idea, yeah?
posted by Ricardo at 10:44 PM on January 18
Gerrard, Agger and Howard Webb did not help Dalglish much this weekend. Hopefully Kenny can get moving pretty quickly in the transfer windown and shore up this leaking dam before the whole thing floods Merseyside.
posted by Ricardo at 07:50 AM on January 10
Probably never happen, but this would be a good opportunity for a boycott ...
That's too horrible to contemplate. The countries could all change the names of their teams to Redskins and be sponsored by Michael Vick's dog-fighting operation and I still would watch.
As long as the teams show up, I will watch. I would have no problem missing it if teams decided to boycott though. I get my share of soccer and if it improved my future soccer experience, then so be it.
posted by Ricardo at 11:18 AM on December 15
Brevity and no real point to my post wins me the round.
Ricardo - 1 jmd82 - 0
To post something with the slightest bit of substance ... I do follow much of what goes on in the soccer world over here in the US, but I am in the minority. I think most of the interest in soccer lay in the foreign community. Your average born-and-bred American could care less. I know it's more visible than before and getting bigger, but it's still a last resort for many.
And while it's nice to have someone to villify (FIFA's ExCom members), I agree with the above ... it doesn't really change anything. We've already lost out on hosting 2022 and I don't see that changing whether any evidence surfaces or not.
Hopefully somewhere down the line, FIFA will adopt more transparency around this type of situation so at least countries don't waste good money trying to win the right to host.
posted by Ricardo at 05:59 AM on December 15
Grant Wahl was just re-tweeting from Jonathan Alter ... He is the journalist claiming to have the source saying the bribes were given.
posted by Ricardo at 12:03 AM on December 15
Um...it's not that I thought there were only 30 teams.
I just couldn't bring myself to believe the inhouse statistician could get one of the simpler numbers wrong.
posted by Ricardo at 05:56 AM on December 10
Ah, I love humility.
posted by Ricardo at 05:52 AM on December 10
I'm trying to figure out if grum meant 29 and was just omitting the Lions and Panthers.
posted by Ricardo at 09:48 PM on December 09
While there may be many reasons to criticize Vick, I'm not sure greed is one of them.
posted by Ricardo at 11:57 AM on December 04
The NFL, however, makes sure that all teams report injuries in detail, and document the probability they will play in the game that week.
The only reason to do that is to give the people setting point spreads as much information as possible.
I always thought this was more for transparency. With teams reporting many details, it can't look like they are even trying to affect lines or odds in any way.
posted by Ricardo at 11:32 AM on December 03
Absolutely gutted by this. I can't help but feel there were some improprieties on Qatar's part here. Not knowing too much about the country, it wouldn't appear too feasible to hold such an event there.
posted by Ricardo at 11:07 AM on December 02
Sounds similar to the plot from Buffalo '66
Maybe Steve Johnson can't find a place to piss on his endeavor to kill god.
Or dviking killing Steve Johnson.
posted by Ricardo at 09:24 AM on November 29
Maybe John Henry will see fit to splash some money to get Wayne over to Anfield.
posted by Ricardo at 09:03 PM on October 17
It looks as if this is now a done deal. Thank John Lennon I was afraid Hicks was going to pull some nonsense out of his Rangers ballcap.
posted by Ricardo at 11:29 AM on October 15
There is no loophole. This was almost assuredly a yellow card. Players still take their shirts off knowing full well they're going to get the card. I suspect this was just the same thinking. Read the third question HERE.
posted by Ricardo at 09:01 AM on October 10
I didn't realize Riera was a 15M pound signing but Maxi was a free and Poulsen was only 4M I think.
posted by Ricardo at 09:54 PM on October 06
I can name one fan who is, indeed, ecstatic to make this swap. I like to blame all my current woes as a Liverpool supporter on Hicks and Gillett. I'm sure others have played their part (Benitez, I'm looking at you for alienating the almighty Alonso), but not having the funds to buy a better class of player than Riera, Poulson or Maxi Rodriguez has certainly played its' part.
As for the xenophobia, I think that's just something to latch on to. I would be happy to exchange American owners as we are talking about here. Although, I'm a yank myself. But I just want the team to thrive and at least be fighting at the top of the table if not better.
I'm not sure, but I think other Americans, such as Randy Lerner, aren't reviled in the slightest. Plus, as a Liverpool supporter, I am enjoying the Glazers run of ownership. I wish them many more years at the helm.
posted by Ricardo at 11:34 AM on October 06
Thanks, but different Yanks!?
I, for one, welcome our new American overlords.
posted by Ricardo at 06:22 AM on October 06
I wonder how many times "integrity" was taken into account when Heisman voters filled out their ballots over the last 75 years. Whether it's part of the official mission statement of the Heisman Trust or not, it isn't based in reality to think most of those voters are taking moral issues into account when they pull the lever.
posted by Ricardo at 08:18 AM on September 15
Ty Cobb never bet on baseball...or, never got caught betting on baseball...
I'm not going to try to defend Pete Rose's character because I agree he doesn't have bags of it lying around, but I don't think not betting on baseball makes someone less repellent than someone who did. Ty Cobb had plenty of other reasons to be considered repellent.
posted by Ricardo at 07:16 AM on September 13
As one of those fans, I can't wait for this whole nonsense to be behind us. Hopefully it'll be easier to concentrate on getting points then.
posted by Ricardo at 06:53 PM on September 09
Wouldn't the fact that they aren't getting anything at all (other than the possibility of an education) leave them wide open to add incentives to alter the outcome of the games?
I would expect the lowest paid player of a pro sport to throw a game for a few dollars before I would expect the highest paid player to do so.
posted by Ricardo at 12:40 PM on September 08
Chuck Connors, Boston Celtic, Chicago Cub, and drafted by the Chicago Bears (although he never played). Not to mention expert rifleman.
posted by Ricardo at 12:55 AM on September 07
I would assume Bolt has played soccer at some level before. This probably isn't a case of him just picking it up.
posted by Ricardo at 05:54 PM on September 06
For example, on a close play at first, the ump says safe when the runner is really out but the runner does not score anyway, then not signficant.
Ask Jim Joyce how significant that runner can be.
posted by Ricardo at 09:01 AM on August 17
Kudos JJ ... that was about as good an explanation as I've ever heard on anything related to golf.
posted by Ricardo at 12:59 PM on August 09
I didn't say it was easy. I said him being a great receiver made it easier. I don't know anything about him other than what I read in the article, but he obviously was way ahead of anyone else of his day.
I'm usually in the camp that says you can't compare players this far removed. There is just no way to make any kind of fair comparison as the two players played a pretty different game than the other.
posted by Ricardo at 10:42 AM on August 09
You also have to realize that when Hutson played, defenses weren't built to stop passing attacks. So the fact that he was a great receiver made it easier for him to pick those defenses apart.
posted by Ricardo at 07:17 AM on August 09
The story behind Jason Collins' story: How it happened
My reply was that it really isn't a big deal.
I think it's not necessarily a big deal on it's own, but should lead to the bigger promised land of the day when there are many athletes on many teams who have come out and don't feel the need to repress their sexuality because of the job they hold.
That is indeed a big deal.