- 11:26 PM
- 07/06/08
| Name: | bill pennington (no, not that one) |
|---|---|
| Location: | Australia, but reasonably peripatetic |
| Member since: | June 26, 2004 |
| Last visit: | July 6, 2008 |
owlhouse has posted 73 links and 1290 comments to SportsFilter and 10 threads and 452 comments to the Locker Room.
The Decline of Commentary in cricket, but probably applicable to all broadcast sports. Osman Samiuddin takes ex-players to task. A well-considered rant.
posted on Jun 18, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result
Pink Balls used for the first time in cricket. A trial to see if a single type of ball is suitable for all forms of the game.
posted on Apr 23, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result
Billy Beane Gets Into Football And wants to find out if sabermetrics can be applied to the English Premier League. Will Moneyball work in the beautiful game?
posted on Apr 19, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result
Soccer Is As American As Apple Pie The Guardian's Jeff Wells responds to some false assumptions about The Beautiful Game in the USA.
posted on Jan 17, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result
Crossing The Great Divide The kids from blue collar Matraville High School thought they'd enter the elite State Rugby Union competition. Just for fun. See inside for what happened next.
posted on Dec 2, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result
The World's Greatest Athlete? The Journal sought to identify the world's greatest athlete with an approach that, while not completely scientific, took a number of measures into account. A panel of five sports scientists and exercise physiologists was given a list drawn up by the Journal of 79 male athletes. Candidates had to be active in their sport and among the all-time best.
posted to General at 11:47 AM CDT
AFI names its top 10 sports movies Two boxing movies "Raging Bull" followed by "Rocky" at the top. Also two baseball movies in top 5.
posted to Culture at 12:23 PM CDT
Tom, well he can act, I guess
Yes, but he's always acting as Tom Cruise.
posted at 4:39 PM CDT on June 19
The Decline of Commentary in cricket, but probably applicable to all broadcast sports. Osman Samiuddin takes ex-players to task. A well-considered rant.
posted to Other at 5:19 PM CDT
I find this analysis pretty much spot on, having watched a lot of cricket in Australia over the last 30 years. Sometimes I wonder who actually buys all the merchandise being flogged.
Channel 9 did get rid of Shane Warne, though, but not because he was a poor commentator.
posted at 5:22 PM CDT on June 18
what's all this about cricket suddenly discovering the switch hitter concept
At the higher levels, cricket has always been about protecting your wicket - i.e. not getting out. Changing sides, especially during a bowler's run up, is risky for the batsman, as well as (up to now) being considered bad sportsmanship, as the field is set for a specific 'off' or 'leg' side. Fielders aren't allowed to change positions during the run up, nor is the bowler allowed to change hands or sides of the wicket for the actual delivery.
With the advent of limited over matches, and now Twenty20, there is a greater need to score runs quickly and take risks doing so. Hence, 'switch hitting' to overcome field placements designed for one particular side. The only problem I can see is that the LBW rule requires designated off and leg sides. It will be interesting to see what the umpire decides if that situation occurs.
posted at 9:54 PM CDT on June 18
I do the same, Mr B - have the ABC radio on while watching TV. Unfortunately the ABC have started playing the 'personality' game a bit too much lately, although they do have the best and most knowledgeable commentators from the touring countries.
posted at 4:33 PM CDT on June 19
Ring it up! Celtics crush Lakers for 17th title There were legendary Celtics sitting in the stands, with names like Russell, Havlicek, Heinsohn, Maxwell, Ainge, and White, who could all tell stories about the days when they touched the NBA championship trophy, sprayed champagne on each other, and watched Red Auerbach proudly puff on a victory cigar. After a 22-year wait that included the retirement of Larry Bird, lots of lean years, and the death of Auerbach, the Celtics have new legends named Pierce, Allen, and Garnett, who now can tell their stories about touching the trophy, spraying champagne, and wishing Red were here to witness it.
posted to Basketball at 5:29 AM CDT
Don't forget, Bostonians, this decade also gave you Mystic River and The Departed.
posted at 4:48 PM CDT on June 18
Upon further review, He's out!!! MLB Pushes for some form of instant replay.
posted to Baseball at 12:20 AM CDT
Thank goodness MLB is finding a way to make the world's slowest moving sport even slower.
Ahem. I believe cricket holds that title, and has for a number of years the umpires have used TV replays on close run-out decisions, and to verify if a catch has been taken. It hasn't really slowed the game down. They tried using it for more types of dismissal, but the results were mixed, as even slow-mo doesn't always help with some catches behind the wicket or leg-before-wicket appeals.
A minor point for cricket historians is that use of TV replays might affect comparison of statistics across eras, as it removes the 'give the benefit of the doubt to the batsman' element in an umpire's thinking. There could be more decisions going against batsmen.
posted at 2:28 AM CDT on June 15
And razordodger, cricket is not always a slow moving or gentleman's game. Did you know that most fast bowlers have in their repertoire a perfectly legal delivery known as a 'bouncer'? It is deliberately aimed at the batsman's head or upper body, and is designed to unsettle and intimidate. Face one of those at 90-100 mph and tell me it's a sissy sport.
posted at 2:32 AM CDT on June 15
An incredible collection of photos from yesterday's Turkey vs. Switzerland rain-soaked Euro 2008 match, courtesy of Alan Taylor's phenomenal photoblog at the Boston Globe.
posted to Soccer at 1:26 PM CDT
We played in similar conditions las Sunday, only no-one was there to record it, so it probably never happened.
And did anyone else notice those rather lethal looking studs on Magnin's boots?
posted at 8:57 AM CDT on June 13
I might have mentioned the Pope, but I think I got away with it...
posted at 4:38 PM CDT on June 16
"...one of the most ungentlemanly, sneaky, just plain rotten things I've ever seen..."
On April 11, 1975, the New England Whalers and Minnesota Fighting Saints set a WHA record with a bench clearing brawl that resulted in 217 minutes in penalties. (In a playoff game.) To commemorate the occasion, the Whalers released a 7" single featuring Bob Neumeier & Bill Rasmussen's gleeful blow-by-blow commentary of the fight. The audio is actually kind of amazing.
posted to Hockey at 10:31 AM CDT
Minnesota Fighting Saints?
Now that's nominative determinism.
posted at 8:16 PM CDT on June 11
Why sports documentaries are no longer one-dimensional fan-fests. A new breed of sports documentaries are receiving critical acclaim. Following in the footsteps of Hoop Dreams are films like Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait and now, Tyson.
posted to Culture at 2:30 AM CDT
Speaking of making great sports docos, don't forget the 25 years or so it took to get a historical perspective on Ali and his era. I refer of course to When We Were Kings.
Magic.
posted at 10:28 PM CDT on June 9
16 nations vie for Euro 2008 title beginning June 7. Czech Republic, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Greece, Russia, Spain, Spain, Sweden. Who's your pick to win it? Who will be the surprise team? Where can we watch live in the US for free at home (or can we)? Get the ball rolling inside.
posted to Soccer at 12:21 PM CDT
And welcome to my time zone, JJ.
Games kick off in the middle of the night. Annoying isn't it?
posted at 7:21 AM CDT on June 7
Mark Hughes is new Manchester City manager. The former Manchester United star and Blackburn Rovers manager takes over from Sven-Goran Eriksson. The article also mentions that Hughes was non-committal on the impending purchases of Brazilians Ronaldinho and Jo. The next Manchester derby should be a rousing affair, with Hughes going up against old boss Alex Ferguson. Meanwhile, with Hughes' move, Chelsea loses yet another candidate to replace the departed Avram Grant. And Blackburn appear to be in no hurry to fill Hughes' spot, with candidates such as Sam Allardyce (late of Newcastle and Bolton) lined up.
posted to Soccer at 12:05 PM CDT
You'd also have to wonder about what Thaksin and City were thinking - I was under the impression that Sven was sacked so they could get someone like Scolari. is Hughesy a better manager than Sven? I doubt it, but am prepared to wait and see.
posted at 7:02 PM CDT on June 5
Mourinho to Inter Milan, targets Chelsea trio. The Special One lands at Inter, and speculation is he will go after Essien, Drogba and Lampard.
posted to Soccer at 12:52 PM CDT
I would just like to drop by and say that I am fantastic.
Yours sincerely
Jose Mourinho
posted at 7:08 PM CDT on June 3
Even three years ago Ronaldinho might have been a better footballer, but he certainly was never the best 'athlete' in football. I'd put a traditional box-to-box midfielder as the football representative - covering up to 15 km in 90 minutes, changes of pace, ball skills, reading the game and so on.
Off the top of my head, someone like Michael Essien, the unsung but essential heartbeat of the midfield, would be my choice.