pastepotpete's profile

pastepotpete
107
Name: Joe Preston
Member since: February 01, 2002
Last visit: January 03, 2006

pastepotpete has posted 16 links and 134 comments to SportsFilter and 3 links and 13 comments to the Locker Room.

Recent Links

My once-proud alma mater changed it's name: and then promptly got massacred, by a girl, no less.
(No offense ladies, but this is football, not some durn sewing circle!)

posted by pastepotpete to football at 12:02 PM on September 02, 2003 - 4 comments

I've been away from sportsfilter for a few weeks and one thing I've noticed is that my spam has gone way down. Around the time that I joined sportsfilter, I noticed my spam went way up but I assumed it wasn't sportsfilter but some other internet accident. However it does make me think...anyone else noticed increased spam?

posted by pastepotpete to navel gazing at 10:53 AM on June 11, 2002 - 2 comments

Jose Canseco Retires.: Yep, he's packing it in. One of my favorite baseball players. Everyone else picks on him but not me. If some AL team had the good sense to plug him in their lineup, he'd hit 260 with 35 HRs as a DH, but I think he's a little tired of gettng his chain jerked.

posted by pastepotpete to baseball at 08:14 PM on May 13, 2002 - 9 comments

NCAA rule changes favor high-schoolers.: They're going to let high school players enter the NBA draft and retain their eligibility. Which makes a little more sense than the old "Gotcha" rules they used to have. Even more interesting proposals were tabled.

posted by pastepotpete to basketball at 09:23 AM on April 26, 2002 - 4 comments

Bud Selig is a mental midget.: I just wanted to say that out loud. Here's Bud commenting on Minnesota and Montreal's winning ways. "The fact of the matter that they're winning on the field doesn't solve their problems," he said. Can't argue with that, I'd say their biggest problem is that the commissioner of baseball is trying to render them defunct.

posted by pastepotpete to baseball at 12:14 AM on April 26, 2002 - 0 comments

Recent Comments

Martz dismissed by the Rams

Martz will get a head coaching job this year. He has a Super Bowl on his resume and can develop a QB. How about Martz as the Raiders head coach?

posted by pastepotpete at 03:52 PM on January 03, 2006

that's a great find, you don't have to be an econostatgeek to like his defensive rankings by position maybe just a defendostatgeek (and it's good to see Shane Battier getting props)

posted by pastepotpete at 08:12 PM on August 10, 2005

Kobe Playing Mind Games?

man, i came in hoping to get some info about the Lakers controversy and you guys are discussng Shaq and Vlade's assists? Kwame Brown is a starter on the All-Complaining about Ballhogs team coached by none other than Phil Jackson. What's wrong with that whole picture is that Phil has to send a message to Kobe through the media. Conclusion: Kobe plays elsewhere next year.

posted by pastepotpete at 01:46 PM on April 13, 2004

LeBron, LeBron and LeBron--21 pts 5 rebounds and 6 assists per? right out of high school, it's pretty obvious that he's not just a great rookie but a paradigm shift. And, Ill bet you he'd trade ROY for a playoff spot.

posted by pastepotpete at 01:37 PM on April 13, 2004

Jamal Lewis indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges.

"The cooperating source told Lewis that he/she was willing to sell the narcotics to Lewis' associates for a price that Lewis can tax," meaning the price could be marked up for a profit, Mahaley said in the affidavit. "Lewis responded, 'Yeah,'" the agent said. Looks like they've got him cold! Seems a lot like the Ray Lewis deal to me, where they're just indicting him so they can get him to roll over on his buddy. I predict he makes a deal and agrees to testify in exchange for dropping the charges.

posted by pastepotpete at 08:54 AM on February 27, 2004

Even computer guys say go for playoffs

86, four teams is just fine but I think you're going to have a helluva time getting the season capped to 12 games, although I think it's a great idea. I speculate that the reason we don't have a playoff today is that bowl games had too much clout (and still do) to be left out of the BCS and bowl games do not want a playoff. Sure they'll take a national championship game but they want to pick their matchups otherwise because of beliefs in arcane alchemical formulas involving hotel beds filled and number of souveneir wristwatches sold. Remember bowl games are run by committees of provincial Babbits who favor odd-colored sportcoats and do a lot of back-slapping.

posted by pastepotpete at 11:26 AM on December 30, 2003

Even computer guys say go for playoffs

86, four teams is just fine but I think you're going to have a helluva time getting the season capped to 12 games, although I think it's a great idea. I speculate that the reason we don't have a playoff today is that bowl games had too much clout (and still do) to be left out of the BCS and bowl games do not want a playoff. Sure they'll take a national championship game but they want to pick their matchups otherwise because of beliefs in arcane alchemical formulas involving hotel beds filled and number of souveneir wristwatches sold. Remember bowl games are run by committees of provincial Babbits who favor odd-colored sportcoats and do a lot of back-slapping.

posted by pastepotpete at 11:26 AM on December 30, 2003

Eddie comes full circle.

Most of the time, I don't think it's possible to know if they have their act together, and you don't need NBA teams spying on their employees. But when a player draws attention to himself by say, punching a woman in the face three times and then shooting at her as she tries to get away, maybe you should take a step back. the NBA will still be there after he gets done with whatever it is that requires medical confidentiality.

posted by pastepotpete at 11:15 AM on December 30, 2003

The wheels on the coaching bus go round and round!

Wfrazer, I have the impression the Giants have decided on Coughlin and were just setting up interviews in keeping with the NFL minority hiring policies. Gregg Williams : no choice but to fire him, but am I alone in thinking that the whole problem was Kevin Gilbride? New coach prediction: Romeo Crennel Dick Jauron: prolly had to be fired too, but when the Bears are playing right, they really play right and I sort of wish he'd recieved a last chance next season. I feel certain he will resurface as a head coach again. New coach prediction: Mike Mularkey maybe Kirk Ferentz Bill Callahan: worst coach in the league, I do not doubt for an instant that if Parcells was coaching that team, they'd have sniffed a winning record/wild card. The #1 priority of a coach in the NFL is maintaining the respect of the players. Period. New coach prediction: Dennis Green, who is a good fit. Jimmy Johnson would be my pick, but that would never happen. Butch Davis: he is ultimately bad for that franchise. I feel certain he's staying. Jim Haslett: I don't much care about Joe Horn's cell phone abuse, but that team is undisciplined and inconsistent, starting with the quarterback. They absolutely kill me in my football pool every year because I have no idea what they are going to do week to week. New coach prediction: Jim Haslett New Atlanta coach: Lovie Smith is going to be a great head coach. They're going to draw lots of free agent interest again this year and I think they will run away with the division next year. Is Cowher getting the axe?

posted by pastepotpete at 11:03 AM on December 30, 2003

Eddie comes full circle.

I'd like to reiterate that he punched a woman in the face three times and shot at her as she tried to get away from him. Of course, it's either sign him or play against him when the Knicks do...if he can help a team like Ray Lewis then he gets Nike and ESPN-fueled redemption, if he can't help a team like Lawrence Phillips, he's a bad apple who's squandered his chances because of "character." It's a bunch of hypocritical bullshit and I'm really quite tired of it. I'd be the last person to say athletes are role models, but I'll be the first person to say that the only way we get public figures who are worthy of being role models is to hold them accountable for their actions. I'm not a conservative but I think it's comparable to say that Rush Limbaugh deserved the media ass-whupping he got for his comments about McNabb and his drug problem, plus he got fired. Eddie Griffin is getting a second-chance he might deserve but that nearly no one else gets, but does he really need a contract with the Nets while he sorts out his personal demons? Aren't the Nets really saying either "We don't care about Punched-In-The-Face Woman because Eddie blocks shots" or "We actively support the punching of women in the face and then shooting at them as they try to flee" Those are my best guesses because I can't find a statement from them clarifying this move. I'm feeling quite smug about my decision to start rooting for the Rockets again this year.

posted by pastepotpete at 10:07 AM on December 30, 2003

Patrickje, You are essentially right but it's not quite as easy as "get the AD on it." College football schedules are made years in advance of being able to assess the strength of the team that year. You better bet that Maryland didn't expect a loss or even a tough game when they originally scheduled No. Illinois. You also better bet that if No. Illinois tried to create a schedule like you like right now they'd be doing it for 2007 or '08 or later. The AD and the coach might be facing a 5-7 year or some other firable type result if they can't get another Michael "The Burner" Turner in the hizzouse that season. The logistics of improving your schedule make it unwise to try and jump up a notch, because a 10 win season isn't enough to get prestige recruits to come play in your second class stadium and second class conference and a 4 win season can set you back 10 years. If you're not in a major conference, it is extremely difficult to claw your way into the elite. I may not be thinking of everyone but since 1980 what teams have managed to climb to perennial nation title contender status? I can think of Miami, Va Tech, Florida and Kansas State. Of those four only Miami did it without a major conference backing them. So there you go 1 school out of 117(?) since 1980. That's as good a reason as any to scrap the bowl system for a playoff.

posted by pastepotpete at 02:47 PM on November 06, 2003

Nobody is forcing them to play football. They could mortgage their future with student loans and get a job to go to college. I'll bet some of us did that.

posted by pastepotpete at 04:05 PM on September 02, 2003

oh, there's such a difference between a lazy player taking Rocks for Jocks and a player with a contract held over his head being forced to. As I understand it, right now as long as you hold your ground and say "I'm not playing and I'm keeping my scholarship" and you maintain the course load and GPA you're supposed to, they can't *make* you do anything. Once, they're paying them it's going to be completely different. Profit sharing doesn't work for any number of reasons, but here's one--profits fluctuate but student fees don't. The problem with this whole thing is that there's a handful of extremely profitable athletic programs, there's a vast mushy middle that could afford to stipend, and there's a number of schools like Rice, for instance, where it would be a real strain on the system. Stipending them is fine, but if the stipend is going to be limited to Division 1-A schools for instance, then you're going to force some schools out of 1-A. When you force schools out of 1-A, you just removed a bunch of athletes from the stipending pool (sucker!--you should have gone to Michigan). You would quite literally break the backs of tons of 1-AA schools if they were forced to stipend also. Do you want to raise tuition to pay for this? The end result is inevitably the best college athletes don't choose one of 20-30 top schools because they *want* to but because this new economic system forces it to. Or, every college student in america pays more, so that Marcus Vick can by an xbox.

posted by pastepotpete at 04:04 PM on September 02, 2003

Yee-haw, welcome to the new world of college sports! "I was going to sign with Youngstown State but then Western Michigan upped the ante" Or better, "I was just about to sign with Arizona State, but then the California legislature, loosened up the rules, now UCLA can give me free tanning and acting lessons in addition to the car and stipend" If the NCAA took every single dollar in profit, that the schools made and redistributed it, then there would be enough to stipend scholarship athletes. But here's what you would see. #1 The top schools band together to force the smaller, unprofitable schools out of Division 1A (Goodbye Army! See you later Vanderbilt! It was fun, Cal!) Why should Miami pay to help UTEP make a profit? #2 "What the heck do we have a scholarship fencing program for?" Goodbye unprofitable sports! The NCAA must accept responsibility for Maurice Clarett's Visa bill! #3 Incoming recruits are forced to sign contracts, tying their immediate financial security to the average college football coach. They'll play hurt, they'll be forced to take easy classes. Standards shoot right down the tubes. The first time an underclassman wants to turn pro, he has to agree to a settlement with the institution currently employing him. It only makes things worse. You have to remove the ties between semi-professional sports programs and the colleges that currently run them before it can be anything that even approaches fair. Any volunteers to set up an NFL developmental league that competes with the colleges?

posted by pastepotpete at 01:11 PM on September 02, 2003

My once-proud alma mater changed it's name

Of course, I meant to say, good for her. The Katie Hnida saga has finally been completed. It's a gimmick to be sure, but since there are probably thousands of girls out there who can outdo her and compete with men for positions on the football team, are we going to remember Hnida as a door opener?

posted by pastepotpete at 12:11 PM on September 02, 2003