- 02:32 PM
- 05/23/13
| Member since: | November 14, 2006 |
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| Last visit: | December 03, 2012 |
deflated has posted 0 links and 107 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 0 comments to the Locker Room.
"Who will rid me of this meddlesome quarterback?"
Heh - makes the history geek in me laugh. After this I can totally see Elway stamping out revolts among the Broncos faithful for the rest of his reign.
posted by deflated at 10:51 PM on March 20
As a Broncos fan I'm not that happy to get Peyton on the team - I'd still like to see that his arm strength has come back and he can still feel his fingers after the first sack. As a Broncos fan I'm overjoyed that I no longer have to watch Timmy lob passes into the stands and be just good enough to keep him in Denver. Bleh.
posted by deflated at 08:00 PM on March 19
Absolutely. And add one for batters flouncing around adjusting gloves and helmets in baseball. Get up there and make your play.
posted by deflated at 06:02 PM on March 09
If you're going to call Eli the "default choice," you should identify the player more deserving of the award.
Eli had a solid game against a middling pass defence in a SB with no standout player. Lots of completions, had trouble converting them into scores. As the most visible player on the winning team he was the easy choice. If through some miracle Bradshaw fumbles at the 1 instead of scoring then Brady gets the MVP and we're having the same conversation - he didn't do much wrong but its not exactly Desmond Howard ripping the game open.
posted by deflated at 11:31 PM on February 08
Eli needs at least 5 seasons as good as this year or he shouldn't be in. He's done less than Philip Rivers except for those two SBs and nobody is pumping him up for the HOF yet.
Here's another view: Eli has done far, far less in his career than Terrell Davis. Davis had a much more impressive regular season career, has two rings, got a SB MVP by dominating rather than being the default choice. Davis probably isn't getting in the HOF as many consider his career too short. Eli is not a HOFer today.
posted by deflated at 07:30 PM on February 08
The evolution of competitors and their training (legal or otherwise) leaves me to believe that the super-elite in the 21st century would dominate anyone from more than 20 years ago.
Then I'll take Eddy Merckx raised and trained in a modern environment. There hasn't been some sudden evolution of genetically superior sportsmen, we just know more about how to prepare them for competion. When these sort of questions come up (and who hasn't worked through this with friends over a beer or three?) I'll always argue for the guy who just crushed his competition, who was so much better than those around him that you know they were the one-in-a-century type who could do it in any era.
Babe Ruth, Merckx, Heather McKay, Edwin Moses, Abebe Bikila - any of them would excel if they were born again in 1990 and competing today.
(and getting back to the JLD challenge - I think I could live with losing if I got to see that modern Merckx riding the TdF against one of Armstrong's Blue Train USPS squads. Immovable force/irresistable object, etc.)
posted by deflated at 04:45 PM on February 08
Hang your head in shame if you suggested any cyclist but Eddie Merckx from the 1969 TdF. He took all three jerseys (overall, mountain and points) and the combativity award. Record winning margin at 17+ minutes. Untouchable.
That said I'm taking Walter Lindrum and billiards. Only lost his world title when he retired.
posted by deflated at 11:43 AM on February 08
I just heard from a friend that they had 17 undrafted players starting this Superbowl.
I think that has more to do with their passion for drafting crappy DBs and needing to cover the gaps than great talent recognition. If it wasn't for Mayo the '07, '08 and '09 drafts would be grim indeed. I don't know if I'd really use players like Welker or Woodhead - signed as UDFAs by other teams then signed as regular FAs by the Pats - for that either.
posted by deflated at 08:29 PM on February 06
The amazing thing about this case wasn't the outcome, but how long it took.
Crank your cynicism up a little higher and it will all make sense.
By prolonging the case for a year they kept the biggest drawcard in pro cycling on his bike and in races for as long as possible. Sponsors and broadcasters are very happy that Contador spent last summer trying for the Giro/Tour double in vain, far more interesting to the sometime fans than the alternatives (e.g. while Cadel Evans is a hero in Australia, in the big Euro markets he isn't particularly popular or marketable).
As it is Contador will be back riding in the 2012 Vuelta. He gets a two year ban but it is backdated to the point where he'll be winning again in 6 months. Everyone (except Contador and his team) is happy, revenue streams are preserved, life goes on.
posted by deflated at 01:54 PM on February 06
Ah well, there goes most of the interest in this year's TdF. Surely not even the Schlecks could screw up a gilt-edged opportunity like this; with no big bad Contador to worry about RadioShack will just grind up Evans and the last week will be a procession.
posted by deflated at 12:46 PM on February 06
Yeah, he got him in the face. Piss-poor judgement on Lowe's part.
posted by deflated at 03:15 PM on February 05
Please, please make this happen to Jeffery Loria.
posted by deflated at 01:49 PM on January 26
Joey Michaels, aren't the majority of NFL punts torpedos? I thought that was one of the reasons the Aussie punters did so well, their drop punts traveled in the air differently and messed up PRs.
(Unless you're referring to Aussie Rules football, where there is a desperate shortage of booming torpedo punts. More drop kicks is what we need in the NFL with less Bayless in any form)
posted by deflated at 03:35 PM on January 25
Why is there so much problem with the definition of clipping? Marchand's hit on Salo was classic clipping, drops his righ shoulder into Salo's knees and he was punished for this by Shanahan as illustrated in his explanation video.
Both Hamhuis and Raymond in the videos in the Boston.com link hit above the knees and so were not assessed clipping penallties. If you want a Canucks example look at Ballard, who I believe was called for clipping on a hip check in the San Jose series last year. His penalty, unlike Marchand, was only a 2 min minor - any clipping penalty that results in an injury is an automatic 5 min major and is subject to post-game review.
I'm not sure if I agree with the policy (too much of the punishment is decided by how badly the victim got hurt - punish the action, not the outcome) but everything here is exactly in line with the NHL rulebook and Shanahan's attitude to repeat offenders.
(personal bias: Marchand's head-fake towards the puck before diving into Salo absolutely makes my blood boil. Faking a player into a position where they can't defend themselves from a marginal-at-best hit is the sort of crap that needs to be stamped out of the game yesterday. Marchand is down in the gutter with Matt Cooke and Ulf Samuelsson for me now)
posted by deflated at 08:38 PM on January 09
SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle
Okay, Leaf fans need to get a grip. This is Brian Burke we're talking about; if he was going to sign a FA today he would have nailed down the details long before today. Whether you like his talent evaluation or not he is skilled and experienced in the mechanics of being an NHL GM. These are probably the same fans who whined that he didn't nab the Sedins before they re-upped for the Canucks and complain that Rick Nash wants to be a Leaf so just get him, alright?