- 05:56 AM
- 11/21/09
| Member since: | January 26, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Last visit: | November 20, 2009 |
MW12 has posted 1 link and 149 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 0 comments to the Locker Room.
posted by to at on - comments
Also interesting, McGuire's lifetime batting average is exactly the same as the Cards team average in 2009 at .263. See here
So what exactly makes this an upgrade for the team?
posted by MW12 at 07:45 PM on October 26
At the end of McGwire's career, he was an all or nothing pull hitter. McRae struck out less than half as much (779 vs 1596) as McGwire while playing 100+ more games. That stat alone is the smart, patient hitter that I would want to employ for my teams instruction.
This. Which begs the question in my mind, do the Cards only care about the long ball (since after all, chicks dig it!), or is LaRussa doing this more as a publicity stunt/bid to help McGuire attract renewed interest in an effort to get him into the Hall of Fame.
Granted, after the Congress debacle McGwire slid under a rock and failed to appear anywhere but whatever took place before MLB instituted a drug policy should stay in the past so that we can move forward.
This too. Course that means Bonds is a sure thing first ballot Hall of Famer also, right?
But what's most interesting to me is the part of the article which noted that Connie Mack had a career losing percentage. (3731 wins, 3948 losses) I did not know this!
That and the fact that some of our premier SpoFi experts are also big Hugh Grant fans! ;-)
posted by MW12 at 07:32 PM on October 26
It's easier to make all those consecutive starts when you lie on the injury report and play to the detriment of your team.
Since when does the quarterback write the injury report, not to mention have final say over both the head coach and GM?
All the hating is getting old. Favre has proven he can still play. He's proven his holdout has not been a detriment to the team. And to call attention to stats like Favre's playoff record since 1998 is all well and good but when he's killing himself for your team people tend to think differently (scroll down to comment number eight, cjets).
Why all the Favre hate.
I can only speak for myself. I don't hate him.
Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, pot.
posted by MW12 at 07:39 PM on September 28
I would think that some sort of equal punishment is in order.
Completely agreed. I think the teacher should have to wear a Yankees jersey for at least one full day. That is, after serving a brief suspension.
posted by MW12 at 09:59 AM on September 27
Facts: Man brings illegal handgun to a nightclub. Man doesn't have safety on said handgun, nor is it holstered or otherwise secured. Man shoots someone with said handgun.
Sure the person the dumbass shot was himself. Poetic justice. Doesn't change the facts.
20 months is a steep penalty? I don't agree.
Anytime a person takes a loaded gun out in public, the message he is sending is he is prepared to use deadly force. And when he fires said gun - accidentally or on purpose - he should be prepared to accept the consequences of his actions.
Fortunately for him, Plaxico had the good sense (or paid people with the good sense) to do just that. Otherwise he would have received a longer sentence, which would have been equally well deserved.
posted by MW12 at 09:13 PM on September 22
What dviking said. And I'm neither a Vikes fan nor a steadfast Favre fan. But the bottom line is the O line seems to be doing their job just fine (which was my point), and Favre's holdout doesn't preclude him from knowing the Vikes playbook.
How many points will it cost them in the first month? Heck it could cost them hundreds of points over the course of the season, but as long as they outscore their opponents by a grand total of 16 they have the chance to run the table, whether those plays are drawn up on Favre's hand or otherwise.
posted by MW12 at 07:46 PM on September 22
As I recall he very narrowly missed someone else. 20 months seems steep for stupidity, but an involuntary/ criminally negligent manslaughter conviction could have been a whole lot worse.
Why was he carrying a loaded gun in his waist band to begin with? To fend off the ladies at the club?
posted by MW12 at 07:19 PM on September 22
I disagree that he owes anything to others beyond being the best he can be on game day. 271 consecutive starts in the NFL and playing at a high level at age 40 should allow him some leeway in how he chooses to get ready for the season. Just like any employee negotiating an employment contract he has the right to state his terms and conditions as to what he will and won't do for the paycheck. Potential employers can either accept, pass or try to negotiate the points they feel are important. If some of the other players can't understand why after 20 years in the league, 271 consecutive starts, a hall of fame career, almost every passing record, and Super Bowls, he might have earned the right to skip some training camp, well then they are just unreasonable.
For sake of devil's advocacy, I'm going to go ahead and agree with this. I've been on the fence about Favre's on again off again bull, but this rings true to me. It's like the sign on wall in the Pat's clubhouse says (recently stolen and repeated by Josh McDaniels and the Broncos): "Do your job." It may be a team game but it's the responsibility of each individual to do his job to the best of his ability. So if the members of the team have the skills, the stamina, the knowledge, and the discipline, then it shouldn't matter if Favre shows up weeks late. They may have a few timing issues to work through but professionals at this level should become competitive quickly.
That being the case, Favre deserves all the credit he gets, with no strings attached IMO. And to the comparison w Cal Ripkin, I seem to recall games where Cal started then came out quickly at the streak dragged on, signifying the start was little more than a symbolic gesture. Whereas Favre continues to play until he is dragged off the field, every down of every game.
posted by MW12 at 08:30 PM on September 21
First Celebrity Apprentice, now MMA. Perhaps he's having financial troubles...?
posted by MW12 at 04:54 PM on September 21
Pats/Bills game over. 25, 24 Pats.
Moral of the story: losers will always find a way.
posted by MW12 at 10:15 PM on September 14
As a primary offender in the Serena debacle (with respect to SpoFi), I apologize and am with you, BoKnows.
Saw this headline earlier today and was most impressed/intrigued. Ichiro is one of the most under appreciated players in the game IMO. Not sure if it's because he was already a vet when he joined the MLB, whether there is a hint of racism involved being the first superstar Asian player in the MLB, or the fact that he doesn't play in New York or Boston, but he has never received his due.
I too wonder about the lack of immediate accolades on SpoFi.
posted by MW12 at 09:07 PM on September 14
What would make your opinion right is some kind of sensible argument to support the idea Serena Williams got screwed by the loss of one point (and not even a point, a whatever the hell you call it that makes up a point in tennis) in a match she was about to lose badly anyway.
Pretty confident I've done just as requested: the foot fault call was horrible by all accounts, and at a critical juncture in a VERY CLOSE MATCH, it's more than a big deal.
Lose badly you say? I wouldn't assume but have to suspect you don't know tennis. Serving while down 4-6, 5-6 is the opposite of losing badly: it's as close as a match can possibly be. Odds are Serena would have held serve and forced a tiebreak. What happens next is anyone's guess.
As bperk is correctly suggesting, the tennis world was deprived of a potentially exciting ending - two points at the very least, and possibly an entire additional set - and that sucks for everyone: the players, the fans, the tournament officials, the sponsors - everyone lost on account of that call.
I wonder if it is safe to say that by throwing a vulgar threating tantrum, and causing play to stop, it might be slightly unfair to her opponent and possibly taken Kim Clijsters off her game.
Not nearly as unfair as if an "unconscionable call" had been made against her at such a critical juncture, as it was Serena.
posted by MW12 at 07:01 PM on September 14
First off, I'll take the blame (credit?) for being the one who said Serena was the victim here AND that the lines judge is a coward. I also stand behind my suggestion that Serena should sit out a match (not a tourney, but a match) if she discovers that this particular lines judge is working the court that day.
We're not (or at least we weren't) talking about how big of a foot fault Serena committed, or whether it's a penalty that should be stricken from the books - those are just things people here say to manipulate an argument in their favor. We're talking about the timing of a particular call that evidence coincidentally proves was not a violation at all.
And it wasn't just any match - it was the semifinals of a major championship. I've been racking my brain for an analogy that would work in another sport, but I've got nothing that comes remotely close. Serena was taking off her game at a critical moment in one of her biggest matches of this year, and the loss cost her millions of dollars. Now I'm not saying she should or would have necessarily won - but if she won that point, it'd have been deuce (30-30, same thing) and if she'd held serve she'd have forced a tiebreaker, and who knows how things would play out from there.
Costly mistake for Serena to blow up the way she did? Absolutely.
Costly mistake for that line judge to make? 1000%
posted by MW12 at 05:10 PM on September 14
So, let's take a reckoning: you claimed that no-one could hear, when the on-court microphones and cameras made it very clear, and put CBS's editors to extra work.
Very clear? Really? With pain staking effort we now know part of what was said - which, as it turns out, is not exactly what the lines judge thought she heard in the first place. You've claimed that abusing the officials without punishment is standard practice.
I have said no such thing. What I've said is that athletes in a lot of sports yell, and to that I think we should all agree the punishment for yelling is entirely subjective, and in this case the crux of my argument is that the circumstances are such that Serena was wronged here.
Oh, and you've basically said that enforcement of the rules should be dictated by the demands of top-ranking players.
Just as they are in every other sport. Yes, that I agree with. The Jordan Rules apply in this instance.
I still say Serena is the victim here
And you would be wrong.
Says you. And I'm sure others with agree with your opinion. But that doesn't make my opinion wrong. Just different.
posted by MW12 at 03:11 PM on September 14
Antoine Walker broke, arrested for writing bad checks
Saw this article the other day and just shook my head. How does anyone squander $110 million dollars? Then I read the comments made by his mother.