- 07:06 PM
- 04/25/24
| Name: | Derek Scruggs |
|---|---|
| Member since: | February 19, 2006 |
| Last visit: | January 12, 2010 |
drumdance has posted 3 links and 144 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 1 comment to the Locker Room.
Greg Maddux to retire on Monday: Maddux has been my favorite pitcher of the last 20 years. He never had dominating stuff in the traditional sense, but he was just so dang smart in choosing his pitches that he could oftentimes seem unhittable. I will miss seeing him against my Rockies in the NL West.
posted by drumdance to baseball at 06:22 PM on December 05, 2008 - 30 comments
Nadal-Federer epic the most thrilling of all the Wimbledon finals: I came here to see what the buzz was and was shocked to see Nadal/Federer hadn't been posted already. I only saw part of the match and sadly missed most of the last set, but it seemed pretty epic to me, especially during the 4th set tiebreaker.
posted by drumdance to tennis at 01:45 PM on July 07, 2008 - 44 comments
Karma is the key for Rockies play-in to playoffs: The gods smiled on this one. The Rockies had to win 13 out of 14 just to get to this game. They won it in the bottom of the 13th by scoring three runs against the most successful closer in the history of the game. The winning run came on a controversial play at the plate. Of course it was scored by Matt Holliday, who just moments before got RBI #137, allowing him to claim the RBI title from Ryan Howard. Some think he's the MVP, and if he wasn't in that game (and the whole month of September), when the team needed him most, then the term has no meaning. Holliday could've been the goat after misplaying a fly ball that allowed the Pads to tie it up in the 8th. Pads fans no doubt are unhappy with how the play at the plate was called, but maybe it makes up the for home-run-no-it's-a-double that was taken from Brad Hawpe, the third time THIS MONTH(!) the Rox were robbed of a home run by a bad call.
posted by drumdance to baseball at 11:30 AM on October 02, 2007 - 64 comments
My recollection during his career was that MJ was known for being (much like Tiger Woods) too plain-vanilla in his comments and not speaking out enough except for trash talking on the court (and what NBA player doesn't do that)?
The fact that he chose David Thompson to introduce him says a lot to me. Thompson went to NC State.
I lived in Chicago from his rookie year through the second retirement and feel really lucky I got to experience that. That said, on a numbers basis and in terms of impact on the game, I still have to give it to Wilt. Jordan was one of the greatest ever, but part of the reason he is considered as such is the he's The Most Famous Ever, which is a reflection of how far Bird and Magic took NBA from being an also-ran to a platform for greatness.
posted by drumdance at 01:30 PM on September 14, 2009
Broncos won in a miracle finish after a yawner of a game, and only after Orton practically gave it away. Meanwhile Cutler was just awful in GB. I still would take JC over Orton any day, but sometimes schadenfreude is all you have.
posted by drumdance at 01:18 PM on September 14, 2009
Exciting game, and especially impressive that they came back from 14 down. In the past the game would've been over by mid-3rd quarter.
As a long-suffering Nuggets fans I still think the Lakers have the edge over seven games. But one very heartening stat to me is that the Nuggets' three playoff losses have been by a total of six points, all on the road. By contrast, all their home wins have been double digits.
posted by drumdance at 06:36 PM on May 22, 2009
Howard_T is right - Shanahan's a great game-day coach. The problem is he's a very average GM. His personnel choices have generally been unproductive with a few exceptions like Cutler. Many of his free agent moves in particular have been disasters.
The defense has been flat-out terrible for the last few years. This season's collapse was a disappointment, but everyone here in Denver knew they would get worked in the playoffs anyway. Especially if they played Indy, who's had the Broncos' number for years.
posted by drumdance at 04:16 PM on December 31, 2008
I wouldn't say he's been a great pitcher the last few years, but he was a solid contributor at the back end of the rotation. He won (yet another) Gold Glove in '07, which kinda sorta made up for his inability to hold runners on first.
And yeah, he seems like a lifer. Supposedly he once called a game from the dugout for Brad Penny (scroll about halfway down the page).
posted by drumdance at 02:54 AM on December 06, 2008
I love football, but every now and then when watching I pretend I'm from another non-football country (that is, pretty much the rest of the world) and wonder what I would think of a sport that requires players to essentially put on armor and pound the hell out of each other. I guess you could argue hockey is the same, but something about the enormity of the players and the size of the pads makes it stand out.
Of course, boxing is even worse, at least wrt to head injuries. So even though I'm a fan of Ali and loved "When We Were Kings," I would have no problem with a ban on the sport.
It would kill me to give up football...
Someone mentioned Earl Campbell - as a Broncos fan I worry that Brandon Marshall will end up that way. He's a receiver, so he doesn't get as many touches, but after the catch he is a beast that takes 4 guys to bring down. He never, ever gives up, even when it's probably better for his long term health. Reminds me of Campbell.
posted by drumdance at 09:27 AM on September 26, 2008
At the end of the year the Trojans will be the National Champions again and prove the dynasty has not died
3. USC: Trojans have enough talent to direct a box-office smash hit movie and write an Emmy-award winning show; however, are not quite as good at football
posted by drumdance at 05:07 PM on September 16, 2008
One last comment then I'm out. The really strange thing about all this is the discussion in Denver is all about the blown call and the two-point conversion. IMO Cutler should be getting some heat too.
I'm a Cutler fan and think he has all the skills to lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl (though probably not this year), but making two goal line turnovers is inexcusable. His passer rating for the game was 109.6, it surely would've been sub-100 if that call gets made correctly.
posted by drumdance at 02:23 PM on September 15, 2008
Quick follow-up: I listened to the main sports station this morning and the consensus among the hosts and the fans was generally that the Chargers got hosed, though no one is crying about it.
There was a lively discussion as to whether NFL referees should be full time like in other sports. The best argument for it was that FT refs would get to come to practices and see schemes and plays, though I don't know if that would've made a difference in this case. (And it leads to me wonder if it would bias refs even further if they got to know the athletes a little better.)
Here's a cartoon from today's sports section of the Rocky Mountain News.
posted by drumdance at 12:36 PM on September 15, 2008
Broncos fan here. I'm glad of the final score, but that was a terrible call. No doubt the Chargers should've won.
Re: the two-point conversion - I think Shanahan had no faith in the defense today (for good reason) and didn't want to risk a coin flip. The Chargers were moving the ball at will, but so were the Bronco save two three & outs in the 3rd quarter. Also they'd been perfect in red zone touchdowns until Cutler's interception, so he must've had a lot of confidence they would punch it in.
If it failed he would've caught some heat, but I suspect a lot of Broncos fans feel as I do that the final touchdown was a gift. So he was playing with house money anyway.
posted by drumdance at 11:09 PM on September 14, 2008
I don't follow college football super closely, so feel free to take potshots at my opinion. That said, I've long thought that Ohio State and the Big Ten in general are both overrated (and I went to a Big Ten school).
posted by drumdance at 07:48 PM on September 14, 2008
I hope this is not the early stages of another Alonzo Spellman. It was sad to see him struggle in Chicago.
posted by drumdance at 06:58 PM on September 10, 2008
Silly me, I thought "scrum" referred to software development. Maybe I need to get out more...
posted by drumdance at 11:17 AM on September 08, 2008
BornIcon - I didn't say that. I said I'm inclined believe his side of the story, which is that somebody told him to do it.
Maybe I'm wrong. My point is the he's not a gangster wannabe with a criminal past. Prior to this the worst you could say about him is the he fumbles too much. If the police find him guilty, so be it.
posted by drumdance at 02:23 PM on September 05, 2008
Can the Yankees Be Stopped?
The point of large payrolls is not that they buy success, it's that they buy off mistakes. A few years ago the Rockies made some major big-money mistakes in free agency, overpaying Denny Neagle and Mike Hampton. It took 4-5 years for them to recover from that financially. If the Yankees or Mets or BoSox make the same mistake, no big whup.