Thursday, September 30, 2004
Nate Newton Escapes from Prison
After Nate Newton was arrested a few years ago for transporting hundreds of pounds of pot, I figured the man was simply an overly ambitious idiot. Maybe I underestimated him. Perhaps Nate is now a productive Spanish fisherman.
After Nate Newton was arrested a few years ago for transporting hundreds of pounds of pot, I figured the man was simply an overly ambitious idiot. Maybe I underestimated him. Perhaps Nate is now a productive Spanish fisherman.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Another Reason to Hate Bobby Knight
I love it when folks get passionate about Bobby Knight. Supporters of Knight give the goon a free pass for his embarrassingly boorish behavior because he wins games and graduates kids -- as if that is all that matters. As if choking Neil Reed on camera, assaulting a Puerto Rican police officer (and being convicted in absentia), throwing chairs across the floors during games, precipitating a shouting match with the chancellor of Texas Tech in a grocery store, and claiming that rape was inevitable and women should just enjoy it were not enough.
Now we can add Ron Felling and the tax payers of Indiana to the list of folks that have been abused, embarrassed and humiliated by Knight on his way to the admiration of many. According to the Associated Press, "Indiana University has agreed to pay $35,000 to former basketball assistant Ron Felling, who was fired by then-coach Bob Knight after a post-game confrontation in 1999."
It seems that Bobby shoved his former minion after he criticized Knight's coaching and behavior. That'll teach ya to cross my path, Ron! Ante up, taxpayers.
At least Knight graduates players and wins games (though not enough to overcome his behavior and save his job at IU) What a remarkable leader of men.
I love it when folks get passionate about Bobby Knight. Supporters of Knight give the goon a free pass for his embarrassingly boorish behavior because he wins games and graduates kids -- as if that is all that matters. As if choking Neil Reed on camera, assaulting a Puerto Rican police officer (and being convicted in absentia), throwing chairs across the floors during games, precipitating a shouting match with the chancellor of Texas Tech in a grocery store, and claiming that rape was inevitable and women should just enjoy it were not enough.
Now we can add Ron Felling and the tax payers of Indiana to the list of folks that have been abused, embarrassed and humiliated by Knight on his way to the admiration of many. According to the Associated Press, "Indiana University has agreed to pay $35,000 to former basketball assistant Ron Felling, who was fired by then-coach Bob Knight after a post-game confrontation in 1999."
It seems that Bobby shoved his former minion after he criticized Knight's coaching and behavior. That'll teach ya to cross my path, Ron! Ante up, taxpayers.
At least Knight graduates players and wins games (though not enough to overcome his behavior and save his job at IU) What a remarkable leader of men.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Fantasy Baseball Update
It is with great embarrassment to report that the Hazzard County Dukes, the franchise managed by yours truly, is a miserable excuse for a fantasy baseball team. This year's debacle is a head-scratcher ; my draft went well and I made a few terrific trades. Clearly, I have no clue this season. I'm in a battle for seventh place. My season is over.
My main interest for the remainder of this season is 'Mudge's squad, the Vice City Vultures. The Vultures are in first place with roughly two weeks to go. As of today the lead stands at 12.5 points.
Trouble is, earlier in the week the lead was 18 points and Mudge's squad is having its worst week of the season. Mathematically, he can still plunge from his perch. I still maintain that the Vultures will prevail....its a rotten time to endure a slump, and we certainly don't want to see the greatest collapse in fanstasy baseball history. Go Vultures!
It is with great embarrassment to report that the Hazzard County Dukes, the franchise managed by yours truly, is a miserable excuse for a fantasy baseball team. This year's debacle is a head-scratcher ; my draft went well and I made a few terrific trades. Clearly, I have no clue this season. I'm in a battle for seventh place. My season is over.
My main interest for the remainder of this season is 'Mudge's squad, the Vice City Vultures. The Vultures are in first place with roughly two weeks to go. As of today the lead stands at 12.5 points.
Trouble is, earlier in the week the lead was 18 points and Mudge's squad is having its worst week of the season. Mathematically, he can still plunge from his perch. I still maintain that the Vultures will prevail....its a rotten time to endure a slump, and we certainly don't want to see the greatest collapse in fanstasy baseball history. Go Vultures!
Thursday, September 16, 2004
ESPN Sucks
Over the years, my contempt for ESPN has grown more than my waistline. The network used to be a great place to catch a few games and watch highlights. Now, ESPN is full of jock-sniffing reporters who are more interested in being down with their athlete buddies than reporting any news about them. Stuart Scott is the biggest offender - - I wonder if the guy can report without schtick, and I further wonder if he'll ever say anything negative about a famous athlete. Check out his incoherent commencement address at UNC.
Of course, Scott learned from Chris Berman who led last year's NFL Countdown recap of the Eagles loss in the NFC title game with something along these lines, "You hate to say it, but Donovan McNabb struggled here today." Why do you hate to say it, Chris?
ESPN has devolved into a network that is committed to patting itself on the back (that ESPN 25 gig was sickening), and further littering my television with musical performances, game shows, narcissistic schtick, and an appalling lack of any meaningful reporting. God forbid ESPN report on sports' ugly underbelly, its all about the idolatry. If only Bob Ley could be the programming director.
Which brings me back to soon-to-be my new favorite Internet site, SportsCenterSucks Its supposed to launch soon, but I have my doubts. Methinks Mickey Mouse's lawyers found a way to shut this down. Regardless, Slate has a good take on this.
Over the years, my contempt for ESPN has grown more than my waistline. The network used to be a great place to catch a few games and watch highlights. Now, ESPN is full of jock-sniffing reporters who are more interested in being down with their athlete buddies than reporting any news about them. Stuart Scott is the biggest offender - - I wonder if the guy can report without schtick, and I further wonder if he'll ever say anything negative about a famous athlete. Check out his incoherent commencement address at UNC.
Of course, Scott learned from Chris Berman who led last year's NFL Countdown recap of the Eagles loss in the NFC title game with something along these lines, "You hate to say it, but Donovan McNabb struggled here today." Why do you hate to say it, Chris?
ESPN has devolved into a network that is committed to patting itself on the back (that ESPN 25 gig was sickening), and further littering my television with musical performances, game shows, narcissistic schtick, and an appalling lack of any meaningful reporting. God forbid ESPN report on sports' ugly underbelly, its all about the idolatry. If only Bob Ley could be the programming director.
Which brings me back to soon-to-be my new favorite Internet site, SportsCenterSucks Its supposed to launch soon, but I have my doubts. Methinks Mickey Mouse's lawyers found a way to shut this down. Regardless, Slate has a good take on this.
Monday, September 13, 2004
"That's alright they'll be back. He went out for his urinalysis."
Soon there will be no need for Mr. Underhill to leave the country club for such silly matters. A couple of enterprising Kansans are making money by making urine. Synthetic urine. I had no idea there was a shortage on actual urine production in this country, much less the world. On any given day, most folks produce pints of the stuff, full of different scents and color schemes. Yet human urine is bested by synthetic stuff?
According to the article, the synthetic urine producers have been "very blessed with this". Apparently we humans are too contaminated to produce urine that can be used by laboratories to create medicines to rectify the contamination. Lovely.
Soon there will be no need for Mr. Underhill to leave the country club for such silly matters. A couple of enterprising Kansans are making money by making urine. Synthetic urine. I had no idea there was a shortage on actual urine production in this country, much less the world. On any given day, most folks produce pints of the stuff, full of different scents and color schemes. Yet human urine is bested by synthetic stuff?
According to the article, the synthetic urine producers have been "very blessed with this". Apparently we humans are too contaminated to produce urine that can be used by laboratories to create medicines to rectify the contamination. Lovely.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Jump the Shark
Oh. My. Gosh. Just when I thought the babyboomers were slipping out of that magic age range that television advertisers crave so desperately, ABC has decided to throw a bone to the makers of Cialis, Viagra, Geritol, Maalox and PreparationH. "The Alphabet network on Thursday announced details for The Happy Day 30th Anniversary Reunion, a two-hour retrospective that will bring together the original gang in honor of the sitcom's 30th anniversary."
Hopefully this reunion will generate about as much excitement as Jethro Tull's last 'big' comeback (which inexplicably allowed the aging aqualungians to claim a GRAMMY for 'best hard rock or heavy metal album' over Blair fave, Metallica).
Let's face it: Henry Winkler ain't cool anymore. Erin Moran is butt-ugly. Scott Baio is working the dinner theater circuit. Anson Williams is still trying to shed that cheesy, dorky image (he'd better not sing on this reunion gig). And I don't need the double entendre of Marion Cunningham talking about that 'robust' Howard. Donny Most? Who cares.
Nevertheless, I'll bet the producers will decline to invite Ted McGinley - the patron saint of shark-jumping. Keep in mind that Happy Days is the sitcom that coined the phrase 'jumping the shark' based on a ridiculous episode featuring Fonzie jumping said fish.
The show that originally jumped the shark is coming back for another bite? Apparently, babyboomer nostalgia as a media draw has more lives than Bronson had sequels for DeathWish.
Oh. My. Gosh. Just when I thought the babyboomers were slipping out of that magic age range that television advertisers crave so desperately, ABC has decided to throw a bone to the makers of Cialis, Viagra, Geritol, Maalox and PreparationH. "The Alphabet network on Thursday announced details for The Happy Day 30th Anniversary Reunion, a two-hour retrospective that will bring together the original gang in honor of the sitcom's 30th anniversary."
Hopefully this reunion will generate about as much excitement as Jethro Tull's last 'big' comeback (which inexplicably allowed the aging aqualungians to claim a GRAMMY for 'best hard rock or heavy metal album' over Blair fave, Metallica).
Let's face it: Henry Winkler ain't cool anymore. Erin Moran is butt-ugly. Scott Baio is working the dinner theater circuit. Anson Williams is still trying to shed that cheesy, dorky image (he'd better not sing on this reunion gig). And I don't need the double entendre of Marion Cunningham talking about that 'robust' Howard. Donny Most? Who cares.
Nevertheless, I'll bet the producers will decline to invite Ted McGinley - the patron saint of shark-jumping. Keep in mind that Happy Days is the sitcom that coined the phrase 'jumping the shark' based on a ridiculous episode featuring Fonzie jumping said fish.
The show that originally jumped the shark is coming back for another bite? Apparently, babyboomer nostalgia as a media draw has more lives than Bronson had sequels for DeathWish.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
"Baseball...has marked the time"
Excuse my brief homage to the 'Mudge's top movie line of all-time, but I'm talking baseball here as well. One of my favorite pastimes is baseball statistics. My addiction to the numbers becomes more acute every September as baseball's elite players close-in on memorable milestones and benchmarks for greatness. Pitchers capture my attention more often than not. Its fun to figure out where they might stand in the annals of baseball history, and with the Web there are some great sites to help with this emerging pastime of mine.
Right out of the gate, I'll let you know that Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez remain my favorite two pitchers in MLB today. In my mind, they are this generation's best starting pitchers, with Randy Johnson making up for lost time every season. Some will mention Greg Maddux, but not me - - he's a notch below. He's a a remarkable pitcher, but Maddux pitched the bulk of his career in a pathetic baseball city where he never endured pressure and was never forced to put the franchise on his back and carry it. Note that he's pitched exclusively in the NL (easier lineups). Maddux' numbers are remarkable, but they are just that - - numbers, rather than indications of dominance or grace under pressure (he's average in the post-season).
Separating from the pack, Clemens and Pedro have done all of this and more, continuing to perform at an elite level (note that Clemens is 16-4 this season, and Pedro is 16-5).
Lets get back to Pedro. If a pitcher's own ERA relative to the league's ERA is a good measure of effectiveness, which it is .... and if winning percentage is another (that's sort of the objective) ... he's statistically the best ever. Baseball-reference.com runs a remarkable stat every year - the site tracks a pitchers ERA relative to the league ERA. Pedro's lifetime era is 74% better than his contemporaries. That's the best in baseball history, nearly 30 points higher than the second-best career total (owned by Lefty Grove). Consider that in 2000, Pedro's ERA was a full three runs less than the league average for that season. He has not ended a season with an ERA north of 3.00 since 1996. Incredible. Moreover, Pedro wins better than 71% of his decisions - -the best in baseball history (at least 125 wins).
To date, Pedro's career record is 182-72. With a few more wins, Pedro's place in history is undeniable.
On to Roger Clemens. A case can be made that Clemens is the best right handed pitcher ever. I'm not quite sure I can bring myself to this conclusion just yet, but if the Rocket keeps up his pace it'll be hard to deny this point.
Roger Clemens now has 326 wins, 4282 strikeouts, and a 3.20 ERA -- which is 40% better than his contemporaries. He wins more than 66% of his decisions. These are amazing numbers considering the guy pitched for 19 years in a DH-laden league, and 15 years in one of baseball's most notorious hitters' parks. Imagine if he'd have logged these starts in the National League, sans a DH. Don't forget - - Clemens also won the pitching triple crown (league best ERA, wins, strikeouts), twice. Clemens joined Pete Alexander, Lefty Grove and Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers to accomplish this feat.
More than that, Clemens has put entire franchises on his back many times during his career. Look what he is doing in Houston at age 41 right now. At 326 wins, Clemens now stands 11th all time in wins. With four more wins, he'd be alone at number nine all-time (and coincidentally win 20 games for the seventh time in his career -- he already has the record for the most 20-win season in the 5-man rotation era).
Rocket and Pedro. Two of the best.
Excuse my brief homage to the 'Mudge's top movie line of all-time, but I'm talking baseball here as well. One of my favorite pastimes is baseball statistics. My addiction to the numbers becomes more acute every September as baseball's elite players close-in on memorable milestones and benchmarks for greatness. Pitchers capture my attention more often than not. Its fun to figure out where they might stand in the annals of baseball history, and with the Web there are some great sites to help with this emerging pastime of mine.
Right out of the gate, I'll let you know that Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez remain my favorite two pitchers in MLB today. In my mind, they are this generation's best starting pitchers, with Randy Johnson making up for lost time every season. Some will mention Greg Maddux, but not me - - he's a notch below. He's a a remarkable pitcher, but Maddux pitched the bulk of his career in a pathetic baseball city where he never endured pressure and was never forced to put the franchise on his back and carry it. Note that he's pitched exclusively in the NL (easier lineups). Maddux' numbers are remarkable, but they are just that - - numbers, rather than indications of dominance or grace under pressure (he's average in the post-season).
Separating from the pack, Clemens and Pedro have done all of this and more, continuing to perform at an elite level (note that Clemens is 16-4 this season, and Pedro is 16-5).
Lets get back to Pedro. If a pitcher's own ERA relative to the league's ERA is a good measure of effectiveness, which it is .... and if winning percentage is another (that's sort of the objective) ... he's statistically the best ever. Baseball-reference.com runs a remarkable stat every year - the site tracks a pitchers ERA relative to the league ERA. Pedro's lifetime era is 74% better than his contemporaries. That's the best in baseball history, nearly 30 points higher than the second-best career total (owned by Lefty Grove). Consider that in 2000, Pedro's ERA was a full three runs less than the league average for that season. He has not ended a season with an ERA north of 3.00 since 1996. Incredible. Moreover, Pedro wins better than 71% of his decisions - -the best in baseball history (at least 125 wins).
To date, Pedro's career record is 182-72. With a few more wins, Pedro's place in history is undeniable.
On to Roger Clemens. A case can be made that Clemens is the best right handed pitcher ever. I'm not quite sure I can bring myself to this conclusion just yet, but if the Rocket keeps up his pace it'll be hard to deny this point.
Roger Clemens now has 326 wins, 4282 strikeouts, and a 3.20 ERA -- which is 40% better than his contemporaries. He wins more than 66% of his decisions. These are amazing numbers considering the guy pitched for 19 years in a DH-laden league, and 15 years in one of baseball's most notorious hitters' parks. Imagine if he'd have logged these starts in the National League, sans a DH. Don't forget - - Clemens also won the pitching triple crown (league best ERA, wins, strikeouts), twice. Clemens joined Pete Alexander, Lefty Grove and Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers to accomplish this feat.
More than that, Clemens has put entire franchises on his back many times during his career. Look what he is doing in Houston at age 41 right now. At 326 wins, Clemens now stands 11th all time in wins. With four more wins, he'd be alone at number nine all-time (and coincidentally win 20 games for the seventh time in his career -- he already has the record for the most 20-win season in the 5-man rotation era).
Rocket and Pedro. Two of the best.
