Really, Shea Weber? In your career you've never done anything so blatantly goon-ish. You're better than that. Way better than that. You've been tagged as the guy who'll win Norris Trophies, not a higher profile Matt Cooke. Hell, the glass might as well be a turnbuckle & you're wearing a singlet. What's more disturbing is that it was the end of game so no penalty. The NHL isn't going to suspend you, but they'll hurt your wallet. Yeah. What are you going to do without that $2,500? Wait . . . that's it? You drop $2,500 at Dick's for golf clubs. Even the 'punishment' sucks. I thought Brendan Shanahan was going to put an end to this kind of thing?
April 13, 2012
Shea Weber . . . What The Hell Bro?
The Nashville Predators & Detroit Red Wings began their seven game playoff series Wednesday. Now, I love nothing more than when division rivals become playoff foes. There is already a hatred there & it only gets worse (better?) when they are forced to play an additional four to seven times. Detroit has owned the Central Division for . . . like what? Twenty years? Nashville entered the league in 1997 & has been the Red Wings' annoying little brother. They play Detroit rough, but Detroit usually wins (they bounced the Predators twice out of the first round of the playoffs). So little Nashville wants their sibling to know they mean business. They're not going to be pushed around anymore. They're getting the last cookie & they're watching Spongebob, damnit!
Really, Shea Weber? In your career you've never done anything so blatantly goon-ish. You're better than that. Way better than that. You've been tagged as the guy who'll win Norris Trophies, not a higher profile Matt Cooke. Hell, the glass might as well be a turnbuckle & you're wearing a singlet. What's more disturbing is that it was the end of game so no penalty. The NHL isn't going to suspend you, but they'll hurt your wallet. Yeah. What are you going to do without that $2,500? Wait . . . that's it? You drop $2,500 at Dick's for golf clubs. Even the 'punishment' sucks. I thought Brendan Shanahan was going to put an end to this kind of thing?
Really, Shea Weber? In your career you've never done anything so blatantly goon-ish. You're better than that. Way better than that. You've been tagged as the guy who'll win Norris Trophies, not a higher profile Matt Cooke. Hell, the glass might as well be a turnbuckle & you're wearing a singlet. What's more disturbing is that it was the end of game so no penalty. The NHL isn't going to suspend you, but they'll hurt your wallet. Yeah. What are you going to do without that $2,500? Wait . . . that's it? You drop $2,500 at Dick's for golf clubs. Even the 'punishment' sucks. I thought Brendan Shanahan was going to put an end to this kind of thing?
April 11, 2012
Third Lap
February 18th, 2001. Daytona, Florida. The Great American Race. We lost a legend.
On the last lap of the Daytona 500, the NASCAR community saw Dale Earnhardt turned left by Sterling Marlin & t-boned by Ken Schrader. His skull was fatally fractured. He died instantly. A seven-time Cup champion & winner of seventy-six races & flag-bearer for a sport was gone. His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second & Michael Waltrip, driving a car owned by Earnhardt, won the tragically historic race.
For a year after his death, every track NASCAR visited held a silent third lap in respect to the trailblazing racer. It was a touching tribute & fans raised their hands in the air with three fingers pointed skyward. His death ushered a revolution in driver safety. His legacy lives on in the SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) barriers which line the walls of all race tracks today. The Intimidator lost his life, but has saved many more. Rest in peace, Dale.
On the last lap of the Daytona 500, the NASCAR community saw Dale Earnhardt turned left by Sterling Marlin & t-boned by Ken Schrader. His skull was fatally fractured. He died instantly. A seven-time Cup champion & winner of seventy-six races & flag-bearer for a sport was gone. His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second & Michael Waltrip, driving a car owned by Earnhardt, won the tragically historic race.
For a year after his death, every track NASCAR visited held a silent third lap in respect to the trailblazing racer. It was a touching tribute & fans raised their hands in the air with three fingers pointed skyward. His death ushered a revolution in driver safety. His legacy lives on in the SAFER (Steel And Foam Energy Reduction) barriers which line the walls of all race tracks today. The Intimidator lost his life, but has saved many more. Rest in peace, Dale.
Triple Crown
The Triple Crown is the ultimate achievement in United States horse racing. One Thoroughbred must win three races (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, & Belmont Stakes) over the course of five weeks. It is a daunting task. People have to realize that a race horse is every bit the athlete has a Olympic-level runner or swimmer. Hell, they're practically the same in terms of training & conditioning. Don't believe me? Let the 1973 Belmont Stakes & Secretariat convince you:
Like the aforementioned unassisted triple play, a Triple Crown winner is rare. The three legs of the Triple Crown are designed to test a horse's ability. The races vary in distance with the Kentucky Derby being 1.25 miles, The Preakness a mile, & The Belmont a grueling mile and a half. The compact scheduling of the events also hinder a competitor's chances. Since 1875, there have been only eleven Triple Crown Champions. Yeah, just eleven. The last was Affirmed in 1978. The past decade has seen four horses come close (War Emblem, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, & Big Brown each won the Derby & Preakness but lost the Belmont). If there's a rash of Triple Crown winners, maybe horse racing will emerge again in the American sports fan's landscape. It couldn't hurt, right?
When was the last time you saw a racehorse on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Keep it tight, Affirmed.
Like the aforementioned unassisted triple play, a Triple Crown winner is rare. The three legs of the Triple Crown are designed to test a horse's ability. The races vary in distance with the Kentucky Derby being 1.25 miles, The Preakness a mile, & The Belmont a grueling mile and a half. The compact scheduling of the events also hinder a competitor's chances. Since 1875, there have been only eleven Triple Crown Champions. Yeah, just eleven. The last was Affirmed in 1978. The past decade has seen four horses come close (War Emblem, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, & Big Brown each won the Derby & Preakness but lost the Belmont). If there's a rash of Triple Crown winners, maybe horse racing will emerge again in the American sports fan's landscape. It couldn't hurt, right?
Triple Play
So I am on campus today for twelve hours with three distinct breaks. I know this is cheating, but I'm running with this three-motif & giving yins three blog posts involving the number after two. Naturally lets begin with baseball & the rarity of a triple play.
A triple play is of course the defensive team recording all three outs at the same time. There are tons things that need to happen to even set one up. There has to be at least two base runners & the defense has to be in proper position & the moon needs to have a blue tint & a chicken must be sacrificed in left field. I've watched baseball for ten years & have never seen one. Sure they happen, but I don't count seeing the highlights on SportsCenter. The odds of a triple play occurring in a inning are 1,400 to 1 (The Odds on Virtually Everything pg. 50).
Even more rare is a unassisted triple play. That's when one player gets all three outs without throwing the ball. One has to caught a line drive then tag a base & runner. Since 1909, there have been only fifteen unassisted triple plays. That's insane.
Here's a regular triple play:
Here's a unassisted triple play . . . damn MLB media blackout . . . http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19995921&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_19995921&v=3
A triple play is of course the defensive team recording all three outs at the same time. There are tons things that need to happen to even set one up. There has to be at least two base runners & the defense has to be in proper position & the moon needs to have a blue tint & a chicken must be sacrificed in left field. I've watched baseball for ten years & have never seen one. Sure they happen, but I don't count seeing the highlights on SportsCenter. The odds of a triple play occurring in a inning are 1,400 to 1 (The Odds on Virtually Everything pg. 50).
Even more rare is a unassisted triple play. That's when one player gets all three outs without throwing the ball. One has to caught a line drive then tag a base & runner. Since 1909, there have been only fifteen unassisted triple plays. That's insane.
Here's a regular triple play:
Here's a unassisted triple play . . . damn MLB media blackout . . . http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19995921&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_19995921&v=3
April 10, 2012
He Said What . . . ?!
Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen has never been mistaken with being 'tactful' or 'respectful' or 'smart' when it comes to opening his mouth. The fiery player turned skipper has offended every subculture, race, & lifestyle. Its in his nature. He's a blunt speaker with no shut down switch. But what he said two days ago to Time Magazine is irrehensable.
"I love Fidel Castro. I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last sixty years, but that fucker is still here."
Way to go, Ozzie. Do me a favor & look at that 'M' on your baseball cap. It stands for Miami. Out of the foreign population there, forty-five percent are from Cuba. Why so high a number? Because they fled the DICTATORSHIP of FIDEL CASTRO! Way to slap your prime fanbase in the face, Ozzie. A five-game suspension isn't enough here. Bud Selig needs to step in & pull a Roger Goodell & yank Ozzie out of the dugout for a year. Maybe then he'll start thinking before he speaks.
"I love Fidel Castro. I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last sixty years, but that fucker is still here."
Way to go, Ozzie. Do me a favor & look at that 'M' on your baseball cap. It stands for Miami. Out of the foreign population there, forty-five percent are from Cuba. Why so high a number? Because they fled the DICTATORSHIP of FIDEL CASTRO! Way to slap your prime fanbase in the face, Ozzie. A five-game suspension isn't enough here. Bud Selig needs to step in & pull a Roger Goodell & yank Ozzie out of the dugout for a year. Maybe then he'll start thinking before he speaks.
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