Subject: Interesting sports tid-bits:
Date: Thu Sep 8 14:41:21 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:The most-traded player in MLB history gets traded again.
Here's the history of his trades, *before* this current one:
https://www.mlb.com/news/who-is-most-traded-player-ever
Link: Jesse Chavez back "home"
Date: Sun Sep 11 17:24:32 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:I *guess* this is sports-related. Somewhat surprisingly.............don't see any for sale on ebay right now. Is it possible they were able to take them away before anyone bought one? (Doubtful?)
Link: Just exactly which Commanders mugs did you want?
Date: Mon Sep 12 13:30:34 2022
User: mrbuck
Message:Edwin Jackson just retired. He played for 14 different teams. Six more teams to go to break his record Jesse Chavez.
mrbuck
Date: Wed Sep 14 17:22:53 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:This is *kinda* one of those 'made-up' stats, but not really. While pitchers the last 20-25 years have a short leash, this is a 100+-year-old record. I think it's downright impressive.
Link: de Grom back to being de Grom
Date: Wed Sep 14 18:04:34 2022
User: Klepp
Message:39 consecutive quality starts? I.e., 6+IP w/3 ER or fewer? Astounding...it's as if he's pitching in the dead ball era, but it's actually the Sabremetrics era, soon to become the post/anti-Sabremetrics era (sort of, with their radical rule changes...
Date: Thu Sep 15 02:07:43 2022
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Well, this is an impressive stat, but much harder to grasp than DiMaggio’s hitting streak. DeGrom’s been above average for 39 starts in-a-row. Meh. If he gets into the 40’s or 50’s I’d start to take notice. If he won in the post season I’d take more notice…
Oh, I’d rather have someone like Tim Lincecum on my roster than deGrom because it’s better to have loved and lost…
Date: Thu Sep 15 02:46:05 2022
User: Katya
Message:St Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina just set a record as the battery with the most starts in major league history 325. Hopefully they'll have more this year.
Date: Thu Sep 15 04:40:40 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:"Above average" for 39 consecutive starts is impressive no matter how one slices it; the degree to which it's impressive is uncertain. Is DiMaggio's streak *more* remarkable? Yes. But think of the many, many hundreds (thousands??) of pitchers since 1914 that have had 39 starts. There's a reason it hasn't been repeated in 108 years. The more I've thought about this today since learning it, the more I stick it up there in the pantheon of all-time difficult-to-achieve stats. It reminds me of Hershiser's consecutive innings streak. Not as hard in the beginning; not as hard each individual game - but stretched out and maintained over months.
Have you seen him pitch lately? Ridiculous the movement and placement of his stuff. In fact...............he honestly reminds me of Lincecum when he was in his groove. That's a great comparison.
Date: Thu Sep 15 04:53:40 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:I also think the Wainwright-Molina achievement is noteworthy. As quickly as rosters shift these days/years, that kind of battery longevity (Pay attention Eveready, Duracell, etc. Send my checks here in care of Denny.) is really difficult to grasp.
Date: Fri Sep 16 01:49:29 2022
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Well, went to baseball-reference.com and deGrom is way more impressive than I thought. He’s got a career WHIP under 1.0! That makes him an all-time great. There’s also a feature that lets you compare players and deGrom makes Lincecum look like two-day old fish 🐠 when you look at their career stats - at least on average. Lincecum’s career WHIP is in the 1.2 range - good but not great. Lincecum just gets the acclaim for getting into the zone at the end of the 2010 season and leading the Giants through the playoffs and then to victory in the World Series. We just adore athletes that get better as the stakes go up and Lincecum has that profile. I haven’t followed deGrom enough to know why he didn’t have the chance.
Date: Fri Sep 16 01:50:00 2022
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Well, went to baseball-reference.com and deGrom is way more impressive than I thought. He’s got a career WHIP under 1.0! That makes him an all-time great. There’s also a feature that lets you compare players and deGrom makes Lincecum look like two-day old fish 🐠 when you look at their career stats - at least on average. Lincecum’s career WHIP is in the 1.2 range - good but not great. Lincecum just gets the acclaim for getting into the zone at the end of the 2010 season and leading the Giants through the playoffs and then to victory in the World Series. We just adore athletes that get better as the stakes go up and Lincecum has that profile. I haven’t followed deGrom enough to know why he didn’t have the chance.
Date: Fri Sep 16 02:27:59 2022
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Lincecum’s post-season WHIP drops significantly to .852 while deGrom goes up to 1.16.
Date: Fri Sep 16 02:43:28 2022
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Interesting: Bob Gibson’s post season WHIP is .889 while Sandy Koufax is at .825. These are all highly impressive since you are going to be facing better hitters in the post-season. Oh, and Lincecum’s post-season WHIP drops dramatically to .852 while deGrom’s climbs to 1.16. No wonder I’m much more aware of Lincecum (and Koufax and Gibson) than deGrom.
Date: Fri Sep 16 02:57:47 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:deGrom has so much working against him. He was something like 26 yrs. old when he got to the bigs, he's never won more than 15 in a year, that second Cy Young was so 3 years ago, and perhaps worst of all............he plays in that small-market town of NYC. 😁
But yeah, Lincecum's star shone so brightly there briefly - but he wasn't able to maintain it. Not gonna look it up, but seems like he had a major injury. 'Course deGrom has been bitten, too.
Date: Sun Dec 4 23:19:51 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:Draymond Green now has more career 3-pt. makes than MJ*. That's pretty amazing.
*MJ = Michael Jordan
Date: Sat Dec 17 19:10:59 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:New record for largest comeback in NFL history (33 pts.) - Vikings toy with (😄) Colts before deciding to go ahead and put game away in OT. Previous record was the famous Bills resurrection in the '92 playoffs. Note the amazing, yet non-shocking stat in the final sentence.
Link: Vikings come aaaaaaaallll the way back from 33 down
Date: Sat Dec 17 19:16:44 2022
User: firenze
Message:Entering Sunday, which is tomorrow, teams with a 30+ lead had a 1548-1-1 record. If Houston in 1992 had a 32- point lead and the Colts had a 33-point lead, and both lost. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Date: Sat Dec 17 19:55:28 2022
User: TNmountainman
Message:Sunday was also 6 days ago. But your interpretation (O wherefore art thou, The_Interpreter!?) is possibly/likely correct. I was giving them the slight benefit of the doubt. They're apparently used to writing about NFL games on Sundays - which is no excuse for a reporting organization.
Date: Thu Mar 16 22:39:34 2023
User: cellmate
Message:
3 finishers in this year's Barkley Marathons
Date: Sun Mar 19 19:44:59 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:I only finished 4 laps. And I also blame a lack of training. A very serious lack of training.
Link: This year's Barkley
Date: Wed Mar 22 11:48:29 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Didn't we see this once before, several years ago? Maybe that's the 96-m one referred to?
Link: From goal to goal
Date: Sat Mar 25 00:36:25 2023
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:All of the top seeds are out of the NCAA tournament before the elite 8. Maybe this has happened before but not sure. I’m hoping either UConn or the Zags win it all as the selection committee really screwed the West Region by putting 4 of the 7-9 best teams in the country out here (based on Sagarin and Massey ratings). Chaos reigns.
Date: Sat Mar 25 02:47:23 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Think it's the first time that's happened - your first sentence. And I *believe* that tonight's match-ups was the first time since 1984 that a slate of games on a Sweet Sixteen day was played totally by teams that had never won a National Championship. Further...........either SDSU, FAU, Kansas St., or Creighton will win the national title. UConn, Texas, Gonzaga, and Miami are the other contenders. They're just not as surprising. Well, I guess Miami would be. That's some balanced geographic diversity right there.
NCAA always screws some region, conference, team(s), fans, etc. That's what they do. This whole NET, quadrant, algorithm is very much messed up. And pretty much everybody knows it.
Date: Sun Mar 26 13:42:56 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Since tournament seeding began in 1979, there have been 9 teams seeded 9 or lower make it to the Final Four. Remarkably(?)..........6 of those have been in the last 13 years, including this year. None of the 9 teams made it to the championship game. That shows both the parity (to an extent) of the college game, and the utterly flawed selection process (which is really not news to most of us). That said........for both the good and the bad............this sporting event just never fails to disappoint. Never. [😱 SEE MAJOR EDIT/CORRECTION IN FOLLOWING POST!! 😱]
Although the World Cup is a bigger deal, with truly world-wide interest and rapture, March Madness is a superior 'process'. The Olympics are the only thing that can match it, and those are always so controversial and tainted with money and drugs as to now have a bit less lustre than they used to.
Date: Sun Mar 26 21:42:36 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:HUGE edit of the above post:
I meant NEVER DISAPPOINTS!!! My *very* bad!!
Date: Sun Mar 26 23:47:42 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:Caitlin Clark of Iowa became the first player in the history of the women's NCAA tournament to record a 30 point triple double. Shortly afterwards in the same game, she became the first to record a 40 point triple double.
Iowa makes the Final Four for the first time in 30 years.
Date: Mon Mar 27 01:52:31 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:One of my physicians, a former non-Iowa Big 10 athlete, went on and on about her just a few days ago. Said she plays the game like a guy. Another physician on practice there went to Iowa, and so they have quite the friendly rivalry. I told him I would check her out, but haven't gotten around to it yet. But he knows sports, and was extremely effusive in his commentary of her, so she really must be "the real deal".
Peripherally related.............I find it sad/comical/pathetic that ESPN has featured the womens' games over the mens' on their website, and on their highlight shows (to the extent I've tried to see the 'other' highlights and stories). On the one hand, it's good that the womens' games get good coverage, but on the other hand, it shouldn't be at the expense of the higher-quality (yes) and higher-interest mens' games -- quite obviously for financial reasons, trying to increase viewership for 'their' 'product'.
It's another egregious instance of such organizations putting financial gain over proper coverage of NEWS. It was so sickening and beyond infuriating back when CBS first had the tournament but would only show a few games each day. That's (part of) why, back at that time, the event was eventually 'taken away' from them and ESPN did it as well as it could be done for several years.
It's awesome now that all the games are viewable, but still it's obvious some, or all, of the scheduling is done for financial reasons. 😱😱😱
Ok, I'll stop my diatribe here, and will await the brickbats incoming. But just to be clear........I am, and always have been, in favor of fully equal rights of sports participation for women. But that simply doesn't translate into a comparable viewable 'product' (and while I hate using that term, it's applicable for TV viewership purposes) in several sports.
Date: Mon Mar 27 02:28:39 2023
User: Klepp
Message:Kazakhstan beats Denmark in European Qualifiers? Caramba! That's sort of like Boston College beating Duke in the ACC Tournament.
Date: Tue Mar 28 07:41:04 2023
User: mrbuck
Message:VA Tech girls basketball team made it to the Final Four for the first time in school history. Their coach is Kenny Brooks, a native of my hometown and a high school classmate.
Of course TN knows all of this since he's been watching ESPN show the women's tournament highlights. (.grin)
mrbuck
Date: Wed Mar 29 10:39:41 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:Lots of buzz around the NFL talking heads about Lamar Jackson's inability to get "his worth" from the Ravens or anybody else. The Ravens hung the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson early March when a full year of negotiation led absolutely nowhere. (Jackson has no agent.) This tag gives Jackson $32 million for 2023 guaranteed, and Jackson has until July 17 to strike a better deal with Baltimore or any other team. Jackson has made it clear that he wants a Deshaun Watson contract -- $250 million over 5 years. So far, there have been no takers.
The talking heads across various networks have been shouting over each other that this represents some sort of collusion among the teams. I've always found this odd considering that Jackson has missed 70 games in his career including 10 late season games over the past two seasons. He is a running quarterback, and running QBs often get crushed.
At the owners' meeting this week, ESPN interviewed several coaches who praised Jackson's talent but consistently gave two reasons why they have not pursued him:
1) They already have a quarterback
2) The cannot afford a $250 million quarterback give the NFL salary cap
Good luck, Lamar. Maybe it gets better after the draft or when/if Aaron Rodgers ends his beauty pageant walk down the "How Much Do You Love Me?" runway.
Date: Fri Mar 31 08:36:51 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:The Iowa/Louisville game in the NCAA Women’s Elite Eight carried by ESPN had 2.49 million viewers, more than any NBA game on ESPN.
Date: Sat Apr 1 00:05:15 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:The Hawkeyes/Gamecocks semi was a heavyweight battle. Both teams played at a very high level.
Date: Thu Apr 6 12:05:54 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:His no look passes are very deceptive. That video of his top 5 passes (+3) shows him getting past some of the best players on the planet.
Date: Thu Apr 6 12:13:40 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:Frozen Four starts tonight: BU vs Gophers; Michigan vs Quinnipiac
Date: Thu Apr 6 13:43:25 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Luv that interior, big-man dealing. I especially appreciate the over-the-head stuff. Not bragging, and not really a big man in the grand scheme of things, but I used to use that very effectively. We need more of that in the game.
Date: Thu Apr 6 23:10:25 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:Gophers 6, Terriers 2
Bobcats 5, Wolverines 2
Sets up an exciting final of Minnesota vs Quinnipiac
Date: Sun Apr 9 12:31:41 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:The Bobcats took out the Gophers in an overtime thriller. Gophers had a 2-0, but Quinnipiac came all the way back to tie late in the third. Bobcats won the OT opening faceoff, quick pass up the right side followed by a beautiful pass across the ice just in front of the goal. A quick deke got past the defender, and and puck was in the back of the net. 10 seconds into the OT period.
Date: Sun Apr 23 05:04:09 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Ja Morant (who had a wrist injury (on his shooting hand!) and was even doubtful to play) scored 22 points *in a row* during a valiant but ultimately failed comeback attempt for the Grizz tonight in a loss to the Lakers, who built an incredible 35-9 lead after the first quarter. (That may be fewest points in any quarter in the NBA playoffs; not sure. Some record or two pertaining to that. I think the 26-pt. first qtr. lead is certainly a record.) Morant's total line was 45 and 9, with 13 dishes.
Earlier today, in that very same arena.............Russell Westbrook scored 37 points for the Clippers in a loss to the Suns. What's interesting about that, you reasonably query? He did it without a single free throw, and he's not somebody who doesn't drive and penetrate, either.
Date: Tue Apr 25 09:51:15 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:The NY Jets acquired an aging Green Bay QB (sounds familiar) in hopes of being just a bit better. And it couldn't be any worse for the Jets. They haven't won a playoff game in very long time.
But an amazing stat about the Jets quarterbacks: A Jets quarterback has not received a single MVP vote since Joe Namath.
Date: Wed Apr 26 01:29:22 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Wilt Chamberlain *averaged* something like 48.5 minutes/game for the 1962 season. That's right, because a few games went to overtime; and so that's more than the normal 48 minutes a game normally takes. But, incredibly............he missed only 8 minutes of playing time for *the season*(!) - and those minutes were all in one game.
Date: Wed Apr 26 12:06:02 2023
User: BuzzClik
Message:Chamberlain never fouled of any game in the pros. This gave some of his coaches/teammates heartburn when his defense would seemingly disappear when he was on the brink of fouling out.
Date: Thu May 4 11:44:43 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Shohei Ohtani has joined only the Babe as someone who's hit over 100 HRs, and struck out 500 batters. It should probably be noted that this is not something striven for over the last 75 years or so, however. Only a handful of pitchers have hit more than 30 HRs in their career. Still...............quite the accomplishment.
Date: Thu May 4 13:22:55 2023
User: firenze
Message:He was not a pitcher when he most of those home runs. He was a DH.
Ruth, also did not hit 100 home runs as a pitcher.
Bogus stat, for the moment, at least.
Date: Thu May 4 16:17:58 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:That's sorta what I was trying to say, in a kind manner. It *does* rather firmly demonstrate he's a true 2-way player, which is noteworthy in itself.
Date: Fri May 19 15:54:14 2023
User: TNmountainman
Message:Sadly........Jim Brown is gone at 87. ☹
Post follow-up