RIP, John Glenn. Rocking the Chuck’s while expanding frontiers. Not a bad legacy. HOF Badass.

What the hell is the Rule 5 Draft?

Here’s a great article about one of baseball’s many traditions that – even as an avid baseball fan – I never understood: The Rule 5 draft.

First, for an explanation of what it is, let’s look to MLB.com:

“[T]eams with open 40-man roster spots can select players with four to five years of pro experience from other organizations if said player hasn’t been protected on the 40-man roster…Each selection costs $100K, but it’s not mandatory for teams to make picks. Clubs must carry chosen players on their active rosters (or the major league disabled list) throughout the entire 2016 season. Doing otherwise would expose them to waivers, and they’d then be offered back to their original club.”

In other words, it prevents teams from stockpiling draft picks without advancing them through the minor league system and onto the big league club. For the players, the sh*t or get off the pot rule gives them an opportunity to make a move with a new team if there’s no chance of a MLB future with the team that holds their rights. Notable players picked up in the rule 5 draft include Roberto Clemente (HOF), Johan Santana (2-time Cy Young winner), and 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton. While these success stories are the tiny exception, their names are worth highlighting considering the circumstances in which they were given a next chance.

The Rule 5 Draft is the last agenda item for the MLB’s winter meetings, and while nearly every baseball executive is in the room, the entire draft takes less than 30 minutes. “The room is set up with a podium at its front, and 30 tables with four or five representatives from each team,” writes David Waldstein. “Behind that setup is seating for scouts, major league officials, agents and reporters. But since the event is so brief, many stand at the perimeter, close to the doors, some with their suitcases at the ready.”

I love how this event about minor league cast-offs and no-names caps the multi-day winter meetings, during which the headlines are dominated by huge trades and free agent acquisitions (See: Aroldis Chapman going to the Yankees – 5yr/$86M  and the Giants landing Nats closer Mark Melancon – 4yr/$62M, both contracts are staggering for a relief pitcher). – PAL

Source: “Baseball Executives’ Idea of Gambling: The Rule 5 Draft”, David Waldstein, The New York Times (12/8/16)

TOB: I gotta be honest – I did have a pretty good idea of what the Rule 5 Draft was. I think last year, when the Giants lost Adam Duvall, who then turned into an All-Star and Home Run Derby participant with the Reds, I decided to figure out what the hell the Rule 5 Draft is. But then I read the MLB.com explanation and I was lost. So I read the article and think this makes it much more clear:

In existence since 1903, the Rule 5 draft allows teams to select players from the farm systems of other clubs who are not on those teams’ 40-man rosters. The players must have been in the minor leagues for four or five years, depending on how old they were when they signed, without any major league service time.

The minimum 4-5 years minor league service time, not mentioned in the MLB.com summary, is pretty key (PAL note: I removed that portion of the explanation from the MLB description because the age qualifier was a bit of a looping explanation). And the phrase “…if said player hasn’t been protected on the 40-man roster” suggests to me that there’s some maximum number of player you can protect on the 40-man roster, while leaving some unprotected. But the article makes clear – a player on the 40-man roster is protected. Anyone not on the 40-man roster, with 4-5 years minor league service time, is not protected. But then, the NYT article goes too far – it’s certainly not true that a player is eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft only if he doesn’t have any major league service time. This thing is so confusing that no one can seem to get it right.

Men Ride Sidesaddle

Remember Bryson DeChambeau? He was the eccentric, physics-major amatuer at the Masters who was in it for a minute and ended up finishing 21st. He’s a heady guy who’s looking at a game that he’s really good at (individual NCAA champ, US Amateur champ) with no time for conventional wisdom. The most known example of this was front and center during the Masters, when commentators whispered into the microphone about how all of his irons are the same length (typically, the lower the iron, e.g., a 3-iron, the longer the club).

DeChambeau’s newest experiment: Sidesaddle putting:

This makes perfect sense to me! If the key to putting is a straight, consistent arc of the swing path (and power isn’t needed), it seems grounding that in the arm’s more natural movement – back and forth, like how you swing your arm when you walk – would be more likely to produce a more consistent result. Conceptually, I’m down with DeChambeau (and I just like saying that name). The only thing left to do is test the hypothesis and see how long (if ever) it takes for a better approach to overcome other professionals’ repetition and near perfection of the standard approach.

For a sport I barely watch (Sundays of US Open & Masters), this is the kind of guy that will keep me minorly interested. Makes a somewhat boring sport a bit more interesting. – PAL

Source: “The eccentric Bryson DeChambeau is now putting side saddle“, Brendan Porath, SB Nation (12/8/16)

TOB: I saw him putting on TV this week, while walking by a bar, so there was no sound. It was the damndest thing. “Man, how funny. I wonder if it works.” He sank the putt, and I chuckled. And then I thought of the Skip Baylesses of the world shouting in faux-anger about what an abomination to the game this is. Oy. I’m so glad I stopped watching ESPN, except to watch actual games.

Surprise, surprise: Rio’s Broke

This continues to infuriate me. Really, it’s not about the green pools we remember on TV, or whether or not the Olympic Village was ready to go at the start of the Games. What infuriates me is the promise on which the Olympics are sold to local communities, and the ruin left in the wake of recent games.

The Olympics, the symbol of all that’s supposedly good, pure, and wholesome about sports is, at its core, a scheme for crooks on the take. After the athletes and the tourists and the cameras leave, Rio continues to unravel.

Today, state-run hospitals are in “total chaos”. Robberies and homicides are way up. Throw in stagnant oil prices and a governor bribery scandal to boot, and you have a state of Rio that’s broke and failing at providing basic government – hell, human – services. And guess who didn’t have to pay their share?

“The Olympics were never meant to be an economic panacea for Rio, but there was certainly hope that the games would boost the local economy. Instead, officials are now trying to figure out if tax cuts awarded to corporations involved with the Olympics actually worsened Rio state’s financial situation.”

The long-term impact of hosting the Olympics can be catastrophic. Political scientist and professor Mauricio Santoro, himself a state employee, says the government’s policies have clearly failed residents of Rio de Janeiro.

“What we can say is that it was a bad decision from a financial point of view, and that giving these tax cuts did not result in jobs or economic growth to Rio,” Santoro says. “And now the state is broken, and it has to cut salaries and pensions, so hundreds of thousands of people are going to suffer very negative impacts because of these decisions.”

So what’s the solution? Can we just ID locations that have existing infrastructure to actually host the Olympics? LA, Vancouver, London, somewhere in Switzerland or Norway, Nagano, Sydney…where else am I missing? This doesn’t need to be set in stone forever, but this open bidding and the lie of jumpstarting the local economy has to stop. – PAL

Source: “Three months after the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro is broke”, Will Carless, PRI (12/1/16)

Order Restored to the Universe: Knicks Gettin’ Clowned On

The Knicks had been quietly playing pretty well, winning 7 of their last 10. New Yorkers were predictably puffing out their chests and thinking big things, as the NBA’s defending champion Cavs came to town this week. And then…the Cavs went HAM. Things were so bad that, late in the 4th, up 31 points, the Cavs stars were on the bench doing the water bottle challenge. To wit:

That’s the god damn funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.

The Reverse Phil

Last year, Phil and I went to a Cal football night game. It was Phil, a Minnesota native, along with three lifelong Californians. Somehow, we were all fine and Phil whined endlessly about how cold it was. I finally checked the temperature and it was only in the 50s. The 50s! I revoked his Minnesota Card right then and there. I tell this story, in part so I can laugh about it with Phil’s brother when I meet him this weekend, and as a nifty little seque to this story, of Packers wide receiver Trevor Davis, a rookie out of Cal and a Bay Area native (his college football career started at Hawaii, too), as his first winter in Green Bay begins.

Somehow, it’s December, and Trevor didn’t have a winter jacket. So his teammates took him to buy one, and MMQB tagged along. There are some real gems in here from Trevor:

“I knew I should get a jacket. North Face seems to be a popular brand. I’ve heard of parkas, or something like that. I don’t really know what a parka is. I think that’s the thing with furs on the hood? Is that what makes a parka a parka?”

• Trevor thinks it’s “hella” cold. He’s told it’s only 36 degrees, and can’t believe the temperature will drop another 50 degrees at some point this winter.
• Trevor puts his 18-month old twins to bed at 9:30 p.m., and seems to think that’s early. TREVOR. WE MUST CHAT. You have much to learn.
• Trevor considers a $330 North Face jacket, one that he thinks makes him look “like a burnt marshmallow” and notes it’d be the most expensive thing he’s purchased since making the NFL.
• Trevor wondering aloud if will make him “seem really lame” to buy his own neck-gaiter, because the team offers them for use but they have to return them after games.
• Trevor asking if snow is “like goblets of things coming down”.
• Trevor looking dejected upon asking if a snowstorm from the previous week was big, being told it was only 2-3 inches, and that last year a snowstorm was 13 inches. I have a feeling Trevor will not be in Green Bay in Winter portion of the offseason.
• Trevor throwing in a Nerf basketball with his jacket purchase.

Trevor is now ready to roll.

But the question is: Are you ready, Phil? Are you ready for another bitterly cold Bay Area Winter? – TOB

Source: “You Need a Jacket in the Land of the Frozen Tundra”, Emily Kaplan, The MMQB (12/7/16)

PAL: Low blow, O’Brien. Low blow. If only Cal football went for the jugular like you do, then maybe they’d compete with Standford in the next decade or two.

A complete exaggeration of a story. I mentioned leaving once.  While my brother might agree with you, TOB (god, that would really suck), there’s always open invitation for to come on back to the land of Dylan, Prince, Herb Brooks, and Kirby Puckett to have a competition to see who can better handle the cold. I challenge you to the Polar Plunge:

TOB: Hey, if Cal implemented a systematic and institutionalized steroid program like Stanford, I’m sure we could win a Rose Bowl or two, as well. But then, how would I sleep at night?

As for the cold: nope. I have witnesses. It was repeated complaining for at least an hour. And I accept your challenge. You’re talking to a guy who grew up in Lake Tahoe and wore shorts and t-shirt to middle school in the middle of winter.

Video of the Week: 

Song of the Week: Steve Earle – ‘Feel Alright’

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Fidel’s Athletic Propaganda

Fidel Castro died on November 25. For an incredible (and incredibly long) obit, I highly suggest this, but we’re going to focus on his impact on sport in Cuba during his nearly 50-year dictatorship of Cuba (he officially handed over the reigns to his brother in 2008).

While Castro seemed to legitimately like sports, its primary purpose was propaganda used to both  “infuse Cuban citizens with a sense of national pride” and, through Cuba’s success in boxing and especially baseball (‘America’s pastime’), allow “Mr. Castro to taunt and defy the United States.”

Here are a couple more noteworthy highlights:

• The lore that Castro was a MLB prospect with a 90s fastball is completely false. In fact, the 6-foot-3 tyrannical ruler was more of basketball player through his own admission, telling one biographer, “The anticipation, speed and dexterity required for basketball most approximated the skills needed for revolution.” (TOB Note: That made me laugh loudly).
• “Javier Sotomayor, the only man to clear eight feet in the high jump, soared to his records in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Cubans for a time marked the height of his jumps in their doorways.”
• There have been 62 Cuban baseball players to defect and make their MLB debut, including 10 eventual All-Stars (how many can you name?)

If nothing else, Castro’s impact on sport is yet another example of how a despot of a small island country shaped the world far beyond Cuba’s shores. – PAL

Source: “Under Fidel Castro, Sport Symbolized Cuba’s Strength and Vulnerability” Jeré Longman, The New York Times (11/27/16)

TOB: As news of Castro’s death spread, I read many people online celebrating the end of a brutal and murderous dictator, and it occurred to me: are things really going to change in Cuba? As Phil noted, Fidel turned over power to his brother in 2008. And then I read this excellent rundown by Deadspin of ESPN’s Dan LeBatard (himself a Cuban American, the son of immigrants who escaped Castro’s tyranny) talking about Castro’s death on his radio show, and how his parents took “no joy” in Castro’s death:

That death doesn’t mean anything. He is a symbol who already took their youth, their freedom, their land, their childhood. They can’t get any of that back, and the people there that he has empowered are still in power. So celebrating the dying of our Hitler doesn’t mean very much when Nazi Germany is still in charge.

At first, I was taken aback by the comparison. But then I thought: Should we really be concerned with ranking murderous despots? Shouldn’t they all just be lumped into one category? As LeBatard continued, in relation to Colin Kaepernick having worn a shirt earlier this year with Castro and Malcolm X on it:

Colin Kaepernick is not unlike much of America in not understanding what is happening in Cuba. What inflicts Miami Cubans more than anything right now is loneliness, feeling not understood as the prime minister of Canada and a bunch of other people are sitting here on the eulogy of Fidel Castro, and they’re feeling the need to celebrate his life and his passing just because he died.

Agreed. The Trudeau remarks were especially bewildering. I’m not an anti-P.C. person, but good lord – let’s not pretend Castro wasn’t who he was just because he’s dead.

The Importance of College Football Coaches:

Want the most sure-fire way for your college football team to return to relevance? Pony up the cash. Perhaps more than any other major sport, College football success is dictated by head coaches, who are to their teams what the “owner, the head coach and the general manager, combined, are to an N.F.L. team.”

This story sets up the influence of a head coach in college football perfectly. Name the team in the scenario put forth below:

The eminent college football program puttered along for a decade. There were a couple of 10-win seasons, but mostly inferior ones. Over 10 seasons, the team had four interim and permanent head coaches and, not accounting for N.C.A.A. sanctions, went 67-82. The punishment did not help, but neither did a general feeling of malaise and inconsistency — in short, the effects of suboptimal coaching.

Then the team hired a new head coach. In the ensuing decade, that team, [team name removed], has put together a 117-18 record, with four national titles (again, leaving the N.C.A.A. sanctions out of the equation).

Nothing but the coach had changed.

Love him or hate him, Nick Saban’s impact on Alabama has been that stark. Michigan’s hoping for the same in Jim Harbaugh, and Phil Knight has indicated that he’ll back up the Brinks truck for the coaching vacancy at Oregon.

TOB and I were talking about what would be needed for Cal to turn its program around. Considering (among other factors that TOB can speak to far more insightfully than I can) the financial challenges at a state school in California, the uncompromising academic standards for athletes (don’t compromise, Cal), and the tepid support of athletics on campus, one solution we came up with was finding the hot coaching prospect before anyone else does, e.g.,  finding Tom Herman (former Houston coach who just took the Texas job) before he becomes the flavor of the month.  

Or, and this option makes me a little queasy, you can make a deal with the devil and hire an objectively successful coach with an ugly past (see: Art Briles, formerly of Baylor, or a Bobby Petrino of Louisville). As a fan, there are few things better than the ride of a great season, but in college football the driver is very expensive, hard to find, or tough to accept. – PAL

Source: “In College Football, Getting the Right Coach Is the Top Priority”, Marc Tracy, The New York Times (11/27/16)

TOB: As I told Phil on Sunday, Cal has a nice but very mediocre coach.  The Cal defense has been consistently awful in Dykes’ tenure (Out of 129 teams, 117th worst this year; 79th in 2015; 114th in 2014; 113th in 2013); and his defenses at Louisiana Tech were similarly awful (106th in 2012; 87th in 2010; with one outlier of 15th in 2011). 

It’s not as though Dykes doesn’t care about defense. I’m sure he knows his job depends on it. I think a bad defense is simply a feature of his offense. His offenses put up a lot of points, but they also work to increase plays/possessions. So the offense is really only above average in efficiency. Meanwhile, the offense’s efforts to maximize possessions and quick strike ability necessarily hurt the defense – as the defense is also forced to defend more possessions and more plays.

As I said on Sunday: Cal fans are largely hoping one of these schools (Baylor, Houston) come calling for Dykes, arrogantly thinking they won’t have the same defensive issues Dykes has had his entire head coaching career. And sure enough, the College Football Coach Hot Stove got red hot this week, with rumors Baylor is focusing on Dykes. This has been me all week:

Cal football has sadly gotten stale. It’s like a video game, with both teams’ offenses being unstoppable, and the defenses looking like they’re running in quicksand. At the very least, a coaching hire would be exciting.

One final thing to address is Phil’s hope that Cal doesn’t compromise academics. I used to feel strongly about this. Cal’s APR (a measure of yearly academic progress by student-athletes) when Dykes arrived was embarrassingly low and Cal was in danger of receiving a bowl ban. Dykes, along with the players and academic support staff did a remarkable turnaround, and Cal now has one of the best APRs in the country. Dykes deserves some credit for that. But my stance has softened. I spent a lot of time and money on Cal football, and I want to be entertained. Winning is entertaining. I hope we can find a coach who cares about his players and ensures their “free” education is meaningful, but I also want to watch good football again. Please.

Santa Clara 49ers: So Full of Shhh…

I came across this on Twitter, and I had to laugh.

Yes, the Santa Clara 49ers are reporting attendance over 100% capacity. Let’s see some recent games…

The 49ers reported attendance for that game was 70,178. The stadium’s capacity is 68,500. OH, TOTALLY. This franchise is a complete joke that can’t do anything right, including report attendance accurately.

Source: “Here’s the Attendance Rank for All 32  NFL Teams This Season”, NFL Memes, Daily Snark (12/01/2016)

Video of the Week

God damn, that’s the best.

PAL Song of the Week: Girls – “Vomit”

Special note: The last two minutes of this song are damn near perfect. Great to turn way, way up in the car when driving solo.

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‘Light’ week here, folks, but we wanted to give you something to mull over as you prep those leftover turkey sandwiches balances precariously in that dinner roll.

Infamous Pitches

To paraphrase Victor Mather, Hitters remembered for one swing are remembered as heros; pitchers remembered for one pitch are goats. It doesn’t matter whether the mistake is one low point in an otherwise stalwart career, or if that pitch pales in comparison to otherwise terrible acts, that pitch will be referenced in the obituary.

Ralph Branca died this past week. He was the pitcher who gave up Bobby Thompson’s famed ‘Shot Hear Round the World’. In addition to providing a more in-depth look of his life after the 1954 loss to the New York Giants, Mather runs down a list of other pitchers remembered for a losing moment. – PAL

Source: “Ralph Branca Wasn’t the Only One Branded by a Single Pitch”, Victor Mather, The New York Times (11/23/16)

Video of the Week: 

Song of the Week: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – “The Tracks Of My Tears”

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Beat Stanford.

Inactivism: Kaepernick didn’t vote

Colin Kaepernick has been protesting oppression of minorities by choosing to first sit, then later kneel during the National Anthem before NFL games. In case you’ve been on a spaceship for the past few months, this has been a big deal. Kaepernick, who in my opinion has been thoughtful throughout, offered this explanation:  

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Whether or not you agree with Kaepernick’s point of view, his ongoing protest is in response in part to a string of highly publicized tragedies involving police killings of black people. There have also been highly publicized tragedies involving police officers being targeted and killed. All this came to a head while our first black president was in office, and it continues as we await the inauguration of Donald Trump, whose past and campaign are littered with examples of racism, xenophobia, and misogyny.  

Either racial and discriminatory tension has resurfaced with a violent fervor, or the recent tragedies won’t let us ignore it any longer. All of this is to say that I understand why Colin Kaepernick is protesting, and I support him in doing so.

Then I read he didn’t vote. His reason:

“You know, I think it would be hypocritical of me to vote. I said from the beginning I was against oppression, I was against the system of oppression. I’m not going to show support for that system. And to me, the oppressor isn’t going to allow you to vote your way out of your oppression.”

Again, I would classify this as a thoughtful response, i.e., he had a reason and constructed a logic around that reason, but I strongly agree with Kevin Blackistone’s  critique of Kaepernick:

“To be sure, the very issue that drove Kaepernick to silently protest the national anthem was likely affected, and drastically, by Tuesday’s result. Black boys and men should expect to be at greater peril under the administration of Trump, who long has been dismissive of police brutality claims and ran on a law-and-order platform aligned with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Both are advocates of stop-and-frisk policing, which studies showed didn’t impact crime and, more disturbingly, targeted black males. The later finding landed New York City in court, where the policy was found to be discriminatory and unconstitutional.”

Let’s put the presidential election aside for a moment. While I don’t know where Kaepernick lives, I would assume he lives in California and he does support local causes in Oakland. There were several local and state propositions and measures that impact the communities he feels are oppressed. And while he can vote or not vote if he wants, a protest is a show of support – an action to bring about change. He took no action on 11/8, and he missed an opportunity to help the very people he feels are in need. Here are just a few propositions and measures that he could’ve taken action on through voting:

Prop 57 (passed): Increase parole opportunities for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes and juvenile trials

Prop 62 (did not pass): Death penalty repeal

Prop 63 (passed): Background checks for ammunition purchases and large capacity magazine ban

Prop 54: (passed): Conditions under which legislative bills can be passed

Measure HH (Alameda, passed): To provide affordable local housing and prevent displacement of vulnerable populations

Measure LL (City of Oakland, passed): Shall Oakland’s City Charter be amended to establish: (1) a Police Commission of civilian commissioners to oversee the Police Department by reviewing and proposing changes to Department policies and procedures, requiring the Mayor to appoint any new Chief of Police from a list of candidates provided by the Commission, and having the authority to terminate the Chief of Police for cause; and (2) a Community Police Review Agency to investigate complaints of police misconduct and recommend discipline?

Measure KK (City of Oakland, passed): To improve public safety and invest in neighborhoods throughout

Oakland Measure C1 (Alameda-Contra Costa): To preserve essential local public transportation services, including those for youth, commuters, seniors, and people with disabilities, while keeping fares reasonable

Does one need to vote in order to bring about change? Not absolutely…but – damn, dude – back up your words at the polling place. – PAL

Source: “Quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to vote undermines his message”, Kevin Blackistone, The Washington Post (11/12/16)

TOB: I don’t agree with Kaepernick that it’d be hypocritical of him to vote. As you note, there’s so much more to vote for than the President, even if it’s difficult to know whether the President affects the issue Kaepernick is kneeling for (police violence against people of color). I note Kaep is wearing a Malcolm X hat up top – I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of Malcolm X’s voting philosophy, but I have read “The Ballot or the Bullet” speech, and I imagine Kaepernick has, too. Particularly, this passage:

“When you take your case to Washington, D.C., you’re taking it to the criminal who’s responsible; it’s like running from the wolf to the fox. They’re all in cahoots together. They all work political chicanery and make you look like a chump before the eyes of the world.”

But Malcolm also strongly advocates for voting, especially at the local level, so that Black people can control the politics in their own communities. You don’t just vote for President. You vote for the heads of your local law enforcement, the district attorney, and judges. These people directly affect Kaepernick’s issue. And that is why he should have voted.

The NCAA Hypocrisy, Summed Up Neatly by a Whining Multi-Millionaire

This week, Oklahoma’s star defensive tackle Charles Walker announced he was leaving the team to prepare for the NFL Draft. Yes, the Sooners are ranked in the Top 10, and facing #14 West Virginia this weekend, and they have 2-3 more games to play after that. So why is Walker leaving? Walker suffered a concussion on October 1st, and it was severe enough to keep him from playing since. It’s also at least the third of his career. So, he should obviously be very concerned about his long term health and thus earning power. Even moreso because he’s a father:

By leaving the team, he can get financial help – get an agent, seek the best medical care, and the best training for the combine. Good for him, I say. But what does his coach say…

“Quitting on your teammates is hard to take, as a coach,” Mike Stoops said. “That’s everything we stand for — our commitment to one another and, for whatever reason, that wasn’t there for him. He thought this was a better avenue so you would have to ask him for those [answers].”

Let’s be clear about a couple things: Mike Stoops, the former head coach for Arizona, makes $900,000 per year as the Oklahoma defensive coordinator. When he was the coach at Arizona, he made $1.5 million per year. His brother makes $5.55 million this year. I don’t see Bob and Mike loudly supporting their players’ right to make a fair wage. Do you? I don’t see Bob Stoops publicly offering to give up half his salary for his players. Or more – how much money do you need living in Norman, Oklahoma anyways? But you’re so committed to your players, Mike. And this guy who has worked his butt off for your massive salaries is the disloyal guy quitting on his teammates? Go pop another vein out of your head. -TOB

Herb Brooks’s Local Legacy  

Herb Brooks became a legend to all of the U.S. when he coached the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team to victory over the USSR in what many consider the greatest upset in sports history (the team went on to win gold over Sweden). Brooks, born in St. Paul, is as close to a deity the hockey-crazed state of Minnesota has, so I was surprised to learn a new chapter to his career.

After winning 3 National titles with the University of Minnesota, which, at the time was one of only two Division-I hockey programs in the state, he went on to coach the legendary 1980 Olympic Team, then on to Switzerland before coaching the NY Rangers from 1981-1985. In 1987 he was back in the NHL, where he would coach and scout until his death (car accident) in 2003.

But in 1986 – that year in between his stints with the Rangers and the North Stars – that year might be when Brooks made his biggest impact on hockey in the state of Minnesota. In 1986 the legendary coach went from the New York Rangers to D-III St. Cloud State. He made $23,000, or 1/9 his salary as coach for the Rangers. Prodigal son returns – sure – but why St. Cloud State? It’s not like he grew up in St. Cloud.

“Brooks stayed for only the 1986-87 season, leading the Huskies to their first N.C.A.A. Division III tournament berth (and a third-place national finish) and then returning to the N.H.L. with the Minnesota North Stars. Before leaving, though, Brooks and university officials successfully lobbied the State Legislature to fund a campus hockey arena. St. Cloud State jumped to Division I ahead of schedule in 1987. That encouraged Minnesota State, then known as Mankato State, to make the move in 1996, and Bemidji State in 1999.”

For generations, there was one dream shared by everyone who played hockey: Play for “the U” (yes, that’s what we refer to University of Minnesota – it’s hilarious to anyone who didn’t grow up there, as I suppose it ought to be). In fact, there was a large chunk of Gopher history where coaches recruited exclusively within the state. While that remains a dream, the “U” version of it is less ubiquitous. There are more choices, more Minnesota dreams fulfilled, and – more importantly – those choices are really good programs.

“This season, for the first time, all five have appeared in the USCHO.com national poll. Duluth is No. 2 this week, with Minnesota at No. 7, St. Cloud State No. 12, Bemidji State No. 13 and Minnesota State No. 15.” Note: There are 60 D I hockey program in the country.

At some point, it seems likely these schools would’ve eventually made the transition, but it’s unlikely anyone but Brooks could’ve made such an impact in such a short amount of time. By taking on the coaching gig at St. Cloud State and lending his hero’s momentum, he helped lead the way for the other schools.

As current Gophers coach Don Lucia puts it, “The stronger hockey is in our state, the better it is, not just for the collegiate programs but all the way down to youth hockey. They have something to look forward to.”

What’s more, I think Brooks coaching at St. Cloud State could be a key data point in tracking when hockey went from a state passion to an institution. Witnessing my nieces and nephews as each set out on his or her birthright hockey odyssey of county arenas and summer skating camps and club teams and select teams and local association teams and tryouts and tournaments and parental politics, and on and on. The absurdity of it all is it’s not a dream anymore; it’s a step-by-step plan.

And while the best of the best now either play Juniors in Canada during their high school years and/or treat the University of Minnesota like the Kentucky/Duke for basketball (one and done) – the dream of playing D I hockey began to spread when the great Herb Brooks took a coaching job for a D III school in St. Cloud, Minnesota. – PAL

Source: “Herb Brooks’s Miracle in Minnesota: Spreading Division I Hockey” Pat Borzi, The New York Times (11/16/16)

Video of the Week

Bonus Video of the Week

DOUBLE Bonus Video of the Week

PAL Song of the Week: Neil Young – “Walk On”

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STICK TO SPORTS!

Like many people in this country, we’re a little stunned here this week. On Tuesday night, as it was becoming clear that Trump was going to win, I put my sleeping 2-year old to bed and became a little overwhelmed…

Oh, god. Deep breaths. 

One interesting thing has been to follow the reaction of the sports world. As we’ve covered here over the last few months, athletes are finally speaking out and taking a stand on social issues. Deadspin did a good job of rounding up many NBA players’ reactions to the election results. A lot of intelligent and well-reasoned thoughts in that link. Quite refreshing.

One aspect I took interest in, though, is the verrrrry different reactions of NBA coaches and NFL coaches. Warning, there will be some generalizations here. One the one hand, we have Bill Belichick sending a handwritten love letter to Donald Trump on the eve of the election:

“Congratulations on a tremendous campaign. You have to help with an unbelievable slanted and negative media and have come out beautifully. You have proven to be the ultimate competitor fighter. Your leadership is amazing. I have always had tremendous respect for you for the toughness and perseverance you have displayed over the past year is remarkable. Hopefully tomorrow’s election, the results will give the opportunity to make America great again.

Best wishes for great results tomorrow,

Bill Belichick”

And Belichick is supposed to be one of the smartest NFL coaches. Trump was also supported by other NFL coaches, like Rex Ryan. Many of Ryan’s players were reportedly not happy with his ringing Trump endorsement. Many of the unhappy players were black. As one of Rex’s players says in that article:

“Rex is such an open-minded guy, a really good person,” said the player, who asked not to be identified, fearing repercussions from the Bills. “But the fact he could back someone as closed-minded as Trump genuinely shocked me.”

He’s right. For an NFL coach, Rex Ryan is seen as intelligent and open-minded, though that’s an incredibly low bar to clear. On the other hand, we have NBA coaches. Many NBA coaches in the last decade have shown themselves to be smart, thoughtful, progressive, and conscientious. Take Spurs coach Greg Popovich, reacting here to the news Trump had won the New Hampshire primary back in February:

This week, at least two coaches were very outspoken in their disappointment with the election results. First, Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy came with the hot fire in his pre-game press conference Wednesday:

http://on.freep.com/2fgU1Gs

“We just elected an openly, brazen misogynist leader and we should keep our mouths shut and realize that we need to be learning maybe from the rest of the world, because we don’t got anything to teach anybody.

“It’s embarrassing. I have been ashamed of a lot of things that have happened in this country, but I can’t say I’ve ever been ashamed of our country until today. Until today. We all have to find our way to move forward, but that was — and I’m not even trying to make a political statement. To me, that’s beyond politics.

“You don’t get to come out and talk about people like that, and then lead our country and have millions of Americans embrace you. I’m having a hard time being with people. I’m going to walk into this arena tonight and realize that — especially in this state — most of these people voted for the guy. Like, (expletive), I don’t have any respect for that. I don’t.”

Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr followed Stan Van’s lead:

https://twitter.com/erikmal/status/796534987528933376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Why is it that the coaches of one sport seem like such incredibly well-rounded and decent people, and the coaches of another sport seem like such singular-focused assholes? I think part of it is simply the nature of the sport they’ve dedicated their lives to. Basketball has been described as jazz. And it’s true. It’s free flowing and creative, while football is barbaric and punishing.

But I think there’s something rather symbolic here, too. NBA coaches, for the most part, have lived their entire lives playing with and then coaching players from all different races, in small, tight-knit teams. Players and coaches look each other in the eye, day in and day out, and really get to know each other. They are forced to get to know people from very different walks of life. There’s nowhere to hide. Some cliques form, but for the most part you get to know your teammates. And when you do that you start to realize that we are not all that different. Sure, there are some differences – but for the most part we are just human beings trying to survive and thrive. The fear of “different” falls away.

In contrast, football teams are huge. College football teams have 100+ players. NFL teams have 53 on the active roster, and another couple dozen on the practice squad. Each NFL team has around twenty coaches. As in life, it is very easy on an NFL team to find a clique of like-minded individuals and hunker down with them – in the locker room and out. Players form smaller groups: the white guys from the south with the white guys from the south. The black guys from the west with the black guys from the west. And on and on. And the coaches don’t have time to get to know the players on any meaningful level.

This is true in life, too. When I see the electoral maps showing, county by county, how the country voted in this Presidential election, it is astonishing to me how the cities overwhelmingly vote Democrat, and everything outside the cities vote Republican.

I was in a bar the night before the election, awaiting my bus home. And I heard a Trump supporter loudly say some abhorrent things. For example, he defended Trump’s proposal to keep all Muslims from entering the U.S. because, and I quote, “Fourteen people got on a plane on September Eleventh, Two Thousand and One!” It was disgusting.

But this week, when I thought about this difference between NBA coaches and NFL coaches and who they supported in this election, I realized that guy from the bar is just scared. He probably doesn’t know too many Muslims. And the ones he’s seen in the media are bad. They did 9/11! He also mentioned the attacks in Boston and San Bernardino.

If we keep ourselves in a bubble, and don’t get to know each other, it’s hard to understand that while people may have differences, we are all human beings, and we will remain fearful of the unknown. I am trying to be hopeful about the next four years. Perhaps Trump’ ugliness will shine a mirror in front of those who voted for him. Or maybe the gravity of the situation will cause him to rise above anything he’s ever been. Short of nuclear holocaust, the country will survive. And now, back to sports. -TOB

Edit: We don’t normally do this, but Friday, after publish, Greg Popovich finally had the opportunity to speak on the election. He’s just the best. Please listen.

https://soundcloud.com/user-761163816/gregg-popovich-uncensored-discusses-donald-trumps-victory?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_content=https%3A//soundcloud.com/user-761163816/gregg-popovich-uncensored-discusses-donald-trumps-victory

PAL: Dammit, TOB. I’m still stuck in denial, and there you go making a well-constructed observation with a legit sports angle. The map above paints the picture pretty clearly at this moment. It’s hard to negotiate with myself that the red doesn’t mean people who voted for Trump believe everything he’s said and done while knowing that each one of those votes condones what he’s said and done. That’s a tough pill to get down. 

I’m sure there are NFL coaches who feel the same as Stan Van Gundy, and I’m sure there’s NBA coaches who feel the same as Rex Ryan. I hope so, at least. 

Finally, do you think it’s hit Trump that he actually has to do this now? The reality show (the campaign) is over, and I wonder how petrified he is right at this moment.

Small Victory: San Diego Calls Bullshit on Publicly Financed Stadium

We’ve written about publicly financed stadiums – and the absolute insanity of billionaires giving some teenage ultimatum of running away unless they get free money to build stadiums. It’s a petulant, economically flawed, dickhead move. Since I need a win this week, I applaud San Diego voters for not flinching. – PAL

Source: “San Diego Voters Reject Funding of New Chargers Stadium”, Ken Belson, The New York Times (11/9/2016)

TOB: Bravo, San Diego!

Dear God: Arlington Votes to Give Petulant Rangers Owner 500M in Bonds to Build a New Stadium

The current stadium for the Texas Rangers is beautiful and built in 1994. The thing was opened less than 25 years ago! Out of date. Too old. At least that what over 60% of voters said. And while proponents of the new stadium will tell you that Hotel and Car rental taxes will cover the cost (you know, visitors), keep this in mind: A portion of the $ will come from sales tax extension that is currently paying off the Cowboys’ stadium.

This is the stadium that’s just not doing it for them anymore. Clearly, it needs to be replaced:

By the way, the co-owner and CEO of the Rangers has an estimated net work of $2.4B. Another co-owner is worth $1.9B. – PAL

Source: “Arlington Voters Approve Hundreds Of Millions In Public Money For New Rangers Ballpark”, Barry Petchesky, Deadspin (11/9/2016)

TOB: Another point: If the hotel/car rental taxes fall short of projections, then the city has to come up with the money some other way. And this, too: yes, it’s a new tax, mainly on visitors. But if they imposed that tax on visitors, it could still go elsewhere! It’s still foregoing publicly available money.

An Open Letter to Professional Sports Owners…

So these two stories have led me to pen a special edition letter:

Dear Sports Owners,

You and your sports teams aren’t as important as you think. A city is not defined by having a sports team in it. That is not critical to the vibrancy of a place. Sure, it helps – no doubt – but it does not come remotely close to defining a community. This is coming from someone as passionate about sports as you can ever hope to be rooting for your team.

In fact, a city and its people are what make a sports team matter. The people give the team meaning much more than the team gives people meaning. Without them you just have a bunch of adults in funny costumes.

You only care about the business of sport. Fans do not care about the business of sport. Entities care about the business – networks, advertisers, and ownership of other professional sports teams. It is neither the wellspring of pride nor local economic boon you like to claim when you have your manicured, supple paws out panhandling.

If all of you ceased to exist tomorrow – sure, I’d be bummed – and, yet, “when the morning light comes streaming in, I’ll get up and do it again. Amen.”

So, if you want to keeping crying wolf, then I say this: Stop talking about it and be about it. Go to Las Vegas, Seattle, Vancouver, San Antonio. It has little to no material effect on anyone but you. You have neither pride nor shame.

Sincerely,

PAL

Video of the Week: 

PAL Song of the Week: Jackson Browne – “The Pretender”

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Just…please. Don’t let the Dodgers be next.

There Was No Curse – Just Crappy Management

In the middle of Game 7 of the World Series, with the Cubs up a few runs, my wife asked me why I am rooting for Cleveland. The reasons are two-fold: (1) to avoid a repeat of the obnoxious Red Sox fans that emerged after 2004 (you can already see it with all the crisply new Cubs hats and shirts all over SF the last month) and (2) to keep with my long standing policy to minimize happiness of a fan base other than my own. Here, Cleveland fans are fewer than Cubs fans, and many of them just got a title in the NBA, so their increased happiness would have been considerably less than Chicago’s increased happiness if the Cubs win.

She thought both reasons are ridiculous and said, “So you don’t like rooting for the underdog.” NO! NO NO NO! The Cubs are NOT the underdog and slap anyone who thinks they are (except my wife, don’t you dare lay a finger on her precious head!). First, they won 103 games this year. That’s a very good team who was absolutely the favorite to win the World Series when the playoffs began. But more importantly, as Albert Burneko delightfully points out, the Cubs are The Death Star, they’ve just really, really, really sucked at it. They are a big market team in a huge, great city. They have a massive fanbase, probably second only to the Yankees.

“The reason the Cubs are not the Yankees of the National League is not that they can’t be or have been too honorable or sweet-natured for it; it’s that they’ve sucked at trying. They’re the Yankees, minus competence. If their myriad squanderings of all that comes with being one of America’s most profitable and popular sports franchises make them the scrappy little guy, then Billy friggin’ Bush, who likewise has done nothing much with vast undeserved advantages, is a scrappy little guy. Rooting for the Cubs to win the World Series isn’t—has never been—rooting for Charlie Brown to finally kick the football; it’s rooting for the Death Star to finally blow up the Rebel base. Congratulations! The Rebellion is in ashes now. You did it! The sun has not shined on a dog’s ass. The sun has shined on an extremely rich ballclub that spent a century pretending to be a dog’s ass to excuse the smell.”

YES. Exactly. The Cubs sucked because their management sucked. They had a huge fanbase and made more money than Scrooge McDuck, and they squandered it (or, quite possibly, didn’t give a crap if they won if winning meant spending more money).

Also, nothing has driven me more crazy over the past days and weeks than people saying Cubs fans have been waiting since 1908. Let’s be clear, there are NO Cubs fans who have been waiting since 1908. That would make that person 113 years old, if you assume they can remember 1908 if they were five at the time. Second, the majority of Cubs fans they show celebrating are in their 20s-40s. Those people have waited 15-35 years, not 108. Plenty of teams’ fanbases wait that long, and longer. The Indians, for example, who have been waiting since 1948. No one seems to care about the Indians fans, who just suffered a gut wrenching loss – blowing a 3-1 series lead, with the final two games AT HOME, even after staging an amazing comeback late in Game 7. I feel you, Cleveland, I feel you. As for the Cubs fans – those of you who cheered for Cubs fans, remember that when they are obnoxious after winning  a second or third title and become the new Yankees/Red Sox fans. It’s not your fault, but you should feel bad. -TOB

Source: “The Cubs Don’t Have to Pretend to be Loveable Losers Anymore”, Albert Burneko, Deadspin (11/03/2016)

PAL: I like the heat, TOB. Burneko nails it: “Losing does not automatically bestow charm; underachievement does not make an underdog.”

You know who else nails it? The Dude:

While losing might not bestow charm, and while underachievement doesn’t make an underdog, I think those 108 are felt by a true fan that’s 30. In fact, this very sentiment seems to be at the heart of what makes another featured story this week so touching. “Sports is about family, about passing something down to the next generation.” If sports is about passing something down to the next generation, I think that includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. We inherit a team and its lore.

Now, I can’t be certain, but I bet TOB will have a response to my response, so let’s delay that response with a little story.

I ate dinner next to Clint Eastwood Wednesday night on Piedmont Ave. At first there was literally an empty chair between us. Then a friend joined his group, sitting right next to me. The friend overheard me talking about Game 7, and he said, “Don’t tell me!” I thought it was my in to talk baseball with Eastwood’s friend, then Eastwood would join in, compliment my beard and baseball acumen, and give me a firm handshake. I’d squeeze his hand harder, asserting my youthful dominance.

TOB: For Big Lebowski quotes, I’ve always preferred:

The Cubs spent 108 years getting eaten. It’s about time they grew up and ate back.

The Good Stuff That Comes with Winning

These are the kind of heartwarming stories that emerge when a team and its fans have gone lifetimes without winning anything.

Outside of Wrigley, a makeshift memorial has taken shape. Fans are writing the names of lost loved ones in chalk on a brick wall.

“I don’t exactly know what the point is,” one fan said (in the original story Deadspin references). “But it feels good to come here today, make them a part of it.”

Sports fandom, at its best, is a worn path walked between friends and family covering distances of lifetimes. As Barry Petchesky articulates – “Sports is about family, about passing something down to the next generation. In the case of Cubs fans, that something was necessarily hope.”

Drink it in, Cubs fans. Word of advice: Watch out for the newcomers. They’re usually wearing either pink hats or crisp “retro” jerseys. We all know the real fans rock the faded t-shirt jerseys. – PAL

Source: “This One’s For All The Cubs Fans Who Didn’t Live Long Enough To See It”, Barry Petchesky, Deadspin (11/03/2016)

TOB: This is, indeed, a very cool thing. And I do mean that. It gave me goosebumps. But I must ask again: why are Cubs fans special? In the article, Petchesky says, “This experience, very specific to Cubs fans, has universal lessons.” NO. Why is this “very specific to Cubs fans”? After a certain amount of time, say, two generations, it’s a long ass time to root for a team and not win a title. The Indians fans have been waiting since 1948. So many Indians fans lived and died without seeing their team win a title. And unlike Cubs fans, the entire city of Cleveland went without a title, in three sports, from 1964 until 2016 – a span of 147 team seasons. That’s incredible. In that time, Chicago sports fans celebrated multiple titles for the Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks (and, even, the White Sox). What has gotten on my nerves over the last few weeks is this specific thought: that Cubs fans are somehow special; that they somehow deserve it more. As Phil’s recent dinner companion said in Unforgiven: “Deserve’s got nothin to do with it.”

But if we’re going to go soft, I prefer this Deadspin compilation of old people celebrating the Cubs finally winning the World Series. My three favorites, this sweet old guy, who is shaking he’s so excited:

And this guy drinking this Coors Banquet beer he’d kept since 1984, when the Cubs blew a 2-0 lead in the then best-of-5 NLCS to the Padres. It’s so old, the damn thing has a pull tab!

https://twitter.com/GraceJohnso/status/794042007501045760

And finally, the real MVP:

Alright, fine. I’m happy for THOSE Cubs fans, and all the non-bandwagoners who sat through lousy season after lousy season. I know the feeling. And with that, can the god damn Bears win a god damn Rose Bowl before I die, so that Joe Kapp can drink some god damn tequila?

Ted Williams’ Greatest Contribution to Baseball

Last player to hit .400. .482 on base percentage…for his career (19 years). .344 career batting average. 521 home runs. Throw in WWII and Korean War fighter pilot, and Ted Williams left one hell of a legacy.  

(Read the next part in the 30 for 30 voice) But what if I told you Williams most far-reaching legacy is not what he did on the field of play or battle?

In 1971 Williams’ book, The Science of Hitting, was released, and his philosophies have influenced generations of greats, including Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Gwynn, Jason Giambi, and likely 2016 NL MVP, Kris Bryant. The book, considered a second bible in Massachusetts, is considered well ahead of its time.

“The first thing you looked at with the book was that in all its simplicity, with everything hand drawn, it was incredibly complex,” Mike Bryant said (Kris Bryant’s dad, a hitting instructor in Las Vegas). “My first impression is, this is not just see it, hit it — monkey see, monkey do. It was very hard for me to understand because it was geometry and trigonometry and angles and all that stuff, and the way I was taught was very different.”

Big League hitting instructors, players, and GMs all remember drawings and charts of the book fondly, but recent technology has proven Williams’ theories correct, so this isn’t just hero worship. There’s no room for that when the difference between an All-Star, multi-million dollar player and a career minor leaguer is 5 percentage points over the course of 500 at-bats. – PAL

Source: “Kris Bryant Takes Lessons From Ted Williams’s Batting Bible”, Billy Witz, New York Times (10/30/2016)

TOB: Godddd, I have been ripping the Cubs to shreds, and so this feels like piling on but I could NOT help but point out this line from pretty-faced, dumb-as-rocks, Kris-with-a-K Bryant. When asked about the book, that we just read paragraph after paragraph about how Kris-with-a-K’s dad introduced him to in order to teach him his swing, Kris-with-a-K says:

“I don’t really like to read. My dad’s the one that does the reading for me and presents the research (Ed. Note: “research” hahaha) to me when I need it. It wasn’t a book that I read; it was more of a teaching tool that my dad used. Obviously, he’s read it a jillion times.”

Oh, to be young, dumb, rich, and handsome. What a life he leads. Also, if you don’t think I didn’t just order that book on Amazon, then YOU DON’T KNOW ME, HOMEY.

Video of the Week

Song of the Week: Traveling Wilburys – “End Of The Line”

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A historic matchup indeed. 

The Tragedy of Jennifer Frey

Jennifer Frey was, by all accounts, a prodigious sportswriter. Multiple people in the newspaper industry went as far as to characterize her as a genius.

Jennifer Frey was also an addict. On March 26, 2016 Frey died of multiple organ failure. She was 47.

You likely haven’t heard of her. I hadn’t until Thursday. But to many involved in college and professional sports in the 90s, Frey was known as the most talented of writers and a joyful force of nature. She was the rising star.

You might be asking yourself why Dave McKenna’s exceptionally written profile/remembrance was posted on October 27 when she died back in March. I think you’ll find your answer if you read this story (I urge you to do so). McKenna retracks Frey’s career – from her first high school internship at the Olean Times, to the New York Times (at age 24), to the Washington Post in its heyday of sportswriting (Kornheiser, Wilbon, John Feinstein), and ultimately to her unremarkable last byline. He speaks with several writers, editors, and friends from every chapter of her life.

The story is heartbreaking because McKenna takes his time capturing just how incandescent Frey was before alcoholism pinned her down. And while she was the ‘life of the party’, she was also revered as a gracious friend and co-worker, as someone crisscrossing the globe not only for the next great story but also for a spontaneous trip when she learned her friend had been to every state but Alaska. Yes, she was passionate about her job, but McKenna finds the real point that matters: Frey was passionate about life!

This snapshot, which serves as a sort of bookend to the story, captured her success, ambition, and appreciation (remember, Frey’s 24 at the time, working for The New York Times):

Mike Wise says Frey, new as she was to New York, acted like she owned the city. He recalls sitting with Frey in her apartment in Brooklyn Heights after she’d thrown a party, and just being really happy. “We’re looking out the window at the Statue of Liberty, just this amazing view,” says Wise. “And Jennifer said, ‘It’s a pretty good life isn’t it?’ It was.”

Frey’s downfall is terrible – in all the ways you would expect, and in some ways that you might not. The star fades. She mistreats people she loved. The people who loved her run out of stamina. They reconnect when hope is gone but she’s still there. The blame and anger so insignificant in the wake of a sorrow that trails the rarest of people whose greatness was enthusiastic.

You gotta read this story. -PAL

Source: “The Writer Who Was Too Strong To Live”, Dave McKenna, Deadspin (10/27/16)

TOB: Phil did a really nice job capturing what made this story so great. As with Phil, I had never heard of Jennifer Frey, but damn if it doesn’t now feel like I did. Great writing by McKenna. And if you think you might need help, ask, before it’s too late.

Andrew Miller Was A Bust

Perhaps the biggest difference maker in the World Series wasn’t built for this. Cleveland’s reliever extraordinaire Andrew Miller was the 6th pick in the 2006 draft. He was on the big league roster 90 days after that, and he was, as writer Howard Bryant puts it, “[T]he new prototype emerging in baseball: the basketball-sized power arm.” He was a starter through and through.

So what happened in the years that followed? Why did Miller go from first round draft pick to trade bait to, as Miller himself puts it, “the worst player on my Double-A team” in 2010? Miller sums it up best:

“It just isn’t easy. I think we get sidetracked when you see the players who are the superstars, the Kris Bryants of the world, the Francisco Lindors, the guys who are young and having success and don’t look like they’re ever going to look back. I think that’s not normal. Everybody else has to go through a grind, through the ups and downs. Those guys have slumps that last a week. I’ve had slumps that lasted years.”

Spoiler alert: Miller’s broken out of his slump, and he just might be the key to a second Cleveland championship in 2016. – PAL

Source: “How Andrew Miller became the most important reliever in baseball”, Howard Bryant, ESPN (10/28/16)

A History of Badass Women in Sports

Without recognition, “women lose their history,” Ms. Guthrie, the racer, said. “They do these extraordinary things, and then they are forgotten and denied ever to have existed, so women keep on reinventing the wheel.”

I could try to write a better lead, but former race car driver Janet Guthrie nails it right there, doesn’t she? It should go without saying that women athletes are critical to the history of athletics, and I’m sure it comes as no surprise that they are underrepresented in said history, which is why this review of Molly Shiot’s new photo-essay book caught my eye.

The women, photographs, and stories featured are more than compelling, but even the inception of the book speaks volumes as well.

Shiot, an established director whose work includes a 30 for 30 documentary about the Boston Bruins enforcer John Wensink, pitched several concepts featuring female athletes. They were all given the thumbs down. Frustrated, she started an Instagram account featuring photos of badass women in sports. However, when she looked to dig deeper for researching her book, she found limited resources:

Ms. Schiot discovered her story in a public library, where she started her research for “Game Changers.” “I would pull these books out that were like, ‘She’s Got Balls,’ or ‘She’s Going to Knock You Out’ — they were so funny but so offensive,” she said. Eventually she found the LA84 Foundation, which houses a sports archive, and womenSports, a magazine published by Billie Jean King in the 1970s, which chronicled some of the people in “Game Changers.”

Two quick observations:

1. What the hell is Billie Jean King doing publishing a women’s sports magazine in the 70s?
2. Reason number 1 million proving King is a kick-ass pioneer and national treasure.

While you and I may check in on women’s athletics when the Olympics roll around, and while you and I aren’t exactly rushing home to watch the WNBA playoffs, this matters. It matters on a generational level, and it matters on a human level – far more than how many championships LeBron James wins.

Also, the photos are just awesome. – PAL

Source: “Too Good to be Ignored”, Melena Ryzik, The New York Times (10/24/16)

TOB: The photos are indeed bad ass. In my opinion, Title IX is not perfect, but then I read something like this:

Before Title IX, “girls were encouraged to have pompoms and be cheerleaders for their brothers’ baseball or football teams,” said Lynn Hill, a pioneering rock climber. “Now it’s so different that it’s hard to imagine.”

In the 1970-71 school year, fewer than 300,000 girls participated in varsity sports, Dr. Snyder said. In 2013-14, more than 3.25 million did — a record, and an increase for the 25th consecutive year.

It really is hard to imagine, and then you see those numbers – and it’s incredible. The U.S. population has increased about 50% since 1971, but the participation of female varsity athletes has increased 1,000%. That is quite the legacy.

Why Hard and Fast Rules on Domestic Violence Make (Some) Situations Worse

The NFL headlines have been dominated this week by the news about Giants kicker Josh Brown’s repeated physical and psychological abuse of his wife, Molly. The allegations are awful. But I implore you to read this story by Diana Moskovitz about how “zero tolerance” policies on domestic violence (not just in the NFL), make things so much worse for victims of domestic violence, including increasing the risk they will be killed by their partners. The problems stems from the fact that, like Molly Brown, many victims of domestic violence are financially dependent on their abusive partners. If they know their abuser will be fired, victims are less likely to report domestic violence, and thus continue to suffe. It’s a complicated situation that requires far more nuance than any one-size-fits-all, zero-tolerance policy can possibly offer. Good luck getting Roger Goodell to show any nuance. -TOB

Source: “Zero Tolerance for Domestic Violence Will Only Make It Worse“, Diana Moskovitz, Deadspin (10/24/2016)

Video of the Week: 

Song of the Week: Wilco – “California Stars”

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There’s another team that hasn’t won in a really long time…and they went 7-1 against the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Watch out, National League. 

Don’t Sweat the Technique (?)

Draymond Green is very good at basketball, but more importantly his skill set of defense, rebounding, passing, scoring, and general “eff you” brashness is absolutely necessary on a Warriors team with 3 of the top 12 NBA scorers (2015-16 PPG) in the starting lineup. He’s a “heart and soul” guy, but not in the Rudy sort of way. He’s one of the best all around players in the league. He gives a team of finesse players a nasty streak. Whether or not you like it, this is a good thing.

Take this quote from a team official: “The guys might be frustrated by his antics, but they had an opportunity to prove themselves without him in Game 5 [of the NBA Finals] and they played like a bunch of [cowards].”

Draymond is also an a-hole, and he doesn’t seem to know how to shut that part of himself down after the final horn sounds.

ESPN’s Ethan Strauss positions it as a pattern. We know of the Finals suspension, and we know of the lewd photograph, and we know of the arrest for smacking a lippy fan in East Lansing. To be honest, on their own, none of these incidents seem too alarming to me. Put them together, add an organizational divide and some legit run-ins with coach Steve Kerr, and there’s some definite meat to this story. Long story to be sure, but it gets us behind the scenes of a historically loaded team and the player who might very well dictate whether or not the Warriors realize its potential by joining the Mount Rushmore of all-time great NBA teams -PAL

Source: “Golden State’s Draymond Green problem”, Ethan Sherwood Strauss, ESPN (10/19/16)

TOB: Lots of great, behind-the-scenes stuff here (for example, it sure sounds like the Lakers will be disappointed with Head Coach Luke Walton). I love Draymond – he’s a character on a team of guys who are pretty vanilla. He’s a guy you don’t want to battle against, and you absolutely want to go to battle with. He took a lot of heat for his Finals suspension, but as Mo Speights says in the article:

“If somebody put they balls on your head, what are you supposed to do?”

The man has a point. But do you know what REALLY caught my eye in this article? This passage:

IT’S FEB. 27 in Oklahoma City, during halftime of a nationally televised game, and Green is losing his holy mind. Inside the visitors locker room, he’s hollering “I am not a robot!” at Kerr. When Kerr tells him to sit down, Green screams, “Motherf—er, come sit me down!” When he goes after Kerr, his teammates, including Curry and Thompson, step in to stave off disaster

Minutes later, in her report following halftime, ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters will recite a portion of Green’s explosion: “I am not a robot! I know I can play! You have me messed up right now! If you don’t want me to shoot, I won’t shoot the rest of the game!”

“I’m standing outside the locker room with the Oklahoma City police, which are always stationed outside of every locker room,” Salters will later recall. “They kind of moved me aside, and the officer just kind of stood by the door, with his hand on his weapon like he was trying to determine what he should do. It was clear that something bad was about to happen in this locker room. We’ve never heard anything like this before.”

Phil and I try pretty hard to avoid cursing on this blog, but when I read that I said, “MOTHERFUCKER.” THIS is what is wrong with police training in this country. Hey, officer, why is your hand on your gun? Even if you make the inappropriate decision to enter the locker room, WHY IS YOUR HAND ON YOUR GUN??? It’s not necessary. Your weapon should only be used to protect your life or the life of another. I don’t care what was being said in there, I promise no one’s life was in danger. This makes me so furious. Now that this article has been published and this incident is public, the Oklahoma City Police Department should investigate and suspend that guy. Maybe get him a psych eval to see if he’s fit to be an officer. An officer who even considers drawing his weapon in such a scenario is a ticking time bomb.

Kaminsky Keeping It Real

Frank Kaminsky was an excellent college basketball player and is now an average NBA player at best (7.4 PPG, 4 RPG), but that is not the point. Frank is a White Sox fan, and as everyone is climbing over each other to root for the goddamn lovable Cubbies to finally break through to win a World Series for the first time since 1908 (and appear in a World Series since ‘45), Frank is no sheep.

Dude wore a Steve Bartman Cubs jersey the other night in Chicago. I hate the White Sox, but I respect the hell out of Frank Kaminsky. Gold star to you, sir. – PAL

Source: “White Sox Fan Frank Kaminsky Owns The Cubs”, Patrick Redford, Deadspin (10/17/16)

TOB: I wish he was on the Bulls. Between the Cubs and the White Sox, the Cubs are so far and away the favorite team in Chicago.  It would be interesting to see how Bulls fans would react at the first game of the year if a Bulls player had done this. Oh well. Still funny.

5-Year Old Misses Game, Calls Team to Apologize

God, this is too funny. That is 5-year old Louis Kayes, a fan of Celtic FC in Glasgow, Scotland. Louis’ parents got him season tickets to see Celtic this year, but Louis missed last Saturday’s game because he went to a birthday party. The party was “good”, but Louis felt guilty for missing his favorite team, so he called up the club and asked to speak to the manager and his favorite player in order to apologize. As his mother said:

“He wanted to let both of them know he’d missed it in case they were looking for him.”

Damn, that’s adorable. Louis promised he would be at this Wednesday’s game, and his mom doesn’t think he’ll be missing any more any time soon.

Source: “Celtic Fan, 5, Apologises to Club After Missing Match“, BBC News (10/19/2016)

Video of the Week: 

Song of the Week: Curtis Mayfield – “Pusherman”

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Of course this guy commented on porn on Reddit. His name is Ken Bone, for chrissakes.

Still Ballin After All These Years

I have a regular, Sunday morning pickup basketball game I play in. It’s just up the street. The age range varies, but I’m on the younger end. Some of the guys have been playing there together on Sunday mornings for 30+ years, which is incredible. They still bust each other’s balls, and reminisce about the guys who used to play there, or how good this guy or that guy was when he was younger, or how they used to destroy one of the younger guys there when he started playing in the game at age 12. This article, a wistful ode to the weekly basketball game, is a few years old. I shared it on Facebook pre-1-2-3 Sports!, and it popped up in my “Memories” this week. It’s as good now as it was then. Even better, actually. I am getting older and feeling the effects of playing basketball 3-4 times a week for 2 hours each throughout my 20s: I don’t move laterally as well as I used to, my first step is a half step slower, and my game is played much closer to the ground than it used to be – all of which has made me a fairly mediocre defender. But I can still shoot – heck, I am much better now than I used to be – and I can still pass, and that’s all you really need to contribute for years. I hope I’m still playing there 30 years from now, telling some young buck about the guys I used to play with – right before I drill an 18-footer in his face to close out the day. -TOB

Source: “The Game Never Stops Calling, Even When Your Body Won’t Answer”, Mike Sager, Deadspin (10/10/2013)

PAL: I think it’s time for a little field trip, followers of 1-2-3. With the Giants season over, and the Niners season…well…over, we can tailgate at one of TOB’s Sunday games. Seriously. I’ll provide the grub and the brews. Toss the ball around, then head into the gym and heckle the players.

TOB: I ask you to come play all the time! Come this Sunday. And make sure your peoples is there to see it. You might get embarrassed.

PAL: I can’t shoot, I’m short, and I foul often. Sounds like a great time.

The Silver Lining of ‘Locker Room Talk’

By now we’ve all recoiled after listening to Donald Trump on a hot mic with little Billy Bush talking about non-consensual contact with a women. Political leanings aside (I’m still not ruling out 10 point Clinton landslide, as the Trump train feels like – maybe, perhaps, could be – finally be coming off the tracks), we can all agree that he’s a grade A moron, right? Right. This isn’t about Trump being, as Colin Powell put it, “[A] national disgrace and an international pariah.” For this humble sports blog, the angle here is about athletes speaking up.

Before I continue, and to state the obvious, Trump’s explanation was bullshit. His history seems to confirm that.

We all talked about it. I was on a plane during the debate, and it was quite a scene to watch unfold as everyone onboard turned on their phones and responded to the debate (not much for screens and Wifi on the el cheapo flights). Athletes spoke up, too. Here are a handful from Bill Pennington’s NYTimes article on 10/10:

“Have I been in every locker room?” Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley wrote on his Twitter account. “No. But the guys I know and respect don’t talk like that. They talk about girls but not like that. Period.”

Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Doolittle said on Twitter, “As an athlete, I’ve been in locker rooms my entire adult life and uh, that’s not locker-room talk.”

But Atlanta Falcons tight end Jacob Tamme may have had the last word, and spoke for many.

Having just left the locker room after his team’s victory over the Broncos in Denver on Sunday night, Tamme wrote: “I showered after our game but I feel like I need another one after watching the debate.”

He added: “The attempt to normalize it as any type of ‘talk’ is wrong. I refuse to let my son think that this is ‘just how men speak.’”

TOB has pointed this out in recent weeks in relation to the Colin Kaepernick story, and it’s worth resurfacing: I can’t remember a time in my life when athletes were this outspoken on political and social issues, and each previous, recent instance of an athlete making a statement emboldens the next. This is good. Whether you agree with the athletes’ opinions or not, I assure you this is a good thing. Granted, a response opposing Trump’s lunacy is a layup, but the point is the athletes confirmed that the BS hack’s statements were just that. More than being pitchmen of shoes made by kids in a third world country, don’t you want to know these folks have an actual conscience? I do. – PAL

Source: “What Exactly Is ‘Locker Room Talk’? Let An Expert Explain”, Bill Pennington, The New York Times (10/10/16)

Non-Story: Giants Bullpen Buries Giants

No story link here, just an aside. Rowe, TOB, JOB, and I were at the Giants’ collapse on Tuesday night. Beautiful night, and for 8 innings Moore, a mid-season acquisition, was dealing. I foolishly made a comment along the lines of, Can you imagine how tight all of Chicago will be for game 5? And then the bullpen crapped itself.

Up 5-2 going into the 9th, lost 6-5.

I texted Rowe after the game: “That’s (insert expletive) tough to swallow.”

Rowe: “I want to be pissed off, but anyone who watched this team all year knew it would be the bullpen to break out hearts.”

No response required.

But there’s this to brighten everyone’s day:

Pro tip for the Giants: There’s no more blowing into the bullpen cartridge. Time for a new game. – PAL

TOB: As I said to you guys at the game – it was the perfect microcosm of the season. A great and promising start, followed by a complete collapse because the bullpen can’t get anyone out. I read this article yesterday by Grant Brisbee about what the Giants bullpen will to look like next year. It’s…promising? They need to go after two end of game arms – a true closer (Melancon?) and a very good lefty specialist. Then they let Romo, Lopez, and Casilla walk as free agents. Then you’ve got Free Agent 1, Free Agent 2 (lefty), Law, Smith, Strickland, Okert/Osich, and maybe Kontos or Gearrin (who I still like). That’s…not bad. Strickland is not bad as the 5th best guy in the pen. I think we could also use another starter. The other good news is that the Giants let third base coach Roberto Kelly (and first base coach Bill Hayes) go yesterday. Hallelujah! The base running was awful. Kelly, especially, had some crazy misfires over the last two seasons, though admittedly nothing as bad as this from last night:

Look where the third base coach is; look where the ball is; look where Werth is…needless to say Werth was hosed by about 40 feet.

Video of the Week:

Song of the Week: Elvis Costello – “Miracle Man”

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Yes, that guy on the right is a professional athlete. No, I’m not kidding.

Life Goals.

Shortly after starting this blog, Phil and I decided one of our goals would be to get a press pass to a Giants game. So far, it has not happened – in small part because we have not tried. It was, then, with much self-interest that I read this story of a guy, back in the early-aughts, who fabricated an entire newspaper for the purpose of getting press passes to Atlanta Braves games. This story is the first time Phil Braun told his story, and it’s pretty great. After his photographer buddy sneaks him into a game with an old press pass, Phil decides he really enjoyed himself and wonders how he can get a press pass. He makes up a fake newspaper (“The Duluth Neighbor”) and inquires with the team. As it turned out, all he had to do was fax in a request, on the “paper’s” letterhead, signed by his “editor”. It was so easy it’s almost stupid, and Phil got his press pass.

Phil spent many games that season watching from the dugout, or the photographer’s well, snacking on free food in the press box, etc. Taking photos like this, of Chipper Jones going yard.

What a goddamn dream. Then, 9/11 happened and Phil assumed security would be tightened and he’d no longer be allowed to get a press pass so easily. Technically it wasn’t so easy – Phil had to e-mail a headshot. Come on! What the hell. Phil, let’s get some press passes! We’ll start small – San Jose Sabercats or something. By 2018, we’ll be in the clubhouse as the champagne starts flowing another Giants’ even-year World Series title. Amen. -TOB

Source: “I Covered the Braves for a Newspaper That Didn’t Exist”, Phil Braun, Deadspin (10/05/2016)

Joe Still Buckin’ It Up

A while back we went in on Joe Buck, and so I feel a little bad doing so again so soon. But it’s really god damn funny. You see, when you are handed everything because your dad was great and everyone liked him, and he gets you to the top of his profession without making you pay your dues and earn it, there is a tendency to have self-doubt. Do I really deserve this? Did I get this because my daddy called in some favors? Am I a fraud? Joe Buck has that in spades (For Buck, it’s been compounded because he has a punchable face and an odd sense of humor – a sense of humor many do not understand. I don’t think Joe is particularly funny, but I do think he’s a little misunderstood).

I imagine Joe staring into the mirror every morning and asking, “Why do people hate me? Why do I hate myself? Where is my hair line going…?” And because he couldn’t answer the first two questions, or at least had no solution, Joe Buck controlled the one thing he could control – his hairline…by getting hair plugs. And more hair plugs. And more. Joe Buck says now, in fact, that he was addicted to hair plugs. As men with gloriously full heads of hair, Phil and I do not understand this. Are hair plugs not permanent? Why did he keep needing to get them? I digress. Joe’s addiction to hair plugs almost cost him career. He says that one hair plug surgery caused his vocal cords to become paralyzed, somehow. Buck was out of commission for a number of months. Imagine, the one thing Joe Buck has going for him, other than who his daddy was, is his voice, which is quite good for broadcasting. And he almost lost it for frigging hair plugs. And the best part? He hasn’ ruled out hair plugs in the future. Oof. At that point, you deserve it. -TOB

Source: “Joe Buck Reveals That Hair-Plug Addiction Nearly Cost Him His Career“, Richard Deitsch, Sports Illustrated (10/06/2016)

Fastball In.

Look. You’re going to have to accept the fact that we will spill a lot of e-ink this month about the baseball playoffs (looking at you, Morganstern). The San Francisco Giants are in the playoffs, officially, having beaten Thor and the New York Mets, on the road, in one hell of a Wild Card Game. Bumgarner Bumgarner’d, which is about all you can say at this point. Syndegaard was great, but the Conor Freakin Gillaspie crushed a 3-run home off Familia in the 9th to propel the Giants to victory.

We, the writers/editors of 1-2-3 Sports! love baseball, and so you, the loyal readers, will be reading a lot. The first October baseball story is about how the Giants’ Will Clark changed the way teams conduct mound meetings. Nowadays, pitchers cover their mouths when they talk to their catcher or their coaches so ensure the hitter, or anyone else, can’t see what they are saying. But that wasn’t always the case, and it all changed because of Will Clark.

It was Game 1 of the 1989 NLCS and Clark was up with the bases loaded against a young Greg Maddux. Cubs manager Don Zimmer went to talk to Maddux, as Clark was already having a very good game. Clark looked out and saw Maddux, not covering his mouth, say, “Fastball in.” Clark couldn’t believe it, but trusted it, and sure enough saw a fastball in on the next pitch. Clark crushed it for a Grand Slam.

Clark’s telling of this story is great, and it’s well worth a read. -TOB

Source: “Giants-Cubs playoff series conjures thrilling memories for Will Clark, the hero of ’89“, Daniel Brown, San Jose Mercury News (10/06/2016)

Video of the Week

https://twitter.com/2ManySoles/status/784110132372180992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

PAL Song of the Week: The Velvet Underground – “I’m Waiting For The Man”

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