Two stories for the one of the greatest hitters of all-time, a genuinely good man, one who died too young. As you probably heard, Tony Gwynn died this week, after a long and difficult battle with cancer. On Father’s Day, the day before his death, the first story was published. It’s about Tony and his son, Tony Jr. Read it, then call your father. The second story, a tribute from a former Padre bat boy, who Tony made feel special when many other ballplayers did not. It provides insight into a ballplayer that most of us do not ever receive. And, for once, that insight makes you appreciate the player more than you did from before. Rest in peace, Tony. -TOB
We’re getting into marathon season. For most of us, that means suffering through bar conversations about your friend’s mileage this week (full disclosure: I’m guilty of this stupidity). But Steve Jones — even his name is unremarkable — has a pretty great story of how he came out of nowhere to be one of the best marathoners in the world, all while never wearing a watch. -PAL
In 2012, Melky Cabrera came out of nowhere to win the All-Star Game MVP, lead the league in batting, and help spur a Giants run to the postseason, which eventually ended in their second World Series title in three years. As he did so, Melky became a fan favorite in SF. But in early August, he was suspended for testing positive for PEDs (and even more shameful, for a bizarre attempt to cover it up). Two years later, now in Toronto, Melky is quietly among the league leaders in hitting (and may even start in the All Star game), as he attempts to move on from his mistakes. -TOB
Like a fart in church, athletes trying to be musicians is always funny.
An updated list of the worst musical forays. I’ve never liked Tim McCarver, but his contribution to this list almost salvages our relationship. I’m left with a lot of questions. Why does the WSJ have the exclusive on this? More importantly, who’s the best “slash” in the world of athlete/musician?
Lionel Messi left his home in Argentina when he was 13 for pretty understandable reasons – one of the best clubs in Europe wanted him (FC Barcelona), and they would provide the medical treatments he needed (he had a growth-hormone deficiency). Yet, even as Messi is widely considered one of the best players ever, Argentineans have a surprisingly complicated relationship with their star. They don’t completely see him as one of their own. “We’ve always liked how Messi plays,” the driver, Dario Torrisi, told me, “but we don’t know who he is.” This story does a great job exploring what “home” means in the context of the world’s most popular game. -PAL
TOB: I visited Argentina about a month before the 2010 World Cup, as Messi was tearing up the Champions League. I can say that Argentina was pretty bonkers for him. The media narrative right now seems to be that Messi is not loved in Argentina (though the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine argues that, while this is true for those old enough to have lived through the 1986 World Cup, the younger generation loves Messi and finds Maradona rather abhorrent). He’s a quiet guy – he’s not bombastic. He has struggled, comparatively speaking, on the national team. He’s not Maradona. This is all true. But he’s amazing to watch, and some of his national team struggles can be pinned on a coach who had no idea how to use him (and had no business being coach *coughMaradonacough*). I think this is his time – and I think Argentina should go deep into this World Cup, with Messi leading the way.
The Times, They Are a-Changin’
I can’t watch college football anymore without feeling a twinge of guilt, though I still do. In fact, I’m a season ticket holder. But a tidal wave of change is preparing to hit American college sports. We might not know yet when exactly it will arrive and what it will leave in its wake, but it is coming. The debate on whether to pay college football players seems to be approaching a cultural tipping point (with Title IX implications of paying players threatening to leave college sports completely unrecognizable). The myth of amateurism has never rung so hollow. Making matters even worse is the fact that universities nationwide are facing budget reductions, as state legislatures have been cutting back on higher education funding for years (California, my home state, chief among them). And while public university budgets are being slashed, with those costs being passed on to students, universities across the country continue to subsidize their athletics programs with millions of dollars per year. So it was with some pride that I read this article, about how my alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley, has attempted to eliminate its athletic subsidy. In a few years, Cal has reduced its athletic subsidy from $12.1 million in 2010, to $3.2 million in 2013. The job is not done, but Cal has set a model that other schools should look toward. –TOB
PAL: About a week ago I texted Tommy to give him crap. I’d heard the football field at Memorial Stadium (Cal’s football stadium) referred to as “Kabam Field” on the local sports radio station. Cal had struck a deal with a mobile game maker. “How lame,” I thought, as I grabbed for my phone. In fact, it’s not lame at all. Aside from the fact no one will ever, ever, ever refer to the field as “Kabam Field” in any normal conversation, Cal stands to earn $18 million over 15 years. Among other things, that money will be used to help finance the stadium renovations and student-athlete center (you can find the breakdown here). Lame? No. More like common sense.
A Million Dollars a Year on Fantasy Sports? What the Hell?
You ever win a fantasy league? I have. A few times. The gratification is short-lived, but I still feel pride in each of those wins, and aggravation for the losses. Months of work and hours pouring over stats often come down to something as stupid as 3 blocked shots in 5 minutes by a point guard who had 3 blocked shots the entire season before that, costing you the title (this actually happened to me). But what if the season didn’t take months, but occurred in the course of one night? And what if you bet money on that “season”? And what if you played thousands of “seasons” per night? You’ve just entered the world of Cory Albertson, a business school student at Notre Dame, who has turned fantasy sports into a science – and expects to make $1 million dollars this year on fantasy sports. Yes, one million. On fantasy sports. -TOB
PAL: When something conceived as a game then becomes a business, there will be gap when it’s ripe for the taking. Fantasy sports hedge fund? I have some buddies who will no doubt contribute to this dude’s next vacation estate. Also, did you notice TOB mentioned he’s won a fantasy league a few times?
This is the perfect story if you don’t love (or “get”) hockey.
I grew up playing the sport in Minnesota. It’s a great game. Fun to play, fun to watch in person, and it features incredible athletes. Aside from a little San Jose Sharks fever once every couple of years, there aren’t a ton of hockey fans out here in California, even when two of the best teams play out here (it pains me to write that). Here’s a cool story breaking down a seemingly tiny, momentary element of the game – the faceoff. Like a jump ball in basketball, it determines possession; however, unlike in basketball, faceoffs happen dozens of times in a game where scoring is much harder to come by. What makes a player a great faceoff guy? Quick hands, researching the tendencies of the refs, and of course the willingness to headbutt your opponent. -PAL
As I write this, the Heat just lost by 21 points on their home floor in Game 4, and the Spurs have taken a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. That the Spurs are winning should not be much of a surprise to anyone who has been watching the NBA closely this year. The Heat are talented but old, and the Spurs are incredible, and have mostly torn through these playoffs. What continues to amaze me, though, is that LeBron James does not get the respect he deserves. “He’s not Jordan.” Yeah, and? No one is. “He abandoned Cleveland on national TV.” A mistake, to be sure. But why has LeBron not been forgiven? The guy has won two NBA titles and and made 5 NBA Finals. He’s the greatest player of his generation, and the ultimate team player. He works hard on defense, unlike many star players, and he shares the ball like Magic Johnson. Every bit of respect seems to be given grudgingly, and every time he does fail, people seem to relish it. Why? -TOB
PAL: I typically deplore when people play this card, but here I go: Magic and Michael didn’t play in the era of Twitter and 24-hour sports channels. Every sports story (and every news story for that matter) is reported on 10 percent of the time, then analyzed, editorialized, and debated the other 90 percent of the time. Stories are then made out of the opinions expressed about the original news story. This is why I can’t watch ESPN anymore (they aren’t the only guilty party, but definitely the most insufferable). LeBron was/is the most popular athlete when this media pivot took place. It’s not fair, but it makes sense.
Video of the Week Baseball players are the best.
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If This Happened in 2014, Skip Bayless’ Head Would Actually Explode (See Above).
Deadspin has been running informative and not insanely long previews of each of the 32 teams competing in the World Cup, which begins next week. Within this preview of Spain’s chances to repeat as World Cup Champions, there is an absolutely insane story that no modern sports fan will believe: in the 1950’s, Barcelona and Real Madrid were both attempting to sign a highly sought after Argentinian soccer player, Alfredo Di Stefano. Some controversy existed over which South American club team owned Di Stefano’s rights. Barcelona arranged a transfer with one of those clubs (Argentiniean club River Plate), but they also needed consent from Colombian club Millonarios – Millonarios refused, and in turn agreed to transfer him to Real Madrid. After much squabbling, a “compromise” was reached – Di Stefano would play the next four years alternating each year between Barcelona and Real Madrid. What the hell? I can’t even imagine this situation happening today. I have read suggestions that LeBron should sign one year contracts with the team he thinks he can help win the most, and that would be highly entertaining and crazy, but still not as crazy as this. -TOB
PAL Note: Well, at least Fascism gave us this gem of a story. Di Stefano was probably the only guy in all for Spain universally tolerated.
Fueled by the violent death of his sister, Dan Gable became the greatest wrestler (non-WWE division) of all-time, including an incredible run to win the Olympic Gold medal in 1972. Without missing a beat, he later became the most successful wrestling coach of all-time, at the University of Iowa. He retired almost 20 years ago, but wrestling still consumes him. Now, at the age of 65, he has struggled to find purpose in life – but may have found it in keeping wrestling alive. Published last fall before the International Olympic Committee reversed a decision to remove wrestling from the Olympics, a profile of a still fierce competitor, dealing with aging, buried pain, and the family and sport, intertwined as they are, that he loves. -TOB
PAL Note: Wrestlers are obsessive nuts, but to lump Dan Gable in with…anyone would be a mistake. I both envy and pity him. Greatness comes at a cost, not the least of which is the inability to live a well-adjusted life. This quote pretty much nailed Dan Gable for me: “Gable’s life is governed by justification and guilt, as if he’s forever paying off some unseen debt.” This is a fascinating read, sports lover or not.
It’s a decent bet the fix is in for the World Cup.
I’m guilty of it. I’ll moan, “this game’s fixed” at the bar, usually about an NBA game, but I don’t really believe it. Here’s a story pretty clearly laying out a widespread fixing scheme in professional soccer (including documented attempts to fix 2010 World Cup matches in South Africa). It’s happening in the most popular sport in the world, it doesn’t seem that hard to do, and it seems really hard to detect when it’s happening in such a global game. – PAL
TOB: Unlike the news the scandal this week about Qatar having bribed its way to hosting the 2022 World Cup, which I do not care about, this iis terrifying to me as a sports fan. Reading this article reminds you how easy it is to fix a sporting event. The money being given to the refs isn’t even that high. This is every major sports’ worst nightmare. In hindsight, it’s rather amazing the NBA escaped the Donaghy scandal as unscathed as it did. Yikes.
Baseball players love to say “Respect the game,” and make up rules like 12 year-olds in a tree house.
I subscribe to baseball’s most basic unwritten rules. For instance Barry Bonds should have been drilled about 300 times the way he stood at home plate after hitting a home run (sorry Giants fans, but deep down you agree with me). However, I don’t think all of the rules outlined in this fun read pass the porn test (I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it). Here’s my proposed rule: any position player with a career average under .250, and any pitcher with a career ERA over 4.00 can’t make or comment on unwritten rules. In that case, a couple dudes’ quotes in this article need to be redacted (I’m looking at you, Jonny Gomes).
TOB: I know there are a lot of stupid baseball players, but somehow Kurkjian found a lot of them. The quote that most sticks out, from Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon McCarthy: “In hockey, guys don’t take their skates off and slash an opponent’s throat with the blade. In football, you never see a guy take off his helmet and just bludgeon an opponent. We’ve been playing baseball since the 1800s. We just have more unwritten rules.” Someone might want to tell Brandon McCarthy that those are WRITTEN rules. A hockey player would get into a lot of trouble, both within his sport and with the law, if he took off his skate and slashed an opponent’s throat with the blade. Further counterpoint can be found here, from former major league pitcher Dirk Hayhurst.
$10 million now or maybe $60 million later? Baseball teams are getting smarter about contracts.
MLB teams getting into the insurance business. They are offering extensions to younger and younger players. Pay more than they have to now to save (potentially) a lot on the back end of the contract and avoid arbitration. The prospects get a lot of money now, but not as much as they could potentially earn. Most young studs (agents hate this trend) don’t bite; however a few have taken the money. Houston’s Jon Singleton is the latest to take the money and run. -PAL
TOB: The most fascinating thing about this story is all the backlash Singleton has gotten from other major leaguers, who are afraid of the impact on the rest of the player salaries. Although I’ve never been a part of a union, I understand their general utility. In this case, though, I want to smack these guys. Jon Singleton just guaranteed himself $10 million by the time he is 26 (the deal could be worth up to $35 million with team options). If he’s a star, this is a very team friendly deal, but the history of baseball is littered with “Can’t Miss” prospects who missed. Singleton has just set himself up for life, and now he can go out and play baseball. When the deal is over, he’ll be 29 and able to sign one megadeal. If he’s bad, he just made the best decision of his life. Seems like a win-win to me.
PAL: This story is a nice companion piece to a story we featured a couple weeks ago. Grantland’s Ben Lindbergh laid out how teams make decisions about promoting hot prospects.
Late last week, coach Jürgen Klinsmann finalized his 23-man roster for next month’s World Cup. The greatest U.S. soccer player ever was not on that list. The decision was not without controversy. No matter how the team does in Brazil, we’ll never be sure if it was the right one. But his international career is, effectively, over. While it had its ups and downs, Landon will go down as our best, producing some of the most thrilling moments in American soccer history, and it sure is fun to look back. -TOB
Alex Honnald just might be the best (and most insane) athlete in the world.
Old story, but worth the read, since this dude is (incredibly) still alive. Alex Honnald is a dopey kid from Sacramento. You’ve probably never heard of him, but he’s better at his sport than LeBron James is at basketball. His sport: Free soloing. He climbs massive cliffs without a rope. The chances are likely that he’ll die in the near future…or is he just that good? What kind of person gets into a sport like this? A really unassuming kid doing things that have never been done . – PAL
It seems cities are wizening up to the economic land mine that is hosting the Olympics. The host of the 2022 Winter Games will be announced within a year, and the majority of the finalist cities have already pulled out, because–really–who the hell wants to build a bobsled course? Mostly, these cities have found little to no public support when it comes to sinking $50 billion into a two week event, but overthrown governments have factored in, as well (I’m looking at you, Ukraine). Who’s ready to go back to China? – PAL
TOB Note: I wonder what they’d do if no viable city bid. Antartica 2022!
Pay No Attention To That Man Behind the Curtain!
Actually, pay attention. Pedro Martinez provides insight into how he approached the art of the game. A rare look into the internal workings of a pitching wizard.
PAL Note: It’s all about that one quote (you’ll find it). Also, he has alien fingers.
Chris Bosh Is Better Than You Think He Is.
In Toronto, Chris Bosh was a star on a bad team – he put up big numbers and set himself up for a max contract, but his team lost – a lot. Instead of being content to be the big fish in the little pond, he took less money and less touches in order to win championships. As Miami looks headed for their fourth straight NBA Finals, and possibly their third straight title, Bosh looks back at the sacrifices he has made, and the ways his game has evolved, to make it all happen. Also, he once campaigned to make the All-Star team with this video. -TOB
PAL Note: I love his honesty when asked why his shooting percentage is so high near the rim – With LeBron and Wade driving to the hoop, “I’m wide open most of the time.”
Video of the Week:
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“Your hand and the ball is a marriage that should never end. The pitcher and the ball should be married forever. Hands, fingers, the ball – they should be married forever.”
What Exactly Does a Pitching Coach Do? More Than You Might Think.
I’m a huge baseball fan. But sometimes I wonder, what exactly does a good pitching coach do? What does it mean to be a good pitching coach? Why do some seem to have such good reputations in the media? Doesn’t the staff’s success have more to do with talent, and the organizations ability to discover it? 123 favorite Jonah Keri explores why the Cardinals staff has been so good for so long, no matter the names: the foundation laid by former pitching coach Dave Duncan is the reason why. -TOB
“I’ve been waiting 20 years for someone to knock him on his ass.”
Refs might not decide the outcome of a game, but they sure as hell influence it. Part 5/5 of a series examining NBA officiating and its lack of public accountability includes the story of Tim Donaghy–the ref busted for betting on games back in 2007–knocking out Joey Crawford (the bald ref that everyone hates, especially the Spurs). -PAL
When’s the right time to call up a stud baseball prospect? Follow the money.
I’ll admit it; I’ve never completely understood the facts of team control over their baseball draft picks. This article lays it out nicely and explains the possible routes a team can take to promote (or delay) a stud minor leaguer to the bigs. Are teams putting playoff births at risk in the interest of staving off arbitration for one more year? How many divisions or wildcards have been won by a game? -PAL
Ever Wish You Had Grown Up Playing Sports With a Future Star? This Guy Actually Did.
Growing up, everyone probably had one or two people they played sports with, or against, that you were sure would be a future star. Usually, it never happens. This is a fun story about how a guy, about to graduate from Georgetown Law School played on a team with Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley. Yes, Beasley was always kind of weird. -TOB
When my team is knocked out, I rarely root for a division/conference rival to do well. Did I want Stanford to win the Rose Bowl after my Cal Bears went 1-11 last year? Hell no. Did I cheer when they lost that game to Michigan State? Hell yes. Screw them. But that’s not the case for many Canadian hockey fans, a country that hasn’t seen the Stanley Cup return home to Canada in 21 years. They wrap themselves in the flag and root for their otherwise bitter enemies. -TOB
Where Have All the Aces Gone? Gone to Dr. James Andrews, Every One. Source: Michael Baumann, “An Elbow Injury for Jose Fernandez, and Surgery for Baseball Fans’ Broken Hearts”; Grantland (05/13/14); Earlier this week, news broke that the Marlins’ Jose Fernandez would likely undergo Tommy John surgery, and is thus unlikely to return to pitching until 2016. That is so far away that, by that point, flying cars and hover boards will be ubiquitous. Fernandez joins a long list of young, exciting pitchers who have been lost to Tommy John surgery since the start of 2013. What the hell is going on? -TOB
PAL Note: Grantland needs to pump its breaks on the metaphors – “…[C]omposed variations on the ‘slow, with late break’ theme the way Mozart might have written a suite for a woodwind quartet…” Easy, fellas.
Was Mark Jackson Fired Because of His Race? Yes. And No.Source: Marcus Thompson, “Warriors, Mark Jackson, and the Question of Race”; San Jose Mercury News (05/08/14); The SJ Merc’s Marcus Thompson explores the reasons that the Warriors fired Mark Jackson. Was race involved? Kinda. -TOB
PAL Note: The Tom Thibodeau comp is the most intriguing (Thibs – great defense + suspect offense = great coach; Jackson – great shooters + improved defense = motivator).
Yasiel Puig’s defection from Cuba is way more incredible than his arm. Source: Jesse Katz,“Escape from Cuba: Yasiel Puig’s Untold Journey to the Dodger”; Los Angeles Magazine (4/13/13); Murder, informants, drug cartels, and a whole lot of dirty money at stake. Defecting from Cuba doesn’t end when someone like Yasiel Puig puts on an MLB uniform. Whether you love him or hate him, his story is extraordinary. – PAL
The World Cup in Brazil could prove to be a really, really bad idea.Source: James Masters, “World Cup 2014: Can the FBI help stop Brazil’s World Cup protesters?”; CNN (5/13/14) For all we know this could be your typical, “there will be some real problems” story like the ones we saw leading up to Sochi or the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. However, there is ongoing unrest throughout Brazil, and large-scale protests have turned violent over the government spending billions of dollars in the midst of a very fragile economic period. The Confederations Cup (essentially a warm-up tournament for the World Cup) was a mess with protests, and let’s not forget where the 2016 Summer Olympics will be held. -PAL
TOB Note: A good roundup of the potential issues in Brazil this summer, with some truly great/haunting images. Also, this terrifying warning from police.
Like the Goonies, The Spurs Will Never DieSource: Louisa Thomas, “Pop Culture: What We Talk About When We Talk About the Spurs”; Grantland (05/12/14) In the early aughts, the Spurs were boring. It seemed like their run had finally ended in 2011, when the #1 seed Spurs were destroyed by the #8 seed Grizzlies in 6 games. But then a funny thing happened: The Spurs kept their core, replaced the spare pieces, and got…better. In 2013, they came about as close as you can to winning a title without doing so. This year, I am rooting for them. They are once again the West’s #1 seed. They just destroyed the Trailblazers, with an average margin of victory of nearly 20 points, and look primed for a return to the Finals. The Spurs will not die. Long live the Spurs. – TOB
You’ll get this if you read these articles, and you’ll laugh.
PAL: Where the hell did the “Shooter’s Sleeve” come from?
You’ve all seen it, and we’ve probably joked about sporting the sleeve at a pickup game, but here’s a quick history on how the elbow sleeve was born in the NBA. The “inventor” is now the LAX trainer for Villanova (obviously), and earliest versions were sewn by an old lady.
TOB note: Read this today and loved it. And when you say “joked” – you mean actually took a long sleeve UnderArmour shirt, cut the sleeve off, and wore it during an Adult Rec League basketball game, right? Because I did NOT do that.
TOB: Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That, But Uh…
If you’ve known me for a while, you know I have a theory about how hetero/homosexuality is not as black and white in other cultures as it is in the U.S. Specifically, in Arab and Latin American Cultures. This theory is based purely on anecdotal evidence (an Iranian roommate in college and some observed horseplay between Bobby Abreu and some fellow Latinos during the 2005 Home Run Derby). This article is old, but I stumbled upon it this week. It is an excerpt from a book written by a former minor league pitcher in the Angels organization (Odd Man Out). At one point the author was on a team with current major leaguers Erick Aybar and Alberto Callaspo. This is, apparently, a true story. I present it without further comment.
PAL note: Only ketchup? Where’s the love for mustard?
PAL: What would Usain Bolt’s 40 time be at the NFL Combine?
Here’s an NFL Draft story that’s actually interesting. He’s the fastest dude ever, and his “splits” (if you can call them that in the 100-meter) put him at a sub 4.0 40-yard dash. That’s insane. However, the “Sultan of Dash” – the dude who’s been the official starter for the 40 at the Combine – has some interesting thoughts on why he thinks Bolt might not be that fast.
Everyone knows The San Jose Sharks choke every year. The core of the team is soft. They aren’t winners. It’s time to blow it up and begin anew. Or is it? Deadspin’s Ryan Lambert takes the stance that the Sharks have had some bad luck in playoff matchups, points out that the Sharks are one of the winningest teams over the last decade or so, and that the small sample size of the playoffs is more or less a crapshoot. Should the Sharks just roll the dice for another year? Included is a companion piece on Sharks star Joe Thornton and his label as “not a winner”.
PAL note: Isn’t the fact that they are one of the winningest teams over the last decade, yet haven’t even made the finals, all the more reason to mix up the recipe? How would the opinion change if we were talking about the team a fan is most passionate about – say the Giants or the Niners?
Video of The Week: Brandon Crawford ground ball pimp game is stronger than most home run pimp jobs. Have a great weekend, folks.
TOB note: My favorite is the 1:12 mark. The behind the back bounce pass!
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“But here’s my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything, but they can’t buy backbone. Don’t let them forget it. Thank you.”
1-2-3 SPORTS! 