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Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Lopez-Ortiz

The ridiculous UD win by Teofima López against Jamaine López is yet another blight on the sport of boxing.

I scored the fight 115 to 113 for Ortiz, as did some sites I just checked. He outsmarted and frustrated López the whole fight. Two judges saw it 115-113 for López, and ESPN scored it a draw, so yes, it could have gone either way.  

But it's impossible to explain a 117-111 score from the third judge.  He was either asleep, a fool, or on the take, and none of those options do anything to restore faith in the sport.




Thursday, January 11, 2024

Wow



Nick Saban has retired from Alabama. 

Pete Carroll was "moved upstairs" in Seattle. 

Bill Belichick "amicably" parted ways with the Patriots. 

In two very short days, the face of football has radically changed. 

My thanks to all of them. Well done. Enjoy your retirements/new jobs. 

Monday, January 1, 2024

30 Years Ago

30 years ago today, on New Year's Day 1994, I watched my Wisconsin Badgers defeat the UCLA Bruins 21-16 in the Rose Bowl. 

I watched the game from the living room in my friend Tre's family home. By my recollection we followed it up with a two VHS Metallica concert that was part of a box set Tre bought. 

That Rose Bowl was the culmination of Madison's resurgence under Barry Alvarez. All my life the Badgers had been a joke, relegated to having their pre-taped games broadcast on public TV later on Saturday nights. As of that day though, they were a team to reckon with in the Big Ten. 

Their rise coincided roughly with the Packers returning to contention too, and both franchises suspended 30 years in the spotlight, with only a rebuilding year every now and then. Quite the change from my youth. 

Monday, November 6, 2023

Counsell Turns Traitor

Not really. 



Baseball is a business, and the man was offered $40 over 5 years to work for a vile, cursed   well funded, marquee organization. He'd have been a fool not to accept. 

Does it fly in the face of his constant harping on how he's a local boy in his "dream job?" 

Sure. 

But again, $40 million boo. $40 million. That's twice the sum of his career earnings as a player. 

Plus, the Brewers weren't exactly knocking down the door with offers enticing him to stay. Was that proof the organization is cheap, or did they suspect his leadership value was inflated? Hard to say, and I don't think Chicago is guaranteed to provide the answer to the latter either; deep pockets have the potential to solve many problems. 

(I think he was overvalued, but who am I? I'm just a schmuck with a blog.)

So congrats to Counsell -  although given his new job I can't exactly wish him success. 


update: Oops. I guess this "player's manager" forgot to actually inform his players of his move until AFTER the news was public. Smooth sir. smooth. 



Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Bobby Knight


Bobby Knight, the temperamental, controversial - and successful -  basketball coach at Indiana for much of my youth, has died at 83.

RIP

Frank Howard


Frank Howard, the 6'7" outfielder known as "Hondo," died on October 30th at age 87.

While he never reached the level of fame as some of his contemporaries, Howard hit 382 home runs and knocked in 1,119 RBI over a 16 year career. He led the league in home runs twice, once hit 48 in a summer, and notched 40 or more dingers in three consecutive seasons. 

In the mid-80's he would serve as a coach in Milwaukee, but what I remember him for isn't that, or his playing record: I know him from his mentions as a test subject  in The Science of Hitting, the epic hitting manual written by Howard's one time manager, Ted Williams. 

RIP Hondo.


Thursday, October 5, 2023

Congratulations on doing what you do Best.





Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers for finishing with a 90-72 record, a National League Central title . . . 
and then getting swept by an 84 win team in the first round of the playoffs. 

#$@$%%


49 years. 

FORTY NINE YEARS this team has disappointed me and left me bitter and angry and incapable of EVER trusting that they'll win a Championship. They would have to be up by six in the ninth inning of game seven of the World Series before I could feel certain of victory. 

You think I'm kidding? 

In the example above, I originally wrote "up by 5 in the 9th inning." Why did I change it? 

Because, hand to heart, I immediately pictured a scenario where they allow a couple runs and some baserunners, fall apart as the momentum swings, and surrender a grand slam to lose the Series. Right here, at my desk, I could see it clear as day, and my heart dropped. 

No mas. No mas. 

Friday, September 22, 2023

Clinched!

The first 43 years of my life the Brewers made it to the postseason all of four times.

Tonight, they made it five times in the last six years 

It's a nice change. 

Now let's do some damage in the playoffs, shall we?

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Brewers v Rockies, August 8th

My employer gave me two tickets for section 119 - the best seats I've ever had to be honest- for Tuesday's game against the Rockies, and I went with my friend Tre. 






It was Wade Miley's 300th career start, and the Brewers wasted a six inning, 2 hit, 1 run performance courtesy of a some awful relief work.





 We tied it, but then in the tenth Chafin and Uribe walked in three runs and surrendered another. A pathetic end to an otherwise fun evening on a warm and muggy night. 







Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Kestdaddy

So Keston Hiura wasn't claimed on waivers (idiots abound) and was outrighted to Nashville March 28th. Here's what he's done since then: 




.333/10/26 with an OPS of .394 and an OPS of 1.118 - oh, and he's been Player of the Week three out of the last four weeks

Now the argument goes that his performance wouldn't necessarily carry over to the bigs, and I agree, at least as far as Milwaukee goes. The Brewers have s*it him up so bad that I doubt success is attainable for him here. But in a different system, if he can shake off the Brewers handling of him . . . well, I think he'd thrive. 

I hope he gets the chance. 

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

On Online Packers "fans"

Packers fans - the online version - are embarrassingly naive in general and ignorant of the game and the business behind it. Not to mention they write like they were held back 3x in second grade. You are, in part, representing me when you speak, so, ummmm - DON'T.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

A Brewers Anniversary

On this day in 1989, Genn Braggs went 3-4 with two homers and 5 RBI in a 10-4 Brewers win over the Twins.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Saturday, February 22, 2020

40 years ago today - The Miracle on Ice


40 years ago today, on the small black and white TV my Grandparent's kept on their kitchen counter, I witnessed one of the greatest moments in sports history.

That stunning hockey game was tape delayed for the network broadcast that night,  and so, oddly, already history by the time Americans cheered on their underdogs. A move like that would never work now, not with the speed of information being what is is, but in 1980 how were you going to know the result before it aired? Heck, more than ten years later I remember having to call the sports desk at the local paper to get a late boxing result. 

A month shy of six years old, I was nowhere near aware of the Cold War, the Iron Curtain, the Iran hostage crisis, the post-Vietnam fugue, Carter's stagflation, or any of the other geo-political events that made that match so much more than just an athletic contest.

But I knew I loved my country and I knew this was important. I could feel the electricity in the crowd right through the TV, a buzz shared by the announcers and my family.

It was a great day to be an American, whether you were six or sixty. 

A Miracle on Ice indeed.


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

2020 Baseball Hall of Fame

Congratulations to Derek Jeter and Larry Walker on their election to Cooperstown today! It's a few hours late, but here's what my ballot looked like this morning

Friday, May 26, 2017

Saturday, March 18, 2017

 Congrats to our Badgers for once again making the Sweet Sixteen. #OnWisconsin

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Michael Phelps

Today the great Michael Phelps won his 19th gold medal and 23rd Olympics medal overall as the U.S. won the 4x100 relay. Congrats!

Monday, June 13, 2016

Yup

I can watch and enjoy any sport, with the exception of outdoor soccer. I have tried, but it bores my very soul. - watching NCAA Track and Field