Category Archives: sports

Greatest Team in All the Land!

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[CCHA Championship banner]Not only is ND hockey ranked #1 in the polls, they have just finished a 27-6-3 regular season, good enough for their first conference title.

Despite their recent success, do not believe all that you read about the hockey facilities at ND, specifically what’s said at und.com:

The field house, and in particular the hockey facility, has undergone a series of improvements that make the Joyce Center one of the finest facilities in collegiate hockey. Renovations to coaches offices and the locker rooms along with the addition of a dividing curtain have given the hockey rink and the Irish more of a “home-ice advantage.” Fans also have benefited from Notre Dame’s commitment to hockey, with theatre-style seating that replaced metal bleachers on the north side of the arena.

While there’s no curtain in the world that’s going to cover up everything that’s wrong with the nation’s worst D-I college hockey facility, a few more of those championship banners might do the trick.

ND vs. Michigan: Mr. Brightside

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Not only did Notre Dame lose to Michigan, and looked bad doing it, but that means I have to do this:

[Something I really don't want to be wearing]

However, in the interest of maintaining optimism, I present to you five things that make me happy.

5) I saved 50 cents with a coupon at lunch yesterday.
4) Today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day.
3) My bike is functioning again and serves as the best way to get to work since I’m not eligible for a bus pass anymore.
2) I have my health, which is important since I don’t know if I have health insurance.
1) Baseball.

White Sox at Athletics: Where to focus your attention at a baseball game

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Last night, we went to see the A’s host the Chisox at the Coliseum. Loaiza started for the A’s and continued his second half resurgence, allowing 2 runs only four baserunners in 7 innings. The offense had plenty of opportunities and did enough damage to give Oakland the 4-2 victory. The win lowered the A’s magic number to 11, with 16 games to play. The two points I’d like to make are two examples of incompetence due to lack of focus of what was happening on the field.

  • In the fourth inning, Chavez led off with a walk, and Payton followed with a double to right center, giving the A’s runners at second and third with no outs. Swisher came to the plate, and hit a shallow fly ball to right field. RF Dye, who has an outstanding throwing arm, settled under it and made the catch flat-footed. To his surprise, Chavez dashed for the plate and scored ahead of a delayed throw from the outfield. On the play, Payton moved up to third, scoring when Ellis hit a sacrifice fly to center. Replays of Dye showed him in absolute disbelief that Chavez, who’s been hampered by leg problems this season, would attempt to score on a shallow fly ball to a strong-armed outfielder. If he would have set up to catch the ball and get it back to the infield, he could have prevented a run (for a play at least). The result of the inning was a 2-1 A’s lead, which they would not relinquish.
  • There were a group of French-Canadians down the row from us. I suspected early on that they weren’t entirely familiar with the game. My hypothesis was confirmed when I saw one of them taking a picture of the guy selling churros in the stands. Bizarre.

    • How to act as a visiting fan during a baseball game

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    I’ve never been so proud of Odie as when he related this story of his trip to Wrigley to watch his beloved Pittsburgh ‘Irates take on the Cubbies.

    Scene: Odie, wearing his #18 Jason Kendall Pirates jersey, and Jack are in the bleachers
    Odie: Jack, even though the Pirates are losing, I’m sure glad to be at the game.
    Heckler #1: Hey Kendall, why not wear a good #18 from Pirates history?
    Odie: Wow, that’s a good heckle. Andy van Slyke was number 18 before Kendall, and he was much better. I’m going to let that go.
    Heckler #2: Hey Kendall, where’s Barbie?
    Heckler #3: Yeah, where’s Barbie?
    Odie: Well, that’s not really a good heckle, but they’re Cubs fans, so they don’t really have much to cheer about.
    Heckler #2: Come on Kendall, where’s Barbie?
    Heckler #3: Did you guys break up?
    Odie: Well, this is getting annoying, but maybe some good will come of this.
    A few minutes pass, then Heckler #2 approaches Odie with a hot dog.
    Heckler #2: Hey, since you don’t have Barbie anymore, we bought you this hot dog.
    Odie: Um, ok, I’ll eat it.
    Heckler #2: Yeah you will!
    Heckler #2 returns to his seat.
    Odie: You know Jack, I don’t like the cut of their jib. [yelling] Hey Hecklers, who has the highest batting average on the Cubs? Real fans, please don’t answer!
    Hecklers: [silence]
    A minute passes.
    Heckler #3: Hey, give that hot dog back!
    Two more minutes pass, then they finally answer the question.
    Heckler #2: Barrett!
    Odie: Well, it’s actually Jacque Jones, but at least you could name a Cub!
    Heckler #3: I know how we can show him. Let’s get the wave going!

    And that’s how Cubs fans lost their last shred of dignity.

    A’s fan, Red Sox fan: a confrontation

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    I wore my Rich Harden shirt yesterday to support the A’s as they travel to Fenway for a four-game series against the Red Sox. On my way home, I passed a guy wearing a Red Sox hat. He looked at my shirt and gave me a smug look. This is a reenactment of my response:

    [Jer's reaction to the Sox fan]

    The A’s won, so I hope that after the game he remembered our encounter and cried.

    The World Cup, Team USA, and why America doesn’t care

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    The United States finished third in 2004’s Olympic basketball tournament. The United States did not make the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic this past spring. We don’t even have the world’s best hot dog eater.

    Given this data, is anyone really surprised that Team USA scored only one goal for itself?

    Maybe we should be. After all, the US did make it to the quarterfinals in the last World Cup, but considering that we finished without a point in 1998, 2002 seems like a fluke.

    The more interesting question though why America hasn’t embraced the world’s favorite sport. This is going to be a three part discussion: (A) Why America doesn’t like soccer, (B) why America might grow to like soccer, and (C) what would facilitate the process.

    Continue reading →

    You have to love agents.

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    Here are some things I learned surfing around Cot’s Baseball Contracts:

  • Shawn Green can only be traded to southern California teams.
  • For Carlos Beltran, the Mets agreed to lease an ocular enhancer machine (device that throws numbered & multi-colored tennis balls at 150 mph).
  • Ichiro gets a housing allowance ($28,000 in 04, $29,000 in 05, $30,000 in 06, $31,000 in 07).
  • Frank Thomas, who has appeared at 1b in 68 games over the last 5 years, will receive a $50,000 bonus for winning a Gold Glove.

    • Here’s a home run ball I really don’t want to catch

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    It’s estimated that Bonds’ #714 ball could go for upwards of a million dollars. He is stuck on 713, playing at Oakland this weekend, and I will be at the game on Sunday, sitting in the plaza outfield down the right field line.

    I don’t know Barry’s resting schedule, but I’m sure he’ll jump at the chance to get in the lineup as DH and save himself the embarrassment of playing the field. He could hit it to section 201. I could catch it.

    But I don’t want to.

    First of all, the Coliseum faithful expect all home run balls from the opposition to be thrown back on the field. This is a tradition that should have remained at Wrigley, and it’s a catch-22. Throw it back and you’re removed from the stadium. Keep it and you suffer the ire of the Oakland faithful. I couldn’t show my face in the left field bleachers after keeping any non-A’s HR ball, let alone one off the bat of evil incarnate.

    Secondly, there is sure to be quite a fracas at the site where this thing lands. I have no intention of suffering serious physical deformities because Bonds has tied the person in second place. I predict that if Barry doesn’t hit #714 until he returns to SF, and it lands in McCovey Cove, where people with nets in kayaks will be waiting, someone will die. A paddle to the head, a kayak overturned, and a Giants fan drowns. You heard it here first.

    The fight will likely go on even after the game ends. There was a lengthy legal battle over the ball Barry hit for #73 in 2001. HR #714 is destined to rewrite not only the record books, but US judiciary history.

    Finally, I wouldn’t be able to keep the money. Yes, it would represent a windfall equaling 10-fold increase on my salary over the last five years. But it’s blood money. How could I profit from someone who has cheated his way into history? Obviously I couldn’t live with myself.

    So there you have it. While it would be a thrill to catch a home run ball, I’m staying away from that one.

    Maybe if #715 gets to two million, I’ll jump in the fray.