Sports, Games and Competitions – Page 6

Friday Bullets Celebrating The Defeat of The Spammers

Rejoice! The war is won!

You may have noticed that there has been spam recently. The move to Recapture has apparently attracted a band of manual spammers who focus on sites who use it. Spiteful bitter Romanians for the most part. Anyway, this site’s admin also allows me to customize the spam filter quite easily and yesterday I thought that I would try filtering “URL” and “a href” – the tools used to create a link of any sort. I realized only spammers link. Hans has been posting here for four years and still can’t link. And even if you do, it will just be hidden until I check. Rejoice! Rejoice!!!

Timekilling Update: Death from above via John Gushue.
Asteriskman Update: A good commentary on SI about the indictment of Bonds. I guess we don’t have to worry about whether he shows up when the ball goes into Cooperstown.
I should find a copy of The Cult of the Amateur – a book setting out how stunned the infiltration of Web 2.0 mentality has made us all. Here is a screaming example from Metafilter. Can you believe someone is still citing the Cluetrain Manifesto? How many times can Dan Rather get fires in the minds of dopes with bandwidth?
As Mohammad is to Denmark, so too are nudy Royals to Spain…except the enemy is within.
We are entering Senate reform season again despite “vehement objections from some provinces which insisted the chamber can’t be reformed without their consent.” It is beyond me how it is possible to provide for such change without the provinces. I pray every night for an application to be made from PEI to the Supreme Court of Canada demanding a say if anyone touches their four seats. Because if you can shift the Senate seats without consent, the Feds should be able to shift the four seats in the House of Commons.
If killing a cat is a crime, is stealing virtual furniture?
I no longer watch much NHL hockey. In part it is the strike but in part it is also that I am a Leafs fan. Damian Cox in the Star neatly summed up the Leafs this week:

A 22 per cent return on investment can buy you a lot of things, apparently, but just not a soul or a sense of professional pride. And just think: Ontario’s teachers own the majority share.

Good dig at the elementary school teachers, Coxy.

That’s enough for now. You’ve had a few weeks off the bullets and need to reintegrate slowly. The bends can be hellish.

Monday Bullet Points Celebrating Standard Time

Ah, standard time. Time to sleep. Time to get up not in a rush. Time for bullet points. What were we saving all that daylight for anyway?

Update: note the subtle underlying concept – no one is as smart as me and my friends:

“I think he’s a sincere and honest man,” Mr. Manning said yesterday on CTV’s Question Period. “I think the bigger question with Premier Stelmach and the administration is one of its competence. Does it have the competence to deal with these big-picture issues?” Mr. Manning said the opposition Liberals and New Democrats display even less understanding of Alberta’s potential leadership role, but predicted they could benefit from Tory failings.

I thought Manning was a populist? How is this not elitist?
The battle of the spammers continues but today was a bit of a victory with everything getting filtered. Sadly we will not be able to discuss either Miss Alba or Miss Spears in the comments now but on the up side we will not be able to discuss Miss Alba or Miss Spears.
Fluke or no fluke? It was quite a game with New England pulling away from the Colts at the end due to a defensive play which saw a late game loose ball lead to the exciting NFL conclusion of two minutes of non-plays. If it was any other sport, goons would be sent in to interrupt the taking of the knee, a courtesy oddly granted the soon to be victors.
How long before the personal computer goes the way of the console TV? I liked when my TV came with a wood finish. Can I get an iPod with a wood finish? I don’t think so.
A TV writers strike – do you care? I know I will have to find something else to do when Numb-Three-ERs is on, but I mainly watch news and sports. If you want know know what is happening behind the line, have a read about what Ian and Tessa think. I would offer either side my full support if they officially adopt the pronunciation “numb-three-ers“. And about that show: I know it’s Charlie – he’s the evil one.

So there you go. Your first Monday bullets. I have no idea if this will continue but I am on the road this Friday so cut and paste these ones for use then if you are really having trouble with this change stuff.

The Red Sox Make My Life Better

Not that things are bad but if it weren’t for the Red Sox I wouldn’t have met the nice people from Albany attending a wedding at our hotel’s bar on Saturday night. I wouldn’t have been able to watch them checking the scores inning by inning as they dashed in, a little less stable from their free bar each time they popped around the corner and a little more happy when they were told how the lead was stretching over the Indians. Last night it was quieter, drifting in the dark, listening to Joe Castiglione‘s squeaky twang of a voice shout with excitement when Lofton was held up at third:

But Lugo was rescued by one of Cleveland’s mistakes, a mistake by Skinner. Franklin Gutiérrez slapped a grounder over third base and off the photographer’s box along the left-field line. The ball caromed into shallow left field, where Manny Ramírez ambled after it. Skinner waved Lofton around third, but after Lofton reached the base, Skinner put up his hands and stopped him. Ramírez was still a few steps away from the ball. Skinner actually tried to wave Lofton home again, but it was too late. Lofton, who stared at Skinner, was anchored to third.

So noting, The New York Times seems a little snarky this morning, implying somehow that such things are cheap, perhaps suggesting that to comeback in this way is not to come back against the Yankees. Tell that to the man from Albany who I suspect, again but a little hungover this time, pumped his fist and shouted “YES!!”

To The Cubs, To The Cubs, To The Cubs, Cubs, Cubs!

A late night at work saw me driving for home at around eleven with 660 AM WFAN and the callers bringing out the Long knives for the Yankees. Who was to blame? Torre? A-Rod? Wang? Even Posada was a target. Apparently one person is not likely waiting around to find out:

A clubhouse attendant packed the belongings from Alex Rodriguez’s locker into cardboard boxes yesterday, in what may have been a sign that Rodriguez did not plan to visit Yankee Stadium anytime soon. He may never return as a member of the Yankees because he seems sure to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract. While the agent Scott Boras did not specifically say that Rodriguez would opt out with three years left on his 10-year, $252 million contract, he suggested that becoming a free agent again would be his client’s savviest choice.

“When the arbitrator gave free agency to baseball, is there anyone in baseball who the free-agent right meant more to than Alex Rodriguez?” Boras said yesterday. “Not with his last contract, but right now, now more than any point in history.”

You would think free agency value would coincide with actual on the game day value. Is that A-Rod? Sure he is great and has tthe stats but…umm…I’d prefer someone who plays well in the playoffs? I can think of four Red Sox right now who are more valuable than A-Rob and I don’t think I even need to mention them. Who else puts up lower numbers but is of more actual value? Byrd, Cleveland’s fourth pitcher the other night, the man who beat the Yanks, comes to mind with his literally throw-back style of pitching.

Anyway, A-Rod, good luck in your likely destination of Chicargo, as we called it as kids, making kissy-eyes with Lou. Likely you will disappoint there as well.

Was That A Boring First Round?

Was the first round of the MLB playoffs boring? With one game avoiding a four series sweep across the board, hard to argue otherwise. Frankly, I don’t care much about Arizona v. Colorado in the NL championships either. But The Sox and Cleveland starting Friday night could be amazing. Both teams are making runs happen but in very different ways. It certainly could be the most bunt friendly series in decades and a game with Wakefield pitching against Byrd with neither getting the ball above 90 mph would be wonderful if both were at their best.

But pause a moment for the Yankees who exited yesterday. There was an outpouring of tears after the game on 880 AM with Suzyn Waldman choking up, John saying he loved her, Damon (pittuie!) using the past tense in relation to the team and Joe Torre walking into an era where he can write a bigger cheque as any team’s manager or any station’s broadcaster. They out performed themselves in 2007 so should feel good about themselves as they now go off to play for other teams. Who shall they buy for next year?

An Evening Of Convergence

While the top story in my last 24 hours has to be Beckett finishing his
complete game by setting aside the Angels like a librarian shelving a book
[Ed.: Yes! My own sports analogy!] in time for the Bionic Woman’s second
episode to start, it was really the realization that BW2 [Ed.: Yes! My own TV
acronym!] is the game Counterstrike meeting Blade Runner. At the end of the
show, the guy who got booted off Gray’s Anatomy is leading a bunch of
crouched guys with newbie CS guns down a dark alley towards a fabulously unguarded lit den
of baddies when I thought “flashbang” and, lo and behold, t’was so as bang did flash and baddies
did give up.

El Predicto: MLB Playoffs 2007 Contest

It is a grand thing when your fantasies and solid factual reality coincide so that your predictions for the playoffs can be as good as mine are:

American League

1) Angels vs. Red Sox (Sox in 7)
2) Yankees (yeecht!!!) vs. Indians (Cleveland in six)
3) Red Sox vs. Indians (Red Sox in 6)

National League

1) Rockies vs. Phillies (Phillies in 6)
2) Cubs vs. D-Backs (Cubs in 6)
3) Phillies vs. Cubs (Cubs in 6)

World Series
Red Sox vs. Cubs. Sox in 7.

Update: error noted and fixed in coments.

Ry has submitted here but can change before the deadline.

Prize? A real 1970s baseball card. Not my 1971 Hank Aaron or anything. But a real one. Maybe I have a double Billy Martin or something. Scoring? Simple: most games won by teams predicted to win series, divided by deviation from actual multiplied by extra factoring for style. What could be easier?

Put in your best guess before Thursday at 9 pm. That is right. You actually get to see some games before the deadline closes. How fair is that?

Late. Waaaaay Too Late.

Why don’tcha talk about what you talked about yesterday? The Padres and Rockies went late, you know. Not that I stayed up but you have to stay in there until at least extra innings start. You know. Hoffman sucks. Padres lose. Glavin sucks. Mets lose. Hoffman and Glavin will be in the Hall of Fame. Go figure. Guess I am passing on Hockey Night In Canada until at least 2014. Good photo at the beer blog. Go read the articles. Yah, do that. Loads in there.

Wooooooooooooooot!!!!

I missed the champagne spraying. We were out, invited to eat dinner in a hotel restaurant – the sort of thing I rarely do. But we have a grand time and when we got home the Sox were winning and Papelbon put it to bed – and the Yanks were up 9-6 against Baltimore. So I didn’t pay any more attention. But then…the Yankees…decided to suck:

The Orioles, who are finishing their 10th consecutive losing season, battered Mussina for 6 runs and 11 hits in five innings. They still stood to lose because of Rodriguez, who reached 1,500 R.B.I. and 1,500 runs scored in the same game. But Rivera, who had allowed only one earned run over 15 1/3 innings in his last 15 games, allowed a leadoff single to Nick Markakis and hit Kevin Millar with one out in the ninth.

After Melvin Mora flied to right, Ramón Hernández singled to load the bases for Payton. In Game 2 of the 2000 World Series, when he played for the Mets, Payton sliced a ninth-inning homer against Rivera over the right-field fence at Yankee Stadium. This time, he lashed a triple to the wall in right center, clearing the bases to tie the score. “I just went out to get some work; it wasn’t good at all,” Rivera said. “I missed a lot of pitches. But I’m fine. You have to move forward.”

Fabulous. Thank you for sucking, New York. Thank you.

The Asterisk Ball

I like the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s where it should be, in a small town that has a claim (however tenuous now) to being a place where baseball started. Though no one really believes Abner Doubleday invented the game in the 1840s in Cooperstown, NY, the fact that the myth survived is in itself part of the structure of the idea of baseball – it is a game that inordinately attracts belief.

That is why I love the asterisk ball, the ball that Barry Bonds hit out of the park to beat the home run record of Hank Aaron. It is going to Cooperstown and it is going to have a asterisk, that symbol of a questionable stat, stamped on it.

The baseball from Barry Bonds’s much-debated 756th home run will soon land in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. When it gets there, it will be branded with an asterisk. Marc Ecko, the fashion designer who bought the ball for $752,467, asked the fans to decide how he should treat the memento. After more than 10 million online votes, 47 percent of voters wanted the ball to be adorned with an asterisk, 34 percent said it should not be changed and 19 percent wanted it to be shot into space. The first two options included the addendum that the ball would be donated to the Hall of Fame.

Why do I like this? It expresses the moment of the home run, the lunacy of the price of memorabilia, the scandal surrounding steroids as well as the humble fragile nature of the ball itself. It also captures the internet era and the dislocation of authority – neither Bonds or the Hall of Fame are controlling the moment.