Archive for October 18th, 2008

Oct 18

[ALCS] Game Not On TBS; TBS Won’t Tell Us Why

Uncategorized Cork Gaines 10 Comments »

[UPDATE: 11:23pm] (just because we want to yell at somebody right now. The TBS deal with MLB won’t expire until after the 2013 season with TBS retaining exclusive rights to televise the ALCS in even-numbered years and the NLCS in odd-numbered years…In the end, we all lose.

[UPDATE: 10:50pm] Sox & Dawgs has the official announcement from TBS.

Two circuit breakers in our Atlanta transmission operations tripped causing the master router and its backup – which are necessary to transmit any incoming feed outbound – to shut down. This impacted our live feed from being distributed to any of the other networks in the Turner portfolio and caused the delay in our coverage. Both our primary and backup routers were impacted by this problem. We apologize to baseball fans for this mishap that caused a delay in our coverage.

[UPDATE: 8:49pm] TBS is describing the technical difficulties as a “router problem”. They might want to come up with a better explanation than that, because it sounds like they are blaming this on a part you can get at Best Buy for $30.

[UPDATE: 8:29pm] TBS has finally got their act together after experiencing “technical difficulties”. Can’t imaging MLB will give TBS any more postseason packages after the current deal expires.

[UPDATE: 8:23pm] ESPN China (in English) has the game if you know how to do that sort of thing.

[8:14pm] We have now confirmed with people in several different cities, that tonight’s ALCS game 6 is not being shown on TBS. The game HAS started according to MLB.com. TBS is currently showing some awful sitcom (The Steve Harvey Show) and will not explain what is going on.

Oct 18

[THE GHOST OF BUCCO BRUCE] Big News From Across The Bay

Doug Williams, Evan Longoria, Lee Roy Selmon, Mike Alstott, Paul Gruber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cork Gaines 9 Comments »

We have been in a bit of a funk for the last 36 hours. Not so much despondent as we are angry. With about 7 hours to go before game 6 at The Trop tonight, we needed a pick-us-up and Joe Bucs Fan delivered big time.

As Joe is sure Bucs fans are aware, the Glazer Boys finally relented and will add a Ring of Fame to honor greats in Bucs history. The team also break out the orange jerseys in 2009 to honor the team’s fourth decade.

We have been a little distracted this week and somehow missed this. But both ideas put a hugE with a capital E, smile on our face.

For the ring of honor we would want Lee Roy Selmon, Doug Williams, Mike Alstott and Paul Gruber.

As for the throwbacks, we only hope that they will be more like the “pure orange” of the 70s and 80s and not the “creamsicle”, neon orange of the early 90s.

And to keep this somewhat tied to the Rays…Joe Bucs Fan also has a picture of the “0 for 4″ girl that Evan Longoria has been hanging out with. And she happens to be a Bucs cheerleader. Well played. Well played indeed.


Ring of Fame and Orange Unis [Joe Bucs Fan]
Well Done Mr. Longoria [Joe Bucs Fan]

Oct 18

[SCOOP JACKSON] Scoop Jackson Would Like To ‘Clarify’ His Idiocy

BJ Upton, Scoop Jackson is an idiot Cork Gaines No Comments »

Earlier this week we took exception to some comments made about BJ Upton by Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com. Among the most egregious statements made by Mr. Jackson was the suggestion that inner-city kids will relate better to Upton because he is occasionally “lazy”.

At some point yesterday, a “clarification” was added to the column.

In my column about B.J. Upton, I wrote something that sparked a reaction.

The paragraph read: “The fact that Upton’s not perfect makes him perfect. His propensity to be lazy (as witnessed in August when he ‘decided’ not to run hard on three different occasions), the fact that [Joe] Maddon literally pulled him off the field after not running out a double-play ground ball, the meaningless error in the seventh inning of Game 4 that allowed questions about his lack of focus to surface. All display a flaw in him that almost works to his advantage when kids and wannabe baseball players look at him and say ‘I’m not perfect either, but look, he’s still standing.’”

For some readers, my choice of words created a misunderstanding. When the word “lazy” appeared in the context of a story about black youth, some concluded I was implying African-American kids would find the flaw of Upton being “lazy” acceptable and endearing.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Upton has survived and triumphed despite numerous flaws. I mentioned several, in an attempt to show that it is his collection of imperfections that make him so publicly “human” — something not always so clearly visible with athletes today. That is also why I chose to finish the paragraph with the image of a kid — any kid, regardless of race, color or creed — who might identify with that humanity, realizing “I’m not perfect either, but look, he’s still standing.” My point is to highlight that we — as humans — can often identify with somebody through both their strengths and flaws, both of which are apparent in the new “hero.” And regardless of the color of any kid’s skin, flaws can be overcome.

Mr. Jackson says he “mentioned several” flaws. We have read the piece many times and the only flaws Scoop mentions are “laziness” and “lack of focus” which could be interpreted as being equivalent. In fact, this was our concern from the beginning. Why focus on laziness. Upton is a great baseball player and an incredible athlete, so finding flaws may not be as easy as say finding flaws in a Scoop Jackson column, but certainly Mr. Jackson could have come up with something else…anything else.

Mr. Jackson then goes on to say that he ends the paragraph “with the image of a kid — any kid, regardless of race, color or creed — who might identify with that humanity.” Mr. Jackson is suggesting that he all of the sudden stopped focusing on inner-city African-American kids and switched his focus (without telling the reader) to create an “image” of a kid, devoid of a specific “race, color or creed”? If this is true, my 9th grade English teacher would call that a “Vague Antecedent”.

Thanks to everybody that brought this to our attention.

Scoop Jackson Thinks BJ Upton Will Be A Hero To Inner-City Kids Because He Looks Ghetto And Doesn’t Hustle [Rays Index]
The true meaning of B.J. Upton [ESPN]

Oct 18

[THE HANGOVER] Cubs Writers Once Again Desperate For Stories In October

Aaron Boone, Brian Knobbs, JD Drew, Joe Maddon, Phil Rogers, Rhyne Hughes, Stuart Sternberg Cork Gaines 6 Comments »



Click on above images to be taken to full standings, box scores or schedule…

With the Cubs once again home without a World Series trophy, Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune is desperate for a story. How desperate?

“Of course, if we had won it, we’d be in the World Series by now,” Maddon said. “We’ll just have to wait one more day, hopefully, to get that done.”…He meant one more game, as Friday was a travel day. And he did add an important qualifier with the word “hopefully.” But still …When your team gets as close to the World Series as the Rays were—seven outs away, seven-run lead—and then unravels, the task ahead is about a lot more than waiting “one more day.”

It amazes us that some writers get paid to write this shit. We are not sure if Phil Rogers is familiar with how the game of baseball works. But actually, it is that simple. The Rays are still one win away with two games at home and their two best starting pitchers. One more day. One more win. That’s it. And somehow Phil Rogers turned that one benign quote into a 700 word cluster***.

Apparently Phil Rogers would prefer Maddon to just give up and go back to the shitpile with the Cubs.

Damn, we are an angry blogger right now. Nothing would give us more pleasure than to be on the mound with a ball and have Phil Rogers step into the box. Dude is a little too comfortable.

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • We have asked this before and we will keep asking until somebody gives us a satisfactory answer: Why is it OK for football teams to play in domes and it is not OK for baseball teams? Football is a game that is often better in bad weather. Some of the greatest and most memorable games in the history of the NFL were played in severe conditions. And yet baseball, a sport of precision, is stopped when it rains. The NFL has 6 teams that play indoors (Colts, Falcons, Vikings, Saints, Rams, Lions) and yet nobody ever complains. Anybody care to explain? And don’t give us that “tradition” crap. We love the tradition of baseball more than most but anytime somebody brings up tradition we ask them why they aren’t taking dumps in an outhouse any longer. [New York Times]
  • Everybody is rooting against the Rays. Good. Keep it that way. Screw the networks and their bottom line. If the Rays go to the World Series we hope those FOX TV executives choke on their champagne when they are cruising the Mediterranean on their luxury yachts. What fan gives a flying hoot what ratings are? Either you watch the game or you don’t. Why do some people care if other people watch? Jesus. Somebody get us a uniform. We are ready to run through a wall for Papa Joe. [Los Angeles Times]
  • Really? The Hartford Courant is going to compare JD Drew’s winning hit to the ALCS-winning, walk-off home run by Aaron Boone in 2004. Do they have Bonobos writing at the Hartford Courant? We worry about the sanity of Hartford. If all their stories are this idiotic the IQ of the entire town is in serious trouble. [Hartford Courant]
  • You know those Red Sox fans and how they are the bestest fans in the whole world. How the entire Red Sox Nation was born in South Boston with a little red sock tattooed to their asses. How their ancestors came over on the Mayflower wearing a Red Sox cap and how they would prefer a league in which every season is just a Best-of-162 game series with the New York Yankees…Well those diehards were so diehard that they were seen piling out of Fenway in droves on Thursday night in the 6th and 7th innings. Big League Stew has the top 10 things overheard from the exodus. To which we would have added: “Who is Carl Yaster Zemski?” [Big League Stew]
  • Big League Stew answers the question: “Why cowbells?” for those not familiar…Stu Sternberg (and Joe Maddon with his 9=8) both understand a very simple premise in marketing. Keep things simple. Keep them corny. The initial reaction will often be to snicker. But stick to it, and eventually corny becomes cool. [Big League Stew]
  • Rob Neyer explores James Shields nickname “Big Game”. The reason is suggestion #2 from Neyer. Joe Maddon believes it and wants Shields to believe it also. It is that simple. [ESPN]
  • Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs got kicked out of Fenway during game 5, to which we ask: Who wears a shirt with their own picture on it? Knobbs does. [Home Run Derby]
  • Rhyne Hughes is having himself a nice little Arizona Fall League. [Tampa Bay Rays Prospects]