*-behind Mugabe's Zimbabwe
No live Olympic broadcasts? Feh.
Seriously, it's not too late to move the Games to a real country, i.e. not one led by totalitarian clowns.
Just to be clear, I absolutely DO NOT want a boycott: The only think accomplished by a boycott is to hose the athletes. But I also absolutely shall not watch any Olympic coverage (in whatever form), and am ambivalent the extent to which I will actively avoid the products and services of this year's Olympic sponsors.
Idly curiosity, to what extent does the IOC (or the Beijing regime itself?) have a business presence in the U.S.? If NBC wanted its money back, and if I were on a jury...
Two more below the fold. (One took place via web server from Thursday nine days ago to earlier this week; the other took place on ESPN this morning.)
Alameda Islanders
12-team head-to-head keeper league
Roster Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, CI, MI, IF, LF, CF, RF, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL, DL
Stat Categories: R, HR, RBI, SB, FPCT, AVG, OBP, SLG, W, SV, K, HLD, ERA, WHIP
Players in bold were kept; there's no meaningful distinction between "round 1" and "round 8" but we could keep "rookies" at the end. (I got very lucky with our league's playing time cutoffs on mine.)
Round Pick Player Position
1. (9) Brian McCann C
2. (16) Todd Helton 1B
3. (33) Derrek Lee 1B
4. (40) Justin Morneau 1B
5. (57) David Wright 3B
6. (64) Derek Jeter SS
7. (81) Carl Crawford LF
8. (88) Carlos Zambrano SP
9. (105) Kosuke Fukudome RF
10. (112) Pat Burrell LF
11. (129) Rickie Weeks 2B
12. (136) Kelly Johnson 2B
13. (153) Josh Willingham LF
14. (160) Lastings Milledge LF,CF,RF
15. (177) Conor Jackson 1B
16. (184) Joakim Soria RP
17. (201) Jay Bruce CF
18. (208) Jonathan Broxton RP
19. (225) Bronson Arroyo SP
20. (232) Hiroki Kuroda SP
21. (249) Zack Greinke SP,RP
22. (256) Dave Bush SP
23. (273) C.J. Wilson RP
24. (280) Andrew Miller SP
25. (297) Aaron Heilman RP
26. (304) Al Reyes RP
27. (321) Justin Duchscherer RP
28. (328) Jacoby Ellsbury LF,CF
-----
California Ceiling Cats
10-team roto redraft league
C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, Util
P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, BN, BN, BN
Overall picks #2, 19, 22, 39, etc.
1. Hanley Ramirez
2. David Ortiz
3. Grady Sizemore
4. Adam Dunn
5. Derek Lee
6. Chris Young (Ari)
7. Corey Hart
8. Huston Street
9. Matt Capps
10. Rafael Soriano
11. Joakim Soria
12. Francisco Liriano
13. Rickie Weeks
14. Edwin Encarnacion
15. Ben Sheets
16. Lastings Milledge
17. Jeremy Bonderman
18. Conor Jackson
19. Derek Lowe
20. Orlando Hudson
21. George Sherrill
22. Eric Gagne
23. Troy Percival
24. Jonathan Broxton
25. Josh Bard
The Tampa-St. Pete subregional was the first time in NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament history that all four underdogs won first-round games at the same subregion.
BUT: Until earlier this decade, each subregional had eight teams vying for the same quarterfinal spot. That means each subregional had either a #1 seed or a #2 seed.
They only started mixing and matching regions to subregionals very recently. I wonder how many subregionals have had first rounds entirely of 5-12 or 4-13 games.
(And when I type "remix" I just mean "play them all at once, adjust the volume and hope for the best.")
A dash of Len
A twist of Mr. Mister (Live!)
And just a touch of White Zombie
As soon as I loaded Western Kentucky-Drake, Western Kentucky started a blood rain of 30-foot 3-pointers. Beautiful to watch.
American was "hanging with" Tennessee (per CBS Sportsline blurb), but then Tennessee hit upon a strategy of making the first free throw, missing the second, getting the rebound, getting fouled [etc.].
Gonzaga-Davidson is ugly as sin. They're standing around tossing the ball to each other and eventually taking hideous shots.
I wonder if the UPS whiteboard guy knows about Crayon Physics.
This is abject stupidity that I fully expect some people to misconstrue as evil.
David Byrne smells a rat in the downfall of Eliot Spitzer.
"I ask myself: why haven't we been provided the names of clients one through eight? It goes without saying that all are wealthy men, and there are probably a few other politicians among them."
Let me take a stab at this:
1. I'd be willing to bet that none of clients 1-8 flew an escort across state lines. (The Mann Act may be misguided and stupid, and well worth repealing, but if #9 violated it and the others didn't, what's the point of bringing their names out?)
2. Clients 1-8 are also relatively less likely to have engaged in the financial shenanigans Spitzer used to try to cover his tracks. Remember, it was the sketchy money transfers (would look like laundering if not bribery) that let to the investigation.
But the real news here is that if enough people jerk their knees in the same direction Byrne jerks his, we might not even need to wait ten years.
Thanks, Onion AV Club "Videocracy."
Which version do you like better? this one, or this one?
Curse you, Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Not sure how/when this started but now every time I think of Clinton(s) I think of "The Rascal King."
Burglary is way down because the stuff people would burgle is cheap and plentiful new (obviously if stolen it's used), thus the burglars would have nobody to sell to.
Meanwhile, instead of "Wow! It's live sports video on my computer screen!" I'm spoiled enough instead to think "Craig Bolerjack's partner is stinking up this broadcast."
""Research shows that young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life."
--U.S. Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, quoted in this piece (via Fark).
There might be a selection bias effect here: if you were going to become an alcoholic, why wait so long to begin? A much better study would distinguish people who start drinking before age 15 from people who start binge-drinking before age 15.
Either way, hear me now: I'm hosting parties for my teenage kids, and yes I'm going to serve liquor. (You'll know where to find me.)
(Ironically, this morning someone on Facebook tried to invite me to join the "charity" Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. I took a deep breath, acknowledge that life is short, and calmly clicked the "Ignore" button.)
Red Sox players did exactly the right thing.
I'm shocked that so many people disagree with that seemingly simple proposition, and that the disagreement is so illogical.
"Mister High Standards" has the most blatantly false user handle ever.
Thanks to Awful Announcing and cut-and-paste, I've updated these posts.
She's as proud of herself as ever.
I defy you to find more obnoxious writer in a more influential position. You can't.
"Obnoxious" isn't quite the right word, but it's this bizarre combination of self-righteousness, snark, and complete echo chamber existence.
Maybe I single her out too much but it still baffles me that her anti-fan club isn't larger, given that every piece she ever writes is in the same style and makes the same mistakes of condescension.
Here's the text of Obama's speech, which Clinton didn't bother to read or listen to.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt given my likelihood to vote for McCain in November either way. But if you'd still honestly rather have HRC as the Democratic nominee than Obama, I don't know what to say.
Required reading: "The Audacity of Friends."
Like Walker I'm completely baffled by this church scandal thing, though you might have guessed that from my apathy towards various Republicans' Bob Jones trips and association with weird anti-Catholic crackpots.
Is it possible that the whole point of the new New York governor's unsolicited confession is a TMI saturation-bombing that will lead nobody to care about anything?
If ten years from now the prevailing wisdom is that puritan busybodies hounded Spitzer out of office for daring to see a prostitute, promise me that by having been around when it happened, you'll know better.
OK, apparently Barack Obama has said some arrogant things. But compared to his opponent(s)?
Two games in green = I'd probably watch or listen, access permitting.
Friday, ca 12:30 EDT
(15) American (21-11) 12:15 pm EDT
(2) Tennessee (29-4)
BJCC Arena (Birmingham, AL: Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery)
(10) Davidson (26-6) 12:25 pm EDT
(7) Gonzaga (25-7)
RBC Center (Raleigh, NC: Jim Nantz and Billy Packer)
(12) West. Kentucky (27-6) 12:30 pm EDT
(5) Drake (28-4)
St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa, FL: Tim Brando and Mike Gminski)
(10) St. Mary's (25-6) 12:30 pm EDT
(7) Miami (FL) (22-10)
Alltel Arena (North Little Rock, AR: Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel)
Friday, ca 3 EDT
(little known fact: Austin Peay is in Tennessee, not actually in Austin, TX. But UMBC is right down the road from Georgetown)
(10) South Alabama (26-6) 2:45 pm EDT
(7) Butler (29-3)
BJCC Arena (Birmingham, AL: Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery)
(15) UMBC (24-8) 2:55 pm EDT
(2) Georgetown (27-5)
RBC Center (Raleigh, NC: Jim Nantz and Billy Packer)
(15) Austin Peay (24-10) 3:00 pm EDT
(2) Texas (28-6)
Alltel Arena (North Little Rock, AR: Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel)
(13) San Diego (21-13) 3:00 pm EDT
(4) Connecticut (24-8)
St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa, FL: Tim Brando and Mike Gminski)
Friday, ca 5 EDT
You'll get nothing and you'll like it!
Friday, ca 7 EDT
(It's good to be North Carolina, and open the tournament in your home state year after year.)
(16) cannon fodder 7:10 pm EDT
(1) North Carolina (32-2)
RBC Center (Raleigh, NC: Jim Nantz and Billy Packer)
(11) St. Joseph's (21-12) 7:10 pm EDT
(6) Oklahoma (22-11)
BJCC Arena (Birmingham, AL: Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery)
(13) Siena (22-10) 7:20 pm EDT
(4) Vanderbilt (26-7)
St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa, FL: Tim Brando and Mike Gminski)
(9) Oregon (18-13) 7:25 pm EDT
(8) Mississippi St. (22-10)
Alltel Arena (North Little Rock, AR: Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel)
Friday, ca 9:30 EDT
(9) Arkansas (22-11) 9:40 pm EDT
(8) Indiana (25-7)
RBC Center (Raleigh, NC: Jim Nantz and Billy Packer)
(14) Boise St. (25-8) 9:40 pm EDT
(3) Louisville (24-8)
BJCC Arena (Birmingham, AL: Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery)
(12) Villanova (20-12) 9:50 pm EDT
(5) Clemson (24-9)
St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa, FL: Tim Brando and Mike Gminski)
(16) TX Arlington (21-11) 9:55 pm EDT
(1) Memphis (33-1)
Alltel Arena (North Little Rock, AR: Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel)
Two games in green = I'd probably watch or listen, access permitting.
Thursday, ca 12:30 EDT
(14) Georgia (17-16) 12:20 pm EDT
(3) Xavier (27-6)
Verizon Center (Washington DC: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel)
(16) Portland St. (23-9) 12:25 pm EDT
(1) Kansas (31-3)
Qwest Center Omaha (Omaha, NE: Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner)
(12) Temple (21-12) 12:30 pm EDT
(5) Michigan St. (25-8)
Pepsi Center (Denver, CO: Gus Johnson and Len Elmore)
Thursday, ca 3 EDT
(11) Kentucky (18-12) 2:30 pm EDT
(6) Marquette (24-9)
Honda Center (Anaheim, CA: Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas)
(11) Baylor (21-10) 2:50 pm EDT
(6) Purdue (24-8)
Verizon Center (Washington DC: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel)
(9) Kent St. (28-6) 2:55 pm EDT
(8) UNLV (26-7)
Qwest Center Omaha (Omaha, NE: Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner)
(13) Oral Roberts (24-8) 3:00 pm EDT
(4) Pittsburgh (26-9)
Pepsi Center (Denver, CO: Gus Johnson and Len Elmore)
Thursday, 5 EDT
(14) Cornell (22-5) 5:00 pm EDT
(3) Stanford (26-7)
Honda Center (Anaheim, CA: Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas)
Thursday, ca 7 EDT
(11) Kansas St. (20-11) 7:10 pm EDT
(6) USC (21-11)
Qwest Center Omaha (Omaha, NE: Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner)
(15) Belmont (25-8) 7:10 pm EDT
(2) Duke (27-5)
Verizon Center (Washington DC: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel)
(13) Winthrop (22-11) 7:20 pm EDT
(4) Washington St. (24-8)
Pepsi Center (Denver, CO: Gus Johnson and Len Elmore)
(9) Texas A&M (24-10) 7:25 pm EDT
(8) BYU (27-7)
Honda Center (Anaheim, CA: Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas)
Thursday, ca 9:30 EDT
(14) CSU Fullerton (24-8) 9:40 pm EDT
(3) Wisconsin (29-4)
Qwest Center Omaha (Omaha, NE: Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner)
(10) Arizona (19-14) 9:40 pm EDT
(7) West Virginia (24-10)
Verizon Center (Washington DC: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel)
(12) George Mason (23-10) 9:50 pm EDT
(5) Notre Dame (24-7)
Pepsi Center (Denver, CO: Gus Johnson and Len Elmore)
(16) Miss. Valley St. (17-15) 9:55 pm EDT
(1) UCLA (31-3)
Honda Center (Anaheim, CA: Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn and Jay Bilas)
Chad caught a funny error in this BIll James piece on Slate. (He meant "more than 1/10 the number of seconds," not "more than ten times the number of seconds.")
Bill James is arguably the most misunderstood figure in baseball analysis. He doesn't pretend to have all the answers, but then doesn't pretend that anyone else does either. (Think about how he went against the grain on the question of Pete Rose's guilt. It just dawned on me today how perfectly consistent that is with the rest of his analytic approach.) That level of humility is the perfect starting point for scientific inquiry.
On the other hand, his actual forays into number crunching are frighteningly ad hoc and sometimes more complicated than they needed to be, a conspicuous result of a human being (albeit an insightful one) doing a lot of trial and error until he trips over something that works (but then of course tests it further to see how robust it is).
Never trust any Bill James formula until you've sanity-checked the explanation behind it (unlike some of his peers, he uses plain English very well and his work is reasonably transparent). On the other hand, that's exactly the advice he'd probably give himself. He'd probably chide a few other stat geeks for pretending to be a lot more certain of the future than is plausible.
His sense of humor is also marvelous, but perhaps the most misunderstood element of his public identity. Given his very subtle humility, I'm sure his equally subtle dry wit is often grievously mistaken for crankiness, and his self-deprecation mistaken for everyone-deprecation.
How many countries can you type in five minutes? (Me: 118) Go here to find out. (The real graphic took way too long to load.)
14 teams, 24 rounds, keeper system of escalating draft pick compensation. I picked 7th, 22nd, etc.
Roster Positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, RP, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL
Stat Categories: R, RBI, SB, TB, OBP, W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP
Keepers in bold.
Jake Peavy
Nick Swisher
C.C. Sabathia
Huston Street
Lastings Milledge
Kyosuke Fukudome
Alex Gordon
Adam Jones
Conor Jackson
Billy Butler
Troy Percival
Carlos Pena
Brian McCann
Justin Verlander
Asdrubal Cabrera
Andrew Miller
Ian Kennedy
Kelly Johnson
Yunel Escobar
Daniel Cabrera
Dan Wheeler
Peter Moylan
James Shields
Matt LaPorta