Category: Sports

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Sports

The Eye of the NCAA could Soon be Fixed on Duke

> That could mean [Duke Player] Lance Thomas was ineligible by receiving that “extra benefit.” If he was ineligible, then every game Duke played from Dec. 21 on could be vacated. That would include the 2010 Final Four, which Duke won, delivering Coach K his fourth national title. And thus Duke would vacate the championship. (It would not be awarded to runner-up Butler, either. There would just be no champion.)

I am going to follow this closely. From the evidence available, it appears that Coach K did nothing wrong. The NCAA, however, has a history of punishing the whole program for the sins of a single player. It will definitely be interesting to see how this plays out.

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Sports

Strasburg informed his Season is Over

If this tweet from Adam Kilgore is correct, it means we have seen the last of Strasburg this year. As a baseball fan, but not a big Nationals fan, I am bummed I will not get to see him in the playoffs.

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Sports

Keep it in the Fairway

> Our scene: the Lakeridge Golf Course in Reno, Nevada. An as-yet-unidentified golfer struck a ball that broke a window in the courseside home of Jeff Fleming, age 53. According to Washoe County authorities, Fleming came out of the house brandishing a shotgun and fired at two golfers on the 16th hole.

Tip for Mr. Fleming for when he gets out of jail: f you do not like golf balls thwapping the side of your house, do not buy your next house on a golf course.

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Sports

Panel Overturns Saints Player Suspensions

> A three-member panel has overturned the suspensions handed down by the NFL in the bounty case, and all four suspended players — New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, defensive end Will Smith, Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, and at-large defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove — are free to play this NFL season. It is a crushing defeat for the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

> “Consistent with the panel’s decision, Commissioner Goodell will, as directed, make an expedited determination of the discipline imposed for violating the league’s pay-for-performance/bounty rule,” the NFL said in a statement. “Until that determination is made, the four players are reinstated and eligible to play starting this weekend.”

Things just got really interesting.

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Sports

SN Nation Rebranding

If the new logos at a couple of my favorite sites are any indication, these SB Naiton rebrand is going to look great:

* [Over the Monter](http://www.overthemonster.com/2012/9/7/3299962/want-to-see-over-the-monsters-new-logo)
* [Shakin’ the Southland](http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2012/9/7/3299693/site-redesign-coming)

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Sports

NFL Audiopass

I decided to sign up for [NFL Audiopass](http://r.audiopass.nfl.com/a/clk/rZ6RR)[^aff] this year. Listening to so many baseball games via the MLB app has trained me to really enjoy listening to sports via the radio and I am looking forward to giving this a shot. Also, the NFL’s insane blackout restrictions sometimes prevent me from watching the game I actually want to watch. I think this is going to be a good alternative[^cheap].

[^aff]: Affliate Link

[^cheap]: And it’s hundreds of dollars cheaper than Sunday Ticket on DirecTV.

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Sports

Truth in NFL Logos

I am fine with the Patriots logo.

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Entertainment Sports

NBC Breaks Even on the Olympics

Imagine how poorly they would have done if they actually aired events live.

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Sports

Bryce Harper gets under the Cubs’ Skin

> In the very first inning, Harper visited the left center field gap at Nationals Park and hustled out his seventh triple of the year, making him the first teenager since Buddy Lewis of the Washington Senators back in 1936 to reach that number in a single season. That’s a very cool achievement, but it would be quickly overshadowed just one batter later as Ryan Zimmerman hit a soft two-hopper back to the pitcher.

> Now, unless the bases are loaded or a special play has been called from the bench, a comebacker will usually freeze the runner on third. That was also the case here with Harper. But unlike most runners you’ll see in that situation, Harper didn’t immediately retreat to the base. He simply bided his time, measured the situation and then broke for the plate as the throw to first was made. That paid off for Washington as Harper beat the return throw home to score their first run.

I was in DC this past weekend and saw Harper in person. His speed and hustle are impressive. Of course, the Cubs did not enjoy the fact that he made them looks like fools and they retaliated by throwing at him later in the game. To his credit, Harper remained mostly calm during the various “brawls”[^b] that occurred.

[^b]: They were traditional “baseball brawls” where dugouts clear and bullpen guys run out, but nothing really happens.

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Sports

Tiger v. Rory

> Tiger Woods, now forced into the role of elder statesman by injury, scandal, time and a rising talent, nonetheless has the ability to win tournaments, if not necessarily majors. Woods hammered home a first-round 65 in the BMW Championship, a round punctuated by an 18th-hole chip-in birdie.

> And then, in a perfect metaphor for the changing times in golf, Rory McIlroy dropped his own birdie on top of Woods to finish his own round at 64.

I enjoy watching Rory step on Tiger while he’s own. I also look forward to Tiger getting the upper hand at somepoint[^y].

[^y]: This is not a given, but I think it will happen.

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Sports

The Improvement of Dustin Ackley

After seeing Dustin Ackley play at Carolina, I was pretty confident he would be a solid-to-good major league hitter. I am, however, surprised it is taking this long,

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Entertainment Sports

Blazing a Trail with the Pac-12 Network

Seth Davis breaks it down:

> The Pac-12 did not partner with a major media company to form its TV network. That meant starting off with no offices, no infrastructure, no footage archives — and no cash.

> …

> In other words, it was classic risk-reward. So far, the Pac-12 has the risk part down pat. “We took on all of the financial and operational risk,” [Pac-12 Commissioner Larry] Scott said, “but it made sense because it made us the master of our own destiny.”

Good for the Pac-12. If [their iPad app](http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/pac-12-now/id550252401?mt=8) is any indication, they are on the right track.

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Sports

Just another day in Death Valley

What? Of course they baptize players at practice. That is how you bring a team together.

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Sports

The Kid likes to take his Swings

*Fangraphs* on Pedro Ciriaco:

> What this turned into was a post critical of a versatile Red Sox infielder, and there probably aren’t too many people who thought Ciriaco would keep hitting anyway. But we’ve also managed to identify the hitter who’s had perhaps the very worst approach in the entire league. You might hate your favorite team’s hacker, but he’s had a better approach this year than Pedro Ciriaco has. Ciriaco, to date, has been one of the Red Sox’s few positives. Consider that and you see how badly things have gone wrong.

Ouch. That hurts.

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Sports

Middle School Referee

> When Core wasn’t calling games between such powerhouses as the teams of Montana Western and Dickinson State, he was moving up the professional ladder as an activities director at Sawtooth Middle School in Meridian, Idaho. Core’s proximity to Arena2’s Boise Burn led to that particularly challenging gig, as well.

I am rooting for him and the rest of his crew to have a good game.

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Sports

Verducci weighs in on the Strasburg Shut Down Controversy

> But over the past two months, the Nationals have noticed slight signs of normal wear on Strasburg. There has been more inconsistency, for instance, especially with being wild in the strike zone and in getting swings and misses off his fastball. They have noticed in a few starts how Strasburg’s followthrough sent him farther off line toward first base, an indication that he was supplying more effort to generate velocity. Nothing major, but just normal start-to-start inconsistency you find with a guy whose elbow was rebuilt.

> …

> Rizzo deserves credit for protecting the pitcher and for taking full responsibility for the decision. It’s truly a modern decision, one made with the kind of awareness, statistical study and medical information that wasn’t in play in 2003 when the 22-year-old Prior ran up 234 2/3 innings, a 67-inning increase from the previous season. Maybe it’s true, as Padres GM Josh Byrnes likes to point out, that the more we learn about pitching development the more complicated it becomes. What becomes known enlightens the vastness of what is unknown.

I understand where the Nationals are coming from, however, I am going to be bummed if it’s a Nats v. Cardinals NL Championship Series and Strasburg is not eligible to take the mound.

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Sports

Find out What NFL Games are Shown in Your Area

This saves me from having to wait until the cable box guide is updated with the information.

(via [Sports Geekery](http://www.sportsgeekery.com/28751/find-which-nfl-games-broadcast-area-each-week-fox-cbs/))

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Sports

The Highlight of the Red Sox Season

Of course, it came in Pawtucket.

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Sports

Increasing the Influence of Bill James

Quoting Red Sox Owner John Henry’s [Boston Herald interview](http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1061157658&srvc=rss):

> “One of (the) biggest issues we’ve had is that Bill James was a great resource for us but fell out of favor over the last few years for reasons I really don’t understand. We’ve gotten him more involved recently in the central process and that will help greatly.”

> “He’s the father, so to speak, of baseball analysis and a brilliant iconoclast who looks at things differently from everyone else. But Ben is the right person to make the final decisions for the club.”

I approve of getting Mr. James back involved in the decision making. Those Red Sox teams from the early Theo Epstein years, when Bill James was thought to have his most influence, were some of my favorite teams to watch.

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Sports

Hopefully the start of Lavarnway’s Emergence

The benefit of having these extra weeks of extended Spring Training[^fn1], is that some of the young guys like Ryan Lavarnway can get time at the major league level to figure things out. Hopefully, last night was the first step in him turning things around.

[^fn1]: It helps me to think about things that way, okay?