Update: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirms the Steelers "would like" to find a trade partner for Dennis Dixon. It may be a tough time to trade Dixon, as many teams have already sured up their QB positions with the short preseason.
Does “Roger Goodell Gotti” have too much power?
August 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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In the latest episode of the MSF Podcast I interview Robert Littal of Black Sports Online about the ever-expanding power of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who Littal labeled “Roger Goodell Gotti” in the wake of Terrelle Pryor’s surprising five-game suspension and Michael Vick’s revelation in a recent GQ article that Goodell helped steer him to Philadelphia.
Evansville Names Its New Arena, Releases Non-Conference Basketball Schedule
August 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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The University of Evansville yesterday announced that its new, downtown basketball arena (which it will share with the Evansville Ice Men of the Central Hockey League) will be called the Ford Center. Ford does not have a corporate presence in the Evansville area (Toyota does), but area Ford dealers ponied up the requisite money for naming rights.
Also yesterday, the Purple Aces’ men’s basketball team released its non-conference schedule.
“Moneyball” still a must-read for baseball fans
August 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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The story of Billy Beane (not to be confused with that of Billy Bean) is one that should interest anyone who follows the game of baseball. Author Michael Lewis is one of these people, and he decided to tell the story of Beane in the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.
The Bottoms Line: Fun with Numbers – Turnover Rate
August 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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After looking at assist rate earlier in the week, it’s time to turn our attention to the assist’s belligerent twin: the turnover. Again, instead of looking at the sheer volume of turnovers, more can be gleaned from turnover rate, which Ken Pomeroy defines as “the percentage of personal possessions used on turnovers.”
Pomeroy is quick to point out that post players or spot-up jump shooters can have artificially low turnover rates due to the limited time they actually handle the ball. Consequently, I’ll be focusing largely on guards in this post.
A brief history of gummy bears
August 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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gummy bears (Wikipedia)
Mental Floss has a fascinating history of gummy bears. It begins:
n 1920, a poor confectionery factory worker in Bonn, Germany, decided that it was high time he struck out on his own. Armed with nothing but a bag of sugar, a marble slab, a kettle, an oven and a rolling pin, Hans Riegel began whipping up hard candies in his kitchen, which his wife would then deliver from the basket of her bike. The new company was called Haribo—a smash up of Hans Riegel of Bonn.
After two years of middling profits, the Riegels realized that they’d need a gimmick and fast to keep competitive. Noticing the popularity of the soft gelatin-based candies of their competitors and thinking, well, children like bears, the Riegels decided to make their next product a soft, fruit-flavored chew in the shape of a dancing bear.
“A Brief History of Gummy Bears”—Mental Floss
Grantland at its best: Jonathan Abrams on Arvydas Sabonis
August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Two reasons I visit Grantland every day:
- Jonathan Abrams’s long-form piece on Arvydas Sabonis
- Michael Weinreb’s profile of Michael Ray Richardson
These—and not the Humblebrag power rankings and updates on Simmons’s reality television fantasy league—are what makes Grantland worth reading.
Conversations with Kevin: Forget Miami, does college football itself need the death penalty?
August 17, 2011 By 1 Comment
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In the third episode of Conversations with Kevin, Jerod calls Kevin to vent about college football in the immediate aftermath of Yahoo’s explosive report detailing a decade of corruption at the University of Miami.
Jerod poses a simple question: does college football itself need the death penalty to figure out what its actual objectives and guiding principles are?
Adam Sandler’s new flick “Jack and Jill” could be his worst movie ever (which is saying something)
August 17, 2011 By 15 Comments
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I can’t stand Adam Sandler.
He was once a funny comedian but is the most overrated comedic actor ever, and he has has never starred in a great, influential comedy film. Most people would consider Sandler’s best movie to be Happy Gilmore, which is a pretty funny movie but nowhere near a trademark comedy like Airplane, Animal House, or Anchorman.
Also, he’s a sellout. Sandler pumps out two crappy comedies a year with his Happy Madison production company and their only intention is making money, not making good movies.
Why conference expansion is bad for college football
August 17, 2011 By 6 Comments
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Texas A&M has gotten the snowball rolling down the mountain again and has created an avalanche of conference realignment discussions back in the headlines of college football.
The SEC is saying all the right things now about expanding their conference next season due to the legal matters that could occur with the Big 12 if Texas A&M bolts. The SEC will expand next season to a minimum of two teams but rumors are swirling that they could add more.
If college football’s strongest conference decides that they are going to expand to more than twelve teams, it will create the need for other power conferences to expand as well. The increase of revenue that will be generated by teams moving to larger conferences will benefit each school but will be bad for college football overall. [Read more...]
Jim Thome Is, Without A Doubt, a 1st-Ballot Hall of Famer
August 17, 2011 By 2 Comments
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There has been much discussion, both on TV and online, about whether or not Jim Thome is worthy of being a first ballot Hall of Famer. Some are even questioning whether or not he is a Hall of Famer period.
This discussion should not even exist.
Fantasy Baseball Stock Market Report: Betancourt, Constanza UP; Moustakas, Kendrick DOWN
August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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There is a surprising name on the “Stock Up” list this week: Yuniesky Betancourt; but his recent hot streak cannot be ignored. On the flip side, the stock of Royals supposed phenom Mike Moustakas could not be much lower right now (at least for 2011 fantasy purposes).
[Read more...]
49ers pause on Culpepper signing
August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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Update: The 49ers will not be signing free agent Daunte Culpepper right now, a source tells ProFootballTalk.com. According to PFT's source, the signing still could happen in the next week or so. It could be that Culpepper is holding things up as he is hoping to land more than the 3rd string role the team is offering him.
Announcing the “MSF Mailbag”
Yes, mailbags are one of the oldest gimmicks in all blogging. In fact, it’s been a gimmick of writers and columnists since long before blogs were even a figment of Al Gore’s imagination. But that’s because they’re fun, encourage reader interaction, and just plan work.
So we’re starting a mailbag here at MSF.
[Read more...]