Michael Strahan has officially turned down an offer to rejoin the Giants, deciding instead to stay retired.
Month: August 2008 (Page 8 of 50)
…not the other way around.
FIBA (the governing body of international basketball) plans to extend its three-point line from 20’ 6” to 22’ 2” effective 2010. They’re also getting rid of the trapezoidal lane in an effort to standardize the game worldwide. The NCAA is extending its three point line from 19′ 9″ to 20′ 9″ starting this season. The NBA’s three-point line is 23’ 9” from the hoop.
I like the international line where it is. Doug Collins said during the Olympic broadcast that “too many players are able to shoot that shot” as a reason that it should be moved back. I say… who cares? I think most basketball purists agree that the international game (and the college game) is more fun to watch than the NBA game. I’m not talking about the talent of the players – I’m talking about how the game is played. Part of that has to do with the pressure that the three-point line puts on the defense. If a good portion of players can hit that shot, it forces more defenders to get out and guard those players. This, in turn, creates more spacing inside the arc and allows for more free-flowing, dynamic offense, which is good for the game.
Plus, the three-pointer makes the game more exciting. Underdogs have a better chance of pulling an upset, comebacks are easier, big scoring runs are more frequent and scores are higher. Aren’t these good things?
Then there’s the NBA’s shot from the side. It’s a different distance (22’) from the rest of the arc, which in and of itself is just silly. But at least once a game, a player will step out of bounds because he is trying to spot up behind the three-point line when he’s catching the ball. This is just a drag that slows the game down, and it would be virtually eliminated if the league moved the line in.
I’d rather see the NBA adopt the international 20’ 6” length than see FIBA extend its arc.
I know, it will never happen. People conform to David Stern and the NBA, not the other way around.
The Associated Press is reporting that Major League Baseball might implement the use of instant replay as early as Thursday.
Major League Baseball reversed its long-standing opposition to instant replay and will allow umpires to check video on home run calls in series that start Thursday, a person familiar with the announcement told The Associated Press.
The start date comes nearly 10 months after general managers voted 25-5 to use the technology, and following MLB agreements with the unions for umpires and for players.
For now, video will be used only on so-called “boundary calls,” such as determining whether fly balls went over the fence or whether potential home runs were fair or foul.
Video will be collected at the office of Major League Baseball Advanced Media in New York. If the crew chief at a game decides replay needs to be checked, umpires will leave the field, technicians at MLBAM will show umpires the video and the crew chief will make the call.
Hopefully this is an immediate success and MLB brings instant replay back for a full season next year. Getting the calls right should be baseball’s highest priority – not whether or not the games will be dragged out longer.
A 9-year old boy from New Haven, Connecticut named Jericho Scott has been told by his baseball league that he can’t pitch anymore because he throws too hard.
Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it. They say Jericho’s coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned.
But Vidro says he didn’t quit and the team refuses to disband. Players and parents held a protest at the league’s field on Saturday urging the league to let Jericho pitch.
“He’s never hurt any one,” Vidro said. “He’s on target all the time. How can you punish a kid for being too good?”
The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching.
“I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”
Jericho’s coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league’s administrators.
Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.
“I think it’s discouraging when you’re telling a 9-year-old you’re too good at something,” said his mother, Nicole Scott. “The whole objective in life is to find something you’re good at and stick with it. I’d rather he spend all his time on the baseball field than idolizing someone standing on the street corner.”
League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast.
“He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower,” Noble said. “There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport.”
This is absolutely ridiculous. To make this little boy Jericho think that his team can’t play anymore because of him is an outrage. The league should be ashamed of itself.
On one hand, I get that this is a developmental league and you’d hate to have young kids quit playing the sport because they’re scared. But these kids also have to learn that no matter how old they are, or on what level they’re playing, there will always be players that are better or worse than they are. That comes with playing sports.
What are the league officials really teaching these young men? “Don’t worry, kids, when life gets too hard somebody will be there to always make sure that things are fair.”
The better lesson would be to teach the kids about the game. To teach them that the harder a pitcher throws, the farther the ball can travel if you make contact. Teach them about competition and what it means not to back down when life gets hard.
And how freaking ridiculous is it that the league waited until Jericho’s team was 8-0 and going to the playoffs before they stopped him from pitching? I smell a scandal.
I won my very first fantasy football league back in 1993 and have played in countless leagues over the last 15 years. Who knew that all I had to do to get a gig in the fantasy football business was to look good in a belly shirt?
I love the joke about Ron Dayne… proof positive that she didn’t write that monologue herself.
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