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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Wednesday Morning Sports Report

posted by on December 20 at 9:48 AM

Four Seahawks—Walter Jones and Mack Strong (starting), Julian Peterson and Lofa Tatupu (reserves)—are headed to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

The Huskies landed a commitment from California star DT (ranked #36 in the country) Nick Wood.

The Mariners chatted with Barry Zito, upticking the team’s chances of landing him from Snowball’s Chance in Hell to Not in a Million Years.

Despite being six games below .500, the Sonics are still confident they can make the playoffs.

Allen Iverson is now a Denver Nugget. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns have won 15 in a row.

And in Cricket news…I have no idea what this means:

South Africa’s hopes of an unlikely victory in the first Test against India rest on the shoulders of Ashwell Prince. Having seen his side’s top order demolished by Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Prince hit an unbeaten half-century as the Proteas ended the third day on 163 for five.

The left-hander will look to chalk up his fifth Test century if South Africa are to have any chance of victory as the hosts chase 402, the highest target ever set in Johannesburg.

RSS icon Comments

1

Mack Strong has had a HUGE role in contributing to the last 2 Seahawks losses. His fumble against the Cardinals and his inability to get one foot on 3rd (blocking) and 4th (rushing) downs against the Niners arguably cost us both those games.

He's a good fullback, but not a Pro Bowler this year. Please prove me wrong, Mack.

Posted by DOUG. | December 20, 2006 9:57 AM
2

Zito is the key. Quote me. If the M's get Zito I will go to Safeco next year, if not, I will stick with the Aquasox.

Why couldn't the Sonics go after Iverson? Iverson never got any love from the goofy media who always wanted to paint him as a thug, despite the fact that he was a great team mate, loyal to Philly and the fans, his weens and his wife, Shit man, he was the hardest working small man in the history of the game. Yep, he is a wee of a ball hog, but having grown up watching the great Julius Erving in the Spectrum back in da day, I think Iverson did Philly proud.

Posted by SeMe | December 20, 2006 9:58 AM
3

Zito is the key...to another losing season, and anoher losing decade. Seriously, he's not a very good pitcher. Not that it matters; this team is doomed. But giving a hundred gazillion dollars to Zito now just makes it harder for us to dig out from under once Lincoln and Bavasi get canned.

Posted by Fnarf | December 20, 2006 10:11 AM
4

Man, I was in India during the Cricket World Cup in '96 and I watched and watched and still never had a single clue what the hell was going on.

Posted by Tone | December 20, 2006 10:12 AM
5

A "century" is scoring 100 runs or more in a single innings. In cricket, the batsman gets to keep going until he makes out, unlike baseball, where he yields to the next man in the order no matter what he does. "On 163 for five" means that South Africa has scored 163 runs so far, with five wickets (outs) made so far. You get ten in an innings, and the best batsmen are at the top of the order, so things look grim for them.

Cricket's really not that hard to understand; it's just like baseball in a different language. All the concepts are the same. But you missed the really big news, from a couple of days ago: Australia recaptured the Ashes from England after one year of losing them, and Shane Warne added to his all-time record for wickets taken as a bowler (i.e., outs made as a pitcher). He's on 699; only one other bowler has taken as many as 500. The greatest leg spinner of all time?

Posted by Fnarf | December 20, 2006 10:17 AM
6

Zito had 23 wins in 2002 and had a couple of struggling years, just like any other young pitcher, but he was still winning, He had an ERA of 2.72 his rookie year and the year he won 23 he had an ERA of 2.75. He had a couple of years with a high ERA, but hell so did Randy and Pedro, but he (zito) is bringing down his ERA and lets not forget he is a young pitcher. He is maturing and being more selective with his pitches. I mean he is not Clements (yet) but this is one solid pitcher. He is not your average pitcher. I just hope he does not wind up in pinstripes. The way things are going, the only 2 teams with a chance of winning anything will be the Yanks and the Red Sox, with another team here or there. Small market teams like the Kansas City Royals should just fold and become a triple A team and call themselves The East St. Louis Muggers.

Posted by SeMe | December 20, 2006 10:30 AM
7

Cricket rulez

Posted by cricket | December 20, 2006 10:35 AM
8

The pitcher runs up and throws the ball at the hitter. The hitter can swing, or he can let it go by. If the ball or the bat hits the sticks behind the batter, so that the little doodads fall off, the batter is out. He's also out if he hits the ball in the air and it's caught, or if he's tagged with the ball outside of his safety box, or if he blocks the ball from hitting the sticks with his body.

After six pitches, they switch sides, so the pitcher (the same, or a different one) runs up from the other side and pitches to a second batter at a second set of sticks. There are always two batters at any given moment; if one gets out, he's replaced by the next guy in line. If the first batter in the lineup never makes out, he could be in the entire game, paired with every one of this teammates in sucession.

If the batter hits the ball where it can't be caught, he can run to the other set of sticks. The other guy has to run too; they can't both be at the same end. If he hits it really far, they can run back and forth as many times as they can get away with. If he hits it over the boundary on the fly, it's six runs; on the roll or bounce, it's four. If he doesn't like his chances, he doesn't have to run at all (but will still be out if it's caught). He's not obligated to swing, either; there is no limit to the number of "balls", and there's no strikes. He can hit the ball in any direction; there's no foul balls either.

There are eleven hitters on a team, and when ten of them are out, the inning is over and the fielding team gets to bat. There's always one guy left, not out, at the end of an inning.

Basically, it's like two baseball games going on alternately at the same time, with only two bases.

Posted by Fnarf | December 20, 2006 10:35 AM
9

I agree with Doug - Mack Strong has been sucking it lately.

Kudos to the Dawgs. I firmly believe the quality of a football team depends on the linemen, and getting a top prospect will hopefully pay off hugely for them down the road.

Zito: expensive, but I think worth it. Pitchers seem to get better as they head into their 30s, unlike almost any other sport/position.

Sonics: pffft. Just too hard to follow them since the sale.

Iverson: clash of the egos in Denver? The 2 top scoring leaders in the NBA. When Carmelo returns, one or both of them will have to learn how to share, which may be difficult.

Cricket: now I can appreciate why Europeans have such difficulty understanding American football.

Posted by him | December 20, 2006 10:39 AM
10

Pitchers don't win games, teams do. A pitcher's W-L record tells you nothing about how well he pitched. ERA tells you a little more, but Zito's are going up, not down, and so are all his peripheral numbers. He can't get hitters out anymore; he's relying on luck more than anything at this point. He's not terrible, but he's not a premier pitcher, and he's going to be paid like one.

Posted by Fnarf | December 20, 2006 10:39 AM
11

You know why Barry Zito looked so good all these years in Oakland? Because his home park is a freaking cavern, with cold clammy air and breezy conditions that kills batted balls, and the defense behind him was always no less than decent.

You look at his walks, K's and HRs allowed, the three 'true outcome' stats that the pitcher can theoretically control, and he's really just an average pitcher. In average conditions, that's a pitcher with an ERA in the mid to high 4's... just like what we saw last year. Oh, but that was WITH the cavernous offense-killing ballpark and good defense. Not a good sign... but clearly, people are sold on Zito as Winner.

Whoever gets Barry Zito will pay out the nose for an insanely overrated soft tosser who will get exposed for what he really is.

Needless to say, I'm glad the M's have no chance in hell of landing him. The difference between him and Jarrod Washburn (who isn't all that good either) really isn't all that great.

Also, I can't wait to see that circus in Denver. A ballhog like Iverson sharing the floor with the league's leading scorer? THAT's gonna be interesting. Which one are teammates most afraid of pissing off? Think Kobe/Shaq II.

Posted by Gomez | December 20, 2006 10:45 AM
12

Iverson was loved by his team mates in Philly. Iverson is more than just a ball hog, he is a great ball handler, strong up the middle, and has matured over the years. The media has always hated him because of some crap he pulled as a kid in Virginia, and I have no idea why people outside of Philly buy that crap. just because he has tats and corn rolls they want to paint him as a thug or simplify his game as just a ball hog. Thats bull. Carmelo will be happy to have a level headed guy like AI give him some guidance. That dude is loyal. Man, I will take Iverson over Rashard Lewis, Ritanour, and anything else we ( the sonics) put on the floor.

Posted by SeMe | December 20, 2006 10:51 AM
13

Oops. Clearly, I meant corn rows. No dis to Allen ( the answer) Iverson.

Posted by SeMe | December 20, 2006 11:00 AM
14

@FNARF:

Beat me to the punch. Cricket is baseball in another language. . . neither Spanish nor Japanese.

Posted by bill | December 20, 2006 11:08 AM
15

I think Seme has been enjoying some of the #1 cash crop in America. Me, Myself, and I-verson is level-headed and not a ball hog? He's a great player, I agree, but he's the quintessential selfish player. Plus, with Denver's thinner air, the ego's of the all-stars tend to expand.

Posted by him | December 20, 2006 11:29 AM
16

Iverson a ball hog? With an average of over 7 assists per game for the past three years? If that's a ball hog then we're glad to have him, and so will Melo once he's back from his suspension.

Posted by Matt from Denver | December 20, 2006 12:31 PM
17

Jesus, how did I know Fnarf would be the one to 'splain cricket. Is there any subject that he doesn't know everything about?

Also, LMAO @ The East St. Louis Muggers comment. We here in The Lou pretty much consider KC to be a far west suburb of St. L.

Posted by Mike in MO | December 20, 2006 12:38 PM
18

Thanks, Fnarf. Very illuminating. Now explain how the game ends. Can't they theoretically go on forever?

Posted by Tone | December 20, 2006 3:42 PM
19

I wish the M's would have just sat pat and run out their youngsters for a consecutive season to see what they could do fuller-time. These guys upstairs are making deals just to have made deals. Obvious. You think they really think we're better off with the moves they made vs. running the kids out there this year and see if they can't find their first grey hair?

You're not gonna spend the dough to buy a stud or two, and your team isn't already constructed like that, so what the fuck you doing? Adding pieces? It's like: Hey, you need these disposable chopsticks I've been saving? No. Just accept it and make something happen with what you've got. Something that fans can get behind, because winning or losing, you still gotta sell the seats. Part of the silver-charming of the last two years was bringing up the kids. The fans liked it. And shit, there's a few good kids. I'll root for the kids we've got, even though, gasp, we've been 'dealing' them away. Fucking dumb strategy.

Even T.J. fucking Bohn played some last year. That's the guy that put the star on the Christmas tree in that claymation thing. I cried when I saw that. You don't think I'd root for that?

So, what, instead, Upstairs is offering us a warm milkshake for free that someone else forgot and they think they're being nice to us by doing it? So you got your crap deals, and with them bullshit expectations that -- prove me wrong -- are just going to piss everyone off. I feel bad for the guys coming here already.

Posted by Lloyd Clydesdale | December 20, 2006 4:52 PM
20

@Fnarf - Warne is easily the greatest leg spinner ever. He announced his retirement today, coincidently. He's even been called the greatest bowler ever too, although the Sri Lankan off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has taken 674 wickets at a considerably cheaper rate than Warne.

@Tone - There are several variations on the game. The longest form is the Test Match which is limited to five days maximum, but will finish sooner than that if one team dismisses all ten of the other team's batters twice and has a higher combined total. Often teams will play for five days and end in a draw.

There are a couple of shorter matches too; the one-day game (50 overs, six deliveries per over, for each team), and the newest variation called twenty-twenty, consisting of 20 overs batting per team.

Posted by boyd main | December 20, 2006 6:05 PM
21

Nice summary, Boyd. That's one of the interesting strategic points that I really can't grasp the nuances of: when to declare. Normally the game is two innings, twice through the order for each team. But even in a five game test, you don't always want to play it out; and in one-days you never do, because if you run out of time before the other team has had its innings, it's a draw, even if you're way ahead. So, if you have a big lead, you can "declare" before your own innings is finished, with the idea being that you've left enough time for the other side to play their innings out, but that they won't be able to reach your score. So even after five days it can become a race against the clock.

By the way, a "leg spinner" and "off leg spinner" is the equivalent of our curveball pitcher. A fastballer in cricket is called a "pace bowler". They don't mean exactly the same thing, of course; for starters, cricket bowlers are bouncing the ball off the ground (usually).

Mike in Mo, thanks for the credit, but I don't actually know all about anything at all. My secret is, I know a little bit about everything. Just enough to get into trouble!

Posted by Fnarf | December 20, 2006 9:59 PM
22

Iverson a ball hog? With an average of over 7 assists per game for the past three years?

And taking like 30 shots a game. You're gonna pass the ball every so often when you're getting double teamed on every play because you're the only one shooting.

Posted by Gomez | December 20, 2006 10:12 PM
23

Yes, Gomez. It's not like he was the one carrying the burden of scoring for Philly - oh, wait, yes he was. And now he won't be. He knows how to share when there are reliable people to share with. Let me repeat: average of over 7 assists for 3 years. That's not the average of a selfish ball hog.

I'm not foolish enough to think everything's going to just click and that A.I. and Melo will bring us a championship, but if you're going to criticize A.I. it might as well be informed.

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