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Formerly Baseball Discussion: Latest Headlines.

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Post by 321tumbler »

Baseball is coming back! We won't have to go the whole year without it.
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Post by bookworm »

Baseball is back, and I'm glad, but I'm not at all on board with the rule changes being implemented. A universal DH is a terrible idea that removes the difference between the two leagues which was one of the things that makes baseball such a unique sport. And a free base runner in extra innings is an even worse idea which is going to completely alter stats when it comes into play, not to mention fundamentally altering the game itself.

They claim both of these are just temporary due to the unique circumstances of this season, and they better be. With the shortened schedule it was already not going to be comparable in any way to a normal season so if this is what it takes to get any baseball played this year okay. But I'm wary. These are both ideas they have theorized about trying out for a while; taking this opportunity to finally be able to implement them doesn't make me confident they will in fact just be temporary.
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Post by Catspaw »

I'm gearing up for the NHL playoffs in a couple of weeks. \:D/ Normally we would already be in the playoff zone this time of year but with the late start to the season we aren't yet this year. I love the playoffs, with double-headers almost every night the first round, so it will be fun!
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Post by bookworm »

I saw the weirdest sequence in the Red Wings game yesterday.

The Lightning got a penalty for interference, then with 10 seconds left on the power play had another one. So it will be 5 on 3 now, very briefly, then 1:50 of regular power play. But then on the faceoff a stick broke and the Lightning player fell down and pushed the puck with his hand so he got called for delay of game, and now it will be 5 on 3 for a full two minutes because the faceoff was called back so no time had passed since the second penalty happened. And the original penalty isn't up yet, so there are now three guys in the box with the first one only supposed to serve 10 more seconds still, but because there are three in there now he can't come out until the next stoppage of play, but it turned out there never was one for the full duration of the two other penalties, so they all stayed in the box for the two minutes of 5 on 3. Then when the time finally ran out there was confusion about who was being let out of the box or the order they should leave in that made the referees stop the game and delayed things for several minutes as they called for a tv timeout.
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Post by Catspaw »

Haha, that's crazy! I've never seen that before. What an odd situation.
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Post by bookworm »

Rangers and Capitals had 6 fights and 100 penalty minutes assessed in just the 1st period today.

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Post by Catspaw »

There's a reason there was so much action in the penalty box that day. The previous game those two teams played against each other involved Tom Wilson of the Caps slamming a Rangers player's head into the ice after the whistle and in a way that was totally preventable and unnecessary, and he only got a $5000 fine without any suspension. Wilson has previous infractions that left many people (obviously including the Rangers) thinking that a suspension was warranted. That set the tone for some nastiness the next game - leading to the picture that bookworm shared. I think the NHL missed the mark on this one.
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Post by bookworm »

Yeah, everyone expected something like this to happen in the next game when there was no suspension. Neither team had their main players start the game because they knew everyone was going to fight immediately and be sent off.

The Rangers team account posted a tweet absolutely blasting the decision to not suspend, going so far as calling for the firing of the head of player safety. A completely unprecedented level of rebuke that got them a massive fine.
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Post by Catspaw »

Luckily the owner can afford $250,000.

I know there are varying opinions on whether there should have been a suspension on Wilson or not (or how long it should have been), but at the least, a good explanation should have been provided by the NHL to put in more effort to head things off.
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Post by bookworm »

Giants have the best record in baseball in what's supposed to be year two of a rebuild! \:D/
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Post by Catspaw »

Has anyone else been tracking the Evander Kane saga? There's been plenty of drama over the years, especially recently, and now he's practically booted out the door of the San Jose Sharks organization. This is a man who has burned so many bridges his talent on the ice doesn't seem to be enough to get much interest because of all the other stuff. I feel a sliver of sympathy for a guy who just can't seem to make good choices, though I feel worse for those around him who have suffered for his bad choices.
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Post by bookworm »

Oh. My. Gosh. Last night's NFL finale was one of the single most incredible events I've ever experienced!!

For context: Both teams (the Raiders and the Chargers) were competing for the final playoff spot, the game winner would get it and the loser would see their season end. But because of an oddity in how all the AFC teams finished, if the game were to end in a tie they would actually both make the playoffs, knocking the Steelers out of their spot. This was a scenario that had been brought up as a joke earlier in the week, being an unrealistic long shot to actually be a real possibility because it depended on the Jaguars beating the Colts earlier in the day which would be one of the biggest upsets of the entire year. But somehow, that actually happened.

So, here we were. If this game has a winner one team goes to the playoffs and one goes home. If it doesn't, they both continue their season. An absolutely bizarre situation that had people across the football world asking, with varying levels of seriousness, whether the two teams would agree to intentionally have a tie game to ensure they both made the playoffs.

Most of the game was lopsided, so it looked liked there was no hope of this crazy situation happening, either intentionally or legitimately. But suddenly, at the very end of the game, things started getting interesting. After closing the gap some but looking like it was going to be too little too late, the Chargers actually ended up having the ball in position for a last minute drive only down by seven. If they could get a touchdown and make the extra point the game actually would in fact go to overtime and keep the intrigue alive.

What followed was one of the most improbable drives I've ever seen. Multiple times it looked like the game was finally going to be over, but the Chargers converted three 4th and 10's to stay alive. I had Twitter open on the hashtag for the game to watch everyone absolutely losing their minds as we inched closer and closer to this legendary tie actually becoming a real possibility. It was incredible. As multiple people remarked, this was the only time in NFL history that everyone (minus Steelers fans) actually wanted to see a game end in a tie.

And then it happened! The Chargers scored a touchdown at literally the last second in regulation! They kicked the extra point with zeroes on the clock and we're going to overtime!! So now people are saying okay, for real now do they agree to just run the time out and have a tie? Can this actually be about to happen? But no, they're playing it out. If the viewers are going to get the outcome they all want it's going to have to happen legitimately.

Raiders get the ball first and only manage to score a field goal, so the Chargers get a chance to answer. If they can't score anything on their drive the game's over, if they score a touchdown the game's over, if they also kick a field goal we play on with a tie becoming a genuinely possible outcome with how much time would be left. The Chargers convert yet another fourth and long to get into field goal range, then get stopped and send out the kicker. It's good and we're tied again! Twitter is absolute insanity. 4:30 left in the game, next score of any type ends it, or if the clock runs out we actually have this incredible tie.

The Raiders aren't particularly in a hurry on their drive; they're still trying to win outright but they'll take a tie over having to give the ball back to the Chargers at this point, so they're seeing what they're able to do here and trying to at least get into field goal range, but not being too quick or too aggressive as if they're not going to be able to get in range they want the clock to be run down enough that if they're not able to get points here they can just let the rest of the game run out while they still have the ball, accepting the tie and ensuring they make the playoffs. The Chargers for their part have no problem with that, they aren't getting the ball back so their only hope now is getting that tie; they need to play enough defense to keep the Raiders backed up out of scoring range long enough for the clock to wind down enough for them to decide just letting it run out is the best move.

The drive stalls at midfield as the clock goes under one minute remaining. This is actually happening!! But then, inexplicably, the Chargers called a timeout with 38 seconds left. Prior to that all visual indications were the Raiders had decided to go ahead and let the clock run, but that pause appeared to change their mentality and on the next play they got a good chunk of yardage that moved them into field goal range. The Raiders now let the clock run down to two seconds and called a timeout and sent out their kicker. He hit the game winner as the clock hit zero.

Unbelievable. The whole thing was unbelievable. That we were even in position to have this actually happen in the first place, that it turned out to be a very real possibility of happening in how the game played out, and that it didn't end up happening but came two seconds away from somehow actually becoming reality.

This was one of the most incredible, most captivating, most investing sports-related experiences I have ever had in my life; and I don't even care in the slightest about any of the teams that were involved!


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Post by Catspaw »

Any New York Jets fans? As a CFL fan, I was happy to see Chris Streveler doing well (super well, in my totally unknowledgable opinion) with the Jets during pre-season and then he got cut this morning right before the deadline. I don't know NFL stuff - does this mean he's not going to play this season or can other teams still pick him up if they're interested (ex. filling an injury position)?
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Post by bookworm »

He should go through the waiver process now, so he would be able to be claimed by another team if one wants him. So playing this season would still be a possibility, but I don't know how much of a likelihood. All the teams are cutting down to their max opening roster right now, I don't think any would bring in someone new that another team passed on right now, they would probably work with who they're already familiar with. Later into the season when teams need to find players to replace injuries and such would be when he'd probably get more consideration if he's the position they need.

Edit:

I just looked him up and saw he's a quarterback; that's different. Several teams have questionable QB depth this season, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone pick him up to have as a backup if he's a decent player. Also an article I clicked into just now indicates that if he clears waivers the Jets are expected to bring him back onto their practice squad, so he could get called back up again from there at some point if that does happen.
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Post by Catspaw »

Thanks bookworm! I appreciate your expert opinion. I should have said he's a QB. I'll hope for the best for Streveler. I'm not invested enough to start watching games or anything, but enough to hope he gets to fulfill his NFL dreams.
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Post by Bren »

I'm kinda shocked that the Damar Hamlin situation didn't generate some talk in here.
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Post by EK »

Bren wrote: Fri Jan 06, 2023 12:34 am I'm kinda shocked that the Damar Hamlin situation didn't generate some talk in here.
It’s very unfortunate what happened to Damar, but it’s one of those super rare instances that just happened to happen on the ball field on national television. I’m glad he’s okay now though, still not out of the weeds but he’s awake, the rumors of the NFL trying to make it a 15 minute break and continue play we’re pretty upsetting though, I’m glad they cancelled the game.

In lighter sports news… DAWGS VERSUS FRAWGS Monday Monday Monday! Georgia being a juggernaut is the best thing in sports.
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Post by bookworm »

I don't expect TCU to have a chance, but I'll be rooting for them because I dislike having repeat champions.

@EK (and anyone else!) come by the Chatroom if you can be online while you're watching! #Bowl :)
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Post by Catspaw »

Did anyone else watch the NHL All-Star fun on the weekend? I know not everyone likes it, but I enjoyed it overall. Fun events, some creativity, brothers getting to play together as their family cheers them on - what's not to like? I loved it when Roberto Luongo came out to many cheers - "Louuuuuuuuuu!" (Not to be confused with, "Boooooo"). I'm a long-time Lu fan from his Canuck days. It was also neat to have some top female players there - Canadian Sarah Nurse's goal was awesome!

I enjoyed the golf challenge, especially when I saw afterwards that Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens, the winner of that event, obviously sponsored by Chipolte, got a prize of free Chipolte for a year (or something like that) and later tweeted that there's no Chipolte in Montreal. Great advertising! :lol:
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