Admittedly, I never heard of Jones until a friend e-mailed me this YouTube video of Jones jumping out of a three-foot-deep pool — backwards — and landing on his feet.
Picking up on Dan’s earlier post about Major League Baseball assuming control over the Los Angeles Dodgers, those rather odd sounds you hear emanating from throughout the Southland are millions of champagne corks popping in celebration, as the team’s fans realize that the McCourt era is finally coming to an end. A longtime Dodger season-ticket holder e-mails, “That is the best #### news i have heard in ages.”
Alas, they lost game one by two points, on a late bucket by Ray Allen — who got open courtesy of an uncalled offensive foul by Kevin Garnett — and after losing five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups to injury earlier in the fourth quarter.
And they lost game two by three points, after losing six-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire to injury in the first half. Carmelo Anthony’s heroics — 42 points, 17 boards, and six assists — were wasted. Celtics fans have to love the non-call on Paul Pierce’s foul of Anthony on a baseline drive in the fourth quarter — the refs showed less restraint with 21 seconds left in game one when they called Anthony for an offensive foul against a flopping Paul Pierce away from the ball.
The Celts may win this series, but they’re done after that. They’re not going to get those parquet-floor calls in Miami.
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is taking over the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team financially paralyzed by the divorce of its owners.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig says in a release Wednesday that he will appoint a representative to oversee the “business and the day-to-day operations of the Club.”
Selig says he took action “because of my deep concerns regarding the finances and operations of the Dodgers.”
His decision followed a report by the Los Angeles Times that owner Frank McCourt had arranged a $30 million loan from the Fox, the team’s television partner.
Between the Dodgers and the Mets, the finances of the National League’s two biggest-market teams are a shambles.
I am serving as an RCIA sponsor for a friend of the family in his conversion to Catholicism this Easter weekend. I’ve struggled mightily with whether I can serve that role for him. You see, he’s a Yankees fan, and I’m not sure I can save him from eternal damnation.
So I have decided that the profession of faith at the Easter Vigil will need a few extra lines. If my friend can assent to these, I’ll be right there with my hand on his shoulder:
Do you reject Derek Jeter, his slap singles and all of his unearned gold gloves?
Do you believe in Ted Williams, the almighty, the best hitter of all time?
Do you believe that God created the heavens, the earth, and Fenway Park?
Do you believe that by coming back from a three games to none deficit, beating the Evil Empire, and winning the World Series, the Red Sox have set the Nation free?
Do you believe in the Bloody Sock, the Green Monster, the forgiveness of Bill Buckner, the resurrection from the dead (of the ’04 Sox), and happiness everlasting, provided that the Yankees finish behind Boston in the standings?
Over at Fangraphs, Jeff Zimmerman charted Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki’s career hitting tendencies. As any Mets fan will mournfully attest, Tulowitzki is enjoying a power surge to start the season: He was .793 SLG and 205 wRC+ heading into last night’s game against the Giants. Through the use of a Loess Curve (see below), Zimmeran discovered that Tulo is turning on pitches with much greater frequency, which leads to an unsurprising conclusion:
This change has allowed him to put the ball into the left-field corner, and the corners are usually the shortest part of the field — which increases the chances of a home run.
Zimmerman suggests that the increased power stems from a changed swing dating back to mid-2009 and improved health.
USA Todayreports on the effort by various professional-sports franchises to boost group-ticket sales by hosting religious fan days for Christian, Jewish, and Mormon groups.
They found a CAIR spokesman to chime in, who sees the phenomenon as an opportunity to demonstrate Americans’ fabled anti-Muslim attitudes, natch.
But some religious and secular groups don’t think such fan day promotions are appropriate.
For example, the Muslim advocacy group Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) wants equal time for other religions.
“The ultimate test of this kind of policy would be to have a Muslim Family Day — and gauge the public reaction to it,” says spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. “Given the heightened state of anti-Muslim sentiment in our society, I have a feeling there would be some objections to that.”
The Colorado Rockies, of course, have a Faith Day, where people of all creeds are invited.
But what about no creed?
Teams have pushed ethnic heritage days for years. But religion? That’s problematic, answers Blair Scott, spokesman for American Atheists. It’s not illegal, but Scott believes it’s unethical.
“They’re out to make a buck. They’re taking advantage of people’s religiosity to make that buck. “
Scott doubts he’ll ever see “Atheist Day” at stadiums.
“When you have a Super Bowl party in the atheist community, two people show up. We don’t tend to be big sports fans.”
Aroldis Chapman threw a fastball so hard Monday night it baffled the radar guns, with one recording his ninth-inning pitch at 106 mph and another showing 105 mph.The Cincinnati Reds’ 22-year-old flamethrower, who defected from Cuba in 2009, currently holds the Major League Baseball record for the fastest pitch with his 105.1 mph hurl last September.
Vick’s Eagles open up the NFL season in Toronto — and Canadians aren’t too keen on admitting felons into their country.
NBC Sports:
Few details have emerged regarding the 2011 regular-season NFL schedule, which will be released tonight. We know that the Packers will host the NBC Thursday night opener on September 8 (we think they’ll face the Saints or the Bears; we’re leaning Bears), we assume one of the New York teams will host the NBC prime-time game the 10th anniversary of 9/11 (we think a Jets-Giants game is unlikely for that evening), and we know that the Lions and Cowboys will play at home on Thanksgiving. (Given the network assignments for the 2011 Thanksgiving games, the Lions will host one of their NFC opponents, and the Cowboys will welcome either the Dolphins or the Bills.)
Thanks to the folks at the Fan 590 in Toronto, we know that the Bills will face the Eagles in Toronto. Per the report, the game will be played on November 13 or 20 at Rogers Centre.
The fact that the Eagles are making the trip is a bit curious, given: (1) the stringent Canadian rules on the admission of felons into the country; and (2) the fact that the Eagles’ starting quarterback is a convicted felon. Our guess (and it’s just a guess) is that the NFL has worked out these details in advance, ensuring that Mike Vick will be able to play. If, for some reason, Canada refuses to allow him onto their soil, the NFL will look foolish in hindsight for sending the Eagles north of the border.
Installation of a new artificial turf field begins today at Central Arkansas, an FCS program in the Southland Conference. That’s noteworthy because the field will be painted purple and gray.
Purple and gray will be alternated in 5-yard sections from the goal lines out to the 45-yard lines. Between the 45s will be a 10-yard gray segment with the logo centered at midfield. The end zones will be black with “Bears” in white lettering, with bear-paw logos on either side of the nickname.
UCA’s field will be the third NCAA field to be a color other than green. Boise State has its blue field, and defending FCS champ Eastern Washington unveiled a red field last season.
Both head coach Brian Kelly and athletic director Jack Swarbrick, who was at practice that day, should have been fired.
David Haugh has more in the Chicago Tribune:
It’s unfathomable that Sullivan can lose his life because of a stunning lack of common sense and nobody in charge of his welfare loses a job or income as a result of disciplinary action.
“Insofar as the president is responsible for the university as a whole, I am the individual who bears the most responsibility, and I accept that,” Jenkins said.
That’s noble as the head of the university, but it was empty rhetoric. Jenkins and athletic director Jack Swarbrick did not resign, and neither did anyone else. Nobody got reassigned, fined or suspended. Heck, former head athletic trainer Jim Russ got a new title with more responsibility in January.
Claiming “collective responsibility” without consequences for anybody involved sounds like a lawyered-up cop-out. That’s like rehiring a babysitter who let your kid burn himself playing with fire because the sitter claimed not to know how hot the flame was.
The most egregious part of the dissatisfying 145-page report? It suggests when Sullivan tweeted, “Gust of wind up to 60 mph today … I guess I’ve lived long enough,” minutes before a 53 mph gust blew the lift over, it reflected his joking nature, according to friends. And presumably it was Sullivan’s sense of humor, not foreboding, that provoked him to tweet, “Holy (expletive), this is terrifying.”
So no one is responsible for videographer Declan Sullivan’s death? I can understand Notre Dame’s reluctance to hire its fifth coach in a decade, but Brian Kelly should face some sort of disciplinary action for Sullivan’s death.
That’s the advice from ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski. I have to say, I’m on board with this. The NCAA is less concerned about the student-athlete (despite their best efforts to tell us otherwise), and far more concerned about protecting its member institutions and the billions of dollars they rake in every year. For those who complain that regulators have a too-cozy relationship with those they oversee, look no further than the NCAA.
A refurbished Grady Sizemore and his AL Central-leading (!) Indians are in Kansas City today to begin a four-game series with the second-place (!) Royals. Just for fun, I looked up on Baseball-Reference how Cleveland has fared historically when starting out a season 11-4. In the nine previous instances, the Tribe has finished first only twice and three times ended up with a losing record. In contrast, plugging in 10-5 and the Royals, who started play in 1969, reveals that KC has enjoyed only one other identical beginning; the club finished in second place in 1973.
The NHL apparently has declared war on the ancient tradition in Detroit of tossing octopi onto the ice during the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is really dumb. Gary Bettman: Please stop this right now.
If you are playing catch-up, here are topics we discussed in Right Field over the past seven days:
Did the Giants jersey-wearing fan who was viciously beaten in the Dodger Stadium parking lot asking for trouble simply because he wore the opposing team’s jersey?
Corporal Klinger’s beloved Mudhens did something very special on Opening Day.
Do Royals fans, currently on cloud nine over a 10-5 record, have reason to worry that batters are not swinging and missing at as many pitches from closer Joakim Soria?
Jonah Keri offers thoughts on the likelihood of an expanded playoff system starting next season: “There’s got to be a way to keep hope alive for David-vs.-Goliath clashes, while providing greater rewards for teams that proved their greatness over the long haul.”
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