"As I traveled around in baseball then and now, people would ask me, 'Is Ernie really like that? Is he really that happy all the time?'" said Billy Williams, a Hall of Fame outfielder and teammate of Banks from 1959 to 1972. "I always say, 'That was Ernie. He was that way every day.' He's the most positive guy I ever met. He loved playing the game. Maybe it came from playing in the Negro Leagues, where they had so much fun with the game. I just know that Ernie loved being at the ballpark. He was as genuine as they get."Scott Simon's tribute is worth listening to.
And now, no class:
The [NFL] said evidence shows the [New England] Patriots used underinflated footballs during the first half of the AFC championship game Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts.The Patriots seem to have an allergy to playing clean. Cheating is apparently an institutional practice with them. Whatever edge they can take, fair or foul, clean or dirty, you can count on New England to grab it. The term "sportsmanship" means nothing to them.
Sports aren't war. A game isn't a small-unit battle. It's still a game and how you play it still matters. You can ask Mark McGuire or Barry Bonds about that, who will likely not be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame until sometime after the heat death of the Universe.
Which is why there will be lots of column inches of praise and hours of remembrances on the sports channels for Mr. Cub. But when the Steroid-Sluggers or Coach Belicheat pass away, you'll see little of that.
Mark McGwire did not hide his use of andro in the late 80s- early 90s. When were steroids banned?
ReplyDeleteCheaters never win in the long run... Period... Ernie Banks was always a class act. May he rest in peace!
ReplyDeleteOK, my football IQ is well below room temperature, so I just don't see how a change in the ball's performance creates an advantage for one side. Do the teams' skills or techniques differ that much?
ReplyDeleteNobody, other than the Kings of `Roids, has come close to matching Roger Maris's single-season home run record. I submit that, but for their use of steroids, Maris's record would still stand.
ReplyDeleteFootballs that are slightly deflated are easier to hold onto and catch. how that benefited the Patriots over the Colts, I have no idea.
Over here, http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/blog/?p=2932 , Is a rather fascinating study of the Patriots fumble stats. Something is going on, and maybe not just under inflated balls.
ReplyDeleteIt benefitted the Patriots because the Colts' balls were inflated to regulation levels. Each team has their own balls. I doubt that it made much of a difference in that game. I think the fuss is related to the fact that it was the Patriots for the reasons E. B. states. There is more a belief that they "bend" the rules than evidence that they do. But I don't think you'd have to scrape the surface to deep to find other iffy activities.
ReplyDeleteOK, didn't realize they brought their own balls...surprised it didn't happen sooner. Kinda like bringing your own cards to a poker game.
ReplyDeleteAs some one that has done enough calibration work I can tell no one has the first notion of how
ReplyDeletea pressure gage works and how the environment influences it.
First to claim a pressure change you must use the same gage or one that had the same calibration accuracy. then the vessel (football) must be at the same stabilized temperature and atmospheric pressure.
Also every time you measure the ball it takes a small amount of the air to inflate the tube in the gage and lowers the pressure inside a small increment.
Generally during play the ball will change hands if it were such an advantage why did the point spread end up as 38 points. Every time the Patriots made a touch down the ball changes hands and the Colts would hand it back.
Maybe we should lame the pats for rain and cold too!
Eck!
Eck, amusingly enought, each team uses their "own" balls. The team has 12 balls that they provide and use during offensive plays. The possession changes, and that ball is taken back to the "owning" teams sideline and the other team now on offense sends in one of their balls.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing the league controls is the "kicking" balls. 8 of those are provided by the league and must be used on kicking plays. The league got tired of hanky-panky with the kicking game balls...
CP88, I expect that the rules will change (real soon now) and that the league will provide all of the balls. I wouldn't be surprised if that change is in effect for the Stuporbowl.
ReplyDeleteActually, the Chicago Bears equipment manager is arranging the SuperBowl ball thing. Should be interesting to see if the Patsies start fumbling. And, yes, the NFL will almost certainly step in, the question will be about ball prep.
ReplyDeleteMLB has the balls rubbed down with special dirt/mud, the NFL will need something similar. Next marketing opportunity, "Detroit, our mud makes the NFL drive!"