College state Feb 12, 2023
That "state" in college sports really makes a difference.  Michigan State vs. Ohio is very different from Michigan vs. Ohio State. #sports
Multi-event sports Mar 23, 2022
Here's a list of somewhat unrelated multi-event sports: 
  • biathlon - cross-country skiing, shooting
  • duathlon - running, cycling, running
  • triathlon - swimming, cycling, running
  • pentathlon - fencing, swimming, riding, shooting, running
  • heptathlon - short run, long run, hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put
  • decathlon - short run, medium run, long run, hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin
  • tetradecathlon - shortest run, shorter run, short run, medium run, long run, longer run, short hurdles, medium hurdles, long hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus, javelin
  • icosathlon - shortest run, shorter run, short run, medium run, long run, longer run, even longer run, longest run, short hurdles, medium hurdles, long hurdles, steeplechase, long jump, high jump, pole vault, triple jump, shot put, discus, javelin, hammer
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like track and field people are just dying for more ways to compete against each other. #sports
Monday Night Mannings Jan 11, 2022
Peyton and Eli Manning have been hosting a show on ESPN2 during the broadcast of Monday Night Football on ESPN.  It it, these two future fall-of-fame quarterbacks casually chat about the game while making brotherly fun of each other, and they invite a series of guests to chat and joke with them.  All of it is done remotely, which adds some technical difficulties and audio hiccups.  It's not traditional sports coverage, with play-by-play and in-depth analysis.  It's more like watching a game with a friend you haven't seen in a few weeks.  You watch the game here and there, but it's not really the focal point. 

Here's my take:  This is the best sports show in the modern era.  This is must-see TV.  It's made even better by its haphazard schedule, which wasn't weekly and seemed to follow no pattern at all.  You have to look for it, or better yet, stumble upon it.  The guests are varied (athlete, coach, broadcaster, comedian, musician), and the remote nature of it means we're watching people in their homes, on their couches, wearing around-the-house clothes.  It's very intimate, but at the same time completely comfortable.  One guest did fake broadcaster commentary (he was a real broadcaster); another guest dropped an f-bomb.  I'm not sure what the censors thought of that, but I think it added to the casual nature of it all.  They interview current players and show old footage of their bloopers.  They bring up unflattering pictures of their guests as kids.  The comedians and musicians they interview are just there for fun; they're not promoting anything.  It's a breath of ridiculously fresh air. 

Monday Night Football, and really any primetime sporting event, is usually pretty boring.  It's an arbitrary matchup, it's late at night, it's slow-paced and full of commercials.  The ManningCast is the perfect antidote to that.  It's funny, it's simple, and it all happens directly alongside the traditional primetime broadcast.  Just brilliant. #sports
Penn State chant Dec 22, 2021
Penn State University has this chant they do, notably at football games, where half the crowd shouts "we are" and the other half shouts "Penn State".  It's cute; it's wholesome; ESPN did a special on it. 

Here's the thing:  It's dumb.  Fans do it during the game, at mostly inappropriate times.  The offense is on the field, or the defense is on the field, and the fans are doing this dumb chant that has literally nothing to do with what's happening in the game they're supposedly cheering on.  Oh, and the chant ends with "thank you" and "you're welcome" which makes my skin crawl. 

Plenty of colleges have dumb chants.  Auburn has "War Eagle".  Oklahoma has "Boomer Sooner".  These are meaningless dumb things fans say during games to sort of cheer on their team.  But at least most cheers are quick and simple and happen at the right time:  Before kickoff, or after a touchdown, or coming back from commercial break.  At Penn State, it's 2nd down and 17 after their quarterback got sacked, down by 21 points in the third quarter against a conference rival, and the fans do this dumb chant to perfectly signal how much they're not paying attention. #sports
3114 Oct 19, 2021
I feel like professional football is too skill based.  It used to just be about power or speed or size.  Your team had a big guy that was bigger than the other team's big guy (Jerome Bettis).  Or you had a fast guy who was faster than the other team's fast guy (Barry Sanders).  Now everyone is just so ridiculously good at what they do, they're so well-trained, well-prepared, well-coached, it's nearly impossible to over-power or outrun the other team. #sports
NBA playoffs Jul 22, 2021
I started watching NBA basketball a few years ago.  More specifically, I started watching the playoffs.  Even more specifically, I sporadically watch the last few rounds of the conference playoffs, then watch the finales religiously.  I skip through the regular season stuff (82 games?!) and just watch the good stuff. 

And I have to say, I really like the 7-game series (a.k.a. best-of-4) format.  Other sports and leagues do this too, so it's not NBA-specific.  As opposed to the NFL playoffs or even the NCAA basketball tournament, having multiple games gives everyone a chance to have an off day without ending their entire season.  It allows for home-court advantage to help and hurt (games are played alternately at both teams' locations).  The refs can make or miss some big calls and not ruin the entire series.  It even allows a little space for injury:  A player sidelined with a muscle strain in one game might come back for a later game.  I feel like if your team can't beat an opposing team in 7 games, you don't deserve to move on.  It's thorough and it's fair. 

Another thing I noticed is a comment on basketball in general:  Basketball is a very balanced sport.  Every player plays both offense and defense.  Every player uses the same general skills to play -- dribbling, passing, shooting, blocking, etc.  Sure, some players tend to do more of the shooting, while other players tend to do more of the blocking.  But there are no single-purpose players on the court; no punters or goalies or designated hitters.  And everyone is expected to be pretty good at all of them -- so much so that certain players' star status is questioned if they're bad at one of those fundamental skills.  Sure, you have to be 6'6" to get on the team, but at least you don't only do one thing. #sports
Lance vs. MJ Jun 5, 2020
I watched that Lance Armstrong documentary on ESPN, and I gotta say, this guy does not come across as a sympathetic character.  I kept waiting for the moment when I would understand him or respect his actions, but he consistently acted cold, unemotional, and unlikable.  Even his apologies didn't really feel like apologies.  If news came out that Lance Armstrong was a brutal serial killer who dismembered his victims and ate their pieces, that would be the least surprising thing ever. 

Contrast that with the recent Michael Jordan documentary, where I sort of already liked the guy but ended up basically falling in love with him.  And even if the content was heavily influenced by Jordan himself, he comes across as a fallible human being, with believable intentions behind some of his less-than-positive actions, and actual human emotions. 

It's hard to dislike Michael Jordan.  Lance Armstrong, on the other hand, might be a sociopath. #sports
Philly Seans Oct 21, 2019
The Philadelphia Eagles have a player named Alshon Jeffery (rhymes with "Sean").  This year they re-signed a former player named DeSean Jackson, and I think they really missed out on also re-signing their former player LeSean McCoy.  If they did, they would've have three different "Sean" variants on their team at the same time. #sports
Double Heisman Oct 21, 2019
For the first few weeks of the 2019 NFL season, there were two teams each with two Heisman Trophy winners in their backfields:  the Tennessee Titans with Marcus Mariota (2014) and Derrick Henry (2015), and the Baltimore Ravens with Lamar Jackson (2016) and Mark Ingram (2009). #sports
3017 Jun 14, 2019
Basketball is a unique sport in the sense that each player on the team performs all the same actions and duties as all other players on the team.  Yes, there are position players and specialists, but everybody dribbles, passes, shoots, and plays defense.  There are no goalies, no punters, no pitchers.  It's egalitarian. #sports