Sports Journalism Tumblr: A Black self-insert character called Jabaal Abdul-Simmons

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KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

morestuff posted:

The bottom line would argue otherwise.

Didn't know I had to be so pedantic, I meant within this thread. I recognize that TMZ for sports is a totally reasonable business model, and in any event we weren't really talking about whether being a good sports blog is better for the bottom line or not.

# ? Aug 24, 2010 20:54

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 04:55

morestuff: Aug 2, 2008; You can't stop what's coming

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Didn't know I had to be so pedantic, I meant within this thread. I recognize that TMZ for sports is a totally reasonable business model, and in any event we weren't really talking about whether being a good sports blog is better for the bottom line or not.

Sorry if it seemed like I was calling you out or something - I knew what you were saying. I just thought it was interesting that the site has seen a marked uptick in their hits since changing formats.

# ? Aug 24, 2010 21:08

haljordan: Oct 22, 2004; the corpse of god is love.

morestuff posted:

Sorry if it seemed like I was calling you out or something - I knew what you were saying. I just thought it was interesting that the site has seen a marked uptick in their hits since changing formats.

Well now it appeals to a broad range of viewers, not just the hardcore sports fans. Hell, they even have an occasional column tie in with Jezebel featuring sex advice. Because that's what I want from my sporting news. A reminder that I ain't gettin' any.

# ? Aug 24, 2010 21:13

Nodoze: Aug 17, 2006; If it's only for a night I can live without you

Just a heads up, Jason Whitlock is on today's BS Report with Simmons

# ? Aug 24, 2010 23:10

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

I'll always have some amount of respect for Jason Whitlock because in the interview with The Big Lead that led to his firing from ESPN he managed to take some unprovoked shots at both Scoop Jackson and Mike Lupica.

# ? Aug 25, 2010 00:09

haljordan: Oct 22, 2004; the corpse of god is love.

I can accept acting like a narcissistic jackass if you're a Superbowl champion or World Series hero, but the fact that there are sportswriters walking around seemingly with the same level of :smug:

is truly mind boggling.

# ? Aug 25, 2010 02:22

Bigass Moth: Mar 6, 2004; I joined the #RXT REVOLUTION.

he knows...

There are people in every walk of life who think their poo poo doesn't stink. It's not surprising that someone who gets paid (probably more than most of us make) to write about sports (a job any of us could do) would be like that.

# ? Aug 25, 2010 12:09

morestuff: Aug 2, 2008; You can't stop what's coming

Bigass Moth posted:

There are people in every walk of life who think their poo poo doesn't stink. It's not surprising that someone who gets paid (probably more than most of us make) to write about sports (a job any of us could do) would be like that.

I think journalism, especially opinion writing, attracts more than its fair share of narcissists - you have to believe on a pretty basic level that other people need to hear what you think.

# ? Aug 25, 2010 13:03

Badfinger: Dec 16, 2004; Timeouts?!

We'll take care of that.

Who just loves lovely Philly sports journalism? Have some, free of charge!

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/101449839.html

Bob Ford posted:

Bob Ford: McNabb plays blame game best

All these years, I thought GQ stood for Gentleman's Quarterly, but when the magazine came out with its exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Donovan McNabb this week, it's obvious the initials stand for Gone Qwazy.

Because that's where McNabb has gone. Not Washington, D.C., or Landover, Md. But Qwazy, USA, Zip code 55555.

McNabb said some things in the article that were dumb. He said some things that were insulting. And he said some things that were downright bonkers. This is not a particular surprise. McNabb was good for any of the three on a given day during his time as quarterback of the Eagles.

This interview, however, is like his Greatest Hits, a compendium of his best rationalizations from more than a decade. He should get K-tel Records to put it on a CD and sell it as an infomercial. Operators are standing by for your call, and they didn't throw up in the Super Bowl, either.

# ? Aug 26, 2010 18:06

Okposolypse: Jan 1, 2009; by Debbie Metallica

Qwazy.

# ? Aug 26, 2010 18:22

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

I could literally poo poo out something better than that.

# ? Aug 26, 2010 18:30

ForbiddenWonder: Feb 15, 2003

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jeff_pearlman/08/24/clemens.follow/index.html

This is hilarious, Perlman and Clemens trading jabs over twitter.

# ? Aug 26, 2010 19:13

LARGE THE HEAD: Sep 1, 2009; "Competitive greatness is when you play your best against the best."

"Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow."

--John Wooden

ForbiddenWonder posted:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jeff_pearlman/08/24/clemens.follow/index.html

This is hilarious, Perlman and Clemens trading jabs over twitter.

Every so often, I think he's hit bottom, but no, Jeff Pearlman keeps finding newer and more exciting lows to sink to. Joining up with Clemens is a sure-fire way to find them.

So, I met this one kid (sophomore in HS) the other day who was job-shadowing a college football beat writer. We got to talking, and he struck me as a pretty bright kid who wanted to get into the industry. I asked him if he had any journalistic experience.

"Yeah. I'm an NBA and college football writer for Bleacher Report."

:suicide:

That Web site needs to die a horrible death.

# ? Aug 27, 2010 00:05

Alfred P. Pseudonym: May 29, 2006; And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss goes 8-8

morestuff posted:

The bottom line would argue otherwise.

What's the huge spike in mid-2010? The Jerry Jones drunk video?

# ? Aug 27, 2010 08:16

morestuff: Aug 2, 2008; You can't stop what's coming

Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:

What's the huge spike in mid-2010? The Jerry Jones drunk video?

Dunno, looks like something in April. Edit: Actually, the NCAA tournament seems like a likely culprit.

In other Deadspin news, Leitch contributed a weird piece today about Tony LaRussa and Pujols attending a Glenn Beck rally.

quote:

It's why you see scenes like this; the man simply has no idea what to do himself when he's not running a baseball team. This is not abnormal; the ant farm that is Major League Baseball is designed to keep the outside world as far away as possible. But this is exactly why Tony La Russa is attending Glenn Beck's rally tomorrow in Washington. He simply doesn't know. Glenn Beck is just some guy who's on television that he and Albert Pujols met in the dugout one time.

...

Pujols and La Russa � two peas in an obsessive pod, a pod that contains nothing but pine tar and protective cups � surely haven't thought much about Beck. They have no idea he's a glorified drive-time shock jock who is less batshit right-wing loony than he is a calculating showman who has mastered the promotion of his personal brand. He's just that nice guy on television � Beck, by most accounts, is incredibly charming in person � who invited the two of them to come speak about "faith" and "values" at an event next time they're in DC. After that, it's highly doubtful either thought too much more about it; there's game tape to watch, and dozens of situational pitching changes to be made. They don't know who Glenn Beck is. They work in professional athletics: They don't have the time or the inclination to care.

It's just a really odd point to try and make. They work in professional sports, so they're completely oblivious to politics and major public figures?

morestuff fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Aug 28, 2010

# ? Aug 28, 2010 06:26

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

morestuff posted:

Dunno, looks like something in April.

In other Deadspin news, Leitch contributed a really odd piece today about Tony LaRussa and Pujols attending a Glenn Beck rally.

It's just a really odd point to try and make. They work in professional sports, so they're completely oblivious to politics and major public figures?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was generally confused with Leitch's piece.

# ? Aug 28, 2010 06:34

morestuff: Aug 2, 2008; You can't stop what's coming

A classmate of mine got a job writing for ESPN a few months ago. It's been absolutely hilarious seeing people come out of the woodwork, trying to buddy up to him on his Facebook page.

"Loved your story today, David! If they're ever hiring at ESPN let me know!

HAH, JK But really though if you want my resume or clips or whatever I can send it to you, just let me know lol"

# ? Aug 28, 2010 06:54

Sash!: Mar 16, 2001

morestuff posted:

They work in professional sports, so they're completely oblivious to politics and major public figures?

Why would I, a multi-millionaire, care about politics? How could petty things like taxes, financial controls, and regulation of investments affect me!

# ? Aug 28, 2010 10:03

Eggs: Apr 15, 2007

FairGame posted:

Enter Murray Chass, a former sportswriter for the New York Times. Chass, who has the ability to cast votes for entrance into the MLB Hall of Fame, hates the poo poo out of anything that isn't wins or RBIs, and he especially hates bloggers and their blogs. In spite of this, he has a blog.

As far as statistics go I wonder why a pitcher's wins are always displyed so prominently, seems to be one of the more useless stats in sports.

Eggs fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Aug 28, 2010

# ? Aug 28, 2010 20:40

Bigass Moth: Mar 6, 2004; I joined the #RXT REVOLUTION.

he knows...

Eggs posted:

As far as statistics go I wonder why a pitcher's wins are always displyed so prominently, seems to be one of the more useless stats in sports.

It was probably more important 100 years ago when pitchers started 30-50 games and rarely did not finish them.

# ? Aug 28, 2010 20:57

saffi faildotter: Mar 2, 2007

Eggs posted:

As far as statistics go I wonder why a pitcher's wins are always displyed so prominently, seems to be one of the more useless stats in sports.

Because if it was good enough for Cy Young and Kid Nichols and Bob Caruthers and Lady Baldwin¹ then by golly it's good enough for pitchers today

_{fig. 1: lady baldwin}

# ? Aug 28, 2010 21:03

Eggs: Apr 15, 2007

Bigass Moth posted:

It was probably more important 100 years ago when pitchers started 30-50 games and rarely did not finish them.

Ah yeah, forgot that pitchers used to go the whole game back then. But still, you'd think in the year 2010 a major sport like baseball would want to move past the old era and try to modernize a little bit more than they have. Or maybe I'm just being too idealistic.

# ? Aug 28, 2010 21:16

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

Eggs posted:

Ah yeah, forgot that pitchers used to go the whole game back then. But still, you'd think in the year 2010 a major sport like baseball would want to move past the old era and try to modernize a little bit more than they have. Or maybe I'm just being too idealistic.

Because it is immediately obvious to the casual fan that a good W-L record is a positive. Less immediately obvious is that a low ERA is good, and beyond that the average viewer isn't going to have a clue what you are talking about without a ton of re-education.

# ? Aug 28, 2010 23:49

Bigass Moth: Mar 6, 2004; I joined the #RXT REVOLUTION.

he knows...

Old tyme baseball stats like ERA and WINS dont really tell you much other than the run support a pitcher had. Nolan Ryan ended with around a 3 ERA and almost as many losses as wins but it's because he played on terrible teams for nearly 30 years.

# ? Aug 28, 2010 23:58

Medical Sword: May 23, 2005; Goghing, Goghing, gone

Eggs posted:

Ah yeah, forgot that pitchers used to go the whole game back then. But still, you'd think in the year 2010 a major sport like baseball would want to move past the old era and try to modernize a little bit more than they have. Or maybe I'm just being too idealistic.

With sports I don't think there's really any impetus for "modernizing" the game itself, outside of modern technology and distractions at the venues. The point of sports is pretty basic and they've been around as long as civilization has. Coming around to advanced analysis is going to be a gradual, cultural process if anything. In the meantime, baseball would be pretty awesome even if we were all dumb and computers didn't exist so it's all good!!

# ? Aug 29, 2010 00:05

barkingclam: Jun 20, 2007

I will admit that Deadspin has really gotten one thing right under Daulerio: their Dead Wrestler of the Week series is really good. What sounds like (and really should be, since so much of their content is) a gimmick/snarky look at wrestling is always a insightful look at the personalities behind 'sports entertainment.'

This week's piece on Owen Hart is one of the best examples of this. If you've never read this series, it's a good place to start.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 17:27

illcendiary: Dec 4, 2005; Damn, this is good coffee.

barkingclam posted:

I will admit that Deadspin has really gotten one thing right under Daulerio: their Dead Wrestler of the Week series is really good. What sounds like (and really should be, since so much of their content is) a gimmick/snarky look at wrestling is always a insightful look at the personalities behind 'sports entertainment.'

This week's piece on Owen Hart is one of the best examples of this. If you've never read this series, it's a good place to start.

Came in here to post this. That piece was loving unbelievably well-written. Helps if you were a fan of wrestling when Owen was around, but god drat, Masked Man has put out some great pieces.

I like that the comments section for the articles, unlike EVERY OTHER SECTION of Deadspin, doesn't turn into some stupid circlejerk where a bunch of unfunny assholes quote random parts of the article and make the most obscure joke possible.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 18:10

Deathlove: Feb 20, 2003; Pillbug

barkingclam posted:

I will admit that Deadspin has really gotten one thing right under Daulerio: their Dead Wrestler of the Week series is really good. What sounds like (and really should be, since so much of their content is) a gimmick/snarky look at wrestling is always a insightful look at the personalities behind 'sports entertainment.'

This week's piece on Owen Hart is one of the best examples of this. If you've never read this series, it's a good place to start.

So, so agreed. One of the last reasons to go there.

# ? Aug 31, 2010 19:37

stuart scott: Mar 9, 2007

Dom Amore re: Cy Young award

quote:

So who gets it? First, I am going to eliminate King Felix Hernandez from the pack, although, if I were building a team he might be my first pick. Hernandez's numbers are impressive - a 2.38 ERA over 211 innings with 200 strikeouts - but he is nonetheless 10-10. He got ripped off last year, in my opinion, with a 19-5 record he should have been the Cy Young winner over Zach Greinke. Not this year.

Wins matter. The most important thing a starting pitcher does is win games, and though a starter has less control over his decisions than he used to in the days of complete games, he still has a lot to do with it. Sabathia doesn't have 19 wins by accident. He has them because he holds leads, finds ways on nights when he doesn't have it, such as in Chicago last weekend, and goes deep into games, deep enough to allow his team to bypass shaky middle relievers and get right to the closer.

For this reason, I have usually used three wins as a benchmark margin. If Pitcher A has three more wins than his nearest competitor, I am likely to go with him for the Cy Young if the other numbers are reasonable close. In comparing starters, innings pitched is a big stat for me, too, because a pitcher throwing 230 innings has pitched through fatigue and helped his team, for the aforementioned reasons, more than the guy who has averaged six innings per start and throws, say, 190 innings. The ERA can be misleading - some pitchers win 8-0 and lose 3-2, others win 8-4 and 2-1. It's when you give up those earned runs that makes the difference in winning and losing. Pitching isn't like a golf tournament where the lowest aggregate score wins, it's Match Play - the job of a starting pitcher is to match the other guy on each given time out. This is why a great pitcher can win a ton of games for a bad team, like Steve Carlton in 1972, while others, no matter how talented, seem to find their way to .500 no matter what kind of team they're on, such as A.J. Burnett.

So Cy Young winners are great pitchers, durable pitchers, who know how to win, and all three of the contenders fit this category. Sabathia, Buchholz and Price all have a lot of wins, great numbers and they've done going up against the best hitting division, top to bottom, in baseball, the AL East. Even the Orioles are not easy to face in Camden Yards.

# ? Sep 7, 2010 20:58

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

Hey King Felix too bad you couldn't magic Jose Lopez into something valuable, you could have won the award dedicated to being a good pitcher if you did!!!!

# ? Sep 7, 2010 20:59

LARGE THE HEAD: Sep 1, 2009; "Competitive greatness is when you play your best against the best."

"Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die tomorrow."

--John Wooden

stuart scott irl posted:

Dom Amore re: Cy Young award

And this is why FJM is so deeply missed, ladies and gents.

# ? Sep 7, 2010 21:00

Nodoze: Aug 17, 2006; If it's only for a night I can live without you

Clay Buchholz is going to get more votes than Felix and I think that's the bigger travesty than Felix not winning

# ? Sep 7, 2010 21:01

The broken bones: Jan 3, 2008; Out beyond winning and losing, there is a field.

I will meet you there.

Where Red Sox Nation Collides With Yankees Universe ... Every Day!

# ? Sep 7, 2010 21:06

saffi faildotter: Mar 2, 2007

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Hey King Felix too bad you couldn't magic Jose Lopez into something valuable, you could have won the award dedicated to being a good pitcher if you did!!!!

To be honest it's really fitting that the Cy is given to pitchers who are overrated because of wins because so was Cy Young himself

Of course he is also the all time leader in IP with an astounding 7300 (1,300 more than second place Pud Galvin) and with a 136 ERA+ he was still really great, but not best pitcher ever. At least it's not the Lew Burdette Award.

# ? Sep 7, 2010 21:25

Badfinger: Dec 16, 2004; Timeouts?!

We'll take care of that.

stuart scott irl posted:

Dom Amore re: Cy Young award

Reasons Steve Carlton should have won the Cy Young Award:

WINS

Things that seem related to winning the Cy Young Award but totally aren't!:

50 more IP than any other pitcher in the league
310 K, more than 60 more than any other pitcher in the league
Allowed less runs than walks, yet led the league in K:BB
8 Shutouts
Adding Up The BBR WARs, he was almost more valuable than the 2nd, 3rd, 4th place pitchers combined (Bob Gibson had 2nd highest WAR of vote recipients, but was in 9th place).
8 CG Shutouts with 30 CGs (hilariously did not lead the league in shut outs, only 7CG ahead of 2nd place)

Clearly it should be named the Old Hoss Radbourn Award For Best Season of Wins For A Pitcher in honor of his baseball-leading 59 wins in a single season. Hilariously he misses out on CG and IP by 2 each to some guy named Will White in 1879.

Old Hoss himself agrees with me.

@OldHossRadbourn posted:

Of course wins matter! And pitchers entirely control winning! This is why I personally scored and drove in all of the runs when I pitched.

# ? Sep 7, 2010 21:40

leokitty: Apr 5, 2005; I live. I die. I live again.

Marc Carig rules and is writing more opinion pieces and you should all pay attention to him: http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2010/09/views_why_the_yankees_shouldn.html

quote:

Over Labor Day weekend, through both my Twitter feed and the reader comments on my blog, I've read lots of groaning about how the Yankees don't bunt nearly enough.
And that their lack of "small ball" ability will somehow be responsible for their undoing. And that they'll inevitably find themselves helpless in a critical playoff game against some dominant pitcher. And that they'll really be sorry when they must scrounge for runs against that dominant pitcher with a roster full of guys who can't pick out a hit-and-run from an In-N-Out.

The chatter seems amplified whenever the Yankees drop a game in which their offense stinks, or when they botch a sacrifice bunt, or when the guy botching that sacrifice bunt happens to be Brett Gardner, as was the case on Monday afternoon.
On some level, I understand the frustration. There's no denying that there's something beautiful about a squeeze play, a drag bunt, and yes, a well-executed hit and run. Except, in the case of the Yankees, the notion that there isn't enough "small ball" is absurd.

Maybe the idea of the game as a battle of attrition -- working at-bats, drawing walks, popping home runs -- isn't your ideal brand of baseball. That's fine. But the reality is that the Yankees have chosen to fashion themselves in this mold. They have assembled specific parts to build a machine that's designed to 1.) Get players on base 2.) Knock in those players with extra base hits, whether they're doubles in the gaps or home runs in the seats.

The machine works.

As of Sunday, the Yankees led the American League in on-base percentage (.352) and rank third in slugging (.445). Put those together, and it should be no surprise that the Yankees also lead the AL in runs (743) and in runs per game (5.42). Heck, it's not even close. In fact, they are the only team in all of baseball to average more than five runs a game.

An offense's job is to score runs and the Yankees offense scores a ton of them.

He talks a lot about how people who want more bunts are silly.

# ? Sep 7, 2010 21:44

seiferguy: Jun 9, 2005; FLAWED
INTUITION; Toilet Rascal

stuart scott irl posted:

Dom Amore re: Cy Young award

Geoff Baker, who's actually one of the baseball writers I hate the most, wrote a really good response to that:

quote:

But it's not so easy to win when your team scores four runs or fewer. The league average for runs per game by a team is above four. So, it stands to reason that, if you score only four, your team will likely lose at least as often as it wins.

So, it takes a good pitcher to overcome that.

Let's look at the number of wins registered by Hernandez and Sabathia when their teams score four runs or fewer:

Hernandez -- 8
Sabathia -- 6

How about the number of wins when their team scores three or fewer:

Hernandez -- 2
Sabathia -- 1

Two or fewer?

Hernandez -- 1
Sabathia -- 1

-----

Let's take one final look at how both guys do when their team scores either four or five runs in a game. No blowout by the pitcher's team, or shutdown of the pitcher's hitters by an opponent. Just a plain old "average" game of offense generated.

Hernandez -- 6-0
Sabathia -- 8-3

So, again, I ask you, where is it proven that Sabathia "knows how to win" more than Hernandez? Because he doesn't do it at a greater rate when he gets league average support.

I'll submit that it hasn't been shown. That it's a myth. And that, for the purposes of the Cy Young Award race, the fact that C.C. Sabathia notched half his wins because of an offense scoring six or more runs per game should not be held in his favor. That this whole "knows how to win" notion should be tossed aside in this case and other numbers looked at.

# ? Sep 7, 2010 22:13

barkingclam: Jun 20, 2007

LARGE THE HEAD posted:

And this is why FJM is so deeply missed, ladies and gents.

They'll be taking over Deadspin for a day in a couple weeks.

# ? Sep 8, 2010 03:27

Bigass Moth: Mar 6, 2004; I joined the #RXT REVOLUTION.

he knows...

It only makes sense that Wins should decide the Cy Young winners. After all, Cy himself won a lot of games.

The NFL MVP award should also thusly be awarded to the Quarterback who wins the most games.

# ? Sep 8, 2010 17:38

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 04:55

Feels Villeneuve: Oct 7, 2007; Setter is Better.

please rename the Cy Young award the "Pedro Martinez' 2000 Season Award"

# ? Sep 8, 2010 17:39

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > Sports Journalism Tumblr: A Black self-insert character called Jabaal Abdul-Simmons

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