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

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Anubis: Oct 9, 2003; It's hard to keep sand out of ears this big.; Fun Shoe

Mornacale posted:

In any event, virtually no one thinks that stats alone are the best way to evaluate players anymore. But those of us on the Internet who aren't trained scouts and don't have time to watch every game sort of by nature have to use them without much context.

And rarely are people like us evaluating anything but major league talent. In the minors you might have a pitcher who's got a high 90s fastball with control issues and a super high WHIP and BB/100 that makes him look horrible. If you only look at the stats you'll say that he's not a good pitcher because he has massive control issues but even then you might be able to say that his SO/100 is rather high and if he can learn control he will likely have a bright future. Or you might have a pitcher who is getting hit hard because he's a rookie AA pitcher who hasn't yet figured out a breaking pitch so everyone gets to just sit on a fastball. Either way, the stats won't tell you about what he could become, they can only tell you what he currently is.

Stats on prospects can give you a great start on figuring out who is ready to make the next jump but they will often overlook great potential prospects that could develop into solid players 2-3 years down the road. They can also miss players who have never gotten a real chance. Then again, if we had $1 for every time a traditional baseball scout has called an eventual flop prospect "can't miss" we'd be able to buy up all the empty seats in Yankee Stadium.

# ? Oct 15, 2012 21:24

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 07:54

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

TOPIC CHANGE!

This is loving incredible:

Soccernet posted:

AFC apologizes for racist comment

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The Asian Football Confederation has apologized for mistakenly referring to the United Arab Emirates national team as the "Sand Monkeys."

The mistake in an article on the AFC website set off a storm of criticism in the Gulf country. The UAE Football Association's Yousuf Abdulla demanded an apology and called the wording an "unfortunate affair" which "revealed some racist acts by some AFC officials."

The AFC said Monday it wanted to "apologize for any hurt this might have caused to the UAE Football Association and UAE football fans."

The AFC called it a "genuine mistake" inserted by a new writer who saw "Sand Monkeys" wrongly listed as the team's nickname on its Wikipedia page. The team's actual nickname is Al Abyad, or The White, and the Wikipedia page has been corrected.

# ? Oct 15, 2012 22:52

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

I will meet you there.

Crazy Ted posted:

TOPIC CHANGE!

This is loving incredible:

lollll

# ? Oct 16, 2012 04:49

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

Lots and lots of people should be fired for using Wikipedia as a loving reference.

# ? Oct 16, 2012 08:23

jyrka: Jan 21, 2005; Potato Count: 2 small potatoes

Honest enough mistake to make. No big deal at all.

# ? Oct 16, 2012 12:03

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

It's like something I could imagine an Asian Michael Scott doing in an Asian version of The Office, and then after he's confronted he wonders what all the fuss is about and cracks an awkward smile at the camera.

I wonder what the hell the editor who let that pass must have been thinking. "Sand Monkeys? That's a new one. Hmm."

Crazy Ted fucked around with this message at 14:15 on Oct 16, 2012

# ? Oct 16, 2012 14:10

Ice To Meet You: Mar 5, 2007

Is it too late to change Mike Trout's nickname to Sand Monkey?

# ? Oct 16, 2012 15:53

Mr. Funny Pants: Apr 9, 2001

jyrka posted:

Honest enough mistake to make. No big deal at all.

Typo. "The White" are all really close to the letters that form, "Sand Monkeys."

# ? Oct 17, 2012 22:05

Mahoning: Feb 3, 2007

I don't have a specific example of this at the moment but someone needs to teach journalists and other talking heads that correlation is not causation. For example:

"Team X is 6-0 when they run the ball at least 30 times. All they have to do is run at least 30 times and they'll win."

I see this sort of "break-down" all the time. Not only is it lazy, its dumb, because teams who are winning football games tend to run the ball more, especially as the game goes on. It would be like saying "They're undefeated when taking a knee as the last play of the game, so they just need to ensure they have the ball at the end of the game and take a knee as time runs out and they'll win!"

Ok not exactly like that, but sort of. Can anyone else think of examples of journalists doing this?

# ? Oct 24, 2012 15:43

FairGame: Jul 24, 2001; Der Kommander

Mahoning posted:

I don't have a specific example of this at the moment but someone needs to teach journalists and other talking heads that correlation is not causation. For example:

"Team X is 6-0 when they run the ball at least 30 times. All they have to do is run at least 30 times and they'll win."

I see this sort of "break-down" all the time. Not only is it lazy, its dumb, because teams who are winning football games tend to run the ball more, especially as the game goes on. It would be like saying "They're undefeated when taking a knee as the last play of the game, so they just need to ensure they have the ball at the end of the game and take a knee as time runs out and they'll win!"

Ok not exactly like that, but sort of. Can anyone else think of examples of journalists doing this?

Tons, and not just in sports. Or sometimes combining sports and politics.

Like this stupid poo poo here.

# ? Oct 24, 2012 16:15

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

he knows...

http://www.thelantern.com/sports/the-torg-i-have-paid-the-price-and-i-want-to-be-back-on-the-air-1.2936285#.UIkS5sXA94w

quote:

Scott �The Torg� Torgerson apologized and tried to show remorse, but it was too little, too late.

Torgerson, former co-host of �The Common Man & The Torg� radio show on Columbus� WBNS 97.1 The Fan, was fired Wednesday as a result of an Oct. 13 tweet in which he wished death on ESPN college football analyst and former Michigan football star Desmond Howard. Torgerson and his laywer, Columbus attorney Joe Edwards, said they believe the firing was unlawful and will consider legal action as well as an investigation into ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit�s potential role in the firing.

From 97.1 The Fan�s Twitter account, @971thefan, the station announced the firing, tweeting: �Scott Torgerson is no longer employed by our company as of today. We appreciate his contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors.�

In an email interview with The Lantern, Torgerson said he did not initially expect to be terminated but eventually started to �hear a few things� and began to suspect it.

On Friday, The Fan offered Torgerson the opportunity to resign �with a small severance,� but he declined, opting instead to request to be allowed back on the air at a Monday meeting.

�I would have had to sign an agreement not to ever talk about this and could not take legal action,� Torgerson said. �The other option was termination with no severance or insurance. They gave me that option Friday and gave me the weekend to think it over. I showed up Monday for our meeting and told them I want to go back on the air. They told me that wasn�t an option. I received a termination letter (Wednesday).�

From his Twitter account, @myguythetorg, Torgerson tweeted on Oct. 13: �I wish Desmond Howard would get fired or die so I can watch �GameDay� again.�

Torgerson later issued an apology via Twitter, tweeting: �My Desmond Howard tweet was a joke.� He said he maintains the position that the tweet was a joke, and added that he reached out to Herbstreit and ESPN college football analysts and former OSU football player Chris Spielman to apologize.

�(Herbstreit and Spielman) work for ESPN and I am sure it wasn�t a good situation for them. I think everyone who listens or knows me knows it was a joke,� Torgerson said. �Now I have to deal with the (punishment) for my actions. I just don�t feel firing me is a way to handle it. I was employee of the quarter the Friday before. I would think being the sports director, strong ratings, and the income I have made for the station, that deserves a second chance.�

The Fan did not respond to The Lantern�s multiple requests for comment on Wednesday. Josh Krulewitz, vice president of communications for ESPN, declined to immediately respond to The Lantern�s request for comment.

Edwards, who knew Torgerson prior to the Oct. 13 tweet and was hired as counsel for the firing, agreed, saying he feels it was an unjust firing.

Edwards told The Lantern he didn�t think 97.1, which is owned by the Dispatch Media Group, �had just cause in discharging� Torgerson.

�He�s now fired. He had a job where he was doing very well, had very high ratings, was very well-liked in the Central Ohio market and now all of the sudden he doesn�t have a job. So we�re going to explore filing a lawsuit against the station and anybody else that was involved in his discharge.�

Torgerson had between a year and a year-and-a-half remaining on his agreement with The Fan, Edwards said, and part of a potential investigation of his client�s firing could involve Herbstreit.

Edwards, who emphasized that he can�t be sure if Herbstreit played any role in his client�s firing, said he could choose to investigate Herbstreit for �tortious interference,� or interfering with Torgerson�s contract.

�At some point in time, we would like to know how Scott ended up getting fired and, at some point in time, what Mr. Herbstreit said, who did he say it to and why did he say it,� Edwards said. �That�s our interest � why did 97.1 The Fan fire Scott? And I know that Kirk Herbstreit did a radio show � his radio show on 97.1 � on Oct. 15 where he went off on Scott Torgerson. And we�d like to know, you know, did he talk to anybody else at the station? Did he call any people in management? What did he say? Why did he say that?�

Torgerson said his wife, Lauren Torgerson, has been crying for days, but the couple has maintained some semblance of a sense of humor � in a nod to one of Scott Torgerson�s familiar jokes about firings, she suggested he work at a Citgo gas station for a couple of weeks.

�I may do it,� Scott Torgerson said.

In the mean time, Scott Torgerson said he appreciates the support he�s received from fans.

�Just to the listeners � Their support has been unreal. Someone created a �Save The Torg� Facebook page and in 10 days it has more �likes� than the 97.1 site,� he said. �The �Save the Torg� has over (8,000), (97.1 has) under 5,400. I would have to say the listeners have spoken. They want me back and I want to be back.

�I am sorry for what I did. I feel I have paid a huge price and I want to be back on air.�

If reading is hard, local radio guy makes an ill-advised tweet about Desmond Howard and then Kirk Herbstreit flexes his Buckeye muscles to get him fired. I've met Kirk before and, surprise, he was a total douche then as well.

# ? Oct 25, 2012 11:26

Mr. Funny Pants: Apr 9, 2001

Bigass Moth posted:

If reading is hard, local radio guy makes an ill-advised tweet about Desmond Howard and then Kirk Herbstreit flexes his Buckeye muscles to get him fired. I've met Kirk before and, surprise, he was a total douche then as well.

They don't present any evidence of it, but I can believe something happened. That remark was so tame compared to the typical stuff shock jocks get away with on the air. Hell, those two assholes that joked about Weird Al Yankovic's parents dying when he was a guest on the show are still on the air.

# ? Oct 25, 2012 15:20

Rousimar Pauladeen: Feb 27, 2007; I hate the mods I hate the mods I hate the mods! I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS! Hey wait a minute why do the mods hate me I'm contributing to the conversation I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HA

Today on First Take Stephen A Smith said this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZEGv7RtfCI

� � Kobe Bryant is going to miss it because, �my foot is sprained?� Are you crazy, Nigga please.�

However ESPN is "looking into it" and pondering whether to suspend him. Reminder that they suspended that one guy a month for saying chink in his armor in a story about Jeremy Lin.

As with any race in sports topic Jason Whitlock is threatening to "go off the reservation" if they don't clear this up.

# ? Oct 25, 2012 19:42

Pvt. Public: Sep 9, 2004; I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.

I doubt anything will happen. He suffered no repercussions when he called Lebron a friend of the family (also on First Take, I believe), though that was much less obvious.

# ? Oct 25, 2012 19:47

Parlett316: Dec 6, 2002; Jon Snow is viciously stabbed by his friends in the night's watch for wanting to rescue Mance Rayder from Ramsay Bolton

Nigga please pass the sweet potato.

# ? Oct 25, 2012 19:51

poly and open-minded: Nov 22, 2006; In BOD we trust

Pvt. Public posted:

I doubt anything will happen. He suffered no repercussions when he called Lebron a friend of the family (also on First Take, I believe), though that was much less obvious.

When did that happen?

# ? Oct 26, 2012 06:47

Rousimar Pauladeen: Feb 27, 2007; I hate the mods I hate the mods I hate the mods! I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS! Hey wait a minute why do the mods hate me I'm contributing to the conversation I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HA

Arctic Baldwin posted:

When did that happen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxIT9Ipvtc4

# ? Oct 26, 2012 06:59

Ace Jameson: Feb 10, 2006

Frot Lesnar posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxIT9Ipvtc4

I didn't even hear him say it, but that clip pretty much sums up every episode of First Take ever

# ? Oct 26, 2012 11:18

FairGame: Jul 24, 2001; Der Kommander

I swear I'm not trolling for clicks.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/10/finally-an-effective-way-to-rank-nfl-quarterbacks/264154/

I don't know enough about football to be sure, but this really strikes me as the NFL version of "Look at these sabermetric nerds in their mom's basement with their WAR and their BLORP and their BUTT-9s :smug:

The best metric is ribbies and that's why Hunter Pence is a great player."

I'm also biased against Barra because of garbage like this:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/06/how-baseball-jargon-became-nonsense/257940/

# ? Oct 26, 2012 19:02

purkey: Dec 5, 2003; I hate the 90s

Is that a joke article or does he really think that the word offense is confusing?

# ? Oct 27, 2012 02:25

FairGame: Jul 24, 2001; Der Kommander

purkey posted:

Is that a joke article or does he really think that the word offense is confusing?

It is a real article. He is A Very Serious Writer.

# ? Oct 27, 2012 02:56

Crion: Sep 30, 2004; baseball.

I have literally never seen an Allen Barra article that wasn't trash, though I'm sure there have to be some out there

edit: Wait, nevermind, I think he ripped Posnanski a new rear end in a top hat for the Paterno biography which was well-deserved

# ? Oct 28, 2012 02:26

Declan MacManus: Sep 1, 2011; damn i'm really in this bitch

FairGame posted:

I swear I'm not trolling for clicks.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/10/finally-an-effective-way-to-rank-nfl-quarterbacks/264154/

I don't know enough about football to be sure, but this really strikes me as the NFL version of "Look at these sabermetric nerds in their mom's basement with their WAR and their BLORP and their BUTT-9s The best metric is ribbies and that's why Hunter Pence is a great player."

I'm also biased against Barra because of garbage like this:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/06/how-baseball-jargon-became-nonsense/257940/

quote:

But he wouldn't let go. "That's what you're going by? Championships?"

"Well, yes," I replied. "That's what I would go by, unless winning the game isn't important." That sort of ended the debate.

Surely no person could be that insufferable in person

# ? Oct 28, 2012 03:09

Rousimar Pauladeen: Feb 27, 2007; I hate the mods I hate the mods I hate the mods! I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS! Hey wait a minute why do the mods hate me I'm contributing to the conversation I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HA

Declan MacManus posted:

Surely no person could be that insufferable in person

Never been to a goon meet you say?

# ? Oct 28, 2012 03:24

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

Crion posted:

I have literally never seen an Allen Barra article that wasn't trash, though I'm sure there have to be some out there

edit: Wait, nevermind, I think he ripped Posnanski a new rear end in a top hat for the Paterno biography which was well-deserved

I thought he wrote the Yogi biography that I liked but it turns out he wrote one that I didn't like!

# ? Oct 28, 2012 03:44

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

Frot Lesnar posted:

Never been to a goon meet you say?

Randy Winn hates SA

# ? Oct 28, 2012 05:08

Rousimar Pauladeen: Feb 27, 2007; I hate the mods I hate the mods I hate the mods! I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS! Hey wait a minute why do the mods hate me I'm contributing to the conversation I HATE THE MODS I HATE THE MODS I HA

seiferguy posted:

Randy Winn hates SA

I still don't know his favorite Pok�mon or Olive Garden order.

# ? Oct 28, 2012 05:12

DO YALL WANT A BOXC: Jul 20, 2010; HAHA! WOOOOOOO WOOO!; Fun Shoe

i loving loved yelling at randy winn that time

# ? Oct 28, 2012 06:03

zakharov: Nov 30, 2002; Tater Love

what on earth

# ? Oct 28, 2012 20:12

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

shame he didn't succeed

# ? Oct 28, 2012 23:17

Moe_Rahn: Jun 1, 2006; I got a question
why they hatin' on me?
I ain't did nothin' to 'em
but count this money
and put my team on
got my whole clique stunnin'
boy wassup
yeeeeeaaaaaahhhh

the idea of Pat Burrell beating up Jon Heyman (as well as, presumably, Kevin Millar and whoever else tried to stop him) will fill my imagination for the rest of the day

good thing Millar didn't get hurt though, wouldn't want him to be left with any big scabs

scaaaaaaaaaaaab

# ? Oct 28, 2012 23:22

Spoeank: Jul 16, 2003; That's a nice set of 11 dynasty points there, it would be a shame if 3 rings were to happen with it

Heyman got in a fight with Pat the Bat? Pussy is jealous.

# ? Oct 29, 2012 00:41

Vertical Lime: Dec 11, 2004

Look who's back and as big of an rear end in a top hat as ever

http://www.shermanreport.com/qa-jay-mariotti-on-two-years-spotlight-version-happened-return/

# ? Oct 29, 2012 17:46

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

Vertical Lime posted:

Look who's back and as big of an rear end in a top hat as ever

http://www.shermanreport.com/qa-jay-mariotti-on-two-years-spotlight-version-happened-return/

quote:

As I write this, I�m sitting under a blue sky by the pool in Santa Monica, with the ocean a few yards away. I read, write, ride my bike and work out here every day. Not really missing two bogus Sun-Times deadlines in Green Bay, eating bratwurst at halftime and getting back to Chicago at 4 a.m. That was a kamikaze mission for a failing newspaper � this is the good life.

"Getting fired for being a scumbag woman beater was the best thing to ever happen to me!" :smug:

# ? Oct 29, 2012 20:21

Politicalrancor: Jan 29, 2008

haljordan posted:

"Getting fired for being a scumbag woman beater was the best thing to ever happen to me!"

Look if you read my book that wasn't published you'll see how innocent I am and how that "WHORE" screwed me and my generosity.

# ? Oct 30, 2012 00:10

Ace Jameson: Feb 10, 2006

Mariotti does come off as smug and still has that short-guy complex, but he's right about a lot of what's going on in sports journalism. It's been moving toward a TMZ-type landscape for a while and it's kind of gross. I wouldn't agree with the notion that Skip Bayless is someone to look up to, though.

# ? Nov 2, 2012 23:02

Crazy Ted: Jul 29, 2003

Kevin Seifert for ESPN.com posted:

Chris Kluwe is a fortunate NFL employee

Chris Kluwe's rise to national celebrity status has coincided with a noticeable dip in his consistency as the Minnesota Vikings' punter. It would be easy to connect the two, and we all know there are some NFL teams that would. Kluwe is fortunate his employer has not.

The Vikings worked out free agent punter Brian Stahovich earlier this week. On Wednesday, however, coach Leslie Frazier said the team is confident Kluwe will work through his slump. More importantly, Frazier said he didn't think Kluwe's time-consuming campaign in support of same-sex marriage has impacted Kluwe's performance on the field.

"Chris is a pro," Frazier told reporters. "He's been able to deal with so many things in his career. He's been able to focus in these situations and focus on the task at hand and has been a very good punter, which he is. I don't think anything off the field is distracting him. He knows how to focus on his job, and I fully expect him to have a big game for us Sunday."

For the better part of two months, Kluwe has been on a whirlwind tour of media engagements and promotional appearances to help defeat a proposed amendment to the Minnesota constitution, one that would ban same-sex marriage. He's chronicled much of it on Twitter and his blog at the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

I see nothing wrong with an American citizen exercising his right for activism. I also don't pretend that NFL punters spend 24 hours a day working on their craft. Everyone has a life off the field to some extent.

At the same time, we know this league is an insulated and team-oriented business. Some of its leaders take that sentiment to extremes. I've covered coaches who would recoil at the idea of a player either drawing attention to himself publicly or dedicating significant amounts of time to pursuits other than football, which might or might not be a distraction or a physical drain. Just the smallest smidgeon of a downturn in performance would be enough to make a move.

Trust me on that one. There is a famous story about Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew, for one. During his playing career with the Washington Redskins, he didn't want the team to find out he was attending law school at night for fear his commitment would be questioned. Law school at night!

Kluwe, of course, isn't just drawing attention to himself and dedicating significant amounts of time to pursuits other than football. Wednesday, he admitted that he considers his advocacy for same-sex marriage more important than football.

Kluwe: "The funny thing is if you look at that argument, the basic foundation of that argument, it's that, 'Why don't you worry more about a children's game than basic human rights?' And yeah, I'm going to generally go with the basic human rights on that issue."

In those terms, it's hard to argue. But you can't assume that any employer, let alone an NFL team, is going to see or care about that big picture. Football is not a children's game to the people who supervise Kluwe or sign his checks.

For the moment, at least, Frazier does not appear fazed. Kluwe's season hasn't been terrible, but over the past two games, eight of his 13 punts have grossed less than 40 yards. Included in that group was a 20-yard shank last Thursday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Kluwe told reporters Wednesday he has identified the fundamentals he needs to correct moving forward. )

I don't want anyone to read this post and think I'm suggesting Kluwe has made a bad choice here. I admire his passion and willingness to use his platform to take a social stand. I just think he's fortunate there haven't been any professional consequences. It doesn't take much in this league.

Now I'm not saying that Chris Kluwe should shut up and keep his views about Gay Marriage to himself and focus on being an NFL "employee", I'm just saying that he should thank his lucky stars that he hasn't been cut for not shutting up and keeping his views about Gay Marriage to himself and just focusing on being an NFL "employee".

# ? Nov 3, 2012 01:22

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

A week late on this one (and you should avoid it if you're burned out on thinkpieces about Nate Silver), but I enjoyed this column on Deadspin.

# ? Nov 9, 2012 22:52

Grittybeard: Mar 29, 2010; Bad, very bad!

So I decided I was going to attempt to make fajitas tomorrow. Being a moron who has absolutely no idea how to go about this I google the subject.

What in the gently caress is wrong with you Deadspin?

Uh, in case anyone needs to know how to actually make these I did find a useful guide here.

# ? Nov 10, 2012 09:58

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 07:54

Crion: Sep 30, 2004; baseball.

Grittybeard posted:

So I decided I was going to attempt to make fajitas tomorrow. Being a moron who has absolutely no idea how to go about this I google the subject.

What in the gently caress is wrong with you Deadspin?

Uh, in case anyone needs to know how to actually make these I did find a useful guide here.

I see nothing wrong with these instructions. Only with you.

# ? Nov 10, 2012 10:41

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

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