It's official, the University of Illinois has caved into pressure from the NCAA and will stop using its 80 year old mascot, Chief Illiniwek. The NCAA will then allow Illinois to host post-season events.
Apparently, the NCAA rule change a few years ago, which has been defeated by Florida State, is still packing a punch somewhere. I'm curious to whether any native Americans connected to the university had any opinions on the issue.
The problem with the NCAA's rule is clear - it doesn't take into account various situations. At Florida State, the Seminole tribe has given permission for their image to be used, so the NCAA has just allowed FSU to ignore their own rule. Next, at Universities like Miami, the Indian mascot and logo were used for years with the Miami tribe's approval. When the tribe changed its mind, the university got a new logo. However, the Miami tribe wished the old logo to be associated still with Miami sports, and the university has done so with the indian logo hanging from the side of the football stadium.
However, in Illinois' case, all native American imagery had to be removed. Does that not apply to Miami as well?
Not only is the NCAA's rule arbitrary and irregularly enforced, it ignores the desires of those indian tribes so honored with athletic mascots and determines for all of us what is and isn't "offensive." Ridiculous.
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Friday, February 16, 2007
Saturday, November 18, 2006
The Difference
What's the difference between a good loser and a bad one?
USC's former quarterback Matt Leinart after losing the national championship to Texas last year:
I still think we're a better team, they just made some good plays and won the game.
Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr after losing to #1 Ohio State today:
We lost to a better team.
USC's former quarterback Matt Leinart after losing the national championship to Texas last year:
I still think we're a better team, they just made some good plays and won the game.
Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr after losing to #1 Ohio State today:
We lost to a better team.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
The Best Newspaper in the World
From the New York Times infamous corrections section:
An entry in the News Summary on Saturday misstated the name of the team that the St. Louis Cardinals defeated to win the World Series. It was the Detroit Tigers, not the Detroit Lions.
Wow.
UPDATE: The continuing crisis; from today's corrections page:
A chart with The Fifth Down column in Sports on Oct. 25, which ranked the top five states that produced the most N.F.L. players on opening-day rosters this season, gave the incorrect ranking in some copies for two states and omitted a state. The correct rankings: California is first (206 players); Florida is second (177); Texas is third (175); Ohio is fourth (83); and Georgia is fifth (80). Because the city of Detroit was listed as a state, in third place, the rankings for Texas and Ohio were incorrect and Georgia was omitted.
City, state - what's the difference?
An entry in the News Summary on Saturday misstated the name of the team that the St. Louis Cardinals defeated to win the World Series. It was the Detroit Tigers, not the Detroit Lions.
Wow.
UPDATE: The continuing crisis; from today's corrections page:
A chart with The Fifth Down column in Sports on Oct. 25, which ranked the top five states that produced the most N.F.L. players on opening-day rosters this season, gave the incorrect ranking in some copies for two states and omitted a state. The correct rankings: California is first (206 players); Florida is second (177); Texas is third (175); Ohio is fourth (83); and Georgia is fifth (80). Because the city of Detroit was listed as a state, in third place, the rankings for Texas and Ohio were incorrect and Georgia was omitted.
City, state - what's the difference?
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Cyclones Screwed
For those of you who watched Iowa State vs. Nebraska today on ABC you saw a game ruined by poor officiating. In addition, you continued to see the blatant bias of the national sports media. It was impossible to count the number of times the announcers talked about Nebraska's supposed "west coast" offense. To those of you who don't speak "Nebraska football is amazing," a "west-coast" offense means that you throw the ball a lot. (Oh, and Zac Taylor only passed for something like 130 yards.) Wow.
Also, when Iowa State threw its first interception (and first turnover) the announcers immediately stated that Iowa State "really has to control its turnovers." What?
Finally, the announcers liked to comment on how Iowa State did against "Northern Illinois" last week? Do you mean "Northern Iowa?"
Anyway, Iowa State unfortunately couldn't score enough times. For two of the three times they did, the officials didn't believe them. The first was a bad pass interference call on Todd Blythe. The second touchdown was also a catch by Todd Blythe, who landed in the endzone with both feet. However, due to reasons beyond my understanding the officials decided that Iowa State didn't score. Suddenly a tied game became a 14-point deficit.
This should be no surprise to Iowa State fans, who are used to having games ruined by horrible officiating.
A Brief History of Iowa State Getting Screwed
December 27, 2001. Independence Bowl, Shreveport, LA
In a game that Iowa State dominated, the whole thing came down to one last minute field goal. The ISU kicker sent the ball straight over the upright, and the officials called it no-good. I attended the game, and was rather confused. Watching SportsCenter that night we saw that the national sports media was actually on our side. They announced the game that was "won by a badly-called field goal."
August 24, 2002. Eddie Robinson Classic, Kansas City, MO
After badly trailing #3 Florida State until the 4th quarter, Iowa State came charging back to within a single touchdown. With time winding down Seneca Wallace ran towards the endzone and dove - extending the ball with his hands - out of bounds. Standing literally 10 yards from that particular corner of the endzone it was clear that Wallace had gotten in. But could the Cyclones tie the Seminoles? According the the officials - no.
And then today - two touchdowns ruled incomplete. It's time for the national sports media to realize there are more teams out there besides Nebraska, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, and the all the teams in the SEC. Also, it's time for the NCAA to allow more than one coach's challenge per game due to increasingly poor officiating.
Also, when Iowa State threw its first interception (and first turnover) the announcers immediately stated that Iowa State "really has to control its turnovers." What?
Finally, the announcers liked to comment on how Iowa State did against "Northern Illinois" last week? Do you mean "Northern Iowa?"
Anyway, Iowa State unfortunately couldn't score enough times. For two of the three times they did, the officials didn't believe them. The first was a bad pass interference call on Todd Blythe. The second touchdown was also a catch by Todd Blythe, who landed in the endzone with both feet. However, due to reasons beyond my understanding the officials decided that Iowa State didn't score. Suddenly a tied game became a 14-point deficit.
This should be no surprise to Iowa State fans, who are used to having games ruined by horrible officiating.
A Brief History of Iowa State Getting Screwed
December 27, 2001. Independence Bowl, Shreveport, LA
In a game that Iowa State dominated, the whole thing came down to one last minute field goal. The ISU kicker sent the ball straight over the upright, and the officials called it no-good. I attended the game, and was rather confused. Watching SportsCenter that night we saw that the national sports media was actually on our side. They announced the game that was "won by a badly-called field goal."
August 24, 2002. Eddie Robinson Classic, Kansas City, MO
After badly trailing #3 Florida State until the 4th quarter, Iowa State came charging back to within a single touchdown. With time winding down Seneca Wallace ran towards the endzone and dove - extending the ball with his hands - out of bounds. Standing literally 10 yards from that particular corner of the endzone it was clear that Wallace had gotten in. But could the Cyclones tie the Seminoles? According the the officials - no.
And then today - two touchdowns ruled incomplete. It's time for the national sports media to realize there are more teams out there besides Nebraska, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, and the all the teams in the SEC. Also, it's time for the NCAA to allow more than one coach's challenge per game due to increasingly poor officiating.
Monday, September 04, 2006
More Sports Bias
Absolutely hilarious: first off, if you watch college football on ESPN this year (?) you evidently get the chance to watch eight different views at the same time. Second, if you watch Florida State vs. Miami, you get an awesome taste of the trend within sports media reporting - the infallibility of "good" sports teams.
Example: Miami's center snapped the ball into his own butt during one play in the second half. The quarterback was ready for a shotgun snap, and the center must have missed the memo. The announcer, hoping to minimize the obvious damage to Miami's reputation, claimed that "how could the center not realize the quarterback's hands weren't on his butt?" Of course - the center knew full well where the quarterback had lined up: 1) he knew the play (one would hope), and 2) the quarterback did a non-verbal snap count. Translation - the center screwed up big time - worse than most teams will even during pre-season non-conference play.
The announcers, not content with lying about players' mistakes on the field, went on to quickly contemplate how "each teams' national championship hopes" were affected by a win or a loss in this game. National championship hopes? Neither of these teams have a chance and let's face it - if all of Miami's players played for Iowa State, we still wouldn't be rated 12th nationally. Let's also not forget the only team that went undefeated last season in the NCAA was rated #2 until that last game.
I write a lot about bias in the media, but sometimes bias in the sport media is much more pronounced and hilarious.
Example: Miami's center snapped the ball into his own butt during one play in the second half. The quarterback was ready for a shotgun snap, and the center must have missed the memo. The announcer, hoping to minimize the obvious damage to Miami's reputation, claimed that "how could the center not realize the quarterback's hands weren't on his butt?" Of course - the center knew full well where the quarterback had lined up: 1) he knew the play (one would hope), and 2) the quarterback did a non-verbal snap count. Translation - the center screwed up big time - worse than most teams will even during pre-season non-conference play.
The announcers, not content with lying about players' mistakes on the field, went on to quickly contemplate how "each teams' national championship hopes" were affected by a win or a loss in this game. National championship hopes? Neither of these teams have a chance and let's face it - if all of Miami's players played for Iowa State, we still wouldn't be rated 12th nationally. Let's also not forget the only team that went undefeated last season in the NCAA was rated #2 until that last game.
I write a lot about bias in the media, but sometimes bias in the sport media is much more pronounced and hilarious.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Oh, Dear...
It seems that Iowa State Football will have the chance to step up or be obliterated. They get to play arguably the toughest schedule in the country, tying for playing the nation's most previous season bowl-contenders at 9, and coming in second in the nation with opponents' last season winning percentages of .633.
Ouch.
Go State.
Run.
Ouch.
Go State.
Run.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Sports Bias - Again?
So there I was watching TV tonight, and I couldn't help but flip to ESPN to see what was on. It was the Duke - North Carolina basketball game, so I went ahead and changed the channel - to ESPN2. Do you know what was on? Duke-UNC.
I somehow doubt that the only notable sports event currently worth covering is this one basketball game. But, hey...
I somehow doubt that the only notable sports event currently worth covering is this one basketball game. But, hey...
Monday, January 16, 2006
Best of 2005
Now that we're in the second half of January, I think it's safe to judge the best articles, posts, quotes and blogs of 2005.
Best column: Karl's New Manifesto:
David Brooks of the NY Times used a Marxist analysis to show how leftists perpetuate oppression. His writing style is measured and courteous, but his attacks modern leftists are brilliant. I emailed the article to a normally long-winded philosophy professor, his only reply about the column in a three-paragraph response was, "I usually enjoy David Brooks' columns, but this one was particularly provocative."
Best quote: Senator Jim Inhofe
After the shame of our state, Senator Tom Harkin, proposed Congressional action to mandate liberal radio programming for armed forces, Jim Inhofe wet to the Senate floor to explain that radio programming was not, in fact, controlled by Congress. He explained to mentally-deficient democrats why the nonpartisan formula based on listenership ended up excluding AirAmerica filth; from his floor speech on November 8:
"The other day I was in the elevator coming up to cast a vote. I was with two of our democrat colleagues, two I respect very much, two very liberal democrat senators, and they were complaining about the fact that all the talk shows are all conservatives and they don't have successful liberal talk shows, and they said, these were their words in the elevator, they said, 'there ought to be a legislative fix to this.' I said, what you guys don't understand is this is market driven. There is just no market for your liberal trite."
I should point out that this quote played a role in in a snarky troll post. Some liberals were upset that a New Hampshire radio host was being let go for driving away advertisers like car dealerships for railing against SUV's. Liberals on the blog thought big business was driving her off the air and advocated government intervention to protect free speech. I posted (under the name 'laughter') an entry-level economics lesson, explaining that she had no fundamental right to a radio show, that she was being driven off not by business but by low popularity: if she was popular, there would be advertisers who want her "legions" of listeners to hear about her products. Alas, economics, constitutional law, logic, etc. is lost upon liberals (but they are good at finding ways to spend money).
Most egregious reporting: Last Letter Home
2005 wasn't a good year for media outlets, from the amazingly overstated Hurricane Katrina aftermath stories to executives spewing outright anti-American lies or reporters making stories of themselves (Judith Miller, James Risen, Mary Mapes).
In my view, James Dao of the New York Times loses for giving the clearest example of 2005 about reporting with an agenda. Michelle Malkin provides pages of documentation about the incident. Mr. Dao, wanting to paint troops in Iraq as fatalistic, took a sentence from the last letter of a Marine completely out of context for an article about the 2000th death from Operation Iraqi Freedom. In a letter containing phrases like, 'Others have died for my freedom. Now this is my mark' and 'I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live', the reporter used the fallen soldier's introduction to get what he wanted for the article. The family of the Marine came forward to set the record straight.
Best news blog: NRO's The Corner
The National Review has by far the most up-to-the-minute information and some of the best columnists (Victor Davis Hansen, Jonah Goldberg, Larry Kudlow) of any free website. The Corner is one of the best resources for finding who said what, when.
Best general blog: I Hate Horses
Hat tip to Kelly Guiter, from 'Just a Bit Outside...' sports blog. On the lighter side, these posts are funny, but the reader comments are truly hilarious. Contractually guaranteed to brighten even the most depressing day.
Best column: Karl's New Manifesto:
David Brooks of the NY Times used a Marxist analysis to show how leftists perpetuate oppression. His writing style is measured and courteous, but his attacks modern leftists are brilliant. I emailed the article to a normally long-winded philosophy professor, his only reply about the column in a three-paragraph response was, "I usually enjoy David Brooks' columns, but this one was particularly provocative."
Best quote: Senator Jim Inhofe
After the shame of our state, Senator Tom Harkin, proposed Congressional action to mandate liberal radio programming for armed forces, Jim Inhofe wet to the Senate floor to explain that radio programming was not, in fact, controlled by Congress. He explained to mentally-deficient democrats why the nonpartisan formula based on listenership ended up excluding AirAmerica filth; from his floor speech on November 8:
"The other day I was in the elevator coming up to cast a vote. I was with two of our democrat colleagues, two I respect very much, two very liberal democrat senators, and they were complaining about the fact that all the talk shows are all conservatives and they don't have successful liberal talk shows, and they said, these were their words in the elevator, they said, 'there ought to be a legislative fix to this.' I said, what you guys don't understand is this is market driven. There is just no market for your liberal trite."
I should point out that this quote played a role in in a snarky troll post. Some liberals were upset that a New Hampshire radio host was being let go for driving away advertisers like car dealerships for railing against SUV's. Liberals on the blog thought big business was driving her off the air and advocated government intervention to protect free speech. I posted (under the name 'laughter') an entry-level economics lesson, explaining that she had no fundamental right to a radio show, that she was being driven off not by business but by low popularity: if she was popular, there would be advertisers who want her "legions" of listeners to hear about her products. Alas, economics, constitutional law, logic, etc. is lost upon liberals (but they are good at finding ways to spend money).
Most egregious reporting: Last Letter Home
2005 wasn't a good year for media outlets, from the amazingly overstated Hurricane Katrina aftermath stories to executives spewing outright anti-American lies or reporters making stories of themselves (Judith Miller, James Risen, Mary Mapes).
In my view, James Dao of the New York Times loses for giving the clearest example of 2005 about reporting with an agenda. Michelle Malkin provides pages of documentation about the incident. Mr. Dao, wanting to paint troops in Iraq as fatalistic, took a sentence from the last letter of a Marine completely out of context for an article about the 2000th death from Operation Iraqi Freedom. In a letter containing phrases like, 'Others have died for my freedom. Now this is my mark' and 'I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live', the reporter used the fallen soldier's introduction to get what he wanted for the article. The family of the Marine came forward to set the record straight.
Best news blog: NRO's The Corner
The National Review has by far the most up-to-the-minute information and some of the best columnists (Victor Davis Hansen, Jonah Goldberg, Larry Kudlow) of any free website. The Corner is one of the best resources for finding who said what, when.
Best general blog: I Hate Horses
Hat tip to Kelly Guiter, from 'Just a Bit Outside...' sports blog. On the lighter side, these posts are funny, but the reader comments are truly hilarious. Contractually guaranteed to brighten even the most depressing day.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Texas
They won it. Are you surprised? I'm not, but I'm sure plenty in the sports media will be quite confused. How did USC lose? I'll tell you (partly) why. They're cocky.
First quarter USC 4th down and 1. They're on the Texas 16 yard line, and instead of kicking a field goal for 3 they go for it. Why? Because They're USC and they'll get it, right? Nope - and they lost by 3. How fitting.
Why do I write about this? 1) I'm kinda glad Iowa State never had to lose to Texas by 70 points, and 2) USC reminds me of... you guessed it - Democrats.
Matt Leinart was interviewed briefly on ABC after the game. His quote? "I still think we're a better team, they just made some good plays and won the game." Denial anyone?
You lost, Leinart. There was no fraud, and no recount necessary...
First quarter USC 4th down and 1. They're on the Texas 16 yard line, and instead of kicking a field goal for 3 they go for it. Why? Because They're USC and they'll get it, right? Nope - and they lost by 3. How fitting.
Why do I write about this? 1) I'm kinda glad Iowa State never had to lose to Texas by 70 points, and 2) USC reminds me of... you guessed it - Democrats.
Matt Leinart was interviewed briefly on ABC after the game. His quote? "I still think we're a better team, they just made some good plays and won the game." Denial anyone?
You lost, Leinart. There was no fraud, and no recount necessary...
Bias in the (Sports) Media Revisited
As I have discussed before, there are a number of college sports teams, specifically football teams, that the national sports media usually assume are good - always.
I listened to WHO radio this weekend and their broadcast of the Iowa-Florida Outback bowl. I wish to preface this by saying that I realize WHO, who only carries Iowa games and not Iowa State games, can be a bit more than biased toward Iowa and Iowa sports teams' infallibility. From the broadcast, here is one of the more obvious examples:
"...and the [Florida quarterback] hands it off to the [Florida running back]. Oh! He gets hammered by the Iowa defense! What a hit by [Iowa defensive back]! First down. Gain of ten by Florida"
"...and Drew Tate hands it off to [Iowa running back]. Oh! And he runs over two blue shirts! What a great run by Iowa. Gain of one yard on the play."
I'm serious about the quotes above, too. This is how the whole game was reported. Every incomplete pass by Florida was "almost" intercepted and most of them "could have been" run back by Iowa for six. As Iowa was losing 31-7 just one more touchdown would put Iowa "right back in the game." Ridiculous.
Although I expect this from WHO while broadcasting Iowa football, I also expect pathetic reporting from the Des Moines Register. Let's highlight the article titles for Iowa State's 3-point loss to TCU and Iowa's 7-point loss to Florida.
Des Moines Register headlines for Iowa State:
Can youth-driven Cyclones win big ones next year?
ISU sucked this year. Can it get any worse?
Highlights and lowlights from ISU's '05 season
Emphasis on "lowlights" anyone?
Cyclones left to replay the 'what-ifs'
Like "What if the Register covered us like they cover the Hawkeyes?"
Cyclones after loss: 'We were so close'
Houston Bowl update: Stadium to be half empty?
The Register's yearly commentary on how all Iowa State students should go to the bowl game because ISU actually made it to one.
Des Moines Register headlines for Iowa:
League tells Hawkeyes: Call was wrong
By the way - they would have had to score two touchdowns in 1:30 after the bad call. Win: unlikely.
'Happy Hawk Day' has sad ending for fans
And who cares about the sad ISU fans? No one, because Iowa always wins bowl games, right?
Outback: It was that close
Bowl win, sweep of rivals unprecedented for Florida
You see, Florida isn't a good football team after all...
Whether Ferentz will stay or go is anyone's guess
Kirk Ferentz is such a darn good coach you'll see him in the NFL... never.
Gutsy, iffy calls kill Iowa in Outback
Along with that whole "Iowa isn't really that good of a team" factor.
Outback Bowl poll: What hurt Iowa the most in its Outback Bowl loss to Florida?
On the Radar Poll: What hurts Iowa State football from being taken seriously nationally? People like the idiots at the Des Moines Register.
I listened to WHO radio this weekend and their broadcast of the Iowa-Florida Outback bowl. I wish to preface this by saying that I realize WHO, who only carries Iowa games and not Iowa State games, can be a bit more than biased toward Iowa and Iowa sports teams' infallibility. From the broadcast, here is one of the more obvious examples:
"...and the [Florida quarterback] hands it off to the [Florida running back]. Oh! He gets hammered by the Iowa defense! What a hit by [Iowa defensive back]! First down. Gain of ten by Florida"
"...and Drew Tate hands it off to [Iowa running back]. Oh! And he runs over two blue shirts! What a great run by Iowa. Gain of one yard on the play."
I'm serious about the quotes above, too. This is how the whole game was reported. Every incomplete pass by Florida was "almost" intercepted and most of them "could have been" run back by Iowa for six. As Iowa was losing 31-7 just one more touchdown would put Iowa "right back in the game." Ridiculous.
Although I expect this from WHO while broadcasting Iowa football, I also expect pathetic reporting from the Des Moines Register. Let's highlight the article titles for Iowa State's 3-point loss to TCU and Iowa's 7-point loss to Florida.
Des Moines Register headlines for Iowa State:
Can youth-driven Cyclones win big ones next year?
ISU sucked this year. Can it get any worse?
Highlights and lowlights from ISU's '05 season
Emphasis on "lowlights" anyone?
Cyclones left to replay the 'what-ifs'
Like "What if the Register covered us like they cover the Hawkeyes?"
Cyclones after loss: 'We were so close'
Houston Bowl update: Stadium to be half empty?
The Register's yearly commentary on how all Iowa State students should go to the bowl game because ISU actually made it to one.
Des Moines Register headlines for Iowa:
League tells Hawkeyes: Call was wrong
By the way - they would have had to score two touchdowns in 1:30 after the bad call. Win: unlikely.
'Happy Hawk Day' has sad ending for fans
And who cares about the sad ISU fans? No one, because Iowa always wins bowl games, right?
Outback: It was that close
Bowl win, sweep of rivals unprecedented for Florida
You see, Florida isn't a good football team after all...
Whether Ferentz will stay or go is anyone's guess
Kirk Ferentz is such a darn good coach you'll see him in the NFL... never.
Gutsy, iffy calls kill Iowa in Outback
Along with that whole "Iowa isn't really that good of a team" factor.
Outback Bowl poll: What hurt Iowa the most in its Outback Bowl loss to Florida?
On the Radar Poll: What hurts Iowa State football from being taken seriously nationally? People like the idiots at the Des Moines Register.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Why do I love them so?
...when they disappoint me so?
Last year - lost chance to play in the Big XII championship.
This year - lost chance to play in the Big XII championship.
Last year - lost to Missouri in overtime.
This year - lost to Kansas in overtime.
Last year - Bret Culbertson missed the game-winning field goal.
This year - Bret Culbertson missed the game-winning field goal.
Three of four season losses in overtime.
*sob*
Update: Sorry about the "Big IX" mistake and thanks to those faithful readers that pointed it out...
Last year - lost chance to play in the Big XII championship.
This year - lost chance to play in the Big XII championship.
Last year - lost to Missouri in overtime.
This year - lost to Kansas in overtime.
Last year - Bret Culbertson missed the game-winning field goal.
This year - Bret Culbertson missed the game-winning field goal.
Three of four season losses in overtime.
*sob*
Update: Sorry about the "Big IX" mistake and thanks to those faithful readers that pointed it out...
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Go State!
Even a tornado couldn't stop the Cyclones from bringing the hurt on the Buffaloes. Beautiful! With a lucky turn of events ISU could go against Texas for the Big 12 championship.
It's also good to see that the students in Ames can still climb the uprights (although not knock them down) and grab the little flag off the top...
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Bias in the (Sports) Media?
If you haven't already noticed, my alma mater is Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. While I was at ISU the football team was good (rarely) and bad (mostly). During this same time I realized that no matter how good the Cyclones got (this was rare) that the national sports media would never give us any credit. It seems to be the unspoken rule at the beginning of each season that teams like Iowa State will be bad, and teams like Nebraska should always start out in the top 25. Never did this distinction show more clearly than when ISU absolutely destroyed Nebraska at home in 2002 (I think) and earned a spot in the top 10. SportsCenter went on and on about how Nebraska had screwed up and Iowa State had capitalized and on and on - they never "admitted" that Iowa State, was, uh... actually good!
Well, anyway, I was watching Ohio State blow Iowa out of the water this afternoon, and the same rule applies to Iowa - no matter how horribly they play. Drew Tate, the Iowa quarterback, in his first few plays of the game threw two complete passes and two near interceptions. He was the preseason "Big 10 player of the something" and it seems inconceivable that he is, in fact, not very good.
After this dismal series, the commentator on ABC rambled on and on about how he is a conservative player and he makes good but safe plays at the beginning of games and yadda yadda... Drew Tate ended up playing an awful game and Iowa lost badly to the Buckeyes. It got so bad that when Iowa was losing by at least 21 points with 9:00 left in the 4th quarter that the commentators spoke about how Iowa might "have a chance to get back in this thing" and that Iowa "just needed a few more good plays." Are you kidding me?
It just goes to show that reporters in the national media don't necessarily report the news - they report how they think things should play out based upon their own biases.
And yes, this applies even to the national sports media.
Well, anyway, I was watching Ohio State blow Iowa out of the water this afternoon, and the same rule applies to Iowa - no matter how horribly they play. Drew Tate, the Iowa quarterback, in his first few plays of the game threw two complete passes and two near interceptions. He was the preseason "Big 10 player of the something" and it seems inconceivable that he is, in fact, not very good.
After this dismal series, the commentator on ABC rambled on and on about how he is a conservative player and he makes good but safe plays at the beginning of games and yadda yadda... Drew Tate ended up playing an awful game and Iowa lost badly to the Buckeyes. It got so bad that when Iowa was losing by at least 21 points with 9:00 left in the 4th quarter that the commentators spoke about how Iowa might "have a chance to get back in this thing" and that Iowa "just needed a few more good plays." Are you kidding me?
It just goes to show that reporters in the national media don't necessarily report the news - they report how they think things should play out based upon their own biases.
And yes, this applies even to the national sports media.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Saturday, June 25, 2005
As with all other aspects of life, Republicans stomped democrats...
...in Roll Call's annual congressional baseball game at RFK Stadium. About forty representatives and Sens. Ensign and Santorum took the field in a seven-inning matchup between parties.
There were many parallels between the game and the modern world; the 19-11 final score was certainly not proportional to the talent of the players, in sports or politics. The Republicans started it off with 5 runs from 5 hits in the top of the first inning, and it only got worse. Senator Ensign, who sits on an unheard-of five Senate committees, pitched a no-hitter for thee innings. I don’t have an official count of the K’s, but I’d put it in the 6-7 range for the whole evening.
The Republicans were winning by double digits. The crowd was loving it, except for the dems, who were actually heckling a Senator on the mound. Ensign understandably was getting tired; I think dems scored 4 in the 4th and 5 in the 5th, but not on hits. They relied on walks and base-stealing to even come up with half of the Republicans score. After an explosive first inning, the Republicans generally scored 3 or 4 in the five other innings they played offense. There was one scoreless inning, but they stayed constantly successful even as second-stringers batted. On the other hand, when the score was 17-9, I think dems actually had six hits for their collective nine runs.
The game ended 19-11 after good Republican field work for the last two innings (Ensign and Santorum had to leave in full uniform and go to the floor for a vote on the energy bill).
As with the rest of life, the 19-11 score gives the Democrats way too much credit. There were many allusions to the recent elections, likely future elections, and legislative abilities in the solid trouncing (Nancy Pelosi, the dems team manager, actually was caught crying on the jumbotron). After last years 14-7 victory, this is something like the fifth win in a row.
Iowa action: no Iowa congressman played, but Leonard Boswell was able to waddle onto the field to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”.
It was a great partisan evening. I think my favorite sign was:
GOP rules
the field
…and the House
…and the Senate
…and the White House
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