Sports

Our Crystal Ball on Pooka and Cristobal

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NCAA college football season is here.   How about a big Hooray?  HOORAY!  Of course if you watched last weekend’s very abbreviated scheduled head liner, you might have thought it was a head scratcher at best.  Florida outlasted Miami in a mistake filled, sloppy tackling, turnover prone, penalty laden affair.  It was a forgettable game.  So forget it.

Let’s get to our favorite head scratching year long bet.  It’s season long win totals.  Today we begin a three part series that examines our selections on over or under the win totals.   A couple of reminders/refreshers on the bet are in order.  First, the team must play it’s entire schedule for a bet to actualize.  And, second, there is a different payout for under than over based on the action to that side of the bet.  Not often, but sometimes the actual win total will slide up or down (usually a half game) if the action is all on one side.

We’ll list the win total, both sides of the bet and it’s cost, make a selection in bold, and give you our thoughts on why we like that side of the bet.  After all our guess is as good better than most.  Let’s kick off with picks we like plenty enough to bet, and ascend in the next 72 hours towards our most favorite ones.

5.  Kansas ( 3 wins, over +130, under -160)

  • Pooka (best first name in the FBS) Williams, an All American Freshman last year, was suspended in the off season for domestic abuse.  Shame on him.  Kansas reinstated him after a six month time out just in time for the fall practices and now games.  Shame on them.  But, if you like the over this is why you bet it.  Pooka single handedly kept Kansas in games last year.
  • At LSU Les Miles often took more talent onto the field than his opposition.  And, he lost more often with that talent than he should have.  But, he beat Oklahoma two out of his four years at Oklahoma St.  Back then he often took less talent and won over more talent in the Big 12.  Having less talent isn’t a problem for Les this year as he will likely enter 10 of 12 games as a slight to huge underdog.
  • Bad news.  The defense has as many as eight new starters.  Good news.  The defense has as many as eight new starters.
  • The two games that they will be favored in are the first two of the season as they host Indiana St. and Coastal Carolina.
  • Win those two and you need to find two more to win the bet, or one more to at least push. Along the way they host West Virginia (new head coach), Kansas St.(new head coach and rival), and Baylor (not too too good).   We like them to win two of the three in some form or fashion.
  • The payout of 10 to win 13 is appealing.

4.  Oregon (9 wins, over +105, under -130)

  • Head Coach Mario Cristobal enters year two of his head coaching stint with the Ducks.  We like the upside v. the betting line in year two of coaches that we think are capable of making a leap forward.
  • Cristobal was Saban’s offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for three years at Bama.  The pedigree from his coaching tree is mostly fruitful.  Saban has had way more Jimbo Fisher’s go on to coach other teams than he has had Jim McElwain’s.  If he’s good enough for Ole Nick, he’s good enough for us in a wide open Pac 12.
  • The mighty Ducks don’t play a mighty schedule.  Preseason rankings mean little but that won’t stop us from using them to make a point.  Oregon opens v #16 Auburn at a neutral sight this weekend.  The rest of the schedule has three ranked teams, at #13 Washington,  hosting #23 Washington St. and at #25 Stanford.
  • At currently unranked Arizona St. in week 10 could be a make or break game for the over bet.  But, beat Auburn, and we are talking about a quantum leap forward, not a leap forward.
  • Ten returning starters on offense, led by a potential top draft pick in Justin Herbert makes us lean to the over.   Another seven starters are back on defense.
  • The Ducks made a great hire in bringing Avalos over from Boise State.  Cristobal watched Saban salty defense close up in practice every day.  In the PAC 10 a salty defense can go a long way.

Tomorrow we’ll head south for our pick #’s 3 and 2.  We think the two choices above will put your checking account balance heading north.

 

 

Rickey Being Rickey

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One of the wonderful things about sports is that the perceived correct strategic formula to winning is ever evolving.  Sometimes the change is subtle, sometimes not so subtle.

No one would dispute that the 3 point line has changed how basketball is coached for better or worse.  But maybe the biggest change has taken place in the last 10 years in baseball.  Analytics, formerly known as sabermetrics, have taken hold.

When these changes go from fad to trend to expectations, records of past year’s accomplishments are increasingly harder to compare to current.  And records may also be easier to be broken (for example three point shots attempted/made in a season), or harder to be broken.

What follows is what we wrote in an article about Joe Dimaggio’s consecutive game hit steak a few weeks back.  It was titled “56” a few weeks back.

The record stands at 56 games, and has now stood that way for 78 years and counting.  We aren’t here to debate if its the greatest baseball record ever for it’s hard to compare pitching feats to hitting feats much less one game to one streak to one season to one career records.  But we are here to say that holding a record for any stat for 78 years is a long, long time and that makes it a great, great accomplishment.

So all of the above makes us wonder about another baseball record.  This one is a career accomplishment.  Analytics has made this one chosen far less as a tool to victory.  The math today says stealing a base is far less statistically appealing today than in years gone by.

The quirky and insanely talented Rickey Henderson was drafted in the 4th round in 1976 by the Oakland Athletics.  He played for them four separate times over an amazing 25 year career when he changed uniforms 13 times in all.  A first ballot Hall of Famer and 10 time All Star.  He leads the majors in career leadoff homeruns with 81.  Second place is not close at 53.  Amazing indeed.

But most amazing of all is how well, and how often he stole a base.  He stole 1406 in all.  Second place alltime is Lou Brock.  His total?  938.  Henderson’s total is exactly 50 % better than second all time.  50%!   Believe it or not, he even stole 66 bases when he was 39 years old.

Statistics can be shaped one way or the other to prove a point.  But, one way to look at this is to compare this feat to Pete Rose’s 44 game hit streak, second to Dimaggio’s 56.  Dimaggio’s record has stood for 78 years and counting.  But Dimaggio would have had to hit in 66 straight games to be 50% better than Rose.  How long would 66 games with at least one hit hold the record if 56 has held it for 78 years and counting?

Never ever say never.  But, given where the game is today, combined with Henderson’s exceptionally long career, put this record on a very short list of the very hardest to even be approached, much less broken.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

We’re one short week away from NCAA college football.  Our hunger is at it’s peak.  The Ten Nuggets on various sports below will have to tide you over.  And, tide you over they will.  Yum.

  1.  Speaking of the tides, the Alabama crimson one remains the betting favorite for the NCAA Championship. One unnamed analyst that we trust told us that he believes that 9 of the expected 22 starters this year for Bama will eventually be first round NFL draft picks.  Combine that talent with Saban’s high work ethic, coaching staff, knowledge and experience and it’s an uphill climb for others.
  2. Their season win total bet is 11.  So Vegas is not willing to offer you a loss by them and let you collect. Well, at least you would push.  It’s a high bar, but see point one above.  We don’t like high overs, and this one is -160.  But would you really bet the other side?  Will Bama lose twice?  If they do, they won’t be in the playoffs for the first time since, well, ever.  “Ever” is all five years since the current playoff format began, and Bama is five for five in appearances.
  3. Maybe you like Clemson even more?  That bar is even higher.  Their season win total is set at 11 and 1/2.  One loss there and you lose. No pushes occur when lines are on halves.  This over bet is -125.  Steep!  Sheesh.  The smart bet here is under at -105.  But, it’s only smart if Clemson stumbles or someone rises up in the ACC.  Could Texas A and M out of conference and on the road beat them?  Doubtful.  But what a signature win it would be for Jimbo Fisher.
  4. Someone either named Ed Orgeron or Tom Herman will get a signature win of their own in week two.  LSU travels to play Texas in an early season matchup of two AP preseason top ten ranked teams.  LSU is ranked 6th while the resurgent Longhorns are 10th.  The winner gets a strong pelt on the resume wall for down the road playoff consideration.  Both teams have to run through their conference gauntlet as well of course.  Would a one loss to Alabama team named LSU get in?  Would a one loss to Oklahoma team named Texas get in?  It’s WAY too early to wonder?  But, why not wonder?  The NCAA football season is too short to begin with.  Let the party begin.
  5.  The SEC dominates the upper part of the first AP poll.  Alabama is 2, Georgia 3, LSU 6, Florida 8, A&M 12, and Auburn 16.  But the Big 10 actually has seven teams to the six in the SEC.  The Ohio St and Michigan are in the top ten while Penn St., Michigan St., Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska are all in it starting at 15 and below.  Let they party begin we said.
  6. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went just 1-for-6 for zero yards and an interception on Monday night in his first game since suffering a season-ending knee injury last September.  Garoppolo finished the night, which ended with a 24-15 victory over the Denver Broncos, with a 0.0 passer rating.  You probably can only go up from there.
  7.  Oakland Raiders GM Mike Mayock and Head Coach Jon Gruden beamed on while being interviewed during the NFL Draft last April.  They repeatedly told us that they drafted “football guys who had high character and wanted to play.”  Seems like they didn’t use the same template for their big trade in the offseason.  New Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown has filed a new grievance against the NFL over his not having a full calendar year grace period to find a helmet that works for him.  It’s the third time since camp started that Brown has either left a practice or filed a grievance over what all other NFL payers have already moved forward from.  Mayock said Sunday that Brown had left camp over the helmet issue, and it was “time for him to be all-in or all-out.”  We think that it’s time for him to grow up.
  8. Meanwhile Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, who is nearly five weeks into a holdout over his contract, is training rigorously in California he says and is staying ready to play football while he waits to see if the Chargers will succumb to his new contract demands.  Gordon has told the Chargers through his representation that if he does not receive a new deal, he will sit out.
  9. What do Garrappolo, Brown, and Gordon have in common?  They all play for California based teams.  Garappolo is dreaming of better performances, Brown of better helmets, and Gordon of better money.  California dreaming.
  10. On to the MLB injury front we go.  Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa left after one inning against the Detroit Tigers on Monday because of back discomfort, the team said.  he is day to day.  Let’s hope he doesn’t call a masseuse to work out his issues again.  Meanwhile Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale will miss the remainder of the regular season with a left elbow injury but is expected to avoid Tommy John surgery after a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews confirmed a previous diagnosis of inflammation, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.  Sale’s season ending injury to the wind out of any sails that the 2018 Champion Red Sox had for 2019.  They are now 16 games behind the eventual division winner NY Yankees and 6 games behind the second of two wild card teams.

Yes, now you can be excused from the table.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s a new week and the key to it’s success is getting it off to a good start.  The key to getting Monday off to a good start lies below.  A sports Ten Piece Nuggets is served.

  1. The Houston Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 last Friday night and 23-2 on Saturday.  The “23” is no typo.  It is, though, the most runs ever scored by the 52 year old franchise.  Houston shortstop Carlos Correa, hit a 474 foot home run during the obliteration.  It’s the longest ever hit in the 27 year history of Camden Yards.
  2. So, Sunday, Las Vegas made the Astros a huge favorite to win the third and final game of the series and sweep the lowly 39-77 Orioles.  Cy Young former winner and possibly this year’s favorite, Justin Verlander, was on the bump for the 77-40 Astros.  A $100 bet on the lowly Orioles would pay you $420.  And a walk off, two out, two strike homerun by Rio Ruiz gave Baltimore the win.  It was the largest MLB single game upset v. the betting odds in 15 years.
  3. Despite the loss the Astros have a quite comfortable 10 game lead over the Oakland A’s in the AL West with about 44 regular season games left to play for most teams.   The NY Yankees have a quite comfortable 8.5 game lead over the second place Tampa Bay Rays in the East.  But the Central Division is shaping up as a “down to wire” two team horse race.  Cleveland and Minnesota are tied for first there with identical 71-47 records.  The playoffs only have room for three of Minnesota, Cleveland, Oakland, and Tampa Bay.  The Central winner sits home while the runner up falls to a one game wild card playoff situation as it stands today.   That’s huge for both teams.
  4.  Meanwhile in the NL the Los Angeles Dodgers can start printing home field advantage playoff tickets.  Their 79 wins are nine more than East Division leading Atlanta.  And, it’s a ridiculous 19 games over 59-59 Arizona, second in the West Division.  The Braves are clear of Washington by 6.5 games.  Like the AL, the NL horse race is in the Central where only 2.5 games separate the division leading Chicago Cubs over Saint Louis and Milwaukee.  And from the back of the pack comes the hard charging NY Mets.
  5. Do you know what happened on this August 12th date in MLB in 1994, 25 years ago today?  Nothing.   Players, under the threat of a salary cap, went on strike.  A month later Commissioner Bud Selig announced that the owners voted to cancel the season.  The dark ballparks were symbolic of some of the darkest days of “America’s Game” history.
  6. NCAA football stadiums won’t be dark for much longer.  It’s under two weeks and counting until teams the country over kickoff.  Twenty coaches enter year two with their teams.  It’s usually the year that programs under new coaches make the biggest leap if they are going to turn around the direction for which they were hired to begin with.  Turnover, transfers in and out, philosophy, culture, and two recruiting years take hold.  Or, they don’t.  Last year Ed Orgeron went from a too soon hot seat in year two to a ten win, top ten finish in year two.  Tom Herman guided Texas back into the final top ten standings for the first time in nine long(horn) years.
  7. Who might make that leap this year?  Let’s look west.  How about Herm Edwards at Arizona St?  BBR says meh.   Kevin Sumlin at Arizona perhaps?  No.  Chip Kelly is in year two at UCLA.  We doubt it.  But in Eugene, Oregon we like Mario Cristobal to get his Ducks in a top ten row.
  8. The SEC is brutal, but teams that go 8-4 or a tad better can get to the top ten with a an impressive bowl win to conclude 2019.  Five choices are available.  Joe Moorhead leads Miss St into year two.  We think they regress actually.  Chad Morris at Arkansas is rebuilding in his image from the ground up and has zero chance.  Jeremy Pruitt volunteered to engineer a turnaround at Tennessee.  They’ll be better, but Florida, Georgia, and Alabama and  one or two others will visit the orange and white checkerboard end zone too often still.  Dan Mullen is a rather underrated coach.  Florida could make that leap.  They return an improving Felipe Franks at QB as well.   But, we like Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M the most.  They return an improving Kellon Mond at QB, and Jimbo is a QB Whisperer.  The schedule is brutal.  They tangle with Alabama, LSU, and Auburn in the west and Georgia in the east.  Oh, and out of conference they have the Tigers from Clemson.  Brutal.  It says here that they will go 9-3 or better.
  9. Peyton Manning is doing 100 short feature stories for ESPN+ to celebrate the first 100 years of the NFL.  Peyton’s Place.  If you haven’t seen any, you must catch up.  They are a trip down memory lane, some obscure, all interesting, and quite humorous.  We think Peyton had a great past and we think Peyton has a great future wherever that takes him.  Meanwhile he has a great feature story run.
  10. Another great quarterback is on the move as well.  Tom Brady and his family listed their Brookline, Massachusetts home for a cool $39.5 million last week.  Keeping it under $40 million is quite the value pricing move.   Meanwhile, most of New England area went into full meltdown as to what this meant to his future and the future of the Patriots.  Brady’s restructured deal has team opt outs for 2020 and 2021.  Is this the final season of the longest running hit show in NFL history?  Calm down says Tom.  “You shouldn’t ready into anything.  My house is a little bit of an expensive one, so it doesn’t fly off of the shelf in a couple of weeks,” he advised.  Ya think?  “I love playing for the Patriots.  This is where I want to be.”  Sounds like he might become a commuter.

Hang in there, Tuesday is but a day away.

Ten Piece Nuggets-NFL

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The cartoon character Wimpy would often offer to pay Popeye on Tuesday for a hamburger today.  Well, it’s Tuesday, time for Wimpy to pay up.  And, if it’s Tuesday, it’s time for us to cook up our Ten Piece Nuggets.  Except ours are free of charge and served below.

  1.  The New Orleans Saints said welcome back to the NFL to their prized WR Michael Thomas after a week one holdout late last week.  Thomas rejoined the team and joined the 100 million dollar club.  The contract is for five years and guarantees 61 million.  It’s the highest dollar contract for a WR ever.  Not bad money if you can get it.  He enters his fourth year after entering the league as a second round pick.
  2. Which WR’s went ahead of him in the 2016 draft? In round one it was 15. Corey Coleman, 21. Will Fuller, 22. Josh Doctson, and 23. Laquan Treadwell.  In round two at 40th overall Sterling Shepard was taken.  If you can even name which teams these five play on you play too much fantasy football.   Thomas was taken 47th overall.   In three years he has caught 321 passes, good for 3787 yards, and 23 TD’s.  Shepard, also a second rounder, has caught 190 balls which is good by far for second place in this underwhelming group.
  3. Atlanta wants to keep up with the Joneses though.  Soon, very soon, they will make Julio Jones the highest paid receiver in the NFL.  And, they should.  The now 30 year old is two catches shy of 700 and has over 10k yards receiving.  If Atlanta won more often, or if he played for a higher profile team he would be even more well respected for his abilities.  He is but a few strong seasons away from Hall of Fame type numbers.
  4. Drew Brees was on The Dan Patrick Show late last week.  He finished second on the NFL Network countdown of the 100 best players.  It’s the players who vote for these players making it one of the best lists of “best of” in BBR’s opinion.  Patrick asked Brees his opinion of who should be number one.  Without hesitation, Brees agreed with the voting that placed Aaron Donald, DT Rams, as the very best.  Brees said, in effect, that Donald was special, and really in a league of his own.  Patrick then asked who he thought should be second.  Without hesitation again he said, “Tom Brady.”  “Why?” asked Patrick.  “Six Super Bowl wins,” Brees responded.  “A quarterback is ultimately judged on wins,” he concluded.
  5. Speaking of winning, most every NFL year multiple teams (usually 3 or more) that went 6-10 or worse the year prior go 10-6 or better the next year and make the playoffs.  It’s the parity the NFL covets.  Easier schedules, health, luck, and higher draft picks help.  It’s just rather hard to predict who.
  6. So, who went 6-10 or worse last year?  The Giants, 49ers, Cardinals, Bucs, Lions, and Packers did so in the NFC.  In the AFC it was the Bills, Jets, Broncos, Raiders, Bengals and Jaguars with the dubious distinction.
  7.  The obvious choice from the above is the Green Bay Packers.  Reasons to like them are 1) a healthy Aaron Rodgers, 2) an easier schedule that last year, 3) a bevy of high draft choices, 4) a more aggressive D, and 5) the enthusiasm  and culture change a new head coach brings.
  8.  Guessing who else is just that, guessing.   BBR likes the  San Francisco 49ers as a possibility..  The 49ers D isn’t bad.  We are putting a lot of faith in  the Jimmy Garropolo that went 5-0 in his first five starts at the end of 2017.  And Nick Bosa is a beast coming off of the edge.
  9.  Who else?  Here is a long shot to do so  Da Raidas.  The Raiders bottomed out purposely last year.  They stocked up on some high character hard nose draft picks and are in the midst of changing their culture with Gruden and Mayock running the show that moves to Vegas in 15 months.  They might be more of a 2020 pick in year one in Sin City.
  10.  Watching the Cleveland Browns will be fascinating this year.  They haven’t had this much hype and hope in the Dawg Pound since the team was reborn in Cleveland after it’s prior one bolted to Baltimore.  Mayfield, Landry, OBJ, and a salty D from a year ago might just be the ticket to playoffs.  The division isn’t bad either.  Cincinnati is weak.  Baltimore is down.  Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh, but beatable.  Could the Browns win two v the Bengals and split home and away with the Ravens and Steelers?  Sure.  That’s 4-2.   If you split the other ten 5-5, you finish 9-7.  The Jets, Broncos, 49ers, Dolphins, and Cardinals are opponents that could be five victories.  Ten wins aren’t out of the question.  Or, will they find a way to be the same old Browns?

Wimpy never ate so well.

 

 

I Have Yet Another Story and a Moral Thereof

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

BBR’s staff is taking a trip down memory lane in the mid south of the U.S.  Last night we decided to rest our dogs in the downtown Marriott Little Rock Hotel (formerly well known as The Excelsior Hotel).  The Excelsior is infamous as it was the hotel where Paula Jones claims then Arkansas Governor William Jefferson Clinton forced himself on her on May 8th, 1991.

But nearly six years prior on November 18, 1985, in the same hotel, another event lead to an infamous moment or three all be it on a smaller scale.  This writer was checking in on that Monday evening on business.  Earlier on the way to the NOLA airport, on 50,000 watt WWL 870 a local sports radio host spoke, as he did every football season Monday, with Las Vegas football betting guru Tony Salinas.  Tony’s Monday call in reviewed his picks from the week prior.   Late in the ’85 college season he was 25 of 33 against the spread on his announced on the show picks.  At 50k watts the channel had a big, multi state following.  It only grew larger as his picks hit and hit and hit.

As I entered the airport Salinas signed off and would be back for his usual Thursday spot to make his three weekly picks.  After a flight and a connector flight and a rental car I was checking in at the empty front desk of the hotel.  It was empty until a guy put his gaudy metallic silver briefcase on the counter down a ways from me and announced that he was checking in.  “Your name sir?”  “Salinas.”  “Tony Salinas.”  I swung my head to the left.  With a Dallas Cowboys Starter jacket, a metallic briefcase, and a watch bigger than his wrist stood Tony Salinas.

I had to, I just did.  So I did.  I introduced myself and explained how I knew him and had just listened to him a few hours earlier.  He laughed and said that we should meet for a drink and watch the second half of the Monday Night Football game as he had another radio gig till then.  “Sure.”

The Washington Redskins were playing the New York Football Giants.  I explained to Tony how big a fan many of my friends, biz associates, family members and other gambling degenerates were and that hung on his every word of gambling advice.  “Theismann, back to pass….”  SNAP.   Lawrence Taylor broke Theismann’s leg like a match stick effectively ending his career.  Wow.  “I took the Giants on the halftime line,” he boasted as Theismann was carted off.  Wow.

“Tony, before I go, can I get the best of you best picks this week?”  “Walt, not only will Pittsburgh cover the seven, they are going to beat no. 1 rated Penn St. straight up.”  Wow.   I couldn’t wait to share this scoop with one and all.  Tony actually shared the story of us meeting in Little Rock on air as he made his picks on Thursday to the “common people,” not “insiders” like me.  I was riding high on what is called today “street cred.”

In fact this was so big that a Saturday night party was in order to watch the game and celebrate our winnings.  Come one, come all.   Bets for big dollars (back then) were placed with great confidence by one, by all.  The anticipation of big winnings, laughter, and the smell Salem Lights and Jack Daniels filled the house.

Penn St. blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown late in the first half to go up 21-0.  “Don’t worry, Pitt will come back.”  At least thrown popcorn and peanuts don’t hurt much.  Ten more points in the second half  added to the drubbing that the Nittany Lions put on the Panthers.  The final was 31-0.  I considered entering the witness protection program if only it could be offered to me.  My fifteen minutes of fame was long gone as was my street cred.

Oh.  What’s the moral of the story?  There is no sure bet, so don’t.   And, if you do, pay off your gambling debts so that no one snaps your leg in two like Taylor did to Theismann.

 

 

 

Whining about Reclining

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As the dog days of summer bark well into the still bright evenings, the “where culture meets sports” press is always looking for something to heat up their clicks, views, page visits, and readership.   Apparently, forty eight hours ago the Louisiana State University’s football operations remodel unveil gave them all of the  Kibble’s and Bits that they needed.  And, the feeding frenzy is on.

If you haven’t seen any photos or video hype pieces of the new digs you must have stepped out of the social media sun and missed the shade that has been thrown at it.   No less than ESPN, CNN, SI, Busted Coverage, and The Big Lead have weighed in.  That is in addition to the numerous local tv channels near Baton Rouge and far.  Here is a two minute video that captures the hype and some of the opinions of it if you haven’t seen it.

Is the locker room itself new, innovative, opulent, decadent, and a bit over the top?  Yes.  Is it more opulent, decadent, and over the top than numerous other Power 5 schools’ locker rooms?  No, it’s just the latest.  Take a look at Oregon, Alabama, Texas A&M, Clemson, and Georgia to name just a few.  This LSU upgrade is just the latest to stir up the discontent and misunderstanding across America and the academia world of how all of this works.

Lots of the conversation has immediately centered on 1) our library flooded and it needs an upgrade, and 2) our professors need a raise, and 3) what about our  math building, or chemistry building, or, and 4) they do all this, why can’t they pay the players, and 5) kneel down Eric Reid, former LSU and NFL player, lamenting that the money donated could have gone to scholarships to need based kids.

What it hasn’t centered on is that the remodel also includes a big nutrition center for the players and is open to ALL students as well.  It features fresh food and  caters to specific dietary needs of all who want to participate.  It also redid the coaches offices.  If you are going to work 70 hours a week, why not have some creature comforts?  Or, you can just focus on reclining locker seats that look like first class airline modules and shake your head.

This project was 100% funded by private donations through the Tiger Athletic Foundation(TAF).  It’s private money, therefore it’s individuals who choose what to support.  A few years back the business school was funded in the exact same way.  The LSU sports programs collectively fund themselves and have GIVEN back to the university over 12 million dollars a year for the last five years.   Football on this and almost every campus is the moneymaker that funds other sports and still can provide the giveback.

Paying the players versus building new offices, nutrition centers, and locker rooms have little to do with one another.  If America wants colleges to play the players its a decision that is independent of how they eat and where they get dressed.  If you side on the paying them side, then you should side on the “in the meantime at least we can make their lives better with these alternatives.”  However, if you believe in paying, good luck with the “how.”  Title IX changed the college sports landscape forever.  But we digress.

One LSU professor tweeted that he saw all of this while sitting in his dirty office that he had to buy a Dirt Devil to clean himself.  LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, not short on moxie, tweeted back.  He asked why this professor thought he was entitled to the fruits of the team’s labor?  The tweet is deleted, but the screen shot lives on in infamy.  It looks like Joe thinks capitalism is alive and well.  If the professor feels like he deserves a cleaner office, he should get one at LSU or he should move on to, say, Harvard.  If he feels like he should be paid more, perhaps he should consider coaching football.

Tyrann Mathieu, who donated one cool million, commented on Eric Reid’s thought.  The Honey Badger told Reid that he should give all that he wanted to for scholarships.  Oh, and Tyrann also let him know that he had done that in addition to the TAF donation.  It’s your serve Eric.   Stop protesting and get up off of your knees and dust off that checkbook, er, Venmo account.  Your pal said that it’s time to pay, pal.

All of this, unlike the hot summer sun, will burn for only about 24 more news hours.  But, before you know it fall will arrive.  It always does.  And when it does 100,000 football starved fans will pay big money to fill Tiger Stadium and stadiums across the land to get their annual football fix.

But, if you want to fix what’s wrong with college today, please do.  Nice (ok, opulent) locker rooms aren’t part of the problem. They are actually part of the solution.

 

 

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Good Monday morning.  It’s hot across the US in late July.  Record high temps were recorded near and far yesterday.  But, have no fear, the nuggets below are just the right temp for you to start off your week.

  1.  Across the pond the 148th Open, held at Royal PortRush in Northern Ireland, concluded yesterday with Ireland’s own Shane Lowery hoisting the Claret Jug.   It was quite the story for him, the region, and his legion of family and friends.  He practically went wire to wire over the 72 holes posting a low 15 under par, six strokes better than Tommy Fleetwood’s second place finish.
  2. The “hometown boy made good” story was a great one, but it also was the only one NBC was able to sell in an otherwise forgettable Open.  Lowery started Sunday up by four and finished up by six.  How did he sleep on the lead Saturday night after he threw darts earlier that day for a 63?  Does “like a big baby” sound appropriate?
  3. Something NBC did sell a lot of was commercials.  If they weren’t going to a full commercial break every five minutes, they were going to a “playing through” split screen commercial break.  Does “we are Farmer’s, dah, tah, dah, dah, DAH” sound familiar?  The contrast of the NBC/Open presentation to how CBS and Augusta National insure how The Masters is viewed has a wider gap than Lowery opened over the field itself.   And, we don’t need a recap coming out of the split screen view.  We just saw it.  Isn’t that the sales pitch of “playing through” to begin with?
  4. And the then there is Paul Azinger who is through playing and trying to fill the golf shoes of lead NBC golf analyst/commentators that have spoken before him.  We marked down a double bogey on his card.  On camera his facial expressions are curious and that’s being kind.  When talking through the golf that is either about to be played or was just played he is Captain Obvious.  His nasal whine on the mic reminds us of our second grade teacher explaining how verbs are conjugated.  Where have you gone Johnny Miller?
  5. One Irish bloke put $150 on Lowery at 105-1 to win before the tournament started.  He won 16 grand.  Pints for all.  Those odds seem high for Lowery.  He entered 2019 ranked 75th in the world golf rankings and rose to 33rd entering The Open.  This morning he finds himself perched at 17th.
  6. The Houston Astros hit back to back to back homeruns Friday night at home v. the Texas Rangers.  We couldn’t find how many back to back to backs have ever been hit in MLB.  But we did see that back to back to back to backs have been jacked only eight times ever.  The last was in 2017 by the Washington Nationals.  Todd Kalas was on the Astros call Friday night.  It was three home runs on four pitches in two magical minutes.  You can see it and hear his great call of the final bomb launched by Yordan Alvarez here.
  7. The Milwaukee Brewers are chasing the Chicago Cubs for the Central Division lead and are very much in the thick of the wild card race as well. Their chances took a hit yesterday.  Their ace, Brandon Woodruff, is headed to the 10 day DL with a strained oblique.  Woodruff has been Milwaukee’s best pitcher this season, earning his first NL All-Star nod. He entered Sunday’s game 11-3 with a 3.53 ERA and had allowed three earned runs in 20 1/3 innings his previous three starts.  Obliques and pitchers mix like oil and water, that is, not so much.
  8. How fitting was it that Mariano Riveria “closed” the MLB Hall of Fame Cooperstown induction ceremonies for six former players yesterday?  He finished his career with a record 652 saves. He pitched 19 seasons in the major leagues, all with the New York Yankees, and retired with 952 games finished — also a record. A 13-time All-Star, Rivera helped the Yankees win five World Series titles and seven American League pennants.
  9.  Another closer who was finally inducted was Lee Smith.  When he hung up the cleats in 1997 he was the career leader in saves at that point with 478.  He brought heat for 17 seasons and was a 7 time allstar.  If you never saw him pitch, think Aroldis Chapman from the right side.  His fastball had purpose and an occasional brush back pitch also had a well placed purpose.
  10.  Are you ready for some football?  The NFL training camps for rookies are mostly underway and all veterans will have reported by this Friday as well.  Guess who has the shortest odds to get to Super Bowl LVI?  New England?  Nope.  They are second.  The Kansas City Chiefs are +600, or six to one.  The Patriots are +650 followed by New Orleans at +850.  The Indianapolis Colts surprise as the fourth lowest odds at +900.  Are you interested in a long shot or five?  The Bengals, Redskins, Giants, Lions, and Dolphins are all +10000, or 100 to one.

Get back to work.

56

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

With so much attention being paid earlier this week to the epic Roger Federer v. Novak Djokovic Wimbedon final and the The Squad v. Trump Twitter war, a 78th sports anniversary slid by.   Do you know what happened on July 16th, 1941?  Joltin Joe Dimaggio singled to extend his hit streak to 56 games.  On July 17th he was hitless which ended the longest consecutive games hitting steak ever.  And “ever” then still means “ever” today.

The record stands at 56 games, and has now stood that way for 78 years and counting.  We aren’t here to debate if its the greatest baseball record ever for it’s hard to compare pitching feats to hitting feats much less one game to one streak to one season to one career records.  But we are here to say that holding a record for any stat for 78 years is a long, long time and that makes it a great, great accomplishment.

Many, many excellent “hit for average” and “contact hitters” and “line drive hitters” have come and gone in 78 years.  And no one, we repeat, no one has come close to The Yankee Clipper’s run.  Second best you ask?  Peter Edward Rose, aka Pete Rose, aka Charlie Hustle got a hit in 44 straight games in 1978.  That tied Willie Keeler who strung together 44 as well way, way back in 1897.

Ty Cobb had 40 and 35 games with at least one hit streaks.  George Sisler had 41 and 35.  Joe’s brother Dom Dimaggio hit in 34 consecutive games himself.  Paul Molitor reached 39.  Think of players like Ichiro Suzuki, Ken Griffey, Jr., Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, George Brett,  Rogers Hornsby, and Stan Musial just to name a few.  None of them, in long and distinguished careers passed 30.

Rose’s 44 is 78% of Dimaggio’s 56 games 78 years later.  Suzuki had 262 hits in 2004.  That’s 14 years and counting for the most ever in a season.  He has just 64 years to go for the record to stand as long as Dimaggio’s.  Or, stated a different way, imagine in the year 2075 the closest someone has come to Suzuki’s record is 204 hits.

It’s such a feat that he caught Marilyn Monroe’s eye, and had a song written about him that is  big band, old school fun, and three minutes long here.   

Baseball is a game of numbers.  There are a lot of them above.  But, no matter which ones you are counting, there aren’t a lot that rise above 56.

A Real Instant Classic

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Great.  Greater.  Greatest.

It’s what we do as sports fans.  We have an insatiable desire to see greatness taken to yet another level.  We drink cold beers and debate who, what, when, and why he or she did this or that.  And because of that, whatever that is, they are great, or greater, or greatest.  At BBR we hesitate to instantly call a moment, game, or season, or athlete the greatest of all.  It’s hyperbole mostly.  And, it’s what ESPN incessantly drones on about.  Heck, they even have a show called ESPN Instant Classics.  Meh.

Well,  this AM we stick our toe into the conversation.  Did you see Novak Djokovic defeat Roger Federer to capture the Wimbledon Championship yesterday?  If you didn’t, you might have missed the greatest Grand Slam tennis finals match ever.  Don’t believe us?  That’s ok.  Former two time winner and now long time announcer John McEnroe asked that very question during yesterday’s broadcast.  It sounded like he sure thought so.

Consider these facts as we build a case.  It went five sets with three tiebreakers including the last set (forced by the new rules into a tiebreaker) when they reached 12-12 in games.  It was the longest final ever, lasting over five hours.  If you tuned in for breakfast at Wimbledon we hope you packed a lunch too.  Many rallies extended to 20 or more strokes.  The championship level of play started in game one and never relented.   The crowd was stoked by every stroke making the atmosphere all the more intense.

But most of all it was two titans of their sport giving it their all on the biggest stage that their sport provides-Wimbledon.  Roger Federer, at an amazing 37 years of age finished as the runner up.  Is he the “greatest” Wimbledon player ever?  He has more wins than anyone with eight.  He has finished second four times.  He has more Grand Slam titles than anyone with 20.

With the win Djokovic secured his fifth Wimbledon title.  That’s tied for third in Wimbledon wins with Bjorn Borg.  Only Pete Sampras stands between Djokovic and second all time.  Sampras won seven in an incredible eight year run.  Djokovic has a few years left.  Djokovic has 16 Grand Slam titles, good for third best ever.

If Nicklaus and Palmer started in the last group at Augusta and battled for 18 holes on Sunday to win the coveted green jacket would that compare?  Or, if you wish, Tiger and Phil.  What if they were never separated by more than a stroke and tied after 18?  What if they played the equivalent of an additional seven holes and remain tied all the while making clutch shot after clutch putt?

And who did Federer beat to get to the finals?  Rafael Nadal is who.  And he counts 18 Grand Slam trophies (second historically) in his case including an insane 12 French Opens.

And, when the match concluded yesterday both opponents spoke quite highly of their opponent.   Humbly, and privately, they may think what John McEnroe said publicly.

So does this make the case too that tennis, with three of the all time greats playing at the same time, is in an era heretofore never seen prior?  Perhaps.  And, perhaps “perhaps” is too weak of a word to describe the moment yesterday and the era in general.

It’s fifty or so days till the final Grand Slam final of the year, the US Open.   Our guess is two of the three will be in it.  That match may not be able to match yesterday though.

Yesterday was indeed an instant classic.