Flawed Rules

I'm kicking myself for writing this because I'm a supremely superstitious person, and I want more than anything for Boston to win this world series. 

While I have a soft spot for one of the Cardinals starters, having grown up with his family, I still can't overlook the general hate I have towards the birds. Bad memories as an Astros fan growing up, and then being in St. Louis for part of the 2011 series against Texas did not help form my opinion.

I should also mention I am a HUGE Will Middlebrooks fan. So I'm trying my best to put my logical cap on and leave my emotional bias out of it, but hey, that's why I'm a personal blogger and not a writer for a newspaper.

So I did what I always do when I'm trying to make sure I'm forming rational opinions, (no woman jokes here please...), and bounced it off one of my closest male friends. Through him I have decided I am in fact not crazy.

See the problem with rules, is that you generally don't realize that they're flawed until the flaw shines through in a very large (and usually ugly) way.

See: 2008 Big XII results. Nobody realized how flawed the tiebreakers were, until someone felt like they weren't fair. (Insert famous Mack Brown, "how do I tell my boys that a team they beat is going to the national championship and they're not?" ...Yeah.. well you go and what does Leach tell his boys? Exactly.)

See: 2011 National Championship. My pokes are praying the BCS comes through, and that everyone remembers had the SEC threw a fit when 2 Big 10 schools were poised to meet in the Natty. What happened? After enough public bitching (sorry. that's what it was) Florida gets in. And they win. That's all we wanted. How does a team that didn't even win it's conference get to play in a National Championship? I still would've liked to see Weeden2Blackmon up against the LSU secondary... excuse me, while I pout.

I could literally list 1000 other examples, but for the sake of not making this a novel, we'll draw the line at those 2.

Which brings me to tonight. World Series, Game 3.

If you did not see the debacle that ended the game...OH MAN. You missed it. Let's just say that as a Red Sox fan, I was certainly cussing. A lot. 

An abridged version of what happened: (St Louis Players names are highlighted in red, and Boston's are in blue for the non baseball roster saavy readers ;] )
Jon Jay hits the ball to Pedroia at 2nd
Pedroia throws home to Salty
Salty tags Molina out (2nd out of the inning), sees Craig approaching 3rd, throws the ball down to 3rd.
It's a bad throw, Middlebrooks lays out for it, Craig is sliding into 3rd.
Middlebrooks is trying to stand up, Craig is stumbling off of 3rd, Falls on Middlebooks 
(ON NOT OVER.) Meanwhile the closest ump misses initial contact due to looking for ball.
Craig makes it over Middlebrooks, Nava fields the overthrown ball, makes the throw back to Salty.
Salty tags Craig out...Craig never actually touches home plate. 

Inning is over right? Wrong. Obstruction is called on Middlebrooks, Craig is awarded home, it's a walk off, Cards win. 

Here's the video because the word version doesn't really do it justice.

And Also pictures that help establish exactly where Will (Middlebrooks) was in the diamond, and showing Craig does not trip over, but on him. Also that at the point of contact, the ump is not looking.

1. Will (Middlebrooks) is clearly in a position of trying to get up. 

2. The BASE LINE HOME is clearly wide open and unobstructed.

3. From both the video and these pictures, my friend and I have concluded that Craig probably would have fallen on his way to home even without a Sox player to trip over because he was very unbalanced coming off the bag. 

Seems absurd right? I can never, ever think of a time in my softball career that I came off of third base and came INSIDE the bag to go home. Did I almost mow my mother over in the coach's box a few times from rounding so wide? Sure. These legs were entirely too long to do otherwise.

Have I slid into 3rd only to realize my coach is screaming at me to run home? Yesssss. Did I run down the base line to get there? YUP. 

The worst part of this? After reviewing the rule...the umpires made a call that was correct.

You see, a base runner can establish any base path they want as long as a tag is not in play. 

So, if Craig wanted to go High five Uehara on the mound before running home...he could. And if Will was in his way at any point during that and he ran into him, it doesn't matter that Salty is waiting to tag him. He's already been awarded home since 3rd is the last base he legally touched. 

The only way this doesn't get called, is if Will is trying to make a play on the ball. Does it matter that 2 seconds before he was trying to make a play on the ball, and was in the process of moving before the runner took an unnatural path to home plate? Nope. Not according to the rule.

And therein lies my problem. Craig has a clear path home plate, and because he takes an unnatural one, he's awarded the bag. It doesn't matter that Will could do NOTHING to get out of the way faster. It does not matter that upon review, it's clear that Craig did not have stable footing any way and probably would've fallen and that Middlebrooks did not in fact cause his intial stumble. It does not even matter that the closest actual umpire is not looking at the moment of contact. He still made the call, and the MLB is standing behind it. 

And that infuriates me. It may not exactly encourage what I would call "cheap contact" on a base runners part, but it certainly does not discourage it. Maybe if the rule is different then, Craig takes the clear path home and we find out if he truly beats the ball home. (Not tripping..he very well could've. However I've already made it clear that I think he stumbles either way.)

Two last quick notes: 

1. Craig slides into 3rd feet first. No reason he steps back inside the bag to go home, even looking over his shoulder. If anything, his feet should have clearly been to the outside of the bag. 

2. My wonderful aunt pointed out a safety concern. (S/O Aunt Liz all the way in ALASKA!) I would normally agree with this. I have many dear friends who have made sports their career and their safety is my number one concern. However, in this situation, Craig is not in harms way if he takes the natural path home. Since he steps inside, and Middlebrooks is on the ground, it is now WILL's safety who is in danger. A cleat to the back, arm, or hand and he's not doing so hot. It was a perspective I hadn't looked at and deserves some pondering. Thoughts?

I believe that this rule will be reviewed, especially in light of this game, and changed. I still don't believe it should've been called in the game tonight because I feel like it's rewarding Craig for doing something that, intentional or not, isn't right. 

I know my opinion will be a popular one among Sox fans, and unpopular among Cardinals fans and that's okay. It's an opinion and I'm allowed to have one...That's the beauty of being an American right? However I do have a bone to pick with Cardinals fans. In light of the Boston Marathon tragedy the city of Boston adopted the #BostonStrong motto. The people of Boston bound together and because the city is extremely serious about their sports, the Red Sox brought a lot of joy to the city. To MOCK this motto by tweeting #BostonWeak after the game tonight was infuriating. Have some class and some respect for those who lost loved ones or had their lives dramatically altered by the events on that Sunday. It was for all intents and purposes a domestic terrorist attack and is to be respected as a national tragedy. Thanks.

Now, I fully expect this series to be decided in Boston and I think we will see a very motivated Red Sox team take the field tomorrow...And I don't expect them to lose the World Series on their home field...so GO SOX GO.

And in the famous words of Big Papi (accent accounted for), "This is our focking ceety." #BostonStrong

The next "Flawed Rule" I'll take a look at: targeting in college football. 

xoxo

Why "Family Rivalry Weekend" has finally begun to scare me again...and I'm glad.

Let me start this off by being very clear. I BLEED ORANGE AND BLACK. My mood lives and dies with Oklahoma State football and I am very, very proud of my school, my coach, and my football program.

Which is why it will probably surprise you to find out that I grew up in a house that breathes Texas Tech football.

Right. I am absolutely the black sheep. (I mean Dad went to UH but never really had that much school pride. He's an NFL guy for sure.)

You see, I have an Uncle that played football for Texas Tech and he is definitely one of my favorite people on the planet. For as long as I can remember, Uncle Mike's visits have meant staying up late in the living room and crying laughing at his stories. It doesn't matter that you know exactly how the story is going to end...You still cry from the way he tells it. 

I'm sure if you find the Parking Ticket guy from Tech in the late 70's, he would tell you a very different, less humorous side of the story. It's seriously a wonder that there are any trees on that campus at all, but that's a story for a different time.

My mom has been telling us since we were little the story of my uncle's commitment to Tech. He was a highly touted high school recruit with offers to every school in Texas, and he had verbally committed to Texas A&M. After a trip to a knee specialist in Houston, Dr. Lin Jones convinced my uncle to take his last official visit to Texas Tech.

My uncle was on the campus for 10 minutes before calling home and telling his mom and dad that he was changing his commitment.

How upset was Texas A&M? Let's just say that my uncle's recruiting coach was in his high school that Monday trying to track him down. It didn't work. (Thank gosh. Can you imagine how different this story would be?!)

So for as long as I can remember Texas Tech has been the one college program I have consistently watched.

Come my senior year, I take my "official visit" to Tech, (Meaning I got to take a Friday off from school mainly. Although I am tall and look like I should play basketball, I am not a coordinated runner and very much a fish out of water on a court), and I loved everything about it.

Except the size of the campus. 

You see, I love big time athletic programs, but directions are not my strong point and the tour guide lost me somewhere around the phrase "second largest contiguous campus in the United States behind the Air Force Academy."

That's right. The only larger campus in the U.S. REQUIRES AIRPLANE LANDING STRIPS.

Had I not stumbled upon the quaint, compact campus I fell in love with in Stillwater, I dare to say I would be bleeding red and black right now.

My visit was in 2008 and let me tell you, school spirit was insane. Tech was winning, the fans were rowdy, and the Jones was ELECTRIC. 

You couldn't walk 2 feet without seeing a pirate reference and I'm pretty sure the "Raider Power" chant seriously never stopped that Saturday. Later that season, Tech went on to beat Texas in a game that had me standing on my chair in a Buffalo Wild Wings and screaming at the top of my lungs even though I was surrounded by longhorns. (Worth it.)

Then Leach was fired and Tech hired "he who must not be named."
Okay, a Voldemort reference may be a little extreme...so we'll compare him to a dementor.

Why?

Because I've never seen somebody suck the life out of a fan base so incredibly fast. 

So in 2011 when I sent my beautiful little sister off to Lubbock (S/O Midge!) I was kind of bummed for her.

I wanted her to feel the kind of excitement that a game day in Stillwater brought. When you were literally sitting in the stadium with 60,000 of your closest friend and EVERY ONE was absolutely pumped about what was going on on the field.

Not the atmosphere that I saw when I went to Lubbock for her first family day.

It was even worse going back for the Oklahoma State game that year. Tech was routed 66-6 at home (those 6 points were on a pick 6 btw. The offense literally never scored) and after halftime, there was no red left in the stands. We just happened to be lucky enough to have made some new friends who owned a suite in the Jones and had we not been watching the game from there, I'm not sure we would've stuck around either. (Our fight song was even starting to irritate me)

Then, our friend Lynn who owns the suite, and is wise beyond his years, said something to my sister that crushed me.

"I wish you could've experienced Tech during the Leach days. Games were really fun back then."

I don't know about y'all but I want my little sister to have the best of everything and that felt like getting punched in the gut. She was at her dream school, known for the great college football atmosphere, and a single man was ruining it.

Then Tuberville announced his departure and I hoped that Athletic Director Hocutt would do right by Tech fans.

And then rumors about the return of a certain quarterback to take on the head coaching job started to surface.

I liked these rumors. My coach just happens to be a former star quarterback. While Les Miles certainly did not suck the life out our program, Gundy brought a different feel to it. After all, he is a MAN, and I don't know if you've ever seen him dance but the man can get down! He's fun, he's fair, and he makes me proud to be a Cowboy.

So when Hocutt summoned a patronous in the form of Kliff Kingsbury (keeping with the Harry Potter references here), I was ecstatic... and terrified.

I like winning in the family rivalry game (OK State V. Texas Tech), and I was perfectly aware the Kingsbury was going to make that a lot more difficult.

I knew all about what he did with Keenum in Houston, and the national attention he was getting for his role with Manziel's Heisman winning season. (Plus he refused to wear maroon at A&M...a man after my own heart.) I knew he was exciting and brilliant...and dangerous.

But I could not have imagined what happened next.

My sister called me to tell that it was like a complete 180...and the man hadn't even stepped on campus yet.

Then he asked that "Kirby put Cincinnati on the schedule for next year." and every heart in Lubbock healed. Tech football was back, in a big way, and with Kingsbury being only 33, it looks like it's here to stay.

I made my obligatory sister trip to Lubbock less than a month and I could not believe the difference in school spirit. Everyone I talked to couldn't stop rambling about Kliff's return, the upcoming season, or how excited they were.

... & Football season was still 7 months away.

I have the pleasure of saying that I returned for family weekend in August and I have never been so squished, uncomfortable, or had my ear drums assaulted from loud cheers so loudly.

The Jones is finally electric again, school pride is soaring, and I am finally worried about the family rivalry match up. 

I'm even looking forward to the trash talking from my sister leading up to it. I'm glad that she's FINALLY getting the experience she so longed for.

So THANK YOU, Kliff Kingsbury.

Thanks for making the Jones an incredibly fun place to see a game again, even for an opposing fan.

Thanks for making my Uncle proud to be a Texas Tech football alumni.

Thank you for being so modest in all of your interviews and constantly giving the credit back to the players

But most of all, Thanks for providing my sister with the college football experience she deserves, and bringing back the trash talk in our Sunday football review conversations.

You are the Harry Potter Tech was looking for. (Okay, last HP reference. My nerdy heart is now happy.)

20 Years of the Mighty Ducks

I have spent the last hour typing, and erasing, and retyping, and desperately trying to arrange my thoughts on fans and the media in today's sports society. It's something that strikes a personal cord with me and I'm finding it exceptionally hard to organize my thoughts the way I would like to, so that post will have to wait until I've had some decent sleep, and let some of my emotion escape. Fighting fire with fire is simply dense, is it not?

Instead, lets throw it back to a movie that introduced most of us southern American kiddos to the beautiful sport that is hockey.

Seriously, who didn't doesnt love the Mighty Ducks movie? (and the sequels!) 

I mean, Disney doesn't really make mistakes when it comes to movie ideas, but still. The Mighty Ducks is one of my favorites.

And I'm confident to say before watching it, I had no idea what the sport of hockey was. I do live in south Texas...

I like to look back on the movie now being a huge hockey fan, and laugh at lines in different ways.

My favorite:
Connie Moreau: [referring to a duck] But they're wimpy!
Guy Germaine: They don't even have teeth!

Gordon Bombay: Neither do hockey players.

This is particularly funny to me because after meeting a friend of a friend who was a hockey player, and discovering we had mutual friends, we took a picture to send to them. It wasn't until I was about to send the picture to one of our friends that I noticed that he had FLIPPED OUT his fake teeth for the picture, and put them right back in by the time I had turned to face him. I assure you that the NHL has among the best dental plans for its players.

So imagine being a huge Mighty Ducks fan and hearing that Disney was going to make the team a reality. 

That's right. The Mighty Ducks were going to be a REAL TEAM in the NHL. Talk about cornering a market. (Disney is downright almost evil genius. "BUT MOMMMMM, I HAVE TO GO SEE THE REAL MIGHTY DUCKS PLAY.")

So in 1993, the Mighty Ducks become a reality. Over the next few years the ducks experience growing pains, (We Texans fans know the pains of growing an expansion team, eh?), but acquire a beauty by the name of Teemu Selanne. (his significance is to come.)

(Side note: Beauty in hockey has a different meaning. Just think of someone who is spectacular. Either as a team mate, as a player, or both. Thanks to hockey, I very rarely use the word beauty out of this particular context. It confuses people.)

Fast forward to a few playoff appearances, a Stanley Cup finals appearance (non-victorious), the exit of Teemu Selanne and a few other key players, and an impending lockout and Disney is ready to sell. A businessman by the name of Henry Samueli and his wife by the team and continue on with their business.  

2005 brings about the return of Selanne, along with the uprising of two rookies by the name of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and the Mighty Ducks make an appearance in the Western Conference finals.

At the beginning of the 06-07 season, the ducks drop the "mighty" and just become the Anaheim Ducks, and WIN LORD STANLEY. (I would like to mention that they had to beat 2 of my favorite teams in the process to get there. And that a team created from a Disney movie has more Stanley Cup wins that either of those two teams...although that's not hard when the number to beat is 0.)

So that's a lot of history to get to tonight. (Sorry. Told you I really love hockey.) Tonight, the little kid in me absolutely died and went to heaven. Why you ask?

The Mighty Ducks took the ice on throwback night in Anaheim. 

How sick do those babies look? The Anaheim Ducks are celebrating their 20th season in the NHL and pulled out these retro jerseys for the occasion. They even went as far as having 1993 style graphics on the screen during the game. Had the Red Sox not been trying to give me a heart attack on the other coast, I would've been the happiest little bumblebee in the world.

The goalie, Jonas Hiller, rocked this helmet tonight. 

The other ducks goalie, Viktor Fasth, also has a throwback mask for this season. His was painted by my FAVORITE mask artist, a swede by the name of David Gunnarsson who does amazing work.

In what I refuse to believe was anything other that brilliant planning by the Ducks front office, throwback night happened against the Ottawa Senators, the very team the they beat to claim their only Stanley Cup with goals made by Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and an assist by Teemu Selanne (Who announced at the beginning of this season, in a hilarious video, that he would be coming back for his final pro season in Anaheim).

After losing their season opener to the Avalanche, the Ducks have won 4 straight and look to be doing something special in what I consider to be a very strong division. I'm hoping for more throwback nights throughout the course of the year, preferably not during playoff baseball. We need to see Fasth's helmet make an appearance with the throwback jersey's for the full effect.

I'll try to make the before-mentioned post sometime this afternoon or later this week if I can't seem to straighten my thoughts out. We'll talk some playoff baseball, college football (Mizzou beating Georgia..what?!), NFL, and maybe take a look at the Rockets trip overseas. 

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving y'all. I will be continuing to celebrate this evening with a hockey game, my family, and Crown Royal. So very much to be thankful for. 

xoxo