Sports Say: 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 5 of 5

All year long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.

Over the next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’ from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports writing has been omitted.

In the final part of this five-part list are excellent works on the national Skee-ball championships (yes, that exists), a mother’s plea to Johnny Manziel to change his bad boy ways, the uncovering of Manti Te’o’s fake dead girlfriend, the unique way of re-telling a season-changing play and the Amish’s love of baseball.

5. "Grand-torino: Shane sends Sox to Series"by Providence Journal's Brian MacPherson (October 20)

Providence Journal sports writer Brian MacPherson gets my award this season for the most interesting coverage of a big play or event with the incredibly unique and to my knowledge original way he covered Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino’s game-winning grand slam in the American League Championship Series that sent the Red Sox to the World Series and an eventual championship. MacPherson was able to capture the grand slam from the viewpoint of many throughout the stadium, including players and coaches in the dugout, bullpen and clubhouse, as well as executives of the team in their offices or team suites. The unique perspective given of the play from those within its vicinity really sets this article apart from the rest of the field.

4. "Manti Te’o’s Dead Girlfriend, The Most Heartbreaking And Inspirational Story Of The College Football Season, Is A Hoax" by Deadspin's Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey (January 16)

This rather extensive expose from Deadspin’s Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey is quite likely the most read bit of sports journalism from 2013 as the duo uncovered the highly odd and controversial story of former Notre Dame Heisman candidate linebacker Manti Te’o’s dead girlfriend being a complete hoax. The Te’o girlfriend hoax would quickly become one of the most overplayed and annoying sports stories of the year and be supremely embarrassing to Te’o himself, but the initial story proves to be one of the most stellar and important sports journalism pieces of 2013.

3. "At the Skee-ball Super Bowl" by The Classical's Sean Hojnacki (June 27)

Who doesn’t enjoy a good game of Skee-ball every now and then? According to The Classical’s Sean Hojnacki in his great firsthand piece of the Brewskee-Ball National Championship in Austin, Texas some people take the arcade game extremely serious. This piece is fascinating for similar reasons as John Metcalfe’s piece at The Atlantic on thumb wrestling championships, which appeared earlier on this list. Much like the thumb wrestling championship, the Skee-ball championship features unique individuals with nicknames like Joey the Cat and Snakes on a Lane. The fact that something of this caliber takes place annually was incredibly appealing to me.

2. "An Open Letter to Johnny Manziel" by My Sacred Hideaway's Beth Bates (August 31)

“An Open Letter to Johnny Manziel” is almost certainly the only piece of sports writing on this list that was not actually written by either a journalist or a published writer … in fact, it was written by a Texas mom in her blog. That fact really makes the entire thing more interesting, impressive and just all-around perfect. The blog post is Beth Bates’ open letter to 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and Texas A&M college football quarterback Johnny Manziel on his attitude, and the fact that he’s being a horrible role model to children, like her son, who idolize him. Hopefully Manziel somehow got a chance to read this piece, because it was advice that he really needed to hear.

1. "The Boys of Lancaster: There's a genius to the way the Amish play baseball" by New Republic's Kent Russell (March 22)

One of the things that will most draw me to a sports journalism piece is its uniqueness. I don’t believe that I read anything quite as unique and interesting this year as Kent Russell’s story on Amish baseball for New Republic. The story of this fantastic bit of culture from Russell’s trip to Lancaster County, Penn. is one that captured me immediately and wouldn’t let go until I had finished. I had never thought of Amish playing sports before, but as Russell states in his piece Amish and baseball seem to be a perfect fit. “’The Amish play baseball! Of course they do.’” The story of this community’s love for the game is well-worthy of the number one spot on this year’s best sports journalism of 2013 list.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 4 of 5

In part four of this five-part list are excellent works on the beast with the baddest body in all of sports, the English tavern where thumb wrestlers from around the world decide who’s the very best, what it’s like to try to make a professional football team out of training camp, the secret of a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback who simply seems average most of the time and the possibility that a great sporting event from 40 years ago may have actually been fixed.

10. "The Secret of Eli Manning" by Grantland’s Brian Phillips (October 11)

Eli Manning is one of the real tough cases to crack of any athlete in sports. He’s a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback who looks terrific at times, but simply average for most of his career. He’s also known for as being aloof and having a seemingly uncaring attitude. But, as Brian Phillips writes in his Grantland.com piece (his second outing on this list) there’s a secret side to Eli Manning that many people apparently don’t know about … and it’s far more interesting than the character we believe him to be.

9. "The Saddest, Most Inspiring Story You'll Ever Read About Thumb Wrestling" by The Atlantic's John Metcalfe (June 28)

John Metcalfe’s story of an aspiring actor working in a Los Angeles restaurant that ended up as a championship level thumb wrestler for The Atlantic is one of those truly great sports stories because it lets you into a world that you never knew existed. When you find out that these all-star thumb wrestlers go by pseudonym’s like Thumberlina, Thumbertaker and Jack the Gripper and travel from all across the world every year to meet up in a tavern in England it truly becomes a must-read.

8. "What It's Like to Make the Cut" by Monday Morning Quarterback's Jenny Vrentas (September 2)

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King debuted his new football-only website “Monday Morning Quarterback” this year and within just a few days of its debut it was featuring top notch football articles such as Jenny Vrentas’ “What It’s Like to Make the Cut,” which followed Minnesota Vikings training camp invitee Zach Line in his attempt to make the Vikings’ season roster. The story of how hard this fullback had to work to make the team is a unique insight to the toughness a football player must exhibit and the drive he must have within him just to be one of 53 players to make the team.

7. "The Match Maker: Bobby Riggs, The Mafia and The Battle of the Sexes " by ESPN/Outside the Line's Don Van Natta Jr. (August 25)

One of the biggest shockers I read this year was Don Van Natta Jr.’s piece for ESPN.com and “Outside the Lines” on the possibility of Bobby Riggs having thrown the famed “Battle of Sexes” exhibition tennis match in 1973, losing to Billie Jean King. The expose on Riggs, his Mafia ties and his debts makes me believe that this legendary event 40 years ago may have been fixed. How it came about and why it took 40 years to uncover is part of this great mystery.

6. “Unridable” by ESPN the Magazine’s Wright Thompson (July 9)

Every year ESPN the Magazine publishes its “Body Issue,” basically the magazine’s answer to Sports Illustrated’s “Swimsuit Issue,” which features fitness and the chiseled physiques of nearly nude professional athletes. But, it came as a surprise when one of the best bodies in the sports world this year tipped the scales at a whopping 1,700 pounds, kicked dirt and snorted snot from his massive nostrils. But, as Wright Thompson (in his second piece to make this list) tells us Bushwacker, the meanest and best bull on the Professional Bull Riders circuit, had the baddest body in all of sports. The article is must-read, but the segment for ESPN’s news program “E:60,” which was awesomely narrated by Thompson, is a classic (but, unfortunately cannot be found in its entirety).

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 3 of 5

In part three of this five-part list are fine writings on Major League Baseball’s lack of a game-changing superstar, a boxing match that left one opponent dead and the lives of others changed forever, the hall of fame case for a former NBA superstar that on first look might not seem worthy of enshrinement, and two stories on the competitive drives of legendary (Michael Jordan) or volatile (Kurt Busch) athletes.

15. “The Unfortunate Tale of T-Mac” by Grantland’s Bill Simmons (August 30)

As an Orlando Magic fan there have probably been few NBA players in my lifetime who I’ve enjoyed watching play basketball more than Tracy McGrady. But, despite being a great player for a good amount of time, McGrady was never viewed as a winner (having never led his team past the first round of the NBA Playoffs) and thus never viewed as a potential future hall of famer, even by myself. However, Bill Simmons’ wonderful post-career analysis of McGrady’s career for Grantland.com this year did something that rarely happens … it made me take a second look at a player and change my opinion. After reading Simmons’ piece, I now believe McGrady should one day be inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.

14. "Kurt Busch Shows Drive to Win Away From Track" by USA Today's Jeff Gluck (August 15)

USA Today’s Jeff Gluck gets my award for most interesting article idea of 2013, because he had the audacity to ask the always-volatile, uber-competitive NASCAR driver Kurt Busch to go mini-golfing with him as a part of a story on the irascible driver’s attitude and drive to win at anything and everything he does, no matter how trivial the event. The outcome pretty much proves that Kurt Busch is always going to be Kurt Busch when it comes to competition.

13. "Death at the Garden: Memories of Emile Griffith and Benny Paret" by The New Yorker's Jonathan Coleman (July 24)

When boxing legend Emile Griffith died in late July it instantly sent The New Yorker’s Jonathan Coleman back to the night that he witnessed his first prizefight between Griffith and Benny Paret as a kid in 1962. It was a night in which one man would not survive and the lives of a few others would be changed forever. Coleman’s telling of vivid memories from the night recalls the horror of the event and the tragic side of the sweet science.

12. "Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building" by ESPN's Wright Thompson (February 22)

Wright Thompson’s fantastic “Michael Jordan Has Not Left The Building” for ESPN.com in correlation with “Outside the Lines” for Jordan’s 50^th birthday (which ESPN way overdid with coverage) is very similar to Jeff Gluck’s "Kurt Busch Shows Drive to Win Away From Track" in that it shows things haven’t changed since MJ’s final retirement. Depending on your feelings toward Jordan you might feel differently, but the intriguing part of Thompson’s piece to me is how pathetic Jordan really looks when it comes to his personality, attitude and his general sense that the world revolves around him.

11."Seeking the Elusive Face of Baseball" by ESPN's Jayson Stark (July 16)

There has been a lot of talk in 2013 about how baseball has a massive problem in that it doesn’t have a “face of the sport,” a la LeBron James or Peyton Manning, though others (myself included) don’t feel it to be a big issue. Jayson Stark’s excellent piece for ESPN.com on the topic was among the best (and most important) baseball articles of the year, as it gets to the point (or issue) as to why it’s so hard to develop one superstar or “face” of the game that stands out above all the rest and how that may need to change or risk hurting the sport.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 2 of 5

In part two of this five-part list are fine writings on a Major League Baseball player who must make sacrifices to care for his beloved dog, a baseball player who realized the game was no longer for him, the perfect response to performance enhancing drug allegations, capturing the horror of the Boston Marathon bombings and the tale of how women must first defeat their own breasts before setting their sights on their opponent.

20. "Playing Defense: What's the smartest PED response strategy?" by SportsonEarth's Will Leitch (August 13)

In August, the NFL’s best running back Adrian Peterson, of the Minnesota Vikings, kind of surprised the sports media/world when asked if he used performance enhancing drugs. His response: "... it makes me feel good. When you know you don't do it, and someone's saying you do, you're like, 'Wow. They think I'm on HGH? I'm doing that good? It's a compliment. I don't get mad about it at all." It was a reaction unlike any other athlete who'd ever answered the question and according to Sports on Earth's Will Leitch is the smartest strategy to responding to PED questioning.

19. "Lonely Days Ahead for Mark Buehrle" by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (February 7)

Jerry Crasnick’s piece on newly acquired Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and his love of his dogs was intriguing because it shows the sacrifices, sometimes ones you wouldn’t even think of, that professional athletes sometimes have to make during their season. Buehrle and his family own a 2-year old American Staffordshire terrier and bulldog mix, part of the pitbull family, which happens to be outlawed in the entirety of Toronto’s province Ontario. Because of their bond with their pup, Buehrle’s family chose to stay at home in St. Louis and take care of the dog, meaning that they would be away from each other for most of the season. Buehrle’s sacrifice and the love and care he has for dogs makes for a supremely touching story.

18. “Why I Quit Major League Baseball” by Adrian Cardenas for The New Yorker (October 30)

Becoming a Major League Baseball player (or a professional athlete of another kind) is a dream shared by millions throughout the world. One would think that making it to the highest level in your sport would be the ultimate goal, but Adrian Cardenas, a former Chicago Cubs player, realized once he finally made it to “the show” that it really wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t his American dream. His telling of why in The New Yorker is an interesting tale of how one can seemingly have what millions desire, but not really want for himself.

17. "You Can Only Hope to Contain Them" by ESPN The Magazine's Amanda Hess (July 16)

Sometimes great articles are the ones that make you think of things that you never would have imagined. For instance, as a man I had never thought about how uncomfortable it must be for female athletes to compete because of their breasts until I read Amanda Hess’ “You Can Only Hope to Contain Them” for ESPN the Magazine. Hess’ piece made me realize that for women sometimes you have to battle your own breasts before even thinking about defeating your opponent.

16. "You Are Not Safe Here": The Remains of a Horrible Day in Boston" by Esquire's Charles P. Pierce (April 15)

The day of the Boston bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 15 was a day that most Americans will probably always remember, but for the people who were actually there will be engrained in their memories – the horror, the blood, the gruesomely maimed and the panic that permeated throughout the area. Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce in just five short paragraphs was able to perfectly capture the panic of the moments directly after the bomb blasts, including the unnerving quote from an officer stating to passer-bys, “you are not safe here.” However, it’s his final sentence that truly lets the horror of that afternoon sink in: "And you can smell the blood two blocks away."

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 1 of 5

In part one of this five-part list are fine writings on the unsung heroes of NASCAR, the dying out of a controversial Spanish tradition, a Cooperstown weekend where no living hall of famers were inducted, a wild-and-wacky college football game that’s almost too unbelievable to believe and the sad tale of an auto racing legend who’s pain became too much for him to bear.

Click on the article title to read ...

25. "Life of a NASCAR hauler driver" by TheTrucker's Aprille Hanson (July 2)

I must first get this little disclaimer out of the way … Aprille Hanson is my girlfriend, but as anybody who truly knows me knows this would not be a good enough reason for me to stick an article written by her on my list of the finest sports journalism of 2013. Hanson’s piece stands out on its own and the reason it makes this list is because it’s an incredibly interesting aspect of a sport that’s almost never seen or talked about … the NASCAR hauler driver. Hanson shows us that NASCAR hauler drivers, with their colorful personalities and even more colorful nicknames like “Pickle,” are the unsung heroes of the sport of NASCAR.

24. “But It Did Happen” by Grantland’s Brian Phillips (October 25)

Grantland’s Brian Phillips’ recounting of an unbelievably crazy college football game 45 years ago between Tulsa and Houston that featured a future NFL head coach, a future country music star and may or may not have featured TV’s Dr. Phil McGraw is a must-read for its sheer wackiness and the fact that, at least to my knowledge, such an unusual game as this has never been recounted.

23. "Adiós, Spanish bullfighting?" by Salon'sGuy Hedgecoe (June 23)

Bullfighting is a sport that fascinated the great Ernest Hemingway, who’d write about it multiple times in his works, but one of this year’s great sports articles came from Salon’s Guy Hedgecoe about how the controversial Spanish tradition is dying out in Spain due to protests from animal rights activists and a bad economy.

22. "Village of the Damned: Cooperstown 2013"by Grantland.com's Bryan Curtis (July 29)

Grantland’s Bryan Curtis’ piece on a baseball hall of fame class in Cooperstown, N.Y. in which not a single living soul was being inducted is interesting because it allows us to delve into the politics of hall of fame voting, the camaraderie of the living hall of famers coming back each year to take part in the celebrations and the always entertaining Pete Rose, who should be in the hall, signing autographs across town on the weekend of the ceremony.

21. "Elegy of a race car driver: The good times,hard life, and shocking death of Dick Trickle" by SBNation's JeremyMarkovich (July 30)

Jeremy Markovich of SBNation wrote this beautifully sad piece on the great short track auto racer Dick Trickle, who became a sports punchline for his name, but meant so much more to the racing industry and fans of the sport throughout the country. The story perfectly captures Trickle’s legacy, what he meant to fellow drivers like Rusty and Kenny Wallace and the pain he felt toward the end of his life before the moment he decided to end it all.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Hog Hell

It seemed like an incredibly fitting end to the Arkansas Razorbacks’ season. The team looked in control for much of their contest against the number 17 ranked LSU Tigers on Friday (Nov. 29) only to have their seemingly first conference win of the season, in their final game of the season, blown by an easy 49-yard pass by freshman backup quarterback Anthony Jennings, who had just entered the game for injured starter Zach Mettenberger to a laughably wide open receiver Travin Dural. Then with a final opportunity to retake the lead and win the game Razorbacks sophomore quarterback Brandon Allen fumbled away their chances. He must really like cleaning egg off of his pickup truck.

After two seasons in Hog Hell, you would think that Razorbacks fans would be getting pretty accustomed to watching losing teams, but they still seem to be dumbfounded by the team’s struggles and enveloped in a combination of anger, sadness and obnoxious delusion (which I’ve found is not uncommon for Hogs fans whether their favorite team is 10-2 or 2-10).

Maybe it’s just because I’ve lived in the state of Arkansas for the majority of my life, and maybe similar things occur everywhere (although from what I’ve read and seen, it doesn’t appear to be as bad elsewhere) but it often appears as if the majority of the Razorbacks fanbase has an unhealthy relationship with their favorite college football team and almost always have unrealistic expectations and incredibly homer-ish (the inability to be objective about one’s favorite sports team) attitudes toward the Razorbacks.

Razorbacks fans thought that last season’s 4-8 (2-6 in SEC play) team under interim head coach John L. Smith, who took over following the controversial (even though it shouldn’t have been and only was in the state of Arkansas) firing of Bobby Petrino, was the real year in Hog Hell. Many thought that the hiring of Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema would automatically transform the Razorbacks back into a winning football teams with aspirations of a good bowl game or at least any bowl game.

These aspirations are typical bits of the sort of delusions of grandeur that Razorbacks fans spout off each season. Certainly a team coming off one of its worst seasons in school history under a new coach, new system and many new players would not be successful enough to make a bowl appearance in a rebuilding year. That never happens (unless you’re apparently coached by Gus Malzahn). But, many Razorbacks fans just knew it would.

What happened instead was an even worse year in Hog Hell than the previous season as Bielema lead the Razorbacks to a 3-9 record and the school’s first ever winless SEC slate in his first season at the helm. The team won its first three games of the season over cupcake schools like Louisiana-Lafayette, Samford and Southern Mississippi (and wasn’t that impressive looking much of the time) only to lose their remaining nine games of the season consecutively by being outscored by a whopping 172 points in the process.

Now these numbers shouldn’t be all that alarming for fans in what is a rebuilding season, but fans either didn’t expect the team to have the usual hiccups of a rebuilding season or they simply didn’t understand what rebuilding seasons are. One year is much too little of a sample size, but there’s honestly no telling how Bielema will do in the long run as head football coach at the University of Arkansas. Yet, many in the fanbase already want his head on a stick or to be run out of town. And, many who expect the Razorbacks to win constantly and act as if they have never seen their favorite team utterly suck before (have they already forgotten the previous season?) feel like they have the right to egg the pickup truck of “their” team’s quarterback.

This is where we run into some of the biggest problems and delusions that are a part of much of the Razorbacks’ fanbase.

Razorbacks fans have this way of acting like their favorite team is a national powerhouse that is supposed to win every game they play no matter the opponent. They believe the team is supposed to be treated like they are on the same stage as Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, etc. However, the team is simply not a national powerhouse and rarely, if ever, has been. In the era of the BCS rankings they have never been ranked as the best team in the country or the second best even for a week. In the team’s 100-plus year history it has won one national championship, almost a half century ago in 1964, a decent 13 conference titles, but none in their 20-plus year history in the SEC and has only produced a relatively miniscule two Pro Football Hall of Famers. Yet, the fans act like the team is one of God’s gifts to college football.

Why?

This gets us to another major problem with much of the fanbase, or so I’ve been told. Multiple people have told me before that the Razorbacks have such a crazy fanbase because it’s the only major sports team in a state without any professional sports teams and really other big college teams. The “only team in the state” theory somewhat makes sense, but doesn’t mean the fanbase has the right to shut their brains off when it comes to their favorite team. Part of the reason Hogs fans are often so delusional is just a part of dealing with sports fans, who are often the least objective and reasonable people on the planet, but, once again, it would seem that the Razorbacks’ fanbase is worse than most. Razorbacks fans often act like they own some stake in their favorite team; like they are a part of their favorite team. This is why when things don’t go well with the team they feel they have the right to do things like egg the QB’s truck. It’s also why they feel they have the right to call analysts and experts like Tim Brando and Kirk Herbstreit names and mercilessly bully them on social media sites like Twitter simply for giving their opinions on the Razorbacks or for predicting them to lose a football game. Many Razorbacks fans take it personally when somebody says something about their favorite team, as if it’s a part of them. They truly feel offended if somebody was to pick an opponent to win a game over the Razorbacks or if somebody says something even the slightest bit negative about their favorite team. Many will absolutely hate every single thing I’ve written here.

This is the type of delusion that leads to years in Hog Hell like the last two. People believe that because it’s the Arkansas Razorbacks they are supposed to always play well, win games, never have losing seasons, never be talked negatively about and compete for national championships (even though they’ve hardly ever done this last thing). When the team ends up with one of its worst seasons in the history of the school like this season people freak out, even though years like this should be expected and in rebuilding years, especially. Being a fan of a sports team is a great thing and a fan’s loyalty to that team is sacred. However, sports fans should desperately attempt to be a little more reasonable about their favorite teams and Arkansas Razorbacks fans seem to be one of the fanbases in this country most in need of this lesson.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Mark Martin: More Than Just a Runner-Up in Everybody's Book

Mark Martin is going to go down in the history of NASCAR as the sport’s Ted Williams, Karl Malone and Dan Marino … the best of the sport to never experience the glory of a championship title. But, despite the fact that it’s this blog post’s lede and will undoubtedly and unfortunately be synonymous with him for the remainder of his life and long after it ultimately doesn’t matter, because he (and the others like him) will still remain legends and all-time greats despite never reaching their sport’s summit.

Martin always seemed to be the runner-up in NASCAR – finished second in the point standings a record (and whopping) five times. He also never seemed to be the best driver at any one point in his long and successful career – but, only because he was being bested by truly iconic names like Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. But, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t get the job done (NASCAR is a team sport, just like baseball, basketball and football) and sometimes your failed by other things like your pit crew or just dumb luck. Martin, in fact, had not one, but two championships essentially taken from him by rules infractions seemingly out of his reach.

Championships should never be a measure of a true sports legend, period. Mark Martin may not have a championship, but won 40 premier series Sprint Cup races in his career and almost 100 races when you add up his victories from the three NASCAR series (he’s second in all-time Nationwide Series wins and the only driver in the history of NASCAR with 40-plus wins in both series). Bill Rexford won a NASCAR premier series championship, in 1950, but only won one race in his career. No offense to the late Rexford, and granted he only ran 36 career NASCAR races, but you tell me which driver is the true legend of the sport. Hint: It’s not the one with the championship.

Mark Martin is not just a true NASCAR legend and an all-time great because of his skills on the racetrack. He’s also a legend, because of the man he is. I’ve been watching NASCAR for 12 years and in that time there has never been a more respected man within the NASCAR garage and among race fans than Mark Martin. Few, if any, drivers in NASCAR history have probably been as respected and liked as Martin. This is because Martin was the ultimate gentleman racer who didn’t ruffle feathers on the track by beating and banging or off the track by running his mouth about fellow drivers. Drivers knew that Martin was going to race them clean, so they had better return the favor … and they always seemed to do just that. I can’t remember a single time in my 12 years of watching this sport where I ever saw Martin and another driver have a spat either on or off the track. Everybody simply liked Mark Martin.

It’s this respect and attitude that Martin showed that stands out the most to me about his career, even more so than winning races, despite having seen almost a quarter of Martin’s career wins in the Cup Series, including one of his most successful seasons in 2009 when he won five races, including the last of his career at New Hampshire Speedway, and finished runner-up in the championship for the fifth time in his career. Mark Martin was 50 years old that season and was better than anybody on the track, including drivers half his age.

Mark Martin is going to be missed on the racetrack for many reasons, some of them including the fact that he won’t be there to show the younger drivers the right way to race and treat each other and that he’s maybe the last throwback to the good old days of racing when the sport featured workingman-like legends like Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarbrough, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett and on and on.

Mark Martin is truly a beloved relic of the sport of NASCAR. His career spans more than 30 years and multiple eras of the sport. He’s a guy who entered his first race in an event won by the legendary Richard Petty and finished his career in a race culminating in a championship for Jimmie Johnson. If there was a legend in the sport of NASCAR the odds are that Mark Martin not only drove side-by-side with them, but also beat them.

It’s going to be weird watching NASCAR without Mark Martin in the field, but it was a damn pleasure doing so for all of those years.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Dario Franchitti Forced to Walk Away from Sport He Made Me Love

I’m saddened by the recent news that my favorite IndyCar driver Dario Franchitti, one of the all-time greats of the sport, will no longer be able to race due to injuries sustained in a horrific October crash at Houston. Doctors have told Franchitti that returning to racing action had too many risks and could be detrimental to his future. So, he made the wise and right decision to step aside.

A month and a half after the frightening accident, I’m still just thrilled that Franchitti, also one of the great all-around guys in sports, is still alive. But, his abrupt retirement on Thursday, Nov. 14, did come as a shock to me as I fully expected him back in a racecar by next season. It turns out that was a little too much wishful thinking, as none of us fully knew the extent the crash injuries had taken on him. As it turns out it’s not the severely fractured ankle or the multiple fractured vertebrae that’s mostly sidelining him, but the concussion sustained in the accident, which is the third or fourth concussion in his career. Franchitti is basically being forced to quit, because he’s suffered similar head trauma as numerous football players who suffer from debilitating head injuries after their playing careers.

The thing that’s the most shocking about all of this is that as he is my favorite driver I selfishly feel like I’ve been stripped of seeing the “Dario Franchitti Farewell Tour” and hate knowing that the last time I’d ever see Franchitti in a racecar will be the image of not knowing whether or not he was alive in a terribly mangled racecar sitting on the racetrack.

But, I know that won’t be the only image in my head from the legendary racing career of Dario Franchitti – I’ll just as easily remember the four championships and three Indianapolis 500 victories – the moments and things that made Franchitti a larger than life figure in the IndyCar Series.

Dario Franchitti plays a huge role in why I’m a fan of the IndyCar Series. I had long been a NASCAR fan and it was pretty much the only form of auto racing that I watched. But, I started to watch the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, the year the late Dan Wheldon won his first Indy 500, probably because I got caught up in the Danica Patrick mania. I continued to watch the 500 every year, watching Sam Hornish Jr. narrowly beat rookie Marco Andretti in 2006 in one of the closest and most exciting finishes ever. The next year I would watch as Dario Franchitti won his first Indy 500 in a rain-shortened event, he had won his first championship the year before. Something about Franchitti’s dominance on the racetrack, his likability off the racetrack and the sheer badassness of his entire look – the hair, the Scottish accent, the Hollywood wife, etc. made me like this guy, made him stand out to me from the rest.

The next year when Franchitti decided to leave IndyCar for NASCAR it made me like him even more. His NASCAR career was short and unsuccessful though, not even getting a half of a season under his belt before fracturing his ankle in a hard crash in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega. He would go back to IndyCar the next season and I couldn’t believe the transition was so easy for him. It looked as if Franchitti hadn’t missed a step and immediately dominated the series winning three championships in a row from 2009-2011 and winning two more Indy 500s in 2010 and 2012. Franchitti is one of only 10 drivers to win the most coveted trophy in motorsports three or more times. His 31 wins (21 in IndyCar and 10 in Champ Car) are eighth most all-time in American Open Wheel Racing. All of these numbers add up to Franchitti quite possibly being one of the 10 greatest drivers ever in his field.

He’s the biggest reason why I’ve become an IndyCar fan and I’ll always appreciate him as much for that, as for the greatness I witnessed from him on the track. He’s certainly going to be missed come March when engines are fired on the 2014 IndyCar season at St. Petersburg, but there’s no doubt he’s making the right decision to walk away from racing. It’s probably the hardest decision he’s ever had to make, but he’s done so like the true champion he is.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

World Series Obstruction Is Correct Call, But Should It Be?

For the second postseason in a row in Major League Baseball a controversial call by an umpire that was mostly the correct call (you could argue that the infield fly rule called in the 2012 National League Wild Card game was a bad call) has played a huge role in an incredibly important game.

Game three of the World Series on Saturday night (Oct. 26) ended with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the Boston Red Sox and taking a 2-1 lead in the series thanks to an obstruction called on Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks for impeding Cardinals baserunner Allen Craig by third base umpire Jim Joyce.

Here’s the rule, as it reads in the official MLB rulebook:

Rule 2.00
OBSTRUCTION is the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and
not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.

Rule 2.00 (Obstruction) Comment: If a fielder is about to receive a thrown ball and if the ball is in flight directly toward and near enough to the fielder so he must occupy his position to receive the ball he may be considered "in the act of fielding a ball." It is entirely up to the judgment of the umpire as to whether a fielder is in the act of fielding a ball. After a fielder has made an attempt to field a ball and missed, he can no longer be in the "act of fielding" the ball. For example: an infielder dives at a ground ball and the ball passes him and he continues to lie on the ground and delays the progress of the runner, he very likely has obstructed the runner.

Many on Saturday night and afterward were claiming the obstruction call to be a bad call by Joyce, which is understandable given the rarity of the call, the circumstances of the game and the common sense aspect of it all. However, those people claiming the call to be a bad or wrong call are simply wrong. Jim Joyce made the right call according to the official MLB rule stated above.

In fact, the actual example given in the rule book is almost exactly what happened at the end of game three. Middlebrooks dove for an errant throw by Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia that ended up in left field. However, when Craig made his way to home after the ball went into the outfield Middlebrooks was still lying on the ground in front of Craig.

Sure, Middlebrooks was essentially in a no man’s land and did not appear to knowingly (although some people debate this) do anything to attempt to impede Craig’s progress to home. However, intent is not a factor as to whether or not a defensive player has obstructed a baserunner. Thus, Middlebrooks being in the wrong place at the wrong time was going to be obstructing no matter what – whether he lay still, kicked his legs into the air or stood up and did the hokey-pokey. By rule, Middlebrooks obstructed Craig. Craig was by rule awarded the next base, which was home plate and as a result he was the winning run of the game. It became the first World Series game in the history of baseball to end on an obstruction call, which most people seem to agree is not the greatest way to end such an important game, especially one as exciting as game three was.

Jim Joyce was correct. But, I don’t believe the Major League Baseball rulebook is, or rather it shouldn’t be. This is where I think a case can be made. Arguing a call was bad when it was explicitly right by the rulebook is pointless. Arguing whether or not the rule should be a rule, like in this case, has validity.

Obstruction is a rule that is over 100 years old in baseball. It’s not something you see a whole lot, though, and until Saturday night it’s not something I can recall ever seeing in such an important game, especially to end that game. Obstruction has been around more than a century, but it took something as catastrophic as game three on Saturday night for me to realize that it’s faulty.

The rule is faulty or a bad rule in my opinion as it’s worded because it seemingly gives an unfair advantage to the offensive team.

How so?

To best answer this question I’ll have to do so with another question … What was Will Middlebrooks supposed to do in that situation?

If Will Middlebrooks gets called for obstruction either way by the rulebook whether he just lies there or kicks his feet or does the hokey-pokey how can the rule be fair to the defensive team? It’s not. Essentially you are penalizing a player and a team for just trying their best to stop a ball from getting past them and into the outfield.

What happens when Craig and Middlebrooks make contact as Craig tries to race home is incidental contact. It’s not intentional contact. Intentional contact would be cheating or attempting to take advantage of a rule. Therefore, intentional contact should be (and is) covered under the obstruction rule. Incidental contact should be considered just a part of the game – something that happens in the course of playing hard – similar to if a baserunner is hit with a thrown ball while on the basepaths. In my opinion, incidental contact between a defensive player not in the process of making a play, because he was previously in the process of trying to make a play (Middlebrooks on Saturday night) and the baserunner attempting to advance should not be considered obstruction.

Some would say that what I’m advocating would instead of being an unfair advantage to the offensive team be the exact opposite. To those people I would say that’s not necessarily the case at all. After all, Craig should’ve scored on a ball thrown to left field despite the incidental contact with Middlebrooks, but wouldn’t have had the obstruction not been called because of 1) being not 100 percent healthy 2) being slow 3) good hustle on part of the Red Sox defense.

People would also say that determining intent on obstruction calls would leave umpires forced to make judgment calls. My two answers to this are 1) wouldn’t that be better than unfairly ruling in favor of the offense? and 2) don’t umpires already make judgment calls all of the time whether it’s by calling balls and strikes or with bang-bang plays at bases?

Nothing about the obstruction call on Saturday night felt right to me, even though as clearly stated in the rulebook it was a correct call. It didn’t feel right to me because it felt like one team was unfairly punished because its player had gone all out to try to stop a ball from getting past him. It didn’t feel right, because it felt as if Craig should’ve been able to get around Middlebrooks and score without stumbling anyway. It didn’t feel right because this is a World Series game and whether it’s wrong or right it doesn’t seem like it should end on a faulty rule.

The controversial obstruction call last night, much like the controversial infield fly rule from last season’s playoffs is meant to be a good rule. It’s meant to keep defenses from unfairly taking advantage of offenses. However, because of the seemingly incompleteness of the obstruction rule and the obvious vagueness of the infield fly rule both rules have come into question as to whether or not they should be revised or re-worded.

If there is one thing that is certain it’s that baseball truly is amazing in that something can happen that you almost never see and make you realize that a rule that is over 100 years old is at best faulty.

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