Bull Riders Just Might Be the Toughest Athletes Around

Last Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Velocity Tour event at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock. The Velocity Tour is kind of like the minor leagues for the PBR Tour with a bunch of young guns trying to reach the summit of their sport. I had never watched a PBR event in person and hadn’t even so much as watched more than a few minutes of one on television. However, I always had a great respect for bull riders, commonly referred to as cowboys, because what they do is obviously spectacular and something that I could never imagine myself doing. A lot of my respect for the sport of bull riding, despite never having much knowledge or viewing of it, likely comes from all of the great rodeo country music songs I grew up loving by artists like Garth Brooks, George Strait and Chris LeDoux who really do capture the romance and beauty of a cowboy riding a bull. And, it’s a romance and beauty that is so quick, so over in a matter of seconds that it’s really hard for the brain to almost comprehend. Eight seconds of almost anything seems like nothing. Hell, eight seconds occur seven and a half times every single minute. But, I’m betting that eight seconds on a bull for some of these cowboys can seem like an eternity, with that massive beast bucking and twisting and turning wanting nothing more than to fling the cowboy from his back and then stomp his brains out for having the audacity to attempt to ride him. It’s likely the most thrilling eight seconds in sports. And, it’s something that I don’t believe gets enough attention, enough respect from sports fans around the country. I understand that bull riding might not be everybody’s cup of tea, hell, I previously stated here that I’d never given it too much thought, but do yourself a favor and watch just a bit of this on television or even better, like I did, in person and you’re going to find out that when it comes to tough as nails athletes, there might not be any tougher than those cowboys who make a living trying to best hell-fire in the encasing of a 2,000 pound bull.  

Is Yadier Molina a Hall of Famer?

The other day at work a co-worker of mine told me rather certainly that St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina would be a future baseball hall of famer. I gave a “are you kidding?” laugh, chalked it up to him being a Cardinals homer and said there was no way Molina had a shot at being a hall of famer.

I texted my friend Bobby, the smartest guy I know (other than myself, of course) when it comes to baseball, that my co-worker floated the idea of Molina as hall of famer. Bobby’s reply frankly stunned me. He texted: “Very likely if he continues to play like he has over the past few seasons … but, I wouldn’t call it a guarantee.” Even the name Yadier Molina and the words “very likely hall of famer” in the same sentence dumbfounded me.

I figured if Bobby thought there was a shot I might as well look into it a little further.

The best way to determine whether or not Molina is a future hall of famer is to, of course, compare him to hall of fame players at his position. There has to be some caveats, though, for the comparisons to be fair or ring true. For instance, hall of fame catchers before the modern era of baseball who played in the dead ball era before 1920 couldn’t be thrown into the mix, because the lack of offense from that era would skew the numbers. This eliminates hall of fame catchers like Roger Bresnahan and Ray Schalk.

That leaves us with 10 hall of fame catchers who’ve played the game of baseball since 1920. Those catchers are (in order of induction): Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey, Gabby Hartnett, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Rick Ferrell, Ernie Lombardi, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk and Gary Carter.

Let’s start with the average age of these hall of fame catchers when they played their last full season (100 games or more) as a catcher. Because of the wear and tear of the catcher position, which hasn’t changed all that much over the years (although it may in the future with the elimination of running over catchers at home plate), the average age a hall of fame catcher plays to is only 35, and that number was actually skewed a little higher than it should be by freak of nature Carlton Fisk, who was an everyday catcher until the age of 43 (the next closest hall of famer at the age of his final full-time season as catcher was Ernie Lombardi, who was six years Fisk’s junior at the end). If you were to take Fisk out of the equation (a reasonable thing to do given his six extra years is a whopping total) the average age of a hall of fame catcher at his final full-time season would be a full season earlier at age 34.

Yadier Molina is currently 31 years old and will turn 32 during the halfway point of the 2014 MLB season. Based on the standards for his position we have to believe Molina only has four or five (and five is likely a stretch) years remaining as a full-time catcher. In fact, Molina (who’s likely seen the most playing time of any catcher over the last decade) is already starting to show some wear and tear when it comes to injuries, even if his offensive numbers have climbed over the last few years.

So, what are the average offensive numbers for a catcher in the baseball hall of fame?

The average hall of fame catcher gets around 1,882 base hits in his career in 6,593 at-bats, giving him an average of .285. This is almost identical to Molina’s career average of .284 (1,183 for 4,165) after nine full seasons. Now, Molina’s average is likely to fall a few percentage points over the late years of his career (as you’d expect from any major leaguer), but likely won’t fall below .280, which would give him a higher career average than hall of famers like Johnny Bench (.267) and Carlton Fisk (.269). I expect Molina to finish his career with a batting average akin to hall of fame catchers. I also suspect that he will have around the same amount of career hits as the average hall of famer. Molina has averaged 127 hits per season for his career and giving him four to five more seasons of everyday play would put him around 1,691 to 1,818 for his career, certainly not hall of fame averages for any other position, but for a catcher it’ll do.

Everybody who’s seen baseball over the years knows that Molina is not a power hitter, but even though catcher is historically not a power position the average hall of fame catcher hit long balls at a higher rate than Molina. The average hall of fame catcher hit 246 career home runs and this number is skewed drastically by Rick Ferrell (often considered the most egregious hall of fame selection, and one made by the veteran’s committee and not Baseball Writers Association of America) who’s 28 career homers are tied with shortstop Ozzie Smith for the least of any position player hall of famer whose career came after the dead ball era. The next lowest hall of fame catcher in home runs was Mickey Cochrane (who had his career drastically cut short by injury), who hit a huge 91 more homers than Ferrell. Without Ferrell’s measly total, the average for a hall of fame catcher becomes 270 (more than a season’s worth of homers than it is with Ferrell). If you exclude Ferrell and add the numbers of Mike Piazza and Ivan Rodriguez, who should be no-brainer hall of famers and likely one day will be, the average goes to 289. You may say Piazza and Rodriguez played during an era of inflated numbers, but both are generally considered to have been clean (and I won’t make accusations otherwise) and Piazza’s 427 homers (most ever by a catcher) aren’t alarmingly more than Bench’s 389 or Fisk’s 376. Rodriguez’s 311 (over a longer than average career) would only be ranked sixth among hall of famers if he were currently inducted.

After nine seasons, Molina has 89 career homers, or an average of 10 per season. Homers could (maybe should) go down with age, but we’ll give Molina 40 to 50 more for his career giving him a total of 129 to 139. If you account for the fact that Cochrane was already out of the league due to injury by Molina’s current age, Molina would have the fewest homers of any catcher if he were to be inducted.

How about RBI?

The average for hall of fame catchers is 1,116 RBI, which would also go up slightly if you threw in Piazza and Rodriguez’s numbers. Molina is currently sitting at 546 RBI for his career. He averages 59 RBI a season. Using his career averages I foresee Molina finishing his career with around 782 to 841 RBI. This means that Molina would finish his career with around 300 fewer RBI than the average hall of fame catcher, which might not seem like a lot, but you have to realize that’s at least four to five seasons for a catcher of hall of fame status.

Now, you might be thinking that Molina’s last few seasons (the ones according to Bobby he’d have to maintain to be a hall of famer) are higher than his career averages and that would be correct. However, the numbers don’t jump drastically enough to make up for 300 fewer RBI and 150 fewer home runs, and it isn’t even close. Also, almost no player in Major League Baseball maintains his career high averages toward the end of his career.

It’s not a prerequisite for a hall of fame catcher to have won a Most Valuable Player award, but the majority have (60 percent). It would seem unlikely at this point in his career and given the average numbers of MVP players that Molina would ever win a MVP. Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter because of many of the other reasons listed in this piece.

Molina has also rarely if ever been considered the best overall catcher in the game during his career. That honor has typically gone to Joe Mauer for much of Molina’s career and Molina has had to battle with Brian McCann and recently Buster Posey to even be considered the best in his own league. This is something that hall of fame voters look at as hugely significant, and every hall of fame catcher (with the likely exception of Rick Ferrell) was considered the best at their time in baseball or at least their league.

Offensively, Yadier Molina isn’t a hall of fame catcher. If Ted Simmons couldn’t make the hall of fame with career numbers of .285 (the average for a HOF catcher), 248 homers (two higher than the current average) and 1,389 RBI (way above the average and second most among all catchers in MLB history) than no way can Molina. In fact, Simmons finished his career with the most hits in baseball history by a catcher with 2,472 (Ivan Rodriguez since passed him) and didn’t even sniff the hall of fame, receiving less than four percent of the vote in his only year on the ballot and falling off. Based on his numbers, Simmons should be a no-brainer hall of famer and he trumps Molina in every category but defense.

Ah, there it is … defense.

Molina has never been known for his offense, but has as long as he’s played been considered the premiere defensive catcher and game-caller in the league.

Let’s start with game-caller. Do you think hall of fame voters would even for one second take game-calling into consideration? I hope you’re not thinking hard on this, because it wouldn’t even cross their mind (whether it should or not).

So, down to defense (which both my co-worker and Bobby thought would be the thing to tip Molina into possible hall of fame territory).

Yadier Molina’s defense is at hall of fame level, in my opinion. He may be the greatest defensive catcher to ever play the game. There really aren’t too many ways to quantify this, though, and hall of fame voters aren’t spending too much time on defense anyway. Basically what you have to go by here are number of Gold Gloves won and defensive WAR (wins above replacement), despite the fact that I’m not a huge fan of Sabermetrics.

Molina currently has six Gold Glove wins. Johnny Bench finished his career with 10 Gold Gloves. Ivan Rodriguez finished his career with 13 Gold Gloves. If Molina were to win the Gold Glove every year until the end of his career (which, I believe, many would say is unlikely especially when he ages) he would finish with around nine or 10. This puts him at Bench’s level and a few behind Rodriguez. Gold Gloves may not always be the best argument or representation of defense, but it’s one of the few defensive aspects hall of fame voters are going to pay attention to. Even then it doesn’t matter a whole lot, just ask Keith Hernandez what his 11 Gold Gloves or Jim Kaat what his 16 Gold Gloves did for them, and they both have more impressive numbers respectively when it comes to their positions than Molina does overall.

When it comes to defensive WAR, Molina is currently behind both Bench and Rodriguez (that along with the Gold Gloves tells us that Molina is likely only the third best defensive catcher of all-time currently, if that, because I’ve only included data from HOFers and those that should be). Molina’s career averages show that he could likely pass Bench in this category, but shouldn’t reach Rodriguez’s total. This means that it’s very unlikely that Molina will retire as the greatest defensive player to ever play his position.

But, what if he did retire as the greatest defensive player to ever play his position?

The chances of Molina’s induction into the hall of fame would still be slim-to-none. Ozzie Smith is the only player in baseball’s modern era that made the hall of fame mostly on the basis of his defense, but even still Smith had nearly 2,500 base hits and stole 580 bases (which ranks him in the top 25 all-time). Being the best defensively simply doesn’t make one a hall of famer. I use Keith Hernandez as my example. He’s considered to be the greatest defensive first baseman by far, and has the hardware to show it. He was also talented with the bat hitting .296 for his career, with over 1,000 RBI and 2,000 hits. He also won the 1979 National League Most Valuable Player. He never got more than 10.8 percent of the vote.

Yadier Molina is a great player, one of the best of his era at least defensively and is a generally likable person (which could help come voting time), but he’s not going to get anywhere near the 75 percent needed to make the hall of fame if guys like Hernandez and Simmons are only getting 4-to-11 percent.    

Molina is going to fall into the category of very good baseball player and likely one of the 25 greatest to ever play his position when his career comes to an end, but he’ll have to settle for that and not induction into Cooperstown.

   

In Defense of Richard Sherman

On Sunday night Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman, who as he tells us is the best cornerback in the NFL, made a game-saving deflection of a pass from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to receiver Michael Crabtree, who as Sherman tells us is merely mediocre and Kaepernick should’ve known better than to throw to in the first place. Anyway, Sherman’s huge deflection was intercepted by Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith, which sealed the win and a Super Bowl berth for the Seahawks.

Then just seconds after his game-winning play Sherman was asked to do an interview with Fox Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews. The result was THIS.

Immediately Sherman went from game-saver to the most hated man in the NFL and over 24 hours later people still can’t get enough of bashing Sherman and besmirching his character.

My only question is … Why?

Was what Sherman did appropriate or sportsmanlike?

No. I’m not sure anybody could defend his response as being such. Even he later realized it wasn’t appropriate and has since apologized.

However, was his response worthy of such vitriolic responses from fans calling him a “thug” or a “punk” or even worse?

Absolutely not.

ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd hit the nail right on the head when he said about the situation on his daily radio show “You put a mic in his face three seconds later don’t expect composed athlete speak. Richard Sherman made the play of the day in the NFL, he was all jacked up.”

What Sherman did was essentially not a big deal, even if I do admit to it not being ideal for an athlete to do. When it comes right down to it all he really did was trash talk an opponent in a loud manner.

It was made into a big deal by people for a few reasons. 1) it was aggressive 2) he’s a black athlete 3) his interviewer was a female (and not only that but an attractive one that much of America is too in love with).

I know some people are going to roll their eyes at the implication of race being the issue here, but if that had been a white athlete giving the interview you can be assured the response wouldn’t have been as negative, you can be assured nobody is tweeting a white athlete racial slurs and you can be sure that nobody is throwing around the word “thug” today. In fact, have you ever heard a white athlete referred to as a “thug?”

NASCAR drivers Kurt and Kyle Busch are about the most vile things I’ve ever seen in the world of sports and I’ve never heard the word “thug” bandied about when speaking of them.

Richard Sherman gives a passionate, emotional postgame interview and he’s automatically a thug. It doesn’t matter that he was a Salutatorian (ranked second in his entire class) in high school. It doesn’t matter that he’s a Stanford graduate in communications and actually returned to college for his final year of eligibility just so he could begin a Masters degree. It doesn’t matter that judging by his column for Monday Morning Quarterback that he’s an intelligent and well-written writer. It doesn’t matter that he’s involved with multiple charities. All that matters to the ignorant sports fan is that he came off as an angry black man on television and therefore he’s a “thug.” Yet, white athlete Ben Roethlisberger has more than likely sexually assaulted multiple women and he’s not a “thug.”

All Sherman’s interview amounted too was one-upping Crabtree, who he has a longstanding rivalry, if not feud with. The two have gone back and forth many times and Crabtree has reportedly even tried to fight Sherman previously at a charity event hosted by Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Crabtree has taken numerous chances in the media to diss Sherman, as well. Sherman was merely getting the last (and biggest laugh) on Sunday.

Next time you have a problem with what you perceive to be an outburst from a professional athlete try taking into account the emotions that run high during these incredibly high stakes games, take into account the history between athletes and take into account the athlete’s personality and character. Don’t simply write them off as a “thug” because they are black and screaming on television.

   

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.

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 4 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 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).   

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 3 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 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.     

Best Sports Journalism of 2013 - Part 2 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 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

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 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.  

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.  

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.