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Post by The Captain on Jan 8, 2021 12:32:17 GMT -5
Unfortunately, the New Jersey Devils. I’ve only been watching since last season, though, so I’m still not real familiar with a lot of players and get confused by lots of calls. Hockey can be confusing when you're first getting into it. I went to my first Penguins game 41 years ago this month, and I played a lot of deck hockey in my teens and twenties, so I well-versed in the nuances, but that ramp-up can be rough. Stick with it, because it is a great game. It's roughly how I feel with European football. Only been following it for about five years now and there is still a lot I don't completely grasp.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2021 13:00:54 GMT -5
Unfortunately, the New Jersey Devils. I’ve only been watching since last season, though, so I’m still not real familiar with a lot of players and get confused by lots of calls. Hockey can be confusing when you're first getting into it. I went to my first Penguins game 41 years ago this month, and I played a lot of deck hockey in my teens and twenties, so I well-versed in the nuances, but that ramp-up can be rough. Stick with it, because it is a great game. It's roughly how I feel with European football. Only been following it for about five years now and there is still a lot I don't completely grasp. I’m definitely hooked. I do not look forward to Subban and Palmieri moving on, whenever that may be, because they’re the only two guys I really love so far. I’ve been following soccer for about a decade on and off. I got really into Bundesliga over the previous two seasons, but then they moved it all to ESPN+ so I haven’t watched any this year. I’ve watched a few Premier League matches, but I’m not drawn to a particular club and I find I need a rooting interest to really invest in a sport.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2021 13:27:10 GMT -5
And it appears we have our first postponement of the NHL season. Off to a great start.
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Post by Rob Allen on Jan 8, 2021 13:52:02 GMT -5
I lived in NJ when the Devils arrived, and later I lived near Anaheim when the Ducks started up - in fact I was a season-ticket holder for the Ducks' first year. Now that I live in Portland it's only a matter of time before the NHL comes here. They've obviously been following me around.
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Post by The Captain on Jan 8, 2021 13:58:17 GMT -5
Hockey can be confusing when you're first getting into it. I went to my first Penguins game 41 years ago this month, and I played a lot of deck hockey in my teens and twenties, so I well-versed in the nuances, but that ramp-up can be rough. Stick with it, because it is a great game. It's roughly how I feel with European football. Only been following it for about five years now and there is still a lot I don't completely grasp. I’m definitely hooked. I do not look forward to Subban and Palmieri moving on, whenever that may be, because they’re the only two guys I really love so far. I’ve been following soccer for about a decade on and off. I got really into Bundesliga over the previous two seasons, but then they moved it all to ESPN+ so I haven’t watched any this year. I’ve watched a few Premier League matches, but I’m not drawn to a particular club and I find I need a rooting interest to really invest in a sport. It's funny that you mention ESPN+ here, because I am currently pondering whether to sign up for it to get EPL. My team got relegated to the Championship a couple of years ago (Swansea City), but their matches are on that platform now, so I may have to pull the trigger. As for hockey and your favorite players moving on, we have a couple of guys named Crosby and Malkin that are going to leave HUGE skates to fill when they retire.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2021 15:13:16 GMT -5
I have ESPN+, because I got the package that has that Hulu and Disney, but when I tried it out last year it was super sluggish and just not a great app. I’ll probably try it again soon, though, because I do miss watching Dortmund.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2021 18:40:59 GMT -5
Well, Corey Crawford retired. Figured he was considering it when they announced his indefinite absence. Had hopes he’d maybe have a couple more solid years in him, but I get it. It’s not like the Devils are close.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2021 16:08:51 GMT -5
Red Sox great, Dustin Pedroia, AL Rookie of the Year and MVP, World Series champion, has announced his retirement after 14 years of playing. The tail end of his career has been marred by injuries keeping him from the field, but his presence will be missed in the game. As the Red Sox said on Twitter: -M
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Post by Prince Hal on Feb 1, 2021 16:41:25 GMT -5
Just about to post the news about Pedroia, but I had a feeling you'd beat me, @mrp .
Ditto to all you said. He was a classic gamer, a quintessential dirt-dog.
I can still see him in the ninth inning of that crazy Game 3 in St. Louis in 2013. Tie game, bases loaded, one out, infield drawn in. Jon Jay raps a sharp grounder to second. Pedroia saves the game with a lunging grab and throws out Yadier Molina at the plate from his knees. Granted, Molina was no gazelle, but Pedroia would have had anybody on that play.
Yeah, Sox lose on next batter because of the Middlebrooks interference call, but came back nicely to take the series in six, as you know.
Favorite Pedroia story. 2007, his rookie year. In his first World Series at bat, he crushes the second pitch of the game from Jeff Francis of the Rockies very far over the Wall. That homer effectively ended the Series.
In Colorado, after the Sox take the first two games, Pedroia's headed for the clubhouse, but is stopped by a security guard who wants to know who this little kid who's trying to con him into letting him get into the park.
Pedroia tires to explain, but apparently the guard wasn't convinced until Pedroia explained exactly who he was: “Ask Jeff f**king Francis who the f**k I am. I’m the guy who hit a bomb and just ended their f**king season.” And into the clubhouse he went.
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Post by Prince Hal on Feb 9, 2021 15:13:21 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2021 6:52:10 GMT -5
Betts, Bradly Jr. Benintendi-The Killer B's defined the last Sox championship. As of last night, none of them are left on the Sox roster, as they traded Benintendi as part of a 3 team deal with the KC Royals and the NY Mets for 2 unproven players and 3 players to be named later. Betts was traded to the Dodgers last year and JBJ is a free agent.
The Red Sox team the reports to spring training is a week while hardly be recognizable, and the players I liked to root for most are gone. Bloom has added a lot of roster depth and role players this off-season, which should make the club better in the long term, but the short term is looking a little lean to me, especially with so many strong teams or teams looking like they got stronger in their division. (Though it does look like they are on the verge of signing a Japanese fire-baller to strengthen the bullpen, a long-standing Red Sox tradition).
Add in the uncertainty of another season during a pandemic, and the looming acrimony of negotiations for a new CBA that usually make me despise those on both sides of the table equally, and my enthusiasm for baseball may be at an all-time low. It may take some time for me to warm up to this season, and if the Sox start slow out of the gate, it may take even longer.
-M
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Post by The Captain on Feb 11, 2021 8:38:47 GMT -5
Betts, Bradly Jr. Benintendi-The Killer B's defined the last Sox championship. As of last night, none of them are left on the Sox roster, as they traded Benintendi as part of a 3 team deal with the KC Royals and the NY Mets for 2 unproven players and 3 players to be named later. Betts was traded to the Dodgers last year and JBJ is a free agent. The Red Sox team the reports to spring training is a week while hardly be recognizable, and the players I liked to root for most are gone. Bloom has added a lot of roster depth and role players this off-season, which should make the club better in the long term, but the short term is looking a little lean to me, especially with so many strong teams or teams looking like they got stronger in their division. (Though it does look like they are on the verge of signing a Japanese fire-baller to strengthen the bullpen, a long-standing Red Sox tradition). Add in the uncertainty of another season during a pandemic, and the looming acrimony of negotiations for a new CBA that usually make me despise those on both sides of the table equally, and my enthusiasm for baseball may be at an all-time low. It may take some time for me to warm up to this season, and if the Sox start slow out of the gate, it may take even longer. -M Try being a Pirates fan. They draft, develop, and then dump any player who turns out to be halfway decent. At least you Sox fans got WS championships out of the deal, while all we've had in the past three decades are three wild-card game appearances, one divisional series, and 26 losing seasons. I'm almost completely done with baseball. There is no desire by the league to promote parity or ensure competitive balance, so unless a team is in a big market with the corresponding big local TV contract, it is highly unlikely a team can sustain any kind of success for more than a couple of years. Yeah, there will always be the Rays or A's who have a season or two where they compete with the big boys, but they cannot maintain that long-term. At least with English football, when my club got relegated from the Premier League, they have been very competitive in the Championship (next level down), making the promotion playoffs last year and being in the running for automatic promotion this season.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 15, 2021 18:51:52 GMT -5
Because of the death of Marvelous Marvin Hagler and comments by Icctrombone I found and watched the Hagler/Leonard fight again. This is one of the more controversial decisions in boxing history. Since I hadn't seen the fight since 1987 I wanted to watch it again to see what I thought because a lot of people say that Hagler got jobbed. I think the real problem is that Hagler screwed himself. He agree to a slightly larger than normal ring, which favored the faster dancing Leonard. He also agreed to a 12 round fight instead of 15, again a concession to Leonard who hadn't had a professional fight in three years (though contrary to popular belief he had done a LOT of sparring in that time). Possibly worst, Hagler came out and fought in a solid orthodox stance for the first two rounds instead of his natural southpaw. Hagler was able to switch back and forth better than most fighters but it was an odd strategy. The decision was split. I think you have to almost disregard judge Jojo Guerra's card at Leonard 118-110, because he was clearly watching a different fight than anyone else. Looking through the media cards from the time it was a fairly even split weighing possibly a bit toward Hagler winning (19 for Hagler, 17 for Leonard, 4 tied). After watching the fight again I came down six rounds Leonard, five rounds Hagler, one round tied. Hagler just spotted Leonard the first two rounds and Leonard won the third and the fourth, putting Hagler in a big hole. Hagler dominated the fifth round. The sixth was close, but I gave it to Leonard on points, though Hagler's punches were more telling. I gave Hagler the seventh, eighth and ninth, though the first two were pretty close. The tenth was a dead tie. I think Leonard won the 11th and Hagler won the 12th. It was a super close fight that Hagler easily could have won if he hadn't bolo'd the first two rounds. Damn, I miss old-school boxing. Edited to add: I think there were easily two times the referee could have deducted points from Leonard. He was warned multiple times for holding. He also committed at least three low blows that I counted. Those deductions could easily have changed the outcome.
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 15, 2021 19:21:27 GMT -5
I might have to watch it again, but Hagler has no need to hang his head. He was a great fighter and didn't get embarrassed in the loss.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2021 20:37:25 GMT -5
Hmmm, reports are that LeBron James is buying into the Fenway Sports Group, i.e. the ownership group of the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club and other ventures. He is already owns a 2% stake in the Liverpool FC. There's been no official announcement yet, as there are logistical details to be finalized, but is otherwise a done deal. How much of a stake he will own is uncertain. It's an interesting move for someone with such a checkered history with Boston sports fans.
-M
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