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T99
Same as you, only one of my picks, Georgia Tech, made it to the Final Four. I apologize for taking so long to respond to your last comment. My real life rudely interrupted my fun.
MLB in Japan, the Final Four, and the rest of MLB kicking off during the weekend! Its shaping up to be a great week for a sports freak.
posted by
notapoet
on March 30, 2004 at 12:36 AM
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Not good - three of my four "final four" didn't make it.
And how are your picks for The Big Dance doing?
I had Stanford going to the final game. Duke, Oklahoma & St Joseph's are what I'm counting on. Nevada beating Gonzaga never entered my head. I was figuring on upsets, but the wrong ones.
--T99
posted by
Tamara99
on March 24, 2004 at 3:30 AM
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I don't read COSMO,
or Maxim. Methinks I probably should. I may be passing up potential article markets. I'm probably too old and stodgy to adapt to either of them. You, on the other hand, might want to give it a try. Sports writing and broadcasting are wide open territories for women. So few seem to be able to latch onto what is interesting to a predominantly male audience. Or realize that many women actually have more interest in sports than simply who has the cutest helmets, prettiest uniforms, or hunkiest stars.
Thanks for the info about The Fabulous Sports Babe. And how are your picks for The Big Dance doing?
posted by
notapoet
on March 20, 2004 at 5:08 AM
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No idea - it's like she dropped off the face of the earth.
Her last few shows in Seattle before she left for ESPN were hilarious. KJR knew she was leaving, and wouldn't let her out of her contract.....and she was TOTALLY ragging on them on the air. What were they going to do? Fire her? That's what she wanted. They finally took her off the air, but DIDN'T fire her.....so they ended up paying her and letting her have a vacation.
So.....A Bombshell Trifecta, huh? Let's see if I can market that. Maybe Maxim needs a hot chick to offer an alternative POV - kind of the "Jake" column in Cosmo.
--T99
posted by
Tamara99
on March 20, 2004 at 4:42 AM
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I could go for that.
You would be a lot more well-rounded than she was. With her it was pretty much just sports. Most guys love sports, but throw in sex and money and you've got a trifecta. What happened to The Fabulous Sports Babe, anyway? I haven't heard anything about her lately.
posted by
notapoet
on March 19, 2004 at 2:33 AM
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Sports, Sex & Money.....
no - not the latest scandal....just the types of advice I can offer. *lol* Maybe one day I'll follow in the footsteps of The Fabulous Sportsbabe.
--T99
posted by
Tamara99
on March 19, 2004 at 1:54 AM
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More than enough, T99
Half the sports writers I know can't size up the situation as well as you do. As for my Tigers, I forgive you. Actually, I have to admit they've deserved it. A whole decade without a winning season! An AL record 119 losses last year! I'm looking for a contender, but I'll be dancing in the street if they just manage to win 63 games. I'll take anything but another 100-loss season.
posted by
notapoet
on March 19, 2004 at 1:29 AM
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Me? *lol* I don't know nuthin 'bout no sports, Miz Scahlett
heheheh
And thank you - that's high praise from the man whose baseball team I dog.
--T99
posted by
Tamara99
on March 19, 2004 at 1:00 AM
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You're right on the button again, T99.
I haven't seen the movie yet -- can't afford movies or cable these days -- but I understand exactly what the coach was looking for. You're also correct in your evaluation of Junior. He hasn't done anything for Cincinnati's fortunes either. Maybe he'll grow up some day and become the team leader he could be.
Geez, girl, you're good at this. You should be writing a sports blog.
posted by
notapoet
on March 19, 2004 at 12:35 AM
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Did you see the movie, Miracle?
One of the comments I enjoyed was early on when he picked the whole team on Day 1 of the tryouts....
Craig Patrick: You're missing the best players.
Herb Brooks: I'm not looking for the best players, Craig, I'm lookin' for the right ones.
(from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349825/quotes)
When coaches focus on individual talent instead of teamwork, they get superstars on a losing team. That's one of the reasons why I don't miss Junior when he left the Mariners - the first fantastic season we ever had, the miracle season of '95, was when he was out with the broken arm, and I don't believe that's coincidence. He's not a team player, and he was dragging the team down.
--T99
posted by
Tamara99
on March 18, 2004 at 11:40 PM
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You're absolutely correct on all of your observations.
And all the sloppy play and star-complex athletes are the result of coaches who let fundamentals slide while they cater to sheer athletic talent. My own son lost interest in basketball after being repeatedly cut from teams in favor of players he could play rings around and take easily in one-on-one matchups. On top of that he was an unselfish player who could set up teammates, and he understood the value of good defense. All of this was ignored in favor of kids who had size, speed, or incredible leaping ability. I saw an elementary school coach go winless with the same talent pool, plus a couple, with which I had won a conference championship. The kids that made my team a winner were all cut from the squad for not being good enough, or relegated to the bench. My son ran into the same thing in high school. And we wonder why the rest of the world is catching up in our home-grown sport.
posted by
notapoet
on March 18, 2004 at 11:28 PM
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That's where good coaching comes in
It doesn't matter if you can do all the fancy footwork, if you biff on the foundation. Dayton made 10 points in the 2nd OT, but gave away 17. If they had just restrained themselves and not had so many personal fouls, they would have won. DePaul didn't exactly play well either, but they lucked out.
Reminds me of the movie Remember The Titans - the core thing that he taught was that they would be *perfect* in all of their moves, because many losses are caused by your OWN failure - not the superior playing of the other team. So, fewer screwups would mean fewer points they gave to the opponent. If you've played your best, and are truly out-played, there's no shame in that. But if you lose because you were lazy, lack conditioning or discipline, that's your own fault.
Watching the Russians in any Olympic sport is pure beauty because they ALWAYS follow the rules - they will never lose a point on a technicality just for "artistic" sake. They know the foundation and where they have room to play. Americans on the other hand play fast & loose and expect to be forgiven for technical errors if the end product is good - the end justifies the means.
posted by
Tamara99
on March 18, 2004 at 11:12 PM
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Yeah, fundamentals, like making free throws, can win games.
The Heels could be sitting on 24 victories right now if they could shoot better than 67% of their free throws. I used to coach nine and ten year old kids who could do that well when I made them work at it. Making them can win ball games, yet we see young men who can bury threes from 25 feet struggle at the free throw line. Who wants to practice free throws when you can do fun things like shake-and-bake moves, dunking, and three-point shooting?
posted by
notapoet
on March 18, 2004 at 10:50 PM
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Yeah, the second half killed me.
But I liked the DePaul/Dayton game - Double OT and my pick won - and Dayton handed it to them on a silver platter because what put them over was all the free throws from their personal fouls.
--T99
posted by
Tamara99
on March 18, 2004 at 10:36 PM
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They're a long shot, but...
the Heels showed what superior athletes can accomplish when they play together, as they did in the second half against Air Force. Its a shame programs like Air Force and Princeton can't attract the talent of the big time schools. Carolina's personnel in Air Force's system would be awesome. But kids with their eye on the NBA don't like disciplined systems. The secret of Dean Smith's success was his combination of a disciplined system and superior talent that understood winning would get them noticed in spite of depressed stats. This is the challenge facing Roy Williams -- to mesh seven talented athletes into a machine that is capable of beating anyone. It could happen. Probably won't, but as long as the possibility exists I'll stay with my pick. Of course loyalty forces me to pick the Heels, regardless.
posted by
notapoet
on March 18, 2004 at 10:19 PM
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the Tar Heels hmm?
Well they beat the Air Force, which was my pick for the first round in my fantasy league.
--T99
posted by
Tamara99
on March 18, 2004 at 10:00 PM
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