Dec 30 2013

And Then There’s This

From Yahoo Sports and Deadspin, video and tweets about a high school basketball game in which there was some fighting on the court. Notable because of the involvement (not in the fighting) of WNBA player Skylar Diggins, who is repped by Jay-Z. (The latter answers my question of “is Jay-Z the agent for anyone other than Robinson Cano?” The answer would appear to be yes.) Diggins was at the game because her jersey was being retired. It’s unclear if this story would be newsworthy without her presence, although we are talking about a high school basketball game that involved after the whistle fighting and there’s video, by which I mean ya never know.

I would explain what happened but (a) I’m not 100% certain and (b) it’s mostly “she tweeted this and then another person tweeted that” and Deadspin did a fairly straightforward wrap up. One thing worth noting is that while the video posted on Yahoo Sports (taken from WSBT-TV) focuses on the punch that knocked a player to the ground, this quote from Deadspin more accurately describes the full incident:

Diggins’s former Washington High School (Ind.) was facing Oregon-Davis (Ind.) when Lexi Minix, a player from Oregon-Davis, shoved a Washington player after the whistle. The Washington player smacked Minix in the face, and Minix fell to the floor.

Emphasis added. Not that it’s OK to hit people, but it does change the story from “she hit her for no reason” to “she hit her when she got shoved after the whistle”, meaning that it wasn’t during the playing of the game.

Also, this:

Oregon-Davis head coach Terry Minix is Lexi’s father, and Washington head coach Maurice Scott is Diggins’ stepfather. (via Yahoo)

As I’ve said before – ah, sports.

Oh, something else worth noting. The twitter accounts of some of the folks involved are listed as “protected”. However, their tweets are embedded on Deadspin’s site. I’m not talking about screenshots, I mean actually embedded directly from Twitter as far as I can tell. My point here is that “protected” doesn’t necessarily mean no one can see your tweets. In general, if you’d prefer not to have the public read your words, tweeting them is a bad idea. But it is interesting that despite the “protected” nature of the account, the tweets can still be embedded. Note: I am not making any accusation(s) against anyone, merely mentioning something I noticed.

Happy New Year! Peace!

Girls’ Basketball Game Turns Ugly With Some Help From Skylar Diggins – Deadspin

See also Yahoo Sports – Prep Rally


Dec 30 2013

Baby Named “Krimson Tyde Steele”

From Deadspin, news of a baby named Krimson Tyde Steele.

Why? Because ROLL TIDE! (Cough.)

From Deadspin:

A couple in Alabama named their newborn boy “Krimson Tyde.” In case you couldn’t figure it out from their kid’s name, they’re big Bama fans.

Deadspin writer Samar Kalaf then goes on to offer suggestions for a different name for the child that would still honor their fandom. “Yellow” and “Ess E. See” are my personal favorites. To be fair, the list does start with “Nick.”

Ah, sports.

A List Of Baby Names Better Than “Krimson Tyde” – Deadspin


Oct 14 2013

Video: Baton Fire at High School Football Game

Via Deadspin, video of a fire at a high school football game that was caused by flaming batons.

The game was not in Baton Rogue. Ba-dum-bum.

Best part is the commentary by whoever shot the video. “That’s a fire!” “Gatorade! Gatorade!” Also, it looks like the cheerleaders/dancers never stop doing their thing. Because it’s only a fire.

Youth sports.  Never a dull moment.

Baton-Twirling Legend Causes Fire At High School Football Game


Sep 02 2013

Video – Alabama High School Football Coaches Fighting (Stupidity)

Via Deadspin, a story about high school football coaches behaving very badly:

Alabama High School Coaches Fighting on the Field

Alabama high school football coaches coming to blows after a game shouldn’t be that surprising, considering how seriously Alabama takes football in general, but that doesn’t make the incident any less ridiculous.

Here’s the video:

The key phrase above is “but that doesn’t make the incident any less ridiculous.” I don’t care how “seriously Alabama takes football in general,” these are adults being paid to coach kids. Yes, high school football is a big deal in some parts of these United States. Youth sports in general have become increasingly popular over the past 10+ years (my estimate), with major media coverage of younger and younger players. Remember the story about a 13-year-old QB committing to USC in 2010? (Here’s a follow-up on the now 17-year-old David Sills from June of 2013 if you’re interested; I admit to not actually watching the video I just linked to because I don’t really care.)

In case the above parenthetical was unclear, I’m not a fan of the excessive media coverage of youth sports. These are kids, most of whom will not go on to have professional sports careers, and they don’t benefit financially from the attention they receive unless they do manage to make it to the pro level. I am a fan of kids participating in youth sports, and I hope that the increased scrutiny of young athletes hasn’t taken away any opportunities for less talented youngsters to get on the field. For example, I was a sub-par baseball player — my first season I didn’t get a hit, although I was third on the team in walks because I quickly realized that 12-year-old pitchers don’t hit the strike zone all that often (at least they didn’t back then). By the time I stopped playing, I was good enough to start at first base and probably hit about .260 (guessing here). But I loved baseball. I was never going to be a superstar, but neither were most of my teammates. Why did I quit? Because the kids AND THE COACHES became increasingly hostile and hyper-competitive. Competitiveness can be a good thing on and off the field. But when a grown man screams and curses at a 10-year-old for striking out, that’s insane. A lack of sportsmanship from teammates doesn’t help either. This isn’t to say that everybody has to congratulate you for whiffing at an easy pitch and ending the inning with the bases loaded. But, to paraphrase Lisa Simpson, why would you come to our game just to boo (and curse at) us?

That’s why the video upsets me. It looks like a freakin’ bar bawl. I know these aren’t little kids; many high school football players are anything but little these days. It doesn’t matter. No one should behave like this, but for non-professional coaches it’s even more embarrassing.

via Alabama High School Football Coaches Get Into Postgame Brawl (Deadspin)

 


Sep 26 2009

Sean Salisbury’s Meltdown

Sean Salisbury is a dad

You may have read about the trainwreck that is Sean Salisbury. Since the former ESPN talking head is also a dad (more on this later), I decided to weigh in.

Sean Salisbury was an NFL quarterback. He was OK. Not great, but OK. Well, maybe mediocre at best. Hey, he played professional football, which is no small thing.

Speaking of small things, he also allegedly likes to show pictures of his wiener to women at parties. (I should say “allegedly small thing.” No idea how big Little Sean is.)

There is no proof of Salisbury’s actions, and he has denied it vehemently. (Deadspin first mentioned it in 2007.) But in April, a woman gave an “eyewitness account” of the incident to Deadspin.com. Apparently Mr. Salisbury’s M.O. is to go up to a lady and say “want to see a picture of my baby?” Then he pulls out his cellphone, which has a snapshot of his wang.

Only a guy would ever do something like this. Think about it. Has any woman ever walked up to a guy at a party and whipped out a picture of her vagina?

Even if the cellphone thing turns out to be untrue, Sean Salisbury might be insane. Via Deadspin:

Hey I’m a dad trying to raise kids and get reputation cleared and a lawsuit will bring everyone to carpet. So feel free to go on ur deadspin and call me those names.

In response to AJ saying, “Okay. Please try to keep it together,” Sean replied:

Keep what together. Is that one of ur condesending remarks. I am together happy on the beach and raising my kids.

and later:

These emails r from beach. I hope u can get it together lol

Deadspin commenters are generally very amusing, proving that at times The Hive (my name for the collective social networking-commenter-troll brain that is the Interweb these days) can produce cleverness, such as this:

I feel like I just walked in on my dad jerking off into the mirror. (lukeoneil47)

Well said.

Or as a commenter on ProFootballTalk points out, It’s pretty sad actually that there is no one in this guy’s life who will say “come on Sean, it’s starting to really get embarassing”. (Richm2256)

Also well said.

I want to say something about Sean’s “I am together happy on the beach and raising my kids” comment.

I try very hard to avoid spending time on my cellphone when on vacation with the family. I don’t often succeed, but I at least make an effort to limit myself to things that actually require my attention. The idea that Salisbury is engaging in an ongoing dialogue with the editor of a website while on the beach with his kids is wacky. So is the fact that he feels a need to mention them. Using your children as a shield is something I find irritating, and that’s what Sean is doing here. Are we supposed to have sympathy for him beacuse he’s a father? Frankly, after reading his emails to Deadspin, I have more sympathy for his kids.

Image: Wikipedia


Sep 25 2009

Clemson Fan Needs To Calm Down

DaddyTips Featured Video

Complete with ESPN commentators mocking him. With a telestrator. Good times, good times.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WBmrrRKg-c]

Upset Clemson Fan Overreacting to the Georgia Tech Loss (Youtube via Deadspin)


Mar 14 2007

Starting Them Young

Thumbnail: Ben Affleck is narrating a video called RED SOX BABY: RAISING TOMORROW’S BOSTON RED SOX FAN TODAY.

I guess this is what you have to do when a team wins the World Series only every 100 years or so (oops, did I say that out loud?).

In a semi-related story, it seems that Ben knows how to behave himself at the ballpark.

Ben Affleck Wants To Brainwash Your Baby (Deadspin) via ContactMusic and The Boston Globe