Last time out I looked at players who led MLB in Runs Created Above Position over a ten year span. Most of the players are obvious. Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, etc. Some of the names however seemed surprising. In this entry I hope to shed some light on the lesser lights of the list.
Fred Dunlap (1876)
As I mentioned in the previous entry, Dunlap's position rests entirely on the strength of a single season in the Union Association, undoubtedly the weakest league ever considered a Major. Dunlap in 1884 collected 185 hits and walked 29 times. From this he managed to score 160 runs. To give you an idea of 19th century baseball, the U.A. saw 2,500 earned runs scored, and 2,325 unearned runs. No clue how many times Dunlap reached via error, but it was probably a significant number. Fielding percentages in the league ranged from .841 to .892. If we rated players from this era solely upon their performance in the National League, Dunlap would rate 11th.
King Kelly (1877-1879)
Kelly in his day was likely the most popular player of the 19th Century. There are volumes of information you can read on him, both as a person and a player. Kelly was simply one of the first matinée idols of baseball. Kelly won two batting titles and led his league in runs three times. Some batters of the day were better, such as Cap Anson and Roger Connor. Kelly comes to the front of the pack due to his playing catcher and right field for the majority of his career.
Dan Brouthers (1880-1886)
Simply the preeminant hitter of his era, Brouthers led his league in batting average five times, slugging percentage seven times, and OPS eight times.
Billy Hamilton (1887-1891)
The first great leadoff man. Hamilton's 912 career steals stood until Brock broke the record in 1977.* Hamilton also still holds the record for runs scored in a season, with 196.
*Yes, Brock broke Cobb's record. Baseball-Reference credits Hamilton with 912 stolen bases, I assume a revised total.
Arky Vaughan (1933)
Vaughan led the league in OBP three straight years, as a shortstop. At his peak he was one of the greatest shortstops of all time. Vaughan made more plate appearances than Joe Dimaggio, and struck out less.
Frank Robinson (1960-61)
A bit of a surprise, Robinson led the league in OPS and slugging percentage four times, and won two MVP awards.
7 p.m.
• I have been staying away from cable news shows, even the ones that make us LOL in 2007. However, last night I figured what the heck and turned on Hannity/Colmes because I wasn’t I the mood to watch basketball. The topic being batted around dealt with the whole “clean black” remark by Senator Joe Biden. Oh Christ. They had two chick pollsters/consultants/whatever: one for the Dems, one for the Reps. The Republican chick began bitching about how NOBODY’S talking about Biden and instead saying John McCain is too old to become president. The fuck? Then the other chick began talking about her Party has a black, a Mexican and a chick gunning for the Democrat nomination and how this WAS THE MOST DIVERSE PRESIDENTIAL FIELD EVER!!!!
I went back to watching basketball.
10:15 a.m.
• OMG THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION ISN'T LOOKING OUT FOR OUR CHILDREN! found it interesting in which paragraph the Associated Press decided to reveal the accused's political party affiliation. Here's a hint on where to look: there's a reason I had to copy and paste the entire article.
9:30 a.m.
• First Democrats wanted to bring back the military draft. Now one from Ohio wants to draft poll workers for elections.
So "occasionally working the polls would be a mandatory part of a registered voter's life." Yeah, that'll encourage people to register to vote. Then again, more Democrats would probably object to doing this -- this idea might not be so bad after all, but I digress. Here's the best part.
So you are going to force people who don't want to work at a polling station to do all this complex shit? Yeah, there will be no mistakes made. No voters disenfranchised.
Honestly, I don't know what's dumber: drafting poll workers or having a Poll Worker Appreciation Day. We already have a Poll Worker Appreciation Day every month when Social Security checks get mailed out.
8:45 a.m.
• I just heard on an Atlanta-based RIGHT-WING RADIO station that the Atlanta Hawks just had their first winning month in nearly three years. Damn.
1979 World Series Game 6 - Pirates 4, Orioles 0 (boxscore and play account)
-This game was played on a Tuesday just two days after the Colts played a game and the football yard marks a very visible. Once again it's a very good thing that multi-purpose stadiums are almost gone.
-Howard Cosell spends time early in the game whining about some unamed Baltimore columnist whining about ABC's habbit of showing the players wives on a regular basis, which it did get completely out of hand in a few of the games. Maybe not quite as annoying as FOX cutting to close ups of fans between almost every pitch in the playoffs now.
-In every game they've played brief interview clips of players with Cosell and there's a kind of interesting one here of Rick Dempsey talking shit about Bill Madlock.
-Several promos done for ABC's college football line up that Saturday, featuring USC/Notre Dame and Texas/Arkansas. #4 USC would crush #9 Notre Dame 42-23 and #10 Arkansas would upset #2 Texas 17-14.
-In case you only thought today's announcers had hard ons for scrappy, short, white middle infielders like David Eckstein, Cosell and Keith Jackson constantly fawn over Phil Garner here. Cosell constantly calls him "The Little Pepper Pot" which as far as I can tell never caught as a nickname for Garner but "Scrap Iron" did. Garner did have a great series though and through this game was probably the favorite for the series MVP before Stargell's huge Game 7.
-The scoreless tie is broken in the 7th inning when with Omar Moreno on first and going on the pitch, Tim Foli chops one up the middle. Kiko Garcia makes a terrible decision by waiting right at the bag at second for the ball to get to him instead of cutting it off to get the easy out out first, thinking he can get a double play which would have been impossible with Moreno going on the pitch. The ball ends up going through Garcia's legs and Rich Dauer backing him up can't get Foli at first. It's scored a hit. Dave Parker then follows with a hard hit ball at Dauer but he misjudges the ball of the bat and commits to far to his left and can't recover to get in front it thus allowing it to get through for a base hit. There was a lot of bad fielding in this series although some of it had to do with the terrible shape of the Memorial Stadium turf.
-Relief aces/closers were overused during this era but it was kind of cool to see Kent Tekulve come in here and shutdown the Orioles for three straight innings.
1979 World Series Game 7 - Pirates 4, Orioles 1 (boxscore and play account)
-Jimmy Carter was at the game. Ya I know you care.
-Coming into this game the road team had won 12 of the last 15 Game 7's in the World Series. The Pirates win here is the last time this has happened as the home team is 8-0 since.
-Cosell thinks advancing the runner should be an official stat. Hey he was light years ahead of Buster Olney for coming up with completely meaningless statistics.
-By far the most tense, exciting moment of the series comes in the bottom of the 8th. Trailing 2-1, the Orioles 2nd & 3rd with two out and Chuck Tanner had Tekulve intentionally walk Ken Singleton to load the bases to pitch to Eddie Murray who was 0 for his last 20. Murray hit one hard to right and Parker would stumble going back for the ball and for the briefest of moments it looks like it would go over his head but he recovers to make the catch. That would have ranked up their with the Buckner play if Parker had fallen down and potentially cost the Pirates the series.
-The top of the 9th lasts forever as at one point Earl Weaver makes four straight pitching changes as the Pirates had a staggered left/right line-up. It backfires as Mike Flanangan gives up an RBI single to Omar Moreno, Doug Stanhouse gives up a single to Tim Foli, Tippy Martinez plunks Dave Parker to load the bases, and on his first pitch Dennis Martinez hits Bill Robinson on the hand to force in the Pirates' final run.
-When Flanangan makes his rare relief apperance it is mentioned that his wife had an emergency apedectomy that morning. Cosell takes this time to take about how hot she is. One of the few times in the series Cosell made me smile.
-Tekulve pitches a pefect 9th and even though it was in the visiting park the fans still run on the field. Steve Nicosia is seen beating down who I'm assuming was an upset Baltimore fan with his catcher's mask in the melee.
Bonus Clips
-Nothing terribly interesting here except they have the original footage of the final three outs of the Pirates sweep of the Reds in the NLCS.
-They include all of ABC's postgame coverage in the clips and President Carter was involved in the trophy presentation. Chuck Tanner is as giddy as a school girl to be talking to him while it appeared to me that Willie Stargell wasn't sure who he was.
Here's just a list of the extras.
1. Bruce Kison: Origin of "We Are Family"
2. Bill Robinson: "The Family"
3. Don Robinson: Characters on the Pirates
4. Tim Foli: Pirates Had Roles
5. Dave Parker's Outfield Assist, 1979 All-Star Game (just a TWiB recap)
6. NLCS Clincher: Last Inning and Celebration (original footage)
7. Don Robinson: Rookie in the World Series
8. Willie Stargell: Compares 1971 and 1979 Pirates
9. Willie Stargell: Pirates Put Aside Differences
10. Tim Foli: On Willie Stargell
11. Willie Stargell: Chuck Tanner Fights Through Tragedy
12. Tom Boswell: Willie Stargell, Pirates Leader
13. Bill Robinson: Stargell's Homerun
14. Earl Weaver: Dissapointment of 1979
15. Last Out and Celebration
16. World Series Trophy Presentation
17. World Series MVP Trophy Presentation to Willie Stargell
18. Bill Robinson: City of Champions and Closeness of Club
19. Pirates Championship Rally
Well not necessarily a brand new car, but a replacement for my current scrap heap. So yeah, you probably by now have seen my post in the General Chat forum, if not, go read it or just read this blog entry.
Basically I took my car in because oil was getting into the coolant, and causing the car to overheat....long story short.....CRACKED CYLINDER HEAD. The estimate? $2400.00!!! HAHAHAHAH. For a car that probably blue books at $4-5k? Yeah fucking right. Then the guy had the nerve to give me a new engine as an option for $3700....ummmm NO.
So anyways, I am looking at Car Max right now, for something 10k or under. Nothing fancy as I am not into cars other then them being a means of transportation. I can care less about how powerful it is, how fast it is, how trendy it is etc.....my only demands are 4 Doors, Air Conditioner, Low Mileage(at time of purchase) and Good Gas Mileage...in other words a 4-door Sedan is what I am probably going to get.
So yeah, this wouldn't be a fucked up situation, except for that fact that Me and Jennifer have a goddamn wedding to pay for.....Of course the first half payment is not due till July, so it gives us time to save money back up for awhile, and me having a great mother and all, she is probably gonna end up buying the car for me upfront, and I can just pay her back in payments rather then dealing with a loan or car dealership to pay back to.....Did I mention my mom is the greatest?
8:30 p.m.
• So the Jew is running for office.
Great. So he was the point man on a manufactured LEFT-WING RADIO network to CHALLENGE RUSH and flopped. Now as Senator he'll vote in the unFairness Doctrine. Funny.
• I guess I could say something mean, but I never cared about this feminazi when she was alive so why should I bother now? Peace out.
• Senator Joe Biden...
I never saw Barack Osama as a clean black man ever .... ever.
Does this mean I no longer have to save my allowance for that campaign war chest due to my braided hair not being washed on a daily basis?
And I'm sure Medium-Large Media will be all over this story as if someone like, say, Trent Lott would have said this.
7 a.m.
• So I was listening to a top-of-the-hour RIGHT-WING RADIO station’s newscast, and the story was W. talking about the state of the economy and how unemployment is low and expansion/growth is up. Of course, the reporter then said, “BUT CRITICS SAY,” there are parts in the U.S. economy struggling, particularly manufacturing such as FORD and GENERAL MOTORS(?!). LOL – so not only is George W. Bush responsible for hurricanes, earthquakes and tornados, but also he is responsible for these companies and how they run their businesses. Look, I get that foreign competition can be a bitch, and there are cases where I feel the American worker is getting corn-holed, but to cite these two dinosaurs as examples of what’s wrong with the U.S. economy is … well, now that I put it that way, I would tend to agree.
• You got to be shitting me. Or should I say you got to be shitting facing away from Mecca? Yet another arrow to add to my “One of the worst things you can do to a Muslim male” quiver. From our friends across the Pond. And ignore the hippie spelling -- this is from the U.K. Sun.
7:30 p.m.
• Let me get this straight. In the first paragraph of this article it says:
Oh, nos.
Then I read the fourth paragraph.
Couple this with the melting ice caps and I think we'll be A-OK in the "there's no water" department. I'd also consider investing in companies that deal with desalination.
8 p.m.
• Today the better half and I went to get our taxes done at H&R Block. And just how much did we get back? $2,500 BABY!!! WHOO-HOO, THANKS UNCLE SAM FOR GIVING US BACK THE MONEY WE OVERPAID IN TAXES. While most people give out high-fives when getting this refund, I just roll my eyes and remind Mrs. kkk, who gets more taken out of her paycheck than she should, that she’s not “gaining” any money with this transaction. Actually, I’ve stopped reminding her of this a few years ago because it’s a hopeless cause. I must say thought that I enjoyed this trip. We get our taxes done by the same chick every year; the better half has been going to her for years, and when we got hitched we just kept the tradition going; I had always just used Turbo Tax, or whatever product had the best mail-in rebate. Anyway, as we were getting started, the tax chick asked if we wanted to donate $3 to the hippie election commission or whatever it was called. When the wife said “no” she made a remark about Hiterly and I could tell our tax chick wasn’t a fan of the Hildabeast. She then said, “The other day I had a customer say that if she gets elected he’s going to Canada.” Without missing a beat I replied…
PUT YOUR MITTENS ON
…“If she gets elected I’m going to the gun store, buying a sniper’s rifle then going to White House.” She said, “You don’t really mean that.” My response, “Yes I do.” Instead of avoiding me for the rest of this meeting, I think she actually approved of this. Awesome. I like her even more now. In fact, later on when we first found out how much we were getting back, I was surprised. We made less money (about $6,000 less) than the previous year but got about $500 more back. I just shook my head and remarked that if we squirted out a few kids we’d get $20,000 back. The tax chick shook her head and said, “that is so the truth.” She then went on to say how some families get thousands upon thousands of dollars just because of their kids. I make some remark about white trash and noticed from the corner of my eye the customer in the next cubicle giving me a dirty look. Jackpot. I made several more remarks that drew the ire of this redneck even more. Maybe she’ll use some of that refund loot to buy some much-needed shampoo.
• Christ, they’re making another one of these Focker movies. Oh well, they made a lot of money, so why wouldn’t they do so? Neither one did much for me, but comedy is a subjective genra.
• Good for Burger King.
I’ve been liking their ads over the last couple of years. From re-introducing that
to ads like the Texas Double Whopper, and Stacker I hope these campaigns helped bring people in to their stores. And I'm sure these ad/marketing people didn't even have to walk on hot coals, which is what their peers did do back in 2001.
Another ad campaign I liked was Taco Bell’s “Think Outside the Bun,” although it should have been mercy-killed a while back. McDonald’s and Wendy’s: the less said the better.
• For the last few days I’ve heard this stupid debate in the sports world about who would you want to be: Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. That’s easy. Roger for me. No, I don’t care about his tennis accomplishments. Tiger is expecting a cub sometime this year. As far as I know, Roger is childless. Then again, I don’t even know if he has a girlfriend; he could be a homo for all I know.
* Enters “Roger Federer girlfriend” in a Google search.*
Works for me.
6:30 p.m.
• Ha. Another caller on today’s show talked about how she and her fiancee had to take some written test because they were going to get married in a Catholic church. Oy, I remember completing that retarded thing. The priest was “concerned” with the answers the better half and I had. The only things we agreed on were financial matters that showed we were experienced with bill-paying and other things, thus revealing that we were living in sin. Ohs nos. I didn’t give a shit if Fr. Whatever-his-name was knew about our co-habitation, but Mrs. kkk had never told him we lived in sin and didn’t want him knowing. Whatever. The other thing we agreed on dealt with not having kids, which the priest didn’t take kindly to. After all, if we don’t reproduce, who will he sodomize? Although I have to call bullshit on this hippie test because we had three answers to choose from: “yes,” “no” and “not applicable” (or something like that). Of course, I get told after we got the results back that a “NA” answer just counted as a “no.” Half of my answers were “NA” because the questions didn’t apply to our situation because they dealt with my side of the family, and I pretty much stay away from these people. God that test was f’n retarded.
• Barbaro is now up in that big pasture up in the sky. I’m not going to make “OMG NOW THE GLUE FACTORY HAS A NEW ORDER LOL” but goddamn, ESPN, give it a rest. Stay tuned for “highlights of this magnificent creature”? I’m not going to goof on people getting emotional about the death of an animal, but ESPN doesn’t even act like this most of the time when human athletes tragically leave this planet too early. Barbaro’s owners decided to euthanize the horse after a recent surgery setback, and the decision to do this couldn’t have been an easy one. When my one cat got sick back in September of 2004, the better half and I decided against euthanizing. Did we make the right choice? I don’t know, but we decided that Shadow, who we took in as a stray back in 2001, would go out when he wanted to. And that’s what pretty much happened. One of the lasting memories I have of him was, even with several clumps of fur shaved off from him due to IV and other medical procedures, he crept up behind our female cat one evening and swatted her on her backside, much to her chagrin. Would I do this again? I don’t know. If Dessa, JJ or Max make it to double digits in years, then we’ll probably opt for euthanasia, but when the pet is only four years old, which was the case with Shadow, and is showing the will to live, that’s when I may think otherwise.
1:30 p.m.
• And now it’s time for the Dr. Laura call of the day (or whenever I feel like doing this). A woman just said that she caught her husband in the middle of a “cyber-affair” with their next-door neighbor. Are we so lazy in this country that we can’t go one house over to cheat on our spouses?
I needed content and I wanted to do something related to the very competitive decade of the 1980's for baseball so I've decied to run a 64 team tournament between the top teams of the 1980's. Ya 64 is way too many but I'm Bored. I'll be using the computer version of Strat-O-Matic Baseball to run the tournament. I'll be simulating the games and the only thing I'll determine before the games is who the starting pitcher will be for each game. It will just be like the NCAA College Basketball tournament where I'll have four regions, or four divisions if you will, with teams seeded from 1 to 16 with each match-up being determined by a best-of-seven series.
Now for deciding how to do the seedings and who gets in I went the simple rout. First teams who won the World Series will be seeded highest, then teams who lost in the World Series, then teams who lost in the LCS, then the top 2nd place teams by record, and finally an "automatic berth" for the best team of the decade for a franchise who didn't have a team fit into the other categories so every franchise will have a representitive.
Starting with the N.L. East which features three World Champions including the team who had the best record in the decade, the '86 Mets. The Mets have the most teams in the region with five, followed by the Cardinals with four. The Pirates are the only team with just one rep as the '88 team was their best of the decade. Here's just a quick rundown of all the teams and the first round match-ups.
#1
1986 New York Mets (108-54, defeated Boston 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 116 (1st)
ERA+: 114 (t-1st)
DefEff: .709 (4th)
Best Player: Keith Hernandez
Best Pitcher: Bob Ojeda
#2
1982 St. Louis Cardinals (92-70, defeated Milwaukee 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 103 (5th)
ERA+: 108 (2nd)
DefEff: .710 (2nd)
Best Player: Lonnie Smith
Best Pitcher: Joaquin Andujar
#3
1980 Philadelphia Phillies (91-71, defeated Kansas City 4-2 in World Series)
OPS+: 102 (6th)
ERA+: 110 (1st)
DefEff: .701 (4th)
Best Player: Mike Schmidt
Best Pitcher: Steve Carlton
#4
1985 St. Louis Cardinals (101-61, lost to Kansas City 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 108 (t-1st)
ERA+: 113 (2nd)
DefEff: .718 (1st)
Best Player: Willie McGee
Best Pitcher: John Tudor
#5
1987 St. Louis Cardinals (95-67, lost to Minnesota 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 94 (10th)
ERA+: 106 (3rd)
DefEff: .696 (t-6th)
Best Player: Jack Clark/Ozzie Smith
Best Pitcher: Todd Worrell
#6
1983 Philadelphia Phillies (90-72, lost to Baltimore 4-1 in World Series)
OPS+: 102 (t-5th)
ERA+: 106 (t-2nd)
DefEff: .685 (12th)
Best Player: Mike Schmidt
Best Pitcher: John Denny
#7
1988 New York Mets (100-62, lost to Los Angeles 4-3 in NLCS)
OPS+: 117 (1st)
ERA+: 110 (3rd)
DefEff: .707 (t-8th)
Best Player: Darryl Strawberry
Best Pitcher: David Cone
#8
1984 Chicago Cubs (96-65, lost to San Diego 3-2 in NLCS)
OPS+: 105 (4th)
ERA+: 104 (4th)
DefEff: .690 (10th)
Best Player: Ryne Sandberg
Best Pitcher: Rick Sutcliffe
#9
1989 Chicago Cubs (93-69, lost to San Francisco 4-1 in NLCS)
OPS+: 104 (t-3rd)
ERA+: 110 (2nd)
DefEff: .708 (6th)
Best Player: Ryne Sandberg
Best Pitcher: Greg Maddux
#10
1981 Montreal Expos (60-48, lost to Los Angeles 3-2 in NLCS)
OPS+: 99 (8th)
ERA+: 106 (3rd)
DeffEff: .715 (t-3rd)
Best Player: Andre Dawson
Best Pitcher: Bill Gullickson
#11
1985 New York Mets (98-64, finished 3 games behind St. Louis)
OPS+: 105 (4th)
ERA+: 111 (3rd)
DefEff: .716 (2nd)
Best Player: Gary Carter
Best Pitcher: Dwight Gooden
#12
1981 St. Louis Cardinals (59-43, best overall record in N.L. East)
OPS+: 108 (3rd)
ERA+: 98 (t-8th)
DefEff: .715 (t-3rd)
Best Player: Keith Hernandez
Best Pitcher: Bruce Sutter
#13
1987 New York Mets (92-70, finished 3 games behind St. Louis)
OPS+: 116 (1st)
ERA+: 99 (9th)
DefEff: .696 (t-6th)
Best Player: Darryl Strawberry
Best Pitcher: Dwight Gooden
#14
1980 Montreal Expos (90-72, finished 1 game behind Philadelphia)
OPS+: 106 (t-3rd)
ERA+: 103 (4th)
DefEff: .698 (9th)
Best Player: Andre Dawson
Best Pitcher: Steve Rogers
#15
1984 New York Mets (90-72, finished 6 ½ games behind Chicago)
OPS+: 101 (5th)
ERA+: 98 (9th)
DefEff: .694 (9th)
Best Player: Keith Hernandez
Best Pitcher: Dwight Gooden
#16
1988 Pittsburgh Pirates (85-75, finished 15 games behind New York)
OPS+: 107 (3rd)
ERA+: 99 (7th)
DefEff: .715 (4th)
Best Player: Andy Van Slyke
Best Pitcher: Doug Drabek
1st Round Match-ups
'88 Pirates vs. '86 Mets
'89 Cubs vs. '84 Cubs
'87 Mets vs. '85 Cardinals
'81 Cardinals vs. '87 Cardinals
'85 Mets vs. '83 Phillies
'80 Expos vs. '80 Phillies
'81 Expos vs. '88 Mets
'84 Mets vs. '82 Cardinals
I'll complete the 1st round match-ups for this region/division, posting the results in the next entry, and then move on to the next region/division. Not sure how long I'll take to finish each round.
10:30 p.m.
• I watched a few entries of Vh1's Top 100 One-Hit Wonders, or whatever it was called. Here's what I don't get. They included people who were part of one musical group and the one big hit they produced, but yet the same artist went on to create other popular songs. For example, House of Pain's "Jump Around" was on this list. (Although their second album was "eh," I liked their third album "Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again" quite a bit.") During this show, Vh1 said that Everlast went on to have another big hit as a solo artist from his "Whitey Ford Sings the Blues" album. Well then he's not really a one-hit wonder. Sure the House of Pain had one big hit, but Everlast and DJ Lethal have gone on to other successful music endeavors. I would also include that Tom Tom Club group who made "Genius of Love." According to Vh1, when the Talking Heads were taking a break, some members went off to form this group. Once again, I wouldn't consider these people to be "one hit wonders." But maybe I'm just nitpicking. It's late on a Sunday and I'm sleepy. Oh, another thing I learned from watching that Top 100 list – the chick that made that “Loving you is easy because you’re beautiful” died shortly after this song due to breast cancer. Now that was depressing to learn. Yet Keith Richards is still kicking.
• So now bullying has reached the Internet. Fite me u poserz. If you're going to kill yourself because someone calls you a fag on a MySpace page, then perhaps you should squeeze that trigger and end your miserable existence.
• There goes the neighborhood. Now white people are going to have to move even farther away from the city. I can't even begin to imagine what the commute will be like for a sub-suburbanite. You got to admit though, it's pretty bad for those of the ghetto when Mexicans don't even want you live near you. If "white flight" was the term for crackers to high-tail it out of urban areas, I wonder what this will be called -- Making a run for the city limit border?
Who would you take to start a franchise? This is a popular question for baseball arguments. The idea is to choose not only the best player, but the player who will continue to produce in the future. Barry Bonds was a dominant hitter in 2004, but would you take him to start a team knowing he was 40 and a few years (we presume) from retirement? With that premise in mind, I sought to devise a list of the players who would answer that question throughout history. For example, if you were starting a team in 1965, who would be the first player you would want?
A few parameters. First, if I asked software what player produced the most post-1950, it would be Barry Bonds. This is unrealistic as Bonds would not debut until decades later. So I looked at statistics for ten years following the year in question. For 1950, I would look at statistics from 1950 to 1959. This provides a good result, limiting players who produced by hanging on. I drew up the leaders in Runs Created Above Position (RCAP). This is similar to Runs Created Above Average, except it looks at average production at the position instead of the league as a whole. This prevents the list from being dominated by simply the best hitters. Playing a premium defensive position helps. Keep in mind however that the system does not take defense into account. A player such as Ozzie Smith or Willie Mays might not get their just due. The Mantle vs. Mays arguments we could hear all day. You'll also note that this lacks pitchers. They might comprise a second list in the future. It is the best of what we have so far.
A note on war service. Several players, notably Ted Williams, missed time in the Majors due to military service. When evaluating them as players, it is proper to give them credit for time missed. In this project however, it counts against them. Baseball itself did not stop for war, and teams who lost players missed their services, creating a real impact on their overall success. Would you start a team with a player you knew would miss four years? Probably not.
Barry Bonds (1986-1997)
Wade Boggs (1980-83, 1985)
Rickey Henderson (1984)
George Brett (1979)
Mike Schmidt (1975-78)
Joe Morgan (1965-74)
Dick Allen (1964)
Hank Aaron (1962-63)
Frank Robinson (1960-61)
Willie Mays (1958-59)
Mickey Mantle (1950-57)
Stan Musial (1942-45, 1948-49)
Ted Williams (1937-41, 1946-47)
Mel Ott (1934-36)
Arky Vaughan (1933)
Jimmie Foxx (1932)
Lou Gehrig (1927-31)
Babe Ruth (1914-15, 1917-26)
Rogers Hornsby (1916)
Ty Cobb (1906-13)
Honus Wagner (1896-05)
Ed Delahanty (1892-95)
Billy Hamilton (1887-91)
Dan Brouthers (1880-86)
King Kelly (1877-79)
Fred Dunlap (1876)
Twenty-six players are on the list. Of those, 22 are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two are ineligible. That leaves out Dick Allen and Fred Dunlap. Allen missed half a career and was considered a clubhouse cancer. Fred Dunlap's presence surprised me. Looking at his career, his placement is explained by an excellent 1884 season. .412 batting average, 250 OPS+, 13 home runs, .621 slugging percentage. This is in a league where the total slugging percentage was .316! Therein lies the problem. The league in question is the Union Association. The UA lasted one season. Dunlap's OPS in the UA in 1884 was 1.069. He sandwiched that season between seasons in the National League, where he collected OPS's of .813 and .667 in the seasons before and after. When a player has a performance spike like that, you have to question its legitimacy.
1876-1885
RCAP RCAP
1 Fred Dunlap 272
2 King Kelly 234
3 Charley Jones 233
4 Pete Browning 232
5 Cap Anson 222
6 Dan Brouthers 205
7 Jim O'Rourke 203
8 George Gore 187
9 Roger Connor 186
10 Paul Hines 183
Of Dunlap's figure, 135 came from the 1884 season alone. I can not accept that. Given King Kelly's appeal as a gate attraction, he is probably the rightful holder of the title in 1876 as well, thr birth of the National League.
One other fun variation to note immediately. Babe Ruth holds the title from 1914-26 except for one year, 1916. You might note that 1916 is the one that would run until 1925. That was the season where Ruth missed serious time due to a mysterious stomach ailment and a suspension. Rogers Hornsby in 1925 hit .403 with 39 home runs and a .736 slugging percentage. Perfect conditions for a one year takeover.
Any player who held the honor for five or more years is probably in the discussion as one of the greatest players of all time. I will likely follow up on some of the other names on the list. Feel free to leave questions and/or feedback.
It’s been awhile since I said anything here, so I figured I would update.
The last time I wrote here I was feeling “down” but that’s gone away and I’m doing well right now.
Two weeks ago, I turned 21 which for many is a momentous event but the ideal of turning 21 never quite appealed to me in any way because what’s really the difference between 21 and 20? Nothing, except I can legally purchase alcohol and that’s not exactly something that I care about. The only other advantage it grants me is that I can go to the local casinos.
So that was my 21st birthday "extravaganza". My family, Allison and a couple of our friends went to a riverboat casino in Indiana. We had a seafood dinner which was quite good and after a couple hours of crab legs, we decided to board the boat. Unfortunately, Allison couldn’t come with us since she isn’t 21. She stayed at the room with my mother whom doesn’t care for gambling. It was my father, my brother in law with my sister, Allison’s room-mate Danielle, my cousin Chad whom is seeing Danielle and me.
It was pretty exciting with the long walk way towards the entrance of the boat. My father is a high roller, so he got me comped $500 which was great obviously since I wasn’t gambling my own money. The atmosphere was quite fascinating with a crowd of middle aged chain smokers sitting on stools tightly gripping and fixated by the bright lights of the slots roaring in non-stop unison. The rooms clouded in smoke and smelled of cheap cologne, beer and smashed nachos. Young girls with tightly wrapped hair in cocktail dressed carrying trays of soda, cigarettes and tiny bags of potato chips and peanuts. It was straight out of a 1950’s movie but the modern technology was all over the place.
The tables were full with a great variety. Mustachioed old men leered over at the middle aged mom dealing; the young married men sat impatient looking at the remains of their chips while feeling the sting of their wives in the background. Trashy women sat with fake tans with a cigarette dangling dangerously off the tip of their lips challenging gravity. Wheels spun around in harmony, calls randomly shouted out and gold chains bounced off hairy chests.
I took a seat at a slot machine, just the $0.50 machines and immediately felt relieved that I wasn’t interested in this. My father along with some other family members are chronic gamblers and I was hoping I wouldn’t be caught up in the excitement and addiction of gambling and I wasn't. I played a few spins but mostly took in watching the others win and lose, win again and fail once more. I stopped playing after a few minutes and cashed out with $442 intact. I didn’t win any money that night, well, actually I did since that money wasn’t mine to begin with. It was a good time with the people that actually matter and I didn’t need to drink myself stupid to achieve that.
School restarted and that’s been a welcome distraction but Allison is back at Oxford with her apartment there and I’m taking classes at Middletown again. Our schedules didn’t fuse which has led to more of a stress on phone/IM/Txt system of communication. It’s just a few months anyways, until we move in together. The house is getting smaller and smaller as my parents have already begun the process of moving out.
There has been one negative spot in my life the past couple of weeks and that was the shitty news of finding out my uncle from my mother’s side had lung cancer. I can’t say I’m surprised as I never seen anyone smoke as much as he did. He’s one of the better people involved in my familes , though. It always seems the ones you like get the hard luck while the people you don’t give a shit about catch the breaks. He’s young as well. Just another lesson to learn. I never got why people smoke to begin with. My whole family are smokers aside from myself, my sister and her husband and a couple aunts and cousins here and there but as whole it’s Marbolo country. I’m not against smokers, it’s your body. Do what you want with it, I consume ungodly amounts of caffeine and I’m sure that’s not much worse then smoking. It’s more of the psychological “why would you?” that gets me.
Tonight is the ROYAL RUMBLE. Quite frankly, pro wrestling is in shambles (at least the WWE/TNA) and while I’m content with getting my quality wrestling fix with NOAH and ROH, I’d like to see the mainstream promotions finally do something but that isn’t happening. Despite that, the Rumble is a must see event if only for the Rumble match itself. It’s the perfect people gathering show as the main focus of the show is built on short memory and gives a flood of betting games to play. The winners have been blatantly obvious since they inducted the “Winner goes to WM” clause. This year is hardly any exception with Undertaker, Orton, Michaels and Edge being the only shots. It’d be nice to see a surprise winner such as RVD or Punk win to set up the ECW title match since the winner of the rumble is only given a shot at the title, and not necessarily the “MAIN EVENT”. Marvin getting laid in 2007 is more likely then anyone from ECW winning this event.
11 p.m.
• Even though the guy's a commie, I like Mellencamp's older work: "Check it Out," "Authority Song," "Jack and Diane," all that shit. I began to get disinterested in his stuff around the early- to mid-'90s, although some of this stuff is more than listenable for me. "Our Country" isn't one of those songs.
Here are the middle stanzas in question. I'm surprised these lyrics aren't featured on any of the Chevy ads that I have seen at least 100 times.
5 p.m.
• I don't know what's funner -- listening to the Beast sing or reading the comments to this piece of video. Whenever this gets played, I do one of two things: put my hand over my heart and look at a nearby Old Glory, or put my head down in a moment of thought/meditation out of respect for those that helped make this United States of America. The latter is usually done if there is no flag to be seen. I NEVER sing. Here are some of the funnier comments.
10:30 a.m.
• Someone in a thread at the other place was talking about working in the restaurant business and the asshole customers who unnecessarily rag on the help just for a power trip. This got me the thinking: I’m a pretty good restaurant customer. All I want is a booth, a menu, a correct order and a refill or two. Other than that, leave me alone. I don’t want any small talk. I don’t care to know how you’re doing. I don’t want to tell you how I am – what if I truly decide to tell you how I’m doing? Will you really care? What if my dog died, my mother was just diagnosed with cancer and I lost my job to somebody named Pedro down south because he’ll work for $1/hour? What are you going to do for me besides tell me what the soup of the day is? Gag I hate small talk. Oh, yeah. Upon reading this topic I got the thinking to the times when I was the asshole customer, and I came up with four incidents.
Incident 1: The Middletown, Ohio, Applebee’s. The better half and I were waiting for about 10 minutes for someone to take our order. No problem, the place was busy. We then waited about a half-hour for our food. No problem, the place was busy. There was a problem, however, when Mrs. kkk tried to eat her gyro/pita/whatever it was. The tortilla wrapped around her food was a bit, shall we say, stiff. It was so hard that neither of us could get the toothpick that was lodged in it out. This was brought to the attention of the waitress, who in turn brought it to the attention of the manager who in turn gave us a free meal and dessert. During the whole ordeal neither of us complained and we gave the waitress a nice tip due to our free food.
Incident 2: The same place on the very next trip. I forget what exactly happened to the better half’s order, but they forgot to put any sauce at all on my chicken wings. Once again, no problems.
These two incidents above were times when I had to complain about the food. I wasn't bitching about the service. When you can't get a toothpick out of your sandwich you HAVE to say something. And then there are the two experiences below.
Incident 3: The Middletown, Ohio, Steak & Shake. I never cared for this place, but the better half liked its hamburgers (or was it milkshakes?). Well one time we got waited on by this person who couldn’t have been much older than 18. Now he had this lackadaisical I-don’t-want-to-be-here attitude, which is fine by me considering I have probably looked this way to a customer or two during my dead-end job days. However, when he took our order without even writing anything down, I began to get a little annoyed. I try not to be a picky eater, but I cannot eat onions. They make me sick. Well anyway, I ordered a burger without this wretched topping along with a side order (I can’t remember what it was) that also came with onions. As this kid began to walk away I asked him if he should be writing our order down. He said no that it was “all up here” and pointed to his head. It may have been “all up here” while he was at our table, but it must have been dropped by the time he went to place our order. Neither item I ordered was correct, and I pointed this out. He then acted like I didn’t tell him that I didn’t want onions on any of my food, to which I replied, “Well maybe if you would have written my order down you would have remembered.” What did I do in retaliation? I didn’t leave a tip. That’s all.
Incident 4: The Greensburg, Pa., T.G.I.F. I don’t like Friday’s, which is odd because all these cookie-cutter chain restaurants are the same. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. However, Mrs. kkk wanted to go here one day so I figured what the heck. Our waiter was a real piece of work. Not only did he so not want to be at work on that Sunday afternoon, but also he especially didn’t want to be at our table. I can’t remember how long we waited to order our food, to get our food, to get a refill and to get our check, but I knew it had to be a long time. How do I know this? The people sitting around us were also complaining about the service of this guy. In fact, during our wait for the check, this couple was seated across from us and began complaining about when someone was going to take their order. I can sympathize with a food-service employee when one customer wants to be waited on as if they were the president, but when you have an entire section of patrons waiting for things like, say, the food or the bill, then I think the onus is on the employee and not the customer. What did I do? I left a $0.02 tip on the credit slip with something like, “Find another job because you’re no good at this one.”
There you go. Four bad restaurant service stories in nearly 31 years of living. Not a bad track record if I do say so myself. There may have been other incidents, but I can’t think of them now so they probably weren’t all that big a deal anyway. I should state for the record that I have been an asshole customer in other endeavors, such as the time I told a grocery store bagboy to die of cancer, but that’s another industry for another time.
5 p.m.
• Yesterday I was listening to Mark Madden’s local radio show, and he brought up this article on ESPN.com that ranked all 80 Super Bowl teams. Normally I don’t care for stupid lists/rankings like this, but for some reason I was intrigued. Below is ESPN’s rankings, followed by a comment about each team. The entire list and full commentary about each team can be found here.
80) 1979 LOS ANGELES RAMS
The Rams led the NFL in interceptions thrown in '79, with four different QBs contributing.
79) 2003 CAROLINA PANTHERS
The Panthers barely outscored their opponents during the regular season (seven of their 11 wins were by three points or less) despite a pretty easy schedule – only six games against .500-or-better teams.
78) 2000 NEW YORK GIANTS
The Giants were strong on D, especially against the run (allowing just 3.2 yards per carry) and did beat the Eagles three times, but won a weak conference and lacked star power (only two Pro Bowlers).
77) 1982 MIAMI DOLPHINS
The Dolphins were 19th in total yards, making them one of the worst offensive teams to reach the Super Bowl.
76) 1985 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
QB Tony Eason had more picks than TDs (17 to 11).
75) 1986 DENVER BRONCOS
How did they reach Super Bowl with such mediocre team statistical rankings? Oh yeah, they beat a Marty Schottenheimer-coached team in the AFC title game.
74) 1996 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
It certainly wasn't a great team and was helped when 9-7 Jacksonville knocked off 13-3 Denver in the divisional round.
73) 1993 BUFFALO BILLS
Despite a 12-4 record, this team had slipped substantially from previous years.
72) 1999 TENNESSEE TITANS
Despite its 13-3 record, there were some smoke and mirrors involved since the Titans barely outgained their opponents and didn't dominate any statistical category.
71) 1994 SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
This team takes its lumps because of the pummeling it took in the Super Bowl against one of the finest offenses ever assembled.
70) 1970 DALLAS COWBOYS
They went just 3-4 against teams .500 or better, including drubbings of 38-0 and 54-13.
69) 1988 CINCINNATI BENGALS
They allowed the second-most points of any playoff teams, and while three of Cincinnati's four losses were by seven or fewer points, the fourth was a 35-point defeat at Houston with home-field advantage and the playoffs still at stake.
68) 1995 PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Their leading rusher was Erric Pegram, and they lost three games by 13 or more points.
67) 1966 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Len Dawson compiled the second-best passer rating of his Hall of Fame career.
66) 1992 BUFFALO BILLS
The Bills had excellent rankings in the major categories, with the exception of 13th in yards allowed.
65) 1974 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
This team lost by more than four points only once, but laid an egg in the Super Bowl, compiling a mere 119 net yards and scoring only on a blocked punt recovered in the end zone.
64) 1987 DENVER BRONCOS
After allowing more than 30 points just once in 12 nonstrike games, Denver coughed up a combined 75 in the AFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
63) 1975 DALLAS COWBOYS
Staubach didn't have one of his better seasons statistically (16 picks), and the Cowboys had the worst record among NFC playoff participants.
62) 1981 CINCINNATI BENGALS
The Bengals held the NFL's highest-scoring team, the Chargers, to a single touchdown in the AFC Championship Game – the coldest contest in league history at minus-9 degrees with a wind chill of minus-59.
61) 1977 DENVER BRONCOS
Denver had neither a 500-yard rusher nor a 30-catch wide receiver, but still went 8-2 against opponents .500 or better.
60) 1973 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Vikings allowed the second-fewest points in the NFL, but ranked toward the middle of the pack in yards allowed.
59) 1972 WASHINGTON REDSKINS
The Redskins enjoyed solid performances from Billy Kilmer and Larry Brown, but their offense ranked just 11th in total yardage.
58) 1989 DENVER BRONCOS
Yes, this team was the victim of the largest blowout in Super Bowl history. Because of that drubbing, many fans forget that the Broncos allowed the fewest points in the league in '89.
57) 2002 OAKLAND RAIDERS: The Raiders faced a difficult schedule, going 9-4 against teams .500 or better. But they lost four straight at one point, and were woefully unprepared for Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl.
56) 1971 MIAMI DOLPHINS
Offensively, Bob Griese compiled the highest passer rating of his career, and Larry Csonka had the first of three consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
55) 1967 OAKLAND RAIDERS
The Raiders did nothing for the credibility of the upstart league by losing convincingly to a Packers team that was in decline and coming off the "Ice Bowl."
54) 1980 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Philadelphia loses style points for dropping three of its last four regular-season games and for going just 4-3 against teams with a record of at least .500.
53) 1976 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Vikings were just 2-2-1 against teams .500 or better in playing a weak schedule and the defense was 21st in average yards per rush.
52) 1991 BUFFALO BILLS
Amazingly, this Bills defense allowed the second-most yardage in the league.
51) 1970 BALTIMORE COLTS
The Colts had the second-easiest strength of schedule among postmerger Super Bowl teams, losing two of their three games against .500-plus teams -- by 20 and 17 points.
50) 2005 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
What does it say about Seattle that it became the only team to outgain and commit fewer turnovers than its Super Bowl opponent and still lose?
49) 1968 NEW YORK JETS
The Jets had just the third-best record in the AFL that season. Namath completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns.
48) 1967 GREEN BAY PACKERS
This team gets docked for ranking just ninth out of 16 NFL teams in points and yards gained.
47) 2001 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The Patriots had poor rankings in offensive and defensive yardage (outgained overall).
46) 2004 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
This team was near the top of the league in just one major statistical category, fewest points allowed, and it played just two teams in the regular season with records above .500.
45) 1969 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Minnesota was just 10th out of 16 teams in yards but still led the NFL in scoring (yeah, those league-leading 30 interceptions helped).
44) 1998 ATLANTA FALCONS
Atlanta knocked out the highest-scoring team in NFL history in the NFC Championship Game. Its only two losses came against 12-4 teams.
43) 1990 BUFFALO BILLS
Despite possessing the ball for less than 20 minutes, the Bills narrowly lost as Scott Norwood's 47-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right.
42) 1988 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Although the Niners lost six games in Bill Walsh's final season, they went 6-3 against .500 or better teams and easily won their first two postseason games (34-9 and 28-3).
41) 2005 PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Steelers hit their stride at the right time and won the Super Bowl as a wild card after winning their final four regular-season games to qualify for the playoffs.
40) 1980 OAKLAND RAIDERS
Ordinary statistically (they relied on a league-leading 35 interceptions, including 13 by Lester Hayes), the Raiders ramped things up in the postseason.
39) 1982 WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Despite allowing the fewest points in the NFL during a nine-game, strike-shortened regular season, Washington was a three-point underdog in the Super Bowl.
38) 1969 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
The Chiefs didn't even win their division, getting swept by the Raiders and losing to the second-year Bengals. Their primary quarterback, Len Dawson, threw 13 interceptions and just nine touchdowns.
37) 1997 GREEN BAY PACKERS
The Packers went 7-1 against teams with a record of .500 or better. But the Pack had one weakness: stopping the run. Terrell Davis rushed for 157 yards and three TDs and Denver had the upset.
36) 1968 BALTIMORE COLTS
It allowed the fewest points in the NFL and ranked No. 2 in points scored. Its only loss came against Cleveland, a division champion.
35) 2002 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Defense, defense, defense. Tampa Bay's offensive rankings were even worse than those of the 2000 Ravens.
34) 1984 MIAMI DOLPHINS
Wide receivers Mark Clayton and Mark Duper each topped 70 receptions and 1,300 yards as the Dolphins scored more touchdowns than any team in NFL history (70).
33) 1990 NEW YORK GIANTS
How did the Giants win? They didn't make mistakes, committing just 14 turnovers -- the fewest since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.
32) 2003 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
New England's stout defense made up for a pedestrian offense, as the Patriots allowed the fewest points in the league for the only time in franchise history.
31) 1974 PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Pittsburgh made up for its lack of a strong passing attack by pounding the ball effectively on the ground.
30) 1987 WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Washington entered the playoffs with a quarterback controversy and a defense ranked 18th in yards allowed. It had just the third-best record in the NFC, even with a soft schedule and a 3-0 mark in games involving replacement players.
29) 2000 BALTIMORE RAVENS
Statistically, this was the best defense in NFL history (the Ravens allowed 33 fewer points than the '85 Bears).
28) 1983 WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Something often overlooked regarding this team is its ordinary defense, which ranked 11th in points allowed and 12th in yards allowed and featured just one Pro Bowler (Dave Butz).
27) 1983 LOS ANGELES RAIDERS
The impressive Super Bowl win helps vault this team to No. 27 despite some shaky times during the regular season (the Raiders allowed more than 30 points five times).
26) 1995 DALLAS COWBOYS
This team equaled the 8-2 mark against teams .500 or better of the '93 Cowboys and had 10 players named to the Pro Bowl.
25) 1981 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Despite the reputation of the 49ers' passing attack, with Joe Montana, Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon, the team's defense was actually more impressive, ranking No. 2 in the NFL in points and yards allowed.
24) 1977 DALLAS COWBOYS
Dallas' defense wasn't as stout as it would be the following year, as it ranked eighth in points allowed, five spots lower than in '78.
23) 2001 ST. LOUIS RAMS
St. Louis ranked No. 1 in the NFL in points scored (despite committing the most turnovers in the league) and offensive yardage and third in the league in yards allowed – 21 spots ahead of the Pats.
22) 1966 GREEN BAY PACKERS
The '66 team was pretty mediocre on offense, ranking in the middle of the NFL pack in yards gained, and its leading rusher, Jim Taylor, averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.
21) 1973 MIAMI DOLPHINS
The '66 team was pretty mediocre on offense, ranking in the middle of the NFL pack in yards gained, and its leading rusher, Jim Taylor, averaged just 3.5 yards per carry.
20) 1997 DENVER BRONCOS
The balanced Broncos ranked No. 1 in the NFL in points and offensive yardage, and its defense allowed the fifth-fewest yards in the league.
19) 1978 DALLAS COWBOYS
The Cowboys ranked No. 1 in points scored and No. 3 in fewest points allowed, and they narrowly lost to one of the greatest teams in NFL history in the Super Bowl.
18) 1976 OAKLAND RAIDERS
A less-than-impressive 113-point scoring differential means the Raiders pulled out a lot of squeakers – they won five games by four points or less – and their biggest win was 49-16 over the 0-14 expansion Bucs.
17) 1993 DALLAS COWBOYS
All three of their postseason victories were by double figures, including wins over a young Brett Favre and the Steve Young-led Niners in the NFC title game.
16) 1979 PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Steelers lose style points for 34-10 and 35-7 losses in the regular season and for letting a 9-7 opponent take the lead into the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.
15) 1971 DALLAS COWBOYS
Roger Staubach compiled a career-best passer rating, and the Cowboys won their last seven regular-season games after Landry made Staubach the unquestioned starter over Craig Morton.
14) 1999 ST. LOUIS RAMS
The knock on this team was its easy schedule. It went 3-2 against teams .500 or better, and they played two close postseason games.
13) 1975 PITTSBURGH STEELERS
The Steelers held their opponents to 10 points or fewer 10 times in 17 total games.
12) 1998 DENVER BRONCOS
John Elway compiled the best passer rating of his career, and Terrell Davis became the only NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in the same season.
11) 1994 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Over its final 13 games (including the playoffs), it scored more than 40 six times and less than 30 just twice, and one of those was the season finale – which the Niners lost – when Young and Jerry Rice were benched after the first quarter.
10) 1991 WASHINGTON REDSKINS
Their point differential (+261) is tied for second-best since the 16-game schedule began. They lost two games by a combined five points, and one of those came in the final game.
9) 2004 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
The stats are strong on both sides of the ball, the two losses were on the road to 15-1 Pittsburgh and by one point to Miami, and they were 9-1 against .500 or better teams.
8) 1986 NEW YORK GIANTS
For those of you who think we have this team ranked too high, we offer five words: Lawrence Taylor in his prime.
7) 1972 MIAMI DOLPHINS
The Dolphins played the easiest schedule of all 80 Super Bowl participants, and their passing game was ordinary.
6) 1996 GREEN BAY PACKERS
The '96 Packers are one of two postmerger Super Bowl participants to lead the NFL in points scored while allowing the fewest points.
5) 1984 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Joe Montana was entering his prime and enjoyed the first of three seasons with a passer rating higher than 100.
4) 1992 DALLAS COWBOYS
The only knock against this team is its soft schedule, which is the sixth-easiest of any Super Bowl participant since the AFL-NFL merger.
3) 1978 PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Pittsburgh's two losses were by a total of 10 points, and both defeats came against playoff qualifiers.
2) 1985 CHICAGO BEARS
The Bears won 14 games by double digits, including three dominant postseason performances.
1) 1989 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
This team gets our nod due to its excellence on both sides of the ball, mind-boggling statistics and perhaps the most dominant postseason run in NFL history.
Like I said before, I usually don’t care about “Who is/what team is the greatest of all-time?” but I decided to do a little calculating. Below is a list of each Super Bowl game and the competitiveness of each matchup. What I did was take each Super Bowl game, took the team that was higher ranked (the worse team in rankings, as according to ESPN) and subtracted it from the other team’s rank. The higher the score, the bigger the mismatch, according to ESPN. For example, the biggest mismatch was in 1985 with the second-ranked Bears clobbering the 76th-ranked Patriots. I included the final score of each game, too.
Strength-of-Team Differentials
High Score: 74
Low Score: 1
Average Score: 36.8
1985: 74 Score
Bears (2), Patriots (76)
Chicago 46, New England 10
1996: 68 Score
Packers (6), Patriots (74)
Green Bay 35, New England 21
1986: 67 Score
Giants (8), Broncos (75)
N.Y. Giants 39, Denver 20
1979: 64 Score
Steelers (16), Rams (80)
Pittsburgh 31, L.A. Rams 19
1992: 62 Score
Cowboys (4), Bills (66)
Dallas 52, Buffalo 17
1994: 60 Score
49ers (11), Chargers (71)
San Francisco 49, San Diego 26
1999: 58 Score
Rams (14), Titans (72)
St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16
1989: 57 Score
49ers (1), Broncos (58)
San Francisco 55, Denver 10
1993: 56 Score
Cowboys (17), Bills (73)
Dallas 30, Buffalo 13
1972: 52 Score
Dolphins (7), Redskins (59)
Miami 14, Washington 7
1975: 50 Score
Steelers (13), Cowboys (63)
Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17
2000: 49 Score
Ravens (29), Giants (78)
Baltimore 34, N.Y. Giants 7
2003: 47 Score
Patriots (32), Panthers (79)
New England 32, Carolina 29
1966: 45 Score
Packers (22), Chiefs (67)
Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10
1991: 42 Score
Redskins (10), Bills (52)
Washington 37, Buffalo 24
1995: 42 Score
Cowboys (26), Steelers (68)
Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17
1971: 41 Score
Cowboys (15), Dolphins (56)
Dallas 24, Miami 3
1973: 39 Score
Dolphins (21), Vikings (60)
Miami 24, Minnesota 7
1982: 38 Score
Redskins (39), Dolphins (77)
Washington 27, Miami 17
1977: 37 Score
Cowboys (24), Broncos (61)
Dallas 27, Denver 10
1981: 37 Score
49ers (25), Bengals (62)
San Francisco 26, Cincinnati 21
2004: 37 Score
Patriots (9), Eagles (46)
New England 24, Philadelphia 21
1976: 35 Score
Raiders (18), Vikings (53)
Oakland 32, Minnesota 14
1974: 34 Score
Steelers (31), Vikings (65)
Pittsburgh 16, Minnesota 6
1987: 34 Score
Redskins (30), Broncos (64)
Washington 42, Denver 10
1998: 32 Score
Broncos (12), Falcons (44)
Denver 34, Atlanta 19
1984: 29 Score
49ers (5), Dolphins (34)
San Francisco 38, Miami 16
1988: 27 Score
49ers (42), Bengals (69)
San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16
2001: 24 Score
Patriots (47), Rams (23)
New England 20, St. Louis 17
2002: 22 Score
Buccaneers (35), Raiders (57)
Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21
1970: 19 Score
Colts (51), Cowboys (70)
Baltimore 16, Dallas 13
1997: 17 Score
Broncos (20), Packers (37)
Denver 31, Green Bay 24
1978: 16 Score
Steelers (3), Cowboys (19)
Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31
1980: 14 Score
Raiders (40), Eagles (54)
Oakland 27, Philadelphia 10
1968: 13 Score
Jets (49), Colts (36)
N.Y. Jets 16, Baltimore 7
1990: 10 Score
Giants (33), Bills (43)
N.Y. Giants 20, Buffalo 19
2005: 9 Score
Steelers (41), Seahawks (50)
Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10
1967: 7 Score
Packers (48), Raiders (55)
Green Bay 33, Oakland 14
1969: 7 Score
Chiefs (38), Vikings (45)
Minnesota 7, Kansas City 23
1983: 1 Score
Raiders (27), Redskins (28)
L.A. Raiders 38, Washington 9
Another thing I decided to check out was each Super Bowl game in terms of team quality. Here I took the rankings of each team per Super Bowl and added them together. The higher the score, the worse the game was, in terms of quality of teams, according to ESPN. For example, the 1970 Super Bowl was the worst when it came to quality of teams, with the 51st-ranked Colts beating the 70th-ranked Cowboys on a last-second field goal. Final score are also posted.
Quality of Team Matchups:
High Score: 121
Low Score: 22
Average Score: 81
1970: 121 Score
Colts (51), Cowboys (70)
Baltimore 16, Dallas 13
1982: 116 Score
Redskins (39), Dolphins (77)
Washington 27, Miami 17
1988: 111 Score
49ers (42), Bengals (69)
San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16
2003: 111 Score
Patriots (32), Panthers (79)
New England 32, Carolina 29
2000: 107 Score
Ravens (29), Giants (78)
Baltimore 34, N.Y. Giants 7
1967: 103 Score
Packers (48), Raiders (55)
Green Bay 33, Oakland 14
1974: 96 Score
Steelers (31), Vikings (65)
Pittsburgh 16, Minnesota 6
1979: 96 Score
Steelers (16), Rams (80)
Pittsburgh 31, L.A. Rams 19
1980: 94 Score
Raiders (40), Eagles (54)
Oakland 27, Philadelphia 10
1987: 94 Score
Redskins (30), Broncos (64)
Washington 42, Denver 10
1995: 94 Score
Cowboys (26), Steelers (68)
Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17
2002: 92 Score
Buccaneers (35), Raiders (57)
Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21
2005: 91 Score
Steelers (41), Seahawks (50)
Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10
1993: 90 Score
Cowboys (17), Bills (73)
Dallas 30, Buffalo 13
1966: 89 Score
Packers (22), Chiefs (67)
Green Bay 35, Kansas City 10
1981: 87 Score
49ers (25), Bengals (62)
San Francisco 26, Cincinnati 21
1999: 86 Score
Rams (14), Titans (72)
St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16
1968: 85 Score
Jets (49), Colts (36)
N.Y. Jets 16, Baltimore 7
1977: 85 Score
Cowboys (24), Broncos (61)
Dallas 27, Denver 10
1969: 83 Score
Chiefs (38), Vikings (45)
Kansas City 23, Minnesota 7
1986: 83 Score
Giants (8), Broncos (75)
N.Y. Giants 39, Denver 20
1994: 82 Score
49ers (11), Chargers (71)
San Francisco 49, San Diego 26
1973: 81 Score
Dolphins (21), Vikings (60)
Miami 24, Minnesota 7
1996: 80 Score
Packers (6), Patriots (74)
Green Bay 35, New England 21
1985: 78 Score
Bears (2), Patriots (76)
Chicago 46, New England 10
1975: 76 Score
Steelers (13), Cowboys (63)
Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17
1990: 76 Score
Giants (33), Bills (43)
N.Y. Giants 20, Buffalo 19
1971: 71 Score
Cowboys (15), Dolphins (56)
Dallas 24, Miami 3
1976: 71 Score
Raiders (18), Vikings (53)
Oakland 32, Minnesota 14
1992: 70 Score
Cowboys (4), Bills (66)
Dallas 52, Buffalo 17
2001: 70 Score
Rams (23), Patriots (47)
New England 20, St. Louis 17
1972: 66 Score
Dolphins (7), Redskins (59)
Miami 14, Washington 7
1991: 62 Score
Redskins (10), Bills (52)
Washington 37, Buffalo 24
1989: 59 Score
49ers (1), Broncos (58)
San Francisco 55, Denver 10
1997: 57 Score
Broncos (20), Packers (37)
Denver 31, Green Bay 24
1998: 56 Score
Broncos (12), Falcons (44)
Denver 34, Atlanta 19
1983: 55 Score
Raiders (27), Redskins (28)
L.A. Raiders 38, Washington 9
2004: 55 Score
Patriots (9), Eagles (46)
New England 24, Philadelphia 21
1984: 39 Score
49ers (5), Dolphins (34)
San Francisco 38, Miami 16
1978: 22 Score
Steelers (3), Cowboys (19)
Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31
So as you all know by now from reading earlier blog(s), I am getting married in August. So after some quick research and reference checking, we have settled on a place to get married and the photographer.
Here is the place.... http://www.greatoccasionschapelandgardens.com/index.html
I forgot the name of the photographer, the package gets us 300 pictures(film) plus an album, and an engagement photo that I guess we will put in one of those matted frames where people can sign some "cutesy" statements on....whatever....
So yeah, the place is nice, not over the top, and we certainly found more elaborate places, but we decided to work with a 10k budget, that way we can pay for the wedding all in cash, and not have to worry about going into debt for a one-day event. Plus, the ceremony itself is about 1/16th of the total cost, and will barely take 20-30 minutes. It's really the reception where the money and planning and overall time is put into, and the place works with Hannibal's catering(yeah, haha HANNIBAL) which was ranked #1 caterer of Sacramento.
We are also thinking of getting a harpist, which would play all the wedding march music, for only $250, seems reasonable enough, plus it would probably sound a little nicer then just having a CD played over the PA system....
I am 90% sure we are doing the outside garden ceremony and reception, since the garden will be in full boom, and there is more space.
The place also will do a cake for you via a bakery they work with, but it would come out to $400 for the amount of guests we are having, and we can probably get it for cheaper, but who knows. We get to have tastings with the bakery and with Hannibals, we just have to call and set them up....
So yeah, we still haven't even looked into flowers/floral arrangements yet, but since the reception will be in the evening, we are thinking of doing a lot of candles on the table rather then an obscene amount of flowers......
9 p.m.
KKK's Top 103 Posters
Number 41: Canadian Chris
His name is Chris, and he is from Canada. He’s been the Broncos in my NFL pick ‘em contest since it started four years ago, just missing the playoffs for the first time this year. I think he likes poker, too. And he does some Death Pool thing. Now I know I’m too late in getting in on this year’s action, but for the heck of it I’ll list the 20 celebs/public figures who I want to see kick the bucket sometime this year.
Ted Kennedy
Pat Leahy
Barbara Boxer
Nancy Pelosi
Ed Rendell
Christopher Dodd
Dick Durbin
Carl Levin
Charles Schumer
John Dingell
John Conyers
Barney Frank
Sheila Jackson Lee
William Jefferson
Jim McDermott
John Murtha
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Charles Rangel
Robert Wexler
Oh, yeah…
And now a word from the expert panel I have put together to comment on the people I’ve listed.
From EricMM:
8 p.m.
• Well, I got my anniversary present five months early. And I was right about it being a piece of furniture. It’s a fucking recliner! And you know what? It’s comfortable. Some stuff in the dining/living room got re-arranged to make space, but whatever. It’s not like I’m going to move this shit around; I’ll be sleeping in my chair-bed with a bag of potato chips at my side with football playing on the television.
• While I’m on the side of many right-wing issues, one that I’m “eh” on involves capital punishment. The reason I sometimes get uneasy when someone gets a death sentence is because what if that person didn’t do the crime and is put down? Now if you’re on videotaped shooting an unarmed Quickie Mart clerk, then I want you to die. No appeals, no hearing about how you were abused as a kid, none of that shit. Die. However, if there’s the slightest shred of doubt, I would rather have someone spend the rest of his or her life in a cell 24/7. Of course, the problem with this is that this “life in jail” many times comes with television, Internet and other goodies, like anal sex. This is why I can’t fault victims and their families for wanting to see their assailant put to do death. If this would happen to me, I know I’d want the fucker dead. Hell, if given the chance, I’d probably try to off the bastard before deciding to call the cops. Why am I babbling about this? Here’s why.
This guy is a better person than me. I know the first thing I'd want to do as a free man is kill the bitch who put me in jail to begin with.
7 a.m.
• The Pirates got Adam LaRoche? Since when did this happen?
Man, Adam must have pissed off somebody big in Atlanta.
2 p.m.
• So Fast Eddie is now saying that the new arena deal in store for the Penguins is the BEST DEAL EVER IN THE STATE, or some shit like that.
Ha. It may be the BEST DEAL EVER IN THE STATE, but is it better than the deals in Houston or Kansas City? You bitches strung out Mario Lemieux way too damn long, and now it’s time to pay the piper. I wonder if you people would have treated the Rooney family the same way? Doubtful.
• W. made his State of the Union speech last night. Didn’t listen. Don’t care. I’ve always avoided this annual speech. I don’t want to know how government plans to fuck me over in the upcoming year. I prefer to have my head in the sand and have it come as a surprise during the course of that year. That way you can act as if it a big game or something.
• I never had any problems with Brandy; she seemed harmless enough. She’s not too harmless behind the wheel of a Land Rover, though.
For her sake I hope she wasn’t under the influence of anything (it appears that way so far) and this fatal accident can be chalked up as just that – an accident.
• There’s been some uproar over these proposed public transportation cuts that are going on in my region. Of course the weenies sporting the “Save Our Mass Transit,” signs have come out to public meetings pissing and moaning about the whole thing, much to EricMM’s delight I’m sure. Could it be entirely possible that some bus routes should be eliminated due to a lack of ridership? Nah. More union contracts for all. Efficiency be damned. I can’t wait to see the bitching that will take place if the local Public Authority Transit Board actually tries to go through with this idea.
8:30 p.m.
• This is why government is a joke. Illegal aliens crossing our borders. We do nothing. Illegal aliens flying planes into our buildings. We renew their visas after they do the deed. But should you decide to take a vacation to the Caribbean? OMG WE NEED TO SEE YOUR PASSPORT OR YOU AIN'T GETTIN' BACK IN!!!!!!
Why are we doing this?
Too bad the first time a Muslim or Mexican bitches about this "discrimination," Uncle Sam will fold like a house of cards and made the "Abdul Exemption," or some shit.
2:15 p.m.
• Hooray for Big Airline on this one. I wish kicking families out of planes/buses/restaurants/etc. for their screaming brats was practiced more often.
I love that last line: "We're never flying AirTran again!" Good. It's not the airline's job to control your kid. It's your job. You can't do it -- get the hell out. The only thing I don't approve of is AirTran offering them free tickets.
1 p.m.
• Well yesterday I had to take Max to the vet for his annual shots and for the vet to tell us he’s too fat. It’s amazing how our three kids seem to magically know when either me or the better half pick up their carrier. It must be some sort of sixth sense or something.
I got myself a black eye tonight...well its a partically black eye. Looks like I'm wearing eye liner over my right eye really. I'm working on a getting a picture but my camera phone blows. What happen, was after getting my ass kicked all night at training, we had a match...and I started, even though I was dead tired and beat, I stayed in the ring. Anton came into the ring and went for a Shooting Starpress and i was going to move....except I didn't move out of the way correctly. Apprently i was suppose to just roll out of the way, instead I sat up a bit and caught his right knee straight to my head and somehow, his toe caught above my right eye...and now there's a bump and its black as well.
Man I hope this heals by Friday, or at least looks less noticable. Doing 3 shows with a black eye is going to suck balls...then again I can always do the emo ref gimmick.
Edit: I got a somewhat good picture of it...and no thats not make up.
-Well, Hillary announced she had presidential aspirations. I really don't think it's a good idea. Most people, Republican and Democrat, don't want her to run, though she does have a better chance of winning than Kucinich, but a wounded puppy has a better chance than him. Me, I'm getting behind Obama or Richardson.
-In better news, the remake of "The Hitcher" didn't exactly tear up the box office. It almost seems like people are finally starting to get tired of shitty remakes of horror classics, though that won't stop anytime soon. I hear "Friday the 13th" and (sigh) "The Birds" are the next planned remakes.
If you ask me, if you are going to remake a horror movie, remake one that nobody knows about, or was bad to begin with. For example, I like George Romero's "The Crazies", but I wouldn't mind a remake of it. Also, look at Tobe Hoopers take on the "Toolbox Murders", which was a remake of a shitty horror movie, and much better than the original. Hell, why not remake a movie like "Prom Night" or Zombie Creeping Flesh." Both are shitty horror movies that few people know about or remember, and those that do don't exactly have fond memories of them, so remaking them woudn't cause a fit.
8 p.m.
• As if Pfizer isn't having enough troubles right now, some AIDS group is mad that people are actually having sex after taking Viagra.
What next -- suing gun makers because people commit crimes with firearms? Wait a second...
• Woah, there was a dinosaur that had wings like a biplane? Cool. Pooh on the haters, I've been into dinosaurs since I was a kid. Ceratopsian represent.
7 a.m.
• Oh Jesus it's already started. Once the Bears punched their ticket to the Super Bowl, the "OMG FIRST BLACK HEAD COACH IN SUPER BOWL HISTORY~!!!!" talk began. Now with the Colts in as well, I don't think I can handle TWO WEEKS of this.
• And speaking of black coaches, I'm hearing that the Steelers hired a black guy.
Oh this should be fun. I hope the guy does well, but if he struggles in his first few season, the fan reaction should be ... interesting. Personally, I don't care what color a head coach is; give me people who are new to the head coaching world and let them inject new ideas into the NFL. I'm also curious to see what happens to Russ Grimm, a Steelers assistant who was reported by the Shittsburgh Tribune-Review to have gotten the job in Sunday's edition.
• I love this quote from a Patriots player after yesterday's game:
Start out by giving kudos to the NFL Network for finally airing the original broadcasts of past Super Bowls, if only a small sample of them but it's a start. I can only hope that is a test run that leads to them airing classic games on a regular basis or at least start putting some of them on DVD like MLB and NBA are now doing. Super Bowl XIII is on tommorrow night and I think I might do a write up on that one.
As I've mentioned in the past my memories of sports begin in 1986. I've been told by my family I already had a big interest in sports before then but for whatever reason I can't remember anything before 1986 and my first sports memory is watching Super Bowl XX with my brother on my parent's bedroom television. We were rooting for the Patriots and not that I remember why, maybe because the Bears dominance had completley wiped out the 49ers dominance of the previous year. Obviously we ended up being dissapointed. Now for ranking the Super Bowls that I've seen, or remember seeing at least, there is no formula to this. It is purely subjective and incredibly biased.
#1 Super Bowl XXIII - 49ers 20, Bengals 16
See what I mean? Ya the first half was nothing special but unless the 49ers win another Super Bowl in a more exciting fashion it will never be trumped as my favorite Super Bowl ever. Still the only one to ever to be decided with a touchdown in the final minute and I hope it stays that way for a long time.
#2 Super Bowl XXXVIII - Patriots 32, Panthers 29
There was nothing to indicate that this would be a classic going into but we all know the NFL is fixed and the Patriots always have to win on a last second field goal or something. Anyways like the halftime show, the 4th quarter of this game was indeed the tits.
#3 Super Bowl XXXII - Broncos 31, Packers 24
Start to finish this might truly be the best Super Bowl ever although had a some what anti-climatic deciding touchdown. I always hated John Elway but I was actually rooting for the Broncos here as for some odd reason I started feelling sorry for the guy's playoff failures. That would change the next year.
#4 Super Bowl XXV - Giants 20, Bills 19
I'm looking forward to watching the re-broadcast of this game as I couldn't appreciate the game at the time. I wanted the entire Giants team dead, especially Leonard Marshall, for ending the 49ers run at a three-peat so I was just pissed when Norwood missed the winning field goal.
#5 Super Bowl XXXIV - Rams 23, Titans 16
Had the most exciting play ending to a Super Bowl ever but for most of the first three quarters this game was a dog but the Rams inability to put the ball in the endzone allowed the Titans to stay in it.
#6 Super Bowl XXXVI - Patriots 20, Rams 17
Big upset with a memorable finish but it took a defensive holding call on a 4th and goal that kept this a game instead of turning into a blowout.
#7 Super Bowl XXXIX - Patriots 24, Eagles 21
Biiiiiiiiiig drop off in quality after the top 6 and this game is put here by default as a late touchdown by the Eagles kind of made it interesting.
#8 Super Bowl XXX - Cowboys 27, Steelers 17
A game that was supposed to be a blowout and may have had a big upset if Neil O'Donnel doesn't groove two interceptions to Larry Brown. Seriously they shouldn't have even given out an MVP award for this one.
#9 Super Bowl XL - Steelers 21, Seahawks 10
Only this high for being competitive but this was an ugly game with terrible officiating.
#10 Super Bowl XXXI - Packers 35, Patriots 21
Three huge touchdowns by the Packers and the Patriots sort of hanging around made this game semi-entertaining but you never got the sense that an upset would happen.
#11 Super Bowl XXVII - Cowboys 30, Bills 13
Now we're getting to the blowouts and this is the top one only because of the Bills shocking halftime lead that was gone by the first minute of the second half.
#12 Super Bowl XXIV - 49ers 55, Broncos 10
BIAS~! Come on you'll never see a more perfect display of offense for four quarters again than what the 49ers did this day. History also forgets that the Broncos did have a very good defense. Ya probably is the worst one of all-time but my list.
#13 Super Bowl XXXVII - Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21
MORE BIAS~! The next best thing to the 49ers winning a Super Bowl is the Raiders losing a Super Bowl. Still one of the hilarious moments in sports history is the Raiders not thinking to change up their playbook at all against their former coach.
#14 Super Bowl XXI - Giants 39, Broncos 20
Well it was competitive for a half.
#15 Super Bowl XXII - Redskins 42, Broncos 10
Well it was competitive for a quarter. Watched the replay the other night and that second quarter of the Redskins is fun to watch.
#16 Super Bowl XX - Bears 46, Patriots 10
It's amazing I still watched sports after this debacle. Only ranked this high for the historic nature of the beating the Bears defense put on the Patriots.
#17 Super Bowl XXIX - 49ers 49, Chargers 26
Ya even my bias can't rate this high as this game was as much a forgone conclusion as you'll ever get and was over by the 3rd play of the game.
#18 Super Bowl XXVI - Redskins 37, Bills 24
The Redskins could have turned this into one of the historic blowouts by they called off the dogs after going up 24-0. The In Living Color special at halftime was much more entertaining than the game.
#19 Super Bowl XXXIII - Broncos 34, Falcons 19
Eww. John Ewlay suddenly now THE GREATEST QUARTERACK EVER according to the media after the game against the The Dirty Bird. Pass.
#20 Super Bowl XXVII - Cowboys 52, Bills 17
Didn't even watch the second half so I missed the Leon Lett play. Only doesn't come in last because I had a genuine rooting interest since there's never been a team in sports I hated more than this 90's Cowboys.
#21 Super Bowl XXXV - Ravens 34, Giants 7
Trent Dilfer. Kerry Collins. Super Bowl quarterbacks. Yikes. Never have I cared less about a Super Bowl going into it and it lived up to my expectations.
Monday Jan 15th: Practice went like usual, started with the warm ups and moved on. I'm not going to get in details about the full practice but I will talk about what I mostly worked on, and that was doing a cross body from the 2nd rope. Helfyre had teamed up a small guy with a big guy for this. Anton was teamed up with Josh and I was teamed up with Tim. The set up was that Tim was going to throw me to the corner and I was going to jump up to the 2nd rope and jump back off, do a 180 and end up doing a crossbody with Tim catching me. I had a lot of trouble doing this. I had trouble getting off the 2nd rope, I had trouble putting my body in the right position so I'd be easy to catch. I actidently popped Tim hard in the nose with my bi-cep...my little bi-cep because I did't put my arms in the right position....he wasn't to happy about that.
So after I popped Tim hard in the nose, Josh came into the ring and helped me out. I must have did it about 30 times until I got it right. When I finally did, we moved on. I was so freaking tired but I did it and felt good about finally doing it.
Weds Jan 17th: On Weds, it was myself, Anton, Tim, Helfyre, Josh, and Jason Vega. Jason can really only come to training on Weds, so we sorta swtiched up training days a bit. Normally it was suppose to be Monday, Thursday, and Saturday but we switched it so Monday, Weds, and Saturday so we could work with Vega as well. We did some practice matches on Weds, with me being the bumping dummie. I really don't have any offensive and it's been awhile since I did a "match" with anyone.
The first match I had was me vs Tim.....and it sucked. I felt it best, since Tim is a bigger guy was I would jump bump around for him to try and put him over. They're was a lot of miss-communitcation. It's hard to work with Tim (and i'm not knocking him because he's still learning) because either he gets a bit lost, as he forgets what he wants to do, or I can't hear him when he whispers something to me about something he wants to do. For example, he flug me over from one corner to the other corner and I could have said he said, do a crossbody (the one we worked on Monday) but he threw me to the other corner to hard and I couldn't get up on the 2nd rope correctly, so that looked like shit. Thats another issue Tim has, when he irish whips one of the smaller guys, like me and Anton, to actually throws us which throws us off.
When you Irish whip someone, your just suppose to rest your hand on their back and lightly push with them as their running away. That ways you don't actually throw off someone's running path. Tim sorta forgets that and most of time, flings me and Anton and screws up are running path and we loose a bit of control on the short run.
So anyways, we finished that match with Tim missig a splash on me in the corner and me school boying him getting the pin. The match sucked and I wasn't happy about it, but its training and we're there to learn, so I had to let it go. Oh and apprently before I forget, Tim actually wanted me to kip-up from the bottom rope and jump over him and then do a arm drag out of the corner...not a crossbody. Though I sware I heard the word crossbod, not kip-up and give me a arm drag.
We did another match, which was a triple threat tag match, it was me and Tim vs Josh and Jason Vega vs Helfyre and Anton. I was the bumping machine here as well. Tim didn't excatly work at a tag partner as he sat on the apron as I was put in holds and what not. That sucked as well but whatever. So practice ended and I came back the next day.
Thursday Jan 18th: We decided to do four days of practice....my body hated me for doing that. I was really sore and my knees were killing me when I went into practice. I have really bad knees as I warned them down from playing so much sports as a kid. The muscle is really screwed up on my knees. I'm hoping my knees will rebuild themselves as I'm training now but I really need to start doing Hindu squats to help rebuild them.....though I'm lazy when I'm at home.
So the main thing we worked on were Cruifix pins. For those who aren't sure what a Cruifix pin is, its when Wrestler 1 throws Wrestler 2 into the ropes and on the way back, Wrestler 2 ducks a clothesline, wraps his arms around Wrestler 1's clothesline arm, and then Wrestler 2 jumps up and wraps his legs around the other arm of Wrestler 1, then Wrestler 2 pulls wrestler 1 backwards and wrestler 1 falls and ends up getting pinned by wrestler 2. I was teamed up with Josh for this move.
The first attempts were....well they hurt. I had gotten up there but Josh wasn't used to falling down correctly for this move and ended up squashing me by accident for the first couple of times. Tim and Anton who paired up to do the move had gotten it down right away, so me and Josh sorta had to get it down. By the 3rd try, we got it. We did it a few more times and it worked out well. I can't remember what else we did that day, but the cruifix pin was the major thing we learned that day.
Saturday Jan 20th: Saturday it was myself, Anton, Tim, Helfyre, Jody, and Alexis Smirnoff Jr. Josh had something personnal going on, so he was't there. We did are warm ups and then Smirnoff decided he wanted to have a match with me. I told him I didn't have much offensive and he said that was fine and would lead me through the match....which he did but it was basically me being a bumping machine again. Which was fine, I really don't mind being the bumping machine as its good for my body to get used to bumping around so much. We finished the match and Smirnoff gave me a few pointers and said otherwise I worked with him just fine.
After me and Smirnoff had our match...oh he went over by the way....we worked on a few things. We worked on Cruifix pins again, and this time I worked with him Tim. Unfortuanily I screwed up on the way down a few times and ended up being squashed by Tim. A few times of being squashed, we moved on, I wanted to keep doing it until I got it right but Helfyre wanted to move on so we moved on. We worked on bodyslamming, and of course I need to learn how to go up lighter for someone. For some reason, I have an issue with going up light for a move, like the bodyslam for example. When someone is going to slam me, I'm suppose to just float up onto someone's shoulder to make it easier for them to hold me up and slam me, but I have an issue on that, in which I'm working on but I'm not 100% sure how to make myself go up lighter. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon.So after woking on some moves, and learning how to do a backslide. We moved on to another match...this time it was a triple threat.
It was me vs Anton vs Tim in a triple threat with one guy being tagged in with Smirnoff as the ref. The plan was suppose to be a 4 minute match with me going over...but the match went a lot longer than 4 minutes. I actually WASN'T the bumping machine here. It was actually a pretty much back and forth match inbetween the 3 of us. I ended up making Anton submit by doing a failed attempt at a surfboard. Basically I couldn't get Anton up for the surf board, but I held the move in and took his arms and used one of my arms to wrap around them and I took my right arm and put it under his chin pulling back his head...he submitted.
After the match was over, Helfyre and Smirnoff said I looked really good in the match and that I didn't seem lost the entire time. Though Helfyre said I'm going to start out wearing a mask, which I'm ok with as I have an idea for a masked wrestler that I came up with a long time ago, but we're not going to go with that idea right now. We're going to go with a different gimmick which I'll get into as time goes by. Gotta protect the gimmicks, never know whose actually reading my blogs.
So that was my week in training, Mon, Weds, and Thursday didn't go so well but went ok, still stuff I need to improve on but Saturday went really well..other then being crushed by Tim on the cruifix pins but it still went really well. Next week, I'm only training on Monday and Weds as next weekend is a really really busy weekend for me, so I'll post that my training update a little bit earlier than usual but you'll also get my weekend for next weekend when its over, as that'll be a intesting weekend for me.
So till next time...
1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in football? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in football?
Doubtful. Irvin was amongst the elite WR's in the early 90s, but it's difficult for any WR's to receive such honors.
2. Was he the best player on his team?
Doubtful. Emmitt Smith is regarded as the best skill position for that Cowboy dynasty. Larry Allen was also probably their most dominating player.
3. Was he the best player in football at his position? Was he the best player in the conference at his position?
Doubtful. Jerry Rice was still playing from 1990-1995. And very well.
4. Did he have an impact on a number of great seasons?
Yes. Irvin was one of the best receivers in the league for a team that won 3 Super Bowls.
5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime?
Yes. Irvin remained a solid top receiver until his career ending injury in 1999.
6. Is he the very best football player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame?
No.
7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame?
Mostly. Longevity is a weakness for Irvin, who started out slow in his first 3 years, and then had to retire at 32. So, he only had about 7 years of pure starting WR duty. But, in those 7 years, he was top 10 in receiving for six of those years. Top 5, four times.
8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards?
Yes. 3 Super Bowl rings. A big part in all of those teams. His previously mentioned statistics. He's easily in.
9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics?
No. If anything, his stats could have been better without Emmitt Smith who had a heavy workload during the Cowboys' dynasty run, and vultured many TD's away.
10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame?
Many would say yes. But, I don't believe Irvin is.
11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close?
None. Although, he did lead the league in receiving in 1993, and had a huge 1995 (The year Rice had a ridiculous season, unfortunately). But, not enough for serious consideration.
12. How many Pro Bowl-type seasons did he have? How many Pro-Bowl games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many Pro-Bowl games go into the Hall of Fame?
5 Pro Bowls for Irvin. He deserved that many. There's some players with less than 5 who are in, so it's enough.
13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win their conference?
I think so.
14. What impact did the player have on football history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he change the game in any way?
None.
15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?
Lolz. Here would be Irvin's achilles' heel. Irvin has been arrested at least 3 times for drug possession. He's been noted as a sexual abuser, but not proven. He's made racist statements. He's a stupid loudmouth clown on ESPN every week.
Would he get my vote?
No. Because I hate Michael Irvin. If voters can not vote for certain for silly reasons, then I can too. And I can use the lack of character as a reason. I don't want to picture his induction ceremony. As for just basing it on Irvin's playing career, he's easily in. 3 Super Bowls, an elite receiver for most of the 90s, his talent and accomplishments cannot be denied. The only thing Irvin lacks is the longevity and the gaudy stats that types like Art Monk and Andre Reed have, and I don't put much weight into that.
