Sports Misconceptions

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

1908 51-103 (Worst Yankees Season Ever)

 

Also the last Cubs WS.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Baseball fans, isn't there a misconception that the Yankess have always been good? Didn't they not do anything for, like, most of the 1980s?

 

Here is a misconception by itself. The Yankees actually had the best winning percentage in baseball in the 1980s.

[Damaramu 0]

I think there's a misconception that certain college football teams are always good, like Miami and Oklahoma. (and Notre Dame once upon a time, but not anymore). I was watching the "Beyond the Glory" on Donovan McNabb and it said he led Syracuse to a 66-13 win over Miami, so obviously Miami has had a bad year or two recently. And didn't Oklahoma suck for a few years before Stoops got there?

Well the program started out alright back in the early 1900's but wasn't really anything worth a damn until Bud Wilkinson showed up. And then of course there were years of moderate success and then Barry Switzer showed up and turned them into a powerhouse again.

 

But after Switzer we had John Blake and Howard Schnellenberger(or however the hell it is spelled). They both sucked. Blake sucked the worst though. He won something like 12 games in 4 years. The program was getting bitch slapped by schools like Kansas and struggling with Baylor. That was until Stoops showed up. So yeah the 90's are considered the dark ages around here. Though if you listen to the way people talk around here the past 2 years are the dark ages. Although we won as many games this year as Blake did in 4 so yeah....

 

When was Miami's downtime? Like when did they suck and when did they come on the scene as a powerhouse?

[C Dubya 04 0]

Going off of memory, I'd say that Miami really became a power at the beginning of the 80's. They haven't really sucked for any long periods since then, although towards the end of the 90's they weren't as good.

[Guest Smues]

Baseball fans, isn't there a misconception that the Yankess have always been good? Didn't they not do anything for, like, most of the 1980s?

 

Here is a misconception by itself. The Yankees actually had the best winning percentage in baseball in the 1980s.

Which is one of the many reasons AngleSault drove me nuts when he referred to the 80's as the dark ages for the Yankees.

[therealworldschampion 0]

When was Miami's downtime? Like when did they suck and when did they come on the scene as a powerhouse?

 

Miami was pretty much like Rutgers until Schnellenberger showed up in 1979-1980 and started building up for the 1983 national title. Their true "down period" in the 1990s was pretty much 1997, where they missed a bowl game for the first time in years and got blown out 47-0 by Florida State, but Butch Davis was able to recruit the nucleus of the 2000-2002 teams during that period(Dorsey, Shockey, Portis, McKinnie, etc.)

 

Notre Dame has had more down periods than people would like to believe, including the period between Frank Leahy and Ara Parseighan, the Gerry Faust years, and the Davie/Willingham era.

 

I'd say Michigan is a school that never seems to have a true down period. They may not win the Big Ten every year, but the last bad season they had was 1984 when they went .500, and then bounced back the next year anyway.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Baseball fans, isn't there a misconception that the Yankess have always been good? Didn't they not do anything for, like, most of the 1980s?

 

Here is a misconception by itself. The Yankees actually had the best winning percentage in baseball in the 1980s.

Which is one of the many reasons AngleSault drove me nuts when he referred to the 80's as the dark ages for the Yankees.

It's because the Yankees didn't win many World Series in the 80s (the only one I can think of was in 1981 ... I'm sure an actual fan will correct me) and the Yankees fans only view winning it all as success.

 

And as much as I hate the Yankees fans, I do have to say I admire that. Getting close shouldn't be enough. Unless you're a fan of a team that's historically an also-ran or a team that has no right to be winning games, just being good shouldn't be good enough.

[Guest Smues]

Baseball fans, isn't there a misconception that the Yankess have always been good? Didn't they not do anything for, like, most of the 1980s?

 

Here is a misconception by itself. The Yankees actually had the best winning percentage in baseball in the 1980s.

Which is one of the many reasons AngleSault drove me nuts when he referred to the 80's as the dark ages for the Yankees.

It's because the Yankees didn't win many World Series in the 80s (the only one I can think of was in 1981 ... I'm sure an actual fan will correct me) and the Yankees fans only view winning it all as success.

 

And as much as I hate the Yankees fans, I do have to say I admire that. Getting close shouldn't be enough. Unless you're a fan of a team that's historically an also-ran or a team that has no right to be winning games, just being good shouldn't be good enough.

They didn't win any in the 80's. They lost in 81 to the Dodgers. The braves were god awful in the 80's and I wouldn't even call it the darkages for him because they won a division title.

[Jericholic82 0]

Baseball fans, isn't there a misconception that the Yankess have always been good? Didn't they not do anything for, like, most of the 1980s?

 

Here is a misconception by itself. The Yankees actually had the best winning percentage in baseball in the 1980s.

Which is one of the many reasons AngleSault drove me nuts when he referred to the 80's as the dark ages for the Yankees.

It's because the Yankees didn't win many World Series in the 80s (the only one I can think of was in 1981 ... I'm sure an actual fan will correct me) and the Yankees fans only view winning it all as success.

 

And as much as I hate the Yankees fans, I do have to say I admire that. Getting close shouldn't be enough. Unless you're a fan of a team that's historically an also-ran or a team that has no right to be winning games, just being good shouldn't be good enough.

well thanks for the compliment LOL. Do you just hate every yanks fan with blind predjudice? Just wondering. I hate when people just assume something about me cuz I'm a Yankee fan, which is why I have tried to listen to everyone's POV on TSM. It's cool you won't offend me with your true thoughts, so let me have it

 

anyhow I guess the 80s were considered a dark age cuz of no playoff appearances after 81, and the fact that by 1990 the Yanks were godawful, losing 95 games that year. Since I was born at the end of 82 I dont remember all that much about the 80s and I was a little kid then and only cared about cartoons and toys so.....so I can't really have an opinion here. Anglesault help me out here.

 

 

anyhow back to the topic,

 

uhhh drawing a blank here damn.

 

oh well I will try to think of a good one and be back soon.

 

 

Peace out

[Guest Redhawk]

There's a misconception that Muhammed Ali is far and away the best heavyweight boxer -- if not the best boxer pound-for-pound -- of all time. Now I'm not saying putting Ali at No. 1 is off-base, but there were guys like Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson who have very legit claims to the throne.

[Jericholic82 0]

There's a misconception that Muhammed Ali is far and away the best heavyweight boxer -- if not the best boxer pound-for-pound -- of all time. Now I'm not saying putting Ali at No. 1 is off-base, but there were guys like Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson who have very legit claims to the throne.

I can see you point.

[MikeJordan23 0]

Robinson is the greatest boxer ever.

 

And a question, not a misconception, is Sandy Koufax the greatest pitcher ever?

[nl5xsk1 0]

well thanks for the compliment LOL. Do you just hate every yanks fan with blind predjudice? Just wondering. I hate when people just assume something about me cuz I'm a Yankee fan, which is why I have tried to listen to everyone's POV on TSM. It's cool you won't offend me with your true thoughts, so let me have it

 

anyhow I guess the 80s were considered a dark age cuz of no playoff appearances after 81, and the fact that by 1990 the Yanks were godawful, losing 95 games that year. Since I was born at the end of 82 I dont remember all that much about the 80s and I was a little kid then and only cared about cartoons and toys so.....so I can't really have an opinion here. Anglesault help me out here.

 

 

anyhow back to the topic,

 

uhhh drawing a blank here damn.

 

oh well I will try to think of a good one and be back soon.

 

 

Peace out

Sorry, but with Yankees fans I start off at a "I don't like them" level and then let them either earn my liking or validate my dislike. And a lot of Yankees fans do the latter, give me every reason to find them annoying. Before I end up getting into a pissing match with anyone, though, that even though I'm a Boston-native I have to admit that a lot of die-hard Sox fans fit that same description: I dislike most die-hard Sox fans and have them either earn me changing my mind about them or validate my disliking them.

 

Perfect example of what I feel Yankees fans are like: I was in Burlington, VT for work a few weeks ago. I was at the bar, having drinks after work, and they had 2 TVs. One was showing the Red Sox game, one was showing the Mets game, and a substantial # of people were watching one or the other. Second inning, a Yankees fan comes in and asks why his game isn't on. The bartender explained that it wasn't on the satellite package (for whatever reason) and plus people were watching the other two games. The guy proceeds to go on a LOUD tangent about "What the fuck's the point of having the satellite if you can't get every Yanks game" and blah blah blah. And he went on, and on, and one. I was tempted to lean over and inform him that people were already watching the two fucking games that were on, so he'd have been SOL even if his game wasn't blacked out.

 

Having said all that, most Yankees fans that I interact with on TSM are fine by me.

[nl5xsk1 0]

The 1980 US hockey team beat Russia in the Semis, not the finals of the medal round.

I thought of this thread while watching "Stump the Schwab" on ESPN yesterday ... one of the contestants said that he was a "Golden boy" because he was born the day the US beat the Russians ... as if them beating USSR was for the medal.

 

Then I realized that I was watching Stump the Schwab and quickly turned the channel before my neighbors heard it through the walls and mocked me for watching shit TV.

[Guest Redhawk]

Speaking of Stump the Schwab, there's a misconception that Stuart Scott is now a full-time game show host. In fact, he's actually still a sports anchor. Or at least I think so.

[Jericholic82 0]

The 1980 US hockey team beat Russia in the Semis, not the finals of the medal round.

I thought of this thread while watching "Stump the Schwab" on ESPN yesterday ... one of the contestants said that he was a "Golden boy" because he was born the day the US beat the Russians ... as if them beating USSR was for the medal.

 

Then I realized that I was watching Stump the Schwab and quickly turned the channel before my neighbors heard it through the walls and mocked me for watching shit TV.

true, thats a big one everyone thinks the us beat russia for the medal.

 

 

and its no problem, I understand why some fans can get on your nerves. I live in Cali now so I can hardly see any games and I know the frustration, but I never yell at people or nothin like that. Try to validate my claim as a so called nice guy .

 

Just like the misconception that every Boston fan is whiny and mean. In fact I have been to a sox-yanks fans and the boston fans were very cool to me, after the game everyone went to the bar to drink together. Love of the game can unite us all.

[Jericholic82 0]

Speaking of Stump the Schwab, there's a misconception that Stuart Scott is now a full-time game show host. In fact, he's actually still a sports anchor. Or at least I think so.

[KingPK 0]

Misconception: The "Tuck Rule" play in the '02 playoffs was the Raiders undoing. They could have stopped the Patriots on that drive (hell, even stopping them five yards further back would have made Vinatieri's tying kick impossible), gone down the field at the end of regulation for a FG (I think there was a minute left after the tying kick, and I think they had the wind at their backs), or not let them drive right down the field in OT.

 

Every Raiders fan I talk to STILL goes on about that play.

[Brett Favre 0]

Still; the game would have ended if it weren't for that play. That's the bottom line.

[CanadianChris 0]

Still; the game would have ended if it weren't for that play. That's the bottom line.

Yeah, but the Raiders could've ended it despite that play. All it did was keep the drive alive. The Raiders rolled over and died, knowing they had a built-in excuse.

[Just John 0]

Another misconception about the "tuck rule" is that it was a bad call. It was actually the correct call based on the existing rules. Bad rule, maybe, but the Raiders lost cleanly. No one was out to screw them over.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Robinson is the greatest boxer ever.

 

And a question, not a misconception, is Sandy Koufax the greatest pitcher ever?

I don't think so. Koufax had a four year run where he was a fantastic pitcher. Now, if you set your standards specifically as a pitcher's four best consecutive years, the answer might be Koufax. But that is the only way he ranks as the very best.

 

Koufax's best ERA+ (ERA, adjusted for park and the league average) was 190. That is very, very good. But what about Walter Johnson, who went 69-19 over two years with ERA+'s of 240 and 259? (As an aside, here is another misconception. The Senators had some very good years with Johnson, even if they fell short of the pennant until 1924.) Pedro Martinez had a four year run where he produced ERA+'s of 221, 160, 245 and 285, although Koufax pitched many more innings.

 

There are just two many pitchers with similar peak quality who smoke Koufax in career numbers. Not to say Koufax was not a great pitcher, but he is not the best. He was legitimately outstanding during his peak.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Speaking of Stump the Schwab, there's a misconception that Stuart Scott is now a full-time game show host. In fact, he's actually still a sports anchor. Or at least I think so.

There's a misconception that Stuart Scott has talent.

[Jorge Gorgeous 0]

Robinson is the greatest boxer ever.

 

And a question, not a misconception, is Sandy Koufax the greatest pitcher ever?

I don't think so. Koufax had a four year run where he was a fantastic pitcher. Now, if you set your standards specifically as a pitcher's four best consecutive years, the answer might be Koufax. But that is the only way he ranks as the very best.

 

Koufax's best ERA+ (ERA, adjusted for park and the league average) was 190. That is very, very good. But what about Walter Johnson, who went 69-19 over two years with ERA+'s of 240 and 259? (As an aside, here is another misconception. The Senators had some very good years with Johnson, even if they fell short of the pennant until 1924.) Pedro Martinez had a four year run where he produced ERA+'s of 221, 160, 245 and 285, although Koufax pitched many more innings.

 

There are just two many pitchers with similar peak quality who smoke Koufax in career numbers. Not to say Koufax was not a great pitcher, but he is not the best. He was legitimately outstanding during his peak.

If Koufax was pitching today and had access to some of the surgical technology they have today, Koufax would have put up much better career numbers. Sort of a "What if" but still worth mentioning.

[MikeJordan23 0]

Robinson is the greatest boxer ever.

 

And a question, not a misconception, is Sandy Koufax the greatest pitcher ever?

I don't think so. Koufax had a four year run where he was a fantastic pitcher. Now, if you set your standards specifically as a pitcher's four best consecutive years, the answer might be Koufax. But that is the only way he ranks as the very best.

 

Koufax's best ERA+ (ERA, adjusted for park and the league average) was 190. That is very, very good. But what about Walter Johnson, who went 69-19 over two years with ERA+'s of 240 and 259? (As an aside, here is another misconception. The Senators had some very good years with Johnson, even if they fell short of the pennant until 1924.) Pedro Martinez had a four year run where he produced ERA+'s of 221, 160, 245 and 285, although Koufax pitched many more innings.

 

There are just two many pitchers with similar peak quality who smoke Koufax in career numbers. Not to say Koufax was not a great pitcher, but he is not the best. He was legitimately outstanding during his peak.

One last one, what do you think of ESPN listing Roger Clemens as the greatest pitcher alive. I think that's wrong, but where does Roger Clemens rank in your all-time list? And amongst pitchers still living?

[Guest Smues]

Speaking of Stump the Schwab, there's a misconception that Stuart Scott is now a full-time game show host. In fact, he's actually still a sports anchor. Or at least I think so.

There's a misconception that Stuart Scott has talent.

Really? Someone outside of ESPN management believes this?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

If Koufax was pitching today and had access to some of the surgical technology they have today, Koufax would have put up much better career numbers. Sort of a "What if" but still worth mentioning.

 

Fair point, but there are literally hundreds of similar tales. Dizzy Dean, Smokey Joe Wood, Lon Warneke, Bucky Walters, Billy McCool, I could go on. I do know that there is no way Koufax would have pitched as many innings a season as he did if he pitched today.

 

One last one, what do you think of ESPN listing Roger Clemens as the greatest pitcher alive. I think that's wrong, but where does Roger Clemens rank in your all-time list? And amongst pitchers still living?

 

Forgive me if I pass on the task of rating all the pitchers. Perhaps I might tackle the task in the future. As for living pitchers, let's see. Clemens has a career record of 330-165, more than any living pitcher. Seven Cy Young awards, more than any other pitcher. His career winning percentage is fifth among living pitchers. Clemens is third among living pitchers in ERA+, behind Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. He is second all-time in strikeouts behind only Nolan Ryan.

 

I agree with ESPN on this one. Clemens is the greatest living pitcher, especially now that Warren Spahn has passed on.

[Guest Redhawk]

There is a misconception that Dominique Wilkins was just a scorer, which is why I think he got left off the NBA's Top 50 list and why he didn't make the Hall of Fame this year. But Dominique averaged 6.7 rebounds per game as a small forward, and 2.5 assists, which is decent for a frontcourt player. And while his teams were never all that great, Dominique's playoff numbers are pretty much identical to his regular season numbers, so it's not like he was a crunch-time liability.

[Red Baron 0]

If Brett Hull's 1999 Stanley Cup goal got disallowed and Buffalo won the game, they would have won the Stanley Cup.

 

Fact: Buffalo would tie the series up at three games a piece and would have to play game 7 in Dallas.

Like to add to this

 

Misconception: Brett Hull GWG against the Sabres changed the no foot in the crease rule.

 

Fact: The NHL and NHLPA allready to agree to change the ruling next season before the Stanley Cup finals started. Hull's goal was just the icing on the cake.

 

 

Misconception: Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens never met in the playoofs since 67.

 

Fact: Only once did these two teams meet. Montreal defeated Toronto in four games in 77.

 

Misconception: Montreal has 23 Stanley Cups

 

Fact: Montreal has 24. They one the cup in 1916, one year before the NHL existed.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

Going back to the front page with the Donnie Moore game (Game 5 86 ALCS) there is a misconception that the homer led directly to Moore's suicide.

 

While it played a part in his depression he was quite financially troubled and had a slew of personal demons that he was battling