Another thing that makes me grateful for Sports On Earth is that it's brought the estimable (and as nice a guy as you'll meet) Leigh Montville back to what he does best: writing columns.
The start to today's Montville effort:
FOXBOROUGH, Ma. -- The voice is answering-machine perfect. There is no modulation, no emphasis on any particular syllable. The words sound as though they have been sand-blasted to the same size, passed through a filter at the end of some long plastic tunnel, delivered now on a conveyor belt of bland conversation. All emotion has been removed. If there were a color attached to these words the color would be gray. No doubt about that.
Full column: http://www.sportsone...ticle/40918480/
To think Shaughnessy is his successor. Like replacing Mo Vaughn's roster spot with Jose Offerman.
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1 votes
Sports On Earth
Started by
Dehere
, Sep 05 2012 05:10 PM
86 replies to this topic
#56
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Posted 16 January 2013 - 07:59 AM
I am blown away that they still don't have a "print" button on SoE. Don't these people realize that 90%* of all sports reading is done in the can at the office?
*That's using B-Ref's metric, not FanGraphs'
Printing things out is soooo 2009. As has been pointed out, most
#57
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Posted 16 January 2013 - 09:12 AM
I am blown away that they still don't have a "print" button on SoE. Don't these people realize that 90%* of all sports reading is done in the can at the office?
*That's using B-Ref's metric, not FanGraphs'
Just use instapaper for your bathroom reading
#58
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Posted 17 January 2013 - 01:38 PM
Good article from Mike Tanier yesterday on the Raven's deep-ball passing attack: http://www.sportsone...rticle/40971108
Speaking as someone who has only a basic understanding of defensive coverage schemes, I thought he did an excellent job explaining the different defensive gameplans by the Broncos and Patriots against the Ravens long-ball passing offense this year (and also helps to explain how Flacco was able to make what seemed at the time to be an unlimited number of short-range completions in the Week 3 game.
Speaking as someone who has only a basic understanding of defensive coverage schemes, I thought he did an excellent job explaining the different defensive gameplans by the Broncos and Patriots against the Ravens long-ball passing offense this year (and also helps to explain how Flacco was able to make what seemed at the time to be an unlimited number of short-range completions in the Week 3 game.
#59
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Posted 18 January 2013 - 03:23 PM
SoE recently published two outstanding Patriots-related articles.
"When Peyton Met Tom," from October. It's a story on the first Patriots-Colts game of the Brady era...
"A Bit of Bledsoe," from Wednesday. It's an insightful piece on Bledsoe's role on -- and departure from -- the 2001 Patriots, as well as how he can "feel Alex Smith's pain:"
The Powell piece is particularly well-done. It's been years since I've read Michael Holley's Patriot Reign, and I'd forgotten most most of these details. The quote I excerpted is more reflective than the real driving force of the piece (which is Bledsoe's current quotes), but I chose that excerpt because that's one of the better moments of this incredible era in New England sports.. right up there, in my opinion, with any of Vinatieri's field goals, Brady's drives, or even The Walk or The Steal. Enjoy!
"When Peyton Met Tom," from October. It's a story on the first Patriots-Colts game of the Brady era...
Manning was already burdened with another label, one he carried with him from college. He was the guy who “could not win the big game,” who could never beat Florida, who had already played poorly in two playoff losses in his young NFL career. The stereotype of the statistical giant with feet of clay was as much a cliché as Brady’s fiery-eyed, any-means-necessary unknown. They had always been football’s yin and yang, and always will be, and facts will never be allowed to get in the way of the enduring story.
But for a few years, Manning and Brady played their roles in the morality play perfectly, Brady nurturing the mythos of the underdog, Manning powerless against his greatest rival, Brady becoming Starr to Manning’s 1960s Unitas, Manning finally answering back with his own victories and championships. It’s a story that played across the decade and continues on Sunday, the fiery nobody now a crowned prince, the clay-footed hero now a battered legend trying to build a new legacy.
And it all started in a forgettable game on a forgettable afternoon in September of 2001.
"A Bit of Bledsoe," from Wednesday. It's an insightful piece on Bledsoe's role on -- and departure from -- the 2001 Patriots, as well as how he can "feel Alex Smith's pain:"
[Bledsoe] was afforded one more chance at redemption in New England, when Brady twisted an ankle in the AFC title game against the Steelers. Bledsoe rallied the Patriots, threw for 102 yards and the winning TD, slightly opening the door for a debate that never came. Belichick stuck with the plan and the rest was an epic for the Patriots and a quarterback now married to a supermodel and worth millions.
But that game against the Steelers, it rejuvenated Bledsoe, breathed life into him, made him understand he was simply a victim of a freaky and yes, harsh fate. He left the field in tears.
“That moment stands out for me and makes that Super Bowl ring more satisfying,” Bledsoe said. “At least I know I was on the field at a pivotal time of the season. When I had that chance to come back and play, it was an outlet for all that emotion I kept inside.”
The Powell piece is particularly well-done. It's been years since I've read Michael Holley's Patriot Reign, and I'd forgotten most most of these details. The quote I excerpted is more reflective than the real driving force of the piece (which is Bledsoe's current quotes), but I chose that excerpt because that's one of the better moments of this incredible era in New England sports.. right up there, in my opinion, with any of Vinatieri's field goals, Brady's drives, or even The Walk or The Steal. Enjoy!
#69
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Posted 29 January 2013 - 01:30 PM
I'd noticed he'd been absent the last few days after being pretty much daily for a while.
I can't imagine SOE wasn't capitalized enough by USA Today/MLB to have more rope than this, so it must be Pos just being lured away for a better gig/bigger payday. And it's hard to blame him for wanting to be with NBC, which is being very aggressive with its comcast stations, etc., but I really did think SOE was a terrific platform for him. Easy to find his work, seemed to have a ton of leeway to do whatever he wanted, but still fairly high-profile.
Who goes to the NBC Sports web site? I'm not sure I've ever been there, except for olympics coverage.
#70
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Posted 29 January 2013 - 09:14 PM
Mike Tanier continues to blow me away. For me he's gone beyond being the best football writer out there. Right now he's probably the best working writer covering any one sport regularly. He seems equally comfortable writing about stats and writing like a scout and he does it with a great sense of humor. I always thought his NY Times game previews tried to hard to get the yuks. I couldn't have guessed he could be this good.
Kinda bummed about Pos because it suggests to me that SOE is in trouble and it would be a shame to see it go.
Kinda bummed about Pos because it suggests to me that SOE is in trouble and it would be a shame to see it go.
#72
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Posted 11 February 2013 - 04:33 PM
I'll be honest, I've not previously noticed whether Chuck Culpepper has turned in quality stuff or not, but his latest piece about the Westminster Dog Show was just plain boring. (http://www.sportsone...ticle/41525498/)
He cites "Best In show" being "understated" then proceeds to list his top 5 crazy stories he overheard, none of which are crazy to hear form a dog owner/lover, nor do any touch the story lines parodied in Best In Show.
To recap the crazy stories:
#5 - A competitor is upset when one of her primping methods is revealed - I'm pretty sure most every competition, from dog shows to chili cook offs to the Super Bowl involves people that think they have a secret advantage.
#4 - A hairless Chinese crested gets baths and skin treatments - if they don't have fur and you want to show them, you kind of need to take care of their skin.
#3 - A Komondorok, again that is intended for show, gets bathed and groomed once a week; and it takes a while - long haired dogs take maintenance; for showing, it takes longer. And that much fur takes a long time to dry dude.
#2 - People throw birthday parties for their dogs. And buy them clothes. ZOMG!!!!
#1 - People feed their dog stuff other than kibble - apparently he doesn't realize that many people, especially with large breeds go with natural diets of meat, fruits and vegetables.
I'm bored and it's a slow day on the board but that was just a stupid article. Best In Show had us with a dog in therapy, a couple that produces albums about their terrier, a redneck who physically resembles his bloodhound, a lesbian couple with a dog named "Rhapsody in White" and a gay couple that preens it's Shih Tzu even more than themselves. But it's super crazy that a guy feeds his dog strawberries. Amiright?
#73
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Posted 14 March 2013 - 07:19 AM
Nice article by Gwen Knapp about Dave Roberts, his spikes and the Hall of Fame: http://www.sportsone...ticle/42728166/
#74
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Posted 14 March 2013 - 11:21 AM
Just came in to post the Roberts story.
"Flash's son, Dee, came up to me a few springs ago, and told me: 'Man I never saw my dad as nervous as he was when you were on first base in that Game 5,'" Roberts said.
The steal does not lack for recognition. It never will. Padres prospects want to hear Roberts relive the moment that unraveled Rivera. When Joe Torre saw him years later, before a Dodgers-Giants game, they winked at each other and Torre wagged his index finger at the bandit who cost him a seventh Yankees pennant. "He said 'I remember you,'"Roberts recalled with a little laugh.
The last paragraph (I will let you guys read it) is why you miss having guys like Dave Roberts on your baseball team.
#76
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Posted 15 March 2013 - 07:19 AM
You're welcome and another nice one from Gwen Knapp: http://www.sportsone...ticle/42769596/
This time it's Rod Beck, addiction and family. Tim Wakefield gets a mention.
#80
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Posted 25 March 2013 - 06:38 PM
Wow, that is a pleasant surprise. Every time this thread gets bumped I expect to read that SOE is closing up shop. Leitch's stuff for SOE has been good, his stuff for NY Mag isn't really the best use of him, and he seems like a pretty good dude. Good news.
#81
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Posted 16 April 2013 - 12:48 PM
I haven't listened to it yet, but Leitch has a podcast with Leigh Montville on the Marathon. I've also appreciated all SOE's columns today.
http://www.sportsone...rience/44910838
#82
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- 12,833 posts
SoSH Member
Posted 17 April 2013 - 10:11 AM
It's crazy; I read that story on Roberts, and I'm STILL terrified he's going to get called out.
You and me both---I would guess I've watched that replay or seen that still about a thousand times by now, and I worry each and every time that Joe West will Knoblauch it.
Of course, then I get to smile when I catch myself and realize that this one time, that is not how the story will ever end
#83
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Posted 18 April 2013 - 06:24 AM
Leigh Montville with another great piece on the Bruins anthem last night:
http://www.sportsone...rticle/45111008
http://www.sportsone...rticle/45111008
#84
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Posted 13 May 2013 - 05:49 PM
SoSH "sorta" makes it into a Sports on Earth article on baseball-reference.com player pages nicknames.
http://www.sportsone...ticle/47136970/
If only for the confluence of weirdness, Lord Peaches remains my favorite (at least since my own sponsorship of Denard "no relation" Span's page lapsed -- it was $10 then, but $275 now, a testament to his success and the site's). Rising prices have cut down a bit on the number of silly sponsorships. But you still stumble on some great and odd ones out there -- all kinds of fans leaving signs and messages to each other, and to players, for all kinds of reasons. Bronson Arroyo, forinstance, does not strike me as an especially Hemingway-esque figure, yet:
(Baseball Reference also claims that Arroyo's nickname is "Saturn Balls." I refuse to believe anybody ever actually calls him that).
#85
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- 10,993 posts
used to disappointment
Posted 20 May 2013 - 05:33 PM
A nice little piece for catching up with Pedro Martinez.
Highlights:
- The team was taking sips of Mama Juana rum before games in the 2004 playoffs, starting with ALCS Game 4 when Ellis Burks tried some and then the team won in epic fashion.
- He is now coaching the Red Sox' young pitching talent, on a consulting basis, and is a big fan of Rubby De La Rosa
- He loves Matt Harvey, Jose Fernandez and Stephen Strasburg as young pitching talent around the league
Not a huge boatload of content there, but any quotes and stories from Pedro brings a smile to my face.
#86
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Posted 31 May 2013 - 08:45 AM
There's an article up today on Stephen Drew. Nothing groundbreaking but worth a quick read.
http://www.sportsone...ticle/49139562/
http://www.sportsone...ticle/49139562/
#87
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Posted 09 June 2013 - 10:51 PM
Not really sports, but I enjoyed this article a lot:
http://miketanier.sp...-water-torture/
Favorite line:
0:01 Several of the “young women” you have been quietly admiring also
obediently exit the pool. So, no, they are not recent college graduates
at all, and yes, you will char-broil in hell for eternity someday.
Edited by LogansDad, 09 June 2013 - 10:52 PM.
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