The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[udosuk]

Looked a bit at the MLB... And the actions are still fascinating...

I know you're a loyal Yankees-hater... But you cannot deny that Chien-Ming Wang has been lights out with his sinkers lately... I wonder if he'd become the first Cy Young winner who averages fewer than 1 K/game... (Also, it prompts me to think, are there any jokes about pitchers who pitch sinkers and stinkers?)

And the Astros won a freakish game today... 0-0 in the bottom of 9th, they hit a bases-loaded, 1-out groundout that the Brewers 1st baseman touched the 1st base BEFORE throwing back home... As a result the supposed force-out was not "forced" when the catcher just stepped on the plate, without tagging the scoring runner... I mean, to see these pee-wee level mistakes happening in the Major League is amazing enough...

Elsewhere, the Mets have established themselves as the #1 team in the Big Apple and the Red Sox Sux big time... I think the White Sox will push them out of the playoffs no doubt...

And Dirk had a big game but they lost out to France in the 5678 playoffs anyway... He made a blunder at the last second's play... And Boris Diaw blew 2 crutch FTs again... NBA stars should be ashamed of themselves...

In the US Open, Hingis survived a major scare against the Chinese girl, whom I like also... I'm starting to doubt if it's a wise move for her to come back, if she couldn't win another Grand Slam... It's a bit like the Jordan-Wizards situation...

[Hud]

I'm glad you dusted off another MLB post. I try to follow it, but not too seriously. Wang has pitched very well for the Hated Yankees. I didn't realize he was another sinker ball pitcher. I can't think of any "sinker/stinker" jokes but I'll keep looking. When Brandon Webb was in his hot streak, he had his sinker working to perfection. I believe when a sinker baller strikes someone out, it's just a bonus. The other day when Webb pitched, he had 15 groundouts, 2 flyouts, and 3 Ks when he left the game (these are estimates based on poor recall). The Bosox really have given up and it's amazing they're 8 games out already. The D-backs are pretty dismal, even while playing in an easy division. My sentimental favorite is the Detroit Tigers, but they are also starting to wilt. I'm still PO'd at the Mets for beating my then beloved Orioles back in 69(?). I guess I hold grudges lol.

Baseball, and later, fastpitch softball, we're my sports of choice when growing up and into my adulthood. It also amazes me when major leaguers make stupid mistakes. Another that drives me up walls, is when a guy hits a short fly ball that falls in between 3 outfielders, and the guy ends up perched on first base. If I were managing him, I'd yank him immediately. Naturally, the owner would fire me for sitting a player making $6 million/US.

I have to pass this story along since it may not have reached worldwide press: Brandon Webb's college friend had just gotten married and with his wife, was on the flight in Kentucky that crashed early in the week. Webb returned to KY for the service. The plane attempted to take off from a 3,000ft runway when they were supposed to be on an adjacent runway 7,000ft long. The sole survivor was the co-pilot who was piloting the plane on takeoff. I'd hate to have his nightmares for the rest of my life.

I don't follow tennis closely, but it looks like power servers dominate nowadays. I just saw some replays of Sharapova's last point and it was unreturnable imo.

[udosuk]

So, I see you're a very consistent and unbiased hater of NY baseball teams...

I think the teams of the best shape right now are Tigers, Yankees, A's, Chisox, Mets, Cards and Dodgers... The remaining berth would be fought for among Reds, Astros & Padres... I wonder if the Giants could give a miracle run to salvage something for the hated Barry Bonds... Also I'm sure you'd hate to see another "Subway Series"... I for one would like to see the Cards win a title for their consistency in the last decade...

Tomorrow we'll see 2 magnificent showdowns of the 4 major basketball powers in the world... I'm getting a little bit excited right now...

[udosuk]

Not surprisingly Hingis crashes out early again... I might have unintentionally put the curse on her when I questioned her comeback... But if she couldn't change her game there is really no point to play on...

The Greeks are sticking it to the Americans right now... It's likely to hinge on Carmelo's performance again... I think you're not watching this game live Hud, right?

Edited:

Hud, I've predicted an Argentina-USA showdown... But didn't thought it'd be like this... Just like 2 years ago people had predicted a Lithuania-USA final... The European teams have completely dominated the American teams this time round... And your worry about the lack of defensive players for the team USA finally realised - so great call!

The Greeks were simply amazing... And what a game between Argentina & Spain... Argentina missed the shot to win while Spain lost Pau Gasol... It's a comprehensively great day for the Greeks!

The last time USA won an international contest (or even reaching a final) was 6 years ago in Sydney... Doesn't feel that long... I wonder if they'd sent that team over here would it have been enough to win (with players like Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Alonzo Mourning, Antonio McDyess, etc)... Also people will start to doubt if it was a wise move to go for youth instead of the greats of Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, Iverson, etc...

[Hud]

Ouch, I taped the game but got up early to go out in the desert and saw that we had lost to the Greeks. Those sneaky rascals beat my Trojans, and now my US team. At least they didn't resort to Trojan Horses to do it today. I taped the game, but won't be able to watch it. Masochism isn't in my repotoire (yet). I do hope we learn from this that defense really has a place in basketball, but reverse jams are fun to watch when we win. Sorry to be so negative, but at least I didn't get shot although I got a nice ding in my Tundra windshield (again).

[udosuk]

One thing these Americans should learn (and also for many other teams) - is that making 50-60% of your FTs is not enough to win a championship... Gone are the days when consistent FT shooters like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Isiah dominating the games... In recent years we have guys like Shaq, Big Ben, Duncan winning championships after championships... So the importance of FT shooting has been greatly ignored... It's not like they're not drawing enough fouls... Just that they're not capitalising them...

Anyway, this summer the Americans avenged all losses in 2004 against Argentina, Italy, Lithuania, Puerto Rico... Just one loss to one team (who had never beaten them, and had no active NBA players) gave them the result of a bronze medal... So 6 points could be all that separated them from the title - in a game where they missed 14 FTs...

Next season Greece will have their NBA representitive in Vassilis Spanoulis ("V-Span"/"Kill Bill", who scored 22 against USA - top scorer for the Greeks), who will play for the Houston Rockets... If the Rockets have better luck this season, I think they're a great contender...

[Hud]

I'm glad you brought up the point about the free throws. There was an article in today's paper that said before the game the Americans were dazzling the crowd with all sorts of dunks while at the other end of the court the boring Greeks were shooting free throws. Missing that many FTs without Shaq and Ben is inexcusable. I'd like to blame that, but the defense did them in for the most part. Last night on our local talk sports radio, they made a big deal about the lack of defenders, and even mentioned Bowen's Name. They also said Detroit's Prince and someone else should have been there for D. I hope we learn before the olympic trials. I hate to see an American team have to play in Venezuela.

[udosuk]

The media are all focusing on how emotional the Spanish fought for Pau Gasol... Not much about how the Greeks shot themselves in the foot with 5/21 3P shooting (V-Span, the soon-to-be Rocket I mentioned, went 0/6 & 1/10 overall)... And the teams combined to shot 12/23 FTs, and made 35 turnovers... IMHO it was just an ugly game with both teams unable to handle the pressure (much more so for the Greeks)...

[Hud]

I liked the intensity of the game and it actually looked like both teams wanted to win it. I especially liked Spain's Defense, but Greece also played hard. I didn't really notice the FT percentages since I tend to fast forward through those. The games were a nice wakeup call for my team, and I hope we learn from them. I didn't catch the US/Argentina game at all. I assume it was on TV, but I missed it (not on purpose lol).

The D-backs blew a 6-1 lead with 2 outs in the eighth inning and none on against the Washington Nats. I guess that's what's know as a team giving up.

[udosuk]

It seems we could rest from the basketball actions for a while...

I've followed the D-backs/Nats series you mentioned... The Nats swept all 3 games with a 2-run 8th inning deficit, and it seemed they won another similar comeback game just before... They said it's some sort of records...

And I don't know what's with D-backs for their tendency to blew winning leads by giving up late innings HRs... Even when BK's not pitching... But at least they won a World Series...

The death of Steve Irwin was a huge news story here (and globally) these couple days... Even a thread was created in this forum... It's strange he had to go in that manner, yet quite fateful...

Also, I bet when 10 years ago if somebody said Agassi was going to retire on a loss to a German bloke named B. Becker, few would have imagined it would be this guy called Benjamin...

[udosuk]

More on Major League Baseball...

Yesterday they played 13 games... 7 of them are shutouts... Which is freakish cause nowadays it's not unusual if there is not a single shutout in 15 games on a day... And there have been no no-nos for more than 2 years now...

Among the winners of the 7 shutouts are Hud's D-backs... And the losers include his hated Yankees (who got 9 hits but 0 run), the Nationals (who just swept the D-backs in a series and on a 5-game winning streak), the ChiSox (defending champ), the Giants (with another guy Hud doesn't like - Barry Bonds), the Dodgers (a strong contender for the title) and 2 teams from Florida... Like I said it's a freakish day alright...

[Hud]

I heard a sports report yesterday where a commentator said Becker shouldn't have made so many drop shots against Agassi. I suppose Becker was in a no-win situation. In Becker's next game, the fans supposedly chanted "beat him for Andre".

That was unusual having 7 shutouts in one day. Nowadays, shutouts are pretty rare. Complete game shutouts are very rare, but there were 2 of them (I think) yesterday. It was ironic that the D-backs beat Dontrel Willis whom they are supposedly trying to pry from the Marlins. I'd like to see the Marlins go into the playoffs since they are doing it with young guys (for the most part), and few so called superstars. I wish the D-backs would get totally committed to a youth movement. I'm sure the fans would holler "cheap cheap" though.

Senator John McCain who could possibly (I don't think so though) become president in 08, is very outspoken about the Barry Bonds/Hank Aaron homerun record chase. If Bonds breaks the record, I don't know how history will judge the feat. Bonds is obviously very talented, but I wish he and so many others, hadn't gotten into performance enhancing drugs.

Speaking of drugs, I haven't heard anything about Landis losing his Tour De France belt. If he cheated, I don't think he he should have it.

[udosuk]

I heard a sports report yesterday where a commentator said Becker shouldn't have made so many drop shots against Agassi. I suppose Becker was in a no-win situation. In Becker's next game, the fans supposedly chanted "beat him for Andre".

That's ridiculous... Why should one be supposed to play in a way to let the opponent play comfortably? Even if Andre is injured, and in his last tournament, he shouldn't have that priviledge... I bet the US media wouldn't say so if it was Boris Becker playing his last game against a young American...

I'd like to see the Marlins go into the playoffs since they are doing it with young guys (for the most part), and few so called superstars.

I would like to see the Marlins win another title too... Every time they won a world series their management would dismantle the team... If according to the cycle they'll win next time in 2009... But I enjoyed to see they won their 2 titles in 1997 & 2003 as heavy underdogs...

Senator John McCain who could possibly (I don't think so though) become president in 08, is very outspoken about the Barry Bonds/Hank Aaron homerun record chase. If Bonds breaks the record, I don't know how history will judge the feat. Bonds is obviously very talented, but I wish he and so many others, hadn't gotten into performance enhancing drugs.

I thought Hillary Clinton or Arnold Schwarzenegger would be your next president...

Anyway, there is already Pete Rose... Why not add a Barry Bonds to the equation? I think he'd likely beat Hank's record next season (if he plays)...

Speaking of drugs, I haven't heard anything about Landis losing his Tour De France belt. If he cheated, I don't think he he should have it.

The case is still in court according to this page, but many believe he'd be disqualified and banned eventually...

I know Lance Armstrong has a god-like status in your country... But you'd be surprised (or not) to know that many international media regard him as another drug cheat...

[Hud]

Floyd Landis was raised in a conservative family in a Mennonite community in the unincorporated village of Farmersville in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Unlike the more familiar Old Order Amish, conservative Mennonites do employ electricity and some modern technology, such as automobiles, but avoid television, movies, and many other elements of "modern" culture. Landis thus grew up somewhat isolated from modern American culture; however he did own a bicycle.

When we lived in Rochester, NY, we drove to Baltimore, MD and back at least 5 times a year. I remember seeing horse drawn buggies driving down the road at night with a tiny little red light attached to the back. They stayed to the side of the roads and I never had a problem with them.

I'm also skeptical about Armstrong's amazing record in the TDF. In this country his critics are portrayed as anti US Frenchmen. That whole sport is probably rife with cheating, but I really don't know that much about it. Maybe Cheryl Crowe didn't like whatever happened to him physically. Sorry to digress.

Nice to see Shawn Green have a great day for the Mets. (2 rbis and a homer) He was a real pro when with the D-backs although he was reputed to be somewhat aloof in the clubhouse. I really can't go by some of my local sports talk guys though.

I forgot to add my $.02 about the possible presidential candidates in 2 years here. At present, the 2 front runners are Hillary Clinton, and John McCain. Hillary upsets many people for various reasons, and may not be the ideal candidate for the Democratics. John McCain used to be known for his straight talking, but he tiptoes around criticizing the current president. I'm sure if he spoke what he felt, he would lose the support of the Republican party. If the Democrats run anyone who remotely resembles a middle of the road candidate, he/she will be the next pres. I'm pretty sure that Arnold Sw would need some kind of constitutional change to become pres. The law requiring the pres to be native born is still in effect. If I were the Demos, I'd run Al Gore again. He was barely beaten (?) by Bush II 6 years ago. John Kerry has too many skeletons in his closet. Sorry to violate the politics part of our agreement, but nobody reads our posts anyway lol.

[Hud]

OK, udosuk, you did it again with your karma stuff. You mention that there had been no "no-no's" in 2 years, and my D-backs get hit with a no hitter last night. At least I didn't see if happen.

Charles Barkley got elected to the basketball hall of fame. It's funny that as talented as he was, he could never learn to hit a golf ball.