The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[udosuk]

Well, you win some and lose some...

Finally we got a world basketball championship gold under our belt, but our tennis blokes have been comprehensively demolished by the Argentinians... With Diego Maradona cheering courtside, the result shouldn't be too surprising...

I suppose Hud is dipping himself into the Ryder Cup actions... Where USA is in big trouble... Similar situation in their Davis Cup semi against the Russians...

It looks like a horrible sporting weekend to the Americans against Europeans... But it's still early days... Miracles comebacks could still happen...

PS: Miracles didn't happen... The Davis Cup final as predicted would be Argentina-Russia... But at least the Americans put up a much tougher fight than us... That Tursunov-Roddick (17-15 in the 5th) match was a classic... And sorry to see the Americans embarrassed by the Europeans in the Ryder Cup... I know Hud would be more disappointed in his man Phil Mickelson's performance...

[Hud]

Not only have my US teams been getting drubbed lately, but all my Arizona teams suck as well. The D-backs are simply playing out the string, but I wish Webb the best. Sometimes the Cy Young selection is hard to figure. I don't see any of the Davis Cup matches, and there's little coverage in my news. I'll have to Wiki it to see how it's formatted.

Phil Mickelson sleepwalked through his Ryder Matches. I do enjoy watching the Ryder Cup, but it's obvious that the US no longer dominates golf (or any other sport I know of). I liked the outpouring of love everyone gave to Darren Clarke whose wife, Heather, died of cancer recently.

I hope I don't jinx your Sydney Swans by rooting for them by remote control. Somehow, I must break this losing streak. I predicted that the Twins would overtake the Tigers in baseball, but the Tigers don't seem to want to cooperate. I was hoping Tracy would jump in to defend the honor of his homestate Tigers, but no dice (yet).

[udosuk]

The D-backs won comprehensively today against the Giants, and eliminated their playoff hopes, so it's some achievement...

I think the Tigers would hold on against the Twins... The loser would face the Yankees in the first round and I'm sure both teams are gonna fight to avoid that... But I'm seeing many teams choking down the stretch right now... The A's, the Cards are both on a long losing streak... The Dodgers are playing catchup to the Pads & the Phils (after being in a solid position last month)... The Chisox are already out (which means a new champ this year)... The Mets and the Yanks are losing regularly the past weeks...

All these could imply a very interesting playoff this year...

After Garland got whacked for 12 runs today, I think the AL Cy Young is a 2-horse race between Santana & Wang now... Their last start in the next 2 days could well decide the outcome... However, unless Santana gets blown off by 10+ runs tomorrow and Wang pitches a no-no I think Santana will win it...

As for Webb vs Carpenter for the NL Cy Young, the advantage for Webb is he has 2 more starts while Carpenter only 1 (unless the Cards fail to close out the Astros)... So the money's still on Webb (unless he blew it twice, touchwood speaking )...

PS: Webb is unlucky for not getting the win, but the bad loss from Carpenter should have nailed it for Webb... I think the Cards is very shaky now and Carpenter probably have to pitch the last regular season game... Suddenly the Dodgers are winning and the Phillies are struggling, and the Reds still have an outside chance...

AL:
Twins/Tigers @ Yankees
A's @ Tigers/Twins

NL:
Dodgers/Padres/Cards/Astros/Reds @ Mets
Cards/Astros/Reds/Phillies @ Padres/Dodgers

[Hud]

More Cy Young talk: There was talk that the D-back Manager, Jim Melvin pulled Webb to help him in his Cy Young Quest. It now appears that Webb will make one last start, and I'm hopeful that he does. I think it would be chicken to not have the last start. If the Cardinals don't clinch soon, Carpenter will have to pitch again. It looks like Santana is a lock to win it in the AL.

The Tigers and Twins seem to be in lockstep in the quest to avoid the Hated Yankees. I still think the Twins will win that battle, but who knows?

Gotta digress for a minute. I'm reading Against All Enemies by Richard Clarke right now. My daughter gave it to me for x-mas a couple years ago, and I'm finally getting around to reading it. His account of history during the Clinton Years differs widely from the account from the Bush Camp. I'm sure there will be a character assination program under way asap to discredit Clarke. This would all be entertaining if it weren't happening in my country. I suppose the truth is somewhere between what the two sides say. I lean more toward Clarke's account.

Barbara Walters had a special on last night featuring Steve Irwin's Wife, Terri (sorry about any misspellings?). I haven't watched it yet and maybe won't. I think I know all I need to know about that sitiuation.

[udosuk]

Well, the Twins have caught up with the Tigers and the Astros are about to overtake the Cards. From the Yankees prospective they'd probably prefer to face the Tigers than the Twins, but they'd probably have to beat both of them to advance to the World Series. Today they got 1-hit by the O's, which showed even their murderer's row lineup is vulnerable... For some reason their batting is at their best whenever Wang is pitching... So that sums up the reason why Santana is winning Cy Young...

Carpenter will most definitely start 1 more game... Which will hurt their chances against Padres/Mets even if they get through... But the Astros have a much better shape now and many would fancy the Rocket Clemens to have one more shot at the title...

The American politics always throws me off... But these days many are speculating about the November mid-term election now... I'm sure you have some opinions about that...

For some reason I've missed most of the Irwin memorial programs... I hope it doesn't make me too "un-Australian"... But the big news of these weekend is the footy grand finals, where our Sydney Swans are hunting for title #2... Though they're rated as underdogs, I'm pondering whether to place some (actual) bets on them...

[Hud]

It looks like neither the Twins nor the Tigers want to win the AL Central Div. The Yankees might not be as tough as advertised since good pitching usually beats good hitting. Randy Johnson has a herniated disc and will miss some games. At his age, he might be washed up.

Webb pitches today for the D-backs but now there's some speculation that Trevor Hoffman is getting serious Cy Young consideration. Relievers have won it before, but there's some discssion about that.

I've been reading up a bit about Australian Football, and it seems like an interesting game. Do the guys have much trouble bouncing the ball every 15 metres? I suppose you can kick or bat the ball at the goal at any time? If you get pushed from the rear, what's the penalty? I suppose maybe a free kick? I wish they would televise one game locally so I could see how it all works,

US Politics is pretty dirty business and the 2 major parties are moving more and more away from midstream. I predict that there will be a significant backlash and the Democrats will take over the House of Representatives. I also believe that the Iraq war would end quickly if there was a draft and more people would have to suffer. Right now, some guys/gals are being deployed for the second and third time over there. I'm not meaning for this to get overly political, but just getting it off my chest

[udosuk]

It looks like neither the Twins nor the Tigers want to win the AL Central Div. The Yankees might not be as tough as advertised since good pitching usually beats good hitting. Randy Johnson has a herniated disc and will miss some games. At his age, he might be washed up.

Another view could be if they're ambitious to win the whole thing then it might be better to face the Yankees in a 5-game series than a 7-game one... BTW the Big Unit claims he could pitch game 3 of the 1st round if his back allows him... Judging from his performance this season (17 wins) I don't think he's that washed up...

Webb pitches today for the D-backs but now there's some speculation that Trevor Hoffman is getting serious Cy Young consideration. Relievers have won it before, but there's some discssion about that.

That's interesting, I know Mariano Rivera won it before but I don't think Hoffman has pitched that well to win Cy Young. I think closers have to get at least 60+/95% saves and an ERA close to 1 to get considered... But then again this year no NL starters have impressive stats neither... Webb could make himself look better if he got the outright wins lead tomorrow (hope I didn't jinx him )... It could be Webb vs Hoffman in the 9th inning tomorrow And Webb could knock the Padres from the NL West title and make them fly to NY to face the Mets... For some reason I like the Dodgers more following their miracle wins lately, especially the 4 straight HRs in the 9th, where Hoffman gave up half of those...

I've been reading up a bit about Australian Football, and it seems like an interesting game. Do the guys have much trouble bouncing the ball every 15 metres? I suppose you can kick or bat the ball at the goal at any time? If you get pushed from the rear, what's the penalty? I suppose maybe a free kick? I wish they would televise one game locally so I could see how it all works...

Most players have the sense to kick/handpass (i.e. punch) the ball to teammates before running for too long... AFAIK the 15 metre rule is not executed too strictly so some might get away for "carrying" the ball 20 metres or so... But if they got tackled/grabbed by an opposing player then it could be the other teams freekick, so it's generally not wise to run with the ball for too long... And "bouncing" the ball is a highly tricky skill (given the oval shape of the ball), and it's not uncommon to see players get embarassed by losing the ball that way.

To get the full points (6) players have to kick it at the goal. Using hands or other body parts would only be worth 1 point, which is not desirable...

A push in the back is generally considered a foul (though not as serious as a high-tackle/neck-grab) and a free kick will be awarded... Though the umpiring is often very subjective (like any other footy sport) and some teams receive better preferential treatment than others... My team (Sydney Swans) has been victim of non-preferential treatment for years (because of the NSW-Victoria rivalry and the Aussie Rules being mainly a Victorian Sport)... But we have long stopped whinning and stayed focused at the game... And produced marvelous performances in recent years...

I wish you'd get the chance to view some games one day too...

Sorry about initiating some of the political talks... Not too interested to delve into it right now to be frank...

But all eyes will be on the MLB regular season final day today. Only Cards & Astros fighting for the last playoff spot now. To win it the Astros must have 4 games going their way... So their chances is about 1/16, i.e. a miracle...

Edit: The Astros has just been eliminated... They have themselves to blame because the Cards are losing too and it's mainly the Braves who knock them out (avenging the 16-inning cracker last year in the 1st round)...

The Twins will surely beat the ChiSox... The Tigers are fighting in another marathon with the lowly Royals, and they're sending Kenny Rogers to jeopardise his arm for games 1 or 2 in the 1st round... Which shows they're clearly fighting to avoid the Yankees... Case closed...

[Hud]

Well the Twins squeeked by the Tigers, and Brandon Webb succumbed to the udosuk jinx. At least Trevor Hoffman had a bad outing and was bailed out by a terrible call to end the game by the umpiring crew. The D-backs had a runner on first with 2 outs. Calipso (?) hit a grounder to the right side and the second baseman threw late and wide to first. For some inexplicable reason, the runner, Young, dogged it going to second and actually watched the play as it unfolded. The first baseman threw to second and the shortstop who covered tried to tag the runner and didn't realize there was a force play there. The runner beat the tag and the closest ump called him safe. The homeplate umpire who is in charge of the crew overrulled him, and called him out. Game over; no further appeals. The thing that is really bad is that the Padres' win meant they won the NL West while the Dodgers had to settle for the wild card. Quite a disappointing end to a disappointing season for this D-back Fan.

About RJ, I meant if he needs major back surgery, I don't think Father Time will let him play again. We'll see.

[udosuk]

I'm sorry about jinxing Webb's final outing... It was so destructive that he lost both leads in win-loss record & ERA, and possibly the Cy Young... But the Padres were a strong team fighting for the division title so it's not too surprising... As for the final play from what I read Young could have really been forced out before he avoided the tag, but even if he'd been safe at 2nd the D-backs would still have needed another single to tie the game...

Hoffman got another save (underservedly), and I really don't know whether him or Webb/Carpenter/Oswalt/Zambrano should win it... And also Aaron Harang of the Reds, who had the least run support among the six 16-win pitchers... Then there's also John Smoltz, who at his age is remarkable to be among those six... In short, it's really a toss this year...

Every thing went right for the Twins on this last day... Mauer won the batting title convincingly, and the lowly Royals completed a sweep at Detroit's home ground to help them win the division... And Morneau is a hot candidate for the AL MVP... Let's see if they can ride this luck through the playoffs...

I'm actually a little disappointed to see the Dodgers & Tigers got squeezed out to face the NY teams (and the missed prospect of a Santana vs Wang matchup in the 1st round), but don't count them and the A's and Card's out too soon... Unexpected things have frequently been occuring in sport in the last few months...

[udosuk]

Having just said what I said the last time, the A's and the Cards pulled off upsets... Frank Thomas was an inspiring story... And your hated-Yanks got through with some impressive hitting from Jeter (5/5, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 3 runs). Although Wang won and Santana lost, it won't change the Cy Young result I'm afraid...

[Hud]

I caught a little of the Yankee Game, but some of my regular shows came on and Wang looked in control of things. They mentioned that he was understandably nervous, but pitched out of several jams. I believe they also mentioned that he was from Taiwan which I didn't know. I wonder if he ever played in "Little League"? I suppose I'd better go to Wiki to see. RJ is slated to pitch game 3 in Mo-Town. It'll be interesting to see how he does. Aside from the Yanks and Tigers, I'm not very interested in the other games, but may waver on that. Maybe the A's are the dark horse this year having beat the tough Santana. Frank Thomas is a good story as you mentioned. I hadn't heard much about him for awhile.

The Suns are in Italy for their training this year. D'Antoni is like a conquering hero there. Amare is starting to become a distraction, and D'Antoni is downplaying his importance to the team. Maybe that's a psychological ploy?

[udosuk]

Beside Yankees-Tigers, Mets-Dodgers must be another great matchup... They say the NL champ will likely come out of that series... Pity 2 of the big guns for the Mets (Pedro/El Duque) are injured which makes their pitching quite vulnerable now... Dodgers being the miracle comeback team lately and Mets with all the fancy postseason stories (I still remember the unforgettable 1986 playoffs, which was the first time I was drawn to this game) would make it another classic... Pity it has to be a 5-game one...

Wang indeed comes from Taiwan... He's as big to the Taiwanese as Yao to the mainland Chinese... I think you could guess why I have been showing a special interest in both of them ... He's played in the minors for a few years but I'm sure he got the most improvement this season under the Yankees pitching coaches...

After last year's championship the ChiSox paid out Frank Thomas' contract for $2.5M thinking he's no use to them, and then it seems no teams would take him until the A's paid $500K for him. Think how the ChiSox management must be thinking now...

I don't know if the Suns would actually perform better without Amare... But it's not unlikely teams without big guys actually put in more effort... Perhaps a team with 5 determined small guys are better than 4 small guys relying on 1 big guy to do all the hard work...

[Hud]

I was just listening to a sports talk show and they were talking about the Mets pitching woes. I have a feeling that they'll still beat the Dodgers but I don't base that on anything except a hunch. The A's/Twins are on now, but the TV has soaps on .

I suspected there was a reason for your knowledge and interest in things Oriental. Now I have to figure out if you moved from a smaller island to a very large one. I worked with a guy from Taiwan 20 years ago, and I mentioned Quemoy and Matsu Islands and he couldn't believe I'd heard of them. He said in Taiwan, Quemoy is called "Bird Island" or something like that.

Oprah Winfrey has been running a special about a girlfriend and her traveling across America and visiting some cities along the way. While in Wichita, Kansas, she interviewed a high school basketball team, and they have a center who is 7 foot, 9 inches (sorry for the US measurement, but I think that's about Yao's height). Anyway, he's from China too and I'll backtrack the tape to see his name and post it.

The NBA is experimenting with a more sticky basketball this season. Steve Nash and Shaq have come down hard against it. I wonder just how sticky it feels? I think they should use a more sticky ball in American Football though.

[Hud]

OK, I ran through the recording again, and the player's name is:
sun Ming Ming. I don't know why they didn't capitalize his first name? The high school he attends is in Dodge City, Kansas.

[udosuk]

According to this, Sun Ming Ming had a medical condition that caused him to grow to the gigantic size, which also made him slow and having low stamina... Seems he already had a surgery but I doubt if he could ever make it to the NBA...

In case you're still wondering, I'm not from a small island, nor a big land, but somewhere in between...

Yesterday's 2 games produced a lot of bizzare plays, including a huge outfield mistake from a player regarded as "the best outfielder in the last 5 years", and 2 Dodgers runners being tagged out at home, in one play... Today the Dodgers are in big trouble again, with Kuo, another Taiwanese pitcher, unable to help them out... I don't know why their manager brought in their best starter to relief in game 1, which turned out to be a very poor decision...

The A's and Cards are having surprising 2-0 leads against more fancied opposition, which is nice I think... And the Tigers stole one from the Yanks, fufilling your claim that "good pitching always beats good hitting"... So great call! If the Tigers end up advancing, it would make losing the division title to the Twins a genius stroke of tanking!