Author Archive
San Francisco Giants’ Team of the Decade: The Outfielders
Posted: 26th December 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in MLB
The Aughts began with the San Francisco Giants on top of Major League Baseball, almost literally. They finished with the best record in baseball in 2000, came six agonizing outs away from the World Series in 2002, and made it back to the postseason in 2003.
They were strong contenders in 2001, 2004, and 2005 (although I'm being liberal with "strong" on that last one).
Then came the Darkness. Or maybe ...
John Lackey Dons a Boston Red Sox Uniform: As One Story Ends, Another Begins
Posted: 19th December 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in MLB
If you were listening very closely, you would've heard a determined cheer from a small group of San Francisco Giant fans when John Lackey signed with the Boston Red Sox.
When the 31-year-old right-hander decided to take the (most) money and run to the East Coast, the last hanging chad from that brutal 2002 World Series was clipped and the October cluster-fornication could be forgotten, once and for all.
For those who've ...
Pittsburgh Steelers’ Troy Polamalu Won’t Win, but He Really Is the NFL’s MVP
Posted: 7th December 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in NFL
Way back in September, when my fantasy league held its draft, I struck gold with the first overall pick. One of the many benefits of picking first is you can square away all your crucial positions and then go for favorites earlier/more easily than anyone else. I took full advantage and probably reached a little to yank the Pittsburgh Steeler defense off the board for reasons too convoluted to describe ...
NFL Cornerbacks Threatening to Throw a Wet Blanket on Age of the Wide Receiver
Posted: 3rd December 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in NFL
At some point in the not-so-distant pastùprobably around the time Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson were at their shucking-and-jiving peakùthe National Football League gave itself over to the Age of the Wide Receiver.
Rule changes made it infinitely more difficult to adequately and consistently cover a lightning fast, physical beast without committing some manner of infraction.
The game soon adapted.
Whether or not the garrulous talents on the peripheries of most ...
Albert Pujols and MLB Must Eventually Face the Barry Bonds Problem
Posted: 28th November 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in MLB
Whenever performance-enhancing drugs rear their head, you often see the phrase "innocent until proven guilty" thrown around the discussion. It's a fine idea and one that deserves respect, but there's a significant snag to borrowing legal phrases for generic debate—it sounds very authoritative and conclusive, but the reality is much messier.
There are very few universals in law. Like many legal rules, the aforementioned presumption of innocence is defined by its ...
Fantasy Becoming Reality: Peyton Manning’s Legend Enhanced By Focus On Numbers
Posted: 22nd November 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in NFL
Whenever you pump the brakes on the adoration showered upon a great player, the torch-wielding mob comes a-runnin'. Instead of axes and pitchforks, they're armed with t-shirts featuring said player's smiling mug and zealous advocacy for his or her prestige.
Who can really blame them?
I've been known to dust off the metaphoric shovel and grab a Tim Lincecum jersey when anyone tries to diminish the Freak's ironic stature in Major League ...
Reign Him In: LeBron James’ Ego Threatening to Ruin a Wonderful Thing
Posted: 17th November 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in NBA
Uh-oh.
Like many around the globe, I've been fascinated by the premature legend of LeBron James and even more stunned by his ongoing realization of it. The kid was anointed the Next Big Thing when he was, what, a sophomore in high school?
Possibly a junior?
That means King James was a prince at the age of 14 or 15 and was bequeathed the keys to the throne room about the same ...
MLB Regular Season Awards: Chrome Bats and Pyrite Gloves Gotta Go
Posted: 14th November 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in MLB
For those distracted by football and basketball, Major League Baseball is in the process of recognizing its outstanding players from the 2009 season. The biggies are still in the pipe, but those generally go to the right individual. At the very least, the final voting shows an appropriate depth of consideration and analysis even if the you don't agree with it.
Ultimately, a good faith effort is all anyone can reasonably ...
Vampires, Ventriloquists, and NL Gold Gloves: What the %$@! Is Going On?
Posted: 12th November 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in MLB
There are lots of worldly occurrences that make absolutely no sense to me. For instance, popular American culture is apparently obsessed with vampires at the moment.
Vampires? Really? Who signed off on this?
My faith in a benevolent Higher Power has me convinced there's a bunch of television executives somewhere laughing themselves silly at the gag. The phenomenon has to be a perverse bet between suits a la the Duke Brothers ...
Oakland Raider Coach Tom Cable Is Innocent Because We Don’t Know If He’s Guilty
Posted: 10th November 2009 by Andrew Nuschler in NFL
Last Wednesday, the president of the National Organization for Women, Terry O'Neill, emailed the USA Today and announced that Oakland Raider Head Coach Tom Cable should be suspended . For those unfamiliar with the story, Cable stands accused of physically abusing at least two former partners. Somehow, a third seems to have crept into O'Neill's mix although I haven't heard any specifics as to that alleged victim.
There are several disturbing ...