 Archive for the 'Ignorance' CategoryMore on Shirley: Paul Shirley’s pseudo-intellectual Haiti rant seemed mad, discordant from the affable basketball flameout who wrote a book. Perhaps, it wasn’t. Ethan Strauss from Salon dove into Shirley’s back catalogue. The Iowa St. star isn’t a fan of black teammates, aid to Sudanese refugees or Martin Luther King Day. (Salon) (12) Jan 27 Paul Shirley’s Modest Proposal for Haiti Gets Him Fired From ESPNESPN, Ignorance, Media Gossip/Musings, NBA 341 Comments »
Jan 20 All-American Basketball Alliance Plans All-White Professional Basketball LeagueIgnorance, Race 175 Comments »
Oct 26
There’s a common element to this type of ungrounded, conventional wisdom. It’s stupid. Dear John Lowe: RBI are a product of runners on base. The Tigers’ No. 3 and No.5 hitters (and Miguel Cabrera) had relatively low RBI totals because Curtis Granderson (.327 OBP) and Placido Polanco (.331 OBP) were never on base. “Ninth-inning closer,” as opposed to that squirrelly third-inning one, is not “the most important position on any team.” Six Tigers pitchers pitched more innings than Fernando Rodney, five of them were better. You covered a team with Todd “o-matic” Jones closing that went to the World Series. This is neither VORP nor mystical spreadsheet insanity. It is common sense. (Freep.com) (12) Aug 19 Honus Wagner Has “No Clear Numerical Edge” Over Derek Jeter. What?!Baseball, Ignorance 65 Comments »
Spector says Jeter is merely “one of the best” of all time, because he has “no clear numerical edge” on Honus Wagner. Jeter has no edge on Honus Wagner, because Wagner was, compared to his contemporaries, a much better player. Mar 31 Ramifications of Ignorance: Basketball Coaching EditionCollege Basketball, Ignorance, NBA 18 Comments »
As the NCAA tournament is winding down, now seems like a good time to discuss one of those coaching moves that is widely believed to be “smart,” but on further examination, may actually be really stupid and just another way for coaches to cover their backsides (like punting on fourth-and-short, but that’s another rant for another day). I’m talking about the decision nearly ALL coaches make to sit their best players when they’re in foul trouble. The is particularly popular when players pick up a second foul late in the first half to avoid the dreaded third foul or midway through the second half when they pick up their fourth. Inevitably, the other team goes on a run (that’s what happens when your best player in on your bench) and by the time you get your stud back in, it’s too little, too late.
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Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News asks, “Is Derek Jeter baseball’s best hitting shortstop of all time.” While 
My buddy Dr. Nick and I have a pet peeve that we would like to get off our chest. He’s put together the main points of the argument for your consideration and discussion.