Sports Updates

Thursday, 17 October 2013

Will Instant Replay Kill The Neighborhood Play?

In the end it didn't matter. The Tigers won handily even with Stephen Drew clearly coming well off the bag on a would-be double play in the second inning. (The throw to first would be late.) But what if this extra out, which cost Detroit at least one run, had meant the game? This question's only hypothetical for a few more weeks. What happens to the "neighborhood play" when managers are given the right to challenge calls?

Usually if it's anywhere close, the umpire will give the out. Drew wasn't nearly as close as even the photo above makes it seem:

As soon as next season, MLB is expected to institute expanded instant replay, relying on a challenge system similar to the NFL's. If that system was in place last night, Jim Leyland almost certainly challenges Austin Jackson being called out at second. And it's most certainly overturned...right?

I hesitate to lump the neighborhood play in with baseball's other "unwritten rules," yet that's what it is. But this one has a completely logical reason for existing: as long as runners are allowed to slide through the bag, even out of the basepath, to break up a double play, the fielder needs to get out of the way as quickly as possibly or he'll get wrecked. The neighborhood play has saved countless injuries over the decades. It's a valuable concession to safety and to convention.

There are three possible ways I see this going.

Managers create a gentlemen's agreement not to challenge neighborhood plays. It's been in baseball forever, it's completely uncontroversial, and every team would be affected. Perhaps everyone shakes hands and says we'll let this one go. This concept works right up until the point it doesn't. Some day, some manager in a crucial spot, perhaps a playoff game, will challenge a nonexistent double play and salvage a rally and a season. He'd be dumb not to. And the central replay office will have to overturn the call—rules are rules. On that day, the uproar will be massive, and distracting.

MLB doesn't allow managers to challenge neighborhood plays. In the NFL, nearly every play is reviewable—except for penalties. There's a logic to it, in that some decisions are necessarily judgment calls, and the officials are the final arbiters. MLB already plans to exclude balls and strikes from replay, so perhaps neighborhood plays could fall under the same rubric.

This idea isn't technically sound; The most basic fundament of the game is that you have to tag the base while holding a ball to force out a runner. It's not a judgment call. But philosophically, it's much more defensible. Baseball is already selective with its rules for baserunners: they can make contract with fielders only at home plate or when trying to score, but not otherwise, and they can run through the bag at first base but nowhere else. We've already accepted that different situations call for different implementations of the rules, so allowing the neighborhood play wouldn't be an anomaly.

Neighborhood plays can be challenged, and all hell breaks loose. This isn't something that happens once in a blue moon. Neighborhood plays are called outs all the time. Once it becomes clear that managers are challenging them, fielders will have to re-learn a large part of turning a double play. Given that they've been doing it since little league, it will take years for the new way to become ingrained.

In the meantime, chaos. Challenges—and the accompanying delays—every night. (Remember, if a challenge is successful, a manager receives another one. If the fielder leaves the bag even a split second too early, there's literally no downside to challenging it.) Managers will counter-challenge that the runner was out of the baseline. There will be more injuries, and more throwing errors, as fielders are forced to stay in harm's way to complete the DP. The takeout slide will become a weapon, and the retaliatory beanball will be more common.

And then, perhaps in the late innings of a deciding playoff game, a shortstop's foot will be two inches away from the bag when he receives the ball, and those two inches are enough to decide the outcome of a season. The letter of the law spikes the spirit of the game. Everyone gets mad.

There's no optimal solution, but this seems like one of those times well enough should be left alone. "We've always done it this way" is no valid argument against change, but it holds some water when the change could bring about more problems than the old way ever did. It's only the ultra-rare, ultra-egregious neighborhood play that creates controversy, and even Stephen Drew's last night wasn't bad enough to trigger a reaction from the Tigers. Leave it to the umpires to make that call—and maybe give them a little nudge to make it more often—and leave instant replay for righting the significant wrongs.

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Who Had The Worse 2013 Season: Levi Brown Or Mike Goodson?

We're only six weeks into the NFL season, but Levi Brown and Mike Goodson already finished theirs due to injuries incurred in Sunday's Steelers-Jets game. Whose season sucked more?

Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Levi Brown was traded to the Steelers for a conditional draft pick on Oct. 2, because Pittsburgh desperately needed line help so Ben Roethlisberger wouldn't get knocked into the Monongahela. Brown hurt his tricep while warming up before Sunday's game (Pittsburgh had a Week 5 bye) and was placed on injured reserve. He hadn't played a snap. The "good" news? Because Brown didn't spend five weeks on the active roster, the Steelers don't have to give the Cardinals a draft pick.

Running back Mike Goodson kicked off his Jets career with a four-game suspension following an arrest in May on charges of possession of marijuana (less than 50 grams), possession of paraphernalia, unlawful possession of a loaded handgun, and possession of hollow-point bullets. Goodson played two games before tearing his ACL and MCL last Sunday, ending up on the Jets' injured reserve. His season stats: seven rushes for 36 yards and two catches for 19 yards.

Goodson's season is obviously the worse of the two. Arrest, suspension, shredded knee. It's the NFL shit trifecta. But Brown's season has the "virtue" of being uniquely shitty. It barely registers anywhere on the books. Four games played; traded for nothing. Almost a nullity. His season was so dreary that it's not even notable for being the worst individual season of 2013.

Photos: Rich Schultz/Getty Images, Christian Petersen/Getty Images

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Why Redskins Star Alfred Morris' Dream Is This Humble 1991 Mazda 626

Washington Redskins breakout running back Alfred Morris is the kind of guy who could probably drive whatever he wants. But his ride of choice is still "The Bentley," a 1991 Mazda 626 he bought from his pastor while he was in college. Now, four months and 275 man hours later, The Bentley is back and better than ever and Morris couldn't be happier.

I went out to Chantilly to see what a manufacturer-restored 1991 Mazda 626 looks like, and to meet the football player who loves this humble car so much that he wants to keep it on the road for at least another 20 years.

Why Redskins Star Alfred Morris' Dream Is This Humble 1991 Mazda 626

Over the past few months, Morris' 626 underwent a full restoration at the hands of master technicians at several D.C.-area Mazda dealerships who donated their time, manpower and money to bring it back to near-1991 factory specs — with a couple of modern modifications thrown in for fun. And today at Brown's Chantilly Mazda, the car was unveiled for the first time to a grateful Morris, who was ecstatic to get his beloved car back in better shape than it's been since it was brand new.

"I'm speechless," he told the gathered crowd of reporters and Mazda employees, many of whom worked to rebuild his car. "It's been a while, and I can't wait to drive it."

Morris, a Pensacola native, said he bought the 626 from his pastor for $2 back when he was playing for Florida Atlantic University. (The car still has an expired parking sticker from the college on its windshield.)

Morris is a cheerful, affable, down to earth guy. Even though he's an NFL star with an NFL salary, he said he had more reasons to keep The Bentley than to get rid of it.

"This is my baby, man," he said. "It's more than just a car. I didn't grow up with a lot. This helps me remember where I come from and where I'm going."

More than that, like a lot of people who own older cars, Morris said he just loves "the feel of it." He's our kind of car guy — one who found the car he loves, the car he identifies with, and wants to have it forever.

"It's old school, like I am," he said. "I know I haven't been around long, but I have an old spirit." He even hopes to pass it on to his kids someday, to remind them that you have to start humble and work hard before you become a success.

Plus, the car is a five-speed manual, which lets him get a chuckle at people who can't drive stick.

"It's not that hard!" he said. "The hardest part is getting it out of first. I don't even have to look at the RPMs anymore, I just listen to it. The bad thing is the stick makes me feel like I'm Speed Racer."

So when the D.C.-area Mazda dealers saw on the TV news that the Redskins' ace running back was still rolling around in a '91 626 he had no plans to get rid of, they decided to fix it up for him.

The restoration of Morris' car is the stuff older car owners dream about when they go to sleep at night. Mazda technicians removed the powertrain, rebuilt the 2.2-liter, 110 horsepower four-cylinder engine, installed new hoses, gaskets and rubber items, put in a new air conditioner (the old one didn't work), added new brakes front and rear, put on a new exhaust system, and even replaced the battery and alternator.

On the outside, the body was stripped to the bare metal, the hood, fenders, bumpers and other rusted parts were replaced, all body panels was completely repainted and clear coated, new headlights and taillights were installed, new chrome 626 emblems were put on, and refurbished 15 inch alloy wheels with new Michelin tires were mounted. Mazda said they even had to make some new exterior trim pieces using the original molds in Japan just for this project.

Things get a bit crazier on the inside. Because Morris calls the car "The Bentley," they added Bentley-style cross stitched leather seats. Technicians also installed a new dashboard and a 7-inch touchscreen Pioneer stereo with Bluetooth.

The result is a car that looks, minus its interior modifications, like it came off the showroom floor 22 years ago, dazzling everyone who saw it. Never has more attention been heaped on a 1991 Mazda that didn't win Le Mans.

Morris said he was extremely thankful for the work done and glad to have his car back. He's been driving a new Mazda6 since the project began, and while he said that's nice, he's eager to take the better-than-ever Bentley out for a spin.

"I'm just going to sit in the parking lot and listen to it," he said.

Update: Mazda sent over a few photos the car before and during its restoration. Check 'em out below.

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Tour Match Drawn, Pakistan Bolster Squad

Asad Shafiq made runs on the final day and was rewarded with a call-up to Pakistan's Test squad

Pakistan 'A' and the South Africans drew their tour game in Sharjah, after which Pakistan added Shan Masood, Ahmed Shehzad and Asad Shafiq to their Test squad.

On the final day, Pakistan 'A' reached 311 for six in their 100 overs before declaring, and South Africa used the remainder of the day to give their middle and lower-order batsmen time at the crease.

There were useful runs for Faf du Plessis (42) before they closed on 109 for three in their second innings.

Shafiq made a fluent 42 in 92 balls when Pakistan 'A' batted to impress the selectors enough to include him while captain Umar Amin fell for 12.

Sohaib Maqsood and Mohammad Rizwan were unbeaten on 34 and 31 respectively when Pakistan declared having faced 100 overs.

South Africa then opened with JP Duminy and du Plessis, Duminy making 23 and Robin Peterson, in at number three, falling for 16.

Vernon Philander (11) and Morne Morkel (16) were not out when stumps were drawn.

The first Test begins in Abu Dhabi on 14th October.

Pakistan Test squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Abdur Rehman, Adnan Akmal (wicket-keeper), Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Junaid Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali, Shan Masood, Umar Amin, Younus Khan, Zulfiqar Babar

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Video - Afghanistan Heroes Welcomed Home

Afghanistan's cricketers returned home following their qualification for the 2015 World Cup and a huge crowd turned out to salute their efforts.

Two dominant wins over Kenya in Sharjah booked them their place in Group A of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, where they will play the co-hosts as well as England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and another qualifier.

Their welcome home brought Kabul to a standstill after they were met by an official reception at the airport, driven through the city to the cricket stadium, where music and speeches greeted their presence.

"This is the first time in our cricket history that we have qualified for the World Cup. We achieved a big victory and this is a good news for the Afghan people and they are proud of it," Afghanistan Cricket Board's Shahzad Massoud said.

Video courtesy of SNTV and will be available until 28th October, after which time the video player above will default to a playlists of the latest live content.

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Video - Brett Lee Previews India-Australia ODIs

Brett Lee says that the upcoming seven-match One-Day International series in India could provide Australia with valuable preparation ahead of the Ashes.

With a hot summer forecast in Australia, Lee, who played 76 Tests, 221 ODIs and 25 Twenty20 Internationals, reckons that playing in India will be good 'heat training' for Darren Lehmann's men.

"I think it's going to be a great series for Australia because it's heat training, you know, I think back in Australia it's going to be a hot summer," he said.

"Come over here and play seven one-dayers it's going to be 45 degree heat, I think it's going to put them in very very good stead for the Australian summer.

"I think it's going to be a tough series but I know that if Australia can play the way that they can I am confident that they can put up a very good fight," he added.

Lee has not played an ODI since 2012 and now only plays Twenty20 cricket, but he claims that speculation is linking him with an ODI comeback due to his presence in India.

"Bit of speculation that I might be here to play the one-day series but I can clarify right now that the answer is no," he joked.

"Unless everyone falls off through injury and they need someone I'll of course stand up for Australia and I know that's not going to happen."

For the record, Lee had a good record against India, taking 55 wickets at 21.00 in 32 ODIs.

Video courtesy of SNTV. This video will only be available for 14 days, after which the video player above will display a playlist of the latest live content available.

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Video - Local Cricketer Takes On James Anderson

Watch footage as Pete Moxom, an 'everyday bloke' from Dorchester faces an over from England star James Anderson after winning a competition run by Strongbow.

Having survived a rigorous selection process, Pete was selected from the eight finalists to go forward and face England's premier fast bowler.

The 25-year-old, who was eventually chosen following thousands of applications, was prepared for the over by two top coaches, and he emerged with his wicket intact to complete the Strongbow challenge.

The Cricket Challenge was the first in a series of challenges run by Strongbow as part of the 'Earn It' challenge.

Video courtesy of Strongbow

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