Scoring at Home

The world cannot get enough of Baby Mangino

gb — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:01:31 +0000

I know this has been all over the Internet for the last 2+ weeks, but I have to post about it here for my buddies who check only this blog and haven’t seen it yet. Apologies to anybody who is looking for some kind of new Baby Mangino scoop. You and me both.

This is the greatest ~~baby~~ ~~sports~~ Halloween costume the world has ever seen:

The whole saga of the Baby Mangino(s) (there are actually 2!) on Deadspin:

For the record, I’m down with the “original” Baby Mangino (seen above). Sunglasses Baby Mangino wins points for accessories (headset, sunglasses, play-calling card), but the “original” Baby Mangino just has that “it” factor.

George Brett is a wordsmith

gb — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:34:06 +0000

No comment necessary. Enjoy.

[hat tip to Kyle for the link.]

Browns vs Bengals week

gb — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:30:03 +0000

The Browns and Bengals meet up this weekend in a MUST WIN for both teams. Rumor is that Brady Quinn is getting some snaps in practice this week for Cleveland (btw: good job not trading Derek Anderson in the off-season when he was worth something). These Browns fans are pumped about it [via Shutdown Corner @ Yahoo]:

Upon viewing this amazing display of Cleveland fandom, Sam Wyche responded with his own reminder to Bengals fans:

[Historical note: The best part of the Wyche clip? The Bengals weren't even playing the Browns that day- no joke.]

It’s Tuesday, get down

gb — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:02:30 +0000

The Machine on his breakout Game 3

gb — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:57:25 +0000

Here’s “Sasha Vujacic”‘s take on his breakout performance in game 3 of the Finals. You should be rooting for a Game 7, if only because it increases the chances of another “video blog” from The Machine. Mucho thanks to Lakers-fan.com for giving the world some sort of entertainment out of these playoffs.

[from Lakers-fan.com]

Don’t let me forget the 2008 US Open

gb — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:20:07 +0000

Dear Memory,

Please don’t let me forget what I saw today on TV. When time has passed, and the record books state simply that Tiger Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in a 19-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate, don’t let me forget just how far Tiger was pushed, and just how tough this win really was. Don’t let me forget that Tiger hadn’t played competitive golf in two months leading up to the Open, or that he played through the pain in his knee. Don’t let me forget all of the shots that made Tiger grimace in pain, or hobble, or wobble, or buckle. Don’t let me forget the miraculous shots Tiger made on Friday and Saturday to take the lead. The 60-foot eagle putt, the chip-in, the eagle on 18. Don’t let me forget the sight of Tiger bent over toward the beginning of his round on Sunday, appearing to be in so much pain that a mentally weaker player might have walked off the course. And don’t let me forget that he didn’t, and fought his way through the final round. Don’t let me forget that he still had to make a very tough 12-footer for birdie on 18 just to get in the playoff against Rocco.

But really, don’t let me forget about Rocco. Don’t let me forget his hat, covered in U.S. Open souvenir pins, or his players’ medallion, clipped to his sweater. Don’t let me forget that he stayed true to himself- always talking, joking, smiling, shrugging, flipping clubs in disbelief. Don’t let me forget that he gave everything he had on Sunday, and that he looked emotionally drained and physically spent after the round. That he said he knew Tiger would make his putt on 18, but his body language said he’d hoped Tiger would miss.

Don’t let me forget that Monday’s playoff appeared as if it were Tiger’s to win from the start. That Rocco said he was “running on fumes” prior to his round, and that the road appeared long and difficult when Tiger actually found the fairway on the first hole. Don’t let me forget that everything changed on the par 3 third, when Tiger plugged his tee shot in the front bunker and Rocco nearly aced it, leading to a two-shot swing. But don’t let me forget that Tiger was still Tiger, and came right back with a perfect approach and birdie on 6. Don’t let me forget Rocco’s approach that bounced off of two cart paths but still left him room to make a miraculous recovery. Don’t let me forget the short par putt that Rocco missed on 9, or the bogey on 10 that put him down three shots.

Don’t let me forget that the back nine on Monday was Rocco’s finest moment. Don’t let me forget that Rocco picked up two shots on 11 and 12, or that he birdied 13, 14, and 15. Don’t let me forget what happened on 15. That Rocco had just tied things up on 14, and then knocked his drive in the fairway. That Tiger drove his ball right into a bunker. That Rocco hit a great approach shot, and that Tiger hit an even better one. That up on the green Rocco said something to Tiger that actually made him laugh, which itself was quite an accomplishment given the circumstances. Don’t let me forget that just when Rocco could have let the round slip from his fingers, he made one of the greatest clutch putts I’ve seen. Don’t let me forget that Rocco held firm on 16 and 17, forcing Tiger to make a move on 18.

Don’t let me forget that one swing was the margin between winning and losing. Rocco pulled his drive into the bunker, and Tiger corked his right down the middle. Don’t let me forget that Rocco still had a 20-footer to win, but couldn’t get it to drop. Don’t let me forget that once the playoff went to sudden-death, it was finally, really over. Don’t let me forget that facing defeat, Rocco was still joking around with the rules officials, faking throwing his ball toward the green while he walked to the drop area on the 19th hole. Don’t let me forget that Tiger would have fought for 18 more holes to win the championship. Don’t let me forget that while he made the spectacular shots on Friday and Saturday, Tiger made all the crucial shots he needed on Sunday and Monday.

Don’t let me forget that Rocco pushed Tiger harder than anyone ever has, or that there is probably no other runner-up more deserving of winning the U.S. Open. While no one will forget that this might have been Tiger’s greatest win, please don’t let me forget that Rocco almost pulled off golf’s greatest win.

Fear The Machine

gb — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:37:52 +0000

In an ugly-ass Game 3, Kobe was driving the car (36 points on 12-20 shooting, but only 11-18 from the line), and Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic was the gunner: 20 points on 7-10 shooting, 3-5 from downtown (and zero hesitation, as always). I loved the guy in Phil Jackson’s post-game press conference who asked what Phil thought of The Machine’s defense, since (to paraphrase) “everybody is already talking about” his offensive outburst. Hell yeah they are (right after they talk about how big and smelly that pile was that KG and Pierce laid). I’m hoping it was Elie Seckbach who asked (Elie is the bomb).

So in honor of The Machine’s breakout performance, we bring you the next installment of “his” Video Blog from Lakers-Fan.com (even though it’s from the Spurs series). We wait with baited breath for the Game 3 Video Blog…

(video from lakers-fan.com)

Posnanski on Griffey

gb — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:08:51 +0000

Congrats to Ken Griffey, Jr. upon hitting his 600th home run on Monday. Growing up in the time I did, I should have been a bigger Griffey fan than I was. And growing up in the place I did, I should have been a bigger Reds fan than I was. And reading these great Griffey anecdotes from the great Joe Posnanski reminded me of both facts, and how sentimental baseball can make you.

NBA Finals preview in links

gb — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:29:40 +0000

Game 1 of the NBA Finals is tonight, so I thought I’d spit out some Finals-related links to get you ready:

Chris Ballard’s profile of Kobe from the June 2 SI. The bottom line- dude’s a killer, but can’t shut it off. My take is that he’ll never be MJ because he lacks some amount of smoothness. Put another way, Kobe can’t develop a proper gambling problem because he never leaves the court.
I was having trouble figuring out why I just didn’t care about all this Lakers-Celtics 80s nostalgia, and then The Onion nailed it.
This is why people don’t like Boston fans (or at least a certain segment of Boston fans)- they’re always trying to convince you why should root for their team. Just root for your damn team, and leave your insecurities out of it. I’ll make up my own mind, thanks.
Finals non sequitur: a blog chats with Chuck Klosterman about the finals (I think) (via Deadspin).
Nerd alert: Euros in Finals + Research on racially biased refs = Slate piece.

The most awesome 8-year-old baseball player ever

gb — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:15:35 +0000

Just check out this story about an 8-year-old little leaguer in Kentucky who plays with one leg (also make sure you catch his soccer and football exploits). And don’t miss the video on the sidebar- just amazing. (via Deadspin)