photo out of context
spam name
Reggie Craft.
catch of the year
Watch this catch of the year in Australian rules football. It would be offensive pass interference in the NFL, but it would still be the catch of the year.
just do it (now)
Generally speaking, athletes start to see physical declines at age 26, give or take. (This would seem in line with the long-standing notion in baseball that players tend to hit their peak anywhere from ages 27 to 30.) For swimmers, the news is more sobering, as the mean peak age is 21. For chess grandmasters — participating in an activity that no doubt relies more than mental acuity and sharpness rather than brute, acquired physicality — the peak age is closer to 31.4.
Okay, young’uns, you’ve been tipped.
from the comments
The “gentlemen” in the cubicles near me have been talking about how they could beat each other in various sports for the last couple of weeks.
Recently they’ve been talking about running a 40 – throwing around times like 4.8 and 4.6. They’ve decided to have a race next week. One of them has declined because, “do you know how long it takes me to warm up?”
They’re moving to a different part of the building at the end of the day today, so I won’t get the hear about the results of their race.
the greatest
After The Mavericks won the NBA Championship, Muhammad Ali sent Dirk Nowitzki a gift.
SPIEGEL: Did any German politicians call to congratulate you?
Nowitzki: I think that (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel called my adviser. I’m not totally sure. But do you know what made me the happiest?
SPIEGEL: What?
Nowitzki: Muhammad Ali sent me a package.
SPIEGEL: What was in it?
Nowitzki: A boxing glove with the inscription: “You are the greatest.” Please don’t ask me immediately about the political meaning of the gift. I was simply happy and sent Ali a golden basketball with a similar inscription.
“Oh, go fuck yourself”
That such brutal language as “You cock-sucking son of a bitch!” “You prick-eating bastard!” “You cunt-lapping dog!” “Kiss my ass, you son of a bitch!” “A dog must have fucked your mother when she made you!” “I fucked your mother, you sister, your wife!” “I’ll make you suck my ass!” “You cock-sucker!” and many other revolting terms are used by a limited number of players to intimidate umpires and opposing players, and are promiscuously used upon the ball field, is vouched for by the almost unanimous assertion of those invited to speak, and who are competent to speak from personal knowledge. Whether it be the language quoted above, or some other indecent and infamous invention of depravity, the League is pledged to remove it from the ball field, whether it necessitates the removal of the offender for a day or for all time. Any indecent or obscene word, sentence, or expression, unfit for print or the human ear, whether mentioned in these instructions or not, is contemplated under the law and within its intent and meaning, and will be dealt with without fear or favor when the fact is established by conclusive proof.
This may or may not be an actual memo sent to Major League Baseball players in 1898 as part of a campaign to eradicate foul language from the game, but who gives a fuck, you worthless ball licker?
(via the browser)
OFFER: Garden Creeper
Posted to Dubuque Freecycle group Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:55 am (PDT)
You sit on this and move along pulling with your feet while you weed. It has a compartment for tools or weeds. Prefer quick pickup.
surfing madonna
Sadly, local officials are taking down the uncommisioned piece from a San Diego railroad bridge.
Go Mavs!
hey ref! — one more eye, you’d be a cyclops
Historian Michael Carter has found what he believes to be the world’s oldest blown call:
Carter interprets the picture of the gladiator holding two swords to be a moment in his final fight, when Demetrius had been knocked down and Diodorus had grabbed a hold of his sword.
“Demetrius signals surrender, Diodorus doesn’t kill him; he backs off expecting that he’s going to win the fight,” Carter said.
The battle appears to be over. However the summa rudis — perhaps interpreting Demetrius’ fall as accidental, or perhaps with some ulterior motive — thought otherwise, Carter said.
“What the summa rudis has obviously done is stepped in, stopped the fight, allowed Demetrius to get back up again, take back his shield, take back his sword, and then resume the fight.”
This time Diodorus was in trouble, and either he died in the arena or Demetrius inflicted a wound that led to his death shortly thereafter.
Hey ref, your seeing eye dog is eating my dip.
What the Fuck Cricket Is
I played Cricket once when I was ten years-old and Giles Turnbull’s description is pretty much as I remember it:
Cricket, like photographic film, or Tara Reid, is light-sensitive. A game can be called off simply because it’s getting a tad gloomy. This, from a cold, rainy, overcast, gloomy nation like England seems incongruous. But cricket was invented for a reason. And that reason was sandwiches.
Grantland
Bill Simmons welcomes people to Grantland, which launched today:
Life will deliver a few moments when something substantial is about to happen, when you know it’s substantial, when you’ve done everything you could to prepare for the moment, but still, you just don’t know. And it would be foolish to pretend otherwise. I felt that way when I was getting married, when both of my kids were being born, when I graduated college, and incredibly, when I was standing in front of that stupid Carl’s Jr. Oh my God. There is no stopping this now. Please tell me this will turn out all right. You take a leap of faith with life. You inhale and exhale. You hope.
SENNA
A trailer for a documentary about Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna. Regardless of whether you plan to watch the movie, there are some racing moments here that are electric magic.
Senna is considered by many to be the best driver in Formula One history.
(via @gary_hustwit)
google image search of the day
(thanks, Joel)
Broadcasting the Indy 500
Fourteen years ago a group that included Amy, Patrick, Espen (the designer of the first version of the site), and me broadcast the 81st Indianapolis 500 on the web. We built sites commemorating the history and the cars, provided a place for information about the Indy Racing League, and streamed a very small, very pixelated feed of the race, live, as well as constantly updated telemetrics about each car. My recollection is it was one of the first, if not the first, live video feeds on the internet. It felt good to be part of that group, to make the weekend happen. The internet felt transformative then, full of potential. It still does.
how to break an ankle
Jason posted a link to this clip explaining the history, evolution, and effectiveness of the cross-over dribble in basketball. Even if you aren’t specifically a basketball fan, there is a lot of beauty here.
Rabbit Show Jumping
Invented in Sweden in the early Eighties, Kaninhop involves bunnies bouncing their way around courses consisting of several small jumps of varying height and length.
so, I am guessing he heard it coming his way?
headline of the day
Olympic hopeful rescued on Miami beach after being buried in sand
2011 Kentucky Derby
I forgot to watch it yesterday, but it turned out to be a good race.
for the sports fans
The editors of Longform create a sports centered site, Sportsfeat.
Philosophy Referee Hand Signals
(via marginal revolution)
headline of the day, II
Horse dreams dashed, German teen turns to cow Luna
Update:
Madden NFL 12, teachable moments
Madden NFL 12, the coming version of the eerily true-to-life N.F.L. video game played by millions of gamers, will be realistic enough not only to show players receiving concussions, but also to show any player who sustains one being sidelined for the rest of the game — no exceptions. Beyond that, in the background, the game’s announcers will explain that the player was removed because of the seriousness of head injuries.
