Letters to the Editor
laynegt
Published Letters: 107 Editor's Choice: 19
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Astros: Worst World Series team ever
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I watched most of the series, and at no point did I really believe the Astros were going to win a game. Terrible offense, untimely pitching, and no heart. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the incompetence of the Houston crowd. First of all, no one took out Uribe when he came crashing into the stands to catch that foul ball. I guarantee you in New York or Boston, in that situation, the only thing he's coming out of there with is a dislocated shoulder. Second, it's the World Series, bottom of the 9th, up against the wall, tying run on 2nd - and it's like a preseason Hornets game in a library. Thank goodness they had that DEYYYYYYOH chant, which seemed to keep the crowd awake enough when played at least 15 times consecutively.
But congratulations to the White Sox, they are deserved winners.
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duh-da-duh
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]King, you'd be right on if you'd just removed the world 'Hollywood' from your column. These days, most of what ESPN puts out is unwatchable. I stopped watching SportsCenter years ago when inane catchphrases outnumbered witty catchphrases which outnumbered highlights anyway. Also, have you seen the anchors in hi-def?
I've also been slowly but surely migrating from the espn.com website. they have a lot of great content (the page 2 guys, mostly), but they bury it in a dog of a site that gets slower, louder, and more confusing by the minute.
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Olympics, please
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]NBC's coverage is so insufferable w/ the lack of actual Olympics being shown. But honestly, do you think the average American cares about random luge heats, nordic combined w/ one American in 316th place, or curling? Primetime Olympics is competing against Idol, CSIs, and what not for the attention of attention span-less America, so I can't really say I blame NBC. Though if we can at any cost get rid of Jimmy Roberts, that would go a long way in my book. I don't know how the guy sleeps at night - undoubtedly, on a big pile of money.
I agree they've added some really questionable events in recent years, X-games style events included. Right now, Americans have 5 of the 9 medals in Snowboarding events, and all the golds. Why not see if we can't get tractor-pulling or nation-building into the next Olympics. I can feel the outrage from dripping faucets everywhere after being compared to moguls. I mean seriously, you complete 2 runs and spend about 45 seconds in actual competition before judges decide whether you get a medal or not. Halfpipe snowboarding is not much different. And though I kind of like short-track speedskating, it appears to be little more than a game of chicken disguised as a war of attrition. It's very stressful to watch, and I confess I can't figure it out at all.
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Coaching
[Read the article: All hail the SAT snafu!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Some of the comments as to coaching are a bit dramatic. The SAT is not any more vulnerable to coaching than any other test of anything. Hold a free throw-shooting contest and you'll find people who've practiced shooting free throws tend to do better. That being said, the SAT is unique enough that there is a clear advantage to those who have the convenient option of paying for a class where the kid comes out the other end +100-300 pts. But anyone willing to put in some work will see similar results. I think the Internet has the potential to be a great equalizer here.
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Isiah
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Definitely more needs to be done to increase awareness to the walking sports management disaster that is Isiah Thomas. The Larry Brown debacle is just the latest example of Isiah's clueless, impulsive approach. Take a look at his complete post-retirement record (Raptors GM, Pacers coach, CBA owner/bankrupter, Knicks President) and the slide from mediocrity to complete and utter incompetence is remarkable.
The simple mention of Isiah's name to any Knicks fan will cause him to instantly begin cursing and foaming at the mouth. In some ways, I'll be sad when Dolan finally wakes up and puts the Isiah era to an end - it's been really funny to watch.
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A fascinating idea
[Read the article: The virtual moneylender]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And a very interesting read. Sounds like there is a nice niche for the business already, and I hope it has legs.
But my real purpose of posting was to ask Mr. Meyers if he bothered to mark on his calendar the day he sold out. I especially love the voluntary comparison to fast-food and tobacco.
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Review it
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've always thought diving in soccer should be reviewable after every game w/ video. Give the divers a yellow. That would clean it up pretty fast. Diving is really really annoying in soccer because the guy who dives will inevitably pretend to writhe on the ground and initiate a game of chicken between the ref (will he stop the game?), the diver (will he ever get up?), and the other players (will they play the ball out of bounds?).
So same deal for basketball. Review the tape and give the floppers a T, or something worse.
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Stephen A
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Please don't ever mention this clown again. (Apologies to clowns everwhere for the comparison)
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American football
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I recall e-mailing King a few years ago about soccer being the next really big thing (probably during the last WC), and of course that was just way off. I do think the future of soccer in the U.S. is very good. Today, if I happen upon an MLS game on TV, I will check it out. 4 years ago, I would've flipped by without a thought. There are a lot of reasons for that; but in a nutshell, it seems like a real league now. No Americanized team names or rules; and some decent (American) players I recognize.
JJ has it right about sports fans trying to get into the WC. I don't see how any real sports fan can't be watching. The drama, intensity, and skill on display in the WC can't be matched. You say it's low-scoring? So what. Golf is low-scoring.
I give credit to ESPN for showing all games, and in HD. They can't possibly be making any money off of it.