I went 0-4 and 1-4 last week on 2 parlays so I'm looking at turning my dismal showing around

The kid is lightning. His last name is hyphenated. He currently bats 8th.

Bold move to give up 3 former 1st round picks who were all on the Wild roster, (Rossi's hurt right now). The future 1st round pick will be a low one, but still a valuable piece of the trade.

Did the Wild give up too much? Their primary need is a Center, but to acquire a top defender who generates offense rarely happens. Centers, especially big ones who can score are hard to find, and teams seldom part with them.

Wild now have one of the best forwards in Kaprizov, one of the best defenders in Hughes, and two very good young players in forward Boldy and defender Faber. Rookie goaltender Wallstedt (.936 save percentage) has been outstanding!

Currently, the Wild are tied for the 5th best record in the NHL. Does this make them a contender for the Stanley Cup? The Wild haven't gotten past the first round in several years.

GO WILD!

Away: Texas, USC, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska

Home: Oregon, Michigan

Wow didn’t know the Dino emoji would be huge. Got a new phone and my only demand was it has to have Dino emojis. Kidding. But YES!

Jalen Williams rookie deal has just this '25/26 season left on it and if he gets voted All-NBA again (2nd time over a 3yr stretch) he then becomes eligible for a Supermax on par with that historic recent contract extension that SGA just signed. The Thunder would then be facing some difficult roster decisions similar to what Boston has dealt with this offseason due to the NBA's idiotic second apron restrictions.
With SGA & JDub each in that 70M range and Chet in the high 40's, those three would likely account for almost all of OKC's entire salary cap number. They basically have a two year window before all of these extensions kick in fully and at that point, its either give up one of your homegrown stars from the three names above or jettison the rest of their playoff rotation role players (Hartenstein/Caruso/Dort/joe/Wiggins) that just helped you win the Finals. Its possible that they could end up going both routes.

Its a real shame that some teams can do everything right by putting together a championship winning roster and as soon as you reward the players for their part in helping you win, it automatically starts a countdown clock to when you'll need to start trimming salary or face heavy tax fines & numerous trade restrictions. Most NBA owners are too cheap to do what is needed to see their own team be successful but they sure as hell hate seeing other teams have prolonged success which likely means the age of dynasties are pretty much over as long as the current CBA is in effect. This is the first offseason where the league's new tax provisions are all on the table and the players group as a whole saw their total salaries number drop by close to 500M. IIIRC it was just over 480M-ish but may drop a bit with some mid level free agents still on the market.

Its ironic that the owners cried about parity for years to the point that they changed the rules around roster building to help create more parity, yet by the time those rules fully kicked in, the league just watched the 7th different champion over that 7 year stretch. Talk about cutting off one's nose to spite one's face lol, its really not that surprising to see so many teams change ownership in recent years, might as well cash out while the getting is good. The Portland Trail Blazers are now the most recent team to go up for sale and once sold will mean that 1/3 of the 30 team league will have changed ownership since 2019-20.

I’ve been kinda addicted to this game ever since a friend sent me this link ( I promise this isn’t spam !! ) .. I think of all my 80-90s cards when choosing who to select for each category

1 Las Vegas Raiders
2 New York Jets
3 Arizona Cardinals
4 Tennessee Titans
5 New York Giants
6 Cleveland Browns
7 Washington Commanders
8 New Orleans Saints
9 Kansas City Chiefs
10 Cincinnati Bengals
11 Miami Dolphins
12 Dallas Cowboys
13 Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta)
14 Baltimore Ravens
15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
16 New York Jets (from Indianapolis)
17 Detroit Lions
18 Minnesota Vikings
19 Carolina Panthers
20 Dallas Cowboys (from Green Bay)
21 Pittsburgh Steelers
22 Los Angeles Chargers
23 Philadelphia Eagles
24 Cleveland Browns (from Jacksonville)
25 Chicago Bears
26 Buffalo Bills
27 San Francisco 49ers
28 Houston Texans
29 Los Angeles Rams
30 Denver Broncos
31 New England Patriots
32 Seattle Seahawks

Bye, bye Robertson.

The commentators I saw (except for one) all said the hit on Boldy was an accident. Of course it wasn't, BUT I always thought you were responsible for your stick at all times. I guess I was wrong AGAIN. Gee, this is getting sad.

I just watched the video replay multiple times. You can see Benn approaching Boldy from behind (COWARD) with his stick raised in the air like a guy getting ready to split wood. Then he brings his stick down and smashes Matt in the back of the head with his stick. Benn had PLENTY OF TIME to avoid that! NO PENALTY!

If I remember from his past, Benn also refuses to fight after one of his frequent cheap shots, so if you drop the gloves and he doesn't, YOU get penalized. I wouldn't have bothered to drop my gloves, Benn.........................well I'm not sure the moderator here would like what I was going to say, but if I were a Wild player on the ice when this happened....... you can just use your imagination and then multiply it by a factor of 10. Yes, its safe to say my NHL career would definitely be over.

Dallas' plan is genius. First hurt a great power play set up guy, then go after our best goal scorer. Zuccarello has three assists (two on the power play) in game one and gets an elbow right to the face LONG after the puck is gone. I just found that video too. the $cumbag Stars player Myers is staring right at Zucc's head for a long time before he INTENTIONALLY injures the little guy. Myers is a full foot taller than Zuccarello, gutless cementhead PUNK. Also saw a tremendous cross check by Myers that didn't get called. I know guys get cross checked in front of the net all the time, but the Wild player was launched into orbit.

Foligno gets his face smashed into the ice by Duchene while he's laying on the ice after blocking a shot. you can clearly see Duchene's right hand and stick come down on the back of Foligno's head. I'm sure that was an accident too!

Speaking of accidents, late in the game Hartman gets called for interference on an entrance into the Dallas zone. His back was completely turned to the Star's player, yet he gets called for the penalty. Did he know what he was doing? OF COURSE, but seeing as how he wasn't even looking, why wasn't THAT an accident?

To be fair, Blackwell's hit on Trenin was clean.

Kaprizov hasn't done much. I wonder if Dallas is just waiting for him to score, so they can hurt him too.

Where's Matt Cooke when you need him?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NOGJAMNUz0E?feature=share

I probably have one of the most eclectic tastes in music around -- I can appreciate most genres. Groups like The Beatles, however, have never been able to whet my appetite. But for the first time in a very long time I heard this song on Sirius by George Harrison when he went solo, and I had forgotten just how much I like it. It's an anachronism to my ears -- hard to believe he churned this out before I was even born.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eEQ4J6Lnrs

I think if you really look at the numbers, Randy Johnson was a better pitcher than Griffey was a positional player. I think a lot of this is because of his fame, but also he started out so strong. Randy didnt really get heated up until he was 29-30 years old. I wonder if their career arcs were reversed (griffey starting slow and finishing strong and unit the oposite) if it would be viewed differently?

would Griffey be viewed more like edgar martinez? would randy johnson be looked at as if he were Doc Gooden, except with a 12 year prime?

I think many will be surprised that Dan Quisenberry is 9th all time at 146. 9th!

Of course, many view RP differently compared to starters for ERA.

However, Quisenberry is the 3rd all time among RP in ERA+

4th is Hoffman is next at 141
5th John Franco 138
6th Bruce Sutter 136
7th Lee Smith 132
8th Kent Tekulve 132
9th Roberto Hernandez 131
10th Doug Jones 129

Active guys:
Arold Chapman is at 165 right now with 826 IP.
Kimbrel at 159 with 821 IP
Kenley Jensen 155 with 930 IP

A shout out to The Quiz!

golf is far and away my favorite sport; i started slapping balls around when i was 8. as a result of that affinity, i've been attending professional tournaments for many years. it wasn't until a decade ago that my love for them and my collecting proclivities began to coalesce. honestly, i'm moderately upset that i didn't start earlier, because i never met Arnold Palmer and thus never received fresh ink from him. and that unparalleled human being would sign until his fingers went numb. i have nightmares about those missed opportunities. but a glass half-full approach is being thankful for what i have in fact accumulated, and i genuinely am.

each year i hit up 3-4 tournaments and pester old-school or modern-day pros while there -- depending on the tournament. it is my crack. for many hobbyists it's about the value of what they own. i sincerely couldn't care less about that. some of the autographs i possess probably couldn't pay for two gallons of gas, while others i could turn into a nice chunk of change if i desired to. but they are equivalent in my eyes. i've never once sold a graph i obtained myself. and that's because the indelible memory that each one represents is invaluable. from cards to flags to masters badges to balls, i have john hancocks on a lot of items. tonight i felt compelled to show some pieces of cardboard. when i get a wild hair i'll revisit this thread and deviate.

i must say one other thing before the unveiling. golfers are the bee's knees. they are so accessible and so down-to-earth. and that's because a) they know who butters their bread, but more importantly, b) they truly are just like you and me. they just so happen to be able to do something that you and i cannot. i have so many unabridged anecdotes i could share, but for now i'll tie my fingers together and show something more interesting than my words.

below is a hodgepodge of cards that have been graciously signed. if you were to ask me about any of these men, my response would be the same: all stand-up, all gregarious, all incredibly nice. a few thoughts on some of them:

Gary Player -- he may live to be 127. possesses the vigor of a man half his age. signs like the champion he is, even at the tender age of 90.

Lee Trevino -- if someone ever creates an "athletes you'd love to have a beer with, past or present" thread, Merry Mex might be my #1 choice. dude is a comedian in golfer's clothing.

Jordan Spieth -- my favorite. not the player he once was, but still the guy he's always been. once saw him signing autographs with one hand...........while holding his newborn in the other.

Corey Pavin -- third card from the left, bottom row. my girlfriend handed him that card from the 1985 Miller Press set and he studied it for about 5 seconds. he looked up and said, "i got really ugly."

Jack Nicklaus -- i've lassoed the Golden Bear about 15 times over the years. never gets old. when he's signing something for me it feels like i'm having an out-of-body experience.

enjoy, and have a great weekend.

Tommy John
Ron Guidry
Luis Tiant
Jim Kaat
Gaylord Perry
Rich Gossage

When does the first real college football game start?

Opening kickoff indicates Fall is not far off.

According to police officials, Woods’ Range Rover was traveling at a high rate of speed on Beach Road near his home in Jupiter Island, Florida, just before 2 p.m. ET, when he tried to pass a work truck. Woods’ SUV clipped the back of the truck’s trailer and flipped onto its side.

Woods was uninjured and was able to climb out of the SUV on his own, according to police. The crash took place near 281 Beach Road, about four miles north of Woods' home. Woods, in the officers’ estimation, “did exemplify signs of impairment.”
“The investigation started and initially right off the top, it did appear that the driver of the Land Rover might be impaired,” Marin County Sheriff John Budensiek said. “And at that point, the chief of Jupiter Island Police Department called me from the Martin County Sheriff's Office and asked for our assistance.”

The investigation determined that the pickup truck was attempting to turn into a driveway along Beach Road, and slowed to make the turn. The driver of the pickup truck observed a Range Rover closing at high speed, and attempted to get off the road, but was unable to do so because of the narrowness of the residential street. The Range Rover clipped the back end of the trailer and landed on the driver’s side.
The individual driving that Land Rover was able to crawl out the passenger door of the car and was identified to be Mr. Tiger Woods,” Budensiek said. “Our DUI investigators came to the scene here and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment.”

Woods was described as “lethargic” on the scene, and attempted to explain the injuries and surgeries he has undergone in recent months. Woods underwent roadside tests, and was subsequently arrested and charged with DUI, property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. Woods was transported to the Martin County Jail. He refused a urinalysis test at the jail.

“He is cooperative, but he was not trying to incriminate himself,” Budensiek said. “So he was careful in what he said and didn't say.” By Florida statute, Woods was scheduled to remain incarcerated in the Martin County jail for eight hours after his arrest, and would then be released on bond.
Neither Woods nor the driver of the pickup were injured, and police officers did not observe medication in Woods’ vehicle. Woods was alone in his car, and climbed out of the passenger side of the vehicle prior to law enforcement’s arrival.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office did not have exact figures on how fast Woods was going when he overtook the pickup truck, but given that the speed limit in the area is 30 mph, and Woods’ car suffered substantial damage, the speed was clearly significant.

“We know we arrested a high-profile figure,” Budensiek said. “I'm not trying to dramatize, but it doesn't matter who you are. If you break the law, we're going to follow the law. That's a really easy path to take.
However, Budensiek added that Woods will be protected while in jail. “As far as being in the jail, we're going to make sure he's safe,” he said. “We're not going to put him in general population. He's not going to be with other inmates that can hurt him or try to capitalize on what he did. He'll pay the price, but he's not going to pay the price by getting punished in jail.”

Budensiek noted that fortunately no cars were on the opposite side of the road from Woods’ wreck. “Had there been somebody moving in the opposite direction, we would not be having a conversation saying there was no injuries,” he said. “This could have been a lot worse.”

Woods made his return to professional golf on Tuesday as part of the TGL indoor golf final, where his Jupiter Links Golf Club came up short. It was Woods' first competitive golf since the 2024 Open Championship, after suffering a ruptured Achilles in March 2025 and another surgery for a lumbar disc replacement in October.

but i get why both teams did it

curious what the resident Eagles & Pats fans think about this one

The Bulls announced the move on Monday, saying it was due to conduct detrimental to the team.

Ivey’s video calling out the league was posted on Monday morning, as he said it was "unrighteousness" that the NBA would celebrate Pride Month.
Ivey has been posting similar videos with rants in recent weeks, while the 24-year-old has noted in the past he deals with depression.

"The world can proclaim LGBTQ, right?" Ivey said in his latest video. "They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA. They proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month to celebrate unrighteousness.’ They proclaim it. They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim in the streets. Unrighteousness. So, how is it that one can’t speak righteousness? Who are they to say that this man is crazy?"

This years recipient. The entire New York Jets football team.

Lew Alcindor
Bill Walton
The 1983 NC State team and coach Val
Patrick Ewing
Bird and Magic
Danny Manning
Christian Laetner
Allen Iverson
Carmelo Anthony
Steph Curry
Shabazz Napier
Ja Morant

And although he's not a player, I had to get one of Dickie V!

Also a couple of women's players.....Raven Johnson and Caitlin Clark. I have heard both names, but honestly have never seen either one play. I found pictures online.

Feel free to post names of players who you have memories of having great tournaments(Winning the title is not necessary obviously). I look forward to some great replies!

Maywood

It upgrades my current best 1961 (a PF68CAM).

so, i was rummaging through some crap in my garage last weekend and lo and behold, i stumbled across this puppy. i hadn't seen this poster in ages. no, i was never a DC fan. but it was all Dallas Cowboys all the time where i grew up. i remember having a handful of these, including the one from '77 when they won the Super Bowl. but ostensibly this is the only one that survived. i remember Mickey D's having a running promotion in the late 70s/early 80s and they dished these out.

i may try to track down Tony D (and anyone else on the '81 roster) at a card show one of these days and get them to slap their John Hancock on the front.

I imagine he would have been a great addition to an AL team at the time as he could have DH'ed. that would have saved his knees and he probably would have been able to play a full season. at least in 2008.

His last year, 2007, he slashed: .480/.565/1.045. He was still one of the very tippy top hitters at the time of his retirement. He hit 28 home runs in only 340 AB's and was consistently pitched around as he led the league in IBB.

I think in a full season he could have hit 40 HR's in 2008. that would have put him over 800 career.

I believe had he been able to play DH in the AL, he could have lasted another 3 seasons and gotten to 825 or perhaps even 850 HRs.

6. Scottie Pippen Personal Set of Championship Trophies ?

bid now!

The more innings you can pitch at a better than league average run prevention(or at a similar elite level run prevention), then the more runs you are saving for your team. I think most understand and agree with that so I will leave that factor as it stands as a given.

This method is not new news. It was published in the book Total Baseball. Back in the early 80's the stat of Pitcher Runs was created using that simple concept. The pitchers ERA compared to the league ERA and then valued according to the amount of Innings pitched by the player.

What has followed since is that when WAR was invented and that formula started to attempt to incorporate the quality of the defenders behind the pitcher, the teams they pitched against, and the ballpark factor. WAR cannot even accurately determine an individual's defensive contribution let alone even attempt to isolate an entire teams defenisve ability from that of the pitchers contribution...and that is one of the reasons why you get a lot of head scratching results when looking at a pitchers WAR for a season. It doesn't pass the intuition test.

Palmer got a lot of easy pop outs and lazy fly balls and Ryan got a lot of K's....that is them, not the defenders. WAR tries to diminish Palmer's pop outs and gives that credit to Belanger instead.

The following figures are straight up the pitchers ERA compared to the league and adding the value of their IP. It does not even account for ballpark factor. This is straight no adjustments(other than the league's ERA comparison).

For example. It is widely accepted that the best pitching season of the 1970s was Ron Guidry's 1978 season. According to the Pitcher Runs, it was.

Guidry was 61.6 runs saved above the league average in 1978 was the best mark of the 1970s

Second best was Jim Palmer in 1975 with 60.6 runs saved above average. Palmer's inclusion might surprise people it might not.

Palmer threw 323 innings that year with a 2.09 ERA. Guidry threw 273 innings with a 1.74 ERA.

Neither of those figures are park adjusted. They do account for the league ERA though, but those were 3.78 and 3.76 respectively. It was the IP that had Palmer close the gap in their ERA's.

BaseballReference does not have the Pitcher Runs numbers. What they have are the ones that incorporate the defense behind them. Those are the ones that are giving wonky results.

The quick formula is simple: IP/9 x (Individual ERA - League ERA) and that gives you Pitcher Runs that incorporates the value of the IP and the league ERA. You might be off a half run or run since you aren't using the 3.794928290 ERA and just 3.79 etc...but you can do it for any player in any league you know the league ERA, the players ERA and their IP. All easy to find.

So what I wanted to talk about was Jim Palmer. He won three Cy Young awards and won 20+ games all the time in the 70's. He is certainly not undervalued by people who watched him back then with their frame of statistical reference.

He is however underrated with WAR. WAR is saying Mark Belanger, Brooks, and Grich are the reason why Palmer had great ERA's...even though Palmer was a fly ball pitcher. I believe those fielders were good...but the Pitcher is the one earning and when a pitcher has continued to excel with other players at those same positions, then it should show you right there it is the pitcher.

So back to the best of the 1970s. Tom Seaver is almost universally said to be the best of the 1970s. Here is a real simple ranking of the best Pitcher Runs of the entire 1970s'

Palmer 339
Seaver 312
Perry 243
Blyleven 217
Carlton 164
Ryan 160

For their careers:
Seaver 422
Palmer 378
Perry 315
Ryan 314
Carlton 240

So clearly at their peak it is Palmer and Seaver at number one and two and not really anyone else to challenge.

The career actually surprises a little that Palmer is still close to Seaver and ahed of Ryan(with Ryan's known longevity dominance).
Also considering Palmer missed all of 1968 with an injury and only had 49 IP in 1967.

Just thought I would give Jim Palmer the due he received back then but is getting unfairly dinged by a newer metric that is simply not accurate in defining defensive value and not giving the pitcher proper credit for inducing easy or routine outs. As I showed before, the reserves for Bill Mazeroski and Ozzie Smith on those same teams got to the same amount of balls as they did...so they can't even get that part right.

Giving Palmer his due even if WAR does not get it right.