John Branch of The New York Times wrote a fascinating article about the inexact science about how football officials determine a first down... "Since 1906, football teams have needed to gain 10 yards for a first down. From the sideline, far from the action, two sticks connected by a chain have measured the required distance, their placement estimated by eyesight." ... John BranchJohn Branch also did a side-bar article of how the men on the chain gang operate and thier duties.. "The N.F.L.’s chain gang is actually a seven-person crew, hired for game-day duty by the home teams." ... John Branch
Michigan locked up a huge recruit at Saturday's U.S. Army High School game...Detroit Cass five-star nose tackle William Campbell announced he will be a Wolverine..."One analyst on the telecast said, “It’s the first sign of good news in Ann Arbor for awhile now.” ... Detroit Free PressThayer Evans of The New York Times writes how high school running back Cierre Woods gets ribbed because he is going to Notre Dame... "Wood, a 6-foot, 192-pound tailback, has had people laugh in his face, crack jokes and mock him about his college choice. Some have even referred to the Fighting Irish as the “Lirish” for their recent losing ways." ... Thayer EvansWoody Wommack of the Orlando Sentinel writes how high school recruits are getting weary as signing day looms... "While a lot of teams are showing late interest, Debose said he wanted to make a decision tonight, partially to relieve some pressure he has received from coaches and recruiting services eager to learn of his decision." ... Woody WommackPete Thamel of The New York Times writes how Dan Mullen is juggling two jobs as Florida prepares for the national title... "He realized that he was missing one of his two cellphones, the tangible signs of the dual life he had been leading. Mullen’s phone with the 352 area code represents the job he will finish this week as Florida’s offensive coordinator. His 662 phone number signifies his new position as the coach at Mississippi State." ... Pete ThamelDavid Wharton of The Los Angeles Times writes about the falling career of Vince Young... "The 25-year-old former college superstar and NFL rookie of the year has lost his starting job with the Tennessee Titans amid questions about his ability to handle pressure. There was a bizarre, and much-publicized, incident earlier this season that by various accounts had him sulking, depressed, even suicidal, all of which he has denied." ... David WhartonMichael Wilbon of The Washington Post writes how these are not your great grandfather's Cardinals... "The Cardinals, left for dead weeks ago during a string of amateurish and lopsided defeats, did the stuff they're known to do, like throwing the ball beautifully, and some things they rarely resort to, like running the ball and playing resourceful, turnover-forcing defense." ... Michael Wilbon
This was from Jayson Stark of ESPN.com...a few strange but true incidents in Major League Baseball in 2008...
Strangest but truest Hall of Fame feat of the year
We've always thought that nobody was a bigger threat to stretch a home run into a single than that fabled sprint champ, Bengie Molina. But this year, the Giants' always-innovative catcher did something even more impossible:
He hit a home run -- but DIDN'T SCORE A RUN.
So how'd he become the first man in major-league history to pull that off? It took a rare, Molina-esque combination of muscle, lead-foot-itude and modern technology. But it happened, all right. Here's how:
On Sept. 26, Molina lofted a fly ball that looked as if it hit the top of the right-field wall at AT&T Park. So Molina stopped at first. Emmanuel Burriss trotted out to pinch-run for him. And nothing seemed amiss -- until Omar Vizquel told Giants manager Bruce Bochy he thought he'd heard the ball clank off the metal roof just above the wall.
So Bochy asked the umpires to use replay. And whaddayaknow, the call was reversed and Molina had himself a two-run homer. But the umps WOULDN'T let Molina come back to finish his trot because they ruled Burriss was already in the game and couldn't exit. So Burriss finished circling the bases. And Molina wound up with a box-score line that went 3-0-1-2 -- on a night he hit a home run.
Want to know how impossible that is? Our buddy, Andy Baggarly, of the San Jose Mercury News, checked in to tell us that when official scorer Michael Duca tried to enter this sequence into his computer, the computer program wouldn't let him do it -- because even computers know a guy can't hit a home run without scoring a run. Right?
So check the box score over at baseball-reference.com. It still doesn't believe this happened. But it did. In actual life. And all us Strange But True Feats of the Year fans will be eternally grateful that it did.
Five all-time strange but true-isms of 2008
• BEWARE OF MAD DOG DEPT.: The only Padre to steal a base in the entire month of July was that world-famous base bandit, Greg Maddux.
• EQUAL TIME DEPT.: CC Sabathia tied for the lead in shutouts in BOTH leagues in the same season.
• CRIME DOESN'T PAY DEPT.: Willy Taveras stole five bases in one game on June 14 -- but still didn't score a run.
• SIX OF ONE, HALF-DOZEN OF THE OTHER DEPT.: Matt Holliday reached base six times in one game April 17 -- but didn't score OR drive in a run.
• DÉJÀ VU DEPT.: And the Padres somehow won four games in a row in June by exactly the same score -- namely, 2-1. So how insane was that? (A) They had only one other stretch all year in which they won four games in a row by ANY score. And (B) they were the first team in history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, to win four straight games with exactly the same score of any size, shape or numerical denomination.
John Branch of The New York Times wrote a fascinating article about the inexact science about how football officials determine a first down... "Since 1906, football teams have needed to gain 10 yards for a first down. From the sideline, far from the action, two sticks connected by a chain have measured the required distance, their placement estimated by eyesight." ... 