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October 23, 2006

Athlete’s Feet

Filed under: PPN EXCLUSIVE,Sports — Mark Wentz @ 9:41 pm

Yesterday was a very interesting football (emphasize foot) Sunday.

First, Hines Ward (a family favorite) all but punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame.  One of the criteria used in voting is noting how the player changed the game.  Well, yesterday, Ward caught a 70 yard touchdown pass.  At the 30 yard line, Ward lost one of his shoes.  He ran the last 30 yard with only one shoe.  Back in the 80s, they started talking about YAC yards.  It started out Yards After Catch (number of yards the player ran after catching the pass).  Then, they wanted running backs in on the action, so they changed it (in the 90s) to Yards After Contact (the number of yards the player ran after the player first made contact with a defender).  Now, we have YAS (Yards After Shoes) or, for the more traditionalists, YAC (Yards After Cleats).  See you in Canton, Hines.

The other interesting thing was Antwaan Randle El ran a punt back for a touchdown.  Interesting enough, but his team lost.  Not that I minded that.  I’m not a fan of Washington, so that wasn’t so heart-breaking.  But, for the first time this season, a team scoring off of a punt lost the game.  There have been 8 scores off of punts this season (6 punt returns for TDs, 1 punt blocked for a TD, 1 punt blocked for a safety).  The first 7 times, the team won.  Washington lost–ruining the streak.  Nice going, Washington.

Okay, I found those things interesting; even if you didn’t.

 

October 19, 2006

Next Stop: Crossword Puzzle Clue

Filed under: For the life of me,PPN EXCLUSIVE — Mark Wentz @ 1:17 pm

Oh, my 15 minutes keep coming and coming!

First, I was recognized by Edd Dykhuizen in his daily birthday quiz. The quiz, to my knowledge, no longer exists but was enjoyable while it lasted. My mention was my reward for sending him an e-mail message when he posted “send me an e-mail message and I’ll put you in tomorrow’s quiz.” Sometimes simply following orders is rewarded.

Then, I got into some guy’s top ten list. Pete McEntegart is his name. Imbroglio is his game. Check out item 7–I’m the calendar guy. Who have guessed I’d be so rewarded? And it didn’t stop there. Now, ol’ Pete sets aside entire columns for viewer input. Even though I had nothing to do with that, I’ll take full credit. Not only do I get 15 minutes of fame, but I paved the way for others to get their 15 minutes also. I’m just that kind of guy.

Finally, last week, I gained a third 15 minutes. My message to Dr. Z was actually answered. Some–like Stephanie’s brother, Matt–would not necessarily find that impressive. Matt, last I knew, was not a big fan of Dr. Z. And, I quote, “It’s sprawling at times, but still uncomfortable, angry viewing in a time when apathy and resignation rule.” Okay, that quote wasn’t from Matt, nor was it about Dr. Z. But I promise you that when I mentioned that I’m impressed by Dr. Z, Matt mentioned his disapproval of the good doctor.

So, I’ve got a good 45 minutes of fame, so far. That should count for something.

Right?

 

 

October 6, 2006

I May Need to Pay Attention

Filed under: Sports — Mark Wentz @ 4:32 pm
 
Oh, what a glorious year it is to be Mark Wentz: Baseball Fan. Most years, by the time the Major League Baseball playoffs begin, I’ve totally lost interest. What with the burnout of well over 100 games per team and the start of football season, I’m ready to move on. This year is no different. Except that I happened upon the playoff schedule this year and noticed something I don’t recall having seen before. The Minnesota Twins, the Oakland Athletics, and the St. Louis Cardinals are all in the playoffs. So? It just so happens that these are the elite teams in terms of being my favorite teams to watch.I have elite teams in every major sport; teams I follow, teams for which I root in thick and thin, teams for which I’d buy fathead wall stickers if I had the money. In baseball, it’s the Twins, A’s, and Cardinals (though, not necessarily in that order). In football, it’s the Vikings, Raiders, Chargers, and Bills (NNITO). In basketball, it’s the Timberwolves, Lakers, and Celtics (NNITO). In hockey, it’s another channel.

So, back to baseball, instead of ignoring the playoffs like normal, I should pay attention to them. How often does it happen that all of your elite teams end up in the playoffs?

In basketball, with most of the league’s teams in the playoffs, it’s an embarrassment if they don’t. I think the hockey playoff tourney is so big that they include neighborhood pee-wee leagues.

In football, my elite teams have not all been in the playoffs at the same time since the 1980 season. That’s before I started watching football and before most people born after 1982 were even alive.

But baseball? Good golly, when was the last time the Cardinals, Twins, and A’s have all been in the playoffs at the same time? 2002!

Wait! What? 2002? Perhaps I should have done research before I started writing this.

But, actually, it goes a bit further than that this year. If I were to pick my favorites in each division and one wild card (as is prescribed by the playoff system in baseball), here would be my playoff line up: Twins, A’s, Orioles, Indians, Cardinals, Mets, Dodgers, Cubs. Sound familiar? Of those 8 teams, 5 are in the playoffs. And, of the 8 teams for which I’d refuse to root, none are in the playoffs.

In short, there is no reason I should not watch the MLB playoffs this year.

I mean other than I should be studying and I should be paying attention to the Toddler of Dependence. My wife might want me to talk to her. The leagues are juiced. Tax dollars are drained to pay for stadiums for rich folks. Money spent on tickets would be better spent buying mosquito netting in Africa.

But it’s a great year for me to be a baseball fan!

 

 

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer and do not neccessarily reflect those of the rest of the family.

 

© 2006, Mark Wentz

 

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