Courtesy of the Niagara Gazette By Doug Smith A chance encounter in the rain gave Base Paths a peak into the heart of Purple Eagle baseball, Niagara University’s under-appreciated stepchild. Under the eaves of the pressbox at Cornell University’s Hoy Field, he figured out that his fellow refugees were Californians. “What, don’t we have local accents?” the woman said. … [Read more...] about Base Paths chance encounter with Phil Plantier
MLB
Base Paths and ten baseball movies of those struggling for acceptance
By Doug Smith Courtesy of The Niagara Gazette More than 120 motion pictures, dating back nearly 100 years, have centered on baseball. Here’s a lineup of 10, listed alphabetically,which focused on “outsiders’” struggling to find acceptance: “The Bad News Bears,” 1976, Walter Matthau rallying a band of ragamuffins nobody else wants. Later … [Read more...] about Base Paths and ten baseball movies of those struggling for acceptance
Consecrating Sports Figures: It’s Best to Wait
by Patrick 'Rey' Reynell Prior to hearing Brutus' rousing speech about the validity of Julius Caesar's murder in the Roman Capitol, a plebeian suggests that Rome should "Give him [Brutus] a statue with his ancestors!" Those familiar with Shakespeare's play know that this venerable request comes much too eagerly following the morally ambiguous murder of Caesar. Two acts later … [Read more...] about Consecrating Sports Figures: It’s Best to Wait
Greatest Player Not in the Hall of Fame for Each Team
By Dan "Chas" McCloskey A while back, I was planning on producing a list of the top 25 players who are not in the Hall of Fame, in my opinion. I still haven't gotten around to that, but instead I decided to pick one player for each franchise who, to me, is their greatest non-Hall of Famer. Of course, I limited this to players who are eligible for election, which means … [Read more...] about Greatest Player Not in the Hall of Fame for Each Team
As if We Needed Any More Evidence That Wins and Losses Are Flawed Statistics
Dan "Chas" McCloskey The old school types were up in arms over the fact that Felix Hernandez, and his 13-12 won-loss record, won the American League Cy Young Award last year. One of them actually went so far as to use some ridiculous argument about the morale of a pitcher's teammates when he takes the mound, and that when players make great defensive plays behind one … [Read more...] about As if We Needed Any More Evidence That Wins and Losses Are Flawed Statistics