Even the Power of Jesus Won't Get You 10 Points With This Guy

I am not a fan of Tim Tebow. Not at all. For a variety of reasons. Chief among them is that he inspires an insane level of slavish devotion coverage from the media for reasons I cannot quite comprehend. It can't be because he is a good quarterback because, brother, he flat out sucks at slinging the ball.

Nevertheless, the Legend of the Mediocre Messiah persists. To the point that, even though Tebow hasn't played a competitive game in almost two years, people are still putting him on their fantasy football teams.

According to NFL on ESPN, Tim Tebow was owned by 1.3 percent of teams in ESPN’s fantasy leagues as of Tuesday, despite the fact he hasn’t played an NFL game since Dec. 30, 2012.

Surprisingly, he actually beat out an NFL Week 1 starter: Jaguars quarterback Chad Henne, who appears on just 0.8 percent of teams in ESPN leagues.

That. Is. Insane. Granted, Henne isn't a great QB either. But the guy is starting a game while Tebow is working for the SEC Network. You may as well put Steve Young or Y.A. Tittle on your squad while you're at it.

Seriously, people. Tebow sucks at QB. Just let it go.

The Best Thing About USA vs Portugal

Yeah, being brought down to a tie in what was literally the final seconds of a match sucks. Tying Portugal 2-2 feels more like a loss than a draw. But it leaves the US in control of their own destiny. Win or tie with Germany and the USA is into the knockout rounds. Considering the same holds for Germany, my guess is we'll see a boring, defensive draw that benefits both sides. But who knows.

But that is something to worry about come Thursday. For now, let's forget Michael Bradley's horrendous ball control in midfield and Geoff Cameron's seeming inability to properly mark someone coming into the six-yard box. And let's rejoice in the most beautiful goal I have ever seen an American score in the World Cup.



Jermaine Jones plays in Germany for Schalke 04, though he has been loaned out a bit and finished last year on loan to Turkish side Beşiktaş. He is one of the oldest players on the American squad at 32 years of age. He is usually known for committing fouls.

But Jones has become a rampaging monster of doom in the center of the pitch in this World Cup. He is playing hard but smart and has been the USA's most consistent player. And then that goal...Messi couldn't have done it better.

Also, we all owe some retroactive thanks to President Truman and Secretary of State Marshall who made sure the US stayed involved in Europe after WW2. Without US servicemen in Germany, we'd be without not only Jermaine Jones but John Brooks as well and would likely be going home at this point.

Oh. Hell. Yes. US Beats Ghana.

Purging the hex that Ghana has held over the US in the last two World Cups was ever-so satisfying. Having one of Klinsmann's new German-American kids (John "Never has to buy a drink again" Brooks) score the goal was even better. Coming so late in the game? Amazing.

As remarkable as it was, the US still has some concerns. Jozy Altidore straining his hamstring is a huge blow. He is the only striker on the side that can really play with his back to the goal and do it well. Hopefully Matt Besler is okay as well, though that cautionary substitution for him allowed Brooks into the game.

Most concerning, to me, was Michael Bradley's poor play. He always seemed a step behind the play. His passing was, in a word, atrocious. Hopefully it is a one-time thing because his poor form resulted in the US spending too much time in their own half defending against Ghana (40% of the US possession was in their own third). Overall Ghana out-possessed the US 59%-41%.

The US couldn't pass effectively but still got the win. They cannot do that against Portugal or Germany. On the upside, advancement just got very easy for the US. Beat Portugal and they are in (excepting a couple of crazy scenarios that would include Ghana trouncing Germany). That is a big ask, to be fair. But Portugal, for all their talent, is a very undisciplined team (see Pepe: Headbutt). And Ronaldo, as good as he is, has a bad habit of trying to do everything on his own. A good, disciplined US defense that can successfully pass out of their own third, moving to a US midfield that can maintain possession, will beat Portugal.

But for now, let's savor the moment. Just like Mr. Brooks.

Donavan Left Off of U.S. World Cup Roster

Klinsmann had better know what he's doing

Well, I guess it doesn't get much more blunt than that, does it?

The decision by Jurgen Klinsmann to leave Landon Donovan at home for the 2014 World Cup caught most everyone by surprise. The second-most capped player in US Men's National Team history, the general consensus was than Donovan would be on the squad.

After all, Donovan has scored 57 goals for the US side. The next closest active player is Clint Dempsey with 36. Donovan's 57 assists are also the most for any US player.He has been in the past three World Cups. It seems it would be a no-brainer for Donovan to be on the team.

Instead, Donovan will watch the World Cup on television while Aron Johannsson will try to justify Klinsmann's decision.

Donovan could be looking back on the end of a great national career

Johannsson, who plays for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie, is an American by fortune of being born in Mobile, Alabama to Icelandic parents. He moved back to Iceland at age 3. Since then he has developed into quite a solid player. He scored 17 goals for AZ in the 2013-14 season. He is also 23 years old and I think that played a big role in Klinsmann's decision.

The United States has an absolutely brutal schedule at the World Cup. First off, they have to play Germany (one of the best sides in the world), Portugal (has the best player in the world) and Ghana (has beaten the US in the last two World Cups) in the group stage. That is hard enough.

The travel makes it worse. The US team will have to travel from Natal to Manaus to Recife over a 10 day period. Recife and Natal are on the northern Brazilian coast, not too far from one another. Manaus is in the middle of the Amazon. The distance between Natal and Manaus is a little over 4,600 kilometers, or 2,900 miles. The distance from Manaus to Recife is about the same.

It's like flying across the US twice in less than 10 days. Except you have to play three games of soccer. And one of those games is in the middle of a sweltering, humid rain forest. The average daytime temperature in Manaus in June approaches 90 degrees Fahrenheit, along with extreme humidity.

This is Awesome

As video games become more and more realistic, shouldn't the consequences of your actions also become part of the game? Not your in-game actions, your actions outside of the game.

To wit, and from the fine blokes at Deadspin, here is what happens when you swear while playing NBA 2K14 on the Xbox One.

Now, it should be pointed out that had the Rage King calmed down for a few seconds, he'd have likely realized you can turn this feature off. Still, I think it's pretty cool.

And they aren't the first ones to do it. The FIFA series has this as well. Swear too much in career mode while playing and you get a stern letter from your club's owner. Which I found out first-hand playing FIFA 13. I might have a slight swearing problem. Which is to say it's a big problem. So turning this feature off may be a good thing for me going forward.

But think of the possibilities. In any multi-player game, you could design the game to react negatively to someone using insulting language. See how many times someone says "fag" in Call of Duty if it results in them being left with only a knife for an hour. Something to think about...

Sox Win!

This picture from the Boston Globe pretty much says it all.

That right there is closer Koji Uehara. 38 years old, on the tail end of a career that has seen him play in Japan and the US since 1999. He came to the US in 2009 to pitch for the Orioles and was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2011. That year the Rangers made it to the World Series only to get beat by - wait for it - the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

So it must be satisfying for him to face that same team two years later and win that elusive World Series ring. Just as satisfying as it must be for ever member of this a team, a team that was overwhelmingly picked to finish last in the AL East this year. Most sports pundits said that, with luck, the Sox might win 80 games. Instead, they have their third title in ten years.

It's funny going from a Sox fan who worried they would never win a title in my lifetime to a Sox fan who has seen them do it three times. Yeah, maybe everyone enjoyed the hard-luck "Curse of the Bambino" story more, but it is way better being winners. Congrats, guys.

Age Means Nothing in Oakland

Now...I am not, repeat, NOT condoning people brawling with police at baseball games. That is wrong. Shame on you for thinking that is a proper thing to do. Shame.

That said...I don't know what set this guy off. I don't know why he felt the need to single-handedly fight the entire Oakland Police Department. But at least he went all in on the idea.

That's how you commit to something - fight cops and security, get out of a choke hold and take a taser shot to the spine. A taser shot from about one foot away.

Almost as awesome as this Geriatric Jason Statham? The entire drunken crowd cheering and yelling all around the chaos. Oakland is hard core in the sports stands.

So Why Isn't Dewey In the Hall of Fame?

So in Chad Finn's piece today about various Boston sports items, his last entry touches on one non-Boston event; the retirement of right-fielder Vladimir Guerrero. Here it is in full:

Twenty-three right fielders are in the Hall of Fame. By Jay Jaffe's terrific JAWS system, Guerrero rates roughly in the middle statistically among those 23. He clubbed 449 homers, posted a .931 OPS, won an MVP and finished in the top three three other times, had throwing arm that made the NRA envious, and his most-similar-by-ages list includes Willie Mays five times and Manny Ramirez and Duke Snider three times each. He retired this week. He'd get my vote in five years.

While no metric is perfect, JAWS isn't bad. It essentially allows for a comparison between a player and how an average Hall of Famer did at the same position. It averages the career WAR (Wins Above Replacement*) and the seven-year peak WAR total for a player. So, for example, Babe Ruth's career WAR is 163.2 and his WAR7 (seven year peak average) is 84.7. Average them (163.2+84.7 / 2) and you get 123.95, which is rounded up to 124.0. In this way, we can compare players at the same position from different periods.

Vlad the Impaler current ranks 21st right now among all-time Right Fielders in JAWS at 50.6, just off the pace of Hall of Famer Dave Winfield (19th all-time).

But there is a man who ranks 15th all-time, who played 20 years and, in my opinion, is one of the best right fielders to ever play the game. Of course, we are talking about Dwight Evans.

Of the 13 men** ahead of Dewey in JAWS who played right field, 11 are in the Hall of Fame. One has a shot to make it there (Larry Walker) and one is banned from the sport for life (Shoeless Joe Jackson).

That also means that Dewey's JAWS is better than 12 Hall of Famers at the right field position, including Winfield, Willie Keeler and Enos Slaughter. And he's still ahead of potential HOFers like Guerrero and Ichiro.

Now, JAWS isn't the be-all and end-all when it comes to deciding Hall of Fame worthiness. But it does make a basic case that Evans should at least be considered. He fell off the ballot in 1997 when a ridiculously deep class came in that year***. But the Veterans Committee will be voting on Expansion Era players in 2014. Which means we should be seeing their list soon. Evans, at a minimum, should be on that list. And frankly, he should be voted in.

-------------------

*This represents the number of wins a player was responsible for at their position by not being a replacement-level player.

**One slot is reserved for the average of the 23 Hall of Famers at the position. Right now, that composite is 13th on the list.

***On that ballot - George Brett, Robin Yount, Nolan Ryan and Carlton Fisk. Yeah, it was a little deep in awesome.

The Best Sports Video Game Ever - Back Again

Let me take you back to a time when things were easier. When The Simpsons were still funny and a Tea Party still was just a thing young girls did with their stuffed animals. Let me take you back to 1993, and the release of the groundbreaking NHL 94

NHL 94 set the bar not only for future sports video games to match, but for video games in general. It brought a degree of control and realism to console games that had yet to be seen. And it was fun...oh my god, was it ever fun.

October of 1993 was one month into my senior year at UConn. I worked for the college newspaper, and my friends and I were sports junkies. We had a Sega Genesis in our library on the second floor of the newspaper building. And that October we brought NHL 94 into our lives. And promptly almost failed out of college.

Okay, that isn't quite true. But it did make studying a lot harder.

It was amazing. The one-timers, the hard checks, and "the move" - a hellacious spin near the net that the goaltender could almost never stop.

There was also broken glass, checking after the whistle...just an amazing game.

And the best part is you can play it again!! For the 20th anniversary, they are tacking on an NHL 94 mode to NHL 14. So while Don Beaupre is long-gone from the Capitals, you can still check Sidney Crosby into oblivion the old-school way. Oh, and you CAN dominate with Roenick as they made him a special addition to NHL 14 along with Gretsky and Lemieux. But as in Swingers, you can't make Gretsky bleed.

You can fight him, though. Unlike the original, EA tacked on the NHL 14 fighting engine to this awesome throwback.

You can't get any younger and you can't go back to the good old days. But with the NHL 94 mode, I can at least relive the memories.

In Paraguay They Play for Keeps

Being a native New Englander, I take sports seriously. The Yankees are the spawn of Satan, Montreal is a city of dive-artists and crybabies. And the Jets...well, they're just sad. Really, really sad.

But as seriously as I take sports (as do many other fans and players across the country), it never really gets to the point of what you see in South America or Europe. Like fans invading the field. Or, say, a player kicking the ref in his face like it was some kind of kicking bag.

Enter Marcos Leguizamon of Paraguayan side Porvenir FC. After one teammate barrels over a player like a drunk chasing a truck full of free beer, he draws a straight red. Then another teammate draws a straight red for getting in the ref's face. But Marcos will not stand for that. Oh no, he must be the most over-the-top player on his side. And so he goes Bruce Lee on the ref's face.

Say what you will about the morality of it all, but the dude is flexible.