Seventh Inning Stretch
Baseball can be considered really exciting or extremely boring. It all depends on who you talk to. Personally, I find that, in general, the sport is pretty boring. That doesn’t mean that it is a bad sport though. You just have to be careful to take baseball for what it is. There is nothing in sports that better illustrates what it is than the seventh inning stretch.
Think about it for a second. What happens in the middle of the seventh inning? The fans all stand up and sing a classic song. They stretch. The fans. It seems to me that this was started because people were falling asleep in the middle of games, and the home team wanted to give the fans a reason to cheer. Well, let’s see what the real origin is from the always correct Wikipedia:
The origin of the seventh inning stretch is said to be in the story of Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., the man credited with bringing baseball to Manhattan College in the late 1800s. Being the Prefect of Discipline as well as the coach of the team, it fell to Brother Jasper to supervise the student fans at every home game. On one particularly hot and muggy day in 1882, during the seventh inning against a semi-pro team called the Metropolitans, the Prefect noticed his charges becoming restless. To break the tension, he called a time-out in the game and instructed everyone in the bleachers to stand up and unwind. It worked so well he began calling for a seventh-inning rest period at every game. The Manhattan College custom spread to the major leagues after the New York Giants were charmed by it at an exhibition game, and the rest is history.
Now that we know what is considered to be the truth, we can dissect the amazing song. If there was only one thing that baseball should be known for, it is the completely horrible songs that teams and the league come up with. Just go to Chicago and you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’m not sure which song is more cheesy and brutal. I think I would have to go with the Go Sox Go song. In any case, my point isn’t to bash these songs, it is actually to praise them. For, what other chants/songs are there that can bring grown, drunk adults to the feet to sing. There are probably three outside of baseball, “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and “Sweet Caroline.” The song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is such a classic that you are abused if you don’t sing along. That is what is so amazing about this whole tradition. Fans at the game are forced to stand up and sing. Other than a few cults I know about, there aren’t many public places that can bring people together like this.
P.S. That picture comes from chalifours.com as a gift bouquet. What an awesome gift!
Filed under Baseball, We Love Sports · Tagged with Baseball, Love Sports, Seventh Inning Stretch
We’re Back
Well, we are back so now you have another place to listen to us ramble. Great huh? So, what should you expect?
- Less analysis – Look, if you want “expert” analysis please head over to ESPN.com, foxsports.com, etc. I have no credentials to tell you what to think, and I really don’t think anyone should care about my opinion on gameplans and such.
- More fun – This site has always had the goal of being fun. What does that mean? We are going to a purely list driven blog. Think of this site as an list of why sports is great, or why we are “linked on sports.” I get it! For an example look at the post below when we were testing this thing.
So, sit back and tell your friends that LinkedOnSports is back. Sign up for our feeds if you’re into that sort of thing. Sign up for our daily emails if you’re into that sort of thing. Shoot us an email with any ideas or comments at email@linkedonsports.com.
Let’s do this thing!
Filed under Announcements · Tagged with Let's do this, We're Back
Where Have We Been?
Moving, busy, getting organized. Don’t worry we’ll be back with a bang in under a week. In the meantime, keep on linking!
Filed under Announcements · Tagged with
We Love Baseball – Baseball Caps
You may say that a baseball cap has nothing to do with the actual sport. That may be a valid point, but with this first edition of why we are linked on sports (haha, get it?!), I figured I would go out on a limb. Listen, I understand there are hats for just about everything. Baseball brings out that different type of fan though, and that fan is discovered through the use of baseball caps.
More than any other sport, you are allowed to wear these caps for absolutely no reason. Seriously. If you wear a Titelist hat, well, you are playing golf, and you most likely think that you are way better than you really are. Hats from baseball, however, are used for anything, and anyone can wear any team they desire. It has become more of a fashion statement, which is pretty weird.
Let me give you an example. I see a lot of New York Yankees hats around. I’m sure there are a lot of Yankees fans around, but I’m also pretty sure that a lot of these people wearing the hats don’t give a shit about the actual team. This would all be good and dandy if the point of this type of merchandise wasn’t to show your true colors. You don’t see people in Chicago walking around with New York Jets hats (unless they are from Wisconsin and they had adopted the Brett Favre Jets). Baseball teams are just different though. For some reason it is not considered weird to wear a hat of a team you have absolutely no affiliation with.
It’s an interesting phenomenon to me mostly because it is only baseball that it seems to be true of. Do you wear baseball caps just for the hell of it? Are you like me and want to rip off the Yankees hats off of people’s heads when you know they don’t care about the Yankees?
So, you may ask why this makes the list of why we are linked on sports (it never gets old). It seems to me that this trend is occurring because baseball has had such an impact on society. It’s not like the hat is a new concept. Baseball has just transformed their logos into something more than supporting the teams. It is actually just supporting the MLB brand.
Filed under Baseball, We Love Sports · Tagged with Baseball, Baseball Caps, Love Sports, MLB
The Fantasy Football Personalities
Here’s a fun list of the eight personalities at every live draft. I can appreciate most of them. The girlfriend has yet to break into any of my fantasy football leagues. I think this is a good thing. But then I think it would be nice for her not to think I’m crazy when I agonize over lineups every Sunday morning. My favorite is the Confusionist. The “is (insert name here) taken?” question gets asked about 20 times in my live draft, and it never gets less annoying. It’s not like I don’t do it too, but it’s more annoying when others do it. Enjoy.
8 Personalities at Every Fantasy Football Draft [FF Forecast]
Filed under NFL · Tagged with Fantasy Football, Football, Live Draft, NFL
Artest Reenacts Palace Brawl
I found this video over at Fanhouse and I’m not sure if it makes me like Ron Artest more or hate him more. He just seems like a jackass. But it is funny how he screwed the Pacers franchise because of this story!
And Steroids Are Back…
…stronger than ever. The beginning of the end is here folks. The 2003 list is slowly leaking as we all assumed it eventually would. Great.
Here we go … Lawyers with “knowledge of the results” of MLB’s 2003 steroid tests says that both Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are among the players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.
What’s there to say anymore? It’s not like it’s surprising I guess. In all seriousness, I don’t really care. It doesn’t affect me, but it still sucks to see our ideas actually come true. Great.
Lane Kiffin Putting Up Billboards
I’ll believe it when it actually happens, but oh boy this could get good!
Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin announced plans for an advertising plan last week while addressing his audience at the SEC football media days. More specifically, he said a “billboard will be going up” in Florida next month.
He’s been given a lot of crap since becoming UT’s coach, but this is pretty awesome. Don’t get me wrong he clearly is insane, and I would never want him as MY coach. Still, from an outsider perspective you have to love the antics. My favorite of the authors ideas is this one:
Suppose UT loses by a lopsided margin to the Gators this September. Monday’s billboards in Florida and LA could read: “We need help. Are you man enough to Volunteer?”
UT Ad Campaign Will Turn A Few Heads [GoVolsXtra]
Filed under NCAAF · Tagged with Billboards, College Football, Florida, Kiffin, NCCA Football, Tennessee
The Inner Ramblings of a Deranged Sports Mind
Lots of rambling to do today, no time for an intro, so I’ll just type the first word I can think of…
Scrumtrelescant
I’m happy the first thing I could think of was a Will Ferrell quote…what is my life?
A SMATTERING OF THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME AND ONE RICKEY HENDERSON
Rickey loves Rickey
This past weekend was Baseball’s Hall of Fame Weekend, where Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were inducted into the most hallowed of halls.
It was great to see these two get in. Rickey Henderson was out to be the all-time steals king from day one and Jim Rice was one of the most feared hitters in the league during his days with Boston.
I value Rickey by a wide margin however, because of two things. A) He played for nearly every team in the league during his 25 years in baseball 2) He LOVES talking in the third person.
If you’ve never heard David Cross’ impression of Rickey Henderson calling himself on the phone you’re missing out, it is simply incredible.
It got me thinking, talking in the third person has to add spice to your life. You are never alone, you never run out of things to talk about and you’re life is always great because you never realize how huge of a d-bag you make yourself out to be by talking like you aren’t in the room.
Here’s what I was expecting to hear when Mr. Henderson graced the stage in Cooperstown last weekend.
“Rickey knows how good Rickey was and that’s all that matters to Rickey at this time, which is a time at which Rickey is celebrating his induction into the Hall of Fame where Rickey will forever be enshrined with Rickey Henderson’s picture gracing the wall over the inscription of the name Rickey Henderson…Rickey Henderson. Rickey Henderson out.”
Obviously I was disheartened when he spoke rather fluent English, but Rick will always be a legend to Austin Smith.
MARK BUERHLE THREW A PERFECT GAME AND I DIED A LITTLE INSIDE
You should re-name that baby "DeWayneWise Buerhle"
The title pretty much says it all. It couldn’t have happened to a worse guy (except David Wells, but he’s the worst person…ever).
Impressive, Yes. A sign from god that the Tigers are destined to lose the division, (despite taking 3 of 4 in a series that started the next day) perhaps. An invitation for me to express my disgust for the White Sox. Perfect.
Austin Smith I despise the White Sox and apologize to no one for it. They are bar none the grossest, dirtiest, AND filthiest team in baseball.
Here are some names to consider.
Mark Buerhle – soft tossing lefty with a horrible beard
John Danks – Looks like he was found in a field driving a Tractor somewhere in Texas.
AJ Pierzynski – I refuse to say his name aloud and Michael Barrett is a hero of mine.
Scott Podsednik – Can run…
Bobby Jenks – The animal living on his chin is clearly affecting his pitching
Bartolo Colon – generously listed at 5’11” 245.
Ozzie Guillen – In his own words “habaga bllartawa spala gaba”. Point: I can’t understand a word he says.
Those seven people alone would ruin any team for me, so being on a team that is the red-headed step-child of Chicago baseball and biggest rival of my favorite team certainly doesn’t help.
So, in the spirit of Brandon Jennings I say “F*** the White Sox”
Eat it Ozzie.
SPORTS AND MUSIC, A TOUCH OF CULTURE.
Wayne Bryant?
I love sports, obviously, BUT I also love rap.
I admittedly am as white as they come and have no business listening to and/or identifying with anything a rapper says, but I can’t drag myself away from it and I figured out why.
Sports references.
I hate Country music, all they talk about is their tractors and how the crops all die in the winter and the Hannah Montana really killed what small propensity I had for listening to pop, so I am left with rap, a category in which most would not picture a suburbanite like myself falling into.
Every time a rapper says something to reference sports, I pay attention. I’m always amused and thrilled when a celebrity actually knows a lot about sports. A lot of guys like Jim Belushi and Jack Nicholson really just know a lot about one team. (Actually since I saw Nicholson sitting at a Phillies game rocking a Yankees cap, I’ve lost all respect for this front-running bastard. Lakers and Yankees, why not just be a woman? ‘I know Kobe and Jeter are good’ is pretty much what I expect from him at this point). But for some reason rappers, like Lil Wayne and Jay-Z, actually know their shit.
Case and point, Jay-Z bought part of the New Jersey Nets and was one of the driving forces behind their impending move to his hometown, Brooklyn. He also has a nightclub called the 40-40 club, 40-40 of course the acronym for a baseball player who hits 40 home runs and accumulates 40 stolen bases in any given season, which is an elite club (double entendre, get it?)
Here are some examples of what I’m talking about:
Jay-Z
“My fine *** we’ve got some victims to catch so in a couple years, baby imam bring you some Nets” – Brooklyn 2.0
“This ain’t chris rock, bitch, This the Roc b****, and I’m the franchise like a Houston Rocket, Yao Ming” – LaLaLa
Pretty good, but nothing can match the obscurity of the references given by one DeWayne Carter, more commonly known as Lil Wayne.
“I am a New Orleans Saint and to the Houston Texans I’d like to say thanks. Reggie Bush Baby! Reggie Bush Baby! Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Shawn Payton. I relentless, I’m offensive, I’m expensive like Tom Benson” – Put Me in the Game (Yes, that is a reference to Saints owner Tom Benson)
Or my personal favorite
“She’d better catch like she’s Steve Largent, because I’m what’s up, like Martin” – Show Me What You Got.
Whenever you can make a reference to the whitest receiver of all time, and make it sound seamless you have my respect.
I write this because I have found a new challenger for the title of “Best Sports-Referencer in Rap” and his name is Wale. Pronounced Wa-lay, this guy is awesome. He’s from DC so he represents Wiz and Caps fans everywhere. He’s got some killer lines such as:
“I need room, they say I’m still growing, n***** I’m Greg Oden, Kevin Durant you’re an ant, like my mother’s kin” – Please Listen
One line, two top draft picks. Dope. And…
“You n***** mad cause you’re not me. I remain a Giant and you’re Jeremy Shockey” –Chillin’ feat. Lady GaGa
Shockey was traded last off-season to the Saints…from the Giants. That’s so awesome I am struggling to keep this pant-tent contained. Wale also did an entire song about how he played football for 12 years and went to two Junior Colleges before committing to rap full-time.
Listen to it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-a4aFJuvsg
Rap and Sports, a match made in heaven.
Austin Smith, out.
Filed under Inner Ramblings · Tagged with
The Ultimate “We Love Sports” List
Sorry to our 8 loyal visitors for not being around yesterday. I do have a job and the co-creator of the site, *coughDANcough* doesn’t do shit around here anymore so it was an off day. I’m sure you guys were devasted refreshing your RSS feeds all day! But, I’m back. Hopefully we will have a new Inner Ramblings today from Austin, which should cheer everyone up.
In other news, a new feature will be starting soon, but we could use your help. The site is called “LinkedOnSports” so it felt appropriate to start explaining why. So, each week, 3-5 of the days a sport will be featured with a post about one of reasons why we love that sport. It will be an ongoing list that will last FOR-E-VER. Where do you come in? Well, just comment, email, text, twitter, facebook us with reasons why you love a specific sport. Pretty simple. It will all start next week. Our first featured sport will be in honor of summer being a brutal time of year for sports because we are stuck with just BASEBALL!!
Send us your reasons why you love baseball and you may just see it as one of the first five ever recorded on LOS! Now, get back to work.
Oh, and fuck you Brett Favre.
Filed under Announcements · Tagged with Baseball, Fuck Favre, LinkedOnSports, Ramblings, We Love Sports
Greatest Hole-In-One Ever?
This may be the most amazing shot I’ve ever seen. Pure luck by Leif Olson, no doubt, but amazing nonetheless. Enjoy!
Filed under Golf · Tagged with Golf, hole in one, Leif Olson
Lifetime Bans Mean 20 Years?
Look, I really couldn’t care less one way or the other in terms of how it affects my life, but the ESPN story about Bud Selig considering the reinstatement of Pete Rose confuses me.
“I think a lot of the guys feel that it’s been 20 years now for Pete, and would lean toward leniency and time served,” an unnamed Hall of Famer said, according to the Daily News.
There are a couple of issues. One, he was banned. Period. That’s the way it is. He did something that was awful, gambling on games, and the league chose to take action. Why is this even up for discussion? Two, if he is reinstated and consequently voted in then we are going to have great controversy in baseball. Suprise!
We will have to spend a year debating which is a worse offence, steroids or gambling. I can see it on sports radio right now. I don’t want to hear that debate. Let’s just save our energy by upholding the original ruling rather than feeling bad for the guy.
Report: Selig eyeing Rose’s status again [ESPN]
