Fez
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Post by Fez on Sept 25, 2024 23:10:42 GMT
I would not have bet against the 49ers in that game. More US sport: apologies to non-baseball fans but for those with an interest this is worth a look from last night, in the National League West. San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers had already qualified for the playoffs while the Padres needed one more win (although still with five games to play). It's the bottom of the ninth, Padres 4-2 up but Dodgers with two runners on base and nobody out, with the current most dangerous hitter in baseball (Shohei Ohtani) due up. A walk-off hit or even grand slam seemed more likely than what happened next: Triple plays are hard and happen maybe 3 to 5 times per season on average. There have been perhaps half a dozen game-ending triple plays ever, never mind a game-ending triple play to take you to the post-season. Normally the third baseman would not think to step on base for the first out (or would not have time) and would throw to second (then on to first for the double play). But Manny Machado is a special kind of third baseman. Terrific work at 2nd base as well. I know next to nothing about baseball, but that looked cool!  Yeah, very slick. No room for error. A triple play (even a double play) is a beautiful thing, the smoothness belying how hard and accurately they throw that ball. |
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Fez
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Posts: 608
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Post by Fez on Sept 25, 2024 23:14:36 GMT
I know nothing about NFL but have agreed to go with one of my lads to a game in Munich in November, have to start watching games on Sky now to prepare. I watched a few London Moh-narks and Scottish Clay-morrrrrs games back in the day. They were pretty entertaining, but very stop/start!  I used to watch them now and then at the old Wembley (I think), when that European League was being developed. Must have been late 80s. The Monarchs hoovered up all the talent at that time, IIRC, so they usually won, which became a bit tedious. |
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Fez
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Post by Fez on Sept 25, 2024 23:18:02 GMT
I know nothing about NFL but have agreed to go with one of my lads to a game in Munich in November, have to start watching games on Sky now to prepare. It should be a good time, although the NFL has lumbered Germany with two of the “less good” teams: the Carolina Panthers v the NY Giants. Enjoy! |
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Post by herbiedumplings on Sept 26, 2024 6:59:44 GMT
I watched a few London Moh-narks and Scottish Clay-morrrrrs games back in the day. They were pretty entertaining, but very stop/start! I used to watch them now and then at the old Wembley (I think), when that European League was being developed. Must have been late 80s. The Monarchs hoovered up all the talent at that time, IIRC, so they usually won, which became a bit tedious. White Hart Lane, it was.  William Perry is the only player I can remember by name from either team TBF!  |
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Post by desmond on Sept 26, 2024 8:51:15 GMT
I know nothing about NFL but have agreed to go with one of my lads to a game in Munich in November, have to start watching games on Sky now to prepare. It should be a good time, although the NFL has lumbered Germany with two of the “less good” teams: the Carolina Panthers v the NY Giants. Enjoy! My lad is a Panthers fan, he’s been over to US a few times on road trips to see them and other games, he loves the sport. |
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Fez
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Posts: 608
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Post by Fez on Sept 26, 2024 18:15:40 GMT
It should be a good time, although the NFL has lumbered Germany with two of the “less good” teams: the Carolina Panthers v the NY Giants. Enjoy! My lad is a Panthers fan, he’s been over to US a few times on road trips to see them and other games, he loves the sport. Ah - then the schedule has fallen perfectly; and apologies for disrespecting the Panthers in that case! But the owner has a history of overstepping and interfering. A good result against the Raiders last weekend but I feel bad for their sophomore QB. |
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Post by scfc73 on Sept 27, 2024 6:44:47 GMT
I know nothing about NFL but have agreed to go with one of my lads to a game in Munich in November, have to start watching games on Sky now to prepare. I don't to profess to be an expert at all but been a casual fan of NFL since I was a kid. It's quite easy to pick up the basics desmond. Ignore the stop start nature of the game & view it more like a game of chess. A lot of the excitement & tension evolves around the clock if it's a close game with teams trying to either stop it to squeeze a scoring play in the remaining seconds or run it down if they have the advantage, makes for some real nail biting moments. One thing I like with NFL as with cricket & rugby over here is that if there's a decision that's reviewed the referees decision is audible to the spectators, why that isn't a thing with VAR in football over here I don't know. |
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Fez
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Post by Fez on Sept 27, 2024 20:10:36 GMT
There's a great breakdown of that triple play here. 'Jomboy' is always worth a look (and he's been enthusiastically getting into cricket as well this year). Does some neat lipreading.
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Fez
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Post by Fez on Oct 7, 2024 18:57:33 GMT
Baseball postseason play-offs - some wild and feisty games so far. Anybody following or rooting for anyone? Padres for me, you'll have noticed. Among many other things, Jurickson Profar stole a home run last night, robbing the ball from the Dodgers fans' hands two rows back. x.com/notgaetti/status/1843104903021183002The video cuts off but the guy he robbed was all "aaaah yeah, you got me, great play." Unfortunately other fans started chucking things at the outfield a little while after. Anyway, we're down to Phillies v Mets, Padres v Dodgers in the National League; Yankees v Royals, Tigers v Guardians in the American League. |
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Post by Barmy Blue Army on Oct 7, 2024 21:42:24 GMT
Baseball postseason play-offs - some wild and feisty games so far. Anybody following or rooting for anyone? Padres for me, you'll have noticed. Among many other things, Jurickson Profar stole a home run last night, robbing the ball from the Dodgers fans' hands two rows back. x.com/notgaetti/status/1843104903021183002The video cuts off but the guy he robbed was all "aaaah yeah, you got me, great play." Unfortunately other fans started chucking things at the outfield a little while after. Anyway, we're down to Phillies v Mets, Padres v Dodgers in the National League; Yankees v Royals, Tigers v Guardians in the American League. So fans are allowed to try and catch it and it's not interfering with play if they knock his arm out of the way in doing so?! Wouldn't happen in cricket! I like pretty much all sports but I've never got into baseball. I just watched that triple play now and there didn't seem to be that much excitement on the field or noise from the stands for an incredible play to get you to the post season. Isn't it sort of the equivalent of the Deeney goal in the Championship PO semi final? That was absolute scenes. I'd probably like if I watched it a bit more and understood some of the intricacies. The NFL has steadily grown on me after thinking it was way to stop/start to begin with. It still is but the athleticism is incredible. |
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Fez
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Posts: 608
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Post by Fez on Oct 7, 2024 22:30:52 GMT
Baseball postseason play-offs - some wild and feisty games so far. Anybody following or rooting for anyone? Padres for me, you'll have noticed. Among many other things, Jurickson Profar stole a home run last night, robbing the ball from the Dodgers fans' hands two rows back. x.com/notgaetti/status/1843104903021183002The video cuts off but the guy he robbed was all "aaaah yeah, you got me, great play." Unfortunately other fans started chucking things at the outfield a little while after. Anyway, we're down to Phillies v Mets, Padres v Dodgers in the National League; Yankees v Royals, Tigers v Guardians in the American League. So fans are allowed to try and catch it and it's not interfering with play if they knock his arm out of the way in doing so?! Wouldn't happen in cricket! I like pretty much all sports but I've never got into baseball. I just watched that triple play now and there didn't seem to be that much excitement on the field or noise from the stands for an incredible play to get you to the post season. Isn't it sort of the equivalent of the Deeney goal in the Championship PO semi final? That was absolute scenes. I'd probably like if I watched it a bit more and understood some of the intricacies. The NFL has steadily grown on me after thinking it was way to stop/start to begin with. It still is but the athleticism is incredible. It's fine for fans to try to catch the ball as along as it has gotten over the wall (the boundary of the field of play), even if that means incidental contact with the fielder. Of course, if your team's guy going for the catch, then you'd want to avoid that. However, they are not allowed to reach over the wall and into the field of play and try to grab a catchable ball. That's 'spectator interference'. Full definition: "In every case of spectator interference with a batted or thrown ball, the ball shall be declared dead and the baserunners can be placed where the umpire determines they would have been without the interference. When a spectator clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball by reaching onto the field of play, the batter shall be ruled out. But no interference is called if a spectator comes in contact with a batted or thrown ball without reaching onto the field of play -- even if a fielder might have caught the ball had the spectator not been there." As for the triple play, the Padres were away at Dodger's Stadium, which is why there was less noise from Padres fans amidst the thoroughly deflated Dodgers fans. You can hear the Padres' support but being scattered around the stadium doesn't help, and they were far outnumbered by home fans. It would have been a wild scene if that was in San Diego. The on-field reaction was a little muted while they waited for the replay and confirmation of the win. There was a bit more excitement after that - here's the whole thing, starting at about 7:10, with the umpire's announcement at about 8:50... And here is a clip of the OTT locker room after the game: Both baseball and American football can reward you with more viewing, for sure. It's a bit of a Catch22, though: if you don't enjoy a sport then there's little incentive to watch it to a point where you might start enjoying it. I was the same with basketball until I moved here, where it's unavoidable. Love it now, especially live. |
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Post by Henry Pratt on Oct 8, 2024 13:23:04 GMT
Baseball postseason play-offs - some wild and feisty games so far. Anybody following or rooting for anyone? Padres for me, you'll have noticed. Among many other things, Jurickson Profar stole a home run last night, robbing the ball from the Dodgers fans' hands two rows back. x.com/notgaetti/status/1843104903021183002The video cuts off but the guy he robbed was all "aaaah yeah, you got me, great play." Unfortunately other fans started chucking things at the outfield a little while after. Anyway, we're down to Phillies v Mets, Padres v Dodgers in the National League; Yankees v Royals, Tigers v Guardians in the American League. So fans are allowed to try and catch it and it's not interfering with play if they knock his arm out of the way in doing so?! Wouldn't happen in cricket! I like pretty much all sports but I've never got into baseball. I just watched that triple play now and there didn't seem to be that much excitement on the field or noise from the stands for an incredible play to get you to the post season. Isn't it sort of the equivalent of the Deeney goal in the Championship PO semi final? That was absolute scenes. I'd probably like if I watched it a bit more and understood some of the intricacies. The NFL has steadily grown on me after thinking it was way to stop/start to begin with. It still is but the athleticism is incredible. For me, it's very similar to how cricket would appear to an American. It's not like (our) football or basketball, which are a piece of piss to explain. To appreciate and understand baseball, you need to put in the homework. Not too much - I taped a game a few years ago, to explain what was going on to relatives who were going to watch a game in the States. You can get the basics in ten minutes and a fairly good understanding to take to a game in about half an hour. But it is fairly complicated - strikes v balls, pitch counts, ground outs v force outs, double plays, tagging up... Like I say, imagine coming to cricket cold - you'd need a similar amount of explanation, I think. Worth it, though. |
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Fez
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Post by Fez on Oct 8, 2024 15:40:11 GMT
So fans are allowed to try and catch it and it's not interfering with play if they knock his arm out of the way in doing so?! Wouldn't happen in cricket! I like pretty much all sports but I've never got into baseball. I just watched that triple play now and there didn't seem to be that much excitement on the field or noise from the stands for an incredible play to get you to the post season. Isn't it sort of the equivalent of the Deeney goal in the Championship PO semi final? That was absolute scenes. I'd probably like if I watched it a bit more and understood some of the intricacies. The NFL has steadily grown on me after thinking it was way to stop/start to begin with. It still is but the athleticism is incredible. For me, it's very similar to how cricket would appear to an American. It's not like (our) football or basketball, which are a piece of piss to explain. To appreciate and understand baseball, you need to put in the homework. Not too much - I taped a game a few years ago, to explain what was going on to relatives who were going to watch a game in the States. You can get the basics in ten minutes and a fairly good understanding to take to a game in about half an hour. But it is fairly complicated - strikes v balls, pitch counts, ground outs v force outs, double plays, tagging up... Like I say, imagine coming to cricket cold - you'd need a similar amount of explanation, I think. Worth it, though. Well put. I had friends visiting from England recently and took them to a minor league game, and they were getting into it and understanding some of the intricacies, tactics and stats. They'd been to a Marlins game previously on a Florida visit, so that helped a bit. Am I correct in recalling you're a Rays fan? Basketball is a interesting one - like football, easy to quickly understand and follow but more complicated when you delve into it. |
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Post by Henry Pratt on Oct 9, 2024 12:18:18 GMT
For me, it's very similar to how cricket would appear to an American. It's not like (our) football or basketball, which are a piece of piss to explain. To appreciate and understand baseball, you need to put in the homework. Not too much - I taped a game a few years ago, to explain what was going on to relatives who were going to watch a game in the States. You can get the basics in ten minutes and a fairly good understanding to take to a game in about half an hour. But it is fairly complicated - strikes v balls, pitch counts, ground outs v force outs, double plays, tagging up... Like I say, imagine coming to cricket cold - you'd need a similar amount of explanation, I think. Worth it, though. Well put. I had friends visiting from England recently and took them to a minor league game, and they were getting into it and understanding some of the intricacies, tactics and stats. They'd been to a Marlins game previously on a Florida visit, so that helped a bit. Am I correct in recalling you're a Rays fan? Basketball is a interesting one - like football, easy to quickly understand and follow but more complicated when you delve into it. Yeah, go Rays! Simply because they were the first team I'd seen live, on a visit to Florida in 2007. It was when they were still shit, too, so no glory-hunting from me. The following season the had the best record in baseball and went to the World Series, and have been pretty decent ever since. Also seen the Yankees at their new stadium, the year it opened, as well as AAA Pawtucket v Scranton-Wilkes Barre and a couple of single A Lakeland Flying Tigers games. Love it. |
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Fez
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Post by Fez on Oct 9, 2024 14:08:46 GMT
Well put. I had friends visiting from England recently and took them to a minor league game, and they were getting into it and understanding some of the intricacies, tactics and stats. They'd been to a Marlins game previously on a Florida visit, so that helped a bit. Am I correct in recalling you're a Rays fan? Basketball is a interesting one - like football, easy to quickly understand and follow but more complicated when you delve into it. Yeah, go Rays! Simply because they were the first team I'd seen live, on a visit to Florida in 2007. It was when they were still shit, too, so no glory-hunting from me. The following season the had the best record in baseball and went to the World Series, and have been pretty decent ever since. Also seen the Yankees at their new stadium, the year it opened, as well as AAA Pawtucket v Scranton-Wilkes Barre and a couple of single A Lakeland Flying Tigers games. Love it. Nice! We occasionally go to AAA games here at a lovely ball park. Always a good time, although I appear to be some sort of albatross - they seem to lose far more than win when I'm attending. But now and then you get to watch an MLB player on rehab, or a young player on the verge of the majors. A few years ago we had Justin Verlander visit on a rehab assignment, and last year we were watching the Pirates' Oneil Cruz, for example. Your Marlins induction is similar to mine - the first game that I saw was Padres v Dodgers on a San Diego visit in 1999. Some rough years followed, so no glory-hunting here, either. I discovered afterwards from my host that I was supposed to have been rooting for the Dodgers, but I'm glad I got that wrong. |
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