All the World is Waitin’ For the Sun

August 26, 2010 Leave a comment

We begin today with some more YoutTube primer just to get you in the mood to talk about rain.

So, as promised I was able to get in touch with the good folks over at the Elias Sports Bureau (the guys who do all the crazy funky stats you see on the four letter network.  Check out the Bureau’s daily column here.  As always, stats nerd alert if you click the previous link.

Elias.jpgAnyway, I was told there aren’t any really solid records kept about rainouts.  Everything on hand is sketchy at best, but there were some interesting notes.

  • In 1903 the Philadelphia Phillies had nine consecutive games postponed.  It is not known if all of the games were pushed back because of rain.  The “rain”outs were from August 10-19, which does coincide with the great Paris Metro fire…but which probably didn’t cause the delay.
  • In April of 1952 the Washington Senators were postponed in seven straight games.  It is again not known if this is all because of rain.  There is speculation the entire team took three of the days off to think about the idea of one day scouting Stephen Strasburg.
  • In 1911 the World Series was rained out for five straight games.  The dates were October 18-23.  The 22nd was not rained out – it was Sunday…as we talked about in the previous post, baseball was not played on Sundays back in the day.  It was illegal until 1934 in the City of Brotherly Love.
  • In the 1962 World Series there were four rainouts…three of them coming in san Francisco prior to Game 6.
  • In 1975 there were three consecutive rainouts prior to Game 6.  The series famously pitted the Reds and Red Sox.  If you remember, Game 6 was the one in which Carlton Fisk waived his homer fair.  It is urban legend he was waiving non-stop throughout the entire rJanus.jpgainout stretch…he and the St. Joe’s Hawk.  And no, that part’s not true.

Just some more food for thought for you.  On another note, today is Wingfest at the park.  The record for most wings eaten (according to Major League Eating) is 7.72 pounds in 12 minutes by Eater X (right) back on May 8th.  That’s the boneless record.  Joey Chestnut holds several chicken wing records.  Believe it or not there are long form and short form categories.  Something like in ice skating I think…just don’t trust the French judge.

On that note…Till Next Time…

 

Joel  

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Nathan’s and Baseball

July 4, 2010 1 Comment

This is a fairly unrelated to baseball post…but the 4th of July might be the greatest sports day in the world!

First off, it’s my dad’s birthday…so happy birthday!  He’s a die-hard Phillies phan, so all those in Pirate-land will have to forgive him.

But the best sports day in the year?  Of course.  This day tops Sunday of the Master, the All-Star Game, the World Series, the Lakers beating the Celtics, that three day tennis match…you get the idea.

That’s because July 4th is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest!  I mean does it get any better.  There are a few reasons here…

1. The Television Broadcast

Has anybody stopped to listen to what these guys are saying?  Some of it is just ridiculous.  I mean they treat this thing like it’s an actual big event with a sideline reporter and graphics breaking down the various different performers.  I did that Ben Monson was the MLE (Major League Eating) rookie of the year.  One graphic showed him and Brock Lesnar as great rookie performers.  Now that’s a UFC fight I’d love to see.  Teemu Selanne I think was listed on the graphic too.

2. Major League Eating

This thing actually exists.  I encourage you to check out the website – it’s got world rankings and world records.  The logo is maybe the best thing ever.


mle_logo.gif3. Eater X

Tim Janus is nicknamed ‘Eater X.’  He paints his face like the Ultimate Warrior.  Thusly, he’s awesome.  When I become a pro eater I’m thinking of Doink or The 1-2-3 Eater as my nicknames.  I’m sure WWE will be calling.

4. Controversy

There were two huge issues this year.  First, Crazy Legs Conti was wrapped up in a scandal that said he cheated in a qualifier.  The horror.  I guess he spit some of the hot dogs he had eaten back out.  “Reversal of Fortune” (yes that’s the technical term) is against the rules.

But the Biggy was Takeru Kobayashi.  He’s the unbelievably ripped guy that won the competition like 85 years in a row until American Joey Chestnut came along.  Well he didn’t compete this year due to a contract dispute with MLE.  Yes, a contract dispute.  Apparently the Knicks made an offer and he’s thinking about it (or not).  After his win today, Chestnut called out the former World’s No. 1.  Kobayashi ran on thee stage after and was arrested. 

5. After you watch the contest you can come out to McKechnie Field and watch baseball and fireworks!  So see you tonight!

Till next time…

Joel

 

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