Month: October 2024

The Bulls managed to encapsulate their messy season rather beautifully in just 12 minutes of play today. Some illustrative figures on their first quarter against the Celtics, during which they scored just nine points: They used more players (10) than they scored points (nine), per K.C. Johnson of the . They didn’t make their first field goal until nearly halfway through the quarter. This is what their shot chart looked like before that point… …and it only got slightly less embarrassing by the end of the quarter, with 3-of-26 shooting including a 1-of-5 mark from beyond the arc: [object Object] Really, why use numbers or shot charts at all when Robin Lopez’s half-hearted defense here is perfectly indicative of the team’s overall output? The Bulls were slightly more resp…

Before we get to the second round of our tournament, I'd like to share a tip we received from a reader named Jeffrey. Jeffrey is not himself a Name of the Year nominee, but he is a Brandeis alum familiar with Mingus Mapps, the Bulltron Regional's 8-seed and a Brandeis poli-sci professor. We are, Jeffrey explained, "selling Mingus Mapps short" by not including his middle name, Ulysses. "Get his middle name involved!" Fear not, fair Judge; we are well aware of Mingus' middle name. And yes, Mingus Ulysses Mapps is an epic odyssey of a handle. Nonetheless, most of the onomasts involved in the creation of this bracket agree that middle names often have negative effects on cadence. In this case, we like Mingus Mapps' name more when his wonderful allite…

"Every tennis lover would like, someday, to play like Federer," Philippe Bouin tells Cynthia Gorney of The New York Times Magazine for this week's cover story. "But every man wants to be Rafael Nadal. Which is different." That's the backbone of Gorney's epic, sprawling profile of Nadal — which couldn't have hit newsstands at a better time, with his withdrawing from Wimbledon on Friday, even if it's actually just a big cover-up and he's already won it. But before you get all psyched out about reading many, many words, here's one thing to think about. With this story, The Times Magazine — and its Play, R.I.P. — has published two of the finest long-form profiles of Nadal and Roger Federer. What's more, the authors of th…

The Mighty MJD's Smorgasbord runs every Monday. Do enjoy. • I'm sitting at the bar, alone for the early games. It's just me and a guy who has never tended bar before in his life. Muff Stubble Girl walks by and I do an active search for downstairs stubble. None is found. She is a master with the razor.

• Most people I know are Steelers fans, except for Danks, who likes the Patriots … so none of them have spoken to each other for a few days. I'm left in the middle, hearing bullshit from both sides. Danks gets it started early with a text asking if Troy Polamalu's playing today, or if he's still out with a yeast infection. • Brian Westbrook takes a screen pass from Donovan McNabb, and the Giants line a path to the endzone for him like altar boys ma…

data-mm-id=”_l98a6iihf”>It had to happen sometime. For years the end of the New England Patriots' dynasty has been forecasted, often by hopeful prognosticators who have had their fill of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft and every other ring-collecting player who has molded himself in The Way. And it happened Saturday night as the Tennessee Titans went into Foxborough and emerged victorious. The better team won and they did it the old-fashioned way: by bullying in the trenches, bowing their backs when needed, and gaining every available advantage.This is the blueprint the Patriots followed to become the greatest dynamo in recent team sports history and it was the plan they couldn't follow again this year, no matter how much they wanted it or how magical Brady can be whe…

data-mm-id=”_hg0hwdx57″>Computerized strike zones could be coming to MLB within the next five years, the Associated Press reports. Here are the nuts and bolts, per the report:”Umpires agreed to cooperate with Major League Baseball in the development and testing of an automated ball-strike system as part of a five-year labor contract announced Saturday, two people familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association also agreed to cooperate and assist if Commissioner Rob Manfred decides to utilize the system at the major league level.”They've been testing mechanisms for this in the independent Atlantic League and the Arizona Fall League. Single-A is next for the upcoming season, and then Triple-A in 2021. It sounds like this is going to be…

data-mm-id=”_efue3pmit”>Justin Thomas was quite literally making everything, stringing together 10 consecutive one-putts while building a seemingly insurmountable three-shot lead with three holes to play at the Workday Charity Open. So even though Collin Morikawa's efforts to save par at No. 15 were admirable, they looked to be too little and too late. His second PGA Tour victory would have to wait. But Thomas came back to reality just in time for the hunted to be come the hunter and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a stunning, Ohio thrill ride which reminded us of the sport's uncanny ability to deliver. Morikawa pared No. 16 and watched Thomas finally miss from the green. The lead was two. Then Morikawa fired in a birdie to JT's par on the penultimate hole. A w…

data-mm-id=”_yxx04htgi”>Take Me Home, Country Roads is a song performed by John Denver that peaked on the billboard charts in 1971. By this time next year, it will officially be 50 years old and people will still be arguing about what region the song is actually about, despite the fact that there is a state explicitly mentioned in the very first line of the song.The latest debate about the song started when a wonderful TikTok was shared on Twitter. In this video, a young man will have a sober thought and express it while at a bar. Considering the second scene of the TikTok, we hope this was not filmed recently.Honestly this might be my all-time favorite TikTok pic.twitter.com/920s6Ic8x4— Dave Jorgenson (@davejorgenson) May 22, 2020This fellow posits that the song is not about the sta…

data-mm-id=”_uosg5ntwc”>The Cleveland Browns are in the midst of their best season since Derek Anderson was under center, the housing bubble hadn't popped, and Barack Obama was only a senator from Illinois. The historically cursed franchise is 10-4 with an elite run game and former No. 1 overall selection Baker Mayfield is playing up to his potential as their leader and signal-caller. Unless something terrible happens, the Browns should be in the playoffs after a 13-year drought. All season, the assumption was that the Browns' path to the playoffs would come in the form of a wild card berth. That is because the Pittsburgh Steelers led the AFC North by multiple games all season after going undefeated for 11 straight weeks. Last night, however, those very same Steelers lost to …