if I weren’t to be able to make this game, the two teams would still play and nobody would care.”

And I would likely enjoy the game more.

Yadier Molina should call Buck out for not caring enough about baseball and Buck should respond by dousing him with a bucket of ice water. Then Molina can say, while seemingly on the verge of tears, "you're a real man, Joe, I'll say that."

Buck made the seven-mile trek in around 35 minutes on a police-escorted motorized cable-car trolley in order to be in the broadcast booth in time.

There are at least three things I don't understand in this sentence.

If the police had escorted him a few hundred feet east and a few feet down, it would have solved the Joe Buck problem.

I told you hustle was over-rated.

Nowadays Joe Buck doesn't need a street-smart con-man roommate to help him get through traffic fast.

There are at least three things I don't understand in this sentence.

7 miles is what, like 10km? Some people can run that in 35 minutes.

“I feel fine,” Buck said as he waited for the elevator at AT&T Park to bring him to the broadcast booth. “I can’t act like I’m playing in any of these two games or anything. I’m just talking, and hey, I can talk all night.”

...“It’s fun, and I was looking forward to this game all day,” Buck said. “The focus is on these games, and if I weren’t to be able to make this game, the two teams would still play and nobody would care.”

If the Joe Buck who said these things was the same Joe Buck we got in the broadcast booth I think we'd all think he's pretty decent. It's weird, more than once I've seen quotes from Buck that are funny, self-deprecating, and show a genuine liking for the sports he covers. I don't know what the hell happens to him when he actually gets behind the microphone.

motorized cable-car trolley

I too have no idea what this is describing, unless there are now cable cars running through Bayview.

I too have no idea what this is describing, unless there are now cable cars running through Bayview.

Basically, they have these vehicles that are made to look like cable cars, except that they're motorized and have tires so that they can be driven on streets, rather than along rails while being pulled along a cable.

Unlike the real cable cars, they are not part of the city's public transit, but are offered commercially for tourists, partiers, conventioneers . . . wherever they can make a buck by making people feel as though they are having the cable-car experience without having to wait in cable-car lines.

The TBS coverage has really driven home how stale things are over on the FOX side. Ron Darling (who, I swear, I've accidentally referred to as Gary Darling at least four or five times in the last day) and John Smoltz bring some unique insights to the broadcast. I don't share all of their sentiments and they're guilty of some cliches, but the TBS broadcasts haven't had that well-traveled, been-there, heard-this feel to it. Buck seems indifferent most of the time, while McCarver takes Manny Ramirez-like routes in trying to make his usually uninteresting or contrived points.

Buck seems indifferent most of the time

Yeah, indifferent, bored, disinterested, take your pick. Apparently that's just what FOX is looking for. And yet they recently hired Gus Johnson, so who knows.

by making people feel as though they are having the cable-car experience without having to wait in cable-car lines.

Off-topic tip for visitors to San Francisco: If you want to ride a real cable car without having to wait in cable-car lines, ride the California Street line. It goes from the foot of California Street, at Market near the Ferry Building, to California and Van Ness. You pass through the Financial District, Chinatown and Polk Gulch and you get a great view of the bay. It's slightly less charming than the Powell Street lines, which are the ones you'll wait a long time for, because it's all on one street, and it's a main street, as opposed to the Powell Street lines both winding through a couple of neighborhoods. But you don't have to waste a couple hours of your life waiting for it.

Makes me wonder: what would they have done if the Giants were still playing home games at Candlestick? Move the baseball game to Saturday? Move the football game to Monday night? Both?

Was there ever a football-baseball double header? The field would be in terrible shape and the lines would still be there, but that wouldn't necessarily have stopped anyone before about 1980.

[14] I'm sure that came up before in the era of multi-use stadiums.

[15] I remember being able to see the traces of the lines at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, when they'd power-wash off the lines used for the football game. There was a stands-reconfiguration for that, so I doubt they could pull that off in a single day.

It's been years since I lived in San Francisco, but if I were going by police escort, I'd think the fastest way between Candlestick and AT&T would be up 3rd St, rather than battle going from the Bayshore to the 280, which would cut the trip down to about 4-5 miles and give you side streets as options.

Then again, if you are trying to get there quickly, why not just ride in one of the escorting police cars and leave the cable car bus out of the equation altogether?

More accurate headline: Broadcaster Buck Ruins Six and a Half Hours of Your Day

I thought Buck sounded very engaged and interested last night. Maybe because the Cardinals were playing?

I told you hustle was over-rated.

Matthew Berry would agree.

I'm glad this came from MLB.com. It means that no actual reporters were suckered into this stunt. Buck didn't hustle from one park to the other. And he didn't have to. He intentionally took the scenic ride (motorized trolley) and scenic route Instead of the quickest one. Fox gave breathless updates on his progress with camera shots from the blimp (or a helicopter, I'm not sure). The police escort was about keeping traffic out of the way but they didnt make use of it by actually, you know, going fast. And surprise, surprise, Buck made it just on time. It was a little bit of between game entertainment but the forced drama was about as real as Jeff Probst pretending to jet ski back to LA from some remote island for the season finale of Survivor.

shock

10k is 6.2 miles

I thought Buck sounded very engaged and interested last night. Maybe because the Cardinals were playing?

I agree that he was more energized than usual. I noted in the Omnichatter that he seemed tired though. He's not a great or even good announcer but he's technically proficient. He usually speaks well and last night there were a number of occasions where he stumbled over his words. He also seemed to read the ball worse than usual off the bat. A fly ball to "shallow right" that was caught a step in front of the track the most glaring example and even Freese's homer you could tell he thought it was a liner to the gap, not a ball with a chance to get out.

good announcers learn to track the outfielders not the ball. i doubt that joe can adjust given how he is flipping from sport to sport and is not at the level of other previous 'national' announcers. certainly he lacks familiarity with the ballparks and the players to be able to have a frame of reference unlike a vin scully or his dad.

Was there ever a football-baseball double header? The field would be in terrible shape and the lines would still be there, but that wouldn't necessarily have stopped anyone before about 1980.

For the 1990 NLCS I see Game Two played Friday night in Cincy, then they talk the whole weekend off and play Monday in Pittsburgh for Game Three. The Steelers played at home that Sunday, so I'm guessing they moved the Pirates game?

A Vikings game in 1987 was moved to MNF to make room Game Seven of the World Series.

The Chiefs hosted the Rams in Week 7 of the 1985 NFL Season, then that night the Royals hosted the Cardinals in Game 2 of the World Series across the parking lot. The Chiefs hosted the Broncos the following week, with Game Seven played that night.

I think typically the NFL tried to avoid home games with multi-use stadium teams during the MLB playoffs.

For the 1990 NLCS I see Game Two played Friday night in Cincy, then they talk the whole weekend off and play Monday in Pittsburgh for Game Three. The Steelers played at home that Sunday, so I'm guessing they moved the Pirates game?

A Vikings game in 1987 was moved to MNF to make room Game Seven of the World Series.

The Chiefs hosted the Rams in Week 7 of the 1985 NFL Season, then that night the Royals hosted the Cardinals in Game 2 of the World Series across the parking lot. The Chiefs hosted the Broncos the following week, with Game Seven played that night.

I think typically the NFL tried to avoid home games with multi-use stadium teams during the MLB playoffs.

Most recently, in 2009 the one-game playoff between the Twins and Tigers was played on Tuesday, since the Vikes were hosting a MNF game.

Eric Milton's legendary no-hitter against history's worst lineup was in a game that started at 11 AM, because it was in the Metrodome on the same day as a University of Minnesota football game.

I don't understand the cable car lines. Just don't get on at the first stop. 2 blocks down there is no line, and you just jump on. There is a stop 1/2 block from my house.

And yet they recently hired Gus Johnson, so who knows.

I'm really looking forward to when they let Gus call a baseball game....

Wouldn't it have been easier to take a speedboat, a la David Beckham in the Olympics?

They should have fired his ass out of a cannon

7 miles is what, like 10km? Some people can run that in 35 minutes.

Paul Ryan can do it in 32.

pickup private and me did it in 45 minutes flat.

I don't understand the cable car lines. Just don't get on at the first stop. 2 blocks down there is no line, and you just jump on. There is a stop 1/2 block from my house.

Don't the cars fill up at the foot of the line and then they don't let new people on? I think I've heard that. The only time I've ever ridden the Powell Street cable car since the remodel was with my little kids, and I know I didn't wait in a long line, so it must have been pretty early in the morning.

Basically, they have these vehicles that are made to look like cable cars, except that they're motorized and have tires so that they can be driven on streets, rather than along rails while being pulled along a cable.

No, I think he is referring to the new T-Third MUNI light rail line. It runs down Third St through the Bayview.

Eric Milton's legendary no-hitter against history's worst lineup was in a game that started at 11 AM, because it was in the Metrodome on the same day as a University of Minnesota football game.

That Angels line-up is even worse than the line-ups the Red Sox were putting out there this September.

In 1984 the NFL scheduled the Seahawks for a home game at the Kingdome on Sunday September 2. This was done despite the Mariners having a home game at the Kingdome already scheduled at the same time. This resulted in local political back and forthing -- with some politicos (e.g. King County Executive Randy Revelle) openly taking the Seahawks side and suggesting the Mariners go play their game in Tacoma at the AAA park. It was finally agreed that the Seahawks would play on Monday afternoon -- it being Labor Day and the Mariners starting a road trip.

The other NFL thread is closed, so I just want to say. DOUG MARTIN = 51 PTS.

here's the NFL thread

That one is closed.

Freakin Bears! Now the real season starts.

A Texas A&M-Houston football game at the Astrodome was scheduled the same day as game 4 of the 1980 Phillies-Astros NLCS (which was played in late afternoon, went extra innings, and was delayed by a triple play that wasn't). As soon as baseball was over, the dome was hurriedly converted, and IIRC, A&M and UH had opening kickoff about 10:30 p.m. The UH athletic department later made Cougar red T-shirts honoring "the only two-day college football game of the century." (Just imagine if the opponent had been Brigham Young, whose teams can't play on Sundays.)

And, of course, the dome had to be converted back to baseball for the deciding game 5 of the NLCS.

How the heck does Andy Reid still have a job?

How the heck does Andy Reid still have a job?

wait for tomorrow morning.

So the vaunted NFC East goes 0-4 for the week, including 0-3 vs. the poor cousins in the NFC South. I'm sure Fox loves that.

just to say a few words:

vick: not the problem. he's also not the answer. he cares about and while everyone in the NFL wants to win, he's willing to sacrifice himself to make it happen. that's not something i can say about very many of his teammates.

the offensive line: terrible. i know they've had injuries, and i know those injuries have been particularly devastating considering who was injured, but this is 100% on reid. there are 3 former eagles who have been cut in the last ~2 years, and who are currently starting for other teams. winston justice, matt mcglynn, and austin howard weren't great, but they were NFL caliber players, and the eagles cast all of them aside in return for virtually nothing. how much better would this offensive line be if those 3 were starting instead of king dunlap, dallas reynolds, and demetress bell?

but since that's in the past, i'd say that the best chance the eagles have right now is to move evan mathis to LT and danny watkins to RT. right now, the eagles are getting absolutely nothing positive from bell and dunlap, but if you have mathis and watkins at tackle, at the very least, you get some athleticism on the outside, and you'd have two tackles who can get to the 2nd level and maybe turn a 5 yard gain into a 50 yard TD.

beyond that, on defense, they really ###### up the linebacking corps out of training camp. they pulled brian rolle from the starting lineup the last week of the preseason, despite the fact that he was the best LB the team had last year. they replaced him with akeem jordan, who was the eagle's best coverage guy on special teams, and then, they cut keenan clayton who was right behind jordan in the same category. they wound up weakening the starting lineup because jordan isn't very good, but also crippling the special teams, because they lost their two best guys.

but again, that's in the past. so, looking forward...

yeah, i've got no idea on that one. from what i can see, the eagles have 4 keepers (ryans, kendricks, cox, and rodgers-cromartie), and not a whole lot else. trent cole, jason babin, cullen jenkins and nnamdi asamugha are supposed to be the backbone of the defense, but they're all playing like #### right now, and there does not seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel for any of them.


as for the red-zone, that's a systemic issue. their offensive line is too small/weak to move the line of scrimmage, and when defenses condense in the red-zone, there's just no room to run the ball inside the tackles. and then on the outside, desean jackson and jeremy maclin are both smallish receivers which means that you can't just throw a ball in the air (fade) and expect them to come down with it.