|
|
|
|
Baseball Primer Newsblog— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
There are three baseball entries in the list. Before you look at it, see if you can name the three. One of them is a decent surprise, when you’re talking about the biggest cheaters ever. I wouldn’t expect his name to come up for the average person.
7. 1919 Black Sox
The 1919 Black Sox scandal is probably the most famous example of athletes throwing a contest of all time. The 1919 World Series pitted the heavily favored Chicaco White Sox against the Cincinnati Reds. Rumors of the series being fixes were rampant even before things got underway, which caused an influx of money to come in betting for the Reds. The rumors were true, and eight members of the White Sox conspired to throw the series, led by first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil. All eight players were eventually banned for life, which had the effect of making Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the greatest players in baseball history, ineligible for the Hall of Fame.
Somewhat surprising fact: The players were motivated to throw the series in part because they hated White Sox owner Charles Comiskey, a legendarily cheap SOB made their players pay for their own laundry, inevitably causing dirty uniforms and the nickname of “Black Sox” which existed well before the throwing of the World Series. So the next time you feel compelled to complain about escalating athlete salaries remember that they are helping to ensure games are fair and on the level, since there’s no monetary motivation to take a fall.
That one’s the gimme. I don’t know if that really counts as ‘cheating’, per se, I think the word has an implication that you’re trying to do better, but whatever. That said, doesn’t that have to be higher than #7? And off-topic, where’s the Russian Olympic basketball team?
|
Bookmarks
You must be logged in to view your Bookmarks.
Hot Topics
Newsblog: HP: Baseball is leaving the human factor behind (58 - 4:30am, May 26)Last: baudibNewsblog: Bud Selig -- No need for more MLB replay for now - ESPN (87 - 3:55am, May 26)Last: Athletic Supporter leads the nation in driftersNewsblog: OT: NBA Monthly Thread, May 2012 (1834 - 3:06am, May 26)Last: SpiveyNewsblog: Himrich’s Top Ten Target Field Foods (8 - 2:43am, May 26)Last: Long John McCaine Mutiny on the Bounty (scott)Newsblog: Boston.com: Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios lays off all staff (119 - 1:28am, May 26)Last: Swedish ChefNewsblog: T.R. Sullivan: Of Frank Robinson, Milt Pappas and Jim Palmer (8 - 12:40am, May 26)Last: The Gurus DO NOT BourbonSamuraiNewsblog: Wilmoth: Nate McLouth Designated For Assignment (12 - 12:25am, May 26)Last: TriponHall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1973 Discussion (15 - 12:13am, May 26)Last: DanGNewsblog: The Hall of Very Good: Former Cards Slugger Critical of "LaRussa's Regime" (4 - 11:26pm, May 25)Last: cardsfanboyNewsblog: CSN to host ‘Phillies at the Beach’ on Memorial Day (18 - 11:25pm, May 25)Last: Fielder's the first baseman, Felder is the fielderHall of Merit: Most Meritorious Player: 1972 Ballot (28 - 11:25pm, May 25)Last: lieiamSox Therapy: A Winning Ballclub? (20 - 11:24pm, May 25)Last: DanNewsblog: Matschulat: Did I Miss The "Paul Konerko Is So Overrated OMG" Bandwagon? (27 - 11:16pm, May 25)Last: baudibNewsblog: TBO: Nerdy Rays head north (17 - 10:07pm, May 25)Last: PreservedFishNewsblog: Dodgers want to host NHL's Winter Classic (22 - 9:38pm, May 25)Last: Cris E
|
|
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. Ray (RDP)Disappointing.
I was all set to feign moral outrage.
I don't think they are saying that [redacted as I presume you didn't name names to have people RTFA] is one of the biggest cheaters ever. I think they are calling the event one of the biggest cheats ever because of the absudity of what happened when he got caught.
Likewise, I don't think they are saying Maradona is the biggest cheat in the history of the world, its just that the Hand of God was both important and blatant.
And off-topic, where’s the Russian Olympic basketball team?
I just think they don't watch much hoops. If so, I'd also think that Donaghy.
#5 doesn't seem like cheating to me ... and certainly not enough to be #5 and it clearly seems less cheating than #9 (which is essentially the same accusation). I would have thought #14 and #12 would have been higher for both "degree of cheating" and notoriety reasons.
The same criteria that was used to put the Olympic Figure skating fix should be able to be used to be able to qualify the '72 incident. I just don't think they wanted to put 15 Biggest Cheats, Clusterfukcs, and Incidents of Duchebaggery in the title.
Regarding Belichick, the irony of all the furor is that you could have the same camera man virtually anywhere else in the stadium and it would not be against the rules.
Also, the "Hand of God" should not be number 1. The player committed a penalty in the course of a game and it didn't get called. There wasn't deliberate deceit like some of the other ones.
*I know the joke is that the women of the WNBA are ugly. However, if you look over the pictures of all of the players, they are on the whole normal looking women, labeit much taller and broader. A few are pretty and a few are ugly. But the distribution in that regard does not seem much different to me than with male athletes. What I find interesting -- in a good way -- is how many pretty girls there are at the top of the tennis rankings. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's just that I have a preference for Eastern Euros.
1) Girls who play tennis are generally rich, or at least well to do
2) Girls who play tennis are generally in their late teens and early 20s
3) Girls who play tennis are in good shape
That's a long way towards explaining why.
After Walsh died, a reporter at the Washington Post asked one of her girlhood friends if she knew what exactly Stella was, and the friend said: "It was common knowledge that she had this accident of nature. She wasn't 100 percent pure female."
I've been to a WNBA game. Two of the prominent fan groups are: (1) girls basketball teams and (2) lesbians.
disgrace number 5 is a complete non-issue. (see post 17)
disgrace number 6 (nancy kerrigan) was pretty bad, but to be honest, it couldn't have happened to a worse human being in that non-sport. Nancy was prior to the attack the most despicable human in that past time, and afterwards just as bad. Not defending Tonya, but in a personality test it wasn't close you had a real person versus a typical princess entitled #####.
to me they seemed to miss a few obvious ones. and got fascinated by innuendo (Belichek one? really?)
It's a soccer website. Or at least so I guess from the name "SoccerLens".
But wasn't there a big fixing scandal in one of the soccer leagues recently (Italy maybe)?
When it comes to high-profile "eye of the beholder" cheating, the Olympics is king. Besides the '72 basketball final and the '02 skating scandal, you've got Roy Jones Jr. "losing" to a boxer who literally apologized to Jones for the decision. You've got freestyle wrestler Danny Hodge in 1956, being called for allegedly pinning himself while delivering an offensive move to his opponent, with 2 seconds left, in a match he was winning 8-1. And you've got the great 1904 marathon where the gold medal ceremony had to be halted when it turned out that the man who crossed the finish line first had ridden 11 miles in a car. Meanwhile, the genuine winner, Thomas Hicks, had stopped twice mid-race to revive himself with strychinine.
I don't think I'd call it cheating, but Maradona obviously deliberately deceived the refs.
Did Navratilova have abnormally high levels of testosterone?
And?
That someone could be so ridiculously good and still resort to scoring a goal like that...that's what made people crazy. Well, that and the fact that it was in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
Randall?
It's not the same level of competition, but here's a similar 1-on-6 beauty from George Best. Less distance traversed, more fancy footwork.
She is openly lesbian. And because she has also committed herself to physical conditioning, and doesn't look like a stick thin actress, she is a "mannish" woman. Whereas sweet girl next door Chris Evert was oh so delightfully girlish.
The irony of that is, if you compare pictures of Navratilova with female tennis players nowadays, she is less "mannish" than many of the current players. Many of the current players are considerably more muscular.
I like that the Eastern Euros on the tour now look more like Ana Ivanovic. Mmmm.
Listing Stella Walsh as the #5 greatest sports cheat of all time is ridiculous. Should not even be more the list.
Hard facial angles are more prominent if you are lean and carry (much) less body fat. Lendl was also known for being devoted to fitness, incidentally.
Dinara Safina doesn't look like Ivanovic at all. Nor Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova reminds me a bit of Navratilova, facially.
It's an ENGLISH soccer website. The English still haven't gotten over that goal.
Would any self-respecting English soccer site actually use the term "soccer"?
Soccerbase does, for one. All English fans call the game football, though.
Likewise, I don't think they are saying Maradona is the biggest cheat in the history of the world, its just that the Hand of God was both important and blatant.
Absolutely. The World's best player uses his hand to score a goal in the quarter final of the World's most popular sports tournament, in a game between two previous winners who had fought a war 4 years earlier. That's a big deal.
The English still haven't gotten over that goal.
No they haven't.
In 2012, at the London Olympics, hold a special dinner, inviting all the surviving players of the US and USSR teams. The head of the IOC announces that the 1972 Men's Basketball Final has been vacated -- that is, as if it was never played. The USA and USSR are declared co-gold medalists, and all the players on both teams are awarded duplicate gold medals. Then, everyone observes a moment of silence for the Israeli athletes killed in Munich. (What about the old silver medals that the US refused back in '72? Sell 'em on eBay and donate the money to the Red Cross.)
Win, win, win.
Thank you for that scorching expose, Ray.
Wait, *the* call? Are you sure you're familiar with the story?
There were *3* inbounds plays.
I hope he takes Argentina to last place in the qualifiers the greasy coke addled beefburger *shakes fist angrily*
And that's where the article took a wrong turn into Porntown.
Objectively, these 10 players of today (or recently retired) are all better looking than anyone in tennis 20-40 years ago:
Maria Kirilenko; Nicole Vaidišová; Daniela Hantuchová; Ana Ivanovi?; Anna Kournikova; Martina Hingis; Maria Sharapova; Sorana Cîrstea; Séverine Brémond; and Caroline Wozniacki. It's possible there were some really pretty women in tennis who I never saw back in the day. But I am quite certain none of them compared with Ana Ivanovi?, who is model good-looking and one of the best players of this era.
*In countries with national youth tennis programs, it is not just rich girls who play. The Russians, for example, tend to come from middle class backgrounds.
it does seem like the hottest female tennis players are darn hot compared to the old days. when i was a kid, there was even a general feeling that billie jean king was kind of hot. looking back, that seems ridiculous now.
The aggressive in-roads made by the russian woman has really helped the cause here; those are some really good gene pools we are dealing with. they have also pretty much taken over the super-model game as well.
And would you actually prefer Gabriella Sabatini to, say, Ana Ivanovi? or Anna Kournikova?
I don't know Rich. It does look like some of these players are being prepped for glamour shots in a way that wasn't as common when Coetzer and Sabatini were in their primes (which, I don't think they were in either of those shots). But I'd definitely have no trouble putting Gaby and Amanda alongside the aforementioned Hingis, who is attactive but certainly not model-like.
She was hotter than Bobby Riggs, I guess.
#s 2 and 3 make perfect sense, but why would rich young women be any more attractive than middle class or poor young women? Assuming same age and physical conditioning of course.
Rich men tend to marry attractive women, meaning they tend to have attractive children.
I don't think all these girls from Slovakia and Belarus are from rich families though. And Rich Rifkin's failure to find Gabriela Sabbatini attractive merely reveals his biases!!!!!!!!!!
Know a lot of handsome car dealers? Other than Bud Selig of course.
Also, poor people are less healthy because they have worse food, more stress, more sickness...these things in children lead to them generally not growing up to look perfect.
And Gabriella Sabbatini was absolutely smokin' hot.
It's certainly a lot easier for a person with wealth to grow up attractive. Orthodontic care, medical care, proper nutrition, etc. are all things the wealthy don't have to worry about but may not be available to folks with less money.
Poverty makes it tougher to eat healthy and stay fit.
We're not talking about refugee camp kids in Sudan vs. the cast of 90210 here.
Take it easy there big fella...
Quite correct, the better kind of people would of course use "Association football", keeping it separate from Rugby Football. But since the game was infiltrated by the lower orders we have to put up with this "soccer" abomination. It is simply unacceptable!
Right, but you don't need a disparity anywhere near that large to see the links between poverty and obesity/unhealthiness. It's true in the good ol' US of A.
I thought it was pretty clear you were just having a little fun Crispix, perhaps because I know you're ordinarily pretty judicious with your exclamation point usage.
The English were the ones who came up with "soccer"-
Association Football couldn't be abbreviated to Assoc. or Ass. so it was abbreviated to socca
Association Football couldn't be abbreviated to Assoc. or Ass. so it was abbreviated to socca
Really? I never knew that. Its definitely the most memorable thing I've learned in a little while.
If that's true, it's awesome, and I never knew it.
They should have gone with "AssFoot"
Great, thanks for not talking about the actual issue. Glad I could provide a jumping off point for you to discuss poverty though.
So does anyone have any actual evidence that rich people are better looking than poor or middle class people other than, "Trophy wives, duh!"?
True, but we're talking about the 15 Greatest Sports Cheats of All Time. Most of the NCAA cheating is fairly run-of-the-mill in nature. To make this list, you need to have made a significant contribution to the field of cheating.
The way you begin to settle the 1972 Olympic basketball issue is through public upside-down crucifixion of the officials, their mouths stuffed with salt, and the forced sterilization of all those genetically related within two generations. At this point, each former citizen of the Soviet Union born before the tragic event will be given a forehead tattoo noting that the American team was shamefully robbed of its rightful gold medal in 1972. Furthermore, the former Soviet states shall collectively pay a tribute in gold that is equal to the combined weight of the 1972 Olympic team for each year that has passed with this insult unaddressed.
At this point, perhaps the healing can begin.
Looking back, I would venture to say that her brother the MLB pitcher looked better than she did. Not that that took much.
When I was in school their was a general notion that Chris Evert was hot but that King and Navratilova were not (even before they came out of the closet)...
I contend that Navratilova had a good amount of natural beauty to her, but needed a makeover to bring it out.
The John Denver glasses, for one, were not cutting it.
Nor was the John Denver hair style.
I'm most curious about 19. If I didn't know better I would guess that Ms. Kerrigan used to pick on a certain redbirds fan when he was just a little cardsfanboy. So what happened? Is there an atomic wedgie from a future Olympian story in our midst or simply an unfortunate Temporary Restraining Order? ;) Forgive me for asking, I just can't recall the last time I heard somebody that worked up about a figure skater.
Finally, I may be in a distinct minority but I don't think we've heard the last of the Bellichek scandal, not by a long shot.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main