Is Wladimir Balentien worthy of baseball's home run record?
Baseball is a game of statistics. But among the statistics, there are numbers that have greater meaning among both players and fans alike.
One of those is the record for home runs in a single season. In Japan, that record was set by Sadaharu Oh, who hit 55 homers in 1964. In the years since, two other foreign players had equalled Oh’s mark.
But recently, former U.S. major league player Wladimir Balentien finally broke through, hitting home runs number 56 and 57 in just his 113th game of the season. I’m not great at math, but one homer every two games is a fantastic accomplishment.
Oh, but I have forgotten to mention the other issue that always seems to accompany home run records in baseball. Controversy. FULL POST
Does F1 lack the characters of the past?
It’s a difficult task, to pin down the criteria that need to combine for a sporting figure to be deemed a "character," a figure whose personality helps to popularise their field of competition in a transformative way.
Ingredients such as daring in the face of danger and desire to rise to the challenge are prerequisites. A romantic backstory of overcoming the odds makes compelling viewing to all dreamers out there, while the facing down of a nemesis provides drama and justice to devotees.
But it’s not just the conquering of the seemingly impossible that makes a sporting "character," maybe most important of all is the ability to connect with an audience on an emotional level. To force the viewer to empathise with your test and triumph as if they were personally involved in the victory. So they win with you.
Is there a driver on today’s grid who matches up? FULL POST
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Posted by Filed under: Motorsport |
Why United remain England's team to beat ...
His detractors likely won't want to hear this but reports of David Moyes' Old Trafford demise are extremely premature. In fact, those expecting the Scot to fall flat on his face while occupying arguably one of the biggest jobs in club football are in for a rather long wait!
On Saturday I watched first hand as the reigning English Premier League champions recorded their first home league win – a 2-0 victory over newly promoted Crystal Palace – under their new head coach. It wasn't pretty but it didn't need to be.
As the legendary Alex Ferguson himself looked on from the Directors' box, Moyes spoke of his "relief" that three points had been secured with relative ease. He was also presumably very happy indeed to move on from the ridiculous over-reaction to his team's first and only defeat of the new season so far, a narrow one-nil reversal at arch -rival Liverpool. FULL POST
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Posted by Filed under: Football |
The cult of Kimi Raikkonen: F1's coolest driver
Kimi Raikkonen has always been box office, even before he re-signed for Formula One’s most iconic team, Ferrari.
The 2007 world champion is a fan favorite and arguably the most popular driver on the grid.
Wherever F1 goes, from Monza to Melbourne, Shanghai to Singapore, there are always enthusiastic, banner-waving Raikkonen fans in the stands and, in the virtual realm of social media, he is the subject of plenty of ardent chatter.
But just what is it about the laid back Finn that has sparked this global cult of Kimi? FULL POST
