(Get) A Sporting Life

Finally, academic research asking the really big questions, such as, "How does party ID relate to support for the designated hitter rule?" The Etiology of Public Support for the Designated Hitter Rule (Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 2007, 2: 189–203) Several aspects of our findings deserve mention. Most important, and consistent with our expectations, we find that self-identified Democratic Party members are more likely to support the DH rule than are either independents or Republicans; the odds ratio of 1.90 suggests that, on average, Democrats are 90 percent more likely to support the rule than are independents. This implies (we think) that the values that draw the respondents to the Democrats are linked to those associated with supporting the rule. At the same time, the reverse is not true: Republicans are no more or less likely to support the DH rule than are political independents. Nor are self-identified political conservatives, once the effects of party are ac...

"Moment's over." From the PD: Hall vote also cruel reminder to Blues fans Blues fans have mixed feelings, again, as the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee sorts through its impressive group of worthy candidates. Al MacInnis, a shoo-in during his first year of eligibility, finished his career as a Blue. His run was cut short by injury and he never did bring a Stanley Cup to St. Louis. But MacInnis retired here, kept his family here, joined the front office and helped lead the franchise back from the NHL lockout and the Bill Laurie’s bail out. Blues fans rightfully regard Al as a local treasure. But two other candidates, Scott Stevens and Adam Oates, remind Blues fans of What Could Have Been and What Never Happened for this franchise. Stevens is almost a mythic figure in these parts. He came, starred for a single season, helped raise hopes for glory and greatness . . . and then abruptly departed as arbitrator-ordered compensation for the Brendan Shanahan signing. He la...

A big GASL "congrats" to retired Blues defenseman Al MacInnis who was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame his first time on the ballot. I remember when MacInnis first came to the Blues. That was the start of era of the Blues being a pretty damn good team. Having a weapon on the power play like MacInnis made all the difference in the world. Al still owns the best shot from the point I've ever seen. From the PD : To nobody’s shock, the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee selected Al MacInnis to the sport’s highest honor Thursday afternoon. Like the great Ray Bourque, MacInnis was destined to become a Hall of Famer as soon as he became eligible. Al did it all. He won a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of those playoffs. He won a Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman. He won an Olympic gold medal. He put some some crazy individual numbers and the Blues retired his No. 2. His is best known for his wicked point shot, one of the greatest weapons the game...

Well, the second half was more interesting, wasn't it? United looked a lot better, particularly in the last 15 minutes after the weather delay. Addlery's goal was exactly the sort of goal DC rarely gets anymore. (Off a corner no less!) So that is the best indicator I've seen that DC is really starting to play well. Fred's goal was a thing of beauty. Maybe the best "build up" goal I've seen in MLS this season. And Emilio finished up with a clinical strike to salt the game away. Given that the defense was sort of slapped together I thought we looked pretty good in the back. There was some sloppy passing into the midfield (all game long), but it could have been a lot worse. I thought Gros was effective moving up from time to time, and Erpen played a better defensive game (at least by his own standards.) Plus, it was good to see Perkins actually punch the ball away instead of trying to grab every rain soaked ball that came towards him! That was alright.

Ugh. That was not an attractive half of soccer was it? The pitch looks awful and isn't playing much better. DC hasn't been able to string passes together, has had little sustained possession, and has had its best success by just booting the ball down the field. I said it once...I'll say it again. Ugh. On the plus side Gomez's penalty was nicely taken. (Why no red card for Vanney there? It wasn't as if the hand ball was "accidental".) Hopefully DC will click more in the second half. At least they won't have to shoot at the goal in the baseball infield end.

“How was I supposed to know “Whitey wants you in the clubhouse” was a message from the manager?” During last night’s rain delayed broadcast, Met’s play-by-play man, Gary Cohen, turned to Keith Hernandez with the question, “What did you do during a rain delay?” Was I the only one with “cocaine” runnin all round my brain…

From the PD: Blues put Drake on waivers The Blues have placed captain Dallas Drake on NHL waivers, a process necessary to buy out the final season left on his contract. On Sunday, Blues general manager Larry Pleau flew to Traverse City, Mich., where Drake lives in the off-season, to notify the 14-year veteran of the team’s decision. "Yeah, it was a little bit of a shock, but it wasn’t unexpected either," said Tom Laidlaw, Drake’s agent. "Dallas understands his age (38) . . . although being the captain, it’s a little bit of a shock. Drake worked his butt off for the Blues, although given his age and his style of play it isn't a surprise that he was a little banged up of late. Truth is you didn't really need Drake and Dan Hinote on the same team. Good luck to Dallas.

I hadn't mentioned the Maroth deal. It is sort of difficult to make an assessment as I don't know who we will be sending back the other way. (Think they would take Preston Wilson? No? I suppose I didn't think so either.) But Maroth has pitched 200+ innings in his career twice. He also lost 21 games in a season, for a truly dreadful Tigers squad it must be admitted. Right now the Cards are just hoping he can eat up some innings, and give them the lefty starting presence we lack with Mulder still working his way back. Maroth has been having some control problem this year (33 walks in 78 innings is too many, not horrible but still too many for a guy who won't be striking out a lot of batters.) His WHIP is in the 1.6's, when it should be in the 1.35-.45 range. Who knows, maybe Dave Duncan can work that voodoo he do.

O.K., with a night to sleep on the Blues picks I've modified my reaction. I'll concede that we have done alright. I was a little worried that we were limiting ourselves on "upside" potential, but maybe Jarmo has gotten the balance right. The picks: #13 LARS ELLER, C/W, ranked #3 among Europeans (ESS). #18 IAN COLE, D, ranked #81 in NA (CSS). #26 DAVID PERRON, LW, ranked #10 in NA (CSS). #39 SIMON HJALMARSSON, RW, ranked #6 in Europe (ESS). #44 AARON PALUSHAJ, RW, ranked #101 in NA (CSS). #85 BRETT SONNE, C/LW, ranked #94 in NA (CSS). #96 CADE FAIRCHILD, D, ranked #189 in NA (CSS). #100 TRAVIS ERSTAD, C/RW, ranked #97 in NA (CSS). #160 ANTHONY PELUSO, D, ranked #183 in NA (CSS). #190 TREVOR NILL, C, unranked by CSS. So it looks like the Blues got some value, particularly with our European picks though it seems most NHL teams were not high on the European players this draft. I'll forgive the bit of a reach on Cole as there had been a run on those U.S. defensemen, an...

The Blues are doing a lot of gymnastics at this years draft, but I'm uncertain as to how much they are accomplishing. First we trade down from the 9th to the 13th (picking up another 2nd rounder), which is fine. We then use the 13th for a Dane called Lars. While I'm tempted to say WTF, I'll hold off. Still, I would have thought Eller would have still been around at the 24th or 26th pick. Second, we trade up from 24th to 18th (giving up a third rounder) to take a kid that obviously would have been there at #24. So I'll say it: WTF!!!!!! We are running around like a team with its head cut off.

I saw this and thought it summed up what I was feeling listening to last night Cards game pretty well: 10:35. That’s what time it is as I type this paragraph. Albert has just come through in the clutch yet again, making my piss and vinegar rant pretty much useless. I thought about deleting it and starting over, but then I re-read it and it was pretty funny, so I kept it in. 10:43. No Buddy of Sleep Bell, the manager of the Royals, decides to make a pitching chance to intentionally walk Chris Duncan. Only on Kansas City folks, only on the Royals. Instead of Bobby Knight in the stands, they must have Mike Waldo. 4 corners. 4 corners! (Maybe 5 people got that, but those 5 people are laughing right now. Sorry.) 10:47. Bench coach Joe Pettini opts not to tell Ryan Ludwick that we’re tied, not down by 4. Ludwick in turn cools St Louis by 3 degrees with some mighty cuts. Fernando Tatis is somewhere stoking his rat tail in approval. 10:50. I’m pretty sure I was pre-pubescent when this game st...

I can hardly wait! The Tomo Ohka era has begun !!! Newly signed pitcher Tomo Ohka started for Class AAA Memphis on Wednesday against Round Rock and allowed four runs in five innings. Ohka allowed eight hits, struck out three and walked one in his first appearance since being signed by the Cardinals on Tuesday. Among the eight hits for Round Rock were three triples and a double. Ohka threw 77 pitches, 51 for strikes. Ahhhhhhhhh. Smells like napalm in the morning.

“How are there still so many Cubs fans around? If every year were like this I’d kill myself.” Someday I may get around to writing about the Cardinals again, but as long as Fredbird is the most poised and talented performer on the diamond, I just cannot bring myself to give a shit. It doesn't get much more depressing than Saturday when I found myself honestly wondering if they were capable of holding a 15-6 lead in the bottom of the 5th.

Whadya bitchin about? My other image options were Ricky Gervais or Theakston Old Peculier . Well, there are Helen Mirren’s boobs, but this is a family blog, meaning the writers have wives.* Oh, just read the damned link below. In another commentary guaranteed to warm the IM’s heart, Steven Wells skewers his fellow Brits and provokes a boatload of comments. *For those of you who think Helen Mirren is an old lady playing old English queens (no, not Elton John and Freddy Mercury. I’m talking about the ones who wear tiaras and lavish finery. Oh, never mind.) Dame Helen is still a hottie with a great rack. I’ll leave the rest to you, Google and the NSA’s surveillance program…

Lalas dusts off his Generating Publicity 101 textbook to guarantee some prime English tabloid real estate with this broadside of the Premiership. His criticisms were in line with those I heard from an English sports fan I spoke with a couple of weeks ago who has become fed up with Premiership football. Well played.

Jim Edmonds gets sent to the DL today , and as a result the Cardinals have to bring up someone to play in the outfield. They need someone who has the pop in their bat to hit in the 5 or 6 spot in the lineup. Right? Wouldn't Rick Ankiel fit that role perfectly? Why, yes, of course he would. This is especially true as both Taguchi and Encarnacion have played in center field before. So of course the Cardinals bring up the warning track power of Skip Schumaker. Oh, for fucks sake.

Over at Slate they have an interesting slide show on the sorry joke that is the jerseys for the U.S. men's national soccer team. The basic gist of the slide show is that while the rest of the world has kits that are easily identified with the national side, the United States goes though an embarrassing collection of clown shirts at a dizzying pace. (The uniform shown in this picture is actually one of the least offensive examples, but God it sure is boring.) The time has come for the U.S. to settle on a uniform. However, if they pick this one, I'm gonna give up and start supporting Canada.

From the PD : Outfielder Rick Ankiel hit three home runs Saturday night for the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds in a game against the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines. Ankiel hit solo home runs in the first, fourth and eighth innings and also had a single in a 7-5 victory. He has 19 home runs and 52 RBIs and is hitting .282. Given Preston Wilson's season ending surgery how can you keep Ankiel down on the farm?

Last night, all across rural Missouri and Iowa worried families looked at the bright flames rising from the distant horizon. Panicky children with fear in their young eyes turned to their fathers and asked, "Have the terrorists bombed Kansas City?" "No, children," came the sadden response, "That is what a Kip Wells start looks like." "Oh daddy!" cried the children, tears streaming down their faces, "Make it go away! Please!" In response the Post Dispatch offered the following : Memo to Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan: Please stop the fight. Call it a TKO. Do the merciful thing. You guys can’t keep running Kip Wells out there to take a beating every five days. If you do, you’ll be hearing from Amnesty International. After games these days, poor Wells, a nice man, looks as confused as the million of Americans who watched the final scene of The Sopranos. Wells lasted 1.1 innings in Thursday’s 17-8 pasting by the Royals, and he dropped to 2-1...

It is ironic that I just was talking about Eddie and he makes some news tonight. Eddie Pope will be retiring after the end of this season. This saddens me no end. It also saddens me that he has to go out on a team as poor as Real Salt Lake. Maybe DC should send a draft pick out Salt Lake's way. Anyway, here is a clip of he MLS best all time XI as of 2005, starring one Eddie Pope.

Here is a bit of the Guardian piece Southlandish linked to: With the entire US soccer press (such as it is) fixated on how Mr Posh Spice is going to save American soccer (from what, exactly, nobody ever says) very little attention is being paid to the ongoing revolution in US soccer fandom. Sick of the dull, pasteurised, one-size-fits-all, preprogrammed Disneyfied McFan experience that's all but got a deathgrip on US pro-sports, soccer fans have increasingly been doing it for themselves. The Sons of Ben are following in the noisy, irreverent, chaotic footsteps of the Chivas Legion Kalifas (Chivas USA), the Galaxians and Riot Squad (both LA Galaxy), Screaming Eagles and La Barra Brava (both DC United), Empire Supporters Club and Raging Bull Nation (both New York Red Bulls), and Section 8 Chicago (Chicago Fire). And, of course, the national team's Uncle Sam's Army who chanted, at a friendly against England: "We've got dentists!" In most other US pro-sports (coll...

They reach far and wide for their writers . This piece stirred up a fun debate in comments. As a man of the Great Plains, the Iconic Midwesterner will want to be sure to peruse the comment from DollarBillWirtz.

Hmm...I cannot get the blog to load. But I can do this. Why??

Remember the glorly days of Beckham bashing? You know, like, way back in March? I'm sure they will return soon enough (say mid-July), but for now the turnaround is funny to watch . Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon was quoted in the Spanish media as saying that he would try to persuade the England star to stay and would use an escape clause in Beckham's Galaxy contract to withdraw from the deal. "We have to sit down with him, his representatives and with [Madrid sport director Predrag] Mijatovic, take a look at that clause and decide among us," said Calderon, speaking at the French Open final in Paris. "But for me, I would love it if he stayed at our club." Galaxy president and general manager Alexi Lalas told The Associated Press there is no escape clause in Beckham's contract. Or this : Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello admits he was wrong to drop David Beckham earlier this season. Capello benched Beckham in January, questioning his motivation, afte...

Southlandish said: I don't know a damned thing about this kid. If he is versatile, maybe the plan is that one skill may stick and he's trade bait. I don't know what the other draft options were as far as trade material. We need outfield help ASAP. Drafting for it strikes me as a pipe dream. I'm just guessing here, but it would make sense if you are trying to pick someone you can use to trade up for a serious AA or AAA outfielder who can play in a year or so (when Ankiel blows his Achilles after a promising start) that we need to draft to make a deal. I agree that we need outfield help sooner rather than later...I just thought it might be nice to have a couple legit prospects down there for a change. However, there may be a pattern in the Cards draft today. Got this from Future Redbirds : Cardinals #36 Pick - RHP Clayton Mortenson. From MILB: While there are often college seniors who make very good pros, it’s rare for there to be one like Mortensen, a legitimate “prospe...

St. Louis used their #1 draft pick (#18 overall) for high school shortstop Peter Cozma out of Oklahoma. Evidently he is a five tool players who does everything well, but nothing outstandingly well. I'm a little disappointed. Given the fact that no outfielders had been taken, I thought there was a chance for the Cards to pick up, for example, whoever they considered the best available college outfielder. The organization doesn't seem terribly well stocked in that regard...but we got the SS. Some are upset that the Cards didn't go after the pitcher in Jersey, Porcello...but I'm sort of glad they avoided him. Let the Yankees pay Boras' extortionate prices.

That would be my answer to IM's previous post. He can give rein to a bit of his earlier jealousy. The copies of The Guardian are piling up on the floor, barely browsed and the only revelation I have had in nearly two weeks was at the half of the England/Brazil friendly. I watched it with friends here and my host broke open a bottle of Glenfarclas for the second half. Now there is a lovely, LOVELY 10 year old Speyside malt that is deep golden brown with the smoky and peaty flavor that drinks much more like my beloved Islay or Orkney malts. I was shocked when I found out it was a Speyside. Tomorrow I am going to try to find a place to watch the England/Estonia match but I won't put in too much effort. Worst case scenario is following The Guardian's MBM report with a bottle of Glenfarclas. IM may just get the pleasure of watching the Limeys go tits up in Euro 2008. The one thing even my malt-distracted senses have picked up is that the Englanders are panicked about flaming out...

Here is a good barometer on English ignorance of MLS: Shearer says Beckham too big for Galaxy Former England skipper Alan Shearer believes David Beckham is too good to be joining the Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham, himself an ex-England captain, starred on his recall to the international scene, crossing for John Terry's goal in Friday's 1-1 draw against Brazil at the new Wembley. Beckham now is expected to retain his spot for England for Wednesday's 2008 qualifier against Estonia. And Shearer, Newcastle legend believes Beckham has a key role to play in helping his country get their qualification hopes back on track. "I don't know if David is regretting going to Los Angeles Galaxy," Shearer said. "But he's better than that standard, without a shadow of a doubt. He showed that with his performance against Brazil. Shearer hasn't given the slightest indication he knows what the standard is in MLS. Could Beckham play in higher profile leagues? Yes he coul...

...Otherwise I would have been quicker with the "We also sent thema bag of new balls" joke on this news: The St. Louis Cardinals acquired catcher Kelly Stinnett from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash on Sunday. The 37-year-old Stinnett is scheduled to join the Cardinals before Tuesday's game against Cincinnati. Stinnett was playing for Triple-A Las Vegas, where he appeared in 31 games. The Cardinals, who were playing the Houston Astros on Sunday, will make a corresponding roster move before Tuesday's game. Stinnett has played for seven teams in 11 major league seasons. He hit a career-high 14 homers with Arizona in 1999. Stinnett was hitting .196 with Las Vegas. He has a .237 lifetime average in the majors. What? We couldn't find a .190 hitting catcher in our own organization?

You would think that in front of a larger audience for a Stanley Cup final the NHL would quit the outrageous favoritism and fixing of games on the behalf of the Ottawa Senators. You might think that, but you would be wrong. Yet AGAIN the league has used video "replay" to screw teams playing against Ottawa. To be fair, today it was with a twist. Usually the league merely takes away goals scored by Ottawa's opposition, but today they decided to give Ottawa a goal they didn't score (legally) and overrule the on ice official (who made the no-brainer correct call for a change.) Welcome to the NHL: Joke League of all Joke Leagues.

Alright, it cannot measure up to the Chicago Cubs beating the crap out of each other in the club house, but things are a bit testy down Cardinals way. From the PD : Former Cardinals catcher Eli Marrero on Friday blasted Tony La Russa for the manager's recent comments about how Marrero blew his chance to remain with the organization. "I don't know what this guy thinks," Marrero said. "I have no more respect for this guy whatsoever. I can't believe what this guy put out there." The Cardinals released Marrero, 34, from Class AAA Memphis on May 21 after he caught one complete game for the Redbirds on May 18. Marrero, 34, said Friday he never received an explanation from Redbirds manager Chris Maloney but held no animosity toward the club or La Russa until recently reading his explanation. "I go up there. I catch nine innings, get my four at-bats and my two hits. Then they release me. That's their decision. I left. I'm done with the Cardinals,...