Finally, something Americans have a difficult time extracting from Mexico

Posted on March 27, 2013 by AD

Unlike manufactured goods under NAFTA and drugs under a freer, if merely implicit, trade agreement, Americans seem to have the darnedest time extracting soccer “points” out of Mexico. As this story breathlessly explains, such points are “precious” and “rare,” and some wily north-of-the-boarderers finally managed to smuggle one out of the Valley of Mexico:

MEXICO CITY — The Americans were clinging to a scoreless tie, seconds away from earning a rare point in Mexico …

… and that’s all I can handle. I do think it would be cool to go to Mexico City and Estadio Azteca, but if I went all the way there for a game that ended in a 0-0 tie, I’d be trying to put some great spin on that too just to legitimate the expense and effort to myself, and when even NPR is repeatedly reporting on the abuse the home fans dish out on their American counterparts, I think I’ll wait until I can watch some local teams play the Aztec ball game as an impartial observer.

The second chapter of Sports on Earth

Posted on March 26, 2013 by AD

Back in August, I noted the launch of what then appeared to be a new heavy hitter in the high-end online sportswriting market: Sports on Earth, helmed by the well-known (for varying reasons) Joe Posnanski. After working out expected opening-day kinks, the site was getting off the ground nicely, and SoE has found a good niche providing current, day-to-day content in digestible bites by good writers. With those good writers and the backing of USA Today and Major League Baseball, the site seemed to be in a good place.

After just five months, though, Posnanski left without explanation, which had the effects of calling the site’s future viability into question and bolstering Posnanski’s reputation as a drifter. (His immediate destination was not a mystery, though: he joined NBC Sports to “writ[e] long-form stories” and a weekly column on Fridays called “The Big Read,” which seems like a painfully obvious play on “The Big Lead,” a popular, all-purpose sports site USA Today– Posnanski’s most recent former employer– bought a year ago. Weird.)

SoE lumbered on through the winter without a formal leader, and, really, seemed no worse for the wear. Spring arrived last week, Easter is this weekend, and yesterday, former “contributing writer” Will Leitch issued this announcement:

I am pleased to announce that next month, I will be joining the staff of Sports On Earth full-time, as a lead writer for the site. I’ve been writing for the site part-time since it launched last fall, but now I’m going to be there every day. It’s going to be my home.

My columns up to this point have been mostly media columns, but this is a more expansive role: I’m basically gonna be writing about everything, traveling all over the place, serving as the face (or one of the faces, anyway) of the site. I will also be hosting a daily podcast and will occasionally contribute for MLB.com, and certain columns will also be running in USA Today. Basically: I’m gonna be all over the place there.

Will’s writing voice has some built-in modesty to it, but the circumstances (including the fact that he is leaving his full-time position at New York magazine) make it clear to me that he has claimed Posnanski’s vacant seat as the head and face of Sports on Earth.

I think this is great news. Leitch remains a fresh voice in the media and sports realm, and he combines that with the experience that comes from operating very successfully and with perspective online. Will seems to have retooled and stretched out a bit since leaving Deadspin, and I think we’re at the point where we’re all going to benefit from his taking an in-earnest plunge back into the sports world.

Leitch’s first day in his new role is April 15.

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Previously
And then there were four: Joe Posnanski’s Sports on Earth joins the fray

NCAA Tournament: Onto the Sweet Sixteen

Posted on March 25, 2013 by AD

The first weekend of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is in the books, and half of the teams are back home hitting them, their basketball days finished until next season. First, a look at which teams made it to the Sweet Sixteen, then a check on the standings in ALDLAND’s bracket challenge. Continue reading →

NCAA Tournament: Your second round gambling guide, courtesty of CBSSports.com

Posted on March 24, 2013 by AD

In a world in which we all kid Brent Musburger for alluding to Vegas-relevant information during his football broadcasts and supposedly place restrictions on (particularly, amateur) sports gambling, should we find it odd that the primary information CBS Sports (the very network contracted with the NCAA to broadcast the tournament) features about the NCAA basketball tournament games is the betting line for each game? This is Chris Christie panache without the volume, right? Or is this just what happens when we have reason to tear our eyes away from the Worldwide Leader and discover that there are established sports media networks capable of operating without ESPN’s illogical pretensions?

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As for today’s games, we have our first pairing of traditional powerhouses, an underrepresented bunch this March, when Kansas and UNC meet this evening. Expect Florida and Minnesota to be sloppy, and Florida Gulf Coast and San Diego State to be silly.

NCAA Tournament: Day 1 Recap

Posted on March 22, 2013 by AD

For the most part, everyone did what they were supposed to do yesterday, with a few exceptions. Some of the highlights:

Despite some fight from Valparaiso and surrendering turnovers in spades, Michigan State pulled away to a win in the tournament’s opening game.
Newly anointed Gonzaga nearly blew their opportunity and almost became the first #1 seed to go down in the first round, escaping with a win over a Southern team that would not go away.
Harvard University, which has so little going for it, finally found some success in the realm of sport, securing its first tournament win with an upset of #3 New Mexico.
New Mexico State also lost yesterday, making this article really sad.
Colorado State’s win over continually hapless Missouri was a yawner…until it wasn’t!
When will we stop underseeding the Pacific Twelve? Oregon pulled one of the least surprising 12-5 upsets ever by knocking off Eddie Sutton-less Oklahoma State, while #12 Cal eked one out against #5 UNLV.
As usual, I got greedy with underdogs in the early rounds, so the dispatching of UNLV and Belmont wasn’t too kind to my ALDLAND bracket. (If you’re a junkie, you can see the updated standings here. We’ll do a deep analysis after the first two rounds are complete.)

On that last point, keep an eye on Ole Miss and Wisconsin today, outcome to be determined by the severity of Marshall Henderson’s inevitable hangover.

Hollywood Nights: Zubaz in Westwood

Posted on March 22, 2013 by AD

Or, The Disconnection Between Supply And Demand In Corporate America // Are You Afraid Of The Dark (possibility that many consumers actually think this is a good idea)?

All the angry emails.

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Previously
Hollywood Nights: The Detroit Pistons’ Season in One Play
Hollywood Nights: Generally, No man is an Island
Hollywood Nights: No World Peace in the Windy City
Hollywood (Disco) Nights: A Hero at the Forum
Hollywood Nights: A Magic Haiku
Hollywood Nights: Z-Bo and Bishop Don The Magic Juan

The madness nearly is upon us

Posted on March 21, 2013 by AD

In about ninety minutes, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament tips off in Auburn Hills, where Valparaiso meets Michigan State in a 14-3 matchup at 12:15 Eastern. That means you still have time to do the following while you aren’t working today:

Complete your entry in ALDLAND’s bracket challenge.
Listen to Brendan and Marcus break down the bracket in the newest ALDLAND Podcast.
Look back at the first available preview of the 2013 Final Four, published right here at ALDLAND.
Catch up with two college basketball coaches not appearing in this year’s tournament, Jerry Tarkanian and John Calipari.
Get ready to watch the games on your computer if you mistakenly make it back to the office from lunch.

UPDATE: Last-minute insider tip from a family with a strong athletic background:

In case you're wondering, Derek's Final Four: Louisville, VCU, Indiana, Ohio St // Susan's Final Four: Michigan St, Kansas, Miami, Ohio St

— Tedeschi Trucks Band (@DerekAndSusan) March 21, 2013

Kentucky’s loss in the first round of the NIT is in the Wildcats’ best interest

Posted on March 21, 2013 by AD

You may say that John Calipari is a schemer, but he’s not the only one. Or rather, this current Wildcat team isn’t the only one on Coach Cal’s mind. In fact, it hardly ever is. Having embraced the one-and-done player more than any other coach, Calipari’s by-the-seat-of-his-pants recruiting method recalls a radio DJ’s live programming of a music show, always listening to upcoming songs in cue while barely conscious of the broadcast as it plays out over the air in realtime. Calipari always has at least one eye on the future because he has to restock his starters every year. He is concerned with his current team’s performance insofar as it helps him bring in future recruiting classes.

In general, the best way to do this is by winning. When you don’t win, though, and perception is as important to you as it is to Kentucky, you need to mitigate your damages. Plenty of teams whose seasons didn’t work out quite as they’d hoped would be glad to be a number one seed in the NIT. For these Wildcats, though, a top seed and an NIT championship would sit on their heads like a crown of thorns, a mockery of discounted prestige. Sure, people would be distracted once the NCAA tournament begins in earnest today, but there are plenty who take pleasure in lampooning teams like Kentucky (or Kentucky in particular), and each additional NIT game played would be something of an embarrassment for the current players, sure, but really for a coach whose sights are set a year or two in the future. Better to stop the bleeding right away, take yourself out of whatever sort of light it is that shines on the NIT stage, and regroup for next year. The coach already has.

ESPN’s disjointed approach to social media

Posted on March 20, 2013 by AD

The right and left hands are not talking to each other at ESPN when it comes to social media forays. While everyone’s busy rubbernecking at the bizarreness that is the Worldwide Leader’s entrance into the Tumblr world, the folks trying to coordinate excitement about ESPN.com’s NCAA tournament contest on Twitter have come up with a veeerrrryyyyy creative suggestion:

As Kenny Mayne would tweet, hash mark bracket.

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ALDLAND Podcast

Posted on March 20, 2013 by bpbrady

It’s that time of year again. That’s right, it’s NCAA hockey tournament time! But that preview is coming next week. For now, join my co-host Marcus “Primetime” Paschall and I as we break down our picks to advance far in this year’s NCAA basketball tournament. Due to time constraints (mainly the fact that we had to finish this thing by the time Justified aired), we aren’t getting too in depth (no coverage of the play-in games), but there’s enough here to ensure that you finish dead last in your bracket pool. So take a listen and make all the opposite picks.

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Download the ALDLAND podcast at our Podcasts Page or stream it right here: