Sports Then and Now

Put away the old score sheet

Scorekeeping is an art and everybody has their own way of doing it. I’ve created a scorecard that tracks everything you could ask for, making it easy for you to keep track of your team. The scorebook was developed to accommodate a wide variety of baseball statistics, all of which are conveniently placed on one page.

The Touch ‘Em All Baseball Scorebook is for everyone and anyone, and can be used at any level for baseball or softball. The 11 spots in the batting order and room for 11 innings prepares you for innings or games that may go longer than expected. Whether you’re a fan at home watching on television or you’re at a little league game, this scorebook is the one to use.

Features:

• 11 innings – for games that go longer than planned
• 11 batting slots – comes in handy when a team goes around the order or if you need more than the usual nine slots
• 40 lineup cards (one for each scoresheet)
• Pitching stats – includes a chart for a maximum of eight pitchers per team
• Hitting stats – allows you to add up and total each batter’s offensive stats
• Pitch counts – not only track pitches thrown to every batter, but track the pitch count as well
• Runs by inning – a simple chart that allows you to recall when runs were scored during the game
• Bench and bullpen slots – list players on the bench and in the bullpen, allowing you to see which players each team has yet to use. As they enter the game, simply cross out their name to stay updated.
• A box for notes – use it for anything you’d like

Here’s a screenshot of what it looks like:

The scorebook even includes a full schedule page and a roster page with contact information. Of course you don’t have to use everything, but it is there if you need it.

The scorebook also includes instructions for how to keep score, in the event that you are unfamiliar with how it works. There is a page that explains how to do it and shows you examples for those that prefer visuals to learn.

The scorebook contains 40 scoresheets, so you can track 20 games (if you track both teams) or 40 games (if you track one team).

If you are interested in purchasing a scorebook or would like to help fund it, you can do so by clicking here.

Heading into the French Open, the second major of the season, most players prepare diligently for their final hurrah on clay. It remains as probably the least understood and least appreciated of the court surfaces players endure each year.

If the truth be told, players who learn to play on clay and who embrace the surface’s forgiving nature generally become better, more successful all-around players than those who learn the game on grass or hard courts.

The typical clay court player excels in patience by learning how to develop points as well as excellent defensive skills.

For a long time it seemed that some players segregated their careers by either avoiding clay altogether or by playing exclusively on the red dirt. But with the start of the Open Era and the necessity to play on multiple surfaces, some players built successful all-court games using clay court expertise as the foundation.

These male players achieved a top ten ATP ranking, a winning percentage in excess of 70 percent on clay throughout their careers—as well as double digit title wins on clay. Most also won at least one French Open, although not all.

Read the rest of this entry →

Which team’s goal song will carry them to victory in the 2013 GSC?

The NHL playoffs kick off in a few hours and I really don’t think that there is a better playoff series in sports. There is nothing like playoff hockey. The tempo of the game, the physicality and the effort shown by all of the guys on the ice blows every other sport out of the water.

If you have ever been to a hockey game you know all about the goal horns that go off when a team scores. Personally, I think the horns are awesome but what I like even more are the songs that follow. Every team has their own goal song and every song, if played enough, can start to drive a visiting goalie insane.

Goal songs come in all forms. There are chants, there are up tempo songs, classic songs and songs that straight up make you want to dance. But it’s playoff time, so for 16 other teams their goal scoring days are over (at least for this season). It’s time for me to reveal my playoff bracket based on which songs are the best. I also welcome any of you to leave your comments and let me know who your Goal Song Cup winner would be.

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On an incredibly EMOTIONAL night at TD Garden, Bostonians, Americans & Bruins fans sang their hearts out during the national anthem. Whether you were in the building or at home watching on television, you could not help but feel overwhelmed with sorrow, happiness and patriotism.

Blue & Yellow…

Red White & Blue….

Black & Gold….

#BostonStrong

(photo: sporting-heroes.net)

I once rubbed elbows with Hercules.

It was at the 1976 Olympic Track and Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. My wife and I were crossing a grass practice field during a break in the action. From a distance, our attention was drawn to a tall, dominant figure striding in our direction.

With each approaching step, the figure took on the glowing countenance of someone special—almost beyond human. Tanned, handsome and muscular, he was clothed only in the thin garments of competition—obviously an elite athlete in peak condition.

As an athlete myself, I had been around a few hard bodies, but I had never seen such a physical specimen as this. He whisked right by us, his long hair and mustache accentuating the aura of a Greek god. We were speechless, mouths agape.

When we caught our breath, the dawning of reality hit us both at once: That was Mac Wilkins!

That simple brush with greatness gave us a focal point for the summer. Wilkins became our hero (and my wife’s not-so-secret crush). Via television and newspapers, we followed his exploits right through his Olympic record and gold medal in the discus at the ’76 Montreal Games.

And though that Olympic masterpiece will no doubt be considered the high point of Wilkins’ incredible 23-year career, it may have been eclipsed (in terms of sheer accomplishment) at a relatively insignificant track meet in the Bay Area of California in early May of that year. Read the rest of this entry →

Officials in any sport can turn into an enemy of the state with one blown call.

Umpire Mike Everitt will not be able to step into Tampa, Florida after this HORRIFIC strike three call to end the Rays-Rangers game.

The call was so mind boggling that the Rangers pitcher, Joe Nathan even said “WOW”.

Time to check those bi-focals ump!

Oh he did say he was sorry….

Tip Of The Cap To GameDayR!