Minor things that annoy you-sports edition

[CNGL-Leudimin]

That the NCAA uses "Midwest" in the March Madness bracket instead of "North", preventing the four sections from being all named after cardinal directions.

[Buck87]

That the NCAA uses "Midwest" in the March Madness bracket instead of "North", preventing the four sections from being all named after cardinal directions.

You would have loved it back when the regions were West, Midwest, Mideast and East. 

[SP Cook]

You would have loved it back when the regions were West, Midwest, Mideast and East. 

I remember that.  AFAIK, the NCAA was unique in its use of the word "Mideast"  to mean "eastern Midwest" .    Also both terms were used for places well below the Ohio.  A team from Louisiana would have gone to the Mideast regional, a team from Texas to the Midwest. 

[Scott5114]

Ukraine discussion moved to: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=31124

[Big John]

And don't get me started on sports players who put the JR or III on their uniforms - unless your dad is still playing in the same league, (e.g., Ken Griffey at one time), it's not necessary.  When I played soccer, my shirt just said SMITH on the back.

Started with Robert Griffin III.  The NFL changed the rule allowing such suffixes with him as a rookie.  Not all teams do that though.

[hbelkins]

And don't get me started on sports players who put the JR or III on their uniforms - unless your dad is still playing in the same league, (e.g., Ken Griffey at one time), it's not necessary.  When I played soccer, my shirt just said SMITH on the back.

Started with Robert Griffin III.  The NFL changed the rule allowing such suffixes with him as a rookie.  Not all teams do that though.

NASCAR's done that for years. One of the earliest ones I remember was Bobby Hillin Jr. I never heard of Bobby Hillin Sr., so I don't know why he always needed to be referred to as Bobby Hillin Jr.

Today, there's Martin Truex Jr. Not sure why the suffix is needed.

UK athletes have started doing that. Last year's basketball team had a player named Keion Brooks Jr., and the back of his jersey read BROOKS JR. Never mind that his dad had never played for UK.

[Takumi]

And don't get me started on sports players who put the JR or III on their uniforms - unless your dad is still playing in the same league, (e.g., Ken Griffey at one time), it's not necessary.  When I played soccer, my shirt just said SMITH on the back.

Started with Robert Griffin III.  The NFL changed the rule allowing such suffixes with him as a rookie.  Not all teams do that though.

NASCAR's done that for years. One of the earliest ones I remember was Bobby Hillin Jr. I never heard of Bobby Hillin Sr., so I don't know why he always needed to be referred to as Bobby Hillin Jr.

Today, there's Martin Truex Jr. Not sure why the suffix is needed.

Bobby Hillin Sr. was a sprint car and Indy car team owner in the 1970s, and Martin Truex Sr. drove in the Busch North series (what's now known as ARCA East) in the 80s and 90s.

[1995hoo]

And don't get me started on sports players who put the JR or III on their uniforms - unless your dad is still playing in the same league, (e.g., Ken Griffey at one time), it's not necessary.  When I played soccer, my shirt just said SMITH on the back.

Started with Robert Griffin III.  The NFL changed the rule allowing such suffixes with him as a rookie.  Not all teams do that though.

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

[kphoger]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

[ethanhopkin14]

And don't get me started on sports players who put the JR or III on their uniforms - unless your dad is still playing in the same league, (e.g., Ken Griffey at one time), it's not necessary.  When I played soccer, my shirt just said SMITH on the back.

Started with Robert Griffin III.  The NFL changed the rule allowing such suffixes with him as a rookie.  Not all teams do that though.

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead.

To compare with the old days, Ken Griffey Jr. was a household name, even with the Jr., but his jersey always read GRIFFEY.  OF course that was back when they didn't put suffixes on jerseys.  Even when his dad joined him on the Mariners (not only was there Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. playing in the league at the same time, but they were actually on the same team) they both only had GRIFFEY on their jerseys.  Only the numbers 30 and 24 were the identification between the two (and that it was a completely different person wearing the jersey  )

[hbelkins]

And don't get me started on sports players who put the JR or III on their uniforms - unless your dad is still playing in the same league, (e.g., Ken Griffey at one time), it's not necessary.  When I played soccer, my shirt just said SMITH on the back.

Started with Robert Griffin III.  The NFL changed the rule allowing such suffixes with him as a rookie.  Not all teams do that though.

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead.

To compare with the old days, Ken Griffey Jr. was a household name, even with the Jr., but his jersey always read GRIFFEY.  OF course that was back when they didn't put suffixes on jerseys.  Even when his dad joined him on the Mariners (not only was there Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. playing in the league at the same time, but they were actually on the same team) they both only had GRIFFEY on their jerseys.  Only the numbers 30 and 24 were the identification between the two (and that it was a completely different person wearing the jersey  )

Back when the Harrison, Aaron and Andrew, played for UK, they both just had "Harrison" on their backs.

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. came into NASCAR, his father was not all that widely referred to as Dale Earnhardt Sr. A few people did, but he didn't adopt the Sr. as part of his name.

[1995hoo]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

Some teams do use first initials if two players have the same last name. Baltimore's baseball team used to have "C. Ripken" and "B. Ripken," for example.

[Big John]

^^ Jack Youngblood had his whole name on his back.  https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_editorial_landscape_12_desktop/rams/zewshycoidhfqq6fkpgy

[kphoger]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

Some teams do use first initials if two players have the same last name. Baltimore's baseball team used to have "C. Ripken" and "B. Ripken," for example.

... which still isn't a middle name.

[1995hoo]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

Some teams do use first initials if two players have the same last name. Baltimore's baseball team used to have "C. Ripken" and "B. Ripken," for example.

... which still isn't a middle name.

But you said "only the last name is shown on a jersey" and I was saying that's not necessarily true. Once you include first initials, there's no real reason why you couldn't use two initials if appropriate (and I know Texas A&M football, at a minimum, has used the first two letters of players' first names when two players had the same first initial and last name–it would be like putting "Ch. Johnson" and "Cl. Johnson" if a team had players named Chad Johnson and Clyde Johnson).

[formulanone]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

Some teams do use first initials if two players have the same last name. Baltimore's baseball team used to have "C. Ripken" and "B. Ripken," for example.

... which still isn't a middle name.

But you said "only the last name is shown on a jersey" and I was saying that's not necessarily true. Once you include first initials, there's no real reason why you couldn't use two initials if appropriate (and I know Texas A&M football, at a minimum, has used the first two letters of players' first names when two players had the same first initial and last name–it would be like putting "Ch. Johnson" and "Cl. Johnson" if a team had players named Chad Johnson and Clyde Johnson).

I demand to hear an excuse why this bothers anyone here, in a forum where some sort of absolute precision is demanded of naming and numbering inanimate objects.

What if your business card just had your first name or only your last name? Or your name tag?  Let them have their own name spelled out; it turns out people really like it spelled right and not called something else for some reason... 

[dlsterner]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

Some teams do use first initials if two players have the same last name. Baltimore's baseball team used to have "C. Ripken" and "B. Ripken," for example.

Even when Cal and Billy were teammates (and their father Cal Sr. was on the coaching staff), their uniforms still just said "Ripken" without any first initial.  The O's had a worse situation around that same time when they had two pitchers named Michael Anthony Smith (but as fate would have it, they weren't on the major league roster concurrently).

[NWI_Irish96]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

Some teams do use first initials if two players have the same last name. Baltimore's baseball team used to have "C. Ripken" and "B. Ripken," for example.

Even when Cal and Billy were teammates (and their father Cal Sr. was on the coaching staff), their uniforms still just said "Ripken" without any first initial.  The O's had a worse situation around that same time when they had two pitchers named Michael Anthony Smith (but as fate would have it, they weren't on the major league roster concurrently).

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN201704140.shtml

White Sox started Avasail Garcia in RF, Willy Garcia in LF and Leury Garcia in CF (none related). None wore an initial on their jerseys in front of their last name.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Sort of an amusing story, in the late 1990s Randy Moss's late brother Eric was also on the Vikings. The Vikings played on Thanksgiving in Dallas in 2000; in the first half, Randy Moss's jersey just said "MOSS", but when the teams came back out for the second half, his jersey now said "R. MOSS" - and the weirdest thing was that by this point Eric was no longer on the team, so it must have been a spare jersey lying around from Eric's time on the Vikings that just got brought along in case Randy needed a new jersey.

[jp the roadgeek]

One reason Griffin did that was because when he played for Baylor, there was another Robert Griffin on the team. But they had different middle initials, so who knows why they chose to use the suffix instead. 

I assume it's because only the last name is shown on a jersey.

Some teams do use first initials if two players have the same last name. Baltimore's baseball team used to have "C. Ripken" and "B. Ripken," for example.

Even when Cal and Billy were teammates (and their father Cal Sr. was on the coaching staff), their uniforms still just said "Ripken" without any first initial.  The O's had a worse situation around that same time when they had two pitchers named Michael Anthony Smith (but as fate would have it, they weren't on the major league roster concurrently).

The Mets did have a similar problem when they had two Bobby Joneses on the roster.  Bobby J Jones was a right handed starter, while Bobby M Jones was a left handed reliever. 

Don't think Greg A and Greg W Harris were ever on the same team at the same time.

[CoreySamson]

I dislike it when superstars constantly jump between teams to try to get a championship quick and easy. This particularly seems to be a problem in the NBA (LeBron, Durant, Shaq, Westbrook). I personally respect pro athletes more when they stick with one or two teams for their entire career (think Kobe, Steph Curry, or Dirk). But it's not that much of a problem to me if role players do the same thing, and I actually respect the "journeyman" role players who play for 5 or more teams over their career.

[jgb191]

I dislike it when superstars constantly jump between teams to try to get a championship quick and easy. This particularly seems to be a problem in the NBA (LeBron, Durant, Shaq, Westbrook). I personally respect pro athletes more when they stick with one or two teams for their entire career (think Kobe, Steph Curry, or Dirk). But it's not that much of a problem to me if role players do the same thing, and I actually respect the "journeyman" role players who play for 5 or more teams over their career.

Shaq never jumped to an already championship team (like Kevin Durant did from OKC to GS).  If anything, it was the reverse (twice): he jumped from an Eastern Conference championship team (Orlando) to a team in Los Angeles trying to find a new identity (and did thanks to the genius of one of the greatest architects in sports history Jerry West).  He was traded to another team trying to find its identity with Miami (thanks to another legendary executive Pat Riley).  Riley took a massive gamble to take on an aging Shaq (and it was a huge gamble considering he had to give up all-star caliber talents).  Again Shaq left a championship team for a lesser team at the time.  By the time Shaq was in Phoenix and Cleveland, his ability had plunged far from his former superstar status.

------------------------

Sports peeves for me:

A.  Players who reject a multi-million dollars contract offer and claim it's not good enough.  (Latrell Sprewell and Kevin Garnett are a couple that come to mind)

B.  Players who sign a contract (extension) and demand a trade shortly after for any reason.  Deshaun Watson and Kevin Durant come to mind on this one.  And yes as a Texans fan this irked our fanbase; Deshaun signed an extension for four more years, only to quit a mere four months after signing it.  I can understand wanting to be traded after completing more than half of your obligated time for certain reasons.  It's called a contract for a reason; players have no freedom to simply quit or join a new team at will like the rest of us.

[hotdogPi]

At a restaurant, I saw on one of the TVs a Red Sox uniform with 34 inside a goat outline. This is David Ortiz. Someone seems to be confused about what GOAT means. Unlike Tom Brady, there are multiple teams in baseball with really good designated hitters; while David Ortiz was good, he's not a GOAT.

[dlsterner]

At a restaurant, I saw on one of the TVs a Red Sox uniform with 34 inside a goat outline. This is David Ortiz. Someone seems to be confused about what GOAT means. Unlike Tom Brady, there are multiple teams in baseball with really good designated hitters; while David Ortiz was good, he's not a GOAT.

Agree ... even if you consider Red Sox only players (of all positions), while David Ortiz was one of the best, no way could you rank him above Ted Williams.


(Side note:  first time I was exposed to the term GOAT/goat was in the old Peanuts comic strips where Charlie Brown was always the "goat" (as opposed to "GOAT") for causing his team to lose.  I still do a double-take when I see the term.)

[ethanhopkin14]

At a restaurant, I saw on one of the TVs a Red Sox uniform with 34 inside a goat outline. This is David Ortiz. Someone seems to be confused about what GOAT means. Unlike Tom Brady, there are multiple teams in baseball with really good designated hitters; while David Ortiz was good, he's not a GOAT.

Agree ... even if you consider Red Sox only players (of all positions), while David Ortiz was one of the best, no way could you rank him above Ted Williams.


(Side note:  first time I was exposed to the term GOAT/goat was in the old Peanuts comic strips where Charlie Brown was always the "goat" (as opposed to "GOAT") for causing his team to lose.  I still do a double-take when I see the term.)

I don't use the term for this reason.  To me a goat is still the person who chokes or fails in the situation he needed to succeed in.