Baseball Study: Can a few terrible starts conceal a gem?

I'm no mathematician, but I would love it if someone out there shares my curiosity for baseball and can (dis)prove some of my theories.

Basically, I would be the idea (people) person; you will be the brains.




Thesis #1: If we remove a starting pitcher's worst two starts (as defined by lowest Game Score), we may uncover a few hidden gems - pitchers that perform very well most times out but have their stats - sabermetric or otherwise - crushed by these terrible performances. [Quality Start % does something similar, but I think this could yield results that give us more insight; if it helps, make up a fancy moniker like xQS%.]

ESPN* attempts to quantify each player's contribution to a particular game by assigning a Game Score. For pitchers, the formula for reads:

50 + 1*Outs + 2*IP after the 4th + 1*K - 2*H - 4*ER - 2*UnearnedRuns - 1*BB

The average Game Score this season for starting pitchers is approximately 50.8.

Doing some very rudimentary math, I filtered for any pitcher that made 10 or more starts through 8/19 (157 in total). I then removed his lowest two Game Scores and re-sorted by average Game Score.

w/o 2 = average Games Score rank after removing two worst starts

Pure = average Games Score rank including all starts

	Games Started	w/o 2	Pure	GmSc Diff
Felipe Paulino	14	76	103	-27
Scott Olsen	12	95	122	-27
Luke Hochevar	13	81	106	-25
Homer Bailey	10	78	102	-24
Brett Anderson	10	14	37	-23
Jair Jurrjens	14	44	64	-20
Joel Pineiro	20	58	78	-20
Todd Wellemeyer	11	109	129	-20
Hisanori Takahashi	12	94	113	-19
Tim Wakefield	16	112	131	-19
Vicente Padilla	15	24	41	-17
Madison Bumgarner	10	42	57	-15
Carlos Zambrano	12	117	132	-15
Thomas Hanson	25	30	44	-14
Tommy Hunter	14	66	79	-13
Dana Eveland	10	141	153	-12
Jake Peavy	17	56	67	-11
Tom Gorzelanny	18	93	82	11
Randy Wells	25	97	86	11
Mark Buehrle	25	101	89	12
Jonathan Sanchez	25	47	34	13
Livan Hernandez	25	60	47	13
Kevin Correia	23	110	96	14
Clayton Richard	25	87	72	15
Jake Westbrook	24	106	91	15
Kris Medlen	14	91	73	18
Jon Garland	25	71	51	20

Takeaways: If not for a couple brutal starts, Tommy Hanson would be getting talked about like an ace. Padres pitchers have been incredibly consistent.

w/o 2 = average ERA rank after removing two worst starts

Pure = average ERA rank including all starts

	Games Started	w/o 2	Pure	ERA Diff
Scott Olsen	12	79	128	-49
Carlos Zambrano	12	82	131	-49
Dana Eveland	10	112	151	-39
Vicente Padilla	15	35	71	-36
Tommy Hunter	14	23	56	-33
Homer Bailey	10	88	117	-29
Felipe Paulino	14	62	89	-27
Joel Pineiro	20	56	81	-25
Jair Jurrjens	14	44	68	-24
Luke Hochevar	13	95	119	-24
Hisanori Takahashi	12	98	122	-24
Todd Wellemeyer	11	123	146	-23
Thomas Hanson	25	20	40	-20
Jhoulys Chacin	13	57	77	-20
Vince Mazzaro	14	34	52	-18
Brett Aarion Cecil	20	54	72	-18
John Ely	14	87	104	-17
Ben Sheets	20	80	96	-16
Justin Verlander	25	74	58	16
Jeff Karstens	17	106	90	16
Kevin Correia	23	119	103	16
Ian Kennedy	24	105	88	17
Joe Saunders	25	116	97	19
Dan Haren	26	107	87	20
Colby Lewis	24	59	36	23
Ryan Dempster	25	75	51	24
Jake Westbrook	24	118	94	24
Kris Medlen	14	90	60	30

Takeaways: I think this tells me players with negative differences have made two starts that were MUCH worse than players with positive differences.


General takeaway: I've been sitting on this data for over a week and wanted to get something out before it got too stale, but as I thought more about it, I realize I should have removed each pitcher's worst two games and compared those numbers against the rest of the pitchers without two starts removed.


Other things I came across during the study which I found interesting:

-Since 2007, no team failed to make the playoffs when they won 90 games (.556 winning percentage).

-King Felix leads MLB by a wide margin with a QS% sit around 89%. Great pitchers sit around 80%.

-One more chart you might find interesting:

	Pure ERA	StdDevGS
Josh Beckett	6.67	19.68079
Kyle Lohse	6.79	18.91334
A.J. Burnett	4.66	18.58501
Bradley Bergesen	5.89	18.50852
Joe Saunders	4.54	18.32362
Dana Eveland	6.34	18.04706
Mike Pelfrey	3.97	17.75738
Scott Baker	4.85	17.5601
Brandon Morrow	4.45	17.08355
Hisanori Takahashi	5.01	17.03232
Jake Peavy	4.63	16.96551
Gavin Floyd	3.97	16.93827
Matt Garza	3.76	16.89335
Javier Vazquez	4.90	16.78431
Aaron Cook	5.34	16.67158
Justin Masterson	5.23	16.50587
Joel Pineiro	4.18	16.32833
Wandy Rodriguez	4.04	16.24488
Francisco Liriano	3.45	16.20305
Brett Anderson	2.89	10.50085
Kevin Correia	4.63	10.3978
Wade LeBlanc	3.46	10.38217
Brett Myers	3.11	10.26853
Justin Verlander	3.77	10.23054
Andy Pettitte	2.88	10.13575
David Price	2.85	9.905987
Jeff Karstens	4.41	9.852242
Jason Hammel	4.36	9.531665
Madison Bumgarner	3.27	9.47082
Derek Lowe	4.32	9.463794
Mike Leake	3.78	9.194392
Manny Parra	5.86	9.031285
Stephen Strasburg	2.97	8.902247
Carlos Zambrano	5.16	8.167687
Kris Medlen	3.86	8.125437
Vince Mazzaro	3.63	7.191641
Jair Jurrjens	3.92	7.141428

*ESPN may not have invented this stat, but this is the only place I have seen it.

For anyone interested, I would be happy to provide any of the source data. Just email me - thesportsbanter@gmail.com. Special thanks to David Pinto (BaseballMusings.com) for providing the Game Scores.

Thursday Links

-Investment advice from Mark Cuban. [Cuban Blog]

-I would probably agree with this headline despite the fact is was written by someone presumably in New Orleans. [Nola.com]

-Lombardi. [NFL.com]

-Matt Williamson of ESPN (password required) identifies each NFL team's most indispensable player.

My three strongest points of contention:
1- No Peyton (puts this whole list into question)
2- MJD should rank higher (maybe top 3)
3- Ryan Mathews being on this list (he has never played a down in the NFL).

-Can one or more these guys be bargains in 2011? My guess would be Adam Laroche provides the most value. [The Baseball Analysts]

-Win probability graph of yesterday's Braves-Rox game. [Fangraphs]



-Should the Pirates spend money to win games? [Slate.com]

-Of the ideas listed, I like #5 best, but I'm not sure any improvements/changes to the current waiver claiming process are in short order for MLB. [Walk like a Sabr]

-NBA Sabermetrics: to foul or not to foul when up three. [HSAC]



BC 8/26/2010

Wednesday Links

-Buster Olney blog. [ESPN Insider; password required]

 

-ESPN steals an idea from Peter King and runs it before his annual article: ranking the 200 best NFL players. [ESPN Insider; password required]

 

-Great article by Jeff Passan...unless you live in Florida. [Yahoo]

 

-Chaminade guy signs with old college coach (yes, Mike asked me to link to this story). [NFP]

 

-Q&A with Football Outsiders' Bill Barnwell. [NY Times]

 

-We knocked him yesterday so it's only fair to congratulate Jevan Snead today. [Bucs.com]

 

-(Non-sports) Are these miners collecting overtime? [Fox]

 

 

 

BC 8/25/2010

 

NBA Draft Grades

The summer has given us an opportunity to further assess the 2010 Draft class. Here are my grades:

 

MILWAUKEE BUCKS 
Round 1: Larry Sanders (15)
Round 2: Darington Hobson (37), Jerome Jordan (44), Keith Gallon (47)

Grade: A. Love the potential upside with Sanders, Hobson can contribute off the bench, and Gallon is a skilled big man.

  

TORONTO RAPTORS                                                                                                

Round 1: Ed Davis (13)
Round 2: Solomon Alabi (50)

Grade: A-. Love this draft. Replacing Bosh will be impossible, but Davis could have been a top-5 pick. Alabi could have been a first rounder too. Great values.

 

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER  
Round 1: Cole Aldrich (11)
Round 2: Tibor Pleiss (31), Latavious Williams (48), Ryan Reid (57)

Grade: A-. Aldrich is a bit of a stiff, but he'll protect the rim which is something the Thunder needed badly last season.

 

BOSTON CELTICS 
Round 1: Avery Bradley (19)
Round 2: Luke Harangody (52)

Grade: A-. Grabbing a defensive stopper like Bradley with the 19th pick was a coup. Pairing him Rondo late in games will be a great weapon. 

 

LOS ANGELES LAKERS    

Round 1: None
Round 2: Devin Ebanks (43), Derrick Caracter (58)

Grade: A-. Grabbing two rotation players this late in the draft is a job well done.

 

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS 

Round 1: Craig Brackins (21), Quincy Pondexter (26)
Round 2: None

Grade: B+. I might be in the minority, but I like both of these guys. Brackins can score and Pondexter is a great athlete that can run the wing for CP3.

  

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS    

Round 1: Evan Turner (2)
Round 2: None

Grade: B+. With the second pick, the 76ers got the second best player. What else could you ask for?

 

CHICAGO BULLS               
Round 1: None
Round 2: None

Grade: B+. They used the #17 overall pick to unload Kirk Hinrich's salary which allowed them to sign Carlos Boozer. Nice move.

 

WASHINGTON WIZARDS     

Round 1: John Wall (1), Kevin Seraphin (17), Trevor Booker (23)
Round 2: Hamady N'diaye (56)

Grade: B. With the first pick, the team got the best player. After that though, more questions than answers. I do like Booker too.

 

NEW JERSEY NETS              
Round 1: Derrick Favors (3), Damion James (24)
Round 2: None

Grade: B. I would have preferred Cousins over Favors, but I think the James pick is an underrated addition.

 

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 

Round 1: Al-Farouq Aminu (8), Eric Bledsoe (18)
Round 2: Willie Warren (54)

Grade: B. Aminu's a tweener, but I like the risks they took on Bledsoe and Warren especially when we hear Baron Davis has ballooned to 260 lbs.

 

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS    

Round 1: Luke Babbitt (16), Elliot Williams (22)
Round 2: Armon Johnson (34)

Grade: B. Blazers got more talent, but it seems like they have way too many players and not enough minutes.

 

SAN ANTONIO SPURS  

Round 1: James Anderson (20)
Round 2: Ryan Richards (49)

Grade: B. Classic San Antonio. With the 20th pick, they get a contributor for the 2010-11 squad.

 

ATLANTA HAWKS       
Round 1: Jordan Crawford (27)
Round 2: Pape Sy (53)

Grade: B-. Not sure how much they improved their team this year since Jordan Crawford seems to be a younger version of Jamal Crawford.

 

DALLAS MAVERICKS             
Round 1: Dominique Jones (25)
Round 2: None

Grade: B-. I like Jones as a player but don't the Mavs have plenty of these types?

 

HOUSTON ROCKETS        

Round 1: Patrick Patterson (14)
Round 2: None

Grade: B-. Solid player. Fits the system. Ho hum. 

 

UTAH JAZZ           
Round 1: Gordon Hayward (9)
Round 2: Jeremy Evans (55)

Grade: C+. White dude that strokes the 3. Good fit.

 

DENVER NUGGETS       

Round 1: None
Round 2: None

Grade: C+. Traded this year's first rounder for Ty Lawson, a deal that has worked out very well for the Nuggs. 

 

DETROIT PISTONS                 
Round 1: Greg Monroe (7)
Round 2: Terrico White (36)

Grade: C+. The Pistons needed a bruiser inside. Monroe plays like another guard. Is he talented? Yes, but he doesn't fit their needs.

  

SACRAMENTO KINGS         

Round 1: DeMarcus Cousins (5)
Round 2: Hassan Whiteside (33)

Grade: C. On talent alone, the Kings get an A+. However, both of these guys have character issues. Add them to a team whose best player just got arrested for driving 140mph and it seems like a recipe for disaster.

 

INDIANA PACERS                      
Round 1: Paul George (10)
Round 2: Lance Stephenson (40), Magnum Rolle (51)

Grade: C-. George plays the same position as the Pacers' best player. Is another deal in the works? If not, how does he fit? Hate the rumors surrounding Stephenson too. Hate them.

 

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS  

Round 1: Ekpe Udoh (6)
Round 2: None

Grade: D+. Not only is Udoh injured, but if they planned to trade for David Lee, why would they take another PF? 

 

NEW YORK KNICKS          
Round 1: None
Round 2: Andy Rautins (38), Landry Fields (39)

Grade: D. Blah.

 

PHOENIX SUNS                      
Round 1: None
Round 2: Gani Lawal (46), Dwayne Collins (60)

Grade: D. Blah.

 

MIAMI HEAT      

Round 1: None
Round 2: Dexter Pittman (32), Jarvis Varnado (41), Da'Sean Butler (42)

Grade: D. Pittman might hit 400 lbs. before he sees significant minutes in the NBA, Varnado has already signed in Europe, and Butler is recovering from a gruesome knee injury. Could have done more.

 

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES   

Round 1: Wesley Johnson (4), Lazar Hayward (30)
Round 2: Nemanja Bjelica (35), Paulo Prestes (45)

Grade: D-. Last year it was the point guards, this year it was the small forwards. Again, why no diversification? Johnson can be an above average 3, but the other picks seem wasted.

 

ORLANDO MAGIC               
Round 1: Daniel Orton (29)
Round 2: Stanley Robinson (59)

Grade: D-. Put simply, I don't believe in Daniel Orton. He did nothing in college. What did he do to deserve a first round grade? I really think Thunder GM Sam Presti put out false information that his team was interested in Orton to brew interest from other teams. Great move by Presti, terrible move by Orlando.

 

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS      

Round 1: None
Round 2: None

Grade: F. This team desperately needed something positive out of this draft and got nothing.

   

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES         
Round 1: Xavier Henry (12), Greivis Vasquez (28)
Round 2: None

Grade: Inc. The Grizzlies still haven't signed Henry despite the fact their is a "hard" slotting system for all rookie salaries. Makes no sense to quibble over a few thousand dollars. Pay the man now so he's motivated when he takes the floor.

 

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS           

Round 1: None
Round 2: None

Grade: N/A.

Corpulent Baron Davis

Chris Broussard and John Hollinger of ESPN have been putting together some sort of NBA power rankings officially titled "Offseason Buzz." I'm not sure what they are trying to measure or how this differs from their future power rankings, but thy had a great nugget about Baron Davis in today's article:

 

Midsummer reports weren't good, as sources said the 6-3 point guard was up to 260 pounds, 45 pounds above his listed playing weight.

 

Why wouldn't Melo want to go there?

Tuesday Links

-Buster Olney blog. [ESPN Insider; password required]

 

-Great question posed by Joe P at Fangraphs: What happened to the AL shortstops?

 

-Summary of guys that decided to go back to school. [Yahoo]

 

-Shocker! Tiger's divorced. Not really a shocker, but some (intelligent) people are trying to make money off the deal. [The Business Insider]

 

-Actual shocker!! Maurice Clarett is hoping to make a comeback. [NFP]

 

-Speaking of staying in school, I bet this guy and this guy wish they had. [Lost Lettermen]

 

-I hope for Evan Turner's sake this deal turns out better than Stephon Marbury's Steve and Barry's deal. [Darren Rovell / CNBC]

 

 

 

BC 8/24/2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Links

We read all the stories so you don't have to.

 

-John Dewan's Stat of the Week breaks down the MVP races in each league.

 

-Hardwood Paroxysm analyzes which players were most overpaid in 2009-10.

 

-Great Moments in "Drunken Hookup Failure." [Deadspin]

 

-Part two of Andrew Brandt's breakdown of the Darrelle Revis contract situation. [NFP]

 

-Keep telling yourselves everything will be alright, Denver fans. [Wages of Wins]

 

-A guy I always loved rooting for may have seen his last days. [Washington Post]

 

-One more MLB Draft recap. [Yahoo]

 

-Buster Olney blog: Saturday and Sunday. [ESPN Insider; password required]

 

-Dan Pompei's Sunday Blitz. [NFP]

 

-Peter King's MMQB. [SI.com]

 

-Lombardi. [NFL.com]

 

-Jets' P Steve Weatherford is responsible for ~$1m of this. How does Darren Rovell account for the other $39m. [CNBC]

 

-Retweet of the Day.

 

-If I were stuck in this mess, I... I... I... have no idea what I would do. [Xinhuanet via Twitter]

 

 

-Remember to download The Sports Banter app for your iPhone.

 

 

 

BC 8/23/2010

The Sports Banter - iPhone App

In the most exciting news to hit these parts in ages, we are thrilled to announce the launch of The Sports Banter iPhone app.

 

It is available for (free) download now at the App Store.

 

Reviews and feedback are encouraged.

 

We thank you again for following the site.

MLB Draft Thoughts / Links

My Thoughts

 

1- Karsten Whitson got terrible advice.

 

Major League teams, for the most part, have very good information as it pertains to potential draftees. Because teams employ so many scouts across the entire country that speak with these potential picks, they almost always understand what it will cost to sign a player before they draft him. This explains why players with "signability" issues drop into the later rounds. Knowing this, it utterly shocks me that the Padres could not sign the ninth overall pick, and without knowing the entire story, I am inclined to blame KW's "advisors" (I use the term advisor loosely). 

 

How much higher can he expect to go when he's eligible in 2013? Does he know there could be a slotting system by then?

 

I hope for their parts, the advisors took all of this into consideration when deciding college was the kid's best option.

 

My last point on this topic: Whitson's father said something along the lines of "It was always Karsten's dream to play college baseball, not professional baseball." Not only do I find that hard to believe, but I also find it IMPOSSIBLE to believe the Padres wouldn't know this BEFORE they picked him so highly.

 

The only winner in this situation is the University of Florida, the school KW will presumably attend for the next three years.

 

2- This was my Top 10:

 

 1- Bryce Harper (Actual choice: 1)

 2- Manny Machado (3)

 3- Zach Lee (28)

 4- Jameson Taillon (2)

 5- Brett Eibner (54)

 6- Josh Sale (17)

 7- Yasmani Grandal (12)

 8- Christian Colon (4)

 9- Kaleb Cowart (18)

10- Stetson Allie (52)

 

We'll see in a few years how I did.

 

3- As the final numbers trickle in, it looks like the Pirates spent the most of any team this year(~$12m). All the talk about small market teams not being able to afford the best talent is simply not true. This sums things up nicely.

 

4- Teams are finally realizing that the draft is one of the cheapest ways to compete with the big boys.

 

5- The teams that get screwed most with the late signing deadline are the college teams. Look at what the Red Sox alone took from LSU (Anthony Ranaudo, Garin Cecchini, Lucas Leblanc) all on deadline day. That leaves these Paul Mainieri with about a week to enact contingency plans.

 

6- Ty Linton, drafted by the D-backs in the 14th round, hits hard: Exhibit A.

 

7- In Monday's column, I suggested the Mets not sign Matt Harvey. After seeing that he agreed to take slot money, I love the move.

 

8- Teams that spent the most money acquired the best talent. Isn't that how it should be?

 

9- Arkansas' Zack Cox should have been drafted higher than 25th. He reminds me of Brett Wallace (pedigree as a proven college hitter, build), a player that was essentially traded for Matt Holliday. So, even as a trade chip, he's much more valuable than many guys picked ahead of him.

 

10- The whole draft process reminds me of the way venture capital firms. Players (investments) cost a bit now with the possibility of striking it rich later. If the GMs (portfolio managers) can land one superstar per class (vintage), your fans (investors) will be thrilled with the return.

 

 

Thoughts of Others

 

-Keith Law's NL and AL reviews. [ESPN]

 

-Bryan Smith's AL East, Central, West, NL East, Central and West reviews. [Fangraphs]

 

-Reviews by John Manuel and Aaron Fitt. [Baseball America]

 

-Kendall Rogers' review. [Yahoo]

 

-As Jayson Stark explains, it will be very difficult to implement a hard slotting system for the draft. If it happens, I think college baseball will be the biggest beneficiary. [ESPN]

Friday Links

-Joe Pawlikowski of Fangraphs' fame doesn't seem as surprised as I was with the release of Brad Hawpe.

 

-Dave Cameron breaks down this past offseason's good moves. [Fangraphs] Unfortunately for the D-backs, they won't have much to show for their efforts.

 

-Mila Kunis, are you serious? [TMZ]

 

-SI.com begins it's college football preview with the Big Ten, ACC, and Big East.  

 

-Lombardi.

 

-Glad Percy Harvin will be alright.

 

-Insight into the Revis negotiations by Andrew Brandt. [NFP]

 

-Entertaining Matthew Berry fantasy football column.

 

-Laughing evilly.

 

-Yesterday, Deadspin introduced us to Alec Cortez. The Banter does some investigation and finds his stats at prestigious SBVC. We're a full service operation.

 

-The Deadspin link: a mailbag.

 

-Daily Buster Olney blog. [ESPN Insider; password required]

 

-Did anyone watch L&O: SVU on Wednesday night? I just caught it on DVR, and it was the only episode of the show I have ever disliked. Way too many holes in the story. Better not be a sign of things to come. On that note, I'm off to watch some older episodes.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

 

 

-BC 8/20/2010

 

Thursday Links

-Probably not a good sign when your college coach trades you. Probably.

 

-A ridiculous "sport" exists in Italy. My favorite part? Definitely the Roman numeral jersey numbers.

 

-Mike is a huge fan of neck ink. I'm sure he would appreciate this palette. [Ball Don't Lie]

 

-Daily Buster Olney blog. [ESPN Insider; password required]

 

-Here's an update about a name we haven't heard in a while: Cecil "The Diesel" Collins. The good: he's getting out of jail soon. The bad: he will have served 15 years in jail (on one of the creepiest charges you will hear). [Lost Lettermen]

 

 

 

 

Great Moments in Typo History

I guess this is one way to break out of a mini-slump. [Rotoworld]

Baseball Stats to Ponder

-After striking out two Padres in an inning of work last night, Carlos Marmol now has 100 punchouts in 55.2 innings. Wow.

 

-Of the 11 "lifers" - a 10-year vet that has only ever played on one team - currently playing in the Majors, four could conceivably leave/retire at year's end: Chipper, Helton, Varitek, and Chavez. Jeter's not going anywhere, and the Blue Jays only wish they could deal Wells.

 

-Matthew Berry of ESPN has popularized this sort of thing, and I always enjoy it as perceptions are not always in touch with reality. Check out the stats of these two rookies:

 

Player 1: 428 ABs, 12 HR, .287 BA, .453 Slg, .352 OBP, 74 K

Player 2: 359 ABs, 12 HR, .256 BA, .437 Slg, .369 OBP, 92 K

 

Player 1 is Gaby Sanchez. Player 2 is Jason Heyward. 

 

What can be gleaned from these numbers? Probably not a ton, but it's food for thought.

 

-The first year of Target Field has not been kind to home run hitters. Drop the Twins down your fantasy boards accordingly next season.

 

-Whatever happened to Minute Maid Park being a hitter's haven?

 

-Lastly, a link that has nothing to do with baseball- Tara Reid (predictably) fell off quite a bit, as did Shannon Elizabeth (not so predictably). Everyone else really hasn't changed.

 

 

BC - 8/18/2010

Wednesday Links

MLB

-Has it really come to this for Brad Hawpe? I know he's struggling this season and can't play defense, but his triple-slash the previous four seasons was .288/.384/.518. He can be a useful DH for a team willing to take a chance on him. White Sox? Rays?

 

-Daily Buster Olney blog. [ESPN Insider; password required]

 

-Insight from Paul DePodesta a day after the day after.

 

-An interview with my favorite player from the 2009 MLB Draft, Tyler Matzek. [Baseball Beginnings]

 

-"The Double Rainbow, what does it mean" Stat of the Day: Aubrey Huff has set a career high in walks, and there are still 42 games left in the Giants' season. 

 

 

NBA

-I admit I'm not that in touch with celebrity gossip but two things about this story shocked me:

     1- Court cases like this actually happen, and

     2- Gabrielle Union dated Jason Kidd (and Derek Jeter, and former NFLer Chris Howard among others) [TMZ]

 

Dwyane stay away from GU. She's 37. You are 28. For different reasons, you do not want sloppy seconds, thirds, or fourths after the guys she's dated. You want no part of her. Trust us here. 

 

 

NFL

-After a scare on Monday, it appears Rams' OT Rodger Saffold will be fine. Sam Bradford can exhale. [NBC Sports]

 

-As long as he keeps competing, we'll keep rooting for Stafon Johnson. [Fox Sports]

 

-Ever wonder what Al Cowlings has been doing since the OJ chase? Me either, but I found it entertaining anyway. [Lost Lettermen]

 

-A glossary for the sabermetrically-inclined football fan. [Advanced NFL Stats]

Upcoming Schedule

Aside from Bryan's daily posts / links and a few Separated at Birth articles, here are a few things to look for:

August 20- MLB Draft Thoughts

August 24- NBA Draft Grades (Yes, a bit late)

August 27- Fantasy Football Top 100 + Sleepers

August 31- College Football Preview/Predictions

September 7- NFL Preview/Predictions

We will also be critiquing the Ball Don't Lie's series of rating the top 30 players at each position. First up: point guards.


Question of the Day: Which of these celebrations do you like best?