86 thoughts on “March 14, 2014: Butera-Level Backup”

    1. I think I argued this last year, but shouldn't we change date and time to the appropriate (irregular) bases?
      In a 365-day year, 4/23 is π/10 through the year.
      At 16:02:07, to be precise to the second.

      In a leap year, it would be the same day at 23:34:30.

        1. Zing!

          We're having pie and ice cream, compliments of the management committee, at 1:59 pm.

  1. The Sully Buttes Chargers girls basketball team won their first game in the state tournament yesterday 61-35. They now move on to the semi-finals against last year's state champion, Warner. Go Chargers!

  2. Yesterday afternoon, it was 63 degrees in the Capitol City. Today, there was a light dusting of new snow on the ground.

  3. Probably the second most well known Twins player autograph...

    ID the AU -- you know the drill:
    AU

    'Hint' SelectShow
    Answer SelectShow
    1. I have an autographed baseball on my mantle from said player. He traded me 3 prints for three balls, the other two reside with my brothers.

      1. And he sent Sheenie and me an autographed baseball as a wedding present. We sent him a thank-you note back, so he sent another note back in reply. It's like he can't help himself from giving away his signature!

    1. This strategy annoyed the crap out of me. I'd stopped by the local watering hole to catch the Gophers game and stayed through 2 OT periods of this.
      Dribble.
      Dribble.
      Stand there with the ball on hip for 3+ minutes.
      Pass.
      Pass.
      Stand there with ball on hip for 1+ minutes.
      Set up play.
      Get off shot.
      Miss.
      Repeat.

      Initially I was rooting for Shakopee because of Hopkins decision, but then realized that they could be pressuring if they cared to, so I left.

      1. I prefer my basketball with a 24 second shot clock, natch, but a 35 second shot clock pretty much ends this nonsense.

      2. The Hopkins apologists say that they couldnt beat Shakopee's zone, but they did in the 3OT, and nailed a three to tie the game. Pass, pass, pass, zone broken, score.

        1. I've read all sorts of comments today, both pro-Hopkins/anti-Shakopee and vice-versa. I've also read that the reason they don't have a shot clock is due to cost (something like adding the technology throughout the state and a third official having to monitor).

          My current (though superficially considered) opinion.
          Hopkins had the more talented team and could have (and did) beat the zone. Their coach was playing within the letter of the rules, but it doesn't seem very sportsman-like.
          Shakopee didn't play man defense all game and were tied with the superior team at the end of the game; no reason to switch at that point.
          The winning half-court shot by a sophomore with 2 points for the game was lucky.
          The fans (and players?) lose...even if they "win" the game.

          Conclusion:
          Boss is correct - they should figure out a way to get the shot clock instituted.

          1. I don't even know that you even necessarily need a shot clock. Why not just a rule against holding the ball for more than 10 seconds? (Or whatever your favorite interval is.) I assume that if refs can call a back-court violation they could enforce a no stalling rule. At least then teams would be forced to pass rather than stand around.

            1. I agree.

              One of the best HS basketball games I've seen was one where two neighboring schools played in a District tournament, and the underdog team played a full-court press/stall game, upsetting the tournament favorites. I don't remember much standing around with the ball in the game, but forcing periodic passes would still allow that strategy but make the game more enjoyable.

            2. That's a good call ubes. I don't watch a lot of high school basketball, but the tactic employed yesterday drove me out of the pub. Probably not what the MSHSL would prefer.

            3. Also cheaper. Chip Scoggins talked with Kevin Merkle, the tourney director, about the shot clock.

              Merkle said the shot clock debate comes up every year but it hasn’t gained much traction because it’s cost prohibitive for many schools. The high school league allows schools to experiment with a shot clock during non-conference season but Merkle said “I don’t think we’re that close” to having them in use full time at every school.

              1. This seems like a situation primed for letting perfection be the enemy of the good. Sure, we know that shot clocks would solve the problem, but that doesn't mean there aren't any other valid solutions. But shot clocks are really well known, so the debate will rage around shot clock vs. no shot clock rather than focusing on "what's the best way for a HS league to eradicate cynical play?"

            4. there is, or used to be, a five-second call: once in the offensive zone, you had to advance or pass the ball within five seconds when "closely guarded".

              In the Hopkins/Shakopee case, Shakopee could very well have extended its zone to "closely guard" the ball on the perimeter, forcing Hopkins to move it. This, of course, weakens the effectiveness of a passive zone defense (as opposed to something like a zone trap).

              At least one other timed sport in Minnesota h.s. competition has anti-stalling rules. Namely, wrestling. If a wrestler is, in the judgment of the referee, stalling, whether on top, bottom, or neutral, that wrestler can be penalized.

          2. A related story: the kid who grew up across the street from me was for a time a girls basketball coach in Minnesota. One year, his team wasn't very good and in the district tournament, they faced the #1 seed. There was a girl on the other team that was something like 10 points away from the school record in points scored in a career.

            He had his team stall the whole game, basically treating every quarter like one of those overtimes. They won the game by a score of around 9-8 (I think it was exactly that, but I'm not sure). I do remember that they needed to score two baskets in the fourth quarter to win it. The girl on the other team was a senior, her career was over, and she didn't get the record. He tried it again in the next game and it didn't work. The other team pressured the ball and beat them.

            1. This seems shady... feels like it's teaching the wrong things. Also, I don't want them handing that girl 11 points (and I'm sure she wouldn't have wanted that either), but to remove any chance for her to approach it doesn't sit well with me.

              1. Whether it's shady or not to me depends on if the goal in the stall tactic was to win the game or to prevent the opponent school record. If the best chance to win happens to coincide with foiling her chance, well, oh well...

                1. just because something is allowed under the rules doesn't mean it should be done. Stall tactics are "win-at-all-cost" tactics, which are fundamentally in opposition to the (purported) ethics of high school athletics.

                  I see nothing wrong with a 4-corners delay in the last few minutes of a game to preserve a lead, nor with a "deliberate" offense. I see a lot wrong with a game-long delay. It steals play from the players.

                  1. admittedly, the line between a "fair" use of the 4-corners delay and an "unfair" one is unclear. That's a big part of why the pros and colleges (and many high school leagues) adopted shot clocks.

                    We have shot clocks in California h.s. (and junior high, I think) hoops. It just is not THAT expensive to implement. The MSHSL claim that it is a cost issue is bogus.

                  2. I disagree! Next you'll be telling me that intentional walks are bad, too, because they take the bat out of the player's hands!

                    What is ethically wrong with playing basketball using stall tactics? And how is it "win at all costs"? If this style of play fits your strengths (or minimizes your weaknesses), then I'd certainly do it. If a football team had no passing game, would it be "win at all costs" to run the ball every down?

                    1. not even remotely comparable.

                      Football, of course, requires the offense to advance the ball or turn it over.

                      Intentional walks are not comparable, because they reward the offense.

                      How is standing for minutes on end holding the basketball in any way, shape, or form "playing" basketball? It just isn't. You might as well stipulate that the game is over except for a free throw "shoot-out".

                      I am struggling to see how you can reject my characterization of an all-out stall as anything but a "win-at-all-costs" strategy. And frankly, I have a hard time imagining any player who, given the choice in advance, would want to play for a coach who regularly employed such a game-long (or quarter-long) strategy.

                    2. as for the ethical component, wow.

                      Here's what the MSHSL's Official Handbook says:

                      High school activity programs are designed for student participants, and adults must serve in a supportive role.

                      So, yea. I think it is an ethical issue to direct kids to employ a strategy that is expressly about suppressing competitive play for the bulk of a game's designated clock time.

                    3. Okay, first off, I'm against standing for minutes on end holding the ball, and I said that above. What I'm not against is using stall tactics. In no way does it suppress competitive play; the only thing is suppressed is the score. It takes a good offense to run a "proper" stall; it takes a good defense to defeat it.

                    4. then I don't think we are really in disagreement, other than perhaps semantically.

                      the Princeton continuity-motion offense is a very deliberate one. Four-corners is mostly a delay, but can also be a very deliberate offense.

                      A "stall" isn't an offense. IMNSHO.

            2. My dad played bball for a small town high school that pulled a similar stunt against overwhelming opposition (less successfully, I think the final was 6-11 or something like that).

              More notable is that the AD for his high school got punched in the nose following the game for allowing such tactics.

  4. The fix is in. I'm headed back to Ireland sometime this summer. The director agrees that this opportunity can't be missed, and gave me her blessing. My supervisor reacted well-ish, but he doesn't know that the deal is done. My institution bought a whole pile of loyalty from me yesterday.

  5. SBG got me thinking- the Vikings are doing some nice things in FA. I'm not expecting much from a team without a above-average quarterback, but I really feel like they're doing some good things this offseason. I wish I felt better about the QB options that are likely going to be available at #8.

    1. Captain Munnerlyn is a nice signing.
      I dont trust Rick Speilman to ever find a competent quarterback.

  6. Chris Jaffe always has great historical tidbits for each day, but this one is too good to not share:

    80,000 days FROM today, Captain James Kirk will be born.

    1. According to Gardy, he just needs more at-bats to shake the rust off. Sent him down the street for the minor league game:

      ``He did fine,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. ``He hit the ball hard three times out of I think he got seven at-bats. Base hit his first time up, to center, and another lineout to second, and another base hit later.

  7. Rhett Bollinger ‏@RhettBollinger
    #MNTwins announce they sign closer Glen Perkins to new four-year extension through '17 season.

    1. Signed through same years as Mauer now.

        1. Man, that contract has "I really want to be on the next World Series Champion Minnesota Twins team!" written all over it. And I hope Perk gets exactly that.

          1. Would be nice.
            I was reading that interview with Hrbek and wonder what its like to play all your pro career for the hometown team and helping them through troughs to a title.
            Fewer beers you have to pay for, for one thing.

    2. “I’ll take a $22 million discount [price] any day of the week,” Perkins said shortly after agreeing to a four-year contract that figures to keep him in the Twins’ bullpen through the 2017 season, at least. “That’s more money than I’ll ever need.”

    1. Once I get all my books down here from Iowa I'll list them. Currently the only two I have are my Alton Brown cookbook and my SAS survival guide, both of which I consult fairly regularly.

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