That was so dumb. If Carolina wasn’t even legally in the zone when the penalty occurred, how did the penalty still stand?
Getting tugged from behind to disrupt an illegitimate breakaway that replay confirmed should have been blown dead = penalty shot?
You’d have to switch to fiction, which he’d remind you is all made-up lies that didn’t really happen.
Too much nuance to fit into a single post, but of course! The more the merrier!
The problem is only someone from New York can write about Erving and only someone from Virginia can write about Malone, so it gets tricky in a hurry for a principled writer who respects firsthand knowledge boundaries.
The synthesis and sharing of hard-won acquired knowledge is the job.
Philadelphians had 43 years to conduct dozens of in-depth interviews and do years of newspaper and magazine research in order to tell this specific story.
Philly fans should thank the midwestern guy for doing it.
That was a very aggravating baseball game.
(I used "loser points" as is the common vernacular, but there are also "tie-er wins" from shootouts that cause further standings inflation that divorce the modern standings from any semblance of historical reality.)
The team currently holding the third-place playoff spot in the Metro would have long been dead and buried, even below a team that has already been comfortably eliminated.
Points: PHI 92, NYI 91, #CBJ 90, WSH 89, NJD 83
Real W-L-T hockey records w/o loser points:
NYI 39-31-9, 87 pts
WSH 38-33-8, 84 pts
NJD 36-38-5, 77 pts
PHI 31-35-13, 75 pts
CBJ 32-38-9, 73 pts
Loser points make the NHL standings meaningless for determining who is any good.
PS- The best one was on 4/11/98 at the Shoe. New England's Paul Keegan scored an 89th minute equalizer. Then Brian McBride scored an 89th minute winner for #Crew96. Neither 89th is a typo.
Arfsten's 61st minute goal (after #Crew96 conceded in 60th) was the 9th time in club history the Crew answered a conceded goal by scoring within the next "game minute."
The first since Federico Huguain on 5/17/14 at Portland.
Feels good to hear that first Underwood-shouts-like-it's-a-no-doubt-about-it-long-gone-homer-but-the-ball-is-caught-like-30-feet-in-front-of-the-warning-track. It's officially baseball season now.
Oh no. I'm so sorry your Opening "Day" trip got completely screwed instead of merely having a super annoying/stressful but memorably odd "this-will-be-really-funny-someday-but-not-right-now" flight delay story. A ruined suitcase is the cherry on top of a ruined trip. I hate this happened to you.
Unfortunate sequencing. Had it happened when you got to Seattle, the fish would have been thrown and caught.
Thank you for this. I saw your comment the other day and was going to write you to ask why you hadn’t made peace with it, but now you’ve explained. I can tell you that as a Clevelander who only knows the book in its final form, I absolutely loved Our Team. You did a great job.
I’ve seen that quote referenced many times before…and now I am delighted to learn it came from an interview with you!
On the bright side, the #Crew96 Banana Kits were GLORIOUS as always. Nice to see them again.
21 in MLS, 1 in Leagues Cup (the Final!), 1 in CCC.
It was the second stoppage-time game-loser ever allowed by #Crew96 at the SMG Death Star.
8/3/2022: Joel Waterman 93+ vs. Montreal (2-1)
3/14/26: Hany Mukhtar 94+ vs. Nashville (1-0)
Tonight was the 18th stoppage-time game-losing goal in #Crew96 history. It's the third 1-0 stoppage time game-loser in club history. All at home.
6/12/11: Cristian Nazarit 91+ vs CHI
9/24/11: Chad Barrett 93+ vs LAG
3/14/26: Hany Mukhtar 94+ vs NSH
Ha… saw your original post and was about to send you a pic of this but I see you got your own.
ICYMI, I wrote an essay about Forest City Cleveland's brand unveiling and why I so strongly connected with it.
sirkbook.com/2026/03/10/f...
Unlikely, but the only thing that could make it funnier would be if the 15-16 (9-9) Ohio Bobcats made a Cinderella run in MACtion.
Miami going 31-0 and then shitting the bed in their first conference tourney game against a team that went 7-11 in the MAC is a delightful, heart-warming sports story. A+++. 10/10. Five stars. The main plot was annoying and went on far too long, but the crescendo was <<chef's kiss>>.
Exciting news! @clevelandprosoccer.bsky.social has announced the identity and crest of the MLS Next Pro team that will kick off in 2027:
Forest City Cleveland
I wrote about why the club's branding resonates with me.
sirkbook.com/2026/03/10/f...
Yes indeed.
It’s time to stake our claim, Cleveland. We need a statue outside the Jake of the Joe Carter and Cory Snyder “Indian Uprising” Sports Illustrated cover from 1987.
(“Believe it! Cleveland is the best team in the American League.” They went on to lose 101 games. Not Joe Carter’s fault though!)
"Walmart Saturday Showdown" sounds like...a trip to Walmart on a Saturday.
ANOTHER random find while doing Force research....
I had never seen the Toronto Towers logo! Here is Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien unveiling the team's logo at Maple Leaf Gardens in March 1983 as he intended to relocate the Cavs there.
Article mentions Arsenal, Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest, and Birmingham City among the participants.
Arsenal fullback Kenny Sansom: "It's a very entertaining game. You see a lot of skill."
Arsenal manager Terry Neill: "I'm all for it."
Another random find:
8 English top-flight teams participated in an indoor soccer tournament in 1983, looking to reverse soccer's struggles in England. There was talk of shutting down outdoor in winter to play the indoor game. Lack of arenas was a hindrance.
Opening paragraphs...