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Now if he does it again, then we can try to forget last year
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And!
It would have been even better if that damned commentator on ESPN hadn't opened his damned mouth!!
(Yes, I *did* study with an anthro at NU who focused on the area of sports superstitions, what of it? Are you saying I'm wrong?!?)
It wasn't ESPN
"Fox Sports: Trying Like Hell To Make You Hate Sports Since 1993"
Actually...
It was ESPN. I was in a sports bar with various different games going on. He was the one I caught uttering the "N" word, though it is possible it was almost mentioned on different networks.
I would think they would cover this in Sports-Casting 101; Never mention a no-hitter while it could be possibly going on!
No. It was not ESPN. I assure
No. It was not ESPN. I assure you, it was not ESPN. Unless you are outside the United States. In which case, I guess it might have been ESPN International or something.
Euphemisms
The best part of listening to a broadcast of a no-hitter in progress is seeing how many variations on "no-hitter" the announcers can come up with without actually saying it. You know, like...
"So far, no Phillie baserunners aside from three walks allowed by Matsuzaka."
"Lots of zeroes on the board!"
"He's five outs away from something special."
They all say it without actually giving the dread words any air time.
I think some announcers specifically say 'no-hitter' now because they want to be able to say, "Well, I called a game and said 'no-hitter' hundreds of times, and he still got one."
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
My favorite
Watching ESPN once, the anchor said something like, "there's a situation developing in Toronto(?). If it's still developing in the 9th, we'll switch over live". That's become my standard euphemism ever since.
Why do you keep insisting
Why do you keep insisting that? Was all of ESPN blocked out in your universe?
Just like every other no-hitter and almost-no-hitter
You need a lot of at-'em balls, a few spectacular defensive plays, and a lot of luck. Most of the time, the luck runs out, just as it did tonight. I'd just be happy if Dice-K could regularly avoid early big innings and ill-timed walks, string together a little consistency. Anything else this year would be gravy.
I hate Fox Sports
When I listen to games in the car on XM, you get the home team's broadcasters. While the Phillies broadcasters were no Joe Castiglione, they're better than a lot of the others out there (I'm looking at you YES networks who forgot it's a game and not Fox & friends). In the middle innings when it was clear what was happening, they talked around the possible no-hitter.
Then I get home and all the eight inning with the Fox morons is no-hitter this and no-hitter that. They talked about current no-hitters, no-hitters for the Sox, etc. Perhaps all the other baseball fans out there were cringing as badly as I was hoping they'd shut up, but no they kept going and going and going. Of course the one thing they got right: Dice-K's number with Tek behind the plate and Dice-K's numbers with someone else back there are night and day.
Is the superstition logical? Perhaps not. Perhaps it is for the pitcher's sake. I assume once you get into that zone, you don't want anything to disturb your concentration process. Watch the bench as a no-hitter progresses. All the rough housing and play starts to settle down and the players move down the bench bit by bit. They want it as badly and need the focus as well.
Let's get real people - the Andre Beltre that showed up to Citizen's last night is not the same man we've been cursing Theo for this season. That amazing catch and quick throw to first for the one pitch, one catch, two out play! That's the guy we hoped we were getting. (Perhaps he finally escaped from his evil twin?) It wouldn't surprise me to hear that Marco Scutaro is replaying that scene in his head over and over again trying to see what he could have done to preserve the no-no.
No-no's are things of Legend... right down to the name. It comes from Dock Ellis' no hitter after he took a hit of acid thinking it was his off day. You watch the films and that was a case of real luck in some cases (he threw some major junk that day) and his catcher told him at one point he had a no-hitter going. All Ellis heard was "You have a no - no... you have a no - no." Thus the name.
So last night I saw the Dice-K I knew was waiting to come out. I suspect we'll see more of him instead of the broken down man the Japanese team sent back to us from last year's WBC. And may he throw a no-no in Fenway with Jerry and Don calling the game instead of the morons at Fox.