Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Enjoy NBC's half-the-fat, double-the-commercials version of the closing ceremony. Have a good one.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. We had a nice little Olympics, didn't we? Sean and Burke and the interns will make sure they go down smoothly. Sorry about the music choice. It's Scocca's fault.
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After the preseason teaser that is the Hall Of Fame Game, we got our first glimpse of the NFL's replacement referees during last night's slate of pro football action. The verdict? Just ask Bill Belichick, who despite an NFL ban on teams commenting on officiating suggested we seek the opinion of Mike Pereira. (Pereira's been extremely critical of the replacement refs.)
But how bad were they, really? We compiled the worst moments we found from last night's games. Some are petty misstatements, others flat-out terrible calls or missed calls. Let's go to the video replay:
The most egregiously bad call of the evening came from this game, as officials called a touchback on a punt that was clearly downed at the five yard line. It's kind of astonishing to figure out how they came to this conclusion; from the call on the field, it sounds like one of the officials believed the ball to have entered the end zone. This is alarming, because it means referees are already assuming things they haven't actually seen; we'd rather they miss something that actually happened than make up things that didn't. The second call is an example of this, though embarrassingly so. Bills receiver Stevie Johnson is shoved down by a defensive back without a call being made. Even the Redskins announcers admit it was a missed penalty.
So here's referee Craig Ochoa, whose experience in the Lingerie Football League is still under debate. He sparkled in this game, calling Atlanta "Arizona" twice and then being forced to whistle a play dead because the ball was spotted before any of the officials checked the chain gang. This infuriated Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, and rightfully so; checking down marker status is Pop Warner League-level.
Referee Robert Frazer had a rough go of it, highlighted in these two clips. First, he calls a snap infraction on the right guard. By definition, a snap infraction can only be called on the center. He later makes one of the worst rules-based errors of the evening, issuing a ten-yard penalty for defensive holding; that's a five-yard penalty in the NFL.
Most of these are just weird. Division III referee Mike Shepherd repeatedly calls downs as if his vocabulary lacks ordinal numbers. He also confuses the two teams at one point, though the biggest blunder (one that fortunately could be dealt with by video review) is an out-of-position official missing what was clearly a touchdown. We're not sure how he saw the receiver go out of bounds, but as the player ran over the pylon—again, that's child's play. Casual viewers know that rule.
Fortunately for the NFL, the evening's premiere game didn't seem to feature many mistakes. Indeed, the one we have to highlight here is a judgment call, as an excessive celebration penalty is called on what it seems is very much not excessive—especially considering the degree to which NFL defenders celebrate sacks. Replacement referees unaccustomed to this kind of play, and especially professional football players, may end up calling this penalty a lot more than in the past.
In the end, this is probably going to be irrelevant. The NFL knows their scab refs are terrible, and will almost certainly acquiesce to the officials' union and end the lockout. But it's worth realizing these aren't your normal scab employee crossing a picket line; these are lockout replacements, which is another degree beyond serving as a replacement during a strike. These officials are certainly doing their best, but with zero ambition to being full-time NFL refs they're unlikely to improve much.
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During the Olympics, we'll be analyzing NBC's primetime coverage sort of the way we analyze SportsCenter in Bristolmetrics. We'll break down what countries the Peacock is talking about, and which athletes are getting the most attention.
Data for Wednesday, August 8; 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
20 most-mentioned athletes:
Misty May-Treanor (USA, beach volleyball): 136
Kerri Walsh Jennings (USA, beach volleyball): 136
Jen Kessy (USA, beach volleyball): 91
April Ross (USA, beach volleyball): 79
Brittney Reese (USA, long jump): 35
Aries Merritt (USA, track): 35
Allyson Felix (USA, track): 33
Usain Bolt (Jamaica, track): 32
Brittany Viola (USA, diving): 30
Jason Richardson (USA, track): 28
Lashinda Demus (USA, track): 27
Chen Ruolin (China, diving): 24
Dayron Robles (Cuba, track): 19
Yohan Blake (Jamaica, track): 18
Veronica Campbell-Brown (USA, track): 18
Katie Bell (USA, diving): 16
Wallace Spearmon (USA, track): 16
Ashton Eaton (USA, decathlon): 14
Natalya Antyukh (Russia, track): 13
Trey Hardee (USA, decathlon): 13
Countries, by number of mentions:
USA: 87
Jamaica: 21
China: 14
Cuba: 8
Barbados: 6
Brazil: 6
Russia: 6
South Africa: 5
Australia: 4
Malaysia: 3
Czech Republic: 2
Great Britain: 2
Grenada: 2
Japan: 2
Trinidad & Tobago: 2
Kenya: 1
Netherlands: 1
Nigeria: 1
Spain: 1
South Korea: 1
Cumulative prime-time mentions and number of Olympic medals won, through August 8
USA: 1,372 mentions, 90 medals
China: 328 mentions, 79 medals
Great Britain: 168 mentions, 51 medals
Russia: 141 mentions, 56 medals
Australia: 124 mentions, 29 medals
Jamaica: 92 mentions, 9 medals
Brazil: 77 mentions, 10 medals
France: 67 mentions, 29 medals
Japan: 64 mentions, 33 medals
Canada: 54 mentions, 16 medals
Netherlands: 47 mentions, 16 medals
Ukraine: 31 mentions, 10 medals
Austria: 29 mentions, 0 medals
Germany: 29 mentions, 34 medals
Mexico: 24 mentions, 5 medals
Romania: 24 mentions, 9 medals
Italy: 22 mentions, 19 medals
South Africa: 22 mentions, 4 medals
Cuba: 16 mentions, 8 medals
Trinidad & Tobago: 16 mentions, 1 medal
Dominican Republic: 15 mentions, 2 medals
South Korea: 13 mentions, 25 medals
Hungary: 12 mentions, 15 medals
Serbia: 10 mention, 2 medals
Belgium: 8 mentions, 3 medals
Nigeria: 8 mentions, 0 medals
Denmark: 7 mentions, 9 medals
Bahamas: 6 mentions, 0 medals
Barbados: 6 mentions, 0 medals
Czech Republic: 6 mentions, 8 medals
Lithuania: 6 mentions, 2 medals
Poland: 6 mentions, 9 medals
Turkey: 6 mentions, 1 medal
Botswana: 4 mentions, 1 medal
Bulgaria: 4 mentions, 1 medal
Morocco: 4 mention, 1 medals
Puerto Rico: 4 mentions, 1 medal
Tunisia: 4 mentions, 2 medals
Chile: 3 mentions, 0 medals
Malaysia: 3 mentions, 2 medal
Argentina: 2 mentions, 1 medal
Bahrain: 2 mentions, 0 medals
Belarus: 2 mentions, 10 medals
Ivory Coast: 2 mentions, 0 medals
Spain: 2 mentions, 11 medals
Switzerland: 2 mentions, 3 medals
Algeria: 1 mention, 1 medals
Colombia: 1 mention, 6 medals
Denmark: 1 mention, 9 medals
Ecuador: 1 mention, 0 medals
Finland: 1 mention, 1 medals
Greece: 1 mention, 2 medals
Ireland: 1 mention, 2 medal
New Zealand: 1 mention, 10 medals
Saudi Arabia: 1 mention, 1 medal
Sweden: 1 mention, 7 medals
Tanzania: 1 mention, 0 medals
Uzbekistan: 1 mention, 2 medals
Venezuela: 1 mention, 1 medal
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During the Olympics, we'll be analyzing NBC's primetime coverage sort of the way we analyze SportsCenter in Bristolmetrics. We'll break down what countries the Peacock is talking about, and which athletes are getting the most attention.
Data for Monday, August 6; 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.
20 most-mentioned athletes:
Martins Plavins (Latvia, beach volleyball): 39
Jacob Gibb (USA, beach volleyball): 36
Sean Rosenthal (USA, beach volleyball): 33
Kirani James (USA Grenada, track): 26
Felix Sanchez (Dominican Republic, track): 23
Lashinda Demus (USA, track): 20
Allyson Felix (USA, track): 17
Troy Dumais (USA, diving): 17
Janis Smedins (Latvia, beach volleyball): 17
Grégory Baugé (France, track cycling): 15
Georganne Moline (USA, track): 13
Sanya Richards-Ross (USA, track): 13
Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia, pole vault): 11
Usain Bolt (Jamaica, track): 10
Chris Colwill (USA, diving): 10
Jenn Suhr (USA, pole vault): 10
Javier Culson (Puerto Rico, track): 9
Ilya Zakharov (Russia, diving): 9
He Chong (China, diving): 8
He Kexin (China, gymnastics): 8
Countries, by number of mentions:
USA: 177
Latvia: 42
Great Britain: 30
Grenada: 21
China: 16
Russia: 12
Jamaica: 11
Dominican Republic: 10
Brazil: 8
Australia: 7
Trinidad & Tobago: 7
Bahamas: 6
Belgium: 4
France: 4
Germany: 4
Puerto Rico: 4
Chile: 3
Cuba: 3
Japan: 3
Nigeria: 2
Belgium: 1
Bulgaria: 1
Canada: 1
Czech Republic: 1
South Korea: 1
Morocco: 1
Poland: 1
Ukraine: 1
Venezuela: 1
Cumulative prime-time mentions and number of Olympic medals won, through August 6
USA: 1149 mentions, 66 medals
China: 231 mentions, 71 medals
Great Britain: 163 mentions, 47 medals
Russia: 125 mentions, 45 medals
Australia: 110 mentions, 24 medals
Brazil: 69 mentions, 8 medals
Jamaica: 68 mentions, 4 medals
France: 67 mentions, 28 medals
Japan: 61 mentions, 29 medals
Canada: 49 mentions, 10 medals
Netherlands: 44 mentions, 10 medals
Ukraine: 31 mentions, 9 medals
Germany: 27 mentions, 26 medals
Austria: 26 mentions, 0 medals
Mexico: 24 mentions, 5 medals
Italy: 22 mentions, 17 medals
Romania: 22 mentions, 8 medals
South Africa: 17 mentions, 4 medals
Dominican Republic: 15 mentions, 2 medals
Trinidad & Tobago: 14 mentions, 1 medal
Hungary: 12 mentions, 9 medals
South Korea: 11 mentions, 23 medals
Serbia: 10 mention, 2 medals
Cuba: 8 mentions, 7 medals
Denmark: 7 mentions, 8 medals
Nigeria: 7 mentions, 0 medals
Belgium: 8 mentions, 3 medals
Bahamas: 6 mentions
Lithuania: 6 mentions, 2 medals
Poland: 6 mentions, 8 medals
Botswana: 4 mentions, 0 medals
Bulgaria: 4 mentions, 0 medals
Czech Republic: 4 mentions, 5 medals
Puerto Rico: 4 mentions, 1 medal
Tunisia: 4 mentions, 2 medals
Chile: 3 mentions, 0 medals
Turkey: 3 mentions, 1 medal
Malaysia: 2 mentions, 1 medal
Belarus: 2 mentions, 8 medals
Argentina: 2 mentions, 1 medal
Morocco: 2 mention, 0 medals
Switzerland: 2 mentions, 2 medals
Uzbekistan: 2 medals, 1 mention
Algeria: 1 mention, 0 medals
Bahrain: 1 mention, 0 medals
Colombia: 1 mention, 4 medals
Ecuador: 1 mention, 0 medals
Finland: 1 mention, 0 medals
Greece: 1 mention, 2 medals
Saudi Arabia: 1 mention, 1 medal
Spain: 1 mention, 3 medals
Sweden: 1 mention, 6 medals
Tanzania: 1 mention, 0 medals
Venezuela: 1 mention, 1 medal
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Erik will be with you shortly to keep you covered while you maybe watch sports that already happened.
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HBO's Hard Knocks has to maintain a balance between access and secrecy. The fans get to spend a few hours with the players and coaches in unusual settings; the coaches go along with the cameras but still get to obscure their plays and play calls from the public. Everybody wins all the time. Well, almost all the time.
Every so often we see a shot like this one, of general manager Jeff Ireland's computer, about halfway through last night's episode, where the NFL lets on more than it wants to. This is the public's first glimpse of the Player Enterprise Management System software, which appears to be a league-wide player management interface. (It could be Dolphins-specific, although all those logos at the top make us think it isn't.)
We see the information that makes the top of every player page—height, weight, speed, Wonderlic, arm length—and then we see how his general manager can mark him. He can be "available," or a "cap casualty," or a "key [free agent]." We also see other sections in the system: "playtime," "penalties," "injuries," and more. Those with access can gather lots of data. No surprise there. The one surprise? Tannehill's cell phone number is in there. Oops. [HBO]
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Erik is on his way for the tape-delayed sporting events and all the rest.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Did you enjoy all of the sports today? We hope you enjoyed all of the sports today.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Dan, Tom L., and of course Tim and Sean will be around to provide you with your Olympic fix this weekend. Hope it's a good one.
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During the Olympics, we'll be analyzing NBC's primetime coverage sort of the way we analyze SportsCenter in Bristolmetrics. We'll break down what countries the Peacock is talking about, and which athletes are getting the most attention.
Data for Tuesday, July 31, 8 p.m.-12 a.m.
Twenty most-mentioned athletes:
Michael Phelps (USA, swimming): 106
Jordan Wieber (USA, gymnastics): 36
Gabby Douglas (USA, gymnastics): 30
Allison Schmitt (USA, swimming): 24
Aly Raisman (USA, gymnastics): 22
Ryan Lochte (USA, swimming): 19
Chad le Clos (South Africa, swimming): 19
Yannick Agnel (France, swimming): 18
Nathan Adrian (USA, swimming): 17
Kyla Ross (USA, gymnastics): 16
Aliya Mustafina (Russia, gymnastics): 13
Ye Shiwen (China, swimming): 13
McKayla Maroney (USA, gymnastics):13
Conor Dwyer (USA, swimming): 10
Caitlin Leverenz (USA, swimming): 10
James Magnussen (AUS, swimming): 10
Missy Franklin (USA, swimming): 9
Cullen Jones (USA, swimming): 9
Alejandra Orozco (Mexico, diving): 9
Paola Espinosa (Mexico, diving): 8
Countries, by number of mentions:
USA: 143
Russia: 45
China: 43
Australia: 21
France: 18
Romania: 14
Canada: 12
Mexico: 10
Great Britain: 7
Germany: 4
South Africa: 3
Tunisia: 2
Japan: 2
Cuba: 1
Italy: 1
Morocco: 1
Netherlands: 1
Poland: 1
Serbia: 1
Cumulative country standings:
USA: 266
China: 97
Great Britain: 58
Russia: 49
France: 27
Japan: 27
Australia: 21
Mexico: 21
Ukraine: 19
Australia: 5
Romania: 14
Canada: 12
Germany: 4
Lithuania: 3
South Africa: 3
Austria: 2
Brazil: 2
Tunisia: 2
Cuba: 1
Denmark: 1
Hungary: 1
Italy: 1
Morocco: 1
Netherlands: 1
Poland: 1
Serbia: 1
South Africa: 1
For a handy master schedule of every Olympic event, click here.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Tim and I are around. Enjoy your nightly NBC tape-delay fix, and start making those weekend plans.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Remember, the Vikings' Chris Kluwe will be dropping by to hang out with you all. That's at 10 EDT.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Erik joins you tonight for the tape-delayed sports, and then, by damn, it'll be a new month. See you then.
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Unless you live in the right parts of the country, there's a moment every summer when you realize that your baseball team won't be playing in October. For a downtrodden half of New York, that moment more or less arrived within the last two weeks: the Mets entered last night 1-11 since the all-star break. A fortnight ago, the chatterers wanted to know who the Mets would trade for and whether they'd ruin a rebuild by calling up a top prospect; now they want to know who the Mets will trade and whether they can call up more top prospects to get this rebuild underway quickly.
Despite the second wild card's advent, this July in Metsland has started giving off a distinct (carrion-scented) whiff of 2004—those Mets were one game over .500 at the break and finished July on a 5-11 stretch—but that team had an exciting young rookie named David Wright. (This one instead has Jordany Valdespin, who homers when he pinch-hits but often sits so Jason Bay can play out the year and a half left on his contract.) Those Mets memorably decided they were just half-seasons from Kris Benson and Victor Zambrano away from contention. These Mets probably won't make the same mistake. But they are still playing Bay and Ike Davis, neither of whom hits much, and pitching Ramon Ramirez and Manny Acosta, neither of whom retires too many batters. The team's recent games have brought all the joy of a state funeral.
Rookie starter Matt Harvey, who debuted last night, changed all that.
Harvey—who, as of last Saturday, was a less desirable option than the since-released Miguel Batista—struck out 11 Diamondbacks in five and a third innings. He allowed three hits and walked three, sure, but he almost made up for that with his own bat: He had a single and a double. And, as far as peripherals went, he excelled too: Harvey had 17 swinging strikes in his 106 pitches, which damn near doubles what any other Mets starter was able to do. He looked like the real thing. Hell, Fangraphs even squealed about his slider during the game.
Harvey likely won't save the Mets' season on his own. He pitches only every fifth day, and, besides, he wasn't even that good in Triple-A. But what he will do, with his angry fastballs and diving sliders, is breathe life into baseball that looked dead. The Mets had started to bloat in the heat after their execution, like that hell-pig on Gawker. But last night he excited the broadcasters. He excited the bloggers. He excited his teammates—they showered him with Bud Light. Today the Mets appear battered but spry, ready to go on fighting. That was all Terry Collins had promised at the start of the season, and that's really all this bunch knows how to do. Now, for the fight: the Mets have 10 games left against the D-Backs, Giants, and Padres on this trip. And, hey, look. They're just six and a half out of the wild card.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. We'll be around through the evening. Enjoy it.
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Thank you for your continued support of Deadspin. Be sure to check out our live blog of NBC's coverage of the opening ceremony that's already over, and to watch all the best parts we've reduced to 30 seconds. Also, don't forget to refer to our complete Olympics master schedule throughout the Games. Sean's here this weekend. Enjoy it.
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