I Wish We Could Overturn TMQ Being Written Ever Week

I had forgotten how much Gregg Easterbrook annoyed me. Of course, because he annoys me I have to share my annoyance with the entire Internet that cares to read what I write (and I thank all eight of you). TMQ is back and this week he doesn't really talk that much about the NFL, but as we all know, he can be horrible on nearly any topic.

Umpire Jim Joyce admitted he blew the call that would have given Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game -- but the outcome wasn't reversed. Should a sports outcome ever be reversed?

We sure are a few months late on this issue aren't we? What's next for Gregg...did the Redskins overpay for Albert Haynesworth? Will Tiger Woods be able to immediately win a major after taking a few months off? I know Gregg doesn't write TMQ during the summer, but that doesn't mean he should bring up old news stories. There's plenty of other things to talk about in the sports world.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback thinks sports outcomes should be reversed, in one instance only: when an incorrect call occurs on the last play and a correct call would have given the victory to the other team.

(groaning because we have to go over this again)

But what if the play doesn't take place on the last play of the game and still has an impact on the game? For example, say the bottom of the 9th with zero outs and the Nationals are beating the Giants 1-0. The first batter for the Nationals is incorrectly called out at first base when it is clear he is safe. The next batter gets a base hit and gets to first base, the next batter pops out, the next batter hits a double and the runner who was on first has to hold up at third base, and the final batter hits a deep fly ball to right field which is caught for the final out.

If the first runner was called safe like he should have been, it would be a tie game and the runner that is on third would be able to tag up and win the game for the Nationals. This out call directly affected the outcome of the game. If calls in sporting events should be reversed, why should this call not be reversed?

Checkmate on your stupid "last play of the game" theory for call reversals.

In a December 1998 Seahawks-Jets game, officials signaled touchdown when Vinny Testaverde of the Jets clearly was stopped on fourth down at the Seattle 1 with 20 seconds remaining, giving Jersey/B the victory, while the loss helped keep the Blue Men Group out of the playoffs.

That play led to instant replay being instituted by the NFL. There hopefully wouldn't be a need for a call reversal, but the play would be looked at and overturned with instant replay.

In 2002, the Lakers squeaked by the Kings in Game 6 of the NBA's Western Conference finals when Los Angeles was awarded a hard-to-believe 27 free throws in the fourth quarter, causing Michael Wilbon to write, "I have never seen officiating in a game of consequence as bad."

What the hell are you going to do? Replay the entire 4th quarter? Give the game to the Kings because it wasn't "fair." You can't reverse the outcome of this game based on perceived bad officiating. I don't think this should happen.

Just this summer, an official admitted two fourth-quarter botched calls against Seattle in the Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl, won by Pittsburgh.

When there are drastic officiating errors, why isn't the outcome reversed?

So the NFL should have looked at the tape of that Super Bowl and handed the Super Bowl victory to the Seahawks? I know the calls were bad, but how does this make sense? Bad calls happen and I hate them.

I despise Eric Gregg because he gave Livan Hernandez a 35-foot strike zone in the 1997 NLCS. There were pitches that were thrown towards the dugout that were called strikes. Should that game be reversed? Absolutely not. I have no problem with computers deciding the calls in a sporting event, but reversing outcomes is even less fair than the poor calls that caused the outcome to have be reversed. If we want to eliminate all mistakes, eliminate human umpires/officials, and you will eliminate the human errors.

There are obvious reasons why leagues, from Pop Warner on up, dread reversing outcomes. No one wants every close sports event to be followed by a second contest of angry lobbying over changing or preserving the result.

That pretty much sums it up for me. I can't handle all the calls from idiots anytime there was a borderline bad call to overturn the result of the game. It would suck the fun out of sports...which I know is something Gregg could care less about because he looks at sports from a purely scientific point of view. Some people actually like sports though and like to see the excitement that leads up to the outcome.

But isn't getting the outcome right what matters?

The outcome, as it is played on the field, that is what matters. Do something about instant replay, make other drastic efforts to reduce bad calls, but reversing outcomes is a terrible, terrible idea. It's the "New Coke" of bad ideas.

The problem is that a bad call or calls alone can't be grounds for reversal of outcome, since it's impossible to know how the game would have unfolded later if the calls had been correct.

Usually, even when a late-game call is botched, it's impossible to be sure who would have won had the call been correct.

I usually know when I am staring straight in the face of a bad idea when the person who is advocating that bad idea expresses the opposing side of that point of view incredibly well and doesn't appear to have a counter-point to it.

Thus TMQ's belief that outcomes can be reversed in only one instance: bad call on the last play.

This will occur only rarely, but it also doesn't serve to fix any of the injustices that the entire point of reversing would try to fix. There are still terrible calls that don't occur on the last play of the game that affects the outcome of that game. If we are changing calls, why can't these calls be changed? The outcome of the game being correct is the important thing after all.

In this case, you're sure who would have won had the final call been correct. In the 1998 Patriots-Bills game, without the bad call, the game would have ended; the clock expired while the Hail Mary was in the air. And in the case of the Tigers' perfect game that wasn't, since correcting the call would have meant game over, baseball should have reversed the official's mistake.

This is the part where I start talking about a "slippery slope" and mentioning if the point of reversing a game's outcome is to have a fair outcome, then you could also change a call that was made late in the 4th quarter or in the Top of the 9th and still have a "fair" outcome. I don't like the idea of changing a call, even if it is the last play of a game.

How Postmodern: The CEO of Hewlett-Packard was forced to resign amidst a sex scandal that did not involve any sex.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

"Later On, We'll Conspire ..." On Feb. 26, the ice skating rink in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, N.Y., was closed -- because of snow.

There is a difference in ice and snow. Snow accumulates and if it accumulates on an ice skating rink it could be dangerous and cause lawsuits. I'm embarrassed I even addressed this.

I Am Not Making This Up, No. 2: Defense Secretary Gates Calls Anti-War Mood Danger to Peace -- actual offseason headline in The New York Times.

First off, the article wasn't even called what Gregg just called the article. It was titled, "Gates Calls European Mood a Danger to Peace." Unless the title was Mariotti'd and changed after it was published.

The article was about how the opposition to the military in Europe was causing problems for border security in Afghanistan. It's a fairly legitimate article and problem.

President Barack Obama called the spill, which killed 11 people and damaged wetlands and fisheries, "the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced." Really? Less than five years ago, at least 1,836 people were killed by Hurricane Katrina, while much of New Orleans was depopulated. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 killed about 8,000 people. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 killed 26 and did $42 billion in damage (in today's dollars). The Dust Bowl reduced millions of people to years of extreme poverty. The Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 killed 57 people and leveled several hundred square miles of land.

"Environmental disaster" as in dealing with how the disaster affected the environment. He wasn't talking about how many people died in each tragedy. Obama was talking about it being the largest disaster in how it affected the environment solely. We could debate the merit of this statement compared to other disasters, but we could all agree Obama wasn't talking about the human death toll.

Cold Coach = Victory: Reader Jerrod Ewing of Columbia, S.C., notes that when the United States lost to Ghana in the World Cup, U.S. coach Bob Bradley wore a ski parka, though the temperature in Rustenberg, South Africa, was 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac wore an unzipped jacket with tie. This game was over the moment the coaches arrived at the pitch!

I really hate this theory Gregg has that a coach who dresses warmly will lose the game. How about this for a theory...Ghana is located in Africa, the World Cup was played in South Africa...perhaps the Ghana coach was used to the climate and his team winning had nothing to do with what each coach wore? Does this make too much sense?

Clang! Clang! Clang! In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Ray Allen, called by teammate Glen Davis "a master of the art of shooting," and Paul Pierce, who describes himself as "one of the greatest shooters in NBA history," combined to go 5-of-25 from the field. In one stretch during the Finals, Allen missed 18 consecutive 3-point attempts.

(Bengoodfella shaking his head and remembering why he hates Gregg Easterbrook's TMQ)

What a great way to cherry pick stats. He focuses on one of Ray Allen's worst streaks from the three-point line to prove Allen isn't a good three-point shooter. Of course Easterbrook ignores all the three point records that Allen holds and the fact he made 7 three-point shots in one half during this year's NBA Finals. Gregg routinely avoids giving his readers the full picture in an attempt to try and influence them to believe what he is writing.

During a break, I chatted with a vice admiral and asked what he thought of "Don't ask, don't tell." (Here is the sexual orientation survey the Pentagon sent in July to 400,000 service members.) His reply was revealing. He said older colleagues who had retired from duty were incredibly worked up regarding gay people in the armed forces, and his middle-aged, active-duty friends were pretty concerned, too. But when he spoke to young officers and sailors, most thought homosexuality in the military was a not a big deal -- they'd served with gays and lesbians and encountered no problems. Sounds like what's happening is a generational divide. Many older people still consider homosexuality shocking, while many younger people view it as just part of life.

No fucking way. I absolutely refuse to believe this unless I see an incredibly expensive study commissioned that proves this. You mean younger generations are more progressive socially than previous generations? I can't believe this! The next thing you will tell me there was a generational gap in the 1960's between younger people who liked rock and roll and supported civil rights and their older family members who weren't as open to people of different races and thought Elvis was the devil.

He Didn't Say, "On Earth": Covering the Lakers-Suns series, the velour-clad Craig Sager of TNT declared, "This game is being broadcast to 214 countries." According to the United Nations, there are 192 countries.

Does no one fact-check at ESPN for Gregg? That link he provided showed there are 192 countries that are members of the United Nations, not 192 countries in the world. So there is a chance Gregg's criticism of Craig Sager's statement is unjust.

This site explains how Gregg isn't the only person who makes this mistake.

Fan Mail from Some Flounder? How long until babe spy Anna Chapman signs to play Natasha Fatale in a big-budget remake of "Rocky & Bullwinkle"? Boris Badenov would be the role of a lifetime for Danny DeVito.

They are making ANOTHER big-budget remake of "Rocky and Bullwinkle?" They made one in 2000 with Jason Alexander and Robert DeNiro. It's pretty much the lowlight of DeNiro's acting career.

LeBron James has never won an NBA championship -- as opposed to, say, Derek Fisher, who owns five rings. What exactly are his accomplishments, beyond making money and getting media attention? Supposedly, James is unstoppable, but in the playoffs he has been stopped on an annual basis. Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry and Michael Finley: These are players who started against James the one time he reached the NBA Finals and defeated him. Horry owns seven NBA championship rings; he is a substantially more accomplished basketball player than James.

These players are more accomplished than LeBron James, but LeBron James is a substantially better basketball player than those three players ever have been. They played key roles on championship teams while LeBron James was the guy who tried to lead his team to a championship. There's a massive difference in these three players and LeBron James.

Yes, James wins trophies for himself. The most tedious figures in sports are the ones who collect individual awards but never make their teammates better.

Did Mo Williams not seem like a better player playing with LeBron James? James did make his teammates better in Cleveland, but they still weren't good enough to win an NBA Title. The blame doesn't fall directly on James' shoulders.

Decision night note: James said, "I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James and what would make him happy." Referring to yourself as "him" takes the royal "we" to an absurd new level.

I can't disagree with this and most of Gregg's criticism of James is correct, but when Gregg tries too hard to prove his point and attempts to claim the Cavaliers weren't made a better team with James on the team and confuses the role of a role player and a franchise player, he loses me completely on what he is trying to say.

In the 2008 draft, Jersey/B used the sixth selection on Vernon Gholston; in the 2009 draft, Buffalo used the 11th choice on Aaron Maybin, and Denver used the 14th selection on Robert Ayers. All are hybrid defensive end/linebacker types who specialize in rushing the passer, and the three have combined for zero career sacks in the NFL. This year, Jersey/A used the 15th choice of the draft on hybrid defensive end/linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, who specializes in rushing the passer. Pierre-Paul had just six sacks in his sole season as a major college player, finishing a distant 69th in Division I sacks. Yet in April, no team drafted Antonio Coleman of Auburn, a three-year starter who compiled 22 solo sacks in the SEC, college football's toughest conference.

Drafts can be judged three years later. TMQ has a sawbuck that says in three years, the undrafted Coleman will be a more accomplished NFL player than Pierre-Paul, Gholston, Maybin or Ayers.

I will bet $1,000 with Gregg Easterbrook this is not true. I will lay $1,000 on the table right now that says in three years Antonio Coleman will not be a more accomplished player than Pierre-Paul, Maybin or Ayers. I have given up on Gholston, but I think Pierre-Paul will be better than Coleman easily. Hell, Gholston may never live up to his draft status, but he still may better than Coleman. Coleman is an undrafted free agent after all. I know Gregg is infatuated with undrafted players over highly drafted players...but I would still love to take this bet he wants to make here.

The Curse Lives: The Sports Illustrated issue received by subscribers on May 13 featured the Cleveland Cavaliers on the cover. That night Cleveland, a heavy favorite, was eliminated from the playoffs.

I don't know if Cleveland was a heavy favorite or not. They only won two more games than the Magic, who made the NBA Finals during the 08-09 season and this guy didn't seem to favor the Cavaliers too much over other teams. Gambling isn't my forte, but it doesn't seem like the Cavaliers were overwhelming favorites to win the Eastern Conference Title once the playoffs began.

"Fringe" is the only one of the three with intelligent writing, though the show is setting no records for internal continuity. "Fringe" had the nuttiest sci-fi line of the offseason. A scientist is told a parallel Earth exists. Mere seconds later he confidently declares, "The molecules of a mirror universe would have to be slightly out of sync with ours in time. But once every 24 hours, the frequency vibrations would match."

It's Sci-Fi and things tend to get made up in that genre, which is probably why it is called science-FICTION.

Hockey Canada issued a formal apology when members of the women's Canadian national team drank beer and champagne and smoked cigars on the ice after winning the gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics. In Canada, drinking beer at hockey games is seemingly mandatory: the problem was that some team members are below the legal drinking age in British Columbia. What TMQ wants to know is how the women got beer onto the ice mere seconds after the contest concluded. Isn't the only possible explanation that the Canadian women's hockey team went into the Olympic finals with a cooler of beer at their bench?

Yes, the cooler was either at their bench or in the locker room. That is the only explanation really.

I wonder if Gregg wonders how NBA and MLB teams get all those champagne bottles in the locker room before they win a championship? DO THEY KEEP THEM IN THE LOCKER ROOM? THAT'S THE ONLY EXPLANATION FOR THIS PHENOMENON!

Roberto Ruiz of Tijuana, Mexico, reports he got this offer to sign up for a Radio City "Christmas Insider" newsletter on June 22.

That offer is offering a pre-sale on tickets to the Christmas Spectacular. It may be hard to sell a bunch of tickets if you only try to sell them during the specific Christmas season.

Benjamin Schmitt of

Schmitt's Gay Beer?

Milwaukee

I was close. I am kidding Milwaukee...if anyone from Milwaukee reads this.

Doug Obach of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, tops them all by reporting that on May 5, he received this notice urging him to buy tickets immediately for a Christmas concert. The Christmas concert will occur in ... November. Double creep!

I know (or think) this Christmas creep shit is supposed to be silly, but the Barra MacNeils are doing a Christmas tour, as seen here, so every date they play can't be exactly on or near to Christmas...unless they find a way to clone themselves. So while it does seem like this is a part of Christmas creep, it is hard to be a band that does a Christmas tour around the country and do it in two weeks.

The year's first summer movie, "Iron Man 2," opened on May 7. As noted by many readers, including Leah Tilford of Madison, Wis., the opening-week ads proclaimed, "Summer officially begins Friday!" That "official" start of summer came weeks before school ended and 45 days prior to the June solstice. This "summer" movie had already closed before the summer solstice arrived.

I don't know why I insist on explaining things like this knowing Gregg isn't reading...but the ads weren't saying that literally summer was beginning when Iron Man 2 opened, but they were saying the summer movie season, which doesn't line up with the actual summer solstice much to Gregg Easterbrook's horror, begins with Iron Man 2. It is not the beginning of summer, but the beginning of the Hollywood-created summer movie season.

No. 1 seed Kentucky missed 20 consecutive 3-point attempts on the way to 4-of-32 3-point shooting in losing to West Virginia in the men's NCAA basketball tournament. And the game was close to the end -- there was no need to go trey-wacky. Shortly afterward, all five Kentucky starters left school early for the pro basketball draft.

Dammit. Will someone at ESPN fucking fact-check TMQ? Darius Miller was a starter for Kentucky this year and he did not leave school early for the NBA Draft. This is such a minor point and this is so easy to quickly do an Internet search on. This is so small, but it has to be caught. Daniel Orton entered the draft and was drafted in the first round, but he was not a starter for Kentucky this year.

Those failed 3s meant Kentucky players only care about their own stats, not whether the team wins. They were ready for the NBA!

Let's see...play basketball for free at Kentucky or earn millions of dollars in the NBA as guaranteed (at least for 3 of these 5 players) 1st round draft picks. How can we even question the player's motives in going to the NBA?

I think it was pretty clear before Cousins and Wall enrolled in school at Kentucky they weren't staying for more than one year. Patrick Patterson had been thinking about going to the NBA since his freshman year.

Clang! Clang! Clang! In his first game with the Cleveland Cavaliers, megabucks All-Star Antawn Jamison went 0-for-12. In his final game of the season, Jamison went 2-for-10.

In his second game with the Cavaliers, Jamison went 9-for-14 and had gone 62-for-127 prior to that point in the playoffs. So while Jamison did struggle in his first game with the Cavs and the last game of the season, he did play pretty well in the interim. Why does Gregg hate the Cavs so much?

Next Week: AFC preview -- plus the United Nations Orchestra performs Mantovani's greatest hits.

Gregg didn't even talk about the NFL in his TMQ this week. I can't wait to see how he manages to cherry-pick statistics and mislead his readers next week.