Discussion:
The World Series
(too old to reply)
Tony Cooper
2019-10-31 14:58:39 UTC
Permalink
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.

What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.

When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay home from
school to listen to a World Series game. Not a stated excusable
absence, but one that was overlooked and never counted. All the games
were day games, so they were held during school hours.

If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the street
listening to the radio from houses you walked by and cars that drove
past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew who was in the series.
The really-a-fan people knew which players did what in each game.

In case you are interested and don't subscribe to the _Washington
Post_ (the only newspaper that seems to have covered the results), the
Washington Nationals won the series over the Houston Astros. It is
the first World Series win for the Nats.

The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Peter T. Daniels
2019-10-31 15:08:36 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay home from
school to listen to a World Series game. Not a stated excusable
absence, but one that was overlooked and never counted. All the games
were day games, so they were held during school hours.
If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the street
listening to the radio from houses you walked by and cars that drove
past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew who was in the series.
The really-a-fan people knew which players did what in each game.
Some of us went to classes during the day and had to enjoy the Miracle
Mets' astounding triumph -- just 7 years after "Expansion" -- in Heywood
Hale Broun's joyous reporting during the CBS Evening News with Walter
Cronkite. (It was 1969. The series went 1 loss, 4 straight wins.) After
20 minutes from Washington and Saigon, it was cathartic.
Post by Tony Cooper
In case you are interested and don't subscribe to the _Washington
Post_ (the only newspaper that seems to have covered the results), the
Washington Nationals won the series over the Houston Astros. It is
the first World Series win for the Nats.
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
Could he BE any more provincial?

Just because Florida's two teams accomplished nothing this year, the
Florida media don't cover the Series?

Of course it didn't help that Fox Sports didn't release any footage
to local news while the games were still going on, so all they could
show on the 11:00 news was the current score and a list of the scoring.

But lack of coverage? Definitely not.

Not to mention the unique fact -- even mentioned on the BBC last night --
that it's the first time in any major-league sport that every game in the
championship series was won by the visiting team.
CDB
2019-10-31 19:25:36 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World
Series" is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an
American, or at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing.
There was very little media coverage.
I'm not, really, and don't, much, but I knew. Could be the connection
you mention below.
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Post by Tony Cooper
When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay home
from school to listen to a World Series game. Not a stated
excusable absence, but one that was overlooked and never counted.
All the games were day games, so they were held during school
hours.
If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the
street listening to the radio from houses you walked by and cars
that drove past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew who was in
the series. The really-a-fan people knew which players did what in
each game.
Some of us went to classes during the day and had to enjoy the
Miracle Mets' astounding triumph -- just 7 years after "Expansion" --
in Heywood Hale Broun's joyous reporting during the CBS Evening News
with Walter Cronkite. (It was 1969. The series went 1 loss, 4
straight wins.) After 20 minutes from Washington and Saigon, it was
cathartic.
Post by Tony Cooper
In case you are interested and don't subscribe to the _Washington
Post_ (the only newspaper that seems to have covered the results),
the Washington Nationals won the series over the Houston Astros.
It is the first World Series win for the Nats.
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005
and were re-named the "Nationals".
Could he BE any more provincial?
Quebec is no mean province.
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Just because Florida's two teams accomplished nothing this year, the
Florida media don't cover the Series?
Of course it didn't help that Fox Sports didn't release any footage
to local news while the games were still going on, so all they could
show on the 11:00 news was the current score and a list of the
scoring.
But lack of coverage? Definitely not.
Not to mention the unique fact -- even mentioned on the BBC last
night -- that it's the first time in any major-league sport that
every game in the championship series was won by the visiting team.
Mack A. Damia
2019-10-31 15:10:49 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 10:58:39 -0400, Tony Cooper
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay home from
school to listen to a World Series game. Not a stated excusable
absence, but one that was overlooked and never counted. All the games
were day games, so they were held during school hours.
If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the street
listening to the radio from houses you walked by and cars that drove
past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew who was in the series.
The really-a-fan people knew which players did what in each game.
In case you are interested and don't subscribe to the _Washington
Post_ (the only newspaper that seems to have covered the results), the
Washington Nationals won the series over the Houston Astros. It is
the first World Series win for the Nats.
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
Prolly just me, but pro sports went bust after big business took over,
and now it has its sights on college athletes.

Those Series games in the 1950s and 1960s were great. I saw this
live:

"Forbes Field - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: On October 13, 1960 @3:36
PM, Pittsburgh Pirate Hall of Fame Second Baseman, Bill Mazeroski,
hits the greatest and most memorable homerun in Major League Baseball
history off New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry. The renowned game
winning shot, which capped off the best World Series game of all time,
occurred in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven of the 1960
World Series against Casey Stengel's heavily favored New York Yankees.
Could there have been a more dramatic homerun? "

There was sheer pandemonium when he rounded the bases and touched home
plate.
Mack A. Damia
2019-10-31 15:28:29 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 08:10:49 -0700, Mack A. Damia
Post by Mack A. Damia
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 10:58:39 -0400, Tony Cooper
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay home from
school to listen to a World Series game. Not a stated excusable
absence, but one that was overlooked and never counted. All the games
were day games, so they were held during school hours.
If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the street
listening to the radio from houses you walked by and cars that drove
past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew who was in the series.
The really-a-fan people knew which players did what in each game.
In case you are interested and don't subscribe to the _Washington
Post_ (the only newspaper that seems to have covered the results), the
Washington Nationals won the series over the Houston Astros. It is
the first World Series win for the Nats.
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
Prolly just me, but pro sports went bust after big business took over,
and now it has its sights on college athletes.
Those Series games in the 1950s and 1960s were great. I saw this
PM, Pittsburgh Pirate Hall of Fame Second Baseman, Bill Mazeroski,
hits the greatest and most memorable homerun in Major League Baseball
history off New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry. The renowned game
winning shot, which capped off the best World Series game of all time,
occurred in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven of the 1960
World Series against Casey Stengel's heavily favored New York Yankees.
Could there have been a more dramatic homerun? "
There was sheer pandemonium when he rounded the bases and touched home
plate.
Ye shall receive.....


Adam Funk
2019-10-31 15:09:52 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay home from
school to listen to a World Series game. Not a stated excusable
absence, but one that was overlooked and never counted. All the games
were day games, so they were held during school hours.
If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the street
listening to the radio from houses you walked by and cars that drove
past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew who was in the series.
The really-a-fan people knew which players did what in each game.
In case you are interested and don't subscribe to the _Washington
Post_ (the only newspaper that seems to have covered the results), the
Washington Nationals won the series over the Houston Astros. It is
the first World Series win for the Nats.
If I'm not mistaken, in every game the home team lost & the away team
won. Fortunately, only 3/7 were in Nationals Park, although it is a
very nice traditional-style ball park as opposed to the soulless
out-of-town "concrete donuts" that were prevalent for decades.

<https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/in-the-same-ballpark/>
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
--
Indentation is for enemy skulls, not code!
---Klingon Programmer's Guide
Ken Blake
2019-10-31 17:32:56 UTC
Permalink
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay home from
school to listen to a World Series game. Not a stated excusable
absence, but one that was overlooked and never counted. All the games
were day games, so they were held during school hours.
If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the street
listening to the radio from houses you walked by and cars that drove
past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew who was in the series.
The really-a-fan people knew which players did what in each game.
In case you are interested and don't subscribe to the _Washington
Post_ (the only newspaper that seems to have covered the results), the
Washington Nationals won the series over the Houston Astros. It is
the first World Series win for the Nats.
If I'm not mistaken, in every game the home team lost & the away team
won. Fortunately, only 3/7 were in Nationals Park, although it is a
very nice traditional-style ball park as opposed to the soulless
out-of-town "concrete donuts" that were prevalent for decades.
<https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/in-the-same-ballpark/>
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
--
Ken
Adam Funk
2019-11-01 09:21:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
--
World Game finds that 60 percent of all the jobs in the U.S.A. are not
producing any real wealth---i.e., real life support. They are in
fear-underwriting industries or are checking-on-other-checkers, etc.
--Buckminster Fuller
Peter Moylan
2019-11-01 10:23:26 UTC
Permalink
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least
a more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in
2005 and were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the
spelling rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e.,
"Nats" rather than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
The Australian political party The Nationals is sometimes referred to as
the Nats. Never the Nashes.

This is the party that used to be called the Country Party, and it still
contains quite a few counts.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Quinn C
2019-11-01 16:13:42 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least
a more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in
2005 and were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the
spelling rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e.,
"Nats" rather than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
The Australian political party The Nationals is sometimes referred to as
the Nats. Never the Nashes.
This is the party that used to be called the Country Party, and it still
contains quite a few counts.
Did you slip in an o there?
--
The notion that there might be a "truth" of sex, as Foucault
ironically terms it, is produced precisely through the regulatory
practices that generate coherent identities through the matrix of
coherent gender norms. -- Judith Butler
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
2019-11-01 18:01:05 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 1 Nov 2019 12:13:42 -0400, Quinn C
Post by Quinn C
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least
a more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in
2005 and were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the
spelling rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e.,
"Nats" rather than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
The Australian political party The Nationals is sometimes referred to as
the Nats. Never the Nashes.
This is the party that used to be called the Country Party, and it still
contains quite a few counts.
Did you slip in an o there?
I think it was deliberate. He was hinting that "count" in "counts"
should be pronounced as "Count" in "Country".
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Lewis
2019-11-01 13:37:05 UTC
Permalink
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
Historically Washington DC had a team* called the Washington Senators,
but they were nicknamed the Nationals by the fans. When they got
Montreal's team, the fans voted for the old nickname to become official;
probably because no one in modern times would want to name anything
after the US Senate.

* A series of teams; before 1970 (and I thing going back to the previous
century) there were 4 separate teams called the Washington Senators. I
know the last one became the Texas Rangers, but I don't know anything
about the other three.

I think I heard someone recently say that one had become the Minnesota
Twins, but that seem odd as that should have been around the same time
as the Texas Rangers?
--
You know what they say about paradigms: Shift happens.
HVS
2019-11-01 14:49:42 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lewis
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least
a more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in
2005 and were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the
spelling rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e.,
"Nats" rather than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate
in DC.
Historically Washington DC had a team* called the Washington
Senators, but they were nicknamed the Nationals by the fans. When
they got Montreal's team, the fans voted for the old nickname to
become official; probably because no one in modern times would
want to name anything after the US Senate.
* A series of teams; before 1970 (and I thing going back to the
previous century) there were 4 separate teams called the
Washington Senators. I know the last one became the Texas Rangers,
but I don't know anything about the other three.
There's an English League One[fn] football team which moved in 2004
from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes. They were known in Wimbledon as
"the Dons" (from the town's name), and when they moved retained that
name as the "Milton Keynes Dons" (or the "MK Dons").

A bit strange, as the name doesn't relate to their current town in
any way, but I suppose it's a way of acknowledging the team's pre-
Milton Keynes history.

[fn] The main pro football clubs in England are divided into four
divisions: the Premier League, Championship League, League One, and
League Two. These used to be First, Second, Third, and Fourth
Divisions, but -- like the re-naming of "second class" railway travel
as "standard class" -- the marketing bods won out.
--
Cheers, Harvey
CanEng (30 yrs) and BrEng (36 yrs),
indiscriminately mixed
Peter Moylan
2019-11-01 16:03:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by HVS
[fn] The main pro football clubs in England are divided into four
divisions: the Premier League, Championship League, League One, and
League Two. These used to be First, Second, Third, and Fourth
Divisions, but -- like the re-naming of "second class" railway travel
as "standard class" -- the marketing bods won out.
I have only once been on an English train, and I didn't know about the
class distinction. The ticket inspector required me to move from an
empty carriage to a crowded one.

The carriages moved at the same speed, so the move didn't relieve me of
the urge to get out and push.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Kerr-Mudd,John
2019-11-01 17:28:08 UTC
Permalink
Post by HVS
Post by Lewis
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least
a more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in
2005 and were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the
spelling rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e.,
"Nats" rather than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate
in DC.
Historically Washington DC had a team* called the Washington
Senators, but they were nicknamed the Nationals by the fans. When
they got Montreal's team, the fans voted for the old nickname to
become official; probably because no one in modern times would
want to name anything after the US Senate.
* A series of teams; before 1970 (and I thing going back to the
previous century) there were 4 separate teams called the
Washington Senators. I know the last one became the Texas Rangers,
but I don't know anything about the other three.
There's an English League One[fn] football team which moved in 2004
from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes. They were known in Wimbledon as
"the Dons" (from the town's name), and when they moved retained that
name as the "Milton Keynes Dons" (or the "MK Dons").
A bit strange, as the name doesn't relate to their current town in
any way, but I suppose it's a way of acknowledging the team's pre-
Milton Keynes history.
[fn] The main pro football clubs in England are divided into four
divisions: the Premier League, Championship League, League One, and
League Two. These used to be First, Second, Third, and Fourth
Divisions, but -- like the re-naming of "second class" railway travel
as "standard class" -- the marketing bods won out.
I'm not an aficionado; however, I'm given to understand that the
"Woolwich Arsenal" have subsequently relocated.
--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
2019-11-01 18:09:29 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 1 Nov 2019 17:28:08 -0000 (UTC), "Kerr-Mudd,John"
Post by Kerr-Mudd,John
Post by HVS
Post by Lewis
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least
a more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in
2005 and were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the
spelling rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e.,
"Nats" rather than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate
in DC.
Historically Washington DC had a team* called the Washington
Senators, but they were nicknamed the Nationals by the fans. When
they got Montreal's team, the fans voted for the old nickname to
become official; probably because no one in modern times would
want to name anything after the US Senate.
* A series of teams; before 1970 (and I thing going back to the
previous century) there were 4 separate teams called the
Washington Senators. I know the last one became the Texas Rangers,
but I don't know anything about the other three.
There's an English League One[fn] football team which moved in 2004
from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes. They were known in Wimbledon as
"the Dons" (from the town's name), and when they moved retained that
name as the "Milton Keynes Dons" (or the "MK Dons").
A bit strange, as the name doesn't relate to their current town in
any way, but I suppose it's a way of acknowledging the team's pre-
Milton Keynes history.
[fn] The main pro football clubs in England are divided into four
divisions: the Premier League, Championship League, League One, and
League Two. These used to be First, Second, Third, and Fourth
Divisions, but -- like the re-naming of "second class" railway travel
as "standard class" -- the marketing bods won out.
I'm not an aficionado; however, I'm given to understand that the
"Woolwich Arsenal" have subsequently relocated.
Indeed. Also they dropped "Woolwich" from the name in 1914.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Mark Brader
2019-11-01 17:49:23 UTC
Permalink
Post by HVS
There's an English League One[fn] football team which moved in 2004
from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes. They were known in Wimbledon as
"the Dons" (from the town's name), and when they moved retained that
name as the "Milton Keynes Dons" (or the "MK Dons").
A bit strange, as the name doesn't relate to their current town in
any way, but I suppose it's a way of acknowledging the team's pre-
Milton Keynes history.
North American sports fans are very familiar with this sort of non-renaming.
Well-known examples include the

Calgary Flames - named after the burning of Atlanta
Utah Jazz - named after the music of New Orleans
Los Angeles Dodgers - named after the streetcars of Brooklyn
Los Angeles Lakers - named after the lakes of Minnesota
Post by HVS
[fn] The main pro football clubs in England are divided into four
divisions: the Premier League, Championship League, League One, and
League Two. These used to be First, Second, Third, and Fourth
Divisions, but -- like the re-naming of "second class" railway travel
as "standard class" -- the marketing bods won out.
If they'd been named the way British trains used to be divided still
earlier, there'd've been no other division between First and Third.
--
Mark Brader "They have computers, and they may have
Toronto other weapons of mass destruction."
***@vex.net -- Janet Reno, 1998

My text in this article is in the public domain.
Adam Funk
2019-11-01 14:59:01 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lewis
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
Historically Washington DC had a team* called the Washington Senators,
I've heard of them, but I didn't know the stuff below. Thanks.
Post by Lewis
but they were nicknamed the Nationals by the fans. When they got
Montreal's team, the fans voted for the old nickname to become official;
probably because no one in modern times would want to name anything
after the US Senate.
* A series of teams; before 1970 (and I thing going back to the previous
century) there were 4 separate teams called the Washington Senators. I
know the last one became the Texas Rangers, but I don't know anything
about the other three.
I think I heard someone recently say that one had become the Minnesota
Twins, but that seem odd as that should have been around the same time
as the Texas Rangers?
--
FORTRAN: You shoot yourself in each toe, iteratively, until you run
out of toes, then you read in the next foot and repeat. If you run out
of bullets, you continue anyway because you have no exception-handling
facility.
RH Draney
2019-11-01 17:28:31 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lewis
Historically Washington DC had a team* called the Washington Senators,
but they were nicknamed the Nationals by the fans. When they got
Montreal's team, the fans voted for the old nickname to become official;
probably because no one in modern times would want to name anything
after the US Senate.
* A series of teams; before 1970 (and I thing going back to the previous
century) there were 4 separate teams called the Washington Senators. I
know the last one became the Texas Rangers, but I don't know anything
about the other three.
Fidel Castro tried out for one of them before going into politics....r
Athel Cornish-Bowden
2019-11-01 17:50:21 UTC
Permalink
Post by RH Draney
Post by Lewis
Historically Washington DC had a team* called the Washington Senators,
but they were nicknamed the Nationals by the fans. When they got
Montreal's team, the fans voted for the old nickname to become official;
probably because no one in modern times would want to name anything
after the US Senate.
* A series of teams; before 1970 (and I thing going back to the previous
century) there were 4 separate teams called the Washington Senators. I
know the last one became the Texas Rangers, but I don't know anything
about the other three.
Fidel Castro tried out for one of them before going into politics....r
Julio Iglesias was a professional footballer (for Real Madrid) before
an injury caused him to switch to singing.
--
athel
Mack A. Damia
2019-11-01 14:53:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
George Burns - Nathan Birnbaum

Gracie called him "Natty". She called him "George" only when they
were acting.
Tony Cooper
2019-11-01 16:43:35 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 01 Nov 2019 07:53:00 -0700, Mack A. Damia
Post by Mack A. Damia
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
George Burns - Nathan Birnbaum
Gracie called him "Natty". She called him "George" only when they
were acting.
Some might think of Natty Bumppo; a character created by an author
with a last name I quite approve of although I think that leather
stockings would be uncomfortable.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Jerry Friedman
2019-11-01 18:20:20 UTC
Permalink
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Ken Blake
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
ObAUE: it's interesting that the nickname comes from the spelling
rather than the pronunciation of the long name (i.e., "Nats" rather
than "Nashes").
Similarly, "Nat" is a shortened form of the name "Nathan."
Also "Nate", & I should have thought of that since I know a Nate in
DC.
And "Matt" and "Betty". "Tony" presumably comes from the still-
current British pronunciation of "Anthony". (For all I know, "Nathan",
"Nathaniel", "Matthew", and "Elizabeth" may once have been pronounced
with /t/.)

And "Smitty".
--
Jerry Friedman
Jerry Friedman
2019-10-31 15:32:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
...

It's been mentioned on NPR. I can't say how much, because I don't
listen every day.

I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
--
Jerry Friedman
Quinn C
2019-10-31 16:38:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
...
It's been mentioned on NPR. I can't say how much, because I don't
listen every day.
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
Yes. Video games are probably a better bet these days if your goal is
to popularize a question.
--
Are you sure your sanity chip is fully screwed in, Sir?
-- Kryten to Rimmer (Red Dwarf)
Jerry Friedman
2019-10-31 18:38:17 UTC
Permalink
...
Post by Quinn C
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
Yes. Video games are probably a better bet these days if your goal is
to popularize a question.
They may not be as suitable for physics questions, though.
--
Jerry Friedman
Quinn C
2019-10-31 22:05:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
...
Post by Quinn C
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
Yes. Video games are probably a better bet these days if your goal is
to popularize a question.
They may not be as suitable for physics questions, though.
You'd have to know a specific game that is popular and suitable, I
guess.

OTOH, there are many physics simulation games, too. Maybe that'd work
better for the purpose.
--
The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts
agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer
professionals. We cause accidents.
Nathaniel Borenstein
occam
2019-11-01 08:03:06 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
...
Post by Quinn C
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
Yes. Video games are probably a better bet these days if your goal is
to popularize a question.
They may not be as suitable for physics questions, though.
Is that true? I have seen Physics questions that have, as their basis,
concepts encountered in Star Trek or Star Wars. Cloaking devices,
faster-than-light travel and dematerialized transport are three such
hypothetical starting points. Discuss.

(Both those series have video games based on them.)
Jerry Friedman
2019-11-01 18:17:11 UTC
Permalink
Post by occam
Post by Jerry Friedman
...
Post by Quinn C
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
Yes. Video games are probably a better bet these days if your goal is
to popularize a question.
They may not be as suitable for physics questions, though.
Is that true? I have seen Physics questions that have, as their basis,
concepts encountered in Star Trek or Star Wars. Cloaking devices,
faster-than-light travel and dematerialized transport are three such
hypothetical starting points. Discuss.
(Both those series have video games based on them.)
Actually, what I said isn't entirely true. I've put questions
on tests about superheroes, mad scientists, and Roadrunner and
Coyote. In at least I explicitly wrote something like, "If the
laws of physics applied in cartoons..."

A more serious problem is that I know nothing about any video
game more recent than Tetris.
--
Jerry Friedman
Peter T. Daniels
2019-10-31 16:45:25 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
It's been mentioned on NPR. I can't say how much, because I don't
listen every day.
Scott Simon was in raptures Saturday morning, and the week before,
someone (though it may have been Jim O'Grady, who's local WNYC) went
over the whole sorry history of D.C. baseball.
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
A recent TV show topos is that the old fuddy-duddies are astonished at
the sheer size of the money prizes in electronic gaming competitions.
Tony Cooper
2019-10-31 19:06:49 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 09:32:30 -0600, Jerry Friedman
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
...
It's been mentioned on NPR. I can't say how much, because I don't
listen every day.
I read my local newspaper on-line, and that edition must have been put
together too early to include the winner of the final game. "Google
News" aggregator didn't include a reference to the game.

WIWAL, the World Series final results - especially in a series that
came down to the last game - would rate a special edition of the
newspaper.

The fact that Trump was booed at an earlier game in the series was
more prominently covered than the final game.

Maybe it's because the Washington Nationals - despite never having
been in the World Series before - are not a popular team outside the
Washington area, and the Astros are not that popular outside of Texas.


When the Cubs were in the Series, *that* was news.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Peter T. Daniels
2019-10-31 20:05:57 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 09:32:30 -0600, Jerry Friedman
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
It's been mentioned on NPR. I can't say how much, because I don't
listen every day.
I read my local newspaper on-line, and that edition must have been put
together too early to include the winner of the final game. "Google
News" aggregator didn't include a reference to the game.
And THAT's your evidence that it received no national attention?
Post by Tony Cooper
WIWAL, the World Series final results - especially in a series that
came down to the last game - would rate a special edition of the
newspaper.
A special WHAT of a WHAT? If the game ended at midnight (local time),
would there be a "special edition" thereafter?
Post by Tony Cooper
The fact that Trump was booed at an earlier game in the series was
more prominently covered than the final game.
Maybe it's because the Washington Nationals - despite never having
been in the World Series before - are not a popular team outside the
Washington area, and the Astros are not that popular outside of Texas.
What teams, do you think, are "popular" outside their local area? The
Rays? The Marlins?
Post by Tony Cooper
When the Cubs were in the Series, *that* was news.
It had been rather a longer wait than for the Nats. The original Senators
had won the Series as recently as 1924.
Kerr-Mudd,John
2019-11-01 11:34:08 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 20:05:57 GMT, "Peter T. Daniels"
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Post by Tony Cooper
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 09:32:30 -0600, Jerry Friedman
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World
Series" is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an
American, or at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing.
There was very little media coverage.
It's been mentioned on NPR. I can't say how much, because I don't
listen every day.
I read my local newspaper on-line, and that edition must have been
put together too early to include the winner of the final game.
"Google News" aggregator didn't include a reference to the game.
And THAT's your evidence that it received no national attention?
Post by Tony Cooper
WIWAL, the World Series final results - especially in a series that
came down to the last game - would rate a special edition of the
newspaper.
A special WHAT of a WHAT? If the game ended at midnight (local time),
would there be a "special edition" thereafter?
Post by Tony Cooper
The fact that Trump was booed at an earlier game in the series was
more prominently covered than the final game.
Maybe it's because the Washington Nationals - despite never having
been in the World Series before - are not a popular team outside the
Washington area, and the Astros are not that popular outside of Texas.
What teams, do you think, are "popular" outside their local area? The
Rays? The Marlins?
Post by Tony Cooper
When the Cubs were in the Series, *that* was news.
It had been rather a longer wait than for the Nats. The original
Senators had won the Series as recently as 1924.
When I see World in the title I think of the current Rugby competition.
But no-one's mentioned that. 'Til now.
--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.
Lewis
2019-11-01 12:14:26 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
The fact that Trump was booed at an earlier game in the series was
more prominently covered than the final game.
To the point that though I knew this happened, I didn't know it ws a
World Series game.
Post by Tony Cooper
Maybe it's because the Washington Nationals - despite never having
been in the World Series before - are not a popular team outside the
Washington area, and the Astros are not that popular outside of Texas.
It doesn’t help, to be sure.
Post by Tony Cooper
When the Cubs were in the Series, *that* was news.
That transcended mere sports news.
--
Secret to a happy relationship: when you're wrong, admit it. When you're
right, shut up.
Lewis
2019-11-01 12:11:42 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
...
It's been mentioned on NPR. I can't say how much, because I don't
listen every day.
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.

I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels. I
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.

(to be fair, I’d probably avoid any place with many televisions,
regardless of what they were tuned to).
--
'What can I do? I'm only human,' he said aloud. Someone said, Not all
of you. --Pyramids
Peter Moylan
2019-11-01 12:40:47 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.
I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels. I
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.
(to be fair, I’d probably avoid any place with many televisions,
regardless of what they were tuned to).
I continue to be annoyed at how much news coverage is dedicated to
sports. It seems, though, that what is what the public wants.

Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices. But if
there's a problem with someone's urine sample, that is a major news event.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Lewis
2019-11-01 13:26:54 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.
I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels. I
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.
(to be fair, I’d probably avoid any place with many televisions,
regardless of what they were tuned to).
I continue to be annoyed at how much news coverage is dedicated to
sports. It seems, though, that what is what the public wants.
Very little news coverage is about sports. In fact, much less than there
used to be. But there are multiple channels that are all sports and
sports news and sports talk all the time.
Post by Peter Moylan
Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices. But if
there's a problem with someone's urine sample, that is a major news event.
Local news will cover local teams, and there might be some coverage of
leagues the local teams are in, but mnuch mnuch less than there used to
be.

For example, the local affiliate that used to carry the Denver Broncos
games not only had heavy coverage of the team during the regular news,
but on game days had an entrie second news program that was JUST about
the team after their local news, pushing Jeopardy! to a later time slot.

In addition they had a weekly talk show with the coach and a rotating
slot of players were they again talked about the team and that week's
game.

In addition to that there was a weekend morning show before each game.

None of that now, as far as I can tell.
--
Sam, I thought I told you never to play--
Tony Cooper
2019-11-01 14:06:44 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 1 Nov 2019 13:26:54 -0000 (UTC), Lewis
Post by Lewis
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.
I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels. I
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.
(to be fair, IÂ’d probably avoid any place with many televisions,
regardless of what they were tuned to).
I continue to be annoyed at how much news coverage is dedicated to
sports. It seems, though, that what is what the public wants.
Very little news coverage is about sports. In fact, much less than there
used to be. But there are multiple channels that are all sports and
sports news and sports talk all the time.\
Depends on where you are watching TV. Most restaurants that have TVs
up on the walls have them tuned to sports programming. Go to an
Applebee's, for example, in the US, and there is a TV in view from any
table and it's going to be tuned to a sports program. I pity the
non-sports fans who are exposed to some sports program at any seat in
the house.

I think that choice is made because sports are neutral politically. If
the restaurant has to choose a non-sports channel, it could be Fox
News or CNN, and that's going to offend a large number of guests. It's
not practical to have the seating hostess to have to ask guests if
they want a conservative or liberal view from their table.

At home, there is always a choice of which channel to watch.

Newspapers have a sports section, so you only read about sports if you
read that section. Radio programming is like TV in that the listener
can choose what type of program to tune to.
Post by Lewis
Post by Peter Moylan
Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices. But if
there's a problem with someone's urine sample, that is a major news event.
Not really a factor as explained above.
Post by Lewis
Local news will cover local teams, and there might be some coverage of
leagues the local teams are in, but mnuch mnuch less than there used to
be.
With cable TV as popular as it is, there aren't that many homes
anymore that don't have a choice of seventyleven channels to choose
from.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Peter Moylan
2019-11-01 14:29:29 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
Newspapers have a sports section, so you only read about sports if
you read that section. Radio programming is like TV in that the
listener can choose what type of program to tune to.
In my newspaper there's a clear dividing line. The comics page has the
sudoku and the crossword. After that there's nothing except the
classified ads and the male sport, i.e. nothing worth reading.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Kerr-Mudd,John
2019-11-01 17:34:01 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 01 Nov 2019 14:29:29 GMT, Peter Moylan
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Tony Cooper
Newspapers have a sports section, so you only read about sports if
you read that section. Radio programming is like TV in that the
listener can choose what type of program to tune to.
In my newspaper there's a clear dividing line. The comics page has the
sudoku and the crossword. After that there's nothing except the
classified ads and the male sport, i.e. nothing worth reading.
Aren't we supposed (x) to be acknowledging females in sports as well,
now?

(x) genderless sports are well down the priority, and any talk of female
equivalent sports {football/rugby, but not tennis or baseball} is a well-
meaning gesture at best.
--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.
Athel Cornish-Bowden
2019-11-01 17:44:04 UTC
Permalink
Post by Kerr-Mudd,John
On Fri, 01 Nov 2019 14:29:29 GMT, Peter Moylan
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Tony Cooper
Newspapers have a sports section, so you only read about sports if
you read that section. Radio programming is like TV in that the
listener can choose what type of program to tune to.
In my newspaper there's a clear dividing line. The comics page has the
sudoku and the crossword. After that there's nothing except the
classified ads and the male sport, i.e. nothing worth reading.
Aren't we supposed (x) to be acknowledging females in sports as well,
now?
No, we're supposed to agree that men who say they are women should be
allowed to compete against women.
Post by Kerr-Mudd,John
(x) genderless sports are well down the priority, and any talk of female
equivalent sports {football/rugby, but not tennis or baseball} is a well-
meaning gesture at best.
--
athel
Quinn C
2019-11-01 16:13:42 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
Depends on where you are watching TV. Most restaurants that have TVs
up on the walls have them tuned to sports programming. Go to an
Applebee's, for example, in the US, and there is a TV in view from any
table and it's going to be tuned to a sports program. I pity the
non-sports fans who are exposed to some sports program at any seat in
the house.
I think that choice is made because sports are neutral politically. If
the restaurant has to choose a non-sports channel, it could be Fox
News or CNN, and that's going to offend a large number of guests. It's
not practical to have the seating hostess to have to ask guests if
they want a conservative or liberal view from their table.
They could run Jeopardy, or Dancing With the Stars. Wait, the latter
might be too political at this point.
--
For spirits when they please
Can either sex assume, or both; so soft
And uncompounded is their essence pure,
-- Milton, Paradise Lost
Kerr-Mudd,John
2019-11-01 17:38:30 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 01 Nov 2019 16:57:28 GMT, Katy Jennison
Post by Tony Cooper
On Fri, 1 Nov 2019 13:26:54 -0000 (UTC), Lewis
[cut a bit]
Post by Tony Cooper
Depends on where you are watching TV. Most restaurants that have TVs
up on the walls have them tuned to sports programming. Go to an
Applebee's, for example, in the US, and there is a TV in view from
any table and it's going to be tuned to a sports program. I pity the
non-sports fans who are exposed to some sports program at any seat in
the house.
Whenever I've been to these sorts of places (in the US), the sound has
always been right down or off, so it's been very easy to ignore the TV
sets, unless the company is very boring, in which case the sight of
people standing around in baseball outfits or skating very fast with
sticks or whatever it is can be quite diverting.
I differ; any TV activity draws my eye; until I get pulled up for not
properly joining in the conversation - or, worse, I interject on the
topic I've just seen on TV.
--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.
Ken Blake
2019-11-01 18:18:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
On Fri, 1 Nov 2019 13:26:54 -0000 (UTC), Lewis
Post by Lewis
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.
I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels. I
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.
(to be fair, I’d probably avoid any place with many televisions,
regardless of what they were tuned to).
I continue to be annoyed at how much news coverage is dedicated to
sports. It seems, though, that what is what the public wants.
Very little news coverage is about sports. In fact, much less than there
used to be. But there are multiple channels that are all sports and
sports news and sports talk all the time.\
Depends on where you are watching TV. Most restaurants that have TVs
up on the walls have them tuned to sports programming. Go to an
Applebee's, for example, in the US, and there is a TV in view from any
table and it's going to be tuned to a sports program. I pity the
non-sports fans who are exposed to some sports program at any seat in
the house.
Whenever I've been to these sorts of places (in the US), the sound has
always been right down or off,
Yes, but...
so it's been very easy to ignore the TV
sets,
...not if it's a large screen placed right in your field o vision. I've
tried many times, but never succeeded.
unless the company is very boring, in which case the sight of
people standing around in baseball outfits or skating very fast with
sticks or whatever it is can be quite diverting.
--
Ken
Adam Funk
2019-11-01 14:57:25 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.
I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels. I
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.
(to be fair, I’d probably avoid any place with many televisions,
regardless of what they were tuned to).
I continue to be annoyed at how much news coverage is dedicated to
sports. It seems, though, that what is what the public wants.
Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices. But if
there's a problem with someone's urine sample, that is a major news event.
Obviously politicians should have to provide urine samples.
--
Java is kind of like kindergarten. There are lots of rules you have to
remember. If you don't follow them, the compiler makes you sit in the
corner until you do. ---Don Raab
Peter Moylan
2019-11-01 16:12:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Peter Moylan
Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices. But
if there's a problem with someone's urine sample, that is a major
news event.
Obviously politicians should have to provide urine samples.
That has been discussed. There was a case - perhaps even still available
on UTube - of a politician who stumbled into the house, fondling a
colleague's breasts on the way in.

Yet that same party continues to talk about drug tests for welfare
recipients.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Peter Duncanson [BrE]
2019-11-01 16:17:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just "enginerds"--it
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of these
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.
I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels. I
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.
(to be fair, I’d probably avoid any place with many televisions,
regardless of what they were tuned to).
I continue to be annoyed at how much news coverage is dedicated to
sports. It seems, though, that what is what the public wants.
Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices. But if
there's a problem with someone's urine sample, that is a major news event.
Obviously politicians should have to provide urine samples.
That would also enable DNA tests to discover which of them are
part-reptilian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke#Reptoid_hypothesis
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Kerr-Mudd,John
2019-11-01 17:40:28 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 01 Nov 2019 16:17:49 GMT, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]"
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
I'm slowly getting over my surprise at how many of my students don't
know basic things about the major American sports, which come up in
problems in their physics textbooks. This is not just
"enginerds"--it
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
includes students who aren't very interested in science and are just
taking my class for a distribution requirement. I suspect some of
these
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
Post by Jerry Friedman
students know a lot about video games.
There are so many ugly issues around professional sports that many
people actively avoid knowing anything about them.
I've stopped going to places with TVs as much as I can to avoid the
constant stream of 24 hour sports coverage over a range of channels.
I
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
like Buffalo Wild Wings, but I nearly never go there because of the
dozens of TVs tuned to several different sports channels.
(to be fair, I’d probably avoid any place with many
televisions,
Post by Adam Funk
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Lewis
regardless of what they were tuned to).
I continue to be annoyed at how much news coverage is dedicated to
sports. It seems, though, that what is what the public wants.
Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices. But if
there's a problem with someone's urine sample, that is a major news
event.
Post by Adam Funk
Obviously politicians should have to provide urine samples.
That would also enable DNA tests to discover which of them are
part-reptilian.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Icke#Reptoid_hypothesis
A great sports commentator, not such a good prophet - OR IS HE?
</twilight zone>
--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.
Peter T. Daniels
2019-11-01 15:52:17 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Moylan
Let a prominent politician be caught lying, and nobody notices.
That must be an Australian disease.

The Washington Post keeps a running tally of Trump's lies (they're too
many for each one to be dissected individually).
Jenny Telia
2019-10-31 16:14:10 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
Peter T. Daniels
2019-10-31 16:46:28 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
You didn't say the same about the adjacent tennis thread, which is even
more incomprehensible than one on cricket.
Sam Plusnet
2019-10-31 19:14:09 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
Just to even things up a little.
I've never watched (or heard) a baseball game, no nothing of the rules
or traditions - other than it seems to be as arcane as cricket - yet I
found Tony's post interesting.
In the UK, test cricket is much less accessible than it once was.

Re: "World Series". That is very old news and has been done to death a
thousand times.
--
Sam Plusnet
charles
2019-10-31 19:31:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
Just to even things up a little.
I've never watched (or heard) a baseball game, no nothing of the rules
or traditions - other than it seems to be as arcane as cricket - yet I
found Tony's post interesting.
In the UK, test cricket is much less accessible than it once was.
it's there if you pay for it.
--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle
Sam Plusnet
2019-10-31 23:53:42 UTC
Permalink
Post by charles
Post by Sam Plusnet
In the UK, test cricket is much less accessible than it once was.
it's there if you pay for it.
Quite.
--
Sam Plusnet
Peter T. Daniels
2019-10-31 20:10:47 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
Just to even things up a little.
I've never watched (or heard) a baseball game, no nothing of the rules
or traditions - other than it seems to be as arcane as cricket - yet I
found Tony's post interesting.
In the UK, test cricket is much less accessible than it once was.
I was in Dublin during the 1992 Series. My host was curious about this
thing called baseball, and the BBC obligingly replayed the games in the
evening. How did it fit them into 90 minutes (or was it even 60 minutes?)?
Not by simply editing out all the pauses that are inserted for the TV
commercials, and other down-time -- but by actually omitting innings in
which no score was made! The decision to do that was made by someone who
did not have the slightest hint of how baseball works.

I was awfully glad to get the last copy of the International Herald
Tribune (which was apparently owned by the New York Times) on the
airplane going home, where I could read a full recap of the week.
Post by Sam Plusnet
Re: "World Series". That is very old news and has been done to death a
thousand times.
Jenny Telia
2019-10-31 19:25:05 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
You gotta love a poster who says I'm "off-topic" in this group talking
about baseball, and whose previous post was on the joy of cunnilingus.
Cunnilingus is about eating and therefore ... on topic.
Tony Cooper
2019-10-31 22:17:58 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
You gotta love a poster who says I'm "off-topic" in this group talking
about baseball, and whose previous post was on the joy of cunnilingus.
Cunnilingus is about eating and therefore ... on topic.
Yeah, but do you swallow?
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Mack A. Damia
2019-10-31 22:23:07 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 18:17:58 -0400, Tony Cooper
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
You gotta love a poster who says I'm "off-topic" in this group talking
about baseball, and whose previous post was on the joy of cunnilingus.
Cunnilingus is about eating and therefore ... on topic.
Yeah, but do you swallow?
Swallow? Hell, she gargles.
s***@gmail.com
2019-11-01 06:56:03 UTC
Permalink
Post by Mack A. Damia
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 18:17:58 -0400, Tony Cooper
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Jenny Telia
Post by Tony Cooper
OK...right up front I'll state that I don't care if the "World Series"
is a misnomer. Don't bother pointing out that it is an American, or
at least a North American, event. Old news.
OK, we get that you don't care that "world" does not mean the same to
you as it does to the rest of us. Do you at least care that the rest of
us don't give fuck about baseball - and that your post is off-topic
here? You should. And you should mark it as such. Now eff-off.
You gotta love a poster who says I'm "off-topic" in this group talking
about baseball, and whose previous post was on the joy of cunnilingus.
Cunnilingus is about eating and therefore ... on topic.
Yeah, but do you swallow?
Swallow? Hell, she gargles.
And is a smooth operator, like a Swiss army knife.

/dps
Ted Heise
2019-10-31 16:23:01 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 10:58:39 -0400,
Post by Tony Cooper
When I was in my teens, it was an excusable absence to stay
home from school to listen to a World Series game. Not a
stated excusable absence, but one that was overlooked and never
counted. All the games were day games, so they were held
during school hours.
If you were outside, you could follow a game walking down the
street listening to the radio from houses you walked by and
cars that drove past. Even the really-not-a-fan people knew
who was in the series. The really-a-fan people knew which
players did what in each game.
I remember listening to radio coverage during recess. Sandy
Koufax was pitching, so it seems it would have been 1965 and I'd
have been in 5th grade.
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least
a more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in
2005 and were re-named the "Nationals".
Interestingly (at least to me), the Dodgers played the Twins in
that '65 series--and the Twins were the first (of two) Senators
teams that abandoned DC.
--
Ted Heise <***@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA
Quinn C
2019-10-31 16:38:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
--
Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct
in which the score is kept.
-- Doug Larson
Peter T. Daniels
2019-10-31 16:54:15 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
Baseball fans have long memories. The rules have been sufficiently stable
for nearly a century and a half that records from the turn of the century
are still meaningful today; the pitching award is named for Cy Young, who
won more games over his career than any contemporary pitcher could aspire
to.

In basketball, though, they don't even change the name when it makes no
sense in the new location -- the Utah Jazz was in New Orleans, and the
L.A. Lakers were from the Twin Cities.

(Some baseball teams keep their names when they move -- the Dodgers and
Giants, who were the first to do so; the Braves, who started in Boston,
went to Milwaukee, and are now in Atlanta; the A's (the Philadelphia
Athletics of Connie Mack -- Cornelius McGillicuddy) after a brief sojourn
in Kansas City are in Oakland; and so on, but "Senators" and "Expos" are
so location-specific that baseball fans, more sensible than basketball
fans, wouldn't stand for the transfer of the name along with the team.)
RH Draney
2019-10-31 20:40:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Baseball fans have long memories. The rules have been sufficiently stable
for nearly a century and a half that records from the turn of the century
are still meaningful today; the pitching award is named for Cy Young, who
won more games over his career than any contemporary pitcher could aspire
to.
In basketball, though, they don't even change the name when it makes no
sense in the new location -- the Utah Jazz was in New Orleans, and the
L.A. Lakers were from the Twin Cities.
(Some baseball teams keep their names when they move -- the Dodgers and
Giants, who were the first to do so; the Braves, who started in Boston,
went to Milwaukee, and are now in Atlanta; the A's (the Philadelphia
Athletics of Connie Mack -- Cornelius McGillicuddy) after a brief sojourn
in Kansas City are in Oakland; and so on, but "Senators" and "Expos" are
so location-specific that baseball fans, more sensible than basketball
fans, wouldn't stand for the transfer of the name along with the team.)
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Peter T. Daniels
2019-10-31 20:53:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by RH Draney
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Baseball fans have long memories. The rules have been sufficiently stable
for nearly a century and a half that records from the turn of the century
are still meaningful today; the pitching award is named for Cy Young, who
won more games over his career than any contemporary pitcher could aspire
to.
In basketball, though, they don't even change the name when it makes no
sense in the new location -- the Utah Jazz was in New Orleans, and the
L.A. Lakers were from the Twin Cities.
(Some baseball teams keep their names when they move -- the Dodgers and
Giants, who were the first to do so; the Braves, who started in Boston,
went to Milwaukee, and are now in Atlanta; the A's (the Philadelphia
Athletics of Connie Mack -- Cornelius McGillicuddy) after a brief sojourn
in Kansas City are in Oakland; and so on, but "Senators" and "Expos" are
so location-specific that baseball fans, more sensible than basketball
fans, wouldn't stand for the transfer of the name along with the team.)
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Golly, do they do American football there? (Which is in Russia. Who was
Kalinin, anyway?)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kalinin

Doesn't seem to have had any particular connection with the place.
Jerry Friedman
2019-10-31 21:52:13 UTC
Permalink
On Thursday, October 31, 2019 at 2:40:16 PM UTC-6, RH Draney wrote:

[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
--
Jerry Friedman
Adam Funk
2019-11-01 09:55:32 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
--
The internet is quite simply a glorious place. Where else can you find
bootlegged music and films, questionable women, deep seated xenophobia
and amusing cats all together in the same place? ---Tom Belshaw
Peter Moylan
2019-11-01 10:25:59 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
I wonder how many people know the city for something other than its bridges.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Quinn C
2019-11-01 16:13:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
I wonder how many people know the city for something other than its bridges.
Surely it Kant be so few!
--
And how about the city's most famous son, Woody Allen?
Peter T. Daniels
2019-11-01 16:33:39 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
I wonder how many people know the city for something other than its bridges.
Surely it Kant be so few!
Check with the Edmonton Oilers.
Post by Quinn C
--
And how about the city's most famous son, Woody Allen?
Probably a major whoosh for almost everyone here.
Ken Blake
2019-11-01 18:06:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
I wonder how many people know the city for something other than its bridges.
431,902 people, its population as of 2010. Probably many more than know
it for its bridges.
--
Ken
Athel Cornish-Bowden
2019-11-01 11:14:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
Well, I understand about the bridge of Kaliningrad, but "Titans"?

OK, a little work with DuckDuckGo has solved it: they were previously
the Tennessee Oilers.
--
athel
Peter Moylan
2019-11-01 11:47:49 UTC
Permalink
Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
Well, I understand about the bridge of Kaliningrad, but "Titans"?
OK, a little work with DuckDuckGo has solved it: they were previously
the Tennessee Oilers.
At last I understand. I didn't see that connection.
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Snidely
2019-11-01 13:19:21 UTC
Permalink
Just this Friday, Peter Moylan explained that ...
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
Well, I understand about the bridge of Kaliningrad, but "Titans"?
OK, a little work with DuckDuckGo has solved it: they were previously
the Tennessee Oilers.
At last I understand. I didn't see that connection.
Well, that's because there isn't as petroleum mined in Tennessee as
there is in Texas (the team was from Houston, which now has a different
team yclept the Texans).

/dps
--
"That's a good sort of hectic, innit?"

" Very much so, and I'd recommend the haggis wontons."
-njm
Peter T. Daniels
2019-11-01 15:53:33 UTC
Permalink
Post by Snidely
Just this Friday, Peter Moylan explained that ...
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
Well, I understand about the bridge of Kaliningrad, but "Titans"?
OK, a little work with DuckDuckGo has solved it: they were previously
the Tennessee Oilers.
At last I understand. I didn't see that connection.
Well, that's because there isn't as petroleum mined in Tennessee as
there is in Texas (the team was from Houston, which now has a different
team yclept the Texans).
Yet the Oilers are in Edmonton (crosswords can be educating).
Ken Blake
2019-11-01 18:09:21 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter Moylan
Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
Well, I understand about the bridge of Kaliningrad, but "Titans"?
OK, a little work with DuckDuckGo has solved it: they were previously
the Tennessee Oilers.
At last I understand. I didn't see that connection.
Ditto, perhaps because I've never heard of the Tennessee Titans (I know
next to nothing about American football).
--
Ken
Lewis
2019-11-01 13:38:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden
Post by Jerry Friedman
[sports teams changing names]
Post by RH Draney
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Would they have had to change their game to bridge?
+1
Well, I understand about the bridge of Kaliningrad, but "Titans"?
OK, a little work with DuckDuckGo has solved it: they were previously
the Tennessee Oilers.
And previously The Houston Oilers.
--
It's against my programming to impersonate a deity.
Adam Funk
2019-11-01 10:06:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by RH Draney
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Baseball fans have long memories. The rules have been sufficiently stable
for nearly a century and a half that records from the turn of the century
are still meaningful today; the pitching award is named for Cy Young, who
won more games over his career than any contemporary pitcher could aspire
to.
In basketball, though, they don't even change the name when it makes no
sense in the new location -- the Utah Jazz was in New Orleans, and the
L.A. Lakers were from the Twin Cities.
(Some baseball teams keep their names when they move -- the Dodgers and
Giants, who were the first to do so; the Braves, who started in Boston,
went to Milwaukee, and are now in Atlanta; the A's (the Philadelphia
Athletics of Connie Mack -- Cornelius McGillicuddy) after a brief sojourn
in Kansas City are in Oakland; and so on, but "Senators" and "Expos" are
so location-specific that baseball fans, more sensible than basketball
fans, wouldn't stand for the transfer of the name along with the team.)
The Tennessee Titans could have kept their old name if they'd instead
moved to Königsberg, Prussia, though they'd have had to change the
spelling....r
Coïncidentally, I just came across this on reddit:

"Disappeared city center: Königsberg 1890s, 1930s, 1930s; & central
Kaliningrad today"

<https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/dq12va/disappeared_city_center_k%C3%B6nigsberg_1890s_1930s/>
--
Classical Greek lent itself to the promulgation of a rich culture,
indeed, to Western civilization. Computer languages bring us
doorbells that chime with thirty-two tunes, alt.sex.bestiality, and
Tetris clones. (Stoll 1995)
Quinn C
2019-10-31 22:04:58 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
Baseball fans have long memories. [...]
(Some baseball teams keep their names when they move -- the Dodgers and
Giants, who were the first to do so; the Braves, who started in Boston,
went to Milwaukee, and are now in Atlanta; the A's (the Philadelphia
Athletics of Connie Mack -- Cornelius McGillicuddy) after a brief sojourn
in Kansas City are in Oakland; and so on, but "Senators" and "Expos" are
so location-specific that baseball fans, more sensible than basketball
fans, wouldn't stand for the transfer of the name along with the team.)
I was at a pub when one of the last games was on - with a group of
about 10 people, none of whom cared a bit about it. As I sat right
under the TV, a woman asked me for help getting the fake spider webs
off the TV screen. She explained that she was a big fan, and then
something about one of the teams that I didn't understand. I think now
that she may have been saying "they stole my team", or something to the
effect.
--
Democracy means government by the uneducated,
while aristocracy means government by the badly educated.
-- G. K. Chesterton
Sam Plusnet
2019-10-31 19:16:59 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
--
Sam Plusnet
Quinn C
2019-10-31 22:05:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
When I was a child, you were supposed to root for the team of the
nearest city, which consisted mostly of players recruited from the
general area. It wasn't unlikely that you knew someone who knew someone
who had gone to high school with a player.

I don't understand how people choose a team these days.
--
WinErr 008: Erroneous error. Nothing is wrong.
Jerry Friedman
2019-10-31 22:24:27 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
When I was a child, you were supposed to root for the team of the
nearest city, which consisted mostly of players recruited from the
general area. It wasn't unlikely that you knew someone who knew someone
who had gone to high school with a player.
I don't understand how people choose a team these days.
Same method, just with a different team make-up, I assume.

New Mexico has no big-league sports teams. People around here
choose (if they do) a team whose uniform or star player they
like, or their parents' favorite team, or a team from someplace
one can drive to in a day. One of my Facebook friends posted
about how happy he was to see the Nationals win, since he'd been
rooting for them since his childhood when they were the Expos;
back then he was probably their only fan in Northern New Mexico.
He didn't say why he chose them.
--
Jerry Friedman
Sam Plusnet
2019-10-31 23:57:07 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jerry Friedman
Post by Quinn C
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
When I was a child, you were supposed to root for the team of the
nearest city, which consisted mostly of players recruited from the
general area. It wasn't unlikely that you knew someone who knew someone
who had gone to high school with a player.
I don't understand how people choose a team these days.
Same method, just with a different team make-up, I assume.
New Mexico has no big-league sports teams. People around here
choose (if they do) a team whose uniform or star player they
like, or their parents' favorite team, or a team from someplace
one can drive to in a day.
There's always Manchester United.
--
Sam Plusnet
RH Draney
2019-11-01 07:52:11 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sam Plusnet
New Mexico has no big-league sports teams.  People around here
choose (if they do) a team whose uniform or star player they
like, or their parents' favorite team, or a team from someplace
one can drive to in a day.
There's always Manchester United.
They said there'd always be an England too, and look how that turned
out....r
Athel Cornish-Bowden
2019-11-01 07:58:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sam Plusnet
New Mexico has no big-league sports teams.  People around here
choose (if they do) a team whose uniform or star player they
like, or their parents' favorite team, or a team from someplace
one can drive to in a day.
There's always Manchester United.
They said there'd always be an England too, and look how that turned out....r
England will probably continue to exist, but few will mourn the
disappearance of the United Kingdom.
--
athel
Mack A. Damia
2019-11-01 14:57:11 UTC
Permalink
Post by RH Draney
Post by Sam Plusnet
New Mexico has no big-league sports teams.  People around here
choose (if they do) a team whose uniform or star player they
like, or their parents' favorite team, or a team from someplace
one can drive to in a day.
There's always Manchester United.
They said there'd always be an England too, and look how that turned
out....r
But there is a corner of some foreign field that is forever zoned....
charles
2019-10-31 22:46:04 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
When I was a child, you were supposed to root for the team of the
nearest city,
Bigger cities often hav two or more rival football teams.
--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle
Garrett Wollman
2019-10-31 23:16:52 UTC
Permalink
Post by charles
Post by Quinn C
When I was a child, you were supposed to root for the team of the
nearest city,
Bigger cities often hav two or more rival football teams.
The biggest cities (well, metropolitan areas) may have two or more
rival clubs in more than one professional sport, although I can only
think of three in the US: New York (which has two of all four,
including three hockey clubs), Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Chicago is the only other city big enough to have two (baseball only).
For baseball, all four have one team in each league, so they don't
really count as "rivals" in the same way as the Lakers and the
Clippers or the Rangers and the Islanders -- before regular
interleague play was introduced a couple of decades ago, the baseball
clubs in the same city could only have played each other in exhibition
games or in the World Series. (This isn't really comparable to the
division systems in European football, because there is no promotion
and relegation. But in the North American context, there are
additional cities that have a major-league and a minor-league club in
the same sport.)

-GAWollman
--
Garrett A. Wollman | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can,
***@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future. This is
Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together."
my employers. | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)
Lewis
2019-11-01 12:28:13 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
When I was a child, you were supposed to root for the team of the
nearest city, which consisted mostly of players recruited from the
general area. It wasn't unlikely that you knew someone who knew someone
who had gone to high school with a player.
I don't understand how people choose a team these days.
Fashion? "Oh, I like those uniforms, might as well root for them!"

(But no, I am kidding. How people choose their teams is a complicated
question, especially if you look at someone's second tier teams. Most
people pick the home team, which comes with a complicated web of
secondary and tertiary teams. For example, if you live in Denver you are
likely to be a Broncos fan, which means you are definitely not a fan of
the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raider nor the Dallas Cowboys.

But what other teams you do like is a lot harder to predict. Probably
your secondary teams are in the other conference.

Historically in baseball there was no interaction between the National
and American leagues, so most people had a team they followed in each
league. I doubt that is much of a thing now that the leagues play each
other outside of the World Series.

I never followed baseball closely, but growing up you had to declare
some allegiance, so I chose, essentially at random, the Mets and the Red
Sox.

By a strange series of events I was in Amherst, MA on October 25, 1986
when the Red Sox blew the World Series, losing to the Mets (yes, they
didn't lose the series on the 25th, but they did).
--
But just because you've seen me on your TV Doesn't mean I'm any more
enlightened than you
Tony Cooper
2019-10-31 23:08:11 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name. The only changes you
are likely to see are colleges that have a team nickname that is no
longer acceptable.

The Dartmouth Indians became the Dartmouth Big Green. The Colgate Red
Raiders dropped the "Red". The Miami University (Ohio) team went from
the Redskins to the Redhawks, and the Stanford Indians became the
Stanford Cardinal.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Sam Plusnet
2019-11-01 00:00:48 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name.
Just pointing out that the people who make up that team change
completely over a short time period.
Supporting a team is much like never stepping into the same river twice.
--
Sam Plusnet
Kerr-Mudd,John
2019-11-01 12:11:53 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name.
Just pointing out that the people who make up that team change
completely over a short time period.
Supporting a team is much like never stepping into the same river twice.
After 50 or 60 minutes about half the players are different anyhow
(Rugby)
--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.
Rich Ulrich
2019-11-01 03:12:57 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 19:08:11 -0400, Tony Cooper
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name. The only changes you
are likely to see are colleges that have a team nickname that is no
longer acceptable.
The Dartmouth Indians became the Dartmouth Big Green. The Colgate Red
Raiders dropped the "Red". The Miami University (Ohio) team went from
the Redskins to the Redhawks, and the Stanford Indians became the
Stanford Cardinal.
"Stanford" always reminds me....

This history is not apocryphal - in 1975, the students voted
for the name, Robber Barons. That was a post-hippie era
recognition of their founder.

To this day, their school band mascot is the Stanford Tree,
which is an unofficial mascot of the university.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Tree
--
Rich Ulrich
Peter T. Daniels
2019-11-01 12:10:08 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Sam Plusnet
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name. The only changes you
are likely to see are colleges that have a team nickname that is no
longer acceptable.
Sigh. He's saying the _personnel_ are completely different every few
years. Comparison with the three handles and four blades of the axe
-- get it?
Lewis
2019-11-01 13:30:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name. The only changes you
are likely to see are colleges that have a team nickname that is no
longer acceptable.
I think the point is that a college team is 100% replaced in 4 years (or
is it 5?) with entirely new players.

Not sure how different that is to a professional team anymore, they days
of a player playing for only one team over his career are largely over.
--
"If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's
read by persons who move their lips when they're reading to themselves."
- Don Marquis
Tony Cooper
2019-11-01 14:13:12 UTC
Permalink
On Fri, 1 Nov 2019 13:30:00 -0000 (UTC), Lewis
Post by Lewis
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name. The only changes you
are likely to see are colleges that have a team nickname that is no
longer acceptable.
I think the point is that a college team is 100% replaced in 4 years (or
is it 5?) with entirely new players.
Not sure how different that is to a professional team anymore, they days
of a player playing for only one team over his career are largely over.
In my view, either the axe blade or the handle is the team as an
entity. If the team remains in the same location with the same name,
as it does in college sports, then only the other part of the axe -
the players on the team - change.

That 4- or 5-year turnover in player personnel is almost the same in
most major pro sports teams. Well...except for the key (franchise)
players. In most positions, a 5-year career is about it unless they
are traded or enter into free agency. Then, it's less than 5 years.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Quinn C
2019-11-01 16:13:45 UTC
Permalink
Post by Lewis
Post by Tony Cooper
Post by Sam Plusnet
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
People follow college football/baseball/basketball/etc. teams.
They all get a new axe and handle every two or three years.
Not college. Professional franchises are sold and moved, but college
sports teams remain the same in place and name. The only changes you
are likely to see are colleges that have a team nickname that is no
longer acceptable.
I think the point is that a college team is 100% replaced in 4 years (or
is it 5?) with entirely new players.
Not sure how different that is to a professional team anymore, they days
of a player playing for only one team over his career are largely over.
To confirm my childhood experience, I just looked up the first player
from "my" team I could remember. He played 420 games for that same team
over 14 years. Later he returned as an official.

When teams change so rapidly, I might choose to be a fan of specific
players over a team. As an adult, the only sports I was following with
some intensity from time to time were tennis and figure skating, which
are mostly about individuals.
--
"Bother", said the Borg, as they assimilated Pooh.
Peter T. Daniels
2019-11-01 16:36:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
To confirm my childhood experience, I just looked up the first player
from "my" team I could remember. He played 420 games for that same team
over 14 years. Later he returned as an official.
If you're still talking about baseball, then he didn't return as an
"official." I suppose maybe umpires would count as officials, but they
better not be associated with any team!
Quinn C
2019-11-01 16:54:54 UTC
Permalink
Post by Peter T. Daniels
Post by Quinn C
To confirm my childhood experience, I just looked up the first player
from "my" team I could remember. He played 420 games for that same team
over 14 years. Later he returned as an official.
If you're still talking about baseball,
I didn't, but I don't think that's important.
Post by Peter T. Daniels
then he didn't return as an
"official." I suppose maybe umpires would count as officials, but they
better not be associated with any team!
I see. So what's the general word for the people in adminstrative
functions in a sports team? German "Funktionär", and I can't seem to
find a straight translation.

The player in question had the roles of vice president, sports manager
(not a coaching position in Germany) and chief scout.
--
Be afraid of the lame - They'll inherit your legs
Be afraid of the old - They'll inherit your souls
-- Regina Spektor, Après moi
Quinn C
2019-11-01 16:13:44 UTC
Permalink
Post by Quinn C
Post by Tony Cooper
The "Nats" are the former Montreal Expos, so there is at least a
more-than-US connection. The Expos moved to Washington in 2005 and
were re-named the "Nationals".
But isn't that like "the same old axe, but with a new blade and a new
handle"?
Circling back to a language-related question ... when they say this is
the first time the Nationals won the World Series, does that include
their history as the Expos? I know the Expos never won, but if they
had, would this still be the first time for the Nationals, or just the
first time *as* the Nationals?
--
If the aeroplane industry had advanced at the same rate as the
computer industry, today's planes could circumnavigate the world
in ten seconds, be two inches long, and crash twice a day.
Peter Moylan in alt.usage.english
John Varela
2019-10-31 18:47:50 UTC
Permalink
On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 14:58:39 UTC, Tony Cooper
Post by Tony Cooper
What I did notice is that you really have to be a baseball fan and
read the sporting news to even know which teams were playing. There
was very little media coverage.
Not at all true if you happen to live in Washington or, I suppose,
Houston. Last night's come-from-behind victory got more ink in
today's issue of The Washington Post than did Mr Trump and his
troubles.
--
John Varela
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