#national marine sports games | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sixeyescurseuser · 8 days

Text

Thinking about figure skater Gojo who tirelessly trains to qualify and compete at the next Olympic Games.

Gojo is such a legend in the skating world, very well known for his jaw-dropping, difficult performances, handsome looks, and charming personality! He was built for the spotlight.

Naturally, he has many global fans, fan accounts, and ordinary people who follow his career.

People who meet Gojo in-person after having only seen him on tv are shocked at how tall he is, yet manages to skate so well. All those triple and quad axels? And the amount of grace and power he skates with is insane considering his build.

Once, an interviewer asks Gojo what other skaters he admires? Gojo talks about a few current big names, then sneaks in a mention of, “Oh, Suguru is also in my list , hehe.”

The interviewer chuckles alongside him, yet can’t help but ask, “Suguru…who?”

Later, Geto Suguru nearly spits out his water while watching the interview posted on Youtube. He doesn’t hesitate to text his boyfriend.

Geto: “Why do you keep bringing me up? I literally just skated in high school 😭”

Gojo sends back an old video of Geto’s skating routine from a regional competition: ❤️❤️

Geto: “WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE THIS?”

Gojo: “heyyy >:(“

Gojo: “It makes me happy 🥰 I loved watching you”

***

Growing up, Gojo and Geto skated at the same club. But while Gojo continued skating as his professional career after, Geto dropped skating in order to focus on his academics in college.

Gojo often reminisces on the long practices they had where they would watch each other run through their routines and give each other feedback, when they would mess around and throw the craziest combinations just for shits and giggles.

He didn’t realize their time together on the rink would be so short in the long run, but they began dating when they were only sixteen, and have been going strong together since.

Gojo is still lucky to have Suguru to come home to after his long days at the rink.

After college, Geto went on to become a marine biologist, where he does a lot of work in ocean wildlife conservation. He’s either on a boat collecting data for research or in the lab analyzing his sample results.

Gojo is not only busy training in Japan, but he also frequently travels to train in different countries. Gojo receives lots of updates from Suguru in the form of selfies and blurry photos with ocean wildlife or results from the lab.

Suguru in the lab with his ppe (personal protection equipment). Suguru wearing his wet suit while investigating algae farms. Suguru smiling while holding a crab.

Gojo makes the last one his lock screen. Suguru just looks so cute with his hair pulled back, and when Gojo holds his finger down on the live photo, he can hear Suguru’s voice talking in baby to the crab.

(Geto’s wallpaper is a selfie of them when they were teens.)

Geto gets super excited telling Gojo about his new findings, taking the time to explain different facts and technical terms. Gojo eagerly nods along on the phone and asks questions, commenting, “No way! The algae increased nearly double the amount with your XXX solution? That’s amazing!”

***

Gojo loves what he does, but it’s always a relief to come back home and find his comfort place in Suguru’s arms.

Nothing beats taking a shower and raiding Suguru’s closet after, cooking dinner with his boyfriend, and then cuddles on the couch.

The first thing they see when they turn on the tv is a sports reporter announcing Gojo Satoru's third national championship title, and what it means for the road to the Olympics.

“Oh wow, this guy is on a roll. He should train for the Olympics or something,” Geto says.

Gojo simply buries face in Suguru’s neck and snickers: “Or something.”

***

Once, while getting ready to sleep one night, Gojo whispers in Geto’s: “Remember that one time you ripped your pants during the Junior Grand Prix?”

Geto doesn’t react at first.

Then, without warning, he tries to smother his boyfriend with his pillow.

***

One of the best memories is when Geto surprised Gojo by showing up in-person to one of the abroad competitions.

In the middle of his post-win interview, still in his competition suit, makeup dewey and hair fluffy, Gojo suddenly spots a familiar face behind one of the paparazzi.

Gojo is literally mid-answer when he locks in and SPRINTS to get his boyfriend in his arms.

“Suguru!!” Gojo shouts. He’s already leaping and oh, Suguru’s arms readily catch him.

Geto laughs with his whole chest, squeezing tightly around Gojo’s middle.

“Hello, darling.”

Gojo has to finish the interview but he’s so bubbly now because teehee Suguru is right there and watching proudly.

Gojo needs him in his bed immediately.

After the interview, Geto explains he got his lab assistants to cover their project for the next week so he could fly out and visit Gojo in Australia!

Gojo happily drags Geto back to his hotel room, giggling and babbling about the plans they could have for the next week. The couple excitedly discuss outings to art and performance events, to the beach, even the zoo - which Geto is ecstatic for.

Upon entering the hotel room, Geto quickly drops his luggage off in the corner. Gojo is still yapping when Geto suddenly walks him backwards to the bed.

The back of Gojo’s knees hit the edge and he falls back with an “oof!”

Geto smoothly crawls on top to lay his whole body weight on his boyfriend’s.

Gojo chuckles. He combs through Suguru’s hair and continues his talking, knowing Suguru is tired from traveling and this will help them both relax.

Gojo gradually runs out of things to say, and the soft breaths against his neck tell him yep, he unfortunately needs to poke his boyfriend awake so they can both shower and freshen up before bed.

Gojo pats Geto’s lower back. “Suguru, wakey wakey.”

No response.

Pat pat on the lower back again, then smoothing his hands up to pat the upper-back.

“Babyyy, wake up. We need to shower. And eat.”

Geto offers a protesting grunt, then nuzzles against Gojo’s neck.

This leaves Gojo no choice.

He sneaks a hand down to pinch Geto’s ass.

“Ouch- hey what the fuck?”

Gojo yelps when he feels Suguru pinch his nipple in retaliation, then rolls off Gojo’s body to head toward the bathroom.

Five minutes later, the couple shower together while casually recapping the results of the skating event.

“Any feedback for me today?” Gojo asks. Geto hums, more focused on massaging the shampoo into Gojo’s hair. He applies the perfect amount of pressure that makes Gojo moan in appreciation.

“The only feedback I have is that you look amazing out there, Satoru. All the hard work you put into training clearly pays off. I am so so proud of you,” Geto says, dropping a kiss to Gojo’s nape.

Gojo preens, and completely surrenders himself to his boyfriend's tender touches.

#jjk #satosugu #gojo satoru #geto suguru #satosugu fluff #satosugu fanfic #goge #figure skater gojo #marine biologist geto #satosugu au #cerdrabbles #fluff

117 notes · View notes

fatehbaz · 1 year

Text

Avocado orchards had carpeted the gently undulating hills around the sacred lake of Pátzcuaro with stodgy green bushes. Here, before the cataclysmic arrival of the first envoys dispatched by Hernando Cortes from the Aztec capital over the mountains to the East, [...] the Purépecha had sown maize, amaranth, zucchini, cacao, cotton, tomato, beans, a dozen types of chili, and much more.

Now the monotonous “green gold” of the avocado boom had colonized the entire Mexican state of Michoacán. [...] [I]t was shocking to think that the cause of the disaster was America’s great patriotic party: the National Football League’s Super Bowl. A flurry of advertising creativity on behalf of the Mexican avocado was unleashed every year during the multi-million-dollar sports broadcast. [...] “Is your life just terrible?” asks the comic actor Chris Elliott, star of Scary Movie 2 and Scary Movie 4, in the 2019 spot. “You deserve more! Spread an avocado on top of everything!” [...] A few days before the Super Bowl, the domestic diva Martha Stewart [...] had released on social networks her latest recipe for guacamole [...]. Guacamole was now an obligatory snack for the 100 million or so Americans who watched the Super Bowl. In February of 2017, 278 million avocados -- most of them from Michoacán -- had been sold during the days before the game in [the US] [...].

---

The avocado had become the star product of Mexican food production in the age of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) [...] since NAFTA was signed in 1994 [...]. [Mexican] farmers produced 16 times more than the formerly dominant Californian growers. [...] Moreover, the avocado was now classified as a “superfood” [...].

It had not always been like this. In the 1950s, the avocado was known unsentimentally as the crocodile pear [...]. Imports from Mexico were banned until 1997 [...] . When complete liberalization was announced in 2007, Michoacán had become an unbeatable competitor for the Californian avocado growers. The Mexican producers specialized, like their Californian rivals, in the Hass variety of avocado, more meaty than those that the Purépecha had [...] consumed over the millennia, and with a tough skin that protected the pears during long hauls in chilled container trucks to El Paso or Tijuana and then beyond to the big US consumer markets. [...] [T]he Hass avocado was perfectly suited to the global market [...]. Michoacán, whose crystalline lakes had earned it the name of the “land of fish” in the indigenous language of Tarasco, would never be the same.

By 2020, 80 percent of the avocados consumed in the United States came from Michoacán [...].

---

Now in the 21st century, on the outskirts of Uruapan, the frenetic capital del aguacate, the new economy of agribusiness took shape [...]. Further west on the shores of Lake Pátzcuaro, the monoculture had not yet colonized the entire landscape, but the advance of the avocado seemed unstoppable. [...] “Practically everybody here wants an avocado orchard [...],” explained [FFB], a resident of the Purépecha indigenous community of Jarácuaro on the shores of the lake. [...] [H]e was horrified by the extent of environmental destruction. “They pump water from the lake to water the avocado orchards [...]. It’s pillage. [...]”

The falling water level, together with the introduction of the rapacious predator tilapia, had wiped out almost all the [...] [native] fish species. Of the cornucopia of marine life that had fed the Purépecha cities, only the diminutive silvery charal remained. The same occurred at other great freshwater deposits in Michoaczán. [...] The Purépecha communities on the shores of the lake, a landscape of stunning beauty where dense pine and ilex oak forests met white nymphaea lilies floating on turquoise water, were girding themselves for the arrival of the aguacateros, avocado producers [...].

---

“They put a gun to your head and tell you to sign the deed before the notary. That’s how the transfer of land is agreed upon,” explained [GV], a sociologist at the University of San Nicolas de Hidalgo in Morelia [...].

Meanwhile, large exporters and avocado brokers -- some of them international brands like Del Monte -- were profiting by purchasing from producers at dirt-cheap prices and reselling to the US supermarket chains at very attractive ones. “They pay a dollar per kilo of avocado here and sell it for eight at a Minnesota W*lmart,” said [GV].

In order not to squander such a reliable source of profits, “transnational corporations, just like the Canadian mining companies in Zacatecas, pay the extortion money [...],” he continued.

---

Text by: Andy Robinson. Gold, Oil, and Avocados: A Recent History of Latin America in Sixteen Commodities. 2021. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks added by me.]

333 notes · View notes

baiyunli · 11 months

Text

how to watch baseball now: a primer

This is a long, hopefully-comprehensive guide on how to watch baseball for hockey fans feeling adrift during the offseason — I have constructed this from the perspective of not only how to understand what you’re watching, but how to make it interesting to yourself.

If the numbers aren't interesting to you, forget about the numbers! They don’t have to exist in your version of baseball. Make up your own rules and use them to watch the game. Watch games only for the one kind-of okay player you like. Pick your favourite team because of a video you saw of one of them bouncing a baseball off his ass (Sean Murphy, then of Oakland A's and now of Atlanta Braves). Baseball Olds will try to pretend like the game is this big thing that only people who already watch it can appreciate, but you just have to find what you love most about it.

I’m using the NHL as my best point of reference: in terms of growing the game, I’d say MLB suffers from a very different problem than NHL (other than like, the current uproar around letting queer people exist, which is a throughline in both), in that while the NHL has a very exciting product but can’t reach people where they’re at, baseball is by and large perceived as a boring, slow game and the league will bend over backwards to make polarizing changes to the Boringest and Slowest parts rather than capitalizing on what excites fans about the game. However, both leagues are plagued by Shitty Commissioner disease. Such is the way of life.

Feel free to read all of this, or none of it, but I’ve tried to split it up in a way that makes sense and is easy to navigate. Last note: many people will tell you baseball is the only major sport going on in North America at this time of year. This is false. The WNBA and NWSL are both in full swing—not to mention the World Cup next month. Supplement your baseball watching with a wide variety of sports where you can!

How to Love Baseball

Pick a Team, Any Team

The first step in becoming a baseball fan is obviously picking a team! I could probably give you NHL comparatives and let you figure it out from there, but I don’t personally think your favourite NHL teams have much bearing on your favourite MLB ones, so I’ll give you a quick and dirty rundown of my teams instead and how you might want to pick a team.

The easiest team for me to love is the Seattle Mariners because I live just across the border, and they aren’t good enough to be annoying but also not bad enough to be embarrassed about. They’re just kind of there, which I enjoy greatly. I also love the Philadelphia Phillies because they’re my friend’s favourite team. They went on a Cinderella run to the World Series last year (before losing to the Astros in the final) and are now solidly middling. My other favourites are the Washington Nationals because of their fantastic social media presence and their hilarious stadium traditions. The current-day Nats are very much the epitome of "how can we lose when we're so sincere?"

Some teams you might want to look into are the LA Angels (actually of Anaheim) for Shohei Ohtani, the Milwaukee Brewers for — at least from what I understand — their boyband energy similar to the New Jersey Devils, the Baltimore Orioles or Tampa Bay Rays for an exciting and winningest team, and the Oakland A's for a miserable fan experience including horribly dysfunctional team management and a coming relocation to Las Vegas.

The easiest team for me to hate is the Toronto Blue Jays, which is a result of their god complex re: being the only Canadian team. A funny thing from this season is that the Rays opened their season with a historic 13-game win streak, only to be killed 6-3 by the Blue Jays to end it. Something about Toronto teams and ending another team’s 13-game heater, or whatever.

Also look into any local teams if you can. In Vancouver, our local minor league team is the Vancouver Canadians, and setting up a little picnic on the grass with friends while watching a Canadians game is a summer staple. Here’s a very cute article about them. There are a variety of lower-level and exhibition teams across the world, especially in countries where baseball is incredibly popular. One exhibition team is the Internet-famous Savannah Bananas who are dearly loved on TikTok. If there isn’t a huge baseball foothold in your area, it’s worth looking into which MLB teams are most popular where you live and/or have the most coverage. Some analytics sites like FiveThirtyEight will occasionally create maps showing each team’s popularity in different states, countries, etc. and that can be a great guide.

Petty Rivalries 101

You can always just Google these, but I decided to just list off a few major ones for your perusal: the Yankees and Red Sox, the Rangers and Astros, the Dodgers and Giants, and the Orioles and Nationals. As Toronto Maple Leafs scholar Acting the Fulemin once put it, the point of sports is to be sad in a group, and the counterpart to this is that it absolutely rules getting to see a team you hate lose.

A quick note on the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is that it's brought us one of my favourite ever quotes from ex-Mariner and current Yankee Nestor Cortes:

Once you’ve chosen a favourite team, they’re bound to have some kind of geographic or historic rivalry, and you can search those up to find out the background behind them. Also, I highly suggest deciding on a random team you hate for no reason. It makes the season experience much more interesting and gives you the chance to pray on their downfall whenever possible.

Where to Watch

As with most things about baseball, this will vary by your team. Depending on your cable package, you might be able to watch your favourite team already! That’s great news. Even if you can’t, feel free to turn on the TV, find a random baseball game, and imprint on either of those teams like a baby bird. The MLB website offers games broadcast with an MLB.tv subscription, but if you have an account you can also watch the Free Game of the Day and collected highlights from previous games! This is a great way to expand your team repertoire and figure out which team broadcasts you hate with a burning passion. Local radio stations do commentary on games if you like listening to that.

If you just want to get your feet wet rather than diving in straight away, pretty much every major game of the postseason will be uploaded by some “FirstName BunchOfNumbers” user on YouTube: for example, you can watch Game 1 of the World Series last year by just searching 2022 World Series Game 1 Full Game. However, watching the full game might be a slog if you don’t know what’s going on, and you can learn the intricacies of the sport without having to watch all four hours and twelve minutes of like, the 1962 World Series Game 7 (although that is a very exciting game). In that case, skip to the ‘How the Game is Governed’ section and read on.

All of this pertains to MLB teams, but there’s plenty to watch elsewhere. If you have a local baseball team, you might be able to catch a game or two in-person! Minor League Baseball also has their own broadcasting services and highlights are available on YouTube or their website.

League Structure

The MLB season is 162 games long. Spring training, aka the preseason, begins in February. During the regular season, teams play a three or four-game series with the same team before playing another with a different team. For example, this month the Philadelphia Phillies played 3 games in a row against the Washington Nationals on consecutive days. The day after the conclusion of their last game against Washington, they started a series against the Tigers, which was three games with one rescheduled due to weather, and then another three games against the Dodgers. This leads to a schedule that looks like this:

Occasionally, due to weather issues or other postponement reasons, a game will be rescheduled for the same day as another game against the same team — so they’ll play two full games in one day. This is called a double-header. They used to be routinely scheduled in MLB, but now they’re only played as a result of scheduling problems.

Team-wise, it’s a little more complicated than the NHL. Like the Eastern and Western conferences, MLB is separated into two ‘leagues’: the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). Both leagues have fifteen teams, and until the 1990s teams in different leagues didn’t play each other during the regular season at all, leading to different styles of play, tactics, and rules implemented between them. This is no longer the case! However, it’s important to recognize that unlike the NHL, NBA, NWSL, etc., Major League Baseball comprises two leagues, rather than two conferences of the same league. This matters because individual awards like the Cy Young or Gold Glove are given to the best players at their position in both the AL and NL, and the MLB MVP includes both an AL MVP and NL MVP.

MLB is made up of six divisions, with three in each league: AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central, and NL West. A division has five teams. If you know much about US geography, you might notice that the teams in each division don’t actually correspond very well to their geographic location: this is for a variety of reasons, not least of which is expansion teams requiring change in division partitioning, but nobody’s going to fix it at this point. And that’s okay!

Fandom and Things As Such

Baseball fandom, regrettably, is not much of a Tumblr phenomenon these days, but Baseball Twitter does have some incredible gems. The Baseball RPF tag on AO3 is also fairly fleshed out (albeit not to the extent of HRPF) and you’ll find that many authors who write HRPF have dabbled in baseball as well. If you’re lost on where to start choosing a team, going through the AO3 grab bag and choosing a random player who you really like in a fic is also a very respectable avenue.

I cannot stress this enough: the easiest way to learn the game without having to learn the characters is reading baseball AUs. That’s it. They’re ten times more approachable than trying to memorize everyone on your favourite team’s roster, and they abound in HRPF if you’re looking for a landing port. I have witness testimony from Lil (@wymgreenteam) that she learned what pitching signs and shortstops were from the wonderful Jack/Nico baseball AU. It works! Obviously fanfiction won’t teach you everything, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed they can be a fantastic first step and really illustrate the game from a fan perspective.

Other Media

I will caution against taking the ‘consume baseball-related media’ advice too seriously, because I find that unlike baseball AUs, other media involving baseball does not always come from someone who watches and loves the game. Think of it like hockey romance books—just like the main characters of those novels are probably not scoring hat tricks in 5 consecutive games, they probably aren’t reaching such baseball heights either.

With that said, I have not watched Daiya No Ace but I’ve heard that people do enjoy it! For genuine baseball culture-oriented media, Roger Angell wrote fantastic articles and books on the game. I love his book ‘Five Seasons: A Baseball Companion.’ Then there are movies like Moneyball and shows like A League of Our Own which tackle specific aspects of the game and how it’s played. Depending on your eventual favourite team(s), hometown coverage will also play a huge part: for the Phillies, that’s outlets like the Philadelphia Inquirer or Penn Live.

Narratives

Once upon a time there was a young man named Shohei Ohtani who was breaking records set in the 1920s while playing on a horrible, failing team that refused to build around him. I assume you have some familiarity with Ohtani, but he is very difficult to describe because he is literally making history. He is the only two-way player in MLB right now: a two-way player is someone who is both a pitcher and a batter; there are a ton of rules about what constitutes a two-way player, but currently Ohtani is the only true two-way player at the Major level. This is not a perfect analogy, but he’s sort of like if Jason Robertson went out there and had a 50-goal season, then immediately jumped into net and played like Juuse Saros. He’s the best all-around player in MLB, and even though he isn’t the best pitcher or the best batter, the fact that he’s incredible at both of them makes him stand out. He also plays with Mike Trout, who’s breaking records of his own, while trying to drag the LA Angels to any sort of notoriety. Here is a prescient article about the Ohtani-Trout era in Anaheim.

Each team has their own current narratives and pairings, but Ohtani and Trout are the biggest one right now. People compare them to McDavid and Draisaitl, but it’s more like if the Oilers had McDavid and Draisaitl but were also one of the worst teams in the league right now. However, Trout is currently in the worst slump of his career while the Angels have won the last 11 of 14 games, so really all this means is that baseball is fake.

Baseball is rife with redemption and villain arcs—you just have to dig a little to find them. I have presented the Ohtani and Trout trainwreck because it’s the closest comparable to the Oilers tragedy, but there are plenty others that really depend on team and current events.

Bush Leagues

MLB teams have a very different relationship to their minor-league affiliates than NHL teams do. There are about five hundred various regional minor leagues, but the MiLB levels are Rookie, Single A, High A, Double A, and Triple A, each of which has two or three individual leagues similar to the AL-NL system in MLB.

The fun thing about MiLB is that it’s a lot closer to home than MLB! Most places don’t have an MLB team, but there’s a good chance anywhere in the USA has a nearby MiLB or regional/collegiate league team. They also have way more interesting names, like the Portland Pickles, Rocket City Trash Pandas, and Sugar Land Space Cowboys. The prospect pipeline in MLB runs a whole lot slower than it does for the NHL, and generally through those Double or Triple-A affiliates, so it’s definitely worth paying attention to minor-league teams and their standout players to see who might be the next rookie on your favourite team.

MiLB player compensation has been an issue for a long time, and the players recently unionized! A few great write-ups on it: 1, 2, and 3.

Regional Popularity

I’ve said this plenty, but I truly do think that finding your baseball niche hinges upon imprinting on a hometown team or a player you just really like. This sport isn’t just an American pastime: it’s hugely popular in Central America and parts of East Asia, and some of the best and brightest up-and-coming (and current) players hail from countries that haven’t traditionally been viewed as bastions of baseball. The game is growing every day, and it’s wonderful to see.

Baseball is very popular in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Korea. Out of those, I’d probably say the Dominican Republic has the largest MLB presence, with only American players outnumbering Dominican ones in the league, but the sport is also fast-growing in Japan, Korea, and Australia. Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which is the baseball equivalent of the World Cup of Hockey, where the best players in the world compete against each other and Shohei Ohtani (captain of the Japanese team) pitched to Mike Trout (captain of the American team) in possibly the most electric moment of baseball in the 21st century.

How to Understand Baseball

How the Game is Governed

Rather than doing a big writeup on this, I figured I would just find some articles and videos that go through the rules well and hold your hand through it! Think of these like helpful assets, similar to the first time you search up ‘what is goaltender interference’ or 'what is offsides' after hearing it mentioned on the play-by-play and a goal got turned over and all the fans were mad and you wanted to be in on the reason why. This is that search.

Baseball Explained in 5 Minutes

How to identify baseball pitches

Everything there is to know about the The Strike Zone in Baseball.

Intro to Baseball: Positions

What’s going on with the DH in MLB? (MLB Originals)

Rules Glossary | MLB - PDF Version

Lastly, once you’ve got a good grasp on the rules and positions, I probably wouldn’t go straight to watching a full game—you want to make sure you’re using your three hours well rather than staring at a game you don’t really get or don’t care about, or both. Instead, watch YouTube highlights of various players and best (or worst) plays of the week! This gives you an idea of what creates excitement in a game and why, and different positional strengths. From there, you can start watching longer clips, like full innings or the highlights uploaded after each game, which give you a better idea of the game’s pace.

Pressing Play

While I was writing this I remembered that a fun and unique baseball tradition is players having walk-up songs when they’re up in the batting lineup.

Most teams will post their players' walk-up songs on Spotify, YouTube, etc. and while there are a few songs that are synonymous with legendary players - like Mariano Rivera's "Enter Sandman" - players usually like to switch up their songs. Often, a song will become emblematic of an era in that team's history (Anthony Rizzo's "Intoxicated" and the Cubs' 2016 playoff run). After a while, you'll notice patterns in what players pick.

Learning about each player’s song rotation can be extremely revealing, like Mark Canha switching his walk-up songs to Born This Way, Vogue, and I Wanna Dance with Somebody in honour of the Mets Pride Night last week!

Diamond Sports Bankruptcy

I’m not going to pretend to know anything about broadcasting or RSNs, but Diamond Sports, the group that runs Bally Sports, recently filed for bankruptcy, which has really affected some franchises’ profit margins and where their games can be streamed. Not sure if this interests you, but you can read about it here!

The Oakland A’s Relocation

Again: I’m not an Oakland fan, but there’s a lot of debate right now about the owners of the Oakland Athletics moving the team to Vegas despite the wishes of the town and city. Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, also made rude comments about Oakland fans as a result of their Reverse Boycott Night, where almost 28,000 fans came out to support the team. A professional sports league commissioner acting like an asshole to fans of a small-market team is nothing new, but it’s the culmination of a lot of drama between terrible owners and a market that loves their team.

The Long, Storied History of Cheating

The long, storied history of cheating in MLB encompasses not only stealing signs and tipping pitches, but also foreign substance usage on hands (which pitchers sometimes try in order to change how they pitch the ball), illegal equipment, and more. It’s kind of a lot. The most notable, recent case is the 2017 Houston Astros World Series Win.

Houston’s Fucking Astros

Nobody likes the Astros except Astros fans. They won the World Series last year and are universally hated, not least of all because of the 2017 cheating controversy.

In baseball, ‘signs’ are what catchers use to communicate to pitchers what kind of pitch they should throw. These rely on knowledge of the hitter currently on the plate and catching them by surprise. Each pitcher-catcher battery will usually have their own signs. In 2017, a year in which Houston won the World Series, the team set up a video camera in the center field seats with a full frontal view of the catcher, and they would use that to figure out what pitches the pitcher would throw. Then from the dugout, whoever was watching the video feed at the time would use a signal (audio cues, like banging garbage can lids) to tell the hitter who was up what pitch they had to expect. This was mostly possible because of the time delay between a catcher signalling and a pitcher throwing, which has been changed by this season’s pitch clock implementation.

In 2020, The Athletic published the first exposé article about the Astros cheating scandal, and it rocked the baseball world. Several immediate consequences followed: the Astros GM and field manager (head coach) were suspended for the full 2020 season, and although players received no punishment, the team gave up four draft picks (their 1st and 2nd round picks in 2020 and 2021).

Pitching and Sticky Stuff

Pitchers applying foreign substances on their hands is always a controversy in MLB games. Recently, star pitcher Max Scherzer was ejected and suspended 10 games after an umpire decided his hand was unusually sticky. TLDR: cheating is common, and consequences vary. Nobody has gotten over the Astros cheating scandal.

Expected By Whom

A quick rundown on the analytics side of the game and how baseball stats look very different both in their progress and insights than hockey. This is how you can sound like you know ball.

The Moneyball book does a great job explaining the rise of sabermetrics (baseball analytics) in the early 2000s, starting with Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s. Because MLB doesn’t have a salary cap and their luxury tax isn’t difficult for big-market teams to pay, small-market teams like Oakland have to constantly innovate in their game tactics in order to stay competitive, and that’s why the game today is so numbers-oriented. Watching a baseball game, you’ll see far more stats than you would in an NHL broadcast: OBP (On-Base Percentage), ERA (Earned Run Average), pitching speed, slugging percentage, pythagorean win percentage, and more. Do not fear the big numbers. You don’t have to know what every stat means in order to love the game, but if you watch enough and you hear commentators discussing what, say, Kodai Senga's ERA is, you’ll come to learn what they mean! In a pinch, you can also easily just search up ‘league average [stat]’ to figure out what the standard is.

Some websites that are really instrumental in baseball analytics are Baseball-Reference, FiveThirtyEight, and FanGraphs, plus YouTube channels like Foolish Baseball and statisticians like Bill James and Tom Tango. Baseball is a lot further along in its analytics revolution than hockey, and as a result, such analysis is not just a thing for Stats Nerds but also a huge part of the way the game is played and watched today. Personally, I love stats that assess umpire accuracy in calling strikes, and so Umpire Scorecards on Twitter is one of my favourites.

It's Too Long and Too Much Money

If Connor McDavid played in Major League Baseball and was close to the kind of player he is in the NHL right now, he would be getting paid north of 400 million dollars, not to mention endorsement money. Instead, he sold his soul to a sport where reporters ask about his biological clock and his only consolation for living in Edmonton is his heated driveway.

Because MLB payrolls are so much larger than the NHL’s and they have a luxury tax rather than a salary cap, contracts are worth much more. The sport itself is less volatile as well: both a product of the longer season (larger sample size) and the luck factor inherent in chance-based games like hockey that isn’t present as much in baseball, a player's year-to-year performance is easier to predict and therefore teams feel more comfortable betting on their production. In contrast to the NHL’s 8-year limit & penalty for long contracts (like the Kovalchuk deal), and bridge deals made when a player hasn't demonstrated that their performance is sustainable, MLB GMs often give their stars contracts over 10 years, and for hundreds of millions of dollars total. Mike Trout is on a 12-year contract for almost $430 million, and by several estimates, his endorsements and the money he receives for being named All-Star, AL MVP, etc. brings that up significantly.

MLB front office terminology is very similar to the NHL, but their contracts differ in another important way: baseball players can opt out of a contract and enter free agency. For example, last season Carlos Correa agreed to a 12-year, $310m deal with the New York Mets, but the Mets were worried about the results from his physical and his injury history, so they pulled out of the deal before the season began and instead, Correa signed with the Minnesota Twins on a six-year, $200m contract.

The Used Boy Auction

Drafting in MLB works very differently than the NHL. The amateur draft (the Main one, which is also called the Rule 4 Draft) takes place mid-season and lasts 20 rounds (used to be 40), plus picks that teams are given as compensation for other events. Teams can draft players either out of high school or college baseball—while the majority of players in the early days were picked right out of high school, nowadays the largest percentage are collegiate players. High school players are only eligible after graduation, and they don’t have junior leagues like the OHL or USHL. Players at universities can only be drafted after their 3rd season there in order to avoid going to a university only for drafting purposes.

Teams retain the rights to sign the players they draft until July 15 of the following year, and a player who does not sign with their team is eligible to be signed once again as long as they meet the age and educational requirements (attending an academic institution, three years of college, etc.) Unless the player has consented to be re-selected by their old team, they cannot be chosen again in another draft year. This leads to players like Brandon Belt having been drafted three times, by the Red Sox, Braves, and Giants, and ultimately playing for the Giants after his college career.

The Rule 5 Draft is another major part of the MLB drafting system. It's sort of similar to what happens in the NHL with an expansion draft, but it takes place in the winter every year. As the MLB prospect pipeline moves slower and it's easy for teams to Stockpile high-quality prospects and bury them in the minors due to the team's current success, this draft aims to ensure that young players have a chance to play in the bigs on a team that needs more manpower. Not every team has to select a player in the Rule 5 draft; last season, 15 players were taken, including the Nats selecting Thad Ward and the Phillies selecting Noah Song.

Here's the official MLB description of the drafting process:

Podcasters or Whatever

My most toxic trait is that I unfortunately love listening to sports podcasts, so here are some good baseball ones:

The Athletic Baseball Show

Ballpark Dimensions

Effectively Wild

The Strike Zone

I hope this serves as a useful first step! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or want to yell about baseball - I wrote this for two people, so if either of those two people find it helpful, the three hours I spent on it will have been worth it.

#baseball #waiting for spring #yun talks #mlb #baseball primer #i guess???#pinned for the offseason

142 notes · View notes

female-buckets · 6 months

Text

Brittney Griner eager to wear Team USA uniform at 2024 Paris Olympics

The past 20 months have been some of the hardest for Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner. While playing overseas in Russia for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, Griner was arrested and detained by authorities in February 2022. After being sentenced and held in a Russian penal colony, Griner was freed in a high-profile prisoner-swap exchange in December 2022.

Besides the obvious, the whole ordeal was jarring for Griner, who grew up wanting to be in law enforcement and initially planned to enlist in the Marines until basketball entered her life.

In April of this year, Griner said she would never play overseas again — unless it were the national team. It looks like she’ll get another chance to don the red, white and blue next summer as she is currently training with Team USA in Atlanta in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

She’s not sure exactly what will happen when she steps out on the court for the first time with the Team USA jersey and hears the national anthem in Paris. But she knows it will be a special moment, considering her circumstances.

“That moment, listening to our anthem, watching our flag go up…it’s going to be a lot of emotions,” Griner said Tuesday in her media availability. “I probably won’t be able to hold that one back. I’ll have to release it, regroup and go out there and perform. But it’s going to be a lot. Very, very, very few people will understand that emotion. I can’t wait for it though. I know that. I’m so ready for it.”

“There were a lot of times a year ago where I didn’t think that I would play ball,” Griner added. “I didn’t think I would ever wear this jersey again. I didn’t know what the future was.”

Griner won’t be the only one feeling the weight of the moment. Her Mercury teammate and eventual Hall of Famer, Diana Taurasi, is gearing up for her sixth trip to the Olympics.

“It will be surely a big moment for her in her life,” Taurasi said. “I’ve been there through it all. It will be a very satisfying moment for her professionally, personally and just being an American.”

Griner was happy to just get the call from Team USA.

She was sitting around at home after the conclusion of the WNBA regular season, not really sure what to do with herself. She nearly went into construction mode.

“I almost tore down my whole house and rebuilt it,” Griner said.

She was eager to get back out on the court and start working out again after being out of the game.

Right now, Team USA is in training camp participating in exhibition games and practices in the first meeting for this group of players. They have already played the University of Tennessee on Nov. 5 and are set to play Duke University on Nov. 12.

After the training camp, the next step in Olympic preparations will be the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Hungary in early February, where they will have to qualify for the Games. But Team USA, which has won seven consecutive gold medals, is one of the favorites to win again in Paris. They will also host a training camp during the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Cleveland in April.

There’s a feeling-out period right now as the team adjusts to learning to play with one another.

It helps though when you have a player with five Olympic gold medals on the roster, like Taurasi does, who is one of the most accomplished players in the sport. This roster is different than years past, and that was most evident when Taursai when to text Sue Bird to go get coffee on Tuesday morning — except Bird retired after the 2022 WNBA season.

“It’s a stark realization that it’s just me here now,” Taurasi said. “I miss her dearly, we’ve obviously gone through this for a long time together. On the flip side, it’s been really fun to get to know some of these young players that I haven’t spent a lot of time with.”

The roster isn’t the only new aspect of the team. Dawn Staley led the team in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics, but later stepped down as coach. Cheryl Reeve, the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx, is now at the helm of Team USA.

While it’s early on, the veteran likes what she sees so far.

“Coach Reeve is top-notch,” Taurasi said. “When you talk about someone who has had so much success in the WNBA obviously with Minnesota, she’s just brought a level of standard of play, a focus on detail that’s been really amazing and fun. Her WNBA experience of knowing the game, knowing all the players on this squad has made that transition pretty seamless for a lot of people.”

“I think you saw that against Tennessee, where we had two practices together, but we really found a way to play with each other and play very fluid,” Taurasi added. “That’s all credit to Coach Reeve and how she implements certain things throughout the week to get us prepared to play like that.”

#wnba #phoenix mercury #diana taurasi #brittney griner #usabwnt #usa basketball

7 notes · View notes

xhoneygirlxx · 4 months

Text

₊˚⊹⋆15 (+1) Questions game!⋆⊹˚₊

thank you to the cutest ever @m0llygunn for tagging me!!

1. Are you named after anyone? I’m not sadly

2. When was the last time you cried? maybe a week or two ago? I can’t remember honestly.

3. Do you have kids? 2 fur babies

4. What sports do you play/ Have you played? I was a cheerleader my whole life lmaaoo

5. Do you use sarcasm? nope

6. What is the first thing you notice about people? energy!!! i tend to pick up on that shit very easily!!!

7. What's your eye colour? very very dark brown

8. Scary movies or happy endings? love me a good scary movie

9. Any talents? i can self sabotage like no other <3 lol but seriously I don’t really know, I used to sing in talent shows when I was little but then I got embarrassed so I stopped.

10. Where were you born? where our national mascots are a bell, a ground hog, and potholes that will fuck up your whole car!! The good ol’ state of Pennsylvania!

11. What are your hobbies? reading, journaling, being the hottest person alive.

12. Do you have any pets? 2 beautiful kitty cats

13. How tall? Almost six foot. You can call me Meg the stallion or whatever.

14. Favourite subject in school? I always enjoyed english/lit.

15. Dream job? I wanted to be a marine biologist as a kid but as an adult I’m not really sure, maybe something like a teacher?

16. In place of #10: What reminds you of home (doesn't have to mean house... just things that remind you of the feeling of home)? my mom’s cooking. i feel like that’s a cop out but that’s really the only thing I can think of.

I tag @munsonology @roanniom @bimbobaggins69 @rogerfxckingtaylor and anyone else who wants to join

#about:honey #tagged

5 notes · View notes

dezendant · 23 days

Text

Prompt: Pairings (could be questionable)

1) Prisoner x Guard

2) Terminally ill patient x Doctor

3) Hero or Villain x Sidekick

4) Lawyer x Judge

5) Police x Forensics

6) CEO X Door Guard

7) Team Principal x F1 driver (F1 Reference)

8) Mechanic x Team Principal (F1 Reference)

9) Coach x Player (Sports Setting)

10) Therapist x Client

11) Politician x Politician (from different countries)

12) Farmer x Famous Person

13) Soldier x Politician

14) Animals Expert x National Geographic Reporter

15) Space Science x Astronaut

16) International Hacker x Computer Designer

17) Police Officer x Worldwide Criminal

18) Games Designer x Fashion Designer

19) Architecture x Engineer

20) Costume Designer x Cosplayer

21) Photographer x Artist

22) Pilot x Cabin Crew Member

23) Liblerian x Surgeon

24) Head Chef x Waitress or Waiter

25) Dance Teacher x Dancer

26) Actor x Director

27) Antique Dealer x Book Shop Owner

28) Journalist x Photographer

29) Writer x Actor

30) Brewer or Vintner or Distiller x Taster

31) Astronaut x Astronomer

32) Marine Biologist x Zoologist

33) Serial Killer x Doctor

34) RAF Pilot x Airline Pilot

35) Priest x Scientist

36) Funeral Director x Pathologist

37) Social Worker x Counsellor

38) Daycare Teacher x University Lecturer

39) Billionaire x Charity Fundraiser

40) Interpreter x International News Reporter

41) Writer x Proofreader

42) Cafe Owner x Flower Shop Owner

43) Ballet Dancer x Gymnast

44) Voice Actor x Animator

45) Barista x Bartender

46) Professional Gamer x Developer

47) Backup Dancer x Idol

48) Construction Worker x Architect

49) Adrenaline Junkie x Scaredy Cat

50) Manager in a Fast Food x Manager in a High-End Restaurant

If you think about it, these pairings do work together.

#pair #shipping #promtps #writing prompt #writing #writers on tumblr

3 notes · View notes

frasermints · 4 months

Note

u make sports seem cool. what team do u support? i wanna support it too 😭

thank you!! i am just out here enjoying the ups and downs of (mostly) men hitting things

i go to WCL (west coast collegiate baseball) games during the summer when it isn't too hot. my mom's work usually has employee events and sometimes we get season tickets. i will not say which one because their stadium is literally like right next to my house

there's two WHL (western hockey league, kids 16-20) teams close-ish (95+ minutes away) to me, one i've gone to see a handful of times but with the snow and it getting dark really early now it's hard (and they traded the goalie i imprinted on 😫). the tri city americans and wenatchee wild are so 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽 they're my babies

i try to watch every toronto maple leafs game i can. unfortunately they are the cringefail NHL (national hockey league, north american men's professional) team i imprinted on. sometimes i will watch a vancouver canucks or seattle kraken game if i'm feeling up for it. kailer yamamoto on the kraken is a semi-local to me and he is 🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽 so baby

my cat likes the montreal canadiens! she has a collar in their colors we listen to analysis podcasts in french while we fall asleep and when i get ready for work and sometimes i pirate games in french

i have been a seattle mariners fan since i was old enough to speak. they are the definition of dogshit cringefail poverty franchise but i love them anyway 🫶🏽 the coffee shop my queer support group met up in has a massive photo of ichiro suzuki in it. he is why the 2024 NHL winter classic meant so much to me. i have posts i will link (here) (2) (3) (4) in just a sec explaining why safeco field chanting joey daccord's name made me cry hysterically for over two hours

i'm not super into football because i was born on superbowl sunday (popped out 3 minutes after kickoff, baby) and i haven't really been into professional basketball

i am kind of rooting for all pwhl (professional women's hockey league) teams but cait is a minnesota fan. i like new york because corinne schroeder and alex carpenter but also toronto because emma maltais and carly jackson and sarah nurse and renata fast it's a hard life out here loving women

#my post #asks #answered #nhl #pwhl #whl #anonymous

3 notes · View notes

jimothystu · 1 year

Note

hii!

how are you?

I saw you posts about the blue jays, and as someone trying to get into baseball, can you like maybe give me a rundown of how the league works and maybe an overview of the blue jays since thats the team Im probably gonna be rooting for? I'm trying to get into it but im completely new to the sport and im honestly a little overwhelmed.

p.s I love your blog!

-🦫

hiii! i'm decent!! i hope you are too :)

omg okay, i only got into baseball a couple of seasons ago, so i don't know like every tiny detail, but here's a little overview! i'm a little honoured you asked me kjnskdjnsda

i'm assuming you know more or less how a game of baseball is played, but if not lmk!

so. mlb first.

the teams are divided between east, central, and west. within each of those there is also the american league and the national league.

AL east: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays

AL central: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians (formerly the Indians but pretty much only old people still call them that), Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins

AL west: Houston Astros, LA Angels, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers

NL east: Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals

NL central: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals

NL west: Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants

In the NL, pitchers used to have to bat as well as hit, whereas in the AL there was a designated hitter (DH) who was not in the field, but rather stayed on the bench until it was their turn in the lineup to bat (instead of the pitcher). This rule changed last season I believe, and pitchers are no longer required to bat in the NL, but they can still do so if they want (see Shohei Ohtani, an incredible pitcher and batter). Pretty sure that's the only major difference. The AL and NL distinction is used during the All Star Games where the best (objectively) players from across the league play a game: AL versus NL.

It used to be that teams played their division rivals more than other teams, but the MLB has a new schedule this year that is trying to make it so each team plays division rivals less and interleague teams more (e.g., instead of playing other AL east teams a million times, the Blue Jays will play more NL teams). This is to try and make things a bit more even in terms of who plays whom, and also will allow fans to hopefully see their favourite teams more regularly.

For baseball, unlike in, say hockey where there's just single games against teams at a time, MLB baseball has series, in which two teams play anywhere from 2-4 games back to back. There are winners and losers of each game, of course, but there's also the winner and loser of the series. Series that have 2 or 4 games can have a tie, though.

Like other professional sports, there is a final playoff stint for MLB. It happens in the fall. This site has a good rundown of the playoff format!

And here's a list of over 150 basbeall terms/phrases!

Onto the Blue Jays:

So, the jays are Canada's only MLB team and as a result they pretty much have an entire country backing them. They are very vocal and proud of this fact, and take pride in representing a whole country. So that's always nice!

There are some favourites on the team, especially on tumblr lol. These include:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

1st baseman

Number 27

23 years old (24 on march 16)

One of the most talked about players

Great offense and defense

Born in Montreal but grew up in the Dominican

English isn't fluent, so he does interviews and stuff in Spanish via an interpreter

Father was an player (Vlad Sr)

Bo Bichette

Shortstop

Number 11

Turning 25 tomorrow!! (March 3)

Headbands

Florida man

Huge Justin Bieber fan

Father was in the MLB (Dante Bichette)

George Springer

Out fielder

33 years old

Number 4

Dad of the group but knows how to have fun

Is an actual dad

American

Was on the Astros during a cheating scandal and as such some fans of other teams bring that up a lot

Alek Manoah

Starting pitcher

Number 6

25 years old

American

Had an incredible debut against the Yankees in 2021

Tol

Intense on the mound but chaotic middle child energy off the mound

Matt Chapman

Best 3rd baseman in the league (in my humble opinion)

Number 26

29 years old

American

Egg (i.e. half the time he shaves his head)

SUCH a babygirl

Just so soft

Santiago Espinal

2nd baseman, but can also play shortstop if need be

Number 5

28 years old

American

Short king (5'10)

Besties with Bo

Pretty loose and fun in the dugout

Cavan Biggio

Utility player. I.e., can play multiple positions (third base, second base, and right field)

Number 8

27 years old

American

Besties boyfriends with Bo

Father was also in the MLB (Craig Biggio)

Danny Jansen

Catcher

Number 9

27 years old

American

Just had a baby!! (well his wife did)

Nickname is Jano

Sometimes also in the egg carton

Alejendro Kirk

Catcher

Number 30

24 years old

Mexican

Interviews in Spanish via interpreter

Shortest King (5'8")

People always say he's "not built like a catcher/athlete" (he's short and stocky and people are judgey)

Wife just had a baby!

Called Captain Kirk (after Star Trek)

Jose Berrios

Starting pitcher

Number 17

28 years old

From Puerto Rico

Constantly chewing on mouth guard

Adam Cimber

Relief pitcher (pitches in an inning or two after the starter has been taken out)

Number 90

32 years old

American

Super cool side-arm throw and a pretty glove

Cool tattoos

Mullet man

Jordan Romano

Closing pitcher, meaning he almost exclusively pitches in the last inning of play

Number 68

Local boy!! From Markham, Ontario. One of the few Canadian players on the team

Either has full caveman beard or babyface

Kinda lowkey always looks high

Tol and built like a twig

Kevin Gausman

Starting pitcher

Number 34

32 years old

American

Rocks a lot before he pitches (at risk of balking)

Whit Merrifield

Second baseman or outfielder

Number 15

34 years old

American

Came to the Jays last year and was a little controversial bc of uhhh vaccine stuff but it's chill now (i think)

Kinda just a Dude

Kevin Kiermaier

Outfielder

Number 39

32 years old

Huge uproar when he was signed this off season because of a stolen data card that Kirk dropped (read about it here if you want)

But is doing well in spring training so far so he's slowly being forgiven by the fans

This is not every player at all. If there are any that I didn't put and you wanna ask about, go ahead! I just did not want this post to be fucking massive, and I feel bad for taking so long as it is.

But yeah, I hope this helped somewhat! Again, I am still kinda new to baseball myself and do not know everything, but I'm always happy to help teach others about the Jays :D

#beaver anon #asks #long post #toronto blue jays #mlb

7 notes · View notes

blondmattel · 1 year

Text

canon list of barbie’s occupations:

art / entertainment. actor. artist. ballerina / dancer ( including cabaret, which i don’t know how they got away with ). baker / cake decorator. chef. circus performer. fashion designer, fashion editor, and model. film director / producer. floral designer and florist. game show host. interior designer. make up artist. musician and music producer. photographer. photojournalist ( for national geographic ).

business. business exec. candy / ice cream parlor clerk. cashier ( gerocery shops / fast food ). chief sustainability officer. barista. farmer. hair stylist. pet boutique owner and groomer. secretary. waitress.

education. teacher ( art, ballet, cooking, english language, music, elementary, preschool, sign language, spanish, yoga, swimming ).

medicine. veterinarian. dentist. doctor (surgeon, optometrist, pediatrician ). nurse. paramedic.

military. army medic. paratrooper. united states air force pilot. united states air force thunderbirds pilot. united states army officer. desert storm. united states marine corps sergeant. united states navy petty officer.

politics. campaign fundraiser. political campaign manager. unicef ambassador. united states presidential candidate. vice presidential candidate.

public service. detective. firefighter. judge. lifeguard. park ranger.

science / engineering. architect. astronaut. astrophysicist. chemist. computer engineer. conversation scientist. entomologist. marine biologist. microbiologist. robotics engineer. paleontologist. wildlife conservationist. zoologist.

sports / athletics. aerobics instructor. baseball player. bowler. boxer. cheerleader. figure skater and coach. golfer. gymnast and coach. hockey player. martial artist. olympic athlete ( figure skater, climber, gymnast, karate, skateboarder, skier, softball, swimmer, and surfer ). scuba diver. snowboarder. tennis player and coach. track and field runner. volleyball player and coach.

transportation. aircraft engineer. flight attendant. pilot. racecar driver for nascar. tour guide. train conductor and host.

other. bee keeper. cat burglar / thief. construction worker. cowgirl. dolphin trainer. magician. maid. spy. superhero. treasure hunter. zookeeper.

#they really said 'barbie can do Anything'#♡ ˙ * ✧ ˗ˏˋ AES. ˎˊ˗

13 notes · View notes

lovelyz-diary · 11 months

Photo

#170818 #lovelyz #jiae #yoo jiae #national marine sports games

1 note · View note

eraserdude6226 · 2 years

Photo

Dear Mrs. Griner,

We hope this letter finds you in good health and we understand you are having some rough times in your life. We are a group of old Vietnam Combat Veterans from North Carolina. Our average age is around seventy years old. We call ourselves, The Bunker Boys and we spent a lot of time living in rat and snake infested holes in the ground known as Bunkers. When we were not in the bunkers we were crawling through the jungle being shot at and shooting back at little people wearing black pajamas. We must be honest and tell you that the only thing we may have in common with you, is that we too, were drafted.

We noticed you were drafted number one in the WNBA draft a few years ago. Since we all were drafted we thought we might let you know what it was like when we were drafted.

Unlike you, most of us had no college. The people of the United States drafted us. We consisted of all colors, religions, and personal beliefs. We had no choice of which team we played for, Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. We were sent halfway around the world to fight and kill people we didn’t know in a place we had never heard of. We were paid, we know you can relate to this, $3.00 a day and required to work 24 hours a day if needed. When we returned home many or most of us were treated very badly by our fellow Americans. We were spit on, hit by bottles and rocks as the police stood by and watched. We did not complain, we just continued on in life and made the best of it.

We fought for God, family, country and of course, the Flag and the National Anthem; a poem that was written by, of all people, a lawyer. He wrote the poem as he watched bombs fall on and kill fellow Americans. Ever since that night, our nation has played that little poem before millions of social functions. For some people it’s just a little song. For a Veteran it is a reminder of how many men and women of all colors, have given their life so the rest can have the right to be free. We found in our research that you requested the National Anthem not be played at sporting events. We find it odd that now you are requesting the citizens of the United States to pay for your release from a jail in Russia. Yes, we the taxpayers are paying for all of those diplomats working on your release.

Our Government told you, and all fellow Americans in Russia, to leave Russia after the invasion of the Ukraine. You play basketball in a country that is known to treat Americans badly. You fly a great deal and must know by now, all the rules of what one can bring into a country. All of us that travel know the rules for entering a foreign country. You are a guest and must go by the rules of the land. By your own admission, you were attempting to bring an illegal substance into a country that is known for its long prison sentences. You had to know this because you are making a million dollars a year to play a game and hold a college degree. At six feet nine inches tall, you know that security officers are going to focus on you from the moment you stand in the boarding pass line. We also noticed that you are now saying you placed the drugs in your luggage by accident. Please, that is something an 18 year old would say.

We also found out that your net worth is somewhere around $ 5 million bucks for playing a game. For old guys like us, living on a fixed income, that’s a lot of money for just playing a game. Don’t get us wrong; we are not against you. We all went and fought so all Americans can have the freedom to make their own choices. We just hope the next time you have to endure the playing of that little poem, you will pay close attention to the “Land of the free,” part.

Wishing you the very best,

The Bunker Boys…

#brittney griner #griner

20 notes · View notes

lovedrunkheadcanons · 1 year

Text

GTAW: Chapter 18 Notes

1. If you’re a baseball lover like myself, and want to learn more about Japan’s passion for the sport, and the differences between the American and Japanese philosophies, I’d recommend “You Gotta Have Wa: When Two Cultures Collide on the Baseball Diamond” by Robert Whiting. The two quotes above I got from this book.

But if you don’t want to do that, you can watch this 10 minute video instead.😜

A ⚾️ — Also, there’s no easy way to say this, but the only way to understand baseball is to watch a game. Multiple games, at that. You can watch complete games on YouTube or the MLB website. You can also watch instructional YouTube videos, but I can almost guarantee you’ll be left confused. There are a lot of unwritten rules in baseball and it can be difficult for a beginner to fully grasp them right off the bat (see what I did there?😉). However, I found some videos that might help as you learn.

Brief history of baseball in America (funny/dark humor)

I would also be remissed if I didn’t mention anything about The Negro League. Very important stuff, especially when explaining how baseball first came to Japan.

⭐️The different kinds of pitches.

The history of the baseball cap.

⭐️The official rules of baseball.

B ⚾️ — Major League Baseball (MLB) is the #1 pro baseball organization in the United States (and Canada). It comprises 30 teams and is divided into two leagues: the Nation League (NL), and the American League (AL).

The regular MLB season consists of 162 games a year.

The annual championship of the MLB is known as the World Series. Why it is called the World Series when it’s only held in the United States (and Canada)? Good question. I have absolutely no clue. Chalk it up to American arrogance, I guess.

The MLB is responsible for maintaining and interpreting the official rules of baseball. All international leagues, including those in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Venezuela, you name it, more or less adhere to the official rules of baseball as codified by the MLB. Think of baseball as a regulated good, like champagne or Swiss chocolate.

And to put money in perspective, The New York Yankees are the most valuable MLB team, worth an estimated $7.1 billion alone, which doesn’t even count the other 29 teams, many of whom also range in the billions and multi-millions.

C ⚾️ — The Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is the #1 professional baseball organization in Japan. Locally it is called the Puro Yakyū. It comprises 12 teams and like the MLB is also divided into two leagues: The Central League (CL), and the Pacific League (PL).

The regular NPB season consists of 130 games a year.

The annual championship of the NPB is called the Japan Series, which makes sense, unlike the MLB.

The two most successful teams in NPB history are the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers.

D ⚾️ — The World Baseball Classic is the FIFA World Cup of baseball, though not as many countries participate. It’s only been around since 2006 and sometimes crazy drama happens and it’s awesome. Most baseball lovers (and I’m thinking specifically of snobbish Americans) consider the World Series to be the ultimate championship, not the WBC, but try telling that to the Japanese.😂

Fun fact. Team Japan were the first WBC champions in 2006 and they are this year's 2023 champions as well. Pretty neat. I watched the game. It was electric. Congratulations Japan!!!🥳🎉🎊👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

E ⚾️ — In the past it was heavily frowned upon for a Japanese player to sign with an MLB team, mainly for two reasons: One, Japanese natives didn’t like their top athletes playing away overseas. And two, it was seen as a selfish money grab. (MLB players get paid A LOT more than their international counterparts.) Although, nowadays when a Japanese player makes it to “the Bigs” it’s seen as an act of national pride, which is why Satoru has a Seattle Mariners “away” jersey (Ichiro Suzuki) and a St. Louis Cardinals “home” jersey (So Taguchi). 🇯🇵

F ⚾️ Satoru says he doesn’t have a favorite player, but when Shohei Ohtani steps onto the scene that all changes. He develops a HUGE man-crush on the guy and won’t shut up about him:

SATORU: The man is a beast, Hannah. A Beast!!!😤

HANNAH: Yes, dear, we know. You’ve said it a million times already.😒

2. Here, Satoru quotes from the Inquiry of Urga. While not a major religious text, I’d like to think Satoru is well versed in many texts. It’s also worth noting that most Japanese are not religious, but I think religion makes the plot more interesting.

3. Okashi Gaku’s “Cake in a Can.”

Overview of some Japanese vending machines. I would love having a security goat. 🐐 I pass on the bugs though.🐜🐜🐜

4. Koishikawa Kōraku-en (Garden for Taking Pleasure Later) really is located right next to the Tokyo Dome as is an amusement park.

The “Big O” Ferris wheel.

Going up inside Tokyo Tower.

The Skytree is actually twice as tall as Tokyo Tower, but I think Tokyo Tower is prettier and more romantic since it’s modeled after the Eiffel Tower, so that was my rationale.

I have no idea whether Hannah would be able to see all of Tokyo from that height, but let’s pretend. Tokyo is massive.

5. This is also a good thing to point out, but my beta reader asked me why I didn’t mention anything about sumo wrestling, since it is technically Japan’s official national sport. Long story short, sumo has been embroiled in a lot of scandals recently and is not as popular with younger audiences. That being said, sumo will never disappear from Japan and holds great cultural significance, but viewership wise, baseball is more popular than sumo. However, you can watch this short video and decide for yourself.

Here is also a brief history of sumo.

2 notes · View notes