Fallacy

2.18.10 7:13 pm by Matt

The Winter Games opened in mourning as Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a training accident in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony.

Another person died at Vancouver on Friday: a straw man. The Vancouver Olympic Committee issued a statement blaming Kumaritashvili’s accident entirely on human error, concluding there were no “deficiencies” of any kind with the track.

Forget for a moment your disgust for these officials blaming a dead man’s “inexperience” before he’s even been buried. (He’s an Olympic athlete, how inexperienced can he be?)

No one said he didn’t make a mistake. The Vancouver Olympic Committee was stomping down a weak argument – a “straw man” argument–which no one was making, ignoring the crux of the opposing position: the track is too fast, which denies athletes the split seconds they need to save themselves from mistakes. Merely saying that the rider made a mistake doesn’t address the real argument.

(Note: Olympic officials backtracked from their early announcements and shortened the course, added walls, and added padding.)

Sportstalk is rife with logical fallacies such as the straw man. These statements lower the debate, prevent progress, insult fans, and occasionally, launch disgusting attacks on the dead. Let’s examine some less serious violators:

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The Best Non-All Star NBA Roster

1.13.10 5:09 pm by Pat

I’m the type of sports fan who looks at individual accolades and honors with a grain of salt or two.  MVP awards, All (name the sport) First Team, Defensive Player of the Year, and the list goes on.  One of the big reasons I don’t put too much stock in these awards is because often times the choices fly in the face of logic, reason, and statistics.  Even when the awards are voted on by the “experts” of the major sports, bias creeps in and at times tarnishes the award.  If the NBA MVP really represents the most valuable player or his team that year, how has Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most dominating athletes in all of sports, won the award just once?  How did Miguel Cabrera land a first place vote for AL MVP this year when he clearly wasn’t even close to Mauer or the other candidates ahead of him?  I’d like to say that the awards are given to the deserving candidate more often than not, but I’m not so sure that is the case.

I’m the type of sports fan who, outside of the pure entertainment purposes of the game, cares as much about any All Star game as I do a regular season WNBA game.  I’m not saying that the experts get it right all the time (see: Miguel Cabrera’s one first place vote for the 2009 AL MVP), but if fan voting is involved, count me out.

There will always be guys who make the All Star team year in and out and are much deserving of the spot.  On the flip side, there will be Yao Ming who could be voted in as a starter as a water boy.  In fact, for the 2010 NBA All Star game, Tracy McGrady who has yet to play a single minute this NBA season but is still on the ballot, is currently in second place in total votes for Western Conference guards (thanks, China.  To see what I mean, check out this link and this link).

After talking with a friend about the sham that the NBA All Star game has become, I said that I could assemble a roster of guys who have never been an All Star that could be an instant championship contender.  After I started looking into the list of players who haven’t made an ASG, I was amazed at the level of talent out there.  It was almost too easy to make this list so I made a few extra rules for myself when putting this team together and they are as follows:

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The Worst of NBA Tattoos Revisited

1.06.10 12:29 am by Alex and Pat

Earlier last year, we published a post about the 10 Worst NBA Tattoos. It’s been the most popular post we’ve done, so I (Alex) and Pat, along with some help from commenters on the previous post decided to take a look at some that we missed as well as some recent developments in the NBA tattoo world and introduce a new site: Athlete Tattoo Database. In no particular order:

Reggie Miller, Retired – In the last post, we decided to stick with active players, but that was before we were made aware of this travesty. When you think sun tattoo around the belly button do you think of: a) a 21 year old sorority girl who is certainly not making her father proud at college or b) one of the best three point shooters in NBA history? If you said b, you are correct. Not only is Reggie sporting a tattoo that is as manly as Hello Kitty, I don’t think he’s in game shape these days. Sadly, it’s kind of hard to find a clear picture of this disastrous inking. Seems like he’s ashamed. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, is it?

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Common Pick-Up Basketball Players…and Who to Avoid

11.24.09 6:13 pm by Pat

Playing a game of pick-up basketball is a right of passage for many young athletes who want to test their skills against others when it may not be basketball season or  they aren’t on an official team and just want to play.  Not many sports lend themselves to a pick-up game like basketball does and if you know where to look, you can find a game just about anywhere.  I’ve played pick-up games of all varieties in many places, including some great games in China, and there’s something inherently great about meeting up with friends and strangers to play a game where you set your own rules, police yourself, and aren’t restrained by coaches and other pressures that come with organized games.  There’s a freedom to it and connecting almost telepathically with a teammate that you have never played with before is a thing of beauty.

That being said, pick-up games do have their down sides.  The most common problem is undeniably who you are playing with or against.  Part of what makes the game great – little if no time spent sitting on the bench – is also its enemy.  You can’t bench a teammate who is jacking up wild 3’s left and right.  In the countless pick-up games I’ve participated in, I’ve seen a wide variety of players, both good and insanely annoying.  In this article I plan on breaking down some of the player types that you will likely come across at a pick-up game.  I’ll give some of the common characteristics as well as ratings on how easy, or hard, it is to have that type of player on your team.

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Brett Favre, And The 5 Other Most Despicable People in Sports

9.15.09 4:28 pm by Will

The start of the NFL Season means the continuation of the unbearable Brett Favre saga. This terrible NFL Favre-season (a new synonym for offseason) has reminded me of something. I really freaking hate Brett Favre. I hate the way his name is not phonetic. I hate the fact that John Madden and Peter King verbally fellate him at every opportunity. I hate the way he squandered some really Packers teams because he needed to be a gunslinger and throw off his back foot. I hate that he needs to be the center of attention at at times. I hate the fact that he beat the Pats in Super Bowl XXXI. I hate the fact that he and Dustin Keller were two of the main reasons that my team didn’t make the playoffs this year. But most of all, I hate the utter disrespect he is showing towards Green Bay Packers fans, the best fans in the NFL. The citizens of Green Bay own the team, and agreed to a sales tax increase to renovate the stadium in 2003. Not only do they commit to the team financially, but they pack the stadium, which has sold out every game since 1960. The time that would be spent on the Packers season ticket waiting list if one added themselves today is estimated by some to be 100 years. Lambeau Field has been lauded for its amazing game-day atmosphere, rated by Sports Illustrated as being the best place to watch an NFL game. As much as these people are Packers fans, they were arguably even bigger Brett Favre fans. Whenever you would see a shot of fans going into Lambeau, at least 70% of those who wore jerseys had #4 on their back. He was immensely revered.

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The Point of Fantasy Football

8.24.09 12:34 pm by Matt

Dear Fantasy Players,

There is one and only one key to fantasy sports success. It is more important than research, drafting, and setting your lineup. Your chance of winning a small 10 team league is 10%. Your chance of someone remembering you won last year is 1%. Your chance of someone caring that you won last year is 0%. In fact, it might actually hurt you because they’ll say you’re a dork.

Therefore you must have one objective: the best team name.

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