As I close up shop here in Jupiter for the day, here’s an interesting side note to your rankings of hitting/pitching coaches who could actually hit/pitch: This will be Duncan’s 29th season as a pitching coach, breaking Galen Cisco’s record for most years as a pitching coach.

That probably led to JB’s problems with Paul Brown, who would have just as preferred someone who could be counted on for 4 yards every time he touched the ball. But JB was, well, JB!

This has to be the first time I’ve ever seen someone somehow interpreting the high yard/carry number to mean a player *didn’t* consistantly get yardage. It’s not like the guy was Dave Meggett who only ran the ball 5 times a game, Brown averaged 20 carries per game thoughout his career.

I don’t know – is pissing on your teammates in the shower normal?

Re: Ronin… it’s the only movie I’ve seen many times and can tell you nothing about the plot. I just watch it ’cause a good chunk of it is filmed in Arles… a place I’ve visited three times and just love… and I watch the movie and remember the people, and the food, and the wine, and pray I get there another time or two before I die… look, there’s that place with the fantastic restaurant in the cellar… see, right there, behind the burning car…

I saw the first remake of the original Bourne, and was dragged to the theater to see the 3rd one.

As much as I wish I could grow up and be Steve McQueen, the “Bullit” car chase didn’t have any traffic! “The French Connection’s,” is far better despite introducing the crashing-through-the-fruit-and-vegetable-cart cliche to the genre.

I just watched a doc on the NFL Channel on Jim Brown. But at the same time Sabo was telling us that Brown averaged 5.7 yards per carry, NFL Flims was showing Brown (albeit, incredibly) breaking 30, 40, 80 yard runs. Which tells me the average had to include an awful lot of getting stuffed at the line. We dob’t see those plays on NFL Films.

That probably led to JB’s problems with Paul Brown, who would have just as preferred someone who could be counted on for 4 yards every time he touched the ball. But JB was, well, JB!

Okay, this isn’t gonna be any 3706 words, but the question arises about people who have the skills to play the game and those who really PLAY! the game.

Brown says he always took his time getting up so that the other team could never really tell when he really was hurting from a hit. That’s playing the game! I love that.

I particularly love Player-Caused Rule Changes. Like the Hal McRae Rule. If Hall was gonna be the first out in a double play, he went after the pivot, regardless of where the poor sucker might be. The Hal McRae Rule states that you gotta be going somewhere near 2nd Base if you wanna get away with thundeding into a helpless Shortstop of 2nd Baseman.

It’s like the “Lew Alcindor” rule against dunks in college ball in the 60s, or the widening of the “keyhole” when Chamberlain was coming up. Putting the goal posts back at the end zone border could fairly be called the Pete Gogolak Rule.” The Ray Chapman Rule, which introduced fresh live game balls in late innings almost certainly helped Babe Ruth become Babe Ruth.

We often talk about people who “changed the game,” and mostly think about what happened on the court or field. I like those people who changed the game when it came to re-writing the rules.

You’ve got responsibilities to us. And to my dog, who demands that I read your column to him as he is digesting a meal.

The Royals are famous. We made the Sportspickle today!

http://www.sportspickle.com/features/volume7/2008-0220-steroids.html