YB Box Score: 9/23 - Win totals and the jobbing renaissance
Welcome back to Box Score, day two of the the YB roundup of news we find interesting from around sports blogdome. Happy birthday to Matt Kemp, Marvin Lewis and Eric Montross; and a big congrats to Jose Canseco on this 28th anniversary of joining the 40-40 club.
Around the League:
- The tale of Sam McGuffie from hype tape, college football, NFL, CFL, "American Ninja Warrior" to finally working towards the Olympics is quite a ride. [Bleacher Report]
- The Colorado Rockies gave LA Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully a nice retirement present straight from Coors Field during their visit to Chavez Ravine this week. [MLB.com]
- In other retirement news, the O's gave David Ortiz the dugout phone he went ham on in 2013. [The Sports Daily]
- You have to admire Chip Kelly's restraint in not strangling a beat reporter from the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat during a press conference who didn't like his answers about Colin Kaepernick. [Awful Announcing]
- Thanks to a new surgical technique ACL tears may soon as be as minor as MCL tears. [The Undefeated]
- You want to watch a dog making a sweet save in a soccer match? Of course you want to watch a dog making a sweet save in a soccer match. [For the Win]
- Serena Williams is being all BFF with Vogue editor Anna Wintour during Milan's Fashion Week. [ET]
- Points left on the table, a look at the epidemic of football players dropping the ball before making it into the end zone. [SB Nation]
- Over at SportTechie they have an interesting interview with Jacksonville Jaguars Senior Vice President of International Development, Hussain Naqui about the growth of the team's appeal in London. Interestingly enough, Naqui states the Jags are the ninth most popular team in the UK. [SportsTechie]
YB IYCMI:
"The strongest force in the NFL at any given time is fortune’s inclination to screw over Cleveland. Granted, the Browns organization is usually willing to lend fate a hand in the service of making the team struggle, though it is remarkable how often one organization can be dealt a raw deal." - NFL Kickoff: Week 3 - Pity the perpetually rebuilding Browns
"But will the Warriors have incentive to win as many games as they can during the season? There are plenty of reasons to answer no." - Questions from reviewing the Vegas 2016-17 NBA win totals
"Pro wrestling isn’t all that different from any other line of work. You never know when your opportunity is going to come, when that bit of luck is going to find you. But when it does, you need to capitalize. Ellsworth did." - How James Ellsworth jobbed his way into the heart of the wrestling world
"Plus, with the way the Raiders value their history, they'll probably never switch from this design — even if they do switch cities again." - Ranking the helmets of the NFL
"She did not write this to place herself into a neat box and ride off smoothly into retirement with a perfect-from-afar legendary image—she wrote it to further break out of any box she has ever been placed in." - Abby Wambach's memoir 'Forward' will make you want to leap with her
YB contributors elsewhere
Editor Joe Boland was on Sportsnet radio to talk about his open letter to fellow alumni on Joe Paterno and Penn State. Give a listen here. [Sportsnet]
Not just blowing smoke
After the Houston Texans were blown out by the New England Patriots 27-0 tackle Vince Wilfolk admitted, "We came into Gillette Stadium and we got smoked."
Wilfork? Smoking? Good enough for us to post one of the greatest football highlight reels of all time.
At least Wilfork has the rest of the weekend to get a nice smoke ring on his brisket.
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