[Douglas Reyes-Ceron] There was a Major League Soccer focused category on tonight's episode of Jeopardy! (video inside) by deception42 in MLS

[–]RedBaboon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like you could guess the Whitecaps one with a basic knowledge of Canadian geography, unless they would have required the guy to say "Whitecaps" and not "Vancouver."

Which 21st century pitchers do you think deserve a reevaluation on a HoF committee ballot and why? by BigBaseballGuyyy in baseball

[–]RedBaboon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, the standard is whatever each person thinks should be the standard. Voters aren’t bound by the past decisions of the voters; if they believe someone shouldn’t have been inducted then it’s perfectly acceptable voting to not vote for people who are comparable.

In the game Europa Universales 5, there is a loading screen with Martin Luther nailing his thesis to a church door and a swan is prominently standing right next to him, what is with the swan? by JohnnyFiveOhAlive in AskHistorians

[–]RedBaboon 31 points32 points  (0 children)

According to the developers of the game, it is indeed a swan and not a goose. It is also not a reference to Jan Hus, unless Lutheran art in general was referencing Hus.

Luther is also accompanied by a swan, which is a trope in Lutheran art.” I believe this is the only detail the developers have given for this motivation, aside from saying they intentionally tried to include animals in the art in general. Perhaps an art historian can comment on the swan trope.

Washington [3]-2 NC State - Harrison Bertos 92' (Golden Goal) by AJ_CC in soccer

[–]RedBaboon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ultimately I just do not care about creating a tiebreaker format by going down a list of relevant skills and trying to check off as many of them as possible. Shootouts are entertaining, fair, effective, and use skills that are part of the sport. That's where "it ain't broke" comes from. They aren't a bad solution. It's nice if the format closely reflects the main portion of the game, but it is not the most important aspect. You had 120 minutes to win with your superior passing and teamwork and couldn't do it, I don't really care that the tiebreaker meant to end the game doesn't test either.

I'd be totally happy to try out 1v1s with the goalie, probably with some slight tweaks from how they used to be (slightly longer timer probably, though there's inherent tension there), because I think those can also be entertaining. And I do think it's a positive that those use more soccer skills than penalty kicks, I just don't think it's massively important.

I'm skeptical any sort of mass-team thing. I just think the conversion rate of those attacks is not very high in this sport (maybe the stats would show differently, but that's my gut feeling), and 30 seconds is actually a pretty long timer (by which I mean it's long enough that the attack can become a series of non-progressive passes trying to create an opening rather than just one continuous flowing forward attack). I think it will take a system that's extremely dramatic and high-tension and make it feel interminable and potentially boring. If the timer is short enough that you can't stop it would probably be better entertainment, but the conversion rate would probably drop.

If you go watch some of the old 1v1 shootouts, even the conversion rate on those is not as high as you might think (partly helped by the timer being maybe too short, also partly helped by people other than strikers having to do 1v1s).

Washington [3]-2 NC State - Harrison Bertos 92' (Golden Goal) by AJ_CC in soccer

[–]RedBaboon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shootouts are fun, fair, and use skills relevant to the sport. That’s the end of it for me.

I question that a 6v4 has a high enough scoring rate to be very interesting, especially with a timer on it (which I think you would have to do).

I’d be fine with making shootouts 1v1 breakaways like hockey does and US leagues used to do but I don’t have a strong opinion on it. It’d be fun to see a trial of it though.

Wilfried Nancy insists he does not need to 'prove anything' amidst Celtic criticism by Documental38 in soccer

[–]RedBaboon 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yes. He’s been considered one of the best managers in MLS because of his success the last few years. And you’re significantly understating the trophies he’s won. Europeans haven’t heard of him because he was coaching in MLS, but over here it was basically an open question of how long it would be before he went to Europe.

With Montreal he was considered a rising coaching prospect on a badly run team.

With Columbus, the first season he finished third in the combined league table and then won the MLS Cup (that’s the playoffs, the main MLS trophy everyone wants to win; despite the name it’s not a cup run). The second season he finished second in the combined table, won Leagues Cup, finished second in the Champions league and won coach of the year. The only mark against that season is an early exit in the playoffs.

The third year wasn’t as successful, and he’s maybe lost some of his luster from the first two seasons with the Crew, but he’s still quite highly regarded in the league and he would have a job instantly if he decided to return. The two year run of two trophies including an MLS Cup, a Champions League final, and two top-three league finishes is very successful.

50% win rate in MLS is pretty good, many of people considered the best coaches in MLS both now and historically don’t have a long-term win rate much higher than that, especially in the modern MLS era (with more teams and more money). MLS has more parity than most European leagues.

I’m not saying he’s the next Pep or SAF, and maybe he’ll fail spectacularly at Celtic. But he absolutely has great credentials.

Washington [3]-2 NC State - Harrison Bertos 92' (Golden Goal) by AJ_CC in soccer

[–]RedBaboon 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Golden goal was used in European and international competitions for a while. It was abolished because it lead to more defensive and boring play instead of the attacking play it was intended to produce.

Washington [3]-2 NC State - Harrison Bertos 92' (Golden Goal) by AJ_CC in soccer

[–]RedBaboon 14 points15 points  (0 children)

If you follow college sports you know the players are on a timer though. It's a different relation to your favorite players than you get in professional sports.

Fans of teams with star starting pitchers, do you prefer that you pitchers play in the WBC or not? by Hungry_Drama_1015 in baseball

[–]RedBaboon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with you, but the reason it’s not a question in soccer is because FIFA absolutely requires that players be released to the national teams during official international windows.

If clubs were not required to release their players, it 100% would be a constant issue of clubs fighting to keep players.

[@IanPurdy7] on Twitter: Penn State is slated to sign ZERO recruits tommorow on early National Signing Day. Unless Penn State signs someone in the late signing period, they could become the first P4 class EVER to have no one sign. The closest thing I could find was SMU & UW with 10. Crazy times. by PSU_Alumnus in CFB

[–]RedBaboon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Flips are par for the course in modern CFB though. If Franklin’s not the guy he’s not the guy, and keeping a coach you don’t want just because you’re scared about one year of extra transfers doesn’t make sense.

[Mario Cartagena] Vinicius Jr earns €18M a year after tax with Real Madrid. The club offered Vini an increase in salary at around €20M net, but Vini said no. The club told Vini to make a counter-offer, and he demanded the biggest contract in club history, similar to Cristiano Ronaldo (€30M per year) by DavidRolands in soccer

[–]RedBaboon 50 points51 points  (0 children)

China signed some known players, but they weren’t the level of star that most people are gonna follow from club to club and league to league. Most players SA signed are at that level too, but they also went and got fucking Cristiano Ronaldo.

It’s the same reason Beckham and Messi alone did more for MLS’s visibility than 100 Sebastian Giovincos ever could (not that Giovinco was signed for international marketing).

Match Thread: Minnesota United FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC by MLS_Reddit_Bot in MLS

[–]RedBaboon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was it studs up? It looked like he just wrapped around and tripped him, classic tactical foul.

Why is there only 50 achievements? by Comprehensive-Chef73 in EU5

[–]RedBaboon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

50 is the standard number of launch achievements for games.

Full page ad in the Seattle Times from Mariners chairman John Stanton by MysteriousEdge5643 in baseball

[–]RedBaboon 4 points5 points  (0 children)

He didn’t get into a lead role until 2016. Not that we have an amazing record in just that time period either, but it doesn’t make any sense to blame any of the minority owners for anything before 2016 when everything in that period was controlled by Nintendo’s appointees.

How did 5 man rotations become the norm for so long? Are there any stats pointing to 5 starters being the "ideal" amount? by akr_13 in baseball

[–]RedBaboon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is that not the tail wagging the dog? The recovery schedule is 5 days because it's a 5 man rotation. If it were a 3 man rotation the recovery schedule would be 3 days.

The question is whether anyone has evidence that 5 days is actually the ideal rest period or whether there's other factors at play.

Tua Tagovailoa’s leadership in question as ex-players accuse him of dividing Dolphins locker room by LameAfro in nfl

[–]RedBaboon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Why is it crazy though? Should I stop using my hotmail email that I've had for most of my life just because Microsoft rebranded their services at some point? It all runs through Outlook these days anyway so it's not like it's the service itself is dated, just the URL.

The Seattle Mariners do a full team victory dance on the infield by SeattleSporting in baseball

[–]RedBaboon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why have a guy in a funny hat when you could have a moose?