Hockey Goalie Mikayla Demaiter On The Art Of Professionalism, Disgusting Autograph Hunter & A Loaded Dodgers Fan Gets Arrested
I'll be in Birmingham, AL THIS Friday & Saturday & it sounds like we have ourselves a mini Screencaps party developing by the minute
We're officially ON THIS SATURDAY for a 3 p.m. gathering at Back 40 in Birmingham, AL where Screencaps readers will meet for a summit of sorts. I'll be there. I might bring some TNML stickers. I might have a few beers.
As I've said this week, there won't be a grand speech. I'm one of the most underwhelming Big J bloggers out there, so please limit your expectations coming into this big appearance. I'm clearly not one of these polished look at me... I do TV & have a podcast...and I ride a Peloton...Internet guys out there who have dreams of making it big as a reality TV show host.
What I can offer is a look behind the curtains to America's Best Daily Column, *as named by the readers. I'm willing to answer all sorts of questions about this career I miraculously put together way back in 2007.
Stop by THIS SATURDAY...3 p.m. at Back 40.
How to improve the all-star game with 'illegal' substances & corked bats
• Tim G. in Kentucky writes:
I’m watching the All-Star game tonight and I must say I’m enjoying all of the mic’d up players. Sorta like the Manningcast feel to the game.
I was thinking about “illegal” substances with respect to the all-star game and wondering if anyone has ever been disqualified for corked bats or banned substances the pitchers put on the ball. It got me thinking what a cool promotion it’d be for MLB to have the all-star game as a free for all. It’s already an exhibition game so just bring in the robot umps, spitballs, pine tar, and corked bats. It would just add to the fun.
Then my mind was racing, could you just do an “outlaw” weekend or week during the season when the ratings are lowest?
I’m still of the opinion baseball would be better if there was more urgency. Start the season after the college basketball season (May 1) and end before the NFL starts on Labor Day weekend, so I’m far from a ”purist”.
Anyhow just random thought I wanted to share with the group. Have a good one!
Hell yeah, Tim G. You're talking to a content guy. I've been on record for years saying you'll never meet a bigger pro-PEDs in sports guy than me. Do I want my athletes bigger, stronger, faster and playing until they're 55?
YES!
Give me 10 more years of Tom Brady. Give me Aaron Judge hitting 600-foot missiles out of Yankee Stadium. Give me sub-4.0 wide receivers shot out of cannons.
This is probably why I'm such a fan of the Savannah Bananas and the Harlem Globetrotters destroying the Generals. It's why I LOVED watching Loyola Marymount put up 150 points. It's why I LOVED run & shoot offenses. It's entertainment. Entertain! Let's have fun.
English beaches
• Kristopher K. in Manchester, NH writes:
Hi Joe,
Yes, there are beaches AND palm trees in Southern England. How else would King Arthur know about the migration habits of coconut-laden swallows.
Look up Isle of Wight and Penzance. Better yet, go there some time (think Isle of Wight Festival, good times). Bad teeth, bikinis & stunning coastlines.
In a similar vein, many are often shocked when I tell them I have a pool here in New Hampshire.
“you have an indoor pool?”
No, outdoor pool; in-ground & not heated. “Really! doesn’t snow there all the time” - Yeah, when it’s not 90+ degrees throughout July and August.
Whatever.
I guess it helps keep the riffraff away. Love the site.
Tuesday it hit 104 degrees in the UK. It's probably time for that country to start marketing itself as a summer beach destination.
Speaking of baseball, TV blackouts SUCK
• Jon DeV. writes:
After reading Screencaps today (thank you!), I couldn’t help but chime in on the MLB situation. Specifically, their idiotic blackout rules.
As a Las Vegas resident, I get blocked out of Dbacks, Padres, Dodgers, Angels, Giants, Mariners and Colorado. Granted I can get Dbacks, Angels, and occasional Padres game thru the ‘regional’ sports broadcasters, but COME ON MAN!
One would think that you could purchase the MLB.Tv package (I have for years) and get those games, but no. Guess I’m expected to jump on a plane to Seattle to catch a good matchup. Maybe it makes more sense in the NE where it’s an hour drive to various stadiums, but not here in the big west where the closest is 5 hours. It’s f’ing ridiculous.
Therefore I am gravitated to teams on the other side or middle of the country to watch on MLB.TV (great Apple TV app by the way).
I have sent numerous emails to MLB to no avail (beating head against wall), no response of course.
Keep up the good fight…
Fan fight analytics
• Paul B. in SW Florida writes:
I'm wondering if you have done a study of some sort on what cities these fights happen in most often. Is it happening in the lawless wastelands of sports cities more often like New York and LA? You don't hear about many fights in Tampa, at an OKC game, or even New Orleans, Indy etc. I get the image of Eli walking out into the wastelands in the movie The Book of Eli. Maybe it's just certain fan bases that create the fights.
I know the people of Canada like to act like they're holier than thou, but let me tell you, there was a run at Toronto Blue Jays games around 2014-2018 when I could guarantee at least 1-2 crazy fights or drunken fan moment each homestand. It got so crazy in Toronto that I was doing radio hits up there on the phenomenon.
The logical answer is that Philly is going to lead in the fan fight category, but the truth is that the fans went incredibly soft after the Eagles won the Super Bowl. It was like a faucet being turned off.
Indy has always been quiet. Tampa fights are rare. People in NOLA are happy drunks. Seattle people are as soft as they come. Denver people are normally high -- minus the wild 2021 incident where a Padres fan lit up a guy.
Vikings fans seem to be nice.
Raiders games are guaranteed action. Dallas tends to give up content. San Diego was huge back in the day for parking lot fights outside Jack Murphy. Jets games are typically hotspots.
For the most part, cities run hot and cold in the fan fight department. There's no exact science here.
Staying connected to sports from a referee who works the games
• My arch enemy during the football season, Michael F., is back and this time he's not correcting me on a rule:
Your topic of how to stay connected to a sport as you get older really resonated with me because my enjoyment of sports has changed as I’ve gotten older - not only because the athletes I watched when I was younger have now aged out, but because officiating has given me a different perspective on the sports I still work.
From a fan perspective, I still cheer for the teams that I supported when I was growing up (for me it’s the White Sox, Bears, Blackhawks) but now I find even more joy in passing that fandom down to my children. Once we hit 4pm here on the west coast, my boys expect there to be a baseball game on somewhere in the house and if not, they’ll ask me to turn one on (usually the White Sox, but they’re not quite that picky yet). I know a little less about the players than I used to but I still enjoy seeing the top talent play well. All of my kids play sports now, so I think their participation has fed into their interest in watching the “big boys” play - and as a result, seeing the adults play the same game also gives them a bit of incentive to keep playing as well.
An even bigger change for me, though, is when I watch college football or baseball and see friends and colleagues of mine working the game. I will turn on random games I see, specifically to see if any of my friends are on the game.
I went to an early bowl season bowl game here in Los Angeles specifically because an acquaintance of mine was on the game and I wanted to support him. It helped that the game was pretty good and the tickets were cheap - I brought my oldest to the game and we had a great time. That’s a good thing about the officiating community (especially as you get higher up the ladder) - your peers generally want to see you do well. I also watch baseball and football from the perspective of an official (even games that my teams play) - it’s hard to get out of that mode, regardless of the setting.
The best part is that my kids also take an interest in my officiating, and as a result tend to want to watch the sports that I work and ask more questions. In short, it all works together and makes sports that much more enjoyable for me as a person and a fan.
So anyway, that’s my two cents. Have a great rest of your day, and as always thanks for being the best part of my morning reading!
I'll say this about Michael F., he deserves a medal for continuing to read Screencaps after all the shit we give officials around here. The guy just keeps coming back for more. That's probably what makes him a high-level referee.
Speaking of that, a guy I went to college with, who is also a very leveled-headed guy, has gone on to have a very successful college football refereeing career that includes working an Army-Navy game.
There you go. Are you level-headed? Go make some money working football games. They need you, bad.
And with that, you guys should be good and fired up for a big mid-July Wednesday across this incredible country. Go attack the day and enjoy the No. 1 slowest day on the sports calendar. Good luck getting through the woke ESPYs.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com