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SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ.,
Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .
NFL: BRONCOS, PATRIOTS--- THE AC
West’s 6-1 Denver Broncos want to defeat the AC East’s 6-2 N.E. Patriots on
Sunday in order to maintain a leading edge for a go at NFL-2014’s AC Conference
title and then a Super Bowl berth, while the Patriots want that too, but
topmost for the Patriots is to defeat the Broncos because the Broncos are of QB
Peyton Manning and the NFL’s currently best offense, a primary that helped to
rob the Patriots of an AC title last season. And, the Patriots must hate that a
majority of professional sports analysts have predicted a Broncos AC
championship this year, the Patriots left behind. But---of the last three
Broncos-Patriots matches, the Patriots won two, although the last match-up, which
was held on January19 of this year, was a Patriots loss, 26-16, a year ago the
Broncos losing to the Patriots by only four points. This suggests a game that on
Sunday that can go either way, and looking at the stats only gives a slight
edge to the Broncos, for instance, the Broncos receivers have accrued 22 TD’s
to date, the Patriots 19, and while the Broncos have rushed for six TD’s the
Patriots have rushed for three TD’s. While the Broncos have given away 12
receiver TD’s + five rush TD’s for a total of 17 TD’s to opposing teams this
season, the Patriots have had given away 14 receiver TD’s and four rush TD’s
for a total of 18 TD’s to opposing teams. QB Manning has completed 174 of 252
completions to date, Patriots QB Tom Brady 181 of 281. Total yardage gained
since Week 1 of the current season, that has the Patriots ahead with 2,905 for
a total of 170 first downs, the Broncos 2,789 for 158 first downs. However, the
Patriots have given up 2,724 yards to opposing teams for 173 first downs, and the
Broncos 2,207 for 146 first downs. If we judge from these mostly
offense-related stats, there is insufficient disparity for anyone to say with
much certainty that the one team will prevail over the other, which places
greater responsibility on each team’s defense, and with defense comparisons
there’s evidence that the game could be purchased by either team, but if any
pass rush combo could, to say the least, disorient Patriots QB Tom Brady, its
the Broncos Von Miller + DeMarcus Ware, and no NFL team defense has had the
leap-ahead improvements in wide angle + crossover and deep down-the-middle
coverage as have the Broncos defense in post-SB 2014, surely crafty enough to
disrupt the Brady-TE Rob Gronkowski link-ups, the Broncos secondary being experts
lately in forcing a rushing game from the opposition while not allowing that to
get very far. Too, and returning to offense attributes, the Patriots will be
facing a highly charged and effective set of options for the QB that has the
NFL’s best TD passing record and a better record for “drive-economy and goal
attempt” than that held by the Patriots, the former including WR’s
Emmanuel Sanders and Wes Welker and RB
Ronnie Hillman. Note that while both the Broncos and the Patriots can boast of
average gains in rushing yards being 3.8, the Broncos offense has converted
that into twice the number of TD’s via rushing. YET---there’s that mysterious
home territory effect, which not even a team of psychologists could decipher,
which has been a factor in the Broncos giving away points to the Patriots in
past games held at Foxborough,
Mass. Even so, if that slight
edge within the compilation of this season’s stats plays a decisive role, then
it’s the Broncos ahead, it could be by as much as the score handed to the
Patriots during the last Broncos-Patriots match, a 10 point deficit owned by
the N.E. team, you know, HC Bill Belichick, QB Tom Brady, and who was that guy
from Patriots territory who had damaged the Broncos somewhat as a rookie HC,
you know, back in the day, inadvertently setting it up for John Elway, John Fox
and QB Manning to stop the bleeding?
NFL, Weeks 8 & 9---WEEK 8 of
NFL-2014 regulation ended on Sunday for the league’s National Conference South
with the then 3-3 Carolina Panthers being defeated by the NC West’s now 4-3
Seattle Seahawks, preventing a Panthers division lead rather than a tie at
first position with the 3-4 N.O. Saints. From Week 9’s first game last night,
the 3-4 Panthers lost to the now 4-4 Saints, allowing the Saints to lead the NC
South, Panthers to the rear, 3-5. Meanwhile, the NC North’s leading team, the
6-2 Detroit Lions, will be at Bye on Sunday, so, too, the NC North’s second
place franchise, the 5-3 Green Bay Packers, which signals a status quo at the
top of this division as the NFL heads into Week 10. Also for Week 9, the NC
East’s leading team, the 6-2 Dallas Cowboys, were reduced to a one win lead
over number two franchise, the 5-2 Philadelphia Eagles, after a Monday night
loss to the NC East’s now third place team, the 3-5 Washington Redskins. On
Sunday, the Cowboys will be facing the NC West’s leading team, the 6-1 Arizona
Cardinals, a game that the Cowboys could lose from a performance similar to
that vs. the Redskins on Monday, and quite possible is a NC East 5-2
Philadelphia Eagles defeat of the AC South’s 4-4 Houston Texans on Sunday,
which could put the Eagles in the same leading spot as the Cowboys. For Week 9,
the Cardinals are ahead of NC West’s second place team, the 4-3 S.F. 49ers, by
two wins, which is the best division leading edge within the NC and in all of
the NFL but could shrink on Sunday from a 49ers likely win vs. the NC West’s
last place team, the 2-5 St. Louis Rams. As expected, no NFL-2014 team has a perfect record to date, that is, no
NFL team has more than six wins across Weeks 1 through 8, while the American Conference
West’s Oakland Raiders will enter Week 9 with a totally unexpected 0-7 record, to
face the NC West’s third place team, the 4-3 Seahawks, an unexpected record for
last season’s Super Bowl winning team, meanwhile for Sunday the AC West’s top franchise
and best in the AC, the 6-1 Denver Broncos, are prepared to challenge the AC
East’s leading team, the 6-2 N.E. Patriots on Sunday, and the AC North’s 4-2
Cincinnati Bengals are readying for a bout vs. the AC South’s last place team,
the 1-7 Jacksonville Jaguars, while the AC South’s number one franchise, the
5-3 Indianapolis Colts, will meet the NC East’s third place team, the 3-4 N.Y.
Giants on Monday, Nov. 3. If on Sunday the AC South’s now 4-4 Houston Texans
defeat the NC East’s 5-2 Eagles, the Colts and Texans will be co-owners of the
division’s number one slot. So, how many of the NFL’s 32 teams are above .500,
therefore emblematic of winning teams? Answer: 18, with 13 teams at .600 or
above, and three above .800---the Broncos, Cardinals and the Cowboys. Against
an imaginary and comparable football league, the NFL’s still a winning
enterprise.
GIANTS,
WS---THE S.F. Giants were, like the K.C. Royals, a Wild Card team and
they took the year’s WS four of seven. Both teams finished MLB regulation with
fewer than 90 games and they expressed what could be said to be today’s
advantages for winning enough games to become post-season candidates for the
WS, among those attributes being two or more starting pitchers who could
produce numerous OUTS quickly per inning without ever losing control under
tight situations, for instance, bases loaded. Add, a bull pen saturated with
relievers and closers who don’t spoil, who maintain or, better yet, expand a
lead, meanwhile hitters that cannot be decoded, a line-up of hitters that can
put the ball where the opposing defense ‘aint,” less so for HR’s, more for the
single or the extra-base hit, a walk if that’s the best that can be attained,
the objective being base-runners that won’t be left on base when that third OUT
happens, they will have gone home. Yes, the heavy hitter, the HR guy, that’s
great to have on board but it’s becoming secondary to the base-runner angle.
First things first, it seems, “Cause opposition OUTS,” as in Giants superb LHP
Madison Baumgarner saying after WS Game Seven that he looked to achieve OUTS,
he didn’t think as much about strikes. That’s a pitcher not necessarily
intellectualizing but instead “intuiting” his game as a manager might, being
strategic as well as tactical, understanding the relationship between number of
outs and the number of men on base better than other hurlers might, throwing a
pitch that relates to a possible winning or tying run, and using hurriedly the
info on next batter to the plate. Can a pitcher always throw to allow a type
hit that’s easily converted into an out, say, a pop fly, a close-in down-from-the
air foul ball, a grounder for that throw to first base before even a hitter as
fast as Usain Bolt could reach it? If not now, the 25 year old Baumgarner could
be paving the way. Of course, the eventual outcome will surely be craftier
hitters. Never think that baseball refuses to evolve, so the experts are advising. The WS winning Giants
were mostly Baumgarner, but also hitters/fielders Pablo Sandoval, Hunter Pence
and Travis Ishikawa.
NBA---IT’s a time
of year when many fans will be switching TV channels back and forth on some
nights to catch a basketball game and then a football match, “back and forth,
double-scoop, a two-fer.” After a
number of pre-season games, the NBA is back and will now and then be
side-by-side in TV viewing stature with the NFL. And like last NBA season, and
the season before that, most of the initial standings could cause an observer
to think that the new is simply an extension of the old and switch back quickly
to football, an expansion, that is, of the first and last weeks of the season
that came before, though not entirely, for example, some surprises. While the
Portland Trail Blazers are atop the NBA West, the Oklahoma City Thunder are at
third position, and the San Antonio Spurs are at second place within the WC’s
Southwest Division, behind the Houston Rockets. And, the Golden State Warriors
took to first position within the WC Pacific, the L.A. Lakers starting out in
last place of the WC Pacific. Inside the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets
are at the bottom of the EC Atlantic, with the Boston Celtics on top. The Miami
Heat’s first within the EC Southeast Division, the Orland Magic at the bottom,
having lost two games, and the Chicago Bulls are leading the EC’s Central
Division, the Cleveland Cavaliers (Le Bron James) are at third place. Of
course, we’re laying this out from 30 NBA teams having played only one or two
games each, our point being that the NBA’s overall start isn’t the exact start
as last year, while some of it is indeed the same as 2013/14’s start and its
finish, a thought here being that the NBA is NOT in any way, as some critics
like to point out, that which Yogi Berra could label, “De Ja Vu all over again,” unless. . . well,
the Lakers, the Magic?
the NOTEBOOK: “ROLLER DERBY”---ON Tuesday,
this page included a Q&A with a principal of Roller Derby, Anna Filson, an
executive for the Denver Roller Dolls, among spokespersons for a sport
regaining popularity worldwide as well as nationally. A reader commented, “Some kids bond closer with a parent over baseball and
football, with me it was Roller Derby,
am grateful for your page’s coverage of this now little known but comeback
sport.” Below, in an attempt to recap, are excerpted remarks from that Q&A
with Anna Filson---
ROLLER
DERBY &
ORGANIZATION---“THE Womens Flat Track Derby Association
(WFTDA) is the organization that governs 260 Roller Derby leagues around
the world. WFTDA determines the rules that we play under. WFTDA also tracks a
team’s status, its standings, in order to determine which teams will play for
an annual championship title. In my
state, Colorado, there are 10 leagues of many teams, which play under the WFTDA
just as the Denver Broncos operate within the NFL, the Denver Nuggets inside
the NBA, the Colorado Avalanche inside the NHL, and we also have a league that
is an apprenticeship program—a sort of breeding ground for new and promising
skaters, if you will.”
THE RD SEASON---“AN All Star team
plays around 3-6 bouts against other highly talented teams each year. These
bouts determine a team’s ranking within the WFTDA association, and they
establish if a team will be seeded high enough to compete at the playoffs. . . In
2013, WFTDA reached another milestone in that the geography-based Roller Derby
regional playoffs were replaced with four Division I Playoffs and two Division
2 Playoffs. Once Division playoffs are completed, all winning teams within the
WFTDA organization will compete at championships for “the Hydra Trophy,” our
Stanley Cup, so to speak.”
TEAM COMPOSITION, ROLES & MISSIONS---“EACH
RD team fields five skaters for each “jam.” Those five include four blockers
and one jammer. The jammer is recognized by the star cover that is on her or
his helmet. The jammer’s job is to get past the opposing team’s four blockers
while skating, so as to gain a point for each blocker that she or he can pass
(After an initial pass, that is). The job of the blockers is to stop the
opposing jammer from getting past them and therefore inhibit the jammer from
scoring, as well as to help their own jammer by executing “offense” on the
opposing blockers.”
PURPOSE, GOALS---“OF course, and
foremost, it’s to win, and, in turn, to seed higher so that a team can advance
to the championships.”
RD TRACK DIMESNIONS---“THE track
is 88 feet from the outside, apex to outside apex. The lane in which we skate
in, that will vary from 13 feet to 15 feet depending on which part of the track
you are in. For instance, if you are playing within either of the apexes, your
track area is about 14 feet across.”
UNIFORM REG’S---“THE regulations
about uniforms always reference safety, that above all else. All patches and
numbers have to be securely fastened to the uniform, and no tape or safe pins
are allowed on the jersey (Fact: No safe pins are allowed on any part of the
uniform). Each uniform must identify the skater’s team and must have the
skater’s number on the back of the uniform. All numbers must be four inches
tall and have at least one numerical character.”
RD TEAM OWNERSHIP---“AS an
example of other teams, the Denver Roller Dolls is a skater-owned,
skater-operated non-profit 501(3)c. In addition to our skaters doing all of the
business side work, we also have volunteers that assist in the day-to-day
operations. To keep our Roller Derby “rolling,” there are many fundraising
events that are held throughout the year so that we can have an All Star Team
that travels and that maintains a facility. Denver Roller Dolls is currently
fundraising through GoFundMe (
http://www.gofundme.com/donatedrd)
to raise money to support our All Star Team (the Mile High Club), and to ensure
that next season our facility will be ready for all of our fans.”
TEAM RECRUITMENT--- “RD teams
like the Denver Roller Dolls follow the safety rules set forth by WFTDA to
determine when each skater is ready to be on the track in a scrimmage situation
as well as for all game opportunities. Skaters can be assessed as often as once
a month to determine their skill level.”
PENALTIES, SAFETY---“THERE are
many rules that within game-play need to be followed. If broken, they can get
you sent to the penalty box for a 30 second time-out. The rules range from not
wearing your mouth-guard, to making contact with another skater in illegal body
zones, such .as the opposing skater’s face and below the thighs.”
COMPETITION & RESULTS---“WFTDA
holds four Division I Playoffs and two Division 2 Playoffs each year. The Mile
High Club/Denver Roller Dolls competed in the Division I playoffs this
September and ranked within the top 12 teams, earning a spot to compete for the
Hydra Trophy at the championships this last weekend of October, 2014 . .
. The Denver Roller Dolls team is
currently ranked “ninth” within the WFTDA rankings.”
WISH-LIST---“IF I had one wish
for Roller Derby, it would be for it to be a rapidly growing professional
sport. Roller Derby
teams practice and compete just like all professional sports teams, and the
game is just as exciting to watch as it is to play. Being at a
professional level means more people being involved in the sport, and more
fans.”
RD SUPERSTARS---THERE
are Roller Derby superstars, for sure. Consider the Roller Derby “World Cup,”
held every two years. Teams are formed by each participating country from “the
best of their best.” When Team USA
was established for the 2014 World Cup, Denver Roller Dolls had three skaters
chosen to compete. Denver Roller Doll’s three skaters are Tracy Akers (Team
Captain for Team USA),
Julie Adams, and Jerica Martin. Akers and Adams are two of the founders
of the Denver Roller Dolls and continue to ensure that the league keeps its
roots. Martin has been a Junior Derby Coach for over two years and is providing
a foundation for the next generation. We will be cheering for these Roller
Derby athletes this December during the 2014 World Cup. Team USA will go up against super teams such as Team Canada, Team England,
Team Australia.”
.
DENVER ROLLER DOLLS---“THE Denver
Roller Dolls was formed in 2005 with 26 skaters. We have now grown to
over 100 league members and we are coming up on our 10th anniversary in 2015.
As to where the Denver Roller
Dolls hosts games, you can watch them and many visiting men’s and
women’s Roller Derby teams, plus Junior Derby teams, at our facility “the
Glitterdome, at: 3600 Wynkoop Street, A3, Denver CO 80216. . . Our
landlord,
"Gary
Giambrocco," of "GIAMBROCCO FOOD SERVICE," has been so very
gracious. He is renovating our side of the facility to better accommodate our
growing league. The renovations are opening new doors for the league by hosting
our own bouts at our very own facility. The facility will give our fans the
up close and personal touch to skaters and bouts. Construction should be
done by Thanksgiving, and so “the Glitterdome” will be set and shining for
our next annual Roller Derby schedule, starting February, 2015.” END/ml
