e2sports

Everything2 is a collection of user-submitted writings about more or less everything. Spend some time looking around and reading, or learn how to contribute.

Logs

• Day logs for July 3, 2024
• Editor logs for July 2024
• Coder logs for July 2024

Cool User Picks!

• Royal Pains
• July 2, 2024
• Seventeen ways to kill a sentence
• thoughts from the cornfield
• The death of a man I had never known
• Now draw the rest of the fucking owl
• And Yet We're All Strangers
• The Owl is the messenger of death, and the patron of change
• July 2, 2024
• dark tiny birds
• Sir John Franklin's Arctic Expedition
• no side
• Chemotherapy and Marijuana
• Ipperwash and Dudley George
• Some virtues dig their own graves

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Cream of the Cool

Cheapside (place) by mauler

Cheapside is a famous street in London, England, known for its commercial heritage and central role in the city's development from medieval times to the present day.

The name "Cheapside" means "alongside the market," with "cheap" being an archaic word for "market," from Old English ceapan, "to buy." It is thus different from yet etymologically related to the modern English word cheap, meaning "inexpensive," which was originally a shortening of good ceap,

… (more) Solitarot (thing) by passalidae

Solitarot is a solitaire-esque game played with a standard deck of Tarot cards. It is similar to Aces Up, but utilizes five piles instead of four. I learned the game tonight upon the arrival of my tarot deck, and played for a while. It's good fun.

How to play

Lay down five cards on the table, face-up. If two or more cards are of the same suit, discard the highest card until only one card of the suit remains. For example; if there is a seven of swords and a two

… (more) 1554 (idea) by mauler

"We write to you as friends, neighbours and Englishmen, concerning Queen Mary’s declared intention to marry a foreigner, and request you to join us to prevent this. We swear to you before God that we seek no harm to the Queen, but merely wish her better advice. Our wealth and health depend on it. A hundred armed Spaniards have already arrived at Dover and travelled through Kent on their way to London. We require you to assemble with as much support as possible, to help us

… (more) June 9, 2024 (log) by wertperch Congratulations, Tessie!

Not too many words this time, unlike my last daylog. Tessie graduated with a Master's Degree! I made it in time for the ceremony, no thanks to Amtrak's eight-hour delay and having to get on a bus to finish the journey from Portland and my phone not working for the entire trip.

To the main event! Video link to her actual moment inthe spotlight is here, but the opening speeches are

… (more)

Major League Baseball player, a right-handed starting pitcher. Competes mostly with power via his four-seam and two-seam fastballs, also sports a splitter, slider and changeup. Rog is also known for his accuracy and command of the strike zone.

Nicknamed The Rocket, Roger made his name pitching with the Boston Red Sox, where he won 3 Cy Young Awards. But he was never able to win a World Series (see the Curse of the Bambino) and during the last four years of his stay in Boston, he seemed lethargic and uninterested.

He burned his bridges behind him at the end of his tenure in 1996, when he became a free agent and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. There he won another pair of back-to-back Cy Young Awards, reached the 200-win mark, and had his 3,000th strikeout. He'd hoped the Blue Jays would contend for the World Series, but the team struggled. So Roger moved on.

At time of writing, he pitched for the New York Yankees (traded for Homer Bush, Graeme Lloyd and David Wells). Finally he has been part of that elusive World Series win, in both 1999 and 2000. He also won his sixth Cy Young Award with the Yankees in 2001, going 20 - 3.

Rog went 13 - 6 in 2002, and appeared in one post-season game - a no-decision in the Yankees' only win against the Anaheim Angels.

Rog retired from the Yankees in 2003, only to be lured out of retirement a week later by the Houston Astros. The chance to pitch in his hometown, in the National League, and with good buddy Andy Pettitte was too good to pass up. Part of Roger's deal excused him from road trips when he was not scheduled to pitch, so that he could spend more time with family, and also work with various charities including his own Roger Clemens Foundation. Clemens went 18-4 with a 2.98 ERA and 218 strikeouts, good for yet another Cy. He led the Astros into the post-season, and almost into the World Series itself against his old team, the Boston Red Sox. Ah, what a show that would have been!

He's married with four children (Koby, Kory, Kacy and Kody) - all named with the letter K to honour his 4 of his 6 American League Cy Young Awards (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, and 2001). Rog also won the National League Cy Young pitching for the Astros in 2004.

"That guy McEnroe has got a screw loose."*

This is a guy with flair, with charisma, with the ability to make even a casual viewer and fan of tennis pay very close attention to him; years after his youthful "professional" career, John McEnroe is still able to get a person's attention; he's been nominated for an Emmy award, for his somewhat incredible tennis commentary. He's appeared in a few movies as himself, and as a result, has a Bacon number of two.

Let's call this man a sort of Wayne Gretzky-equivalent, where tennis is concerned, but where Wayne Gretzky is sort of a wimpy individual with a quiet, passive demeanor, McEnroe was (and is) a raucous, noisy, angry individual on the tennis court. Though the major part of his tennis career is over--barring senior's events, and some small doubles tournaments--and the fact that he is coming up on 43 years old, he still retains a strong presence. But where in his younger years he was prone to loud, unprovocated outbursts, he now seems to be in control. Sometimes.

His professional tennis career began in 1977. And what a career! In truth, his amount of tennis accomplishments are not quite as impressive as a person like Pete Sampras, but are still amazing. He's won 77 career singles titles (not bad; third in the world after Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl), and has won seven Grand Slam titles. It should be restated that these accomplishments occurred over a sixteen year period, which is very impressive. But it seems that in many ways McEnroe became an enemy to even himself, his tennis court tirades costing him much. He claims he's been to therapy, but he concludes that perhaps his antics were part addiction and part need; he couldn't stop. Or maybe it was a joke, meant to appease fans expecting such behaviour. Regardless of what it was, he is still regarded by many critics as the best tennis player to play the game.

(I tend to agree. While researching this writeup, I took the liberty of viewing several of his matches--and freak-outs--and he played with a very forward, bordering brutal style, he also had the ability to hit the most impossible of shots. Where a lot of players (Pete Sampras and Björn Borg for example, as male players, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Martina Hingis as females) seem to have a very flowing, almost beautiful style, McEnroe's whole being as a player seems to be one of Kill the other player. My mother, while not a fan of tennis, loved McEnroe. She recalls his marriage to Tatum O'Neal, and their ugly divorce, and how they were all over papers like The National Enquirer. She also recalls distinctly one headline: Brat Tennis Player Divorces Brat Second-Generation Star, or something very similar.)

John McEnroe has screamed at judges, served up balls meant to hit linesmen and ball boys, broken rackets, gone into fits, babbled, hit a ten-year-old boy with a water bottle, sworn at opponents, raving and breaking television equipment, and various other things, certainly, that haven't been televised. He was the Brat of tennis. To this day, even in seniors tournaments, he displays a great deal of these qualities, but as he's gotten older, he has toned down; his tennis contemporaries see his shenanigans and shake their heads. Friend Pat Cash says that he walked the "fine line between genius and insanity." London newpapers called him "Superbrat" in 1977 when he bent his tennis racket at Wimbledon because he lost one set. In 1977's Wimbledon, McEnroe was no more than 19 years old, and even then, was prone to his outbursts, as it is plain to see. It was the startling combination of incredible tennis skill and almost childish temper tantrums that surprised and shocked everyone.

Although it is his tantrums that most remember, and remember well, there was somewhat of a reason for it, McEnroe thinks. He was always trying to reach higher. His 1984 match against Jimmy Connors is perhaps the most phenomenal display of nearly flawless tennis in tennis's history (defeating Connors 6-1, 6-2 and 6-2, with two unforced errors), and he pushed himself for it. So, naturally, when he made a mistake, he angered himself. This is not an excuse; many thought it was drugs, which McEnroe denies to this day.

Temper or not, most agree that even if Mac is not the best tennis player in history (mind you, most do), he certainly garnered the most attention. He was Davis Cup captain, but became too frustrated to do the job. He's had an incredible professional career, and more media coverage than any other tennis star.

Some stats on McBrat:

• John Patrick McEnroe, Jr.
• Born 16 Feb. 1959, Wiesbaden, Germany to John Sr. and Patty
• Left-handed, 5' 11", 170 lbs.
• Disqualified at the 1990 Australian Open for hurling abuse at court officials--he was leading his opponent, Mikael Pernfors, at the time.
• True professional career length: 12 years
• Ranked number one in the world for four straight years
• Career ranking of No. 20 in the world (!)
• Most victories in the world: 154, split evenly between singles and doubles
• Total prize money as professional: $12,539,827
• Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame 1999
• Three-time Wimbledon champ, 1981, 1982, 1984

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Mac's career is one of much debate: he's lost points because of his tempers, gained them, been fined, ousted, and as such, there are arguments as to the accuracy of many of his tennis feats. If you'd like several different opinions and views of John McEnroe, I'd highly recommend the following links, some of which were used in the preparation of this node. I have found it dificult to provide an accurate depiction and record of John McEnroe's career. As such, if anyone finds any inaccuracies in this writeup's content, please /msg dev and I will fix it posthaste.

I fully viewed his three Wimbledon championship games in preparation for this node, as well as portions of other games, and several media spots, mostly pertaining to, and containing, various outbursts.

http://www.tennisfame.org/enshrinees/john_mcenroe.html
http://www.sportsjones.com/sj/323.shtml
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/cbs/jmcenroe.html
http://www.efit.com/servlet/article/tennis/10584.html

*Beginning quote attributed to Johan Kriek, an opponent of Mac's who went into fits about Mac's antics, wanting him ousted from a tour.

The Dallas Cowboys are a National Football League franchise that plays in Dallas, Texas. The Cowboys play their home games at Texas Stadium (for the time being), located in nearby Irving, TX. Team colors are: royal blue, metallic silver blue and white.

The Cowboys rank as one of the NFL's most successful franchises. Since their entry into the league in 1960, the club has appeared in the most Super Bowls (8), tied for the most Super Bowl victories (5, tied with the San Francisco 49ers), won 18 division championships and has amassed one of the best overall records in both the regular season (377-275-6) and the playoffs (32-21).

On the field, the 'Boys' primary strengths have been at the most skilled positions (quarterback, running back and wide receiver) and the most "unskilled" (defensive tackle and offensive lineman). Another strength is the stability of the coaching staff and front office; in their 42 year history, the Cowboys have only had three owners and five head coaches.

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History
The 1960s - On January 26, 1960, the NFL awarded an expansion franchise to Clint Murchison Jr. and Bedford Wynne. Their team, the Dallas Cowboys was stocked with 36 players through an expansion draft. The Cowboys, led by head coach Tom Landry and quarterback Don Meredith stunk up the Cotton Bowl for the first few seasons, going a combined 18-46-4 in their first five seasons.

During this timespan, the club began drafting several players who would be the keys to future success: Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro and Roger Staubach (Staubach would not join the club until 1969, after his committment to the US Navy was fulfilled). The 'Boys finished the 1965 campaign at a respectable 7-7, but they failed to make the playoffs. The club would be left out of postseason contention only thrice more in the next twenty years.

Landry installed his famous "Flex Defense" scheme in the mid-60s, and the Cowboys defensive squad would get the well-earned nickname "the Doomsday Defense." The defense propelled the team to a conference championship in 1966, and tied an NFL record for fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (2) in 1968.

The 1970s - The decade started with Dallas established as one of the powerhouses in the NFL. In 1970, the club was moved from the NFL's Capital Division to the NFC East during the AFC realignment. That year, the Cowboys played in their first Super Bowl, Super Bowl V, which was only lost by a last minute field goal to the Baltimore Colts. The club avenged the loss the next year, trouncing the Miami Dolphins 24-3 in Super Bowl VI. (Perhaps this loss motivated the Dolphins, as they won Super Bowl VII, capping off the NFL's only perfect season ever.) Super Bowl VI saw the introduction of what was to become a Dallas tradition: the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. The early seventies also saw the addition of Billy Joe DuPree, Danny White and Ed "Too Tall" Jones.

The Cowboys suffered through injury and personnel problems between 1972 and 1974, but returned to the NFL championship game in 1975, losing Super Bowl X to the emerging Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty. The club suffered an early exit from the playoffs in 1976, but returned to start the 1977 season with a record 8-0 run. The club faced the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII, triumphing 27-10. 1977 also saw the club select running back Tony Dorsett with their first draft pick. The Boys' put together a 12-4 season in 1978, and advanced once again to the Super Bowl. There, they lost to the Steelers in Super Bowl XIII. By the end of the decade, Lilly, Staubach, safety Cliff Harris and Jones had retired, although Jones would rethink his decision, and rejoin the club for an additional nine years in 1980.

The 1980s - The early-80s were a bittersweet time for the Cowboys. The club was still a force to be reckoned with in the NFC, but three consecutive losses in the conference final (including 1981's game, where the 49ers beat the 'Boys on the final drive of the game, culminating in "The Catch") cast doubts on Landry's ability as a coach and White's ability to run the offense.

The team slowly started to fade in the mid-80s. After decent seasons in 1983 and 1985 led to early playoff exits, the franchise hit its longest postseason drought since 1966: five straight years without a postseason appearance. Following the end of the 1988 season, new owner Jerry Jones fired Landry (an act that would villianize him in north Texas for tears) and hired Jimmy Johnson from the University of Miami. The team's poor showing, however, resulted in a number of useful draft picks. Johnson drafted Troy Aikman, fullback Daryl "Moose" Johnston and center Mark Stepnoski in 1989, adding to a list of yourn prospects which already included Michael Irvin and Ken Norton Jr.. Johnson traded running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for a slew of conditional draft picks. The next year, Johnson picked running back Emmitt Smith to replace Walker...not a bad choice.

Despite inheriting a 3-13 club, Johnson quickly turned things around. The team dropped to 1-15 in 1989 with rookie Aikman at the helm, but began to show flashes of brilliance.

The 1990s - 1990 saw the Cowboys begin to claw their way back to respectability. The club went 7-9, and Johnson won Coach of the Year honors for his efforts. The next year, the club returned to its winning ways, posting an 11-5 mark and winning their first playoff game since 1982. Smith and Irvin (two corners of the Cowboys' new Holy Trinity) led the league in rushing and receiving respectively, an NFL first.

In 1992, the Cowboys posted their best-ever season, a 13-3 mark. The team rolled over the Philadephia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs, only to encounter the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII. It wasn't pretty. The Bills surrendered five fumbles (two for touchdowns) and were pummeled in one of the most lop-sided Super Bowls ever, 52-17. The Bills and the Cowboys met again in Super Bowl XXVIII, with the Bills falling 30-13.

After the 1993 season, Johnson and Jones came to the proverbial loggerhead. Johnson left the Cowboys, and was replaced by former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer. Fan support was not behind Switzer at first, but a 12-4 season helped ease their concerns. Following a 30-20 bow to the 49ers in the 1994 NFC title match, the Cowboys returned to the Super Bowl in 1995. In Super Bowl XXX, the team extracted revenge for losses to the Steelers in Super Bowls X and XIII by beating Pittsburgh 27-17.

Although Aikman, Irvin and Smith remained productive when on the field, the team began to fall apart after their fifth Super Bowl. Super Bowl XXX MVP Larry Brown left that year, joining Norton Jr and lineman Kevin Gogan as recent free agent departees. More important, though, was the problems certain Cowboys faced off the field. Both Irvin and defensive tackle Leon Lett were suspended for substance abuse, and Irvin and offensive lineman Erik Williams were accused of sexually assaulting a woman.

Switzer found himself embroiled in controversy that year, when he allegedly took a loaded gun onto a commercial airliner. After posting a 6-10 mark in 1997, he resigned. Switzer was replaced by Chan Gailey, who led the Cowboys to decent records during his tenure, but was unable to win a playoff game. Gailey was fired after two seasons, making him the first Cowboys coach to fail to lead the team to a Super Bowl title.

The Aikman/Irvin/Smith "Triplets" started to fade away at the end of the decade. Irvin retired after a neck injury in 1999, and Aikman, suffering from chronic concussions, retired following the 2000 season. Prior to being released by the club at the end of the 2002 season, Emmitt Smith managed to surpass Walter Payton's record for career rushing yards. Smith capped his career off with two lacklustre seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2004.

2000 and Beyond - Gailey's replacement, Dave Campo, struggled to put the pieces together to revitalize the club. He had a revolving door at quarterback in the wake of Aikman's retirement, with such stellar names as Clint Stoerner, Ryan Leaf, Chad Hutchinson and Tony Romo taking snaps for the 'Boys. Campo "guided" the franchise to three straight 5-11 records before getting canned in 2003.

Jones made an unexpected move when hiring his replacement, coaxing master motivator Bill Parcells out of retirement. Parcells had an immediate effect on the young club, pulling career years out of incumbent players like Dat Nguyen and bringing in a few of his players from his days holding the clipboard of the Patriots and Jets like Richie Anderson and Terry Glenn. In his first season in "The Big D", Parcells reversed the teams fortunes with an 11-5 finish and a wildcard playoff berth (lost to eventual NFC Champion Carolina Panthers).

The positive impact of the Tuna's arrival was shortlived, with the team limping in with 6-10 and 9-7 seasons in 2004 and 2005, respectively, missing out on the postseason in both years. The revolving door of star players persists with the departure of stars Larry Allen (the last member of the team's Super Bowl XXX roster), La'Roi Glover and Keyshawn Johnson, and the arrival of quarterback Drew Bledsoe and controversial wideout Terrell Owens.

By 2009, gone too will be aging Texas Stadium, to be replaced by a state-of-the-art, $650 million structure being built in Arlington.

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Controversy
Throughout their history, the Cowboys have found themselves tied up in some kind of controversy or another. The team was skewered in the 1979 Nick Nolte movie North Dallas Forty, which highlighted the seedier sides of professional football.

More notable, however, is the off the field troubles faced by members of the Cowboys. Both Michael Irvin and Leon Lett were suspended for multiple violations of the NFL's substance abuse policy, reportedly for cocaine use, in the 1990s. Wideout "Bullet" Bob Hayes served prison time for drug trafficking in the 1980s. In 1999 former Cowboys offensive lineman Mark Tuinei was found dead of a heroin overdose. Most recently, another former Cowboys offensive lineman has found himself in trouble with narcotics; Nate Newton has been found transporting huge loads of marijuana on two separate occasions, and has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. These repeated problems have earned the franchise, known to some as "America's Team," the nickname "South America's Team."

The Cowboys' run-ins with the law have not been restricted to drug offenses. As mentioned above, Switzer was caught packing heat in an airport and Irvin and Williams were accused rapists. And in January 2003, Cowboys DB Dwayne Goodrich struck and killed two men with his car on Interstate 635 while returning home from a night at the club. Goodrich was convicted on two counts of criminally negligent homicide in the hit and run.

I haven't even mentioned Jerry Jones' recent facelift... Or his disputes with the league over signage at Texas Stadium...

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Super Bowls

Super Bowl V:        Baltimore 16   -  Dallas 13
Super Bowl VI:       Dallas 24      -  Miami 3
Super Bowl X:        Pittsburgh 21  -  Dallas 17
Super Bowl XII:      Dallas 27      -  Denver 10
Super Bowl XIII:     Pittsburgh 35  -  Dallas 31
Super Bowl XXVII:    Dallas 52      -  Buffalo 17
Super Bowl XXVIII:   Dallas 30      -  Buffalo 13
Super Bowl XXX:      Dallas 27      -  Pittsburgh 17

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Sources:
Dallas Cowboys Official Website - http://www.dallascowboys.com
Dallas Cowboys History and Stats Page - http://www.geocities.com/~jrbeasley/dallas

The position of a NFL free safety can be a inglorious one. They are among the lowest paid players, and the quarterback, running back, linebacker and even cornerback positions usually get more publicity. But every once in a while a safety comes along who changes all of that. Deron Cherry was one of those safeties.

Deron was born on September 12th, 1959 in Highland Park, Michigan, but Cherry spent most of his formative years in Palmyra, New Jersey. He was a standout quarterback at Palmyra High School, and accepted a scholarship to play for Rutgers University. Deron was a double threat, not only did he play quarterback he was also the starting punter.

Cherry moved over to safety, and earned Rutgers' MVP award in 1979, and All East honors in 1980 and 1981. Despite those accolades, no NFL team ended up drafting Cherry, but his punting skills and some connections were good enough to get him invited to the training camp of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs had hired Rutgers' defensive coordinator, Ted Cottrel the same year Cherry was trying out (1981), so Cottrel was familiar with what Cherry could do. Even though Cherry was trying out to only be a punter, his rise to safety stardom was not long in coming.

What actually helped out Cherry in his NFL career was the fact that he was not a great punter, partially due to the fact that the coaching staff tinkered with his punting mechanics in camp. Cherry realized that punting was not his path to sticking in the NFL, so he took it upon himself to call then head coach Marv Levy. Cherry recalls the conversation this way:

"Coach Levy, I know my punting wasn't what it should be but he had me changing to a two-step punt,". Cherry also added, "I had the opportunity to see those safeties you drafted in mini camp and I can play as good as them – talk to Coach Cottrell."

Levy listened and let Cherry show his safety skills in camp. While Cherry did not make the final roster that year, he was brought back a few games into the season. With his excellent work ethic Cherry became a full time starter in his third season and went to his first Pro Bowl in 1983. It wouldn't be the last time he would be there, he made six in a row, starting five.

Cherry had a "nose for the ball" as people would say. He grabbed 50 interceptions in his 11 year career (only 26 others have done this) and also racked up 15 forced fumbles. He also is tied for the record for interceptions in one game with four (a game vs the Seahawks in 1985). He tackled as well as he covered, racking up six one hundred tackle seasons as well.

Cherry was not just a great football player, he was (and is) a great person. Carl Peterson the Chiefs President/ GM and CEO, had this to say about Cherry after his retirement in 1992:

"Deron Cherry exemplifies all that is good in professional football. He has been an outstanding player and player representative for the Chiefs these past 11 years. We will not only miss his presence on the field, but also his work ethic, his leadership and commitment, and his work in the community."

Peterson was not alone. In 1988 Cherry received the NFL Player's Association's highest honor, the Byron White Humanitarian Award for service to his team, community, and country. In his playing days, he hosted two annual golf tournaments to raise money for the March of Dimes and MDA. He also established a community program called "Score One for Health" (a program that visits Kansas City area schools and treats and screens school age kids) and hosts an annual golf outing that benefits the Park Lane Foundation. He is also involved in several other civic organizations, including Special Olympics, Project Warmth, and the United Negro College Fund.

Cherry also works just as hard now as he did on the gridiron. He is a minority owner in the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise, a partner in a Kansas City Anheuser-Busch distributorship, and owns a Kansas City area auto dealership, All-Pro Ford Auto. He lives in Lee's Summit, MO with his wife, Faith and son Deron II.

Some Deron Cherry facts:

• Inducted to the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1995.
• Voted NFL second team all decade. (1980's)
• Selected to the Chiefs' 25 year All-Time team in 1987.
• Was named Chiefs man of the year in 1987.
• Played in 148 NFL games, amassing 927 tackles, 50 interceptions, and three touchdowns.

Sources include:

• www.fanstop.com/kcwarroom/cherry.asp
• www.pro-football-reference.com
• http://allproford.com/about.html
• www.kcambassadors.com

Submitted to Everything Quests: Athletes and Sports Figures