What's the dumbest team name in all of sports?

The worst sports nickname isn't the University of California Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, or Triple-A baseball's Toledo Mud Hens.  It doesn't belong to NESCAC rivals Williams Ephs or Amherst Lord Jeffs.  It's not even the mindless University of Utah Utes or Philadelphia Phillies (but they're close).

No, the stupidest name in sports is the Los Angeles Angels.  It was fine when they were the California Angels, and Anaheim Angels worked too.  But, now we're stuck with this:

Still distracted by the fact that "The Los Angeles @Angels" baseball team literally translates to "The The Angels Angels"

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) June 7, 2015

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Chicago newspaper lies with statistics for its 'Title Town' headline

Back in college, I remember reading a book called How to Lie with Statistics.  Wednesday's cover of the Chicago Sun Times is the perfect example:

The line at the bottom says: "The numbers don't lie--no city has won as many championships as Chicago since 1990."  Half of that sentence is true, Chicago's 10 major sports titles by the Bulls (6), Blackhawks (3) and White Sox (1) are the most of any U.S. city since 1990.  However, the numbers do lie.

Why did they pick 1990?  Because it's just before Michael Jordan started winning.  Chicago's 10 championships in 25 years is nice, one every two-and-a-half years.  Going back 15 years instead of 25 though, Boston's nine by the Patriots (4) Red Sox (3) Celtics (1) and Bruins (1) is obviously much more impressive--one every 20 months.  And if you toss out the Jordan Bulls era, Chicago only has four titles since 2000.  Not to mention the fact that Boston also won each of the four major sports.

Chicago could do that by going back 30 years to include the Bears in 1985, but then it wouldn't be better than New York's 11 by the Yankees (5), Giants (4), Mets (1) and Rangers (1) in that time.

Maybe the Oakland Tribune should run a "Title Town" headline tomorrow for the Warriors, with the caption "No city has won as many championships in the last five days."

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The Clippers new logo is going to be the greatest practical joke ever, right?

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer went on Conan O'Brien's show yesterday to unveil the franchise's new logo:

Immediately people were blown away by how terrible it is.  It's also basically the same as the Chicago Cubs' logo, which is quite humorous considering the longstanding perception of both franchises as perennial losers.

But here's the really bizarre thing: Ballmer and star player Blake Griffin also made this video for Funny or Die:

Blake Griffin And Steve Ballmer Unveil The New Clippers Logo from Funny Or Die

I am so confused by this.

They're making fun of themselves for coming up with stupid knockoff logo ideas, but that's what they actually did.  This only makes sense if the entire thing is a joke, which it definitely isn't.

Unless it's the greatest joke ever, and Ballmer plans unveil the real logo soon.  At this point the Clippers should probably go with that plan, regardless of whether or not it was their original intention.

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Up next for do-everything man Brock Holt: An unassisted triple play?

Brock Holt hit for the cycle yesterday, making him the first Red Sox player to do so since John Valentin on June 6, 1996.  Last season, Holt cemented himself in Boston's record books by becoming the first player in Sox history to start a game at every position besides pitcher and catcher.

So, what's next for the "Brock Star"?  How about another of Valentin's feats, an unassisted triple play?



Since Holt has played every position in one season, and now gotten every type of hit in one game, isn't it only natural that he should make every out in one inning?

An interesting note on Valentin's cycle--the Red Sox also hit into a triple play in that same game.  Jeff Frye led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, Valentin homered, then Mo Vaughn and Jose Canseco walked as well before Tim Naehring grounded to third for a triple play.

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Computer hacking, Mr. Robot, Tom Brady and the St. Louis Cardinals

Last night I watched the pilot episode of a new USA show called Mr. Robot.  It's really cool--the main character is a vigilante computer hacker who appears to be a combination of Batman and Showtime's Dexter.  However, one scene caught me off guard and left me quite shaken (click on the video in the tweet):

I really enjoyed the pilot of USA's "Mr. Robot", but the part with Tom Brady irked me to no end: https://t.co/lhHdE7o7gI

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) June 16, 2015

"It feels like all our heroes are counterfeit."  Lance Armstrong, Bill Cosby and Tom Brady?  Really USA.  Wow.  Can that be what people actually think?

After watching that show last night, I was fairly amused to see the headline today FBI investigates Cardinals for hacking.

Whoa, this St. Louis Cardinals hacking thing sounds nuts. Clearly the Patriots must be responsible...

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) June 16, 2015

I'm extremely curious to see where this story goes, and whether or not it will be a bigger deal than taking air out of some footballs.

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One of the saddest pictures I've ever seen

This photo was taken last week, during Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Oakland:

How much again does it cost to sit courtside at the #NBAFinals and stare at your phone? pic.twitter.com/4rMVRRplT9

— Mike Schopp (@Schopptalk) June 8, 2015

If you're really that bored, why not just strike up a conversation with the opposing team's head coach?  On the other hand, I wonder if those people even know that is the Cavaliers' head coach?  There's also the possibility that when one person whips out their phone all the other Warriors fans do as well, in support of their "Strength In Numbers" t-shirt campaign.

When I'm at Celtics games, more often than not I never even take my phone out of my pocket.  There was one time when I sat in the front row, and I spent about five minutes constantly taking pictures.  And as much as I wanted the photos, I also felt stupid the entire time I was doing it for wasting the experience.

I guess if you sit courtside regularly it's no big deal, even if it is the NBA Finals?


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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes

In the summer of 1993, a group called 4 Non Blondes had their one and only hit, off of the album Bigger, Better, Faster, More!

According to Wikipedia, What's Up peaked at No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard charts, but I remember seeing the video about 19 times a day on MTV.

The lead singer, Linda Perry, would have more success later on in her career as a song writer and producer--including writing Christina Aguilera's Beautiful.



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