Fan Friendly Fridays: Around the Horn

You may or may not have heard the baseball phrase "around the horn", but more than likely, you've seen it. Infield players throw the ball around the horn after an out is recorded and there are no runners on base. Although the practice is more tradition based than anything else, the line of thinking is that it helps infielders keep their arms warmed up and loose during the game.

Example: the hitter hits a ground ball to the 3rd baseman who then throws it to the 1st baseman for the out. The 1st baseman will then throw the ball to the 2nd baseman--2B to the Shortstop--SS to to the 3rd baseman who is usually the one to return the ball to the pitcher. That is the typical pattern, but some teams alter it slightly.

Catchers will also start the ball around the horn after a strikeout with no runners on base. Most commonly, the catcher will fire the ball to the 3B who begins the cycle 3B-2B-SS-3B and then back to the pitcher. Some catchers will pick which base they throw to based on the handedness of the hitter.

There's your 2nd edition of Fan Friendly Fridays. Have a good weekend everyone.

Fan Friendly Fridays: Redshirt edition

A request has been submitted by the listening audience that we here at Stepping Up think is a great idea. Each Friday, our hardworking research staff will demystify sports jargon commonly thrown around that may not be clear to the casual fan. As always, we welcome requests from the crowd.

Leading off this series is a term most commonly heard around college football: "redshirt", i.e., "Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett played the 2009 season as a 'redshirt sophomore' after transferring from Michigan."

In collegiate athletics, athletes are given four years of playing eligibility, based on [what used to be] the normal amount of time needed to complete a degree. If an athlete is given the redshirt label, it means that they can attend classes as well as associate with and practice with the team without using a year of their eligibility. They cannot, however, play in any form of game competition. If a football player plays just one down in a season game, that counts as one of the player's four years of eligibility.

A player can be designated as a reshirt for a number of reasons. Three of the most popular reasons are:

1. A freshman coming in a position that is currently occupied by an upper classman. For example, if a college recruits a stud quarterback out of high school and currently has a QB in his last year of eligibility, they will likely redshirt the freshman his first year so that they can still potentially get 4 years of play with him. This also enables the redshirt freshman to get used to the college system and playbook so that he already has some experience when he starts competitive play.
2. An athlete coming out high school suffered a serious injury and so the school could redshirt that athlete to give them more time to recover and be active with the team outside of competition.
3. Whenever an athlete from a Division I school transfers to another D-I school, they are required by the NCAA to redshirt one year. This is to keep schools from trying to poach players from other schools. Going back to Mallett at Arkansas, he played for the University of Michigan in 2007. When Michigan hired a new coach, Mallett transferred to Arkansas and therefore had to redshirt the 2008 season. He then was referred to as a "redshirt sophomore" in 2009 because while he may have been a Junior in terms of academic standing, he was playing in only his second year of athletic eligibility.

On a related note, you will also hear the term "true freshman". As you might suspect, this is simply an athlete who is playing in his first year at that level of institution.

So I hope this has given you a better understanding of the term "redshirt." If you still have questions, just ask I'll be happy to find out the answer for you.

NCAA "redshirt" FAQs

Wikipedia

Feeding the addiction

Today was pretty exciting as I got my first information about becoming a stats reporter for STATS, LLC. STATS provides game data for clients all over the world including teams and news gathering agencies like Sports Illustrated. In short, after taking a few games to get used to the system, STATS will pay me to watch games and record the game events. I'll be starting off with baseball, pretty much focusing on the Braves but maybe every now and then I'll be able to do a game on a national broadcast. I'm also hoping to do some football and hockey in the Fall/Winter.

So what does that mean? I'll be able to honestly tell Sarah that I HAVE to watch the game...every husband's dream.

Pigs, gators, and stupidity

Yesterday a story broke that a reporter for The Hog Sports Radio was fired for wearing a Florida Gators hat to an Arkansas Razorbacks press conference.

You can watch press conference here, with Razorback Head Coach Bobby Petrino commenting on reporter Renee Gork's hat at around 1:35 into the video. Judging by his eye movement, Gork is somewhere off to his left. Both Gork and The Hog Sports Radio GM, Dan Storrs, went on the Dan Patrick Show yesterday and gave their side of what happened. Here are some links for you to catch up on:

• Sports Illustrated
• ESPN
• ESPN College Football reporter Chris Low

Aside from her apparent lack of taste in teams to support, I have no problem with her owning and wearing a Gators hat. The problem was that she wore a hat of a rival team on the job. Point of clarification here - it's professionally regarded to be in bad taste to wear apparel in support of any team when covering sports. In this case, Gork was employed by a station that doesn't claim to be objective and therefore the problem lies in that she was wearing the hat of an occasional opponent that is generally disliked across the rest of the SEC.

 Does anyone who knows me really think that if I was sentenced to work for the Mets that I would get rid of my Braves jerseys and hats? Or if one I am working for the University of Florida that I would simply no longer be a Georgia fan? Of course not! But you better believe I would be ULTRA-judicious about how and when they get worn in public. Wearing a Gators hat to ANY other team's press conference would be like Sarah going in to work at C*N wearing a "Faux News rocks!" shirt. Simply bad taste...on multiple levels.

Short and simple: you have got to always be aware of your surroundings. You must clearly know who you are working for, what they are about, as well as who is LISTENING to you and what they are expecting. The Hog Sports Radio apparently does not try to be objective, which is fine. If you are going to work for a station that has a stated purpose of supporting-not just covering-a team or school, and that's what the listeners are tuning in for, you simply can't make mistakes like that. People are always listening, and if it is known that you have an affiliation with another entity, someone who is listening is going to link your words or actions to that entity, whether correct or not. Whether she intended to or not, she put her employer in a position where they had to go on the defense, and that usually doesn't go over well.

I can't fault Petrino or the school for being irritated at Gork's attire. I also believe her side of the story that it was an honest mistake and she meant no disrespect. But how many times have we heard or read a story where the outcome would be drastically different had the person involved taken just 10 more seconds to think about what they were doing?

Thankful Thursday - Graduation edition

Understandably, there's been a lot going on the past several weeks, and I'm constantly reminded that I have so much to be thankful for. Thus, this Graduation edition of "Thankful Thursday."

It finally arrived. I always have a fear of crossing the line between being proud of an accomplishment and bragging. In this area I know that I have nothing to brag about. However as Sarah and I discussed the other night, this was a BIG. DEAL. And not that I just graduated, but how I graduated - "with honors" (Cum Laude). I definitely get that in the big picture, honors or not isn't that big of a deal, but just that I graduated. But to me, I've always looked back at graduating from high school and feeling like I was the only one among my circle of friends who didn't graduate with honors. I was just happy to get out with a somewhat average GPA, and I expected the same when I headed off to college. Then in 2008 when I finally returned to college, I carried the same goal - just make it through and finish the degree. Well I did that, and to my own surprise, I did it in better fashion that I would have given myself credit for. I am so thankful that I graduated which leads into my second TT item...

Sarah
She was absolutely amazing through my time back in school. She was without question my biggest supporter and encourager. The number of sacrifices she made so that I could finish school are too many to count. I'll do my best though to make sure she never forgets how thankful I'll always be for that.

My family & friends
I have the best family and friends I could ever ask for. I've wanted for YEARS for my parents to see their son graduate from college and I finally gave them that opportunity. As added bonus, my grandfather was able to make it to the ceremony, making it that much sweeter. Both my parents and Sarah's have been nothing but supportive and encouraging, and I know her parents really wanted to be there. It was great to have her brother there though, and I kinda looked at it as he was there representing the whole family which meant a lot to me.

Fairly often, Sarah and I talk about moving out of Atlanta, just to see what life is like somewhere else. But the hardest thing about seriously looking at it is knowing who we would be leaving behind. I cannot say enough about our church family and small group. They're just awesome. Our small group gets together as often as we can. We have great Bible studies, and we have great fun. When Memorial Day or July 4 or other events come around, that's who we want to spend it with, and we always have a great time. Just like my family, they stood by me throughout going back to school with nothing but support and encouragement, and our dear friends Josh and Erin even came to my graduation. I love those guys and everyone in our church group.

Turner Sports
Simply put, without this internship, graduation wouldn't have happened. I am so thankful for the opportunity I've been blessed with to come work at NASCAR.COM. I held my first presentation yesterday and all feedback so far has been nothing but complimentary. Every day I walk in, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to be here, and that one of the biggest reasons I am here is because of the help of others. This has been a great opportunity, and I'm looking forward to my final month here.

That'll conclude the Graduation Edition of Thankful Thursday, but that's not all I have. Check back later for the second part of Thankful Thursday.

The cake our NACofC Small Group presented me in celebration of graduating.