Olympics why not?

That's right Ashley Wagner...it is bull shit. Thus far the US skating team has not been crushing it in Sochi. Apparently this is the first time in years that the US team is not expected to score any medals on the ice. Our best hope seems to lie in this ice dancing duo:

They seem up to the task. No follow up questions. At least we still got snowboarding on lock right? In Soviet Russia ice skates you.

"Both teams played hard...goodnight and godbless."

Have you heard about this?

Sherminator: "I'm the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that is the result you are going to get. Don't you ever talk about me."

Andrews:  "Who was talking about you?"

Sherminator: "Crabtree. Don't you open your mouth about the best, or I'm going to shut it for you really quick. L...O...B*." 

Please note that Sherman is saying "LOB" an abbreviation for "legion of boom" a nickname for the Seattle defense. He is not saying LL Bean as commonly thought on the f-book. 

Sherman's epic manic diatribe has been the subject of endless commentary, twitter battling and punditry. If we are really want to add something meaningful from the sporting nerd side we have to break it down into two aspects:

PART 1: The Fact Check

Anytime someone comes in talking all that noise...ya gonna get a fact check. Fact in question: Richard Sherman is the best corner in the league. Quite a claim! Sherman is a fairly young, third year player. However in each of the past three seasons Sherman has intercepted the ball 4, 8 and 8 times respectively. Good for the most in the league this year, second most last year and also the most total interceptions in the NFL over the span of his career. This is also the first time that any player has had 20 picks in the first three years of their career since Ed Reed did it over a decade ago. Snap! 

Now naysayers will appropriately point out that interceptions only tell part of the story. Perhaps a better stat is passes defended, defined by the NFL as each time a defender successfully deflects a pass thrown to a player he is defending. Well Sherman has amassed 61 passes defended over his career, ranking him...you guessed it....number 1 among players over his career. 

Prior to Sherman bursting onto the scene Darrelle Revis was unequivocably considered the best corner in football, with his 2009 season one of the best statistical seasons ever. Though Revis also had an outstanding 2013, this is his first year back from ACL repair. Directly comparing the two corners this year is tough as Sherman had more talent around him and Revis is likely still regaining function in his knee. Perhaps the better comparison is a head-to-head look at their sophmore seasons:

Revis Vs. Sherman — Sophomore Seasons

	TA	REC	%CT	YDS	YAC	INT	RAT
D. Revis	84	49	58.3	510	204	5	59.1
R. Sherman	87	41	47.1	634	135	8	41.1

 TA= targets — REC= receptions allowed — %CT=percentage caught — YDS= yards allowed — YAC= yards after catch allowed — INT= interceptions — RAT= opposing QB rating when passing into his coverage

Comparing and analyzing corners is notoriously difficult as the better corners get thrown to the least. Many years the highest INTtotals are collected by players that QBs like to go after. Both players were targeted equally, Sherman picked the ball more, allowed a lower completion percentage and held QBs to lower rating. In the argument of Revis Island versus Optimus Prime (Sherman's self-nominated nickname after shutting down Megatron) it would be hard to argue against Sherman. 

Best corner in the league. Fact Check. 

Part 2: Is this tight?

Most critics of Sherman's rant cite a lack of class and an unwillingness to win with grace. Tom Brady commented that "we win with graciousness." Justin Verlander even said that Sherman would get a fastball "high and tight." (YAY Detroit matters!). And its hard to argue with that sentiment. Any time a player is brash and arrogant in victory it definitely does not look classy. (Maybe brady is still mad though.)

But "is it classy?" is a different question from "is it tight?" Sherman's rant though decidedly not classy is mos def tight. Its tight in the way that this is tight and this is tight. 99.9/100 post game are completely uninteresting: We gave 110%, we had a good game plan, gotta thank my teammates, much respect to [opponents]. DONT CARE! If this is anything it is definitely interesting. It is the best corner in the game (see above) throwing it in your face like an aggressive WWF-style hype man and it is awesome. The major caveat here is that if you are a Niner's fan then you had to suffer through a game with rough officiating, where your probowl linebacker has a career threatening injury...only to have Sherman take away your trip to the Superbowl and then throw it in your face. So yah you probably hate him then. Sucks.

"Both teams played hard...goodnight and godbless."

BRACE YOURSELF: Content is coming.

To the sprawling multitudes of Sporting Nerd fans, we apologize for the recent down tick in blog activity. Both primary authors have been somewhat occupied by responsibilities related to our side job. In addition we have been in an ongoing legal battle with the authors of http://thesportingnerds.wordpress.com/. Who are not only ruining our brand but are also posting analysis of the Bruins games every night for no apparent reason. Rest assured that greener pastures are ahead! And content is coming.

"Both teams played hard...goodnight and godbless."

Hyun-Jin Ryu "Sings" and Struggles in "Smile Again"

The Dodgers' Korean teddy bear / rookie sensation Hyun-Jin Ryu made his K-Pop debut today, teaming up and "singing" with K-pop stars to raise money for charity. While it's great to see Ryu act all awkward in the Dodgers dugout (see below), it's a little painful to see him act like a seventh-grader at his first junior high school dance when standing next to his K-pop costar. She's doing the obligatory flirting... and he is having none of it. Unless he's playing the "ignore her" game to make her want him even more. In that case, playaaaaaaaaaa!!



Nevertheless, famously stoic on the field, Ryu finally gives us his emotional struggle face (credit: Chad Moriyama):

Hopefully we'll see a lot more of that face in 2014. And hope to see a lot more of this as well...

Swaggy P in One Play

The essence of Swaggy P, captured in one play...



Credit to kennycity for finding this clip.

The Sixth Swag

And the legend of Swaggy P continues..

Since Mike D'antoni relegated him to a role off of the bench in early November, Nick "Swaggy P" Young's productivity has improved markedly, and he has been a key component of the Lakers' exceeding expectations thus far this year (granted, the expectations were quite low - Vegas predicted they would only win ~34 games this season).

As a starter during the 1st 3 games of this season, Young averaged a meager 8.3 pts per game, shooting 27.3% from the field.

As the sixth man, he has been markedly more productive: 15.3 pts per game, shooting at a 46.1% clip while also averaging 1.1 steals. These numbers are near career-highs for Swaggy P, and if they continue, he may very well make a surprising run for Sixth Man of the Year.

Most impressively, in a league filled with egos more inflated than Bitcoin, Swaggy P handled his demotion rather well it seems. His laid-back demeanor just rolled with the punches, and it looks like his play has benefited from it. How laid back is he? Check out Laker legends doing ridiculously good Swaggy P impersonations:



In the clip above, you may have noticed the "#SwaggyD" banner in front of the studio desk. Young is apparently aspiring (albeit jokingly) to be the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, hence the switch to Swaggy D. I am vehemently against the name change - Swaggy D just makes too much sense.

And speaking of undeserved awards, he was recently named one of GQ's Most Stylish Athletes . Just like his game, this outfit is primarily offensive.



Long live Swaggy P!

.JJ

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, I am thankful for face transplant technology.
Happy Thanksgiving, Nerds! .JJ

Tweet of the Day: David Price, Feminist

Everyone thats traveling for thanksgiving please be careful! Driving conditions will be rough with these storms! Ladies..let ur man drive!
— David Price (@DAVIDprice14) November 26, 2013

While a lesser man may wither under the stress of constant trade rumors, the upstanding David Price rises above the fray to offer helpful advice to the helpless womenfolk of the world. Attention single ladies: you are screwed. Extra points for saving time by using "ur" in lieu of "your."

DISCLAIMER: The Sporting Nerd (TM) acknowledges that David Price's tweet is also noninclusive of gay, lesbian, or bisexual twitter followers. The Sporting Nerd (TM) regrets that we could not come up with a clever way of incorporating this into our post. As such we have reverted to a heteronormotive, yet liberal interpretation in order to facilitate our snarkiness and condescension. We apologize for any inconvenience this may pose. 

"Both teams played hard...goodnight and godbless." 

Paying the Cost to be the Boss

Kobe's massive extension has already sent shockwaves through the league. The 35-year-old Mamba, who has yet to play a minute since major surgery is slated to receive 23.5 millions next year and 25 million the year after. Obviously Kobe had to be extended, obviously 2 years is ideal, but the sticker price is staggering. Major critics of this deal (Bill Simmons...surprise!) question Kobe's desire to win title # 6, stating that if he wanted to help the Lakers Kobe would have accepted a hometown discount to free up more cap space (a la Garnett or Duncan). Kobe's previous contract was grandfathered in from before the 2011 collective bargaining agreement and as such he was making a now nearly impossible to obtain $30,453000 for this year. Because players are allowed to sign contracts for up to 105% of their previous salary KB24's max contract was $31,975,650. WOWZA. So the Lakers got away with an 8.5 million dollar discount. Optimists would point to the Lakers' otherwise spartan payroll for next year and assume that the lakeshow still has plenty of room to play: KB24's aforementioned contract, the suddenly decrepit Steve Nash @ 9.7 million, and Robert Sacre-Bleu sneaks in for 900 Gs. That soaks up at least 34.2 mil but more likely 35.4 mil assuming that Nick Young (aka Swaggy P) takes his player option for 1.2 large (how did that happen?). The optimists are right that the Lakers will have cash to flash, specifically 36 million assuming they can use exceptions to get all the way up to the luxury tax limit. But 36 million will dry up pretty quick, when you are using it to fill 9 roster spots.

Maybe the Lakeshow can attract one max contract player under these restrictions, but who would that savior be? Lebron? Fat chance. Wade? Never leaving, plus has one 0.75 knees left. Melo? Maybe. Lakers + Melo = Championship? HA! Now admittedly I am letting my cynicism rule unchecked, there are several interesting players in the mix for this free-agent class (Dirk, Gortat, Ed Davis, Greg Monroe, Demarcus Cousins, Favors etc....)  that would allow any team with cash a chance to rebuild. But lets just admit that despite the Laker's financial flexibility, the post-injury Kobe is not worth 32.8% of a team's salary (again assuming they can find their way up to the luxury limit), nor will he be worth 34.8% of a team's salary next year. But Kobe really can't be blamed for this deal, and not even in the "this game is a business gets what's yours" sense. Kobe never demanded this deal, there was no negotiation, this contract is exactly what the Lakers offered him and he signed it with no counter offer. One more piece of evidence that Jim Buss is just not his dad.

"Both teams played hard...goodnight and godbless."