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When Aviaks Attack

davidu sent in a chilling story which explained why Phillies center fielder Doug Glanville hit two home runs off of Curt Schilling, pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. An eye for an eye.

24 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. dwarven Cleric by harshaw · · Score: 5

    My guess is this is the first and last time you will see the words "Dwarven Cleric" anywhere in the ESPN archives.

    1. Re:dwarven Cleric by M-2 · · Score: 2

      ESPN2 has broadcast the Magic tournaments. I don't think EQ-as-sport is THAT far away from that concept.....
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    2. Re:dwarven Cleric by MrWa · · Score: 2

      And hopefully this is the last time we see AYB...

  2. Re:For those about to post by Goonie · · Score: 2

    Yeah, I've no doubt that they'd be great at twitch games, but RPGs? I wouldn't have thought they'd be, as a group, better (or worse, for that matter) than average at anything that's based on strategy rather than exceptional reaction times.

    Go you big red fire engine!

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    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
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  3. Also geek-curious on that page... by cswiii · · Score: 2

    Is the section entitled "Piker of the Week". From a physics perspective, anyway.

    How the hell did that guy hit a home run, on a pitch like that?

  4. Re:And this is shocking how?? by Zico · · Score: 2

    Who ever said that baseball players aren't human too, and don't have lives either?

    Jon Katz, in, I believe, episodes IV through XXI of the landmark HellMouth series. In short form: Geeks wonderful, jocks evil.


    Cheers,

  5. Re:There are more out there... by EricWright · · Score: 2

    Pratt is the backup catcher for the Mets, behind Mike Piazza... in case you really cared.

    -E

  6. Re:physical/ computer gamers by EricWright · · Score: 3

    Well, Jayson Stark (the author of the article) makes frequent reference to the fact that Doug Glanville is a Yale graduate summa cum laude. I'd hardly call that stupid. Doug is also a hilarious guy if he really does say all the things Jayson writes... and from an interview I saw with Doug, I wouldn't doubt it.

    -E

  7. Re:For those about to post by DMaster0 · · Score: 3

    amazingly enough, atheletes are probably the most technologically equipped people out there from what I've read. When you have essentially 4 or 5 months with relatively litlle (read: not a damn thing, sir.) to do, and a lot of money, computer gear isn't so bad. If you made 280k a year (that's poor for an athelete!) and were in your early 20's (most professional atheletes tend to be that old) you'd probably have grown up with a nintendo, sega, gameboy, etc. Chances are you'd love nothing better than to sit around and play games for a few hours a day (and be able to afford amazing amounts of cool gear). I sure know that if I played baseball, which essentially means the entire winter all i'd have to do is lift some weights (maybe 2 hrs a day) I'd sure get myself a pimped out rig of computers, a PS2, a Dreamcast and huge TV and invite all my rich friends over to play games (who also happen to be atheletes with nothing to do). I remember reading an article once btw, from the 3DO people who said that Vladimir Gurrero (baseball player for the Montreal Expos) and his also-ballplaying brother used High Heat Baseball 2001 to 'scout' the pitchers they were going to face in upcoming games. Amazing eh? (and not entirely a bad idea, since the makers of the game do the same thing to get the proper AI for the game, I'm sure you've seen the commercials with Marshall Faulk and they try to get him to drop the football so they can get a fumble for the motion captures and stuff). So it's probably a lot more widespread these days, and using a computer doesn't necessarily mean you're pasty white and sit in a chair all day and work in the tech industry. It's not just for uber-geeks anymore.

  8. More on Glanville by invenustus · · Score: 4

    For those of you who aren't baseball fans (or Phillies fans like me) I should give you the geek background on Doug Glanville. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Transportation Engineering, and every time Jayson Stark (who wrote for the Philly Inquirer before he joined ESPN.com) approaches him for a quote, he comes through with something bizarre and hilarious. In past Stark columns, he's made comments about the earth's gravitational constant's being decreased to allow more home runs, and when teammates compared him to old-time player Wally Pipp, he commented, "I hope they were talking about Picture-In-Picture technology." Stark himself is a real math geek too - every week he publishes this column of numerical abberations from around Baseball. Like the week the Detroit Tigers had more babies (2) than wins (0).
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    "Here to discuss how the AOL merger will affect consumers is the CEO of AOL."

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  9. Re:THE INSULT! by radja · · Score: 2

    in d&d 3rd edition racial prerequisites for class are gone though. As for that swimsuit issua.. well.. only if they leave out the dwarves.

    //rdj

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    No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
    --Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
  10. There are more out there... by D.+Mann · · Score: 3

    Todd Pratt (he plays for the Mets, although I have no idea what position) also plays Ultima Online as "Ian Stormbringer." He's been featured on their site a number of times, and I believe his endorsement was featured on the box of UO:R.

    Professional atheletes like killings orcs too!

  11. For those about to post by Ronin+X · · Score: 3
    For all those about to post "Baseball? This is 'News for Nerds. Stuff that matters'?????": RTFA.

    It's good to see some crossover nerd/professional sportsmen. Anyone know of any other hornrimmed athletes out there?

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    Ok my karma is maxed out. When do I become Enlightened?
    1. Re:For those about to post by ryants · · Score: 5
      Anyone know of any other hornrimmed athletes out there?

      I work for EA Sports and it isn't at all unusual to meet athletes who are pretty damn good at the games we make.

      Ryan T. Sammartino

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      Ryan T. Sammartino
      "Ancora imparo"

    2. Re:For those about to post by tb3 · · Score: 2
      Vladimir Gurrero (baseball player for the Montreal Expos) and his also-ballplaying brother used High Heat Baseball 2001 to 'scout' the pitchers they were going to face in upcoming games. Amazing eh?

      More common than you'd think. Jacques Villenuve played the Monte Carlo track on an F1 simulator game before he ever got to the circuit, and it helped him win. Now a lot of the F1 drivers use the computer games to study the courses in advance.
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  12. Baseball + Slashdot = A Whole New World? by crashnbur · · Score: 4
    I have always loved baseball. It is perhaps the greatest game on this planet. There can be no substitute. All those shoot'em ups and whatnot - they can not be the best because there is very little if any reality on which to base most of them, and in the event that reality supports one, it is rarely a game...

    Now, posting a sports article to slashdot... Perhaps one of the most brilliant moves in history, and aside from the comments immediately following, it will likely go virtually unnoticed.

    A shame...

    We need more zany slashdot stories like this, and less of the boring, mindless drivel that seems to be echoing the stories of last week over and over and over again... I mean, news is great, but cheddar makes it better, you know? Variety is greater!

  13. I learned something today. by Faux_Pseudo · · Score: 2

    Let this be a lesson to all of you:
    VR still counts in RealLife(tm)
    One day a Bingbong will come.

    I was at first misstified why there was a story on /. that involved a ball that was not a buckyball, but I RTFA and it all made sence and made me remember that i have $2000 worth of gameing books locked up in the closet.
    I am now 7 years clean from RPG's.

  14. And this is shocking how?? by dagoalieman · · Score: 2

    Who ever said that baseball players aren't human too, and don't have lives either??

    For crying out loud folks, this is what we always scream whenever a kid's killings are blamed on a video game- WE ARE PEOPLE.

    This post isn't meant to be a troll, but really, how many pranks (good classical ones) do you know of that are computer inspired? Too damn many for me to list, and I'd say this can go in there too. I'm not impressed by the content of the story too much.

    But I am impressed that they actually published news beyond the "shoulder tucked, head in" routine for baseball. On second thought, maybe this is a good indicator I need him on my rotissire baseball team....

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    We don't need no Net Explorer We don't need no Thought control
    1. Re:And this is shocking how?? by MaxQuordlepleen · · Score: 5

      Geeks wonderful, jocks evil.

      Well, I don't know about you, but I must say that I prefer my baseball players to be rock-stupid, backwoods types. It makes me feel like there is a little karmic balance in the world. No fair if they are smart and interesting too, because then I have no way to satisfactorily explain my inability to run, catch or throw...

  15. Schilling is a total gamer-geek by scowling · · Score: 5
    Curt Schilling is, in the best sense of the word, a total gamer-geek. After the demise of Avalon Hill (and before Hasbro bought out much of their intellectual property) Schilling got the license and started producing material for AH's popular (and incredibly complicated) WWII skirmish boardgame, Advanced Squad Leader, under his own company, Multi-Man Publishing.

    If not for Schilling, ASL (perhaps the most popular modular historical skirmish game) would have gone the way of so many games before it. I have a lot of respect for the guy.
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  16. I knew there was a reason to keep playing by jimmu · · Score: 3

    Damn, looks like I'll have to load everquest back up. I'll get that baseball scholarship yet!

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  17. My new favorite baseball player is by IanA · · Score: 2

    Doug Glanville.

    "I vowed revenge on the soul of Bingbong," Glanville said, "for the negligent actions of Cylc."

    Gotta love it!
    As a baseball follower I can tell you I do believe he was motivated, and that it was not simply because it is his job to hit homeruns.

    Glanville is not known for power(more for speed) and Schilling is one of the top10-20 pitchers in the league.

    Wow.

  18. Re:physical/ computer gamers by cheezedawg · · Score: 2

    Check out http://www.denverbroncos.com/lockerroom/bios/crock ett_ray.php3

    Ray Crockett on the Denver Broncos recieved a degree in... Computer Science! I guess they all aren't dumb jocks...

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    "The defense of freedom requires the advance of freedom" - George W Bush
  19. How would Jon Katz classify these guys? by President+of+The+US · · Score: 5

    Are they jocks or geeks? It just doesn't make sense!!!
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    Stay in school, kids! Peace out, Dubya