They hate the people running the Croatian Soccer Federation so much that the fans are actively trying to get their team kicked out of the tournament so that the people running the program will be forced to resign or be fired. It is fucking ridiculous.

Croatia really is the asshole of Europe.

This reminds me of the Jordan/Malone finals of ‘98. “MVP? Good for you. Now watch the GOAT take over.”

He’s not THAT light skinned

This is too nuanced and well written.

Whatever. Just keep him out of the hall of fame. We don't want to dirty that place up.

I think that Pete Rose is a HOF’er, that he is a asshole, and that Ichiro is the hit king. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Counterpoint: Anybody who says “Anybody who says ‘Pete Rose can eat shit’ can eat shit” can eat shit.

Yeah, I guess I totally read that wrong. Seemed like so much negativity in other posts about others actually picking majors then getting jobs with those majors as some kind of mythical unicorn. Thought you were one more piling on. Oops.

If this is about Simmons being an only child (shocker!) of a well-heeled school district superintendent, you hit the nail on the head. Billy Boy’s upbringing is an underappreciated component of his Holy Cross (as Southwest Asian Studies major) —> bartender/amateur gambler —> AOLBoston writer —> Page2/Grantland arc. He…

It has required a pile of cash and four years to qualify me to say: I CAN TELL

Ladies and gentlemen, our doctors eschew critical thinking!

Maybe “encouraged” would have been a better word.

“And if Japan baseball isn’t pro enough for Rose, then why did they win back-to-back WBC titles?”

Thanks! And while you’re at it, I’ll have a grande latte, no whip.

While you’re absolutely right that the US doesn’t have a monopoly on the best players, go take a look at the rosters that everyone brought to the 2008 Olympics. The US brought a bunch of guys like Single A Jake Arrieta, Still in College Stephen Strasburg, and Double A Dexter Fowler, plus a bunch of never-weres like…

And as I said elsewhere today: Pete Rose played in an era when starting pitchers were expected to go 7+ innings every night. Rose probably had at least 70+ at-bats per season against tiring starting pitchers whose Baker-esque managers saw no reason to lift. Because manhood.

Ichiro’s current thinning dome >>>> Pete Rose’s monkeys-ass Bowl cut.

Way to bury the lede.....