Trivia Tuesday: Professional Sports Relocation

With the Atlanta Thrashers announcing today that they will be moving to Winnepeg, I figured it was a good time to bring out a relocation trivia questions--here they are:

The Thrashers will be the 10th NHL franchise in the to relocate (actually move, not move arenas within a city) in the modern era (since 1976). Who were the other 9*?

Bonus #1: 13 Major League Baseball teams have relocated--can you name them?
Bonus #2: 13 National Football League teams have relocated--can you name them?
Bonus #3: 20 National Basketball Association teams have permanently relocated--who are they? (the New Orleans Hornets did temporarily during Hurricaine Katrina but I left them out).

Put your answers in the comments below. Good luck**.

*Side Note: Not among the 9 you need to name is the San Jose Sharks who were an expansion team but basically split off from another NHL franchise in one of the oddest sports stories ever where the Sharks were allowed two drafts--a dispersal draft and an expansion draft. Thought the dispersal draft wasn't really a dispersal draft but a reverse merger of a professional franchise. Seriously, this happened.

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Heat's Success Ushers In A New Era For NBA

All together now "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." Yes the hated Heat are going to the NBA Finals one step away from forever silencing the haters and vindicating Lebron, from the hatred he got for joining a super-team in Miami. However regardless of the outcome of the Finals, the Heat's success means that the damage has been done, and may just be the start of a new era, one step cleaner then the steroid era in baseball. Lebron and Bosh may have successfully ushered in the era of the three superstars meet up, form a Miami Heat like dominant team, and vie for the championship. While this may be good news for teams like the Knicks, it kills the small market teams, with the lone superstar, who will be out of luck trying to land the players who will try and fit the Lebron mold in switching squads.

Consider in the next two years, the list of restricted, and unrestricted free agents in the NBA is filled with All-Star caliber talent who you can bet will try and team up Heat style in order to win. Star players that could be on the move include Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Marc Gasol, Deron Williams and Steve Nash. Plus these two free agent classes are filled with the type of role players who can go in for mid level money and thrive alongside the stars who have teamed up. I'm talking about you Jamal Crawford, Glen Davis, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Matt Barnes, O.J. Mayo, and Rudy Fernandez. You can bet that most of these players will be looking to team up, or go with a team that already has an established superstar.

While some teams will probably gain from this, think big market, already with a superstar, like the Knicks whose fans are already clamoring for CP3, this type of switching kills the majority of the NBA. With all of the stars teaming up a majority of the NBA will be unable to contend. Sure there will be six great teams, and the playoffs will be spectacular, but for teams without three stars they will have no shot, and if the team is in an undesirable place to play, how will they ever contend. Will Dwight Howard ever want to go play in Minnesota? Lebron has created a system in which the teams are at the mercy of the players. Every summer will just be a feeding frenzy of free agency in which the small teams watch as their star departs for the bright lights and the near guarantee of playing for the NBA title. If Lebron can do it, why can't CP3, Dwight Howard, and a host of other big name players do it too? It's a question that will change the NBA and it all happened because of one man and his "Decision"

Belated Reaction To Yankees' Second Walkoff Win Of The Season

Photo Credit: New York Daily News

Last night, the Yankees posted their second walk-off win this season, beating the Blue Jays 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning.  Having still not fully recovered from their six-game losing streak, and after losing the first game of the Toronto series badly on Monday night, this impressive comeback (they were down 4-1 entering the bottom of the 8th) came at the perfect time.

Given the importance of this win, I thought I would share a few (admittedly belated) thoughts...

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Trivia Tuesday: Now Batting, Derek Jeter, Number Two

Photo Credit: NY Post

There has been a lot of talk recently about Derek Jeter's struggles, but there's no question that Captain Crunch will go down as one of the greatest Yankees ever.  Top 10?  Top 5?  That's up for debate.  But there's no debating that the Yankees organization will retire Jeter's No. 2 uniform number after he hangs up his spikes.

With that in mind, can you name the last Yankee to wear No. 2 before Jeter?

Bonus no. 1: Name the years in which the last Yankee before Jeter wore No. 2.

Bonus no. 2: Five former Yankees All-Stars wore No. 2 before Jeter.  Name them.

Thursday Trivia

I'm a little groggy today, after staying up to watch all 15 innings of last night's game.  I, like many of us, expected it to be an early evening, after Bartolo Colon pitched a gem and then handed the ball over to Mo with a 1-0 lead in the ninth.  Unfortunately, Mo blew his third save of the year (anyone worried in the least?) and the game went to extra innings.

The Yankees, for whom both Dave Robertson and Joba Chamberlain were unavailable, got 6 innings of shutout ball out of their bullpen.  Luis Ayala and Boone Logan got them through the 10th and 11th and, in an impressive rookie debut, Hector Noesi pitched four scoreless frames.  Both teams posted threats in almost every inning, but it was the Yankees who finally broke through in the top of the 15th, on a Robinson Cano two run double.  To make things more interesting, Orioles reliever Mike Gonzalez then hit Chris Dickerson in the helmet (the helmet actually broke) and was immediate ejected, forcing Buck Showalter to bring in today's starting pitcher, Jeremy Guthrie.  Left with only Posada on the bench, Girardi pinch ran for Dickerson with AJ Burnett and moved Derek Jeter out of the DH spot to play shortstop and moved Eduardo Nunez to right field.  It was a wild one, but the Yankees prevailed.

This brings us to today's trivia question:

When was the last time the Yankees won a game that went into the 15th inning?  I'm looking for the opponent, who scored/drove in the winning run, the opposing pitcher, and the final score.  Bonus if you can give me the date.

Extra Bonus: What was the longest game played (in terms of innings) in Yankee history in which they were victorious?  Name the opponent, date, and final score.  If you can name how the winning runs were scored and who the opposing pitcher was then you deserve a medal.

The Yankee Lineup

With the Yankee's offense in a deep slumber, there have been calls to shake up the lineup.  In Girardi's tenure as manager, he has been hesitant shake up the core of the lineup.  Jeter hasn't batted anywhere other than 1 or 2 and he won't split up Teixeira and Rodriguez.

I personally think lineup changes are overrated, especially when it comes to Texeira and Rodriguez, both of whom are slumping.  If he's going to make any lineup changes, he might as well use the old Billy Martin technique, which involves throwing nine names in a hat and picking them randomly.

However, let's take a look at some statistics and come up with a lineup that may better suit the Yankees at this time.  First, let's take a look at the Yankee OBPs, courtesy of www.baseball-reference.com:
Rk                      OBP
1                        Mark Teixeira# .384
2                        Russell Martin .357
3                        Curtis Granderson* .353
4                        Alex Rodriguez .345
5                        Brett Gardner* .339
6                        Nick Swisher# .333
7                        Robinson Cano* .318
8                        Derek Jeter .313
9                        Jorge Posada# .278

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View from the Seats: Red Sox at Yankees

Back at the big ballpark in the Bronx for Yankees-Red Sox. Snuck my way down to 329 where I am right now. It threatened to rain all day but so far (knock on wood), the rain has held off. It's been a rowdy crowd so far as the Yankees are down 5-4 heading into the bottom of the 5th.

For the Yankees, it has been a homer-driven offense again and the Red Sox have matched them tonight. The Yankees have a few innings to avoid the sweep, but will need plenty of runs with a shaky Garcia on the mound and a bullpen without Soriano. Reporting from a cool, but so far nice night here in the Bronx.

-Andrew

View From The Seats: Nationals vs. Marlins

NYaT is on the road this week, checking out some National League action in Washington, DC, as the Nats take on the visiting Marlins.

So far it has been something of a snoozer: 1-0 Marlins in the bottom of the 8th, after a combined 8 hits were registered against starters Livan Hernandez and Anibal Sanchez. The lone run came on a bomb by young slugger Mike Stanton.

But the noteworthy part hasn't been the game or the park itself. Rather, it's the apathetic fan base. Granted, it's gloomy and overcast, and has been misting with a threat of thunderstorm, but the place is probably 30% full at best. And a lot of these people are wearing Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and Marlins gear. Even at big moments of the game (runner on third, two outs, down by one for Washigton in the 7th) the place is muted. So....yeah. Nats fans. Hopefully the return of Stephen Strasburg and the rise of Bryce Harper will fill some seats with real fans.

Trivia Tuesday: Yankees Batting Order

Consistency is usually the mark of a championship team and such was the case with the 2009 Yankees who used their most common lineup 15 times during the season. But back in 1996, when the Jetererian Era started, the Yankees changed the lineup around quite often. So much, in fact, that they only had one lineup they used more than three times. Amazingly, they only used this lineup 4 times all season. Can you name that lineup from 1-9? This one should be really tough since they used 131 different lineups that season!

Bonus: the 1998 Yankees had one lineup they used 8 times--can you name that lineup 1-9 as well?

Bonus II: if those two are too hard for you or too long ago for you then answer this--which lineup did the 2010 Yankees use 10 times (which was the most often-used lineup)?

No cheating! Put your best guess in the comments below and I'll let you know if you are correct (or, like Mastermind, I will let you know how many of your 9 are correct). Good luck!

Trivia Tuesday: RBIs aplenty

It's a little late in the day, but better late than never to revive one of NYaT's longest traditions...

Going into the 2011 season, the Yankees' lineup seemed old and primed for a dropoff in production, while the Red Sox (having added Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford) were expected to be an offensive juggernaut.  Alas, we have seen a very different story over the last five weeks.  There are 5 Yankees ranked in the Top 20 American League RBI producers (Cano, Martin, A-Rod, Granderson, and Teixeira) while the Red Sox have just one (Gonzalez).

Way back in 1961, Roger Maris led the AL with 142 RBIs.  Who was the next Yankees player to lead the league in RBIs?

Bonus: In what year did he do it, and how many did he drive in?

Bonus No. 2: Who was the most recent Yankee to lead the AL in RBIs?

Put your answers in the comments below and later tonight I'll reveal the correct answers!