March radness
There are a lot of things to be worried about and afraid of right now, but in times like these, sports can offer a welcome distraction from the world, and we should all indulge
If you’ve been an Oddball reader for a while, you’ve probably noticed that we sign off each issue the same way:
Until next week, be the Ezequiel Carrera you wish to see in the world.
This is a variation of something I used to write in comments of the Blue Jays game threads in the Facebook group where Jonathan and I met. It was 2016, and though I was living just outside of Los Angeles, I did my damnedest to watch every Blue Jays game I could — and, while watching, I’d keep up with Jonathan and some other people in the various game threads. That summer, Ezequiel Carrera became a favourite of mine. He didn’t do anything spectacular, but it always seemed like he was good for a small but important thing every game. A bunt single, a clutch double, a well-worked count fatiguing the other team’s pitcher — whatever it was, Carrera seemed to have a knack for finding a way to contribute to victory. And, when he did, I would type “be the Ezequiel Carrera you wish to see in the world!” into the thread.
Ezequiel Carrera is a name destined to be forgotten by most baseball fans. Even most Blue Jays fans. He had 195 hits over three years as a Jay, never hit more than eight homers in a season, and didn’t do Gold Glove shit in the field. But he was a winner, and I’m sure he was respected and appreciated a ton in the clubhouse.
It’s a great time of the year to a be a sports fan. The NBA season is coming to a close and the playoff picture is coming into focus. The same can be said about the NHL season. Baseball has resolved its lockout and the season will start on April 7. And NFL free agency is afoot, and certain retirements and unretirements have kept the league’s drama at a delightful pitch.
This said, the world is as unpredictable and brutal as ever. Wars wage, innocent people die, refugees flee, and people with massive power and ungodly amounts of money do nothing about it. Jonathan and I talk about these things on the regular, but, at the end of the day, we can’t do much about it. What we can do, however, is be the Ezequiel Carreras we wish to see in the world. Oddball is one of the ways we are trying to do that. With every issue we try to make your day a little bit better, more fun, more interesting, and whatever else.
I guess what I’m saying is thanks for reading.
— DJ
Answers from last week’s issue
What three WNBA franchises have won four titles each?
The Houston Comets (won the first four WNBA Finals), Minnesota Lynx, and the Seattle Storm are tied for the lead in WNBA titles.
What television show’s theme music is inextricably linked with a standout athlete (the standout athlete?) from the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal?
“Cotton’s Dream” is the theme song for The Young and the Restless, and was renamed “Nadia’s Theme” after being used in montages of Nadia Comăneci’s perfect-ten performances at the Montréal Olympics.
In January 2022, the University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark had consecutive 30-point triple-doubles (against Nebraska and Minnesota, respectively), something previously not accomplished by any NCAA D-1 player or any WNBA player and only accomplished by six NBA players. Five of the six are active. Name them.
Small correction required here. Last week we wrote (as you can see in the question above) “only accomplished by six NBA players.” What we should have written was “only accomplished by six NBA players in the 21st century.” Anyway, at the time Clark did this, those six players were Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and Russell Westbrook. The reigning MVP (who deserves to repeat) Nikola Jokić has since accomplished the feat, doing it on March 6 and 7.
How many women have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Zero, one, or three?
That would be one. Effa Manley, owner of the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues, is the only woman inducted into Cooperstown.
#cluebird
Three active NBA players played college ball for the Wichita State Shockers. Who is the only one who was drafted?
Only four coaches in NFL history won more Super Bowls than what man — who, after playing linebacker for Wichita State (then the University of Wichita), was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 7th round of the 1964 draft.
What retired slugger played his college ball for Wichita State before clubbing 396 career homers in the majors and finishing in the top 20 in MVP voting every year from 1988 to 1994 — despite getting traded twice during that span?
What NHL team plays its home games closest to Wichita, Kansas?
#postscript
Why’d we go with Wichita State questions this time around? What are you, a cop?
Many thanks to Sue Bird for being named her name and to you for being named your name, unless your name is Rob Manfred for unnecessarily delaying the start of the MLB regular season. We have decided to demote you to a Bob. You’re not good enough to be a Rob anymore (if you ever were).
Until next week, be the Ezequiel Carrera you wish to see in the world.
— DJ/JY