Cricket Has Arrived !

[dooley_womack1]

Piotr, explaining things in terms one can understand is a basic thing in life, for ****'s sake. One doesn't have to be an ugly American for it to be helpful to him to have in a story who the Albert Pujols or Tim Lincecum of cricket is, or what the big rivalries are, or who the Nadal and Serena Williams sisters of badminton are, for another example. Unless you want to greatly restrict your audience, it doesn't hurt to explain artfully as you story-tell.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Admittedly unnecessarily strong. But the basic bewilderment about objecting to expanding a story's reach stands.

 

[Double Down]

Then arrogant examination of writing, and equally arrogant (and often "huffy") defense of writers you've had a beer with are part of your "gimmick", right?

I'd say that's accurate, whether I want it to be or not. And you've helped contribute to to me wearing that badge, regardless of the fact you went back and deleted that post about me having a difficult time dealing with it when people I know are criticized, assuming I hadn't seen it first.

Look, I get it that you don't appreciate it when ESPN tries to "talk down" to its audience and pretend that international sports will never be taken seriously unless they're understood or taken seriously by a mainstream American audience. And that's a worthy role to play.

But you're essentially annoyed here by a throw-away line in what is practically a Fire Joe Morgan piece. What elevates your beef to gimmick is you're griping about a comedy piece without realizing it's a comedy piece.

 

[YankeeFan]

I didn't say a word.

And, come on, what about the article I quoted? Cricket thugs beating up soccer players? There's comedy gold somewhere in there.

 

[Blitz]

Go Sri Lanka Go !!!

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

Go Sri Lanka Go !!!

It is sort of the Mississippi State of cricket squads.

 

[dooley_womack1]

I have nothing against cricket. Any sport that has a lunch break is cool by me.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Not judging the validity of the Red Sox-Yankees comparison, because its extremely dubious given the ramifications of the India-Pakistan blood feud, but I'm American, I love "world" sports and I don't get cricket whatsoever.

I'm right there with you. I even subscribed to Setanta for a while to get lower-division soccer and Gaelic football.

I watched a solid hour of cricket on Setanta one day and still had no idea what in the hell was happening. Kind of fun, though.

 

[dooley_womack1]

What would be the Eastern Michigan of cricket?

 

[YankeeFan]

Australia

 

[YankeeFan]

BTW, the best thing about this thread just might be the space between the word "Arrived" and the exclamation point.

Brilliant !

 

[JR]

Last time I was in England on work related stuff, I mentioned to one of my English colleagues that I'd like to go to a cricket match.

He asked, "Do you know the rules?" and I said, "No".

"Don't bother".

 

[Armchair_QB]

Stopped reading here:

"It's as though the Yankees and the Red Sox had (a) nuclear weapons and (b) an enduring blood-feud over the disputed territory of Stamford, Conn."

I'm SO glad they threw in a reference to our 'Merican sports, so we great unwashed masses could understand the Cricket World Cup!

So you shouldn't use comparisons to things that Americans understand in an article whose purpose was to explain cricket to Americans who are unfamiliar with the sport?

Its so ****ing played out.

True.

Alabama and Auburn would be a better comparison.

 

[Boom_70]

Brian Lara is the Derek Jeter of cricket

 

[Armchair_QB]

**** cricket. We beat those dirty Russians in rugby yesterday.

http://www.universalsports.com/news-blogs/blogs/blog=thescrum/postid=538206.html

 

[Blitz]

Go Sri Lanka Go !!!

It is sort of the Mississippi State of cricket squads.

I'm guessing the England win over SL was sort of an upset.?

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

If the site were earnestly committed to storytelling, maybe it would have gone in this direction instead of another soft-shoe act.

http://www.outoftheashes.tv/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/blog/2010/jul/20/the-spin-afghanistan-film-cricket

 

[TrooperBari]

What would be the Eastern Michigan of cricket?

Team USA

 

[RickStain]

Bump! England is in the process of finishing off an amazing 4-0 whitewash in the tests against India. Utterly dominating.

 

[deskslave]

Go Sri Lanka Go !!!

It is sort of the Mississippi State of cricket squads.

I'm guessing the England win over SL was sort of an upset.?

Not at all. Once upon a time, maybe. And in Sri Lanka, maybe. But Sri Lanka are definitely a second-tier team most of the time and England, against all odds and most people's understanding of the world order, are very, very good at the moment.

Indeed, they're now No. 1 in the world in Test cricket, thanks to the third win in what is now on its way to being a 4-0 rout.

Whitewashing India is a bit like sweeping the Yankees in the World Series, to continue the American comparisons theme. :)