Is 10 points a rout?

[Smallpotatoes]

A one-point game turning into 10, no.
A 23-point game turning into 10, yes.
Depends whether its coming or going.

So with that logic, if a team is leading by three points through three quarters then wins by 23 it's a close game, right?
You go with the final score. In this case, use "beat" then explain that one team was leading by 23 before the other closed the gap.

Exactly. Why is this even an issue? If the AP morons used "beat" then went on to describe one team was leading by 23, that lets the reader decide if he or she thinks it was a rout.

Regardless of the score, I'd just say "defeated" or "beat" or something like that.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

Explain that the score did not indicate the one-sideness of the game, but calling a 110-100 basketball game a rout is sort of like calling a 7-5 hockey game a rout, even if the losing team scored three goals in the final five minutes.

 

[KJIM]

MM, I don't agree with that comparison. When hockey teams score three goals late, it's not because they've pulled their starting goalie for a scrub and put in the Black Aces for a little ice time.

I'm fine with calling the 10-point game in this case a rout. It's a close call, but God knows there's enough other copy to agonize over than to split hairs over this one.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

But the use of the term "rout" juxtaposed with a close score is what's at issue, and it looks funky for a 10-point basketball game or a two-goal hockey/soccer game, whether it was a blowout made respectable by playing against backups or a nip-and-tuck game where the winning team hit their free throws down the stretch.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

If you're up by 20 or more late in the game and the other team makes it close in the end, then it qualifies as a rout.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

If you're up by 20 or more late in the game and the other team makes it close in the end, then it qualifies as a rout.

I tend to agree, but I wouldn't use "rout" next to a non-rout final score, even if the closeness is misleading. Looks odd.

 

[Dale Cooper]

It totally depends on context. Final scores in any sport can be misleading and particularly in basketball. It's not uncommon for a game to be close most of the way, then a team gets a small lead with a few minutes left, losing team starts fouling, winning team makes its free throws, losing team misses its 3s, and you have a 10-15 point loss. It certainly does not become a rout if it hits 15 in that case.

Rout is probably the wrong word in this case, because it leads to confusion. But it does provide context for the 10-point win, especially in a brief capsule where there isn't much space to explain.

 

[buckweaver]

So consider this situation:

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2006/B05200MIL2006.htm

May 20, 2006. Twins are beating the Brewers 13-4 entering the bottom of the eighth. I feel safe in assuming that everyone would call this one a rout, as is. Milwaukee scores three in the eighth, Twins get one back in the ninth and Milwaukee scores three more in the bottom half. Final score: Twins 16, Brewers 10.

The score doesn't make it look like too much of a rout, at first glance. But anyone who was at Miller Park that night knows the Twins won going away, and the Brewers -- despite scoring three in the ninth -- never had a chance to win.

I think this is similar to the original situation in this thread. The losing team was down so far that it never really had a chance to win -- I think that's the criteria for a "rout."

 

[BYH]

So consider this situation:

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2006/B05200MIL2006.htm

May 20, 2006. Twins are beating the Brewers 13-4 entering the bottom of the eighth. I feel safe in assuming that everyone would call this one a rout, as is. Milwaukee scores three in the eighth, Twins get one back in the ninth and Milwaukee scores three more in the bottom half. Final score: Twins 16, Brewers 10.

The score doesn't make it look like too much of a rout, at first glance. But anyone who was at Miller Park that night knows the Twins won going away, and the Brewers -- despite scoring three in the ninth -- never had a chance to win.

I think this is similar to the original situation in this thread. The losing team was down so far that it never really had a chance to win -- I think that's the criteria for a "rout."

How about this? Is this a rout?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/news/2001/08/06/indians_comeback_ap/

:D :D

How do you get a retrosheet URK, BTW? The URL stays at retrosheet.org no matter how many different pages I visit there.

 

[buckweaver]

How do you get a retrosheet URL, BTW? The URL stays at retrosheet.org no matter how many different pages I visit there.

You on a PC? You have to go to a page that has the link on it -- not the page itself -- and right-click "copy link location." Then you can paste it here.

Say, for instance, that you're on the 1986 Mets team page (<a href="http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1986/TNYN01986.htm"</a>here</a>) and you want to post a link on SJ to a certain extra-inning game of a certain postseason series.

So you go to that page (http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1986/VNYN31986.htm) and it brings up this screen here:

The 1986 New York Mets World Series Game Log

Team Page

PREV NEXT

Date # Opponent Result Record Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save Attendance Time D/N
10-18-1986 BOX+PBP Vs BOS A L 0- 1 0-1 Hurst (1-0) Darling (0-1) Schiraldi (1) 55076 night
10-19-1986 BOX+PBP Vs BOS A L 3- 9 0-2 Crawford (1-0) Gooden (0-1) Stanley (1) 55076 night
10-21-1986 BOX+PBP At BOS A W 7- 1 1-2 Ojeda (1-0) Boyd (0-1) 33595 night
10-22-1986 BOX+PBP At BOS A W 6- 2 2-2 Darling (1-1) Nipper (0-1) Orosco (1) 33920 night
10-23-1986 BOX+PBP At BOS A L 2- 4 2-3 Hurst (2-0) Gooden (0-2) 34010 night
10-25-1986 BOX+PBP Vs BOS A W 6- 5 (10) 3-3 Aguilera (1-0) Schiraldi (0-1) 55078 night
10-27-1986 BOX+PBP Vs BOS A W 8- 5 4-3 McDowell (1-0) Schiraldi (0-2) Orosco (2) 55032 night

PREV NEXT

Read Me

If you click on the link to Game 6, the URL stays at "www.retrosheet.org."

So instead of clicking on the link, you right-click where it says "BOX+PBP" and then click on "copy link location." And then you can paste that link here, like so: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1986/B10270NYN1986.htm.

And there you go.

 

[ScooterP]

30 or more. Period. Anything less is a just a good game where a team was defeated deftly.

 

[Diego Marquez]

That's four field goals (with threes), which can be done in 30 seconds. Four goals in hockey or four touchdowns in football -- a rout. Four runs in baseball is one swing of the bat (not a rout). Basketball needs more than a couple of hoops. Just like bowling, 10 points is not a rout.

 

[mannheimadler]

10 points is not a rout in most basketball games (although with some colleges and high schools, the way they slow the ball and play defense, a 10-point game really feels like 20).

But in most situations, I would wait for a 15-20 point final score before calling it a rout.