Renaming the 'ultimate grand slam'

Rajai Davis hit an ultimate grand slam on Monday night, but no one's calling it that because it's a stupid name. Let's rename it.

On Monday night, Rajai Davis hit the grand slam you practiced in your backyard.

Here we go, down by three, bases loaded, in steps (you) ...

He did it against Sean Doolittle, an impossible pitcher. The crowd went bananas.

It was just the 28th time in baseball history that a player hit a grand slam down by three, in the final at-bat in their home ballpark. A double play ends it. A regular ol' out makes a comeback exceedingly unlikely. Instead, the team wins in a split-second, the home crowd erupts, his teammates crowd around the plate. It's the greatest dejection-to-elation moment in baseball, if not pro sports.

And they call it an "ultimate grand slam."

Oh, come on. What kind of name is that? Ultimate grand slam. Baseball is so concerned with its legacy and history, yet the most exciting possible swing of a baseball bat sounds like a flavor of Mountain Dew. Someone who looked like Dan Cortese said "oh, bro, ultimate grand slam" after Chris Hoiles hit one in 1996, and the name stuck. Oh, how the name stuck.

So unfortunate. At least that means it's time to play "What Should We Name This?", in which we look to give a baseball-related event a name. In this case, we're looking to take away an awful name and replace it with a less awful name. If you like the name ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM, you like getting punched in the face while listening to someone play "Eruption" at a Guitar Center. Let's help you. Some possibilities:

The famous people

Here are the Hall of Famers who have hit a walkoff grand slam down by three:

• Roger Conner


• Babe Ruth


• Roberto Clemente


• Alan Trammell

Trammell's in my Hall of Fame. Get your own Hall of Fame. There's a statue with him on a tandem bike with Lou Whitaker, and it's near the food court.

In this scenario, you name the grand slam after a player. No one's ever going to say, "Dude, he has a chance for a rogcon here," but you get the idea. Saying that he hit a Clemente has a ring to it. A Grand Tram is a little too cute, but you get the idea. You can't use Babe Ruth, though, because it would never not sound like a homer where the player called his shot. There's a list of walk-off, down-by-three grand slams here (that doesn't have Ryan Roberts from 2011 or Davis from Monday night).

A description of the play

This would be the spiritual successor to ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM, except not as awful. A golden grand slam. A silver comeback. A swingphoric grand slamporium.

Man, these are all worse than the one I'm making fun of. A down-by-three dinger. Miracle dinger. Wonderbat. I know this category has a chance, but I need to find suggestions that are actual improvements. Thunderswat. Professor Neatswing. Dammit, pass, pass, move on.

Unrelated or made-up words

Pick some existing words, or just get some syllables and start mashing them together. A strangle. A cyclone. A growler. Or on the made-up side, a fantle. A bamph. A studge. Just dig through the Lewis Carroll archives and see what shakes out.

This, too, is worse than the actual name, and I'm running out of time.

Brooks Conrad

Again, just 28 people have hit one of these. More pitchers have had a four-strikeout inning. Almost as many have thrown a perfect game. This is rare.

Do you know how many people have made a crucial error in a playoff game? Probably a lot more. Tony Fernandez. Alex Gonzalez. Bill Buckner. Those are the obvious ones, without any research at all. There are probably dozens. Yet what is Brooks Conrad known for?

That. What is he not known for?

That. This seems supremely unfair, to be a part of a rare moment of baseball euphoria, yet be associated with a not-nearly-as-rare occurrence. Name the ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM after Conrad, and that changes.

The only problem is that Brooks Conrad is kind of a plain name. The Clemente had some music to it that a Brooks or a Conrad will never has. As such, we're going to have to pass. The sentiment is still there, though. Maybe just the verb can help out. He conradded a grand slam to win the game. Keep it in mind.

The winner

It was there the whole time, right from the first sentence.

A backyard grand slam.

A backyard grand slam.

Just adding one word adds so many layers. An ultimate grand slam makes you think of a player riding a manticore and hitting the grand slam that decides World War III. A backyard grand slam makes you think of down by three, bases loaded .... There was no other situation that made sense when you were a kid. It was always down by three, bases loaded. You don't have to use it, but that's what I'm using from now on.

Congratulations to Rajai Davis on his backyard grand slam. It might be a decade until the next one, so appreciate it now. There's no better way to appreciate it than by giving it a name that is more deserving of the feat, even if only slightly.

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1z5o99T

Mike Cammalleri signs 5-year, $25 million contract with Devils

The Devils need offense, and they may have found some in the free agent market.

The New Jersey Devils were in desperate need of finding somebody -- anybody, really -- that could finish, and they hope they found that type of player in free agency signing Mike Cammalleri to a five-year, $25 million contract on the first day of free agency.

Over the past two years the Devils have been one of the best possession teams in the NHL but haven't been able to turn all of that possession into goals, finishing 27th and 28th in scoring each year, never fully recovering from the recent losses of Zach Parise (free agency) and Ilya Kovalchuk (return to Russia). That lack of offense has taken a team that was in the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 to a team that has missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

In Cammalleri, they're getting a player with a knack for scoring goals and some much-needed skill in the lineup.

The 31-year-old Cammalleri is coming off a 26-goal season with the Calgary Flames. Even though he only appeared in 63 games he still scored more goals than any player on the Devils last season.

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1kaFi88

Dan Boyle lands with the Rangers on a 2-year deal

The Rangers filled the hole left by Anton Stralman by signing Dan Boyle.

The Rangers needed a new defenseman to play on the right side with Anton Stralman reportedly not re-signing. And also needed an upgrade on the power play, Glen Sather and co. have added Dan Boyle on a 2-year deal.

Post has learned Rangers have signed Dan Boyle to two year deal worth $9M

— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) July 1, 2014

Boyle, who turns 38 later this month, should provide an offensive boost to a Rangers' blue line that desperately needs one. Boyle will likely slot in on the Rangers top power play unit alongside Ryan McDonagh, and one the second defensive pairing next to Marc Staal. Boyle scored 12 goals and added 24 assists last season, numbers that would have made him the second-highest scoring defenseman on the Rangers behind McDonagh.

The drop-off after that was pretty dramatic, though, as Dan Girardi only recorded 24 points. The Rangers also struggled to find a fit on the point for their top power play unit, while Brad Richards normally got the assignment, but Alain Vigneualt tried out other players like Stralman.

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/V8dyvn

This between the legs winner is Wimbledon's swaggiest shot

Sorry Rafa, you got out-swagged.

There are winners, there are trick shot winner and there is the SWAGGIEST TRICK SHOT WINNER courtesy of Nick Kyrgios against Rafael Nadal.

The shot itself is unmatched. A perfect stride to make it look like it's not too difficult while being totally amazing. The only breakdown is in the reaction.

Kyrgios almost perfectly handles his between the legs, baseline winner. For a while it's the tennis equivalent of walking away from an explosion without watching, but then he celebrates a little too much.

Swag rating: 7/10

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1rU7Nfs

Switzerland winning the World Cup of not scoring

HOW.

JUST KICK IT AT THE NET. I'm not entirely sure how this game is 0-0, both teams have been really bad in front of goal.

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1jGzqU8

United States World Cup history: What's the farthest the USMNT have progressed?

As the United States takes on Belgium, a reminder of where they've been before in the World Cup.

The United States is playing in their 10th World Cup eve, and are into the knockout stages for just the fifth time.

But what about those last nine World Cups? How far did the U.S. go in them?

1930: The U.S. made the semifinals of the very first World Cup, winning both of their group stage matches before Argentina thumped them, 6-1, in the knockout stages.

1934: One match, one loss and the U.S. was done in Italy. They were beaten 7-1, making them dead last in the 16-team field.

1938: The U.S. withdrew from the 1938 World Cup, making it the first one the Americans missed.

1950: The first World Cup since World War II provided one of the tournament's biggest ever upsets as the U.S. beat England thanks to Joe Gaetjens' goal that stunned one of the favorites. That would be the only match the U.S. would win in Brazil and the Americans went out in the group stage.

1954-1986: The U.S. were terrible, failing to qualify for another World Cup until 1990. It wasn't even that they couldn't qualify for the world's biggest sporting event -- they rarely come close.

1990: Paul Caliguiri's incredible goal against Trinidad and Tobago earned the U.S. a spot back in the World Cup, but they were clearly outclassed back on the big stage. They lost all three matches and were outscored 8-2 as a team of mainly college players couldn't hack it against the world's best.

1994: The U.S. automatically qualified for the 1994 World Cup as hosts and they rode that home-field advantage to a draw over Switzerland in their opener, then a win over Colombia in their next match. That was enough to earn them a spot in the knockout stages for the first time since 1930, but Brazil were too much for them in the round of 16 and the U.S. went out.

1998: The feeling was that the U.S. was trending up, but that all came crashing down in France. In-fighting, bizarre tactics and horrific play landed the U.S. dead last in the field of 32. They lost all three matches and were outscored 5-1 in an embarrassing performance that looked to destroy any positive momentum the program had.

2002: A new generation of U.S. players, led by Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, had begun to develop with the help of MLS and the U.S. Residency Program in Bradenton, FL. They, combined with some veterans from Europe, were ready to bring on the new era of American soccer and they did just that in South Korea.

First, they beat Portugal, 3-2, in the tournament opener. Portugal, led by Luis Figo, were a darkhorse to win the whole tournament, and then the Americans drew hosts South Korea. Those four points were enough to get them to the round of 16, where they beat rivals Mexico, 2-0, for a spot in the quarterfinals and eternal bragging rights. Their run came to an end in the quarters, where they lost to Germany 1-0, but even the German manager admitted his team was outplayed by the Americans and the U.S. had their best World Cup performance of the modern era.

2006: Buoyed by the quarterfinals appearance in 2002, expectations were high for 2006, but they were drawn into a brutal group. The Czech Republic thrashed them in the opener and while they did manage a draw against Italy, a loss to Ghana in the finale sent them out of the tournament.

The U.S. ended up being the only team Italy didn't beat en route to winning the World Cup, but that didn't take the sting out of a disappointing tournament that began with huge expectations.

2010: This time, the draw did the U.S. a favor. They had an almost ideal group, and it showed when they were able to draw seeded England, 1-1, to open the tournament. It looked like it was going to be for naut when they fell behind 2-0 to Slovenia, but the Americans came back for a draw. All they needed was a win in their final match against the group's weakest team, Algeria, and they would be through. It may have taken until the waning minutes, but that's exactly what they got when Donovan found the back of the net and ignited mass celebrations throughout the States.

The U.S. run would end in the round of 16 as Ghana eliminated the Americans for a second straight World Cup, but they had won their group for the first time since 1930 and the arrow was pointing up again.

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1mFK1yO

Senators re-sign Milan Michalek to 3-year, $12 million contract

After trading away one veteran forward, the Ottawa Senators made sure to keep another one.

Less than one hour into the free agent signing period and it was already a busy day for the Ottawa Senators.

After trading veteran forward Jason Spezza to the Dallas Stars, the team announced that it had re-signed winger Milan Michalek to a three-year, $12 million contract.

Michalek appeared in all 82 games for the Senators last season, scoring 17 goals to go with 22 assists. He has spent the past five seasons with the Senators after being acquired in the 2009 trade that sent Dany Heatley to San Jose.

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1mFJYmz