1. Icing the kicker:
For those who aren't sport savy, this is when the defensive team calls a timeout right before the kicker kicks the ball. Basically the coach thinks if he calls a time out the kicker is going to be thrown off his game. Does it actually work? I researched this and the answer is no.
Field goal success whether opponent calls a timeout or not
(Percentage of kicks made)
Situation All kicks Iced Not iced
Less than two minuntes left in fourth quarter or OT76.2%74.2%77.6%
Less than one minunte left in fourth quarter or OT75.5%74.3%76.4%
Less than 30 seconds left in fourth quarter or OT76.5%76.0%76.9%
Less than 15 seconds left in fourth quarter or OT76.4%77.5%75.4%
If it doesn't work then why does coaches continue to do it. Because of tradition, and traditions die hard.2. All-Star Nominees:
So this year, Jeff Samardzija was nominated to play in the All-Star game by the Cubs (which is a National League team) but he got to traded to the A's (which is an American League team) before the All-Star Game. So he couldn't play for the National League.
borrowed
But what I think is ironic is that if a player gets traded during the season and team A goes to the world series then the player gets a World Series ring. That doesn't make any sense to me.3. Hockey coaches that pull the goalie:
I'm just going to throw it out there that hockey in general confuses me. Yes, I worked for a hockey team and it wasn't the best experience (that's a post for another day). But I really don't get why a goalie get pulled with less than a minute. Ok. I take it back I get the principle of it: it gives the team that is down another offensive player. But to me it's a lot like icing the kicker.
I researched this as well. Shocking enough it works but coaches often pull the goalie too late. They should pull between 1:30 and 2 minutes left in the game. I wish I could see it actually work, but most of the games that I have watched it doesn't work.
4. Soccer in general:
I really think Sarah should create a how to understand soccer 101 like she did for baseball.What sports tactics do you not get?
