ESPN.com presents Fandom - ESPN Playbook http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom 60 en-us Sat, 25 May 2013 08:46:59 webmaster@espn.go.com http://assets.espn.go.com/i/espn/teamlogos/lrg/trans/espn_dotcom_black.gif 110 110 Former Florida Gator Ryan Lochte has won 11 Olympic medals (five gold) and sits behind only Michael Phelps with his seven individual medals in men's swimming. He is the world-record holder in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter individual medley events. Since becoming omnipresent in pop culture following the London Games, the 28-year-old has appeared on "30 Rock," expressed interest in "Dancing with the Stars" and become the star of the E! show "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22032/mag-minute-ryan-lochte-olympic-swimmer Sat, 25 May 2013 08:00:39 EDT 22032 Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack OHMIGOD THERE’S FECAL BACTERIA ON EVERYTHING! Those would be the opening lyrics to Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer's classic “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” if the song had been written today -- and if the song was written honestly. By now you have likely heard about the snow-cone vendor at Minute Maid Park who took his snow cones with him into a stadium bathroom stall while attending to his waste-making needs – or, as Houston’s Channel 2 news reporter Bill Spencer referred to it: “Knocking it out, taking the Browns to the Super Bowl.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22103/worried-about-ballpark-hygiene-drink-beer Fri, 24 May 2013 10:32:37 EDT 22103 Earlier this week, Major League Soccer announced plans for its 20th expansion team, a New York City football club with an imaginative name: New York City Football Club. It will be the city’s first team not based on an energy drink, and it will be owned by the New York Yankees and the Premier League’s Manchester City, presumably because Big Tobacco and the Sith Lords weren’t interested. NYCFC will not begin play until 2015, but already folks are jawing about what the team will mean for the future of soccer in America.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22083/how-the-mls-can-truly-americanize-soccer Thu, 23 May 2013 12:21:04 EDT 22083 Ron Stowe might love college baseball more than anyone. The 72-year-old attended his 254th consecutive North Carolina baseball game on Monday, and he has missed only three games -- one series -- out of the past 443. Stowe jokes with UNC coach Mike Fox (they know each other pretty well; Stowe sometimes sits with Fox’s wife during games) that he probably has seen more Carolina baseball than Fox himself, when you take into account the various ejections and suspensions in Fox’s 15 seasons with the Tar Heels.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22060/meet-ron-stowe-unc-baseballs-biggest-fan Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:53 EDT 22060 Ted Turner was the "Mouth of the South," "Terrible Ted" and "Captain Outrageous," a brash, outspoken business mogul who had a golden touch. He launched the first successful cable news network with CNN, sailed to victory in the America's Cup and used his cable empire to turn his Atlanta Braves into "America's Team." But 36 years ago this month, Turner discovered there was one thing he couldn't do: manage his own baseball team. After the 38-year-old Turner put on a Braves uniform and stepped into the dugout to manage his tanking team for one game on May 11, 1977, National League president Chub Feeney, supported by baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, gave him the thumb.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22066/the-night-ted-turner-managed-the-braves Thu, 23 May 2013 10:23:19 EDT 22066 Quick quiz: Where can you find the largest publicly available collection of baseball cards? If you said the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, give yourself a pat on the back. You're right! But here's a trickier one: Where can you find the second-largest collection of baseball cards? The answer, surprisingly enough, is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Yes, really! Here's the back story: Long before the existence of baseball card conventions, memorabilia shops, eBay or chalky pink bubblegum, there was a guy named Jefferson Burdick.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22048/inside-the-mets-surprising-card-collection Wed, 22 May 2013 11:32:29 EDT 22048 A St. Louis-born Missouri Tiger, righty Max Scherzer was drafted by the Diamondbacks with the 11th pick in 2006, making him Mizzou's first first-round pick. Scherzer debuted with Arizona but was traded to Detroit in December 2009. Last season, the 28-year-old logged career highs in wins (16) and strikeouts (231), behind only teammate Justin Verlander in the American League, and his 11.1 K/9 innings mark led the AL. Scherzer is off to another solid start this year, with a 5-0 record and 0.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22026/mag-minute-tigers-pitcher-max-scherzer Tue, 21 May 2013 15:35:40 EDT 22026 Baseball anarchy. That’s what Rays manager Joe Maddon says is an encroaching threat. Maddon claims crew chief Gerry Davis told him during the Rays’ 3-1 win over Baltimore on Sunday that he would have changed a ground-rule double to a foul ball if video replay showed the ball was foul, even though replay is only to be used for home runs. “That is baseball anarchy when you make stuff up on the field like that,” Maddon said.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/22018/picturing-anarchy-in-major-league-baseball Tue, 21 May 2013 13:57:15 EDT 22018 Jersey No. 81 wasn’t bad for Art Monk, Carl Eller, Tim Brown, Dick “Night Train” Lane, Jackie Smith, Roy Green, Andy Robustelli or Terrell Owens. Each was an NFL star, and several are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So, No. 81 isn’t hexed. Unless, of course, it’s being worn in San Francisco, where a parade of 49ers pass-catchers (specifically wide receivers) has mostly bombed in the nine seasons since a disgruntled Owens -- then one of the NFL’s finest receivers -- was shipped to the Eagles in a trade after the 2003 season.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/21982/will-boldin-break-the-49ers-curse-of-no-81 Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:12 EDT 21982 Last week we reported that Mark Cuban was asking Mavericks fans for new uniform ideas. Now we have an exclusive first look at the designs that have been submitted so far, some of which are pretty good and some of which are, well, interesting. Let's take a look at some of the more notable ones (all images courtesy of CrowdSpring; click images to enlarge): 1. If you're looking for a really busy, complicated design, this one is pretty intriguing: 2.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/21987/first-look-at-mavericks-redesign-entries Mon, 20 May 2013 16:08:21 EDT 21987