Home plate umpire Gerry Davis ejects New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda after a foreign substance was discovered on his neck in the second inning of the Yankees’ baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Wednesday, April 23, 2014.Image: Elise Amendola/Associated Press New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was ejected from a Wednesday night game against the Boston Red Sox for having a swath of pine tar on his neck, then suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday. After Pineda’s ejection, many casual followers of the sport had similar reactions: Pine tar? What’s up with that? What is this, 1919? The first step to understanding Pineda’s pine-tar-gate is accepting that baseball, more than any other sport, relies on a set of codified standards that don’t always jive with what you’ll find in the rule book. To wit: Pine tar is illegal for use by pitchers seeking to improve their grip on the ball, but it’s widely acknowledged that pitchers use it on an extremely regular basis. Which is what makes Pineda’s case so interesting — it’s a window into the mysterious and often inexplicable world of baseball decorum. Like stolen bases, hit batters and more, pine tar comes with a whole set of decorum-related associations and assumptions that many outside the baseball world struggle to understand. “A stolen base late in a blowout game doesn’t have to be a message, but it can be — and if that’s the intent, then that intent will be received,” says Jason Turbow, author of The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime Why is baseball so uniquely locked up in these notions and codified procedures? Turbow points to two reasons. For one, as the oldest and most nostalgic of American sports, baseball tradition is a big deal. Secondly, Turbow says, baseball’s relatively slow pace means more time to “imbue meaning,” real or perceived, on things that happen on the field. Now back to Pineda’s pine tar. Pine tar remains illegal for pitchers, under a rule banning them from using “any substance” for enhanced grip on the mound. Batters, however, are allowed to cover the handles of their bats in the stuff to gain a better hold. Pineda’s problem wasn’t so much that he used pine tar, but how he used it — and how that violated baseball’s unstated rules of behavior. Here is why. He was spotted with a glob of pine tar on his hand in a game, also against the Boston Red Sox, on April 10. That sparked some controversy after the fact, but he was not ejected and the Red Sox did not formally complain. Red Sox manager John Farrell, himself a former pitcher, even said before Wednesday’s game that, “I would expect that if it’s used it’s more discreet than the last time.” Not exactly a searing indictment. He used pine tar against the very same opponent in two consecutive starts against them […]
Is “Gangnam Style” too legit to quit? With more than 766 million views, MC Hammer seems to think so. The rapper joined Korean music sensation Psy on stage at the 2012 American Music Awards on Sunday night. Both performers, donned in Hammer pants, collaborated on a mashup of “Gangnam Style” and “2 Legit 2 Quit.” Cameras caught stars like Justin Bieber, who won “Artist of the Year,” dancing along to the epic performance. You can also purchase the mashup on iTunes. What is the best mashup of Gangnam Style you’ve seen so far? Are you ready for another single from the artist? Let us know in the comments below. Gangnam Style Video Roundup Klingon Style Gangnam Style with Eric Schmidt Gangnam Style at York University Bill Nye the Psyence Guy Kim Jong Style Quad City DJ’s vs PSY Hey, Sexy Sailors! Psy Performs Gangnam Style at the TODAY Show Gangnam Style Sans Music CPDRC Inmates RaOn acoustic cover Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/19/mc-hammer-and-psy/
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘VN_PG_DTBT_ATF’); }); When it comes to presidential election coverage, I typically try to avoid it at all costs by watching trashy reality shows with a bottle of wine. However, this presidential cycle has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving, so I decided to watch Sunday’s second presidential debate. Boy am I glad I did, because it was basically reality television — without the table flipping and drink throwing. During Sunday’s town-hall style debate, Donald Trump talked about the comments he made during a TV interview. He referenced sexually harassing women, but during the debate, he brushed his words off as nothing more than traditional “locker room talk.” Since Trump’s remarks have sparked controversy with a variety of male athletes, we here at ViralNova thought we’d look into the other kinds of things that go on in locker rooms. It’s quite shocking what we found out. 1. There’s a lot of pumping fellow teammates up for the big game. 2. Not everyone is able to keep cool during high-pressure situations, though. 3. Sometimes you overhear some weird things in locker rooms… 4. For instance, grown men screaming like constipated moose. 5. When it all comes down to it, though, locker rooms are for sports teams celebrating wins. Read More: 26 Things That Would’ve Been More Fun Than Watching Last Night’s Debate 6. Occasionally, you might hear a teammate pumping themselves up to hit the court. 7. Others choose to simply dance like no one’s watching. 8. Some athletes use their locker rooms as a refreshing place to shower. 9. The locker room can also be a space where a player’s anxiety comes out. 10. Locker rooms can also be utilized for completely pointless — but awesome — displays of athleticism. 11. I know for a fact that the locker room at one high school has served as the prime location to spontaneously break out into song. 12. Sometimes, you can hear grown men crying in a locker room — if you’re really lucky. 13. In recent years, locker rooms have become the prime location for supernatural activity. Read More: These Are The 12 Most Ridiculous Promises Politicians Have Ever Made (WTF) 14. They’re also the perfect place for a heart-to-heart with your coach. 15. At times, things may get a bit awkward… Bottom line, I think we can all agree that when someone says this in a locker room… They don’t mean go sexually assault a woman. Shaq knows what we’re sayin’. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/locker-room-happenings/
Like a politician on the campaign trail, Saturday Night Live wants change for season 38, which starts Sept. 15 with host Seth MacFarlane and musical guest Frank Ocean. To shake things up, SNL revealed this week to The New York Times that Jay Pharoah — not the usual Fred Armisen — will impersonate U.S. President Barack Obama. Let’s commemorate the switch with the following seven SNL clips of presidential impersonators played by Will Ferrell, Dana Carvey, Darrell Hammond and other funnymen. Who is your favorite SNL president? Tell us in the comments. Barack Obama George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Bush Ronald Reagan Jimmy Carter Gerald Ford Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/14/snl-president-obama-impersonator/
During the April 11 episode of Community, NBC is throwing a GIFathon, where viewers are encouraged to create and post GIFs on Tumblr using hashtag #Greendale GIFs. The best GIFs posted between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET will win prizes, NBC exclusively told Mashable. NBC is trying to harness its viewers who are active on Tumblr to bolster live viewing of the “Intro to Felt Surrogacy” episode. “Intro to Felt Surrogacy” features the cast as puppets and guest Sara Bareilles, so NBC is looking for for puppet-related GIFs. NBC describes the episode as such: The study group takes a wild balloon ride that crash lands in the woods and they end up spending some quality time together with a friendly mountain man (Jason Alexander of Seinfeld). GIFathon prizes include a signed script, season 3 DVD, puppet T-shirt, posters, stuffed “Being Human” mascot, Greendale white robe, duffle bag, Day Break CD, cast photo and mugs. BONUS: ‘Game of Thrones’ Fans Wait Hours to See These Items in Person Game of Thrones Exhibition in New York City Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof Game of Thrones Exhibition Photos by Mashable’s Emil Lendof […]
The next generation of Pokémon games bring the franchise into a brave, new world: one that enters the third dimension for the first time. When Pokémon X and Y come out around the world on Oct. 12, it will push the franchise forward with help from Nintendo’s powerful 3DS handheld. Pokémon X and Y are the first games in the seven-generation franchise to immerse players in a 3D world; previous titles relied on two-dimensional sprites for worlds, characters and Pokémon. This leap forward for the series and the more powerful 3DS handheld have inspired lots of changes in the new games. To learn more about how Pokémon X and Y took shape during development, Mashable sat down with Junichi Masuda, the director for X/Y. He’s been involved with studio GameFreak since its launch in the mid-90s, first composing music for Pokémon titles, then moving on to direct games. Mashable: What did it take to translate the sprites and two-dimensional art into that 3D world? Masuda: When we first decided to develop on the Nintendo 3DS, we looked at its much-improved rendering power. We always knew we wanted to bring Pokémon into 3D, but we didn’t want to bring it in a traditional realistic sense. We wanted to convey the soft feel of the 2D in previous games. After doing some experimentation, we made that determination that we could get that same feel across in 3D and just went for it. Now that there are hundreds of them available, how much work was it to turn the Pokémon sprites into full 3D characters? Masuda (with input from graphic designer Hironobu Yoshida): It was quite difficult to translate the 2D models, especially with that characteristic style we have in the GameFreak games. That characteristic style was hard to translate. The 2D sprites appear just as you draw them in previous games. That allowed us to make a lot of adjustments to the models even late into the development period. But because of the 3D, we had to have the settings and animations finalized well in advance of previous titles. Also, now that we’re working in 3D, we had to make the settings of each character much more detailed than before. For example, we had to really think about the thickness of something — what a Pokémon’s tail looks like on the inside — in order to create these 3D models. The 2D images have these different thicker lines and thin lines that accentuate different pieces of each character, and getting that translated into 3D was very difficult and took quite a bit of time. How do you design new Pokémon for each game? Masuda: Each time, we have different settings for each game’s regions, and those are based on real-world regions. Getting inspiration for what kind of creatures live in those regions and coming up with ideas for new Pokémon is one of the things we do as graphic designers. We’re also challenging ourselves to come up with things we haven’t done […]
Nik Wallenda walking across the Little Colorado River Gorge on the Navajo Nation near Cameron, Arizona.Image: Tiffany Brown/Associated Press Legendary daredevil Nik Wallenda has announced he will walk a high-wire 50 stories above the Chicago River between two skyscrapers in November, to the pleasure of white-knuckled Discovery Channel viewers. “This is going to be the most incredible tightrope walk of my career,” Wallenda said in a statement. “It’s the ‘Windy City’ and there’s nothing like doing this during winter in Chicago. That’s a challenge for me, and I love to push myself to do things that most people think are impossible.” It will certainly be challenging. For the first part of the nighttime walk, Wallenda will traverse the Chicago River, from the Marina City building’s west tower (below) to the Leo Burnett Building at an uphill angle of 15 degrees. According to the statement, this will be the first time Wallenda has ever attempted such a steep-angled walk. The Marina City Towers in Chicago. Image: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Wallenda will use neither a harness nor a safety net as he wobbles 50 stories above the river’s freezing waters. Then he’ll cross between the Marina City building’s two towers for the second part of the walk. Wallenda is no stranger to nail-biting stunts. He’s a seventh-generation member of the famous Flying Wallendas high-wire performing troupe, and the statement says his wife and three children will be watching in Chicago as the rest of the world stares in suspense on live TV. Dozens of cameras and helicopters will broadcast the stunt live. Discovery may be hoping to recapture the success of Wallenda’s 2013 Grand Canyon crossing, which drew a record-breaking 13 million viewers. In 2012, Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls wearing a safety harness, broadcast live by ABC. He also holds Guinness World Records for the longest high-wire bike ride and the highest seven-person pyramid. Skyscraper Live with Nik Wallenda will air 7 p.m. ET on the Discovery Channel on Nov. 2, and will be hosted by Willie Geist and Natalie Morales of NBC News and Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/09/17/wallenda-chicago-tightrope/
LOS ANGELES — It was undoubtedly the Year of the Booty at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday with Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea shaking it up onstage. Not wanting to be left out, Jennifer Lopez delivered some bum-related news: J. Lo’s “Booty” song with Pitbull has been remixed to include the “Fancy” and “Black Widow” rapper. On the red carpet, J. Lo gave Mashable a tease of the Azalea-infused music video. She said they filmed it on Saturday with Hype Williams at the helm (watch the video, above). UPDATE, Sept. 4:J. Lo released this teaser for the “Booty” remix: Williams is the mastermind behind such videos as Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love,” Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” Jay Z’s “Big Pimpin’,” Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” Kesha’s “We R Who We R,” Missy Elliott’s “The Rain,” TLC’s “No Scrubs” and J. Lo’s original “Booty” video. Azalea’s inclusion on the remix is a smart collaboration for J. Lo. Between her hits “Fancy” and “Problem” (an Ariana Grande song on which Azalea is featured), it’s Iggy’s breakout year. The songs earned her seven VMA nominations, only trailing behind Beyoncé, who secured eight nods. “Problem” went on to win Best Pop Video. J. Lo was spottted at Azalea’s pre-VMA concert, where Azalea accidentally fell backward off stage while performing “Fancy” with Charli XCX. “Booty” is from J. Lo’s eight studio album “A.K.A.,” which came out in June. Here’s the original music video featuring Pitbull: BONUS: 11 Weirdest Moments at the 2014 VMAs Weirdest Moments at the 2014 VMAs 1. Katy Perry and Riff Raff attended dressed as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake circa 2001. Image: Mashable composite Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV, AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File 2. Nicki Minaj had a wardrobe malfunction. 3. Rita Ora was unimpressed with the performance. 4. Gwen Stefani seemed confused about the winner for “Best Female Video.” 5. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels confused teens as to why two dads were crashing the VMAs. 6. Jimmy Fallon made “Cotton Eye Joe” relevant again. 7. Jay Pharoah attempted to humor the Kardashians as Kanye. 8. Usher banged his head against Nicki Minaj’s butt. 9. Austin Mahone worked on inspiring a new Taylor Swift song Image: Kevin Mazur/MTV1415/WireImage 10. Beyonce’s dancers competed with Nicki Minaj’s. 11. Jay Z and Beyonce’s kiss made Taylor Swift feel all the feels. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/08/27/jennifer-lopez-jlo-iggy-azalea-booty-remix-music-video/
Can the USA Network lure viewers to its new series, Dig, in just a few seconds? It’s certainly going to try. Starting Jan. 1, the network will roll out 10- to 15-second teasers for the forthcoming conspiracy-filled action-thriller, starring Jason Isaacs and Anne Heche. The teasers will be aired on the network and across various platforms, in an effort to get eyeballs on the series, which begins March 5. Mashable has the first two teasers for you, exclusively, below: Tiny teasers are nothing new, of course — especially since few networks haven’t started using Instagram and Vine to promote their shows. But they’re challenging to create nonetheless, especially for a show with as many twists and turns as this Jerusalem-set murder mystery. Did they succeed? Tell us what you thought of the mini-teasers in the comments below. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/12/31/dig/
“Minecraft is a platform as much as it is a game,” writes Seth Porges in his recent story on Mashable about TeamCrafted, a supergroup of YouTube stars who have made names for themselves simply by playing the game. That platform has turned these guys into Internet celebrities with hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers and millions of YouTube subscribers. And as TeamCrafted grows, so too do the business opportunities. Today at 4 p.m. ET, Mashable will be joined by TeamCrafted members Jerome, Ryan and group manager Matt Michelsen in a live Hangout on Air to talk all things Minecraft, becoming YouTube stars and what the future holds for the group. Do you have questions for TeamCrafted? Share them in the comments below or tweet them using the hashtag #TeamCraftedChat. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/03/07/minecraft-youtube-teamcrafted-hangout/
