drobeski 3,061 Posted January 11, 2008 AP: In their search for this mysterious asterik rumored to be associated with the Patriots, world renowned scientists have been unable to confirm an such existance. They have however been able to scientifically prove without a doubt a few important facts about the patriots. They are indeed 16-0 and holders of the best regular season in the history of the NFL Tom Brady is the league MVP Bill Bellichik is the coach of the year The team did demolish the scoring record Brady did indeed have the best season ever for an NFL QB Tom Brady is the offensive player of the year Randy Moss did capture the single season TD record for recievers The Patriots are infact a true dynasty and will without a doubt be considered the best team ever if they complete a sweep in the playoffs There are many many many more scientific facts discovered that attest to the patriots greatness, however the mysterious asterik has yet to be located anywhere on the planet that really matters. In their research they were also able to prove without a doubt that the steelers do indeed kinda suck and Rothlesburger does infact choke when its on the line. The Eagles suck even worse but it was determined that it is their peice of crap fans who hold this team down and until they are eradicated they will forever be at best just second best. Stay tuned, more to come from this scientific fact bullittin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,567 Posted January 11, 2008 Scientist? Only one was looking? No wonder he couldn't find it. I'd think a group of scientists would have a much better chance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewbieJr 540 Posted January 11, 2008 itsatip that Barry Bonds is still officially in the books as the all-time home run leader. There isn't an actual "*" next to his name. People just know. (Except Bonds fans) Same will be true of Patriots 16-0 regular season. HTH Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hines86rules 0 Posted January 11, 2008 Scientist are still unable to find the point of this thread but they have determined without a doubt that Pats fans are the most sensitive bunch of pussies in the history of sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewbieJr 540 Posted January 11, 2008 Scientist are still unable to find the point of this thread but they have determined without a doubt that Pats fans are the most sensitive bunch of pussies in the history of sports. They're bitter because the Bruins suck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,567 Posted January 11, 2008 Scientist are still unable to find the point of this thread but they have determined without a doubt that Pats fans are the most sensitive bunch of pussies in the history of sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TimmySmith 2,782 Posted January 11, 2008 One would think a scientist could spell better. I think someone's GED needs an asterisk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jarvis Basnight 119 Posted January 11, 2008 AP: In their search for this mysterious asterik rumored to be associated with the Patriots, world renowned scientists have been unable to confirm an such existance. They have however been able to scientifically prove without a doubt a few important facts about the patriots. They are indeed 16-0 and holders of the best regular season in the history of the NFL Tom Brady is the league MVP Bill Bellichik is the coach of the year The team did demolish the scoring record Brady did indeed have the best season ever for an NFL QB Tom Brady is the offensive player of the year Randy Moss did capture the single season TD record for recievers The Patriots are infact a true dynasty and will without a doubt be considered the best team ever if they complete a sweep in the playoffs There are many many many more scientific facts discovered that attest to the patriots greatness, however the mysterious asterik has yet to be located anywhere on the planet that really matters. In their research they were also able to prove without a doubt that the steelers do indeed kinda suck and Rothlesburger does infact choke when its on the line. The Eagles suck even worse but it was determined that it is their peice of crap fans who hold this team down and until they are eradicated they will forever be at best just second best. Stay tuned, more to come from this scientific fact bullittin. Holy crap. You have no life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewbieJr 540 Posted January 11, 2008 One would think a scientist could spell better. I think his GED needs an asterisk. Drobeski is known as the board idiot. We don't usually criticize his grammar or spelling. In fact, after review, that may be his highest percentage of correct spelling and phrases ever. I smell a ghost writer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kopy 492 Posted January 11, 2008 AP: In their search for this mysterious asterik rumored to be associated with the Patriots, world renowned scientists have been unable to confirm an such existance. They have however been able to scientifically prove without a doubt a few important facts about the patriots. They are indeed 16-0 and holders of the best regular season in the history of the NFL Tom Brady is the league MVP Bill Bellichik is the coach of the year The team did demolish the scoring record Brady did indeed have the best season ever for an NFL QB Tom Brady is the offensive player of the year Randy Moss did capture the single season TD record for recievers The Patriots are infact a true dynasty and will without a doubt be considered the best team ever if they complete a sweep in the playoffs There are many many many more scientific facts discovered that attest to the patriots greatness, however the mysterious asterik has yet to be located anywhere on the planet that really matters. In their research they were also able to prove without a doubt that the steelers do indeed kinda suck and Rothlesburger does infact choke when its on the line. The Eagles suck even worse but it was determined that it is their peice of crap fans who hold this team down and until they are eradicated they will forever be at best just second best. Stay tuned, more to come from this scientific fact bullittin. That's because it's still next to Pittsburghs Super Bowl 40 win. * Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,567 Posted January 11, 2008 That's because it's still next to Pittsburghs Super Bowl 40 win. * Don't forget. Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl IX: Pittsburgh Steelers* * Admitted steroid abusers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
donhaas 18 Posted January 11, 2008 Don't forget. Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl IX: Pittsburgh Steelers* * Admitted steroid abusers. I would add the 1998 Denver Broncos to that list for cheating the salary cap in various ways and were fined even more severly than the Patriots.... In fact, I would go ahead and give the Packers 4 super bowl victories. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hines86rules 0 Posted January 11, 2008 Don't forget. Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl IX: Pittsburgh Steelers* * Admitted steroid abusers. Rodney Harrison Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,567 Posted January 11, 2008 Rodney Harrison They haven't won since he's been caught. he only did it to comeback faster from an injury, not to gain an advantage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hines86rules 0 Posted January 11, 2008 They haven't won since he's been caught. he only did it to comeback faster from an injury, not to gain an advantage. I'm sure that was the only time he used it And since when is cheating to come back from an injury not cheating to gain an advantage. Never quite got that arguement. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,567 Posted January 11, 2008 I'm sure that was the only time he used it And since when is cheating to come back from an injury not cheating to gain an advantage. Never quite got that arguement. oh c'mon. I totally don't believe what I just said. I'd be a completely idiotic, blind homer to think that. Like mostly everyone else that posts here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hines86rules 0 Posted January 11, 2008 oh c'mon. I totally don't believe what I just said. I'd be a completely idiotic, blind homer to think that. Like mostly everyone else that posts here. If you didn't say it, someone would have, so might as well get it out of the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edjr 5,567 Posted January 11, 2008 If you didn't say it, someone would have, so might as well get it out of the way. Perhaps, but it's complete BS. JUst like the player that says it. Total BS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuse9 128 Posted January 11, 2008 I would add the 1998 Denver Broncos to that list for cheating the salary cap in various ways and were fined even more severly than the Patriots.... In fact, I would go ahead and give the Packers 4 super bowl victories. Salary cap cheating. Well, you can add the '95 49ers then. Might as well throw an * next to the Giants, LT was a coke head. Damn, that means the Redskins victory with Dexter Manley gets the famous * as well. Don't forget to add the Rams to the * list, Kurt Warners deal with the Devil has to be cheating as well. I don't even know where to start with the Cowboys victories in the early 90's, full of *'s. Irvin, Lett...hiding Thurman's helmet. I'm sure we could have something on every team if we looked close enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
patweisers44 697 Posted January 11, 2008 They're bitter because the Bruins suck. nice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kopy 492 Posted January 11, 2008 Pittsburgh Cheaters/Stealers/Steelers . Whatever they call themselves. * Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpbuckeye 2 Posted January 11, 2008 this is just plain ghey.* * Post made by non cheater, nor fan of cheaters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
$epphori$ 118 Posted January 11, 2008 They're bitter because the Bruins suck. at least they are a few games ova 500 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
listen2me 23 1,545 Posted January 11, 2008 Scientist are still unable to find the point of this thread but they have determined without a doubt that Pats fans are the most sensitive bunch of pussies in the history of sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMoney 0 Posted January 11, 2008 I would add the 1998 Denver Broncos to that list for cheating the salary cap in various ways and were fined even more severly than the Patriots.... In fact, I would go ahead and give the Packers 4 super bowl victories. if the coawardly chop block was illegal as it should be, that would be another reason to hate denver... *im not correctly my spelling...everyone has a mispelled word in this thread and im keeping the streak alive* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
t.j 35 Posted January 11, 2008 That scientists are still unable to find something is "breaking news"? Breaking news: Scientists still unable to find the gravity particle! I give drobeski a D- for effort. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMoney 0 Posted January 11, 2008 gravity particles? theres a better chance of finding gravy particles here.... breaking news.... more like...breaking wind.... breaking news....i wasnt here when the pats missed the playoffs a few years back, but now that they are 16-0? im all over them like a cheap suit.... -signed chief frontrunner... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMoney 0 Posted January 11, 2008 That scientists are still unable to find something is "breaking news"? Breaking news: Scientists still unable to find the gravity particle! I give drobeski a D-* for effort. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blue Barbarian 0 Posted January 11, 2008 AP hired the same scientists as Al Gore. Common sense people know the asterisks are everywhere since Belicheat hired on. Here's just a few of them. ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************** *********************************************** Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phurfur 70 Posted January 11, 2008 AP: In their search for this mysterious asterik rumored to be associated with the Patriots, world renowned scientists have been unable to confirm an such existance. They have however been able to scientifically prove without a doubt a few important facts about the patriots. They are indeed 16-0 and holders of the best regular season in the history of the NFL Tom Brady is the league MVP Bill Bellichik is the coach of the year The team did demolish the scoring record Brady did indeed have the best season ever for an NFL QB Tom Brady is the offensive player of the year Randy Moss did capture the single season TD record for recievers The Patriots are infact a true dynasty and will without a doubt be considered the best team ever if they complete a sweep in the playoffs There are many many many more scientific facts discovered that attest to the patriots greatness, however the mysterious asterik has yet to be located anywhere on the planet that really matters. In their research they were also able to prove without a doubt that the steelers do indeed kinda suck and Rothlesburger does infact choke when its on the line. The Eagles suck even worse but it was determined that it is their peice of crap fans who hold this team down and until they are eradicated they will forever be at best just second best. Stay tuned, more to come from this scientific fact bullittin. Because they didn't look where is exists, in the minds of millions of spotrs fans right next to the Barry Bonds asterisk. And there isn't anything anybody can do about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cowboyz 2 Posted January 11, 2008 It's on the patriots logo idiot, HTH http://www.patriots.com/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillybear 364 Posted January 11, 2008 drobeski has crammed his c0ck into way too many lightsockets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murf74 461 Posted January 11, 2008 Pats fans, sooooo insecure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ras66not99 0 Posted January 11, 2008 Don't forget. Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl X: Pittsburgh Steelers* Super Bowl IX: Pittsburgh Steelers* * Admitted steroid abusers. Mike Webster was all natural Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redtodd 7 Posted January 11, 2008 They're bitter because the Bruins suck. Our worst team still has a winning record. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Some Guy 0 Posted January 12, 2008 Wait, I found it: Sun 9/9 at NY Jets W 38-14 * Sun 9/16 San Diego W 38-14 Sun 9/23 Buffalo W 38-7 Mon 10/1 at Cincinnati W 34-13 Sun 10/7 Cleveland W 34-17 Sun 10/14 at Dallas W 48-27 Sun 10/21 at Miami W 49-28 Sun 10/28 Washington W 52-7 Sun 11/4 at Indianapolis W 24-20 bye Sun 11/18 at Buffalo W 56-10 Sun 11/25 Philadelphia W 31-28 Mon 12/3 at Baltimore W 27-24 Sun 12/9 Pittsburgh W 34-13 Sun 12/16 NY Jets W 20-10 Sun 12/23 Miami W 28-7 Sat 12/29 at NY Giants W 38-35 I'm pretty sure that's it right up there at the top. And no, I am not a scientist...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thornton Melon 544 Posted January 12, 2008 Our worst team still has a winning record. Umm, 21-18-4 in the NHL is really 21-22. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuse9 128 Posted January 12, 2008 This article is about the typographical symbol. For other uses, see Asterisk (disambiguation). An asterisk (*) is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (Latin astrum). Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star (as, for example, in the A* search algorithm or C* algebra). The asterisk derives from the need of the printers of family trees in feudal times for a symbol to indicate date of birth. The original shape was six-armed, each arm like a teardrop shooting from the center. For this reason, in some computer circles it is called a splat, perhaps due to the "squashed-bug" appearance of the asterisk on many early line printers. Many cultures have their own unique version of the asterisk. In Japan a character with a similar use looks like an X with dots surrounding it. This mark looks like the Chinese character for rice: 米. The Arabic asterisk is six-pointed. In some fonts the asterisk is five-pointed and the Arabic star is eight-pointed. * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- v • d • ePunctuation apostrophe ( ’ ' ) brackets (( )), ([ ]), ({ }), (< >) colon ( : ) comma ( , ) dashes ( ‒, –, —, ― ) ellipsis ( …, ... ) exclamation mark ( ! ) full stop/period ( . ) guillemets ( « » ) hyphen ( -, ‐ ) question mark ( ? ) quotation marks ( ‘ ’, “ ” ) semicolon ( ; ) slash/stroke ( / ) solidus ( ⁄ ) Interword separation spaces ( ) ( ) ( ) interpunct ( · ) General typography ampersand ( & ) asterisk ( * ) at ( @ ) backslash ( \ ) bullet ( • ) caret ( ^ ) currency ( ¤ ) ¢, $, €, £, ¥, ₩, ₪ dagger/obelisk ( † ) ( ‡ ) degree ( ° ) inverted exclamation point ( ¡ ) inverted question mark ( ¿ ) number sign ( # ) numero sign ( № ) percent and related signs ( %, ‰, ‱ ) pilcrow ( ¶ ) prime ( ′ ) section sign ( § ) tilde/swung dash ( ~ ) umlaut/diaeresis ( ¨ ) underscore/understrike ( _ ) vertical/pipe/broken bar ( |, ¦ ) Uncommon typography asterism ( ⁂ ) index/fist ( ☞ ) therefore sign ( ∴ ) interrobang ( ‽ ) irony mark ( ؟ ) reference mark ( ※ ) sarcasm mark Contents [hide] 1 Usage 1.1 Written text 1.2 Linguistics 1.2.1 Historical linguistics 1.2.2 Generativist tradition in linguistics 1.3 Computing 1.3.1 Computer science 1.3.2 Computer interfaces 1.3.2.1 Adding machines and printing calculators 1.3.3 Programming languages 1.4 Mathematics 1.4.1 Mathematical typography 1.5 Human genetics 1.6 Telephony 1.7 E-mail, Usenet, IM 1.8 Cricket 1.9 Economics 1.10 Education 1.11 Games 1.12 Baseball 1.13 Competitive sports and games 1.13.1 Barry Bonds 1.14 Horse Racing 1.15 Pop Culture 2 Encodings 3 See also 4 References [edit] Usage [edit] Written text The asterisk is used to call out a footnote, especially when there is only one on the page. Less commonly, multiple asterisks are used to denote different footnotes on a page. (i.e., *, **, ***) Three spaced asterisks centered on a page may represent a jump to a different scene or thought. See Horizontal rule. One or more asterisks may be used to strike out portions of a word to to avoid offending by using the full form of a profanity (s**t), to preserve anonymity (Peter J***), or to avoid profanation of a holy name (G*d). Asterisks are sometimes used instead of typographical bullets to indicate items of a list. Colloquially, asterisks can be used to represent *emphasis* when italics are not available Asterisks are used to represent ratings of movies, restaurants, etc.: see Star (classification). A group of three asterisks arranged in a triangular formation is called an asterism. [edit] Linguistics [edit] Historical linguistics In historical linguistics, an asterisk next to a word indicates that the word is not directly attested, but has been reconstructed on the basis of other linguistic material (see also historical linguistics, comparative method). [edit] Generativist tradition in linguistics In generativism, especially syntax, an asterisk next to a word or phrase indicates that the word or phrase is ungrammatical. [edit] Computing [edit] Computer science In computer science, the asterisk is used in regular expressions to denote zero or more repetitions of a pattern; this use is known as the Kleene star or Kleene closure after Stephen Kleene. In the Unified Modeling Language, the asterisk is used to denote zero to many classes. [edit] Computer interfaces In some computer interfaces, such as the Unix shell and Microsoft's Command prompt, the asterisk is the wildcard character and stands for any string of characters. This is also known as a wildcard symbol. A common use of the wildcard is in searching for files on a computer. For instance, if a user wished to find a document called Document 1, search terms such as Doc* and D*ment* would return this file. In some graphical interfaces, particularly Microsoft applications, an asterisk is prepended to the current working document name shown in a window's title bar to indicate that unsaved changes exist. In Commodore (and related) filesystems, an asterisk appearing next to a filename in a directory listing denotes an improperly closed file, commonly called a "splat file." [edit] Adding machines and printing calculators Some international models of adding machines and printing calculators use the asterisk to denote the total, or the terminal sum or difference of an addition or subtraction sequence, sometimes on the keyboard where the total key is marked with an asterisk and sometimes a capital T, and on the printout. [edit] Programming languages Many programming languages and calculators use the asterisk as a symbol for multiplication. It also has a number of special meanings in specific languages, for instance: In some programming languages such as the C programming language, the asterisk is used to dereference or to declare a pointer variable. In the Common Lisp programming language, the names of global variables are conventionally set off with asterisks, *LIKE-THIS*. In the Fortran programming language, and in some dialects of the Pascal programming language, a double asterisk is used to signify exponentiation: 5**3 is 5*5*5 or 125. In the Perl programming language, the asterisk is used to refer to the typeglob of all variables with a given name. In the programming languages Ruby and Python, * has two specific uses. Firstly, the unary * operator applied to a list object inside a function call will expand that list into the arguments of the function call. Secondly, a parameter preceded by * in the parameter list for a function will result in any extra parameters being aggregated into a tuple (Python) or array (Ruby). [edit] Mathematics The asterisk has many uses in mathematics. The following list is not exhaustive. The complex conjugate of a complex number (though a more common notation is [1]). The free product of two groups. Infix notation for an arbitrary binary operator. Convolution, e.g. f ∗ g is a convolution of f with g. The multiplicative group of a ring, especially when the ring is a field. E.g. An arbitrary point in some set, for example in computing Riemann sums or when contracting a simply connected group to the singleton set { ∗ }. The dual space of a vector space V is denoted V*. The combination of an indexed collection of objects into one example, e.g. the combination of all the cohomology groups Hk(X) into the cohomology ring H*(X). The pushforward (differential) of a smooth map f between two smooth manifolds is denoted f∗. The Hodge dual operator on vector spaces . The asterisk is also often used, in all branches of mathematics, to designate a correspondence between two mathematical entities represented by a single letter — one with the asterisk and one without. [edit] Mathematical typography In fine mathematical typography, the Unicode character U+2217 (∗) "math asterisk" is available (HTML entity ∗). This character also appeared in the position of the regular asterisk in the PostScript symbol character set in the Symbol font included with Windows and Macintosh operating systems and with many printers. It should be used in fine typography for a large asterisk that lines up with the other mathematical operators. [edit] Human genetics In human genetics, * is used to denote that someone is a member of a haplogroup and not any of its subclades (see * (haplogroup)). [edit] Telephony On a Touch-Tone telephone keypad, the asterisk (called star, or less commonly, palm or sextile[2]) is one of the two special keys, and is found to the left of the zero (the other is the number sign (pound sign or hash or, less commonly, octothorp[2])). They are used to navigate menus in Touch-Tone systems such as Voice mail, or in Vertical service codes. [edit] E-mail, Usenet, IM In lieu of typographical formatting denoting emphasis (e.g., commonly, italics), a word or phrase may be bracketed by asterisks *like this*, especially in e-mail or other text-based communications where multiple typefaces are not available — i.e. in plain text. In informal written communications, particularly those via e-mail, instant messaging, or BBS, asterisks are often used to bracket a predicate denoting the performance of an action, to indicate that the person typing is performing that action. Example: *writes an article*. Rather than a well-formed predicate in the third person singular, sometimes just the simplest form of the verb is used (e.g. *jump* or *glomp*), especially in text RPGs where unformatted text denotes speech. Compare with the usage of the colon. Asterisks can be used in place of applause in chatrooms and instant messaging. For example: Alice sings a song Bob: Nice! *********** In chatrooms and instant messaging, an asterisk is often used to correct a typo. Usage varies on whether the asterisk comes before or after the correction. For example: Alice: What do yuo think Alice: *you Bob: Wht, Bob: Wha?* Note that because Bob wishes to correct himself again, he may decide to use two asterisks to show that his first correction was in reality, not correct. Bob: What?** As in written text, asterisks may be used as bullets for list items. [edit] Cricket In cricket, it signifies a total number of runs scored by a batsman without losing his wicket, e.g. 107* means '107 not out'. When written before a player's name on a scorecard, it indicates the captain. It is also used on television when giving a career statistic during a match. For example, 47* in a number of matches column means that the current game is the player's 47th. [edit] Economics In economics, the use of an asterisk after a letter indicating a variable such as price, output, or employment indicates that the variable is at its optimal level (that which is achieved in a perfect market situation). For instance, p* is the price level p when output y is at its corresponding optimal level of y*. Also in international economics asterisks are commonly used to denote economic variables in a foreign country. So for example "p" is the price of the home good and "p*" is the price of the foreign good etc.* [edit] Education In the GCSE examination and PSLE, A* ("A-star") is a special top grade that is distinguished from grade A. [edit] Games Certain categories of character types in role-playing games are called splats, and the game supplements describing them are called splatbooks. This usage originated with the shorthand "*book" for this type of supplement to various World of Darkness games, such as Clanbook: Ventrue (for Vampire: The Masquerade) or Tribebook: Black Furies (for Werewolf: The Apocalypse), and this usage has spread to other games with similar character-type supplements. For example, Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition has had several lines of splatbooks: the "X & Y" series including Sword & Fist and Tome & Blood prior to the "3.5" revision, the "Complete X" series including Complete Warrior and Complete Divine, and the "Races of X" series including Races of Stone and Races of the Wild. In many MUDs and MOOs, as well as "male", "female", and other more esoteric genders, there is a gender called "splat", which uses an asterisk to replace the letters that differ in standard English gender pronouns. For example, h* is used rather than him or her. Also, asterisks are used to signify doing an action, for example, "*action*" [edit] Baseball In recent years, the asterisk has come into use on scorecards to denote a "great defensive play."[3] [edit] Competitive sports and games In colloquial usage, an asterisk is used to indicate that a record is somehow tainted by circumstances, which are putatively explained in a footnote supposedly referenced by the asterisk.[4] This usage arose after the 1961 baseball season in which Roger Maris of the New York Yankees broke Babe Ruth's 34-year-old single-season home run record. Because Ruth had amassed 60 home runs in a season with only 154 games, compared to Maris's 61 over 162 games, baseball commissioner Ford Frick announced that Maris' accomplishment would be recorded in the record books with an explanation (often referred to as "an asterisk" in the retelling). In fact, Major League Baseball had no official record book at the time, but the stigma remained with Maris for many years, and the concept of a real or figurative asterisk denoting less-than-official records has become widely used in sports and other competitive endeavors. A 2001 TV movie about Maris' record-breaking season was called 61* (pronounced sixty-one asterisk) in reference to the controversy. [edit] Barry Bonds Fans critical of Barry Bonds, who has been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs during his baseball career, invoked the asterisk notion as he approached and later broke Hank Aaron's career home run record.[5] After Bonds hit his record-breaking 756th home run on August 7, 2007, fashion designer and enterpreneur Marc Ecko purchased the home run ball from the fan who caught it, and ran a poll on his Web site to determine its fate. On September 26, Ecko revealed on NBC's "Today Show" that the ball will be branded with an asterisk and donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame. [edit] Horse Racing In programs distributed at race tracks, an asterisk next to a jockey's name indicates that he or she is an apprentice, and in many cases is allowed to ride at a slightly lesser weight than the other jockeys. Such a jockey is sometimes called a "bug boy." In past performances, an asterisk is also used to denote an approximate distance. [edit] Pop Culture See also: Asterisk (disambiguation) The Red Hot Chili Peppers use an 8-pronged asterisk as their symbol. The popular Japanese Hip Hop/Rock group Orange Range has a song titled "*~Asterisk", which is also the first opening theme song for the popular anime Bleach. The fictional comic-book character, Asterix the Gaul, is a pun on Asterisk as he is the "star" of the show.[citation needed] In an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray Barone (portrayed by Ray Romano) recognizes that he pronounces the word "Asterisk" "Astericks". This was never corrected in future episodes but Ray Barone never spoke the word again. In Pat Cadigan's novel Synners, a character sees a sign that says "U B THE *" and reads it as "You Be the Ass To Risk". In a song by Lil Wayne called "Back On My Grizzy" from, his mixtape "Da Drought 3", he says in a line "I'm a crazy ass star like a f*cking asterisk" The syndicated comic Doonesbury uses a floating asterisk (referring to the name "asterisk president") wearing a Roman helmet to represent George W. Bush. [edit] Encodings See also: Character encoding The Unicode standard states that the asterisk is distinct from the Arabic five pointed star (U+066D), the asterisk operator (U+2217), and the heavy asterisk (U+2731).[6] The symbols are compared below (the display depends on your browser's font). There is no such thing as an asterisk in sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redtodd 7 Posted January 12, 2008 Umm, 21-18-4 in the NHL is really 21-22. Um no,......21-18-4 is really 21-18-4. What other city has THREE championship caliber teams? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuse9 128 Posted January 12, 2008 What other city has THREE championship caliber teams? Detroit......Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers Dallas.......Mavericks, Stars, Cowboys Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
