Dear hev: I'm ignorant of math, but look at defintions 3 and 4"
intercept
vt.
5< L interceptus, pp. of intercipere, to take between, interrupt < inter3, between + capere, to take: see HAVE6
1 to seize or stop on the way, before arrival at the intended place; stop or interrupt the course of; cut off !to intercept a forward pass"
2 [Now Rare] a) to stop, hinder, or prevent b) to cut off communication with, sight of, etc.
3 Math. to cut off, mark off, or bound between two points, lines, or planes
n.
1 Math. the part of a line, plane, etc. intercepted
2 Mil. the act of intercepting an enemy force, esp. enemy aircraft
in#ter[cep4tion
n.
in#ter[cep4tive
adj.

Hev, prolly is just a cross-Pondism. We'll say he intercepts the ball, or he intercepted the ball on the 20 yard line. But it's always been an interception. Actually®, now that I hear it, I like intercept better...more action, more pizzazz to it...that -ion at the end bogs it down. Let's all write the NFL and tell 'em to change it!

Well, then, wwh, Jackie's got to be one of 'em and I know I'm the other. ~WW

I challenge you two (and Dr Bill) to a contest. I say I know less than anyone else.

AHD2 doesn't even have interception, not even as an inflected form.

AHD4 does http://www.bartleby.com/61/26/I0182600.html

Is this contest of ignorance open only to USns? I'm sure I know less about USn football than anyone. I'm not even sure I could name any of the teams. Detroit Rangers? Looville Dodgers? New Yorkers?

Bingley

open only to USns?

I think we could open it up if we work out some kind of handicap system.

Dears hev and wwh,

The math term* is indeed intercept (as a noun), which is the place where one line crosses another. Don't confuse that with the verb intersect which is what the lines are doing at the intercept!

* once again I have only ever heard this one term to describe this concept but God knows there must be some bizarre math book out there which has decided to call intercepts, say, lemmings. Or something equally ludicrous.

I challenge you two (and Dr Bill) to a contest. I say I know less than anyone else.

Hang on! Before any contest starts, I need to be clear on one thing. Is this basketball, football or baseball that you're on about?

Flung, kicked or hit?

I guess it would be kicked in the prolate spheroids, huh?

Now, hold on a second here! I will venture to say that I do "know" about football--up to a point. I know things such as: there are 11 people per team (or used to be) on the field at once; I know that touchdowns are scored by running and/or passing the ball until someone gets it legally into the end zone--and I believe if an opponent gets an interception there, it is called a touchback--worth 3(?) points to the opponent, as opposed to 6 for a touchdown; after a touchdown, the team that scored gets to try for a field goal, worth 3(?) points, for which they bring a special player out onto the field to try and kick the ball over the bar and between the uprights of the goalpost (how high over the bar doesn't matter) as the opponents try to rush him and prevent him from kicking, or by blocking the ball if he doesn't get it in the air high enough fast enough; each team has 4 "downs" in which they try and advance the ball toward the end zone; a down occurs when any particular play is over, either by the ball carrier being tackled, or by the pass being incomplete (not being caught, or thrown out of bounds), or some other reason such as the ball carrier stepping out of bounds. If the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage (when the 2 teams face each other at the beginning of a play), then he has been "sacked"--meaning that instead of gaining ground, he has lost ground--the next play must begin even further from the end zone; if a team advances as much as ten yards (a football field is 100 yards in length between the end zones), then they get a "first down"--thus, if they get enough first downs, they can get close enough to the end zone that, when the quarterback receives the ball, he may just be able to jump over the line of scrimmage and land in the end zone (not that this is an easy maneuver, mind); however--if they have NOT gained ten yards after the third down, most of the time their next play will be to kick the ball downfield as far toward their end zone as possible; this means that they are acknowledging that they had to turn the ball over to the opponents, but they want to make sure the opponents have to start as far away as possible from their end zone, which is behind the team that just gave up the ball. Occasionally, a team will do a regular play on a 4th down; usually in extenuating circumstances such as being only a short distance from scoring a touchdown.
I do not know the names of all the positions. Nor do I know exactly what all the infractions are called; one of them is "offsides", but I am not sure exactly what that is. I do know that no player is to cross the line of scrimmage too early--before the ball has been passed to the quarterback, I think. They are not allowed to grab each others' face masks. If the referee sees an infraction, he will toss a little "red flag" into the air. This usually has the effect of nullifying whatever happened on that play, though I believe it counts as a down.

So--I can watch football and have a pretty good idea of what's going on. Same with basketball and baseball. It's just that I have no interest in it unless I know someone who is playing. I am so thankful that my son has never wanted to play! He says, "If I have a ball that a bunch of 250-pound players are willing to tackle me to get, they can HAVE it!"

Jackie:
Love the quote about your son.
My Mother-in-Law tells the story of her son being tossed a football for the first time, he looks at it quizzically for a moment, then sits down on it in an attempt to hatch it. I'd be proud of a son like that!

Hi guys,

I just joined in. What are you all talking about?

Even I could have missed catching balls as well as UVA did that day.
Yup! It ain't easy with six 250-pound-plus linemen bearing down on you, determined to keep you from catching that ball!

Uh, Jackie...that's a yellow flag!

And how'd Bingley find out how to pronounce "Looville"?

And football is soccer.

And we're sure lucky mav ain't around to flag us for a sports thread!

I believe I can rightfully claim to know less about football than all but two of our members. (wwh)

these two being me and rav?

true. one part of the Great Civilisation of US that I don't know anything about is American Football.


edit: I've missed Jackie's post. tomorrow after I've read it I'll be much more educated on the matter of football. thank you, Jackie

A touchback occurs in two main situations. If one team is kicking off or punting to the other team, and the ball either goes beyond the end zone or if the receiver catches the ball and kneels with the ball in the endzone, that is a touchback and the receiving team in either case will start the next set of downs from their own 20 yard line. No points are given to either team.

In the second case, if the defense intercepts a thrown pass in the end zone (and I guess if they recover a fumble too), and they do not run it out of the end zone then that is also a touchback, and the team that intercepted the ball will start the next set of downs on their own 20 yard line.

A safety on the other hand is when the offense is tackled in their own end zone. I think if they fumble the ball out of the end zone that too is a safety. The other team is awarded two points, and the team that was tackled in its own end zone must then kick or punt the ball from deep in their own territory (I think the 20 yard line). A safety is thus a hard blow to a team because they not only give up points but they also give up the ball to the other team who usually ends up with excellent field position after the kick. (A normal kick off after a touchdown or a field goal is performed from the 35 yard line in comparison.)

We need a good link for American football terms like the one we had for cricket terms.

I found just such a link!

http://www.americanfootballbetting.com/glossary.html

Gee! That’s quite an impressive lexicon. I liked the definition that says:

FIRST AND TEN: See down. Sounds like a crossword puzzle. But when you look at ‘down’, you realise how complex this is:

DOWN: An offensive play, starting with a center snap and ending when the ball is dead. The offense gets four downs to gain ten yards. If they gain that before using all four downs, they get a first down and another four downs to gain another ten yards. Each time they gain ten yards, the team is at their first down again, needing another ten yards(first and ten) within the next four downs, or plays.

I repeat. Gee!

[switching off and disappearing rapidly behind the barrier-e]

Actually, it seems more straightforward than crickettalk!

Actually the definition of "down" was a bit scanty. It is also a verb, as in to down the ball, which means to bring an end to a play either by kneeling while in possession of the ball or, if you're the querterback, deliberately throwing an incomplete pass. (The latter also stops the clock.) To down the ball also may be used to describe when a kicking team, such as on a punt, grabs the ball before any of the receiving team's players do. For example, a punting team would rather down the ball on their opponents 1 yard line rather than let it go into the end zone thus resulting in a touchback.

dxb, if you combine my if a team advances as much as ten yards (a football field is 100 yards in length between the end zones), then they get a "first down"--thus, if they get enough first downs, they can get close enough to the end zone that, when the quarterback receives the ball, he may just be able to jump over the line of scrimmage and land in the end zone (not that this is an easy maneuver, mind); however--if they have NOT gained ten yards after the third down, most of the time their next play will be to kick the ball downfield as far toward their end zone as possible; this means that they are acknowledging that they had to turn the ball over to the opponents, but they want to make sure the opponents have to start as far away as possible from their end zone, which is behind the team that just gave up the ball. Occasionally, a team will do a regular play on a 4th down; usually in extenuating circumstances such as being only a short distance from scoring a touchdown.
with your quote
DOWN: An offensive play, starting with a center snap and ending when the ball is dead. The offense gets four downs to gain ten yards. If they gain that before using all four downs, they get a first down and another four downs to gain another ten yards. Each time they gain ten yards, the team is at their first down again, needing another ten yards(first and ten) within the next four downs, or plays. , then perhaps the overall picture will be clearer.
I should add that yardage is gained either by a player running with the ball, or by passing (throwing) it successfully to a teammate who is further downfield.

FIRST AND TEN: See down. Sounds like a crossword puzzle.

!!

FIRST AND TEN

it's an assumption of first and ten yards to go

go team!

Offensive pass interference is a bad call by the ref and is very offensive to the fans of the team penalized, so it is dubbed "offensive" (as opposed to defensive pass interference which is always a legitimate call by the ref, and so is viewed as a defensible penalty by the penalized).

A double-reverse is when both teams switch sides twice before the ball is hiked.

oh, that's very helpful, WO'N...

whoa! juan momentarily dropped the ball there and segued into a description of 42-man Squamish!

oh, that's very helpful, WO'N...

Yeah, I thought it might be...glad to be of help.

But I guess you don't want to hear what an end around is, then, do ya?

Offensive pass interference is a bad call by the ref and is very offensive to the fans of the team penalized, so it is dubbed "offensive" (as opposed to defensive pass interference which is always a legitimate call by the ref, and so is viewed as a defensible penalty by the penalized). Don't say things like this--some people might believe you!

And a hand off is a penalty called when a player taps another player on the butt.

Don't say things like this--some people might believe you!

Well, it certainly had me trying to get my head round it for a while.

After reading some of this it occurs to me that you have to have been born into this culture. I shall give up; my head hurts.

I shall give up; my head hurts.
There, there, Dear. Lie back with a warm compress on your head. I shall give you just one simple fact:
the offense is the team that is trying to get the ball to the goal. The defense is trying to keep them from reaching that goal: 'defending' it.


(Uh oh--one more sneaking in: that's OFF-fense, not of-FENSE, in this usage). And, at least in the south, it's DEE-fense.)

It should also be noted that the job of the offensive linemen is primarily defensive and that of the defensive linemen primarily offensive.

a spectator sports in its own right!

And people complain when it's "misused"!

It would be more confusing if we all carried little yellow flags in our back pockets? What if I liked blue flags? Or bearded German flags?

http://www.wmassmastergardeners.org/photos.htm

Source: The Collins English Dictionary © 1998 HarperCollins Publishers
iris [ars]
n., pl. irises or irides [ardiz, r-].
1. the coloured muscular diaphragm that surrounds and controls the size of the pupil.
2. Also called: fleur-de-lys. any plant of the iridaceous genus Iris, having brightly coloured flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals.
See also {flag2}, {orris1}, {stinking iris}.
3. Also called: rainbow quartz. a form of quartz that reflects light polychromatically from internal fractures.
4. a rare or poetic word for {rainbow}.
5. something resembling a rainbow; iridescence.
6. short for {iris diaphragm}.
[from Latin: rainbow, iris (flower), crystal, from Greek]

flag 2 [flæg]
n.
1. any of various plants that have long swordlike leaves, esp the iris Iris pseudacorus (yellow flag).
2. the leaf of any such plant.
See also {sweet flag}.
[probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Dutch flag, Danish flæg yellow iris]

But you will find that most of the players, writers, and sports broadcasters ow refer to the catching of a ball intended for the player on the other team as a "pick." I assume that's because the pass is picked off.

Every time there's a pick, people seem to go on and on about it and about the person who picked it off, proving that a picker is indeed worth a thousand words.

WW:

I unfortunately missed the first quarter's commercials because I was in the emergency room for the second time in less than a week having fingers sutured. When I got home I discovered that Peggy had taken the safety keys out of all my power woodworking tools, declaring that she would decide when I got them back.

Didn't do any good to argue that the first injury was related to a simple knife blade that went astray.

But what I want to know is, "what was the clown commercial about?" I've not even heard of it. The one I missed that was supposedly good was the horses watching the zebra.

TEd

This was the thing that got me about American Football! I've been to one match in my life and I have vague recollections of it being in New York and involving a team from New Hampshire whose name I can't remember. As to who won - absolutely no idea!

Anyway, the thing I couldn't get my head round was that the entire game was stopped for the commercial breaks. And, as if the boards around the stadium weren't enough, while the tv viewers were getting commercials they paraded cheerleader types around the stadium carrying placards.

How weird is that!?!

How weird is that!?!

It's the American Way; that's how weird it is.

Commercial television and American foot[sic]ball grew up together. My own private theory as to why soccer never caught on in the US is that they could never figure out how to schedule in commercial breaks. Soon as they cut to a commercial the only goal of the game would happen.

In regards to something I recently posted, to wit:

"And to the mathematician we have learned ".99999999.... = 0"...with some of us
'getting' it and others.........."

May I please state that I was in no way trying to be offensive here to the 'other' group. The matter of infinity has been very interesting to read here on the board. Sure, it's a 'word' board, but our linguistic management of conveying mathematical understanding among ourselves is interesting to many of us here.

However, a member of the board has indicated to me that I have been out-of-line in how I expressed the above, and I would like to set the record straight, for I meant no offense. When I set up the dichotomy between those who agree with the .99999..... = 1 slant of looking at things that Emanuela first showed us (I'm pretty sure it was Emanuela) and those who disagreed with that slant, I in no way meant that those who disagreed were unenlightened or anything along those lines. All I meant was there were those of us who saw and even agreed with Emanuela and those who continued to disagree for good reasons as I read them. The long set of ellipses...................after my statement was indicating that the argument could go on into infinity.

Anyway, my sincere apologies if you believed I was being rude, out-of-line, insulting or anything along those lines. If anything, I was making a quick bit of humor, but often humor is taken for insult.

Again, my apologies,
WW

Doubledub, weren't you precise enough for the mathematician, then? I didn't see anything insulting or off-colour or otherwise reprehensible about that post.

- Pfranz

Everything's fine, Pfranz. It was just a misunderstanding in phrasing.

I want to go on record again saying that I am thrilled that we do talk about math here on the board. It's one of the purest of languages and it is flat terrific receiving the explanations of those who are in the field to help those of us who are not weave our way through often unclear language. I, for one, have been inspired to put several math courses at the top of my list for study upon retirement from teaching in a few years.

WW, you are one of the kindest, gentlest people posting here. But as we all know, this is not a totally adequate medium, although we enjoy it tremendously for what it is. Nuance can be lost, and some folks will overreact to posts [I know from experience, on both ends]. Please don't worry about it any more.

PS I am one of those who don't *get it. [shrug] I'm fine with that.

All's well, AnnaS. Thanks for the sentiment.

Me? I'm still caught in the web of going back and forth between the possible meaning of .99999..... = 1 This is a topic I would not dare bring up at the lunch table among colleagues. They would spit me back into the music room. Thank heavens there is this place that we can at least discuss such a revelation--at least for those of us here who like thinking about such considerations.

I said it when I joined the board and I'll say it now:

I am grateful that there is such a group of people as you.

It's a relief to know I don't think like this alone in a void.

"...sports broadcasters now refer to the catching of a ball intended for the player on the other team as a "pick."

Pick is a very utilitarian word in American sports. In addition to the "pick off" mentioned above, in basketball we have "setting a pick" (positioning a player so that the defensive player pursuing an offensive team mate runs into the "pick", thus freeing the offensive man for the score)(this can also be done in football to impede a defensive player from covering his assigned man). And in baseball, we also "pick off" base runners, if they take too long a lead from the base. I suspect the hockey players have similar maneuvers, but I don't follow that sport.

>forms of "pick"<

In bowling we have "pick-up the spare" or he "picked-up the spare". When the bowler is getting set to for his spare shot we'd say, "okay, now, pick it up!"

WW, you are the sweetest thing! [blowing kiss e]