Rate Report VIII

The tragic and sudden passing of Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim of Kennesaw State University inspired me to write this Rate Report. This, The 8th Edition, is longggg overdue.

In full transparency, I did not know who Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim was until about 12 hours ago.

I am what the youngins call a "casual" when it comes to CBB.

Then I saw this clip on X that was shared by my digital friend and College Hoops fanatic @madeformarch, and in 1 minute and 44 seconds I was moved to tears. Sitting on my couch, in full mourning.

This is not unique for me and my emotions. My little Inside Out-esque Sadness trait is unhinged when it comes to stuff like this.

But what is it, exactly? This "stuff"?

Here I am grieving a person I never knew and now, sadly, never will. It is not for me to say why I feel this way. To know this answer is not important.

It's who I am is about as close to correct as I'll ever come.

But maybe, because of this recognition, I can better understand just what kind of human being Amir Abdur-Rahim was; he was special.

He was committed.

In Four Years as Head Coach of KSU he doubled their win total. Every year.

The video above is but a glimpse into the character and life of Coach Amir. It was taken after his 14 seed KSU lost by 5 points to the 3 seeded Xavier in the First Round of March Madness in 2023.

A watershed moment for this Basketball Program.

You can see one of his players' put his hand on Coach's shoulder in a moment of compassion as he gets emotional about a reporter's question.

Beyond this video and the short obituary that Kennesaw State has recently published, I do not know much about him.

Here's what I do know though; He will be missed. He will be remembered.

I had started crafting this Rate Report weeks ago but I wasn't committed.

That's on me Coach. I'm back in the gym.  

May you forever rest in peace.

As I pondered what to write about after kicking us off with something so heavy, I was scrolling my own X feed, and BOOM!

There it was!

Right below my retweet of @madeformarch, more of that "stuff" again.

But make no mistake, this stuff hits different. This clip right here makes me want to run right out into the filthy New York City streets and flip cars.

This is stuff of LEGENDS.

Dorobshokh Nabotov is the name of the young man on the mic.

At 25 years young, he possesses more courage and moxie in his left pinky toe, than I have in my whole soul.

To see him shoot his shot like this is a reminder to us all; you only truly miss the ones not taken.

Fight like hell Dorobshokh. I'll be rooting for you.

And one day soon, we'll be able to Rate your victories in the almighty Octagon.

For Act III of Sports and Stuff, my glassy eyed gaze turns to the Game Card below.

At the time of this writing, it is the single Most Rated Baseball Game in RateGame History at 53 Fans.

For those unfamiliar, this was no ordinary game. While the 1 run score differential indicates it was close, the true significance of this game cannot be ignored or understated.

It was a feisty farewell. Nay, a Funeral for Fandom.

One last goodbye to yet another Sports team departing from Oakland en route to Sin City.

This team played in a Concrete Circle known affectionately as "The Coliseum". For 57 years they called it home.

They were lovable, their fanbase was loyal as any, and they won the World Series NINE TIMES 🟢.

They even messed around and had a movie made about them. The soundtrack of which has been Socially Media'd to death on no less than 1,000 Postseason overlay highlight clips this year.

Fitting I suppose.

Vegas is where Sports Fandom goes to die.

(The Knights, Aces, and UNLV get a pass since they were born there. The transplants, however, no dice)

This is the stuff of sentiment. I was working from home on the day of this game and laying on my bed with my airpods in. As the game progressed, so too did the flood of memories from my youth.

The leg lifts from the zesty lefty, Barry Zito. The head bangers for Balfour. The moonshots from Mark McGwire.

As John Fisher continues his ascension to the Mount Rushmore of Worst Sports Team Owners in Human History, the stench of greed will forever follow.

But what's left behind in his woeful wake, are the things that matter most, and more importantly, things he cannot take with him; our memories. Our stuff.

So goes professional athletics in Oakland, California.

So long to the Oakland Athletics. We won't forget you 💛💚.

Quick check on the ol Circles of Truth and pleased to see that we've crossed the 15k milestone of Rated Games. We've also added over five hundred Sports Fans and a single Country to the user base.

Pretty neat.

When pressure testing the value that RateGame is supposed to deliver for you, the Sports Fan, the questions that I constantly ask myself, always have the same answer.

It's literally in its namesake; Rate (Sports) Games you watch.

Key word in that last part was purposely italicized.

With the rapid addition of the aforementioned Sports & Leagues, the performance of the RateGame engine has noticeably suffered. So much so that it has impacted the very thing it is built to do. Not great, folks, not great.

Alas, in the last month, we at RG HQ have begun the process of fine tuning this machine.  

The Global Architecture release, which had been our primary focus, has been put on Matty Ice until we're firing on all cylinders like Matty Staff. Ayyy.

In the last six weeks alone we've pushed seven versions to production.

That is to say, we're still pouring the concrete for a foundation that was previously built on one stick for one sport for 67 games (March Madness).

6514 Sports Games will be played in 2025

I'm not good at math. Never was. But you know who is? ChatGPT and their newest model "o1-preview". I fed that puppy the current Sports and Leagues that are built and deployed in RateGame (EPL, MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, CFB, CBB), set the timescale parameters to a calendar year, and voilá!

Six thousand games 'n change in 365 days n' nights. And guess what?

100% of them will be open to Rate

Didn't need ChatGPT for that one.

Since the last F|RR just over two months ago, this little app has gone from a single Sport/League cocoon, to a full blown butterfly; emerging from its summer chrysalis with SEVEN Sports & Leagues.

Five of the seven are happening simultaneously.

Right now.

From Preseason, to Playoffs, to Prague (for my Puck Pals)...

Let's Go Sports!

You want to talk commitment?

The return of the NBA has brought us none other than THE single best YouTuber THE Association has goin, @HeatCheck .

This man and his team churn out first class content within hours of the nightly slate from his studio in......North Macedonia 🤯.

A single video of his where RateGame is promoted drives HUNDREDS of first time users to RateGame.

This in turn makes RateGame more fun. It's a fairly simple formula:

More Sports Fans Rating Games + More Games for them to Rate =

More Fun.  

Bronny's historic debut is now the Most Rated Game of All Time at 198 Fans.

So he's got that goin for him, at least.

In all seriousness and sincerity, it is so awesome to see y'all Rating; whatever the Game, whenever you decide to.  

The 7th month birthday of this idea turned app was last week 🥳

We've come a long way in a short amount of time. But we've only just begun.

So have yourself a World Class, World Series weekend.

Whether you're for New York, Los Angeles, or a Neutty

Let the Rates Begin!

#RATINGS4RG

The irony of having an app that's entire value prop is based on Ratings, and is subsequently promoted in the App Stores by Ratings from it's users, is the stuff of Alanis Morrisette lyrics.

But let me be clear; I do not like it when people pander for things. Especially when it comes to clout or digital engagement of the superficial variety.

The way I see it, Ratings & Reviews are earned, not given. If, and only IF, you feel that RateGame is worthy enough of your time, I would very much appreciate a Review.

Good, bad, in-between, it doesn't matter.

The fact that you took the time to leave your feedback is what's important, and you best believe I will respond to every one I get!

Questions + feedback = hit me up!