NFL dominates TV, radio over MLB, even in offseason
Two months after the Super Bowl, NFL draft palaver engulfs sports TV and radio. Two weeks into its season, what you mostly hear about Major League Baseball is that its replay system is a farce. Therein lies a problem for the National Past-its-time.
Who needs it? Don’t know about others, but I could live out my life perfectly well without official replays. Just as I lived a perfectly happy childhood absorbed by sports long before reviewing calls became a thing. I just wish all leagues and sports could keep things moving. Replay rules prevent that from happening.
Ouch: Asked what he thinks about the possibility of Alex Rodriguez potentially buying his team, Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards said, “Who is he? I don’t know who he is.” Edwards was 12 when A-Rod retired.
Counterpoints: With a 53-point night, Steph Curry passed Wilt Chamberlain this week as the Warriors’ all-time leading scorer. What took Curry almost 12 seasons to do, Chamberlain managed in less than six.
Still hungry: Curry followed up on Wednesday with 42 points and eight assists in only 29 minutes in the Warriors’ rout of the Thunder. Sank a cool 11 3s in 16 attempts. All in a night’s work.
Making do: The Brooklyn Nets have the secondbest record in the East even with the Big Three of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving appearing in the same game only seven times.
Future watch: Assuming Deshaun Watson can’t massage his way out of a suspension, I hope nobody begrudges Tyrod Taylor the Houston Texans’ starting quarterback job. After his setback with the Chargers, Taylor deserves a break.
Hokie sighting: Despite opting out of the 2020 season and having back surgery in March, Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley is touted as a first-round cornerback pick, possibly going to the New York Jets with the 23rd overall selection. Football talker Chris Simms calls him “a generational talent.”
Numbers game: As reported by online basketball maven Jeff Goodman, of 87 Power 6 college basketball programs, only three — Alabama, Michigan and UCLA — have not had a scholarship player transfer out this spring. No need to feel sorry for coaches — the transfer portal works both ways. But it clearly changes the way teams are being built.
Half foot: News that Major League Baseball is using the independent Atlantic League for another experiment is not expected to please the game’s fans or participants, pitchers especially. Moving the pitching rubber back 1 foot to 61 feet, 6 inches in an effort to reduce strikeouts is a radical change. And yet, it’s not quite as random as when baseball in 1893 tried to alter the distance from 55 to 60 feet. It became 60 feet, 6 inches when somebody misread the blueprints, and the rule stuck.
Brewing: The controversy over whether America should boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics or work to pull them out of China could have been anticipated the moment the International Olympic Committee awarded the event to a country with such horrific human rights abuses. But taking into account China’s immense market, the IOC and its corporate sponsors — largely American — cannot resist pouring money into the country, human rights be damned.
Fanning a debate: For reasons I don’t understand, Julian Edelman’s retirement this week spawned Hall of Fame arguments supporting a player who didn’t make a single Pro Bowl. And whose stats pale in comparison with pass-catchers who will never sniff Canton and didn’t have Tom Brady for a quarterback. His fans cite Edelman’s strong postseason performances. You think, maybe, that had something to do with who was throwing the ball?