Benches shouldn’t be cleared in MLB
Does ‘unwritten rule’ allow this nonsense?
Two recent MLB benches-clearing ruckuses caught my attention. Though neither led to a fight, the bullpens also emptied, pitchers ridiculously jogging in from the outfield, stragglers late to the party. We’ve seen it all before.
But not even hockey, which incredibly still features fighting, allows players to come off the bench to stir things up. Same for the NBA and NFL. Only in baseball does it happen. MLB could stop this nonsense tomorrow. Presumably it doesn’t want to because of some mysterious unwritten rule. It’s stupid.
Uplifting scene: There was not a more poignant moment during this week’s Jackie Robinson Day celebrations than 101-year-old Rachel Robinson attending a Mets game at Citi Field.
Quite a year: As the low amateur at the Masters, 22-year-old James Madison grad Neal Shipley joins the Dukes’ football and men’s basketball teams in JMU’s excellent athletic adventure. Madison success knows all seasons.
Echoes: Fans of Allen Iverson may find some humor in the location of his sculpture recently unveiled by the 76ers. We talkin’ about a practice facility, man.
The Commanders did something peculiar this week by inviting four top quarterback prospects to their facility on the same day. Nobody does that. The players were Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye and Michael Penix. The visits likely won’t change anything. Daniels should be the pick.
Drafty concept:
Shoe business: Nobody in the White House or anywhere else need fret over Caitlin Clark’s meager $76,535 first-season WNBA salary, pocket change for someone with her growing endorsement portfolio, including an anticipated big Nike deal.
Cha-ching: The name, image and likeness model for college athletes is already bordering on the obsolete. A recent basketball transfer from Arizona to Indiana reportedly received $1.2 million to wear a Hoosiers jersey. Is this a salary? A bonus? He’s hardly the first in recent times to be enticed by greener pastures. It’s pro ball now. Straight cash, homie.
Another great exodus — with about 1,000 Division I men’s basketball players in the transfer portal — has begun. How much money changes hands before the dust settles is anybody’s guess.
On the move:
Bottom line: For all the strides women’s college basketball is making, consider this: Each men’s Final Four team earns $10 million for its conference. Women’s Final Four teams make nothing. It has to do with the vast differences in TV revenue.
Hypocrisy alert: Because few bemoan the lifetime banishment of the Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter, a minor figure who played in only 26 NBA games this season, the league gets its anti-gambling message across to the players that matter while blithely continuing its partnership with FanDuel. Very convenient.
Catching up: Record-keeping has come a long way for the NBA, which didn’t start counting blocked shots as an official stat until the 1973-74 season. I learned only five minutes ago that there’s a stat called “stocks.” It stands for steals and blocks. The season leader was Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.
Hoop du jour: The future Hall of Famers on the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball roster, unlike almost all of our Olympians except for high-ranking tennis players, don’t need the Paris Games to grow their fame and bank accounts. LeBron, Steph and Co. will represent the country on their summer vacations. Makes their volunteering efforts more impressive if you ask me.
Goose egg: If this week’s play-in game loss was Klay Thompson’s Warriors swan song, one of the all-time great NBA shooters will depart the franchise with an 0-for-10 night.
If I read one more story about a college quarterback’s draft stock shooting up after a strong NFL Pro Day, I’ll scream bloody murder … or Zach Wilson’s name. He blew people away at his pro day. How did that work out for the Jets?