College and NFL football have started up again! Baseball is headed to the wire and to the playoffs! And there are lots of controversies, proposed changes, and dramas to talk about! So this weekend let’s talk sports.
The college season looks to be interesting. Last weekend three of the top 10 teams were defeated. Mighty Notre Dame, ranked #8, was defeated by Marshall, best known for losing most of their football team in a tragic airplane crash in 1970, the subject of the 2006 movie We Are Marshall. Texas A&M (enrollment 73,000), ranked #6, was beaten by Appalachian State (enrollment 18,000).
This to me shows the wisdom of the planned 12-team playoff, which will give teams from unheralded conferences, such as the Sun Belt conference where both Marshall and Appalachian State, a shot at the national championship.
Also last weekend, Alabama, ranked #1 as they nearly always are, came within 10 seconds of losing to unranked Texas. Which tells me that the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners may do well in the SEC when they switch over there in the near future.
Start whatever threads you want to discuss–including predictions, criticisms, and laments–but I’m curious what you think about Major League Baseball’s plan to change the rules next year by imposing a pitch timer (no more than 15 seconds between pitches,20 with a runner on base) and to outlaw infield shifts (the strategy of shifting defenders to one side for batters that always hit in that direction).
I abominate that! The whole point of baseball is that there is no clock, no time pressure, which is what makes it so relaxing. And taking away a defensive strategy–which sometimes doesn’t work and is thus a big risk, adding suspense to the game–in order to generate more offense? What’s sporting about that? As for all of these efforts to speed up the game, I’m against them all. When I go to a game, I want to get my money’s worth, so I want it to last as long as possible.
Your turn. . .
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