Personal Memories of Baseball.

CrosleyCrosley Field

I have to admit that I am a fan of losers. In the MLB I follow the Indians and the Cubs.

Today the Cubs come to Cincy to play the Reds in a day/night double header. For years the Cubs came to play the Reds in a traditional double header right around the All-Star break. It was also around my birthday (and no I no longer recognize those). My Dad would take a day off from managing the family business. We would go to see the games and go out to dinner. The games were at Crosley Field. It became a great tradition that we looked forward to every year.

Please share your favorite baseball memories with us as well.

That is what I think. Tell us what you think by commenting here or tweeting me @NNRonDSN.

NOTE: Check out the live News, Notes and Rumors show on Monday, Thursday and Friday at 6 PM Eastern on or https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/. On Samantha Bunten of NBC Sports, former NFL scout Kelron Sykes and I talk football with just a little Indians and Cavs thrown in. The archive is available on https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/. Please join us.

Bill Smith is a Read more at FryingPanSports

Don’t expect the NFL Draft to move back to April anytime soon.

NFL Draft (2)

The NFL owns August through early February by virtue of the season and playoffs. It owned March and April with free agency and the draft in previous years. This year the NFL used an excuse of the venue being scheduled requiring a move to May 8-10th. That did not happen. Why would any venue, even one as well known as Radio City Music Hall, schedule something to conflict with a hugely popular event like the NFL draft? They wouldn’t.

The show that was supposedly scheduled was canceled but the NFL had already set the date for May.

Here is the truth. The NFL wanted to take May back from Major League Baseball. The draft is the best way to do that. The anticipation prior to the draft will keep sports talk shows talking about the NFL. I am lucky because since NNR started on the air in January of 2011, after week 5 all the Browns fans want to talk about is the NFL Draft.

The NFL will also dominate talk for the rest of May due to discussions of what teams did and should have done. The league has stolen May from MLB and has no desire Read more at FryingPanSports

The PED scandal is one more blow to MLB’s credibility

MLB_logo

Major League Baseball has umpires with impaired eyesight refusing to use instant replay.  Even when they do they get the call wrong.  Now the league faces the biggest drug scandal in its history.

 

The league is being run more by the umpire and players’ unions than by team ownership.  Every time the owners have an issue they hide behind the unions as the excuse for not being able to change things.

 

The current collective bargaining agreement provides some fairly stiff penalties for use of PEDs.  However, the league needs to regain the confidence of the public.  The only way to do that is to give the player a 100 game penalty for the first time he fails a test.  The second time he should be banned from the game for life.  That should also prevent him from being considered for the Hall of Fame.

 

The issue of inconsistent umpiring is different.  The line setters can adjust to players being suspended for PED use.  However, they cannot adjust for wildly inconsistent calling of the game.  The interest in any sport is in part due to gambling by the fans.  The first indication of the impact of bad umpiring … Read more at FryingPanSports

Samantha Buntin joins me for an NNR Special

SBurton

 

We discussed the Browns draft and previewed the Indians season by analyzing the lineup and pitching.  Follow me on Twitter to get the schedule of NNR Special podcasts.

NNR033113 Samantha Bunten

 

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He edits https://fryingpansports.com.  He has also published several novels on and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/.

He edits http://fryingpanpolitics.org/.  

 … Read more at FryingPanSports

MLB Games Tryouts

Where is the scout?

This is the question that many parents and young aspiring baseball players ask during spring season as they get ready to go to the ballpark with dreams of having multi-million dollar bonuses in their heads. What many of them fail to realize is that the interest of these scouts is not merely a game of waiting, not is it something to be ignored. The jocks who throw great pitching during their high school practices can just sit around in their basements and play video games and still the scouts may find them. As for a lot of people, you need to go after them and practice hard. This is where the trout for Major League Baseball will come in.

Tryout is a word that often proves to be misleading because it implies the fact that the scouts choose specific players that they want, sign them, and then put them into the system of the minor league. However, from the standpoint of MLB Games tryouts, these are just opportunities for them to check out the young players who will be joining the selection for the player drafts. Most organizations make use of tryouts in the hopes that … Read more at FryingPanSports

Tonight on the radio version of News, Notes and Rumors

At 6:20 Paul Banks of The Sports Bank.net and the Chicago Sports Guru joins me to talk about the NFL CBA, the effects of the shortened off season and the NBA lockout.

At 7:20 Richard Vester founder of Victory Sports Agency joins me to talk about what he has heard from the NFLPA about the CBA progress and MLB CBA contract status.

Join us on https://fryingpansports.com/radio-show/ or .

You can be part of the show by calling the Herbalife Hot Line provided by Drew Elkins at 216-539-0607.  If you mention you heard about Mr. Elkins on NNR he will give you a discount on your first order.  Call him at 614-906-2321.

 

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent.
He is a senior writer for and edits https://fryingpansports.com.  He has also published several novels on and a non-fiction work at http://www.merriam-press.com/.

He edits .

Read more at FryingPanSports