The Rangers should sue Bud Selig for gross stupidity.

If the Rangers end up losing the World Series tonight, they can thank Selig.  It was his inane idea to tie the home field advantage in the series to the winner of the all-star game.  If they had home field advantage like they would have had under the old system, the series would likely be over and they would be celebrating a title.

But like a lot in baseball, the home field has been “Seliged.”

Definition – (1) To screw up something that without intervention would have been much better.

(2) To do things just for the sake of change despite the lack of need for any alternation.

(3) Just being stupid.

It would be bad enough if the Cards were a division winner and got home field with a worse record than the Rangers.  But this team fell backwards across the line into the playoffs as a wild card team.
In no other sport does something as stupid as an exhibition game determine home field advantage.  What would baseball have done if the 2011 game had ended in a tie like it did several years ago?  Knowing Bud, they would have had the first 4.5 innings in St. Lewis … Read more at FryingPanSports

Will this week be full of upsets in football?

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College games:

Louisiana Tech 20 @ #3 Boise St 49 – Boise looked just OK against a very out manned LTk team. The play of LTk did not do Boise any good convincing the pollsters or the computers they deserve to be higher.

#1 Auburn @ Mississippi – The Tigers shouldn’t have any trouble with Ole Miss but they probably will struggle early. Auburn plays great against really good teams but tends to play down to the level of the lesser SEC opponents. Auburn wins.

#2 Oregon @ USC – The Ducks looked really good against an up and down UCLA team. But this is USC and it is the closest thing the Trojans will get to a bowl game this year. The key will be how does USC handle a fast and nasty Duck D? The Oregon D holds its own but the USC D is not nearly what it has been in previous years. Oregon passes the test and wins.

#5 Michigan State @ #18 Iowa – The Hawkeyes looked like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football after the 1 point loss home against Wisconsin. The loss took them to the back of the Big 10 1 … Read more at FryingPanSports

Sports Buffet for 08/10/10

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Football

The NFL negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and the NFLPA are not going well. The NFL has proposed an 18 game season but the injuries to players this preseason are hurting the chances of the Union accepting the deal.

The list of players already on the IR seems to be a lot longer than usual. The list already includes Raven DBs Walt Harris and Domonique Foxworth, Ram DL Chris Hovan, and others. Bronco LB Elvis Dumervil could be the next one on that list depending on how the operation to fix his torn muscle goes.

FPS will be reporting on preseason games and let you know which teams are looking solid and which are looking like pretenders.

Baseball

The Reds face a tough series this week against the Cardinals. The Reds lost game 1 and as of last night had their lead cut to 1 game. The Cardinals are one of the teams that have had a lot of injuries but are still very talented.

The division races have all tightened over the last couple of weeks except for the AL West where the Rangers are running away from the rest of the division. … Read more at FryingPanSports

Niblets for July 2010

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NOTE:  We will finish our question mark review for the NFC South and West Thursday.

Best comment of the month:

teeth whitening gets the comment of the month again. Comment on LeBron is LeGone to Miami I wonder if the incentives in the contracts for the beach boys are going to impose problems during their season? What if one of the players decides to pad their stats instead of playing team ball and set off the egos.

TW, I think we have a new name for the guys in South Beach–the Beach Boys. Well done and thanks for reading our site.

Updates on previous columns:

LeBron, Gilbert, Miami and Cleveland The Heat added F Juwan Howard, Joel Anthony, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire and rookies Dexter Pittman and Patrick Beverley. Z is nearly useless and was at the end of the bench during the Cavs run in the playoffs last season. Howard is not what he used to be but will help. Magloire gives the heat some physical play inside at C.

The Cavs have done very little to add talent despite owner Gilbert’s statement. The fact is that if the team could not attract a top UFA with LeBron on … Read more at FryingPanSports

Baseball Heads Down the Back Stretch

all star game 2010

Baseball Heads Down the Back Stretch

Now that the All Star game is over, we need to take a look at the standings and project what might happen from this point to the final weeks of the season.

The trading deadline is coming up and there are a few names floating around that could help a contender. Some deals have already been made. The biggest deal was SP Cliff Lee going to the division leading Rangers. He gives the team the one thing they did not really have–a true #1 starter. Even with the team’s financial problems, they decided to go for it all this year.

The Jays and Braves traded SS with Alex Gonzalez going south in a five-player deal along with 2 minor leaguers for SS Yunel Escobar and LHP Jo-Jo Reyes. The Braves needed a little more O and Gonzalez should help. Escobar has been at best inconsistent.

The Jays are in 4th in the tough AL East and have put out the word that RPs Kevin Gregg, Scott Downs and Jason Frasor are available. They are looking to build for next year. Several teams might be interested in Gregg who has converted 20 of 23 … Read more at FryingPanSports

Sports Buffet for 06/15/10

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NFL

The lower round rookies are beginning to sign. The deals are too scattered to give you a good analysis but look for the top picks to have some extended holdouts. The league ownership is in a penny pinching mood. The best indication of that is the fact that none of the usual sources have the financial data on the rookie deals. Given the concern over what the next CBA might look like and the economy still being in the tank, owners won’t quickly let the agents talk them into big increases over last year.

The RFAs are also signing. Today, the teams have the option of lowering any unsigned RFA to 110 percent of the salary the player made last year. In most cases the teams will do this for those players that they consider reserves or not critical to their long term plans.

NBA

The Celtics lead in the finals now 3-2. It is hard to get a handle on this series because each team looks unbeatable in one game but then lays an egg in the next one. While some of the differences in the games is due to injuries and foul trouble. But that can not … Read more at FryingPanSports