Thinking ‘Bout Sports

Right now every sport except gridiron football is in high gear. I’ll overlook the fact that basketball and hockey should have crowned their champions at least six weeks ago if I get a break from the NFL. Can’t stand the latter! I’d much rather view real football (aka/soccer) than watch steroid-enhanced monsters slap each other on the butt and pretend to play an exciting sport that ends in 6-3 scores. 

 

 

 

In the National Basketball Association I’m rooting for the Boston Celtics, who have the most talented team in the NBA. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Indiana Pacers or the Western Conference champ upsets them. The Celtics can be maddeningly  lethargic and play as if they are disinterestedly mailing it in. This is particularly the case of Jaysson Tatum, who gets by too much on reputation rather than his box scores. I hope he wakes up and wins his kudos. If he doesn’t, it’s not out of the realm of possibility the Celtics might move him rather than give him a max contract. 

 

 I’m rooting for the New York Rangers to win hockey’s Stanley Cup, though my head tells me they won’t get past the Florida Panthers. I’ve nothing against the Panthers, except that they play in Florida. I refuse to root for anything or anybody from that IQ-challenged state. (I don’t even like the weather!) If the Rangers fall, I really hope  the Edmonton Oilers win the Cup. It’s been 31 years since Canada hoisted a Stanley Cup and it will go wild when a Canadian team is finally triumphant. Few in Sunrise, Florida will look up from their pina coladas if the Panthers to win. 

 

 The Major League Baseball Season is nearly one-third finished with its162-game season. Fans still seem to like the pitch clock, but MLB continues to face challenges. One of them is the luxury tax, which was supposed to bring parity. It has not. May is almost over and just 11 (of 30) teams have a winning record. Eight are in large media markets, with only Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Cleveland representing so-called small markets. 

 

 MLB has produced some surprises. I did not expect the Yankees to be in first place or the Red Sox to have a winning record. I love the fact that Tampa Bay and the Houston Astros have sucked. Tampa often plays “dirty” baseball and everyone knows about the “cheating” Astros. I also delight in seeing the Twins and Angels struggle, Minnesota because they are perennial tomato can playoff fodder for real contenders; the Angels for pathetic management that has wasted the career of Mike Trout. 

 

 I’ve been heartened by the success of Cleveland and Kansas City, though both need to start putting butts in the seats or pressure will mount to move them. This is also the case in Cincinnati, Miami, and Pittsburgh. Instead of expansion—heaven forbid still another wave of AAA ball masquerading as the big leagues–MLB needs to either institute a salary floor or move failing teams. Montreal ought to be choice number one; it’s twice as large as Charlotte, another frequent candidate. (BTW, Nashville has a more rabid baseball base than Charlotte.) 

 

 MLB has decided to abandon Oakland for Las Vegas—desert heat, hookers, and gambling, what could go wrong? I’m glad that Oakland is giving MLB the middle finger to the tune of just 6,000 fans per home game; there’s no reason why fans should line the pockets of the greedy. I’d love to see the Dodgers fall flat as they try to buy a World Series. They won’t though; they’re just too good. 

 

Pro sports need new awards categories. The Cleveland Guardians probably won’t win the World Series, but Stephen Vogt should be Manager of the Year for keeping them in the running and for taking over from Terry Francona, surely a future Hall of Fame skipper. 

 

 There should be a Most Outstanding Player for whomever is the best at their craft, and the Most Valuable Player should be reserved for the one who truly means the most to a team. For instance, Mike Trout is as perennial MVP candidate, but is he really all that “valuable?” Each year he won or was considered, the Angels finished near the bottom of their division. Did they need Trout to finish fourth? 

 

 I’ve been thinking about this during the NHL season. If you are voting on the best player in the NHL, you start considering Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisatil, and Connor MacDavid. Only the last two are still playing for the Cup. However, the most valuable is Artemi Panarin of the Rangers. It’s impossible to imagine New York’s success without him. 

 

 By the way, the most valuable player on the Celtics is Derrick White.

 

 Several other general thoughts:

       Can people just give Caitlin Clark a break? She’s played only a handful of games in the Women’s National Basketball League and gets flak for not being dominant. Gee, how can that be? She only went from college ball to competition against the finest female competitors in the world! What she has done is triple attendance everywhere she has played.

·          Shame, shame, shame on black commentators and players pulling the race card on Clark! Is it her fault that others see her a proverbial Great White Hope? Or that endorsements have come her way? Isn’t the real villain the NBA, which provides half of the WNBA budget? Let’s see, Clark is the consensus #1 pick and makes $76,500; the minimum NBA salary is $1.1 million for pine-riders!

·          Think the networks regret shelling out over $7 billion to broadcast NASCAR? Auto racing has devotees who go to the track, but it’s a terrible sport for TV.

·          Golf is even worse on TV. Plus, the PGA/LIV split has really taken a divot out of its viewing audience. 

 

 Rob Weir