Another contributing factor to the length of Major League Baseball games — and the lack of action — is the inordinate amount of 3-and-2 counts. There have been more full counts at this point in the season than ever before. Once, certain players were known as first-ball hitters. But that was a long time ago. Hitters today work the count as if they’re getting paid by how long they loiter at the plate.
Idle thought: The courtside seat of rapper/Toronto Raptors fanatic Drake should come with a lap belt.
Fresh links: Now that Dwyane Wade’s son is joining LeBron’s son to play basketball at a Southern California high school, we probably should brace ourselves for a new reality TV show.
Kicking off: We have once again arrived at our quadrennial discovery that the U.S. has a women’s national soccer team. This one is favored to win the World Cup that gets underway in France on June 7.
Add soccer: A long run by the U.S. women could provide some relief from the summer sports doldrums. This isn’t 1999, though, when Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and others animated the nation en route to winning the Cup in their own backyard. Twenty years on, the Spirit of ’99 remains a tough act to follow.
More futbol: With Liverpool and Tottenham meeting Saturday for the Champions League title, it’s a great time to be an English Premier League fan. Liverpool, which lost last year’s championship game, should seize the hardware this time.
Tracking death: Now that a 26th horse has died at Santa Anita Park in California since December, shouldn’t there be more of an outcry? Credit to the L.A. Times for calling on the track to close its season until some explanation for the carnage can be found. But here’s an even more sobering fact, courtesy of Santa Anita ownership itself: “Horses running in the United States are five times more likely to suffer a catastrophic injury than horses running at international venues.” Shouldn’t we learn why?
Football fodder: A reported leak out of the latest owners meetings reveals that some NFL tycoons are pushing for the 16-game schedule to be increased to 18. Others favor expanding the playoffs from 12 to 14 teams. It’s all to be negotiated with the players union.
He’s back: Art Briles, a pariah after leaving Baylor in the wake of numerous sexual violence cases tied to his football program, has been hired to coach a Texas high school team. What can you say? It’s Texas.
R.I.P: His gaffe in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series was always going to be cited at the top of his obituary, but the worst of Bill Buckner’s tormentors back in the day were slow to mention that even before Mookie Wilson’s grounder went through Buckner’s legs at first base, Red Sox relievers had blown a two-run lead to allow the Mets to tie the score and grab momentum. Because his error fit neatly into the maudlin scenario of what club partisans considered a jinxed franchise, Buckner suffered for the bullpen’s sins.
Net results: At the French Open, anything but a Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic final will be an upset.
Hoop du jour: Some order has been restored to William & Mary basketball with center and leading scorer Nathan Knight returning for his senior year after testing the NBA waters. Goes without saying that he’s desperately needed after four serviceable players transferred following the illogical firing of longtime mentor Tony Shaver. That sound you hear is current coach Dane Fischer exhaling.
Kiwi adventure: Is it really smart for RJ Hampton, a five-star recruit out of Texas, to eschew Kansas, Kentucky and Duke in order to play for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian pro league? Academics aside — and it usually is for a one-and-done player — wouldn’t Hampton be better off staying here and promoting his talents and marketability on a high-profile college team? Look what that did for Zion Williamson?
Future watch: When the NBA dismantles its draft age limit in two or three years, foreign flyers for kids straight out of high school will be a thing of the past. Not that the change will improve the landscape very much. What it will do is re-introduce a different style of confusion and dysfunction to the process of young men eagerly — and often foolishly — rushing to get that first contract.
