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SportsMonday: Snubbed

By Jim Coffman

Every year, mid-major men’s basketball teams get snubbed by the tournament selection committee in part because their schedule isn’t difficult enough. Last year the leading snubee was Monmouth. This year it is Illinois State.
And every year, those teams respond that they would have a more difficult schedule if the teams from the major conferences would schedule them. The teams from the most prominent conferences won’t do that because those sorts of games don’t matter much if they win and hurt a great deal if they lose.
Why won’t the NCAA change the system to address this issue and find a way for more crowd-pleasing smaller school to make the tournament? Surely no one believes that money isn’t a driving factor, do they?

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Posted on March 13, 2017

The 2017 Fantasy Fix Draft Guide, Pt. 2: Schwarbs!

Spring continues to spring surprises on us. Last week, I lavished praise on Trea Turner, 2B/OF, WAS, who is entering his second season with huge hype. The hype will only get bigger now that he is probably going to play SS for the Nats.
That position eligibility won’t be reflected on fantasy rosters until a week or two into the season, but the triple eligibility makes Turner that much more valuable as the No. 2 SS and arguably as high as No. 11 overall. Since the addition isn’t yet official for fantasy, and I do things by the book, you might want to make a note of it. In other words, as you print out my rankings, as I’m sure you all do with religious devotion, slot in Turner as the No. 2 SS between Manny Machado and Corey Seager, and bump everyone else down a spot.
Now, where were we?

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Posted on March 8, 2017

The Pace Of The Game

By Roger Wallenstein

I love greasy, juicy hamburgers along with an abundant mound of generously salted french fries. I’d eat them a couple of times a week except for the fact that I’m not interested in gaining 40 or 50 pounds while diminishing my life expectancy. I lost a full head of hair years ago, and I wouldn’t mind getting it back, but not at the risk of popping pills that have multitudes of side effects that those TV ads warn us about.
No, I can’t have it both ways, but apparently major league baseball thinks it can.
Three years ago in a move that slows down ballgames MLB introduced replay review – an innovation requiring an average of about a 2 1/2 minutes per review – in order to ensure that plays on the field would be accurately called. Last season fans waited through approximately 1,500 reviews, or about five every eight games.
So last week it was time to speed up things. In a laughable countermove, the four-pitch intentional walk, which occurred in about one-third of games last season, took its place in baseball history.
So which is it, fellas? Slower or faster? You can’t have it both ways.

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Posted on March 6, 2017

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