Baseball
Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann is a man without a contract. In baseball terms, he’s a free agent. He can sign with any team he so chooses, so long as they offer him a contract. Some people think he’ll sign back with the Braves. One of the most prevalent rumors I’ve heard has McCann departing for the faraway confines of Fenway Park and putting on a Red Sox uniform next year.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he signs with an American League club. After all, he could probably get a 6-10 year deal with one of them, knowing that the last half of the deal would see him slotted into the Designated Hitter role.
And that’s why I really can’t believe the National League still shuns the DH. Don’t get me wrong, I despise the Designated Hitter. I think if you play a position in the field you should also have to bat, but that’s just me. American League fans have loved the DH for the last few years. Offensive production is typically higher in the American League. The sluggers of the National League are heading to the AL at a brisk pace. A central figure in National League offense, Albert Pujols, decided playing for the Cardinals wasn’t enough. He took a massive deal to sign with the identity-crisis-riddled Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (in Orange County, California, United States, North America, Earth…you get the picture). He took the deal because, as I just wrote, he only has to play first base some of the time. He can DH the rest of the time, thus prolonging his career.
Until the National League accepts that the Designated Hitter is just part of the game, they’ll continue to see the sluggers leave. So I propose an over-all change to the DH rule. This would affect both leagues. You have a DH that stays in the game as long as the starting pitcher stays in. Once you change the starter, the DH has to change as well. Rosters could be expanded a bit to account for using multiple pitchers. Or, perhaps just make a starting pitcher DH and then a bullpen DH. I’m flexible on the details.
Formula 1
Red Bull’s “B-Team,” Toro Rosso, has announced just who will replace Daniel Ricciardo, who is leaving to partner with (soon-to-be-crowned) quadruple World Champion Sebastian Vettel. Filling Ricciardo’s seat will be Russian teenager Daniil Kvyat. It’s a surprising move for the team, given that other, more prominent, drivers were originally tipped to land the race seat. Kvyat brings a good pedigree with him. He’s currently doing very well in the Formula 3 European Championship. He’s also 2nd in the title picture in the GP3 series with only one race to go.
Toro Rosso has a history of supporting younger, up-and-coming drivers. Sebastian Vettel drove for the team in 2008, garnering their only win to date, a rain-soaked affair at Monza. They’ve since used Sebastian Bourdais, Sebastien Buemi, Sebastian the Lobster from the Little Mermaid (okay, that might be a joke), Daniel Ricciardo, and Jean-Eric Vergne.
High School Football & Bullying
High School football is a big deal, especially in Texas, where it is a religion unto itself. However, some people aren't looking at it that way. Aledo High School, one of the powerhouse programs of the state, recently defeated much smaller Fort Worth Western Hills High School by the score of 91-0. A parent of one of the players for Fort Worth Western Hills has filed a complaint against the head coach of Aledo for "bullying."
Just how much of a bully was he? He had his starters out after just 21 plays. His team threw only ten passes in the game. One running back scored four touchdowns on four carries. Both teams played with a running clock in the second half and the halftime score was 56-0. The argument that Aledo run up the score is understandable. The idea of bullying is not. The way I see it, the parent who filed this complaint is probably one of those parents who thinks everyone who merely participates should get a trophy.
I struggle with this, because, while I don't like any team running up the score simply to run up the score***, what do you tell your players? In my opinion, it's almost more insulting for a winning team to either start taking knees early in the third or fourth quarter, or to run ahead a couple yards and just fall down. You're basically telling the other team "you guys are so bad, we're going to tackle ourselves to help you out." Meanwhile, you're telling your second, third, and fourth string players who rarely get to play to simply not try.
High school is supposed to be a time to teach kids how the real world works and to prepare them for how to deal. Apparently, according to this parent, someone being better than you should not be respected for being better, but should rather be thought of as a bully. The simple truth here is that Aledo just outclasses Western Hills with facilities, players, and budget. Someone in Texas thought scheduling these two schools would be a good idea...it wasn't.
***The notable case of a school running up the score just to run up the score occurred in 1916, when Georgia Tech beat tiny Cumberland College (Lebanon, TN) by the lopsided score of 222-0. If you want to take it as such, this was a case of bullying. Cumberland had to piece together a volunteer team to play Georgia Tech because the college had disbanded the football program the year prior. Georgia Tech head coach John Heisman would not let Cumberland out of their contract. See, Heisman was a bitter man who was holding a grudge against Cumberland because, the year before, Cumberland has run up the score in baseball, using a team that may or may not have utilized "ringer," professional baseball players. Cumberland's intramural squad faced off against Georgia Tech and the Engineers scored 63, 63, 54, and 42 in the standard four quarters of play.
Just how much of a bully was he? He had his starters out after just 21 plays. His team threw only ten passes in the game. One running back scored four touchdowns on four carries. Both teams played with a running clock in the second half and the halftime score was 56-0. The argument that Aledo run up the score is understandable. The idea of bullying is not. The way I see it, the parent who filed this complaint is probably one of those parents who thinks everyone who merely participates should get a trophy.
I struggle with this, because, while I don't like any team running up the score simply to run up the score***, what do you tell your players? In my opinion, it's almost more insulting for a winning team to either start taking knees early in the third or fourth quarter, or to run ahead a couple yards and just fall down. You're basically telling the other team "you guys are so bad, we're going to tackle ourselves to help you out." Meanwhile, you're telling your second, third, and fourth string players who rarely get to play to simply not try.
High school is supposed to be a time to teach kids how the real world works and to prepare them for how to deal. Apparently, according to this parent, someone being better than you should not be respected for being better, but should rather be thought of as a bully. The simple truth here is that Aledo just outclasses Western Hills with facilities, players, and budget. Someone in Texas thought scheduling these two schools would be a good idea...it wasn't.
***The notable case of a school running up the score just to run up the score occurred in 1916, when Georgia Tech beat tiny Cumberland College (Lebanon, TN) by the lopsided score of 222-0. If you want to take it as such, this was a case of bullying. Cumberland had to piece together a volunteer team to play Georgia Tech because the college had disbanded the football program the year prior. Georgia Tech head coach John Heisman would not let Cumberland out of their contract. See, Heisman was a bitter man who was holding a grudge against Cumberland because, the year before, Cumberland has run up the score in baseball, using a team that may or may not have utilized "ringer," professional baseball players. Cumberland's intramural squad faced off against Georgia Tech and the Engineers scored 63, 63, 54, and 42 in the standard four quarters of play.
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