Biggest pet peeve in sports today?

A one-ticket twi-night I consider free baseball. They threw in the other game that would’ve cost a whole other ticket. And they rock. Some of my favorite days at the ballpark have been buying really good seats and watching two games for the price of one.

 

To be fair, the runner-on-second rule would not be in play in the playoffs.

 

For the record, I like extra inning baseball games in the regular season and in the post-season. I do not care about extra inning games in Spring Training because wins and losses there do not matter.

I like extra inning games for two fundamental reasons:

1. There is an element of finality to almost every plate appearance since at least half of the extra inning games are won by a single run.

2. The outcome of the game is decided by continuing to play the same game with the same rules that created the tie game at the end of 9 innings. [Aside: That is why I hate the new "runner-on-second rule"] That distinguishes baseball - and basketball too - from football and ice hockey and soccer because those other sports break tie games with a bastardized version of the game. If MLB did to the games what soccer does, it would break tie games by staging a Home Run Derby between the two teams after 9 innings. ​

 

Don't give 'em any ideas.

 

The only thing better than extra inning baseball games in the regular season and in the post-season is West Coast late-night extra inning baseball games in the regular season and in the post-season. On AM Radio.

 

If one was to say something nice about the rule, it's like hockey. Some 4-on-4 and a shootout in the regular season, but the sheer awesomeness of Stanley Cup playoffs overtime.

 

Unless you’re on the copy desk.

 

What is this *copy desk* of which you speak?

 

We never planned on getting those anyway. Soon as the Cards or Rockies went final, we were done.

 

Dammit.

 

All right, one of mine was on fine display in final seconds of title game. Bench kid for Baylor has a shot at a layup in the closing seconds, though a Gonzaga defender was close. Instead of going in for it -- and the chance to be a bench dude scoring in the national title game! -- he pulls it out and dribbles out the clock. Raftery says it's a sign of great coaching. Come on.

Drives me nuts. This has become the way to play at every level of ball. It's especially ridiculous in high school. Forget that. Just keep playing, shoot to the buzzer. But it makes no sense in the NBA or college either. It's somehow become a sign of bad sporstmanship if you score or even shoot in like the final 30 seconds when the game's decided. Sometime when I'm really, really bored I'm going to go on YouTube for a weekend and figure out the general timeframe when this became the norm. Back in the day folks just shot till the end, no one gave a shit. We give baseball crap for the love of unwritten rules -- not stealing when up too much, not bunting during a no-hitter and on and on and on -- but don't score in the final 30 seconds of a blowout is perfectly accepted. Chuck it from the cheap seats. Drive in for a dunk or a layup. Make your mark, guys and gals.

And sort of along the same lines because I wonder if the timeframes were similar on this one...NBA guys not launching from 60 feet or farther at the ends of quarters anymore, maybe in a misguided attempt to not have their FG percentage lowered on impossible shots? But just watch a game sometime and look at how many times teams could get prayers launched from the other side of halfcourt but guys just dribble out the clock or take it just after the buzzer's gone off. Someone had a video online of an old NBA commercial of long-distance shots. Some of them were game-winners, like a famous Dr. J one against Dallas. But others were just standard end of quarter shots that you probably wouldn't even see attempted in many games these days. Magic Johnson made his share of these but he came close on a ton more, always willing to toss it down there from any distance and give it a shot at the rim.

Anyway, these things peeve me.

 

Copy desk? Copy desk?! What copy desk?