* Mercifully, Major League Baseball came to its senses last year and found a way to address its pace of play crisis.
The introduction of the pitch clock shaved almost 25 minutes off the average time of game compared to the previous season. Suddenly, the games weren’t interminable and you could reasonably expect most of them to be completed in under three hours.
Now, if baseball could do something about the plodding nature of its offseason.
In every other sport, free agency is a first-day bonanza, with the vast majority of stars scooped up in scene that looks like something out of the annual wedding dress sale at the old Filene’s Basement. Within days, all but a few names are picked over.
Not baseball, which plods along like it has no particular place to go. Free agency officially kicked off days after the World Series concluded and not a single player of note has signed a new deal. Friday saw a handful of smaller-sized trades made in conjunction with the deadline to tender contracts, but again, no household names were involved.
It could be weeks, or even months before the stars come off the board, and that makes for bad business. Accustomed to the firehose of signings that take place in the NFL, NBA and NHL and excite the fan base, MLB fans can be excused for giving up interest and eventually tuning out.
In his brilliant bit about the differences between football and baseball, comedian George Carlin noted that, with baseball, “you don’t know when it’s going to end!”
Sadly, when it comes to the Hot Stove League, you don’t know when it’s going to begin. But here’s a clue: not anytime soon.
* Rotating goalies over the course of an 82-game season makes perfect sense for the Bruins. As I noted here last week, it affords the Bruins of having the luxury of a No. 1 goalie in net every game and helps to cover up their offensive shortcomings.
But applying the same plan in the playoffs, as Jim Montgomery suggested might be in the works, is another thing altogether. In another era, the Bruins did it in 1972 and won a Stanley Cup, alternating Eddie Johnston and Gerry Cheevers. But that was a long time ago. Figuring it out in time for April may be the top challenge for Montgomery and his coaching staff.
* We can debate how necessary it is to have in-game sideline reports on sports broadcasts. Many of them seem mundane if not blindingly obvious.
But what’s not up for debate is that Charissa Thompson crossed a line when she almost proudly revealed that she often manufactured her reports. Once you knowingly fabricate anything, you have deservedly lost the trust of every viewer. Worse, you provide ammunition to those who believe this practice is commonplace. It’s not.
And Thompson also did a massive disservice to many of her female colleagues — the vast majority of those in that role are women — who have worked hard to establish themselves as credible journalists and overcome nasty stereotypes.
Finally, Thompson’s huffy “I’ve never lied about anything or been unethical during my time as a sports broadcaster,” mea culpa is the clearest evidence yet of her cluelessness. That she remains employed is remarkable.
* It used to be that the Patriots’ bye week was greeted with disappointment. This year, it feels like a respite, a gift even.
* The Red Sox-Yankee rivalry isn’t what it used to be, especially after this past season when the teams battled to stay out of the AL East basement. It’s hard to get too worked up when the combatants are all out to finish over .500.
But this winter presents a chance to ignite things — at least off the field.
Already, the Red Sox beat out the Yankees to pitching coach Andrew Bailey. Expect the next battle to be fought over free agent pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. And particularly if neither team winds up with Yamamoto, it’s conceivable that they could next turn their attention (and bankrolls) to his countryman, Shohei Ohtani.
At the heigh of the rivalry — 2003-2004 — the intensity was kickstarted by the pursuit of another foreign-born free agent starter: Jose Contreras. The Yankees ultimately won the bidding, prompting Larry Lucchino to label the Yanks “the Evil Empire.” And thus, the bad blood did flow.
Could history repeat itself this winter?
* When the NFL became business partners with betting interests, it was only a matter of time before a conflict developed. The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t list Joe Burrow on their injury list despite video of him wearing a wrist brace prior to the game and now a lot fo bettors, understandably, want their money back. Which wins out? The NFL’s paranoia about information or its insatiable greed? This is the very definition of “slippery slope.”
* How’d you like to be a parent writing a tuition check to Texas A&M this week, knowing that the school is writing its own check, worth $75 million, to a former coach fired for his abject failure?
* Incredibly, it’s been 37 years since a Celtic was last named NBA MVP. And while it’s early, it would seem Jayson Tatum stands at least a decent chance of ending that drought this season.
* One of the worst trends in the NHL in recent years is the need for players having to fight after delivering a clean, hard-hit in open ice. Run someone into the boards from behind? Sure. Administer a head shot? Absolutely. But checking is part of the game, and the notion that you get challenged for handing one out is ridiculous and counter to the game’s nature.
* Hot honey is the new pumpkin spice — it’s suddenly everywhere, for no discernible reason.
* If he’s not careful, Robert Kraft is going to give John Henry a run for his money in the all-important “Fewest Words Spoken by a Boston Sports Owner In a Calendar Year” competition.
* Luis Urias, we barely knew ye.
