PSoTD

Bad News for Major League Baseball...

A World Series to remember for the St. Louis Cardinals was one to forget when it came to television ratings.

The Cardinals' five-game victory over the Detroit Tigers averaged a record-low 10.1 television rating and 17 share, Fox said Sunday. This year's rating dropped 9 percent from the previous bottom, an 11.1 for a four-game sweep by the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros last year.

What made the low rating more remarkable was that this year's Series went five games and was not a sweep. St. Louis' 4-2 victory in Friday night's finale got a 10.3/18 in figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research, just above the record low for a Game 5, a 10.0/17 for the San Francisco Giants' 16-4 rout of the Anaheim Angels in 2002.

Well... I found 2006's baseball finish to be a horribly boring World Series. In fact, the entire playoffs were, also. There were several reasons for that:

Nobody to root for. C'mon, I'm sick of the "genius" of Jim Leyland, and even more sick of the "genius" of Tony LaRussa. There were no real compelling players, no personalities that stood out.

Nobody to root against. No Steinbrenner to boo. No horribly attituded players to be annoyed with. No Yankees.

Fox's broadcast teams. We need a "No Fan Left Behind" program so we can test sportscasters for the ability to interest viewers. Fox would not be getting any federal money if such a program existed. Thank GOD Lou Piniella went back into managing. Chicago's loss is the rest of the country's gain. Let's just hope Fox doesn't try to bring Brent Musburger into the booth.

Saturation of playoff games. I'm almost of the opinion that Major League Baseball should go back to two divisions in each league, to cut back on the playoffs. Almost. There's too much MLB playoff action now, it has reduced the stakes of playoff games, and I think it adds to the burnout of watching playoff games eventually, too. Didn't you hear someone ask "Are the playoffs STILL going on" this year?

Goodnight, Red Auerbach.

City to sell the Senators
Mayor doesn't want to do it but believes it's now a must

Mayor Stephen R. Reed joked 11 years ago that owning and operating a Class AA minor league baseball franchise wasn't exactly part of every city's daily routine.

But that didn't stop Harrisburg in early 1996 from purchasing the Eastern League's Senators back from private ownership in a successful effort to keep the team in town.

Today, with the city locked in a crippling budget crisis, Reed believes selling the franchise has become necessary.

...

However, Reed insisted he will not sell to prospective owners who might want to move the Senators. The fact that he'll demand the team remains in Harrisburg does reduce the price, as it limits the freedom of the purchaser.

The team does add a lot to Harrisburg, and it'll be interesting to see how Harrisburg can require the team to stay. I hope they stay, we enjoy going to a few games each season, it's a great ballpark for kids, and very much a dose of Americana.

I have another suggestion, for any buyer - change the team name.

I appreciate tradition in baseball as well as anyone. Still, I've never understood the choice of team name of "Senators". Here's why:

It's not a team name that really describes Harrisburg. Yes, Harrisburg is a government town, but so are 51 other cities in this country. It's like calling a team in a university town the Professors. The General Assembly is a part of Harrisburg, but hardly its most distinctive (or proud) part.

About that pride thing - I don't know of any teams named the Governors, or the Representatives, or the Mayors, or the Judges, etc. Why Senators? Why name your team after a partisan employee position that suffers from as many public image problems as Senators do? Most sports teams have a team name that promotes some sort of team and player attribute - ferocity, or speed, or tenacity, or strength, or something. What does the name "Senators" promote? That they work a couple of days a week in Harrisburg? That they get great benefits? That they gerrymander the league so they can keep their positions? That they will do their job at 4 AM on the last day of the season?

And please, don't get me started on the proud history of the Washington Senators - a history, that if anything, promotes the name "Senators" as a baseball synonym for "doormat".

I say - look to the river. Something about the Susquehanna should be the source of the team name. Hell, the team plays their home games in the middle of the river - could it be more obvious?

If and when the team is sold, I hope new ownership considers such a change. Some traditions are made to be broken.

Krazy George is cool, krazy cool. He's also efficient. Check this out...

Krazy George Henderson has spent the last quarter-century trying to persuade everyone that he debuted the "Wave" during an Oakland Athletics' playoff game against the Yankees — not those Washington football fans who claim the Huskies first performed the now famous cheer.

Debate aside, the Wave is 25 years old and still going strong.

...

A former high school shop teacher, Krazy George's lone job the last 30 years has been as a for-hire cheerleader — working all of about three hours a week. Yes, that's it. He averages one game every seven days.

After attending Coaches Meeting last night...

Apparently, bloggalicious is on its way to becoming a real term.

Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this funeral without the express written consent of Major League Baseball is prohibited.

And then I won't talk about them again, at least for a couple of weeks. I promise.

I think the Bears magic in this NFL season, up until last night, had to do mostly about the surprise of having a downfield passing offense. Last year's Bears were all dink passes and runs, and the defenses this year had been prepped mostly for that. That's why the field was so open for Grossman the first five games. Defenses weren't focusing on downfield pass plays, they were stacking 8 or 9 men within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Arizona showed that they don't believe the Bears can run, and won't throw short passes, and they were right, at least last night. 34 yards rushing is a good number for a quarter but a horrible number for a game. It's not like the Bears tried that much, either, with just 13 real attempts, compared to 39 pass plays.

The Bears would be well put to try to spend the next two weeks getting the rushing game going again, and feature it heavily against the 49ers in two weeks, a team that has already given up 9 rushing TDs this season. I really don't even care if they lose the game, I just want to see the rest of the league realize that the Bears will devote a whole game to running the ball if they decide that's how they should try to win the game. I think defenses are going to focus on stopping Grossman's first deep target, and if Grossman continues to go haywire under that scenario, it will not be good for the Bears. So change the defensive focus of the opponents. And force Grossman to be patient!

I don't know what Rex Grossman thought he was doing against Arizona, but that'll be the last game the Bears win this year if he continues to play like that.

Please don't create an update of this.

You just know it. Something's got to give.

What an entertaining series the A's - Tigers on Fox is! Not so much because of the actual baseball, but because the Fox Sports "team" of Thom Brennaman, Steve Lyons and Lou Piniella is almost breathtakingly dull. Lou Piniella, on almost any broadcasting team, would stand out for delivering numbing obviousities. Tuesday night I actually heard him say of a Tiger hitter, "He likes the ball out over the plate."

Well, wow, I suppose most viewers might not have considered that possibility. But as bad as Piniella is, and it's "bad omelette" bad, Steve Lyons is worse. It's painful to watch the three in the booth talking, because you can tell that as Piniella spins out Little League coach level commentary with stumbling fortitude, Lyons looks like he's ready to spit the bit at any moment and blurt something out - and once Piniella finishes and Lyons does say something, you realize that the whole time he was waiting, he only planned far enough to say the first thing he could think of. I guess it isn't surprising, coming from a guy who once pulled his pants down at first base during a game and then acted like he "forgot" he was in front of fans.

Thom Brennaman, what can you say, he has the voice only a crime drama opening credits voice-over man could appreciate. Has he been practicing for the Law and Order gig? The rest of us can practice our Dr. Smith from Lost in Space: Oh, the pain. The pain! Of course, maybe Thom can throw in a couple more Bob Brenly barbs, I suspect most of the viewing public enjoys saying "who?" I like to say mine in a Great Gildersleeves tone and volume. Thom makes it all fun.

The worst thing about this trio is that as a team, they bring out the worst in each other. It's like a double play, and Brennaman is the shortstop and he throws it over Piniella's head at second. Piniella kicks it several times while chasing it down, but just as he's about to throw the ball home to get SOMEBODY, Steve Lyons crashed into him, yelling "I got it!" The groans are louder than the cheers. The producer of the broadcast gets special credit for putting together their formula of presentation: First Brennaman speaks, then Piniella, then Lyons. Then Brennaman. Then Piniella. Then Lyons. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, until eventually America mutes.

I did not see that coming.

And for Yankee fans, prepare for the Wrath of George.

I'm a Chicago Bears fan. Have been since the late 1960s. I've seen some great teams, some good teams, some mediocre teams and some horrible teams during that time. I will admit, that last Sunday's whooping of the Seattle Seahawks was one of the best performances I've seen by the Bears during the whole time I've been a fan.

But...

It's a long season, and the Bears are only going as far as a balanced offense and defense will take them. Can they consistently deliver, particularly on the offense? I'm hopeful but it remains to be seen. The press for the Bears has been as giddy in the past week as it has been since the Ditka era, and this Sunday will be a big test for this team - can they play anywhere close to their peak level with everyone singing their praises? Or will ego get the better of them?

If there's one team catching the Bears at a good time so far this season, it's the Buffalo Bills.

I kid you not.

Gleason, it is believed, is the only baseball player with prior major league experience who served in the Vietnam War.