Ballfields & Blackboards

We examine the paradox in college football of 4 teams dominating the playoffs while underneath that there is a lot of competition. We also look at the problem of "tanking" in sports leagues, the struggles of John Calipari and Kentucky Wildcat basketball, and take guesses as to whether Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens make it into the Hall of Fame.  

We discuss the college football playoff structure and teams, the sense and nonsense of big buyouts for college coaches, and identify our favorite and least favorite sports-related events for 2020 along with the NFL no-bubble decision and a new name for the Cleveland Indians. 

We talk about the pending restructuring and takeover of minor league affiliations, locations, and operations by MLB along with reasons for the decline in viewership across sports since the restarts during the pandemic.

In this episode, we discuss whether bans against the use of performance-enhancing drugs make sense along with minor-league risk sharing plans, and our views on the home run surge in MLB playoffs.

This month we discuss the dilemma facing sports leagues in dealing with politicized topics like racial discrimination. We also pick out some of the best moments in sports over the last few months and debate the expansion of MLB's playoffs and 2 out of 3 structure of the first round. 

We discuss the current turmoil surrounding the decision of the SEC, Big 12, and ACC to continue on track to play college football in the fall in spite of the Big 10 and Pac 12 calling off their fall season. In addition, discuss restarts in MLB and other sports -- which ones got it right and which rule changes we like and don't like. Finally, we consider how much of a long term impact the year's di...

This month we make predictions for playoff berths and the World Series for the shortened Major League Baseball season along with discussing directions for the re-naming of the Washington Redskins, and whether and how the college football season will and should take place.  

We discuss the state of MLB's season and the sticking points between owners and players in negotiations. We also look at MLS' very cool World-Cup style tournament, the NBA's resumption, and short and long term issues in NASCAR

We discuss the potential impact on NCAA basketball of a big increase in salary structure for star 18-year olds in the NBA's G-League. We also throw out names of MLB's current and all-time most overrated and underrated players, including some names likely to surprise like Rivera and Jeter. 

We discuss the options and complexities of possible restarts of MLB, NBA, PGA, and other sports along with proposals by commissioners of major college conferences to suspend low-revenue sports because of the revenue impact of COVD. 

With baseball and all other sports on hold, we discuss a variety of baseball topics including possible restarts to the season, which teams would benefit from a shortened season, not-too-longshots to win league pennants, favorite games of all-time, and most painful games

We debate the sense or nonsense of the Mookie Betts trade from the Red Sox to the Dodgers, reasons behind the growing number of upsets and struggles of big teams in college basketball, and the accuracy of media estimates of pro sports profits

We discuss the cheating scandal involving the Houston Astros and likely other teams along with the obstacles to paying college players and the MLB free agent signings.  

We discuss the reasons for sports sponsorships, trends in television viewership and what they mean for leagues, and the blindspots in the application of sports analytics

We discuss the NBA-China blowup and widen out to the broader topic of tradeoffs between making money and upholding various ethical principles whether for the NBA, MLB in the Astros-Osuna situation, or various NFL cases. We also take a brief look at the Rugby World Cup and why big money college athletics programs can't seem to make money. 

We examine the setup of the MLB Wild Card playoffs with suggestions for improvement, make projections for the playoffs, and discuss the implications and broader context of the California legislation permitting NCAA athletes to generate income.

A discussion of the decline in college football attendance, causes, and remedies. The new NFL season, viewership trends, Andrew Luck's retirement, and Cowboys big contract to Ezekiel Elliott.  Why the Astros hit homers but don't strike out much.

Who are our most liked and disliked sports figures? What are the limits of the use of analytics for managerial decisions in sports? Are extreme shifts for defensive purposes bad for baseball and should they be limited?

We examine the forces behind the moves in the recent big moves in the NBA free agency and trade market. Then we discuss whether MLB has a crisis on its hands with the explosion of home runs and what they might do about it. Last, we look at the issue of whether the difference in pay for the US National Women's and Men's soccer teams is about discrimination or economic fundamentals

We discuss the ongoing pace of play and length of game problems for MLB, automation of calling balls and strikes, Rougned Odor, Dallas Keuchel, Craig Kimbrel, and player pay 

We consider the NHL's strengths and weaknesses, the revival of scoring in the NBA over the past 20 years, and the cities on MLB's short list for possible expansion sites.  

We examine how the dominance of some superstars like Tiger Woods and some teams boost the popularity of a sport rather than diminishing it. We at the best of 7 playoff format for the NBA, and possible fixes for the high rate of strikeouts in MLB. We finish with a little bit on Bruce Pearl. 

We address whether the new contracts for Manny Machado and Bryce Harper make sense, the positives and negatives of NCAA men's basketball, and differences in "fan experiences" particularly for teams we have followed such as the Mets or Kentucky basketball.  

We consider the decline in the 2019 Super Bowl viewership in context with the uptick in viewers for the NFL regular season and playoffs. We examine pace of play proposals for MLB along with how Atlanta has become a soccer center in the U.S. 

Looking at questions of whether mega contracts for free agents like Bryce Harper or Manny Machado make sense for clubs and why picking good NFL or college coaches is so difficult.