why the current world series selection system is flawed

The last five World Series have seen twenty games won by the winners (natch) and a total of TWO games won by the losers of those five World Series. Mmmmm.....Parity.

Oh, and the American League has won eleven of the past twelve All-Star games (except for 2002, more on that below) - let us not forget that All-Star rosters are selected by the fans...and how many fans do the Evil Empire and the Nation have? Oh, that's right. And how much more money do the AL teams have? Well, why don't we take a gander at the, um, scoreboard?

1. New York Yankees $209,081,579
2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197
3. New York Mets $138,293,378
4. Boston Red Sox $133,440,037
5. Chicago White Sox $121,152,667

Four of the top five payrolls in MLB in 2008 were in the AL. This year, the average AL payroll was roughly $96 million versus the NL average of $82 million.

Hence, the league with more big-market teams and more money wins every year, and every year, a team from that league has home-field advantage.

Baseball's old way of choosing the World Series host was also flawed; in case you've forgotten, it used to just alternate every year.

There is no good reason whatsoever for baseball to continue to use the current idiotic system - they should simply reward the team with the better record like they do in the NHL and NBA.

The argument that each team in this year's World Series had several players and they played hard to win that game just doesn't hold water compared to the much simpler and more egalitarian way of rewarding the ENTIRE TEAM (after all, it is the consummate TEAM SPORT, is it not?) for their collective effort over the course of the season.

The only reason MLB adopted the current format is because they needed to breathe some life into the All-Star Game because there was no incentive for baseball's biggest stars to play in the game when they could have a mid-season vacation with their family or just have a few days off.

Mostly, though, it is because of that eleven inning tied game in 2002. After which, this current idiotic system started. And why was there a tie in that game? Because both teams ran out of pitchers. And why did they run out of pitchers? Because managers were more concerned with getting every player in the game than they were with managing the game to win.

I don't think that a neutral site is necessarily the answer, but the owners have discussed it so there must be something to it. I would much rather see the team that earned a better record over the course of 162 (or however many, if they pare down the schedule) get home field advantage.

But, then again, I fucking hate baseball, so what do I know?

The Inmates are Running the Asylum

Must be fun to be a Dallas Cowboys fan this year - they should have known their season was doomed once all the football pundits annointed the Cowboys the best team in the NFL......before the season started.

Not only is there the Pacman fiasco, now they've lost their punter and their 3rd down back.

Tony Romo now thinks he can play with his broken pink)y finger. Really, Tony? You think? You have arguably the smallest hands of any NFL quarterback (one of the reasons you get the dropsies. And now you think you can play with your dinged digit? Good luck with that.

Pacmania. Again. Shocking. Again.

Well, gee whilickers - Pacman done got himself in the news again. What a fucking moron. There is no more eloquent way to state the situation.

Stupid is as stupid does.

I mean, my god - he attacked one of the four bodyguards that his boss, Jerry Jones has to employ (on the team's dime) in an effort to protect Pacman from himself. In a hotel bathroom. Classy.

He wants everybody to refer to him as Adam? Sorry, Pacman, you are Pacman. Adam is the name of a person - you are not a person, you are a persona.

As of this writing, the exact details have not been released but you can rest assured that the Cowboys will try and put some positive spin on it (and you can also rest assured that the bodyguard's bank balance will see a positive bump) - especially if the story somehow morphs into Pacman trying to calm down the bodyguard.

Czar Goodell should be calling Pacman to explain himself, hopefully by the end of the week. In my mind, he has two options - suspend him for the rest of the year and make his eventual re-instatement wholly contingent upon successful completion of anger management and alcohol abuse classes OR just kick his worthless ass out of league altogether.

Fuck 'im. Let him try and get a job in the CFL, or he can go to the Mark Cuban League, or whatever that is going to be called. Seriously, we've heard this story before and we all know how it ends. Just ask Lawrence Phillips.

MNF - How'd I do?

Welcome to the all new, super-duper unbiased self-critique on my prediction from the Monday Night Football game. If I can remember to do it, this will become a weekly feature.

If.

Well, let's see how I did...

I said the Saints wouldn't be able to run up the middle....22 carries for 55 yards. Score.

Jared Allen did NOT have a big game (1 tackle, 0 sacks), so he was not a factor. Push.

Reggie Bush didn't get a long screen for a touchdown. Swing and a miss.

But he DID get two of the them on special teams. SCORE.

Have the Vikings settled into Gus at quarterback and was this the week Bernard Berrian broke out? 19/36, 222 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT and 6 catches for 110 yards and a TD, respectively. Check and check. Scority score score.

Brees did put it up 46 times for 330 yards but threw two picks. Push.

And as far as the last point, the one about the Saints havinga poor rush D and AP being due for a big game........well, yeah.......um..........21 carries for 32 yards. Ssssswwwwwiiiiiinnnnnng and a miss!!!!!

Score prediction: Vikings 31, Saints 24

Actual final score: Vikings 30, Saints 27

Aside from totally whiffing on Adrian Peterson, I am going to give myself credit for a good preview and award myself an 'A-minus'.

Sound fair?

Week 5 Monday Night Football Preview

Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints

The Vikings backed up a big truck of money to Jared Allen's house over the summer, presumably thinking he'd bring some of the fifteen and a half sacks he had on a woeful Kansas City Chiefs defensive line last season. He has two so far this season. If he gets on track tonight and can get in the Saints backfield early, it will be a long night for the men in gold because they aren't going to be able to run up the middle.

If the Saints can get the Vikes to bite on an early play-action or if Reggie Bush busts an early screen for a long TD, then it could be a fun game.

Maybe the Saints get some big plays on special teams to stay in it, but it will tough.

The Vikings seem to have settled in to having Gus Frerotte at the helm, and this could well be the week that off-season signing Bernard Berrian actually gets on track.

On the other hand, Drew Brees is throwing the ball as well as anyone in the league and the Vikings have been notoriously porous on pass coverage for the past couple of years.

The Vikings rush defense is ranked third in the league, allowing 72 yards per game; the Saints, at 19th on that list, give up over 120 yards per game. Adrian Peterson is due for a big game - well, guess what? Tonight's as good a night as any!

Vikings 31, Saints 24

How Hard....???

.......is it not to get creeped out by the way all NFL announcers, pundits and talking heads insist on referring to the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback by cooing his first name? They collectively sound like a group of infatuated schoolgirls talking about the lead singer of insert trendy band here? Last night, hearing John Madden plaintively wailing "What a play by Ben!" was enough to make me uncomfortable.

.....is it to get an interview with Packers GM Ted Thompson right now? The Packers now have as many losses in this young season (2-3) as they did in all of last year (13-3). Biggest difference between the two squads? Um, I seem to recall there being something in the news over the summer....something about....oh, never mind, I am sure I'll come up with it.

....did that dude hit Kimbo "My Fifteen Minutes Are Almost Over" Slice the other night?

......and how far has Travis Henry fallen? A year ago last week, he had a 20+ million dollar contract and was leading the NFL in rushing. This afternoon he will be in federal court, where he faces one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. That's federal court, in case you were skimming. He could see life in the federal pen and over four million dollars in fines if convicted.

......and how far has O.J. Simpson fallen? How stupid is this guy? He got away with a double murder - why didn't he just stay on the golf course and keep up his "search for the real killers" charade? I wonder what this will do to rentals of The Naked Gun?

......does it blow to be a Cubs fan right now? Of course a lot of them will say it's no big deal - that they knew the team would collapse, that disappointment is an integral part of being a Cubs fan. Blah, blah, blah, blah. If they feel that way, they aren't true fans of the Cubs; they're fans of the disappointment. I'm not sure exactly what that says about them, but I think it says something.

......is the Miami Dolphins offense to stop when it runs that crazy Wildcat look? Well, that's the offensive look that made Darren McFadden into Darren McFadden when he was at Arkansas. The best news is that Tony Sparano has said that there are many more wrinkles which have yet to be unveiled.

.......is Donovan McNabb cursing today, hearing the news that Brian Westbrook has two broken ribs? It seems like either McNabb or one of his key components is always injured. Tough to get a ring that way. Unless he goes to Minnesota or Chicago in the offseason.

.......has my fantasy team fallen this year? Well, let's see....things looked good at the beginning of the year, when my first four picks yielded Brian Westbrook, Ben "Ben" Roethlisberger, Anquan Boldin and Marques Colston. I don't know what I did to anger the football gods, but it must have been egregious.