Several times here, I have complained about the length of time it takes to play the final two minutes of a college basketball game. I have even suggested rule changes that would seek to shorten some of those never-ending foul fests. Notwithstanding the frustration I might feel watching some of those games, I just ran across a report of something much – MUCH – worse.
- A girls’ high school softball game took almost 5 hours to play, and the final score was 46-45.
Do I hear someone suggesting that it might have been fun to watch such an offensive explosion and that the game was close so it must have been interesting? Well, let me add a few other facts to the story here:
- The winning team had 46 runs on 15 hits with 8 errors.
- The losing team had 45 runs on 5 hits with 6 errors.
- There were 65 walks in the game. [None of the pitchers could find home plate with a radar.]
- There were 29 batters hit by pitches in the game.
- One player had 8 plate appearances; she drew 5 walks and was hit by a pitch the other three times she came up.
Just thinking about the account of that game makes me question if I ever want to see another softball game in my lifetime…
And while I am thinking about tiresome things related to sports, I want to go on record now and say that I have heard more than enough about two subjects – – and I know that there is a ton more that will be said on those two subjects over the next several weeks/months. They are:
- Aaron Rodgers and his unhappiness with the Green Bay Packers.
- Tim Tebow signing with the Jags as a tight end.
Just as I would have wanted to say, “Wake me when it’s over,” had I been watching that girls’ softball game, there are a finite number of ways to say that Aaron Rodgers and the management in Green Bay are not “besties” right now. That finite number of expressions was attained weeks ago and then the repetition began. Enough already; save whatever scraps of information anyone may have on this matter for an introduction to a report/explanation of what actually happened as a result of Rodgers’ frustration. One does not contribute to understanding by beating a dead horse or by assaulting an expired equine or … you get the idea.
Tim Tebow – for reasons I do not pretend to understand – fascinates sportswriters and commentators. Tebow was an excellent college QB; he won the Heisman Trophy; he got a huge amount of coverage for that success. He was mediocre at best as an NFL QB; he got a huge amount of coverage for that lack of success. He was a minor league baseball player for about 5 years with a career minor league batting average of .222; he got a huge amount of coverage for that mediocrity. Now, at age 33, he is going to try to become a tight end at the NFL level and is getting a huge amount of coverage for signing on to try to do something. Enough already; if he makes the Jags as a tight end, we can read/hear about that after the fact.
I am not alone in being tired of repetitious reporting on things that simply do not matter. I offer as evidence this comment by Bob Molinaro in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot last week:
“Asked and answered: Is anyone’s enjoyment of a baseball game enhanced after being told the exit velocity of a batted ball? Of course not.”
Since I mentioned beating a dead horse above, that reminds me that the Preakness officials have cleared Medina Spirit to run in the Preakness this weekend. I never really doubted they would bar the horse, but I am surprised at the justification they have offered for making that decision. According to reports, the Preakness people got trainer Bob Baffert to submit Medina Spirit and two other stablemates slated to run in stakes races this weekend to “enhanced blood-testing and medical monitoring”.
- The three horses were blood tested when they arrived at Pimlico on Monday and then again on Tuesday.
- The results are to be available on Friday with the Preakness taking place on Saturday.
- Preakness folks say this “will ensure us that if there is or was any betamethasone or any other medications … in the horse we would know about them before the race.”
Sounds good – – except… The test that Medina Spirit failed after winning the Derby took 8 days to come back and the testing for the split sample from Churchill Downs – – to confirm or confuse the results already in – – is expected to take several weeks. The Pimlico samples will be analyzed and reported in two to three days and that provides “assurance”?
Finally, here is an item from Dwight Perry’s column, Sideline Chatter, in the Seattle Times:
“Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen tossed a seven-inning one-hitter against the Braves in the opener and Madison Bumgarner tossed a no-no in the nightcap.
“In other words, they scheduled an MLB doubleheader and fastpitch softball broke out.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………