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I think the biggest barrier to a revelation of a major betting scandal in American pro sports would be stonewalling of the media. Baseball has no interest in the black eye a gambling scandal would inevitably land on its face. Shit, man, MLB Network won't even run the movie Eight Men Out on their network anymore. Not only does each of the four North American major sports leagues run owned-and-operated networks that many fans rely on for much of their news, they have also gotten a lot a lot smarter about controlling which writers from outside media get access to teams and players. Remember how Fenech got shit-canned from the Tigers beat? That wasn't because he was banging some girl in a parking garage, or whatever that bullshit scandal that one rag blog claimed about him. After all, if the best writer in the game can get fired from his MLB Network gig for making gloves-on criticisms of Manfred in a publication not even owned by MLB, how many baseball writers are going to risk their professional necks following the crumbs on a baseball gambling scandal for however long it takes to properly expose it?

Also, fewer pitching injuries and more innings from starters, which would probably lead to fewer pitchers needed on active rosters. Maybe we would even see a return to 11-man pitching staffs and a couple additional bench spots for position players. Perhaps platooning could make a big comeback in the game.

I also don't give a flying fuck about how much increased revenue leagues and team owners make from their association with gamblers. That doesn't make it a better game on the field, as far as I'm concerned.

Even though I couldn't give less of a shit about how much gambling is a major part of international sports, there are plenty of examples of game-fixing in the legalized gambling era, like this, this, this, this, and this. I don't think legalized gambling is good for the game of baseball, and no amount of your shaming me will make me change my mind about that.

The frog is getting warmer.

All of these reasons you give for your interest waning in the game are good and valid. To me, they pale against the big reason my interest in the game is in real jeopardy: the integration of gambling into the very fabric of the game. From showing odds and money lines on the MLB Network crawl, to programs about betting on that and many baseball team RSNs,to gambling-related drop-ins on radio and TV game broadcasts, and the eventuality of seeing sportsbooks physically erected within stadiums, the suddenness with which Bsseball has chased after the gambling buck has been breathtaking and appalling. I honestly fear what that might do to the competitive integrity of the game.

You're playing my song. How many years have you guys heard me advocating the idea that deadening the ball will solve practically every problem in the game that has evolved since Chicks Dig The Long Ball started? The reason is simple: pitchers are afraid of giving up home runs. So pitchers have to be super careful to every hitter in the order, because every hitter can take them out of the park. They are trying to induce swing-and-miss on every pitch with maximum velocity and movement, so they end up throwing more pitches per plate appearance and taking more time in between pitches to maximize the gathering of their strength. That might be layering an extra half hour onto game time all by itself. But batters are still trying to jack the ball, which means they're always trying to pull it over the fence, so the shift makes sense to employ on most hitters. Deaden the ball to 1980s-level, and you'll have fewer homers, which means pitchers can pitch to contact, which means batters would need to hit 'em where they ain't instead of hit 'em over their heads, which will eliminate the shift on all but the scariest power hitters. there would be fewer homers, fewer strikeouts, more balls in play, more action on batted balls. I bet fans would come back to see that.

But how will you know which department to connect with if you don’t listen to all of the options in their entirety as their menu has recently changed?

They hooked us when they named the team the “Detroit” Tigers. If they were the Little Caesars Tigers, or had been the Dominos Tigers or the Fetzer Broadcasting Tigers while we were growing up, maybe we wouldn’t care so much about them.

It’s embarrassing how long after I memorized 12x12 that it took me to memorize 13x12.

Do you think China would prop up Russia economically in the face of US sanctions? That seems so unlikely to me.

As I read this, it occurs to me that sanctions work differently against different countries. In the old days, whenever we put sanctions on countries like Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or other small countries, they could run into the arms of another superpower like USSR or China to bypass it. These days, those same small countries need only open up to China to bypass them. And putting sanctions on China itself would be pointless these days since their economy is basically self-sufficient. But putting sanctions on Russia should hurt them a lot, because not only is their economy is teetering, but also, there are no other superpowers who will prop them up in the face of our sanctions. I could see sanctions working under this circumstance.

It’s all about perception to Trump. Sometimes it is better to look badass than to be badass.

Trump was hoping they would all look like badasses. I think this is more what he had in mind.

The system works.

I think talks will start in earnest once the Super Bowl is done.

Yet another compromise, this one to mollify the small states in the union who were used to the one colony-one vote scheme under the Articles of Confederation.

In my Axios Sports newsletter this AM. 5. ⚾️ The problem with league-owned media Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images MLB insider Ken Rosenthal is out at MLB Network after more than 12 years, reportedly due to critical stories he wrote about commissioner Rob Manfred, Jeff writes. The backdrop: In the summer of 2020, Rosenthal's columns for The Athletic analyzing the stalemate between MLB and the MLBPA "featured some light criticism [of Manfred]," writes NY Post's Andrew Marchand. June 16, 2020: "Rob Manfred finally seems to be figuring out he has no choice: Strike a deal with the union and salvage the 2020 season, or ruin his legacy as commissioner of baseball," wrote Rosenthal. MLB Network unofficially suspended Rosenthal following that piece, keeping him off the air (with pay) for nearly three months. When his contract expired at the end of 2021, the network didn't renew it. Of note: Rosenthal, 59, is still a senior baseball writer for The Athletic and an on-field reporter for Fox Sports, so he and his famous bowties aren't going anywhere. What they're saying: "I worked for Turner Sports, which operated NBA TV and NBA.com in partnership with the league, for 14 years. You know what David Stern did when I wrote or said something he didn't like? He called me up and cussed me out. But he didn't go to my bosses and try to fire me." — David Aldridge, The Athletic The big picture: We don't know if the decision to part ways with Rosenthal came directly from Manfred, but the fact that it's even a possibility highlights the problem with league-owned media.

Or, when I was in school:

These are purported to be the leaked finalists for the WFT name, as reported by a newsletter I get from The Athletic: Let's name a football team The Washington Football Team, complete with its shoddy stadium railings, will announce the new team name Feb. 2, per a release. The reported finalists: Commanders Armada Admirals Red Hogs Presidents Sentinels I’m voting for Red Hogs, simply because it is the coolest of those choices and it's a callback to the Washington teams of the late 80s and early 90s. I doubt they’ll use it — something stately like Commanders or Admirals will win. Snooze.

I think a lot of us would like to hear exactly what you mean by this. I can think of a few things about the American political system that I would to tear down and rebuild. The way we vote for president, for one thing: in my opinion, the electoral college is an anti-democracy institution that was devised as a bald compromise to ensure that southern states would stay in the union. I would advocate totally eliminating the EC and going to direct popular vote to choose our president. But I would't blow up the idea of democracy altogether, because I believe that "democracy" and "American political system" are not interchangeable. They are totally different concepts. So please, JBK, can you clarify what you mean?

As you get closer to retirement, you'll want to move an increasing amount of your retirement funds from equities to money markets. Heck, given how old I know you are, you should probably start doing that today! 😃

What, so this isn't a second-grade teacher training to return to the classroom in Colorado?

The problem with the Hannity situation is not whether he is or is not technically a journalist. The problem is that because he works for an outlet who uses the word "News" in their name, while sitting behind a desk blowing hard about topics in the news with chyrons screaming headlines in news-like fashion, his viewers truly believe he is more legit journalist than everyone at literally every major news organization in America put together. To the red hats, Hannity has the credibility of being a truth-telling journalist without having to put in that work, despite his employers' assertions, made well out of earshot of his viewers, that he's not.