Free Republic

"We try every way we can do to kill this game," Sparky Anderson once intoned, "but for some reason nothing nobody does never hurts it." The master of the double negative may have to change his opinion sooner than you think. Baseball has been hurt enough since Anderson uncorked that ungrammatical but sage observation---by actual or alleged performance enhancing substances, by its government's continuing demurral on full-fledged replay where championships are concerned, by its inability to convince youthful African-Americans today that the sport Jackie Robinson and company integrated so magnificently in the first place is still a sport of relevance,...

The New York Yankees this year had a payroll of $206 million. The San Diego Padres had a payroll of $37 million — and neither team won its division. So who had the better year? I think it was Paul McCartney who once said, “I don’t care too much for money ‘cause money can’t buy you a World Series championship, although it can pretty consistently get you into the playoffs.” He’s right. Lance Berkman is making $14.5 million this year. That’s more than the combined salaries of the Indians’ entire starting lineup in their last game of the season —...

This looks like it's going to be a pleasantly exciting postseason for the most part. Everybody with me? Good. Now listen up. Step aside, Empire Emeritus. Savour your still-recent laurels, Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies. You've made it this far and have earned your props, but you're playing way out of your league, Cincinnati Reds. (Fact: This season's Little Red Tinkertoys, a likeable bunch when their leadoff man isn't jawing their way into nasty brawls with teams from St. Louis, did most of their winning against sub-.500 teams, while compiling a losing record against .500+ teams.) It hasn't been...

The MLB Postseason is upon us!! The ALDS offers us the Red Sox versus the Angels and the Cleveland Indians versus the New York Yankees. Sox vs Angels open on Wednesday, October 3rd at Fenway, the Tribe vs Yanks opens at Jacobs Field on Thursday. Best of 5 Series The NLDS offers a mess The Cubs-Confirmed Division The Diamondbacks-Confirmed Playoff Spot The Padres-Still Fighting The Mets-Still Fighting The Phillies-Still Fighting Last day of the season and the series are not set. Maybe by mid-week they will have it straight. Please spread the word as this will serve as the "Official"...

Wow. What a finish to the regular season in the National Football League. We now know the final standings for the regular season, the official playoff rankings, and the playoff schedule. There is a similar NFL thread here (thank you Counter Counter Culture), but that was before Week 17. Now everything is settled and everybody knows who made it and all that good stuff. So, here we are. Post your pics, highlights, scores, predictions and, of course, TRASH TALKING! ------------------------------------------PLAYOFF RANKINGS 2002 AFC Playoff Rankings: 1. Oakland 2. Tennessee 3. Pittsburgh 4. NY Jets 5. Indianapolis 6. Cleveland OUT: Miami,...