Sports this 'n' that

So word is getting around that hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen is backing away from taking majority control of the Mets. Seems Fred & Jeff Wilpon changed some details in the midst of negotiations for whatever reason, as if they're deathly afraid of becoming totally irrelevant when the 5 year window for retaining control of the team before ceding to Cohen was to expire, after the 2024 season.

If mascots could talk, what d'ya think Mr. Met might be saying right about now?



"Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into, Fred."

The above image was acquired from the NY Daily News.

The Wilpons are intentionally being cheap, preferring to invest in e-sports franchises rather than improve the Mets. This explains why they've refused to hire experienced managers since Terry Collins ended a seven year run after the 2017 season. They're not doing what's best for the team any more than Madison Square Garden's resident man-child, James Dolan, is for the Knicks.

It could be worse. The Wilpons could sell the team to Dolan. No, I don't think we want to think about that.
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So people are whining about the XFL 2.0 opting to use the college rule about pass receptions requiring one foot in bounds for it to be a legal catch. This rule is also used in high school football, and it takes away any doubts about catches, in this writer's opinion. As with the short-lived Alliance of American Football last year, there won't be any point after touchdown kicks (extra points), but there won't exactly be two point conversions. There's a 3-level system where the PAT would be worth anywhere from 1-3 points.

Let's give Oliver Luck & Vince McMahon some credit. They're trying to make it more exciting than it was in 2001, when McMahon first launched the league amid media bias against him over the WWE's Attitude Era. You have coaches with pro and/or college experience (June Jones falls into both categories, for example), like ex-Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and former Bears coach Marc Trestman, and a mix of players looking to make a name for themselves, perhaps using the league as a stepping stone to the NFL or just putting themselves out there to get back into the "big league". Ex-Steelers QB Landry Jones falls into the latter category.

Plus, putting the cable broadcasts on ESPN allows the league to be beamed into more homes than it was when it was on TNN (now the Paramount Network) 19 years ago.

Bear in mind that Tommy Maddox, who led Los Angeles to the only XFL title to date, later went to Pittsburgh as a warmup act for Ben Roethlisberger, so who knows? The fun starts on Saturday afternoon.