WHAT A WASHOUT! FALL CLASSIC A FARCE

WILL MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ever learn? The 2008 season is ending in farce as the Fall Classic turns into the Wet Blanket.

Game three of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays started at 10.06pm Saturday and didn’t finish until 1.47am Sunday.

Then, at 11.10pm last night, game five was suspended in the middle of the sixth inning due to driving rain.

Just bad luck with the weather or more a case of bad planning?

MLB commissioner Bud Selig obviously thinks it’s the former. “You can get warmer weather as the fall goes on. Like most things in life, you need to be lucky. Leo Durocher once said it’s better to be lucky than good. I think we’ve been pretty good, but we certainly haven’t been lucky.”

I’m sorry Mr Selig but you’re wrong. Baseball is a summer sport and when you play games on the East Coast in October, you’re asking for trouble.

The World Series – the showpiece event of the season – should be played at the end of September, or at worst the first two weeks in October.

What’s currently happening is an anti-climax. It’s football season now, as demonstrated by the fact that more people watched the Pittsburgh Steelers v the New York Giants than did Game Four at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday.

2009 season won’t end until November

Of course, there is absolutely no chance of the owners agreeing to cut back on the regular-season schedule of 162 games. That would mean a loss of revenue from television as well as the paying public.

But how about coming up with an alternative plan?

Doubleheaders used to be a regular event in baseball. Why not play two a month, preferably before a team’s rest day? That could reduce the regular season by as much as 12 days.

I know the players and coaches don’t particularly like them but the fans do, especially when they’re played at the weekend.

Something needs to be done to shorten the season. Yet, unbelievably, it’s actually going to be longer in 2009.

Spring training will be lengthened to accommodate the World Baseball Classic in March, meaning game one of the World Series won’t take place until October 28 with a possible game seven scheduled for November 5.

In England, November 5th is known as Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night, an occasion celebrated by firework displays.

It’s not exactly rocket science to figure out it’s far too late to be playing baseball.

JETS FANS FRET OVER FALLIBLE FAVRE

DID THE JETS make a mistake in signing Brett Favre and has the gunslinger lost his nerve?

That’s a question many are asking after the Jets struggled to overcome one of the worst teams in the National Football League at the Meadowlands yesterday.

Favre, at 39 years of age deemed surplus to requirements by the Green Bay Packers, rode into New York amid a fanfare of publicity in August.

But, after he threw three interceptions during the Jets’ 28-24 hollow victory over former coach Herm Edwards’ Kansas City Chiefs, you have to wonder whether they’re any better than they would be with either Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens at quarterback.

Favre has completed 15 passes for touchdowns, but he's also thrown 11 interceptions in seven games. That’s four more than anyone else in the AFC and a number matched in both conferences by only J.T. O’Sullivan of the 2-6 San Francisco 49ers.

There was a huge element of luck about his game-winning touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles, the receiver miraculously making a one-handed catch with the help of a ricochet off Chiefs’ cornerback Dimitri Patterson with one minute remaining.

That floated pass could easily have been interception No. 4. Fortunately for Favre, outshone for most of the afternoon by 24-year-old rookie Tyler Thigpen, making only his second start, there was some redemption. 

Veteran quarterback throws 11 interceptions

With road games coming up in Buffalo (5-2), New England (5-2) and Tennessee (6-0) in three of the next four weeks, defeat would surely have ended the Jets’ hopes of making the playoffs.

Even now, at 4-3, it’s hard to see the Jets winning many – if any – of those games on current form.

Coach Eric Mangini must also take his fair share of blame for allowing Favre to throw the ball so often against a team with the worst run defense in the league. He would have been better served allowing Thomas Jones and Leon Washington to soften up the Chiefs’ center before letting Favre attempt to go deep. It begs the question who's running the Jets...Mangini or Favre?

All this was in stark contrast to the way Eli Manning marshalled the New York Giant’s offense in their come-from-behind win in Pittsburgh.

It would have been easy for Manning and the Giants to become frustrated at having to settle for four field goals rather than touchdowns on their visits to the red zone.

But they didn’t panic, waited patiently for their opportunity, and scored 12 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull off a huge victory and hand the Steelers only their second defeat.

It wasn’t always pretty but the Giants proved once again that they’re capable of coming up with the big play when it counts.

That’s why the reigning Super Bowl champions have a realistic shot at retaining the trophy, while the Jets’ outside hopes rest in the hands of the all-too-fallible Favre.

SEVE BALLESTEROS: THE MAN WHO PUT A SMILE BACK ON THE FACE OF GOLF

OUR THOUGHTS and prayers are with Severiano Ballesteros as he fights for his life in a Madrid hospital.

The 51-year-old, five-time Major winner has just undergone a third operation to remove a brain tumor, diagnosed earlier this month.

Seve was to European golf in the 1980s what Tiger Woods has been to world golf in the 2000s. He won 49 times on the European Tour and nine times on the PGA TOUR, including three Open Championships and two Masters titles.

The swashbuckling Spaniard turned a new generation on to the sport with his ability to pull off spectacular shots from impossible positions. His imagination and exciting brand of golf made him a firm favorite with the galleries. He was almost an adopted son to fans in England and Scotland alike.

But, much more than that, Seve put a smile back on the face of golf. His love and passion for the Sport of Kings was plain for all to see. He was certainly one of the reasons why I took up the game.

Like Tiger, Seve was born to be a golfer. He learned to play the game on the beaches near his home in Cantabria, using a three-iron given to him by one of his old brothers. 

Vicente and Baldomero were also professional golfers, albeit less successful. So too is Seve’s nephew, Raúl.

Five-time Major winner facing biggest challenge

Seve burst onto the scene at Royal Birkdale in 1976, taking a two-shot lead into the final round of the Open, eventually finishing runner-up to Johnny Miller.

His first Major came in the 1979 Open at Royal Lytham St Annes when he finished three strokes ahead of Jack Nicklaus.

Seve also won the World Match Play Championship five times, but he wasn’t just a talented individual; he was a great team player too.

His partnership with fellow Spaniard José Maria Olazábal was the most successful in the history of the Ryder Cup, with 11 wins and two halves in 15 matches.

Seve’s magic heralded an era of dominance by Europe and he would later lead the European team to victory as non-playing captain on home soil. The 1997 event at Valderrama was the first to be staged in continental Europe.

He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999 and was also the driving force behind a new team competition – the Seve Trophy.

Seve’s appearances in the 1990s were sporadic due to back problems. Now he is facing the biggest battle of his life.

If his illustrious golf career is anything to go by, he won’t go down without a fight.

FOX FLUFF FURTHER DELAYS FALL CLASSIC

THE WORLD SERIES is the climax to the baseball season…a celebration of America’s favorite pastime.

But if the powers that be at Major League Baseball are hoping to attract new fans to the game during the current Fall Classic, they can forget it.

We all know that, these days, television controls the major sports. It’s not just coincidence that the break between innings is exactly the same duration as the commercials!

Host broadcaster FOX Sports pay handsomely for the exclusive television rights to the World Series and want the games to start during prime time.

But if an 8pm start time isn’t already bad enough, they then insist on spending more than 30 minutes on fluff in the pre-game show.

The first pitch of Game 1 between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies was not thrown until 8.45pm at Tropicana Field last night.

With the game lasting three hours and 23 minutes, it was not until just after midnight that Phillies closer Brad Lidge induced the final out.

Game time far too late for young fans

How many kids were watching? What self-respecting parent would let their child stay up to that time with school the next (or should I say the same) day?

Come to think of it, what hard-working adult really wants to stay up beyond the witching hour on a Wednesday night? I, for one, am feeling tired today.

The only people favored by the scheduling live on the West Coast. And how many of them are actually interested in an all-East Coast contest?

Now I understand that TV schedules are decided a long time in advance and that FOX were no doubt hoping for an East-West match-up, notably the Boston Red Sox v LA Dodgers World Series.

But surely there should be some degree of flexibility? A game time around 7pm is the norm for East Coast teams. 

The bad news is that the start time will be no earlier than 8.30pm throughout the Series. And with so much on the line, the games will only get longer as the Series progresses.

MLB will, as usual, make a lot of money from the Fall Classic. But they will have wasted an opportunity to sell the sport to the audience of tomorrow.

FROM WORST TO FIRST: RAYS TO WIN IT ALL

IT’S NOT EXACTLY the World Series TV chiefs were hoping for. Manny and the Dodgers v Red Sox Nation would undoubtedly have drawn higher viewing figures.

Anyone who picked the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies to contest the 2008 Fall Classic should buy a lottery ticket immediately. They’re either clairvoyant or plain lucky.

The Phillies have won the World Series only once – in 1980. Before this year, the Rays had never even appeared in the post season.

But while the Sox, the Cubs, the Angels and all the other more glamorous teams have fallen by the wayside, two of baseball’s lesser lights have earned their place in the final purely on merit.

Both won their division, the Phillies overcoming the more fancied New York Mets and the Rays going from worst to first, winning an astonishing 97 games to finish ahead of both the Red Sox and New York Yankees.

The Phillies brushed aside the Dodgers in the NLCS while the Rays held their nerve to oust the defending champions, Boston, in the ACLS.

No-hopers Tampa can overcome Phillies

Rank outsiders with the Vegas oddsmakers before the start of the season (200-1), the Rays are now favorites to win it all.

Perhaps we should have seen it coming in July. After all, the winning pitcher in the All Star Game was the Rays’ Scott Kazmir and the losing pitcher Brad Lidge of the Phillies.

That game could prove very significant. It gave the AL champs home advantage…and that may be decisive in what is likely to be a very tight series.

Cole Hamels, possibly the best starter on either side, takes the mound against Kazmir in game one tonight. It’s then Brett Myers v James Shields, Jamie Moyer v Matt Garza and Joe Blanton v Andy Sonnanstine.

Hardly household names but someone, maybe Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell, Evan Longoria or B.J. Upton, is going to emerge a hero in the next nine days.

The Phillies are the fresher team, having completed victory over the Dodgers in five games last Wednesday. The Rays have the momentum, having won a monumental game seven against the Red Sox on Sunday.

I’m taking the Rays to win in six and complete a fairy-tale ending to their dream run. Mind you, they had better score early. The Phillies are 84-0 this season when leading after the eighth inning.

COMMENT: TIME TO KICK THIS RULE INTO TOUCH

ROGER GOODELL has been quick to take action against players breaking the National Football League’s code of conduct. 

Now Goodell needs to intervene and end another act of unsportsmanlike behavior.

I’m referring to the now-common practice of coaches calling a timeout in an attempt to “ice” the opposition kicker before he attempts a key field goal.

Tom Cable, interim head coach of the Oakland Raiders, used the ploy eight seconds from the end of normal time against the New York Jets yesterday. It backfired. 

Jay Feely, who had missed from 52 yards on his first attempt, made no mistake second time around to send the game into overtime.

Fortunately for Cable, it didn’t matter in the end. He was rescued by his own kicker, Sebastian Janikowski, who converted from 57 yards with two minutes and 30 seconds left in overtime.

Janikowski was denied a game-winning field goal against Denver last year when it was ruled that Broncos coach Mike Shanahan had called timeout before he kicked the ball.

Some you win; some you lose. But either way, surely this is a source of embarrassment to the NFL?

The kicker converts the field goal and his teammates run on to the field to congratulate him, only to discover he has to do it all again.

I can’t imagine TV chiefs are too happy either with this sense of anti-climax at the end of a three-hour transmission.

More than 25 percent of NFL games are determined by three points or less, many in the final seconds.

The team attempting the field goal obviously should be allowed to call a timeout. Their opponents should not. 

It’s time for Goodell to exert his influence on the NFL’s rules committee.

YANKEES CAN LEARN FROM CINDERELLA RAYS

BITTERSWEET is probably the best word to describe events in St Petersburg, Florida, last night from the perspective of a New York Yankees fan.

The good news is that the Boston Red Sox won’t be winning the World Series for the third time in five years.

The bad news is that the Tampa Bay Rays are for real. Now the Yanks don’t have just one serious rival for the American League East pennant, they have two.

It took guts, courage and determination for the Rays not to crumble after throwing away a seven-run, seventh-inning lead in game five at Fenway.

Most impartial observers expected the Sox to complete another remarkable comeback in game seven. But they hadn’t counted on Matt Garza giving the Boston batters only crumbs to feed on.

Having overcome both the Evil Empire and Rex Sox Nation during the regular season, it would have been simply awful had the 2008 Rays been remembered for choking in the playoffs rather than going from worst to first.

Chamberlain, Hughes an embarrassment

Now they are not only looking forward to their first appearance in the World Series but they have a great chance of winning it all against the National League champions, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Major League Baseball’s big spenders, and in particular the Yankees, can learn a lesson from this Cinderella story.

Joe Maddon’s upstart Rays have the second-lowest payroll in baseball. They have spent just short of $44 million this year, compared to the Yanks’ $209 million.

Not only that, but they have invested in young talent and built a team that, if it sticks together, will be a force for the next ten years.

In fairness to the Yankees, they did give youth a chance this year. But while Garza, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton were making the headlines for the right reasons this weekend, two of the Yanks’ young pitchers were hanging their heads in shame.

Joba Chamberlain was arrested for speeding and DUI in Nebraska while in the Arizona Fall League, Phil Hughes gave up eight runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings pitching for the Peoria Javelinas against the Scottsdale Scorpions.

That’s a real sting in the tail in a year when the Yanks weren’t even second best but third rate.

No doubt Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenners will attempt to restore the balance in the normal way: by throwing even more money at the problem. 

In these days, when the checkbook dominates most sports, isn’t it great that one of the little fish can still make a splash.