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MLB’s Expanded Playoffs Have Ruined the NL Wild Card Race

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The most embarrassing playoff race in Major League Baseball history (Homer Simpson voice: “The most embarrassing playoff race in Major League Baseball history SO FAR”) is taking place in the American League, where half the field will be lucky to get to the postseason with a winning record.

But the greatest testament to MLB’s hubris is in the National League, where the expansion of the postseason has ensured there’s no wild card race at all.

Not only are the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres all tied for the three NL wild card berths at 85-69 entering play today, they are five games clear of the free-falling Arizona Diamondbacks, who have lost six of eight.

Barring a historical collapse by one of the three tri-leaders, the only suspense over the final eight days of the season will be about seeding and three-way tiebreaker scenarios, the latter of which I’m not going to worry about until at least next Thursday.

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And while there’s certainly value in earning the fourth seed and home field in the wild card round as well as avoiding falling to the six seed and facing the Atlanta Braves in a best-of-three series, it’s not nearly as compelling as the Phillies, Cubs and Padres battling for one or two berths. 

Imagine the theatre and the scoreboard-watching around the country if at least one of the three NL wild card teams was going to have to head home for the potentially endless winter next Sunday.

The most memorable final day of a season in recent memory — Sept. 28, 2011 — was born out of the knowledge that either the Boston Red Sox or Tampa Bay Rays were not going to make the playoffs as the AL wild card team. The Red Sox were left out when they were walked off by the last-place Baltimore Orioles shortly before Dan Johnson hit the most memorable homer of his life to give the Rays a walk-off 11-inning win over the New York Yankees.

There will be none of that a week from Sunday, which will be another reminder one wild card per league was the perfect arrangement. But of course the playoffs had to be expanded because there was more money to be made, more devaluing of what was once the greatest regular season in sports and more randomness to infuse into the postseason.

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Don’t worry, though. At some point following the impending never-ending lockout, Major League Baseball will expand to 32 teams, because what a sport with not enough pitching and too many billionaires crying poverty needs is MORE teams.

And when Major League Baseball goes to 32 teams, the playoffs will expand to 16 teams and there’ll be eight playoff teams in each league. And that will solve the lack of suspense in the NL wild card race!

If there was a 16-team format right now, the Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates (77-77) would be “leading” the race for the final two NL wild card spots, with the Miami Marlins (76-78) and St. Louis Cardinals (75-79) in something resembling hot pursuit. And thus some year soon, we’ll be pining for the good ol’ days of 2026, when only one league had playoff teams threatening to squeak in at .500 or worse.

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Super League play-off eliminator: Warrington Wolves 35-12 Hull KR

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Defeat brought Peters’ successful reign as Rovers coach to an end, as he leaves to join new NRL franchise PNG Chiefs next season, and his team produced an underwhelming display which reflected their inconsistent season.

They finished eight points behind the Wolves in the Super League table and that gap was evident as Burgess’s early fumble gifted Currie a try under the posts, with Ewan Irwin converting and then adding a penalty as Sam Burgess’s side dominated.

The Robins briefly showed the style which brought them last season’s Super League title, the League Leaders’ Shield and Challenge Cup as Arthur Mourgue broke from close to his own line and Joe Burgess was in support to score a try that took them within two points.

Wire’s response was instant as they carved open the Robins’ right flank and Ashton finished for his 100th Super League try, although Rovers fans still had belief that their side could turn it around in the second half.

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Those hopes evaporated as Hiku stupidly thrust his closed fist in the face of a startled Williams, and a video review deemed it to be a red card offence.

Rovers continued to battle as Karl Lawton thrust his foot under the ball to prevent a Josh Thewlis try and Hadley went up the other end to take the 12 men to within four points.

Hadley seemed set to level the scores as he strode for the posts but James Bentley stole the ball and broke, and when the pacy Ashton got up in support, there was only going to be one outcome as he claimed his third of the night.

That deflated a resurgent Robins side and Hopoate produced a spectacular acrobatic finish, Williams added a one-pointer and King said farewell to the Halliwell Jones Stadium on his final home appearance before joining London Broncos with a late try to round off a comprehensive win.

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Warrington: Josh Thewlis; Hopoate, Lindop, King, Ashton; Williams, Irwin; Byrne, Walker, Harrison, Stone, Bentley, Currie

Interchanges: Yates, Hayes, Philbin, Tanginoa

Hull KR: Mourgue; Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Burgess; Lewis, May; Sue, Litten, Hadley, Whitbread, Batchelor, Minchella

Interchanges: Amone, Broadbent, Luckley, Lawton

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Sent off: Hiku (42)

Referee: Aaron Moore.

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Leander Paes Backs IGPL’s Global Vision, Hails Yuvraj Singh’s Role

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In a professional career spanning nearly three decades, Indian tennis great Leander Paes won 18 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic medal. Speaking at the launch event of the new season of the NDTV-AM Green IGPL Golf Pro-Am, Paes reflected on the longevity of his career and the factors behind his trophy-laden journey during a chat with NDTV Executive Editor (Sports) Gaurav Gala. Leander said his driving ambition was always to win an Olympic medal for India and prove that Indians could excel on the world stage in any sport.

“I think it’s passion and I think it’s fun. I grew up with parents who built their own legacy, so my focus in life was always to prove that Indians can be world champions at anything. For me, winning an Olympic medal for India meant more than anything else. As a child, I grew up polishing my father’s Olympic medal and dreaming of creating something similar for my country,” said Leander.

“When you win an Olympic medal for the first time, people call it a fluke. When you do it again, they ask, ‘Can you do it once more?’ That’s what motivated me throughout my career.”

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Paes, however, admitted that he was fortunate to share the global stage with some of the biggest names in world tennis.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to play alongside some of the greatest partners in the world, from Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis to my Indian partner Mahesh Bhupathi. No matter who I played with, the goal remained the same: to prove that Indians can be world champions,” he added.

“Proving that Indians can compete with and beat the best in the world has always been my biggest motivation.”

Led by Leander Paes’ vision of grassroots development, wellness and elite performance, his venture, Flying Man Ventures, has come on board as the franchise owner of the Kolkata leg of the IGPL. Speaking about the initiative, Leander credited former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh, one of the league’s founding members, for helping expand the IGPL’s footprint beyond India and giving it a truly global identity.

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“First of all, I want to thank the AM-Green IGPL and Yuvi Paaji for helping build this incredible platform. For me, sport is one of the greatest vehicles to educate and empower young people. India has the largest youth population in the world, and empowering more than 250 million children has always been a passion of mine. IGPL gives golfing legends and young players an opportunity to compete while also taking the sport closer to the community.”

“IGPL is a fantastic league because it has a truly global vision. While many of the tournaments are held in India, we are also expanding internationally. We start in Ras Al Khaimah tomorrow, and I think the format has tremendous potential to grow the game and inspire the next generation of golfers.”


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51-year-old star calls out bad WWE creative for Roman Reigns

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A 51-year-old star has slammed WWE for saddling Roman Reigns with bad creative. The Head of the Table was in action this week on RAW and was successful in the defense of his World Heavyweight Championship against Penta.

Reigns has really come into his own with his Tribal Chief persona and established himself as one of the biggest stars of the promotion, who is adored by the fans. This is a far cry from the days when the company first pushed him to the top over a decade ago.

Despite being presented as a babyface, he was heavily booed, and his character often came across as trying too hard to be the good guy. Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the tag team legend assessed whether Reigns was ready for the top spot back in 2015-2016.

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Hardy said he doubts whether he was equipped to handle the role but said WWE had already made up its mind about pushing him. He said while they eventually were successful, his early run as the Big Dog was hampered by the creative he was given.

“I do think some of the creative he had was real bad. Like you said, the dog food thing, especially for a character that is meant to be very serious and be like a main eventer, the top guy, the draw, the sell. He had his moments where it was good, but I do think there were a lot of times he was saddled with some bad creative. Maybe even bad lines,” he said.

Matt Hardy recalled the infamous “suffering succotash” promo by Roman Reigns and said that his character didn’t need to be comic relief but a serious star.

“That isn’t what you need out of that guy. His job isn’t humor relief. His job is to go out there and be this good-looking, hot guy that all the chicks love, and then all the dudes like, ‘This guy’s badass because he can kick anybody’s a**. That’s what you need to believe. You don’t need him going out there and doing stand-up comedy,” he added.

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JBL says Roman Reigns does not need to wrestle on TV every week

Roman Reigns’ World Championship match against Penta on RAW was his first match on WWE TV in over a year. The match lived up to its hype and delivered an instant classic.

Hall of Famer JBL talked about the contest on Something to Wrestle With. He said that the OTC1 has become a rare attraction, and that’s why whenever he wrestles on TV, it is a big deal.

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JBL mentioned that this was part of the reason why his match with Penta was special. He argued that, given Roman Reigns’ status as a special attraction, he doesn’t need to wrestle every week on TV.


If you use quotes from this article, please credit Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.