IT'S JUST A THOUGHT

## Ahh, the playoffs have started. Well, almost. We did have a game yesterday. Two teams playing for the right to play in a game to see who has the right to play in the playoffs. I had to reread that last sentence to make sure I got it right.
Tonight, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati play to determine who will be the wild card in the NL. Tomorrow, Cleveland & Tampa Bay fight for the AL wild card spot.
On Thursday, LA & Atlanta play a REAL playoff game. Then on Friday, yes, FRIDAY, Detroit and Oakland  finally get a chance to play - five days after the end of the regular season.

I don't know why ($) it takes so long ($) to play all these games ($). Every year, they end up playing a World Series game in November, or close to it, and they wonder why. We all know why ($). You don't want TV viewers to have to make a choice on who to watch, they make them ALL available. More TV time, more commercials - oh, and more money. Gee, I never thought of that.

## A quote form Pat Hayden, Athletic Director of USC, in July, 2013.
"I anticipate the media will ask me if our football coach is on the hot seat this year.  He is not. I’m behind Lane Kiffin 100 percent."
Sunday, after two losses in five games, he fired him.

##  From Jesse Rogers, ESPN: "The Chicago Cubs had too much respect for former manager Dale Sveum to get into specifics about the reasons he was fired on Monday..." 
If they had that much respect, why didn't they provide him with a better team?  Dale, you should have pulled an "Eric Wedge," and fired the Cubs first. 

## I understand that in critical baseball games, hitters get overly aggressive and pitchers tend to overthrow, but that was some of the most aggressive and foolhardy baserunning I've ever seen in a playoff atmosphere.  A runner thrown out at second by 10 feet, trying to stretch a single into a double, and two runners picked off at first? Not too good. 

## The Biogenesis/A-Rod hearing started yesterday. There goes Selig's dictum that there should be no big announcements from teams during the playoffs. If there's a decision during one of the games, I guarantee there will be press conferences, interviews and an analysis from Buster Olney, during the game.

## Annie-O has decided that she will be rooting for Pittsburgh in the playoffs and I will be rooting for Cleveland. Neither one of us may have a favorite in the mix after Wednesday.

***THEY SAID IT***
" Asked about benching Geno Smith, NY Jets coach Rex Ryan replied, “It’s not a thought at this point right now.” Mainly because he can’t think of an alternative."  -- Janice Hough
" During a debate with Skip Bayless on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith appeared to fall asleep. According to a quick survey, 90 percent of sports viewers would rather watch a guy sleep on ESPN than sample the NFL Network."  -- Brad Dickson [Sounds to me like Smith had the right idea. - CP]
"Some people call the Astros’ Baseball 101 Ladies Night an insult to women. Some women call the Astros an insult to baseball."  -- RJ Currie
"The Chicago #Cubs have fired manager Dale Sveum. No word on a replacement yet. But no job comes with lower expectations."  -- Janice Hough
"Mark Cuban's trial for alleged insider trading began Monday morning in Dallas. It's going well. So far Cuban's only been called for two technicals and fined once"  -- Brad Dickson

CP-