MLB & MLBBPA are still negotiating it but it looks like it will be in two weeks. MLB wanted to delay spring training a month, presumably to allow for more players to be immunized and also the fans. Not a bad idea, but I think the players didn't want to go thru another session of what percentage their pay would be cut. It may be very difficult to protect players because there will be so many more players in the camps than during the regular season. Arizona (The Cactus League) has stricter rules about the protection than Florida (The Grapefruit League), so this may be a minor test of how effective the masks and social distancing rules actually are.
**The Yankees have a minor league super prospect named Jasson Dominguez (the spelling is correct). How's this for a start to your career: He won't be 18 until Feb. 7th, he signed a contract with a $5.1 million bonus and he has yet to play one professional inning. His nickname is "The Martian" because his talent is "out of this world." He is a switch-hitting outfielder with blazing speed.
**Goodbye to Dustin Pedroia. He officially retired on Sunday, but he has appeared in only 9 games since 2017. He doesn't have Hall Of Fame numbers and neither did Thurman Munson, but both will live on in the hearts and minds of their fans. Pedroia never got cheated in his at bats. He had the wildest swing I'd ever seen. Here's the best thing I could say about him: I hated to see him play against the Yankees.
**Another former Mets official has been accused of sexual misconduct. Former manager Mickey Callaway was accused by five women for sending inappropriate texts and other advances. The Mets claim to have no prior knowledge of those acts, the same as accusations against former GM Jared Porter. I have to believe the Mets would not have ignored those claims and hired those two anyway, but it is quite a coincidence.
**The Superbowl is Sunday, as if the network would let you. I think the pregame shows have already started. It looks like NFL will allow 22,000 fans to be in the stadium. Because the game is in Tampa, kind of a home game for the Buccaneers, the Kansas City Chiefs are currently only a 3 point favorite. I've read where the presence of Tom Brady is also a factor but I wasn't too impressed with his performance against the Packers. I thought the Bucs game plan was the deciding factor. If I haven't passed out from all the pregame snacks, I will watch and root for the Chiefs because Annie-O doesn't like Brady.
***THEY SAID IT***
"Many of us have reached new levels of desperation in looking for entertainment during this pandemic. But proud to report at least I have no regrets that this Sunday we don’t have viewing option of NFL Pro Bowl." -- Janice Hough
"Latin is one of the Pope's Twitter languages. If I translated some tweets correctly, his hopes for the coming year are global peace and Notre Dame kicking Bama butt." -- RJ Currie
"There’s been a grassroots call for the Atlanta Braves to rename themselves the Hammers, in honor of Hammerin’ Hank Aaron. Better hope Mariner fans don’t get any similar notions regarding Randy “The Big Unit” Johnson." -- Dwight Perry
"I think Curt Schilling is a social troglodyte – meaning no disrespect to cave dwellers in antiquity. But he will not be the most repugnant person in the Hall of Fame if inducted." -- The Sports Curmudgeon
Okay, not sports but really funny: "The last name of the person in charge of Nebraska's vaccination process is "Ling." I'm pretty sure her first name is "Ding-A." -- Brad Dickson
"Last season in 211 at-bats, A’s infielder Marcus Semien batted .223. This week he signed a one-year, $18 million deal to play for Toronto. I still can’t decide what I want to be when I grow up, but I’m leaning toward the expendable — a backup MLB infielder." -- Phil Mushnick
"Eight years ago at the Aussie Open, Maria Sharapova blanked her first two opponents in
straight sets—6-0, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-0. It was the most love I'd seen since
the Sixties." -- RJ Currie
"The Blue Jays signed ex-Astros star George Springer. Apparently Springer leaked the news of his signing by banging on the lid of a trash can." -- Patti Dawn Swansson
"The Miami Heat is employing coronavirus-sniffing dogs to screen fans attending their home games. The Jacksonville Jaguars, not to be outdone, brought in a bomb-sniffing dog — but it passed out inside their locker room." -- Dwight Perry
Chad Picasner
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