https://www.sports-central.org/ Original and intelligent sports fan commentary since 1998. en-us Copyright 2026 Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:27:14 -0500 Tue, 18 Aug 2026 08:26:46 -0500 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=6.8.8 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss There is still more than enough time to head off a lockout in Major League Baseball. But how? SC's Anthony Brancato draws the map of the precise road to Rome.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/18/will_trump_intervene_in_mlb_labor_dispute.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/18/will_trump_intervene_in_mlb_labor_dispute.php MLB Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:27:14 -0500 SC's Jeff Kallman says Netflix's in-game player interviews got too much in the way of play during the Field of Dreams game.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/17/field_of_dreams_game_field_of_gab.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/17/field_of_dreams_game_field_of_gab.php MLB Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:17:49 -0500 Non-conference scheduling has been a hot topic this offseason. SC's Ross Lancaster looks at why the CFP committee holds the keys for the future of P4 non-conference scheduling and lists the five top non-conference games for 2026.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/13/are_the_days_of_non-conference_blockbusters_numbered.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/13/are_the_days_of_non-conference_blockbusters_numbered.php College Football Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:56:45 -0500 The road to a labor stoppage in baseball is shrinking rapidly. But instead of salary caps and wage floors, there is another alternative: use the schedules to promote "competitive balance." The NFL has been doing this for literally decades.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/11/split_season_is_minor_league_idea.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/11/split_season_is_minor_league_idea.php MLB Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:29:46 -0500 Tommy John said farewell in a statement when he couldn't make the Yankees's Old Timer's Day this weekend. SC's Jeff Kallman makes his Hall of Fame case.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/10/on_tjs_farewell_and_cooperstown_case.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/10/on_tjs_farewell_and_cooperstown_case.php MLB Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:50:57 -0500 Haven't been keeping up with the CFL this year? SC's Kevin Beane has you covered as he power ranks all the teams and tells you why they find themselves where they do in his rankings. It's the Slant Pattern!]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/06/cfl_week_9_power_rankings.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/06/cfl_week_9_power_rankings.php Slant Pattern Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:53:41 -0500 Not many are optimistic that The Lockout to End All Lockouts in America's Old Pastime can be averted. But SC's Anthony Brancato takes some cues from America's New Pastime and is somewhat more sanguine.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/05/can_mlb_be_made_more_like_the_nfl.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/05/can_mlb_be_made_more_like_the_nfl.php MLB Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:37:30 -0500 The Dodgers landed Tarik Skubal. Stop screaming and start thinking, says SC's Jeff Kallman, because the Dodgers already are.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/03/heart_stones_and_tarik_skubal.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/08/03/heart_stones_and_tarik_skubal.php MLB Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:48:52 -0500 Many, if not most people, can't even remember the College All-Star Game. But SC's Anthony Brancato sees a good reason to bring it back, with one major change.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/28/bring_back_the_college_all-star_game_with_a_twist.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/28/bring_back_the_college_all-star_game_with_a_twist.php NFL Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:18:29 -0500 SC's Jeff Kallman says on the day former New York Mets Carlos Beltrán and Jeff Kent were sworn into Cooperstown, today's misfit Mets warded off a Dodger sweep.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/27/for_the_mets_hall_of_fame_day_and_play.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/27/for_the_mets_hall_of_fame_day_and_play.php MLB Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:41:47 -0500 Want to know who the next great American men's boxing heavyweight is going to be? Well, whoever they are, they're probably a long ways off. But here's a detailed primer from SC's Kevin Beane on who it could be.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/23/top_us_mens_heavyweight_boxing_prospects.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/23/top_us_mens_heavyweight_boxing_prospects.php Slant Pattern Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:58:57 -0500 Instead of just talking about it as if it was the weather, it's time for the NFL's owners and players to hammer out a new deal that will bring the 18-game schedule to this side of the border (it has existed on the other side since 1986). This isn't rocket science.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/21/18_games_in_the_news_again.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/21/18_games_in_the_news_again.php NFL Tue, 21 Jul 2026 07:25:02 -0500 SC's Jeff Kallman remembers Ron Hunt, the tenacious first New York Mets starting all-star who took 243 for his teams.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/20/ron_hunt_rip_plunk_rock.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/20/ron_hunt_rip_plunk_rock.php MLB Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:45:41 -0500 SC's Ross Lancaster explains why he wasn't disappointed by the U.S.' performance in the World Cup and why the national team's problems were overblown.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/16/was_the_usmnts_world_cup_performance_actually_disappointing.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/16/was_the_usmnts_world_cup_performance_actually_disappointing.php Other Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:58:37 -0500 Why not get rid of artificial turf in the NFL? That's what the players are saying, and SC's Anthony Brancato is saying it, too.]]> https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/14/chorus_grows_for_natural_grass_in_nfl.php https://www.sports-central.org/sports/2026/07/14/chorus_grows_for_natural_grass_in_nfl.php NFL Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:29:13 -0500