Late response OT. Seems a common opinion amongst the ex-pat Americans I know up here in the frozen north, plus many of the US sports fans I've met over the years on work visits "darn sarf". Same thing with basketball - many prefer college basketball to the pro game. Interestingly, the same stance doesn't seem to exist on the baseball front, perhaps college baseball is a minor sibling at college ?
I was a season ticket holder to Dallas Mavericks in the late 1980s. Now? I haven't watched an NBA game since at least the turn of the century. Again, go Mizzou! College baseball is has a niche following but nothing more. Part of the reason is it's a summer sport, and only the extreme southern states offer reasonable weather for baseball in March and April. Also, due to cost, college baseball uses aluminum bats. Imagine the lower tier English football leagues using a rubber ball. I hate aluminum bats. Still, MLB is trying to screw up baseball, albeit at a slower pace than the other major US sports. Replay review has been horribly implemented, and now simply bogs down the game and still gets many calls wrong. The Designated Hitter experiment of 1973 is still being used in the American League and players union may soon pressure the National League to follow suit. The DH was implemented to bring more scoring and boost attendance. The AL scores a half a run per game more than the NL, hardly much of a difference, and the National League is perpetually more popular. Ergo, the DH is a failure. They've added a pitch clock to Spring Training and are talking about minimum of 3 batters per relief pitcher. Oy. What's next? Ghost runners?
Brilliant defensive display masterminded by Billicheck . I thought it was gonna be a points fest and be thoroughly entertaining . It was less entertaining but no less compelling
