Joe Lucia

Y'all are assholes for bringing up 2013. I think Craig Kimbrel is still standing in the Dodger Stadium bullpen two years later

Depends what you consider an analyst. Only studio guys? Play by play and analyst combos? If you're counting the latter, the total climbs exponentially because of the fact that ESPN airs something like 40 college football games a weekend.

Just gonna go ahead and put this here. http://youtu.be/DAPWsNXQJGU

re: expansion. I personally don't think there are any more viable US markets. Plus, considering the ugly situations in Oakland and Tampa, bringing in two *more* teams could get ugly. The largest market in the country without a team is Orlando, and that's not happening. Next up is Sacramento, which also isn't happening because the Giants are assholes. After that, you get into the Portland/Charlotte/Raleigh crop, which are all smaller markets than Pittsburgh. If MLB does end up considering expansion, it would be outside the borders. They've talked Mexico for years. They always flirt with Puerto Rico. Montreal is getting more looks. I think they're all more realistic options than like, San Antonio.

Two divisions? Cool, you're either completely eliminating a round of playoffs (which is never happening), rewarding the second best team in each division (no matter how good they are in respect to the rest of the league), or you're setting yourself up for a situation where the third-best team in the division gets in...which is the exact situation you're trying to avoid by realigning into two divisions? Reseeding after the WC game is something I'd actually be in favor of. You still get rewarded for winning the division, but if you win a shitty division, you're losing HFA.

The only change that could happen in the next 15 years is the expansion of the WC game to a WC series (three games?). MLB people are always hesitant about diluting the playoff pool too much, and adding two more WC teams would shoot a whole in the "gotta win the division!" talking point.

I was fine with the third down play call (since it should have been a TD catch), but the second down call was incredibly dumb since one damn play would have forced Oakland to use their last timeout. Not that that timeout would have mattered since they DIDN'T USE IT ON THE LAST DRIVE. Jernigan's roughing call was egregious, unnecessary, and just awful - what the fuck was he even doing there? Unfamiliar terrain has a Ravens fan - concerned about the defense and not the offense. If the damn line can get more pressure on the QB, the secondary can actually relax for a second and not be CONSTANTLY working.

By that logic, every sports columnist in every major metro in the country should be fired. Log off forever.

It's also not a first time thing for Coghlan - he fucked up Aki Iwamura years back, and his career was essentially over (though that one wasn't nearly as bad because Iwamura was on the third base side of the bag)

A play can be legal and still be dirty, which I believe that slide was. Was he trying to hurt him? Of course not, he was trying to break up the double play (and failed, for what its worth) - but if catchers are going to be coddled, middle infielders need to be coddled in the same way.

That explains why they slashed the prices on the HD7 a few months ago... ...but I'm still cool with getting one of those for $69

I'm not one to hope people lose their jobs.... ....but I really hope the Post bumps Mushnick into early retirement. Also, Cablevision got bought out for something like $17 billion by a Euro company. Insane.

The funding from pretty much all of the major sports leagues (and various broadcast networks too) is a very good point. DFS is becoming such a divisive issue though, and I can see *something* happening to rein it in somewhat. There won't be a forced reduction in commercials. I *could* see DFS end up collapsing upon itself if something along the lines of "ads drive customers away, payouts keep rising, ad spending remains absurd, money runs out", but that won't be until somewhere way down the road.

Saw someone compare this to online poker years ago, when the advertising was becoming so prevalent that it was bound to eventually be investigated. When a pair of companies in a brand new industry combine to spend $27 million in a week on advertising...yeah, eyebrows are going to be raised.

No, I meant the Astros. I consider a "deadline trade" anything in June or July. If you're going to start arbitrarily drawing lines at post-ASB, last week of July, you're missing the point.

Pretty great commentator now too, from the few Yankee games I've watched at least

Unit and Beltran also come to mind in recent history.

It's not just the eight games - its the fact that they have three weeks to clear *eight* teams in the AL. Theoretically possible, buuuuuuuuuuuuut...

Ravens only. I didn't really grow up in a big NFL household. First game I have a memory of watching is the Titans-Rams Super Bowl. Really fell in love with Steve McNair's style of play that game, and I started cheering for the Titans because of him. When him and the Titans had their contract mess a few years later, I vowed to cheer for his next team even after he retired - and that was the Ravens. And here we are.

There's a non-zero chance now, especially since the Mets still can't give him a QO and get a draft pick as comp. The sole reason to waive the clause from their end is to make an effort at bringing him back.

No, he's been suspended for the rest of the season.

Instincts. Growing up as a kid thinking it looked cool. Just a couple ideas from the top of my head - you see guys break hands and thumbs way too much from sliding headfirst.

That inside the parker at Citi summarized the seasons of both the Mets and the Phillies.

It gets better. The Redskins issued a statement saying it was a fake account. Like an hour later, the GM's wife admitted it was her and apologized.

Last week, we were assuming they'd just let his contract ride out...right now, who in the hell knows? I don't think they want to deal with the potential political fallout, but he's too much of a wild card to actually give a live mic.