Sports

Open Secret: Major league teams skirt the rule that they can’t sign a prospect until he’s 16 by offering boys as young as 11 handshake deals, in some cases for millions of dollars. Stolen Promises: With enormous sums promised to poor families, moneylenders exploit them by offering loans at exorbitant interest rates and find ways to scam them. Source: Pro-Publica I am a huge sports fan, and that always comes with the knowledge that there is a dark side of the business we just have to ignore to enjoy it. With that said it feels like we are hitting a tipping point as day after day the stories being told become harder and harder to push aside. With the amount of money franchines are costing I fear what comes next. ...

It’s that time of year again where on the Wednesday after Labor Day where we all say “The NFL is back”! Wait, what? Wednesday? Of course the NFL keeps taking more nights, but the people keep watching so here are my predictions for the season. AFC Division Winners East: Bills North: Ravens South: Texans West: Chargers AFC Wildcard Teams Broncos Patriots Bengals NFC Division Winners East: Cowboys North: Lions South: Buccaneers West: Seahawks NFC Wildcard Teams Eagles Rams Packers Superbowl Predictions Buffalo Bills over the Seattle Seahawks

The start of college football is here which means it’s time for what the world is waiting for! My college football predictions that will be very very wrong. Most prognosticators have a good grasp of the top, but I do think we see some craziness near the bottom of the top 12. Most interesting to me will be at the top of the group of five to determine who grabs the number twelve spot. ...

A short post to talk about the joy of sports. It has now been just over seven weeks since the Knicks won the championship, and everyday I still see a video or post go by about the win that brings an instant smile to my face. I still see people commenting to each other “go Knicks” walking by each other in the streets of New York if they notice a certain hat or shirt on. In a world that can be so negative and cruel the Knicks winning truly was the perfect anecdote. ...

This year might seem over for the New York Mets, but there is always next year!

The folks at Ipsos chose a perfect time to get a handle on how Americans feel about different sports. They polled more than 1,000 people during the ongoing World Cup and asked them “Do you consider yourself to be a fan of the following sports?” The answers could be considered somewhat surprising once you get below the NFL. Has baseball recouped and is now the second-most popular sport in the USA? That won’t make NBA commissioner Adam Silver happy. ...

I am at a loss for words, but it really happened! Game 4 will be one of those things you never forget.

American League East Central West Yankees Guardians Mariners Blue Jays Tigers Rangers Rays Royals Astros Red Sox Twins A’s Orioles White Sox Angels National League East Central West Phillies Brewers Dodgers Mets Cubs Padres Braves Pirates Dbacks Marlins Reds Giants Nationals Cardinals Rockies *playoff team AL Champs: Yankees NL Champs: Dodgers World Series Champions: Dodgers

Despite last season’s collapse, ZiPS projects the Mets as a highly competitive team in the NL East, and one the league shouldn’t dismiss via Source: Fangraphs I know it might not feel like it, but the Mets are better today than they were on the last day of the season.