More than a few old-school types have done their best to belittle Oakland A's GM Billy Beane for being the subject of the book Moneyball. He was reviled for saying that there may be a better, more efficient way of running a baseball team, especially when money is more limited for you than it is for your competitors. And those are just ideas about baseball, imagine what would happen if they were questions of life and death.
Beane should probably brace himself because now he's turning his reformist eye to the world of health care. He's teamed up with Newt Gingrich and John Kerry, a trio previously reserved for "walking into a bar" jokes than policy reform, to write an op-ed for the New York Times calling for data-driven, evidence-based methods to cut costs and improve health care.
America's health care system behaves like a hidebound, tradition-based ball club that chases after aging sluggers and plays by the old rules: we pay too much and get too little in return.
I can only hope this leads to stats like VORC (Value Over Replacement Cardiologist) and third-order lives saved, which takes into account how sick the patient was and how much blood you got on your white jacket.
The potential problems? If your doctor gets too expensive, you can't just trade him for three recent medical school graduates who project well. And I can already hear the pundits who claim Beane doesn't know what he's talking about, no matter what the numbers say Dr. Barnes is a "gamer" who just knows how to save lives.
Ice hockey and politics will cross over once again on Saturday night, when Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin drops the ceremonial first puck before the Philadelphia Flyers home opener against the New York Rangers. Here's the team press release with all the relevant details:
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the nation's most popular hockey mom, will join the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers regional search for the "Ultimate Hockey Mom" contest and drop the puck at the ceremonial opening face-off as the home team Flyers host the New York Rangers at the Wachovia Center on Saturday, October 11 at 7 p.m.
"Because of the tremendous amount of publicity she has brought to our sport, we invited the most popular hockey mom in North America to our home opener to help us get our season started," said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider who founded the Flyers in 1967. "We are very excited she has accepted our offer and we are very proud of the publicity she is generating for hockey moms and the sport of hockey."
If you drop by Puck Daddy, the claim that Palin is the nation's "most popular hockey mom" seems to be in dispute. After reading a couple of the comments, it's easy to see how "most controversial" hockey mom might be more appropriate. Here's hoping the innocent winner of the contest, whoever that might be, gets a nice hand in Philly regardless of the reception Palin gets.
As for me, I'm of two minds on the subject. First off, I'm thoroughly sick of election news, and have been since around Labor Day. Once you threw the global credit crisis into the mix, I began to realize that there's really little reason to have much confidence in America's political leadership these days regardless of party. Looking over the horizon, it's hard not to conclude that the winner of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election might very well be the recipient of the biggest booby prize in American political history since the election of 1928.
On the other hand, I distinctly recall that when I first learned that U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), the 2004 Democratic nominee for President, had played hockey in high school, I somehow managed to process the information without having an aneurysm. Go figure.
I've purposely avoided linking to one too many items about Republic Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her identification as a hockey mom. Then again, continuing to avoid the issue would have meant not passing along this parody video that spoofs the ads Swift Boat Veterans for Truth unleashed four years ago on Democratic Presidential nominee Senator John Kerry (D-Ma.).
I'm having a hard time thinking how that could have been any better. Thanks to J.P. for the pointer.
In the video below, the Democratic Presidential candidate refers to the school nickname as the "Nittaly Lions". Good thing he's not running for public office or anything.
Not that he needs any excuses, but it's been a long campaign and these mistakes happen to all the candidates, although this one does call back a bit to John Kerry's "Lambert Field" error in Wisconsin. The difference of course being Obama comes across as an actual athlete and sports fan instead of playing one for the cameras.
Whether the Red Sox win the 2007 World Series or not, the mere appearance, the second in four years -- and the plodding, powerful way they got there -- has confirmed a sudden truth: the Boston Red Sox are a monolith.
Like the Yankees, they have a huge payroll. Like the Yankees, they print paper at their home stadium. Like the Yankees, they have a national fan base that annoyingly floods opposition stadiums. And, like the Yankees, everyone is slowly starting to hate them. The irony is not lost on the front office:
"I totally understand that," General Manager Theo Epstein said. "If I were a fan of another team and 20,000 Red Sox fans came into my ballpark, it would [tick] me off too."
"We go into parks, and anywhere from one-third to one-half the fans are rooting for the Red Sox," Henry said. "That doesn't necessarily endear you to everyone. Our payroll has grown as our revenues have grown. That doesn't endear you to everyone either."
Not that Red Sox President Larry Lucchino wants to entertain comparisons to the Yankees, a franchise he once called the Evil Empire.
"Don't go there," Lucchino said. "We are not the new Yankees. We are the improved Red Sox."
Sorry, Larry, but you're not far off. The more Fall Classics you appear in, and the more your fans establish themselves as some of the most insufferable numbnutses in sport, the more you slowly morph into everything you once hated.
Sounds like a baseball flip-flop. Rudy Giuliani, a lifelong New York Yankees fan, said Tuesday he's pulling for their most hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox, to win the World Series over the Colorado Rockies.
"I'm rooting for the Red Sox," the Republican presidential contender said in response to a question, sparking applause at the Boston restaurant where he was picking up a local endorsement.
"I'm an American League fan, and I go with the American League team, maybe with the exception of the Mets," he said. "Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn't because I'm loyal to New York."
"In Colorado, in the next week or two, you will see, I will have the courage to tell the people of Colorado the same thing, that I am rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series," he said.
This is obviously a shot across the bow to the eerily robotic Massachusetts man Mitt Romney. Guiliani, Red Sox fan? Mitt better start hedging his bets soon. Might I suggest a Rockies cap at the next stump speech? The Romney campaign likes everyone!
And just so you know, John Kerry wants to make it clear he voted for the Red Sox before he voted against the Rockies, after he voted against removing the "Devil" from Devil Rays ... or something like that.
Remember those last-minute negotiations between the cable companies and Major League Baseball we talked about yesterday? Turns out they're not so "last minute" at all -- MLB has done away with the deadline they set, which, if you read between the lines, suggests progress is being made toward preventing 'Extra Innings' from being exclusive to DirecTV. From The Biz of Baseball:
MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy said late yesterday, "We will continue discussions until we reach a deal or it becomes apparent we cannot."
"It is opening day. The baseball season has begun and we're still waiting for the business guys to get the show on the road and meet their obligation to the fans. Many fans are now denied access to their favorite team because executives haven't resolved relatively minor business differences. That is wrong. I want to see an agreement that is good for fans and consumers. The parties must push ahead with discussions and must not abandon baseball's greatest fans, who have been thrown a curveball."
A "curveball?" If he's going to grandstand, I wish he'd at least spare us the metaphors.
Well, if you were hoping and praying Congress would nix baseball's eminent deal with DirectTV which is effectively taking non-local games off cable's Extra Innings pay package and hosting them over at the dish company, it looks like they lost the battle.
Senators spent two hours urging Major League Baseball and TV executives not to let the Extra Innings pay package land exclusively on DirecTV's satellite system. But despite congressional brush-back pitches - warnings of legislation and even the oft-repeated threat to review baseball's anti-trust exemption - MLB President Bob DuPuy didn't flinch.
And later:
For that same reason, DuPuy also dismissed an offer made Tuesday by In Demand, a pay package provider owned by Comcast, Time Warner and Cox cable companies, that would allow Extra Innings to be on cable and Dish Network for two years. Questions about distributing the Baseball Channel could come closer to its launch.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who convened the Commerce Committee hearing, supported the offer. DuPuy balked.
"We believe that DirecTV has the right to begin to help us build the channel," DuPuy told Kerry.
John Kerry tried for you out there, really he did.
Well, at least if you are a Cubs, White Sox or Braves fan, don't live locally and can't get a dish at your place, you can still see some games on WGN and TBS, right? Right?
We're two years out from the next Presidential election, but already one of the lead candidates is hitting the red state sports scene hard for votes: Rudy Giuliani. See the screen capture below - a Guiliani for President ad placed prominently on the Rivals.com college football website.
Nice.
This is smart and annoying at the same time. Guiliani must first defeat several other big time Republicans in the various primaries if he is to have a shot at being President.. Seeing as how he hails from deep blue New York, a concerted effort must be made to bridge the gap between himself and the red, southern-ish party base. Enter the Rivals.com ad.
Like I said, smart. Hey, look at me, I'm Rudy and I like football! So long as he doesn't pretend he's part of the Kennedy clan playing football with the family and get photographed having the football attack him (don't fight the ball!) like uh, one John Kerry, this will work out well.
Yet ... it's also annoying. The campaigns just keep getting earlier and earlier and now the pandering extends not only to mailers, phone calls, television ads and radio ads, but also our favorite internet sports sites that are supposed to be our diversions from the politicians. Oy.
Two senators plan to examine baseball's $700 million, seven-year deal with DirecTV to determine its impact on fans.
"I will review this deal to ensure it benefits consumers,'' said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. "I'm encouraged that Major League Baseball may be willing to provide broader access to their games than what was initially proposed. I will be watching closely to ensure the league works in good faith so that America's pastime is available to all fans. My concern all along has been that fans continue to have the ability to enjoy baseball on television.''
The agreement also drew the attention of Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"I will be analyzing the commitment to see ... if the conditions for other carriers are satisfactory,'' Specter said. "This arrangement should motivate the NFL to reconsider broader coverage on its Sunday ticket and Thursday/Saturday programming to make such games available to other carriers beyond DirecTV.
"It may be necessary for the Senate Judiciary Committee to have further hearings on the antitrust implications of the NFL and MLB TV programming and whether it is in the public interest to allow the antitrust exemptions of the NFL and MLB to continue.''
Baseball may not care about you, average fan, but at least Senators Kerry and Specter do! I feel better already. Of course, defending the Integrity of The Fan of America's National Pastime(TM) isn't the most controversial stance, but hey: we'll take it!
More than a few old-school types have done their best to belittle Oakland A's GM Billy Beane for being the subject of the book Moneyball. He was reviled for saying that there may be a better, more efficient way of running a baseball team, especially when money is more limited for you than it is for your competitors. And those are just ideas about baseball, imagine what would happen if they were questions of life and death. 
Ice hockey and politics will cross over once again on Saturday night, when Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. 
In the 
Whether the Red Sox win the 2007 World Series or not, the mere appearance, the second in four years -- and the plodding, powerful way they got there -- has confirmed a sudden truth: the Boston Red Sox are a monolith. 
If my handy 
Remember those last-minute negotiations between the cable companies and Major League Baseball we talked about yesterday? Turns out they're not so "last minute" at all -- MLB has done away with the deadline they set, which, if you read between the lines, suggests progress is being made toward preventing 'Extra Innings' from being exclusive to DirecTV. From 
Well, if you were hoping and praying Congress would nix baseball's eminent deal with DirectTV which is effectively taking non-local games off cable's Extra Innings pay package and hosting them over at the dish company,
