* Say what you will about the World Baseball Classic–its timing, format, rule adaptations and player availabilities do undermine validity–it was fun to watch. This isn’t another day at the over-paid, professional-athlete office. You had the United States, a country with a population of 315 million, being defeated by the Dominican Republic, a country with a population of 10 million. For the U.S., which included the Rays’ Ben Zobrist but not Evan Longoria or David Price, it was a disappointment. For the DR, it was a Caribbean celebration for the ages. It was about pure, uninhibited national pride–not satisfaction at coming out on top in a glorified exhibition against Americans in spring-training mode.
Rays’ relief pitcher Joel Peralta, who originally was to be part of the DR team, explained the sentiment. “People don’t understand. Our country is a poor country, we don’t have much there, but baseball is huge. It’s huge.”
So, good for the DR and good for their lights-out closer, Fernando Rodney–of the Rays.
*Imagine, every Tampa Bay Lightning game so far has been a sell-out (19,204). Hockey in Florida. And the team has a losing record. It’s a testimony to the fan-friendly facility, the entertainment experience, community outreach and, yes, a downtown Tampa-centered market.
* ESPN basketball analyst Dick Vitale, a font of enthusiasm about the college game, has often been criticized for a gushing bias toward the Duke University program. He answered his critics the other day. No, he’s not biased, he responded, but, yes, he certainly lavishes a lot of praise on Duke. By way of explanation, he mentioned Duke’s winning ways, its Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting coach (Mike Krzyzewski) and one other factor. “They graduate their players.”
In a sport that often traffics in sham “student-athletes,” such high praise, even if fawning, can’t be repeated too often.