* At one point, it appeared that Venezuela was primed to replace the Dominican Republic as Major League Baseball’s biggest foreign-player pipeline. Now count MLB among those adversely impacted by the economic and political chaos in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan Summer League shut down last year when MLB participation declined drastically. And only four MLB teams still run player-development academies: the Cubs, Tigers, Phillies and Rays. Speaking of the Rays, catcher Wilson Ramos, a Venezuela native, was kidnapped a few years ago during a visit home. He now lives in Florida.
* The WNBA keeps growing in media exposure, and not just in Olympic years. It’s more than mindful of its image. But it took a hit recently when a prominent, former player told the San Diego Union-Tribune that her 8-year league experience was “toxic.” Candice Wiggins said she was bullied throughout her career for being heterosexual and popular. Ouch.
* Yes, it’s “March Madness,” and my NCAA Tournament brackets are again filled out. For what it’s worth–and it’s hard for a Philly guy to not include defending champion Villanova–I have Duke, Kansas, UCLA and Arizona as my final four.
Having said all that, I wish the tournament had never expanded to 68 teams. While it includes the usual long shots–Bucknell or Winthrop, for example–it is still too skewed with teams from major conferences. For example, the Atlantic Coast Conference has nine teams in the tournament. Put it this way, if you didn’t win your regular-season championship or conference tourney and are arguably the 7th, 8th or 9th best team in the conference, what are you doing being in the hunt for the national championship?