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The Nightmare Of Perpetual Inter-League Play
Buster Olney of ESPN.Com has just posted a very good piece about a story I first heard a week ago, one that could shatter the concepts of the American and National Leagues as we know them.
As I heard it, the Bud Selig-driven committee investigating realignment was spending most of its time discussing moving one team from the National League into the American League to create two 15-team leagues. The obvious implication of those odd numbers is that from the first day of the season to the last, there would always be at least one inter-league game being played, every day – from the first celebratory week, to the final climactic days of the pennant race.
What a bunch of crap.
Olney's sources apparently divined this scheme after the Commissioner's group began preliminary discussions about it with the union. I had merely heard about it during its owners-only stage. His additional details include the suggestion that the 16th NL team switching to the AL might be the Astros (to give them an all-Texas rivalry with the Rangers; in fact the Marlins and Rays could probably better use this benefit), the possibility that divisions would be eliminated altogether and each league's 15 teams would simply vie for five playoff spots (hey, great, more crap – your opportunity to buy tickets to see a 13th-place team, or, if you're really lucky – a battle between both 13th-place teams!).
The divisional system introduced in 1969 is troublesome enough – it broke the tradition that the pennant race really determined the best team, because each team played every other team the same number of times. But it became necessary once the leagues got beyond 10 teams, for the reasons hinted at above. In the 1890's, when the National League stomped out both the upstart Players' League, and then its former rival the American Association, major league baseball became one league of 12 teams. Hope dies early in a 12-team league. On this date in 1899 – June 11 – ten of the twelve teams were 8-and-a-half games out or more. Last place Cleveland was already 26 games out of first place and would end the year a whopping 84 games behind the pennant winner.
The divisions are a necessary evil, but inter-league play is an unnecessary one, and making it a virtually daily part of the menu would make a joke out of the pennant races. As it is now, how you do in inter-league pretty much determines whether or not you'll win anything. And how you do in inter-league pretty much depends on who you play in inter-league. And who you play in inter-league pretty much is determined by which match-up will draw the most fans or the most tv viewers.
When Selig rammed inter-league play through in 1997, it still wore a fig-leaf that at least within divisions, each team would have the same inter-league opponents. The A.L. East would play the N.L. East one year, then the N.L. Central the next, then the N.L. West the third. This was abandoned as soon as the fervor swelled around Mets-Yankees, Giants-A's, White Sox-Cubs, Dodgers-Angels, etc.
Right now inter-league opponents are selected for marketing reasons, and give some teams decided advantages over rivals in their own divisions. This new proposed system could make that disparity even greater. Unless there is some intention to reduce or scatter the current twice-yearly Festivuses of inter-league (and when has baseball ever reduced anything?) in a roughly 26-week schedule with approximately 52 "series" a year, each team in a 15-team league would probably go from playing six inter-league series a year to as many as eight or nine. By definition, some teams would get an easier schedule than others. By definition, the likelihood that the World Series teams would've met during the regular season increases – further flattening the bubbles in that champagne.
Inter-league has been interesting and novel in some cases (Yankees-Mets was thrilling, then interesting, and is now routine) but it has adversely affected what the pennant races mean, and it has been a nightmare for National League teams used to defending against eight-man batting orders. Just as it's time for the concept to be discontinued or reduced, MLB is – naturally – looking to increase it.
Why not just give the teams with the top national tv ratings a first-round playoff bye?
55 Comments
Actually, wasn't it originally that the AL East would play the NL East every year, then it transitioned into changing divisions after a few years?
Keith, how about this for alignment
n.l. east combined with al east/nl central combined with al central/aln nl west combined
10 teams each division-astros go to the west
3 teams make palyoffs ast place team in each division gets a buy
2nd pl plays 3rrd pl 2 0ut of 3/fan interest will always be there beter races
also move the rays to orlando
A s to las vegas
thanks jim
Thanks Keith.
Why does baseball always seem to shoot themselves in the foot.
Baseball is a great game, and it doesn't need silliness like two 15 team leagues.
Please say that the players will stop this.
Thanks for being a passionate fan of our game.
Why not halve the season? Reset the standings at the mid-way point and utilize those split-season results to determine playoffs? This method would revitalize the teams, like the Royals and Pirates, who see their attendance fall off after June as fans realize making up 20 games in the standings is nearly impossible. The result would be increased fan interest and therefore increased attendance and viewership. All of which lead to more money. And THAT should speak to Selig & Co, since baseball doesn't.
You're kidding, right? I've been hoping, yes HOPING, they would change interleague play to being something like… once every four years. It would become exciting again, like the olympics. and teams & fans would get bragging rights 'til the next go around. I'd be fine if they expand it to mean more interleague games IN THAT FOURTH YEAR, as long as it remains a non-yearly thing. In fact, if they did it every other year, I'd still be ok with it. It would make it special again… it lost it's specialness and novelty long long ago. There's teenagers now, who've never ever lived through a season that didn't have their team playing an interleague series. How can it still be interesting? It's as normal as the Yankees playing the Red Sox. I hope, I REALLY HOPE, that they don't making it as constant too!
I love the idea of realignment though. I'd realign the leagues by divisions based on payroll if I had any power. Then teams without money, CAN make the playoffs 'cause they'll win the "poor division" for the right to meet the Yankees/Red Sox/Angels in the playoffs. That should generate more cash for small market teams…so even the union should be interested in trying it.
Here is the best reason for realignment to 15 team, 5 per division, leagues: schedule equality.
Each team would play the other team in their division 18 times. 4 teams times 18 games equals 72.
Each team plays the other ten teams in their league 6 times; 3 at each park; totals 60 games.
Each team plays the other leagues team in the same geographical division (east vs east, etc.) 6 times. Totals 30 games.
That is 162 games with every team in their division playing the same teams the same number of times. Of course this makes the wild card uneven, but who cares? It's the wild card after all!
This would eliminate such scheduling oddities as the NL East playing the AL West which happens next weekend. It keeps more of the games played in the same time zones which is THE best reason for interleague play; more games played during prime time.
And I wouldn't move Houston to the American League. I would move the Astros to the NL West and move San Diego to the American League. PETCO needs a DH more than the ballpark formerly known as ENRON.
As for the last series of the season being say a St. Louis versus Cleveland match up? That is weird I admit. I would rather see that than a bunch of interleague games being played at the same time every year between teams which aren't in the same time zone.
I will admit I am a newbie, but I smell money and marketing.
I wish they'd bring back real league presidents who fought for their individual league the way old Joe Cronin or Warren Giles used to. Also, if they're moving a team to the AL, move the Brewers back. There is no real Cubs/Brewers rivalry, but, on the other hand, White Sox/Brewers was a natural classic.
I think you're forgetting about Brewers-Twins-Sox. That can provide more rivalry than the current AL Central, no?
But, honestly, I think the key is adding two teams to the AL. I know, I know, it will provide a watering-down of pitchers. But we'll have two leagues with four divisions per league, and four teams per division
I would love a line-up like this:
AL North:
AL Central (this division may be a cluster….)
New team (OKC, perhaps?)
AL West
NL East:
NL South
NL Central
New team
NL West
Ah baseball: the crazy girlfriend of mine who, every time I think she's reached some level of sanity, goes and does something bonkers. Yes, in an era in which payroll inequality is still a problem, Selig and company want to essentially eliminate the chance for small market teams to have hopes of competing on an annual basis. And I'm a lifelong Red Sox fan! Despite the interleague problems that Keith so eloquently details, the current divisional setup has produced a fairly consistent brand of season-long drama, an advantage that runs the risk of being snuffed out so that 3/5 of the AL East can make the postseason. All in the misguided name of progress.
Joe, that's a GREAT opening line! I know just how you feel, both about baseball and that crazy girlfriend. I'm sure I'm dating her now and that she would want me to send you her regards.
First, I think this is a terrible idea, but it's associated with Bud Selig, so that's to be expected.
But before we think it's too wacky, I hope we can agree that one of the greatest baseball executives ever was Bill Veeck. And in 1960, when the American League expanded, he wanted to avoid bringing Los Angeles into the league and proposed having nine teams and working out interleague play. If it was ok with Veeck … I'm just sayin'.
I absolutely hate inter-league play. Sure it was great here in Toronto to see the Expos, but Houston, Pittsburgh?
If they insist on keeping it, why not switch rules, national league rules in American league parks and vice versa. Give the home team fans something different.
Then again, I was at the jays 16 – 4 loss today with my kids. When your best two pitchers are your second baseman and the three year old girl that threw out the opening pitch, you're up for watching anything different.
Inter-league play is a joke. I would much rather see the NL stay with 16 teams, but go with 2 8-team Divisions (and no wildcard). This would give us something approximating the traditional NL pennant race. That does not work quite as well in the AL with two 7-team divisions, but that can be worked around. I would even support expanding the AL by 2 teams – maybe one in Mexico and another in Puerto Rico?) to get to the magic number of 32 major league teams.
30 teams, 1 league. 3-game series, home and away, against all opponents = 174 games. Best record is the champion. No need for 'playoffs' as the ultimate balanced schedule determines the best team over the course of a season. European football has it right. Anything else is just a slave to corporate television interests. And the DH can die a violent death…
best solution add one team to the Al go back to a balance schedule, drop the inter league crap, go back to the old format of NY vs NY on a off day for the Mayors trophy, same in Chi town and LA others FL, Tx. and such Governors trophy. AL can add a team to the west 4 team div is just lame. Let them have the Red Sox for fun
I know I'll get heck for this, but I love the DH. The pitcher's the only guy working on every pitch, that's his job – let him focus on it. If it's so horrible, why do all of the NL teams that play in these interleague games who are visiting AL teams use a bench hitter instead of just going with the pitcher? Nothing says the DH HAS to be someone other than the pitcher. I just love how we're supposed to feel bad for NL pitchers in these games at AL stadiums because they suddenly have to face 9 hitters instead of 8 hitters and a pitcher – which is just admitting that the pitcher isn't expected to do anything on offense, even in the NL. And please, don't give me this "tradition" nonsense – if tradition is so important, why not complain that we have middle relievers who specialize in only getting one lefty out in the 7th inning? Make the DH optional in both leagues if you really want to watch Tim Wakefield swing a bat.
Why the fuck would anyone give a shit what this asshole Olbermann has to say?
You're here reading it…apparently you do!
Well said dude, I never understand these ppl who come on messageboards to mindlessly attack the writer, fair enough put forth a competing opinion, but just blasting the guy with abuse, some ppl just are sad.
Also attacking writers is just silly, there is so much choice now, just choose to read something else, announcers however are a different issue, we are stuck with announcers so when they are terrible they are fair game for criticism I think
Oh my! What a filthy, filthy little mouth!
Now, go sit in the corner with that bar of soap in your mouth until you've learned to play nicely with the other children, junior.
15 team divisions would make sense in only one way – if promotion/relegation with the minor leagues was introduced. Then the teams at the bottom would have something to play for all the way through to October. Of course, that may be too European a notion for baseball to accept.
When i first heard about this 5 team play-off idea, i was disgusted. And i still am.
Why should i care about a championship in which one-third of the teams have a chance to be the Series winner? Especially if even more games are played in a lop sided way with the other league. There is already too much inter-league play, it already affects divisional champsionships. And there is already built-in inequality b/c teams play more within their division instead of playing every other team in the league the same number of times. The more teams you have playing for the pennant, the higher the chance that the best team does not win- after all, the best team was determined over the grind of the whole season.
Personally, I like interleague play, and if you're going to have it all, then it doesn't matter to me if it's clustered at certain times, or if it's played all year long. But the inequity of the schedule IS a legitimate problem…but unless you have an equal number of teams in each league, then you can't eliminate that inequity (when some divisions have five teams, one has four, one has six) since the math doesn't work. As Keith says, the mere size of the league makes divisions necessary, so here's my suggestion that I wrote earlier on my personal page, and I think it makes the most sense:
I've been reading a lot about proposals for MLB realignment this weekend. The proposal getting the most play, going with two 15-team leagues and eliminating divisions, doesn't address the real problem, which is "schedule inequity". Conceivably, you'd play the other 14 teams 10 games each, then have 22 games of inter-league play…which takes the problem most people complain about regarding inter-league play, the inequity of the schedule, and makes it even worse…since it would be mathematically impossible to level out that portion of the schedule. The 10 games inside the league would also be problematic logistically…five home and five away would mean either a five-game series (which would be awkward), or a three-game plus a two-game series, the latter meaning a lot more travel.
Here's my solution, and I think it solves most, if not all, of the potential problems:
15 teams per league? Yes. I thought they should have done that prior to the last expansion. Yes, this would mean at least one interleague series going on all the time, but I don't see why this is a such a problem…if you're going to have inter-league, then it shouldn't matter when you have it.But get rid of divisions? No. If you do that, and keep interleague play, then you'll still have "schedule inequity" in the interleague schedule that I mentioned above…meaning not every team will play the same interleague schedule, and it'll be even worse than it is now.
Opening or closing the season in interleague play would be no worse than closing outside your division, which happens all the time now. But to minimize the impact on pennant races, the teams that finish last in each division would be the teams schedule to play their final week of games in interleague play the following year. Someone could conceivably go from worst to first, but that doesn't happen all that often. Certainly not a perfect solution, but the least of the available evils.
So, in terms of realignment, the Dbacks go to AL West, Astros replace them in the NL West (6 divisions of 5 teams each). This keeps the Texas rivalry as an interleague rivalry. Then each team would play 16 games each (8 home/8 away) against your four division teams (64 games)…8 games against each of the other 10 teams in your league (4 home/4 away)…which accounts for another 80 games…
Then each team would play 15 games (five 3-game series) against the five teams in one of the divisions in the other league (rotate each year, so that you see every team once every three years, and visit each park once every six years). For example, NL Central plays AL West, NL East plays AL Central, and NL West plays AL East…then rotate…The final 3 games would come against your "natural" or closest "geographic" rival if a natural one doesn't exist. There are 11 of 15 interleague matchups that could be considered in-city, in-state, or border-war type "natural" rivals: Yanks/Mets, Red Sox/Braves (Atl originated in Boston), Rays/Marlins, Orioles/Nats, Indians/Reds, White Sox/Cub,s, Royals/Cardinals, Twins/Brewers, Rangers/Astros, Angels/Dodgers, A's/Giants
With four other match-ups more of closest (or closest-remaining) "geographic" variety: Jays/Phillies, Tigers/Pirates, Dbacks/Padres, Mariners/Rockies
There's your 162 game season, and the "schedule equity" would be greatly improved….every team in your division has 159 of their 162 opponents identical (which is a lot better than it is now). This would mean the "local" rivals would only play one series each year, instead of two, unless those divisions matched up…that would keep those rivalries interesting, without getting overplayed.
So yes, you'll have one interleague series going all the time, but there are still enough interleague games where you can have one big "all-interleague weekend" each season. This will also mean all series (except interleague) can be four-game series, which reduces the number of road trips (owners should like that)…same number of days on the road, but fewer plane trips. You could also have a lot more common days off…like, all the NL teams have a day off at the same time, which would make make-ups from rain-outs easier, and conceivably condense the schedule by a couple days…and thus start the playoffs a couple of days sooner, and not end the World Series in November.
It makes sense! Let's do it!! (But let's get rid of the DH while we're at it.) 🙂
I appreciate the thought you have put into this Curt. Clearly they need to equalize the divisions (and, they have to keep some kind of divisional structure). I would rather see them move the Padres to the AL (and move the Astros to the NL West) – this sets up a natural rivalry between Padres and Angels, and rescues both from living in the negative space created around the Dodgers (but there are probably three or four good arguments to be made for moving different teams). I would like to see them do this and eliminate or at least decrease inter-league play, while your plan accepts and builds upon inter-league play. Aside from that (in my view fatal) flaw, there are two specific problems.
One flaw (in my view) is that continuous IL play is much more of a problem then you acknowledge. How would you like to see an inter-league series at the end of the season that is repeated in the World Series? And, as Olbermann pointed out, you increase the chances of meaningless games late in the season with more games played by two teams both of which are out of their race. I think one reason MLB has tried to segregate inter-league games is to maintain the illusion of specialness – these kinds of games only happen twice a year, and the media and MLB hype it up. With IL games every week, this illusion would be punctured, and the distinctiveness between the two leagues further watered down. Next they will want to just have one big league of 32 teams, and put the top 12 in the playoffs. While I do not like the DH, for many years now I have appreciated having it around as the main distinctive between the two leagues.
A second problem with your plan is that, with its requirement that IL games be played systematically by division on a three year rotating schedule, it ignores what I take to be Olbermann's main point, which is that for many years now, especially since the season of the lost World Series, MLB has been chasing popularity though a series of superficial (and, in the case of turning a blind eye to PED, dangerous) ploys and practices. When MLB first went to IL play it used your systematic schedule, but abandoned it in favor of maximizing IL games that drew bigger crowds and ratings. This is probably inevitable, since the only reason to have IL play in the first place is to pander to the ratings. Once you decide to have IL play in order to goose your popularity, there is little reason to stick to a systematic IL rotation that makes competitive sense but does not deliver the ratings IL play was designed to attract in the first place.
MLB would be better served making decisions with maximizing the significance and value of the World Series in mind. This in tern would maximize the significance of everything leading up to the WS (playoffs and regular season). Actions that erode the value of the WS may result in a temporary gain of casual fans, but do not do much to build a solid foundation of genuine fans, without which the sport can thrive. Genuine fans can appreciate low scoring games, and if MLB had been in a position to base itself on a solid fan base, Selig may have been motivated to take a look at reports of steroid use 15 years earlier than he did.
Fair points, indeed. There is no perfect solution, I certainly acknowledge that. Regarding the Padres move, I think the Angels already have a natural rival in the Dodgers…hence, moving a team from one league to the other who doesn't have a corresponding "natural" rival (hence the D-backs) makes the most sense to me. You could swap the D-backs and Rockies if you wish…Rockies certainly have an American-League style situation at Coors.
The plan I mentioned keeps interleague play at about the same level, which right now is 15-18 games, depending on your division. There doesn't need to be any more than that, IMO. I think that keeps it at a small enough percentage of the schedule (barely 10% of games for each team) to keep that "special" feel, regardless of when those games are played. Yes, the current MLB plan makes it more of a marketing situation than a competitive one, hence why I wanted to keep the "natural" rivalries in play somehow. But I'm all about solving the "schedule equity" problem, which seems to be the biggest complaint…acknowledging that with that comes certain other sacrifices. But the current system also has flaws…for example, the Cubs had never been to Fenway until this year in interleague. The Cardinals have never been to Baltimore (the former St. Louis Browns) until this year. If marketing was at the heart of the match-ups, then the marketers have been asleep at the wheel if they couldn't work out these match-ups until 15 years into the process.
Those are marketing opportunities that would occur on a regular cycle every three years under my idea. Getting interleague on a regular schedule will offer the opportunity to build that particular matchup as a real story, as conceivably the "only" interleague matchup in a given weekend, seems to me to have potential. Not every matchup will be great…but then again, does Pirates/Tigers move you any less than Pirates/Marlins? It's at worst, a wash…and at best, that structure allows for Cardinals/Yankees, or Dodgers/Red Sox to occur as well. I think the trade-off is worth it. In other words, I think there will be enough interesting match-ups every year to offset the ones that don't draw as much interest. Spreading the "traditional powers" around the league can only help, if marketing is indeed part of the equation (and we know it is). The Marlins (as would any team) would be thrilled to get the Yankees every three years, and get them at home every six…why should the Mets be the only team who can "count on" getting that privilege regularly?
It's an interesting debate…and again, I acknowledge nothing they could do would be perfect. For example, even if you eliminated interleague play, how do you split up the schedule so that everyone in the league plays everyone equally? A 162-game schedule doesn't give you an even number like it used to….back when the NL had 12 teams in 2 divisions, you played in-division 18 games, essentially six 3-game series, and 12 outside the division, four 3-game series. The math worked out perfectly. You don't have that anymore with expansion. That's why I like my proposal, because the math works out so well…again, schedule "equity" is the goal.
The current system doesn't even allow for schedule equity inside the league…my favorite team, the Cardinals (for example) play 9 games against the Phillies this year, but only 6 against the Mets and 7 against the Nats. We play 15 against the Reds (in our own division), but 18 against the Brewers (also in our division). It makes no sense. My proposal gets rid of ALL of that, because the schedule SHOULD be more about competitive balance than marketing…it isn't right now, but it SHOULD be.
I think everyone (even the Commish apparently) agrees that the current structure needs to be tweaked. But again, the problem is, MLB has demonstrated that it cares more about marketing than about competitive balance, as they have already moved away from the kind of systematic, rotating IL schedule that you are proposing. My point is that the logic of IL play inevitably pushes in this direction – if they were not driven by short-term, marketing considerations, they would not have gone with IL in the first place. While your plan does not increase the number of IL games that much, it does make them more "regular" and common place, which in my mind increases their presence in the texture of baseball.
If we assume that we have to go to 2 15 team leagues, then I agree with your proposal (or something very much like it). But I don't accept that assumption. I think two 8 team divisions in each league would be nice (which would get us back to both the classic number of teams and only one round of playoffs). But four 4-team divisions in each league works great. Each team plays 30 games against its 3 divisional opponents (90 games) and 6 games against its 12 non-divisional opponents (72 games). That gives a fair and even schedule (unbalanced as it should be to make divisional play meaningful) with 162 games, eliminates inter-league games, eliminates the wild card abomination, while meeting the goal of keeping more teams in the pennant race longer. This requires of course not switching a team from the NL to the AL, but adding 2 teams to the AL (my suggestions: Tijuana, MX and San Juan, PR).
interleague sux as does the dh
the mlb is the only pro sport that still keeps its leagues separate….but interleague has made the ws and as game…less special
and the dh has gotta go…its time and the reason for it, is long past
how would the nfl work, if tomorrow, the afc decided to make field goals worth 4 instead of 3 points…cuz babes like high scores
and getting rid of divisional play is even more pure idiocy
it is not a necessary evil….the proof is in the gate…and the gate since divisional play was instituted has continued to grow
The DH is not just in place because babes like high scores, it's because some people don't like watching amateurs try to hit. I cannot for the life of me understand why some people are so gung-ho for allowing some guy flail around to the tun of a .170 avg over the year. Allowing most pitchers to hit is like pulling someone from the stands and seeing what they can do. Beyond the sheer hopelessness of the endeavor, it makes the NL worse because the pitchers get coddled. I really like Tim Lincecum, but his 1000 Ks in 5 years accomplishment is diminished by the fact that many of his strikeouts we against people who had no business in the batters box.
The DH isn't like the AFC increasing the value of field goals, it's more of removing an inadequacy of the game through specialization. Kind of like how a lot of players used to play multiple positions on offense and defense in the 40s, but now you never see that. Everyone realizes it's stupid to have a football team where the QB is also the placekicker, but then they get hostile when you apply the same logic to baseball.
God how I hate reading Keith Olbermann.
"God how I hate reading Keith Olbermann."
hatred so strong that you intentionally clicked the link to get here and read him…
I'd like to see everybody play everybody so a team would no longer be unfairly hurt by just happening to draw a tough interleague opponent that year (Brewers at Boston this year). You'd still play teams in your own division the most frequently but not as often as now. I get sick of seeing Toronto and Baltimore 18 or 19 times a year. Definitely keep the divisions– keep as many races as possible. Also, why make it so tough for the wild card team? It takes away the excitement of them going all the way if you weight the playoffs too much in favor of the division winners. What's next– have the hitters for the wild card team swing the bat with one arm tied behind their back? Anyway, the AL West has too few teams and the NL Central has too many.
1. Far and away,the biggest issue on the table (although not the only one) is the impact of imbalanced schedules on the postseason. Every year you can point to multiple cases of teams making/missing the playoffs (and big changes in playoff seeding) wholly due to strength of schedule differences. This discussion needs to focus on this issue, and people ought to give MLB proper credit for trying to address it,and for some creative, out-of-the box ideas (and the players for being open to those new ideas) .
2. Unfortunately, while this problem can be reduced, it can't be "solved" The math will never work with 30 teams and 162 games. Truly balanced intraleague schedules require increased interleague play, which solves one part of the imbalance problem but makes another part worse, and raises other question. Part of today's imbalance is that 9 of the 51 series played are 4 games, not 3. Fixing this requires extending the season beyond the current 25/26 weeks. Totally eliminating interleague play either leaves you with the divisional problem (different playoff probabilities NL west vs NL central) or recreates the "one league" problem where too many teams are totally out of contention by June.
3. You can't discuss the schedule imbalance question without also discussing the playoff question. Post season has become a total crapshoot; further diluting the playoffs would be far worse than all the changes of the last 40 years put together. I can see options where 2 15 team leagues significantly reduces today's imbalance problems, but improving the regular season a bit is a waste of time if it is tied to a big devaluation of the postseason.
Recently, Bud Selig announced they are considering realigning Major League Baseball. I wouldn't get rid of the divisions or anything too crazy, but here is what I would do:
New York
Florida (moves from NL East)
Toronto (moves from AL East)
Kansas City (moves from AL Central)
Los Angeles
New York
Pittsburgh (from NL Central)
St Louis
San Fran
San Diego
Los Angeles
MLB should do a more fair rotation for interleague play and play a more balanced schedule in general. It would be a similar slate to the NHL, where you have a "home and home" series against every team in your league and 6 total series against teams in your division. Interleague would be included in this "home and home". Simply put, the Cubs and White Sox would still play 6 games, but the White Sox might play a home and home against the Brewers as well.
There shouldn't be national TV-friendly interleague play only, like the Cubs-Yankees series or annual rematches of the previous year's World Series, unless of course that happens in the rotation. The Cubs interleague slate this year? Boston, NYY, KC, White Sox. There's no pattern to that.
So, broken down:
12 games inside your division (4 other teams) = 48
6 games against the other 14 league teams = 84
6 games against one other opposite division= 30
Sorry, that was straight from my own blog. But seriously, think about it. Probably a better way to still make it heavier on how you fair in your own division, but it's a thought.
I propose 2 expansion teams (particularly after the inevitable end of the Cuban embargo; I'm sure China can supply some players also) to go into the American League (for S+Gs put them in Portland or Vegas and Carolina) and then divide each league into four divisions (North east,South west) Play 22 games intradivision (66) 6 games vs rest of teams in league (72) and 6 games vs rotating divisions in other league (ala the NFL; a sop to interleaguers) (24) for 162 games.
Postseason: Best record among division winners in each league plays 4th best and 2nd meets 3rd. World Series homefield advantage: best record with All Star Game only used as tiebreaker.
I'm afraid my love of interleague play is nothing more than a selfish desire to see my team play. As a Royals fan (let the onslaught begin) that lives in Colorado (let the onslaught of jealousy begin) I rarely have the chance to make the trip to Kauffman to see the powder blue in action. So interleague play at least allows me to see my admittedly awful team at least every couple of years. Illogic be damned, I want to keep it. As for realignment, switching from divisions that don't make sense to other one's that don't make sense seems more like busywork and a marketing scheme hellbent on ignoring some of the possible opportunities for the fly-over states to have rivalries on par with some of the rivalries of the coasts.
Keith Olbermann is an ass monkey…….hands down. Why is he even writing pieces for MLB ??
possibly his extensive experience as a sportscaster? just a guess…
There is another solution to evening out the leagues – contract/add two teams to get back to 28 or up to 32 teams.
Unlikely they would agree to go to 28 and where expand to 32?
Is there anyone really clamoring for a MLB team that does not have one already, or proven they can't support?
I am for most any measure that gets the Pirates out of a six team division and reunites them with the Phillies. We once had some healthy hate there.
Yankees-Mets might be routine by now, and I don't know anything about Dodgers-Angels, but I do know Cubs-White Sox is still a high point of the season for fans of both teams, no matter if (as generally is the case) both teams suck. Those are arguably the six biggest games of the year here.
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I grew up in Detroit, and was sentient starting about the mid-60s. I would have KILLED for interleague play as a boy. I never saw Aaron, Mays, Koufax, Marichal, McCovey etc. etc live. It's different if you live in NY, LA, Chicago, or even the DC area. But for the fans with access to only one team, interleague play affords them a chance to check out the other half. If I may, I have a question on an unrelated topic, which I cannot find an answer to. My eight-year-old son was horrified to learn recently that professional sports teams can trade players like property. "Haven't they ever heard of Abraham Lincoln?" he asked me. " Who invented this crazy idea?" A great question, and I have no idea what the answer is. When was the first trade in professional baseball history? In the major leagues? Were there legal challenges? Who devised the idea? Are there precedents in other sports?
I would be very grateful if you could enlighten us, Keith. Or anybody else reading this.
why not change the divisions so that the natural rivalries (nyy vs nym) are commonplace? make them 15 in each league and put rivalries in the same place (chc, chw, stl, kc and another team in the midwest). it would work better.
Baseball is in the "gotta do something" phase. Why? TV ratings are not good. Dodgers are bankrupt. Mets should be bankrupt. Texas was bankrupt. About 12 teams either stink on the field, financially or have little hope to be competitive very often. Getting rid of PEDs and Greenies has "hurt" the product and, therefore, interest, except for the diehards. Just wait until the dog days start. .. The NFL and NBA have inter league play. .. File this under: progress, I guess. Is inter league scheduling fair? No. Is it good? I don't know. Inter league play is no big deal. It is that stupid DH in the AL only that drives me crazy. That is flat stupid. It would be like only allowing the 3 point shot in the Western Conference of the NBA.
Playing interleague games all season long doesn't faze me — it's the scheduling inequities that drive me nuts. As a Nationals fan, it was weird this year to play five at home and three on the road vs. Pittsburgh, just as two years ago it was two home and four road vs. Houston (and when one of those D.C. games was suspended by rain in a 10-10 tie, it was completed at Houston!). And this year, the Nats, as occasionally happens to NL teams, only played 15 interleague games instead of the customary 18.
To me, the best solution is the 15-team, three 5-team division setup (Arizona to AL West, Houston to NL West), and set things up so the three-game series — the most convenient form of scheduling — dominates. Play 18 games against each of the four teams in your division (total 72), six against each of the other 10 teams in the league (total 60) and 30 interleague games — six against your "natural" rival, three against each of the other four teams in your "mirror" division, and three against four of the five teams in one of the other two divisions, alternating pairings. So, for example, in 2012 the Nats would play the usual six games vs. Baltimore, be home to the Yanks and Rays and visit the Bosox and Jays (those pairings would switch in 2013). They would face four of the five AL Central teams in 2012, four of the five AL West in 2013, and so on (with pairings rotating over a 10-year cycle).
Too many interleague games, you say? Then modify things so you retain 18 interleague games — six vs. your "natural" rival, a three-year division rotating cycle for the other 12 games, and 84 intradivision games (21 x 4) rather than 72.
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Let me start at the beginning... A couple of weeks ago I was perusing the isles at Hobby Lobby and came upon these adorable ready-made crocheted baby hats and headbands. Yowsa! I gulped. Looked around. And piled as many as I could into my shopping cart. I know a good thing when I see it.
Aren't they cute? But even better did you get a good look at the price? Yes, that's $3.99 for the hat and $.99 for the headband. Clear and simple -- it's a jackpot. As I looked at these beauties I began to dream of all the different ways that I could make them even better!
Last year I created a flower pattern and offered it to anyone interested. Over the months I've had hundreds of people email me for the pattern. To learn about the creation of this flower, just go here. In that post I will explain how to make one of these flowers. You'll have to email me (my email address is on the sidebar of this blog) for the pattern of the flower if you'd like it. By requesting the pattern I would ask that you agree not to sell the pattern for profit. I love to share.
Anywho... I started with the embellishment of this baby hat, by rifling through my synthetic fabric supplies. I chose two complimentary fabrics. The first was a deep raspberry-colored fabric with a satiny sheen and the second was a raspberry-colored gauzy, sparkly chiffon concoction. It doesn't matter the type of fabric as long as it is synthetic, although different fabrics will give your flowers a totally different look. Instead of cutting just one piece of fabric for each "petal" from my pattern, I cut two from the heavier satiny fabric and one from the chiffon from each pattern piece.
you can't help but be delighted with the result.
I then tacked this big ol' flower onto this adorable little hat and this beeeauuuu-ti-ful creation was born. The flower probably cost all of about $.50 to make, so the total cost of the project was about $4.50. The flower is almost 4 inches in diameter!
I've made flowers to adorn the hair, pillows and lapels, but I'm quite sure there is no better use for a flower than to put it smack dab on the side of a little baby bonnet! Be still my heart...
I love these big, full flowers. They remind me of the camellias we had in our yard in California when I was a little girl. So pretty...
Update: Go here to see more creations.
Linked to:
Saturday Night Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Show & Share Day @ Just a Girl
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Catch as Catch Can @ My Repurposed Life
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans
Hookin' Up with House of Hepworths
Transformation Thursday @ The Shappy Chic Cottage
Get Your Craft on Thursday @ Life as Lori
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Show & Tell @ Blue Cricket Design

subset: commoncrawl


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Andreya Triana 'A Town Called Obsolete' (Official Video) from Ninja Tune on Vimeo."Second single from Andreya Triana, 'A Town Called Obsolete', released on 26th July on Ninja Tune. Taken from her forthcoming debut album 'Lost Where I Belong' (23rd August), which is produced by Bonobo"
I like the video a lot as they used the all so popular stereoscopic effect to simulate image depth. Its been spreading over the web for some time now and animated gif blogs feature many kinds of imagery. See some on abduzeedo or on gesticulation. But lets not forget about Andreya Triana…she had a huuge year and the Album on Ninja Tune is long awaited, with tracks cooperations by Bonobo and even Mount Kimbie, some of my favourite artists at the moment. Looking forward to it!Video produced and directed by Mister McCarthy and DOP Christopher Sabogal.


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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Ancient light-sensitive genes may be the trigger for the annual mass spawning of corals shortly after a full moon on the Great Barrier Reef, according to a study by Australian and Israeli scientists.
The cryptochromes genes occur in corals, insects, fish and mammals — including humans — and are primitive light-sensing pigment mechanisms which predate the evolution of eyes.
The Cry2 gene, stimulated by the faint blue light of the full moon, appears to play a central role in triggering the mass synchronized coral spawning, said the scientists in a paper published in the international journal Science on Friday.
"This is the key to one of the central mysteries of coral reefs," said Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, who lead the University of Queensland laboratory which discovered the genes.
"We have always wondered how corals without eyes can detect moonlight and get the precise hour of the right couple of days each year to spawn," Hoegh-Guldberg said in a statement.
The annual mass spawning of corals occurs across a third of a million square kilometers of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, shortly after a full moon.
Exposing corals to different colors and intensities of light and sampling live corals on reefs around the time of the full moon, Israeli researcher Oren Levy found the Cry2 gene at its most active in Acropora corals during full moon nights.
The genes developed in primitive life forms in the Precambrian, more than 500 million years ago, as a way of sensing light to synchronies their body clocks and breeding cycles, said the researchers.
"They are, in a sense, the functional forerunners of eyes," said Hoegh-Guldberg.
Cryptochromes still tune humans to the rhythms of the planet, he said, but had lost their light-sensing function.
"They play important roles in regulating the body-clocks of many species, from corals to fruit flies, to zebra fish and mice," said David Miller from Australia's James Cook University.


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That's the notion that underscores her efforts as executive director of Goffstown-based Girls at Work, a nonprofit organization that empowers at-risk girls and teenagers by teaching them woodworking skills and how to safely use power tools in a team setting.
"To be able to turn them around so that they see themselves as capable, as smart, as powerful - that's just worth a million bucks to me," Hamel said. "So many of these kids have had adults in their lives who've failed them, so to get these kids to feel better about themselves is just so important."
Recently, she delivered her message to staff members of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, who spent an afternoon at the Girls at Work barn in Goffstown in a team exercise called Corporate Build that had them constructing a picnic table from scratch using power tools.
"We take the exact same program that we do with the girls and apply that to the professional adults," said Hamel. "We give them these puzzle pieces, and I give them time to feel just how out of their element they are."
And then Hamel lets the adults talk about their feelings - of inadequacy, frustration, even fear.
"Then I tell them that the girls in our program struggle with those feelings all the time," she said. "I think they're starting to understand how important it is to get these kids to feel better about themselves."
Gemma Waite French, vice president of public relations and marketing for the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said she understands where Hamel is coming from.
"We really had to step outside of ourselves and our day-to-day thinking," French said. "We had to figure it out on our own. We walked in there with a pile of wood and we walked away with a beautiful picnic table. It was a very empowering experience."
French said the picnic table currently sits in the Greater Manchester Chamber's lobby on Hanover Street.
Although the staff hasn't decided what to do with it, there's talk of auctioning it off and donating a portion of the proceeds to Girls at Work.
For Hamel, the process of building something is not about getting the girls to enter the construction industry.
"It's about getting them to apply their inner power tools," she said.
And mastering power tools, Hamel explains, is just an outward manifestation of the confidence building that goes on inside a young person's mind.
And while Girls at Work focuses on at-risk females, Hamel also sees the same confidence building going on in the attitudes of men who have no experience or background working to build something with their hands.
"Ironically, people think men just automatically know how to build," said Hamel. "This whole gender issue needs to be moved aside. It's not about being stronger; it's about working harder and working smarter."
Girls at Work is hoping to build relationships with other nonprofits through the Corporate Build program.
"We can go anywhere to set up shop," said Hamel. "We're really hoping the Corporate Build takes off."
Source: http://www.newhampshire.com/article/20130409/NEWHAMPSHIRE1409/130409131


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I love this image of Steve Martin in The Pink Panther. I've wanted to do a caricature of Steve Martin for quite some time but never found the right image. This image was small and lacked detail but worked ok for a low resolution practice run. I've also been wanting to caricature a skyline and this silly expression was a good candidate for that type of background. This is really a very mild caricature as Steve Martin pretty much does the work for you with his awesome facial expressions. Below is the source image I worked with and a short video with a taste of this great comedian in at work in The Pink Panther 1.
Comedian Steve Martin in action:
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day and be inspired!


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Free webinar – learn more about MQTTSeptember 21st, 2012 - andyp
Just a note to point out that the Eclipse M2M Industry Working Group is currently running a series of free webinars about machine-to-machine / Internet of Things development. The next one in the series, on Thursday September 27th, focuses specifically on MQTT with two of the lead developers from IBM.
Here's the abstract:
MQTT is a connectivity protocol designed for M2M. It is an extremely lightweight publish/subscribe messaging transport that is ideal for connecting small devices connected on networks with minimal bandwidth. The Eclipse Paho project is the reference implementation for the MQTT protocol. This webinar will introduce developers to MQTT and then show how you can develop your very first MQTT based application using Paho and the Eclipse IDE.
So, just to recap – free education, provided by some of the leading developers in the MQTT community. Sign up and get it in your calendar!
(oh, and the other talks in the series are also worth joining – they have already covered the goals of the M2M efforts at Eclipse, and the anatomy of an M2M application, with more technical talks to come!)


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Pittsburgh's beloved duck ready to leave its 'bathtub' at the Point
40-foot-tall art project may return one day
Not everyone is ready to see it go, but the 40-foot-tall rubber duck that has been visiting the Point is slated to leave the city Sunday.
Video: Duck draws big crowds on final weekend
Since its Sept. 27 debut, the Rubber Duck Project has had more than 1 million visitors, according to an estimate from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust on Friday. People have been sharing their duck photos each day on the u local page at WTAE.com.
"I don't think any of us knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into, and exactly how popular this presentation has been," said Paul Organisak, vice president of programming for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. "It's been remarkable to come down here, day in and day out, just like today, with hundreds and thousands of people."
The duck will be on display until 11 p.m. Sunday, then taken down and stored on the South Side. It could return someday, but the duck won't be seen before January due to terms of a contract with its creator, Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman.
"The work of art has always been meant to be a temporary installation," said Organisak. "The power of it is a concentrated period of time to bring people together, knowing they must get down to see it."
Different versions of the duck have appeared in Hong Kong, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Amsterdam. Pittsburgh's duck is the first in the United States, and Twittsburgh has started a petition on change.org to keep it in the city. The topic also gained momentum on Twitter under #keeptheduck.
Vote: Do you want to see the duck stay?
Typically, it's the fountain that draws the most visitors to Point State Park. But for the past several weeks it has been that giant duck grabbing the most attention.
"We came here just for the duck," tourist Georgia Kirkby said this week.
"I've been following the duck for over a year, so as soon as I found out it was driving distance away, I was so down to come," Ashley Kirkby added.
We may never know exactly how much money this art project alone has brought to Pittsburgh. But consider: the duck is the only reason the Kirkby family has driven here -- all the way from Canada. And no doubt, businesses love them.
"We're staying here for two nights, we're paying to come out and drink some beer, we're going to bars and eating food," Ashley Kirkby said.
Many people at the Point this week were seeing the duck for the first time.
"I've seen it a few times crossing the bridge, and I didn't know it'd be this big," said Gabe Fosdick.
"Keep it here as long as possible," said PJ Fosdick. "It's stimulating the economy and giving the kids something to do."


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History and Current Events
January 2019
Recent Releases
Heirs of the Founders: The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster...
H.W. Brands
What it is:
a fascinating peek into how the ideological tensions of post-American Revolution politicians led to the Civil War; a revealing examination of how bygone rifts continue to resonate in contemporary American politics.
Who it's for:
chock-full of duels, debates, scandals, and betrayals, this riveting, character-driven popular history will appeal to readers of Douglas Brinkley and Stephen E. Ambrose.
An Unexplained Death: The True Story of a Body at the Belvedere
Mikita Brottman
What it's about:
In 2006, newlywed Rey O. Rivera was found dead in a locked office in Baltimore's historic Belvedere building. The police ruled his death a suicide, but his loved ones cried foul play.
What happened next:
and Belvedere resident Mikita Brottman began an obsessive decade-long investigation into the incident...and unearthed a possible conspiracy.
Why you might like it:
This page-turning true crime account is both creepy and compelling.
The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul...
Andrew Delbanco
What it's about:
This sweeping and accessible chronicle reveals how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ultimately drove the United States to war, forcing a divided America to confront the myth of benevolent slavery and its own hypocrisy as a newly "free" country.
Want a taste?
"Even free black people in the North -- including those who had never been enslaved -- found their lives infused with terror of being seized and deported."
American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts
Chris McGreal
What it is:
a compassionate, deftly researched examination of the medical establishment and pharmaceutical industry's culpability in America's staggering opioid crisis.
About the author:
reporter Chris McGreal pulls no punches in his urgent and incisive debut.
Did you know?
In 1908, physician Hamilton Wright, the United States' first opium commissioner, described Americans as "the greatest drug fiends in the world."
Beyond the Call: Three Women on the Front Lines in Afghanistan
Eileen Rivers
What it is:
a riveting chronicle of the U.S. military's Female Engagement Teams (FET), deployed in Afghanistan to build relationships with Afghani women whose cultural traditions prohibited them from interacting with male soldiers.
What sets it apart:
USA Today
editor Eileen Rivers imbues this gripping narrative with
welcome perspectives on the otherwise male-dominated field of combat, including insights on her own military service.
The Victorian Era
Queen Victoria's Matchmaking: The Royal Marriages That Shaped Europe
Deborah Cadbury
What it is:
the captivating story of how, six decades into her rule, a scheming Queen Victoria began arranging marriages for her 42 grandchildren in an effort to extend constitutional monarchy and maintain political alliances throughout Europe.
For fans of:
Downton Abbey
The Crown
, and
Try this next:
For another enthralling book on Her Majesty's family relationships, check out Lucy Worsley's
Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life.
The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London
Judith Flanders
What it's about:
Offering striking imagery and a strong sense of place, this colorful social history vividly recreates the London that Charles Dickens occupied: squalid, overpopulated, pungent, and loud.
Read it for:
Judith Flanders' insights on how the rapidly transforming London informed Dickens' work (including how the meaning of the word "Dickensian" changed over time).
Reviewers say:
"This is a superb portrait of an exciting, thriving, and dangerous city" (
How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life
Ruth Goodman
What it's about:
historian and BBC presenter Ruth Goodman's charming and lighthearted efforts to recreate Victorian daily routines.
Living history:
Goodman brushed her teeth with soot, laundered clothes by hand, performed 19th-century calisthenics, ate pigs feet and suet pudding, and mastered wearing a corset.
Don't miss:
Goodman making condoms out of sheep's guts.
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Therese Oneill
What it is:
an irreverent, lough-out-loud "guide" to proper Victorian womanhood.
Chapters include:
"Getting Dressed: How to Properly Hide Your Shame;" "Running a Proper Household: The Gentle Art of Dictatorship"
images from the era's publications and public service flyers, accompanied by Therese Oneill's tongue-in-cheek captions.
The Wicked Boy: An Infamous Murder in Victorian London
Kate Summerscale
What it is:
a surprising "whydunit" that doggedly investigates the case of Nattie and Robert Coombes, who were charged with the 1895 murder of their mother when they were only 12 and 13 years old.
Book buzz:
The Wicked Boy
won the 2017 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime Book.
Reviewers say:
"a tragedy that reads like a Dickens novel, including the remarkable payoff at the end" (
Publishers Weekly
Contact your librarian for more great books!


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- Prayer and Worship
- Beliefs and Teachings
- Issues and Action
- Media
- Bible
- Catholic Giving
- About USCCB
Graziano Marcheschi, M.A. D.Min.,author, lecturer, and storyteller, is Vice President for University Mission and Ministry at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois. Formerly, he served as Director of Ministerial Resource Development and Archdiocesan Director of Lay Ministry Formation for the Archdiocese of Chicago. He has been adjunct faculty at a number of institutions, including the Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago. He has authored books on Scripture and proclamation skills as well audio and video works and a collection of stories and poetry, Wheat & Weeds and the Wolf of Gubbio,and he contributed commentaries on the Pentateuch, Gospels and Acts for the Catholic Bible, Personal Study Edition (Oxford University Press). He created and presented a major performance-prayer event in Phoenix, AZ during the 1987 pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II. Graziano hosts a local cable-TV program, The Church, the Cardinal and You and co-hosts the Archdiocesan morning radio program Catholic Community of Faith. He and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters and a son.
by Graziano Marcheschi, M.A. D.Min
The Psalms stand against the
human impulse to merit God's love and mercy through goodness or
obedience. A part of us clings to the naïve notion that God's love for
us is tied to our behavior: good behavior earns God's love and
acceptance; bad behavior means divine rejection. That's a diabolical lie
and the psalmist knows it. Instead, eyes wide open and looking in the
mirror, the psalmist readily admits his sin and begs God's mercy anyway.
Sin darkens human vision and alienates the soul from God, self, and
others. Sin's greatest danger is its ability to make us doubt God's love
and willingness to forgive. The psalmist's saving grace is his refusal
to let sin drive that wedge between him and the Lord; in fact, it's his
painful awareness of his sin that draws the psalmist nearer. We often
think we can approach God only when we're "good" and have our lives in
order. But it's sin God rejects, not the sinner. The psalmist knows if
we waited for a "worthy" time, we'd never pray. So we don't defer
prayer; we don't wait till God "is in a better mood." At work, we might
rely on a spike in sales to incline the boss to mercy, but our God has
never been that kind of God. Scripture tells us to pray whenever there
is the need. And need is greatest when we are mired in sin.
In his mercy, God does not spare us the consequences of sin. To spur our prayer, to draw us closer when we might otherwise sulk or hide, God lets sin impact our lives. Sin's consequence is not God's punishment, but the natural result of our decisions that, in his love, God uses for our good (if we let him). The psalmist is well aware that his own sin has brought both physical distress and the attack of enemies into his life. Yet he prays unashamedly. As a child who has disregarded a parent's injunction to not venture far from home comes running back when the playground bully threatens, the psalmist knows where home is. He knows where to find the strong arms and loving embrace of a God who eventually would send his own Son to save us—not when we were finally worthy, but while we were still steeped in sin.
St. Paul says that God "proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8). So why do we keep thinking that God will love us only when we stop sinning?
On the other hand, does knowledge of God's unconditional love mean we needn't worry about sinning? Is the destructiveness of sin related to the effects it has on God or to the effects it has on us?
Besides petitionary prayer, there are prayers of praise, thanksgiving, adoration, etc. Does a prayer of petition, asking for mercy and the forgiveness of sin, seem to you like a lower, less enlightened form of prayer? How can you combine petition and praise?
By accepting this message, you will be leaving the website of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This link is provided
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States Conference of Catholic Bishops assumes no responsibility for,
nor does it necessarily endorse, the website, its content, or
sponsoring organizations.


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WASHINGTON — The steroid-like drugs that surged in popularity after the homerun-hitting days of Mark McGwire will soon be off the store shelves. President Bush recently signed a law banning sales of certain anabolic drugs.
The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 adds 18 substances to the list of banned steroids — including androstenedione, more commonly known as andro.
The new law will create a new grant program that will give $15 million towards education programs to teach children about the dangers of steroids. It also requires a review of federal sentencing guidelines and calls for an increase in the severity of criminal penalties for those caught making, selling or possessing the substances.


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From Tropitone
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Click here for Furniture Repair services and general pricing from Viking.


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For fish, for fun, go Gouyave!
Designed with community experiences in mind, our trip to the famous Gouyave Fish Friday is a must on your list of evening activities. Mouth watering local dishes, fresh fish and cold drinks with a dash of culture thrown in, all these and more await you at this fishing village festival. Come join our tour and have a great "lime" – a truly Grenadian experience! Our tour leaves early – you will have a chance to walk around and enjoy the evening. Return times vary to accommodate your requirements. Ideal for the seasoned traveller. If you have young family with you we can start and leave early.


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Ordinary differential cohomology is the differential cohomology-refinement of ordinary cohomology, for instance realized as singular cohomology.
Every generalized (Eilenberg-Steenrod) cohomology-theory has a refinement to differential cohomology. By ordinary differential cohomology one refers, for emphasis, to the differential refinement of ordinary integral cohomology , hence of the cohomology theory represented by the Eilenberg-MacLane spectrum . To the extent that integral cohomology is often just called cohomology when the context is clear, ordinary differential cohomology is often called just differential cohomology .
Ordinary differential cohomology classifies circle n-bundles with connection. In low degree these are ordinary circle bundles with connection. In the next degree they are circle 2-group principal 2-bundles / bundle gerbes with 2-connection.
Here we write for the ordinary differential cohomology groups of a smooth manifold .
There are two natural morphisms:
The underlying characteristic class
produces the class in integral cohomology that underlies a differential cocycle;
for this is called the first Chern class of a line bundle;
for this is called the Dixmier-Douady class of the corresponding bundle gerbe.
The curvature
produces a closed differential form of degree . This happens to land in closed differential forms with integral periods (see below).
The following is either a definition, if regarded as an axiomatic characterization of ordinary differential cohomology, or it is a proposition, if regarded as a property of one of the models.
Let be a smooth manifold and with Write
for the ordinary differential cohomology of in degree ;
for the collection of differential forms of degree ;
for the collection of differential forms of degree that are closed and whose periods are integral: for every we have the integral . Similarly for .
and for the ordinary cohomology (for instance modeled as singular cohomology) of with coefficients in the integers or the circle group (regarded as a discrete group), respectively.
All of these sets are abelian groups: the forms under addition of forms, and the differential cohomology classes are defined or proven (depending on the approach, see above) to have abelian group structure such that the maps to curvatures and characteristic classes, from above are homomorphisms of abelian groups.
The differential cohomology of fits into short exact sequences of abelian groups
curvature exact sequence
characteristic class exact sequence
The first sequence (1) says in words: two circle -bundles whose curvature coincides differ by a flat circle (n-1)-bundle.
The second sequence (2) says in words: two connections on the same circle -bundle differ by a globally defined connection -form, well defined up to addition of a form with integral periods.
More is true: both these sequences interlock to form the hexagonal differential cohomology diagram of ordinary differential cohomology. For more see at differential cohomology diagram – Examples – Deligne coefficients.
There are various equivalent cocycle-models for ordinary differential cohomology. They include
The last of these are often known as -gerbes or bundle gerbes with connection.
Cocycles in degree 2 ordinary differential cohomology are represented by ordinary circle group-principal bundles with connection on . The class is the Chern class of the underlying circle bundle and the form is the curvature 2-form of the connection .
For a smooth manifold, a Lie group with Lie algebra and invariant polynomial of degree , the Chern-Weil homomorphism may be refined to a morphism
from the first nonabelian cohomology of classifying -principal bundles to degree ordinary differential cohomology.
The projection
is the integral characteristic class corresponding to the invariant polynomial and the projection
is a differential form which represents the image of this class under in de Rham cohomology (under the de Rham theorem).
In physics
the electromagnetic field is a cocycle in degree 2 ordinary differential cohomology
the Kalb-Ramond field is a cocycle in degree 3;
the supergravity C-field is a cocycle in degree 4.
In abelian higher dimensional Chern-Simons theory in dimension a field configuration is a cocycle in ordinary differential geometry of degree , for .
Ordinary differential cohomology (and indeed a cocycle model thereof) is defined generally internal to any cohesive (∞,1)-topos . This is discussed at
For the case Smooth∞Grpd this intrinsic definition reproduces the Deligne complex model. This is discussed at
A good discussion is in
Mike Hopkins, Isadore Singer, Quadratic Functions in Geometry, Topology,and M-Theory (arXiv)
A pedestrian introduction of ordinary differential cocycles is in section 2.3 there.
The systematic construction and definition via a homotopy pullback is in section 3.2.
The relation to Chern-Weil theory is in section 3.3.
A characterization by the two characteristic exact sequences is discussed in
In the general abstract context of cohesive (∞,1)-toposes differential cohomology is discussed in
Last revised on December 10, 2019 at 04:53:01. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.


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Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Kiermaier hit a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in the first match of a three-game set at Wrigley Field. After Logan Forsythe flied out to start the frame, Desmond Jennings and Ben Zobrist hit back-to-back singles off Hector Rondon (3-4), putting runners on the corners. Kiermaier's line drive into center field scored Jennings for the game-winning run. Matt Joyce also had a pinch-hit RBI single, which came in the eighth, and Jennings hit a solo home run in the third, as the Rays won for just the third time in their last eight attempts. Brad Boxberger (3-1) let in one run in the ninth to blow the save, but struck out two during a perfect 10th inning to pick up the win. "I'm really proud of our guys for fighting back," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "[Boxberger] was outstanding again. It was just unfortunate, but how about him coming back and getting the thick part of the batting order? Great job." Ryan Sweeney singled in the Cubs' run in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Starlin Castro and John Baker drove in the other two runs for Chicago, which lost for only the fourth time in its last 11 games. Newly called up Cubs prospect Javier Baez went 1-for-5 with a single and a run scored in his home debut after hitting three home runs in his first three major league games, including a homer in the 12th to lift the Cubs over the Rockies on Tuesday. The Cubs scored one run in the first to take an early lead. Baez hit a line drive to left for a single, then Anthony Rizzo doubled with a fly ball to right. Castro singled to right, pushing Baez across. Jennings' leadoff homer in the top of the third tied the game at one run apiece. Rays starter Chris Archer struck out Luis Valbuena to start the bottom of the fourth, but walked the next batter, Arismendy Alcantara. Archer fielded a ground ball hit by Sweeney, but his throw to second was off the mark. With runners on first and second, Baker hit a line drive to right field that scored Alcantara. After allowing the home run to Jennings, Tsuyoshi Wada, who started on the mound for the Cubs, retired the next 12 batters before giving up a leadoff triple to Sean Rodriguez in the seventh, ending his night. Brain Schlitter got Yunel Escobar to ground out, then Curt Casali to ground one to short. Castro fielded the ball and threw home, but Rodriguez slid in front of the tag of Baker at the plate for the run, tying the game. "Wada threw well today," said Cubs manager Rick Renteria. "He deserved a better fate... We almost got through the (seventh inning), but obviously they scored there. He was very effective, he mixed his pitches and he got some big outs when he needed to." Jennings struck out to start the eighth before Zobrist doubled on a line drive to left, and Joyce's line drive into center field plated Zobrist to put the Rays up 3-2. Pinch-hitter Justin Ruggiano singled on a ground ball to right field to open the bottom of the ninth, and Alcantara moved him over to second with a sacrifice bunt. Sweeney hit a ground ball past the diving glove of Logan Forsythe at second for a game-tying single. Game Notes Castro has 61 RBI on the season ... Schlitter was given a blown save for allowing an inherited run to score in the seventh ... The Rays finished just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base, while the Cubs were 3-for-8 and left six on ... The Rays are 5-6 since going on a season-high nine game winning streak from July 12-26.
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Democrats are developing plans to mitigate or offset sequestration in order to buy additional time for growth, POLITICO's Ben White reports. In his Morning Money newsletter Tuesday, White wrote that Democrats are bouncing around several ideas to cut the $85 billion cuts for fiscal year 2013. As part of the New Year's Eve "fiscal cliff" deal, the cuts for 2013 were delayed and reduced, and Democrats are trying to stave off or offset the across-the-board slash.
White identified several possible Senate Democrat sequester replacements:
- Closing off a variety "offshore tax shelters." It's not clear if this is for personal income taxation or corporate taxation.
- Ending preferential tax treatment for private equity and hedge fund managers. Some financial professionals get compensation taxed as investment income rather than personal income.
- Taxing the exercise of stock options more heavily.
Democrats are also working on a one year delay of sequestration, where cuts would come in March 1, 2014. This would cost $300 billion. Democrats plan to pay for that with a 50-50 split between cuts and revenues, according to White.
If Democrats cannot score a one-year delay, other options include a 3-month extension, a 7-month delay to coincide with the end of fiscal year 2013, or a 10-month delay to get through the calendar year.
The Democrats are considering paying for the delay with some of these revenues:
- Closing the carried interest loophole for $14 billion
- Closing the corporate jet loophole for $4 billion
- Closing oil and gas credits for $21 billion
- Cutting farm direct subsidies for $5 billion
- Closing the S-corp pass through income loophole for $76 billion
- Set a minimum tax rate for millionaires
- Charge higher tax rates for oil and gas companies
- Close the Subpart F corporate income tax loophole
Again, all of these are just proposals that are being considered. None of them are necessarily part of the plan quite yet. Still, it's a good look at the way Senate Democrats envision offsetting sequestration if contending with political ramifications weren't a factor.
SEE ALSO: Here's How House Democrats Want To Reduce Deficits By More Than $1 Trillion
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