Baseball has a problem and it needs to be addressed immediately.

I know among baseball people this is unpopular, but I don’t care about baseball people right now. I know human error has and always will be apart of the game, but sometimes, humans really screw up.

Even with the limited use of instant replay that baseball currently uses, the umpires are getting calls wrong. Not only are the umps getting them wrong, they are terribly wrong; and Bud Selig seems happier than a pig in slop about this.

Selig, or “Captain Reaction” as I sometimes refer to him as, has tried his hardest to keep the use of technology out of baseball.

But give Selig some credit; he has talked to baseball people about the issue. You know these people; they share the same views as the Commissioner.

“The more baseball people I talk to, there is a lot of trepidation, and I think their trepidation is fair,” Selig told reporters. “Affecting the game on the field is not something I really want to do.”

Fair points, but baseball has made on the field changes in the past. Lowering the mound following Bob Gibson’s 1968 season? Adding teeth to their steroid policy after allowing the problem to run rampant for years, only after Jose Canseco decided he needed some money. I’m just saying that change isn’t a bad thing.

For change to happen, Selig has to open up his circle and not just talk strictly to baseball people. He must talk to other commissioners like Roger Goddell of the NFL, whose league uses replay on a challenge system for a ton of calls. How about Gary Bettman of the NHL whose league uses replay for goal calls, high sticks on goals and for determining suspensions. Or possibly David Stern of the NBA who’s league uses it for buzzer beaters or calling a made shot a two or three pointer.

“I think my position is clear,” Selig told the New York Times. “This is a game of pace, I’m worried about that.”

Excuse me? I love baseball, but I think I saw a snail roll by a baseball game once and comment on how slow the game was going. What would take more time? A replay official paging the on-field umps to take a second look, or a manager getting out of the dugout and in the face of one of the umpires?

The replay might take less time than Lou Piniella kicking his hat around the diamond. It would just be far less entertaining.

Sports fans are calling for Selig to react to the poor umpiring. Come on Captain Reaction…React! It’s what you’re best at.

Wow- first a game fixing referee and now a racist owner….Is David Stern using the Bud Selig playbook???

“NBA Hall of Famer and former longtime Clippers executive Elgin Baylor alleges in a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles that team owner Donald Sterling has embraced a “vision of a Southern plantation-type structure” for his NBA franchise, accusing him of decades-long racist behavior. Baylor worked for the Clippers for 22 years. The complaint against Sterling and others, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Times, presented Baylor’s version of an eroding relationship between Baylor and Sterling. Baylor contends, among other things, that the Clippers owner had “a pervasive and ongoing racist attitude as expressed to then-NBA player Danny Manning during contract negotiations.”

No, really you can’t buy PR this good….

“There is a news conference scheduled for this morning at Douglas’ office in Beverly Hills.

“Also named in the lawsuit was the team, the NBA and Clippers President Andy Roeser. Clippers officials said at their game against the Knicks on Wednesday they had not been served with the lawsuit.”

ummm, aside from that how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?

“Not having seen the complaint, I cannot comment on Elgin’s specific allegations,” said Robert H. Platt, Clippers general counsel and partner at the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. “However, I can categorically state that the Clippers always treated Elgin fairly throughout his long tenure with the team. Prior to his decision to leave the team last October, Elgin never raised any claims of unfair treatment. “It’s hard to believe that he would now make these ridiculous claims after the organization stood by him for 22 years and only three playoff appearances. It would be hard to find any sports team that has demonstrated greater loyalty to its general manager. The team intends to vigorously defend itself against these false allegations and will prevail when all the facts are heard.”

Am I the only one envisioning scenes from Fletch Lives here? And, no the claims here are no laughing matter.

“The suit alleged NBA Commissioner David Stern was present when Sterling allegedly said of Manning, “I’m offering a lot of money for a poor black kid.” That tone was echoed in another alleged incident in which Baylor claimed Sterling told him that “he [Sterling] wanted the Clippers team to be composed of ‘poor black boys from the South’ and a white head coach.” Another part of the lawsuit dealt with Baylor’s role in the organization. It alleged, as far back as 2004, Sterling and other club officials were employing “a campaign” to force Baylor into retirement — using “ageist comments” and “repeatedly hassling” him about quitting.”

This is UGLY……

Kudos to the LA times for breaking this one

Today's Toronto Sun

So, you pick up the cover of the Toronto Sun today and WOW you think- NHL IN Turmoil- cover story and a pullout! This is going to be good! What it meant was, ok you picked up the paper, now pullout and put it down! Are you kidding me? Bill Lankhoff’s 2 pages of not one original thought gets on the cover of the paper??? That’s it??? What a complete farce. It’s bad enough Gary Lowen gets a column every day, but this entirely unoriginal column get’s it own pullout and makes the friggin cover??????? Where is the news in this piece? Where is the wow-factor. Raise your hand if you learned anything about the NHL that you didn’t know before?

The Sun used to be THE sports paper in town. Complete with the sunshine girl, you used to read it for the best sports coverage in the city. I have received 3 calls in the last 7 days, no shit, asking me to subscribe. When I tell the headset phone jockey that I am a subscriber they are totally dumbfounded. Who is running this paper these days? Take Elliot and Simmons and you are left with???????

Speaking of Simmons, how great is this quote from his article today “So without any research, The Fan began leading its sportscasts with the news that ESPN was reporting a meeting Bosh had with Bryan Colangelo informing the general manager of his desire to leave the Raptors, when, in fact, ESPN wasn’t reporting anything at all. There was no mention of Bosh or Smith’s apparent report on espn.com, the most credible sports reporting organization anywhere.” RESEARCH???? Wait, you are kidding right? You aren’t talking about journalistic integrity are you? Come on Steve, this is the year 2009. My friend’s neighbor’s son-law’s daughter’s brother’s uncle’s butcher’s farm hand’s buddy the Sherpa told him that Mats Sundin has agreed to be traded by the Vancouver Canucks and that of the teams he has agreed to be traded to, Toronto is at the top of the list (TSM-5)…….

I did, however actually enjoy Hogan this am on the way to work. The show works so much better when he is solo and he isn’t talking CFL. Anyways, he did a couple of segments talking hoops and what Bryan Colangelo should do with Bosh. It was actually interesting and worth listening too. Which is more then I can say for Landry’s phoney call in from Vic Rauter hoping to take over the weather gig at CFTO, which was only a little less brutal then the Landry’s fake Chris Shultz’s mustache talking to Kurt Warner’s beard…I mean that was riveting I have to tell you. Oh, and Mike S., I thought of you last night when I went to the Fan website last night and every, and I do mean EVERY audio clip was of a TFC team member on with Nigle Reed. No offense folks, but it will be a cold day in hell before I listen to a TFC interview on my laptop.

I have to wonder, by the way what Bill Watters must be thinking these days. It has been his battle cry that the Raptors where a team in total disarray until “NBA Commissioner stepped in and handed them Bryan Colangelo”. The team was being so mismanaged before, I mean it was SO obvious right? Um Bill, what exactly has changed since Colangelo has taken over. The team is actually worse then it was before. We are still pathetically begging for a marquee player to say “I tolerate Toronto enough to stay long term.” Can we add the Raptors to the “Tank Nation” yet? Where do we send the thank you cards to David Stern? Bill of course won’t see it that way. Bill is still changing the meaning of Sundin’s words, “what Mat’s meant was he has to be there from the start of HIS season, not the start of THE season, and we all know when Mats’ season started so he isn’t lying, he is telling the truth.” Good radio with ol’ Wilbur yesterday, he has been bashing the shit out of Bryan Murray for weeks (save for his love for Gene Gene the Dancing Machine), but when Murray came on with him at noon, ol Wilbur turtles faster then Sundin used to from the trap door of the Maple Leafs room…..

More later as Bettman is on with Wilbur and Brady…Thank god Brady is back, one more day of Bill Purple Hayes and I was going to start listening to music again….