Seven innings in 1 hour 40 minutes. Nine innings in 2 hours and 15 minutes. This is how long it took for the Tampa Bay Rays to defeat the Tigers today in the MLB opener for both teams. No pitch clock violations were called on either team, and two balls were base hits today that would have been outs last year when the infield shift was legal.
Although I didn’t watch the whole game, I watched enough to realize the game had a great rhythm to it. The pitchers, hitters and umpires have figured it out and the game will be better for it. The only surprise was I expected batters to use their one timeout per at bat much more. I am sure we will see more timeouts by the batters as the season progresses.
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The Tigers have a tough opening six game schedule as they take on the two best teams in the American League in the Rays and the defending world champion Astros on the road. Three wins would be beyond expectation. I am looking forward to Saturday’s game to see Tiger starter Spencer Turnbull take the mound. He has not pitched since June 2021 when he hurt his arm less than two weeks after pitching a no-hitter against Seattle. He had Tommy John surgery and reports say that he is throwing the ball extremely well. If his arm holds up, he has the stuff to be a dominant pitcher for the Tigers for the next five years.
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The absurdity of a person born as a man who now identifies as being a women and then being allowed to compete as a women in sporting events is not fair to the women who have busted their butts to train and compete on a level playing field.
The absurdity was brought to a head at a powerlifting competition in Alberta, Canada by Avi Silverberg, the head coach of Team Canada Powerlifting who decided to compete as a women at the Heroes Classic tournament. Silverberg was intent on making a point. Here are excepts from an article about the event.
A bearded pro powerlifter entered a women’s competition in Canada — and smashed a record held by a trans lifter who was watching. Avi Silverberg, the head coach for Team Canada Powerlifting for more than 10 years, entered Saturday’s Heroes Classic tournament in Lethbridge, Alberta, after identifying as a female.
Video shared by athlete activist group the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) shows him walking up to the platform still fully bearded and wearing a regular men’s singlet. He then casually bench-pressed nearly 370 pounds — beating the current Alberta women’s record by almost 100 pounds.
ICONS said Silverberg “mocked the discriminatory [Canadian Powerlifting Union] policy” that allows competitors to register for events under their “gender identity and expression, rather than their sex or gender,” vowing “no consequences” for doing so.
CPU’s trans policy states that an individual “should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify and not be subject to requirements for disclosure of personal information beyond those required of cisgender athletes.” It also states: “Nor should there be any requirement for hormonal therapy or surgery.”
See my Quote of the Day and Video of the Day.
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Quote of the Day: I think this proves a point. If a guy can just show up and then set the … record, doesn’t that prove that it’s not fair? So how long before the powers-that-be suddenly wake up, smell the coffee and understand that if you’re born a female, you’re not gonna be as powerful, as strong … as if you were born a male.” Bodybuilding influencer Greg Doucette
Orchid of the Day: MLB for implementing their new speed-up rules. So far so good.
Onion of the Day: The former president who is now the first president to be impeached twice and the first president to ever be indicted. The fact that he is still the leading Republican candidate for the party’s nomination in 2024 would be laughable if it wasn’t so sad.
Question of the Day: Are the speed up rules and elimination of the shift good for major league baseball?
Video of the Day: