SPORTS ON EARTH's Anthony Castrovince wrote it is time for MLB to "rethink its policy on rain delays." Prolonged rain delays are "unfortunately not uncommon in a game largely subject to Mother Nature's whims," and it would "seem best that somebody in the league office be on call for these sorts of situations." Officials could "look at the conditions of the weather and of the game and to take the schedule into account and dictate to the umps whether the game can be paused and picked up at a later date." Waiting three-and-a-half hours to "play the last six outs of a ballgame," as was the case during Monday's Rangers-Yankees game, is "pretty weak" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 6/28). ESPN.com's Buster Olney wrote MLB should "create a position where some sort of commonsense overlord helps identify those occasional situations when it might be best to suspend the game" (ESPN.com, 6/28).
BOWL BUCKS: In Orlando, Stephen Hudak reports Orange County commissioners yesterday approved a preliminary $3M funding package "as part of a deal to move" the Pro Bowl from Hawaii to Camping World Stadium for the next three years. The pact "obligates the county to pay" the NFL a minimum of $1M a year in '17, '18 and '19 "from bed-tax revenues," a 6% assessment tacked onto the cost of a hotel room and other short-term lodgings. The county also agreed to "reallocate $350,000 in Visit Orlando's sports funding account as an additional incentive payment" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 6/29).
SEE THE FLOP: In Chicago, Barry Rozner wrote with the NHL's recent Las Vegas announcement, execs like NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman pretend gambling is "not happening, that illegal gambling doesn't exist, and the duplicity is really beyond description." Pro sports have "had team owners that ran casinos, teams sponsored by casinos, and leagues with equity stakes in gambling sites." Bettman during his announcement of the league's expansion to Las Vegas said, "We're not going to make it all that easy for you to pick up a gambling ticket on your way into the arena." Rozner: "So fans can bet illegally from their phones on any of the scores of offshore sites, but they can't stop at a window and place a legal bet that can be tracked by the NHL and Las Vegas authorities?" This is the argument that "leaves proponents of legal gambling shaking their heads and reaching for the migraine medication" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 6/28).
