Morning Hot Reads: Trust Your Instincts

In the first of a four-part series, the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER looks at the Phillies' scouting operation in the Dominican Republic. Baseball's "endless fascination with analytics has no reach" in places like the Dominican Republic, where the "men on the ground must trust their bonds with the local scouts and buscones, or street agents."

SI's Seth Davis wrote he was "skeptical" when execs at the network told him about the plan for a "midseason bracket show on Feb. 11 in conjunction with the NCAA men's basketball selection committee." Ultimately, however, there is "no downside to generating a little chatter about college hoops six days after the Super Bowl." Davis goes on to offer a primer on the show.

Also: 

• New 49ers GM John Lynch "threw the first pitch in the history" of the Marlins.
• How Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones changed the NFL's TV landscape.
• Holding the Pro Bowl in Orlando made travel easier for many of the players' families.
• Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff started his career "on the grounds crew."
• The Poinsettia Bowl had "financial troubles" in years leading up to cancellation.