In Minneapolis, La Velle Neal III reports MLB has “sent warning letters to players because of slow play.” Starting May 1, those warnings “turn into fines.” Twins GM Terry Ryan “acknowledged the Twins have received multiple warning letters.” He said, “Too many. And we’re one of the faster clubs. We really graded out well in spring training. We were one of the most efficient teams.” Ryan added, “We’re going to have to realize that, like every other club, we are going to start getting nailed” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/17).
FIGHT CITY: UFC President Dana White said that the MMA promotion has asked MSG to “reserve a date in December for an event should the sport become legal in New York this year.” On Long Island, Mark LaMonica reports White “didn't specify the exact date, but UFC's website says UFC 194 is scheduled for Dec. 5.” This is “predicated on the bill to legalize and regulate professional mixed martial arts in New York State passing through the Assembly by the end of the legislative session in June and being signed into law” by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (NEWSDAY, 4/17).
TIME FOR CHANGE? ESPN.com’s John Oreovicz wrote IndyCar’s timed race rule is “possibly the biggest reason for the occasional oddball winner," as there is “no way of predicting how many laps the field might complete in 45 minutes or an hour.” The solution is to “have an alternate, shortened race distance set in advance that would be triggered at a certain point in the race if it was obvious that the original lap tally could not be met in a reasonable amount of time.” Switching to a predetermined limited lap count rather than a time limit “would go a long way toward eliminating the kind of crazy results that often make the IndyCar Series the butt of jokes around the world” (ESPN.com, 4/16).
