The L.A. Times' Bill Shaikin, appearing yesterday on MLB Network, said of the Padres playing a series in Mexico this week, "If you look at San Diego, you say, 'Well, it's the eighth largest city in the United States. It is a huge market.' But, actually, it's not. You've got an ocean to the west, you've got a desert to the east, you've got [Angels CF] Mike Trout to the north, and you've got Mexico to the south. It's actually the fourth smallest market in MLB." Shaikin added Tijuana is "just a few minutes away from San Diego, and that in itself is a larger city and a larger metropolitan area than San Diego." Shaikin: "The Padres really need to grow their brand in Mexico. Playing there gives them a great chance to do that" ("The Rundown," MLBN, 5/1).
DELAYING THE INEVITABLE: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes under the header, "NFL Ponders Future Of Kickoffs, But It's Clear They Must Go." Whether the league "eliminates kickoffs or simply changes the rules to the point where they become irrelevant, it doesn't matter." The result "will be the same." Armour: "And it's long overdue." The kickoff "remains by far the most dangerous play in football." Traditionalists "might balk at the changes, muttering something about the game becoming too soft." But safety concerns surrounding football are "real, and they aren't going away." The NFL "has to adapt, or it will eventually become extinct" (USA TODAY, 5/2).
BACK TO THE WELLS? In Charlotte, Ron Green Jr. notes though the current tournament contract for the PGA Tour Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club "will expire" after the '19 event, it "seems a safe bet that the event will continue beyond next year with roughly the same spot on the reconfigured PGA Tour schedule, likely preceding the PGA Championship sometime in May" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/2).
