Brian Rosener is the keeper of the Semoball Cup which is presented to the school with the most successful season. It is based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams and individuals. The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields. Rosener has been the sports editor for the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo. since December 2001. He was born and raised in St. Louis, where he attended Lindbergh High School and Webster University. He is married to Jennifer, a Poplar Bluff native, has a son Jack and a dog named Satchel who stands in for his @semoballBrian photo.

Nine-game World Series?

Posted Saturday, June 30, 2007, at 7:51 PM

I'm going to write about this as soon as I put the paper to bed:

Scott Boras loves the World Series so much, he wants to make it best-of-nine -- and open with two games at a neutral site.

Arguing that the shift would create a marketing bonanza that would rival the Super Bowl, Boras outlined his ideas in a two-page letter he sent to baseball commissioner Bud Selig on April 15.

"I know from an owner's perspective, this is a gold mine," Boras said. "To have a World Series Weekend, WSW, I think it will create a stage that the game has not seen." -- AP

First a history lesson:

The very first World Series in 1903 was a best-of-9 (the Boston Somersets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 after losing three of the first four games). There was no World Series was played in 1904 because the New York Giants owner John Brush had a long-standing feud with the AL (he didn't like the fact that the league put another team in New York) but in 1905 he relented and proposed making the Series was a best-of-7 format.

It changed back to a best-of-9 from 1919-21.

The biggest problem facing the World Series is there's not enough time between the end of the League Championship Series and the start of the World Series. The Super Bowl has a week or two (too long) while the NBA and NHL have at least a few days off scheduled before the start of the finals. In baseball, there's a rush to get the playoffs done before the end of October.

And how about a day game or two? Open the series on Saturday afternoon, play Sunday late afternoon, travel Monday, play Tuesday and Wednesday, travel Thursday, play Friday night, Saturday late afternoon and Sunday night. Travel day Monday before Tuesday and Wednesday night games.

Shorten the rest of the postseason or trim the regular season back down.

As for the neutral sites, it's not like regular fans get to go to the World Series anyway. Plus, I do like the idea of a longer series. A team will need to be deeper in pitching and on the bench. Starting a series at a neutral site may also end the home-field advantage problem facing baseball (not a big fan of awarding home-field to the all-star winner anyway).

Don't think this idea will just end up in Bud's waste basket. Under the watch of the Commish, this has been the most progressive era in baseball. Three divisions, Wild card races, interleague play, All-Star Game determines home-field for World Series Еа

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I read about this idea a couple of months ago.

I hate it. Why make a long season even longer? For two teams, the season could last 186 games. By the time the World Series comes around, the rest of America (aka the East and West Coast - America's Midwest doesn't exist to them) everyone else is watching football.

If I remember correctly, Boras wanted the two games of the Series to take place in a neutral location. We all know that this "neutral" location will either be New York or Boston. According to ESPN, there are only three teams to watch.

Sure, this would be a gold mine for the owners. They would make a ton of money. But that doesn't mean that they will spend it on their club or the stadium. Look at the 2007 Cardinals.

-- Posted by mattstl77 on Sat, Jun 30, 2007, at 10:14 PM
I theenk thees not idea of Boras but Borat.

-- Posted by philosopher king on Sun, Jul 1, 2007, at 12:05 AM

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