The unique perspective and provocative opinions of Joe O’Neill
Sports Shorts
That the Rays are overachievers is an understatement. The team has now made the MLB playoffs three straight years. That’s especially impressive given their payroll. Division rivals such as the Yankees and the Red Sox have three times as much money to buy talent. Yankee pitcher Gerrit Cole, for example, would take up more than half the Rays’ payroll.
“Every week it’s like playing Alabama.”—First-year Jacksonville NFL coach Urban Meyer on the transition from college to pro football.
The NHL expects to have all but two arenas operating at full capacity this season. The two Canadian exceptions: Montreal’s Bell Centre (33 percent) and Vancouver’s Rogers Arena (50 percent).
The NHL’s board of governors has approved advertisements on game jerseys—beginning next season. The first team to announce a jersey sponsor: the Washington Capitals. It will feature a Caesars Sportsbook patch. It will only be for home games–in a market where sports betting is legal. No, it won’t look like NASCAR, but it further enables a problematic relationship with gambling.
“Gambling may be a pastime for most, but it is an addiction for many. The more ubiquitous and accessible sports betting becomes, the more addiction there will be. Kids and young men are particularly vulnerable.”—Timothy O’Brien, Bloomberg Opinion.