OPINION: Allen Craig call

As nearly everyone knows, a controversial play ended game 3 of the World Series. First, here is the video for people who have yet to see the play. As you can clearly see, a collision occurred at 3rd base. Will Middlebrooks certainly raised his legs as Craig was making his way to home plate. Whether the contact was on purpose or an accident we will never know. What we do know is that in the MLB rulebook, rule 7.06b clearly states that "Under rule 7.06(b) when the ball is not dead on obstruction and an obstructed runner advances upon the base which, in the umpires judgement, he would have been awarded because of being obstructed, he does so at his own peril and may be tagged out." This rule perfectly describes the sequence that occurred on the play. Don't get me wrong, interference could have been called on the play. Jim Joyce, the 3rd base ump, certainly had a tough call to make and it was basically a judgement call. Was Craig in the baseline? Maybe. Was there anything that Middlebrooks could have done to avoid contact on the play? No. But one thing is for sure, Craig should not have been awarded home as a result of the play. Had Craig not continued home on the play, he would have been awarded home and the game would have been over. Instead, he proceeded to run home and was thrown out at the play. As rule 7.06(b) clearly states, Craig was running at "his own peril". What would have happened in extras is a mystery, but it is clear that the Red Sox should have at least had the opportunity to win this game.

Football in the Olympics?

     Earlier in the day, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the sport is fighting to become a part of the Olympic games. Football...in the Olympic games? There are some things football fans just can't picture, and football in the middle of the summer is one of them. First of all, the injury risk would turn away many of our league's stars, because no player making millions of dollars for their play wants to be hurt right before the start of the season. A report released in 2010 states an average close to 3.5 players per team per week suffers an injury. So would these games look identical to the Pro-Bowl; highly regarded players who are not willing to play their hardest due to the injury risk? And what about international competition? There are close to 65 other countries with a style of play somewhat identical to the NFL, a list that includes regions like Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. However, the skill level would not even be close to resembling the players found in the National Football League. With so much history and purpose behind this American-bred sport, opposing competitors wouldn't stand a chance. A compromise that could be made would be to play college stars on the American team to make it slightly more competitive. Even if university's were not willing to play their stars, the Olympic team administrators could start the nation's top high school prospects. Many (including myself) do not believe sports such as basketball should be a part of he Olympic games, especially when we see Kobe Bryant and LeBron James running circles around bottom-tier squads. The bottom line is that football's biggest stars should watch the Olympic games from home in 2016, so come September, we are hungrier than ever to watch the game we love.