As reported yesterday, MLB, the players' union, and the umpires' union have agreed on three rule changes to be implemented immediately, all with the express purpose of—and, I believe, a very good chance of—stopping baseball games from taking so damn long. It's official now, and we have the details. "The most fundamental starting point for improving the pace of the average game involves getting into and out of breaks seamlessly," commissioner Rob Manfred said in remarks distributed by MLB this morning. An ad break in a local game is two minutes long. Going forward, there will be strict scheduling on pitchers warming up and batters getting ready to start the next half-inning, designed to put hitters in the batter's box just as the broadcast returns from commercials, and it will be enforced by visible timers: Sounds great! Honestly. But how to implement MLB says that after a trial period in spring training and the first month of the season, players will be fined for not being ready in time. How big will those fines be? Will they be strictly and uniformly invoked? These are big questions that will only be answered in practice. The other new rules involve f orcing batters to keep one foot in the batter's box at all times, and a suite of minor modifications to manager's challenges instant replay. (Click the links to read the specifics.) I am hopeful about these changes, but fearful that the enforcement will be lax or nonexistent—if most or all players ignore the rules, can everyone be punished? Should it be on umpires to police the clock, in addition to their other duties. Buster Olney believes that the only possible way to do this successfully will be to install a pitch clock. I think he's right, and I think it's coming within a few years.
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Iran meet Montenegro in Austria on Monday as preparations for what promises to be a tough FIFA World Cup campaign continue.
Carlos Queiroz, who was in charge of Portugal at the 2010 World Cup, guided Iran to the top of their AFC qualifying group but a sterner test awaits them in Brazil.
Drawn in Group F alongside Nigeria, Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Queiroz s men face a huge challenge to build on their solitary World Cup finals win.
That came in 1998 against the United States in a match that was laden with off-field intrigue, given the strained political relationship between the two nations.
Controversy has shrouded the build-up to this year s tournament, too, with a falling-out occurring between the Iranian football association and the nation s top domesti…
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson does not mind if the Premier League title race goes down to the final day of the season.
Ferguson says just having to beat Blackpool at home to clinch the title is something he would have taken in August.
A win at Arsenal on Sunday would almost certainly put the title beyond the reach of nearest challengers Chelsea.
I would be happy if we got to the last game of the season needing to win to claim the title, Ferguson said.
Even though Blackpool are fighting against relegation and will be tough opposition, you would have taken that scenario at the start of the season.
I think there is still drama ahead and the teams at the top will drop points including Chelsea.
I have been a bit surprised A…
Portugal champions Benfica are in advanced negotiations to sing Braga defender Ricadro Ferreira, .
The 23-year-old has been a subject of intense transfer speculation, but Benfica are believed to have beaten the likes of FC Porto to the signing of the highly-rated Braga defender.
Braga beat Porto on penalties this weekend to win their first Taca de Portugal in 50 years and Ricadro Ferreira has been a massive influence in Os Minhotos’ triumphant campaign.
Speaking after the win over FC Porto, Ricardo Ferreira refused to be drawn into commenting on his possible move to Benfica.
“Now is the time to celebrate our success, I will have time to think about next season”, he said.
Canada-born defender Ricardo Ferreira began his professional career wi…
Players involved in a 2011 La Liga match between Levante and Real Zaragoza have been summoned for questioning on alleged match-fixing.
Zaragoza won the match played in the last round of the season 2-1, a result that kept them in the top flight.
Gabi Fernandez, now captain of champions Atletico Madrid, scored both of Zaragoza s goals in the fixture.
The match had been flagged as one of nine being investigated when president of the Spanish league Javier Tebas included it on a list of suspect results in June last year.
And a Spanish state prosecutor has now summoned players as the investigation continues.
Levante said in a brief statement on the club s official website that they were completely oblivious to such proceedings and unaware of their devel…
Antonio Conte is determined to ensure Chelsea avoid a Mourinho season in their defence of the Premier League title this season.
The Blues won the title under the Portuguese in 2015, but Jose Mourinho was sacked the following December with the club having endured a nightmare start and languishing in 16th.
Chelsea regained the trophy in Conte s maiden campaign, with Tottenham seven points adrift in second.
Conte, whose side head back from a pre-season trip to China and Singapore following back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Inter, knows the pressure is on to avoid a similar fate.
Antonio Conte makes time to sign some shirts on his way to the team coach
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
We know the difficulty of the next season and for su…
Matthias Ginter s decision to join Borussia Monchengladbach came from the heart after the Germany defender was won over by the club s continued pursuit of his services.
The 23-year-old completed his switch from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund for a reported €20million on Tuesday, having been courted by the club before.
And the sustained interest shown in him was pivotal to the move, which comes hot on the heels of Ginter s success with his country at the Confederations Cup in Russia.
It was the third time Borussia had tried to sign me and the second time [coach] Dieter Hecking showed interest in me, Ginter told the club s official website. This support and faith blew me away and speaks for itself.
When a sporting director [Max Eberl] and a coach a…
Yannick Carrasco is reportedly set to return from Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang to Atletico Madrid, with today (Friday) being the deadline day for the winter transfer window. According to , the winger is already in Madrid, looking to finalize a loan move back to his former club.
Having left the Rojiblancos in January 2018, the 26-year-old Belgian has been looking to leave China since this time last year. Back then he was linked heavily with Arsenal, as Unai Emery, then the Gunners boss, sought to sign a wide attacking player. In the end, he settled for taking Denis Suarez from Barcelona in a loan move which eventually turned out a complete fiasco. Last summer it was Manchester United who were considering Carrasco, but they signed Daniel James instead.
Atletico…
Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao for €80 million, a world-record transfer fee for a goalkeeper, in 2018. However, manager Frank Lampard, a club legend who took his job a year later, says the amount the club paid for a player doesn t come into his thinking when he picks his lineup.
https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1228331198398828546
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Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City s record-breaker Rico Lewis after he became the youngest player to score on his first Champions League start in Wednesday s 3-1 win over Sevilla.
A much-changed City team initially fell behind to Rafa Mir s header in their final Group G fixture, but at the age of 17 years and 346 days old, Lewis hammered home to beat Karim Benzema s 2005 record and level the scores.
Lewis effort kick-started a City comeback, as Julian Alvarez put Guardiola s team in the ascendancy before teeing up Riyad Mahrez to complete the scoring late on.
Speaking to BT Sport after the victory, Guardiola credited Lewis for his intelligence and said City s win showed the future is bright at the Etihad Stadium.
What a goal, he s a fantastic player. …
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 8/11 @
In what could be a lively affair from the Bundesliga this weekend, Mainz will welcome Wolfsburg to the MEWA Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts, while Mainz might have been hit with an action-packed 6-2 loss away at defending champions Bayern Munich last weekend, Christian Heidel s men still enjoyed a largely impressive October run. Opening this weekend s fixtures battling it out in the top-half of the Bundesliga table, the Reds could have their sights set on clinching a shock European spot this season. Landing a thumping 5-0 romp at home against Koln last month, Mainz have lost just one of their previous five top-flight contests. Likewise, extending on their DFP Pokal adventure with a routine 3-0 victory…