A bit of a mix of random thoughts...

• Can you tell it's the off-season for this blog too?
• It's beginning to become clear that Rob Manfred's hatred for pitching is becoming injurious.  Both Madison Bumgarter (hand/wrist) and Chris Sale (leg) are out for significant periods of time due to getting hit by line drives -- by clearly juiced balls.  And would I be surprised if Justin Turner (hand/wrist) being out the first month by being hit by one isn't the same thing?
• And if the umpiring is like one jackass from last week, who tossed three players and two coaches from a spring-training game for attempting to plunk people (on his own planet, because none of the HBPs involved were that blatant!), it's clear that ESPN may be right -- in one of their season previews, with Opening Day Thursday, there's talk that one of the goals for the Yankees this year IS to break Roger Maris' non-steroid real record for home runs. 
• Rory McIlroy, after winning the Arnold Palmer, said it's time to cut beer sales at GOLF TOURNAMENTS.  Let THAT process.
• Am I the only person who actually will say that, if the FBI ever wants to get to the bottom of college basketball, their next two raids have to be in Indianapolis, Indiana (the offices of the NCAA itself) and Bristol, Connecticut (those of ESPN)?
• Am I also the only person who believes the UMBC #16 win and the runs of Kansas State (9), Florida State (9), Syracuse (11), and Loyola-Chicago (11) are the direct result that most of college basketball's top programs know any title this year gets vacated?
• Kansas has been linked to the scandal:  FBI reports last year have indicated Adidas attempting to steer a prominent recruit to Kansas, whom Adidas sponsors.  Josh Jackson, playing one year at Kansas and then to the NBA, was at Kansas as well and is named in the investigation.
• Villanova is on the list of schools with names on the FBI report as well.
• Michigan and Loyola-Chicago, to date, are not.