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Charlie's Inside Corner: July 19
HITTING SINGLES
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— The 2017 NBA draft class has the potential to be one of the best ever (there’s that word again). A record 16 freshmen-including the first five picks and 11 of the 14 lottery selections-went in the first round, breaking the previous mark for the one-and-done era of 13, set in 2015.

— There’s a lot of noise being made about shortening major league baseball games to 8 innings. Why? Because the games last too darned long! Most major league games last over three hours. They don’t need to. Put a time limit on the pitcher and batter for time elapsed between pitches. If there is an intentional walk being perpetrated, just wave the guy to first base and forego four boring pitches. Limit the time between innings and MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, limit each player to only one “spit” per at bat! Baseball’s a great game, just not three-and-a-half hours of it!

— This month, Sheahon Zenger, Kansas University athletic director got a raise to $700,000. He will get a bonus of $5,000 if the women’s basketball team has a winning record. He will also get $5,000 if the men’s basketball team reaches the “Elite eight” round of the NCAA tournament. He will receive a $40,000 bonus if the football team reaches .500 for the season. You think football’s not important in the scheme of things as KU moves forward?

— Talk about a losing streak. Rodney Dangerfield said, “I looked up my family tree and found out that I was the sap!”

— ESPN.com’s basketball guru, Joe Lunardi, projects three American Athletic Conference teams will make the NCAA tournament next year. He sees Wichita State powering to a No. 3 seed, Cincinnati a No. 4 and SMU a No. 5. Now you see why the AAC wanted the Shockers.

— Is there a name more synonymous with baseball than Babe Ruth? Heck, forget baseball. EVERYBODY knows that name, he’s even on the candy bar rack! The home run and Babe Ruth are like tweedle dee and tweedle dum. Inseparable! However, did you know that he was one of the best pitchers of his era? Beginning in 1915, he reeled off winning seasons of 18, 23 and 24 games. He beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1916 World Series. He faced the great Walter Johnson eight times and won six, three of them by 1-0 scores. Overall, he had a career pitching record of 94 victories and 46 defeats, a 2.28 ERA, a 3-0 record and an era of 0.87 in the World Series with a record of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings that endured for 40 years. What a Babe!

— The all-time best winning season for a major league baseball team was the 1906 Chicago Cubs. Those lovelable Cubs won 116 times and lost only 36. In the modern era, the Cleveland Indians of 1954 won 111 and lost 43. Oddly, both of those teams lost in the World Series.

— Former Kansas Jayhawk basketball players had a terrific summer in the NBA Summer League. KU’s Josh Jackson was voted to the All-NBA Summer League first-five while former Jayhawks Cheick Diallo and Wayne Selden , Jr., were voted to the second team. Former Player of the Year in College basketball, Frank Mason also had a solid summer. Former Wichita State Shockers Cleanthony Early-a former NY Knick-and Fred Van Vleet had good playing time as well. Van Vleet made the Toronto Raptors squad last season and hopes to return.

— If something is “neither here nor there”, then where the heck is it?

Buddy Tabler is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune and his views don’t necessarily reflect those of the paper. He can be reached at budtabler@gmail.com.