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Albany, NY – Well at a time when a lockout threatens to cancel the entire NBA season, baseball has ensured that it'll have at least 21 consecutive years of labor peace...
Yesterday, baseball players and owners signed an agreement for a new labor contract a deal that starts blood testing for human growth hormone and expands the playoffs to 10 teams by 2013. With the five-year agreement, baseball became the first of the major North American professional leagues to agree to blood testing for HGH. There will be two additional playoff teams starting in 2012 or 2013. The two wild cards in each league the non-first place teams with the best records will meet in a one-game playoff, and the winners will move on to the division series.
In other baseball news, Brewers Ryan Braun is the National League's Most Valuable Player, outdistancing the Dodgers' Matt Kemp for the honor. Braun led the NL with a .597 slugging percentage and was second with a .322 batting average. Braun slugged 33 homers and drove in 111 runs, and helped lead the Brewers to their first division title in nearly 30 years.
And the Yankees are raising the price of bleacher seats for next season - the price of bleacher seats will be $20 and $12 next year, up from $15 and $5.
In Top 25 college basketball, North Carolina crushed Tennessee State 102-69, Duke downed Michigan 82-75, Kansas flattened UCLA 72-56, Louisville blitzed Arkansas State 54-27, Memphis held off Tennessee 99-97, Baylor bounced South Carolina 70-50, Wisconsin whipped Missouri-Kansas 77-31, Pittsburgh got by La Salle 73-69, and Missouri was all over California 92-53.
In other news, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has reiterated his support for Bernie Fine, his longtime assistant coach who's been placed on administrative leave after child molestation charges re-surfaced.
To the NHL, Los Angeles skated past St. Louis 3-2, Toronto trounced Tampa Bay 7-1, and Edmonton dumped Nashville 6-2.
And in NFL news, the Broncos have waived quarterback Kyle Orton, who lost his starting job to Tim Tebow. Orton's likely to have several suitors.
I'm Tristan O'Neill, WAMC News.