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**Udog** · 04-02-2018, 08:04 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

More opening day payrolls in major leagues:

24) Philadelphia Phillies $97,367,851

23) Miami Marlins $97,595,142

22) Cincinnati Reds $101,232,499

21) Atlanta Braves $119,029,762

20) Kansas City Royals $128,686,717

19) Detroit Tigers $131,614,600

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Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a quiet Easter Sunday

13) Toronto 7, New York 4— My biggest problem with the analytics movement is that is goes out of its way to diminish the manager’s role in how a team is run. Can’t do it.

In this game, New York led 4-3 in bottom of 8th; Toronto had men on 2nd/3rd with two out and Josh Donaldson (3-8 with 2 HR’s off Robertson) up. Justin Smoak (0-5 vs Robertson) was on deck; he had homered in his previous AB. What do you do?

Aaron Boone decides to walk Donaldson intentionally. Smoak hits a grand slam. Welcome to the big leagues, Aaron Boone. Being a TV announcer is a lot easier.

12) There are two basketball Hall of Fames; the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, in Kansas City.

There is at least one glaring omission from the College Hall of Fame: Jerry Tarkanian.

Tarkanian went 706-198 in his coaching career, won the 1990 national title at UNLV, made two other Final Fours. For him not be in the Hall of Fame (he is in the Naismith HOF) makes the College HOF look stupid.

11) Some people will cite Tark’s battles with the NCAA as a reason to keep him out, to which I say this: Eddie Sutton, who was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 2011.

From Sutton’s Wikipedia page: “The NCAA announced at the end of the season that its investigation into the basketball program had found the school guilty of violating numerous NCAA policies.[8] The NCAA deemed the violations so egregious that it seriously considered hitting the Wildcats with the “death penalty”, which would have shut down the entire basketball program (as opposed to simply being banned from postseason play) for up to two years.”

There is no valid reason for Jerry Tarkanian not to be in the College Hall of Fame.

10) One more thing on the College Hall of Fame: Norm Stewart is a 2007 inductee, but he never made a Final Four, went 8-8 in first round tournament games. Seriously?

9) When you see coaches at mid-majors getting fired these days after short coaching tenures, keep in mind that in the mid-90’s, Jay Wright went 31-51 in his first three years as Hofstra’s coach. Things turned out pretty well for him— he went 91-34 his last four years at Hofstra, before moving on to bigger and better things at Villanova.

8) This is first time since 2004 that team spending on baseball players’ salaries will decline from the year before.

7) Average major league payroll this season: $137,610,491.

6) As expected, Xavier promoted assistant Travis Steele to head coach to replace Chris Mack, who jumped ship to Louisville.

5) Of the 31 players who have 3,000 career hits, Ichiro Suzuki was 3+ years older than anyone else on the list when he got his first major league hit.

4) A Sarasota, FL homeowner found a surprise visitor in his swimming pool Friday night – an 11-foot alligator floating in the water. The gator began swimming away as it struggled to avoid capture. A deputy managed to drag the gator out of the pool with the help of a trapper.

3) If you had the White Sox as being the last American League unbeaten this season, you win!!!

2) Last Big 14 team to win the national title in basketball? Michigan State, in 2000.

1— Villanova took 40 3-pointers Saturday, only 25 2-pointers; wouldn’t be surprised if they move the college 3-point line back to where the FIBA line is.

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