BASEBALL

There’s a new team in first place in the NL East — the Philadelphia Phillies.  They have been surging the last few weeks, and much of it is due to the tremendous play of slugger Ryan Howard.  Well, last night Howard was at it again against the Florida Marlin.  He had a 3-run home-run in the 4th inning and then drove even more runs in the 7th.  Howard finished the night with an incredible 6 RBIs (which stands for Runs Batted In) as the Phillies topped the Marlins.  Philadelphia struggled at the beginning of this season, but The Phillies are clearly playing in top form again and fully intend to make a World Series run.  Philadelphia 10, Florida 6.

FOOTBALL

Reggie Bush has been in the spotlight recently because of the possibility of getting his Heisman trophy stripped.  Bush is in trouble for taking illegal gifts while at USC, which would make him ineligible for the top individual prize in college football.  When asked for a comment, Bush simply said that the decision to take away his Heisman is completely out of his hands.  He’s essentially at the mercy of the Heisman Trust committee.  Bush continued by saying that he’s barely even thinking about the trophy, as all of his focus is on tonight’s opening day game against the Minnesota Vikings.  We’ll see what happens to Reggie Bush in the coming days.

Finally, in more of an all encompassing sports story, it appears that the NFL may be facing it’s first financial bump in the road.  The NFL has been wildly successful this decade with the demand for football rising every year.  This country has a pure craving for football and absolutely eats it up during the season.  Pre-season games are getting higher ratings than even hit TV shows.  People simply WANT their football.  And now with DirecTV’s season ticket and the Red Zone channel, they can see almost everything in HD right from their living room.  Well, while no one can argue that the NFL is as popular as its ever been, fact is… season ticket sales are down for the 3rd year in a row.  What does this mean?  Basically, we’ve been in a terrible economy since 2008 and one of the first things on a ‘cutting-the-fat’ list are pricey season tickets.  However, this may have more to do with the viewing experience.  Going to games is very expensive and quite tedious.  It’s cold, far, and you have to pay for parking as well.   With HD TVs, watching games has never been better, and many think that fans just don’t see the overwhelming benefit of going to the actual game anymore.  Sure, people show up, but when season ticket sales are down, it’s indicative of a change in audience habits.