You may or may not be aware that I am a massive baseball fan. I love it. You, however, may not be and you are probably expecting a column on soccer in this spot of the site. Dont worry, it is coming. Stay with me. The 2014 Major League Baseball season is not yet three weeks old and it is in a bit of a mess. I often use that great sport as a companion in my down time, away from the beautiful game I am blessed enough to cover. During this time I will watch many games, very often not complete ones, around the continent by using my remote control to allow me to jump into numerous different ballparks. I will read plenty and listen to many smart baseball media personalities talk about the game. Except, this season has been very different. Those pages I turn, the sites I visit and the podcasts and stations I listen to have been flooded by debates about replay, challenges and rule changes. When is a runner out at first base? Where does the ball need to land in the glove? When is a lane not being opened for a runner heading from third for a play at the plate? When is the catcher breaking the rules by blocking the plate when in possession of the ball? Why is a Yankee being called safe, even after a replay call, when the world can see on their own monitors live that he was tagged by a Red Sox player while his foot was off the bag? Why, while dealing with replay issues, is the sport taking a moronic approach to another fight about the transfer of the ball to the glove after a catch? Blah blah blah. My ears hurt. Back to soccer. For a minute. One of the true charms of the sport, for me, has always been the amount of discussions that surround what actually happens to the players between the white lines. Yes, the sport has a gambling and a fantasy component but most discussions about the sport are about the sport. In fact now, more than ever, thanks to the fine work being done by tactical writers like Michael Cox and analytical, statistical authors like Simon Gleave and many others, more than ever we are surrounded by insightful analysis around incidents and conclusions that have been determined on the pitch. Pundits like Gary Neville on Sky Sports has also taken his industry to a different level and I like to think the fine team here at TSN that I am a part of helps to deliver a similar message. Entertain and inform the audience about what is happening on the field. Compare this to the NFL, which in the United States is as enormous as the Premier League is in England. Except, the analysis around it is much different. The majority of their fans desire discussions on betting lines and fantasy previews. While this is being delivered to them, what actually is happening is the audience is getting less educated about what kind of players play the game. They see their wide receiver, for example, on their fantasy team and look for his stats but they dont know what kind of routes he runs to confuse defensive backs. Theyll hope their fantasy quarterback will deliver the goods on Sunday but if he doesnt most arent told why not and by Tuesday they dont care as the planning goes into the following fantasy week matchup. Over the last decade, Formula One racing has mastered a way to feed hungry fans with a lot of stories away from their races, because, quite frankly, many on-track narratives in the last few years havent been interesting enough. Baseball, for me, was always different. I love hearing why players are struggling or improving and so many other nuances on the diamond that make it so great. Except now the sport is searching for perfection in an imperfect world. One respected writer said this week the replay system is not a mess, sure its got problems but they are still now getting more calls correct than they used to. Yes, but at what cost? The sport is all over the media and for the wrong reasons. Or, perhaps, the right reasons and not just the reason I want. Despite record revenues and attendances, baseball does worry about his lack of coverage compared to other big sports like football and basketball. Maybe this is a way of combating that. Maybe. Soccer certainly does not need such attention. As the world evolves in front of our very eyes, attention spans are getting smaller and smaller yet more people than ever are watching the game globally. And in a World Cup year that number will grow again. Eyes in every nation across the world will focus on what is happening between the white lines. For a sport that plays shorter games than most and nowhere near as often as most, that is a significant achievement for both those who cover it and those who watch it. Combined in 2014 they have managed to accomplish what the purpose of sport is in the first place. Anything with large sums of money involved will always have complications and politics, but throughout that it is important for us all to never be distracted from the magnificent accomplishments athletes reach on a daily basis. They are the reasons people flock to watch professional sports and they are deserving of the coverage. They bring great joy and pleasure to lives that can be full of difficulties. When the public actually gets time to read, watch or listen to their sport they deserve to be told more about the people who attracted them to the sport in the first place. And this brings me back to my original point. Technology does not have every answer to questions thrown up by the game. Goal-line technology is now here to stay and does not disrupt the game or dominate news cycles for weeks on end but that is where is must stop. There are many ways for the sport to progress and help referees but further technology is not one of them. Yes, mistakes will continue and during the World Cup this summer one will likely happen where more people will call for technology to change the game. Except, it doesnt just change the game, it changes the focus. Sure, if you have time this summer read up all on the politics of Brazil 2014, the bidding process around the next two World Cups, the issues with stadiums and potential crime but if you are a true fan of the sport nothing should be more exciting for you than Brazil vs Croatia on the opening day. Eight weeks today it kicks off. I can hardly wait. Cheap Robin Yount Jersey . DArnaud hit one of three doubles for the Mets as they took a 4-0 lead in the first. Then the catchers seventh home run of the season broke the game open in the fifth. The 41-year-old Colon (10-8) retired the first 20 batters in his last outing Wednesday against Seattle, eventually allowing two runs on three hits in 7 1-3 innings in a 3-2 win. Cheap Brewers Jerseys China . Toronto (11-12) gave up leads in 10-8 and 11-4 losses to the Baltimore Orioles this week. It was never close Friday as the Boston Red Sox got to Mark Buehrle early en route to an 8-1 win. http://www.cheapbrewersjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-glenn-robinson-jersey . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them. Cheap MLB Jerseys . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. Cheap Brewers Jerseys . Rookie Christian Vazquez got his first three major league hits and drove in three runs, while David Ortiz had three RBIs to break open the game in the sixth inning and lead Boston over the Houston Astros 8-3.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- A Super Bowl hero is returning to the New York Giants. Mario Manningham, one of the Giants most productive receivers from 2008-2011, will rejoin the team. Known for his spectacular 38-yard reception that began the teams winning drive against New England in the 2012 Super Bowl, Manningham spent the last two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Those two seasons with the 49ers were cut short by injury. In 2012, he played in 12 games before tearing his ACL and missing San Franciscos post-season run to the Super Bowl. Last year, he began the season on the physically unable to perform list, returned to play in six games, but again ended up on injured reserve because of recurring issues with his knee. He was the Giants third-round draft choice in 2008, the 95th overall selection. In four years, he caught 160 passes for 2,315 yards and 18 touchdowns. "Once a Giant, always a Giant. Thats how I feel," he said Tuesday. "This is a very special place. I wanted to come back. "Im real excited. Its just great to see everybody, be around familiar faces, knowing everybody in the past and just being comfortable around everybody." Manninghams best season with the Giants was in 2010, when he had career-high totals of 60 receptions for 944 yards and nine touchdowns. He had a career-long catch in each of the final two games, with an 85-yardder at Green Bay and a 92-yarder at Washington.dddddddddddd In the last three games of that season, Manningham caught 16 passes for 346 yards, a 21.6-yard average, and four touchdowns. In order, Manningham totalled 113, 132 and 101 yards to become the first Giants receiver with three consecutive 100-yard games since Homer Jones in 1968. In his two seasons in San Francisco, Manningham played in 18 games with 13 starts and had 51 catches for 534 yards and one touchdown. New York also signed free agent kick returner Trindon Holliday, who spent the last two seasons with Denver. Holliday scored on a 105-yard kickoff return last season. He also had an 81-yard punt return against the Giants. In a playoff loss to Baltimore two seasons ago, Hollidays record-setting performance saw him return a punt in the first quarter for a 90-yard touchdown, the longest punt return in post-season history. In the third quarter, he ran back a kickoff 104 yards for another score to become the first player in NFL history with a punt return touchdown and a kick return touchdown in the same post-season game. At 5-foot-5 and 170 pounds, Holliday is one of the NFLs smallest players. "Sometimes, I think my size is an advantage," Holliday said. "I can field the kicks and hide behind those big linemen when the other guys are coming down. Its hard for them to see me." 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