Olympics returning to Beijing in 2022

128th IOC Session
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The IOC announced on Friday that the 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, 14 years after the Chinese capital hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Beijing's only opponent was Almaty, Kazakstan. If Almaty won, it would have become the first city in Central Asia to host the Olympics.

On the surface, Beijing may seem like the obvious choice, but that is far from the truth. Almaty may be a minor city compared to Beijing, but it has snow and a growing economy. There could have been a big returns for having the Olympics in Kazakstan's largest city. However, after the debacles in Sochi, the IOC made the right choice by going with a city that has a proven track record: Beijing.

The biggest issue with having the Winter Olympics in Beijing is snow. There is no natural snow in the city, so some events will be held in Yanhgqing (40 miles from Beijing) and Zhangjiakou (90 miles from Beijing). 

I think the big key to the Olympics in Beijing is that it will expand interest in the games in China. At Sochi 2014, China had 66 participants and won only 3 gold medals and 9 overall (12th). Having the Olympics in China will garner more interest in civilians and in athletes. China is still an untaped market in many winter sports (most notably ice hockey) and by having the games in Beijing, interest and participation in the events will rise. 

There are a lot of questions going forward for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but today is a day for China to celebrate.

Pilots, Eagles split Wednesday’s doubleheader

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

After playing a doubleheader on Tuesday, the North Jersey Eagles and Jersey Pilots played another doubleheader Wednesday. The Pilots won game one in walk-off fashion, 9-8, while the Eagles won game two 7-5.

The Eagles led for most of game one. Luis Amaro hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Zachary Tondi hit a solo home run in second inning to make the score 2-0. The Eagles added three more runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Ryan Rivera and Andrew Murnane and on an error on a ball hit by Paul Rufo.

The Pilots added two runs of their own in the fourth on a Rob DeAngelis triple and Austin Unglaub groundout. Both teams also scored runs in the sixth. Rivera hit a solo homer for the Eagles and Greg Kocinski had a 2 RBI single for the Pilots.

After scoring two more runs in the top of the seventh, the Eagles had an 8-4 lead. With one out, the Pilots loaded the bases with David Young at bat. He hit a single that scored one run and then Greg Kocinski hit a double that scored two runners. Those two hits cut North Jersey’s lead to one. Kocinski’s double was followed up by a Stephen Petriello sacrifice fly to tie the game. Kocinski advanced to third on the sacrifice fly.

With the game tied, Brian Dudeck came to the plate. After getting two strikes on Dudeck, Eagles pitcher Anthony Auletta threw a wild pitch. Kocinski broke immediately from third and slid in just ahead of the tag to give the Pilots the win.

In game two, the Eagles again took an early lead. They scored two runs in the first and one run in the second. The Pilots responded with two runs of their own in the third and one run in the fourth. Both teams score one run in the fifth inning. The score was 4-4 through five innings.

The Eagles blew the game open in the sixth. Murnane knocked in two runs with on an error and Amaro knocked in a run to make the score 7-4.

The Pilots did rally in the seventh, but they fell just short of tying the game. Young knocked in a run on a double and the Pilots also had runners on second and third with no outs. However, they could not manage to get the runners to cross home plate.

The Pilots are now 10-25-1, while the Eagles are now 17-21.

The Pilots will be at Quakertown on Friday and the season finale is currently set for Sunday with a doubleheader.

Slugfest between Pilots and Tide suspended in ninth inning

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com and acbl-online.com

Sunday’s game between the Jersey Pilots and the Staten Island Tide was suspended in the middle of an at-bat in the ninth inning with the game tied at 14. 

The game was also under protest by Staten Island due to a disputed run scored in the seventh inning. With the bases loaded, one out, and the score 14-10 in favor of Staten Island, Pilot first basemen David Young hit a ball to center field. Tide centerfielder Connor Powers made the catch, but ball was hit deep enough for the runner on third base to score easily. However, the runner on second base broke early. Powers threw the ball into the infield, the Tide stepped on second base, and the umpire called the runner out. The umpires said the runner that scored counted, but the Tide disagreed and put in a formal protest.

The scoring started right from the start. Charles Misiano led off the game with a double. He then stole third and scored on single. The Pilots then countered with two runs of their own in the second and three runs of their own in third. 

The Pilots four run lead was short lived. In the third, the Tide led off with back-to-back singles. Anthony Godino then hit a three run home run to cut the lead to one run.

A Justin Cassinelli sacrifice fly and a Zachary Leone RBI single gave the Tide the lead in the top of the fifth. Jersey retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning. John Scarr and Drew DeAngelis both hit singles that knocked in two runs. Through five, the score was 9-6 in favor of the Pilots.

The Tide reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth. Staten Island batted around and plated six runners in the inning. The Tide added two more runs in the seventh to take a 14-9 lead.

After the controversial seventh inning, the Pilots tied the game in the eighth. Scarr knocked in one run with a double and Brian Dudeck knocked in two with a double of his own.

There were two outs and a runner on base in the top of ninth when the game was stopped due to lightning. After a few more streaks of lightning were seen, the managers agreed to suspend the game to a later date.

At this time, a date to continue the game has not been selected.

Staten Island and Jersey will play tomorrow in Staten Island with a 5:00 start time. The Pilots return to Snyder Avenue Park on Wednesday to play a doubleheader against the North Jersey Eagles. For updates on the Pilots, visit jerseypilots.com and @ACBL_Pilots.

Quakertown win both games of doubleheader against Jersey

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com and acbl-online.com

The Quakertown Blazers defeated the Jersey Pilots 5-3 and 8-0 at Snyder Avenue Park on Friday.

Both of the Blazers’ starting pitchers threw complete games. Pablo Matos gave up only two earned runs on seven hits in game one. In game two, Trey Bickel gave up no runs on six hits. 

The Blazers got on the scoreboard early in game one. In the top of the first, James Bleming hit a sacrifice fly that scored a run. Then, in the second, Jordan Draude scored on a Greg McDonough single.

Quakertown added two more runs in the fourth. Draude and McDonough scored on a Calvin Baker fielder’s choice and Michael Young single, respectively.

Jersey cut the lead to one run over the next two innings. Greg Kocinski scored on a Brian Dudeck sacrifice fly in the fourth and Tommy Trotter knocked in two runs on a single in the fifth.

However, the Pilots could not tie the game. Quakertown added an insurance run in the sixth to make the score 5-3.

The Blazers got off to a quick start in game two as well. Two runs scored on a Michael Rothmund double in the first. 

Quakertown blew the game open in the fourth. First, Calvin Baker knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly. Three more runs were later knocked on a Bleming double and Rothmund single.

Draude knocked in two more runs in the fifth and seventh on a groundball and sacrifice fly, respectively.

For the Pilots, Trotter had three hits over both games and John Scarr had two hits in game two.

The Jersey Pilots next game is on Sunday against the Staten Island Tide. The game is at Snyder Avenue Park and will start at 6:30. For updates on the Pilots, check jerseypilots.com and @ACBL_Pilots.

Railers shutout Pilots in both games of Sunday’s doubleheader​

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com and acbl-online.com

The pitchers of the Allentown Railers held the Jersey Pilots to only four hits over two games at Snyder Avenue Park as the Railers won 2-0 and 5-0.

In the second inning of game one, the Railers almost broke the tie. Pat Donnelly led off the inning with a double. The next hitter, Cal Jadacki also hit a double, presumably scoring Donnelly. However, Donnelly missed third base. The Pilots appealed and the run was taken off the board. Jadacki was left stranded.

The Railers scored game one’s only two runs in the third inning. With two outs in the inning, Casey Clauss hit a single. Allentown centerfield Brandon Soat then hit a home run to put the Railers up 2-0.

Mike Kammerer went 6.1 innings for the Railers in the win. Jersey starter Tim Pilrun went all seven innings and had six strikeouts.

In game two, the Railers got out to an early lead. Donnelly knocked in Soat with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first.

The Railers almost added another run in the third. With Andrew Coffey on first, Clauss laid down a bunt. The ball was fielded cleanly, but the throw got into the outfield. Drew DeAneglis, backing up first base, got the ball and threw it home. Pilot starting pitcher Tomy Giunta ran from down the third baseline to home, caught the ball, turned around, and tagged out a diving Coffey. 

Drew Hercik hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to score one run and Donnelly followed that up with a two-RBI double. 

In the top of the seventh, Allentown added a fifth run. Soat hit a solo homer, his second of the day and sixth of the season. 

The Jersey Pilots dropped to 9-18 on the season with the losses. The Allentown Railers improved to an ACBL best 25-3 and extended their win streak to 11 games.

The Pilots return to action on Monday against the Staten Island Tide in Staten Island. The next home game for Jersey is on Wednesday against the Trenton Generals. The Pilots and Generals will be playing a doubleheader with the first game set for 4:30. For more information on the Pilots, visit jerseypilots.com and @ACBL Pilots on twitter.

New Rules for Home Run Derby Prove to Be Successful

Todd Frazier
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That was an exciting, and important, Home Run Derby last night.

MLB implemented new rules to improve the Derby and the event was need of some excitement after last year's struggles with weather and home runs.

There were potential hiccups last night, including worries about rain and the new format, but they did not come to fruition. 

The new format is fantastic, and here to stay.

Skepticism about the new rules proved to be erroneous. The bracket is a great edition to the event as it adds more drama to the early rounds. There were multiple times that a participant hit a home run or just missed clearing the fence at the buzzer.

MLB also succeeded with the four minute clock. Originally five minutes, the clock was shorten to four due to weather concerns. And four minutes seemed to be a perfect fit. It gives the hitter enough time to get warmed up and not too much time that they are wiped out by the last round.

That does not mean that the format is perfect. The second hitter in the bracket won every round except one (4 seed Joc Pederson over 1 seed Albert Pujols in the semifinals). While that may be an anomaly, MLB should try to think of a way to give the first hitter some type of advantage. 

Joc Pederson
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Also, the 30 second bonus needs to be readjusted. It was not hard to get the bonus round. If they want to include it, maybe just have it be a guaranteed bonus round where they have a 45 second break after the first four minutes and before the bonus round.

The success of the Derby should also be attributed to the players. Each of the eight players did a great job and was exciting. Anthony Rizzo hit eight home runs in one round, the least of the day. Last year, only two players hit over eight home runs in one round (Jose Bautista and Yoenis Cespedes). The players hit homers like they were supposed to do and that is a key to the Derby's success.

The success can be shown in the TV ratings. The ESPN broadcast got a 4.9 rating, better than last year, and about the same as 2010-2013. There was also a 57% increase on viewership on WatchESPN. 

The MLB hit a home run with the new rules for the Home Run Derby. Unlike other skills competition changes that fell flat and were flops (ex: the 2014 NBA Slam Dunk Contest), the Derby's new rules are improvements on the original product and should be long lasting.