Sports Retorts: Shoot the quatro

Continued from page 8 quickly.

Sharpen that pencil a bit more. Award four points for a field goal from the centerline. With the possibility of a foul and free throw, a team could be five points down in the closing seconds of a game and still have a chance for a tie or a win.

As with baseball, shorten the season to, say, 75 games (I’d prefer 60, but I am trying to be somewhat realistic here). Same logic: more rest, more time for resting and recovery, fewer injuries, more court time for the stars that fans come out to see.

But, the capitalist in you might say, fewer games will mean less money for owners. Maybe not. Maybe fewer games will mean more meaningful games and bigger crowds, i.e., more hot dogs and Budweiser sold.

Next up: Football’s facelift.

Baseball

Continued from page 8 runs. He struck out five batters and walked three. Caleb Ferguson (3-1) took the loss. He lasted one-third of an inning, giving up one hit and three earned runs. He walked three batters and hit a fourth.

In Orange County, the Halos trailed 4-1 early, but scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. Mike Trout singled in two runs and Matt Thaiss did the same. Taylor Ward added another run with a home run.

The first Angel score came on a Shohei Ohtani home run, his 16th of the year.