I Miss Harry the K, But...

Harry Kalas was an incredible announcer and a Philadelphia legend. I will miss him dearly, as will millions of other sports fans. It's sad that he passed away this week, and I certainly grieve for his family.

All that said, I'd still have to say that the media and fans of this town need to start letting go and moving on. I just logged on to Philly.com to get my dose of the latest news, and right there on the front page is a live streaming video of thousands of fans paying respects to Harry the K at Citizens Bank Park. Hmmm...

For starters, I don't recall the Philadelphia Inquirer ever playing a live streaming video on their website, let alone their home page, so I find it a bit peculiar that they would start with this event.

Secondly, I watched for a moment and saw people walking up to the casket and taking photos. People were even posing with the casket and somebody snapped their picture. Is that REALLY being respectful?

And speaking of the Inquirer, the media coverage of Kalas's death has been absolutely relentless. How about we leave the man be, and perhaps sprinkle some bits about him into future broadcasts, rather than deluging us with countless personal recollections of him, showing how many people added Phillies paraphernalia to the Mike Schmidt statue at CBP, and replaying the 2008 World Series call?

Let's be clear here... Harry the K lived a long, fruitful life, seemed like a great guy, and will be greatly missed. But I think it's time to move on. Sorry for sounding "callous", but I don't think Harry would have wanted all this attention. We loved Harry, we'll miss him, we've grieved, now we collectively should let the man rest and let his family get some peace...

NBA vs. College Rules

Shamefully it's been a long time since I last posted to this blog, but as I watch tonight's Final Four showdown between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tarheels, I was just thinking about why NCAA basketball rules are so different from NBA rules. To wit, here are some differences:

-NCAA plays 20 minute halves, vs. 12-minute quarters in NBA
-1 and 1 foul situations in NCAA, but not in NBA
-possession arrow in NCAA vs. jump ball in the pros
-shorter 3-point arc in NCAA

I'd like to know what the reasoning is behind having these disparate rules. Seems to me like the NCAA should mesh with the NBA rules since they're essentially training their players on how to play in the pros. In addition, it takes out the confusion for novice fans if the rules are more universal.

All in all, what's the benefit of having different regulations between the two?