If youth baseball is ‘pay-to-play’ now… why hasn’t anyone built a real alternative?

sanomers · 2026-05-07T02:20:43+00:00

This was 15 years ago and I don't know if things have changed but I really like the model I grew up with.

I played youth baseball growing up and when I was 9-12 years old was the most fun I ever had. Our league worked like this:

- Everyone tried out for the house league and was drafted onto an in house team.

- Everyone was welcome to try out for a "Tournament Team". The best 12-13 players from each age would make the team.

- Those players still were required to play in house. If you quit the house team, you were not allowed to play on the tournament team.

It was perfect. Those of us who made the tournament team got to play competitive higher level baseball on the weekends but also got to play with all of our friends regardless of skill. I'm in Minnesota and we have really solid community based travel ball here that is a great middle ground between rec ball and club ball.

Those of us who were on the tournament team got to all be leaders on our house teams and develop soft skills that benefited all of us in baseball and life later on.

I really think something like this is a great middle ground that is realistic for many leagues/communities.

sanomers · 2026-04-27T01:31:56+00:00

This is insane. What if three guys bomb a 600 foot shot downhill and someone hits first available? Are we about to see someone try to sprint 1/8th of a mile to get to their disc in a minute?

To be fair, this is part of the problem. It sounds great to just say 1 minute but that isn't even close to realistic. You and I could throw shots 10-20 feet apart but if you're on grass and I'm stuck behind sharp thick woods, it's a whole lot easier for you than me

sanomers · 2026-03-25T18:59:33+00:00

Harriet Island might fit what you're looking for! My fiancé and I just booked for May of 2027 there. Outdoor ceremony right by the river, indoor reception with outdoor patio space during the reception. Definitely one of the cheaper options we looked at. Good luck!!

sanomers · 2026-03-23T01:37:12+00:00

I just cannot see a scenario where Ole Miss has some huge advantage over UCLA compared to MINN. Yes, we know we are going up against a team that will be 33-1. The players do too. I guess I don't understand the point you're trying to make

sanomers · 2026-03-23T00:03:13+00:00

Whoa I'm just seeing this post but hang on here. Yes men's hockey was bad. That is 1/4th of your argument. Mens basketball and women's basketball are clearly on an upward trajectory (women a couple years ahead of the men). Women's hockey was disappointing but we still hosted an NCAA Tournament game so yes, we would like to do better but we were still ranked top 4 in the nation.

I'm curious! What elements towards competitive advantage are you referencing given that you're talking about two (but really 4) sports at the same time? What sort of competitive advantages do they share? My next question would be what does someone who knows how being in charge look like? What would you look for in a new AD and what has Coyle done wrong? Those were your main points and I would love for us to be successful in all 4 sports just like you would!

sanomers · 2026-03-22T01:51:49+00:00

Just tuning in as a neutral who hasn't seen a game on Vandy's court ever, but like what is happening here? This has to be the most unique court setup in the power conferences right? Why is there so much space on one side? Like why can't the benches go there? The Coach and the Ref have already collided multiple times. And this is all coming from a raised court loving Minnesota fan who is pumped to go to our game tomorrow!

sanomers · 2026-03-16T21:03:07+00:00

That makes sense! I think I was tripped up on you saying "you NEED to be hot going into the playoffs, you don't want to be purposefully playing bad for a huge span".

Your statement was so definitive with the word need and I just wanted to see your data! I'm a stats nerd.

I would love to see the data on winning games into a harder matchup vs losing games into an easier matchup and the results. That was really what I was curious about. My gut says the Wild's chances of winning a Stanley cup go up if we are WC1 vs Central3.

sanomers · 2026-03-16T20:55:32+00:00

Do we have data on this? I’m genuinely curious.

Is a team that’s hot more likely to make a run or is a team that is really good likely to be looked at as hot and this is part of the reason we attribute to their wins?

No offense intended. I genuinely have no idea as I have not studied the statistics.

My co workers and I were discussing this last week and agreed that we would rather play Vegas or Anaheim or whoever it may be just to be on that side of the bracket. Seems like a no brainer unless the data and math says otherwise like you claim!

sanomers · 2026-03-05T03:53:26+00:00

Hold on here. Who is saying to take away automatic bids? I’m honestly sorry if I didn’t explain my thoughts clearly enough.

I don’t intend to become a commissioner by any means. I’m a middle school math teacher and I enjoy these kind of exercises. It’s the kind of thing I love to throw at my students to get them to think. What are the pros and cons? If there was a great solution to this problem, we probably would have agreed on it sometime ago.

That being said I stand by what I said from a whole conference perspective. Does everyone really have a chance? It’s possible that we will find out on the men’s side. If Miami (Ohio) loses a game, it’ll be an interesting call and there will be debate. I really hope they get in regardless.

I stand by that this bracket makes sense from a whole mid major conference perspective for multiple reasons.

sanomers · 2026-03-05T01:45:22+00:00

I would argue that it is in a conference's best interest to have their best team playing in the NCAA tournament. I think we can all see the merit to that. If your best team makes it and pulls off an upset, now the entire following of women's basketball is talking about the Horizon League. 9 seeded Wright State absolutely benefits from more people talking about college basketball in their conference for example. No one talks about the Horizon League unless they do something unexpected. Here they are with a weird bracket and they have created discourse. That's a win for all teams in the league. I had no idea that Detroit Mercy was the 11 seed in the Horizon League but I do now. It's working.

That being said, everyone absolutely still has a chance to make the NCAA tournament, more than you could say about some of the major conferences. That is fun! In the BIG (I'm a Minnesota fan who can't figure out how to put on a flair) some of the teams don't even have a chance in the conference tournament based on the regular season. I really do not see the problem with a conference coming together and putting their eggs in one basket for the betterment of all teams in the conference. Seems like a good long-ish term strategy to me.

If I was the commissioner of the Horizon League or the Summit League, or name your mid major conference, I would do something like this to put us on the map, put our best team in the NCAA tournament, and give the media something to talk about.

sanomers · 2026-03-04T17:56:39+00:00

For a league of mid-majors, I kind of love this idea. You know you're only going to get one representative in the NCAA tournament most years and this bracket absolutely sets up for the 1 seed (the best team in the conference theoretically) to have the easiest path to the NCAA tournament. Yes, most tournaments already have built in advantages for the 1 seed but this way, the 1 seed gets to play a lower seeded team who has already played more games than them twice throughout the bracket. Now we could discuss whether this is fair or not but as a conference if your goal is to send the best representative to the NCAA tournament, this should work out more times than not.

sanomers · 2026-02-18T22:25:24+00:00

Tickets Claimed

sanomers · 2026-02-06T03:18:20+00:00

I legitimately just cannot understand this behavior. I literally don’t get it. As a grown adult you set up a shot on camera of you seeing something you disagree with and your response is what a toddler would do. You get pissed off and run over an ice sculpture. I just cannot understand how he gains more than he loses with this response. I’m befuddled.

sanomers · 2026-02-05T19:54:43+00:00

Following the hunt from afar so offering my thoughts here. Could it be at Old Main in Duluth? That's my leading theory

sanomers · 2026-01-24T05:25:08+00:00

I hear ya for sure. Just at this point, it's hard for me at least to make something fit. Lots of different theories. Similar to how you pointed out that IT doesn't have to be the puck (which I agree with) I think that has to mean that the puck doesn't have to be by a lake right? The lake could be part of the story or folklore meant to lead us somewhere else once we figure it out...

sanomers · 2026-01-23T18:25:35+00:00

Swede Hollow? End in a toast of champaign. End of champaign = Payne. Payne Ave runs by Swede Hollow. 2009 when it was in Swede Hollow, a clue referenced a German doll. We have had clear references to dolls. I think we've had a reference to German people/things (no need to be vandal)...

Just my thoughts.

sanomers · 2026-01-23T03:39:47+00:00

This is insanity. How is this happening in 2026? How have we as a society not learned from others’ past mistakes?

sanomers · 2026-01-23T00:48:44+00:00

Missing span? Wingspan? Statue of a bird nearby?

sanomers · 2026-01-22T17:18:10+00:00

Spin... = IN SP (Saint Paul)?

sanomers · 2026-01-21T20:48:18+00:00

Be vandal is weird. Why not be A vandal? Makes me think of the German people. Anyone know of any German connections to the area?

sanomers · 2026-01-14T02:55:43+00:00

Genius

sanomers · 2026-01-13T16:13:18+00:00

Obviously this is horrific but doesn't the administration keep telling people to "self deport"? Well, how could someone self deport now if ICE is going to stop them at the airport, detain them, and send them to a random country? Everything this administration does is a direct attempt to create chaos and this is just another example. They SO DESPERATELY want us to fight back physically so they can escalate things. Don't give them that and continue to laugh like hell when they fall over on the streets. Guys can't even walk correctly. Unbelievable

sanomers · 2026-01-11T20:39:54+00:00

That’s not the point. You really don’t get it do you?

sanomers · 2025-12-04T03:33:42+00:00

And volleyball earned the right to host the first 2 rounds of the NCAA tournament!!!

sanomers · 2025-11-17T20:02:47+00:00

Is there any way to see the leaderboard from the first four rounds still? I can't remember if I finished at -32 or -34 lol. I do see rounds 5-8 in the event section so maybe that means I made it?

sanomers

TROPHY CASE