Start times for postseason games

In yesterday's Boston Globe, Bob Ryan captured my thoughts exactly on late start times for postseason games in professional sports:

"It's time those pampered PDT/PSTers had to live with World Series, baseball playoffs, NBA Finals, and Final Four starting times that either a) prevent normal working people from seeing the finish of games or b) preclude the youth of America from watching these games at all. That's the reality of life on the East Coast."

I remember all too well the sorry state in which I existed during one month in the fall of my junior year of high school, that being the Sox' October 2004 playoff run. The ALCS against the Yankees was especially brutal. I don't deal well with less than 8 hours of sleep now, and as you might imagine, 16-year-old me handled the chronic baseball-induced sleep deprivation even more poorly. When a Sox/Yanks game lasted until after 2 in the morning and I had to get up at 6:23 to get ready for school, it was trouble.

I'm tired (pun intended) of bending over backwards for the benefit of left-coasters and the networks. Thankfully, some start times are getting moved up for postseason baseball games this fall. It's not perfect, but it's a start. And in this world of maddeningly staggered progress, that's all one can realistically expect.