Cleveland is going to be turnt tonight.
Or, more appropriately, late this PM. At least if you live in the central time zone.
The Bulls vs Cavs NBA Eastern Conference semifinal will tip at 6:00p CT tonight, with the Cardinals vs Indians first pitch taking place even earlier at 5:10p CT. Both games should be long completed by 9:00p CT.
Why?
For the NBA, the start time would be a 7:00 ET start and allows TNT to put a double header with both games appearing in primetime. The baseball start, though, is a bit more curious.
The game times tonight and tomorrow are part of a 5 game experiment that the Indians testing for the first time. A press release from the team earlier in the year stated the reasons:
To avoid potential weather issues. Additionally, families and children who may be attending the games will arrive home an hour earlier.
Cleveland Indians games used to be amongst the most attended in MLB. From 1995 thru 2001, the team ranked no lower than 3rd amongst all AL teams. But in the past 3 seasons, they’ve ranked either last or next to last on the junior circuit.
Not good, considering that the team was a Wild Card participant in 2013 and 8 games over .500 in 2014.
The ‘test’ doesn’t appear to be moving the needle in the right direction, though. Through today, they’ve averaged 15,929 fans per game (or about 37% of capacity), ranking last in MLB.
Conceptually, it’s an interesting idea, though. Especially in an age where more and more work can be done remotely or outside of normal 8-5 ‘business hours’.
What do you think?
Take the Cast Poll: LINK HERE
Photo: HuffPost
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
