What?  What am I saying?  Television, the very thing that made sports what it is today, is somehow ruining them?

Yes.  And one of the many examples is the baseball playoffs.

Both the Diamondbacks and Rockies were done with their series on Saturday night.  Yet, they didn't play again until Thursday night.  Why?  Television.  In case there was a Game 5 in the Indians/Yankess series, TBS wanted to make sure there were no conflicts and that Game 5 would have center stage on Wednesday night. 

Television has made it so that everything is far too scheduled out.  In the past, it seemed as though the games would be played, and they'd find a realistic time to start the following series where it was fair for both teams and not dependant on television.  That time would have been Tuesday in the Rockies/DBacks series. 

So how does this "ruin" things?  Well the Rockies, who have been as hot as any team in the history of sports to close the season, now have had 4 days to cool off.  And 4 days is longer than even the All-Star break, making it an irregular schedule for the players on each team. 

What are other examples of television schedules wreaking havoc with sports?  What about the NBA Playoffs?  Can anyone honestly say they enjoy the two-and-a-half week 1st round, when pretty much everyone knows who's going to win 6 of the 8 series?  But they make sure that every game is on television, and give the Lakers a 4 day break between games just so they can play on Sunday.

How about instead of contriving television schedules, we let the games speak for themselves?  Instead of making sure Kobe gets every Sunday game, let's try to develop the other stars of the game and see young teams like the Warriors.  And instead of seeing a break that's longer than any break in the regular season, let's just see some playoff baseball.