Anchor Drop, May 16, 2018: A two-touchdown inning?

Good morning.

Vanderbilt played Middle Tennessee at Hawkins Field last night, and let’s have a look at what happened in the bottom of the third, which started with Vanderbilt down 4-3.

DeMarco singled to third base.

DeMarco stole second.

Scott homered to left center, DeMarco scored.

Kaiser walked.

Paul singled to right, Kaiser to second.

Pitching change.

Duvall singled to right, Kaiser scored, Paul to third.

Gonzalez singled up the middle, Paul scored, Duvall to second.

Duvall to third, Gonzalez to second on wild pitch.

Martin walked.

Pitching change.

Clarke struck out looking. (YOU HAD ONE JOB)

Bleday walked, Duvall scored, Gonzalez to third, Martin to second.

(Let’s take a break for a moment to point out that Vanderbilt has already batted around, there’s one out, five runs are in, and the bases are loaded. This is a successful inning if Pat DeMarco grounds into a double play to end the inning right here.)

Gonzalez scored, Martin to third, Bleday to second on wild pitch.

(He’s not grounding into a double play.)

DeMarco walked. Martin scored, Bleday to third on wild pitch.

(THIS IS THE THIRD WILD PITCH OF THE INNING. Also, seven runs are in. TOUCHDOWN VANDERBILT!!!!!)

Scott doubled to left, Bleday scored, DeMarco scored.

Kaiser doubled to left, Scott scored.

Paul struck out looking.

(Finally, a second out. Ten runs are in. Surely we’re almost done here...)

Duvall walked.

Gonzalez singled through the left side, Kaiser scored, Duvall to second.

Pitching change.

(THIS IS THE THIRD PITCHING CHANGE OF THE INNING.)

Martin walked, Duvall to third, Gonzalez to second.

Clarke singled, Duvall scored, Gonzalez scored, Martin to third, Clarke to second advancing on throw.

Martin scored, Clarke to third on passed ball.

Bleday struck out swinging.

If you lost count, Vanderbilt scored 14 runs in a single inning. Vanderbilt would go on to win the game 21-4. Take that, Middle.

In other news: men’s golf finished Tuesday in a tie for fifth at the Kissimmee Regional in the NCAA Tournament. That’s a bit of a tough spot: the Commodores are in a tie with North Carolina and Colorado State, and the top five teams advance to the championship round later this month. Play will conclude on Wednesday.

Off the West End

We’re a bit late to the party, but the Supreme Court overturned a federal law that effectively banned sports gambling everywhere other than Nevada. (Remember, folks: betting point spreads is terrible, but that Daily Fantasy Sports nonsense is encouraged.) Note that the Supreme Court didn’t actually legalize sports gambling, but kicked it back down to the states (or to Congress to pass a law either legalizing or banning it everywhere.)

Surprisingly, the dumbassery that normally surrounds this issue has been muted. No, legalizing betting won’t encourage match-fixing; in fact, the far more likely outcome will be to discourage it. It’s considerably harder to pull off a fix when your bookie won’t get arrested if he tells the feds that you just dropped a couple million on a game between Oral Roberts and South Dakota State. (What, you’re just that confident in Mike Daum? Please, no teenage girl has two million laying around.) Plus, the possibility that DraftKings and FanDuel get murdered is an irresistible potential side effect.

Still, Tennessee’s not going to legalize this and you damn well know it. But Mississippi (because of course Mississippi) is moving to add sportsbooks to Tunica.

Robinson Cano drew an 80-game suspension for PEDs.

Your winners of the 2018 NBA tanking sweepstakes, the Phoenix Suns.

The Boston Celtics took a 2-0 lead on LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Also, a fun tidbit about Celtics head coach Brad Stevens:

(Granted, Bryce was only responsible for the last one of those, but still...)