USA Today: The Continental Baseball League, slated to begin play in the spring of 2007, will award the trailing team double the runs for the first home run hit in the 7th inning.

In 1945, Howard Hobson, basketball coach of the University of Oregon Ducks when that team won the NCAA championship in 1939, came up with an idea.  Why not award three points for a long-range basket?  After all, if shooting percentages decline the further the player's distance from the hoop, wasn't a short-range shot a less worthy accomplishment?

And so in an exhibition game between Fordham and Columbia that year, the three-point shot was launched.  It was subsequently adopted by the American Basketball Association, and in 1980, the NCAA gave the Southern Conference permission to experiment with 3-pointers during the 1980-81 season.  At 7:06 p.m. on November 29, 1980, Ronnie Carr of the Western Carolina Catamounts scored the first three-pointer in official NCAA history in a game against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

Baseball, football and hockey have not followed suit, sticking to single-level scoring regardless of the distance a shot, run, pass or hit carries.  Until now.  The Continental Baseball League, a ten-team pro league that will field teams in the growing but baseball-deprived U.S. southwest, will double the runs scored by the first home run hit by a player on the trailing team in the seventh inning of its games, creating the possibility of an 8-run grand slam.

Some people, as George Bernard Shaw once said, look at the world as it is and ask--"Why?"  Others, like CBL President Ron Baron, look at the world as it might be and say--"What the hell?"

Which leads one to ask--who's next?  Imagine the following scenario:

It's fourth and long for the Albuquerque Tumbleweeds, down by nine to the Tucson Gila Monsters.  The Tumbleweeds are within field goal range with 3:47 left on the clock.  Time for a quick three points, and a three-and-out on the Gila Monsters' next possession gives Albuquerque a chance to tie the game on a Hail Mary pass, and win on the extra point.  Coach Ben Buckner calls time out, and quarterback Joe Shane comes to the sideline.  "What do we do, coach?" he asks.

"I want you to take a loss of 15 yards."

"But coach," Shane complains.  "What about my Yards-Per-Pass-to-Sack Ratio?  My bonus depends on it!"

"Never mind that," Bucker barks back at his signal-caller.  "I'll make it up to you.  After you're tackled, I want you to call the flea flicker."

"Coach--that play never works."

"So what?  If we score on it, a hand-off plus a lateral beyond the forty adds three points and we tie.  Plus I get a brand-new Buick LeSabre, with leather seats, a six-CD sound system and Bluetooth."

Shane puts his helmet back on and calls the Tumbleweeds into the huddle.  "Cheese enchilada X-right, on three--break!"

The Gila Monsters sense something is up.  Tumbleweeds'  tailback Le'Carr Jamison is lined up in the slot as Shane gesticulates wildly at the Gila Monsters linebackers, a la Peyton Manning.

"Tackle me and win a prize!" he shouts.  "Rolex watches available now for a half-sack, Sub-Zero Refrigerator for an unassisted sack."

Sensing a trick play, Gila Monsters' rover back Ty Andrews calls for a prevent defense with a cover two.  "Let him run," Andrews says.  "Don't nobody tackle him."

Shane takes the snap, fades back, stands--and waits.  With precious seconds ticking down, he rolls right, makes it to the thirty--and drop kicks the ball!

"What the hell are you doing?" Buckner yells at his quarterback as he uses his last time out.

"There was a special one-time offer," Shane explains.  "Use any obsolete play from the Duluth Eskimos playbook, and win a game-worn Bill Belichick sweatshirt."

 Copyright 2006, Con Chapman