The WNBA does it right!

The calendar is cruel. Oktoberfest technically begins in September, the NHL begins in October and the World Series could last into November if necessary. The Super Bowl is even now played in February-- and while that will take some getting used to, it's not difficult to adapt. While football is king, baseball doesn't have a handle on the long-term and hockey just needs the revenue (Oktoberfest can be explained by the fact that David Hasselhoff is big over there), there are a few leagues ignoring the sanctity of the sports calendar. The PGA is holding its "playoff", known as the Fed Ex Cup, just as the football season is kicking off. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't golf already hold its "playoff"-- the four majors? Tiger's the player of the year regardless of how well he fares in the Fed Ex because of the PGA Championship and runnerup finishes in the US and Masters. Will any casual fan take their eyes off the start of the NFL season to follow this "playoff"? Major League Soccer is a league looking to build its profile-- and you can't fault their effort. The MLS schedule kicks off in March and ends in November. Way too long. Pro soccer should be played between Memorial Day and Labor Day, building tension towards lightning-quick playoffs (aggregate goals? pu-leeze) that end before the NFL season gets in gear. Wouldn't it be great to have an MLS "final four" during Labor Day weekend? Instead, MLS decides its title during the pro football & basketball, college football & basketball and hockey seasons. That's one way the WNBA has it right. Womens pro basketball tips off in late May--when most NBA cities are eliminated from the playoffs and a few small-market baseball teams are done for the year as well. The league just wrapped up it's regular season and will be done within the next month, so its championship series doesn't get completely overshadowed. If only other leagues could learn from the WNBA-- what did I just say?