It was an interesting Tuesday night of sports TV watching.  There was the Opening Night in the NBA, including the Bucks loss to the Chicago Bulls.  There was the random Conference USA football game between Marshall and Houston, entertaining as always.  There was no World Series though.  Game Five is still suspended.  Cole Hamels is still due up to face Grant Balfour in the bottom of the sixth.  Still.

One great thing about football is the visual when the game is played in the elements.  The "Snow Globe" playoff game between the Packers and Seahawks in January made for great viewing.  So did the 2001 divisional playoff between Oakland and New England.  Heck, even that Dolphins-Steelers Monday night game that was played in a downpour was fun to watch, even though the final score was 3-0.  The same is not true with baseball.  I don't want to see puddles in the outfield or mud in the infield or players wearing earmuffs.

This is the risk you take when you schedule the World Series this late in October.  Granted, there's no guarantee the weather wouldn't be like this on October 15 or October 20 or whatever.  But the later the Series goes, the greater the probability that inclement weather will play a role.  This is especially troubling when you consider that next year the World Series could go as late as November 5, or December 5 if Mother Nature has her way.

Of course, this all takes away from what has been a pretty good series and certainly a well-played series by Philadelphia.  The power surge is back and so is Ryan Howard.  Again , the Phillies got unexpected good pitching from Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton and the entire Philly staff virtually shut down the heart of Tampa Bay's lineup.  But now the story is about the weather and who gets the advantage with the delay.  I would argue Philadelphia does because they get to stay at home during this break and the longer the delay, the better chance Hamels might be available again if needed.  Temperatures tonight are expected to be in the lower 40s and if the rain doesn't go away soon, the temperatures will eventually get down to the lower 30s.  The Snow Globe was fun to watch , The Snow Series would not be.