The Playoffs

No, I'm not going to talk about the future of the Red Sox, nor if St. Louis's bats can keep bailing out the Cardinal's pitching. Instead, I want to talk about which playoffs are the best.

1. Baseball: It builds. Night after night, week after week. Things that happened three games ago are relevant tonight. Heck, things that happened in 1918 are still relevant.
2. Football (NFL): Twelve teams, one month. Lose and you're out.
3. NCAA Div. I Baskeball: 64(5) teams, one month, lose and you're out. Not as exclusive as the NFL, since any team has a theoretical chance to get in via the conference tournament, and the 30+ at-large teams make the regular season irrelevant. But the passions run higher than in the NFL.
4. NHL (if played): It goes on way too long. But the skating of the Stanley Cup is the best thing about sports.
5. NBA: Too long, period. The only time worth watching is when there are two teams with a long history. Unfortunately, Larry and Magic retired over a decade ago.
6. NCAA Div. I Football: (Herman Edwards' voice:) Hello!!?? Is anybody listening? I said playoffs.