BASEBALL OR FOOTBALL? by Steven M., Scituate, MA Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have obviously done wonders for the sport of baseball this past season. All their hype (and that of a few young guns including Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra) have brought back much excitement. Despite this, I'm sorry to say that football has taken baseball's spot as America's pastime.

When is the last time you heard of having a group of people over for a World Series party? Probably never. Every year, there are Super Bowl parties all over. The Super Bowl is the most-watched sporting event. Everyone knows when the Super Bowl is. This year I found it rather funny that I, someone who watches enjoys, plays and follows baseball, did not even know when the World Series was on TV. That tells me that there is something wrong with the sport of baseball.

The pace of the game is much too slow. A football game keeps you interested the whole time. The fan actually gets pumped up when his/her favorite team makes a great play. While watching a baseball game, I often find myself dozing off or changing the channel to watch a movie I've already seen 19 times.

For baseball to stay a top sport in the United States, it is going to have to make the game more exciting and faster paced. I am not sure what they should do. Maybe make the umps dress up like rabid chickens or light the ball on fire. Whatever they do, they better do it fast, so that kids like myself aren't watching the National Tree-Climbing Championships over the Red Sox versus The Royals. Good luck, baseball!