MLB’s playoff format has been the subject of increasing controversy, but league commissioner Rob Manfred is stressing caution.

Already featuring a series of upstart teams in this year’s postseason, the upset wave has continued as the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Rays — who each won at least 99 games during the regular season — collectively won just a single playoff game and failed to advance beyond the division series.

Instead, the league championship series matchups of the Houston Astros-Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies-Arizona Diamondbacks feature three wild card teams and a combined 354 regular-season wins — the lowest total ever for an MLB final four.

The current, 12-team postseason format emerged from the labor deal struck early last year with the MLB Players Association. 

“It’s only Year 2,” Manfred said prior to Game 4 of the division series between the Phillies and Braves. “I’m sort of the view [that] you need to give something a chance to work out. And I know some of the higher-seeded teams didn’t win. If you think about where some of those teams were, there are other explanations than a five-day layoff.”

Viewership Down, Prices Up

The wild card round ended with a television viewership decline, and the league faces more potential ratings struggles with the remaining teams — even if they include the nation’s fourth-, fifth-, seventh-, and 11th-largest markets. The national followings of the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, or Los Angeles Dodgers will be missed.

On a local level, though, the Phillies’ upcoming LCS matchup against the Diamondbacks has already driven the most expensive list prices ever on the secondary ticket market for that playoff round, according to ticket aggregator TicketIQ — an average of $1,488 per ticket. 

Add another international target — and a decidedly unconventional one —  for the NHL in its fast-growing global ambitions.

The league is now looking to stage games in Mexico, a significant expansion of its activities outside the U.S. and Canada. 

Since restarting its Global Series tour in 2017, the league has played in Australia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. Compared to most of those countries, Mexico would be a less fertile hockey market, but the NHL still sees big opportunities in America’s southern neighbor.

“Mexico City is on a short list because our teams are very interested in going there and exploring that market,” said Steve Mayer, NHL chief content officer, on ESPN’s “The Drop” podcast. “There are teams that would really love to go to Mexico.”

Not surprisingly, one of those is the Arizona Coyotes, who have marketed to local Latino fans for many years and are now in the midst of significant business transition. Other logical candidates would include the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars, each of which play in states bordering Mexico and have previously held hockey camps in Mexico City. 

The league’s potential plans for Mexico could notably include both indoor and outdoor settings.

“Mexico City, because of the climate, might be a little more difficult to go with an outdoor game,” Mayer said. “But those things are challenges for us that we love to take on.”

Popular Destination

The NHL would be the last of the four major U.S.-based pro leagues to stage games in Mexico, as the NFL, MLB, and NBA have all been there multiple times. 

As each of these leagues looks to expand their business, overseas games have taken on even more importance to overall operations. Most recently, the NFL expressed interest in playing in Spain and Brazil.

UFC’s next big fight may be outside the Octagon as it escalates a bitter rift with a leading anti-doping agency.

The MMA property is creating its own drug-testing program and threatening legal action against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after the latter claimed UFC did “an about-face” on the status of Conor McGregor, as well as on their future relationship.

USADA has said that McGregor, like any other fighter, must spend six months in a drug-testing pool and pass two tests before competing. Having been out of the pool since 2021, he made his reentry on Sunday. McGregor was previously expected to fight in December, but his status has been in question because of the testing rules.

“We do not currently know whether UFC will ultimately honor the six-month-or-longer requirement,” the agency said. “The UFC’s move imperils the immense progress made within the sport under USADA’s leadership.”

That prompted an angry reply from UFC, which objected to both the public announcement of McGregor’s entering the testing pool — something not normally done in order to protect athletes’ privacy — and the attacks on its organizational credibility. UFC also insisted that McGregor won’t be fighting until next year.

“It was a dirty move by them,” UFC president Dana White said of USADA on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “That was straight scumbag-ism what happened. … The you-know-what is about to hit the fan on that one.”

The property will begin working with Drug Free Sport International in January, when its current USADA deal ends.

Defying a UFC request for a public retraction and apology, USADA responded that it “stands by our statement and our credibility.”