PHILADELPHIA — Gather 'round, kids, and listen to a story about a year called 2011. It was a magical time. There was no TikTok. There was no inflation. There was barely even time itself. Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee were on the mound, and those two worked fast. The Phillies played 27 games in 2 1/2 hours or less that season. For a baseball beat writer, it was like being granted a life-and-a-half. Nobody is more acutely aware of the length of a game than someone who does not have the freedom to turn it off.
It wasn't until a few years later that I realized just how much of a slog baseball had become. After covering a few NBA games, I began to notice that I was walking out of the press box on the same day I walked in. I could take an actual train up Broad Street instead of a bus. I could get a drink if I wanted to. These were the Sixers, so I usually did.
Say what you will about regular-season basketball, but at least it's over fast. Adam Silver and the gang know what works. Play some commercials, play some Drake, spend the rest of the time playing basketball.
