Anyone else dumb enough to run wild-card standings?

I realize that it's basically the only way our hometown team can make the playoffs, but when they are 7 back (with the Reds currently playing), and six teams are in front of them, doesn't it seem kind of useless?

 

It can be tough to fill an agate page this time of year -- without resorting to WNBA or MLS standings -- so go for it.

 

Nothing wrong with running WNBA or MLS standings.

In fact, I'd say you probably should run them, especially if you don't run stories/roundups. It allows whatever fans you have of those two sports in your area to keep track.

 

Agreed.

 

I can't imagine not running MLS or WNBA or CFL or Arena League standings in agate.

 

Agreed. Same, around here, with NHL standings.

 

The WNBA and MLS have fans???

How many of you guys actually run any WNBA or MLS stories???

 

I wouldn't care if they told me to run the wild-card standings in agate.
But when they're at the very top of our baseball page, it's kind of pathetic.

And we run MLS, WNBA, Arena League (team in our city), and even USL-1 (formerly the A-League; team in our city) standings in agate.

 

That's where they fit best. Standings then boxscores.

Put AL and NL standings with results and today's games. Then wild card standings. What's the problem? They take up like an inch or two of agate space.

 

I think they're good to run, even in late July. Lots of folks around here are fans of one of those teams and I constantly hear talk of the wild card from them. So what there's two months left. It's nice to know how you're doing at the moment.

 

MLS will continue to grow, trust me. It will not rival NFL, NASCAR, etc. ... but it will grow. And there are fans out there ... I know of at least one.

 

Of course you should run wild card standings. Especially as we're getting to August. If a team is 7 games back, that's not impossible to make the jump with 60 games left. Devoted baseball fans - and there are plenty - are looking at the wild card standings throughout the year to see how much ground their team has to make up.
Are you running the wild card standings at the top of the page by themselves, or are they with the regular standings?

On MLS and WNBA - I think those standings need to run. While neither league has a huge following, there are fans out there. At our paper, if we don't run MLS and WNBA standings, we're going to end up running transactions for minor league baseball teams and those deals letting everyone know who was just hired as the crew coach at Dartmouth. Like it or not, MLS and WNBA are pro sports, and the standings only take up a couple inches.