WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Alex Anderson wants the Yankees to go away.

A die-hard Red Sox fan, the 11-year-old New Englander would like his team's archrival to disappear. Not just from the 2019 American League pennant race, but from baseball. Like, for good.

Last week, I spent two days in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series. My mission? To find out how today's youth feel about the current state of Major League Baseball. To learn what an international cross-section of young stars thinks about the sport most of them dream of playing for a living, but that has come under siege in recent years for being too slow. Too boring. Too dangerous. Too not basketball or football.

"Get rid of the Yankees," says Anderson, when asked what one thing he would change if he could about the big leagues. Standing on a shaded knoll on the campus of the Pennsylvania College of Technology, where he and roughly 200 fellow LLWS participants are indulging in burgers and dogs and playing cornhole as part of a welcome barbecue, he's 48 hours from taking the mound as the starting pitcher for Barrington, Rhode Island, winner of the New England regional. But right now, he's the ad hoc commish of MLB. He's Mini-Manfred. As such, he has the power to do anything he wants. And what he wants more than anything -- more than extended safety netting or automated strike zones, more than faster games or fewer shifts -- is to ban the Bronx Bombers. "Eject all the Yankees players," he says. "And then get all the scrubs on their team, so then they'll never win a game."

"It's like having lots of explosions. It's nice to watch." Lincoln Gruppelaar, 11-year-old from Sydney, Australia, on MLB's home run surge

The Yankees aren't the only part of MLB that Alex Anderson doesn't like. "It's boring," he says of watching his beloved BoSox on TV. "That's why I don't watch 'em very much. It takes too long. Games are three hours, and pace of play is really slow." It's worth nothing that Anderson's favorite baseball team did, in fact, win the World Series last year. On top of that, his favorite player (Mookie Betts) won the MVP. Still, the rising sixth grader and part-time point guard would rather tune in to the Celtics than the Sox. "I like watching basketball better."

When an 11-year-old boy who's really good at baseball and whose team is riding the world champion wave (albeit just barely) would prefer to watch some other sport, it's hard to argue that there's not a marketing problem. Major League Baseball is aware of this, which is why the powers-that-be are experimenting with anything and everything to make the game as fan-friendly as possible. Fewer mound visits and shorter breaks between innings. Revamped All-Star voting and heightened Home Run Derby stakes. Automated umpires and, depending on which conspiracy theories you do or do not accept, doctored baseballs that even your Grandma Goldie would have no problem hitting over the fence. In San Francisco. With the wind blowing in. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

"I think it's exciting," says Justin Labrador of the rise in round-trippers. In fact, the 10-year-old second baseman/center fielder from Elizabeth, New Jersey, is so into Launchapalooza 2019 he makes sure to end his batting practice sessions with a bona fide bat flip.

Labrador's not the only youngster who's all aboard the tater train.

"It's like having lots of explosions," says Lincoln Gruppelaar of why he's all-in on MLB's current homer-happy climate. An 11-year-old second baseman from Sydney, Australia, Gruppelaar had only been to one major league game prior to Sunday's Little League Classic. It was the beginning of the 2014 season, when the Dodgers and Diamondbacks went Down Under to kick things off with a two-game set in which there were a grand total of two home runs. Five years later, taters are up roughly 60 percent across the league and Gruppelaar is loving it. Leading the charge is Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, who as of Monday had hit 62 bombs in his past 162 games, a pace that helped him become the 2018 NL MVP. Not to mention a certain Aussie amateur's favorite player. Says Gruppelaar of the dinger deluge: "It's nice to watch."

Watching isn't the only thing homers are good for.

Santiago Leija came this close to catching a real live home run ball. It was 2017, and the young hurler from Mexico was at Yankee Stadium to take in a big-league game. As fate would have it, New York catcher Gary Sanchez went deep, depositing the ball in the very section where Leija was sitting. "It was right next to me," says the 12-year-old from Monterrey, "but I couldn't grab it." Two years later, with parks across the league preparing to roll out expanded safety netting, the odds of a young fan grabbing a game ball are dropping like a Masahiro Tanaka splitter. And the kids are less than thrilled about it.

"I don't like it," says Leija of the extended netting initiative, a response to the recent spike in high-profile fan injuries. "Because you can't get foul balls anymore."

"Even little people are hitting home runs now, and they're hitting the ball way harder. So that's really going to affect how people get hit and how bad the injuries are." Ryder Planchard, 12-year-old from Louisiana, on extended safety netting in ballparks

Based on the conversations I had with players in Williamsport, Leija's opinion is hardly a hot take. "It's sad because you can't catch foul balls and everybody wants an MLB ball," says Ryder Planchard, a 12-year-old third baseman on the Southwest regional champion squad from Louisiana. "It just really sucks that sometimes you can't get that now."

That's not to say Little Leaguers don't get the big picture. "Even little people are hitting home runs now," says Planchard, "and they're hitting the ball way harder. So that's really going to affect how people get hit and how bad the injuries are."

Even though the spike in exit velocity and homers leads to more offense and a supposedly more exciting product, some of the future leaders of America's pasttime aren't entirely sold.

"Lately, the games are a little more boring because everybody's just hitting home runs," says Jonathan Rangel, a 12-year-old Venezuelan whose favorite big leaguer is Rangers second baseman (and fellow countryman) Rougned Odor. "I like it when the game is more fast-paced. When it's 3-2, you know the game is good. But if it's like 15-0, it's boring."

Free passes can be boring, too, which is why Gruppelaar would make that his cause if he were commish for a day. "I'd make it like five balls instead of four because I want more hits to be made," he says. "I don't want everybody to be walked."

"Lately, the games are a little more boring because everybody's just hitting home runs. I like it when the game is more fast-paced. When it's 3-2, you know the game is good. But if it's like 15-0, it's boring." Jonathan Rangel, 12-year-old from Venezuela

Brett Triplett agrees that the more bats on balls (and the more balls in yards), the better. "The best part is watching the players make diving plays," says the 12-year-old from South Riding, Virginia. "And hitting the ball hard up the gaps and seeing how fast they run to get to the next base."

As fate would have it, the last time Triplett attended an MLB game, he got pretty much everything his heart desired. With the Nationals and Royals squaring off in D.C., he got to see several of baseball's blurriest burners, including Washington's Victor Robles and Trea Turner (Triplett's favorite player), and K.C.'s Billy Hamilton and Adalberto Mondesi. He got to see Max Scherzer toss seven scoreless innings during a 6-0 shutout in which the two teams combined for 18 hits, 17 of which were non-homers. As if that weren't enough, he got to see the Nats rocking their throwback Expos unis.

Perhaps most important, he got to see it all in an unusually kid-friendly 2 hours and 44 minutes, one of Washington's quickest contests of the year. Not that he was paying any attention to the time.

"I don't really care that much," says Triplett about the whole pace-of-play issue.

"It can be slow and boring. But it's mostly fun and exciting. Because no matter what happens, like even if the game's going slow and boring, if someone does something good, it feels like having fun. So baseball's always just fun." Brett Triplett, 12-year-old from South Riding, Virginia

Truth is, he's too busy watching the game to be watching the clock. "Twenty-four/seven," he says when asked about his baseball viewing habits. "I watch it on TV, and then I check ESPN on my phone. I look at the scores and the highlights. I go to YouTube and I look at the highlights."

Like many of the athletes in Williamsport, he's a young man caught between childhood and adulthood, well aware that the game he loves is imperfect, but more than willing to accept it for what it is.

"It can be slow and boring," says Triplett. "But it's mostly fun and exciting. Because no matter what happens, like even if the game's going slow and boring, if someone does something good, it feels like having fun. So baseball's always just fun."

Even with the Yankees.

Former international distance runner and British Triathlon chief executive takes on the position left vacant by Niels de Vos last year

Zara Hyde Peters has been announced as the new chief executive of UK Athletics (UKA).

The appointment of the former international distance runner, who previously worked for the national governing body from 2000 to 2008, ends the search for a successor to Niels de Vos, who left the organisation last September.

Nigel Holl, who held the interim CEO position, moves on to become executive performance director at British Curling.

“I’m delighted to be returning to the sport I love and to do so as chief executive of UK Athletics is a massive honour,” said Hyde Peters, whose previous roles at UKA included head of potential, technical director for endurance and director of athlete development – an executive director board level role.

“It is an exciting time for the sport.

“We have a huge opportunity to build on recent successes and I’m excited about being part of the team helping to realise that potential and cement our reputation as a leader in world athletics.”

After leaving UKA, Hyde Peters spent a successful spell leading British Triathlon as CEO from 2008-2014 before taking on leadership positions within the NHS.

She has also worked with UK Sport and Sport Birmingham and currently sits on the board of Birmingham 2022, the local organising committee of the Commonwealth Games.

Hyde Peters’ career as an elite athlete saw her represent Great Britain in endurance events during the 1990s and compete for England in the 1994 Commonwealth Games 10,000m, while she received an OBE for services to athletics and triathlon in 2010.

Chris Clark, who became UKA chair in June, said: “We are thrilled Zara has accepted the offer to be UKA’s next CEO.

“Our sport has a fantastic heritage and a bright future and with Doha and Dubai 2019 and Tokyo 2020 we have some exciting events to look forward to. The board and executive team recognise that there is much work to do.

“We have a great team and wonderful support through the whole sport from our colleagues in the home country governing bodies to the network of volunteers coaching and supporting clubs and competitions; from the IAAF and UK Sport to our sponsors and our partners. I am confident that Zara’s track record of achievements of delivering in sport, coupled with a business background and her recent experiences of the complexities of leadership in the NHS, give us a unique and potent set of skills to set our future direction.

“I am also personally grateful to Nigel Holl who has held the interim CEO post for the last 10 months and moves on to his next challenge to lead British Curling. He has been a great help to me in my first few months and will be much missed by all at UKA.”

Dame Katherine Grainger, chair of UK Sport, said: “Zara brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of sport to her new role having been both an athlete and hugely respected sports administrator. In addition, her wider business expertise will be a huge asset leading the national federation of this global sport.

“Most importantly, she clearly loves and cares deeply about the future of athletics and I look forward to working in close partnership with her and all the team at UK Athletics to make sure UK Sport’s support through National Lottery funding continues to enable future generations of British athletes to achieve their dreams and inspire the nation.”

Serie A should consider having earlier kickoffs to help grow the Asian audience and boost clubs' finances, Juventus chief revenue officer Giorgio Ricci has said.

The "big five" European Leagues enjoyed record revenues in the 2017-18 season, earning a combined €15.6 billion, but Serie A lags behind the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga.

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"We have to find the right balance between domestic and global audiences," Ricci told BBC Sport.

"It is not just about the broadcasting times, it is also about the rights distribution and who is showing the games.

"In that sense, the difference between the Premier League and Serie A is huge. This is a very old story and one of the more frequent reasons for fights with the league."

Juve say the evening kickoffs in Italy reduce the scope to attract viewers in Asia. The current television rights deal for Serie A matches runs until 2021.

The new Serie A season kicks off on Saturday with champions Juve playing at Parma.

Carlos Vela continued his stellar season with two goals to lead LAFC to a 4-0 victory over the visiting San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night.

Vela raised his league-leading season goal total to 26, tied for fifth most in league history. The star striker needs just five over the final eight matches of the regular season to match the MLS single-season mark of 31 set last season by Atlanta United star Josef Martinez.

Forward Diego Rossi added his 14th goal of the season and also had an assist for LAFC (19-3-4, 61 points), who won their fifth straight match.

Forward Josh Perez scored his first MLS goal and goalkeeper Tyler Miller made six saves for his ninth shutout of the season for LAFC, who have outscored their opponents 71-25.

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The Earthquakes (11-10-5, 38 points) lost their third straight match and are winless over their past four contests. San Jose lost 5-0 to LAFC earlier this season.

Earthquakes coach Matias Almeyda was ejected in the 39th minute for vehemently arguing the non-call of an apparent hand ball against LAFC. The officiating crew didn't review the play.

LAFC got on the board in the sixth minute. Perez's hard left-footed shot was saved by San Jose goalkeeper Daniel Vega but the rebound caromed to Rossi, who slammed a right-footed blast past Vega.

The second goal was set by a hand ball on Earthquakes midfielder Anibal Godoy. Vela took the penalty kick and drilled a high left-footed shot that deflected off Vega's left hand en route to hitting the back of the net.

Shortly after Almeyda's ejection, Vela made it 3-0 in impressive individual fashion.

Vela dribbled past defender Florian Jungwirth, and then slowed to slip past Vega. Defender Nick Lima moved into the goal area and Vela closed in and chipped the ball past him in the 41st minute.

Perez made it a four-goal margin in the 81st minute as his close-range right-footed shot deflected off Vega on its way into the net.

San Jose forward Danny Hoesen had two solid opportunities. His right-footed shot hit the right post in the 32nd minute, and Miller got a hand on a Hoesen free kick in the 75th minute to deflect the ball off the crossbar.

Vega made six saves for the Earthquakes. San Jose had a 22-18 edge in shots but LAFC put more on target (11-7).

NOTE: These rankings will be updated throughout the offseason.

As the fantasy football regular season draws closer, here are my updated rankings, by position and a top 200.

CHICAGO -- They're calling it a signature victory. And why not? The Chicago Cubs blew two leads but came back to win 12-11 over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday in a wild affair at Wrigley Field.

"We haven't won a game like that all year," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "They scored nine runs in the fifth through the seventh [innings]. Teams don't really win when that happens. It's just a good, hard-fought, never-quit win."

It was the Cubs' fourth victory in a row, which raised their home record to 43-19. The teams combined to hit seven home runs, including four by the Giants, but Kris Bryant's eighth-inning, two-run blast was the difference-maker. The Cubs trailed 11-10 before the home run.

"I mean, [Rizzo] said it best to me: That's a season-defining win right there," Bryant said. "It kind of felt like we weren't supposed to win that game, but it's always nice when you can steal a win from a good team in the Giants."

Cubs manager Joe Maddon agreed.

He has often talked about his team reaching its next level when the offense becomes a little more consistent. The only way the win might have been bigger would've been if it had come on the road, where the Cubs are 25-39.

But that would have deprived the home fans of a heavyweight fight in the batter's box. The teams exchanged blows until Bryant delivered the knockout.

"We haven't done that this year," Maddon said. "We haven't scored a lot of runs to win a game when we've given up a lot of runs. That has to happen on occasion."

Bryant added: "It's just that we can do this again. We're scoring runs, they're punching us right back. It's such a back-and-forth game, our bullpen grinding it out. But I love this team, I love the attitude that we have. We've been saying it all along, but we never quit, we never give up, and this is a perfect example of that."

For the second time in two weeks, the Houston Astros lost as historic favorites with Justin Verlander on the mound, helping sportsbooks to a profitable night Wednesday.

Despite closing as +435 underdogs at Caesars Sportsbook and managing only two hits off Verlander in their 2-1 victory, the visiting Tigers pulled off the largest upset in the majors over the past 15 years, according to sports betting database BetLabsSports.com.

Just 10 days ago, the Astros were -460 road favorites over the Baltimore Orioles (+390). Houston lost that game 8-7, in what prior to Wednesday was the largest upset since the Washington Nationals beat the Minnesota Twins as +395 underdogs in 2007.

On Wednesday night, Houston closed as a -560 favorite at Caesars and as high as -600 at MGM and FanDuel.

"We took a couple of straight bets on the Astros and a slew of parlays over $500 that had either the Astros money line or run line on them," Caesars director of trading Jeff Davis told ESPN.

Scott Shelton, the sportsbook shift manager at Mirage/MGM, said it won more than six figures on the game, taking a $55,000 bet on Houston at -550 (to win $10,000) and a $63,520 bet on Houston at -575 to win $11,000.

Westgate Superbook also said it did well, taking a bunch of -1.5 run-line bets on the Astros at over -200.

Verlander retired the first 14 batters he faced, with six strikeouts, before Ronny Rodriguez homered with two out in the fifth. The veteran right-hander set down another 10 straight before John Hicks connected to lead off the ninth, sending the MLB-worst Tigers to just their 38th victory of the season.

"That's the biggest win for us in a long, long time, especially against a premium team like that, a World Series contender and Verlander on the mound,'' Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Betting big underdogs has been a profitable strategy in Major League Baseball.

Over the past 15 seasons, 19 teams have been at least +345 underdogs. Those teams are now 10-9 in those games. The Astros have now been the biggest road favorite (Aug. 11) and the biggest favorite anywhere (Wednesday night) over the past 15 years, losing both.

For Thursday's series finale against Detroit, Houston, with Gerrit Cole taking the mound, opened as a -500 favorite at Caesars, which would be the second-highest line over the past 15 years.

Information from ESPN's David Purdum and Ben Fawkes was used in this report.

NEW YORK -- As in so many games in this season of bountiful home runs, it appeared that a home run would decide Wednesday's clash between playoff contenders at Citi Field.

Carlos Santana, the veteran first baseman who has been Cleveland's best hitter all season, slugged his 30th home run in the top of the 10th inning, drilling a Luis Avilan changeup into the left-field seats to give the Indians a 3-2 lead over the Mets.

A few minutes later, Santana was involved in the key play of the game -- one small play that gets to the heart of the ongoing, often stormy debate about the barrage of home runs and strikeouts and the declining amount of action aside from all those home runs and strikeouts.

The Mets won 4-3 on J.D. Davis' 107.7 mph rocket base hit into the left-field corner with two outs off All-Star closer Brad Hand, but the Indians had a chance to win the game two batters earlier. The situation: After Amed Rosario led off the inning with a double into the right-center gap and Joe Panik put down a perfect sacrifice bunt -- yes, small ball still exists on rare occasions in 2019 -- Indians manager Terry Francona intentionally walked Pete Alonso to set up a double play with the lefty-lefty matchup against Michael Conforto.

You can even get into the debate of putting the potential winning run on base. Hand is a strikeout pitcher, and Alonso fans 25.6% of the time. Alonso has a .248 average and 1.001 OPS against lefties, while Conforto has hit .239 with a .691 OPS and 27% strikeout rate against lefties. Hand's strikeout rate is actually slightly higher against right-handed batters (36.5% to 32.2%). You rarely see the winning run put on base, so that was a gamble on Francona's part, though if the Indians hadn't, they would have had to bring the infield in, which increases Alonso's batting average on ground balls. Still, I probably would have pitched to Alonso and taken my chances.

The big point in all this: Small ball forced the Indians to make some uncomfortable decisions.

The big play: Conforto hit a weak grounder to Santana, but the ball pulled Santana off the bag. Rosario broke for home on contact, and Santana had an easy out at home, but instead he turned and fired to second base, hoping for a game-ending double play. The problem? He was too far off first base to get back, and Hand had taken a quick step away from first base, and he couldn't get there either. Second baseman Jason Kipnis was too far away as well. Game tied.

From there, Wilson Ramos reached on a trickler down the third-base line, and Davis won it, handing Hand his third blown save in his past four appearances. The Mets go for the series sweep on Thursday.

What should Santana have done? Even the Indians had different opinions on the play.

Francona: "The game is happening fast, but with a lefty on the mound, he's not going to be able to get over there [to cover first], so unless [Santana] can get back, there's nobody else there to take the throw. [Kipnis] can't get there."

Santana: "I mean, it's a tough play. I tried to make it with the double play, but it happened, and we lose the game."

Hand: "Obviously, with a one-run game, we can't let that run score right there. I thought maybe [Santana] could have gone home. I didn't know if the runner broke right away. A tough play all-around. I kind of stopped, expecting him to throw it home. Once he wasn't throwing it home, I didn't really have a chance to get over there in time. Just a tough play."

Catcher Roberto Perez: "Brad had some time [to get over]. I'm not double-guessing the play. Santana is really good at first base, just took his chance to get a double play. Those things happen."

Kipnis: "It's not out of the realm of possibility to think [Santana] can turn that double play. It's been turned before. My guess is that Brad probably thought [Santana] was going home. I haven't looked at it. My job is to kind of hover and clean up the mess [if something happens]. I'm over a little bit, but I've never covered first for a double play in nine years. Granted, it doesn't mean it can't happen."

This is why the debate about all the home runs and strikeouts is an earnest one, not one simply rooted in old-timers -- such as Goose Gossage and Pete Rose -- saying things back in the good ol' days were better. It's a legitimate issue. Part of the beauty of baseball is the bang-bang decisions that fielders have to make at times. Like Francona said, the game happens fast. After talking to the participants, I don't even know if Santana made the right play or the wrong one. He just made the one that didn't work.

And the Mets won by doing things that still win games. A double in the gap. A bunt. Conforto put the ball in play, and even though he didn't hit it hard, he put pressure on the defense, and sometimes that's enough. Ramos got the lucky hit, and Davis had a terrific at-bat, fouling off three pitches with a 3-2 count (after falling behind 0-2) and connecting with a slider. That kind of inning is just as exciting -- and a lot more interesting -- than just another home run.

Old-school baseball? Let's just call it compelling baseball.