Here’s what sports columnists are saying around the country on a variety of topics:

- Mike Celizic writes that Bud Selig is not cut out to be MLB’s commissioner. (NBC Sports)

- Joe Henderson wonders aloud if this year’s World Series could get any worse. (St. Petersburg Times)

- Hugh Falk lays out Part 1 of his blue print on how to fix the BCS. (RealClearSports.com)

- Johnette Howard writes that Jerry Jones is running the Dallas Cowboys into the ground. (Newsday)

- Bill Simmons hands out his predictions for the 2008-09 NBA Season. (ESPN.com)

- Cedric Golden says that the San Antonio Spurs’ title window has already closed. (Austin American-Statesman)

- Dave Kriger notes that a fixed site for future World Series would make more sense. (Rocky Mountain News)

- Drew Sharp says the Lions should start second-year quarterback Drew Stanton on Sunday. (Detroit Free Press)

- Peter King notes that we should expect the NFL Replay Rule to be tweaked. (Sports Illustrated)

Game 5 of the World Series was suspended 2-2 Monday night in the sixth inning and will be resumed either Tuesday or Wednesday depending on the weather.

The Rays scratched across a run in the sixth inning but interesting enough, had they not scored and tied the game, the Phillies would have won by rule because it would have been considering an official game. But baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he wouldn’t have allowed Philly to win that way.

Carlos Pena hit a tying, two-out single in the sixth for the Rays, and the umpires called it moments later. By then, every ball and every pitch had become an adventure because of the miserable conditions.

If Pena had not tied it, Selig said he would not have let the Phillies win with a game that was called after six innings.

“It’s not a way to end a World Series,” he said. “I would not have allowed a World Series to end this way.â€�

Had the Rays not scored to tie it and the game was called, then Selig allowed the Phillies to win that way, the baseball world would have been turned upside down. There’s no way that Selig could have allowed Philly to win that way had Tampa not scored because it would have been one of the biggest farces in sports history.

Let’s just all take a moment and thank the baseball gods that the Rays scored and Selig didn’t have to make such a monumental decision, although he deserves credit for saying all the right things at the end of the game.

SPORTSbyBROOKS.com has the story of some Phillies fans that unsurprisingly haven’t treated Ray fans too well during the Series.

During Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday night, Rays family members and employees say they were harassed and abused by Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park to an unacceptable degree.

Children were cursed at, and one 9-year-old boy had beer poured on him. A Rays family member stayed locked in a bathroom stall because, he said, Phillies fans were banging on the walls and threatening him.

Also, according to a quote from Rays manager Joe Maddon before game four last night, his granddaughter spent her Saturday night getting pelted with mustard packets.

“I think it’s really humorous, actually. Down by the dugout I had a good time with a bunch of guys sitting up in the stands. I was actually giving a guy a hard time for drinking Coors Light in Philadelphia. We went back and forth with that, and I said where’s the Schmidt’s? At least some Rolling Rock. Don’t be going with Coors Light. It’s so unfashionable for a Philly dude. So I was all over him about that, so we had a good time. I mean, the biggest part is my families. If we could do something about that, throwing mustard packs at my granddaughter is not very cool. The other part about it I’m good with. If you want to be vociferous with us, I am fine with that. If you want to have arguments about the Coors Light versus Rolling Rock, I’m good with that, but leave the families alone.�

While I don’t mind when the home fans give visiting fans crap from time to time, why in the hell do Phillies fans have to go after kids? Pouring a beer on, or throwing mustard at children? Seriously? Is that what you have to do to feel like a badass?

I mean, a beer is expensive enough. In these tough economic times you should not be pouring it over anybody’s head, let alone a kid, you should be drinking it. Of course, it’s probably drinking the beers that got us into this mess in the first place. Phillies fans did have to sit around for an extra hour and a half before the start of game three, which gave them plenty of extra time to down the beers.

Amen.

For good reason, the Tampa Bay Rays have been the talk of the 2008 MLB Season. Not only are they a rags-to-riches story, but they also are a young, likeable club and one hat is easy to root for. We love pulling for the underdog and the Rays certainly fit the bill.

Of course, they’re not the underdogs anymore. As soon as they beat the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, they instantly became World Series favorites because they’ve created the best storyline. Not to mention, they come from a better conference, arguably have better overall talent and they’re the hotter team, as well.

But as they proved in their 3-2 win in Game 1 of the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies are competing for a title, too. Nobody outside of Philly is talking about this club and for those who missed Game 1, it might have come as a surprise that the Phillies have thrown the first punch in this series.

The media (and I’m throwing myself into the mix here too considering I dedicated my column to the Rays this week) needs to start paying attention to the Fightin’ Phils or else we might wind up missing an even better story than the 2008 Rays. Philly has been a long-suffering sports city that is craving a title as much as anyone. And with phenomenal ace Cole Hamels (7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 5 Ks) and a solid lineup that features all-everything 2B Chase Utley (2 for 4, 2 RBI, 1 R), the Phillies might just close in on that title. (Although they’re going to need Ryan Howard to start hitting because Tampa won’t be held to just two runs every night.)

It’ll be exciting to watch the Rays’ magical season continue to play out, but ignoring the Phillies’ story would be a mistake.

- Mike Bianchi writes that if the Rays win the World Series, it would be the greatest sports story ever. (Orlando Sentinel)

- Here’s a look at some of the moments from the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies title run. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

- Mike Celzic notes that the Rays’ momentum should make the Phillies nervous. (NBC Sports)

- Bob Vetrone Jr. says that Philadelphia’s title drought will end. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

- Bill Plaschke has a plan to update the World Series. (Los Angeles Times)

- Michael Hiestand says not to blame the markets if the World Series hits an all-time low in ratings. (USA Today)

- Matthew Futterman writes that the economy could cripple the Rays. (Wall Street Journal)

- Bob Ford takes a moment to honor Jimmy Rollins and Larry Bowa – little shortstops who could. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Forget the magical, out-of-nowhere season for just a second. Instead, take a moment to appreciate how the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays got here.

No big name free agents. No blockbuster trades. No big payroll. The Rays’ built their success through years of phenomenal drafting, patience, and unlike most MLB teams, had the foresight to resist overspending on overpriced talent.

The Rays’ roster is littered with examples of how a baseball team should build success.

Take Matt Garza, the starting pitcher who limited the Red Sox to just two runs in 13 innings in the ALCS. He was the top prospect in the Minnesota Twins’ organization entering the 2007 season, and the 21st-best prospect in Major League Baseball according to Baseball America. But he couldn’t crack the Twins’ starting rotation out of spring training and the team began to grow impatient. The Twins felt that they could get a quality bat in return for their star prospect, and they eventually did.

In the 2008 offseason, Minnesota packaged Garza along with Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan, and sent them to Tampa for Delmon Young, Jason Pridie and Brendan Harris. And while Garza only had a smattering of success in the regular season this year (he went 11-9 with a 3.70 ERA), he saved his best work for Boston in the postseason and wound up earning the ALCS MVP.