"It's the only team sport left"

TIL bo sox doesn't watch sports

"It's the only team sport left"
Football is more of a team sport then Hockey. In every play at least 3 people touch the ball. In Hockey you can have a player do it all on the ice. For a Touchdown to happen in football, you need the OL to give the right blocks, the Quarterback to make the right play and the receiver to run the right route.

Football requires more of a team then any other sport.

Meanwhile in hockey you can have your Alexander Ovechkin's who walk through the entire team and score by yourself.


"It's the toughest sport, the roughest sport"
I'd argue that Football (both kinds) are tougher then hockey, in hockey you can play back-to-back nights and still do well. In English Football, star players are normally too tired to play the day after a big game and in American there's always at least 4 days between 2 games.

"and the one that takes the most time and dedication"
All sports take dedication, son. I'd argue Cricket takes more time, given that games are 5 days long.

"but it is definitely NOT the best spectator sport."
I disagree with everything you just said. The only sport where I enjoy watching the highlights for is hockey. Nothing is more spectacle then seeing a nice deke or a sick looking goal.

Football is exciting only for the moment, if you know what's going to happen it becomes a lot less interesting. A good play in hockey however is nice to watch even if you know the outcome. There are some Pavel Datsyuk and Sidney Crosby goals that I could watch on repeat ad infinitum.

Hockey is the greatest spectator sport.

All sports have their pros & cons. The only sport I really don't care for is (am.) football, but it's still hard to avoid because everybody and his mother is into it. I don't follow sports nearly as much as I used to, the seasons are just too long to keep up with what's going on.

Yeah ... but with basketball its more cons and ex-cons.

Tell that to Darren Sharper.

Aaron Hernandez, OJ Simpson, Ray Lewis, Donte Stallworth, Michael Vick, Dave Meggett, etc, etc, etc.

Don't know many basketball players who have been charged with murder.

Charged... really, we're gonna play that game?

Dennis Rodman

I could fall asleep watch live football or baseball.

Hockey, soccer, rugby, & basketball at least involve more than a person or two moving more than a couple of feet.

The NBA is the least thuggish league of the big four American sports leagues, but of course it's perceived as the most thuggish because it's the preferred league of poor black people.

When you try me with a sorry sport like football, that's the result you're gonna get.

I don't think people who watch brutish sports like football and ice hockey can talk sanctimoniously about 'thuggishness' with a shred of credibility. You cannot patronize brutality on the playing field and then expect that violence to go away off of it.

"The NBA is the least thuggish league of the big four American sports leagues, but of course it's perceived as the most thuggish because it's the preferred league of poor black people."
With exception to Varlamov, who in the NHL has been charged?

The NHL condon-- no, *encourages* fights that interrupt the games. It's not just being arrested and charged with something that makes a sport thuggish

If anything the NBA is too nice these days -- everyone's friends with everyone else on/off the court, feuds or rivalries basically don't exist anymore. (I don't see this as an issue but if we're going to talk thuggishness this should definitely be brought up.)

Stern's heavy hand has all but eliminated fighting from the NBA (take that, libertarianism :)). NHL barely penalizes cheapshots that cause injuries, to the point where a (fairly) recent cheapshot by Zdeno Chara which led to serious injury almost led to the Quebecois authorities getting involved in Montreal.

"The NHL condon-- no, *encourages* fights that interrupt the games. "
What's wrong with fighting on the ice? It does more good then harm, part of the reason why in a poll among players in 2011, 98% of them voted yes to keep fighting in the game.

"It's not just being arrested and charged with something that makes a sport thuggish"
See, in my oppinion is be as competitive as you want on the field, you're there to win. Its only off the field where I condone being thuggish.

I'm one of the people who's respect for Sherman increased, not decreased in that famous post-game interview that went viral.

"Stern's heavy hand has all but eliminated fighting from the NBA (take that, libertarianism :)). NHL barely penalizes cheapshots that cause injuries, to the point where a (fairly) recent cheapshot by Zdeno Chara which led to serious injury almost led to the Quebecois authorities getting involved in Montreal."
That was like 5 years ago, Shanahan has been a lot more aggressive with handing out suspensions and penalizing cheap shots then his predecessor.

"See, in my oppinion is be as competitive as you want on the field, you're there to win. Its only off the field where I condone being thuggish."

That's the hypocrisy of sportsfandom. When it's entertaining, it's 'being competitive', but when it spills over into people's personal lives, it's "thuggery".

"That was like 5 years ago, Shanahan has been a lot more aggressive with handing out suspensions and penalizing cheap shots then his predecessor."

Right, 15 days for Thornton's assault on Brooks Orpik, a recent example of how the NHL is 'getting tough' with cheapshots and assaults.

Basketball is the sport for me. You have the grace, beauty, and continuous flow of football (soccer) combined with arguably the most fast-paced game on the planet. I believe it is also one of the few TEAM sports where a single player can simply assert his dominance, which is truly fascinating to watch. You can't tell me that watching the Slim Reaper put the team on his back isn't incredible.

As for the NBA being down, I'm not sure if it is. The East absolutely sucks, but the West is as deep as it has ever been.

I do agree the stoppages tend to get a bit ridiculous, especially toward the end of games, but that's why you always have a book handy for American sporting events haha.

Also, @Fasces, you bring up an interesting point about not really having big plays. I've never really thought about it that way, but I think there are definitely turning points in every game throughout the 48 minutes. But, it's the unpredictability of the end which makes it even more exciting, imho.

"Right, 15 days for Thornton's assault on Brooks Orpik, a recent example of how the NHL is 'getting tough' with cheapshots and assaults."
And San Jose looses their captain for 2 weeks. 15 days is far better then the 0 Thornton got for his assault on Patrick Sharp in 2009, or the 0 Chara got.

Its not hypocrisy for the very reason that you hate the sport. They get paid to essentially beat the crap out of each other, and we watch it for personal enjoyment. If its allowed by the rules of the sport, do what it takes to win, its what you're getting paid to do.

"I do agree the stoppages tend to get a bit ridiculous, especially toward the end of games, but that's why you always have a book handy for American sporting events haha."
I actually have no problem with stoppages (I like Cricket and Football, lol), and as I said earlier its those final minutes that are truly what makes Basketball or great sport. I've just never gotten into it.

"Also, @Fasces, you bring up an interesting point about not really having big plays. I've never really thought about it that way, but I think there are definitely turning points in every game throughout the 48 minutes. But, it's the unpredictability of the end which makes it even more exciting, imho."
Agreed, there is nothing like a close contest. I'd much rather watch the Maimi Heat (My least favourite NBA team) win 98-97 then watch the New England Patriots (my favourite team in a sport I like far more then Basketball) win 49-10.

In Hockey if a team is winning by 4 goals, I'll turn off the TV and check NHL.com when there is about 10 minutes to go in the game to see if the game becomes reasonably close. Same thing in football, where if a team is winning by 22 or more points I wont watch it until it becomes closer.

One of the things I like about sports is the unpredictability of the end game, its not like the movies where you know who's going to win before going in.

The final minutes of a close basketball game is great, mixed in with how fast paced the sport is makes it one of the most exciting things in sports. Only a last minute drive in football can compare to the last minute of a 1 basketball game. However, as pretty much stated earlier, my problem with Basketball is that I'd fall asleep if I watched the game from the beginning, while Hockey and Football I could watch multiple full games a day of.

"Stern's heavy hand has all but eliminated fighting from the NBA (take that, libertarianism :))."

Is private organization making own rules, does not bother me ;)

"See, in my oppinion is be as competitive as you want on the field, you're there to win. Its only off the field where I condone being thuggish."

We're operating under different conceptions of 'thuggish' then. I like competitiveness as well but I think fighting on the court, rink, field, whatever is just immature. You can be a fiery competitor that terrorizes opponents without all that; see, incidentally...

"I'm one of the people who's respect for Sherman increased, not decreased in that famous post-game interview that went viral."

Richard Sherman! I love his work, he's one of my favorite players in the NFL. Great example of what I'm talking about. He talks shit (and backs it up), but he doesn't start fights or anything like that -- and more importantly he doesn't start shit off the field. He responds to it when someone else tries to but he doesn't start it on his own.


I'm not saying that fighting in the NHL is bad per se, and if the players overwhelmingly want it in the game then keep it. But IMO fighting, whether in or out of the game, is immature, thuggish behavior.

By the way, where is a good place to start watching Cricket haha? I've always been somewhat interested, but I just haven't even known where to begin!

I usually watch Pakistani tv.

http://www.currentaffairspk.com/pakistan-vs-bangladesh-live-streaming-asia-cup-2014/

Has about six links there, one of which usually works.

Anywhere where you can find Sky Sports streaming online will probably have cricket.

Also occassionally ESPN will allow you to watch sth.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/

"We're operating under different conceptions of 'thuggish' then. I like competitiveness as well but I think fighting on the court, rink, field, whatever is just immature. You can be a fiery competitor that terrorizes opponents without all that; see, incidentally..."
You do realize that most hockey players don't fight right?

Since hockey is such a physical game, and most snipers (Kessel or Crosby or Sedin for instance) are far smaller then your average D-man, the main point of fighting is to protect the smaller players on your team. If you make a big hit someone who is 25+ pounds lighter then you, expect a fight. Its why some players have argued that fighting reduces, not increases injuries.

Fighting has always been about allowing players to take rule enforcement into their own hands (which as a libertarian you should probably appreciate), its why most fights happen after an injury, big hit or dirty play.

Sure you have your goons who fight for the sake of fighting, but most fighters are fighting for the sake of the team and for their teammates, not because they feel like beating the shit out of someone.

Fights don't happen every game and enforcers don't fight on the vast majority of their shifts. They fight when they feel they have too.

To me the real immature players are the ones who back away from a fight. When you take down a key player on your opponents team and then try to avoid fighting, that's a pussy move. Step up and face the consequences of your actions like a man.

Calvinball is the most libertarian sport.