ok, your point is? obviously football is more popular than baseball or any other sport. this would be like the Yankees in the WS getting lower ratings than a Dolphins-Seahawks preseason game.
went to the game last night, great atmosphere to start the game, not much when the game started. I was unimpressed.
As a casual fan, I have to agree a little more with the excitement of Hockey. The Rangers Playoff games have been incredible, again, I am not a diehard fan, but man, some of these games have been insane. Even by television standards, NHL playoffs have been much better than the NBA. I guess it depends on what you are there for, everyone experiences the games differently. For example, last night, the atmosphere in the Garden was INSANE, until that goal happened with what, 1 second to go? Then it felt like everyone got punched in the gut. So even if you had crappy seats, you could still enjoy the game. These playoffs have definitely began to change my view on hockey, live and on TV. I can't say regular season, but these playoffs man, WOW!
Went to see America's Got Talent last night, great atmosphere to start the show, not much when the show started. I was unimpressed. _
I like hockey, but it's definitely not the best sport to watch live. The problem with hockey is that there are too many regular season games for the sport. Hockey people don't like to admit this part, but it's definitely true, that because of this, it's quite common in the regular season to see guys just floating around the ice all game, half-assing it. You go to a tuesday night game in january after the team returns from a long road trip and you might as well be watching figure skating they care so less about winning. That's not fair to fans. Also the sport has a real problem with rules. They are way too inconsistent and the rules blatantly favor certain players/teams and that is generally accepted within hockey circles. That's crazy. Again, I like hockey, if the question was which sport has the best playoffs, I would definitely vote hockey, but it's not the best sport to watch live IMO.
This is true about every sport but football. This is true about every sport but football. And even football to a certain extent. _
There's definitely some of that which happens, but the difference isn't necessarily that players are dogging it in the regular season as much as in the playoffs they're going balls out above and beyond what any normal human being would do for 60 minutes. So it makes the regular season look ordinary by comparison. But by and large I find the regular season entertaining, and hockey gets you through the winter nicely
I disagree on both. The closest to hockey is probably NBA. There are nights when guys dog it as well and the rules favor certain players, but neither are AS bad as the NHL. Baseball has a shit load of games, but not everyone plays everyday and it's not a continuous strain like the other sports so they can get away with it. You might see a guy half ass his way to 1st on a fly ball, but when they are in the batter's box trying to hit or when a ball is hit to them, they are giving it all. You aren't seeing whole games where most of the players on both teams are just looking to pack it in with a labatt's ice instead of putting on a show for the fans...
I was talking more about the NBA--early/midseason games are incredible dog-fests, usually you only need to watch the last few minutes and end of season, once a team is in the playoffs most of the startes are playing very little--talk about unfair to fans. And baseball is such a grind--dog days of August you can see some pretty unispired baseball. I love going to live baseball games for the total entertainment value but watching a full 3-1/2 hour game on TV on a Tuesday night? Faggedaboutit. _
Basketball, just watch the last 5 minutes. 48 fouls in 3 minutes ZzzZZzzz. Football has action, but a lot of breaks. MMA is a great sport to watch live if you got a good seat.
The playoffs are amazing yes. That is what makes these january and february games so frustrating. If I wanted to watch guys skating around, I'd get into figure skating. I personally feel the best hockey being played in the NHL was right after the 2004-2005 lockout so the 2005-2006 season (and a few years after that) when they opened up the game overall. There was some great hockey being played. I think we saw less dogging it because the guys were happy to be back and we saw less clutching and grabbing because it was opened up more. Those were some fun years. Now the slowing down of hockey has come back, teams are catching up to the newer rules, more clutching/grabbing, more defense, etc. There was also a lot of dogging it this year because the olympics condensed the season. It wasn't much fun. Another thing that bothers me about hockey is the fighting. Not because I have a problem with fighting, but because it's so lame!!!!! 99% of the time it's just the each team's designated "goon" (they really don't even belong in the league, let's be honest) that rolls out there and they play patty cake a little bit for show. Then they go to the locker room. It's not a "fight" in any traditional sense of the word. It's too guys just doing their job. How lame. Honestly, if they got rid of fighting all together it would make the game better. You could replace those "goons" with more skilled hockey players which is more exciting than the occasional "fight" (if you want to call it that)
That's the biggest joke in all of pro sports, how the last last 2 minutes can be stretched to 30-45 minutes with all the time outs, and how 0.5 seconds is somehow enough time to get a basket from a possession clear across the court. Any little physical contact is a major scandal, and nobody calls out players for travelling as long as the dunk looks good.
you have never played basketball if you think any little physical contact is a "major scandal". basketball is a very physical game w/o the aid of skates to speed up played by much bigger players.
I get that they're not wearing pads, but the crying over every little slash or standing in the way of a charging forward in basketball is embarrassing
Basketball physical lol, it's a non contact game. Yea guys are tall, but your talking about guys who cramp up and cry while being carried off a court. Please don't even try to compare the physicality of hockey to basketball it's a joke. basketball players maybe "taller" but the'ye not bigger then hockey players, I can tell you that. Basketball was created for a girl's gym class, that says it all.
It's not even close, I've played hockey since I am 5 and I still play. I've had a broken wrist, separated shoulder and lots of bruises over my life time. I play in a men's league now. I have more balls then 99% of NBA players, and I play in a non contact men's hockey league. I BLOCKED this shot last week, not only played the rest of the game, played the next day too. it's about the size of a softball. This would sideline a NBA player for a month.
Dislocated thumb, blood clot in the thigh, punctured lung, 3 inch gash on the back of my neck, broken jaw (wired shut for 2 weeks), bone chips in ankle from a shot, 1000s of bruises I didn't realize I had till days later, my right elbow still hurts today from stopping a slap shot in 1978. You don't get all that playing basketball. _
you have no clue what you are talking about. not only tall but huge. hockey players generate their speed and power from skates and equipment, basketball players just have their bodies. Hockey is more physical b/c of that but to say basketball isn't physical is a joke. thanks for showing us your little bruise. what this shows us I don't know. I have played on a broken ankle and w/ broken fingers but what does that mean? maybe not but you don't have skates in basketball and all that equipment, that helps. Hockey is definitely more physical but to prtend like basketball is not is silly.
