Horses over Hockey?

[xxjdm66]

Allan Muir at SI.com call it an embarrassment to the NHL.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writ...ness/index.html

[IceCap]

First of all, Gary Bettman is indeed a horrible commissioner, and I'm convinced the people who defend him here are those who 1) do so because they like to make waves or 2) are southern hockey fans who wrongly assume they're in his debt. At the same time, however, Garry Bettman is not directly responsible for this. Neither is NBC. America is. So to quote Peter Griffin ":censored: YOU AMERICA!"

No, I'm going to blame the US or non traditional markets for this mistake. I'm not going to blame American hockey fans. Hardcore fans, even those of teams in the most untraditional of markets, are just as much hockey fans as those in traditional hockey hotbeds. Loyal fans of the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, and all the rest of the loyal fans of the non traditional teams are real hockey fans, they're doing their part to keep the NHL on the radar. They watch their teams play, they go to games. All of this in a time when every hockey fan does count. So no, I don't intend to condemn the good fans of any American team, non traditional or traditional. They're doing their part, so hats off to you from this Canuck.

When I say America is to blame for this I mean the general American sports audience as a whole. To that audience I have this to say:

What is wrong with you? Really. You would rather watch a horse race that lasts all of 2 minutes then a fast paced, intense NHL playoff game? Honestly, I can't fathom it. Look my Yankee friends, I like sports of all kinds to. I'm one of those guys who doesn't watch soccer but he'll watch the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup. I don't watch cricket, but I watch the Cricket World Cup. I don't watch golf, but I watch the Masters and the British Open. Heck, I even watched the Daytona 500 this year, when a year ago I would have sworn I would never watch NASCAR. So yes, I'm one of those guys who watches "_____event even if he doesn't watch ____ in general."

Yet I can not fathom watching horse racing in any form. I don't care if it's a Triple Crown Race, it's still a 2 minute long event that doesn't capture my interest followed by an hour of pre-race and post-race coverage that could put an insomniac to sleep. How ANYONE IMO could choose to watch this over hockey is beyond me. Yet the numbers are there. When it comes down to money and ratings NBC made the right call. It does piss me off that hockey got that kind of treatment, but I can't be made at NBC for this. They did what was right for their network.

The people I'm made at are the American sports fans who forced the horse race to be more important then a NHL playoff game to NBC.

You ridicule the sport we love, force it into dead end deals with brand-name networks and cable channels that most people don't care about. You say hockey isn't interesting to you, yet you all flock like sheep to watch an hour of boring pre-race coverage, followed by 2 minutes of actual racing, followed by an other hour of post-race coverage. Explain the logic in that to me. Please. I'm truly baffled. I guarantee you if I took someone who had never watched a sporting even before, and showed him/her both a hockey game and a horse race (complete with thrilling pre and post-race coverage) that the subject would choose hockey over horse racing 10 times out of 10.

I just can't wrap my head around the fact that American sports fans in general would rather watch a horse race then a NHL playoff game. Yet, again, the numbers are there to prove me wrong, which pisses me off to no end. The game I grew up loving is being marginalized by fricken horses. So, American sports fan, you're to blame for this new black eye the sport of hockey has.

I don't expect to get any "hockey converts." I'm venting my frustrations. I love hockey, and in this day and age it's in danger of dying, at least on a professional level. Why is it dying? Because American sports fans rather watch a horse race then hockey, one of the most fast paced and intense sports the world has ever seen. That is what pisses me off about this whole thing.

American hockey loyalists, keep fighting the good fight. Support your teams, regardless of if they're in Miami or Boston.

To those who actually do prefer a Triple Crown race to a NHL playoff game, hey, that's your own call. I don't care if you respond with a rant of your own, or send me pissed off PMs. I don't care. IMO you're priorities when it comes to sports are out of wack. I love hockey and pisses me off to see the general American sporting audience force out of the picture in favour of a "sport" that means nothing to me.

[DEAD!]

First of all, Gary Bettman is indeed a horrible commissioner, and I'm convinced the people who defend him here are those who 1) do so because they like to make waves or 2) are southern hockey fans who wrongly assume they're in his debt. At the same time, however, Garry Bettman is not directly responsible for this. Neither is NBC. America is. So to quote Peter Griffin ":censored: YOU AMERICA!"

No, I'm going to blame the US or non traditional markets for this mistake. I'm not going to blame American hockey fans. Hardcore fans, even those of teams in the most untraditional of markets, are just as much hockey fans as those in traditional hockey hotbeds. Loyal fans of the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, and all the rest of the loyal fans of the non traditional teams are real hockey fans, they're doing their part to keep the NHL on the radar. They watch their teams play, they go to games. All of this in a time when every hockey fan does count. So no, I don't intend to condemn the good fans of any American team, non traditional or traditional. They're doing their part, so hats off to you from this Canuck.

When I say America is to blame for this I mean the general American sports audience as a whole. To that audience I have this to say:

What is wrong with you? Really. You would rather watch a horse race that lasts all of 2 minutes then a fast paced, intense NHL playoff game? Honestly, I can't fathom it. Look my Yankee friends, I like sports of all kinds to. I'm one of those guys who doesn't watch soccer but he'll watch the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup. I don't watch cricket, but I watch the Cricket World Cup. I don't watch golf, but I watch the Masters and the British Open. Heck, I even watched the Daytona 500 this year, when a year ago I would have sworn I would never watch NASCAR. So yes, I'm one of those guys who watches "_____event even if he doesn't watch ____ in general."

Yet I can not fathom watching horse racing in any form. I don't care if it's a Triple Crown Race, it's still a 2 minute long event that doesn't capture my interest followed by an hour of pre-race and post-race coverage that could put an insomniac to sleep. How ANYONE IMO could choose to watch this over hockey is beyond me. Yet the numbers are there. When it comes down to money and ratings NBC made the right call. It does piss me off that hockey got that kind of treatment, but I can't be made at NBC for this. They did what was right for their network.

The people I'm made at are the American sports fans who forced the horse race to be more important then a NHL playoff game to NBC.

You ridicule the sport we love, force it into dead end deals with brand-name networks and cable channels that most people don't care about. You say hockey isn't interesting to you, yet you all flock like sheep to watch an hour of boring pre-race coverage, followed by 2 minutes of actual racing, followed by an other hour of post-race coverage. Explain the logic in that to me. Please. I'm truly baffled. I guarantee you if I took someone who had never watched a sporting even before, and showed him/her both a hockey game and a horse race (complete with thrilling pre and post-race coverage) that the subject would choose hockey over horse racing 10 times out of 10.

I just can't wrap my head around the fact that American sports fans in general would rather watch a horse race then a NHL playoff game. Yet, again, the numbers are there to prove me wrong, which pisses me off to no end. The game I grew up loving is being marginalized by fricken horses. So, American sports fan, you're to blame for this new black eye the sport of hockey has.

I don't expect to get any "hockey converts." I'm venting my frustrations. I love hockey, and in this day and age it's in danger of dying, at least on a professional level. Why is it dying? Because American sports fans rather watch a horse race then hockey, one of the most fast paced and intense sports the world has ever seen. That is what pisses me off about this whole thing.

American hockey loyalists, keep fighting the good fight. Support your teams, regardless of if they're in Miami or Boston.

To those who actually do prefer a Triple Crown race to a NHL playoff game, hey, that's your own call. I don't care if you respond with a rant of your own, or send me pissed off PMs. I don't care. IMO you're priorities when it comes to sports are out of wack. I love hockey and pisses me off to see the general American sporting audience force out of the picture in favour of a "sport" that means nothing to me.

Blame the American sports fan? Sure, but it sound like your accusing them of something they should feel guilty about. Shouldn't you be spending more of your time enjoying hockey rather than ranting about how Americans viewing tendencies? I mean, horse racing around the WORLD is FAR more popular than ice hockey will ever be. Look at the Dubai World Cup or the Melbourne Cup or Royal Ascot. They are like the Kentucky Derby of UAE, Australia and UK respectively. Ever been to Hong Kong? There probably isn't much competition in sports calendar in those places when the races occur, but regardless, those are big races. Even though horse racing is in decline in terms of actual interest, those races still stand out.

Let's also keep in mind that Triple Corwn races occur ONLY three times a year, which is American horse racing's bread and butter while NHL playoff hockey occurs almost every night for two months. So the "event" which comes less frequently tend to be more anticipated. Look at the NFL. Once a week, with a lot of build up. Maybe the NHL should at FEWER games to get more build up.

Speaking of horse racing... think of horse racing like sex. You have a one hour build up and two minutes (more or less) of actual action.

[NJTank]

True AMERICAN hockey fans like hockey as is.

I wish there still was ties, and 5-5 OT in the regular season and an OT loss is 0 points and tough :censored:ing luck punch in the gut.

I wish there was not a over reaction to the 1-1 fight, and there is no need to tinker with the rules.

Hockey is fine as it was before Bettman took over.

[SteveR]

Tinkering with playoff overtime would be the last straw.

[IceCap]

First of all, Gary Bettman is indeed a horrible commissioner, and I'm convinced the people who defend him here are those who 1) do so because they like to make waves or 2) are southern hockey fans who wrongly assume they're in his debt. At the same time, however, Garry Bettman is not directly responsible for this. Neither is NBC. America is. So to quote Peter Griffin ":censored: YOU AMERICA!"

No, I'm going to blame the US or non traditional markets for this mistake. I'm not going to blame American hockey fans. Hardcore fans, even those of teams in the most untraditional of markets, are just as much hockey fans as those in traditional hockey hotbeds. Loyal fans of the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, and all the rest of the loyal fans of the non traditional teams are real hockey fans, they're doing their part to keep the NHL on the radar. They watch their teams play, they go to games. All of this in a time when every hockey fan does count. So no, I don't intend to condemn the good fans of any American team, non traditional or traditional. They're doing their part, so hats off to you from this Canuck.

When I say America is to blame for this I mean the general American sports audience as a whole. To that audience I have this to say:

What is wrong with you? Really. You would rather watch a horse race that lasts all of 2 minutes then a fast paced, intense NHL playoff game? Honestly, I can't fathom it. Look my Yankee friends, I like sports of all kinds to. I'm one of those guys who doesn't watch soccer but he'll watch the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup. I don't watch cricket, but I watch the Cricket World Cup. I don't watch golf, but I watch the Masters and the British Open. Heck, I even watched the Daytona 500 this year, when a year ago I would have sworn I would never watch NASCAR. So yes, I'm one of those guys who watches "_____event even if he doesn't watch ____ in general."

Yet I can not fathom watching horse racing in any form. I don't care if it's a Triple Crown Race, it's still a 2 minute long event that doesn't capture my interest followed by an hour of pre-race and post-race coverage that could put an insomniac to sleep. How ANYONE IMO could choose to watch this over hockey is beyond me. Yet the numbers are there. When it comes down to money and ratings NBC made the right call. It does piss me off that hockey got that kind of treatment, but I can't be made at NBC for this. They did what was right for their network.

The people I'm made at are the American sports fans who forced the horse race to be more important then a NHL playoff game to NBC.

You ridicule the sport we love, force it into dead end deals with brand-name networks and cable channels that most people don't care about. You say hockey isn't interesting to you, yet you all flock like sheep to watch an hour of boring pre-race coverage, followed by 2 minutes of actual racing, followed by an other hour of post-race coverage. Explain the logic in that to me. Please. I'm truly baffled. I guarantee you if I took someone who had never watched a sporting even before, and showed him/her both a hockey game and a horse race (complete with thrilling pre and post-race coverage) that the subject would choose hockey over horse racing 10 times out of 10.

I just can't wrap my head around the fact that American sports fans in general would rather watch a horse race then a NHL playoff game. Yet, again, the numbers are there to prove me wrong, which pisses me off to no end. The game I grew up loving is being marginalized by fricken horses. So, American sports fan, you're to blame for this new black eye the sport of hockey has.

I don't expect to get any "hockey converts." I'm venting my frustrations. I love hockey, and in this day and age it's in danger of dying, at least on a professional level. Why is it dying? Because American sports fans rather watch a horse race then hockey, one of the most fast paced and intense sports the world has ever seen. That is what pisses me off about this whole thing.

American hockey loyalists, keep fighting the good fight. Support your teams, regardless of if they're in Miami or Boston.

To those who actually do prefer a Triple Crown race to a NHL playoff game, hey, that's your own call. I don't care if you respond with a rant of your own, or send me pissed off PMs. I don't care. IMO you're priorities when it comes to sports are out of wack. I love hockey and pisses me off to see the general American sporting audience force out of the picture in favour of a "sport" that means nothing to me.

Blame the American sports fan? Sure, but it sound like your accusing them of something they should feel guilty about. Shouldn't you be spending more of your time enjoying hockey rather than ranting about how Americans viewing tendencies?

Honestly, I don't care about horse racing around the world. I wouldn't even care about it in the States if it wasn't forcing major networks to give the NHL the shaft.

I do love hockey, and I'll continue to enjoy as long as there's at least two teams, a sheet of ice, and a puck.

Still, I'm allowed to be pissed if I see it getting screwed over simply because American sports fans would rather watch a horse race then a NHL playoff game.

I don't care about the buildup, the frequency of the respective events. At the end of the say hockey is hockey a horse race is a horse race, and the American sports audience is nailing the coffin shut on the real sport so they can watch a glorified pony show.

Try to play devil's advocate, try to rationalize it all you want. I'm not pretending to be presenting facts here. I'm simple venting my frustration, letting my opinion on the matter be heard.

The NHL, like any major sports venture, is fuelled by TV time. To get TV time you need to get ratings. Thanks to the average American sports fan hockey lost out on prime TV time to a horse race. If that's not a sign of things to come for the NHL I don't know what is. You can blame Bettman, NBC, VS, and ESPN. When it comes right down to it American sports fans aren't watching, and that's what pisses me off. Even when hockey became "dull" in the late 90's/early 2000's the game was still more exciting then a 2 minute horse race. It's due to this lack of interest on the American fan's part (in favour of other "sports" like horse racing and poker) that is sinking the NHL TV-wise, which will ultimately lead to the sinking of the NHL period.

I would love to just sit back and enjoy hockey, and in fact I do just that, this season's playoffs have been great overall.

Still, the lack of the interest south of the border is killing the sport and that "grinds my gears."

Say what you want about my attitude toward the matter. In the end it's your opinion, and I respect it, but my opinion, my disappointment in the average American sports fan, hasn't changed. They're choosing to watch an inferior "sport" over a real sport, which will cause the real sport severe problems in the near future. That's my point. American viewing tendencies will affect my ability to enjoy hockey sooner or latter.

True AMERICAN hockey fans like hockey as is.

I wish there still was ties, and 5-5 OT in the regular season and an OT loss is 0 points and tough :censored:ing luck punch in the gut.

I wish there was not a over reaction to the 1-1 fight, and there is no need to tinker with the rules.

Hockey is fine as it was before Bettman took over.

Right on Tank (well except for the tie thing. I like the shoot out for the sole reason that it eliminates the tie).

Hockey is a great game, and hats off to the true American hockey fans who support the game. Unfortunately there aren't enough of you.

[broncoempire]

Tinkering with playoff overtime would be the last straw.

Agreed. As a fan here in the states who tries to be as loyal as he can to the league, this would pretty much do it for me. Here in South Florida, I'm saddled with a crappy team with ownership that doesn't care and I still watch (for the visitors). The league continues to make dumba** mistake after dumba** mistake and no one ever calls them on it. I don't really have Versus and I have to go out of my way to follow the league and they keep finding ways to screw me. I even bet on the league when I lived out in Vegas! They just keep finding ways to alienate they few fans they have left down here.

Americans do a lot of things that leave you scratching your head. This is a country that thinks traffic is a sport (NASCAR), watches Deal or No Deal, and 30 percent of them still think George Bush is doing a good job. If you look at Americans as the arbiter of good taste you will find yourself a little upset.

[Sodboy13]

Dear NHL Powers That Be:

In the past thirteen years, you have screwed up hockey. A lot. You took away uniquely identifiable division and conference names. You allowed goalie equipment and the neutral-zone trap to expand to a point where the lightning-fast action that attracted fans during the 1980s and early '90s all but disappeared. And, worst of all, you allowed labor disputes to fester to a point where we, the adoring fans, were deprived of a season and a half of the highest level of one of the world's greatest sports. You have cast your league down to a level of near-irrelevance. And yet, we, the fans, those who cherish this beautiful game for what it is and are willing to look past the faults of those who operate it, are still here.

Now comes word of another potentially boneheaded move, one allegedly designed to attract casual fans who will never show, designed to appease a network that doesn't care, and a move which will ultimately do little other than to leave the longtime, dedicated fans of this sport cursing your names. Yes, according to reports, you are giving serious consideration to abandoning the sudden-death overtime of the Stanley Cup playoffs and replacing with what is done in the regular season.

How dare you even consider such an idea. Are you not aware of the inherent tension and drama the current playoff rules provide? Are you truly that oblivious to the nature of the sport which you are entrusted to promote and protect? This past Friday, I was at game 1 of the AHL's Western Conference Finals, Chicago against Hamilton. That game went to double overtime. Every rush in that extra time, every scoring chance, every save, left me and the few thousand others in attendance on pins and needles. And that was the beauty of it. Even though the Wolves lost, and even though I didn't leave the arena until 11:40 and had to be at work at 6 the next morning, I didn't care, because it was a fantastic time, and a chance to experience the game I love at its finest.

A playoff game, a game en route to a storied championship, deserves nothing less than to be played to its ultimate conclusion without an abruptly-forced ending. And the players, who give their all over 100 times a year, deserve the opportunity to show that they are warriors, that their hunger for victory knows no physical obstacle. Settling a playoff game with a shootout because the network would rather it not run late is no excuse to deny fans to experience what Philadelphia and Pittsburgh fans did over the course of five overtimes one long evening into morning, when Keith Primeau momentarily became a folk hero.

You know the last league that changed its rules in an effort to please the network executives at NBC? The XFL. Tell me, how did that work out for all parties concerned?

Look, I'm not some wild-eyed "traditionalist." I love the shootout as much as anybody. My first exposure to it was in the IHL, where there was no standard overtime - just 3 periods, a shootout, and off you go. The shootout is electrifying, fantastic, and a great way to settle games which can't be decided otherwise during the regular season - even if the current standings points structure is a bit flawed. But the sudden-death overtime in the postseason is so much of what makes hockey, hockey.

Please, please, please. Don't :censored: this up. We fans can only take so much.

[stevio321]

i have the only solution beg ESPN ESPN's our papi

[HedleyLamarr]

The NHL, like any major sports venture, is fuelled by TV time. To get TV time you need to get ratings. Thanks to the average American sports fan hockey lost out on prime TV time to a horse race. If that's not a sign of things to come for the NHL I don't know what is. You can blame Bettman, NBC, VS, and ESPN. When it comes right down to it American sports fans aren't watching, and that's what pisses me off. Even when hockey became "dull" in the late 90's/early 2000's the game was still more exciting then a 2 minute horse race. It's due to this lack of interest on the American fan's part (in favour of other "sports" like horse racing and poker) that is sinking the NHL TV-wise, which will ultimately lead to the sinking of the NHL period.

I'll chime in here.....

Before Atlanta got a hockey team, I would try to watch as much hockey as I could, because I had no other alternative. Any game, any teams involved, it didn't matter because it was hockey.

Now that Atlanta's got a team (add to that lesser time to watch TV), I've watched less hockey on TV because I had alternatives. I now have a team I have vested interest in, a team's schedule I can plan around. I would watch the occasional game on ESPN/ABC/NBC/Versus still, but nowhere near as much as I used to. I can attend (and now I work) the Thrashers' home games, then watch their road games on TV. Nationally-televised regular season hockey games are now secondary viewership.

I can't speak for every fan and their fanbase, but I would think my thoughts and experiences would mimick fans in Phoenix, Raleigh, Nashville, Florida, etc., in that the local team takes priority over nationally-televised games. These markets that had hockey fans with no local affiliation would boost the national-TV games because they had no other alternative. Now they do have a local affiliation with a team, and as a result, don't watch as much national-TV games.

[STL_Ian]

First of all, Gary Bettman is indeed a horrible commissioner, and I'm convinced the people who defend him here are those who 1) do so because they like to make waves or 2) are southern hockey fans who wrongly assume they're in his debt. At the same time, however, Garry Bettman is not directly responsible for this. Neither is NBC. America is. So to quote Peter Griffin ":censored: YOU AMERICA!"

No, I'm going to blame the US or non traditional markets for this mistake. I'm not going to blame American hockey fans. Hardcore fans, even those of teams in the most untraditional of markets, are just as much hockey fans as those in traditional hockey hotbeds. Loyal fans of the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, and all the rest of the loyal fans of the non traditional teams are real hockey fans, they're doing their part to keep the NHL on the radar. They watch their teams play, they go to games. All of this in a time when every hockey fan does count. So no, I don't intend to condemn the good fans of any American team, non traditional or traditional. They're doing their part, so hats off to you from this Canuck.

When I say America is to blame for this I mean the general American sports audience as a whole. To that audience I have this to say:

What is wrong with you? Really. You would rather watch a horse race that lasts all of 2 minutes then a fast paced, intense NHL playoff game? Honestly, I can't fathom it. Look my Yankee friends, I like sports of all kinds to. I'm one of those guys who doesn't watch soccer but he'll watch the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup. I don't watch cricket, but I watch the Cricket World Cup. I don't watch golf, but I watch the Masters and the British Open. Heck, I even watched the Daytona 500 this year, when a year ago I would have sworn I would never watch NASCAR. So yes, I'm one of those guys who watches "_____event even if he doesn't watch ____ in general."

Yet I can not fathom watching horse racing in any form. I don't care if it's a Triple Crown Race, it's still a 2 minute long event that doesn't capture my interest followed by an hour of pre-race and post-race coverage that could put an insomniac to sleep. How ANYONE IMO could choose to watch this over hockey is beyond me. Yet the numbers are there. When it comes down to money and ratings NBC made the right call. It does piss me off that hockey got that kind of treatment, but I can't be made at NBC for this. They did what was right for their network.

The people I'm made at are the American sports fans who forced the horse race to be more important then a NHL playoff game to NBC.

You ridicule the sport we love, force it into dead end deals with brand-name networks and cable channels that most people don't care about. You say hockey isn't interesting to you, yet you all flock like sheep to watch an hour of boring pre-race coverage, followed by 2 minutes of actual racing, followed by an other hour of post-race coverage. Explain the logic in that to me. Please. I'm truly baffled. I guarantee you if I took someone who had never watched a sporting even before, and showed him/her both a hockey game and a horse race (complete with thrilling pre and post-race coverage) that the subject would choose hockey over horse racing 10 times out of 10.

I just can't wrap my head around the fact that American sports fans in general would rather watch a horse race then a NHL playoff game. Yet, again, the numbers are there to prove me wrong, which pisses me off to no end. The game I grew up loving is being marginalized by fricken horses. So, American sports fan, you're to blame for this new black eye the sport of hockey has.

I don't expect to get any "hockey converts." I'm venting my frustrations. I love hockey, and in this day and age it's in danger of dying, at least on a professional level. Why is it dying? Because American sports fans rather watch a horse race then hockey, one of the most fast paced and intense sports the world has ever seen. That is what pisses me off about this whole thing.

American hockey loyalists, keep fighting the good fight. Support your teams, regardless of if they're in Miami or Boston.

To those who actually do prefer a Triple Crown race to a NHL playoff game, hey, that's your own call. I don't care if you respond with a rant of your own, or send me pissed off PMs. I don't care. IMO you're priorities when it comes to sports are out of wack. I love hockey and pisses me off to see the general American sporting audience force out of the picture in favour of a "sport" that means nothing to me.

I couldn't agree with your comments more and I'm AMERICAN!

I'm a die-hard hockey fan & I don't get how anyone can watch horses, cars or even the NFL for that matter, instead of a hockey game. I've come to the conclusion though that hockey in the U.S. is a lot like soccer here; it needs to be passed on from generation to generation to gain fans. I've also come to the realization that the big reason the NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR & even horse racing are so popular here is that they don't require constant attention. Time in between plays in the NFL takes forever. How many times have you watched a baseball game & the fans behind the plate are on the phone? The NBA is back & forth walking with a bunch of timeouts mixed in. You can completely ignore a NASCAR race for an hour & not miss anything. Horse racing lasts 2 minutes, so no one has to invest much time. With hockey & soccer though, it's actually necessary to keep your eye on the action because it doesn't stop and there aren't commercial breaks every 4 minutes. I admit, I'm a MLB & NFL fan too, but unlike me, the average American just can't handle giving 20 minutes of undivided attention 3 times in a 2 1/2 hour time frame. Sad, but true.

[-Helix-]

horses = better ratings than hockey