things you hate in sports

[The_Admiral]

The J-S is the "flagship" print media for the Packers, though, just as WTMJ is their radio flagship. I think it's best to think of the Packers as a Milwaukee team with its stadium out in the suburbs. Way out in the suburbs.

[quantum]

True, but if the local stations are going to focus that much on the team, they shouldn't have to wait for the J-S to post the story first. It's just laziness.

[spyboy1]

The fact that a runner on first, who would score easily, is sent back to third on a ground rule double.

How many times have you seen a ball go over the wall, while the runner has already rounded third and would normally be able to stop for a cup of coffee and then crawl the rest of the way home if the ball were fielded, get sent back to third, get stranded there and that team lose by a run?

So many other rules of baseball are based on common sense and fairness, like the infield fly rule or being walked or a sacrifice not counting against your batting average, yet this one is not?

[BrySmalls]

I hate fans who have to rambunctiously celebrate the teams newly minted championship:

Case in point.

A definitive sign of OSD: Obsessive Sports Disorder.

And also the term "World Champion" to express a victor in any sports league, more specifically American leagues.

[Epiphanic]

Interleague play. I don't care that these are the some of the most popular games of the series, it just seems so half-assed. Ideally, I'd just rather get rid of it and maintian some modicum of "separateness" between the leagues. Especially with the different DH rule (which is something I don't mind). If I can't get that, just move a team to the AL and have everyone play everyone essentially making the two leagues "conferences." I don't like that idea either, but at least that'd make some sense.

Tim McCarver. I swear he just says things just to hear himself talk. He was especially annoying on FOX's Saturday broadcast of the Mets-Yankees game.

The fact that some calls in football can't be reviewed because they're "judgment calls". Aren't they all judgment calls? Furthermore, I'd either give each team 1 or 2 challenges per game and not tie them to timeouts or all teams to challenge all they want provided they have a timeout to lose. If football gonna have instant replay, they might as well do it right.

I also don't understand why offensive linemen can't receive a pass or go down field. It's one less blocker.

[BBTV]

I think if the purpose of interleague play is to give fans a "taste" of the action in the other league, then they should switch up the DH rule. Use the DH in the NL parks, and make the pitchers hit in the AL parks. Then the fans would really be seeing something they don't get everyday.

[infrared41]

There's a small difference between "I think there's too much coverage" and "it doesn't warrant its coverage," though.

In either case it's still subjective. (Though)

[dmr]

In wake of Bryce Harper's decision to leave high school. Add in the basketball player (to lazy to look up his name) who opted to go to Europe in lieu of completing high school, I make athletes, i mean students, leaving high school my most hated thing in sports.

I feel that the states these students are in should take steps to prevent them from leaving high school. If the states are unwilling to enact legislation to prevent this, they should at least make the students and their parents subject to child truancy laws. I understand the kids has talent, but that should not make them or their parents above any truancy laws.

Side Note:

I would like to bring up personal experience dealing with truancy laws in Texas. I finished my Junior year of high school one class short of graduating, the class I needed to graduate was offered the second half of my Senior year. My senior year I had a job, so I got a work exception to only have three class periods instead of 5 for fall, in spring I petition the school board to allow to only have 2 class periods so I could enroll in 9 semester hours at the local college and to work full time. The school board ruled againist me, saying by the state of Texas I would be considered truant, and subject to truancy laws. The reasoning was that "any class in high school is more benefical then any college course" (direct quote Dr. Meinke, Killeen ISD School Board). If I can't miss high school to attend college, they should not be allowed to skip high school to play sports.

~~the dmr~~

p.s. my senior schedule was AP Chemistry, AP English and Home Ec (Home Ec >>> College Algebra??)

[Drew22]

I agree, but they're just dropping out. There is nothing anyone can do to stop them.

[quantum]

...{snip}

p.s. my senior schedule was AP Chemistry, AP English and Home Ec (Home Ec >>> College Algebra??)

How good was your school? Maybe they needed you to help keep the school's performance numbers up. Otherwise, it seems stupid that they would hold you back from taking college courses.

In response to your main post, I disagree. If a kid is athletically gifted but a dumb ass in all things academic, the school is only going to do enough to try and make the person functional on the most basic level. He/she might as well go pro and be as productive as they can be. If it doesn't work out, they can always go back and get their GED later.

[Discrim]

I also don't understand why offensive linemen can't receive a pass or go down field. It's one less blocker.

yeh, it kinda goes like this: when the forward pass was first legalized, it was done begrudgingly. And by begrudging, I mean restrictions that would seem insane now. Not allowing linemen to receive a pass, I speculate, is probably one of the few remaining of those handcuffs.

One thing would be obvious: you'd definitely see slimmer, more athletic linemen out there.

[Geoff]

One of the things I hate is made up mascots or team names.

The ECHL was famous for this.

Long Beach Ice Dogs

Louisiana Ice Gators

Pensacola Ice Pilots

Louisville Icehawks

Mississippi Sea Wolves

Greenville Grrrowl

Mobile Mysticks

I'm sure there are others but c'mon....

A little nitpicky but it's the IceGators. Also the Sea Wolves (or Seawolves) is a fairly common mascot, actually. Erie of the Eastern League, Stony Brook, Alaska-Anchorage, just to name a few.

Two words: The Trapezoid. The goalie should be allowed to play the puck anywhere behind the line.

Diving. In hockey at least it's a penalty but I hate the level of diving in soccer. If you have a legit reason to writhe in pain, ok. If not, get your ass up.

[Firefly]

Also the Sea Wolves (or Seawolves) is a fairly common mascot, actually

Seawolves are an actual animal (an eel) and a class of submarine. Sea-Wolf was also the title of a popular Jack London novel that's been adapted to film or TV 13 freaking times.

[wdm1219inpenna]

What do I hate about sports/rules? Let me count the ways....

MLB: No salary caps, the mancrush that ESPN and many "fans" of the sport have with Yankees/Red Sox, too many teams, watered down pitching, steroid era permanently tarnishing the game (Sammy Sosa anybody?), the selfish way the prima donna players act, overuse of relief pitching, no more bullpen cars, the death of Harry Kalas, pitchers throwing to first base 45 times during an at bat, only to either walk the batter, or give up a hit allowing the baserunner at first to advance anyway, players covering their mouths when on the mound having a conference, the MLB Network calling 2007 World Series games "classic", boring bland uniforms, especially the Padres & Brewers, interleague play (hate it), domed stadiums, stadiums with retractable roofs left closed on a nice day, World Series start times at 8:45pm EST, and not 8:00 or 7:00 because they have to have 45 minutes of inane babbling every single night, Joe Buck & Tim McCarver in the booth, the annoying revving car engine sound effect used after showing every single replay on FOX, the 9 billion closeups FOX uses before every single pitch, talking live with managers during game play, the Wild Card, a lack of more indepth history and a far better fleshing out of the all too overlooked Negro Leagues, no more stirrup socks, instead they wear their pants long and it looks just dreadful, season taking too long, the World Baseball Classic, the designated hitter, teams in Florida, Arizona & Colorado, especially since 2 of those states get Spring Training games, Vin Scully retiring. Dispicable ticket prices, and attendance is down in MLB, and I think it could not happen to a nicer league, the All-Star Game deciding home field for the World Series, Selig and his bone-headed leadership.

NBA: No real comment since I do not follow it.

NCAA Basketball: Someone else mentioned this before, toward the end of a game especially, it's time out, time out, foul foul foul. Totally screws up the flow of the game.

NHL Hockey: Fights, overtime rules, endless playoffs (The Stanley Cup finals ending around Flag Day, who wants to watch ICE Hockey in mid JUNE?!?!??!?!)

NCAA Football: Lack of better schedule structuring, lack of more quality matchups during the regular season, endlessly sponsored bowl games, an increase from 4-5 bowl games to about 9,000 bowl games, and of course, lack of a playoff system.

NFL Football: Officiating has not been as good in recent years, endless commercials, especially right after kickoffs, the commish "whoring" out regular season games to Europe and elsewhere probably, icing the kicker, illegal blocks in the back taking place every single time on a kickoff or punt, the 2 point conversion, 2 weeks between the Conference Championshp games and the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl, the NFL Network (at least 12 hours of 24 showing the same episode of "NFL Total Access"), led me to canceling it, saving me $5 a month, NFL Sunday Ticket package tripling in price, thus causing my cousin to cancel it, no salary cap for rookies, too many pre-season games, the advent of adding 1 or 2 more regular season games (16 is plenty), the bye weeks being unfair and imbalanced, fantasy football, the probable lack of a salary cap after the 2010 season, which will lead to the permanent ruination of the NFL, Brett Favre, between his "I'm retired, I'm not" crap, and the fact that he's considered so awesome, yet more often than not he's had such screwups in the post-season (INT vs Giants, 4th & 26 game vs Eagles, foul up vs Minnesota in the playoffs then laughing about it). Yes I admire what he did on Monday Night right after his dad died, yes I admire many things about him, but the other stuff totally negates it all, and I for one am sick to death of hearing about him. Just retire and stay retired already, and start writing your speech for Canton. Domed stadiums. Stupid penalties, especially during a P.A.T., AFC & NFC championship games starting later than they used to, Saturday playoff games starting later than they used to, the constant threat of teams moving to L.A., the possibility of expansion (32 teams is PLENTY), ticket prices in general for all sports.

Spoken like a bitter 40 something year old man....

Signed,

A bitter 40-something year old man...

[BrySmalls]

What do I hate about sports/rules? Let me count the ways....

NHL Hockey: Fights, overtime rules, endless playoffs (The Stanley Cup finals ending around Flag Day, who wants to watch ICE Hockey in mid JUNE?!?!??!?!)

Spoken like a bitter 40 something year old man....

Signed,

A bitter 40-something year old man...

I do!

Fights: Need to ditch the instigator penalty.

OT rules: 10 mins of 5 on 5 then call it a tie.

Playoffs were amazing this year, regardless of the outcome.