infrared41 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Speaking of lots of money changing hands and a crappy baseball team, I wonder if we'll ever hit a breaking point where sports just becomes Too Damn Much. We're expected to pay out the ass for tickets, pay too much for merchandise, pay too much for concessions and parking, pay for the telecasts, sit through the ads for the telecasts we paid for, get overwhelmed by billboards all over the publicly-financed stadiums, all in the name of "maximizing revenue streams in order to remain competitive." The bubble has to burst one day. Gas is $4.25 a gallon! Populism!We're not there yet, but I do think we've definitely taken the first step down that road. I know I don't even consider going to NFL games anymore. I don't know if this is relevant to your question but...the NFL used to mean fun and cool uniforms to me. Now I just see a giant corporation and it's slobbering media sycophants. But that's just me. Anyway, I think we're still a very long way from "aw it", but I don't think getting there is as out of the question as I used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBubba Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Also teams that build championship contenders through the draft instead of buying players. The Thunder and spurs are the only teams I know that were mostly built using the draft.You clearly don't follow the NHL then... Nobody cares about your humungous-big signature. PotD: 29/1/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Speaking of lots of money changing hands and a crappy baseball team, I wonder if we'll ever hit a breaking point where sports just becomes Too Damn Much. We're expected to pay out the ass for tickets, pay too much for merchandise, pay too much for concessions and parking, pay for the telecasts, sit through the ads for the telecasts we paid for, get overwhelmed by billboards all over the publicly-financed stadiums, all in the name of "maximizing revenue streams in order to remain competitive." The bubble has to burst one day. Gas is $4.25 a gallon! Populism!We're not there yet, but I do think we've definitely taken the first step down that road. I know I don't even consider going to NFL games anymore. I don't know if this is relevant to your question but...the NFL used to mean fun and cool uniforms to me. Now I just see a giant corporation and it's slobbering media sycophants. But that's just me. Anyway, I think we're still a very long way from "aw it", but I don't think getting there is as out of the question as I used to.The NFL has the unique dilemma of cannibalizing its own product. They've unwittingly made it vastly preferable to sit at home and watch in HD with wings and bros, rather than dump a ton of money to inconveniently go watch in person and not have arcane touchdown overrulings explained by former players, retired referees, and astrophysicists. I've burned out on NFL coverage for the same reasons as you. It's just too monolithic, too sycophantic, too all-consuming. ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illwauk Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Speaking of lots of money changing hands and a crappy baseball team, I wonder if we'll ever hit a breaking point where sports just becomes Too Damn Much. We're expected to pay out the ass for tickets, pay too much for merchandise, pay too much for concessions and parking, pay for the telecasts, sit through the ads for the telecasts we paid for, get overwhelmed by billboards all over the publicly-financed stadiums, all in the name of "maximizing revenue streams in order to remain competitive." The bubble has to burst one day. Gas is $4.25 a gallon! Populism!We're not there yet, but I do think we've definitely taken the first step down that road. I know I don't even consider going to NFL games anymore. I don't know if this is relevant to your question but...the NFL used to mean fun and cool uniforms to me. Now I just see a giant corporation and it's slobbering media sycophants. But that's just me. Anyway, I think we're still a very long way from "aw it", but I don't think getting there is as out of the question as I used to.The NFL has the unique dilemma of cannibalizing its own product. They've unwittingly made it vastly preferable to sit at home and watch in HD with wings and bros, rather than dump a ton of money to inconveniently go watch in person and not have arcane touchdown overrulings explained by former players, retired referees, and astrophysicists. I've burned out on NFL coverage for the same reasons as you. It's just too monolithic, too sycophantic, too all-consuming.I used to be someone who would watch 3-4 NFL games every weekend. Now it's a rare occasion that I watch a game the Packers aren't somehow involved in... and even then, I missed 4 games last year and didn't really regret it. I think it's all the commercials... there's only so many times you can watch 2 minutes of advertising wrapped around a single play before catching a game feels more like a tedious chore rather than something you actually want to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmoehrin Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Speaking of lots of money changing hands and a crappy baseball team, I wonder if we'll ever hit a breaking point where sports just becomes Too Damn Much. We're expected to pay out the ass for tickets, pay too much for merchandise, pay too much for concessions and parking, pay for the telecasts, sit through the ads for the telecasts we paid for, get overwhelmed by billboards all over the publicly-financed stadiums, all in the name of "maximizing revenue streams in order to remain competitive." The bubble has to burst one day. Gas is $4.25 a gallon! Populism!We're not there yet, but I do think we've definitely taken the first step down that road. I know I don't even consider going to NFL games anymore. I don't know if this is relevant to your question but...the NFL used to mean fun and cool uniforms to me. Now I just see a giant corporation and it's slobbering media sycophants. But that's just me. Anyway, I think we're still a very long way from "aw it", but I don't think getting there is as out of the question as I used to.The NFL has the unique dilemma of cannibalizing its own product. They've unwittingly made it vastly preferable to sit at home and watch in HD with wings and bros, rather than dump a ton of money to inconveniently go watch in person and not have arcane touchdown overrulings explained by former players, retired referees, and astrophysicists. I've burned out on NFL coverage for the same reasons as you. It's just too monolithic, too sycophantic, too all-consuming.I think with the NFL your starting to see two types of fans emerge. One is the fantasy football obsessed fan. They may have a favorite team, that they're passionate about. Think its fair to say that most do. But fantasy football is really the be all end all of why they follow as intensely as they do. If they didn't have fantasy football, they would either be casual fans or they wouldn't follow the sport at all.And the other is the person that just cares about their team and nothing else, which would be more in line with what you get in college football. Those people I think are the ones that care most about actually going to game, because they really don't take much of an interest in the rest of the league, which is the biggest thing you miss out on by going to a game on Sunday. Unless you live right next to the stadium its an all day affair getting there, watching the game and then leaving.Right now there's still alot of people in middle (myself included) but be interesting to see if that middle ground starts to go away as we've seen with the NHL. It may be different up in Canada, but where I am everyone that follows hockey almost exclusively follows hockey, or they know next to nothing about the sport.I don't think it will go away, but it could and I think that would be really bad for the sport if it ever got there. You always want a pretty even balance between your hardcore and your regular fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walby2 Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Speaking of lots of money changing hands and a crappy baseball team, I wonder if we'll ever hit a breaking point where sports just becomes Too Damn Much. We're expected to pay out the ass for tickets, pay too much for merchandise, pay too much for concessions and parking, pay for the telecasts, sit through the ads for the telecasts we paid for, get overwhelmed by billboards all over the publicly-financed stadiums, all in the name of "maximizing revenue streams in order to remain competitive." The bubble has to burst one day. Gas is $4.25 a gallon! Populism!Being in Winnipeg has given me a bit of a different perspective on this, because we were out of the major league loop for so long. In the early 90s, you could pretty much stop at 7-Eleven on the way to the arena and buy a $8 nosebleed seat whenever you felt like it, and move down to better seats after the first period. It was exactly the same as going to a movie - a reasonably priced seat there for the taking, whenever you felt like it (unless the Leafs or Habs were coming to town, in which case you had to buy a week in advance).Then 15 years later, OMG FRENZY. People lining up to plunk down multi-year commitments for $5,000 season tickets. Dudes literally cashing out their retirement savings accounts (I know of at least two financial planners who had clients that did this) just to buy tickets. The pricey beers. The $250 jerseys. The pay-per-view TV channel. To my mind it is unreal how much people are willing to shell out to be a part of this. Only 20 years ago the NHL in Winnipeg was basically a pastime that the city only got revved up about during the playoffs (despite what the revisionists would tell you). Now it has turned into a semi-religious commitment that grabs huge wads of cash out of your wallet. Just how long will people want to keep this up? How long CAN they keep it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 To revisit the discussion of great baseball nicknames, we mustn't forget "The Human Rain Delay" Mike Hargrove. ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infrared41 Posted August 17, 2012 Share Posted August 17, 2012 To revisit the discussion of great baseball nicknames, we mustn't forget "The Human Rain Delay" Mike Hargrove.Being old enough to have seen him play, I can tell you that it was a most fitting nickname. Hargrove made Carlton Fisk look positively hurried by comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanMcD29 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Totally remembered this out of nowhere today: The 3rd place game in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. I mean, in the end it's kinda pointless, but hey it wouldn't be too bad to bring it back just for the sake of having another game to watch before the season ends Twitter: @RyanMcD29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smzimbabwe Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 How about Olympic ice hockey being decided by 2 round robin tournaments, a preliminary and a final, instead of 1 round robin and a playoff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBubba Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 How about Olympic ice hockey being decided by 2 round robin tournaments, a preliminary and a final, instead of 1 round robin and a playoff...Not enough time.EDIT: I think I misread that as a suggestion. If that's the case, then never mind. Nobody cares about your humungous-big signature. PotD: 29/1/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnWis97 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 For those that watch WCHA college hockey, the first round opens with a best-of-three at the home of the higher-ranked team. You may remember that it used to be a two-game "total goals" series. I'd be curious to know if anyone does/did that.You don't see that anymore and that's fine by me. Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse." BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD POTD (Shared) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sport Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 For those that watch WCHA college hockey, the first round opens with a best-of-three at the home of the higher-ranked team. You may remember that it used to be a two-game "total goals" series. I'd be curious to know if anyone does/did that.You don't see that anymore and that's fine by me.I played in a tournament in high school where the first round was decided by periods won. We went 3-0, but didn't advance because the team we beat won more periods than us. Dumbest tournament setup I've ever played in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smzimbabwe Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 How about Olympic ice hockey being decided by 2 round robin tournaments, a preliminary and a final, instead of 1 round robin and a playoff...Not enough time.EDIT: I think I misread that as a suggestion. If that's the case, then never mind.No problem, but it's the way it used to be. A lot of people think that the Miracle on Ice game was for the gold medal, but it was just a 2nd stage round robin game. Had the U.S. lost to Finland in the next game, they would have gotten bronze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnWis97 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 For those that watch WCHA college hockey, the first round opens with a best-of-three at the home of the higher-ranked team. You may remember that it used to be a two-game "total goals" series. I'd be curious to know if anyone does/did that.You don't see that anymore and that's fine by me.I played in a tournament in high school where the first round was decided by periods won. We went 3-0, but didn't advance because the team we beat won more periods than us. Dumbest tournament setup I've ever played in.Wow. That makes two games "total goals" look brilliant. At least you could not win both games and still lose the series. Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse." BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD POTD (Shared) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajeet Posted August 20, 2012 Author Share Posted August 20, 2012 All these nicknames and nobody mentioned Honey Badger? But heh, unless you in Brazil, iconic nicks are gonna be hard to come by...I know damn well Brandon Jennings been trying (and failing) to get one.Far as you don't see no more, the CFL on US TV...and Arena ball on channels people can actually watch...come to think of it, the Harlem Globetrotters on TV...bullpen carts...football stirrups...team-specific socks in basketball...Roger Clemens' quasi-annual minor league comeback tourFar as I didn't expect to see but did see recently, bad football that was actually funny to watch...to put it bluntly, the Chicago Colts are probably equal to somebody out there. I hope. They were no match for the Racine Raiders, however.I just read that he signed a minor league contract with the Sugar Land Skeeters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrbaseball Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 A tradition you don't see anymore: Throwing streamers onto the court after each team's first basket during Big 5 games at the Palestra. (A modified version of the tradition was revived last year for Penn, whereas fans throw the streamers after games the Quakers win.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrbaseball Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 The old Continental Basketball Association for a time compiled its standings based on points rather than percentage, except points could be earned for each quarter. Every game was worth 7 points: 1 point for each quarter won, and 3 points for the whole game. Points were not awarded for overtime. If a quarter was tied, each team received ½ point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Admiral Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 That's so tremendously stupid that it makes the NHL standings seem intuitive. ♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrbaseball Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 That's so tremendously stupid that it makes the NHL standings seem intuitive.Here is what the CBA standings looked like in 1998-99:American Conf W L QW Pts -----------------------------Connecticut* 37 19 124½ 235½Grand Rapids* 27 29 121 202 Fort Wayne* 28 28 103½ 187½Rockford* 23 33 103½ 172½National Conf W L QW Pts -----------------------------Sioux Falls* 32 24 128½ 224½Yakima* 30 26 122½ 212½Quad City* 29 27 100 187 Idaho* 25 31 104 179 La Crosse 21 35 100½ 163½* - playoff qualifier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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