The Sports Thread

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Gigi_GNR, Dec 9, 2009.

  1. Dante Dases

    Dante Dases Contributor Contributor

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    It's not expensive to get to games is it? I was always under the impression that sport over there in the US was fairly cheap to go to see live.
     
  2. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    Eliminating teams will also eliminate fan bases, and fans along with them. If the Raiders organization was removed from the league, or if the team's name, logo and colours were changed to accommodate a relocation, I would no longer watch the NFL.

    I think a much better case can be made for contraction in the NHL and MLB. With the current movement headed by Jerry Jones, we might very soon see an NFL without revenue sharing or a salary cap. If that happens, then there very well could be contraction in the NFL. It remains to be seen if that will be for the good of the league.

    For one ticket to see my favourite hockey team at home, I'd have to pay over $200. It really depends on the team.
     
  3. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    Dante - Travel is not expensive but professional sports stadium prices have become a problem. It's not bad if you're dealing with a winning team...peope wil pay to see winners...but if a team is losing, especially over several consecutive seasons, it's real hard for fans to pay the high fees at today's stadiums.

    Agreen - I'm a Raiders fan too. I'm just waiting for Al Davis to die of old age so the team can begin rebuilding for real. As far as fans dropping interest in pro football, I'm not sure that will happen. For example, the Jacksonville fans probably supported the Miami Dolphins or Tampa Bay bucs before the Jags came to town. I suspect they'd return to their fan "roots" if the Jags evaporated. You might be right though, who knows?
     
  4. Dante Dases

    Dante Dases Contributor Contributor

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    $200 for a ticket? Flipping heck, that's a bob or two - would it be for the really good seats, or just your average ones?

    Salty, trust me when I say I've experienced the fickle nature of sports fans. A few years ago we were pulling in 9,500 and getting relegated, and crowds at the start of the next season were little better. But for the last half-dozen games that season, when we were battling it out for promotion, we kept getting 15,000+, and even a 20,000 crowd in the play-offs (if anyone wants to hear me go on about that night against Lincoln, please ask, as it's possibly my favourite match of all time). The trick is to keep the hardcore fans happy, those who will go no matter what, as they're the ones to really stay the right side of.
     
  5. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    NaCl: You're right, we won't know until it happens. There are definitely advantages to contraction, especially for teams in markets that aren't giving the team enough support. Should revenue sharing end, I expect both the Jaguars and Rams to fold or relocate. It would surprise me to see the Raiders contracted because of their history and because they have a pretty good fan base that extends beyond Oakland, but Al really does need to go.

    Dante: All but a few thousand of Leafs tickets are tied up in season tickets that are owned by either individuals or companies. Because they're one of the most prestigious tickets in the city, many companies find it worth while to maintain season tickets in the nicest part of the arena. Their tickets are still extraordinarily expensive, far more expensive than most of the league, but the cost is exasperated by the fact that fans will often have to turn to scalpers to get tickets. If the team is playing well, tickets are almost prohibitively expensive. The tickets I mentioned before are ones that are actually available for sale to the general public- they're about mid-level. Ice level is far more expensive, but if they're ever available seats up at the highest level aren't much more than $50. Most other cities have far more reasonable prices. I have 4 tickets in Ottawa to see the Leafs, that combined are valued at $320 (I have friends that work for companies with Ottawa Senators season tickets so I'm paying much less than that). They're the best seats outside of the lower level, and Ottawa raises prices by something like 30% for Leafs games.

    Tonight the Leafs revisit Boston, after a disastrous outing on Saturday. The Phil Kessel trade was probably the most significant move of the past offseason for both teams. Kessel is currently the Leafs best player, and arguably the only elite player they've had since Sundin, and regularly creates goals completely on his own. All he cost a rebuilding Leafs team was two first and one second round selections, which is a hefty price for a team that was supposed to be rebuilding. Unquestionably Saturday's game, the first meeting of the two teams since the trade, was the worst of Kessel's season. Every night he's under pressure to carry the Leafs, but especially playing in front of his former team's crowd, Kessel didn't seem his normal, dangerous, self. I'm hoping tonight he'll be over his first game back home nerves and play the way he can. The Leafs had a very strong outing last night, and a good performance tonight could help carry them to their first significant winning streak of the season.
     
  6. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    I have been a fan of the Green Bay Packers since I was little. :D I will always love the Pack more than any team. That's my team, baby!! :D
     
  7. Evil Flamingo

    Evil Flamingo Banned Contributor

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    I am the same but opposite of you Gigi. :)
     
  8. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    There are NO more rabid fans than Packer fans, although fans in the Black Hole in Oakland are close! There is also no other pro football team that is owned by the local public. I'm a big fan of Brett (no matter where he plays).
     
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  9. Evil Flamingo

    Evil Flamingo Banned Contributor

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    Just let some Vike fans get next to Pack fans. The battle will never end, and never fail to entertain.
     
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  10. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    The game ended up being pretty painful. The Leafs certainly did not play well enough to win, but down 3-0 going into the third they managed to close within 1. Then Jason Blake decided he wasn't being useless enough already and decided to take a penalty in the last 4 minutes, resulting in the pp goal that sealed the game for Boston. What we learned tonight: Kessel is letting the Boston crowd get to him, Blake is worse than useless (we knew this already) and for a team built on 'truculence', the Leafs are painfully easy to push around. Good thing they only have to play once more in Boston this year. It's hard to be too down, as the Leafs are improving, it just would have been nice to finally put together a 3 game winning streak. If they're going to start a new winning streak on Saturday, it's going to be a challenge. They face Alexander Ovechkin and a bunch of other hockey players based in Washington.
     
  11. Dante Dases

    Dante Dases Contributor Contributor

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    Huddersfield Town 2-1 Gillingham.

    I won't complain. We battled back from an early goal following a long ball over our static defence from which Simeon Jackson lobbed Smithies. Hit the woodwork and forced the Gillingham keeper into one blinding save from a point-blank Jordan Rhodes header before Lee Novak created mayhem and slotted home for the equaliser.

    From then on, there was only going to be one winner. The keeper was scrambling for a Gary Roberts effort to turn it round just a few minutes after the goal and from the resulting corner Roberts' delivery was met with a glancing header from Jordan Rhodes. Town remain fifth in the table, after Colchester won and Norwich drew.
     
  12. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    I hate "draws"...they shouldn't be allowed in sports. I say play until someone wins.
     
  13. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    This is one of several reasons why the playoffs are that much better in hockey and football. Though I guess NHL games can't end in a draw, but the shootout is a pretty terrible way to decide a game as it doesn't really reflect natural play- just a limited set of skills.
     
  14. CDRW

    CDRW Contributor Contributor

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    “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

    Ernest Hemingway
     
  15. marcusl

    marcusl New Member

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    I love basketball, so I've been following the NBA for quite a while. I don't live in the US, though. Anyway, in the 90s, I enjoyed watching the Jazz because I liked John Stockton's fundamental style. Of course, like any other kid, I loved Michael Jordan from the Bulls, too. Currently, I like watching Kobe Bryant and the Lakers play.
     
  16. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    Tonight, the Leafs host Alexander Ovechkin. The rest of the Washington Capitals may be in attendance as well, though the Toronto hockey media has yet to confirm if this is the case. On paper, this is a mismatch- following years of poor play the Capitals are now one of the NHL's strongest teams, while the Leafs haven't qualified for the post season in half a decade. Yet, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. Whether individually, like Ian White vs. Kovalchuk or Luke Schenn vs. Malkin, or as a collective effort such as against Detroit the past two seasons, the Leafs seem to raise their play when pitted against elite talent. For the purposes of of this argument we'll just pretend the two Boston disasters never happened.

    This was the case the last time these teams played, on November 21st. The Leafs entered the game mired in a five game losing streak, their third such streak to that point in the season, and emerged with a hard fought victory in the shootout. Admittedly winning a shootout is more like winning a skills competition than an actual game, but their strong performance against Washington helped turn the team around. Since that game the Leafs have not had back-to-back losses.

    Unfortunately, I'm going to miss tonight's game, but I think if the Leafs work their forecheck and put pressure on the Capitals defence (in my opinion their weakest point) then they have a chance to steal another win from Ovechkin. Phil Kessel is on a bit of a cold streak. I'm expecting a strong game from him tonight, preventing his little snag, no doubt in part from playing Boston twice in a week, from becoming a slump.
     
  17. Dante Dases

    Dante Dases Contributor Contributor

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    Not an option in a game like football. Low-scoring, every chance that a game can go without someone scoring for too long to make it an option. I've played in games where it's been 0-0 at 90 minutes, 0-0 at extra time and needed to go down to the sixth sudden death penalty, and it isn't an option for week-in, week-out.
     
  18. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    You're from Minnesota, I'm from Wisconsin. Of course you're opposite. I'm normal and you're not.

    :D JK

    You got that right......in our state, football is a lifestyle, not a sport. It's an all-consuming obsession. :) If you live here, you can't escape it. Sooner or later Packer fever will overtake you.

    As for Brett, I've loved him my whole life long, so I don't care who he plays for, as long as I can watch him.

    Hahaha, you are so right. :D We will spot you across the street, even across the state border, and instantly pick a fight, no matter where you are. It's a classic rivalry, and there are none better.
     
  19. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    It turns out I missed a pretty good game. Leafs won 6-3, once again saving themselves from back-to-back losses. Tonight's win is also their third straight at home, first time they've done so since January last year. As I predicted, Kessel was back on form, and Stajan also looks to have had a big night. Ovechkin managed 3 points, which I suppose isn't too surprising, but the Leafs managed to contain him in the third and take the win.
     
  20. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    Home run so far today...Aint's remain undefeated, Green Bay wins, Farve/Vikes win. What's happened to the Steelers?
     
  21. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    ^ Mega-likes!!! :D I wanna see those two teams matched up again. GB played a good game today. :)
     
  22. Evil Flamingo

    Evil Flamingo Banned Contributor

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    The Steeler's stolen winning streak has finally come back against them. I'm worries about Saints though, that's a monster team.
     
  23. Gigi_GNR

    Gigi_GNR Guys, come on. WAFFLE-O. Contributor

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    Saints and Colts both. Total perfection as of yet. But if you look back to the Patriots/Giants Superbowl, a perfect season doesn't always mean a Superbowl win. Hopefully they both get shut down sometime so the green & gold can claim what's theirs. :D
     
  24. Agreen

    Agreen Faceless Man Contributor

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    Well, not only is the Bruce no longer loose but his knee is hurt. Asomugha is out, getting x-rays. The team is going to break the record for penalties in a game. But that's not even the worst part. The worse part of this game is that the biggest NFL draft bust of this decade has taken the field (and introduced himself to it 3 times in a single quarter) and did what he does best- throw ints. The Raiders are going to lose to the Washington Redskins.

    edit: And now Zack Miller is out injured. Thankfully Murphy escaped with his joints.
     
  25. Mercurial

    Mercurial Contributor Contributor

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    13 and 0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Yeah, the Saints may be a "monster team," but they're nothing compared to my Colts. :love:

    Marshall may have broke the 21-passes-in-a-game record (seriously --good for him; that was a good game, and we had no answer for him. Impressive!), but we still won the 22 straight regular season game record (we have been second up until this point to the Patriots, but you might remember, the Pats held that record during the time they were found cheating).

    I think Manning and Wayne also broke a few records this game. Woot.

    We looked like Superbowl contenders tonight!
     

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