The NBA is very lucky that the NFL season started without a hitch. Of course even if the NFL was still in lockout they would currently be receiving the majority of the criticism.
November 1st is closing in fast and still there appears to be nothing positive to report. Instead we are stuck with more negative news from the league.
According to NBA.com training camps have been postponed indefinitely and 43 preseason games scheduled through October 15th have been canceled.
Honestly I am partially okay with this. I would rather lose more of the NBA preseason than the NFL preseason because I do not believe basketball players need as long of a preseason they are already given to prepare for a 82 game season.
And I did tell a white lie. Well I did if you count this as good news. Jay-Z has announced the official name change of the Nets to the Brooklyn Nets instead of New Jersey. And he will have multiple concerts in the new Barclay Center.
Be prepared to see Knicks fans jumping over to root for the Nets despite the Knicks still hoping to improve with the late addition of Carmelo Anthony.
Unless your a Jay-Z fan or at least live in the Brooklyn area there is not much reason to be hopefully about the 2011-2012 NBA season yet.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Musical Conferences
The Pac-10 became the Pac-12, TCU decided to move to a BCS conference in the Big East, Nebraska shifted to the Big 10, Texas A&M is leaving for the SEC, Pittsburgh and Syracuse are swapping to the ACC.
These are all the official shifts that have occurred in the past year alone. Not to startle you but this could be the calm before the storm.
Now there is talk of a Pac-16, a merger between the Big East and Big 12 and the biggest shocker, Notre Dame finally breaking down and entering a conference. Although the Pac-12 voted against expanding any further they can just as easily vote to expand.
There are two scenarios that can play out from these potential “mega” conferences. The first is the BCS bowl system will be solidified and the second is that a playoff is inevitable.
The argument can arise that since there might end up being roughly four mega conferences that a playoff will not be needed because the top teams will already be at the top of their conferences and will be selected to play for the BCS championship.
The stronger of the two arguments is the second. If it were worked down to only four conferences and each already had their own conference championship games then from there you can put together a four team playoff.
For those of you sentimentalists do not worry. They can still easily keep the bowls in place. The four big bowls can be considered the conference championship games. For example the Pac-16 championship will always be the Rose Bowl while the SEC can have their championship game be the Sugar Bowl, the ACC can have the Orange Bowl, and whichever fourth and possibly fifth conference can use the Cotton and Tostitos Bowls.
Overall the changing of the conferences means little to me unless it provokes a change in postseason play, however, however it would be nice if everyone could settle down pick a conference so we can focus on the field and not conference politics.
These are all the official shifts that have occurred in the past year alone. Not to startle you but this could be the calm before the storm.
Now there is talk of a Pac-16, a merger between the Big East and Big 12 and the biggest shocker, Notre Dame finally breaking down and entering a conference. Although the Pac-12 voted against expanding any further they can just as easily vote to expand.
There are two scenarios that can play out from these potential “mega” conferences. The first is the BCS bowl system will be solidified and the second is that a playoff is inevitable.
The argument can arise that since there might end up being roughly four mega conferences that a playoff will not be needed because the top teams will already be at the top of their conferences and will be selected to play for the BCS championship.
The stronger of the two arguments is the second. If it were worked down to only four conferences and each already had their own conference championship games then from there you can put together a four team playoff.
For those of you sentimentalists do not worry. They can still easily keep the bowls in place. The four big bowls can be considered the conference championship games. For example the Pac-16 championship will always be the Rose Bowl while the SEC can have their championship game be the Sugar Bowl, the ACC can have the Orange Bowl, and whichever fourth and possibly fifth conference can use the Cotton and Tostitos Bowls.
Overall the changing of the conferences means little to me unless it provokes a change in postseason play, however, however it would be nice if everyone could settle down pick a conference so we can focus on the field and not conference politics.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
An Appeal to American Sports Fans
Dear American sports fans, I understand that you are “ready for some football”, you cannot wait for the fall classic to start, and once the NBA lockout is lifted all will be perfect. Allow me, for a moment, to show you a gem that has been sitting at your feet and waiting to be admired.
You would have thought we as Americans would have more fully discovered and embraced “the beautiful game” sooner than we are even beginning to now. Of course what I am referring to is soccer, the original “football” if you will. For as old as soccer is, it can be traced to the eighth century in England, and for how popular it is worldwide, soccer is the most watched and played sport globally, it is shocking that its popularity within the United States is lack luster in comparison. It is nearly impossible to trace the cause of this to one specific reason, although a few broad generic reasons do jump to mind.
The game is too slow. As Americans we like our fast paced lifestyles, and we are obsessed with speed in sports. We will over analyze the potential of a prospect in the NFL draft because they ran a forty yard dash time in 4.47 seconds and not in 4.38 seconds, and so the prospect might drop round in the draft because of those .9 seconds. Soccer is cluttered with phenomenal athletes. In most countries their best athletes are soccer players. A standard soccer pitch (field) is just as long as a football field if you include the endzones and a soccer field is nearly thirty yards wider than a football field. You also must keep in mind that unlike football, where the average play is roughly six to seven seconds long, soccer the majority of the time there is no dead time with the exception of fouls and say corner kicks, although even then the players are jogging to get into better position pre play. Overall soccer might not appear to be happening as fast as say basketball or football, but soccer has a different pace and therefore a different feel while watching it.
The scores are too low and there are not enough exciting moments over the course of the game. Well first of we call baseball our past time. And there can be no argument that says there are more exciting moments in the course of an average baseball game then a soccer game. Baseball like soccer, are both lower scoring games that can be both appreciated as such. Also look at it like this, the only true “high scoring” game is basketball. Sure football scores will read 28-14 or 42-28, but when you break down how many times each team actually scored, it looks more like 4-3 or 6-4. Not that much more coring then in soccer honestly, however I do view the “lack” of scoring in soccer to be a good thing, it builds tension as the game progresses. When every play and touch of the ball could easily win or lose the game for you or your team, the excitement while watching a play unfold can almost be unmatched by other sports.
What else is wrong with soccer? Do not tell me that it not being “American” is a problem now. Because it is not “our” game, get over yourself if that is the case. Once again remember America’s past time baseball? It’s just an adaptation of the English games of cricket. And basketball, the sport that we have for the most part had complete control in regards to international competition, well it was created by a Canadian who happened to be working in Springfield, Massachusetts. So please do not be that naive and even think that this is a legitimate reason.
Soccer’s popularity in the United States has seen a rise in the past few years. The men’s World Cup was watched by many and even the women’s World Cup was grabbing plenty of headline space. The MLS this year had two more expansion teams with the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. Yet still the support and media coverage that the game gets is lack luster in comparison to golf, basketball, football, and baseball. All I ask of you is to give it a chance if you have not already, turn on the MLS and watch a few games. Make a concerted effort to at least try to get into soccer, and if you do, I promise that you will be surprised with the results.
You would have thought we as Americans would have more fully discovered and embraced “the beautiful game” sooner than we are even beginning to now. Of course what I am referring to is soccer, the original “football” if you will. For as old as soccer is, it can be traced to the eighth century in England, and for how popular it is worldwide, soccer is the most watched and played sport globally, it is shocking that its popularity within the United States is lack luster in comparison. It is nearly impossible to trace the cause of this to one specific reason, although a few broad generic reasons do jump to mind.
The game is too slow. As Americans we like our fast paced lifestyles, and we are obsessed with speed in sports. We will over analyze the potential of a prospect in the NFL draft because they ran a forty yard dash time in 4.47 seconds and not in 4.38 seconds, and so the prospect might drop round in the draft because of those .9 seconds. Soccer is cluttered with phenomenal athletes. In most countries their best athletes are soccer players. A standard soccer pitch (field) is just as long as a football field if you include the endzones and a soccer field is nearly thirty yards wider than a football field. You also must keep in mind that unlike football, where the average play is roughly six to seven seconds long, soccer the majority of the time there is no dead time with the exception of fouls and say corner kicks, although even then the players are jogging to get into better position pre play. Overall soccer might not appear to be happening as fast as say basketball or football, but soccer has a different pace and therefore a different feel while watching it.
The scores are too low and there are not enough exciting moments over the course of the game. Well first of we call baseball our past time. And there can be no argument that says there are more exciting moments in the course of an average baseball game then a soccer game. Baseball like soccer, are both lower scoring games that can be both appreciated as such. Also look at it like this, the only true “high scoring” game is basketball. Sure football scores will read 28-14 or 42-28, but when you break down how many times each team actually scored, it looks more like 4-3 or 6-4. Not that much more coring then in soccer honestly, however I do view the “lack” of scoring in soccer to be a good thing, it builds tension as the game progresses. When every play and touch of the ball could easily win or lose the game for you or your team, the excitement while watching a play unfold can almost be unmatched by other sports.
What else is wrong with soccer? Do not tell me that it not being “American” is a problem now. Because it is not “our” game, get over yourself if that is the case. Once again remember America’s past time baseball? It’s just an adaptation of the English games of cricket. And basketball, the sport that we have for the most part had complete control in regards to international competition, well it was created by a Canadian who happened to be working in Springfield, Massachusetts. So please do not be that naive and even think that this is a legitimate reason.
Soccer’s popularity in the United States has seen a rise in the past few years. The men’s World Cup was watched by many and even the women’s World Cup was grabbing plenty of headline space. The MLS this year had two more expansion teams with the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. Yet still the support and media coverage that the game gets is lack luster in comparison to golf, basketball, football, and baseball. All I ask of you is to give it a chance if you have not already, turn on the MLS and watch a few games. Make a concerted effort to at least try to get into soccer, and if you do, I promise that you will be surprised with the results.
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