US Sports - whats with them?

I have a few problems with 1 sport that I watch quite a lot of.

Baseball.
First, it's just a bigger version of a UK game for girls - rounders, with more complex rules.
Second, how can you have a "World Series" when only teams from the US compete?
Third, if a team is the US champ, why don't they take on a cuban team? or indeed why don't the US play teams from other parts of the world including cuba, and make it a proper world series?

One other thing - SOCCER as you call it, is the REAL football. In US football, the ball hardly ever gets kicked, so why try to usurp the name of the real beautiful game?
US football is just rugby set plays, without the dynamism of rugby.

Try and defend this - I dare you...........

No, it's just that the UK women as a whole have more athletic skill than the men, hence they're the only ones who can play rounders. The men were too busy wearing lilly white outfits hitting a round ball with a freakin' paddle, not a round ball with a round bat which requires infinitely more skill.

The soccer arguments been beaten to death here. More action in the stands than on the field. End of story!

Peace

Originally posted by budski

I have a few problems with 1 sport that I watch quite a lot of.

Baseball.
First, it's just a bigger version of a UK game for girls - rounders, with more complex rules.
Second, how can you have a "World Series" when only teams from the US compete?
Third, if a team is the US champ, why don't they take on a cuban team? or indeed why don't the US play teams from other parts of the world including cuba, and make it a proper world series?

Because that would be like having Chelsea Man U or Liverpool pay against the Kansas City Wizards or to put it another way how long would the LA Galaxy last in the Champions league?

One other thing - SOCCER as you call it, is the REAL football. In US football, the ball hardly ever gets kicked, so why try to usurp the name of the real beautiful game?
US football is just rugby set plays, without the dynamism of rugby.

Try and defend this - I dare you...........

Back when US Football first started there was way more kicking and no throwing throwing cam later, US Football is boring because of TV stopping the game all the time and too much time between plays. Baseball has become the same by the way too much commercialism.


I watch the English Premiere League myself, and I watch quite a bit of Baseball, American Football I dont watch anymore doesnt do anything for me.

Originally posted by Dr Love
No, it's just that the UK women as a whole have more athletic skill than the men, hence they're the only ones who can play rounders. The men were too busy wearing lilly white outfits hitting a round ball with a freakin' paddle, not a round ball with a round bat which requires infinitely more skill.

The soccer arguments been beaten to death here. More action in the stands than on the field. End of story!

Peace

Ok, this coming from a man from the state with the highest obesity rate in the US? lol
As for cricket, it's a game that requires a lot more skill than baseball - this comes from men who have played both sports. It's also a game that requires tactical knowledge, stamina and intelligence - they don't have a break every 20 minutes waiting to bat.
Brian Lara - world record holder for runs scored in a test match - 400

* 50 in 115 mins off 61 balls, hitting seven fours
* 100 in 192 mins off 131 balls, hitting 13 fours
* 150 in 278 mins off 199 balls, hitting 18 fours
* 200 in 387 mins off 260 balls, hitting 22 fours and one six
* 250 in 479 mins off 323 balls, hitting 27 fours and two sixes
* 300 in 576 mins off 404 balls, hitting 34 fours and two sixes
* 350 in 678 mins off 494 balls, hitting 39 fours and three sixes
* 384 in 728 mins off 546 balls, hitting 42 fours and four sixes
* 400 in 773 mins off 582 balls, hitting 43 fours and four sixes

Seems to me that requires a bit more concentration than going out, taking a swing then running round a bit.

HEHEH

Well, US football is just a worse version of rugby - another GLOBAL sport.

As for the US baseball teams playing teams from other countries? Cuba handed them their asses on a platter, with salad and dressing.

What other sport claims to have world champions when the only teams to play are from their own country?

It reminds me of when the US threw a hissy fit and had the olympic rules changed to include pro's, just cos the russians beat them.

Cricket is another global sport.

And PROPER football is a truly global sport.

Originally posted by budski
Ok, this coming from a man from the state with the highest obesity rate in the US? lol

The comeback of a man who has no comeback.

I'm trying to quit Ambien so I started watching soccer.

Peace

The world baseball classic is very different from playing a US MLB team.

National teams would be a different story as most American Pro Baseball Players dont play on the National team only College players and Minor League Players do.

While the cuban team is a very good team I dont think that they would fare very well with a 162 game MLB Schedule

Originally posted by Dr Love

Originally posted by budski
Ok, this coming from a man from the state with the highest obesity rate in the US? lol

The comeback of a man who has no comeback.

I'm trying to quit Ambien so I started watching soccer.

Peace

No comeback, merely a fact lol

Real Football is a game of pace, vision, intelligence and subtlety - not that I expect any follower of US football to understand subtlety - in fact, I have it on reliable authority that subtlety is in short supply across the pond

BTW, 773 minutes batting by Brian Lara?
A phenomenal achievement.

Originally posted by DarkStormCrow
The world baseball classic is very different from playing a US MLB team.

National teams would be a different story as most American Pro Baseball Players dont play on the National team only College players and Minor League Players do.

While the cuban team is a very good team I dont think that they would fare very well with a 162 game MLB Schedule

Perhaps not - but wouldn't it settle a lot of arguments if they played a team made of only US players, in a one off series.
And I don't mean players from other countries who happen to reside in the US.

US born players only, against the cream of cuba!

Would be a interesting game or series of games I wouldnt mind seeing it.

I love watching EPL 2 hours no commercials and your done.

Originally posted by DarkStormCrow
Would be a interesting game or series of games I wouldnt mind seeing it.

I love watching EPL 2 hours no commercials and your done.

Ch5 baseball is pretty good - they showed the all stars game the other night - trouble is, I fell asleep cos it was on so late

OK a few thoughts

Baseball. You have an intense pitchers duel, which we should see tonight in Toronto. Their ace against a knuckle ball pitcher(slow ball, hard to hit) can be a good game to watch. BTW, I don't like to wait DAYS to see a game end. Ie cricket.

Basketball, got to give you that one. Hate to watch that.

Football/soccer? You've got to be into it here to get it. I like it myself, played it all through school. There are nuances that someone that hasn't played it don't get. It IS picking up speed though in North America.

Football/football. Same, there are nuances to the game if you aren't used to it. It's a combination of rugby and chess. Personally it's my favorite.

Now, if you want a REAL football game I recommend Aussie Rules. THAT'S a game.

Do we include hockey in this? It's played in the States and a lot of other countries in the world. What other sport actually allows fighting? Is the Canuck coming out in me? Personally we consider this to be OUR sport. Seeing as the NHL champs had 20 out of 23 players on their team that are Canadian, we might just have claim to that sport.

But I digress.

In cricket, it's mano a mano - bowler vs batsman - and as you can see from some stats I posted, this can last for many hours.

Here's a few things a batsman has to contend with:
en.wikipedia.org...

This is why it's called a test match.

To counter the bowler, the batsman has options, depending on the type of ball that has been bowled
news.bbc.co.uk...

And here's an overview, including field positions - although different positions and tactics vary against individual batsmen - and it also applies for batsmen against bowlers.
www.abcofcricket.com...


A subtle, intellectually stimulating, beautiful game.

[edit on 12/7/2007 by budski]

Here's my take.

Baseball is a game that has been played at basically the same rule set for about 100+ years in America... Its is known as "The World Series" becuase the best players from all over the world play in this leauge before the time of Japans League or any other baseball league.

Being it a 100+ year of league play, even 40 years ago they couldnt travel across seas for a "home & home" efficiently enough, if you catch my drift.

It would have been known that if you were any good at baseball 40-50 years ago, that going to the USA to play was the only option.... IE: No such things as Japan League.

Now, given all this. "The World Series" of now a days is just the known name for it. I think I would support a change of name too.

I would also love to see a Malasian, Japanese, Asian leauge start up and then hold a true "World Series" of the winner of that and the USA team. To expand on that, a Euro League and South American League would be awsome too........

But in the end.... is there enough talent to support this? I dought it... or we would have seen something along these lines.

Not to mention, I think the MLB wouldnt support it much. Being that they are so Stat hungry, taking away their best players to play in other leagues would be counter productive for the MLB. Its would be best for them to stay king of Baseball and atract all the best players..... which in the end, is a "World Series" because players come from all over the world now a days.

Catch-22?

I'll settle this!

Ahem...

*gets ready*

All sports is boring.

...except for badminton. =D

I'm sorry you're all wrong. The only sport worth watching is team penning. That takes real team work between 3 riders and their horses. Ninty seconds of pure action. Try it.

While watching is fun it's way more fun to be in the arena.

[edit on 12-7-2007 by gallopinghordes]

I'll agree with "all sports are boring", well most of the ones on TV are anyway. The ones which aren't are most of the Winter Olympics, Moto GP, World Superbikes, and F1 now that someone british has a chance of winning.

Oh BASE jumping, if it counts as a sport, looks fun.

And I don't like Generalizations, I went to Canada once, and every American person who we met there insisted on asking me "Do you play Soccer".

[edit on 13-7-2007 by apex]

Originally posted by JbT

I would also love to see a Malasian, Japanese, Asian leauge start up and then hold a true "World Series" of the winner of that and the USA team. To expand on that, a Euro League and South American League would be awsome too........

But in the end.... is there enough talent to support this? I dought it... or we would have seen something along these lines.

Not to mention, I think the MLB wouldnt support it much. Being that they are so Stat hungry, taking away their best players to play in other leagues would be counter productive for the MLB. Its would be best for them to stay king of Baseball and atract all the best players..... which in the end, is a "World Series" because players come from all over the world now a days.

Catch-22?

I don't really see how having players from around the globe (?) makes it a world series - the games are played between US clubs, and that makes it a closed event - The North American Series. I see it as an attempt to perpetuate US superiority and money making by keeping it closed.

As for smaller teams - The recent cricket world cup shows this can be done - teams playing that aren't allowed to play test matches (the cup is for the one day version of the game). For the most part, although none of the small teams progressed past the 2nd round of matches, they brought a lot of colour and excitement to the tourney.

Intrepid - Ice Hockey could possibly be included - after all, it's good for fights if nothing else

American Pro Baseball is more about the zen state you go into by watching it on TV or in a stadium. It's communal experience is really more important than who wins or loses. You transcend the violence of other sports and drop into your natural child-like conscience where you become one with baseball.
I'm sure it's the same thing for Pro Cricket. :w: