Guest bob_barron Report post Posted December 23, 2002 I don't think Selig will win but go ahead and vote for who you think is the best commissioner of the four major sports. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bravesfan Report post Posted December 23, 2002 David Stern kicks all kinds of ass. His schtick at the NBA Draft this year was hilarious... As for Tagliabue, he needs a swift kick in the ass. Not only has the NFL done away with the excessive endzone celebrations, but they're allowing the line of legal, stupid hit/illegal hit to be blurred by the rules committee. And they had the gall to threaten Peyton Manning with a fine, if he honored the late Johnny Unitas? Are you kidding me? Honorable mention to Selig if he reinstates Petey. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bob_barron Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Under Tagliabue though the NFL has become very prosperous and the league seems to be in harmony. But they do need to lighten up. I'm not too high on reinsating Petey- I mean the guy agreed to a lifetime ban so he should be stick to his agreement Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted December 23, 2002 I think they all suck. Selig is a puppet of the owners who has had a blatant conflict of interest since he started. Tagliabue is a jackass, and was a terribly unsuccessful lawyer for the league nefore rising to Commish. He's sterile and insensitive toward most issues, and has made sure the league lives up to its moniker of the No Fun League. Bettman refuses to adapt his sport to make it more popular. There's still a ridiculous amount of obstruction, the red line still exists, and the game is built around slow offenses backed up with goons. Sorry, I like the Olympic version better, and I imagine I'm not alone. David Stern has turned the NBA from a basketball league into a showcase for prima donnas. Fundamentals have been in steady decline, as everyone prefers to take look-at-me dunks or three-pointers where they loiter behind the line until shooting. The game was much less boring before Stern came along. I vote for none of them, because they all blow at their jobs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest treble charged Report post Posted December 23, 2002 While the Olympic hockey was awesome, you can't easily adapt that style of play to the NHL. First off, taking out the red line would mostly just incourage cherry picking up at the opposing blue line, likely meaning lots of missed passes and therefore, more icing calls, slowing play. The reason it worked so well in the Olympics was the bigger ice surface, and the fact that the best players in the world were there, and not the watered down talent pool in the NHL today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Colleges don't use the red line, either. Basically, it opens up the offense by allowing for more passes toward the attacking zone, without the silly two-line rule to stop it. A cherry-picking defensive strategy could be made illegal by the league, but considering how ineffective the crackdown on obstruction has been, I wouldn't be confident in its enforcement. Hockey used to be about fast, precise offense, and it can be again. The Olympics showed people an alternative to plodding offense, obstruction, and goonery. It's up to Bettman to adapt the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bob_barron Report post Posted December 23, 2002 I don't know Dr. Tom- I'm a fan of low scoring down and dirty defensive battles. A 1-0 game excites me a lot more then a 9-6 hockey does. I like slow defencive hockey games but I guess I'm in the minority Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Bob, hockey isn't supposed to be SLOW. It's fast, exciting, and "physically intense." I don't necessarily want to see 9-6 games, but I remember when most teams averaged 4 goals a night. About 500 goalies had GAAs under 2.00 the past couple years, something that was practically unheard of even ten years ago. I'd rather see fast, rough 5-4 and 5-3 games than 1-0 games where offensive players are interfered with on every play while the officials skate around with their whistles hidden in their rectums. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Hockey needs to limit the size of the goalies protection. Compared to 10 years ago, it's doubled in size. It won't stop boring defensive coaches from slowing down the game, but it's a start. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bob_barron Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Who voted for Selig??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Who voted for Selig??? I was one of them. Not really Selig personally, but Baseball is at least trying to balance the playing field out, and remain at a high level of competition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mad Dog Report post Posted December 23, 2002 Cherry picking in hockey would never work on a constant basis. Yeah you'd probably get a few extra goals but your defense wouldn't be able to keep the other team from scoring with constant 5 on 4 situations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest redbaron51 Report post Posted December 24, 2002 Hockey made its mistake after the 67 season. All the arenas should have went to olympic size... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Czech Republic Report post Posted December 24, 2002 WHO voted for Bettman??? He changes the rules just about every week. Of all the expansions and relocations that have been done under his watch, only the Avs, Stars, and Wild have really been beneficial. The worst thing right now is how he's handling the Buffalo Sabres. Just like with Hartford, he's really got it in for these guys. You had the guy with the financial backing planning to buy the Sabres and keep them in Buffalo, and a guy who needs money from the league and the state to clean up the arena. Mr. "_____ Is Not Economically Viable" gives the guy with no capital the opportunity, knowing that New York will not subsidize him, so that plans will fall through, and Bettman can say "Well, we're just going HAVE to move the team." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest treble charged Report post Posted December 24, 2002 I'd rather see fast, rough 5-4 and 5-3 games than 1-0 games where offensive players are interfered with on every play while the officials skate around with their whistles hidden in their rectums. See, you walk a fine line here. I hate seeing clutching and grabbing as much as the next guy, but if the refs start calling every little thing and you get an endless march to the penalty box, you get a BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING game, worse than one with little to no penalties being called. The worst thing about this is, most players don't even know what's a penalty and what's not these days, so they're afraid to play the way they like to, pretty much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20 Report post Posted December 24, 2002 No love for Jack Tunney ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted December 24, 2002 See, you walk a fine line here. I hate seeing clutching and grabbing as much as the next guy, but if the refs start calling every little thing and you get an endless march to the penalty box, you get a BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING game, worse than one with little to no penalties being called. True, but a ban on obstruction fouls would be easy enough to enforce without having a parade to the penalty boxes. After a certain number of obstruction fouls against a team, say four, all the following ones become five-minute majors. Once five-minute power plays start happening, the teams will learn to stop incorporating obstruction into their "gameplan." If the league is serious about getting rid of the obstruction, let's see them do something significant about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
