Comments that don't warrant a thread

[Matt Young 0]

You still have the AFL playoffs.

[Guest Vitamin X]

That's like saying spam is an excellent alternative to prosciutto.

[Red Baron 0]

You still have the AFL playoffs.

 

 

CFL > NFL

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/basebal...,1468418.column

 

Babe Ruth's granddaughter wants Number 3 to be retired by the MLB. It shouldn't happen.

[Damaramu 0]

Here's a question for some of our international posters, or maybe even VX can help me with it.

 

I played rugby in college, and I'm getting ready to play for the local club here in OKC.

 

However, I've never been one to watch rugby because it's just not shown on TV around here. Lately I've been watching what I can and studying up on it.

 

And there's one thing I've noticed. With American sports it seems you can go to the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, etc. and determine the professional version of that game and who plays it and what not. International competition (except in soccer) appears to be a real afterthought.

 

Then you come to Rugby and it seems the main thing is international competition with the Rugby World Cup, Tri Nations, Six Nations, etcs. And they don't seem to have individual leagues like the NFL, etc. in their own home countries. There seems to be leagues with clubs competing in each country and they compete annually for a trophy, but that just seems to be an afterthought to international competition.

 

Is America the only country where we have our domestic sports with huge leagues and we don't care for international competition? Because I'm just really not seeing this in other countries.

 

Maybe some international soccer fans can explain how domestic competition over in Europe, etc. works compared to in America. I assume that and Rugby are close to the same as far as the competition goes.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Here's a question for some of our international posters, or maybe even VX can help me with it.

 

I played rugby in college, and I'm getting ready to play for the local club here in OKC.

 

However, I've never been one to watch rugby because it's just not shown on TV around here. Lately I've been watching what I can and studying up on it.

 

And there's one thing I've noticed. With American sports it seems you can go to the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, etc. and determine the professional version of that game and who plays it and what not. International competition (except in soccer) appears to be a real afterthought.

 

Then you come to Rugby and it seems the main thing is international competition with the Rugby World Cup, Tri Nations, Six Nations, etcs. And they don't seem to have individual leagues like the NFL, etc. in their own home countries. There seems to be leagues with clubs competing in each country and they compete annually for a trophy, but that just seems to be an afterthought to international competition.

 

Is America the only country where we have our domestic sports with huge leagues and we don't care for international competition? Because I'm just really not seeing this in other countries.

 

Maybe some international soccer fans can explain how domestic competition over in Europe, etc. works compared to in America. I assume that and Rugby are close to the same as far as the competition goes.

 

I'll use football as my example, as I don't know much about rugby or cricket.

 

Basically Every country has a 'premier league' the top league. In Europe the winner of which goes into the Champions' League which is a League/Cup, and they compete all over Europe against each other. Internationally, players are selected on merit to represent their home country.

 

I think the reason this doesn't happen with American Sports as much is because you hold a 'monopoly' on the sports, no one outside of North America really plays 'American Football'. Ok, there's NFL Europe, and a few teams across the UK, but those are seen as joke and the standard is so different it would be like England Football Team v Chester Under 12 Girls Team. Also the different rules and versions of the games come into factor as well, where as Rugby and Football and generally governed by one body Rugby Union and FIFA, who set the rules for all to follow, which makes it easier for teams to play each other at all levels.

 

[Damaramu 0]

Well how do international basketball leagues work as compared to the NBA? Are there any that are as big in their country as the NBA?

 

I figured the monopoly and just the general American lifestyle would come into the reasoning behind the differences in sports leagues.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Well how do international basketball leagues work as compared to the NBA? Are there any that are as big in their country as the NBA?

 

I figured the monopoly and just the general American lifestyle would come into the reasoning behind the differences in sports leagues.

 

Same again for the NBA, outside of America I think the quality is very poor. I mean its starting to get ok in England, good old Newcastle Eagles do well every year, but again the gap in quality that it would take any fun away playing NBA teams.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Well in Europe, all those different countries are a lot closer together. In baseball, hockey, and basketball, there are Canadian teams. In order for us to play the rest of world, we would have to travel many miles.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I always liked the idea of a 'tournament of champions', with many European leagues seem to do.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Well in Europe, all those different countries are a lot closer together. In baseball, hockey, and basketball, there are Canadian teams. In order for us to play the rest of world, we would have to travel many miles.

 

That's true, but under the UEFA umbrella of Football its possible for a team in Iceland to play a team from Russia.

[Damaramu 0]

Well I think another thing that throws me off is the differences in terminology. Such as in England the big time domestic Rugby league is the Guiness Premiership. But, it's called a competition instead of a league. And it's only been around since 1987. And teams can be promoted and demoted each year. That's just another of the differences that kind of throws me off.

 

I mean I'm trying to picture an NFL team having a bad season and a minor league team (if there was such a thing) having a good year and them switching places for the upcoming season.

 

Also whilst the way rugby is conducted in Europe may confuse my tiny American mind, it makes a lot more sense in New Zealand. You have two leagues: an amateur one and a professional one. Teams in them compete for a league championship. Each one is also assigned a national Super 14 team. The Super 14 draws players from any of the teams they are assigned and they compete in that championship against teams from Australia and South Africa. Then players from the whole country are drawn to play for the All-Blacks in the Tri-Nations and World Cup.

 

For some reason that just seems to make a little more sense to me. I think it's that the European leagues have a ton of international and domestic competitions. I wonder how the players find time to do them all.

[Damaramu 0]

And there's another thing that sucks about liking an international sports I barely get to watch, how do I pick a favorite team? I mean in international competition of course I'll support the Eagles since that's my home country. And I like the All-Blacks just because of the badass persona. But if I were to say pick up Guiness Premiership DVDs, or Heineken Cup DVDs.....how do I pick a favorite team then? Any international sport fans run into the same problems?

[nl5xsk1 0]

Well I think another thing that throws me off is the differences in terminology. Such as in England the big time domestic Rugby league is the Guiness Premiership. But, it's called a competition instead of a league. And it's only been around since 1987. And teams can be promoted and demoted each year. That's just another of the differences that kind of throws me off.

 

I mean I'm trying to picture an NFL team having a bad season and a minor league team (if there was such a thing) having a good year and them switching places for the upcoming season.

I've been a proponent of that format for some North American Sports for a while now, but there are so many obstacles that it just couldn't work out. The biggest of which would be how unwilling teams would be to accept a demotion in a sport that didn't historically have them. Imagine telling, say, the Miami Heat that instead of playing the Lakers, Cavaliers & Celtics, they'll be playing Albany, Yakama, and the Atlanta Krunk in the CBA. How would the team ever draw any fans, get advertising, etc, playing against the lower level (and largely unknown) teams? It works in Europe & the UK because it's always been that way, but I think the push-back in the US would prevent it from happening.

 

And there's another thing that sucks about liking an international sports I barely get to watch, how do I pick a favorite team? I mean in international competition of course I'll support the Eagles since that's my home country. And I like the All-Blacks just because of the badass persona. But if I were to say pick up Guiness Premiership DVDs, or Heineken Cup DVDs.....how do I pick a favorite team then? Any international sport fans run into the same problems?

I recently jumped on the EPL bandwagon and had to pick an English football team to support. I actually did some research about the teams (their history, their fans, etc) and ended up going with Reading FC because it was their first year in the top division and I thought it'd be fun to support a major underdog. Of course, they got relegated after this season (their second year in the Prem) so now I have to follow a mid-level team instead of a team in the Prem. Just do some research on the teams and pick the most applicable.

 

[-DeN- 0]

http://www.ejb.com/video/18573/Amazing_ball_girl_catch.html

[Damaramu 0]

Yeah, I say I want to watch some Guiness Premiership and Air New Zealand, but I can't find any DVD's of it. They have them at AmazonUK, but I don't have a regionless DVD player.

In the US Amazon all they have is some Tri-Nations, some Six Nations and a lot of World Cup. I wouldn't mind getting ahold of this year's six nations DVD and some Super 14.

 

The London Wasps won the Guiness Premiership this season. What a name, the Wasps. Why can't any American sports have cool names like that?

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

http://www.ejb.com/video/18573/Amazing_ball_girl_catch.html

 

Holy shit, thats just... fuck!

I recently jumped on the EPL bandwagon and had to pick an English football team to support. I actually did some research about the teams (their history, their fans, etc) and ended up going with Reading FC because it was their first year in the top division and I thought it'd be fun to support a major underdog. Of course, they got relegated after this season (their second year in the Prem) so now I have to follow a mid-level team instead of a team in the Prem. Just do some research on the teams and pick the most applicable.

 

Credit to you for sticking with the after relegation

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

http://www.ejb.com/video/18573/Amazing_ball_girl_catch.html

It's all Hollywood effects.

http://deadspin.com/5019115/ballgirls-in-t...pecially-nimble

[Guest Vitamin X]

Man, and for a split second I was in love there.

[Damaramu 0]

Another thing that strikes me comparing the European sports to American is the amount of time they play. I don't know about soccer, but it appears in rugby the guys in England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and whoever else play nearly year around. All of their leagues are from August to May. And then, they take time off to play in the international special stuff.

Like the Heineken Cup, it matches up teams from like six countries. The number of teams from each country varies. But, it happens in the middle of the regular season.

Can you imagine the NFL stopping for a month because all the division leaders are going to go play in an international competition?

It certainly appears the Europeans take their sports more seriously, and it seems they're willing to play it much more and much longer.

Are soccer seasons this long?

 

The teams that compete in Super 14 seem to adhere to a more normal schedule and don't appear to interrupt their regular season to play in an international competition.

 

Man, after doing my studying I really think I like the way European sports are handled a lot more.

 

Do you guys deal with the whining and crying over contracts like they do in American sports?

 

I was telling a friend about the way they do Rugby in Europe and how it compares to American sports and he said "Well god forbid somebody love to play their sport."

[Guest]

Are soccer seasons this long?

 

Soccer season is nearly year round. Club season starts in August and in most leagues end in June. In some not. In the Russian league they start after the winter and run until October or November. International tournaments take place throughout the summer. African National Teams run their Cup Tournament in the winter, and they take their players for a month every two years, which always pisses clubs off. Throughout the regular club season there are usually one week breaks in season where qualifying for the Euro takes place, or the World Cup. I kinda went on a tangent there.

 

And contract problems are even worse in soccer, at least. Player movement is ridiculous.

 

If you want to follow rugby better, I've got a question. You got DirecTV or Dish Network? A Brit is going to have to say whether or not Setanta's coverage of Rugby is any good, because I don't know.

 

Actually, I did some reading, and Setanta North America shows lots of Rugby. If you don't mind paying 14.99 a month for one channel that shows only Rugby and Soccer, I'd get it. Mostly soccer though to tell you the truth, and they show everything during weird hours.

 

http://www.setantaus.com/en/NA/Our-Schedules/

[Guest Vitamin X]

A Brit won't have to tell you; I will.

 

Setanta Sports is a perfectly acceptable place to view rugby. Go to any GOOD fucking reputable Irish pub, and you'll catch them showing rugby anytime it's worth while watching. I wouldn't say it's worth it to pay $14.99- what I would do is what my rugby team does. Behold, the holy mecca of rugby matches online:

 

http://www.mediazone.com/channel/rugby/

 

Does it cost a lot? $100 is a bitch. But if you chip in with your team, any and all of you can watch 250 games under one account, so I would definitely do it. I assume there has to be at LEAST 10 of you, so it can't cost more than $10 for the whole year. It's definitely worth the price, and it's an invaluable tool to learn from the pros to apply to your own game. Good luck.

 

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Do you guys deal with the whining and crying over contracts like they do in American sports?

 

There's a big thing at the moment involving Christiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid basically set out via the media to lure him to the club saying 'Oh we'd love to have him here... hint hint'. So, Ronaldo is now thinking hmm I should go there its my 'childhood dream', when really its the idea of earning £150k a week or something stupid like that.

 

So Sir Alex is totally pissed off that Real have unsetteled one of his star players and basically tapped him up - which means to talk to the player and fill his mind with ideas before actually asking the club for permission to talk to him first.

[the max 0]

They allow tampering in those leagues?

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

They allow tampering in those leagues?

 

No they don't.

 

Chelsea, Jose Moriuhno and Ashley Cole were fined big time for their tapping up a few years ago, while Cole was still at Arsenal. Chelsea have been caught a few times for this.

[Damaramu 0]

Are soccer seasons this long?

 

Soccer season is nearly year round. Club season starts in August and in most leagues end in June. In some not. In the Russian league they start after the winter and run until October or November. International tournaments take place throughout the summer. African National Teams run their Cup Tournament in the winter, and they take their players for a month every two years, which always pisses clubs off. Throughout the regular club season there are usually one week breaks in season where qualifying for the Euro takes place, or the World Cup. I kinda went on a tangent there.

 

And contract problems are even worse in soccer, at least. Player movement is ridiculous.

 

If you want to follow rugby better, I've got a question. You got DirecTV or Dish Network? A Brit is going to have to say whether or not Setanta's coverage of Rugby is any good, because I don't know.

 

Actually, I did some reading, and Setanta North America shows lots of Rugby. If you don't mind paying 14.99 a month for one channel that shows only Rugby and Soccer, I'd get it. Mostly soccer though to tell you the truth, and they show everything during weird hours.

 

http://www.setantaus.com/en/NA/Our-Schedules/

 

 

How do they not get burned out playing year round? Rugby is brutal and IMO so is soccer. I figured it'd take a toll on your body. Maybe that's why I was reading about this popular player for the London Wasps retiring at 33.

 

Unfortunately I have cable and I'm not a big fan of satellite. I wish I could watch games as they happen. I mean I can get to know the teams and leagues, but it's hard to get to know the players without being able to watch it all the the time. Especially if they hop around a lot. I mean I could get a Magners League championship DVD and see a player I really like, and then find out he's not on that team anymore.

 

I should move to England.......but then I'd miss out on NFL and CFB. lol

[nl5xsk1 0]

Unfortunately I have cable and I'm not a big fan of satellite. I wish I could watch games as they happen. I mean I can get to know the teams and leagues, but it's hard to get to know the players without being able to watch it all the the time. Especially if they hop around a lot. I mean I could get a Magners League championship DVD and see a player I really like, and then find out he's not on that team anymore.

 

I should move to England.......but then I'd miss out on NFL and CFB. lol

I know someone suggested it earlier, Dama, but do you have any "Irish pubs" or sports bars near you? If so, call them and see if they carry any rugby games on satellite. I know that there are a few near here (Boston) that show some of the major tournaments or just random games on weekends.

 

I quickly looked at http://www.planet-rugby.com/Story/0,18259,...1723446,00.html but didn't see anything in Oklahoma, but this is far from an extensive list; there are local bars that I know for certain show the games that aren't referenced on the list.

[Damaramu 0]

We have a place called Dan McGinnis(i think that's how they spell it) Pub, but I don't think they show any. I'll figure something out. If I get a regionless DVD player I can just order old Six Nations, Tri-Nations, etc. DVDs since they're all over Amazon.uk. Most of them are highlight films with like one full game (kind of like the championship DVDs made here).

[Damaramu 0]

http://www.mediazone.com/channel/rugby/

 

Does it cost a lot? $100 is a bitch. But if you chip in with your team, any and all of you can watch 250 games under one account, so I would definitely do it. I assume there has to be at LEAST 10 of you, so it can't cost more than $10 for the whole year. It's definitely worth the price, and it's an invaluable tool to learn from the pros to apply to your own game. Good luck.

 

The 19.99 tournament pass isn't bad actually.

 

Well after reading further it appears that's the starting price. Damn, Tri-Nations is 70 bucks? Just pay 30 more and get everything! But, Air New Zealand is only 40. It's kind of a dead period for Rugby. Air NZ and Tri-Nations are about to start, but everything else like the Guinness Premiership and such don't start until end of August-September. I'd be better off waiting.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I should move to England.......but then I'd miss out on NFL and CFB. lol

 

Not really, we get the Superbowl every year on free TV (bbc1), and CH5 has Monday Night Football, sometimes even Thursday nights, and if you REALLY wanted to watch every game, you could pay for Sky Sports and get the triple headers and things when they come around. Last year was probably the biggest exposure of NFL in the UK I've ever seen.

 

CFB though, yeah, I think you'd be on your own on that one.