OT: NBA lock out started UPDATE**
Just heard on the radio that the NBA has locked out the players already, the CBA wasn't set to expire until midnight tonight.
**I later heard that the NBA changed the language the used and is now saying they are going to lock out the players at 11:59 tonight. I just was unable to update due to lack of computer and a dead cell phone battery.
Listen, I know they play hard. I was joking. The game is just slow. So many whistles, so much complaining and it just gets old. I would like to see more developed players in the league. It might be why the game was "better" in the eighties.
I think most NBA players are very well developed. Yeah, a couple athletic freaks havent put in much fundamental work to reach their potential, but thats not representative of the league as a whole.
Not to insinuate that you said this, but many people see a guy get blown by and say 'hey theyre not even trying on D' when they couldve said 'hey that guy is quick, has a good handle and can do more than just shoot'.
And then they see an athletic guy struggle to create a good shot and say 'hey he has no fundamentals, what a waste of talent' when they couldve said 'hey that team is well coached and disciplined defensively'.
Its a fuckin ridiculous double standard used by people who dont enjoy basketball for whatever reason and cant understand what is going on enough to appreciate the level of basketball that theyre seeing. And they then go and praise college basketball because the crowd is good and the players try even though guys like Adam Morrison win the Naismith Award and then wash out of the NBA because they cant score or guard anyone. I've yet to see a compelling argument for why the NBA sucks that cant be flipped around and proven wrong.
double post
It probably has to do more with the increase in black guys with tatoos.
Let's not let this conversation devolve like every conversation that takes place in the comment section of popular youtube videos. i.e racist, homophobic, hyper-political et al.
(To clariy, however, I'm not saying anyone here is a racist or homophobe or wingnut.)
Again, just assuming I'm white. Some of the people on this blog are amazing. It's where amazing happens, I suppose. Why is it so difficult for people to accept that the NBA is not loved by everyone?
I'm not trying to say the NBA is loved by everyone. I don't have a problem with anyone disliking a sport. But when people feel the need to constantly bash it for nonsensical reasons when other people are trying to have an adult conversation it is really annoying and unecessary. And I'll ask a similar question to you, Why is it so difficult for the NHL fans on the board to accept that most of the nation likes the NBA a lot more than the NHL?
Adult...ok. I am a hockey fan. I understand that people don't like it. I don't whine when people bash on it. I think an open thread is a great place yo voice an opinion or have an adult conversation. I merely mentioned that I don't care for the league. Why is that such a problem or make me a racist? If I was to hate baseball would it mean I dislike people with latin roots? The race card is no place for a labor discussion, adults.
I think everyone on this board realizes that the NBA is more popular than hockey. However, people who have watched both sports realize that when both teams play hard...both sports are great...but the NHL skates harder on an every night basis than the NBA does.
I guess what I just don't understand is why people think that NBA players don't try. Yes, they do make what they do look really easy, but that doesn't mean they aren't trying.
They play pretty hard with the ball. Are you saying they play defense so well that it looks easy?
I think what he is saying is when people say things like "I'm not into the league anymore" that is code word for there are too many black guys who scare me.
Especially now that it seems that Curly, Larry, and Moe down in South Beach has started this bullshit trend of forming "super teams". At first I thought the smoke machine and posturing was disgusting, but in light of what happened earlier this month, I now think it's hilarious.
The Pistons suck now, and I couldn't care less about the rest of the teams. I just hope the NFL gets their shit together.
the fact that pretty much everyone shares this opinion with you (myself most certainly included) goes to show how screwed up the nba is
Stern could step down and replace Bettman... Oh wait nevermind... Non-hockey personell running a professional hockey is a bad idea.
Maybe LeBron can use the time off to develop a jumper.
he's got shoes to sell in China...global icon-dom involves more than winning basketball games
it is his lack of agression and deferrential attitude during stretches of the finals that hurt him.
His J was nice earlier in the playoffs and especially v Chicago.
And his total lack of a post game.
His J? Not a problem.
As a sports fan, I would definitely be rooting for this lockout. The NBA sucks and is basically unwatchable right now, and an NBA nosedive would open up a giant vacuum in the market that a canny NHL could easily rush to fill, finally breaking out of it's relegation to the wastelands of VS.
The only thing that holds me back on this is the fact that a lot of people depend on these teams for their economic well-being. Think of the number of jobs that are in some way tied up with an NBA season (and with the NFL, NHL, etc.). Of course, those people don't really register in the debate between the millionaires and the billionaires.
Just think, in this economy you have a job with a major league sports team. You are thanking your lucky stars. Then because the rich people want to squable about money, you are out of a job. Good point.
The NHL is never going to surpass any of the real major 3 sports leagues. It's a niche sport. People outside the upper midwest, and sort of the northeast, just don't care about hockey one bit. Most hockey fans fail to understand this. The only way it passes the NBA in terms of popularity is if the NBA never plays another game.
Also, I know a lot of folks here are not NBA fans, but the league is definitely on an upswing. There is a lot of young and interesting talent. Maybe if you WATCHED the league, instead of spewing your nonsense about "players not caring" and it being "a poor representation of the sport" and it being "unwatchable" you'd actually understand what I'm talking about.
Are you saying that not everybody plays like Charlie Villanueva?
Yes, there are a lot of players that work their asses off and it is pretty clear to those who actually watch the league. Also, it's not Charlie Villanueva's fault Joe Dumars is a moron and paid him all that money.
I live in the south and there are a lot of people who care about hockey here, Maybe if you actually lived here instead of spewing your nonsense about "people not caring" you'd actually understand what I'm talking about.
Also, people in the northeast love hockey. I'm not even going to expand on that thought.
Dude, the MLS has better attendance than the NHL. Hockey is not popular nationwide.
Soccer arenas are much larger than hockey arenas.
I highly doubt that if the average NHL arena held 20k more people, it would get anywhere close to filling up on regular basis
NHL teams have 50 more games per season than MLS teams do. Do you think the average MLS arena would come close to selling out if they played every other night?
Of course not. But the point I was trying to make is that the NHL is behind in terms of popularity nationally when compared to other sports. There really is no denying that.
I wasn't trying to argue that the NHL was more popular than other leagues, because it isn't. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that outside of the local TV stations, the only other place to watch a game (besides a game on NBC every other week) is on Versus, which is trash. I was, however, arguing that your generalization of hockey fans was way off.
NBA- 17,520 per game
NHL- 17,460 per game
MLS- 16,675 per game
Congrats on selling an extra sixty seats over the NHL, sounds like a good bragging point for NBA fans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attendance_figures_at_domestic_pro…
And remember that the NBA gets higher capacity via a lack of boards/glass and long benches as well.
Also, I live in the northeast...the only people that love hockey are small pockets of Bruin/Ranger fans. It is still SIGNIFICANTLY behind the NFL, NBA, and MLB and is also behind european club soccer at this point
So then explain to me why the Bruins' ratings dwarfed the Celtics' ratings in both this playoffs and the last?
To back this up, here are the ratings numbers for the Bruins, which were much greater than the Celtics (both last year when they were in the NBA Finals and the year the Celtics won it).
The Original Six team cities love their hockey. So does Philly. They were the top attendance teams. They definitely could have held more fans at their arenas through out the course of the season. I don't think they could hold 30K per night, but they definitely could have done 25K. Another thing to consider is that the NHL has more games through the course of the season than MLS. I'm sure total attendance gives the NHL an edge.
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Buffalo have rather large fanbases, but ok.
For a while in the mid-90s the NHL surpassed the NBA in popularity.
The only problem with your statement about Versus is that the NHL and NBC/VS just signed a 10-year extension to the current deal.
Last time NHL tried to outwit NBA we ended up with a lockout and a bloated, diluted, sun belt driven league that is now crippled and marginalized.
The stupidest thing hockey did was try to move south...THere are great places for hockey...Dallas for instance...but ATlanta, Tampa, and Miami have been pathetic locals
Swap Tampa with Phoenix and I'd say you have it about right. If hockey stays in Florida in the future, Tampa won't be the team to move.
I agree about Phoenix being the team that moves, but Tampa is 18 in attendance with a great team...I believe that is a better indication of a fan base. Phoenix sucks too. Answer is contract Miami and Columbus, move phoenix and Atlanta to Canadian cities(happening) and you got yourself a rejuvenated league
Hockey has been better in TB than Miami but TB hasn't been in good fiscal condition for a while. Popular but very bad money wise.
True, but Tampa finally got its owner crisis solved during the previous season, so it's no longer in as much trouble as it used to be.
FWIW, it looks like it's a Tampa Bay problem, not a hockey problem. There was a recent article about how the Rays are in trouble--low attendance, bad ratings, etc. The causes the article discusses are probably the same that apply to the Lightning--lack of corporate support in the area, older population, difficulty of getting to downtown St. Pete for a game (I have no idea where the Lightning play, but the Trop is apparently impossible to get to in time for a 7:00 start).
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/12730/rays-need-to-get-out-of-tampa-bay
Going to be a long, ugly lockout. On an unrelated note, the Cavs just handed away their best player for a marginal SF and a conditional 1st round draft pick. http://www.nba.com/kings/news/press_release_2011_06_30.html This trade is almost as bad as picking Tristan Thompson 4th and just makes Dan Gilbert's prediction last offseason even more ridiculous.
throw away the key.
Greed is the source of all evil. Let them duke it out, they are just going to embarrass themselves.
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