can anyone give me a logical explanation why the NBA playoffs take soooooooooo long to finish compared to the NHL? i mean, the NBA playoffs started the 3rd week of april, and here it is june, and they are still going. and i just read in the paper where they arent starting the finals series til sunday night, even though they decided the west and east champions last night.. why the 5 day break? they say the NBA players need 1 to 2 days break between each game, and yet i have seen in the NHL playoffs where they play 3 games in 4 nights. and, in my opinion, an NHL game is much more rough and physically demanding than an NBA game. why are they pampering those basketball players? it just dont make sense to me.
i am just getting sick and tired of the state of professional sports today. these guys get millions of dollars a year, to play a GAME. and then have the nerve to gripe and complain that they dont get enough money or comps.. BULL$HIT. i dont want to hear that. there probably aint gonna be an NHL season next year if the owners and the players union dont get it together. you got unrestricted baseball, where some teams WHOLE salary doesnt even match the salary of one high profile yankees player. then you get eli manning, the number one pick in the NFL draft, basically crying his way out of san diego, so he can go to the team he wants to.. since when does some rookie nobody change the rules of the draft?
im sorry.. i am just ranting now.. it just pisses me off evertime i see one of these "its all about me" stories about professional athletes. when its the real people like teachers, policeman, firefighters, the military, healthcare servers, and countless public volunteers that should be getting paid the 'big bucks'.
i will stop now.
bigjohn
Amen, brother.
Best quote of the week - David Taylor of CNNSI - "the NBA playoffs have gone on so long that David Stern is talking about an 'exit strategy'".
I can't remember the last time I contributed any money towards any major league sport. The principals involved have screwed up the product, and my interest and involvement have waned correspondingly.
Double Amen, brother. I just love watching baseball on TV, where, between pitches, I get another type of "pitch" from the announcers. They're "pitchin'" beer, or lawnmowers, or hair cream. Won't be long before we get "this crotch scratch is brought to you by......" And why? So some self centered, egotistical, over pampered, definitely overpaid athlete can make $25,000,000 per year. We have gone mad in this country.
Great quote, Tom. Had me lol.
"From each according to his abilities to each according to his needs" ?
In reply to:
you got unrestricted baseball, where some teams WHOLE salary doesnt even match the salary of one high profile yankees player.
I'm with you 100% BigJohn. That's what's so great about the Rangers this year, missed the playoffs again, despite having the second highest payroll in hockey. A real shame that more people aren't taking in the final just because they are two small market, low budget teams. It's been some of the best hockey I've seen in a loooong time (plus all those pics of nekkid ladies on 17th ave in Calgary don't hurt the eyes).
I am sure the reasoning behind the delays between games/series in the NBA has everything to do with broadcasters. The NHL is the same now with ABC and ESPN broadcasting games they force the league into scheduling games at rediculous times - Saturday afternoon (I mean who wants to spend a lovely Sat. afternoon in-doors if they don't have to). I believe the new deal the NHL got with NBC hasn't changed anything either.
C'mon Mark. Lets not get into the capitalism/socialism routine. That's a pretty big stretch from what I said. I don't believe I mentioned, or implied, anything about that. I don't care how much they make, or how they make it, as long as, in order to make it, they don't spoil the game, which, in my opinion, is just what they've done. It is about the game isn't it?
Sid, I agree. So far the Stanley Cup playoff series has been really a good one. If fans aren't watching because the two teams are from smaller markets, they're really missing something.
I must agree with you on many of the points you raise.
But a team, or league being held hostage by a player is not new - Eric Lindros, Tom Cousineau, John Elway, Tony Dorsett, JD Drew, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull....the list is endless and spans some of the games greats.
As a point of reference, the NHL Playoffs started on April 7 and should end at the latest June 7. The NBA Playoffs started April 17 and end no later than June 20. But your point is very valid, and as suggested, they are controlled by the TV networks.
Over the last few years, we have witnessed the buying of a championship (Marlins, Yankees) and small market "bargain" teams winning championships.
Has anyone seem the commercial with the player who is all about him??/ Preparing for games, taking calls, setting prices to do almost anything???? It is SOOOO true!!!!!
Sorry Jack.
From a legal point of view it seems to me that all of the players should be free agents, there should be no drafts, no age limitations, no salary caps, no luxury taxes, no salary schedules, etc... "Whatever the market will bear" is how our system is supposed to operate, right?
From a fan's point of view I completely agree with you guys. If the tickets aren't free I don't go.
The perceived importance of professional sports is all out of whack. I prefer college and high school athletics. The cheerleaders are younger.
No problem, Mark. And I agree with you about amateur sports. I love going to my old high school football games. Obviously not the same caliber of talent, but often just as exciting.
Also, there is a real nice sandlot baseball diamond, with lights and all, right nearby. I love to stop on a warm summer evening and watch these young guys, in matching, snazzy, genuine baseball uniforms yet, play for the love of it. Really fun. No cheerleaders though. DRAT!