Big 12 Sports Commentary

[utee94]

There was a recruiting board on Shaggy Bevo called "RC Didn't Offer."  It was an outstanding and informative source of information.  The best on Shaggy Bevo.   Good crowd.  Smart people.   Not your usual idiots.

Yup, the the recruiting board had some valuable information, way batter than the football board.
I mostly went there for the BBQ talk, and some Formula1 info.  

[BrownCounty]

the point is the journey not just the result

But it's like the post office.  The journey just keeps on coming.  162 games X how many teams?  Oh yeah, divide by 2.

And the biggest laugher of all is preseason MLB gets put on TV.  Holy cow.  Good, meaningful college baseball games are being played yet we are televising the Reds and Cubs in a meaningless sandlot event where the starters try even less than they do during the 162 game marathon.

There's no recliner in the world comfortable enough for me to trade life in order to follow MLB.

[FearlessF]

the point is the journey not just the result

“Not the victory but the action; Not the
goal but the game; In the deed the glory.”

[longhorn320]

But it's like the post office.  The journey just keeps on coming.  162 games X how many teams?  Oh yeah, divide by 2.

And the biggest laugher of all is preseason MLB gets put on TV.  Holy cow.  Good, meaningful college baseball games are being played yet we are televising the Reds and Cubs in a meaningless sandlot event where the starters try even less than they do during the 162 game marathon.

There's no recliner in the world comfortable enough for me to trade life in order to follow MLB.

I'm happy youre not a fan of MLB BC
else we'd have to endure countless posts about
... the ball girls arent hot enough
... the grounds crew isnt efficient enough
... the manager isnt smart enough
... the game moves too slow
... there are too many commercials
... and on and on and on
so leave MLB to those who love it and go out and herd your cows 

[FearlessF]

America's Pastime: 20 Reasons Why Baseball Will Always Hail over Football

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/676720-americas-pastime-20-reasons-why-baseball-will-always-hail-over-football

[longhorn320]

The NFL could learn a few things from MLB 

[utee94]

I heard one of the talking heads once say that baseball may still be America's pastime, but football is America's passion.

I'd say the evidence supports that.

I've never been a big fan of MLB, but I'm also happy to leave it to its fans and not complain about it. 

[longhorn320]

I like college football most of all followed by MLB

For me the only way I'll watch a MLB game is if Im really for one of the two teams playing

but many times I'll watch a college football game and not really care who wins

[CousinFreddie]

That was a great article FF (my only quibble is the author’s obvious fawning over the NYY-Bos rivalry and examples as if they were the big 2 and the other 28 teams were chopped liver).  But great points throughout.

I’d add one more and that’s that baseball fans are generally really nice people and there’s not a more family friendly sport out there.  Football fans often group into obnoxious little clusters, like frat houses gone bad, and soccer fans are even worse.  I always remember taking my then 10 year old son to a Houston vs Portland MLS game, and one the Houston players went down in what seemed to be a fake injury, and the Portland fans all around us erupted big “F—- You” shouts with dual middle fingers held higher and pumping in the direction of the bad actor in opposite colors on the field.  My son was like - what are they saying papa? And what do those gestures with their hands mean?  I was embarrassed and tried to explain the deal.  And my son just looked at me and said “you know they never do this at Mariners games”

Instead kids are kind of celebrated and line up for autographs and try to plead with (and if they’re old enough sweet talk) the ball girls into given them foul balls, and opposing fans give each other a good natured hard time but usually nothing more.  There are exceptions but they’re not the rule like for some sports.

Soccer is worse than football in this in my experience, but baseball beats both in terms of a family friendly sport by a lot.

Maybe that’s because it is lower key and they play every day and the stakes just aren’t as high.  But that’s just all part of why I like baseball better.  Lose today - no big deal - we’ll even it up tomorrow!

Anyway this is a football board so I know I’m in the minority.  That’s fine.  I’m the opposite of 320.  I really don’t watch football just to watch.  If it’s not OU or an outcome to a game that affects OU, I’ve generally got better things to do.

But baseball - oh yeah - yesterday alone I watched some of the Cards-Mets then shifted later to SF-LA and ended the day on Indians-Ms.  All in the background while I worked.  That’s another thing about baseball - it’s always in the background.  Kind of like instrumental music or slow cooking.  You can tune in and enjoy on your own pace.

[utee94]

I prefer every college sport over its professional version.  I prefer live to television in every case as well.  I prefer football over baseball.

Honestly, I don't really care much at all about basketball, I've found.  I actively loathe the NBA, but not even the college version thrills me all that much anymore, although that wasn't true when I was a student.

[FearlessF]

I heard one of the talking heads once say that baseball may still be America's pastime, but football is America's passion.

back in the 60's as a kid, I thought baseball more popular than football
but, as y'all know football was just getting going with the super bowl in the NFL.  Even with the great college football in the 60's it couldn't compete with baseball
football has far surpassed baseball today
heck, back in the 60s and 70's boxing was a big deal

[FearlessF]

That was a great article FF (my only quibble is the author’s obvious fawning over the NYY-Bos rivalry and examples as if they were the big 2 and the other 28 teams were chopped liver).  But great points throughout.

I’d add one more and that’s that baseball fans are generally really nice people and there’s not a more family friendly sport out there.  

not sure why writers feel the need to push agendas like NYY-BOS, just taints the article for most readers
baseball fans are great and mellow
I also enjoy hockey crowds - because of the Hockey sluts in attendance

[CharleyHorse46]

There was a time when I didn't get MLB.  My older brother was a huge fan so it was always right within reach but I just didn't get it.

I preferred football, preferably college, preferably SWC, preferably Texas. 

When the Harlem Globetrotters came to town, they were entertaining.  Listening to Muhammad Ali's big mouth was entertaining.  Watching the Wide Wide World of Sports and seeing the guy spill out every time they said the "Agony of Defeat" was cool.  The pre-Jerry Jones Cowboy's could be entertaining at time.  I loved the way Earl took the NFL by storm and carried the Oilers to Three Rivers Stadium for the AFC championship two years in a row.  And I enjoyed "Battle of the Network Stars" during the Charlie's Angels era.

But mostly I was just a Texas Longhorn football fan and fan of watcher of other big college rivalries like Oklahoma-Nebraska and USC-Notre Dame.

I really got into Texas baseball in the mid '70s.  Saw the '75 team several times and I still believe to this day that the 1977 team was possibly one of the best Texas teams ever even if it didn't get to Omaha.   

Abe Lemmons made Texas basketball watchable.

I went to the Astrodome a few times.  Dome dogs were delicious.  I liked that Jose Cruz could be counted on to hit a home run in almost every game.  I had an orange Astros cap.  Still didn't get it.  Not even when they almost looked good in 1980.

Texas baseball in the '80s was great too.  CWS champs in '83.  The Texas football team looked great in '83.  My first wife left me around Christmas '83 and I was so numb when Craig Curry muffed the punt return in the Cotton Bowl I couldn't even be mad.

Sports was never really even a passion for me after that.   Texas football was still fun to watch.  DeLoss Dodds destroyed a joy in basketball when he fired Abe and hired Bob Weltlich.

Michael Jordan was great.   I even liked the Pistons in the late '80s.   The Mavs in '88 or '89 when they had Mark Aguirre, squared up against the Lakers and they both scored over 110 in every game was pretty cool.  But it only lasted a minute.

Loved what Penders brought to the Texas basketball program.  I was so sorry to see Coach Gus go and Augie's small ball took some getting used to but I fell in love with it in 2000.

By then my kids were playing sports.  Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, weight lifting, track.  Every kid, every sport, year after year after year.

I love my kids but I don't even cheer for my kids teams anymore.  I'm too burnt out.  I've sat too long in one stadium too many.

And that's when I started to get baseball.  Business trips were an escape.  Trips to Houston were fun.  I discovered Houston.  It's not just highways and hotels.  It's hundreds of charming neighborhoods.  It's not Pappa's and Landry's it's scores of family owned restaurants in China Town, Montrose and the Third Ward.

I love Houston.   Houston and El Paso have become my two favorite places in Texas.  And the world.

I wandered into Minute Maid a few years ago and rekindled a love that had always been there waiting for me.  You can win 34 games in a row and it might not be enough.  You can lose 50 and you might still have a chance.  Your star can be injured for six months.  You can acquire a closer.  You can say one month, "Damn those Red Sox."  Three months later you're beginning to worry about the Indians.

And if you have the great good fortune to get in a fantasy league, it's all about studying the analytics and assembling a team.  

Yesterday Chris Sale, Luis Servino, Chase Anderson, Alex Colome and Yusmeiro Petit combined to give me 20 strong innings with ERA of 1.03 and WHIP of 0.84.

Then I picked up a White Sox third baseman named Matt Davidson who is knocking the crap out of the ball.  He won't be forever but I'm not married to him.  If I can just start him while he's hot, he can boost my stats.

I love baseball.  I love that it's ten months long.  It gives me a passion.

[Mr Tulip]

Back when I was a kid, I hated professional baseball because, when the Texas Rangers would go into extra innings or otherwise slow down an already slow game, it would preempt "The Benny Hill Show" on KTVT. That was irritating.
Since then, I can't really work up an anger for MLB. I'll watch when there's not much else to do. I think the game is over reliant on percentages and strategies, and that the vast majority of the time a manager would be better served by allowing his athletes to pit their skills honestly against the other team rather than adjusting and substituting, but that's just my analytical nature.
The major failure of MLB is, for a casual fan like me, a contending local team will only be a contending local team in September and October - right when I've completely devoted my sporting focus to college football (and then hockey).
If the Houston Astros had won the World Series in May, I would have been excited. They did it in November, and I didn't notice.