football is the 2nd best sport

[yo soy el mejor]

Originally Posted by cocksure

anyone fancy a game of chess?

wish i had seen this earlier.

[RenewRevive]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

not a striker, he's a wing. but he is their best goal scorer. dafoe is okay and adebayor is inconsistent and clint dempsey well he's like a star reserve and Captain America.

it's actually because as one of the best players in the world SPURS could probably sell him for 30-50 million but the chairman said "nah, it would be nice if we could contend for the league title and we can't do it without bale"

something about R. Madrid wanting to pay 100 mil euros for that guy but that's probably #batcountry

i just hope they don't do it, guy's awesome

Madrid won't buy him unless Cristiano Ronaldo leaves, although Zidane is pushing hard for the deal. Tottenham chairman is a tough negotiator and almost always gets a real good price for his players. If Bale balks at staying and hands in a transfer request odds are he will go, if not then likely he stays. If Spurs are serious at pushing hard for top 4 they can't keep selling their best players, like what happened with Modric last season.

Originally Posted by sppunk

Problem with soccer is America's top athletes don't play, so the home talent is thin. Games are boring because the skill level is inferior of the other major sports.

It will always have that stigma here until athletes shun basketball, football,baseball and hockey for soccer.

Major problem is US employing a salary cap, which makes it impossible to attract quality players and also to build a squad with any depth or comprehensive strength. The US are playing to their own rules (like with NFL, NBA etc) but soccer is a global sport, so they have an in-built disadvantage. Plus like you say top athletes are naturally drawn to the domestically bigger, more rewarding sports.

[I'm Hardcore]

i don't give a fuck that Modric left. in fact, watching him do FUCK ALL for Madrid bought more than a few smiles to my face

[Trotskilicious]

the reason the us soccer league doesn't do it is because they're trying to give opprotunities to american players not just be a host for international all-star teams

[RenewRevive]

Originally Posted by I'm Hardcore

i don't give a fuck that Modric left. in fact, watching him do FUCK ALL for Madrid bought more than a few smiles to my face

well, better players than Modric have failed at the carnival that is Madrid. no guarantee that Bale would have the impact that is forecast. Modric was probably Tottenham's most influential player and very sought after. his loss tipped Spurs into what most observers would consider a "one-man team".

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

the reason the us soccer league doesn't do it is because they're trying to give opprotunities to american players not just be a host for international all-star teams

i agree with the desire of fans to see a team comprised mainly of natives (lol), but this could be managed with some variant of the "home-grown" rules that apply to most European leagues. that's if MLS are concerned with the quality disparity that exists. if they aren't and they are bringing in the fans and TV audience then fine.

[duovamp]

The only sports are bull fighting, mountain climbing, and auto racing. Everything else is a "game."

[duovamp]

Although I have to rank stop-start padded rugby above footie and hockey.

[I'm Hardcore]

Originally Posted by RenewRevive

well, better players than Modric have failed at the carnival that is Madrid. no guarantee that Bale would have the impact that is forecast. Modric was probably Tottenham's most influential player and very sought after. his loss tipped Spurs into what most observers would consider a "one-man team".

we're doing fine without Modric. i was sad to see him go, but such is the world of professional football.

the whole "one man team" thing was definitely exacerbated by the fact that we really had no strikers last season. it frustrated the fuck out of me, seeing how well Adebayor played at Chelsea, yet seeing him play some average football most of the time!

[Eulogy]

In order of watchability:

1. nhl / college football
2. nfl / nascar (yeah yeah i know whatever shut up)
3. soccer (although it's hard for me when i don't have a rooting interest) / college basketball (although it can be painful at times)
4. tennis (grand slams)
5. golf (majors)

i might be overstating my dislike for nba and mlb by putting tennis and golf ahead of them but eh

[RenewRevive]

Originally Posted by I'm Hardcore

we're doing fine without Modric. i was sad to see him go, but such is the world of professional football.

the whole "one man team" thing was definitely exacerbated by the fact that we really had no strikers last season. it frustrated the fuck out of me, seeing how well Adebayor played at Chelsea, yet seeing him play some average football most of the time!

indeed. losing Modric and Van der Vaart at the same time, plus Bale's steady improvement created this. Adebayor is like the definition of inconsistency. you just can't rely on the guy. Defoe is a fine finisher but is streaky and adds little other than his goal threat. every Spurs manager seems to drop him. whether Bale stays or goes you need a reliable centre-forward. if Spurs keep Bale and strengthen this could be an interesting season, with the regime changes at 3 of the "big four".

at least you can dream. no idea what my team (Everton) will be like this year.

[Trotskilicious]

Originally Posted by RenewRevive

i agree with the desire of fans to see a team comprised mainly of natives (lol),

Not necessarily for the fan's sake, it's for the sake of our national soccer program.

but this could be managed with some variant of the "home-grown" rules that apply to most European leagues. that's if MLS are concerned with the quality disparity that exists. if they aren't and they are bringing in the fans and TV audience then fine.

It works out the same, I think. I mean you are right. Even England has those rules. Pretty sure MLS does in addition to a salary cap structure. I don't think MLS needs to worry about "parity" as much as the popular sports do.

I would like to see the league be free of the other traditional organization methods of american sports, the confrence and playoff system needs to go and promotion/relegation would be nice to see.

[RenewRevive]

ah, a list!

1. Football (soccer)
2. NFL
3. Boxing (though with rapidly diminishing interest)

[Trotskilicious]

1. Basketball
2. Basketball
3. Basketball
4. Basketball
5. Basketball

[RenewRevive]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

Not necessarily for the fan's sake, it's for the sake of our national soccer program.

It works out the same, I think. I mean you are right. Even England has those rules. Pretty sure MLS does in addition to a salary cap structure. I don't think MLS needs to worry about "parity" as much as the popular sports do.

I would like to see the league be free of the other traditional organization methods of american sports, the confrence and playoff system needs to go and promotion/relegation would be nice to see.

yeah, that too. this is the real reason for the "home-grown" restrictions, to benefit the national team, which is a cause of major concern in England. it is worth noting that the system is (already) rife with abuse though as non-English players just have to be registered with an EPL club for a certain period (5 years?) to classify as home-grown, so you have the situation where EPL clubs target foreign youngsters, register them then loan them back. 5 (?) years pass and hey presto! the guy counts as home-grown.

that's right. US sports are very self-contained, focused on the domestic market. so long as the fans are happy with not having the best league then that's fine. MLS is still in it's infancy by comparison to Europe / S. America anyway. i don't know what depth soccer has in the US so can't comment on promotion/relegation practicality. if the owners run MLS like they do with the NFL then i don't see this happening tbh. certain team owners in England would love to do away with relegation, which would of course be a disaster for "lesser" clubs, but as long as the "big" clubs concentrate more cash for themselves, it's all good! European soccer = capitalism to the max.

[duovamp]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

1. Basketball
2. Basketball
3. Basketball
4. Basketball
5. Basketball

Suuuuper gross.

[duovamp]

Least watcheable games:

1. Golf
2. NBA
3. MLB
4. Fishing


Most watcheable games/sports:

1. NFL
2. NHL
3. F1
4. Eating contests

[duovamp]

Tennis, actual wrestling, fighting, boxing, poker, and all that other crap is mid tier. Like... I'd watch it over staring at a brick wall. But I'd rather stare at a brick wall than be subjected to golf. At least the wall would be slightly more interesting and allow me more peaceful thought.

[Trotskilicious]

too many blacks in the nba, gotta get your honkey -- i mean hockey -- on

[Trotskilicious]

Originally Posted by RenewRevive

i don't know what depth soccer has in the US

not much

and there's probably never going to be relegation or promotion, american sports are run like a cabal (pedo lizardpeople catholic church obama secret conspiracy)

[vixnix]

Tennis, rugby, cricket areall good to watch. Golf is ok. Motorsports omg. Hideous. I'd ratter be asleep.

[duovamp]

Originally Posted by Trotskilicious

too many blacks in the nba, gotta get your honkey -- i mean hockey -- on

Bunch of white guys hitting the nearest black thing with sticks? Sign me up.

[Trotskilicious]

cracka ass cracka i'll kill ya cracka kids too

[Tchocky]

1. Hockey
2. American Football
3. Basketball

[Tchocky]

I follow basketball because IMHO it's the most interesting sport to read about. If that sounds lame, I don't really care.

[sppunk]

I disagree all US sports are focused solely on the domestic market. MLB is doing everything it can to expand the game (it's working) and the NFL spends crazy dollars to advertise in Europe.

[sppunk]

Oh we are doing lists now.

1) Baseball
2) College football
3) Hockey
4) Non-US soccer
5) Basketball (I love the game to pieces but can't watch routinely the NBA-bred style of play).

[Trotskilicious]

why

what is your problem with NBA basketball

college basketball is horrible

[sppunk]

I can't watch it much either. I much prefer finesse basketball, man-to-man guarding, etc. You don't get that anymore, for many reasons.

[Trotskilicious]

lol what

[duovamp]

Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl. If they don't finish the regular season better than 13-3 or better than the Giants you have my permission to ban Banana again.