Thursday, July 19, 2007
NASCAR vs. MLB -- The Debate Begins
I love sports for so many reasons.
One of the utmost is the fact that sports can bring people together to create amazing, passionate, dynamic dialogue that isn't often found in other areas of life.
And as a treat to you, our loyal readers, I invite you to come along with me as we review one such discussion that took place via e-mail over the past week between me, your esteemed host, and another local sports fan. The discussion began with last week's column about the all-star events in the various pro sports leagues and continued from there.
Enjoy.
-- -- --
David Baker:
Baseball has the best one, by far, especially if you include all of the events, like the Home Run Derby. Next is basketball, and football and hockey are tied for third.
Dan Kidder:
Have you read the blog? Because any sane human being has no choice but to agree with my position.
DB:
You, my friend, are quite positively out of your mind.
DK:
Please; MLB's all-star game has no million dollar prize, the players don't take each other out on purpose, and nobody cares who wins. You should love the NASCAR All-Star Challenge because it's what you want NASCAR to be -- short, sweet, and full of wrecks.
DB:
No one has even heard of it -- for a reason.
DK:
Being ultra-lame isn't a valid reason for not watching and enjoying great things like NASCAR. Nobody's ever heard of Grady Sizemore either, and apparently you think he's the best thing since sliced bread, so there must be something there.
DB:
Grady is an up-and-coming star. He's only 24, so he has a few years to gain recognition. None the less, he is already far more recognized than Denny Hamlin or Carl Edwards.
DK:
Dude, Kyle Busch is only like 20, he's in his third full year at the peak of his sport, and his aggressive style makes him one of those polarizing figures that only come around once in a while. I seriously doubt that the merchandise sales on Grady Sizemore gear even comes close to what any of the top 25 NASCAR drivers are pulling in. Even Dave Blaney probably sells more No. 22 Cat Toyota merchandise than No. 24 Cleveland Indians jerseys. You are just unwilling to face the fact that NASCAR has so much to offer and you're missing out because you're worried about what people will think of you if you just give in. You know you want to.
DB:
Ha ha ha, that makes me chuckle aloud. Comparing one driver's merchandising to a single baseball player's merchandising isn't an equitable comparison. While the average hillbilly NASCAR fan follows one driver closely, baseball fans follow a team (the actual team element seen in baseball, and missing in NASCAR, is what will never allow it to climb higher than three or four on my list). You would have to compare Cleveland Indians merchandise, in which case we all know how that comparison would go. Though baseball doesn't have an overwhelming young star, it never does. Baseball stars aren't made overnight, but are cultivated, and mature into that role. But if you want to compare Busch to other team sport youngsters, I think it's safe to say that LeBron, Reggie Bush, and maybe even Sidney Crosby have more recognizable names than Kyle Busch. Kyle just has a bit of a boost in his recognition because of big brother. And by the way, Kyle is 22.
DK:
NASCAR phenoms don't happen overnight either; a guy like Carl Edwards got to where he is now because he just kept calling Roush Racing until they decided to give him a tryout; and lots of other guys within the sport got their jobs just because they showed up at the shop and eventually got hired.
The team thing is always your biggest crutch, but you have to be able to see that even though a NASCAR team isn't a team in the traditional sense, it's the multi-layered aspect of "team" that makes it so unique and enjoyable. Think about how cool it would be if Grady Sizemore got down to the bottom of the ninth and had to decide whether or not he was going to sacrifice bunt to help the team, or swing away to help himself. We'd find out right away who the jerks are and who the good teammates are--as it is in NASCAR.
For merchandising, I think you seriously underestimate how many people out there buy up tons of their drivers' gear. I bet at least 10 drivers outsell the Indians every year.
DB:
Well, the Indians are a small market team, and I really have no idea how much each driver sells (nor have I ever heard of Carl Edwards), but if you compare the top with the top, the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, etc, all sell more than any given NASCAR driver. And let's also get this straight; I don't believe I've ever seen NASCAR apparel in southern Cali (though I’ve seen plenty in my years in Tennessee), while the big three sports show their influence everywhere. It may be true that NASCAR has a big following, but they’re all in the south. You might as well argue with me on how soccer is the most entertaining sport, just because it has global relevance -- just not in the U.S.
NASCAR and college sports will never be overwhelming forms of athletic entertainment in California, because we are blessed with so many professional teams. Because we ban together as a city to support our professional teams, we don’t feel the strong need to follow individuals as they compete in events such as NASCAR, or the usually lower brands of athletics found in college.
Question: if you had to eliminate sports from ever existing, would you choose NASCAR, football, or baseball first? Rank 'em.
DK:
You know, it seems like it should be the other way around out here; I think more people are into sports like motocross, skateboarding, and surfing, and NASCAR is the perfect bridge into the world of team sports because it does come down to the individual on the surface level, but it really is a team sport (even though we don't really know who all the team members are).
And as for your question, it's a very easy choice -- baseball. Yes, I know we'd have to find something else to go to on occasion, but I could not handle a world without NASCAR now. I would, however, keep football above NASCAR if I absolutely had to. And I would feel better if they canceled the NBA for good as a bonus.
DB:
So you would rather never have played baseball growing up, never see a World Series, never play Over The Line, just so you could watch a little NASCAR? Wow. This is a sad day for America.
DK:
The alternative is that we could have grown up racing cars and fixing engines, then we'd be racing around the tracks at our local parks on the weekends and celebrating the Daytona 500 as the true spectacle of sports that it is. If nostalgia's all you've got for the baseball side, car racing has just as much and could have been even bigger if baseball hadn't been around. Of course I loved playing baseball as a kid and I can even have a pretty good time playing your wimpy beach pseudo-sport OTL. But I would have had a BLAST growing up fixing and racing cars.
As far as pro sports, though, it's no contest -- I'd get rid of MLB before I'd get rid of anything besides the NBA. It's just too long of a season and there are too many games for me to care about the one game I happen to be watching.
DB:
I did grow up racing and fixing my car. In case you're wondering, the fixing part is called work; not my idea of a fun afternoon. Well, at least not as much fun as OTL.
DK:
I'm sure it is work, but it's just like the work it takes to field grounder after grounder, or pitch a ball against a barn wall until the sun goes down, or run like 30 feet to get in baseball shape. If you're so into the nostalgia, there's nothing like growing up under the hood of a car, turning wrenches with your dad and going fender-to-fender with some real racers at the local track.
DB:
Don't get me wrong, I really love that I worked on cars with my dad, changing transmissions and even an entire engine out, but baseball has a more wonderful place in my heart. I'll never forget my dad coaching me in little league, or playing catch with him -- and that's just the nostalgia aspect of the game for me. Beyond that, I like the team aspect, easier player recognition and sense of connection, a city pulling together for one cause, and the many intricate facets of the game.
DK:
You come back to those four aspects, and for good reason, but they're all present in NASCAR -- they're just a little different. The biggest one is the intricacy; there is so much that goes into winning a race that a guy who wins eight of the 45 races per year is considered to have had a pretty good season. All I'm saying is that the only reason you aren't a fan is because you refuse to give it a try.
DB:
No, Dan, I'm sure I will be a fan. That is not the question at all. I just know it's role for me, which will forever be behind baseball and football, because they are so near to my heart. Oh, I'm sure you're going to suck me into the NASCAR world, and I look forward to it, I just want you to remember how much you loved playing baseball, and how beautiful that sport is.
DK:
You know, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for baseball as well; not only have I been playing since before I can remember, but I worked as a batboy for the minor league team in my hometown for more than three years, and the time I spent playing church softball was some of the best interaction I've ever had. There's no question that baseball is one of the best things out there. But sadly, it's losing steam; even though there are still good things about it, it's just not as great as it used to be. NASCAR is on its way up, and even though it probably won't ever be "America's Pastime", it's still got aspects (they race once a week, the competition level is WAY up there, etc.) that make it really fun to be a part of.
DB:
Fair enough, but I'm not going to agree that baseball is losing steam. I will say that it was losing steam in the early and mid 90s, but the home run race, Cal Ripken's feat, the Red Sox breaking the curse, Barry Bonds -- it's definitely doing well.
DK:
It's been a while since the home run race and the streak, and people hate the Sox and Bonds now. The impression I get of the general attitude towards MLB is that there's more to dislike than to like; steroids, Bonds, A-Rod, the Yankees, the Red Sox, Bud Selig, too much money being spent on dudes like Alfonso Soriano, and all during the summer when there are lots of other things to do -- it's not that fun anymore.
NASCAR's got the remedy for most of that, although the NFL still has them beat in one area (length of schedule; NASCAR has about 10 too many races per year for my taste). But NASCAR only races once a week, the stars are paid well, but part of their salary comes from winning races (i.e., they have to earn their money, at least in part), winning a race is a really impressive feat and can be done in a number of ways, and there's no way those dudes are on steroids. I'm bigger than half of them -- well, a quarter of them -- alright, just Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon -- but the point remains.
DB:
I don't get how you could love something and want less of it. I would never get rid of any of the games in the baseball schedule. I wouldn't do anything to change it, whether that is getting rid of the DH, getting rid of interleague play -- I love it all. It makes no sense to me to get rid of any games of any sport. If it were up to me, there would only be two preseason football games, and they would play a 20-game season. There is no such thing as "too much of a good thing". And don't give me any crap about "earning their money;" baseball players do, just not until their next contract. And for steroids, who cares? They don't really help with strength anyway. Their main draw is their recuperation power. And if cheating is your main concern, you can't begin to tell me that NASCAR drivers don't cheat. And who, besides me and Yankee fans, hates the Red Sox? They’re one of the country’s most beloved teams. Since when is nine years a long time, or even 12?
DK:
The thing with 180-plus MLB games a year is that if you take any single game out of that, it's not a big deal; so you know that players and teams just mail it in every now and then because one game doesn't make or break your season (at least not until mid-August). But with the NFL, every game is so important because there are only 16 of them per team each year. The quality of play goes up, and the excitement levels are through the roof because you feel like you have to watch each game. You haven't ever watched every Padres game in a season, I would bet heavily on that, so cutting out a couple months would make it more worthwhile to watch, and therefore better.
Also, I don't care about the steroids issue necessarily either, and I fully admit that NASCAR teams are pushing the envelope. But they get caught, and they're not screwing with their bodies, just the cars.
And since when has anybody in the history of anything been worth $27 million in a year? Never. A-Rod earns about half that, if even.
DB:
They don't televise every game, but when I'm in the country I watch or listen to at least part of 94% of the games. That is no exaggeration either. Two seasons ago I watched all but one televised game. And yea, if two months were cut off of baseball, my year would really be worse. If any changes were to be made, and we had to cut games, I would just thin out the weeks, but keep the season the same length (then we could cut to a four-man rotation, which I would like). I don’t think I see MLB players dog it any more than any other sport. What about the 60% of plays that players like Randy Moss take off? There will always be slackers, that only try when it benefits them, and there will always be guys like Mike Cameron or Eric Byrnes who don’t take plays off. I wouldn’t make baseball longer, I wouldn’t make it shorter, I wouldn’t change anything about it. I love it the way it is.
And as for the money thing, I don’t think the money thing is really a valid conversation point, in that there will always be people being paid way too much for what they do, whether they’re CEOs (Richard Fairbank, $250 mil), or actors (Tom Cruise, $100 mil for War of the Worlds), or opinionated broads (Oprah $225 mil). Compared to these people, A-Rod earns his money. I still hate him though.
DK:
I could agree with thinning out the weeks in the MLB schedule; all I'm saying is that we really appreciate things when we know they're not going to be there for 80% of the year. We love the NFL because we have all week to anticipate the matchups, then we watch with real emotion because we know we won't see it again for a week. But with MLB, when there are six games a week, it's not as big of a deal if we miss one or four.
And MLB players may not be dogging it all the time, but the game lends itself to periods of inactivity that allows players to not do anything for extended periods of time. Randy Moss may take plays off, but I guarantee that he does more running, jumping and catching (plus he deals with way more physical contact) than any MLB player does in a given week, let alone a single game. Any sport where John Kruk can be a professional can never be argued to be physically superior.
Oh, and you're right that people get paid way too much -- but that's just the point; none of them really earn that much money either. Baseball players have the luxury of playing a game for a living, then they get paid a king's ransom to do it. And then they have the gall to demand more, hold out when the don't get it and be jerks to fans and media because they think they deserve what they're getting. All athletes do it, but at least the NASCAR drivers tend to be more fan-friendly, and they earn their money directly in part from winning races. Other athletes get paid solely by their employers; NASCAR drivers are paid by sponsors and by their race winnings, so they're motivated to keep the fans happy and to keep winning. It makes for such a different atmosphere.
DB:
I agree that it lends itself to a different atmosphere, but i don't think it's a better one. Once again, it's the American ideal of selfishness that appeals to you when you see an individual competing solely for himself, and not for a team or a city. And if I chose my sports based on pure athleticism, I would only watch triathlons, or track and field, but that's not the sole reason why I like the sports I do. On that note, you're crazy if you're going to try to tell me that baseball players are less athletic than NASCAR drivers.
-- -- --
How will I respond? Am I crazy to say that NASCAR drivers have more stamina than the typical MLB player?
Well you'll just have to come back next week to find out.
In the meantime, you are always more than welcome to join the discussion on this or any other sports-related topic.
You can do so by logging on to www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link, or by sending me an e-mail to sports@valleycenter.com and putting "I Kid You Not" in the subject line. I will also accept a hard copy, whether sent through the postal service or dropped off at our office on Valley Center road.
However you wish to take part, it's always great to hear from other sports fans, so I encourage you to join in.
One of the utmost is the fact that sports can bring people together to create amazing, passionate, dynamic dialogue that isn't often found in other areas of life.
And as a treat to you, our loyal readers, I invite you to come along with me as we review one such discussion that took place via e-mail over the past week between me, your esteemed host, and another local sports fan. The discussion began with last week's column about the all-star events in the various pro sports leagues and continued from there.
Enjoy.
-- -- --
David Baker:
Baseball has the best one, by far, especially if you include all of the events, like the Home Run Derby. Next is basketball, and football and hockey are tied for third.
Dan Kidder:
Have you read the blog? Because any sane human being has no choice but to agree with my position.
DB:
You, my friend, are quite positively out of your mind.
DK:
Please; MLB's all-star game has no million dollar prize, the players don't take each other out on purpose, and nobody cares who wins. You should love the NASCAR All-Star Challenge because it's what you want NASCAR to be -- short, sweet, and full of wrecks.
DB:
No one has even heard of it -- for a reason.
DK:
Being ultra-lame isn't a valid reason for not watching and enjoying great things like NASCAR. Nobody's ever heard of Grady Sizemore either, and apparently you think he's the best thing since sliced bread, so there must be something there.
DB:
Grady is an up-and-coming star. He's only 24, so he has a few years to gain recognition. None the less, he is already far more recognized than Denny Hamlin or Carl Edwards.
DK:
Dude, Kyle Busch is only like 20, he's in his third full year at the peak of his sport, and his aggressive style makes him one of those polarizing figures that only come around once in a while. I seriously doubt that the merchandise sales on Grady Sizemore gear even comes close to what any of the top 25 NASCAR drivers are pulling in. Even Dave Blaney probably sells more No. 22 Cat Toyota merchandise than No. 24 Cleveland Indians jerseys. You are just unwilling to face the fact that NASCAR has so much to offer and you're missing out because you're worried about what people will think of you if you just give in. You know you want to.
DB:
Ha ha ha, that makes me chuckle aloud. Comparing one driver's merchandising to a single baseball player's merchandising isn't an equitable comparison. While the average hillbilly NASCAR fan follows one driver closely, baseball fans follow a team (the actual team element seen in baseball, and missing in NASCAR, is what will never allow it to climb higher than three or four on my list). You would have to compare Cleveland Indians merchandise, in which case we all know how that comparison would go. Though baseball doesn't have an overwhelming young star, it never does. Baseball stars aren't made overnight, but are cultivated, and mature into that role. But if you want to compare Busch to other team sport youngsters, I think it's safe to say that LeBron, Reggie Bush, and maybe even Sidney Crosby have more recognizable names than Kyle Busch. Kyle just has a bit of a boost in his recognition because of big brother. And by the way, Kyle is 22.
DK:
NASCAR phenoms don't happen overnight either; a guy like Carl Edwards got to where he is now because he just kept calling Roush Racing until they decided to give him a tryout; and lots of other guys within the sport got their jobs just because they showed up at the shop and eventually got hired.
The team thing is always your biggest crutch, but you have to be able to see that even though a NASCAR team isn't a team in the traditional sense, it's the multi-layered aspect of "team" that makes it so unique and enjoyable. Think about how cool it would be if Grady Sizemore got down to the bottom of the ninth and had to decide whether or not he was going to sacrifice bunt to help the team, or swing away to help himself. We'd find out right away who the jerks are and who the good teammates are--as it is in NASCAR.
For merchandising, I think you seriously underestimate how many people out there buy up tons of their drivers' gear. I bet at least 10 drivers outsell the Indians every year.
DB:
Well, the Indians are a small market team, and I really have no idea how much each driver sells (nor have I ever heard of Carl Edwards), but if you compare the top with the top, the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, etc, all sell more than any given NASCAR driver. And let's also get this straight; I don't believe I've ever seen NASCAR apparel in southern Cali (though I’ve seen plenty in my years in Tennessee), while the big three sports show their influence everywhere. It may be true that NASCAR has a big following, but they’re all in the south. You might as well argue with me on how soccer is the most entertaining sport, just because it has global relevance -- just not in the U.S.
NASCAR and college sports will never be overwhelming forms of athletic entertainment in California, because we are blessed with so many professional teams. Because we ban together as a city to support our professional teams, we don’t feel the strong need to follow individuals as they compete in events such as NASCAR, or the usually lower brands of athletics found in college.
Question: if you had to eliminate sports from ever existing, would you choose NASCAR, football, or baseball first? Rank 'em.
DK:
You know, it seems like it should be the other way around out here; I think more people are into sports like motocross, skateboarding, and surfing, and NASCAR is the perfect bridge into the world of team sports because it does come down to the individual on the surface level, but it really is a team sport (even though we don't really know who all the team members are).
And as for your question, it's a very easy choice -- baseball. Yes, I know we'd have to find something else to go to on occasion, but I could not handle a world without NASCAR now. I would, however, keep football above NASCAR if I absolutely had to. And I would feel better if they canceled the NBA for good as a bonus.
DB:
So you would rather never have played baseball growing up, never see a World Series, never play Over The Line, just so you could watch a little NASCAR? Wow. This is a sad day for America.
DK:
The alternative is that we could have grown up racing cars and fixing engines, then we'd be racing around the tracks at our local parks on the weekends and celebrating the Daytona 500 as the true spectacle of sports that it is. If nostalgia's all you've got for the baseball side, car racing has just as much and could have been even bigger if baseball hadn't been around. Of course I loved playing baseball as a kid and I can even have a pretty good time playing your wimpy beach pseudo-sport OTL. But I would have had a BLAST growing up fixing and racing cars.
As far as pro sports, though, it's no contest -- I'd get rid of MLB before I'd get rid of anything besides the NBA. It's just too long of a season and there are too many games for me to care about the one game I happen to be watching.
DB:
I did grow up racing and fixing my car. In case you're wondering, the fixing part is called work; not my idea of a fun afternoon. Well, at least not as much fun as OTL.
DK:
I'm sure it is work, but it's just like the work it takes to field grounder after grounder, or pitch a ball against a barn wall until the sun goes down, or run like 30 feet to get in baseball shape. If you're so into the nostalgia, there's nothing like growing up under the hood of a car, turning wrenches with your dad and going fender-to-fender with some real racers at the local track.
DB:
Don't get me wrong, I really love that I worked on cars with my dad, changing transmissions and even an entire engine out, but baseball has a more wonderful place in my heart. I'll never forget my dad coaching me in little league, or playing catch with him -- and that's just the nostalgia aspect of the game for me. Beyond that, I like the team aspect, easier player recognition and sense of connection, a city pulling together for one cause, and the many intricate facets of the game.
DK:
You come back to those four aspects, and for good reason, but they're all present in NASCAR -- they're just a little different. The biggest one is the intricacy; there is so much that goes into winning a race that a guy who wins eight of the 45 races per year is considered to have had a pretty good season. All I'm saying is that the only reason you aren't a fan is because you refuse to give it a try.
DB:
No, Dan, I'm sure I will be a fan. That is not the question at all. I just know it's role for me, which will forever be behind baseball and football, because they are so near to my heart. Oh, I'm sure you're going to suck me into the NASCAR world, and I look forward to it, I just want you to remember how much you loved playing baseball, and how beautiful that sport is.
DK:
You know, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for baseball as well; not only have I been playing since before I can remember, but I worked as a batboy for the minor league team in my hometown for more than three years, and the time I spent playing church softball was some of the best interaction I've ever had. There's no question that baseball is one of the best things out there. But sadly, it's losing steam; even though there are still good things about it, it's just not as great as it used to be. NASCAR is on its way up, and even though it probably won't ever be "America's Pastime", it's still got aspects (they race once a week, the competition level is WAY up there, etc.) that make it really fun to be a part of.
DB:
Fair enough, but I'm not going to agree that baseball is losing steam. I will say that it was losing steam in the early and mid 90s, but the home run race, Cal Ripken's feat, the Red Sox breaking the curse, Barry Bonds -- it's definitely doing well.
DK:
It's been a while since the home run race and the streak, and people hate the Sox and Bonds now. The impression I get of the general attitude towards MLB is that there's more to dislike than to like; steroids, Bonds, A-Rod, the Yankees, the Red Sox, Bud Selig, too much money being spent on dudes like Alfonso Soriano, and all during the summer when there are lots of other things to do -- it's not that fun anymore.
NASCAR's got the remedy for most of that, although the NFL still has them beat in one area (length of schedule; NASCAR has about 10 too many races per year for my taste). But NASCAR only races once a week, the stars are paid well, but part of their salary comes from winning races (i.e., they have to earn their money, at least in part), winning a race is a really impressive feat and can be done in a number of ways, and there's no way those dudes are on steroids. I'm bigger than half of them -- well, a quarter of them -- alright, just Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon -- but the point remains.
DB:
I don't get how you could love something and want less of it. I would never get rid of any of the games in the baseball schedule. I wouldn't do anything to change it, whether that is getting rid of the DH, getting rid of interleague play -- I love it all. It makes no sense to me to get rid of any games of any sport. If it were up to me, there would only be two preseason football games, and they would play a 20-game season. There is no such thing as "too much of a good thing". And don't give me any crap about "earning their money;" baseball players do, just not until their next contract. And for steroids, who cares? They don't really help with strength anyway. Their main draw is their recuperation power. And if cheating is your main concern, you can't begin to tell me that NASCAR drivers don't cheat. And who, besides me and Yankee fans, hates the Red Sox? They’re one of the country’s most beloved teams. Since when is nine years a long time, or even 12?
DK:
The thing with 180-plus MLB games a year is that if you take any single game out of that, it's not a big deal; so you know that players and teams just mail it in every now and then because one game doesn't make or break your season (at least not until mid-August). But with the NFL, every game is so important because there are only 16 of them per team each year. The quality of play goes up, and the excitement levels are through the roof because you feel like you have to watch each game. You haven't ever watched every Padres game in a season, I would bet heavily on that, so cutting out a couple months would make it more worthwhile to watch, and therefore better.
Also, I don't care about the steroids issue necessarily either, and I fully admit that NASCAR teams are pushing the envelope. But they get caught, and they're not screwing with their bodies, just the cars.
And since when has anybody in the history of anything been worth $27 million in a year? Never. A-Rod earns about half that, if even.
DB:
They don't televise every game, but when I'm in the country I watch or listen to at least part of 94% of the games. That is no exaggeration either. Two seasons ago I watched all but one televised game. And yea, if two months were cut off of baseball, my year would really be worse. If any changes were to be made, and we had to cut games, I would just thin out the weeks, but keep the season the same length (then we could cut to a four-man rotation, which I would like). I don’t think I see MLB players dog it any more than any other sport. What about the 60% of plays that players like Randy Moss take off? There will always be slackers, that only try when it benefits them, and there will always be guys like Mike Cameron or Eric Byrnes who don’t take plays off. I wouldn’t make baseball longer, I wouldn’t make it shorter, I wouldn’t change anything about it. I love it the way it is.
And as for the money thing, I don’t think the money thing is really a valid conversation point, in that there will always be people being paid way too much for what they do, whether they’re CEOs (Richard Fairbank, $250 mil), or actors (Tom Cruise, $100 mil for War of the Worlds), or opinionated broads (Oprah $225 mil). Compared to these people, A-Rod earns his money. I still hate him though.
DK:
I could agree with thinning out the weeks in the MLB schedule; all I'm saying is that we really appreciate things when we know they're not going to be there for 80% of the year. We love the NFL because we have all week to anticipate the matchups, then we watch with real emotion because we know we won't see it again for a week. But with MLB, when there are six games a week, it's not as big of a deal if we miss one or four.
And MLB players may not be dogging it all the time, but the game lends itself to periods of inactivity that allows players to not do anything for extended periods of time. Randy Moss may take plays off, but I guarantee that he does more running, jumping and catching (plus he deals with way more physical contact) than any MLB player does in a given week, let alone a single game. Any sport where John Kruk can be a professional can never be argued to be physically superior.
Oh, and you're right that people get paid way too much -- but that's just the point; none of them really earn that much money either. Baseball players have the luxury of playing a game for a living, then they get paid a king's ransom to do it. And then they have the gall to demand more, hold out when the don't get it and be jerks to fans and media because they think they deserve what they're getting. All athletes do it, but at least the NASCAR drivers tend to be more fan-friendly, and they earn their money directly in part from winning races. Other athletes get paid solely by their employers; NASCAR drivers are paid by sponsors and by their race winnings, so they're motivated to keep the fans happy and to keep winning. It makes for such a different atmosphere.
DB:
I agree that it lends itself to a different atmosphere, but i don't think it's a better one. Once again, it's the American ideal of selfishness that appeals to you when you see an individual competing solely for himself, and not for a team or a city. And if I chose my sports based on pure athleticism, I would only watch triathlons, or track and field, but that's not the sole reason why I like the sports I do. On that note, you're crazy if you're going to try to tell me that baseball players are less athletic than NASCAR drivers.
-- -- --
How will I respond? Am I crazy to say that NASCAR drivers have more stamina than the typical MLB player?
Well you'll just have to come back next week to find out.
In the meantime, you are always more than welcome to join the discussion on this or any other sports-related topic.
You can do so by logging on to www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link, or by sending me an e-mail to sports@valleycenter.com and putting "I Kid You Not" in the subject line. I will also accept a hard copy, whether sent through the postal service or dropped off at our office on Valley Center road.
However you wish to take part, it's always great to hear from other sports fans, so I encourage you to join in.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
All-Star Games Need Some Help
Wow, that Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday night sure was great, wasn't it? The way that guy hit the ball, and those pitchers, and that one thing that was amazing -- it was all really, really good. Really.
Alright, our deadline is Tuesday, so I'm writing this before the game even happened. But I bet I had you going there for a minute.
My ridiculousness does bring up a valid point, however -- the various all-star competitions in professional sports. And specifically, which one of them is the best.
We'll start with the MLB All-Star Game, since it's still fresh in our minds. Overall, it's pretty decent -- the Home Run Derby adds a wrinkle to the proceedings that other sports can't necessarily match, but the game itself lacks something.
Gone are the days of Pete Rose running over Ray Fossey at home plate to score the winning run; most athletes today aren't even passionate enough to show up to an exhibition put on soley for the benefit of the fans. This year's Home Run Derby was pretty exciting, especially after the snoozer of a first round, but aside from Albert Pujols, there wasn't a bonafide superstar to be seen. I know guys like Matt Holliday and Magglio Ordonez are really good baseball players, but in a home run contest, don't most fans want to see players like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and maybe even Sammy Sosa? Alas, none were to be found, although most of them were actually in the stadium while the contest was happening. That's just not so cool.
And it carries over into the actual All-Star Game, despite the league's unique format in which the winning team's league has home-field advantage in the World Series. The only players who go all out are the young guys who have something to prove, and that's why players like Michael Young of the Rangers win the game's MVP award more often than the superstars.
By far the worst all-star event unfortunately comes from the country's most popular (well, second-most popular... we'll get to that in a second) league, the NFL.
The Pro Bowl has the potential to be pretty great, but one factor always makes it forgettable -- it happens after the season ends. We get all pumped up about the Super Bowl, and with good reason given the games in the past few years. But then we're expected to be enthused about an exhibition game where too many players (again with the lack of passion) decline the invitation? Throw in the fact that it's played in a completely foreign time zone and on that awful turf at Aloha Stadium and the collective yawn from the sports world is pretty deafening.
I suppose we should mention the NBA All-Star Game, but I'm a little bit afraid that I'm going to get shot if I do. Let's just say that the lack-of-passion issue comes up again, and if David Stern has even half a brain, he probably should never purposely send athletes who heavily promote a pseudo-gangster lifestyle to a place like Las Vegas ever again.
We find a bit of a bright spot with the NHL All-Star Game, mostly because the NHL really goes out of its way to cater to the fans for the all-star weekend. They have an exhibition game featuring the young stars of the league, then they hold a skills competition that is always lots of fun (if you can find the network carrying the coverage) before the actual All-Star Game even begins.
Once it does, the rules of the game are set up to allow for the stars to show off just how good they can be when they don't have a 250-pound goon hanging on their jerseys. The game is usually an offensive showcase and I, for one, am always impressed at how skillful the players are. Even the defensemen are way better skaters than you or I could ever hope to be.
But we save the best for last, and it should come as little surprise that the most entertaining all-star event in professional sports comes from the nation's No. 1 spectator sport -- NASCAR.
The Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge is basically what every non-NASCAR fan wishes NASCAR was on a weekly basis. For starters, only drivers who won a race the previous season qualify, along with two drivers who finish in the top two spots of the All-Star Open qualifying race and another driver who is voted in by the fans. Then, the race itself is broken up into four 20-lap segments and drivers in the back of the pack are eliminated at the end of the first two segments. When the race is finally decided, the winner takes home $1 millon, which is enough to make even the most successful drivers put a little extra heart into the race.
In this year's race, for example, brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch were battling for position late in the race, and when neither one gave any ground, they collided and wrecked each other's car. That doesn't usually happen in the typical weekly race.
Add to that the Pit Crew Challenge and the myriad of special paint schemes making their debut and it's easily the best all-star event in pro sports today.
-- -- --
But I'd also like to hear what you think about all-star games, even if I didn't mention your particular favorite.
So e-mail me at sports@valleycenter.com or check out the blog by visiting www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link. You can even send me a response through the good old U.S. Postal Service if you'd like -- our address is PO Box 1529, Valley Center CA, 92082.
And if it's a really good response, we might just invite you to participate in an all-star blog commenting event to be held midway through the blog commenting season.
We're still working on that million dollar all-star prize, though.
Alright, our deadline is Tuesday, so I'm writing this before the game even happened. But I bet I had you going there for a minute.
My ridiculousness does bring up a valid point, however -- the various all-star competitions in professional sports. And specifically, which one of them is the best.
We'll start with the MLB All-Star Game, since it's still fresh in our minds. Overall, it's pretty decent -- the Home Run Derby adds a wrinkle to the proceedings that other sports can't necessarily match, but the game itself lacks something.
Gone are the days of Pete Rose running over Ray Fossey at home plate to score the winning run; most athletes today aren't even passionate enough to show up to an exhibition put on soley for the benefit of the fans. This year's Home Run Derby was pretty exciting, especially after the snoozer of a first round, but aside from Albert Pujols, there wasn't a bonafide superstar to be seen. I know guys like Matt Holliday and Magglio Ordonez are really good baseball players, but in a home run contest, don't most fans want to see players like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and maybe even Sammy Sosa? Alas, none were to be found, although most of them were actually in the stadium while the contest was happening. That's just not so cool.
And it carries over into the actual All-Star Game, despite the league's unique format in which the winning team's league has home-field advantage in the World Series. The only players who go all out are the young guys who have something to prove, and that's why players like Michael Young of the Rangers win the game's MVP award more often than the superstars.
By far the worst all-star event unfortunately comes from the country's most popular (well, second-most popular... we'll get to that in a second) league, the NFL.
The Pro Bowl has the potential to be pretty great, but one factor always makes it forgettable -- it happens after the season ends. We get all pumped up about the Super Bowl, and with good reason given the games in the past few years. But then we're expected to be enthused about an exhibition game where too many players (again with the lack of passion) decline the invitation? Throw in the fact that it's played in a completely foreign time zone and on that awful turf at Aloha Stadium and the collective yawn from the sports world is pretty deafening.
I suppose we should mention the NBA All-Star Game, but I'm a little bit afraid that I'm going to get shot if I do. Let's just say that the lack-of-passion issue comes up again, and if David Stern has even half a brain, he probably should never purposely send athletes who heavily promote a pseudo-gangster lifestyle to a place like Las Vegas ever again.
We find a bit of a bright spot with the NHL All-Star Game, mostly because the NHL really goes out of its way to cater to the fans for the all-star weekend. They have an exhibition game featuring the young stars of the league, then they hold a skills competition that is always lots of fun (if you can find the network carrying the coverage) before the actual All-Star Game even begins.
Once it does, the rules of the game are set up to allow for the stars to show off just how good they can be when they don't have a 250-pound goon hanging on their jerseys. The game is usually an offensive showcase and I, for one, am always impressed at how skillful the players are. Even the defensemen are way better skaters than you or I could ever hope to be.
But we save the best for last, and it should come as little surprise that the most entertaining all-star event in professional sports comes from the nation's No. 1 spectator sport -- NASCAR.
The Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge is basically what every non-NASCAR fan wishes NASCAR was on a weekly basis. For starters, only drivers who won a race the previous season qualify, along with two drivers who finish in the top two spots of the All-Star Open qualifying race and another driver who is voted in by the fans. Then, the race itself is broken up into four 20-lap segments and drivers in the back of the pack are eliminated at the end of the first two segments. When the race is finally decided, the winner takes home $1 millon, which is enough to make even the most successful drivers put a little extra heart into the race.
In this year's race, for example, brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch were battling for position late in the race, and when neither one gave any ground, they collided and wrecked each other's car. That doesn't usually happen in the typical weekly race.
Add to that the Pit Crew Challenge and the myriad of special paint schemes making their debut and it's easily the best all-star event in pro sports today.
-- -- --
But I'd also like to hear what you think about all-star games, even if I didn't mention your particular favorite.
So e-mail me at sports@valleycenter.com or check out the blog by visiting www.valleycenter.com and clicking on the "RR Blogs" link. You can even send me a response through the good old U.S. Postal Service if you'd like -- our address is PO Box 1529, Valley Center CA, 92082.
And if it's a really good response, we might just invite you to participate in an all-star blog commenting event to be held midway through the blog commenting season.
We're still working on that million dollar all-star prize, though.
Monday, July 2, 2007
There's Always Plenty To Talk About In Sports
With the July 4 holiday now upon us, it seems like the perfect time to celebrate those sports that have helped define our country through the years.
And we start, of course, with professional hockey.
Seriously, I'll just touch on a few things that are going on in sports these days; I know we've all got big plans for the holiday, so we'll keep it short and sweet.
-- -- --
As long as we've mentioned the NHL, I just have to say that the first days of free agency have given us some interesting moves, like Paul Kariya to St. Louis and a trade to bring Manny Fernandez to Boston.
But the best move by any team thus far has to be the New York Rangers signing Chris Drury. I remember when Drury was lured away from Colorado and the anchors at ESPN began the story by comparing Drury to Derek Jeter and Robert Horry, two players known to perform at their best in high-pressure situations in their respective sports.
And Drury has lived up to the comparison by providing the anchor for a young Buffalo Sabres team that posted the best record in hockey this past season and went deep into the playoffs. Drury wore the captain's "C" on his sweater for the Sabres, but it could also have stood for "clutch".
Teaming Drury up with Jaromir Jagr and the newly-acquired Scott Gomez looks to make the Rangers the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, while the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks look to be even stronger with the addition of defenseman Mathieu Schnieder.
Basically, if you can't get excited about the NHL next season, I just don't know what you're looking for.
-- -- --
Turning to American sports, the Major League Baseball All-Star teams have been selected, which inevitably leads to the sports world bringing up the "snubs" from each league.
Now, I know that these guys play hard and it must be nice to receive recognition, but every year we hear about how horrible it was to leave so-and-so off the All-Star team, when in reality, nobody really remembers from year to year. Honestly, try to think about who was on the American League All-Star team in 2005. I'm drawing a blank beyond the seemingly-obvious names like Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and maybe Ivan Rodriguez, and I'm completely guessing on those guys.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I understand the need for entertaining topics on sports shows, I would just rather hear more about what's happening in other sports, like NASCAR or something.
At least NASCAR's All-Star event has a million-dollar payout for the winner. Maybe if MLB started throwing cash around like that, we could get a little more excited about who makes the All-Star team and who doesn't.
-- -- --
Well, at least we have the NFL season to look forward to, and specifically, fantasy football.
Oh yes.
Sometime before most fantasy drafts are set to occur, I will provide you, our loyal readers, with a Fantasy Draft Preview that will break down the top players at each position and equip you with the necessary tools to win your league and shove your friends' faces in your superiority for the next year.
Until then, however, we have to keep our collective eye on the situations brewing for players who are threatening to hold out for more money, like Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs.
We all know that LJ is a top-tier back who could go as high as No. 1 in some leagues -- although if you're in a league where LaDanian Tomlinson is not the first overall pick, you probably need to seriously reconsider your friend-selection process -- but even if he plays, the unresolved contract situation could have some deeper-reaching effects than we may realize later on.
Whatever happens, I just really hope they don't pay him any more money until he agrees to revive the "Grand-ma-ma" commercials that the NBA's Larry Johnson started back in the '90s. That would be worth a contract extension in most everybody's book.
-- -- --
Otherwise, I'm sure there's a lot more going on in sports, like the ongoing home run chase by Barry Bonds, the crazy happenings with NASCAR's "Car Of Tomorrow" and the fact that the Sacramento Kings hired the guy who played the basketball coach on the TV show "Hang Time" to be their real coach for next season. Maybe they can find Anthony Anderson to play point guard as well. That seems like a good idea.
So if you'd like to discuss anything in sports, drop me a line at sports@valleycenter.com, or go to our Web site at www.valleycenter.com and click on the "RR Blogs" link to post a comment. You can also add your thoughts to topics we've discussed previously, and I will take the best responses and post them in future editions of The Roadrunner for all to see.
Until then, enjoy the holiday and feel free to stitch a captain's "C" on a sweater of your own if you can remember the All-Star snubs in September, when baseball actually matters.
And we start, of course, with professional hockey.
Seriously, I'll just touch on a few things that are going on in sports these days; I know we've all got big plans for the holiday, so we'll keep it short and sweet.
-- -- --
As long as we've mentioned the NHL, I just have to say that the first days of free agency have given us some interesting moves, like Paul Kariya to St. Louis and a trade to bring Manny Fernandez to Boston.
But the best move by any team thus far has to be the New York Rangers signing Chris Drury. I remember when Drury was lured away from Colorado and the anchors at ESPN began the story by comparing Drury to Derek Jeter and Robert Horry, two players known to perform at their best in high-pressure situations in their respective sports.
And Drury has lived up to the comparison by providing the anchor for a young Buffalo Sabres team that posted the best record in hockey this past season and went deep into the playoffs. Drury wore the captain's "C" on his sweater for the Sabres, but it could also have stood for "clutch".
Teaming Drury up with Jaromir Jagr and the newly-acquired Scott Gomez looks to make the Rangers the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, while the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks look to be even stronger with the addition of defenseman Mathieu Schnieder.
Basically, if you can't get excited about the NHL next season, I just don't know what you're looking for.
-- -- --
Turning to American sports, the Major League Baseball All-Star teams have been selected, which inevitably leads to the sports world bringing up the "snubs" from each league.
Now, I know that these guys play hard and it must be nice to receive recognition, but every year we hear about how horrible it was to leave so-and-so off the All-Star team, when in reality, nobody really remembers from year to year. Honestly, try to think about who was on the American League All-Star team in 2005. I'm drawing a blank beyond the seemingly-obvious names like Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and maybe Ivan Rodriguez, and I'm completely guessing on those guys.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I understand the need for entertaining topics on sports shows, I would just rather hear more about what's happening in other sports, like NASCAR or something.
At least NASCAR's All-Star event has a million-dollar payout for the winner. Maybe if MLB started throwing cash around like that, we could get a little more excited about who makes the All-Star team and who doesn't.
-- -- --
Well, at least we have the NFL season to look forward to, and specifically, fantasy football.
Oh yes.
Sometime before most fantasy drafts are set to occur, I will provide you, our loyal readers, with a Fantasy Draft Preview that will break down the top players at each position and equip you with the necessary tools to win your league and shove your friends' faces in your superiority for the next year.
Until then, however, we have to keep our collective eye on the situations brewing for players who are threatening to hold out for more money, like Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs.
We all know that LJ is a top-tier back who could go as high as No. 1 in some leagues -- although if you're in a league where LaDanian Tomlinson is not the first overall pick, you probably need to seriously reconsider your friend-selection process -- but even if he plays, the unresolved contract situation could have some deeper-reaching effects than we may realize later on.
Whatever happens, I just really hope they don't pay him any more money until he agrees to revive the "Grand-ma-ma" commercials that the NBA's Larry Johnson started back in the '90s. That would be worth a contract extension in most everybody's book.
-- -- --
Otherwise, I'm sure there's a lot more going on in sports, like the ongoing home run chase by Barry Bonds, the crazy happenings with NASCAR's "Car Of Tomorrow" and the fact that the Sacramento Kings hired the guy who played the basketball coach on the TV show "Hang Time" to be their real coach for next season. Maybe they can find Anthony Anderson to play point guard as well. That seems like a good idea.
So if you'd like to discuss anything in sports, drop me a line at sports@valleycenter.com, or go to our Web site at www.valleycenter.com and click on the "RR Blogs" link to post a comment. You can also add your thoughts to topics we've discussed previously, and I will take the best responses and post them in future editions of The Roadrunner for all to see.
Until then, enjoy the holiday and feel free to stitch a captain's "C" on a sweater of your own if you can remember the All-Star snubs in September, when baseball actually matters.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]