B1G/NCAA basketball

[CGVT]

It must be exhausting being outraged everyday to miss a much higher level of basketball being played. College basketball on the other hand has been a long decline for 20-30 years.

You are the crash course of this subject

[iam416]

Overall, the players are better. I just don’t like the game as much. It’s way better than 90s NBA, but it’s not as enjoyable for me as 80s NBA.

I think the same thing about baseball. I greatly prefer the pre-sabermetrics days. I like starting pitching. I don’t like shifts. I’m sure the players are better but the game, to my eye, is not.

CBB is pretty much a shell of what it was.

[froot loops]

Take it back CGVT!

Do you think college basketball has improved? I think the skill of the play has gotten much worse or at best it is stagnant. The game is way too ticky tack fouls and it's gross deification of guys like Krsysewski. That shit with Coach K was Saturday was beyond nauseating.

30 years ago I would watch a ton of college basketball and only the Pistons in the NBA. Now it's the exact opposite. Pete Newell's rule changes in 2005 have made the NBA much, much better. Nothing more exciting than when Steph Curry is hitting everything.

[froot loops]

Overall, the players are better. I just don’t like the game as much. It’s way better than 90s NBA, but it’s not as enjoyable for me as 80s NBA.

I think the same thing about baseball. I greatly prefer the pre-sabermetrics days. I like starting pitching. I don’t like shifts. I’m sure the players are better but the game, to my eye, is not.

CBB is pretty much a shell of what it was.

They just got rid of the shift. I agree with you on baseball. The saber metrics rage was cool when it was your team gaining an advantage. But when every team is doing the three outcomes, it makes for incredibly boring games. I was at a Tiger game that last over three hours and it ended 5-3.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The NFL used to be excruciatingly boring compared to college but it obviously was much more skilled. But then they put more handcuffs on the defense. I'm sure lots will disagree but I find the pro game way more fun to watch than I did in the late 90's early-2000's.

[iam416]

froot

Right. But at the same time, the parade of 98 mph relievers teams can run out + the ridiculous power of hitters is vastly different to 80s and 90s. The 1982 Cardinals would never be constructed today. And that’s a shame. And for what? 3+ hour games at a minimum.

I greatly respect the range of NBA shooters today. I greatly respect the skill of some of big guys. But, man, I just don’t like the game as much. Don’t hate it. Still watching the crippled Cavs. But, eh…

[iam416]

The NFL used to be excruciatingly boring compared to college but it obviously was much more skilled. But then they put more handcuffs on the defense. I'm sure lots will disagree but I find the pro game way more fun to watch than I did in the late 90's early-2000's.

Yeah, I sort of miss split backs, but it’s a good game. I still enjoy the game a lot.

[froot loops]

The Cavs are going to be good.

The NFL's greatest trick is convincing the public that it is more offensive than in the past. The average NFL team averages about 22 points per game per team and that has held for at least 70 years. The handcuffs on the defense have been to prevented quarterbacks from getting dementia by age 35 and to keep the scores in the same range. If you allowed to defenses of today to play by the rules not the 70s, games would be 9-6.

[froot loops]

In think the NBA is a better version of the game in the 80s. The spacing of the NBA back then was comical and a lot of funky jump shots.

[Dr. Strangelove]

For most of my childhood the Super Bowl was a joke. The powerhouses of the NFC (49ers, Cowboys, Redskins) just regularly beat the hell out of anyone the AFC sent. The Halftime shows were shit like Up With People and Chubby Checker. I was three years old when the LA Raiders won their first and only Super Bowl. The AFC didn't win again until after I had graduated high school. And by then we were in the "defense wins championships" era. Which, like I say, was not a great era IMO.

So yeah after some very fond but increasingly foggy memories of the late 80's Browns, I pretty much enjoy the NFL more today than for most of my life.

[froot loops]

It is crazy how much the salary cap had on the Super Bowl. There was a time where people openly wondered if there was ever going to be a close Super Bowl.

[iam416]

The Cavs are going to very good. Injuries have killed them. Starting with Rubio, who looked fantastic early on. But I think every player of note has missed real time due to injuries.

No league does competitive balance like the NFL. That’s the “secret” sauce.

[CGVT]

Take it back CGVT!

Do you think college basketball has improved? I think the skill of the play has gotten much worse or at best it is stagnant. The game is way too ticky tack fouls and it's gross deification of guys like Krsysewski. That shit with Coach K was Saturday was beyond nauseating.

30 years ago I would watch a ton of college basketball and only the Pistons in the NBA. Now it's the exact opposite. Pete Newell's rule changes in 2005 have made the NBA much, much better. Nothing more exciting than when Steph Curry is hitting everything.

OK, I may have crossed the line.

Hell, the fact that fouls are actually called is part of what makes it better. Sure the players are not as talented, but the game is vastly superior, in part because of the fact that the players aren't as good, but mostly because there is an intensity and passion that is not present in the pro game. The pro game is sterile. The college game is live.

The college regular season is much better than the pro waste of six months regular season and the NCAA tourney is the best event in sports. The NBA playoffs don't even move the needle in comparison.

Annnnnd .....analytics have ruined baseball.

[froot loops]

That is the NFL claim to fame, MLB has had a lot of different champs over the last 20 years and nobody lauds them for it. The best thing the NFL has going for them is scarcity. They are also always tweaking the rules. Thirdly, they have steadfastly kept the local game always on broadcast TV and the viewer sees 4 games total on broadcast TV at minimum a week. The other sports may love the bigger the checks they get for shunting their games off to cable but it diminishes their reach.

Following an MLB team is work, especially if they are bad. It makes it worse when the game is 30-40 minutes longer than it use to be. MLB is the opposite of the NFL in tweaking the rules. They cannot figure out a way to keep the game moving along.

[froot loops]

OK, I may have crossed the line.

Hell, the fact that fouls are actually called is part of what makes it better. Sure the players are not as talented, but the game is vastly superior, in part because of the fact that the players aren't as good, but mostly because there is an intensity and passion that is not present in the pro game. The pro game is sterile. The college game is live.

The college regular season is much better than the pro waste of six months regular season and the NCAA tourney is the best event in sports. The NBA playoffs don't even move the needle in comparison.

Annnnnd .....analytics have ruined baseball.

The fouls they call are bad, a lot of nonsense calls that don't have an effect on the play. Like if two guys are jostling for position on a rebound and they call a loose ball foul on the guy who didn't get the rebound. The refs in college basketball think people are paying to see them.

I'm biased because I think Big Ten regular season basketball is the biggest pile of shit. It's like watching vintage 90s Hawks/Knicks. It's so bad.