[The Horrible Esthete]

... at least in baseball, there are predictable, almost "scheduled" lulls during which you can plan a trip to the loo or the fridge.

So the whole attraction of the game is that you don't actually have to watch it.

No. That's part of the attraction.

For instance, listening to a baseball game on the radio can be very pleasurable and even relaxing.

I love college basketball, but I hate listening to it on the radio....and hockey must be even worse than basketball. How frustrating it must be to try and paint a picture of the game action in your mind thru the words of an observer trying to keep up with all that action where little of significance actually happens.

I want to shove things into my ears just thinking about it.

[tigerthelion]

Baseball is certainly no more boring to watch than hockey.

Tiger Woods is entitled to his opinion, I suppose, and cferneyh is probably correct by saying that Tiger created more buzz about hockey than Crosby does in the US.

Bettman is a tool for thinking that having hockey on Versus is better than having hockey on ESPN.

Golf is more boring than baseball and hockey, except when Tiger is playing.

[skippy the wonder dog]

For instance, listening to a baseball game on the radio can be very pleasurable and even relaxing.

Indeed, I understand it is now being used as a treatment for chronic insomnia.

[teemudog]

:lol:

[Lizard King]

I must be a minority I love hockey and baseball. I played both sports growing up and although hockey was my first love and will always be my favorite sport, I still enjoy baseball alot, maybe you have to play it to really appreciate it? Playing ball for as long as I did I grew to really enjoy the game and its stuck with me.

Sometimes the minutiae of the game can get annoying but it doesnt ruin the sport for me. Why some players have to play with their gloves so much and spit after every pitch Ill never know, just step in, dig in and swing baby! RE: Dustin pedroia that guy and his velcro play drives me nuts!

[grimes]

I must be a minority I love hockey and baseball. I played both sports growing up and although hockey was my first love and will always be my favorite sport, I still enjoy baseball alot, maybe you have to play it to really appreciate it? Playing ball for as long as I did I grew to really enjoy the game and its stuck with me.

Same here :thumb:

[tth_fan]

Like most of my friends, I will play baseball, but I can't stand watching it. Just too slow.
As for hockey, me & my buddies play winter ice hockey and men's league ball hockey (which is surprisingly a lot of fun), and we also watch the sport.
Baseball is fun as hell to play, but I can't sit and watch an entire game.

[mark]

here is why i cant' stand baseball.

batter fixes helmet, batting gloves, etc
batter steps into box
pitches checks the sign
pitcher checks the runner
pitcher waits
batter steps out of box
batter fixes helmet batting gloves, etc
batter steps into box
pitcher checks sign
pitches checks runner
pitcher throws
batter misses.

repeat.

a baseball game should not take 4 hours to play. the batter should have 2 seconds to get into the box and if he isn't there, it is either a called strike, or the pitcher can throw whenever he wants.

remember that game a couple weeks ago that went like 20 innings? well, it was only a couple hours longer than the yankees/sox game earlier in the week, that went 9 innings.

[chris]

Let's re-read the statements that sparked this thread:

Woods was asked if he was rooting for Detroit or Pittsburgh.
Woods started to laugh, then landed a zinger.
"I don't really care. Let's talk about the Dodgers," the California native said. "I don't think anybody really watches hockey anymore."

So Woods doesn't care who wins the Stanley Cup, likes the Dodgers, and thinks that people aren't watching hockey.

Big f'in deal.

And he's right: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/05/30/top-sports-shows-nascar-coca-cola-600/3973">http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/05/30/to ... a-600/3973</a><!-- m -->
Top Sports Shows for the Week of May 19-25, 2008
RANK PROGRAMS Network Persons Live+SD (000)
1 NASCAR SPRINT CUP COCA-COLA 600 FOX 7,584
2 INDIANAPOLIS 500 5/25 ABC 7,245
3 NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/HORNETS) TNT 6,547
4 NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/LAKERS) TNT 6,190
5 NBA PLAYOFFS (LAKERS/SPURS) TNT 5,729
6 NBA PLAYOFFS (PISTONS/CELTICS) ESPN 5,698
7 NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/LAKERS) TNT 5,513
8 NBA BOSTON/DETROIT-SAT 5/24 ABC 5,454
9 NBA PLAYOFFS (PISTONS/CELTICS) ESPN 5,431
10 WWE RAW USA 4,742
11 WWE RAW USA 4,449
12 FOX NASCAR SPRINT PRE FOX 4,401
13 FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN CW 4,170
14 INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRE-RACE 5/25 ABC 3,159
15 NBA PLAYOFFS PRE-GAME FRI TNT 2,927
16 INSIDE THE NBA PLAYOFFS MON TNT 2,790
17 INSIDE THE NBA PLAYOFFS WED TNT 2,684
18 FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL (VARIOUS) FOX 2,399
19 GMC NBA SAT 5/24 ABC 2,326
20 COLONIAL GOLF SUN 5/25 CBS 2,253

[d_alex_d]

In other news - Tiger and Phil to play together in the opening rounds this weekend.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tsn.ca/golf/story/?id=239802&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_main">http://www.tsn.ca/golf/story/?id=239802 ... Story_main</a><!-- m -->

I wonder if they will talk hockey while they walk the course.

[grimes]

Let's re-read the statements that sparked this thread:

Woods was asked if he was rooting for Detroit or Pittsburgh.
Woods started to laugh, then landed a zinger.
"I don't really care. Let's talk about the Dodgers," the California native said. "I don't think anybody really watches hockey anymore."

So Woods doesn't care who wins the Stanley Cup, likes the Dodgers, and thinks that people aren't watching hockey.

Big f'in deal.

And he's right: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/05/30/top-sports-shows-nascar-coca-cola-600/3973">http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/05/30/to ... a-600/3973</a><!-- m -->
Top Sports Shows for the Week of May 19-25, 2008
RANK PROGRAMS Network Persons Live+SD (000)
1 NASCAR SPRINT CUP COCA-COLA 600 FOX 7,584
2 INDIANAPOLIS 500 5/25 ABC 7,245
3 NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/HORNETS) TNT 6,547
4 NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/LAKERS) TNT 6,190
5 NBA PLAYOFFS (LAKERS/SPURS) TNT 5,729
6 NBA PLAYOFFS (PISTONS/CELTICS) ESPN 5,698
7 NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/LAKERS) TNT 5,513
8 NBA BOSTON/DETROIT-SAT 5/24 ABC 5,454
9 NBA PLAYOFFS (PISTONS/CELTICS) ESPN 5,431
10 WWE RAW USA 4,742
11 WWE RAW USA 4,449
12 FOX NASCAR SPRINT PRE FOX 4,401
13 FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN CW 4,170
14 INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRE-RACE 5/25 ABC 3,159
15 NBA PLAYOFFS PRE-GAME FRI TNT 2,927
16 INSIDE THE NBA PLAYOFFS MON TNT 2,790
17 INSIDE THE NBA PLAYOFFS WED TNT 2,684
18 FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL (VARIOUS) FOX 2,399
19 GMC NBA SAT 5/24 ABC 2,326
20 COLONIAL GOLF SUN 5/25 CBS 2,253

Well actually he's not quite right. Last night's game pulled in over 7 million viewers in the US.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/06/05/nielsen-ratings-june-4-2008-nhl-shoots-and-scores-with-seven-million/4040">http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/06/05/ni ... llion/4040</a><!-- m -->
So Americans do watch hockey. Just only when the Stanley Cup is on the line and the game features two marquee teams.

[cferneyh]

So Americans do watch hockey.

Correction: 2% of Americans watch hockey when the Stanley Cup is on the line and the game features two marquee teams.

[skippy the wonder dog]

So Americans do watch hockey.

Correction: 2% of Americans watch hockey....

Two minutes for misleading vividness.

Since the number one draw on your own list drew an audience of 7.5 million, expressing 7 million Stanley Cup viewers as a percentage of the entire population as a means of downplaying the number is a cheap trick.

Easier than granting the point, I suppose, but we still know the score.

[cferneyh]

Ok, well then let me put it into context.

33% of Americans watched the most recent Super Bowl.

6% of Americans watched Game 4 of the most recent World Series.

3% of Americans watched Game 4 of the 2007 NBA finals.

2% of Americans watched Game 6 of the NHL Finals.

And yes, on a sample size of 300 million, a 1% difference is statistically significant.

[skippy the wonder dog]

Keep trying to move them goalposts.

Your sample size is not 300 million, by the way. Need me to point out why?