Favorite American sports league

[Witchfan]

Which of these sports leagues is your favorite?

Major League Baseball
National Football League
National Basketball Association
National Hockey League
Major League Soccer

Rank these leagues from your most to least favorite.

Here is mine

1. NFL- I can watch any game anytime.
2. MLB- I can watch any quality game that is nationally broadcast.
3. MLS- The upstart. My interest in this league is increasing.
4. NHL- I can watch any quality game featuring winning teams.
4. NBA- I have no interest in pro basketball outside of the Philadelphia 76ers.

[hyped78]

1. NBA
2. NFL
3. NHL
4. MLB
5. MLS

And I watch a lot of UFC, if that counts too

[CSTowle]

1. NFL
2. NBA
3. MLB
4. that's it.

I can watch preseason games of my own team, and regular season games of any team for the NFL. I'll watch occasional NBA games. I'll listen to baseball on the radio or have it on in the background, but can't sit and actively watch a game on TV if it's regular season.

[frankiedetroit]

1. NFL. I love football.
2. NBA. I very much like basketball.

The only other 'league' I watch is NCAA football.

I LOVED baseball as a kid. But other than a few instances, I stopped paying it any attention after the 1994 strike.

I also liked hockey a lot. I don't have any animus toward hockey. I just don't pay it any attention.

MLS isn't on my radar.

[MRP]

I don't like any of the leagues per se, I think the ownership and leadership of most leagues is trash and if any of them had high level competition of teams playing their sports in another rival league, they would be forced to correct many of their ills but do not do so because they take the revenue provided by fans for granted. Fan of the sports, sure. Fan of the teams, sure. Fan of the Leagues? No.

I am a fan of a handful of teams, but don't watch the NFL or MLB outside of those teams. I'll watch the NHL playoffs on occasion even if my team is not involved, but not regular season games. Haven't cared about the NBA since the Jordan/Bird/Magic days. I will watch some World Cup soccer, but not any other organized soccer/football. I think NCAA football is a joke (any league where you can schedule your own opponents has more in common with a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition of sport than an actual competitive league, and it's no surprise that the same small core of teams always appear in their sham playoff exhibition games as well. NCAA basketball is only slightly better but the NCAA as an organization needs to be blown up and rebuilt form scratch even more so than the other professional sports leagues.

-M

[frankiedetroit]

I don't like any of the leagues per se, I think the ownership and leadership of most leagues is trash and if any of them had high level competition of teams playing their sports in another rival league, they would be forced to correct many of their ills but do not do so because they take the revenue provided by fans for granted. Fan of the sports, sure. Fan of the teams, sure. Fan of the Leagues? No.

I am a fan of a handful of teams, but don't watch the NFL or MLB outside of those teams. I'll watch the NHL playoffs on occasion even if my team is not involved, but not regular season games. Haven't cared about the NBA since the Jordan/Bird/Magic days. I will watch some World Cup soccer, but not any other organized soccer/football. I think NCAA football is a joke (any league where you can schedule your own opponents has more in common with a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition of sport than an actual competitive league, and it's no surprise that the same small core of teams always appear in their sham playoff exhibition games as well. NCAA basketball is only slightly better but the NCAA as an organization needs to be blown up and rebuilt form scratch even more so than the other professional sports leagues.

-M

Why did you stop watching? I dropped out of the NBA for a while during the 1990s -- other than MJ, the game was just unwatchable. But I eventually gave it another try and the players today are SO skilled. I love the game now as much as I did in the 70s and 80s.

[hyped78]

Why did you stop watching? I dropped out of the NBA for a while during the 1990s -- other than MJ, the game was just unwatchable. But I eventually gave it another try and the players today are SO skilled. I love the game now as much as I did in the 70s and 80s.

The NBA is super interesting and competitive these days. I am a bit afraid, though, that it will just turn into an endless 3-point fest

[MRP]

Why did you stop watching? I dropped out of the NBA for a while during the 1990s -- other than MJ, the game was just unwatchable. But I eventually gave it another try and the players today are SO skilled. I love the game now as much as I did in the 70s and 80s.

Because NBA basketball is just an ugly unwatchable game IMO. When the then face of the league (Shaq( either traveled or committed an offensive foul just about every time he touched the ball but it wasn't called because the rules applied differently depending if you were a star or a roster filler and the game being played on the floor had little to no resemblance to the rules of the game but the refs are directed not to enforce rules because it negatively impacts TV ratings and attendance, it just wasn't a game I cared to see any more. I'd rather watch HS basketball than the NBA, it's a better brand of hoops.

-M

[frankiedetroit]

The NBA is super interesting and competitive these days. I am a bit afraid, though, that it will just turn into an endless 3-point fest

I agree. Unless you have Steph Curry, you should be limiting your threes.

Because NBA basketball is just an ugly unwatchable game IMO. When the then face of the league (Shaq( either traveled or committed an offensive foul just about every time he touched the ball but it wasn't called because the rules applied differently depending if you were a star or a roster filler and the game being played on the floor had little to no resemblance to the rules of the game but the refs are directed not to enforce rules because it negatively impacts TV ratings and attendance, it just wasn't a game I cared to see any more. I'd rather watch HS basketball than the NBA, it's a better brand of hoops.

-M

Fair enough. But the Diesel has been retired for quite a while. Maybe give it another try

[hyped78]

Speaking of the NBA, one thing that perhaps has flown a bit under the radar is Joel Embiid getting French citizenship, even though he's never lived in France. You folks were talking about Shaq - well, Embiid is the current closest to Shaq in terms of dominating big men (not saying that he's at Shaq's level!) and he's decided to become French and, of course, will be eligible to represent France in international basketball.

This annoys me quite a lot. Embiid was born in Cameroon and moved to the US at age 16, having gone through high school and university in the US and he's now in the NBA. Why on earth would he decide to become French, a country he's never lived in and has no ties with?

I'm annoyed with him and annoyed with regulations actually allowing this.

[MRP]

I agree. Unless you have Steph Curry, you should be limiting your threes.



Fair enough. But the Diesel has been retired for quite a while. Maybe give it another try

Every time I try, I see some amazing athletes who are not very good basketball players playing what still has little resemblance to the game as it was designed and defined by the rules. It's the league mandate that offense and stars draw people, which is fine but the execution is inelegant-it would be as if the NFL decided the same then told the refs to never call holding on the offensive line so the QB has all the time he needs, call any sack as roughing the passer so the QBs can make plays, and call any defensive back who defends any pass for a penalty so all the passes can be completions because that's what audiences want. It's ugly and the offensive numbers and scoring are artificially inflated because of the way officials are directed to call the game. The great players of the NBA who set the standards by which others are measured-Dr. J, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. all excelled while they played the game by the rules. They learned how to play basketball and adjusted to the game as it was and still excelled. If you can't excel while playing by the rules, in my mind you are not very good at the game. That takes nothing away form the players being tremendous athletes, but they aren't good basketball players.

Now you can say the game has evolved, and that's fine, it happens but if it has it's become a game I have no interest in, and comparing what current players do in terms of records to what former greats ahve done is comparing apples to oranges, because it's a different game with different rules.

Sometimes game evolve for the better, that's not true for the NBA as far as I am concerned. Others are free to feel differently and enjoy what the like.



-M

[hyped78]

Every time I try, I see some amazing athletes who are not very good basketball players playing what still has little resemblance to the game as it was designed and defined by the rules. It's the league mandate that offense and stars draw people, which is fine but the execution is inelegant-it would be as if the NFL decided the same then told the refs to never call holding on the offensive line so the QB has all the time he needs, call any sack as roughing the passer so the QBs can make plays, and call any defensive back who defends any pass for a penalty so all the passes can be completions because that's what audiences want. It's ugly and the offensive numbers and scoring are artificially inflated because of the way officials are directed to call the game. The great players of the NBA who set the standards by which others are measured-Dr. J, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. all excelled while they played the game by the rules. They learned how to play basketball and adjusted to the game as it was and still excelled. If you can't excel while playing by the rules, in my mind you are not very good at the game. That takes nothing away form the players being tremendous athletes, but they aren't good basketball players.

Now you can say the game has evolved, and that's fine, it happens but if it has it's become a game I have no interest in, and comparing what current players do in terms of records to what former greats ahve done is comparing apples to oranges, because it's a different game with different rules.

Sometimes game evolve for the better, that's not true for the NBA as far as I am concerned. Others are free to feel differently and enjoy what the like.

I personally think the NBA has evolved into a better game. I wasn't watching during the 80s but started watching in the 90s all the way until now. The 90s were good but there were just too many wrestling matches and "ugly" games going on, instead of basketball, in my opinion. The game has, of course, been tweaked to boost offenses - I personally like that but I can see that others might not.

I understand where you're coming from and you obviously have a very valid opinion - and you're not alone in thinking the NBA used to be better.

As for the records, I totally agree. It makes little sense to meaningfully compare statistics and records across decades. It's a fun exercise in itself but it's not really something with robust methodology or rationale behind it.

[frankiedetroit]

I personally think the NBA has evolved into a better game. I wasn't watching during the 80s but started watching in the 90s all the way until now. The 90s were good but there were just too many wrestling matches and "ugly" games going on, instead of basketball, in my opinion. The game has, of course, been tweaked to boost offenses - I personally like that but I can see that others might not.

I understand where you're coming from and you obviously have a very valid opinion - and you're not alone in thinking the NBA used to be better.

As for the records, I totally agree. It makes little sense to meaningfully compare statistics and records across decades. It's a fun exercise in itself but it's not really something with robust methodology or rationale behind it.

I started watching basketball in the mid-70s. Dr. J is and remains my favorite player of all time. I nearly tackled him four years ago at All-Star to get his autograph. I didn't see Wilt, Russ, Oscar, etc., but respect what they did in their era of much faster pace, way more shots and WAY more misses. YouTube has lots of highlights, however, and I can see that Oscar couldn't (or at least didn't) really dribble with his left hand. Neither, for that matter, could Doc. Or Clyde Drexler. I also recently read Showtime, and it said Byron Scott couldn't go left. I'm a huge Lakers fan and don't remember that at all. But then, Magic had the ball.

Until this current era, I considered the 80s the pinnacle of the game -- though back then, people older than me would say Magic couldn't hold a candle to Oscar. I didn't believe it then and definitely don't today.

I love how the game has evolved. As you mention, the league certainly made rule changes to increase offensive flow. But after the slog the game had transformed into during the 90s and aughts (walk the ball up, isolation, dribble dribble dribble), it had to do something. I DON'T like all the 3-point shooting. It drives me mad when a player 7 feet away and with a look dishes out to someone 23-feet away. But overall, it's a much more entertaining game and the players are much better all-around than they used to be.

[hyped78]

I started watching basketball in the mid-70s. Dr. J is and remains my favorite player of all time. I nearly tackled him four years ago at All-Star to get his autograph. I didn't see Wilt, Russ, Oscar, etc., but respect what they did in their era of much faster pace, way more shots and WAY more misses. YouTube has lots of highlights, however, and I can see that Oscar couldn't (or at least didn't) really dribble with his left hand. Neither, for that matter, could Doc. Or Clyde Drexler. I also recently read Showtime, and it said Byron Scott couldn't go left. I'm a huge Lakers fan and don't remember that at all. But then, Magic had the ball.

Until this current era, I considered the 80s the pinnacle of the game -- though back then, people older than me would say Magic couldn't hold a candle to Oscar. I didn't believe it then and definitely don't today.

I love how the game has evolved. As you mention, the league certainly made rule changes to increase offensive flow. But after the slog the game had transformed into during the 90s and aughts (walk the ball up, isolation, dribble dribble dribble), it had to do something. I DON'T like all the 3-point shooting. It drives me mad when a player 7 feet away and with a look dishes out to someone 23-feet away. But overall, it's a much more entertaining game and the players are much better all-around than they used to be.

I totally agree. Btw, are you a Pistons fan? (frankiedetroit) Because I am!

[frankiedetroit]

I grew up in Detroit and my family are Pistons fans. I've been a Lakers fan since Magic went there from Michigan State, which caused great consternation in 1988, 1989 and 2004.

But I'm pulling for Cade Cunningham to lead the team back to respectability, and I hope Jaden Ivey becomes a superstar.