I cannot argue TV ratings head-to-head, mainly due to the fact that soccer is normally only broadcast on Hispanic stations. But if you compare butts in the seats on a per-game basis vis-a-vis hockey and MLS games, you will see the numbers are not only close across the board, but in heavily Hispanic areas soccer kicks the puck out of hockey. Of course, this is in good part due to the greater size of many outdoor venues as opposed to indoor rinks, but it does tend to lend some slight support to my contention . . . even if it does speak Spanglish. :-)
[Reply]

Lace 'em up and play the game, then tell me how ya feel. :-)
[Reply]

I know exactly how I'd feel . . . sore and foolish. :-)
[Reply]

They don't get any more badass than hockey players.
I watched the game when Mario came back from his first chemo and played that night. He actually skated better that night than he had in a week or two. That poor bastard played through more injury than I could even imagine. You could kill him and he'd be on the ice that night.

Our announcer, Tom Lange, got mugged before a game one afternoon. He got all his teeth kicked in and half his face tore off. He called the game that night. Never missed a minute of work.
That's how badass the boys from the Burgh are. :-)

I gotta give it up for Malarchuk. That's a hockey player right there, friends. :-)
[Reply]

That was not the point of my post. Your post stated hockey draws flies. I was showing that you were speaking from a place of no knowledge given the attendance %. I was only showing your statement was false based on no true knowledge of attendance numbers. And that almost all teams draw at 90% or above.

I think most people like the hockey playoff system do to the passion and upsets.

As to your statement regarding games meaning more many experts have discussed the baseball season could be easily compressed, but it wont be because of the void that would be left in the US sporting calendar. The American culture has the main three/four that overlap. If baseball season was shortened as it easily could be do to the number of repeatative meaningless games the sporting calendar would have have a large gap and the American culture would not do well with that. The argument the games are so meaningful doesnt hold weight when you look out how much repetition there is and the true reason of why the season is so long. Its the space filler what would sports fans do without it.

Like I said I like both. I have played both. Hockey as an adult baseball through HS and my son will play both growing up. The games are very different I love both, but I can say I have never fallen asleep watching a hockey game. I dont want to touch how many times I have spoken to fans of football and baseball and heard they are confused by the game of hockey. :-)
[Reply]

Well, I've never heard anybody say that they went to a fight and a baseball game broke out. :-)


Come to think of it, there's another parallel between hockey and soccer. :-)
[Reply]

Just for you Tom because its Soupy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMDKX...ube_gdata_play

Maybe unconscious provided you could actually skate with the puck. Not saying you of course, but funny how many people cant even skate but dont respect the game. :-)
[Reply]

Ryan Smyth is missing just like his teeth were in the '06 playoffs. :-)
[Reply]

I would never deign denigrate the skill set needed to have success on the ice. Yet it can also be said that too many seem to think they could hit a curveball. I've consistently maintained that baseball is the only game where you can fail 7 times out of 10, and if you can manage to do it long enough you end up in the Hall Of Fame. So what's the diff?

As always, just my :-) , and still worth every penny. :-)
[Reply]

If we're simply talking skill to succeed, I'd argue golf is the most difficult sport in the world to master. So subtle is the difference in swing between being out of bounds to being in the middle of the fairway. Putting is an art in iself.

The best player to date, Jack Nicklaus, played 154 consecutive majors for which he was eligible, from the 1957 U.S. Open to the 1998 U.S. Open and won 18 of them. That's 11.6% or 0.116.
[Reply]

Again my whole interchange with you has been regarding statements you made which I saw as wrong.
First the drawing flies comments which was disproved. Then the importance of meaningless repetitive games which has more to do with the gap that would be left in the US sports calendar giving Americans nothing to do for months.

Again I love both games and have played both games. As a kid in my teens I still remember when guys started hitting mid 70s and in the end some guys would get near 80 or hit low 80. I remember the fear in the head. I jumped out on a few curves. One kids inparticular was evil and I never hit it and ducked even when I knew it was coming.

I thought I was coordinated and athletic till I started playing hockey. Then I realized I had to not even have to think about skating to play the game at even a decent level. Hockey requires your brain to skate, handle a puck, watch for teamates, and watch for opponents all at the exact same time. You are doing all this in a fluid enviornment where everyone is constantly moving. From a sensory processing level they are not close. Football is closer in physicality and processing. While hitting a cureball or a fastball is hard and psychologically difficult I from personal experience dont think its as difficult. Hitting is coordination, guess, and timing.

I love both games though and so does my son. Funny.
[Reply]

May 24, 2010

In the wake of Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith's puck-to-the-mouth toothsplosion, Chicago area dentists predict the city's newest sports hero will have a long road ahead before he gets his smile back.

In Sunday night's game, Keith lost seven teeth after being whacked by a flying puck, but returned swiftly to help his team earn a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Image
[Reply]

Don't forget Stamkos during the Eastern conference finals. Took a slapshot to the face and returned 5 minutes later to play the rest of the game....badass!
[Reply]

A mere flesh wound.
[Reply]

But then they turned him into a newt!



He got better....
[Reply]

Professional Cyclists are the only guys who can hang with hockey players in toughness and stamina.
[Reply]

I think anyone who argues that hockey players aren't tough is just being silly, but I think most in this thread aren't giving players from other sports enough credit.

I believe Aaron Rodgers suffered 3 concussions this year and won the superbowl.
Kirk Gibsons home run in 88
and Curt Shilling with his bloody sock are all pretty gritty performances.

I also feel the hockey fans here have pretty selective memories.
No one mentioned when Manny Legace missed time after tripping on a rug on the ice,
or when Joe Sakic tried to give a hand job to his snowblower. :-)
[Reply]