Blues Forum Lounge (Home of All Things OT) - Part 2020

[ScratchCatFever]

I came back this last time with a couple things to accomplish here. Having done those, today feels like a good time to sign off for good.

Ted Hoffman Sr., 83, passed away this morning. He had suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy for several years, which robbed him of his ability to speak and eventually his ability to communicate and express emotions.

His passing, while still unexpected - because, is any death truly really expected? - was remarkably peaceful, as he simply drifted off quietly with a gentle last breath. It was as perfect as I and the rest of my siblings could have hoped for, and certainly much better than what any of us had expected.

If you'd like to do something in memory of him, go out in the next few days and do something nice for a stranger, especially someone who truly needs help or someone who isn't expecting help, like buy a meal for them. It's the kind of thing my dad would have done, and knowing someone had done that would have made him smile.

Condolences, friend.

 

[Memento]

Went to a regional boccia (sport for disabled people) tournament and took home gold! I dedicated it to my mom, who drove me there, whose birthday was yesterday, when Mother's Day is coming. I swore I'd win gold for a birthday/Mothers's Day present (as I am broke), and I'm on cloud nine right now.

 

[Blueston]

Went to a regional boccia (sport for disabled people) tournament and took home gold! I dedicated it to my mom, who drove me there, whose birthday was yesterday, when Mother's Day is coming. I swore I'd win gold for a birthday/Mothers's Day present (as I am broke), and I'm on cloud nine right now.

That is fantastic! Congratulations. Happy for you.

 

[bluesXwinXtheXcup]

Went to a regional boccia (sport for disabled people) tournament and took home gold! I dedicated it to my mom, who drove me there, whose birthday was yesterday, when Mother's Day is coming. I swore I'd win gold for a birthday/Mothers's Day present (as I am broke), and I'm on cloud nine right now.

My father-in-law is very good at lawn balls in Blackman's Bay, Tasmania, Australia.

Is that the same thing?

My parent's honeymoon was in Little Dick's Bay in the Caribbean lol

 

[Blueston]

My father-in-law is very good at lawn balls in Blackman's Bay, Tasmania, Australia.

Is that the same thing?

My parent's honeymoon was in Little Dick's Bay in the Caribbean lol

Just so I understand, your FIL has good balls but your dad has a little dick?

 

[Memento]

My father-in-law is very good at lawn balls in Blackman's Bay, Tasmania, Australia.

Is that the same thing?

My parent's honeymoon was in Little Dick's Bay in the Caribbean lol

Boccia is basically bocce, except with wider and shorter courts. One white ball, six red balls vs. six blue balls. The goal is to get your color closest to the white ball. Whomever has the most points after four turns wins the match.

 

[bluesXwinXtheXcup]

Boccia is basically bocce, except with wider and shorter courts. One white ball, six red balls vs. six blue balls. The goal is to get your color closest to the white ball. Whomever has the most points after four turns wins the match.

Yeah so that's popular with many countries

You are world famous!

I appreciate you

 

[bluesXwinXtheXcup]

Just so I understand, your FIL has good balls but your dad has a little dick?

Funny story:

I was an E-6 in QA in the military, so I read all incoming message traffic. I saw on the EDVR (Enlisted Distribution Verification Report) that we had a new guy coming. His name was...

Richard Willy Johnson

So I met him when he checked in.

I felt like I was in charge of the division, so I didn't approach him lightly. He was quick to respond, "My parents named me that bc born with a 3 inch dick. Unfortunately it never grew."

The story of Dick Willy Johnson

 

[Celtic Note]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

 

[542365]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

I haven’t watched an nfl game since the Rams left and have never really been a basketball fan, but I find myself watching a lot of niche sports along with the nhl. I’ve always loved watching volleyball, within the past couple of years I’ve started watching disc golf as I’ve grown to love the sport, I watch bowling when it’s on etc. I don’t know that my total time watching sports has changed, but the sports I’m watching definitely have.

 

[Memento]

Still watch the Rams, but I had no time for mock drafts in football (which is shocking, considering I loved making them for football - I’m going to wait for the end of the playoffs for my Blues mock draft); I was busy just writing stuff. Cardinals, I’ll watch highlights, but that’s about it. Blues are a team I love to watch, but I just…well, considering all of my sports teams lost a lot, it was hard sledding.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

I feel mostly the same.

Football is unwatchable. Basketball is worse. Baseball is boring. And if I dismiss the NHL's corruption, I watch ice hockey. But how interested can I be when I believe it is rigged?

Very distasteful and discouraging, but not surprised.

 

[Majorityof1]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

I am the same. I used to watch all 4 sports and have dwindled down to hockey with the very occasional check in on basketball and football. For me, all my other hobbies just get in the way. There is just a growing amount of entertainment content readily available and cheaper than ever.

Like movies or TV? For X dollars a month you can have a giant library of content available to stream whenever you want on Netflix/amazon/apple tv/disney+ etc.. Like video games? You can also pay $Y a month for a giant library of games. But why bother, there are dozens of good games for free, and the goal of these games is to provide you endless content so you never need play another game again. Like to read? My phone has a backlog of 50+ books I have bought for kindle for like $5 or less. You can also get subscriptions to kindle unlimited/audible/conixology etc. Even sports, for a small fee you can watch every hockey game. I never watched every Blues game until streaming. I'd be busy, or it wouldn't be aired. But now I can watch every game for every team in the league if I wanted, when I wanted.

There is just too much available to consume in terms of media, and its too easy and relatively cheap to consume. But people's time is finite, so things get squeezed out. For some, it isn't sports, its other things. But something has to give.

 

[Xanadude]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

TBH I'm not really souring on sports outside of three-true-outcomes baseball, which is boring.

In general, I've followed and still follow pretty much any STL team. My dad raised me a Cards fan so that's always something I keep an eye on, even if they are terrible like they are now. I don't watch every game but I'll throw it on as background and make it to a handful of games per year.

Blues and hockey have always been my favorite. I catch every game I can and will put games on as background even if it's not the Blues. I make it a point to catch game 7s too.

I love soccer as a combo of my two favorites, as it relaxes me like Baseball (regular season, that is) but has the back and forth crescendoing of the goal like hockey. I've been obsessed with SC.

Football is love or hate. When the Rams were good and for the Battlehawks, I've gone all out for games.

Basketball I've just never cared about. Never had a team, never bothered to learn the ins and outs.

Individual sports like Racing and Golf I also never got into. Dad worked at a golf course growing up so I have a pretty good animus towards golfers anyway.

I game and read and watch sports in my solitary free time. I've never been big on movies or TV though I appreciate both art forms. I don't doubt that people are burnt-out, however. Sports is the 24/7 background hum of our society.

 

[The Note]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

I love watching/following sports. Admittedly, I have spent less time watching the Blues this past year or so, but that had a lot to do with the nature of my job, moving back to KC from Boston, getting married, and not wanting to pay extra to stream the games, etc. Plus, frankly, even back before the wheels fell off I didn't find this Blues team overly compelling. But I still would read the coverage, visit NST, and check in here. I'd catch a nationally televised game here or there and have watched a ton of the playoffs so far. I'm a huge football fan and will watch as much college and NFL as I am able to in a given week. I know a lot of people soured on the NFL - particularly St. Louisans - but it's probably the sport I follow most closely at this point. My grandfather gave up on STL football after the Cardinals left town and, originally being from the area, reverted back to the Chiefs. While my dad hated/hates the Chiefs, I would watch the Chiefs with my grandpa as much as we could and I became a fan watching Tony Gonzalez and Priest Holmes back in the day as a kid. I thought the way the Rams left town and knifed the city on the way out was despicable, but from a fandom perspective it didn't impact much. I also am a huge EPL fan and will watch soccer if I'm able. Baseball I struggle to watch on TV for sure and the Cardinals shtick these past 5 or so years has worn thin so I'm much less invested in them. Basketball exists in March Madness and I'll occasionally watch a close 4th quarter in the NBA playoffs, but that's about it. Right now is probably one of the times of year I watch the most live sports during the NHL and NBA playoffs and the EPL/ Champions League winding down, just to get my fill before we are left only to baseball.

 

[joe galiba]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

I think some of this is just life, if you were to climb a 14,000 foot mountain the first time will be different than the 25th time, still awesome but at the same time not quite the same

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

My father-in-law is very good at lawn balls in Blackman's Bay, Tasmania, Australia.

Is that the same thing?

My parent's honeymoon was in Little Dick's Bay in the Caribbean lol

I bet your mom was disappointed.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

Moving to Eastern time zone was a lot bigger issue than I expected. But I also started going to bed an hour earlier, so 2 hours relative to the game times.

I find that the older I get, the more conscious I am about how I’m spending the time I have left. I also watched less Blues games. This is the first season since EJ’s rookie year that I didn’t watch every game. Part of it was also the diaspora of the games onto the many different carriers. In the old days, I had Directv and DVRd them all. Now I stream on various places, but sometimes it’s just too much work to figure out where I’ll find it.

Spending more time hiking, cooking and less TV altogether. My engagement on this site is a fraction of what it was. I can’t say it was a deliberate choice, but I don’t regret it. Overall satisfaction with life has been higher.

I still plan to follow the Blues. I still enjoy hockey. I just happen to enjoy a lot of different things. Since I moved close to a NASCAR track, I’ve started following Motorsport more closely. I always followed Formula 1, but now I’ve added some stock cars.

 

[BrokenFace]

I am curious how people feel about sports in general. I used to be a die hard cards and Blues fan while also following football and basketball. As time went along, basketball fell off. Then football. I don’t really watch the Cardinals anymore, but stat watch. And the real shock is that this year I have watched the fewest Blues games than I ever remember. I literally watched every game the year we tanked for EJ. The decline in watching the Blue this year is significantly tied to having a newborn within the past year who doesn’t sleep. But, overall I have grown apathetic to sports generally speaking.

Anyone else feel the same? I have heard it a growing trend.

Football and Basketball got too focused on flash and showboating. Baseball has ruined the game with all power and no substance. Hockey is turning more finesse. I don’t really see any of those as positives.

Less interested overall in sports, but I enjoy them still.

NHL - I admit my interest in hockey was waning from the Blues cup drought. Was questioning why I followed the team so closely when they hadn't delivered a cup for my parents who had liked them since they were kids. Then they pulled it off. Since then I've been engaged, but I've also been of the opinion that we were at the end of a window and would need to retool, so not as engaged as I was from around 2008 - 17. Still thought they could go all the way these last few seasons, but this season didn't shock me. It was coming. I'm looking forward to the next core, whatever it looks like.

MLB - More of a Cardinals fan than a baseball fan, but I enjoy the sport. My nephew is obsessed with baseball so I have to pay some attention to the league as a whole. I've been unenthusiastic about how the Cardinals seemed to be coasting off of the years they were contenders from 2011 - 2016. I kept waiting for the big FA signing or trade to get them into that top tier of teams, but after enough seasons of seeing their approach with payroll, I wasn't getting my hopes up anymore.

NFL - was a Rams fan and didn't care about the league as a whole because we would be out of playoff contention so early each year. Started following the league more once I started playing fantasy football in 2011, now that's the only reason I pay attention to the NFL. If fantasy football disappeared, I wouldn't care about the NFL.

NBA - No STL team so I never got too into it, but I'll follow certain players or the playoffs some seasons. I still find it funny how much LeBron gets criticized. The dude is, at worst, the 3rd best player of all time, got drafted to a garbage franchise, returned to that franchise to finally win them a championship, but somehow he's a scrub.

Soccer - been following European leagues for almost 15 years. Started following Liverpool about a decade ago. Lately I've cared less because all the big leagues are decided by whichever team has the most money. Pep is an outstanding manager, but the fact is he has never once overachieved with any of his teams. I'm totally on the City SC bandwagon, but I'm usually out with friends on Saturday evenings so I don't get to watch closely that often.

Never got into individual sports. Respect them and I can enjoy the big moments and the top athletes, but I don't follow any of them.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Moving to Eastern time zone was a lot bigger issue than I expected.

Oh, I know! With that hanging circus elephant and all. Jeez!

 

[pseudoswede]

Mountain Time Zone is the perfect time zone for watching US sports. Not too early and, unless there are multiple OTs, games end by 11pm at the very latest.

With that said, I'm usually too busy doing stuff with/for my kids (like shuttling one to/from hockey practice or helping with chemistry/biology homework) to actually sit down to watch. In the spring/summer/fall, I usually play in a golf league or two, which takes up a lot of my weekend--which means spending time with my wife during the week (we do play in a couples golf league on Saturday nights, and I cherish that).

I stopped watching golf on TV about a decade ago--I'd rather just play when I can.

Growing up in Kentucky, college basketball was king, but I now find it to be just a glorified minor league for the NBA. I also find the NBA playing style boring. I've never liked college football. I'm also more of a stat watcher for the Cardinals and Braves; that said, if you haven't been to an MLB game this year, you should give it a try. The pitch clock is a game-changer. I went to a Rockies game with my company, and we were at a bar outside Coors Field having post-game drinks 2.5 hours after first pitch. I'm a long suffering Bears fan, and I find NFL games boring in general. I did live in the STL during The Greatest Show on Turf, and that was an absolute blast. During the Super Bowl parade, I stood on a Post-Dispatch vending box for eight hour.

The only two sports I truly follow now are NHL and Formula 1. I willingly wake up at 6am on Sundays to watch the race live or slightly DVR'd (when races are in Europe/Middle East)--which then gives me time to do things the rest of the day. I appreciate ESPN+ to let me watch most games--and I'm not subject to Blues blackout restrictions unless they're playing the Avs. I only wish YouTube TV offered the NHL Network. If there was a legal way for me to stream Swedish Hockey League games from the US, I would absolutely do it. I'm also a sucker for watching curling, bobsledding, luge/skeleton, and World Cup skiing when I can.

One of my kids is off to college this fall, and my youngest is license-eligible late this summer, but motivation is low. I basically want her to get her license so she can drive herself to/from hockey practice. Maybe then I'll have time to watch more sports...

 

[bluesXwinXtheXcup]

My bird just died

I know some people think it's just a bird, but I've had Little Elvis for a long time.

People at work asked why there was no longer a bird chirping when I was on conference calls. That's when I knew it wasn't long. He died in my wife's hand

 

[ChicagoBlues]

It is important to never use black pepper when making lentil soup. Black pepper no no.

 

[joe galiba]

Moving to Eastern time zone was a lot bigger issue than I expected. But I also started going to bed an hour earlier, so 2 hours relative to the game times.

I find that the older I get, the more conscious I am about how I’m spending the time I have left. I also watched less Blues games. This is the first season since EJ’s rookie year that I didn’t watch every game. Part of it was also the diaspora of the games onto the many different carriers. In the old days, I had Directv and DVRd them all. Now I stream on various places, but sometimes it’s just too much work to figure out where I’ll find it.

Spending more time hiking, cooking and less TV altogether. My engagement on this site is a fraction of what it was. I can’t say it was a deliberate choice, but I don’t regret it. Overall satisfaction with life has been higher.

I still plan to follow the Blues. I still enjoy hockey. I just happen to enjoy a lot of different things. Since I moved close to a NASCAR track, I’ve started following Motorsport more closely. I always followed Formula 1, but now I’ve added some stock cars.

so do I remember right, are you in Tennessee now?

 

[stl76]

Mountain Time Zone is the perfect time zone for watching US sports. Not too early and, unless there are multiple OTs, games end by 11pm at the very latest.

With that said, I'm usually too busy doing stuff with/for my kids (like shuttling one to/from hockey practice or helping with chemistry/biology homework) to actually sit down to watch. In the spring/summer/fall, I usually play in a golf league or two, which takes up a lot of my weekend--which means spending time with my wife during the week (we do play in a couples golf league on Saturday nights, and I cherish that).

I stopped watching golf on TV about a decade ago--I'd rather just play when I can.

Growing up in Kentucky, college basketball was king, but I now find it to be just a glorified minor league for the NBA. I also find the NBA playing style boring. I've never liked college football. I'm also more of a stat watcher for the Cardinals and Braves; that said, if you haven't been to an MLB game this year, you should give it a try. The pitch clock is a game-changer. I went to a Rockies game with my company, and we were at a bar outside Coors Field having post-game drinks 2.5 hours after first pitch. I'm a long suffering Bears fan, and I find NFL games boring in general. I did live in the STL during The Greatest Show on Turf, and that was an absolute blast. During the Super Bowl parade, I stood on a Post-Dispatch vending box for eight hour.

The only two sports I truly follow now are NHL and Formula 1. I willingly wake up at 6am on Sundays to watch the race live or slightly DVR'd (when races are in Europe/Middle East)--which then gives me time to do things the rest of the day. I appreciate ESPN+ to let me watch most games--and I'm not subject to Blues blackout restrictions unless they're playing the Avs. I only wish YouTube TV offered the NHL Network. If there was a legal way for me to stream Swedish Hockey League games from the US, I would absolutely do it. I'm also a sucker for watching curling, bobsledding, luge/skeleton, and World Cup skiing when I can.

One of my kids is off to college this fall, and my youngest is license-eligible late this summer, but motivation is low. I basically want her to get her license so she can drive herself to/from hockey practice. Maybe then I'll have time to watch more sports...

Agreed, mountain time zone is great for watching sports. So is spending the money on a VPN subscription for watching sports without blackout restrictions (and just for internet browsing in general…)