Re: Flyers radio

[Sawdalite]

Baseball... except for oddball rules and some tactical decisions... is a straight forward as a Sport can be. We have nine Players who work together individually in a basically easy to see somewhat slow action. The Players have both fielding stats and batting stats that aside from the Advanced Stats are easy to follow and to discuss... Also MLB is covered extensively and Trade talks and needs and desires can easily be discussed by fans.

Basketball is basically the same as above... with NCAA adding to the mix... Scoring is straightforward and talk of Playmaking Guards and Centers and passing is easy to do... so discussing Basketball on TalkRadio is easy... and when the Sixers are on an upswing of popularity, discussions are a snap. Add to that the Tanking and the Number One Selection and the large amount of popular NCAA Players in the mix... Plus we are talking a limited Roster... and the fact that the NBA is a Star Oriented League where one great player can dominate a Game and spark conversation... And even promising talent that are in the wings but unable to contribute at the present time are at times hot topics... Mix in the personalities of the Players and Basketball is easy to discuss.

Football is very much QB driven... and that position along with some other main positions can dictate SportsTalk by themselves. Add to that all the breakdowns of the grunt positions by the Pundits and Hosts and fans can find all sorts of things to discuss... Mix in NCAA like basketball and you have more topics to discuss... NFL also is Stats driven for discussion purposes; produce or fail... Plus there are the personalities and at times the off the norm news. The NFL is pretty much straight forward and the rules are not all that difficult, although often in flux... Basically the positions have set roles and tasks... the players work together. Also keeping in mind that Football is wildly popular and promoted by the stations and the Hosts.

... PLUS ALL OF THE ABOVE HAVE PRETTY BASIC BETTING ODDS AND ARE BET ON IN VARIOUS PLACES AND BY VARIOUS MEANS... STARTING AT SCHOOL AGE THROUGH THE PRINTED ILLEGAL POOLS... GAMBLING MAKES MANY PEOPLE CARE MORE ABOUT SPORTS.



Now we have hockey and their loyal but niche followers... I really don't think many people who do not follow the sport appreciate what is done off the score-sheet... Goals and Assists and Points along with GAA and Sv% are all that matters to many... work along the boards, puck possession, two way play, role players, yada, yada, yada are not easily understood by many... and are not easily discussed without Stats to cite... and if not followed can be frankly boring to many. We also have very little NCAA and Juniors following, so talk of who we want to draft or sign is limited to the few who bother to look it up... Hockey is a Team Sport where Star Players cannot dictate nor really dominate... Coaching can be vital also... Hockey education ended pretty much when Gene Hart left the Booth... and but for the Goons, personalities do not shine. It is a Game from outside the USA and has many Players from foreign counties... The Hockey Players are a different and more behind the scenes; they do not rile up people nor cause trouble... Discussing hockey on SportsRadio with uncaring Hosts who know little can be frustrating to say the least... and when started is often halted by sudden and final change of topics. Bandwagon hockey talk is all we have when the Flyers go far... You'll never hear proposed trades nor talk about who is available or who people want and what the Flyers need... Coaching changes and Front Office moves will cause blips... as will major trades and signings. Hockey is indeed difficult to follow in a manner that induces SportsTalk... and boring to all but those who are more than casual fans or bandwagon hoppers.

... HOCKEY IS NOT A GAMBLER'S SPORT AND THE GAMBLING ODDS ARE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND WHEN THEY ARE REVIEWED... NO MONEY ON A SPORT OFTEN CAUSES INDIFFERENCE FOR MANY.

JMO

 

[Sawdalite]

Yeah I dont think thats true either. Football, at a base level is the hardest to understand. One of the reasons why no one outside of North America really likes it. They don't understand it.

Down and distance, so many different penalties, rules, set plays, play stopping and starting, pre-snap infractions etc. And thats all before you get into strategy.

Soccer, basketball, hockey, baseball, football... easiest to hardest, at a base level, in my opinion.

Thats also close to the order of global popularity too.

Is that so?... In a nutshell, can you explain Soccer Offsides and Penalties and what each Card Color Means... Can you explain the Time of a Game and when and why it ends at what point? Can you explain the non Sudden Death OTs? Can you explain the Corner Kicks and Free Kicks and Penalty Kicks... when and why? If you can than you are in the front of the class and probably were raised with the Sport... Picking it up and/or casually watching it leaves people scratching their heads.

Soccer Rules IMO are the hardest to understand for all who are not ardent followers who have followed for a long time, or grew up with it... in other words, we Americans.

 

[JWEKD]

The words in my opinion should be all that needs to be re-said. But soccer is the easiest sport to understand and learn and you basically listed all of the scenarios in soccer in one paragraph. Learn the outcome and reasoning behind the 10 or so things you listed, and you know soccer at a base level.

The other sports have more going on for a casual observer to understand.

 

[Sawdalite]

The words in my opinion should be all that needs to be re-said. But soccer is the easiest sport to understand and learn and you basically listed all of the scenarios in soccer in one paragraph. Learn the outcome and reasoning behind the 10 or so things you listed, and you know soccer at a base level.

The other sports have more going on for a casual observer to understand.

This all puts me in mind of the famous Bull Durham quote about baseball:

Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: A good friend of mine used to say, "This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains." Think about that for a while.

 

[Rich Nixon]

The words in my opinion should be all that needs to be re-said. But soccer is the easiest sport to understand and learn and you basically listed all of the scenarios in soccer in one paragraph. Learn the outcome and reasoning behind the 10 or so things you listed, and you know soccer at a base level.

The other sports have more going on for a casual observer to understand.

Precisely. Any game where the two teams have similar general personnel on the surface at one time and typically have equal opportunity to go back and forth and score is pretty simple. Hockey, soccer, basketball. It's when you have two distinct roles/modes for each team and they can only be one thing at a time, and every sequence is structured from a set beginning and ending point...that's confusing. Baseball, football.

Cards in soccer? Really? Yellow-you did a bad thing. Red, you did a really bad thing and can't play anymore. Two yellows equals one red. Cards explained.

Now, tell me the specific scenario in which you are and aren't allowed to block a guy below the knees in football. Oh, by the way, what's an ineligible receiver? Ok, now let's talk baseball and the infield fly rule. Games like hockey don't have rules that bizarre and specific.

 

[Rebels57]

Precisely. Any game where the two teams have similar general personnel on the surface at one time and typically have equal opportunity to go back and forth and score is pretty simple. Hockey, soccer, basketball. It's when you have two distinct roles/modes for each team and they can only be one thing at a time, and every sequence is structured from a set beginning and ending point...that's confusing. Baseball, football.

Cards in soccer? Really? Yellow-you did a bad thing. Red, you did a really bad thing and can't play anymore. Two yellows equals one red. Cards explained.

Now, tell me the specific scenario in which you are and aren't allowed to block a guy below the knees in football. Oh, by the way, what's an ineligible receiver? Ok, now let's talk baseball and the infield fly rule. Games like hockey don't have rules that bizarre and specific.

Have you ever even peeked at the NHL rule book? There are like 13 sections on Faceoffs alone.

This entire argument about which sport has the most nuanced rules is pointless anyway. Its about which game has a more understandabe overall gameplay for a common viewer..and that obviously is not hockey.

 

[Rich Nixon]

Have you ever even peeked at the NHL rule book? There are like 13 sections on Faceoffs alone.

This entire argument about which sport has the most nuanced rules is pointless anyway. Its about which game has a more understandabe overall gameplay for a common viewer..and that obviously is not hockey.

Of course there are nuances to everything, but at the end of the day the general understandability of a sport is determined by its structure and flow, and that's the argument I am making. I honestly did not think it would be this contentious. Hockey is not hard to understand. Now, if you wanted to claime the speed made it harder to follow casually, you'd probably be right. 85% of a football broadcast is replays or people milling around. Hockey, you zone out for a minute or two and you will miss huge developments in the game within the game within the game.

But yeah, didn't expect this to be a big thing. But I find it insane that some hockey fans believe that our game is somehow this cypher that the general public can't comprehend. It's not that, they're just underexposed. The sport itself is straightforward.

 

[Sawdalite]

Precisely. Any game where the two teams have similar general personnel on the surface at one time and typically have equal opportunity to go back and forth and score is pretty simple. Hockey, soccer, basketball. It's when you have two distinct roles/modes for each team and they can only be one thing at a time, and every sequence is structured from a set beginning and ending point...that's confusing. Baseball, football.

Cards in soccer? Really? Yellow-you did a bad thing. Red, you did a really bad thing and can't play anymore. Two yellows equals one red. Cards explained.

Now, tell me the specific scenario in which you are and aren't allowed to block a guy below the knees in football. Oh, by the way, what's an ineligible receiver? Ok, now let's talk baseball and the infield fly rule. Games like hockey don't have rules that bizarre and specific.

Really?... Really????? So then please tell me how blocking rules in the NFL is so difficult to understand yet blocking is so cut and dry easy in the NHL.


Listen, guys, there are rules in all Sports that must be learned... it is understanding the plays within the Rules that make truly understanding a Sport so difficult... Everybody can learn about dropping a ball before making a football move... try understanding how to play away from the Puck... try to explain and understand seeing the entire Ice and anticipating where a player will be skating at high speed, compared to running a Route or driving the Lane... or reading a base runner. They all have their intricacies... but IMHO explaining and understanding Ice Hockey as a whole is more difficult to learn and understand than other Sports that have more regimented and structured basics that are followed more or less consistently... You have a Play or have an at bat and then stop and do it again in some manner, but in Hockey there is a constant flow that is back and forth that changes in a blink of an eye... and there is no time to think,merely to react...and there are line changes on the fly... try that with Football, Baseball or Basketball.

No Sport is a no brainer to understand and play without study and time... but Hockey takes longer to fully comprehend... I really don't see how this is not accepted among a Group like in here who understand all this clearly. I honestly don't.

That said, I don't think we are going to change anyone's minds on this... it is what it is here.

 

[JWEKD]

This all started when talking on a base level. How long after sitting down to watch, can a newbie understand what's going on? Everyone has their own opinion on that.

Either way, Philly sports talk sucks. Podcasts are all we got.

 

[Sawdalite]

This all started when talking on a base level. How long after sitting down to watch, can a newbie understand what's going on? Everyone has their own opinion on that.

Either way, Philly sports talk sucks. Podcasts are all we got.

Agreed... Philly SportsRadio sucks big time... that is, of course, unless you get your rocks off listening to 365/24/7 Eagles Bovine Defecation.

 

[Mylec 22]

Although I the WIP and The Fan don't really reflect the people of the city, because I bet there are lots of people who want to hear hockey talk, I still think one of the main issues for local radio not talking Flyers hockey is the demographic hasn't transitioned enough to mainly the people who grew up with the Flyers yet. Still a lot of guys in their late 50s and older who only want the other three. There will probably be a gradual transition in the not-too-distant future. Doesn't help that many of the on-air personalities like Rob Charry (who looks like he wreaks of Pall Mall and Schlitz) seems to have disdain for the Flyers and hockey in general.