The other sports thread

[Night Train]

 Major sports leagues selling out to the gambling dollar was a mistake. Now involvement of players, refs, major gamblers in relation to many post game results will always be questioned.  

[mjd1001]

19 minutes ago, Night Train said:

 Major sports leagues selling out to the gambling dollar was a mistake. Now involvement of players, refs, major gamblers in relation to many post game results will always be questioned.  

I agree, but I don't think they care.  As long as the dollars keep coming in (and gambling appears to be adding a LOT of dollars), and the owners aren't arrested and going to jail, I don't think most of them care at all about ethics, what is right or wrong, the integrity of the sport.  

Owners want to make money first, win second (for bragging rights over the other billionair owners). For the majority of them I don't think they care how they do either of those.

[Buffalo Super Fan]

14 hours ago, Night Train said:

 Major sports leagues selling out to the gambling dollar was a mistake. Now involvement of players, refs, major gamblers in relation to many post game results will always be questioned.  

I don’t know it depends how you look at it. Without casino gambling the Buffalo Bills wouldn’t be getting that new Bills stadium. You realize the Senaca casino settlement with New York State over taxes is what New York State gave over $500 million plus dollars towards funding the new Bills stadium. No sports gambling no new Bills stadium. And don’t kid yourself it went into Terry Pegula’s stadium which goes into his pocket without it the Bills would be moved. Where do you think when the state gets around to renovating Key Bank Center that the state are getting that money? Most likely gambling tax money from Western New York. I could see the Senacas as one of many possible owners Buffalo Sabres/Buffalo Bandits owners at some point. Terry Pegula is 73 years old he isn’t going to be around forever and now with Kim Pegula not a possiblity of running the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres anymore? No way the 5 Pegula children between two wives are going to agree on anything after Terry Pegula see what happened to the Philadelphia Athletics after Connie Mack passed away. So both the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres will be sold at some point.

I don’t think the Buffalo Bills are save able. Most think it’s the Buffalo Sabres leaving because the Sabres suck and the Bills are winning. But the NFL is very expensive and PSL’s are going to be the end of the Bills in Buffalo after the 15 year ironclad part of the new Bills stadium lease is up long term again hope I am wrong. Selling 62,000 PSL’s is a heavy lift for Buffalo and you can’t really make it work because of the lack of enough big corporations in Buffalo compared to a San Diego or even Oakland. I think at some point when the Bills are sold by the Pegula children they will be moved after the 15 year guarantee is up. The Buffalo Sabres have year round potential with an arena in the heart of downtown Buffalo. Plus the business model is different it requires less corporate boxes to sell for the Buffalo Sabres compared to the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo just doesn’t have the business model the NFL is moving forward with which is unfortunate. I hope I am wrong in my opinion. Go Bills! Go Sabres! Let’s Go Buffalo 

Edited March 28 by Buffalo Super Fan

[Thorner]

Blue Jays are back 

[Thorner]

Breath of fresh air, indeed. 

1-0.

[Doohicksie]

The Rangers won their first game in defense of the World Series championship.

They never led during the game, and fell behind 3-2 on this missed call by the ump, when he called a wild pitch instead of a foul tip.  Granted, Heim shouldn't have stood there yammerin' with the umpire but it was still a bad call.

The Rangers tied it up in the bottom of the 9th on a very rare pinch hit home run by Travis Jankowski.

Heim made amends in the 10th by driving in the winning run.

 

Edited March 29 by Doohickie

[JujuFish]

8-2 starts and leading the league in run differential? Didn't expect that start for Cleveland. I will enjoy it while it lasts.

[Thorner]

Blue Jays really struggling to start off..who would have thought the run-it-back, rely exclusively on internal improvement from everyone all at once strategy instituted during the offseason could backfire??

- - - 

It’s funny cause just now Buck Martinez picked a good time to explain the Dodgers are so successful specifically because they block all the prospects with competent roster players 😭 

Edited April 27 by Thorny

[Night Train]

RIP Willie Mays. I'm old enough to remember seeing him play.  Probably the most talented player in history. Class act.  

[Porous Five Hole]

Jessie is back and healthy. And just won her fifth tourney (first ever on grass). nice lead-in to Wimbledon starting next week  

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/40413397/pegula-tops-gauff-semis-kalinskaya-final-berlin-title

 

She will also be repping Team USA at the Olympics this summer.

[JustOneParade]

On 6/19/2024 at 6:52 AM, Night Train said:

RIP Willie Mays. I'm old enough to remember seeing him play.  Probably the most talented player in history. Class act.  

Late to this but it saddened me. He is why I became a SF Giants fan. As a Little Leaguer I was watching the MLB Game of the Week one Saturday afternoon. The Giants were playing and my Dad told me “watch number 24”. Willie had a great game and I was hooked. (Side note: when the Giants signed Barry Bonds and got rid of Will Clark and Matt Williams the team was then dead to me).

[French Collection]

Scottie Scheffler wins again on the PGA Tour. This is his sixth win this season. He is the first player to win 6 tournaments before July since Arnold Palmer in 1962.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

When is Rogers going to fire every single Blue Jay from the GM down to the bat boy / girl and everyone in between ?????

[Thorner]

22 hours ago, French Collection said:

Scottie Scheffler wins again on the PGA Tour. This is his sixth win this season. He is the first player to win 6 tournaments before July since Arnold Palmer in 1962.

Greatest run of all time in golf? 

[shrader]

I'm always amazed at just how stupid sports talk radio can be, in this case, espn.  I've caught some of the whining about Lebron James and his kid lately.  When met with the complaints about how the kid never would have been drafted if he wasn't Lebron's son, the hosts are programmed to respond with "no one would even be talking about this draft pick if he wasn't Lebron's son".  So in other words, they are countering the complaint with the same exact thing.

"Two plus two isn't four.  Two plus two is four."

[French Collection]

The Open Championship starts tomorrow, the year’s last Major. Royal Troon is the venue.

[Thorner]

9 hours ago, French Collection said:

The Open Championship starts tomorrow, the year’s last Major. Royal Troon is the venue.

I preferred when PGA was last 

For whatever reason it’s tough getting used to the Open being last and majors done at like the midway point of the summer 

[French Collection]

On 7/17/2024 at 5:37 PM, Thorny said:

I preferred when PGA was last 

For whatever reason it’s tough getting used to the Open being last and majors done at like the midway point of the summer 

Yeah, it seems like summer has just started.

I love the Open, toques in July, sideways rain and pot bunkers.

[Night Train]

this Open has one of the hardest back 9's I've ever seen.  Watching many implode. 

[French Collection]

56 minutes ago, Night Train said:

this Open has one of the hardest back 9's I've ever seen.  Watching many implode. 

The weather is the biggest factor. Players were getting lots of birdies early today when there was no wind. It seems to turn on a dime.

[Night Train]

Olympics...anyone watching ? 

I've watched archery, swimming, ping pong, badminton, boxing.. Fios is giving me a couple extra Olympic channels...waiting for track and more boxing..

[French Collection]

2 hours ago, Night Train said:

Olympics...anyone watching ? 

I've watched archery, swimming, ping pong, badminton, boxing.. Fios is giving me a couple extra Olympic channels...waiting for track and more boxing..

Golf only, so far.

[Wyldnwoody44]

I know it's "the Olympics" but man, there are some really obscure sports out there. I don't mind watching hockey and some cool skiing stuff in the winter Olympics, but the summer games just don't do it for me. 

[shrader]

6 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I know it's "the Olympics" but man, there are some really obscure sports out there. I don't mind watching hockey and some cool skiing stuff in the winter Olympics, but the summer games just don't do it for me. 

I’m on the same page. Summer gets old very fast. Once they hit that second week where the track and field starts, I’m done. 

[mjd1001]

14 hours ago, Night Train said:

Olympics...anyone watching ? 

I've watched archery, swimming, ping pong, badminton, boxing.. Fios is giving me a couple extra Olympic channels...waiting for track and more boxing..

Honestly, I found the opening ceremony slightly more interested than the events themselves.  

For me its a matter of taste...I'm not a Summer Olympic person.  When anything is overhyped (and yes, the Olympics can be WAY overhyped), it kinda pushes me a way. I think that is the biggest reason I am not a huge NFL fan now where in the past I was. But more importantly, I'm just not really into any of the sports.  Winter Olympics is another story, I can watch almost anything there and have fun (Bobsledding/luge, Hockey, all the types of downhill skiing and ski jumping, even figure skating). But the summer games, not so much.