Sports Sports Sports!!!

[Jimothy]

Boy, I sure do love sports.

 

[BleepBloopBeep]

Hmm I think I might detect a slight hint of sarcasm.

I did watch my first Baseball game the other day (or part of one at least). I think it was Dodgers Marlins, though I don't know who was home and away. The largest takeaway I had was there are so many freakin' ad breaks cutting up the broadcast. It made it way more difficult to follow than it needed to be.

 

[Avidro]

Yes, the ads are terrible. The problem is exacerbated by pitching changes, which, considering the Marlins are the worst team in the National League and the Dodgers are the best by wide margins either way, I imagine the Marlins changed pitchers frequently.

One thing I'm excited for (which many fans hate) is the new "three batter minimum" rule the MLB is implementing next season, which means that any pitcher brought into the game must face at least three batters before being replaced, barring injuries. Fewer pitching changes means less frequent commercial breaks, which is undoubtedly good. It does eliminate certain metagame strategies, such as the LOOGY (Left-handed One Out GuY), who is a specialist relief pitcher who has very good numbers against left-handed batters and is typically brought in to neutralize a single dangerous lefty hitter before being pulled. Still, managers and players will adapt, and I'm sure we'll see new strategies rise up to replace the tedious "change pitchers every five minutes" way of the past decade.

 

[BleepBloopBeep]

I suppose its a way to speed up the game a bit. Less switching means less time faffing about and more playing ball. The other thing is people have an aversion to change, like VAR in football. The fans want decisions to be made correctly but are unwilling to accept that in order to review the play it takes time. I think the MLS is probably the best implementation of it atm just because its commonplace to review play in american sports. Personally I did enjoy the chaos of not everything being a perfect decision. Controversy drives conversation after all, but now the controversy is that they took 2 minutes to reverse a decision as opposed to a decision being human error.

 

[Avidro]

That's a big deal with the strike zone in baseball, too. It's always been the umpire's job, but obviously, human umpires are prone to human error, which can be extremely frustrating for fans and players alike when it becomes the difference between a strikeout and a home run.

They're experimenting with robotic strike zones in certain smaller leagues, which I'll have to reserve judgment on until I see it in action myself. Right now, I think I prefer having umpires. There's joy in the chaos, as you put it, Bleep. Plus, there's something immensely satisfying about waiting on the edge of your seat for an umpire to ring a guy up on a borderline strike call. It's the thrill of anticipation.

 

[BleepBloopBeep]

Right so the worlds gone crazy. Cricket was exciting for the second time in 6 weeks. That has never happened before. With England winning a game they should have been out of after the second day. A poor bowling and batting performance left them with a lot to do but with a good second innings bowling the door was left open. That would have been slammed shut if it wasn't for a poor umpiring call allowing them to beat the Australian team.

 

[Avidro]

So many sports left to discuss!

Well I realised that I haven't shared my various excursions into the world of sports, so I thought I'd give you a rundown of various one's I've played/participated in over the years. I did use to compete in some but I don't have the time or skill to do them more than recreationally now.
Here's the list:

Football, Cricket, Rugby, Golf, Sailing, Rowing, Kayaking, Abseiling, Rock Climbing, Cycling, Javelin, Paddle-boarding, Karate, Dodge ball, Cross country running, Badminton, Tennis, Archery, Fencing and Motorsports.​

There's probably more I've forgotten about but they don't matter too much. Feel free to ask about any of them, most have a story or two attached some of which are pretty weird.

I have a bit of a history with golf; care to share yours?

 

[BleepBloopBeep]

Well I've been to the driving range a few times. As it turns out I can play left or right handed, there equally as bad as one another. I can't say I really enjoy it too much. For me there's not the energy or physical challenge of something like football, its more technique and finesse.

 

[Avidro]

I am likewise pretty bad at golf. I used to play semi-regularly with my dad and my sister. It's one of those strange situations where I would always remember the good parts of golf, get excited about playing, and then be miserable once I started playing and remembered how terrible I am at golf

Mini-golf is always a blast, though! I can at least say I've gotten a few holes-in-one – some were even on Par 3's!

 

[BleepBloopBeep]

Mini-golf the only game where you can go from a hero with 2 holes in one to a bumbling fool scoring 9 on a par 2.