Soccer really sucks, doesn't it?

[Al B. Sure!]

Ben:

I can not vouch for the validity of the Crossfit comparison nor can I vouch for the relevance of metabolic pathways but if you check out the link, soccer players resemble mid-distance runners (400m to 1 mile) in their time spent in each pathway.

[Wezil]

I (and I think some others) honestly thought you were just making a troll about language not just too stupid to understand the point.

Doesn't look like an apology.

Do you have some integrity?

[Wezil]

The NHL really shot itself in the ass with the lockout.

The first shot came with the players strike years ago. The lockout was just the icing on the cake.

I still love the game but limit myself to OHL now. The Bettman NHL is a joke.

[Ben Kenobi]

I can not vouch for the validity of the Crossfit comparison nor can I vouch for the relevance of metabolic pathways but if you check out the link, soccer players resemble mid-distance runners (400m to 1 mile) in their time spent in each pathway.

It's just my personal experience. You are out on the pitch 45 minutes at a time. I used to run anything from the 400 to the 3000 when I did track, in addition to longer distances. I'd argue those who were better distance runners did better out on the pitch.

[DaShi]

Shut up, Ben.

[Drake Tungsten]

Even if you don't know the exact channel, you check NBC, CNBC, MSNBC or Universal.

Who knew, going into the Olympics, that MSNBC and CNBC would be running Olympic coverage? Maybe douches like you who actually care about foreign sports, but real men don't give a **** about the Winter Olympics outside of hockey and certainly weren't paying enough attention beforehand to realize that the idiots at NBC wouldn't be showing the hockey game on network TV and would be putting it on a news channel instead.

Don't tell me that people should've noticed the promos on NBC, either. NBC is the lowest rated of all the American networks; no one saw the promos, if they even existed.

[Drake Tungsten]

NBC opted to show ice dancing rather than the first USA/Canada hockey game. How is the average viewer supposed to anticipate the actions of such massive idiots? It would only make sense to someone of Ming's intellect...

edit: Let's also not forget that the game wasn't available in HD in much of the country due to NBC's moronic decision to show it on MSNBC.

[Al B. Sure!]

It's just my personal experience. You are out on the pitch 45 minutes at a time. I used to run anything from the 400 to the 3000 when I did track, in addition to longer distances. I'd argue those who were better distance runners did better out on the pitch.

Well like I said, a soccer player's metabolic activity resembles that of a mid-distance runner. That is approximately the distances you ran (400 to 3000).

But that's still not marathon-level. If you look at soccer players, they are not very muscular guys but they're not Haile Gebrselassie skinny. Soccer players definitely have more in common with sprinters, albeit they are much closer in build and functionality to marathon runners than football players.

[Al B. Sure!]

And Drake, are you implying that there were hockey fans out there who would want to watch US-Canada but didn't get a chance to because they were clueless as to what network it was on?

Saying a large % of people don't have cable would've been a better argument although I don't know how many hockey fans don't have access to MSNBC.

[Drake Tungsten]

And Drake, are you implying that there were hockey fans out there who would want to watch US-Canada but didn't get a chance to because they were clueless as to what network it was on?

No, I'm claiming the ratings were lower than they could have been because casual viewers had a difficult time finding the game. It wasn't on a major network (or even a sports network) and didn't have weeks of promotion on ABC (a popular network) and ESPN (the worldwide leader in sports). The US/England soccer match had large advantages over the first USA/Canada hockey game in terms of attracting non-diehards.

[Ming]

NBC opted to show ice dancing rather than the first USA/Canada hockey game. How is the average viewer supposed to anticipate the actions of such massive idiots? It would only make sense to someone of Ming's intellect...

Coming from the guy who can't even find a channel on his TV... Most average viewers knew where to find it. It was only the below average morons that had to look at over 300 channels to find it. Maybe you should take a class on how to find what you are looking for on TV. The fact that the game was not on NBC but on MSNBC was reported in all the newspapers, sports radio, the internet, and extensively on NBC, during the coverage and before the coverage, all TV listings, just about everywhere. It would take a complete idiot not to have noticed it. There was no need to "anticpate"... just open ones eyes and use your brain.

But then again... you were the idiot that couldn't find it without going through 300+ channels. But again, thanks for proving to us all just how stupid you really are.

[Drake Tungsten]

Most average viewers knew where to find it.

Wrong. The average viewer knows the Olympics are on NBC, and that's about it.

[Cort Haus]

Did Ireland, Scotland, Wales, etc send their own teams also?

They all failed to qualify. In Europe each country is in a qualifying group of about six teams. The top team in each group qualify, and the second placers go through play-offs to grab the remaining slots.

Ireland, somewhat hilariously, were knocked out by France after France scored via an infamous handball. A bit like Diego Maradona's famous "hand of God" against England, except this time the Irish didn't find it funny.

[Al B. Sure!]

No thoughts on the sprinter/marathon runner comparison and how it relates to the different athletic capabilities of American football and soccer players or has this thread turned into a hockey sucks thread?

[Drake Tungsten]

1. Hockey doesn't suck. I'm not a fan, but I can understand why people are.

2. Sprinters are clearly more athletic than marathoners, just as American football players in skilled positions are clearly more athletic than soccer players.