Joe Posted May 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 (edited) Correct Mac. Switching topics to the NBA, the Golden State Warriors have the chance to eliminate the Dallas Mavericks from the playoffs tonight An eight seed has never knocked out a one seed in a seven game series. Edited May 1, 2007 by Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunny the Blue Posted May 1, 2007 Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Whats the significance of seeds Joe??? Like when they say that a team has a certain seed, they get first pick or last pick or watever?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted May 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2007 Seeds are what place you are in the playoffs. It has to do with the record you had during the season. For example a number 1 seed is the team that finishes the season with the best record in the conference. An eight seed (in the basketball and hockey playoffs) is the team that has the worst record out of all the teams that make the playoffs. Therefore the number one seed plays the number 8 seed in the first round of the playoffs. Since there are two conferences in american sports (usually a western conference and an eastern conference) the playoffs are divided between the conferences. The winner of the west plays the winner of the east in the finals. I hope that makes sense if it doesn't I will try and explain it better. Anyways tonight Golden State is the 8 seed and they only need one more win to eliminate the number 1 seed Dallas. Dallas by far had the best record during season with 67 wins and only lost 15 games. Golden State's record was 42-40. To win a series you must win 4 games and as of right now Golden State has won 3 games and Dallas has only won one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunny the Blue Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Brilliant, thanks for clearing that up. One more for you, whats a draft? Like in football and basketball they get to pick players from where ever, just wondering how it works, as in is it like our transfer window? does the best team get the best pick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zequist Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 (edited) The draft is how young, up-and-coming talent is distributed to clubs in US sports. Over here, most teams don't have youth academies, and they aren't signing underage kids to developmental contracts or anything like that. Instead the kids play competitive sports for teams that are fielded by their high schools and/or their universities while they are still going to school, and many will also play in other organized amateur competitions during the summer. The only one that's a bit different is hockey, where most of the top players don't play for school teams, they go play in the junior hockey leagues up in Canada instead. Once the kids are done with school (or juniors) and ready to play professionally, they enter their names into the draft for their chosen sport, and are selected and signed by a professional team. The hockey draft is almost all 18 year olds, either from juniors or from Europe, but there are a few university players selected every year. The baseball draft is a mix of both. The NBA and NFL don't allow players to declare right out of high school. For domestic players, they all have to play for a university team first, either for at least one year (NBA) or at least three (NFL). There are several reasons why that is the case, but the most basic reason is that baseball and hockey have highly-developed minor league (basically reserve league) systems in place, so if a youngster isn't good enough to be on the parent club they can reserve him and say, "we'll help you work on your skills, and maybe in a few years you'll make our roster." The NBA and NFL don't have that support system (the NBA just started a very rudimentary minor league a few years ago; the NFL has nothing, unless you count NFL Europe). It's basically sink or swim in those leagues, so they rely on the universities to develop the players for them so that they're ready to play from the moment they get drafted. International players going into the NBA draft have a slightly different set of eligibility rules than the domestic players, but I'm not sure what those are because I'm not a big NBA guy. (Joe, do you know?) Now on the process of drafting itself, here are the basics of how it works (there are various complications, unique to each sport and how they set up their draft, that I'm not going to get into). Each league has one amateur draft per year, which is conducted during the offseason. The draft works as a tool for talent distribution, and it's designed to promote competitive balance within the league. It goes through a series of rounds, which can be anywhere from two (NBA basketball) to dozens (pro baseball). Each team gets one pick per round, and they pick in the same order each round. The worst team from the previous season gets the first pick in the draft (and thus, in theory, the best player available that year), the second-worst team gets the second pick, and so on. The league champion gets the last pick in each round, and at the end of the day each team comes away with x number of young players whom they now own the rights to. That's basically how it works, although there are some common wrinkles. Basketball and hockey, in order to give bad teams less incentive to deliberately tank their seasons, have introduced draft lotteries, where the non-playoff teams are put in a random drawing and the teams who are lucky enough to be drawn get to move up several spots or even get the #1 pick. Teams can also use their spots in the draft as commodities - it isn't unusual to see teams trade a player for one or more draft picks - the better the player, the more/better picks he will command. So a good team might say to a bad team, "hey, you know, we think Darren Bent could really help us out up front. If we gave you James Beattie and our draft picks in the first, fourth, and fifth rounds this year, would you consider trading him to us?" And the other team looks at the draft and sees that it's a deep one (lots of potential young talent available) and that they have a chance to dump a big salary, get a couple of extra young players, and maybe use the freed-up cash to sign an extra free agent or two this summer. So they say, "We'll consider trading him to you, but we don't like that package, how about you give us Anichebe and your third and fourth round picks instead?" And the good teams says, "No, we don't want to trade Victor, but what about..." and they go back and forth until they've agreed on some exchange of picks and/or players, or decide that they can't make it work. Teams aren't allowed to trade draft picks in baseball, but you see it all the time in the NBA, NHL, and NFL. Now it's important to note that in a draft format, teams are technically drafting for the exclusive negotiating rights to a particular player, rather than the player himself. There are rules in baseball and hockey, for instance, where if a team drafts a player but can't reach a contract agreement with him within a certain amount of time, they lose the rights to that player and he can go back into a later draft and be chosen by another team. Or with international players in hockey, they're not the exclusive property of the drafting team - they're free to go play (or keep playing) in Russia or Sweden or wherever. But if they ever decide they want to play in the NHL, they would have to sign with the team who holds their "NHL rights" (as it's phrased). NBA and NFL players can only be drafted once, but in those leagues if someone adamantly refuses to play for the team who drafted him (which does occasionally happen), they'll usually try to trade him for the best return they can get. The only US sport (not counting MLS) with anything similar to the way football teams manage talent is how baseball handles international players. Baseball teams have youth academies with developmental contracts and all of that, but they're all set up in foreign countries like Panama and the Dominican Republic, to mine the talent in those places (those players don't go through the draft either, they're just promoted when they're ready), and baseball also has to negotiate free-market transfer agreements to bring in senior international players, mainly from Japan and Korea. There was a big buzz in this country when the Boston Red Sox signed Daisuke Matsuzaka this past offseason because they paid over $50 million US to his Japanese team for his rights, which shattered the transfer fee record in this country. There is a fixed-market transfer arrangement in place in hockey, where any international team who loses a player to the NHL gets a flat-rate compensation of $200,000 US, even if the player is a future superstar. Hardly seems fair, but all the European leagues have agreed to it (the Russian League was the only one resisting, and they finally caved in and signed this week), so that's how it stands. Edited May 2, 2007 by JD in DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted May 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 I think JD did a great job explaining it. An issue is coming up with basketball where teams that have a really bad record aren't really trying so they can have a better shot at getting a good draft pick. Since there is no relegation they dont have to worry about going down. They asked the comissioner of the league (the head guy of the nba) was asked about it in an interview the other night and he didn't want to get into it. American sports do things a lot different. The system takes some getting use to if you are unfamilar with it but it's great to see you take interest in it. We do have a lot of good sports that are fun to watch. By the way Golden State had a 9 point lead with 2 minutes left and lost the game, so game 6 will be at home on thursday night. It is a must win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Good grief JD ! Seems very complex...I understood the basic draft concept of the worst team getting first pick of the next intake already but I had no idea there was so much to it. Theoretcally I like the idea of evening up competition but it'd never work here, our university sport is pretty much ignored with the exception of Oxford/Cambridge boat race...although there are several unis with excellent facilities now...Bath, where my little bro went is one. You also don't have promotion/relegation and the complications that would bring. Thanks for such a detailed explanation though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted May 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 There is a whole issue about how Major League Soccer should be structured here in America. The league is set up like other American sports where you have playoffs and a draft. There are a few reasons why I think this is. First off they want to make the league appeal to their biggest consumers which would be the American public. A majority of Americans are not familar with the way a European league is run and operated. Secondly the relegation system would never work for the MLS. There isn't enough clubs in American and no investor is gonna want to build a stadium, lets say, with a chance his team won't even be playing in the top division. It is a difficult situation for the league. I want to see it run as much as possible like other football leagues around the world but at the same time I want to see it grow while increasing the level of play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunny the Blue Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Ill be honest with you, cant get my head around it right now, will try again in the morning lol!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zequist Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Good grief JD ! Seems very complex...I understood the basic draft concept of the worst team getting first pick of the next intake already but I had no idea there was so much to it. Theoretcally I like the idea of evening up competition but it'd never work here, our university sport is pretty much ignored with the exception of Oxford/Cambridge boat race...although there are several unis with excellent facilities now...Bath, where my little bro went is one. You also don't have promotion/relegation and the complications that would bring. Thanks for such a detailed explanation though. It actually isn't that complex once you see it in action - it's one of those things that's probably easier to demonstrate than it is to describe. One of my friends has a daughter whose boyfriend is a Brit (Arsenal fan, unfortunately), and she said that he picked up on how the NFL draft worked pretty quickly when it was on TV this past weekend. And if an Arsenal fan can get it, I KNOW an Everton fan can get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 To our valued members across the pond I will say this....... We in England have only just come to terms with something you boys take for granted, most sports are wonderful games, but bloody awful business'. We see the US set up as corporate driven PR opportunities, which debase the core of a particular sport/team. The EPL is a monster which dictates to us when and where we watch our footie, you have had that for years. I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of "Drafts" and such, but I do have grave reservations about a system that is open to potential abuse and corruption. ATB Mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted May 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Golden State beat Dallas tonight to win the series !!!! They are my second favorite sports team behind Everton and they haven't won a playoff series since 1991, when I was 7. Great experience just watching. Round two starts Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted May 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Some tickets for tonight's Golden St. game were going for 750 pounds on ebay. Insane for one ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 think thats mad, people are selling champ league final tickets for around £2000 - £3000 pound ive been told. but well done to Golden State Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted May 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Thats so crazy for one ticket. Atleast they are paying for a finals game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted May 25, 2007 Report Share Posted May 25, 2007 With all due respect to our colonial cousins. The words American Sports, are up there with "military intelligence" and "curvy supermodel" We love our US members, but netball and rounders are not sports. ATB Mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zequist Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Actually, equating netball and rounders to basketball and baseball is like equating futsal or futebol de salão to regular football. Superficially similar in some ways, but the playing fields and rules are completely different, and for the most part the necessary skills to master are different too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 aussie rules football is the best! there is no rules! you can punch / kick or do what ever in it to get the ball or keep the ball, well funny when having a laugh with your mates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted June 16, 2007 Report Share Posted June 16, 2007 Louisiana Swamp Buggy Racing, right up there with feral cat fighting. This Aussie rules, It's not bad 2 watch, I sorta got it sussed, but fuk me theres so much happening all the time off the ball etc. The lad's tell me 1 of the few sports that is actually much betetr Viewing live than on Tv due to the giant field & constant dueling off camera. Still it's not a patch on real Football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zequist Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 So the new soccer season kicks off this weekend for the university teams here in the USA. Locally I'm planning on going to a game this Sunday (Naval Academy vs. Air Force Academy), but I'm really excited about this season because my alma mater (California-Santa Barbara) are the defending men's national champions and ranked #1 in the country in most of the preseason polls. Santa Barbara actually has a fairly international team. Our head coach has always heavily scouted Canada and New Zealand in particular - we have alumni on both countries' national teams - and this year we also have players from Spain, Sweden, and Jamaica on the roster. But Santa Barbara's defense for the last two years has been anchored by a 6-5 central defender named Andy Iro, who's a Liverpool native. He went to school at St. Edwards and played youth football for Kingsley United. He's also one of the frontrunners to win the National Player of the Year award this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted September 9, 2007 Report Share Posted September 9, 2007 I do take in the occasional game of Baseball on the Box. Enjoy greatly, cant stick the other sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted September 9, 2007 Report Share Posted September 9, 2007 I do take in the occasional game of Baseball on the Box. Enjoy greatly, cant stick the other sports. Which baseball team do you support, Pat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted September 9, 2007 Report Share Posted September 9, 2007 My dad brought me home a New York Mets jacket from a business trip in about 1969, ultimate cool, so I've always had a soft spot for them. Love to see a game live but goes over my head a bit on TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraccerC Posted September 9, 2007 Report Share Posted September 9, 2007 i like the mets, red sox fan though...mets are liek a 2nd team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zequist Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 (edited) Dragging this thread up out of the dust for a second... I was reading today that Platini doesn't even want to hear Man U's complaints about Real Madrid publicly expressing an interest in C. Ronaldo, basically saying that it was "normal" and "part of the game" for Real to use the press to recruit him for their club. Which is obviously true (I've followed this sport long enough to know that), but it's still a bit jarring to me as an American to hear it stated so bluntly. In our sports leagues in this country, ANY public expression of interest from a team in acquiring a player under who is contract to another team, even something as mild as, "Of course we'd want Andrei Arshavin, what team wouldn't?" is considered tampering and punishable by a fine at the very least. Even if two teams are working out a transfer deal and everyone already knows exactly which player is going where, the team still can't make any official comments about the player they'll be acquiring until the deal is completely done. Now there's nothing to stop a player or an agent trying to stir things up in the media in order to attempt to force a transfer to a bigger/richer/more desirable club (that happens as often on this side of the pond as it does on yours), but the teams themselves can't use the media as a recruiting tool to attract a player that they want or to make him unsettled with his current club. Every professional sports league in this country forbids that. Not passing judgment on one method over the other, though I definitely have my personal preference. I just thought it was an interesting contrast in attitudes towards what's considered "fair game" and what's over the line. Edited June 28, 2008 by JD in DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 Platini will only be saying it's ok because it's an English club getting shit on, if it was the other way around I bet he'd be condemning Manure. He has a hatred for English clubs does Platini. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holystove Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 certainly pays better to be a baseball player in america than to play for everton ... NY Yankees just committed 110mil£ for 7 years to one player (cc sabathia) .. that's 300.000£ per week for seven years on the other hand 110mil buys you only 7 fellaini's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 I had a phase where I wanted to move to the USA and try to become a basketball player, I saw the houses on the MTV Cribs and saw just how much they get paid. I mean, its worse than football. Those guys dont have to run as much and occassionaly jump for a hoop. I'd love to see the pay salary for players like Kobe Bryant. Woulden't mind his wages for a week. (: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romey 1878 Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 certainly pays better to be a baseball player in america than to play for everton ...NY Yankees just committed 110mil£ for 7 years to one player (cc sabathia) .. that's 300.000£ per week for seven years on the other hand 110mil buys you only 7 fellaini's They've also just committed another $180 million on another player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holystove Posted December 24, 2008 Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 (edited) I had a phase where I wanted to move to the USA and try to become a basketball player, I saw the houses on the MTV Cribs and saw just how much they get paid. I mean, its worse than football. Those guys dont have to run as much and occassionaly jump for a hoop. I'd love to see the pay salary for players like Kobe Bryant. Woulden't mind his wages for a week. (: i'm currently going through a phase where i want to become a baseball player . look at the guy who just got all that money : i mean, anything that fat guy can do, how can i not be better at it ? and he's not the only "athlete" in that sport that looks as overweight as he does. Edited December 24, 2008 by holystove Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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