Rant

First off, I stopped watching the MLB when cheaters started being awarded…………ALEX RODRIGUEZ……..and please don’t say steroids don’t make a difference, they make a massive difference. I’ve seen it first hand with my cousin and have learned a great deal from research.
I would watch again if cheaters, like Alex Rodriguez were punished. Take away ALL of their stats for the seasons, you know they cheated. Take away any World Series Rings they won under the Roids, and ban any steroid users from the Hall of Fame. Then maybe the greatest home run hitter of this generation, Ken Griffey Jr. would get the recognition he deserves (I believe he’s the only 600 club member of this gen who didn’t cheat.)
Sorry for that, rant, I just can’t stand how they let them get away with it. But, hey Home Runs bring in fans, so why would MLB do anything?
So why not this, bring the fence in a little bit, shorten the season by 40 games (I know you die hard MLB fans love 162, but us border line fans need far less to keep up with any games before the last 20.)
Add playoff teams. It’s unfair how teams like the Yankees and Red Sox spend billions and make it nearly every year (well the Yanks at least) and others don’t
Everyone loves a cinderella bottom seeded team, so why not make the playoffs with 8 teams rather than 4.
Back to the home run wall thing. I think that by bringing the wall in another 20 feet or so would make the game more up tempo fast pased (also taking away 2 innings) and obviously have more runs scored, which is something I think the MLB would love because of the fans it would bring in. In America Hockey and Soccer suffer the same problem that the MLB does with gaining new fans because of the 1-0 scores and the length and pace of the games. They all have their respected fans who have stuck with the sport their whole lives, but according to numbers, they are struggling to get new fans because of the more uptempo lifestyle and I guess shorter attention spans the newer gens have.
And if you are saying "But if we bring the fence in, it would cause more home runs, which would taint the great records like Babe and Hank." Ok, but what about all the Roids users, they’ve already tainted the stats, so what would it really matter.

Sorry if I offended anyone, but I just truly can never love this sport again unless they make some kind of serious punishment, if not banishment for all those cheaters. I don’t need the other rules, I just think they would bring the sport millions of new fans.

SO what rules would you make or change if you were in charge for a day?
To what Shawn said, I’m not mad at the Yankees and Phillies success. I don’t even watch the sport anymore. All I’m saying is that when there are only 4 teams that make the playoffs and the Yanks and Braves are almost always in, the playoffs are boring for fans who’s teams didn’t make the postseason and with only 4 teams, that is a lot of fans. 8 Teams would allow upsets like in other sports. Then people would watch even if their teams weren’t in the playoffs just to see if the 8 seed could knock of the 1 seed and in baseball, it usually is whoever is the hottest team that wins. More teams would have a shot. That is what I’m saying, I’m guessing you’re a Yankees or Phillies fan.
And yes, right now the league has more fans than Hockey and Basketball, but if you look at numbers, it isn’t increasing in fans nearly as much as Basketball is, and has a MUCH lower audience of fans under 25 than Baseball does. Baseball used to be the most popular sport, but the majority of it’s fans are older. Sports like Football and Basketball attract younger ages because of the high scoring and quicker pace. Plus think about it, America is pretty much becoming the country with the shortest attention span. All I was saying, is that if baseball doesn’t change something in the game, it will continue to fall down that list of most popular sports. This isn’t just me either, I’ve heard guys on ESPN and in articles talking about these same numbers and topics.
Lol, you must be a Yankees fan. I just realized it when I reread your sentence about if they didn’t make the playoffs. Lol, you sure do love your Yankees don’t you? You also probably had that reaction too because of the Alex Rodriguez statement I made right? I have NO problem with the Yanks winning the world series. Derek Jeter, in my eyes is one of the best players of this gen and I was happy to see him win again. And that Matsui guy, that was awesome when he won that MVP. But I couldn’t stand to see that cheater Rodriguez get that trophy.
I’m guessing, seeing as how passionatly you defended the Yankees, you’ve got a bit of a man crush on the guy. So sorry if I offended your celeb crush, but face it, he’s a cheater and he’d probably cheat on you too…with Cameron Diaz.

i would shorten the season…
162 games can kill anyone even athletes
i know baseball isnt really physical but it is still too many games specially when most teams are out of the playoffs after the all star game and spend the last months playing for nothing…
they could also try something like promotion and relegation so every team has something to play for whether thats the playoffs or just staying in 1st division

The Lakers have always had the best Big Man Superstar Center in their entire franchise’s history, from George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaq, Andrew Bynum and Paul Gasol(until recently, he was playing too soft), and will Dwight Howard join that list? Overall, if Dwight Howard does leave the Orlando Magic, are the Lakers the Primed Favorites for him to join? It wouldn’t surprise me because the Lakers always never rebuild, they just reload, and this is not a rant, this is coming from a Laker fan born and raised in Southern California, the Lakers have always had a knack for being persuasive and attracting Superstar Free Agents, Talent, Players, thats why they have missed the playoffs only 5 times in their entire franchise’s history, with 31 Finals appearences and 16 rings, and 10 rings since 1980 with 16 finals appereances, missing the playoffs twice, the Lakers are just an organization that will never allow futility or mediocrity, are fully committed to winning in every sense of the word, I do know that other Professional Sports franchises are fully-committed to winning like the Lakers are but they just do not draft or trade smartly, spent properly like the Lakers always do, whether you love them or hate them you gotta tip your hat off to them as to what always makes the Lakers stumble onto instant success, is it the Ownership? General Management? or is it all Luck?
I know that nothing is guaranteed in Sports but c’mon, the Lakers always make it look like it is guaranteed, being a Laker fan means you have something to look forward literally every single year, or almost every year, that your team is always going to compete, never rebuild just reload, never go through a stretch without a superstar player, no other Professional Sports team in all of Sports has been so amazingly consistent like the Lakers have, for example, when they traded Shaq to the Miami Heat in 2004, the Lakers were mediocre for, oh, a few years, and then went back to the top in no time!!!!, when most professional sports franchises trade away, or a superstar player like that retires, they end up going through a drought that lasts nearly a decade or more than a decade, it has never happend to the Lakers

I’d say Yes

I mean, I know a lot of people feel sorry for him for losing his job to Brett Favre two years in a row.
But I don’t think he gets enough respect for his abilities.

After a slow start to his career, he led the Vikings to the playoffs in 2008 with a 95.4 passer rating in 5 starts. He took over an offense that was weak under Gus Frerotte and rejuvenated it. True, he sucked in the playoff game vs. Philadelphia, but that was his first ever playoff game, and he was facing a vicious defense.

Last year, he had a rating of 124.0 (albeit in limited duty).

But everyone keeps saying that Jackson isn’t qualified to be an NFL starter and that the Vikings would be in deep trouble without Favre.

So my questions: does anyone else think that Jackson could be a legitimate NFL starter?
Could the Vikings be any worse if Favre were out? Wouldn’t Jackson be a huge improvement at this point?

Thanks, and sorry if this almost became a rant. I’m a Vikings fan and this subject is bothering me.

Yes it did look like Jackson was making steady improvements before the playoff game, and I was excited to see what Jackson could do next season. I think when news broke that the Vikings had signed Favre, we all completely forgot about Jackson. Favre had one of his greatest seasons ever last year, and there’s no way Jackson would have duplicated that, but I don’t think he would have done that bad either. I’m ready to see what Jackson can do with this team full of superstars. We just need someone that doesn’t turn the ball over 3 or 4 times a game and the Vikes will start winning more games.

You see how some of us come in here ranting…about Kobes field goal %, or Lebron "choking" in playoffs, Gasol being "too soft" ect….

Isnt it true that many of us wouldnt even be able to accomplish what these players are doing…seeing as how we sit in a chair and rant with a keyboard instead of intense weight training and hours of practice?
ROFL @ Orr…GTFO dude…youre in here every morning at 4 AM
@ orr…my question isnt an opportunity for you to brag and try to boost your self esteem…youre not the only person who works out and has healthy habits…welcome to the 21st century…many of us like to be healthy and take care of our bodies

I bet you I could run a faster mile time than any NBA player.

Lol, It was 8:00 here when I answered this brah

And what’s funny is that you continually ask like so many questions so early in the morning and then I own you with each one. You have to be getting irritated by now. Just because you are on the computer all day doesn’t mean we all are. I run 3-6 miles everyday, do a ton of sit-ups, stretches and occasionally go to the gym(2-3 days a week).

___________________________________________________

Then why would you ask a question about "keeping up" with an athlete for 5 minutes? Yes welcome to the 21st century, where fat a$$es eat McDonalds everyday and idiots stay on the computer 24/7 cloning other people’s accounts. And I’d love to see how fast/strong you are.

Well, Joe Thornton was named captain of the Sharks.

I won’t rant about him as a general dud come playoff, as some of you expect me to. I am interested to know your opinion about this: Do you think this is the last experiment/incentive for Joe to show his worth in the playoffs? In other words, is this the final straw for him to put up or forever be considered just "above average"?

I feel bad for the guy, this seems like the last shot for him to prove himself, but I just can’t see it. He was a non-factor in the Olympics and his playoff failures date back to his Boston days.

Ok, so Philly won in overtime against the Stars and great, yeah, Bob did a great job, but then you have people on the Flyers fb page saying f*** Boosh, we don’t need him this and that.
How ignorant can people be? I don’t recall Bob getting them to the playoffs or the finals last season?
Just because Bob had a win in OT tonight, they’re going nuts. What happens next time Boucher wins a game?
I’m sorry for this little rant, I’m just frustrated at people’s ignorance.

Because haters will always hate. Uneducated morons who make stupid comments without checking the facts or knowing the game. Idiots who have never even laced skates should see if they can do better.

Mine is Denis Green Bears are "We thought they were and Jim Mora’s Playoff we talking playoff.

I still find Mora’s ‘Playoffs, we talkin about Playoffs, you kiddin me, playoffs

Why bother trying? The Mora rant can never be topped.

ALL of LBJ’s playoff stats were better than Kobe’s. Kobe fans say LBJ quit. Let’s say he did. Basically, LeBron quit in the playoffs, and his stats and performance were STILL better than Kobe’s. Even though he "quit" he played better than Kobe. That shows that LBJ is way better than Kobe.

Kobe’s playoffs:

PPG 29.2
RPG 6.0
APG 5.5
SPG 1.4
BPG 0.7
FG% 0.458
FT% 0.842
3P% 0.374
MPG 40.1

LBJ’s playoffs:

PPG 29.1
RPG 9.3
APG 7.6
SPG 1.7
BPG 1.8
FG% 0.502
FT% 0.733
3P% 0.400
MPG 41.8

BTW – Kobe quit in Game 7 vs the Suns in 2006. Look it up before ranting.
@Mr. Blaze : Okay, maybe LBJ did quit. But, even though he "quit", his playoff stats were STILL better than Kobe’s. That explains a lot.

Kobe doesn’t quit; he throws up dumb shots.

I’m rooting against the Mavericks, not because they beat my Lakers but because I don’t want to hear Jamaican Man preaching and ranting all summer long.
@Avid- I could have sworn you were ranting a few months ago about how you hated and no longer wanted to root for the Kings.

MY lakers? I swore you have referenced yourself as a clippers fan.

Anyways, I’ll be glad if any team wins it. Except the hawks. I can’t stand Joe Johnson. I think he’s one of the most overrated NBA players in the league right now.

@matty: NO, I said I disliked them because they were moving to Anaheim. I didn’t want to root for them if they were going to be in a different city, but I came to my judgement and said I’ll support them no matter what. Until Sacramento gets a new team. Well it worked out for me because the kings won’t be leaving and we still have our odds if the people of Sac & Maloofs compromise a deal to build a new arena.