Letters to the Editor
bolillo
Published Letters: 11 Editor's Choice: 2
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Fox Announcers
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Am I the only person who was bothered by the fact that Joe Buck and company had decided by the top of the 9th that the Astros were going to win and go on to the World Series? They spent more time talking about Larry Walker's retirement, Busch Stadium's history and the match-up against St. Louis (and oh yeah, Prison Break) than the actual game, despite the fact that St. Louis has shown that they can put together a fantastic comeback.
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NFL on TV
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Public financing will always be there for sports as politicians will continue to claim that sports teams help a city economically, so even if you don't (or can't) watch games you still get some impact. As for NFL blackouts, in Austin, Texas, we get both Cowboys and Texans games on free TV. If the Texans play a Sunday night game (they played two this year), I either find a place to watch or listen to the game on the radio. Also, I would be surprised if San Antonio didn't carry Cowboys games because those would be the games with the highest viewership. And of course, the benefit of living outside of an NFL city's metro area is that if the home team doesn't sell out the stadium, I don't get blacked-out like the locals do (this was a big problem growing up in Houston as an Oilers fan).
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Another Oilers Fan
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes, another Oilers fan. I grew up with them making the playoffs for seven straight seasons. Luckily for me, their departure from Houston coincided with my departure for an out-of-state college, where I found it easier to deal with it. I despised Bud Adams, but I always loved to watch Warren Moon, Ray Childress and the rest. Seeing their successors in Titans uniforms wasn't the same and I never could bring myself to root for them again.
However, I did root for the Titans during the playoffs in 1999 when they went to the Super Bowl. I kept having Oilers flashbacks because, although the uniforms were different, so many players were the same. The Music City Miracle was the greatest and one time during the Super Bowl, I accidently yelled out 'Go Oilers!' without thinking. After they lost to the Rams, though, I came back to my senses and realized who I was rooting for, so there was little disappointment.
I am now back in Texas (but not Houston) and, despite the inept management and coaching, a Texans fan. I have no qualms about rooting against the Titans, who the Texans play twice a year. The Oilers are an extremely fond memory. And regardless of whether Houston has a team, I will always root against the Cowboys.
Also, as a resident of 'the hinterlands', I get the advantage of watching the Texans on TV all the time without having to a) pay outrageous taxes and b) worry about the games being blacked-out because the game didn't sell out.
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Didn't watch...
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...so I have no idea whether King is right or not. I stopped watching the NBA in the late 90s when I finally realized that the league seemingly encourages absolutely atrocious refereeing (i.e. allowing the stars to get away with more than everybody else, calling ghost fouls, not firing the really bad refs, etc.). The message I take is that the game is more about entertainment than actual competition. Other leagues may have officiating problems (2006 World Cup, 2007 Men's NCAA basketball tourney, NFL) but at least they acknowledge there are problems and work to change them.
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Steroids
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The message that is being sent by ignoring the use of steroids in the majors is that following the rules is for losers. We see it so much in other news such as the corporate shenanigans like Enron and Tyco, torturing prisoners, speeding, tax shelters in the Caymans, dads yelling at umpires in Little League, etc. that it's part of the American culture to get away with as much as you can and only getting mad at people because they get caught.
However, I also agree that it's in the sports network's best interests not to bite the hand that feeds them by airing negative news about baseball. Same deal with GE not airing documentaries about the risks of nuclear power on NBC.
Keep writing about the stuff no one else writes about and I'll happily keep reading.
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Team Chemistry, Older Pitchers
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]King, you've written several times over the past few years about team chemistry. I'm surprised you didn't mention that this time. It certainly can't help team camaraderie when one guy is the hired gun who only shows up when he needs to while everybody else goes through spring training, long road trips, etc.
Plus, when was the last time a 45-year old was so dominant in the majors? I've only been keeping track of baseball for 20 years but I can't think of anybody. Now we've got all these guys like Clemens, Schilling, Randy Johnson, etc. who are still monsters in their mid-40s, yet nobody bats an eyelash. Maybe when a black pitcher joins the group the media will start talking about it, eh!
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Baseball can be exciting...but you can't deny parity is non-existent
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You think the Pats and Colts are good now? Imagine how good they'd be if there were no salary cap. Both of those teams were crummy for years and years and there is no precedent in recent history for an NFL team to make the playoffs 13 years in a row. And that's with a higher percentage of teams going than baseball.
The obvious sign that baseball is screwed up is whenever a star player goes into free agency, you always see the same teams in the bidding. Yeesh, in the NFL even Phoenix got Edgerrin James.
Still, the game itself can be very exciting and I'm glad you baseball fans enjoy it. I'll stick to football where there is a reasonable chance that, provided my team has good management, my team has a chance to make the playoffs.