Other Chicago & General Sports Thread LXII: The Bulls are technically an NBA team

[hawksrule]

LA is just different. They went from 2 NFL teams to none, and not a whole lot of people there cared too much when they lost the teams. And even when they came back, they both were having attendance issues out of the gate.

I mean, LA is fantastic. I wish I could live there. But when it's usually in the 80's, blue skies every day, a gorgeous ocean there..if I lived with all that, I'd care less about sports too It's just not a good sports town, period.

LA is a take it or leave it NFL town because they have huge college football programs.

 

[LDF]

MLB - what would the Sox do if Machado does not elect to sign with the sox ??

 

[IU Hawks fan]

LA is a take it or leave it NFL town because they have huge college football programs.

USC hasn't been relevant since the Bush scandal and UCLA hasn't been in my lifetime.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

The Rams aren't having attendance issues. They're drawing more than the Bears, it's just that they play in a gargantuan stadium. They'll be fine.

Chargers are a laughable mistake that everyone except Spanos saw coming. Maybe if the Rams had been godawful they could've found an audience, but as it is they're a Johnny come lately that nobody cares about. Rams have their audience and the Chargers pissed off Raiders fans for blocking their team returning, so I don't see an avenue for gate success as long as they're in LA.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

Almost everyone is drawing more than the Bears, because Soldier Field is tiny.

However, it's clear that tons of these Rams crowds are rooting for the visiting team.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Maybe, but not remotely to the degree of the Chargers.

Longterm, I'm not worried about LA as a one-team market or a two-team market if one of the teams was the Raiders. Chargers are ****ed.

 

[hawksrule]

USC hasn't been relevant since the Bush scandal and UCLA hasn't been in my lifetime.

There’s also Stanford nearby, and a ton of Cal graduates in the area. Those four schools have huge fan bases.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

There’s also Stanford nearby, and a ton of Cal graduates in the area. Those four schools have huge fan bases.

If Stanford is "near" LA, than Ohio State is near Chicago.

Yes, there are big alumni bases of all 4 and USC was a national power for a while, but let's get real. College football is big in LA BECAUSE they had no NFL team. Not the other way around.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

USC hasn't been relevant since the Bush scandal and UCLA hasn't been in my lifetime.

That is nonsense. They were talk as potential national champion contender just 2 years ago when they went 10-2 and finished #3 in AP

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

MLB - what would the Sox do if Machado does not elect to sign with the sox ??

Prepare for another awful year

They really botched offseason with that horrendous trade with Cleveland. If Machado doesn't come they will be laughing stock for that

I cant believe we bailed out the Indians so they could keep Kluber and Bauer

 

[IU Hawks fan]

That is nonsense. They were talk as potential national champion contender just 2 years ago when they went 10-2 and finished #3 in AP

How could they be 10-2 when they STARTED 1-3?

2016 USC Trojans Schedule and Results | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

 

[hawksrule]

If Stanford is "near" LA, than Ohio State is near Chicago.

Yes, there are big alumni bases of all 4 and USC was a national power for a while, but let's get real. College football is big in LA BECAUSE they had no NFL team. Not the other way around.

Close enough that there are a ton of alumni in the LA area. Being unnecessarily pedantic doesn’t strengthen that point, and neither does emphatic assertion in your last two sentences.

 

[hawksrule]

How could they be 10-2 when they STARTED 1-3?

2016 USC Trojans Schedule and Results | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

They may not have the tremendous recent success of Indiana, but they were 10-3 and won the Rose Bowl.

 

[LDF]

Prepare for another awful year

They really botched offseason with that horrendous trade with Cleveland. If Machado doesn't come they will be laughing stock for that

I cant believe we bailed out the Indians so they could keep Kluber and Bauer

very true, that trade was mostly for getting Machado. even if the cost of the trade was not too bad. but the team needs to get another SP.... which would have been a better idea to go after.

Y. Moncada is really brutal offensively and i am not a adv stat expert, but i am wondering if he is as bad ad the stats says he is.

 

[clydesdale line]

Awesome.

 

[LDF]

NBA - Bulls tidbit .....

Robin Lopez may be biggest name on buyout market, Warriors reportedly interested

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Awesome.

Great for the crowd to react to Rose like that, but also can't help but think that it was a bit of a quasi-Bronx cheer where they're also trying to embarrass the Bulls front office.

 

[LDF]

Great for the crowd to react to Rose like that, but also can't help but think that it was a bit of a quasi-Bronx cheer where they're also trying to embarrass the Bulls front office.

never thought of that, and that may be a possibility

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

The White Sox have not been as publicly bold with their plans. But they are in on Harper and Machado, and executives and agents reveal that they have been aggressive in trade and free-agent discussions. Some within the game expect White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to rein in any outsized bids for Harper or Machado. But Reinsdorf turns 83 in February and wants to win again in his lifetime. He knows he is fighting the dominant Cubs for interest in Chicago. And this is the guy who, despite being a labor hawk who was leading the charge to curtail salaries on players, signed Albert Belle to a record five-year, $55 million deal after the 1996 season. Reinsdorf said he wanted to win fans back. White Sox average attendance had fallen to 20,703 in 1996, the lowest in seven years. In 2018, White Sox average attendance fell under 20,000 for the first time since 1999.

So if this is about the last dollar, then my money would be on the White Sox for Harper and the Phillies for Machado — or vice versa.

https://nypost.com/2018/12/26/manny-machado-bryce-harper-are-staring-at-same-money-decision/

 

[sugoi88]

Great for the crowd to react to Rose like that, but also can't help but think that it was a bit of a quasi-Bronx cheer where they're also trying to embarrass the Bulls front office.

That and I think too, because he hasn't forgotten Chicago and where he came from. In all his interviews he clearly states his love for Chicago and "the hood." The connection to Chicago is still there and with the fans.

 

[piteus]

But you keep ignoring the fact that ESPN's content isn't that good, and doesn't justify the price subscribers are forced to pay.

NFL - They pay way more than the networks do for 1 mediocre game a week, and the right to highlights for their auxiliary programming. Does anyone watch NFL Live, Countdown, etc? I get my NFL highlights for free on YouTube.

NBA - Everyone knows the TNT exclusive Thursday window is the biggest of the week with the best matchups. In the playoffs, Turner has about 70% of the 1st 2 rounds and they share the Conference Finals. The Finals are on free TV.

MLB - They have 1 exclusive window a week, 1 Wild Card game, and the HR Derby. Otherwise, it's pretty much summer filler programming, as all their weeknight games are blacked out to local audiences.

CFB - The biggest games every week are on the free networks. They spent $500MM annually to block FOX from getting the THREE Playoff games...2 of which are probably a formality, both 14+ point spreads

CBB - CBS/Turner have the Tournament. They have a lot of conferences - this is really where they screw over their subscribers, as the average fan doesn't care about the regular season but they sure are paying for it

Yes, every cable network has been hurt by cord cutting. But when one charges $9/mo for their bundle of networks, and all the others charge less than $2 (most closer to $0.75), obviously the 1st one is going to be hurt the most when they have so much money tied up into rights fees for what's really fairly mediocre content.

Finally, you should probably give this a quick read:
What's the Difference Between the Words 'Chord' and 'Cord'?

I don't consider ESPN gasbags actual content. I guess First Take and LeBatard makes decent money for ESPN. For that reason, ESPN locked up live sports content for YEARS ... for big money. People watch sports live. It's the biggest drawing factor. What 2 sports are most popular in America? Football and basketball. It makes ESPN relevant. FOX overpaid for the NFL 25 years ago and made their national network credible. ESPN is also trying to create better content going forward with 30 for 30, etc.

I don't think you understand the end game. The system operators are being squeezed out. We won't need "cable" anymore. There is no need for the middle man with new technology. Content providers are going to directly streaming to your homes ... NETFLIX is already doing it.

Ask yourself this question: can your family do without Disney content? That's where they have us by the neck ... especially if they have live sports content.

Yes ... you get your NFL highlights THROUGH YouTube. That's the point. Cable is being squeezed. No need for the middle man. Also, the NFL only allows access to their footage to those who pay for their rights. ESPN had to pay for Monday Night to get those rights. ESPN also pushes their content through YouTube ... while demanding Google do a better job with piracy. You hear YouTubers complaining all the time with stricter rules.

Regarding the NBA ... Time Warner and Disney share content. No one plays favorites. The only reason TNT feels better is due to Barkley, Ernie, Kenny, and Shaq.

You say you don't want to pay for the cable bundle. You don't want to pay for regular season college basketball games. That's exactly the point of collecting content. What content will you pay for?

* Disney / ESPN / ABC
* FOX
* Time Warner / ATT
* NBC Universal / Comcast
* CBS / Viacom
* Amazon
* Google
* Netflix
* Apple
* Hulu

Those are your new options. The biggest question is if NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, ACC, BIG, SEC, etc. decide to pull their live sports content in house in a decade or so. That's a huge risk due to marketing / operating costs.

It's a new business paradigm for media distribution. We all know cable is dying. The content providers are taking power back from the distributors due to technological advances.

More than ESPN, it's FOX that's in trouble. What happens when Amazon and Google bid for NFC rights in 2021? Their wallets are huge and want instant credibility for their platform.

I look at ESPN as a part of Disney and content aggregator. It's the reason Disney paid for 20th Century Fox. That's what I mean when I say Content is King.

 

[piteus]

USC hasn't been relevant since the Bush scandal and UCLA hasn't been in my lifetime.

Trust me ... USC is still the most relevant football team in LA. That's not saying much ... but they are more relevant than the Rams and Chargers right now.

 

[piteus]

USC hasn't been relevant since the Bush scandal and UCLA hasn't been in my lifetime.

Trust me ... USC is still the most relevant football team in LA. That's not saying much ... but they are more relevant than the Rams and Chargers right now.

The Rams will be interesting in LA. They have history. However, there's a reason they left LA 20 years ago too. It was the Raiders who had LA. LA refused to be held hostage by Al Davis.

 

[piteus]

Great for the crowd to react to Rose like that, but also can't help but think that it was a bit of a quasi-Bronx cheer where they're also trying to embarrass the Bulls front office.

I think you are right.

To be fair, the Bulls treated DRose more than fairly. They weren't cheap or demanding. DRose took his time and collected pay checks. They also traded him to a major market in NYC. He also had a disgusting civil suit which didn't help matters. DRose never actively recruited other UFAs while his brother ripped on the organization. It was time to move on for both parties.

I'm happy for DRose. It also took him to the age of 30 to develop a consistent outside shot. If he stays healthy, DRose is going to score close to 20ppg for the next couple of years.

 

[BK]

I wish Rose wouldn't of had his brother and BJ around him. I think they truly impacted the whole situation.