Hockey vs. Football

No, not 'which sport is better' (because we all know what one is). Hockey and football are the only two major (North American) sports in which body contact is allowed. Moreso, encouraged. Emotions run very high in both sports, and punches to the head, fights, cheapshots etc. are very common in hockey. Why? Hockey players are willing to cross check a guy in the face, sucker punch somebody in the back of the head, spear somebody in the stomach etc. etc. (me being a hockey player I know this...I'm guilty of all of those 'cept punching a guy in the back of the head) Huge suspensions are common in the NHL. Players can get in two fights a game before they are booted. But I have never seen an NFL player throw a punch before, or do anything to warrant a 26 game suspension (Marty McSorley) or a 30+ game suspension (Todd Bertuzzi, who might also miss out on playing for Team Canada this summer).

Reasons for this:
-Football moves in stops-and-starts. Players have a chance to cool down and count to ten if somebody pisses them off.
-Hockey players carry sticks. Another weapon for them.
-A three or four game suspension in hockey is a small dent out of 82 games. An NFL player getting a suspension for 3 or 4 games as almost a quarter of a season.
-Fighting is encouraged by coaches, fans and (some) players alike in hockey. Players wanting to start a fight will do anything to disturb some shit. Example, Bertuzzi punching Steve Moore in the back of the head breaking his neck (his apology was sincere enough for me to believe that he did not, in fact, want to hurt him though)

I'd appreciate some of the football fans to give me some reasons as to why NFL players rarely, if ever, fight or do things as bad as what Todd Bertuzzi did.

1. Debate forum!

2. hockey rules dick head!

I dislike all highly-paid organized spots on the grounds that idiots praise these jerkwads as gods (because they're richer and better at playing games than you?), BUT...

...hockey strikes me as better because they're paid less, and fewer people idolize them.

I'd appreciate some of the football fans to give me some reasons as to why NFL players rarely, if ever, fight or do things as bad as what Todd Bertuzzi did.

Didn't you just answer that?

...hockey strikes me as better because they're paid less, and fewer people idolize them.

Bah, that's a shitty reason to like a sport. I assure you, one out of every three Canadians idolizes a hockey player in some shape or form. On our five dollar bill we have a hockey scene on a pond.

As for the pay, it's about the same with any other sport. Not that it matters anyways....the average player will get around three to four million a year. Players like Forseberg and Jagr get between 10-15 a year.

Didn't you just answer that?
I was looking for some opinions from other football and hockey fans...but nobody here seems to like either sport so godamn

When Darunia admits he hates organized sports, his opinion doesn't count.

I love both sports, but I grew up on football and only recently adopted hockey. So obviously I'm biased, but who isn't one way or the other. But as you said, this isn't a debate about which sport is better, so...

There have been football players who have been suspended for extended lengths of time, even an entire season, although this usually has to do with drug violations. A couple years ago there was a Cleveland Brown who attacked a ref and was suspended for a year. The new trend is fining and suspending safeties for removing the heads of unsuspecting receivers, and when a star player misses a game or two he quickly becomes unpopular with the fans and coaching staff.

This is because in the NFL it is VERY hard to get into the playoffs and one game can be the difference between winning your division and a first round bye and missing the playoffs altogether. So every game a player misses is excuciatingly important. I'm not downplaying the importance of a single game in hockey, because even though there are so many games in a season all the teams are pretty close at the end. The key difference is that just about everybody, his brother, sister, and cousin, and friends make the playoffs in the NHL or NBA, and once you are in, placement is not a huge deal, since there are no first round byes.

Probably the biggest difference is that cheap shots, and fighting are part of the culture of hockey. :) There are some fights during the game in football, but usually just scuffles, and the refs and teammates don't stand around watching until somebody is on the ground and the fight over. Plus it might be painful to punch somebody in the face mask. :)

The key difference is that just about everybody, his brother, sister, and cousin, and friends make the playoffs in the NHL
*cough*Ranger and Flames*cough*seven years out*cough*

:) Excuse me.

Alrighty, I kinda see some more of the reason as to why NFL players don't lose their minds when they get hit.

Basketball and Hockey are stupid because 16-team playoffs mean that there's no impetus to do really well... I mean in the NBA, especially in the Eastern Conference... the 8th playoff team is somewhere around .440! Insane!

I like baseball's restricted playoffs best. As for football, I don't know... I don't like 1-game playoffs much, but football has to do it that way... I'd say how few games they play and all that a problem with the sport. Makes each one so important... it's better with more room for error. :)

Bah, that's a shitty reason to like a sport.

Yea--ugh, BUT I DON'T LIKE EITHER ONE, I was just letting you know which of the two was actually more acceptable.

When Darunia admits he hates organized sports, his opinion doesn't count.

Touché.

No way ABF--when less teams make the playoffs it isn't nearly as exciting. There's no room for upsets! Yeesh.

I don't like watching sports, but I do enjoy playing them. If I had to choose between the two I'd choose street hockey, mainly because it's been ages since I've had the chance to play it.

If Georgia Tech wins the NCAA Champoinship I get 24 dollars. Cool, huh?

woo...?

Woo!

We have a thing at school were you contribute a dollar and you get randomly draw the name of a team. If your team makes it to the Final Four you get 10 dollars and if they win the National Championship you get 24 dollars. Go, Georgia Tech!!

TWENTY FOUR DOLLARS? Are you serious?? You cannot be serious!

Bet like a man.

64 dollars go in [one dollar per team as per the rules] 10 to each person with a team in the Final Four and then 24 for the person who's team wins the National Championship.

I like 'em better when not as much people get money...in hockey pools that I go in everybody pitches in $25 bucks, sometimes $30, and the winner gets all the cash at the end. I happen to be in the lead of one such pool, and in about one week I'm going to be $150 richer. Whoo!

While I appreciate the way the NFL and MLB do playoffs, it can be frustrating when you know that a month into the season your team has no chance to get into the playoffs. And somehow, despite so many teams, the NHL playoffs are incredible! THey are always very competitive, even in the early rounds. Nobody is safe, and there are always upsets. And the very nature of hockey being such a low scoring game makes the playoffs even more intense, because there is nothing like a triple overtime 0-0 game.

'your team won't get in' in baseball isn't the problem of the playoffs but of the imbalance (as in yes most teams don't get in, but the real problem is that they had no chance) is the big problem. But still look at the last few years -- Arizona, Anaheim, and Florida? No one expected them to win... so there is definitely imbalance but it's not quite that bad off for most teams. There're only a few teams that are truly hopeless... and a few others that just have bad luck (like everyone else in the AL East; just about anywhere else Toronto would be a perenial playoff contender but here they're third every year...)

Hmm, so what do you think. When will the AL East deadlock end? It's six straight years now!

I hope it ends! I hope it goes Yankees, BLUE JAYS, Red Sox.

Jays to have a legitemate chance this year...they have some genuine all-starts that could lead 'em. But who cares about the Jays? The only team that matters in Canada is the Expos, who'll hopefully finish above .500 without Guerrero and Vasquez (last year Montreal was something like 20-30 in games that Vladdy didn't play).

Yeah, I'd love the Expos to do well... the Jays, though, are EVIL! Well not Yankees EVIL, but bad. I dislike them. And I have ever since they won back-to-back World Serieses in the early '90s. I was very happy seeing them be bad the last few years...

Q: Why does Darunia sport a Boston Red Sox hat when he doesn't know anything about them?

A: Wants to get laid.

Eh, I'd pick the Jays as one of my favorite AL teams. It just sorta happened that my brother was on a little leage team called the Blue Jays when they were in the two Series, and I've been a fan (sorta) since. But right now I am pissed with Roy Halladay for having a bad start and losing his first two games. Not that it would ahve made a big difference, since I won all the pitching categories but Saves (I think), and Fittisize kicked my butt on offense. It's the darn Petco Park, I tell you! I watched the 3 games player there so far, and saw 5 ground rule doubles, a triple, who knows how many regular doubles, but only 1 home run.

Oh, and ABF, you are right- it is because of the imbalance that teams are eliminated from the playoffs so soon. But I think if 8 teams made the playofffs, it would be different because there would still be hope to get one of the 5 wild cards and anything can happen in the playoffs. However, I agree that this is just a half baked solution to the real problem that is George Steinbrenner's wallet.

Wait, you're the Syntax Analyzers, Laser Link? Ha, cool. Yup, I bit the big one in pitching last week. My ERA was near 10.00. Gah! Unacceptable.

Yeah, that's me. And I'll be changing the name throughout the year, just to be annoying. :) You have a good team, so I'm not too worried that you beat me in all the hitting categories, just like you shouldn't be too worried about Pitching. It's still so early.

And the truth is, I'm all for a big pitcher's park where nobody hits home runs. I think rallys make the game more exciting than a couple big bombs scattered throughout the game. But having 2 Padres and a total of 4 NL West hitters on my team, I'm a bit scared because Fantasy Baseball is so dependant on home runs- they boost your HR and RBI a lot, and even help in Runs. At least there is Coors Field to help balance it a bit, and who knows how the Litter Box will play in the summer when it's warmer and drier in San Diego.

You know who I am, right?

Oh, and it may be Fantasy Baseball so you want to win, but I refuse to have any Yankees on my team. No way.

... I know I had Jeff Weaver for a while last year but he was awful and I got rid of him...

And I just dislike big playoffs. It cheapens it! Making it easy to get in lessens the importance of the regular season... okay not getting in because there was a team better than you while in three other divisions you'd have won may seem unfair but it's the way it is.

... okay so the fact that the Sox have gotten the Wild Card 3 times should warm me to it but... I don't know, getting in that way just feels cheap...

I like the current MLB way MUCH MUCH MUCH more than the 2 division, 2 playoff teams per league thing they had until recently. But yeah, I know who you are in the league ABF. You 3 were easy to find, because your Yahoo usernames are all familiar. Plus I could have guessed Fittisize's and ABF's teams on your team names. My user name and team name, on the other hand, don't really mean anything to anybody else.

And I too, refuse to have any Yankees on my team. I tried to bant hem all from my Draftable list, since I couldn't do the draft myself, but I forgot Kenny Lofton and he ended up on my team. He's gone now, and I don't know why anybody would want to pick him up. He's sharing time with Bernie Wiliiams and playing some DH right now, but soon he will just be a pinch hitter.

One more thing. The DH has to go, but I fear it never will. I know I have Derek on my side (being a Cub fan, and hence, a NL anti-DH advocate), but what about you two ABF and Fitts? Where do you stand?

On my draft list I had pretty much all the Yankees...I only ended up with two, though. I was especially looking for Javiar Vasquez, just because he was an Expo and I really liked him. Ah well, at least I got Vladdy (he was #2 on my draft list 'cause I couldnt' make it, behind A-Rod) and Vidro. :) (weird, the names of all three of my favourite Expos players last year I called by V...Vidro, Vladdy, Vasquez).

Laser Link-I agree. I think the DH should be gone, as well. That way I can have more pitchers. I don't really care about my ERA, just strikeouts.

Oh wait,by DH you mean Util. in Fantasy Baseball, right? Bah, I'm hopeless.

But if you're talking about DH in real baseball, then I still think it should be gone. DH is just a waste of a position, imo.

No, I do mean the DH in real baseball, the scourge of the American League.

You could guess it on my team name? That means you know something about minor league baseball then... :)

Oh, and my team this year seems worse than last year's team. But both were random draws since I didn't make either draft...

After getting Weaver last year I banned all the Yankees I could think of this time. Thankfully none got through anyway and I don't have any... :)

As for the DH, I'm an AL person. I watch an AL team (and by proxy the rest of the AL teams). So I like the DH.