The Blackhawk buzz is mostly fair weather. Does anyone remember how dead in the water they were six yrs ago? They could not get any traction in this town. The Bulls are still more popular and the NBA is far more popular than hockey. The NBA has already overtaken baseball in terms of international popularity. This board is not a true reflection of basketball's popularity. The most popular person on this board is Dan Bernstein. How can this board be a barometer of anything when the person that draws the most interest is some surly talk show host that 98% of the city doesn't even know exist.

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They play basketball in Europe, too.

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We're talking about which is more popular. They play soccer in the U.S. Rugby too.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Baseball is more popular in Chicago. The most popular athlete in Chicago's history is a Basketball player however.

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Need to check the TV ratings for all sports.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I will check it out. I'm a basketball fan. I'm also a diehard White Sox fan. I actually thought that basketball had overtaken baseball in terms of national popularity. Basketball players are definitely more marketable these days than baseball players. I do think that the NBA finals outdraws the World Series in this country. I just don't think this board is truly reflective of what is the overall interest in basketball. There are not a lot of basketball fans that subscribe to the board. A Sox or Cubs thread will definitely receive more action than a Bulls thread.

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Taking nothing away from the athleticism and talent in basketball...I don't like NBA or College basketball.
1) 2 hour waste of time when the only thing that matters is the last 60 seconds on the clock.
2) that last 60 seconds on the clock takes forever
3) Squeaking sound of basketball shoes on the court is annoying
4) Officiating - Officials can impact the outcome of the game and often do..yes, we can talk penalties in the NFL and strike zones in baseball..none of that comes close to judgment calls in basketball on fouls, traveling, etc.

i know I'm in the minority and basketball is popular...just not my thing.

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huh ? a strike zone in baseball is clearly a huge judgment call that affects the game just as much if not more than a basketball ref calling fouls or traveling. yea yea yea they travel on every place, just like every football play there's holding

My problem with the NBA is with the officiating in a sense but not necessarily with the refs just the way they are seemingly told to call it. For instance traveling does get me. It is simple just don't do it. Bigger for me is the so called continuation and ticky tack fouls to make three point plays. Lastly, I cannot stand the ball handler/shooter jump into the defenders chest and that is a defensive foul.

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Elections have consequences.

I hate the "the only thing that matters is the last 60 seconds of the game" BS. Just say you don't like basketball. Yeah, the final minutes are exciting, but the rest of the game is as well. It's just a cop out for those who don't enjoy the sport.

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-- source

its really hard to call traveling. if you really watch what they do, they actually dont travel per the rules. it looks like it because their last step is actually a 'plant' even though thats where they jump... but technically its not a travel unless they break their pivot point... which is impossible to see in real time because its just a quick step and lift.

its also arbitrary to the time when they first touch the ball and actually have control of the ball. you cant tell in real time, so you have to give the benefit of the doubt to the player or you will be calling traveling every time.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Man, the reverence people have for calling traveling, of all things, makes me think "Thou Shalt Not Travel" was the 11th Commandment or something. You never see people disavowing the NFL because "they don't call holding."

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EXACTLY. i dont constantly go off on baseball because i simply dont care about it. its boring

furthermore, i think most people that hate basketball are racist. its just a correlation i see. youll never hear a bigot say "oh yea i love the nba"

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

exactly

at the end of the day, you still need enough skill to get the ball in the hoop. i just dont think people realize how hard that is, especially when being guarded. everything else is minor

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

I mostly agree with you, but then you have the '80s Celtics to mull over.

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there was a reason this years UW team was so popular. i heard it in every bar i went to. "hey theyre all white!!!! this is great!"

in general, i think college ball is more popular than the nba simply because there are more white kids.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Not only white, but the best player was named "Frank Kaminsky." That sounds like a plumber who belongs to a bowling league.

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I'm glad someone finally said that. I think one of the main reasons people diss the NBA is due to the fact that there is a larger percentage of African Americans in the NBA Than there is in College Basketball. Never discount the wealthy black man aspect of it either.

Race shouldn't enter into sports the way that it does but let's admit it exists in sports also.

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I'm shocked that Scoreheads's friends and neighbors don't like the NBA. I wonder why that is...

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Because his friends and neighbors don't like the NBA?

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

it goes beyond that, LTG. there are many blacks in the NFL. but here's the sad truth: they're hidden under helmets. in the NBA, there is a lot of personality in the players. that's the draw of the game. it's very flashy and it markets the look. there are tons of white people "turned off" by the fact that the players *look* the way they do. there are more arrests in the NFL and you're hard pressed to find a white guy complain about the NFL being "thug league". but if one guy messes up in the NBA, it's over.

personally i haven't had a lot of interest in the NBA lately because my team is abysmal. i still follow it and watch the playoffs/finals but it's hard to get excited for me these days. hoping that'll change sometime soon because i do love the game.

I did say "it's not my thing". I listed the officiating and last 60 seconds is why it's not my thing. I don't expect people to agree...this is just how basketball appears to me. We've debated basketball officials and Baseball balls and strikes a million times. I agree it's a factor and something that needs improvement, but IMO it pales to the impact basketball has on the game. Yes there is excitement in the game prior to the last 60 seconds...perhaps I should rephrase...it's more of the constant stoppage. One play Foul. Commercial. Play foul commercial. time out. The game stops so much it loses me. Baseball's pitching changes are similar and that also drives me crazy.

I'm glad people like basketball. Like many others, I got sucked in during Jordan era and when he retired, there was nothing left to hold me interest. I do not believe the NBA is dying..it's very popular. Like Golf, it just does nothing for me.

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You must hate the NFL then. Ever been to a game?

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-- source

I'm sure this is true.

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I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out. - Bill Hicks

Let's do it for Johnny!

The origins of the "turned off" portion would be of concern for me. Is it because it has black millionaires that dominate the sport or is it because of other factors. When I hear people state that they love college but hate pro I do wonder. Not going to lie about it. The college game stinks to holy hell but what it does have is more whites that act as participants. The quality of the game is lacking though. If you're white there are more whites that you can identify with. That's the one difference.

I have been a sports fan all of my life. I grew watching and loving all three sports and it has always bothered me as an African American when other blacks would not give a white athlete credit for being good/great when it was painfully obvious that they were. I hated when blacks I knew would say that Bird wasn't that good. In more recent times they would criticize Dirk and I knew that it was racially motivated. There were guys I knew giving Josh Howard's bum ass credit for Dallas getting to the Finals when it was obvious that it was Nowitski in 06.

Sports shouldn't be a sociological experiment but too often it has become that. Colin Cowherd actually stated that a sports executive told him directly that it was necessary for a white person to be on the team because whites that buy tickets want to see someone that is like them when they come to the games. The lazy NBA player has undertones and no one really wants to say what they are because your hard core racists types will simply deny it anyway. Lazy NBA guy is synonymous with Lazy black guy. It is rare that black athletes are credited with being hard workers. They are often praised for being multi talented but rarely hard working. Conversely white athletes are usually credited with being "heady" or "over achieving". These stereotypes have always been there.

I won't stereotype those that dislike the NBA with the stain of being racist. That is not fair they are entitled to like what they like. But I have wondered if some of the dislike stems from the fact that you have wealthy African Americans who just happen to dominate the sport. For a group not used to seeing African Americans prevail in anything it can be a sort of culture shock. The thuggish characterizations often attributed to NBA players are not accurate either.

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Rickey Henderson, there's a guy who busted his ass more than anyone of any color.

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Another difference is that fantasy football is a huge cultural phenomenon. Fantasy basketball is not. Even if it were, consider the NFL CBA and its non-guaranteed contracts. One way or the other, it must be such a thrill for white guys in neckties to vicariously fire that rich black guy.

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Fantasy sports is worldwide &across most sports and platforms. It works the same the world over, cupcake.

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DRINK BƎTTƎR. @theRIPH

Nothing like fantasy football.

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fantasy baseball is the original and very popular. Still, fantasy baseball seems to be played by those who like baseball. Fantasy football seems to draw very casually interested fans of the game. Someone thought enough of fantasy football to make a comedy centered around it.

I was as big a fan of college basketball as anyone back even through my college years. I could name all the players from even the most obscure of teams. It's lost me for any number of reasons and as my interest in the college game diminished so did my interest in the pros.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.