Generic Off Season Thread

[Chris '03]

I am glad that so many people are alarmed about a shootout deciding a hockey game based upon a skills competition. It is unthinkable to desire the team with the more skilled players to win a sporting event. How outlandish an idea!

It is outlandish, because scoring on penalty shots is an infinitesimally small portion of the skills required of players and teams to win hockey games.  In fact, if not for the current shootout-to-resolve-ties system, you'd almost never see a penalty shot - just like in college hockey right now.

Do you think a baseball game tied after nine innings should be decided by alternating attempts to steal home or triple play opportunities?  Or should it be decided by continuing to play the game, so that the team that demonstrates superior abilities in all or most aspects of the game on that particular day ends up the winner?

My qualm is not with the argument that shootouts are not the best way to solve the issue but the illogic of an argument that a sporting event cannot be resolved legitimately with what amounts to a skills competition because sports at their fundamental essence are nothing more than skills competition.

So, continuing with your baseball analogy, why is it any more legitimate for the game to be decided in the bottom of the ninth with a player stealing home than using that as a tie-breaking mechanism? Either way, the same set of skills will have decided the game. Those skills belong to an individual just as readily in your hypothetical overtime regime as they do during regulation. Your distinction is artificial.

It is absurd to claim that a sporting event being decided by a skills competition is illegitimate.

I am fine with ties, even though I find them dissatisfying. I am fine with even admitting that shootouts are not the best way to resolve competitions. However, the rationale that individual skills between a player one-on-one against the goaltender is somehow an illegitimate means to resolve a competition is nonsensical. Let's disallow all goals on breakaways! Better yet, let's penalize any team that leans upon one player too much, say a goaltender, because well, if the team does not support him well enough the game has devolved to a skills competition of the goaltender against the entire team.

It's true that if resolution must be achieved allowing both teams to continue to play until one teams wins is most just. However, sports are skills competitions. That is why we watch them. Situations change which skills are best suited to achieve a result. Who is to say that after 65 minutes a transition to a shootout is not legitimate? Various other scenarios, 4-on-4, etc. favor certain skills sets, but no one has qualms with them during regulation if they result when, much like shootouts, the play and conduct of the teams results in the situations.

Please. Don't respond to this any more. It is sophistry and not particularly well argued.

Yes, but it's so damned funny and almost inspired me to inquire:  "With respect to ties, how could you possibly be fine with them but find them dissatisfying?".   I just LOL'ed and forgot about it......

I think federal litigation in close cases should be resolved by which firm writes more comprehensible timesheets.

As long as state court disputes can still use the time honored coin flip.

[marty]

Daily Sun article.

[ugarte]

How long did that ban last? A year? A few games?

[marty]

How long did that ban last? A year? A few games?

I think I'll let someone else from that era answer.

[Larry72]

Elaborate hoax if I remember correctly!!!

[marty]

Elaborate hoax if I remember correctly!!!

Exactly.  There were I think two issues per year with satirical hoax stories.  This one coincided with IFC Fall Weekend - at least that is what I remember.  Spring weekend spawned a similar Sun.

I was once fooled in the other direction. On a Friday that began a less important weekend there was an article about the campus police spying on the students during anti-war demonstrations.  I incorrectly thought that was satire. ::blush::

[marty]

[enough quoting of quoted quotes]

I'm sorry, what?

[add] something something That entire paragraph about Qualitative Analysis blah blah blah

Ah. Yeah.  That. [add] should be automatically appended to a lot of things.

I'm fine with ties. The end.

In most instances I have no problem with ties.

There are exceptions:

[marty]

Do you think a baseball game tied after nine innings should be decided by alternating attempts to steal home or triple play opportunities?  Or should it be decided by continuing to play the game, so that the team that demonstrates superior abilities in all or most aspects of the game on that particular day ends up the winner?

The best way to end a ballgame.

[ugarte]

Elaborate hoax if I remember correctly!!!

Here's how good the hoax was: I was SURE it was a hoax. I quickly googled to find the answer and the Cornell-Harvard rivalry wikipedia page memorializes the hoax as if it happened. I shrugged my shoulders and asked the question here EVEN THOUGH it was clear from the page that Ellenbas kept playing, so it couldn't have been true.

That's some quality hoaxin'.

[Jim Hyla]

CHN's take on rules changes reviewed here. Cages remain.

[billhoward]

Full cages were implemented in 1978 as a way to protect eyes and other serious facial injuries. It was not originally meant to protect against concussions, which weren't as prevalent at the time.

Perhaps concussions were more prevalent (less-protective helmets) and they weren't as well recognized.

[French Rage]

Ahh, so that's what we're supposed to do with a 5 minute PP in an important playoff game.

[nyc94]

the Cornell-Harvard rivalry wikipedia page memorializes the hoax as if it happened.

Someone should fix that.

[css228]

Ahh, so that's what we're supposed to do with a 5 minute PP in an important playoff game.

yes... yes it is...

[ugarte]

the Cornell-Harvard rivalry wikipedia page memorializes the hoax as if it happened.

Someone should fix that.

You're kidding, right? This is perfect.

Ahh, so that's what we're supposed to do with a 5 minute PP in an important playoff game.

Dustin should come talk to the team when he's visiting family. Hopefully the advice will be better than "Shooooooooooooooooooooooooooot!"