Come June, NFL minicamps are more interesting than the Stanley Cup.

Tags: nhl

Come June, NFL minicamps are more interest...

Expires: 19-Mar-2007 14:03

Pickle

2 Votes
28%

Saw Wilbon pose this question back in mid-June on PTI, and it occurred to me that I had been religiously soaking up news from NFL minicamps, but had no idea which two teams were playing for the Stanley Cup. I'm not atypical. A few weeks ago, a San Jose Sharks game was the lowest-rated sports TV program in the week for the Bay Area. It got lapped two or three times by BOWLING.

I'll leave it to others to detail the reasons why. More foreign players, a sport most people never play themselves, not TV-friendly, Barry Melrose's haircut. But it ain't getting better for hockey.

Mainly, I just want to try my hand for the first and last time at NHL smack. And see whether anyone other than Wolverine bothers to respond. That should be a good indicator of my point.

Cheesehead

5 Votes
71%

I'll actually argue this smackdown from the other side. NFL minicamps vs. Stanley Cup isn't even a contest. Not only does the Stanley Cup barely register on my sports radar, but I consider NFL minicamp to be more interesting than most sporting events period. I lap up every tidbit. But hockey... unless I'm at the tank pressed to the glass, it's hard for me to pay attention.

I don't know why. Intellectually, I should like it -- speed, violence, scoring. I'm even from Wisconsin where people actually know hockey rules. But I can't be bothered. A quick Google search on obscure sports turns up a long list of things I'd watch ahead of the Stanley Cup. To wit:
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Tall Bike Jousting
- Unicycling
- Zorbing
- Caber toss

How many people can honestly say they wouldn't flip the channel to see some fat Scottish guy in a kilt toss a tree -- at least for the second period of the Stanley Cup.

Hell, I might even watch a round or two of Extreme Ironing -- at least ahead of regular season NHL.

ReadComments

Wolverine (voted for Cheesehead)

14-Mar-07 14:51

OMG. That extreme ironing picture killed me.

PatsFan (voted for Pickle)

14-Mar-07 16:59

I'll weigh in. Die hard NFL fan. But off-season bores me. I thought the Sharks run last year was awesome to watch.

Bucky (voted for Pickle)

15-Mar-07 07:34

Leave it to Trigginator to favor practice over the real thing. Now you know why he has a huge right forearm. NFL minicamp news is so controlled and manufactured that its worthless. We hear breathless accounts of the potential of the rookies or the free agent signing only to see most of them cut during training camp or inactive during the regular season. How many times have you heard the minicamp report that so-and-so from the sixth round is really looking good and will challenge an entrenched veteran, only to read a small blurb in August that so-and-so was unceremoniously cut. It's a waste of time to follow.

For Pete's sake they don't even wear pads for most minicamps. How can we get an accurate picture of any new player as he runs around in shorts? Yet, the sports media endlessly parrot what the coaches and personnel people tell them. "So-and-so looked great coming out of his cuts and he actually caught a ball today." Please, save it for the regular season.

I'll take a live game in any sport that means something over NFL minicamp any day of the week. Yeah let's get fired up about the head coach teaching a bunch of dumb rookies his base offense.

Also, all "up the shorts" photos (see Extreme Ironing photo) should be banned on a sports website. Leave it to Triggenator to post a photo of some guys junk hanging out of his shorts.

Wolverine (voted for Cheesehead)

15-Mar-07 08:39

Bucky, you are THE MAN. I like what you are bringing. Some serious heat.