NBA vs. NHL

I keep hearing the annoying rants of Bill Simmons and his legion of sports blog stat nerds trash the NHL as second rate compared to the "Big Three" professional sports. Their taunts run through my head day and night. Sometimes I cannot sleep because of the anxiety this causes. Luckily though, I can fight back from the anxiety and defend the ugly stepchild of professional sports every once in awhile.

Say what you want about the NHL, but in this post, I am going to tear apart the NBA piece by piece until you can actually taste my redemption. It will taste fucking awesome. This will be the first in a 3-part series where I take down each of the "Big Three" until we can all realize just how captivating the NHL is.

1. Speed of Play
-Ok, this is important because I think everyone likes to watch a game that gets some fluidity as well as a fast pace. Nascar is practically built around this singular concept. So why on Earth does the NBA draw in higher attendance and revenues when its hard for the game to go on 10 seconds without a stoppage. Where is the excitement of that? Fouls are the bane of my exsistence. Ive developed a few ulcers, kidney stones, and abnormally bad blood pressure because of the fouls caused from watching ONE Spurs game alone last year. Tim Duncans beligerent whining reminded me of an Italian soccer player. Hockey, on the other hand, can see the game move on for 2 minutes while action unfolds without being stopped. Players are moving 40 mph, pucks are moving 90-100 mph. Seems a bit more interesting to me...

Physical Contact
--Hockey players are encouraged to make their opponents cry and bleed. Basketball players get kicked out of the game if they brush up against their opponent more than 5 times. Hockey players who like to fight get special roles and become fan favirotes. Basketball players who like to fight are forced to play in Sacramento and recieve a "thug" label. They also get suspended for 70 odd games.

Enjoying the Game in Person
-Basketball games in person are really anticlimatic. Not only does the tv screen make the court seem much bigger, but it also makes the players seem much more...skilled. I went to a Bobcats game once and all I could think about was how Deron Williams looked like a poor mans version of my friend Will. Will could even hit the 3 better than him. Hockey games encourage fans to be drunk, encourage players to check their opponents into the boards causing thunderous checks, and encourage girls to take off their tops. Plus a puck could fly over the net and hit you on the side of the head, givingyou two nifty souveneirs to take home that night.

Overall Skill Required
-My grandfather is more skilled at basketball than Greg Oden. If he was 7 feet tall, I think hed beat Greg Odens ass than dunk on him. The bottom line is you dont see hockey recruiting 7 foor 5 chinese players to the game because they want SKILLED players, not physical freaks who can dominate a singular aspect of the game.

So I think I have made my point and I am pretty sure your now on my side with this whole NHL beats the NBA thing. Thats great to hear and no need to thank me, your very welcome!

Bobcats release Gerald Wallace; Clear up cap space for Lisa Leslie

In a shocking move that shook the sports world....or at least the Charlotte region....or hell, someones paying attention to the Bobcats...right??

Anyways, this doesent matter, for histories sake its worth noting that the Charlotte Bobcats have invested a 7 year 100 million dollar deal into former WNBA star, Lisa Leslie. Insisting this is not a gimmick, team coach Bernie Bickerstaff praised the toughness and scoring ability Leslie would bring to the table....

A Standing O For the Blog Worlds Latest Rookie!

Boy, its not easy being a rookie in professional sports blogging these days. Millions of other sports junkies trying to throw out their opinions and preach some bandwagon agenda have made the idea of blogging pretty much as fruitless as playing for the Devil Rays. We (Chris and myself, some college aged kids who cant quite drink (legally) yet, so as a result still have little better to do) will be lucky to get 3-4 viewers from now until July....those viewers being my mom, his aunt Judith, and probably Billy Packer.

So we decided we have to set ourselves apart, have an angle, really make this site interesting enough that we can become moderately wealthy and afford meals that havent been preheated at the Mens Shelter.

So how are we going to do it? Simple, offer you rampant rumors and speculation, no spin analysis, up to date breaking news coverage, and a sense of humor. Too many people take the sports world a little too seriously and end up overanalyzing everything (Mel Kiper, that means you!). We've decided we can apply the Hot Stove talk to this whole "Intranet" trend that seems to have caught on...for now. We here at Hot Stove are banking on this little phase to come to an end soon enough, but for now, what the hell, lets fire up the stove!!