What a monster statement today. "It's still baseball season in Baltimore"

[atomic]

I don't get the infatuation with the NFL...outside of the NBA, it is seriously the most boring thing to watch that I can think of...well, of the major sports anyway.

I mean, let's put it this way...if the Browns beat the Patriots in week 5, people are like "Whoa, hey, look at that. So anyway, what happened in the rest of the games?"

Now, if NC State beats Florida State, the entire college football world is flipped upside down, it more often than not ruins Florida State's entire season, and people will talk about it throughout the end of the Bowl Season...and even into the next season like "will Florida State be able to escape (wherever NC State plays) with a victory, or will they once again suffer the upset and ruin their chances at a national championship?"

When you play so few games, every game should matter, and teams that are barely above .500 in football (like 9-7) should not make the playoffs...that is ridiculous...

I think I have watched about 15 minutes of the last 7 or 8 Super Bowls...and maybe an extra 3 or 4 minutes of regular season NFL games...I seriously don't get the appeal...

Now when it comes to college football, we are talking about something entirely different...I am glued to every single play...

Disclaimer: I abhor the Ravens. Everything about that organization makes my skin crawl...

Well I can't stand college football. Bunch of guys who are getting paid under the table that have no business being in college and who probably never attend class. Also the level of play is so much lower than professional that it is just not interesting at all to me.

[atomic]

I dont criticize fans of football. I just don't care for the sport anymore. Especially

the NFL. Used to like it. Colts were my favorite team. But when the NFL powers

started shoving football down my throat on week nights other than Monday. I

believe enough is enough. I refuse to watch it. I am old enough to remember

when it was ten game season. For me it's just too much. I dont mind the college

game. I've always liked baseball. Birds been the team I cheer for over 50 years.

They have baseball every night of the week for 6 months straight. Some Thursday night games bother you in Football?

[Redskins Rick]

They have baseball every night of the week for 6 months straight. Some Thursday night games bother you in Football?

I dislike Thursday night Football, because of the impact on the players and their bodies.

Football is too demanding a sport, to have them come back from Sunday and play again on Thursday.

[Palmoripken]

I dislike Thursday night Football, because of the impact on the players and their bodies.

Football is too demanding a sport, to have them come back from Sunday and play again on Thursday.

This..

[SilentJames]

I dislike Thursday night Football, because of the impact on the players and their bodies.

Football is too demanding a sport, to have them come back from Sunday and play again on Thursday.

None of that matters - the NFL needs more money that it doesn't pay taxes on - after all, remember, the NFL is a non-profit organization.

http://deadspin.com/5984731/the-only-reason-we-know-roger-goodells-absurd-salary-is-that-the-nfl-is-structured-as-a-non-profit-to-avoid-taxes

The NFL is quickly approaching FIFA-levels of avarice.

[DrungoHazewood]

Well I can't stand college football. Bunch of guys who are getting paid under the table that have no business being in college and who probably never attend class. Also the level of play is so much lower than professional that it is just not interesting at all to me.

The NCAA has so many problems that it's hard to see it continuing in its current form for long. But despite that I find the college versions of football and basketball to be far, far more appealing than the professional ones. Part of it is the diversity of strategy - teams will try stuff in college (and succeed) that they'd never do in the pros. Part of it is the history and the tie to your school. Even if they picked Virginia Tech because of a recruiting process that's just short of SuperPACs and senatorial races, they still picked Virginia Tech just like I once did. And it's the smaller scale - the NFL can't do anything without a week of hype and Britney Spears and Lady Gaga singing some song about the glories of NFL while riding on the back of a unicorn and Mike and Mike talking about it for six hours and NFL films releasing a DVD boxed set of the occasion. A Tech-NC State game seems so much more... reasonable and approachable.

[TouchemAll]

I can't be the only one who noticed this. On getaway day, trying to stave off a sweep in that graveyard of happiness Tropicana Field, the Orioles have an unbelievable yet appropriately epic win led by Nelson Cruz who is having the kind of unbelievable yet appropriately epic year that just kinda sums up the 2012-2014 Orioles. Back home, the Ravens drop the home opener. Maybe I'm attaching too much significance to it but right now I gotta think Baltimore is more excited about the Orioles in 2014 than the Ravens.

I mean tell me what you guys think because I don't even live there, basically I've always been a fan through my dad, and I take my pilgrimages every year. Always felt like the local media and national media regarded the Ravens as a bigger deal but right now I think the focus is on the Orioles and how they are going to close out this season.

Ravens, WHO is this team or bird you speak of. Only bird that's ever mattered to me in B-more is and Oriole.

There once was a GREAT team named the Colts who use to hang there, but they deserted me.

[TouchemAll]

I am not an Angelos apologist.

But, I am a reformed hater.

At some point, we need to make the past the past, and live in the moment. We will never right the wrong from the past, but we can't let it cloud our enjoyment of the future and winning baseball.

The moment is, Angelos isn't meddling with the team. DD has clearly shown, he has the authority to run the team.

3 winning seasons shows, that the first year, wasn't a one and done.

That describes me pretty good too.

[Barnfather]

The 'problem' with baseball surely is the sheer quantity of it during the season compared to other sports. What I mean is, people will see the O's on TV almost every night, and by having so many home games it's easy to become part of the furniture I would think. With NFL the scarcity of games, means each one will by hyped up far more and gets peoples imaginations flowing.

That said, I would imagine WS fever would be immense (if we get there) in the city. It's one thing having a local MLB side to root for when checking the sports pages, and knowing that you have possibly the best baseball team on the planet right now just down the road...

In any sport, success breeds success and success breeds support. You wouldn't think it should be the case always, and some teams will survive well without success (the Red Sox and Yankees spring to mind) but generally that is so. Doing so well this year should mean more interest next and so on. Winning the division, the league or the WS will certainly help too.

[brianod]

Goodell seems determined to turn the NFL into the arena football league. Baseball has stayed truer to its roots. But, other then that, I love both games and checked on the O's while at the Ravens game. It's a lot like surf and turf. Some people are vegetarians, some don't like seafood. But I'm fortunate enough to love em both and will take surf and turf any time.

[Barnaby Graves]

I think a lot of people are interpreting my opinion as more Ravens vs. Orioles, football vs. baseball, etc. That wasn't my intention. I'm a casual football and Ravens fan.

My point was more about the general mood of the fans. I don't hear nearly as much "when is football starting, thank god football is almost here." Which should be expected when we're not 32-74 and we're actually leading the division.

So like you guys said, usually people are analyzing 5 seconds of a guy's training camp and turning it into an hour-long show, and more than ever I am not paying attention or caring about any of that.

[TouchemAll]

I think a lot of people are interpreting my opinion as more Ravens vs. Orioles, football vs. baseball, etc. That wasn't my intention. I'm a casual football and Ravens fan.

My point was more about the general mood of the fans. I don't hear nearly as much "when is football starting, thank god football is almost here." Which should be expected when we're not 32-74 and we're actually leading the division.

So like you guys said, usually people are analyzing 5 seconds of a guy's training camp and turning it into an hour-long show, and more than ever I am not paying attention or caring about any of that.

JMHO, but I think you can thank Fantasy football for that.

[Barnaby Graves]

JMHO, but I think you can thank Fantasy football for that.

You might be right, but if I were to put it down to one significant factor it's just the 24-hour media thing. ESPN is a part of that now.

And to people asking why this is important, I guess it really isn't, but what always bothered me was that dispute the Orioles and Ravens had where the Ravens tried to bully the Orioles into moving their game around for the Ravens. They tried to gather public support against the Orioles and they used a religious holiday as a BS excuse. It was all about Big Football being Big Football. Hey, who cares about the Orioles right? By the time your game rolls around you'll be out of the playoffs anyway, haw haw haw. Well they can suck it.

[Redskins Rick]

You might be right, but if I were to put it down to one significant factor it's just the 24-hour media thing. ESPN is a part of that now.

And to people asking why this is important, I guess it really isn't, but what always bothered me was that dispute the Orioles and Ravens had where the Ravens tried to bully the Orioles into moving their game around for the Ravens. They tried to gather public support against the Orioles and they used a religious holiday as a BS excuse. It was all about Big Football being Big Football. Hey, who cares about the Orioles right? By the time your game rolls around you'll be out of the playoffs anyway, haw haw haw. Well they can suck it.

It was a power struggle between NFL and MLB.

[brianod]

I'm not sure yesterday's game was a statement about anything except how bad our bullpen and defense is right now, and that Cruz is the only guy who can drive in a run.

I think it was a huge win. More of a relief then a statement. We don't want to lose our mojo before the playoffs.