Its true! Lets talk about sports!
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ATP World Tour
Order in the court


Barclays Premier League Football (Soccer)
BPL League Table
Check Smerd's thing for more info!


NASCAR
2/26 Daytona 500


NBA Basketball
Kyrie Irving thinks the Earth is flat. And the aliens are behind it, or something to that extent..


NHL Hockey
Icing on the cake


PGA Golf
Rough times


UFC:
Octarockin


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Offseason:

Cricket:
Kangaroos are World Series Champs of the Universe

MLB Baseball
CUBS win the World Series

NFL Football
Patriots beat the Falcons in the first overtime Super Bowl


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@Shadowlink

How does the scoring work there? What is the significance of a certain score?

When I was going through there, I noticed "Runs" being used some time and "Wickets" being used another. Whats the difference? I, as an outsider, have NO idea. I COULD look it up, but I think it'll be more fun for you to explain it. Do you get excited when people are open to learning about things you enjoy? I do!


And all of these games are just for seeding purposes, right? Everyone is still alive after this first batch of games?

EDIT-
And the O's won again!? Mannn.

Yep I do enjoy teaching things! As long as people are interested. No point if I'm boring everyone with things no-one wants to hear about :P.

But seeing as you asked, a quick overview:

Cricket has a few similarities to baseball, you've got 2 teams (11 people a side) one side batting & the other fielding. The innings system used in baseball though is all but non-existent though. Generally one side bats, then the other team does and that's the game.

Test matches do use "Innings" (such as they are), but there's only two and a match generally takes 4-5 days to play. Only the most dedicated of cricket tragics sit down to watch an entire test!

In the one-day format of the game (used for the World Cup), there is a 50 over limit for each side. Each over consists of 6 balls (the cricket equivalent of pitches). So each team will face a maximum of 300 balls. When batting they need to try and score the maximum number of runs with that limit, & the job of the fielding team is to attempt to get the entire batting team out.

Runs can be scored by the batters hitting the ball & running back and forth between the two ends of the pitch. Batters continue to bat & score runs until they are finally dismissed (gotten out).
Bonus runs are scored by hitting the ball far enough to reach the bounday of the field- if the ball hits the ground first 4 runs are scored, if it clears the boundary on the full (like a home run) 6 runs are scored.
Unlike baseball though, the batters are never forced to run. If the batter hits short and feels that running would put him or his partner at risk of a run-out, he can choose to stay put. This of course wastes a ball though which is why the 50 over limit is significant.

When a player is dismissed by any number of means, it's called a wicket. So the score of 7/329 that the Netherlands achieved means that they lost 7 wickets whilst scoring 329 runs.

If the match result says "Won by X wickets" it means the team that batted second managed to achieve the score set by the team that batted first before either reaching the 50 over limit or losing all 10 of their wickets. In Irelands case, they only lost 7 wickets, hence the "won by 3 wickets".

If the result says "Won by X runs" it means the 1st team won as second team did not reach the target score. Obviously X is the difference between the totals of the two teams.

That being the case a score of 300 or more of 300 balls means that (on average) a run is being scored off every ball. That's pretty efficient batting. I believe the highest score ever recorded was about 430 or so…(Just checked wiki it was 443, Sri Lanka vs The Netherlands in 2006). But yes anything above 300 is very good. So for Ireland (not a major cricketing nation) to get a score of 329 aganst England (the country that invented the game and ranked #6 in the world)…its absolutley incredible.

And the big milestone for batters is the Century (or 'Ton') which means 100 runs in any one batting session. Rarer still are the double and triple centruies (200 & 300 runs) which usually only occur in the longer Test matches. Ireland's Kevin O'Brien achieved his century in a record 50 Balls.
So yeah, biggest upset seen for a very long time.

As for seeding...unfortunately no. 10 teams (Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe & Bangladesh) are all full members of the ICC, and gained automatic qualification for the tournament. The other 4 teams (Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands & Kenya) are only associate members & had to qualify via a 2nd tier tournament between the various associate members. I guess that was basically your seeding process right there.

We're in the group round-robin stage at the moment, 7 teams in each group. Only the top 4 from each group will move on to the Quarter finals.
Still England's not having the best tournament. A draw against India, the upset loss to Ireland, and a very close win against the Netherlands that was very nearly another upset. Not exactly a stellar performance. They're still second in their group ATM, but none of the other teams have played 3 games yet. It would be hilarious if England got booted out in the Group stage


...Fuck England.

@Shadowlink

Wow! Alright, very informative.

And I do enjoy learning about new things whereas most of this site is pretty closeminded. Its alright though, they don't dare step foot in the sports thread. Animals!

But yeah, this sounds way more confusing than baseball. Are there bases? Can guys be on the same base? Are there only two stick deals to run back between? Are the balls hit in the air? Is it basically line drives everywhere? How big are the fields? Maybe I should just watch one game..

I remember playing "hotbox" when I was younger. I think you just ran back and forth between two bases? Kinda like a pickle? I don't recall.


But anyway, thanks for that informative description! Best of luck to you and yours!

The "stick things" (:P) are the stumps/wickets (bases). Only two of them. Also two batters on the field at a time, one for each. A short distance in front of those is the crease line, as long as the batter stays behind that line, he can't be run out.

And yep the other batter has to remain at the other end. If you ever get a situation where two batters end up at the same end (usually due to horrible miscommunication between the batters) the fielding team can run out whoever screwed up at the other wicket.

Balls can be hit anywhere on the field, there's no foul ball zone. And of course they can be hit in the air (thats how you get the distance needed for scoring Sixes!) but like baseball, if the ball is caught, you're out.

The other main method of dismissal is if the ball gets past the batter and hits the stumps. Thats why the more powerful swings needed for the higher scores are risky- if you miss the ball then you better hope the bowler wasn't on target.

If you find a place to watch a game (most likley somewhere on the internet), start with Twenty20 if you can. That's the shortest form of the game (20 overs a side) and only goes for about 3 hours or so. The basic rules are the same, but the very limited balls means the batters have to take a lot more risks to clock up a good score fast. Lots more hitting, less time wasted playing defensively.

@Mr_Mustache

Just put up a picture of the bracket and update the picture continually as more games are completed.

IDK, the March Madness is ok, though I don't really have a favorite team, as I'm Canadian. I just mentioned it as it is a big sporting event.

@MightyOwned

Do you know if it started yet? I haven't -heard- anything recently..

I mean, besides what you said. I guess I could do the picture thing..
Do they play EVERY day??

More Aussie sports!

NRL season kickoff is next week and they've just released this years ad campaign. If you're a Facebook aficionado you might have already seen it, apparently people are going nuts over it on there.

@Shadowlink

Wow, that was a pretty exciting promo! I don't watch it, obviously, but I could definitely get into that WAY easier than stupid Soccer or Basketball.

How long is the season? Am I keeping track of that stuff up there?

Yeah if you like American football, I can't see you not liking this. It's pretty similar apart from a few rule differences.

Season is 26 rounds (March-Aug) + a month of finals. Grand Final in early October. You can add it if you like, but I'd probably be the only one following it. And I'm pretty much keeping on top of it myself at this end .

Have to be if I want to win the office tipping comp!

I'm totally going to pester all you NFL fans to hunt down a way of seeing State of Origin this year though. Our domestic competetion is good , but Origin is truly something else.

@Shadowlink

I think that knowing players is part of the reason people like certain sports/teams. You mentioned that guy earlier (O'Brien?); his name means nothing to me, and I know nothing about him. Maybe thats why [you] people can't get into NASCAR? Hmm.

I guess you gotta start somewhere?

@Mr_Mustache

It starts March 15th.

The 64 teams play everyday after the tournament starts. On the first day of the tournament however, there is always a "qualifier" game (where two really weak teams play in order to get in the tournament). This year, this has changed, and now there are four "qualifier" or "play-in" games this year.

Then the actual games begin. Many go on at the same time, everyday. I'd imagine that a daily update of the bracket would work to keep it up to date.

Obviously games get played less and less when the tournament progresses, as it is a single elimination tournament. So round of 64 becomes round of 32 teams, round of 32 becomes sweet 16, sweet 16 becomes elite eight, elite eight becomes final four, and then obviously national title after that.

Oh, and some tennis coverage would be nice if you don't mind.

@MightyOwned

Alright, just remind me.. If you want to PM me with stuff, that'd be helpful, too..

Haha, tennis! Manskies.

Is that going now, too?

@Mr_Mustache

Nope that's not it. NASCAR is just boring.

*ducks*

Actually until O'Brien scored his century I didn't know who he was either. I'm hopeless when it comes to the other teams, especially when it's a country I only see in action every 4 years at best.

@Shadowlink

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH.

I can't believe all the crap I put up with everywhere.
I hate basketball. I shouldn't even recognize it up there.

And now I'm supposed to add Tennis.

And your Rugby stuff which I've never even seen.
But NASCAR, the biggest spectator "sport" in the US gets razzed constantly.

"Heyyy, eeeasy, I'm only joking!"


Stinks when you hear that -EVERY DAY-.

More this - Less NASCAR. Hey.. Can those cars turn to the right?

@Smerd

Yeah, they turn right as often as soccer turds can use their hands.

@Mr_Mustache

lol soccer turds...

But for those who care Here is the Link to the BPL

Season over in a couple of months...

S

@Mr_Mustache

+1

Soccer is a joke here too. In a country torn apart by rival football codes, it's always funny when someone tries to stick up for soccer. The other 3 codes gang up and ridicule them. It's great .

PS. I don't go out of my way to rag on motorsports, but when someone brings it up how can I resist?

@Shadowlink

Except there are Road Courses on the NASCAR circuit where you DO have to turn both left and right. Why is turning one direction on a track a sign of weakness or lack of skill? Pretty much every other sport has players going in a STRAIGHT LINE between two points. "Oh, do you ever move off the basepath!?" Gimme a break. You can break down every freakin' sport.

I'm just so sick of the NASCAR stuff. Theres so much more that goes into it than everyone thinks.
If it was so easy, everyone would do it.

@Mr_Mustache

Eh, it's not about the turning. I just dont find racing interesting in general. Cars, Horses, Greyhounds, track and field, you name it, I don't really care. Nothing specific to NASCAR

I get dragged into watch the Melbourne cup for a few minutes every year, and catch a swimming race or 2 during the Olympics or Commonwealth games.That's pretty much it.

That extends to video games too, beyond Mario Kart I don't bother with the genre.