Announcement

Collapse

The Rules of Pacers Digest

Hello everyone,

Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.

A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.

Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.

Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.

Rule #1

Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:

"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"

"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"

"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"

"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"

"He/she is just delusional"

"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"

"I'm going to take a moment to point and / laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"

"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good? "

In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.

We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.

Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.

That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.

A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.

There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.

Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.

In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.

Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.

If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!

All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.

Rule #2

If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.

The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.

The right places to do so are:

A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.

B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.

If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.

Rule #3

If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.

When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:

A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.

B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.

To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!

Rule #4

Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.

Rule #5

When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.

An example:

If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:

http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star

Rule #6

We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.

The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.

Rule #7

Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.

It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).

We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).

However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.

Rule #8

We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.

Rule #9

Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.

Rule #10

We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.

Rule #11

Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
See more
See less

"College Hoops no match for the NBA"

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 9
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 template Next
  • #1

    "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

    This guy was on Kravitz and Eddie's show yesterday - of course I agree with him 100%. The best and most correct thing he said is casual sports fans don't really love college basketball - they just love March Madness - but even during March madness - they love the brackets, the office pools, selection Sunday, the one-and-done format. But do they actually love the games - do they actually watch the games - not really.

    One huge advantage the college game has over the NBA is completely lost during March Madness. During the college regular season the crowds are really into the game - but then during the tournament all that is lost because everything is at nuetral sites. In the NBA regular season the crowds are mostly dead - but in the playoffs the crowds are great - as good as any college crowd

    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sport...6,print.column

    OrlandoSentinel.com
    College hoops no match for the NBA
    Mike Bianchi

    SPORTS COMMENTARY

    April 5, 2009

    I'm going to let you in on a little secret about yourself.

    You do not really love college basketball.

    You love all that surrounds college basketball.

    But the actual game itself is too often painful to watch.

    The NBA is poetry in motion; college basketball is frequently drudgery in motion.

    "I like college basketball," says Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy, a former college coach, "but certainly don't think it's a better game than the NBA. The NBA has the greatest players in the world. You'll see more great plays in one NBA game than you'll see in the entire March Madness."

    Van Gundy's statement may seem like basketball blasphemy on this Final Four weekend, but it's true. Let's face it, casual sports fans don't really love college basketball; they just love March Madness.

    They love their brackets, the office pools and the drama and excitement of Selection Sunday and the one-and-done NCAA Tournament format.

    And don't get me wrong, I love it, too. You can't beat the passion and pageantry of college basketball. Give me the exuberance of college student sections over the affluent apathy that customarily crowds into the NBA club seats. And give me the exhilaration of a college pep band over the artificial noise pumped into NBA arenas.

    But when you peel away all this superfluousness and wade through the overstated, carnival-barking Dick Vitale hype and hoopla, the game of college basketball itself simply doesn't compare to the NBA.

    Why? Talent.

    Period.

    J.J. Redick was one of the greatest college players of all-time, but he can barely get off the Magic bench. Likewise, the most decorated player in this weekend's Final Four — North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough — is considered little more than a marginal NBA prospect.

    I'll give you five bucks if you can name five college players participating in the Final Four. ... I'm waiting ... Still waiting ... Give up yet?

    My point is this: At least in the NBA, you know the best players on the best teams. In fact, you know them on a first-name basis — LeBron, Kobe, Dwight and D-Wade.

    Star power is what drives sports, and college basketball has none. One of the reasons, of course, is because we never get a chance to know the great players in college because they have either turned pro right out of high school or were one-and-done college mercenaries.

    But another reason for the anonymity of college players is because the regular season is essentially meaningless and is therefore ignored by most casual fans. Consequently, when March Madness gets here, we have no idea who or what we're watching.

    The only star power college basketball has is the coaches themselves. And who among us actually turns on a basketball game to watch a slick-haired college coach in a nice suit stomp his Gucci loafers and yell at his team to switch from man-to-man to a 1-3-1 zone?

    And spare me the rhetoric about how the college game is more geared toward "team" basketball. Puh-leeze. Have you seen some of the scores in the NCAA Tournament? Like Michigan State advancing to the Final Four with a 64-52 victory over Louisville? Or what about North Carolina's 72-60 win over Oklahoma in another regional final?

    If the NBA played such low-scoring games, the fans would boycott and teams would get booed off the court.

    Too many college games are in the 50s or 60s because the players don't have enough talent and the officials call too many fouls. During one juncture in the East Regional final between Villanova and Pitt, a whistle blew on nine consecutive trips down the court. That's about as much fun to watch as Al Gore giving a speech on how America is perilously close to using up its zinc supply.

    Admit it, the allure of March Madness is not in the game itself, but in the atmosphere and aura surrounding the game.

    The NCAA Tournament is a more entertaining spectacle.

    The NBA is a much better sport.

    Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.
    Last edited by Unclebuck; 04-08-2009, 08:32 AM.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

    good read, hits the nail on the head
    Trying to enjoy every Pacers game as if it is the last!

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

      One thing I've always envied about NCAA Division 1 games is that the crowds are unbelievable. Oh man, just look at Illinois or Vanderbilt. Illini fans go crazy at their home games. Vandy has an edge (no pun intended), since the fans actually stand next to the court.

      I really wish when we get on a roll, or are about to win a big game, everyone jumps up and down, chants, whatever. Standing and clapping, that's little league. "Good job, sport!"

      We all begged and complained for a pep band. All they do is play the same music (Bill, I am serious when I say this) and only during timeouts. I'm sure they can play some of the piped-in chants they do over the PA during possessions. I mean what good is a pep band if you don't have that whole "college feel" to it.

      Last edited by duke dynamite; 04-08-2009, 09:18 AM.

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

        I know people like to say NBA crowds are "dead" but in a few cities (Indy included) fans really get behind their teams if they're having a good year and almost every home game has a great, playoff-like atmosphere. How many consecutive games did the Pacers sell out way back when? Quite a few IIRC.

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

          But like the dude said duke. The college crowd is neutered because of neutral sites. And for some reason when the teams are in big stadiums they are almost not there. Why? 70,000+ sounds like a thundering herd of lightning bolt buffaloes. I lived in Knoxville and you could hear the game 15+ miles away....through the hills and valleys.

          I think that if the Cavs and Lakers make it to the finals you will see an explosion of fan support.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

            Really? Is an apple better than an orange? Well that is what this writer and UB would have you believe. Hell he might have just as well compared high school basketball to the NBA as the comparison is fataly flawed. Is minor league baseball on the level with the major leagues? Is peewee tball better than little league? This whole arguement is ludicrous.

            BTW, it is my opinion that college basketball has become too much like the NBA in the style of play and the physicality of the way the games are played. The article mentions two college players who were great college players and are and would only have marginal success in the NBA. My arguement would be that the college game is fast closing out these type of players for the more athletic NBA type of players. Look at the top college teams, how many of these type of players do you see actually play on those teams? So to say that the college game is made up of a bunch of slow white unathletic players is just a complete fabrication to make some sort of contorted point in a completely flawed sports article.

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

              Is this thread a bump of 5 years ago? If not, UB just has a template he dusts off every year.

              For the newbies, what you should take away from this is Buck doesn't actually like basketball, just the NBA.
              Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                Country Boy I agree with you on saying that the College game is becoming more like the NBA.

                I hate the argument that they never call traveling in the NBA. Jeff Green anyone?
                The many games I have seen in person and on TV this year they have called traveling and palming more than ever.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                  Originally posted by Kegboy View Post
                  Is this thread a bump of 5 years ago? If not, UB just has a template he dusts off every year.

                  For the newbies, what you should take away from this is Buck doesn't actually like basketball, just the NBA.
                  You aren't supposed to tell everyone - now what is the fun in that.

                  Don't you like how I waited until after March Madness is over - didn't want to be accused of being a kill-joy. I like all basketball - but I only watch and follow the NBA - if that makes any sense

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                    Excellent article that pretty much nails it.

                    College basketball will always be significant for two reasons:
                    1) It's a big event for student/alumni participation
                    2) The 64 (65?) team tournament in March and everything that goes along with it (the brackets, office pools, etc..)

                    But he pretty much nails it as far as the the stuff about star power, talent and actual basketball skill. The NCAA is great, but most people watch it for the sake of it as a big event. When you actually break down the level of basketball being played, it's just not as good as the pro game. There was some pretty atrocious play I saw in the tournament, even in the Final Four.

                    The writer is absolutely correct: if the NBA exhibited the type of quality of play in the playoffs as in some of the games in the tourney, nobody would watch the NBA. People talk about how the late 80's Pistons were any ugly team to watch (rightly so) and ruined basketball. If anyone objectively observed the type of basketball Michigan State has been playing all year long, they'd conclude that was uglier basketball than any game Bill Lambeer ever played in. But it's college and it's March Madness, so all we'll talk about is what a great group of kids they are.

                    I do enjoy watching a lot of college basketball and I'm not trying to demean the efforts of any of those players, but from an actual basketball skill level, it's just not the same level.
                    Last edited by d_c; 04-08-2009, 10:28 AM.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                      Meh.

                      I prefer professional ball over the Semi-Pro (kudo's to Mr. Boyle for that label) every day of the week.

                      But I'm back to where I prefer D-III/ NAIA ball over either the professional or semi-pro leagues.

                      Student-athletes playing a team game with little personal/ selfish agenda. They know this isn't going to be their career and they actually play because they love the game. Maybe not the greatest athletes in the world, like the NBA can boast of, but I'd rather watch teamwork.
                      Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
                      Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
                      Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
                      Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
                      And life itself, rushing over me
                      Life itself, the wind in black elms,
                      Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                        A little presumptuous for a writer to lump all of his readers into one pile and tell them they don't love college basketball. Even if what he says is true it doesn't change the fact that the NBA's premiere events aren't as exciting to most people as the NCAA's premiere events, it doesn't change the fact that more people watch the NCAA's on TV, and it doesn't change the fact that more people across the nation, in all demographics, in all areas, are more interested in NCAA basketball. Even if that interest is casual, that doesn't mean it's not there.

                        And before anyone jumps all over me, the above is my OPINION. I don't have a link to back it up. It's just an observation I've made as a lifelong fan of both NCAA and NBA basketball. Bash away.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                          My lowly college team played NAIA teams. We beat IU........East. I knew that after that season I was done with playing basketball outside of YMCA leagues. We played against a D-3 league that had a player who transferred to Wake and played with Christ Paul (although he never really played that season).

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                            Even though I didn't go to school there, I love to watch Butler play. Aside from that, I'm not much of a college fan, in fact there are some colleges I hate.

                            This sounds like that real old thread -- Pacers, NBA, Basketball -- how do you rank the three as a fan?
                            Don't thank me, I'll kill ya.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: "College Hoops no match for the NBA"

                              Originally posted by travmil View Post
                              A little presumptuous for a writer to lump all of his readers into one pile and tell them they don't love college basketball. Even if what he says is true it doesn't change the fact that the NBA's premiere events aren't as exciting to most people as the NCAA's premiere events, it doesn't change the fact that more people watch the NCAA's on TV, and it doesn't change the fact that more people across the nation, in all demographics, in all areas, are more interested in NCAA basketball. Even if that interest is casual, that doesn't mean it's not there.

                              And before anyone jumps all over me, the above is my OPINION. I don't have a link to back it up. It's just an observation I've made as a lifelong fan of both NCAA and NBA basketball. Bash away.
                              I think the writer referred to the casual sports fans as those that don't really like the actual games or watch the actual games.

                              The ratings are pretty similar. Although it is hard to compare because the NCAA has a game 7 every year. The NBA hasn't had a game 7 in the NBA Finals since 2004

                              But if someone is interested in ratings.

                              Monday nights game was watched by 17.6 million people.
                              Game 6 between the Lakers and Celtics last June was watched by 16.9 million people.

                              Both games were actually not that close. But if the Celts vs Lakers had gone to a 7th game it would have been watched by probably 21 or 22 million -

                              It varies greatly from city to city. Taking away home town teams in either sport - it is interesting to see where the NCAA does well and where the NBA does well. In places such as Indianapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Louisville, Chicago - the NCAA does extrmely well. In cities such as NY, LA, Chicago (does well in both sports) DC.......

                              So in the largest metro areas, the NBA does well, in some of the more mid-level cities the NCAA does better.

                              The NCAA is very popular in Indiana - but there are vast areas of this country where the interest level is very low - the south, west coast, largest cities....cities such as Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, LA, S.F, Portland, Seattle - college ball isn't watched by many. Not that the NBA does great in some of those cities either

                              And just to keep in all in perspective - the average late Sunday afternoon NFL games typical average 15 - 17 million people. The college football championship game typically get 24-30 million people watching. So football kills basketball. But I think if you live in Indy and have lived here most of your life, you have a skewed reference point on just how popular march Madness actually is
                              Last edited by Unclebuck; 04-08-2009, 11:19 AM.

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 template Next
                              Working...
                              X