Sympathy for Hawks

[Safetyboi]

I found this article which surprisingly doesn't fully mock the Hawks or its fans. (For once)

http://www.nbadraft.net/prevenas050.asp

[Gray Mule]

Good read. At least this guy apparently has some idea

about what is going on and not just blasting away.

[macdaddy]

I know I'm old but you know the league is doing well when 13,000 average attendance is horrible.

Its also interesting that writers judge Atlanta fans based solely on attendence. I guarantee more people watch Braves games than any other team in the league.

[Final_quest]

I'm mostly impressed by his grasp on the situation, but also wonder where people get the idea that the Hawks have tons of caproom every year and can never sign anyone.

Last season was the only time we had room to sign big free agents, and it was not the right time to go after big names.

[Admin]

<b>"I guarantee more people watch Braves games than any other team in the league."</b>

The Braves are 12th in overall average attendance (meaning home and road attendance). They average 32,000 per game, while the Yankees average 44,000 a game (most in the majors). That doesnt even get into the fact that the YES Network is broadcast around the world and who knows how many fans watch the games on that station (I know am one of them).

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

[RAHMOR]

This isn't as bad a bashing article as I've seen lately but I certainly isn't a great one. The more I read articles like these the more it makes me want the season the hurry up and start so the hawks can show improvements and shut all of these guys up. Got my schedule printed already. Come on October.

[Dakin]

i've never heard of the yes network, but i think TBS probobaly reaches a few more homes, and has been for 2o years or so. I can't fathom how anyone outside of the sewer that is new york, could call themself a yankee fan. It's like rooting for the bully to wina fight.

[Admin]

TBS hasnt shown Braves games in any market I have lived in for probably 10 years.

YES is the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, started 2-3 years ago by Steinbrenner. It was picked up by DirecTV and is shown all over the world. Granted its not free like TBS, but like I said they dont show Braves games on TBS outside of the Georgia market (at least that I have seen) anymore.

I have been a Yankees fan my entire life and that will never change, just as I will never stop being a Hawks fan, even though I dont live in either market. I guess part of me just loves hearing people whine about the Yankees spending, which is part of what makes being a Yankees fan so fun. I do enjoy knowing that while other owners are pocketing their profits Steinbrenner turns around and puts his money into getting good players, building a new state of the art stadium, and creating a cable network so out of state Yankees fans can see them.

[AHF]

Quote:

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TBS hasnt shown Braves games in any market I have lived in for probably 10 years.

YES is the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, started 2-3 years ago by Steinbrenner. It was picked up by DirecTV and is shown all over the world. Granted its not free like TBS, but like I said they dont show Braves games on TBS outside of the Georgia market (at least that I have seen) anymore.

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TBS's schedule reflects broadcasting of the Braves to the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific zones on August 18, 2005. Ex: http://tbs.com/scheduleProcess/0,,2481805,00.html

I know for a fact that they are still shown regularly in many states other than GA because I know people in those states (like Kentucky, Alabama, etc.) who follow the Braves on TBS.

[Admin]

Well I have lived in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas in the last 8 years and have never seen Braves games televised on a regular basis on TBS.

Anyways, its beside the point. The YES Network is broadcast around the world and they show every Yankees game, so every time the Yankees play they can be seen around the world and if you have never been out of the US it would probably surprise you how popular they are in other countries.

[Wretch]

Bashing the Hawks isn't what really gets me. I've been around sports long enough to know that with a bad record comes bad mouthing; doesn't matter how long a team has been bad for. These guys can be accurate in their analysis of us, and again, the ridicule is normal for me.

But there are two things that really bother me and lower my opinion of these so called news reporters: bias and ignorance.

A) Bias

• Chad Ford slams teams for grossly overspending on mediocre talent...but the Hawks are (insert derogatory BS) for avoiding this trap
  
• Marvin Williams is such a spectacular prospect, good enough for the #1...but the Hawks are (insert derogatory BS) for drafting him
  
• Joe Johnson is one of the big fish in free agency, worth a max contract (matched or otherwise), and has a great future...but the Hawks are (insert derogatory BS) for signing him to a large contract, he isn't worth it, and he cannot help them.
  In either of these situations, replace our franchise with just about any of the media darling franchises and INSTANTLY you have a reversal of opinion.
  

B) Ignorance - this really gets me. These guys are supposed to be the experts; I mean, they get paid to sit around and do this... So I find it hard to believe that they don't have all of the facts and can make such ignorant statements.

• Most notably, they slam the Hawks' ineptness, and consistently describe us as a franchise that has ALWAYS been horrible...yet fail to acknowledge our successes from the mid 80's to the late 90's.
  
• They BLAST the franchise and call us a model for ineptness, but fail to see the giant separation between this franchise and the one owned by AOL/TW and managed by Kasten/Babcock. These new owners and this new GM have only a microscopic tie to the people that led our franchise into obscurity. They don't acknowledge that and they don't acknowledge the very obvious mistakes that THAT group made.
  
• Lastly, the most ignorant statement of all...we are not in cap hell, we do not have a tightwad owner like Sterling, we have a GM that has a vision...yet they insist that because we are simply called the "Atlanta Hawks" that automatically precludes us from being able to draft correctly, groom a draft prospect, or turn a situation around.
  

Joe can't excel in Atlanta...it's the Hawks for cryin' out loud!

This is a bad pick...it's the Hawks for cryin' out loud!

They'll never sign a marquee free agent...it's the Hawks for cryin' out loud!

These guys will never put together a .500 season...it's the Hawks for cryin' out loud!

They just drafted Dwayne Waded, traded for Shaq, signed Kidd as a free agent, and lured Phil Jackson back into the coaching scene, so let's pencil them in for 13 wins next season because...it's the Hawks for cryin' out loud.

It is why I no longer read ESPN and skim through most articles before I read them; these "analysts" are as shallow as the sheep audience they cater too.

[AHF]

Quote:

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Well I have lived in Florida, North Carolina, and Texas in the last 8 years and have never seen Braves games televised on a regular basis on TBS.

Anyways, its beside the point. The YES Network is broadcast around the world and they show every Yankees game, so every time the Yankees play they can be seen around the world and if you have never been out of the US it would probably surprise you how popular they are in other countries.

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I know they are popular in other countries. They are the Manchester United of baseball. They have very popular Hideki Matsui playing great baseball in their outfield. I don't think, though, many people are ordering direct television broadcasts of Yankee games in England or Africa or the vast, vast majority of the world outside of the US. Baseball just isn't that popular outside of the US except in Asia and South America and the South American markets are focused on their local talent more than the US teams. The Japanese definitely follow players like Matsui very closely and I do bet that a lot more people in Japan have followed teams like the Mariners or Yankees over the last few years.

We'd have to see the numbers to see whose games are being watched the most - it would not surprise me if it is the Yankees. However, the Cubs and Braves are the two other teams that might be there due to their widespread and free broadcasts.

[Plainview1981]

Maybe I'm wrong, but even when I was watching the

hawks in the late 90's when I was much younger the

Hawks always seemed to be the team that made the

playoffs without anybody ever noticing. Seems like

this is the way it has been since the mid 90's.

[Admin]

10 years ago I would agree with you about the Braves and Cubs being the most watched, but I am almost certain that has changed. I can only speak from my experience with that though because I never see those teams on TV anymore....but like you said without seeing official numbers, who knows.

[Inside_Man]

Braves games ARE shown nationwide on TBS.

The Bravs certainly aren't the Manchester United of baseball.

The Red Sox lead the majors in away game attendance, having recently taken over the lead in that stat from the Yanks who were #1 for many years.

Note - the all-time attendance record for Turner field was last July 3 when the Sox were in town.

All of a sudden, everybody's from Boston.

[sinctybldh]

Hey Dolfan. What is your email address? I go to a website each day that has Yankee game threads and alot of Yankee threads during the course of each day. There are no kids, lots of good Yankees talk.

[Admin]

How about you show me where they are broadcast here in Houston, cause you wont find it.

Let me show you what is being shown here in Houston on TBS on DirecTV while the Braves play at 6 central time:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/BasicSearchA...rogramGuide.dsp

Channel 247 TBS -

6:00 - Everybody Loves Raymond

6:30 - Everybody Loves Raymond

7:00 - Everybody Loves Raymond

7:30 - Everybody Loves Raymond

Or, how about on regular Time Warner Cable: (you would have to register for this to see it)

http://online.tvguide.com/listings/index.asp?

Here is a screenshot of it for you though.

Channel 31 TBS -

6:00 - Everybody Loves Raymond

6:30 - Everybody Loves Raymond

7:00 - Everybody Loves Raymond

7:30 - Everybody Loves Raymond

[Admin]

My email is jason@layerfx.com

That would be cool, thanks!

[Inside_Man]

Dude,

That's cuz they're not on TBS anywhere tonight. Tonight's game is on Fox Sports South. TBS doesn't carry that many games anymore, they're split between Turner South, Fox Sports South and TBS.

I'm just saying when they are on TBS, they are on nationwide.

Tomorrow's game is on TBS - I just plugged in a Houston Zip Code into the DirecTV website and guess what. the game is on in Houston. DirecTV listings Houston Tomw night.

[Nurlman]

Whereas TBS used to broadcast 150 Braves games a year, they now broadcast 80-90 and the rest are split between Fox Sports South and Turner South, both of which have less complete coverage than TBS. So they're probably shown much less in Houston than they used to be, but they're not just gone.