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Interesting ratings for two Sporting Events over the weekend.

The problem is that there were too many goals being called off for offsides. Mo Edu vs Slovenia in 2010 for example. I just think the rule needs changed. Having a toe offsides isn't an advantage. Your full body should have to be offsides


That's the only change they need to make to gameplay. Instead of if any part of the offensive player is past the defender he is offsides, just make it the other way around. If any part of the offensive player is behind the defender he is on side.

Make people have to actually defend rather than just trying to trap someone offsides.
 
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The problem is that there were too many goals being called off for offsides. Mo Edu vs Slovenia in 2010 for example. I just think the rule needs changed. Having a toe offsides isn't an advantage. Your full body should have to be offsides
In an EPL game last year, I actually saw a goal taken away because there was a player on the other side of the field from where the kicker was who was running away from the net at the time of the goal. The review showed that his left arm was offside (again, I add he was running away from the goalie. Not involved in the play at all).
 
In an EPL game last year, I actually saw a goal taken away because there was a player on the other side of the field from where the kicker was who was running away from the net at the time of the goal. The review showed that his left arm was offside (again, I add he was running away from the goalie. Not involved in the play at all).


You most certainly did not see that, or at least not the way that you described, because players who are not a part of the play are not looked at for offside decisions AND the part of your body that is offsides has to be one that you can score a goal with, and you cannot score a goal with your left arm.

Or even your right arm!
 
That's the only change they need to make to gameplay. Instead of if any part of the offensive player is past the defender he is offsides, just make it the other way around. If any part of the offensive player is behind the defender he is on side.

Make people have to actually defend rather than just trying to trap someone offsides.

I would like to see a stat on what percentage of "close calls" result in goals overturned by VAR. My guess is its more than they expected. That said, without VAR and without linesmen being encouraged to keep the flag down until after the play, maybe they blow the Weah play dead BEFORE the goal.....so even the stat I'm looking for would be misleading.

As for the whole body thing, who would really complain if that was the rule. These plays happen so fast and there is such little scoring, its frustrating to see such a small portion of one's body be offsides. Being inches offsides is not an advantage. Maybe they can meet somewhere in the middle and make it so the part of your body you score with has to be onside. In Weah's case, his knee was offside, his foot may have been too but let's say it wasnt. If his left foot was onside, maybe something like that should count.
 
So I opened the online sport page of the PG today.....Anything missing?
Ok you got me. I clicked your link and saw everything I expected. Help us out.

Actually I would not have been surprised if the soccer wasn’t there, this is Pittsburgh afterall. They have a hard enough time acknowledging basketball. But the soccer is there.
 
I thought it was odd that it was not there when I looked, at 4:15am, at least it is there now, you would think it would get a bit better billing though, it is World Cup soccer.
I don’t. Not in this antiquated town. We even had two jabronis on our local sports radio station at 4pm yesterday who couldn’t even pronounce Pulisic. I don’t expect people to know a lot about our team. The USMNT is a niche with a very small fan base. But come on, Pulisic is a household name in some parts of the world. I’d expect Sports personalities here to at least know who he is.
 
I don’t. Not in this antiquated town. We even had two jabronis on our local sports radio station at 4pm yesterday who couldn’t even pronounce Pulisic. I don’t expect people to know a lot about our team. The USMNT is a niche with a very small fan base. But come on, Pulisic is a household name in some parts of the world. I’d expect Sports personalities here to at least know who he is.

Actually, the USMNT has a very large fanbase that rivals many top pro and college teams.....but its fanbase is obviously spread out across the country so their Pgh fanbase for example is lower than Pitt football so really no reason for a Pgh publication to devote time to a national team with a small local following. I didn't watch the WC yesterday and think "I need to hear Ron Cook and The Fan Morning Show's breakdown of the game." There is plenty of national coverage and that's where I went. I wont eve read the PG story, not because of anything against the PG, its just a waste of 2 minutes.
 
Actually, the USMNT has a very large fanbase that rivals many top pro and college teams.....but its fanbase is obviously spread out across the country so their Pgh fanbase for example is lower than Pitt football so really no reason for a Pgh publication to devote time to a national team with a small local following. I didn't watch the WC yesterday and think "I need to hear Ron Cook and The Fan Morning Show's breakdown of the game." There is plenty of national coverage and that's where I went. I wont eve read the PG story, not because of anything against the PG, its just a waste of 2 minutes.
Come on man. US concacaf matches don’t really draw great numbers. And when we play home concacaf matches we have to strategically play them in cities where the crowd won’t be 80% for the visitors. It’s a niche with a small group of hardcore fans.
 
I thought it was odd that it was not there when I looked, at 4:15am, at least it is there now, you would think it would get a bit better billing though, it is World Cup soccer.


Believe it or not, I was on their web site earlier today and they showed a copy of the front page of the actual physical newspaper there. The US game was front and center on the front page. Not the front of the sports page, the front of the whole newspaper.
 
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You most certainly did not see that, or at least not the way that you described, because players who are not a part of the play are not looked at for offside decisions AND the part of your body that is offsides has to be one that you can score a goal with, and you cannot score a goal with your left arm.

Or even your right arm!
Joe...Let me get this straight. You are telling me that I "most certainly did not see that". You are 100% incorrect. I know what I saw and I remember it well because the goal being waived off ended up costing me money on the parlay that I had made. The man that was ruled off sides by the VAR was nowhere near the man who kicked the ball into the net. It just stuck in my mind because the man was running away from the goal. He had ZERO to do with the play.
 
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Joe...Let me get this straight. You are telling me that I "most certainly did not see that". You are 100% incorrect. I know what I saw and I remember it well because the goal being waived off ended up costing me money on the parlay that I had made. The man that was ruled off sides by the VAR was nowhere near the man who kicked the ball into the net. It just stuck in my mind because the man was running away from the goal. He had ZERO to do with the play.
I think the point is that a couple sports need to change. In one sport I’m thinking of, their purists fight the changes that would make the game better. But in soccer, while it’s the most popular sport in the world, most of the people around the world who are passionate about it will tell you that the offside rule as written should be changed.

Case in point, the Tim Weah goal vs Iran. That put the USA up 2-0, and VAR showed that a couple parts of his body were offside. If the rule was that feet only need to be onside, then the goal would have counted. Naturally when you’re running toward the goal and the defender is holding the line, you’re leaning forward while the defender isn’t. It’s just science. So if your head and shoulders are offside, its currently offside as written, but it shouldn’t matter and needs to change. I think it will at some point. Making the feet the only part of the body that’s relevant also simplifies decisions.
 
I think the point is that a couple sports need to change. In one sport I’m thinking of, their purists fight the changes that would make the game better. But in soccer, while it’s the most popular sport in the world, most of the people around the world who are passionate about it will tell you that the offside rule as written should be changed.

Case in point, the Tim Weah goal vs Iran. That put the USA up 2-0, and VAR showed that a couple parts of his body were offside. If the rule was that feet only need to be onside, then the goal would have counted. Naturally when you’re running toward the goal and the defender is holding the line, you’re leaning forward while the defender isn’t. It’s just science. So if your head and shoulders are offside, its currently offside as written, but it shouldn’t matter and needs to change. I think it will at some point. Making the feet the only part of the body that’s relevant also simplifies decisions.

To defend soccer a bit, people will say its the most popular sport in the world by a large margin, what's the point of doing any rule changes. It cant get more popular. Well, maybe in the US it can but FIFA doesn't care about 18 Americans who become soccer fans because they changed the offsides rule. The change would have to be simply to make the game better and that's a tough sell considering its popularity. They did add VAR so I guess that's showing some willingness to change.

Barstool wrote a great piece about what we would like to see (ie make it that your full body has to be ahead of the last defender to be offside)


Mexico had a late goal yesterday which would have taken them through but the Mexican player was fully ahead of the last defender. That provides a clear advantage and shouldn't be allowed. Your big toe being offside by 1 inch is not an advantage at all. They did have an earlier goal wiped away because of another offside call but that one would have counted in the Barstool rule
 
I don’t. Not in this antiquated town. We even had two jabronis on our local sports radio station at 4pm yesterday who couldn’t even pronounce Pulisic. I don’t expect people to know a lot about our team. The USMNT is a niche with a very small fan base. But come on, Pulisic is a household name in some parts of the world. I’d expect Sports personalities here to at least know who he is.
I feel like I’m a pretty active sports watcher and I’ve no clue who Pulisic is or how to say his name. So I can’t blame the Pittsburgh media on that one.
 
I feel like I’m a pretty active sports watcher and I’ve no clue who Pulisic is or how to say his name. So I can’t blame the Pittsburgh media on that one.
You might be pretty active, but you’re not well rounded if you don’t know who he is, and that’s ok because you’re not paid to be. They are.
 
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Not really though. My point is people all over the world know that the rule is flawed and see that it’s better for the game to change it. He missed the point.

If you’re the largest manufacturer and market leader in smart phones, are you complacent with your current product or are you always looking to make your product better? Because if you’re not, then you’re negligent.

Baseball got passed by by the NBA because they were negligent.
 
I hope some of these people tune in for Pitt Soccer. Another chance at a final four. Currently Pitt's best sport with Women's Volleyball right behind it. WVB is actually fun to watch.

Hail to Pitt!

Dave
 
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You might be pretty active, but you’re not well rounded if you don’t know who he is, and that’s ok because you’re not paid to be. They are.

Yea I call BS on that one. I probably couldn't name one NHL player on any team but the Penguins except Connor McDavid. For some reason I know he plays for Edmonton. But if you named an NHL superstar, I would have heard of them. Everyone has heard of Pulisic. If you never watched a soccer game, you will have heard the name on one of those national ESPN/Fox debate shows or you will have seen his name in a headline embedded in some other sports article written online. There's no way you can be a fan of multiple major American sports and not heard the name Pulisic. They'd even advertise his game during in-game promos or commercials on Fox, NBC, or ESPN
 
I feel like I’m a pretty active sports watcher and I’ve no clue who Pulisic is or how to say his name. So I can’t blame the Pittsburgh media on that one.
I want to be clear too because I don’t mean that as any type of slam toward you. Like you, I’m an active sports viewer too. But MLB and NBA had all star games and I probably have never heard of several of the players. Christian Pulisic has been regarded as our best player for years, is on tv every week, and no exaggeration, millions of kids want to be him. It’s not like he’s a US mens volleyball player or water polo player. If there’s 1 soccer player americans should know, it’s him. Maybe after the World Cup others will be known.
 
Not really though. My point is people all over the world know that the rule is flawed and see that it’s better for the game to change it. He missed the point.

If you’re the largest manufacturer and market leader in smart phones, are you complacent with your current product or are you always looking to make your product better? Because if you’re not, then you’re negligent.

Baseball got passed by by the NBA because they were negligent.

I want the rule changed. But my point was: will people stop watching if the rule isnt changed or will kids not become soccer fans if it isnt?
 
Yea I call BS on that one. I probably couldn't name one NHL player on any team but the Penguins except Connor McDavid. For some reason I know he plays for Edmonton. But if you named an NHL superstar, I would have heard of them. Everyone has heard of Pulisic. If you never watched a soccer game, you will have heard the name on one of those national ESPN/Fox debate shows or you will have seen his name in a headline embedded in some other sports article written online. There's no way you can be a fan of multiple major American sports and not heard the name Pulisic. They'd even advertise his game during in-game promos or commercials on Fox, NBC, or ESPN
Yeah I’d bet Ron cook hasn’t though. But that’s because he’s old and lazy and doesn’t really watch sports that he doesn’t directly cover, like the Steelers or Pirates. I bet Cook couldn’t even name 3 current Pitt basketball players. But if Pitt had the best player in the country, like a Pulisic, he’d be able to pronounce his name.
 
Yeah I’d bet Ron cook hasn’t though. But that’s because he’s old and lazy and doesn’t really watch sports that he doesn’t directly cover, like the Steelers or Pirates. I bet Cook couldn’t even name 3 current Pitt basketball players.

I seriously doubt that. I don't think you can follow sports in any way and have never heard the name. Now, let's say you are JUST a Steelers fan, not a sports fan. Ok, maybe then but even then you'd hear his name during in game promos or commercials.
 
I want the rule changed. But my point was: will people stop watching if the rule isnt changed or will kids not become soccer fans if it isnt?
No. But you have to always look to evolve. Look, FIFA may eliminate ties for the next World Cup. Is that to appease Americans or is that to improve the game? Actually maybe it is to appease Americans because it’s such a huge market upside for the sport. But I think they realize that in group play, it might make the game better.
 
I seriously doubt that. I don't think you can follow sports in any way and have never heard the name. Now, let's say you are JUST a Steelers fan, not a sports fan. Ok, maybe then but even then you'd hear his name during in game promos or commercials.
I mean Lebron James wears Pulisic jerseys. That’s like wearing Chuck Norris pajamas. Heck, this was 4 years ago.

 
You might be pretty active, but you’re not well rounded if you don’t know who he is, and that’s ok because you’re not paid to be. They are.
Fair point. Though I'd argue that they aren't paid to be well rounded. They are paid to discuss topics that drive ratings.
Yea I call BS on that one. I probably couldn't name one NHL player on any team but the Penguins except Connor McDavid. For some reason I know he plays for Edmonton. But if you named an NHL superstar, I would have heard of them. Everyone has heard of Pulisic. If you never watched a soccer game, you will have heard the name on one of those national ESPN/Fox debate shows or you will have seen his name in a headline embedded in some other sports article written online. There's no way you can be a fan of multiple major American sports and not heard the name Pulisic. They'd even advertise his game during in-game promos or commercials on Fox, NBC, or ESPN
No BS. Soccer doesn't enter my orbit in any way whatsoever. So I don't know the dude. Which is fine. Different strokes for different folks.
I want to be clear too because I don’t mean that as any type of slam toward you. Like you, I’m an active sports viewer too. But MLB and NBA had all star games and I probably have never heard of several of the players. Christian Pulisic has been regarded as our best player for years, is on tv every week, and no exaggeration, millions of kids want to be him. It’s not like he’s a US mens volleyball player or water polo player. If there’s 1 soccer player americans should know, it’s him. Maybe after the World Cup others will be known.
Not taken as a slam. And I wasn't trying to instigate any sort of "this sport is dumb." Just more a reflection of my TV viewing. I don't think I've ever seen him on TV because I don't watch soccer. I'm sure a lot of the guys on the FAN are dumb yinzers like me in the same boat.
 
Fair point. Though I'd argue that they aren't paid to be well rounded. They are paid to discuss topics that drive ratings.

No BS. Soccer doesn't enter my orbit in any way whatsoever. So I don't know the dude. Which is fine. Different strokes for different folks.

Not taken as a slam. And I wasn't trying to instigate any sort of "this sport is dumb." Just more a reflection of my TV viewing. I don't think I've ever seen him on TV because I don't watch soccer. I'm sure a lot of the guys on the FAN are dumb yinzers like me in the same boat.
You’re not a dumb yinzer. If you were, you wouldn’t just be a fan of the NBA, but it would be completely off your radar.
 
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You’re not a dumb yinzer. If you were, you wouldn’t just be a fan of the NBA, but it would be completely off your radar.
it's mostly just a time thing for me. I got a three year old and by the time he's asleep and I have time for myself, I usually go with stuff I know. I don't have the energy right now to pick up a new sport to follow!
 
it's mostly just a time thing for me. I got a three year old and by the time he's asleep and I have time for myself, I usually go with stuff I know. I don't have the energy right now to pick up a new sport to follow!
Owt refers to it as bandwidth. And he’s right for a lot of us who can’t revolve our lives around sports.
 
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Joe...Let me get this straight. You are telling me that I "most certainly did not see that". You are 100% incorrect. I know what I saw and I remember it well because the goal being waived off ended up costing me money on the parlay that I had made. The man that was ruled off sides by the VAR was nowhere near the man who kicked the ball into the net. It just stuck in my mind because the man was running away from the goal. He had ZERO to do with the play.
Apparently this happened a half hour ago. Wtf???

 
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Joe...Let me get this straight. You are telling me that I "most certainly did not see that". You are 100% incorrect. I know what I saw and I remember it well because the goal being waived off ended up costing me money on the parlay that I had made. The man that was ruled off sides by the VAR was nowhere near the man who kicked the ball into the net. It just stuck in my mind because the man was running away from the goal. He had ZERO to do with the play.


Dancer, let me get this straight. Either there was something else going on that you missed, or the referee and the VAR referee and the VAR referee's helpers all had temporary amnesia and forgot what the rule was.

A player who is no where near the play isn't offsides. He's just not. That's the rule. The ref knows that. The VAR ref knows that. The people working in the VAR center know that. Now you know that.
 
I want to be clear too because I don’t mean that as any type of slam toward you. Like you, I’m an active sports viewer too. But MLB and NBA had all star games and I probably have never heard of several of the players. Christian Pulisic has been regarded as our best player for years, is on tv every week, and no exaggeration, millions of kids want to be him. It’s not like he’s a US mens volleyball player or water polo player. If there’s 1 soccer player americans should know, it’s him. Maybe after the World Cup others will be known.
Best American player to be clear which means well not much.

I very much wanted to be Karch Kiraly as a kid
 
Best American player to be clear which means well not much.

I very much wanted to be Karch Kiraly as a kid
Me too actually. But the difference is I was athletic and you were probably the last kid picked in gym class.
 
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