OT: Aussie baseball

[Russell D.]

Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.

I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?

Just curious.


Russell

[Troy Piggins]

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?
Just curious.

It's certainly not as popular here as it is the US/Japan/Cuba
etc. But I think the Aussie team does pretty well by
international standards. Nowhere near the money they'd get over
there though. As with many other sports like basketball, the
best players here probably go overseas for the better competition
and money.

I went to see an Australia vs Canada game last year (or was it
the year before?). Think we got pretty beaten that night, but
was good to watch.

Think softball is much more popular than baseball here. My wife
played a lot, and I started playing mens' softball last year.
Good fun.

[Russell D.]

Post by Troy Piggins

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?
Just curious.

It's certainly not as popular here as it is the US/Japan/Cuba
etc. But I think the Aussie team does pretty well by
international standards. Nowhere near the money they'd get over
there though. As with many other sports like basketball, the
best players here probably go overseas for the better competition
and money.
I went to see an Australia vs Canada game last year (or was it
the year before?). Think we got pretty beaten that night, but
was good to watch.
Think softball is much more popular than baseball here. My wife
played a lot, and I started playing mens' softball last year.
Good fun.

Cool! I used to play a lot of softball. Need to get back into it. I love
all forms of baseball. I had forgotten about Australian women's
softball. They had a very good Olympic team IIRC.

Russell

[Atheist Chaplain]

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?
Just curious.
Russell

Baseball is considered a third rate sport by most in Australia (not that I
agree with that) the general rule would be Football (Rugby League, Rugby
Union and Aussie Rules, not in any particular order) then for some strange
reason Swimming gets a nod over Soccer, Golf and Tennis come in around the
middle then Netball and maybe Hockey (the real kind not that mobile brawl on
Ice)would come in at the bottom somewhere, there is no TV coverage of
Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge but then I don't
get every TV station in the country.
If the Aussie makes it to the big time then he might get a sound bite on the
national news, but that's about it.

[Mr.T]

Post by Atheist Chaplain
there is no TV coverage of
Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge but then I don't
get every TV station in the country.

Quite a bit on ONE-HD now. All US games though I think. I doubt there is any
interest in filming local matches, but ONE-HD has a lot of hours to fill
with US stuff which I assume they get cheap.
I imagine it's on the pay TV sports channels also.

MrT.

[Atheist Chaplain]

Post by Mr.T

Post by Atheist Chaplain
there is no TV coverage of
Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge but then I don't
get every TV station in the country.

Quite a bit on ONE-HD now. All US games though I think. I doubt there is any
interest in filming local matches, but ONE-HD has a lot of hours to fill
with US stuff which I assume they get cheap.
I imagine it's on the pay TV sports channels also.
MrT.

ONE-HD is still just a placeholder for the announcement that we will be
getting it out my way :-(
and I had pay for 12 months (Austar) and sent the box back as just another
bad investment, when they let me pick the 4 or 5 channels I want to watch
and only pay for them, I will consider getting it back. There are only so
many times you can watch re-runs of re-runs and the music and horse racing
hold no interest for me.

[M J Wyllie]

Post by Mr.T

Post by Atheist Chaplain
there is no TV coverage of
Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge but then I don't
get every TV station in the country.

Quite a bit on ONE-HD now. All US games though I think. I doubt there is any
interest in filming local matches, but ONE-HD has a lot of hours to fill
with US stuff which I assume they get cheap.
I imagine it's on the pay TV sports channels also.
MrT.

My brother-in-laws & nephews are hooked on the
game! They live in Mt. Druitt/ St. Marys & play in
a Western Districts comp. They have summer
leagues, winter leagues, in between leagues, every
week there seems to be a baseball game on! My
family & I go out every now & then to watch them
play, & since this is a photography NG, here is an
old pic I took of the bro-in-law!

www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Baseball.JPG

Note the intensity of the crowd! :-)

[Noons]

My brother-in-laws & nephews are hooked on the game! They live in Mt.
Druitt/ St. Marys & play in a Western Districts comp. They have summer
leagues, winter leagues, in between leagues, every week there seems to
be a baseball game on! My family & I go out every now & then to watch
them play, & since this is a photography NG, here is an old pic I took
of the bro-in-law!

Went through a bit of popularity with the primary school kids around here a few
years ago, then it simply dropped off. Soccer and Rugby seem to be the
linmelight sports with the local adolescent crowd.

www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Baseball.JPG

Rivetting...

Note the intensity of the crowd! :-)

Hehe! Yeah, quite so.

[Russell D.]

Post by Mr.T

Post by Atheist Chaplain
there is no TV coverage of
Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge but then I don't
get every TV station in the country.

Quite a bit on ONE-HD now. All US games though I think. I doubt there is any
interest in filming local matches, but ONE-HD has a lot of hours to fill
with US stuff which I assume they get cheap.
I imagine it's on the pay TV sports channels also.
MrT.

My brother-in-laws & nephews are hooked on the game!

My wife and her family are from Brazil. Of course most of them are huge
soccer fans. Three of my wife's nephews have lived with us for awhile
and I have introduced them to baseball. One of them has become a huge
baseball fan and now says he prefers it to soccer. (He doesn't tell his
dad.) Another is coming around. He had no patience for it at first, but
would sit and watch with me. And he asked a lot of questions. The other
night I think something must of clicked because he said, in affect, "The
more I learn about baseball the more I understand why you love that game
so much." The other night I came home and he was flipping back an forth
between a baseball game and a soccer game. Made me proud.

They live in Mt.
Druitt/ St. Marys & play in a Western Districts comp. They have summer
leagues, winter leagues, in between leagues, every week there seems to
be a baseball game on! My family & I go out every now & then to watch
them play, & since this is a photography NG, here is an old pic I took
of the bro-in-law!
www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Baseball.JPG
Note the intensity of the crowd! :-)

To heck with the crowd. They're just learning. Look at the intensity on
that guys face. Awesome.

Russell

[M J Wyllie]

Post by Russell D.

Post by Mr.T

Post by Atheist Chaplain
there is no TV coverage of
Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge but then I don't
get every TV station in the country.

Quite a bit on ONE-HD now. All US games though I think. I doubt there is any
interest in filming local matches, but ONE-HD has a lot of hours to fill
with US stuff which I assume they get cheap.
I imagine it's on the pay TV sports channels also.
MrT.

My brother-in-laws & nephews are hooked on the game!

My wife and her family are from Brazil. Of course most of them are huge
soccer fans. Three of my wife's nephews have lived with us for awhile
and I have introduced them to baseball. One of them has become a huge
baseball fan and now says he prefers it to soccer. (He doesn't tell his
dad.) Another is coming around. He had no patience for it at first, but
would sit and watch with me. And he asked a lot of questions. The other
night I think something must of clicked because he said, in affect, "The
more I learn about baseball the more I understand why you love that game
so much." The other night I came home and he was flipping back an forth
between a baseball game and a soccer game. Made me proud.

Thats cool! The more we go to these games, the
more I understand about the game & enjoy it more.

Post by Russell D.

They live in Mt.
Druitt/ St. Marys & play in a Western Districts comp. They have summer
leagues, winter leagues, in between leagues, every week there seems to
be a baseball game on! My family & I go out every now & then to watch
them play, & since this is a photography NG, here is an old pic I took
of the bro-in-law!
www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Baseball.JPG
Note the intensity of the crowd! :-)

To heck with the crowd. They're just learning. Look at the intensity on
that guys face. Awesome.

Haha, yep. Rob, by his own admission, is not a
very good player, but he is a very keen player.
Always out there on the weekends, got his 2 sons &
youngest daughter into it, & he & his eldest son
do the grounds keeping at their local field! He's
a great guy to say the least!

[Mr.T]

Post by M J Wyllie
www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Baseball.JPG
Note the intensity of the crowd! :-)

Crowd? :-)

MrT.

[M J Wyllie]

Post by Mr.T

Post by M J Wyllie
www.members.optusnet.com.au/mjwyllie/Baseball.JPG
Note the intensity of the crowd! :-)

Crowd? :-)
MrT.

Don't blink!

[Doug Jewell]

Post by Atheist Chaplain

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?
Just curious.
Russell

Baseball is considered a third rate sport by most in Australia (not that
I agree with that) the general rule would be Football (Rugby League,
Rugby Union and Aussie Rules, not in any particular order) then for some
strange reason Swimming gets a nod over Soccer, Golf and Tennis come in
around the middle then Netball and maybe Hockey (the real kind not that
mobile brawl on Ice)would come in at the bottom somewhere, there is no
TV coverage of Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge
but then I don't get every TV station in the country.
If the Aussie makes it to the big time then he might get a sound bite on
the national news, but that's about it.

What about cricket????
The reason baseball isn't very popular here is because
school-kids are directed towards cricket. Every school-kid
knows that baseball is a girl's game. After all, one of the
most famous American baseball players was some babe called
Ruth. ;-)
Despite the very low popularity over here though, Australia
tends to do ok on the world stage, eg we got silver in one
of the recent olympics (2004?).

Basketball is slightly more popular, although the domestic
competition struggles for money, and gets negligible tv
coverage. The Australian men's team has placed 4th 3 times
in the Olympics, and the women's team has placed 2nd the
last 3 Olympics.

As for cricket though, I think most Australians (and
probably a lot of Americans) would be very surprised to know
that the first international cricket match was played
between USA and Canada!

[Atheist Chaplain]

Post by Doug Jewell

Post by Atheist Chaplain

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?
Just curious.
Russell

Baseball is considered a third rate sport by most in Australia (not that
I agree with that) the general rule would be Football (Rugby League,
Rugby Union and Aussie Rules, not in any particular order) then for some
strange reason Swimming gets a nod over Soccer, Golf and Tennis come in
around the middle then Netball and maybe Hockey (the real kind not that
mobile brawl on Ice)would come in at the bottom somewhere, there is no TV
coverage of Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge but
then I don't get every TV station in the country.
If the Aussie makes it to the big time then he might get a sound bite on
the national news, but that's about it.

What about cricket????
The reason baseball isn't very popular here is because school-kids are
directed towards cricket. Every school-kid knows that baseball is a girl's
game. After all, one of the most famous American baseball players was some
babe called Ruth. ;-)
Despite the very low popularity over here though, Australia tends to do ok
on the world stage, eg we got silver in one of the recent olympics
(2004?).
Basketball is slightly more popular, although the domestic competition
struggles for money, and gets negligible tv coverage. The Australian men's
team has placed 4th 3 times in the Olympics, and the women's team has
placed 2nd the last 3 Olympics.
As for cricket though, I think most Australians (and probably a lot of
Americans) would be very surprised to know that the first international
cricket match was played between USA and Canada!
--
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for Kevin Rudd or Anna Bligh!

OOPs forgot the Cricket, how un Australian :-)

[Russell D.]

Post by Atheist Chaplain

Post by Russell D.

Post by Russell D.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in

Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?
Just curious.
Russell

Baseball is considered a third rate sport by most in Australia (not that
I agree with that) the general rule would be Football (Rugby League,
Rugby Union and Aussie Rules, not in any particular order) then for some
strange reason Swimming gets a nod over Soccer, Golf and Tennis come in
around the middle then Netball and maybe Hockey (the real kind not that
mobile brawl on Ice)would come in at the bottom somewhere, there is no
TV coverage of Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge
but then I don't get every TV station in the country.
If the Aussie makes it to the big time then he might get a sound bite on
the national news, but that's about it.

In the early days of ESPN they used to show Australian Rules Football
games late at night. I used to watch it a lot and really enjoyed it.
Those are some tough blokes that play that game.

What is Netball?


Russell

[Troy Piggins]

[---=| Quote block shrinked by t-prot: 14 lines snipped |=---]

Post by Atheist Chaplain
TV coverage of Baseball on the main commercial stations to my knowledge
but then I don't get every TV station in the country.
If the Aussie makes it to the big time then he might get a sound bite on
the national news, but that's about it.

In the early days of ESPN they used to show Australian Rules Football
games late at night. I used to watch it a lot and really enjoyed it.
Those are some tough blokes that play that game.
What is Netball?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netball

I also play and coach mixed and mens indoor netball:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indoor_netball

[Doug Jewell]

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.

From where?

Post by Russell D.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?

Where the F### is Australasia?

Post by Russell D.
Just curious.
Russell

[Russell D.]

Post by Doug Jewell

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.

From where?

Australasia

Post by Doug Jewell

Post by Russell D.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?

Where the F### is Australasia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasia


But, to be honest I did not mean that. I meant Australia though the
inquiry would apply to the whole region. I spelled it wrong and just
grabbed the first offering of my spell checker. My apologies.


Russell

[Russell D.]

Post by Doug Jewell

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.

From where?

Australasia

Post by Doug Jewell

Post by Russell D.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?

Where the F### is Australasia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australasia


But, to be honest I did not mean that. I meant Australia though the
inquiry would apply to the whole region. I spelled it wrong and just
grabbed the first offering of my spell checker. My apologies.


Russell

[Ima Polar]

Post by Doug Jewell

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.

From where?

Post by Russell D.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?

Where the F### is Australasia?

Post by Russell D.
Just curious.
Russell

Collective term for Australia and New Zealand.

Post by Doug Jewell
--
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for Kevin Rudd or Anna Bligh!

[Troy Piggins]

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia? Is much attention paid to baseball here in the states?
Just curious.

It's certainly not as popular here as it is the US/Japan/Cuba
etc. But I think the Aussie team does pretty well by
international standards. Nowhere near the money they'd get over
there though. As with many other sports like basketball, the
best players here probably go overseas for the better competition
and money.

I went to see an Australia vs Canada game last year (or was it
the year before?). Think we got pretty beaten that night, but
was good to watch.

Think softball is much more popular than baseball here. My wife
played a lot, and I started playing mens' softball last year.
Good fun.

[Mohamed Bin Liner]

Post by Russell D.
Here in the U.S. the college baseball World Series is going on. Tonight
I watched the team from Arizona State pound the team from North
Carolina. It was interesting to me is that the kid that was the starting
pitcher for Arizona State, a kid named Josh Spence, is from Australasia.
That kid is a great pitcher and is going to make some money playing on
the next level.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia?

SNIP

Australasia comprises Australia and New Zealand.
Which country are you referring to???

[Mr.T]

Post by Mohamed Bin Liner

Post by Russell D.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia?

SNIP
Australasia comprises Australia and New Zealand.
Which country are you referring to???

I would assume both (plus their dependencies), that's what it means after
all.
Does it dramatically affect your answer in any case?

MrT.

[Ima Polar]

Post by Mr.T

Post by Mohamed Bin Liner

Post by Russell D.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia?

SNIP
Australasia comprises Australia and New Zealand.
Which country are you referring to???

I would assume both (plus their dependencies), that's what it means after
all.
Does it dramatically affect your answer in any case?
MrT.

I think he means that the difference is that during a NZ baseball game,
sheep are banned from the ground so as not to distract the players!!!

[Noons]

Post by Mohamed Bin Liner

Post by Russell D.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia?

SNIP
Australasia comprises Australia and New Zealand.
Which country are you referring to???

Is there a significant difference, apart from
New Zealanders living in the Eastern suburbs
of Sydney?

[Charles]

Post by Noons

Post by Mohamed Bin Liner

Post by Russell D.
I'm curious about a couple of things. Is baseball very popular in
Australasia?

SNIP
Australasia comprises Australia and New Zealand.
Which country are you referring to???

Is there a significant difference, apart from
New Zealanders living in the Eastern suburbs
of Sydney?

Includes more than NZ