The Stupidest comparison ever

[the_only_turek_fan]

Sorry if this has been brought up earlier, but I have some serious beef with TSN, and The Score.

Does anyone else find is extremely ridiculous that the broadcasters on Sportscenter compare total career yards for NFL players and CFL players.

It is comparing apples and oranges. I cant believe the show producer lets this crap go on the air, it is embarassing IMO.

I am not knocking the CFL or its players, but come on can you really compare with the NFL. If Emmit Smith were in the CFL he would have gotten over 200 yards rushing per game. The talent is at 2 very different levels.

I just find it very funny, when that TSN guy Dave Randorf says that Pringle beat some NFLer (I forgot if it was Smith, Payton or Sanders), and said that he did it with 380 less carries. And then he claims that Pringle's feat is even more amazing because Smith did in a league that has 4 downs.

Yes Mike Pringle is a great running back, but he is a CFL running back. Stupid, stupid comparison.

[JiriHrdina]

I agree. Totally stupid comparisons. It would be like comparing Wayne Gretzky's numbers with that of Jock Callendar (AHL leading scorer).

I like CFL football but the NFL is where the best go to play. Its that simple.

[I_H8_Crawford]

What a stupid comparison.
If Pringle were that great, then why wasn't he playing in the NFL???

Barry would run circles around Pringle (and every single CFL D that ever played), and break his records in half the time, if even that much.

[albertGQ]

I didn't see that clip on TSN, but if they did say that, then their football coverage team has lost a lot of credibility in my eyes. If Pringle was that good, then he would've played in the NFL. Its not like the NFL was knocking at his door and he chose the CFL instead. Whoever told Randorf to say that should be fired (or at least disciplined)

[calf]

You're exactly right TOTF, it is comparing apples and oranges.

However, I think when the graphic came up, it was just a way to show how Pringle's compared to other great running backs in ways of yardage. Nothing more than a neat comparison.

Originally posted by TOTF
I just find it very funny, when that TSN guy Dave Randorf says that Pringle beat some NFLer (I forgot if it was Smith, Payton or Sanders), and said that he did it with 380 less carries. And then he claims that Pringle's feat is even more amazing because Smith did in a league that has 4 downs.


yea, stupid thing to say because you really can't compare the two on the same level, but there's no need to jump all over the guy for that.

After thinking about it for a bit, I think you're making a big deal out of nothing. They're trying to show that Pringle's record (when it happens, it hasn't yet) is an amazing CFL feat - breaking George Reed's "unbreakable" record. And comparing total yards to the greats of the NFL is just as I said above, a neat comparison.

[albertGQ]

Originally posted by calf+Sep 18 2004, 07:03 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (calf @ Sep 18 2004, 07:03 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> You're exactly right TOTF, it is comparing apples and oranges.

However, I think when the graphic came up, it was just a way to show how Pringle's compared to other great running backs in ways of yardage. Nothing more than a neat comparison.

<!--QuoteBegin-TOTF
I just find it very funny, when that TSN guy Dave Randorf says that Pringle beat some NFLer (I forgot if it was Smith, Payton or Sanders), and said that he did it with 380 less carries. And then he claims that Pringle's feat is even more amazing because Smith did in a league that has 4 downs.


yea, stupid thing to say because you really can't compare the two on the same level, but there's no need to jump all over the guy for that.

After thinking about it for a bit, I think you're making a big deal out of nothing. They're trying to show that Pringle's record (when it happens, it hasn't yet) is an amazing CFL feat - breaking George Reed's "unbreakable" record. And comparing total yards to the greats of the NFL is just as I said above, a neat comparison. [/b][/quote]
Totally disagree with you. Lets compare how many goals I score in shinny with Gretzky's NHL goals record then

[calf]

Originally posted by albertGQ@Sep 18 2004, 11:27 PM
Totally disagree with you. Lets compare how many goals I score in shinny with Gretzky's NHL goals record then
That's fine. I'll stand by my statement, since I'm pretty sure I made it clear that one shouldn't put much stock into what was said on TSN - it was just a simple comparison of all time yards between rb's of different leagues...and yes, Randorf went overboard, which I noted, but imo, it's really not a big deal.

My thoughts

[octothorp]

Originally posted by albertGQ@Sep 18 2004, 10:27 PM


Totally disagree with you. Lets compare how many goals I score in shinny with Gretzky's NHL goals record then
Okay, we can do that. Gretzky had something like 1,016 goals, including both regular season and playoff. How many have you had playing shinny?

Even if you have scored over a thousand, nobody would say you're as good as gretzky, but people would likely say that that's a helluva lot of goals, regardless of whether you're playing in the NHL or playing in a rec league. Same thing with this record. I don't think TSN was really suggesting that Pringle is as good as the others on the list; that would be stupid. But it is a good way of putting into context how solid Pringle's career has been, even if his skill level is below his NFL counterparts.

[JD]

This nothing new. TSN has been guilty of doing this on several occasions.

Three years ago when Damon Allen became the all-time leading passer, repeatedly you would see graphics showing how Allen compares to Joe Montana and Dan Marino.

Last year when Darren Flutie became the all-time leading receiver, there you had it again... graphics of Flutie's name next to Rice, Brown, etc.

And this year it happens again.

The comparisons are ridiculous, even if you assume the talent level is similar. The games are completely different. 4 downs vs. 3. Wide field vs. uh, normal field. Pass-happy CFL vs. the running game of the NFL. The CFL has 2 more games/season than the NFL. There are just so many reasons the comparisons shouldn't be made.

And the worst part about it is that I always get the feeling they do those comparisons in order to legitimize the CFL and it's athletes. That's what bothers me the most. The CFL is a great game with great traditions and doesn't need to be made legitimate by comparing it to the NFL.