What other sports intentionally play championships past midnight?
It is my understanding that Vegas routinely accounts for time zone traveling. Call it what you want, jet lag or a teams ability to acclimatize their biological clocks. There is no denying the chemical processes the body goes through over the course of the day in order to prepare for sleep, and let's just say that those changes aren't necessarily skewed towards accuracy, coordination and alertness.
What other professional sporting body is scheduling games to go past midnight (not including overtime game situations)?
March 31st, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^
World Series games typically end after midnight. I'm gonna say NCAA football championship games end after midnight. It's those stupid Monday night games that have to start late for West Coast fans. It's absolutely stupid that they had 2 west coast teams play BEFORE the eastern time zone team. The NCAA botched this tournament numerous ways, from the disrespect to the Women's teams, to putting Oregon State on a plane at 1:30AM. The NCAA is an awful, awful organization.
March 31st, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
Boxing and UFC
March 31st, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Boxing is a dying sport that nobody watches. Hence all of the gimmicky cards lately. UFC is on Saturday nights and not on a traditional work day.
He asked for sports and he gave him sports, why are poo pooing it. Whether you like the sport, or think it's dying is irrelevant.
March 31st, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
Well, first, you do sort of have to account for overtime in sports like hockey.
And the answer is... a lot of them. The NFL does not, but basically everybody else has been known to put on late-start primetime games.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Many would be home and away series, which assume a home field advantage and a 5-7 game series which would hopefully help smooth out the law of averages over time.
Single elimination though?
Well when you go from “what other sports” to “single elimination though,” you’re kinda moving the goalposts of the question a bit.
Professional sports are now out of the equation entirely, as none are single elimination. Which takes a rather large portion of the data out and we’re left just looking at college football, basketball, and some smaller sports that simply don’t have the viewership numbers to really matter when you play them.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:04 PM ^
Is this what you've been reduced to - whining about the start times of a game because you lost said game?
JFC...
March 31st, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
It is a question about betting dumbass
March 31st, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
Cleverly described... But its not, it's whining about a late start time.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^
"Betting" is not in the title.
You mention "betting" ZERO times.
You mention "Vegas" 1 time without any context.
You mentioned timezones, biology, acclimatization in the majority of the body of your post.
But it's not whining about timezones -- "dumbass" indeed.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
Did you read the article where Hunter addressed this a few days ago (I forgot where I saw it)? He said his AAU team had a late start in Vegas vs. a California team and after 2 trips up and down the court he was whipped. This is a legitimate question, especially when one team started the second half at 11 pm and the other team started the half at 8 pm, at least according to what their bodies are used to.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
Except that UCLA had two weeks in Indianapolis to get used to the time change, which only takes a few days, at best. They were acclimated, so both teams started the second half at the same time. Besides, Michigan outscored UCLA in the second half.
That story may have been accurate for Hunter's AAU team, which flew into Vegas on the same day they played.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
I think a college football team or college basketball team traveling to the West Coast with a late start TV time, with only a few days to acclimate, is a great angle.
Certain sleep hormone production decreases with age. So the younger the better in regards to drowsiness.
NCAA is just absolutely checked out per usual.
In this case I would have preferred a 10pm tip, in the Superdome, with 3ft. raised courts and some mind bending paint job in the key and baseline area.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
There were complaints about this scheduling before the game, it's not just sour grapes, it's clearly an advantage to UCLA to play a game at a time when their bodies are used to being awake and playing. I know U-M was in Indy for a bit but it can take a week or two for clocks to adjust.
Given the way the game went, U-M played uncharacteristically poorly and lost by a very narrow margin. Perhaps more than any other game I can remember, it's likely this outcome was affected by the start time. I hope CBS is happy with the ratings they received last night, because now they are stuck with Gonzaga - UCLA next week.
UCLA didn't just fly in to Indianapolis a couple days ago. They've been in the bubble for two weeks. They're acclimated to the Eastern time zone at this point.
If this was an advantage for UCLA it was more that maybe a late start made the game more likely to be an ugly slopfest, and they thrive in that.
know U-M was in Indy for a bit but it can take a week or two for clocks to adjust.
Are you the OP's burner account?
Studies have shown it takes 1 day for every 2 timezones to adjust.
Both M and UCLA were adjusted.
I hope CBS is happy with the ratings they received last nigh because now they are stuck with Gonzaga - UCLA next week
Yeah. I'm sure CBS is crying about showing the favorite #1, 30-0, team that keeps rolling against the scrappy team from a blue blood university which made it to the Final 4 from the play-in game and took down a #1 and #2 seed along the way.
That story line fucking sucks for sure!!!
Whining...
Win or lose it was fucking ridiculous to put these young, 'amateur' athletes on display at a time that was purely about what was best financially for the TV execs be damned what was best for the guys taking the court (no way they would choose to play that late...you are not getting best on best when you add this to the game. Even if both teams have to deal with it..every team and individual is impacted to different degrees). These are NOT pro's, they don't have representation they should not be treated like servants. In the pro's the unions can push back on shit like this if they wish..at the college level there is no one to push back on behalf of the guys being put on display.
College sports has gotten so far out of hand in its treatment of the athletes....#notncaaproperty is damned right.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
Tennis
March 31st, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
Call it what you want, jet lag or a teams ability to acclimatize their biological clocks.
1. Weren't they in Indy all weekend?
2. Regardless, UCLA had more of a difference between timezones to adjust than Michigan did.
What's your next excuse to whine about going to be?
March 31st, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
To UCLA, the game happened at 7PM local time, a fully normal time to play, when they are always awake and aware. For U-M, the game happened at 10PM local time, when they never are playing or working out.
I am not trying to make excuses but it's just plain stupid to decide UCLA had a bigger handicap because of the absolute value of the time difference. It's just a fact that the start time likely hurt U-M's performance more than UCLA's, and it could very well have been a deciding factor. I don't really give a crap about making excuses, we lost and that's the way it is, but there's no foul telling the truth about it.
UCLA has been in the Indy bubble two weeks. I can guarantee you they're not still functioning on Pacific time.
johnthesavage: "I don't really give a crap about making excuses"
MOAR johnthesavage: makes multiple posts about timezone excuses.
1. Weren't they in Indy all weekend?
Not just all weekend, we've been there since the Big Ten Tournament. For Covid reasons we never returned to Ann Arbor between weekends.
Cool... so even more evidence the timezone takes are just a bunch of whining and excuse making.
Furthermore, we didn't even change time zones. UCLA did.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:23 PM ^
?it's midnight o'clock somewhere ?
March 31st, 2021 at 12:27 PM ^
Apparently 150 points isn't the floor to keep the toxic part of this fanbase from creating shitposts.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:29 PM ^
Many comments above say it's not uncommon anymore in this day and age. The fact that the tournament is being played in the Eastern (Daylight) Time zone does make it bit more unusual.
The Final 4 games are not scheduled to start as late. That's odd. Also, why was TBS broadcasting the Elite 8 games on Tuesday night and not CBS? Did CBS think their Family Feud show was more important? These networks are getting harder to figure out.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:46 PM ^
If I recall correctly, when Manchester United beat Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2008(?), the game ended around 1:15am local time in Moscow.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:48 PM ^
I recorded the game. Then I got a good night of sleep. I went into the bubble with my phone turned off. I watched over coffee this morning in less than an hour. Then I erased it before the UCLA celebration. It minimized the pain. I am not sleep deprived. I limited my time investment and I didn’t watch a single mind numbing commercial.
That's what I do with the football games. The Game has been relatively painless because I get the L over in about 90 minutes, sometimes sooner when it's a three-score game.
March 31st, 2021 at 12:54 PM ^
Yeah the start time was stupid. But when I was in college we often played ball over at the NCRB at 11 PM. I never noticed anyone playing bad because they were tired.
It may have had some effect sure, but you have to play the games when they schedule them.
how many series did the Red Wings have to travel across the continent (Vancouver, San Jose, Anaheim, Colorado) to play late games when they were in Western Conference playoffs? the travel and hours on the road likely screwed the wings from winning several games and ultimately some series. When Pacific/Mountain time zone teams play each other it doesn’t have nearly the same effect on them so they naturally have an advantage. Biorhythms definitely effect performance.
I think cockfighting. And it's usually tucked away in some really obscure out of the way place.
At least the basketball game was played at LOS.
Not that it matters but the opposite happens to west coast teams with earlier start times. I remember how excited people were some years back when we got Utah for a noon start I believe (making it a very early morning for them).
Kids playing in the evening? They're fine. As many have said, both teams have been in Indy for awhile. The hours of anticipation were probably challenging, but once on the floor they're ok.
Not relevant this year, but IMO west coast teams playing day games in the east is hugely impactful. I know my body feels off for a day or two when I travel east - much harder than heading back west. Dragging ass in the morning, for sure.
For athletes, it's just not normal to play a game at 9-10am pacific time (with preparations starting hours before that).
That said, the NCAA could/should have insisted on starting an hour earlier.
I happen to be an early riser. Just my opinion, it too late a start. Not decisive, but given what was at stake was a trip to the Final Four, should have started no later than 8 or 8:30 p.m. The fact some some bettors handicap this says a lot. I didn't like the time slot draw and many on the blog did not either. While I admit I was unusually wide awake last night watching on TV, we weren't being asked to play basketball at the highest level. Congratulations to UCLA and congratulations to Michigan on a great season.
Pretty much every sport except the Super Bowl and golf.
It happens frequently at the US Open Tennis tournament. I wouldn't say it is done intentionally, but the scheduling and outdoor courts generally make it inevitable.