The 9:00pm start (merged)

[SamuelAdams]

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However, for Sunday games, what's wrong with a 6:00pm start, or even a 4:00pm start?  The NBA shows regular season games in the afternoon all the time.  What it comes down to, though, is advertising dollars, which is why this will never change.

/Agree.  The Sunday games should at least start earlier for the kids.  Resign Stern.

[NicaraguanFan]

I don't have that problem... But if someday you want to write about following the Celtics overseas, you can drop me a line

or me... I am his neighbor...

Hola Vecino LOL.

[coco]

I am usually at the office by 7:00am(when I am running late).  The late start is horrible. I've always wondered if the NBA is catering to out-of-school teens. I just can't understant why not even one game is on a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon...not even one. 

[ma11l]

Stern was on Dennis and Callahan this morning and they asked him about this.  I didn't listen to the show but I read the post on the Globe's Celtics Blog.  I'm not really bothered by the starting time, but his answers were still very uninspiring.  My favorite is that he said kids who can't stay awake know how to use a Tivo, so they can watch it when they wake up.  Oh, how exciting David. 

[Oldschoolkid]

This 9pm start is ridiculous. Why do we have to sit and wait for West coast clowns to get home and get ready to watch OUR home game...? When it is here, we start at 7, 7:30....we don't need our players sitting around all night and day waiting for them.....They are hollywood fans anyway, when their team is down, they walk.....Now the game here won't end until 12 or so, and how do you expect anyone to be able to sleep after that, watching is almost the same as playing, you get into it, all wound up!!!!!

[Oldschoolkid]

As for the LA sympathy, I would much rather see the last 1/2 than the first 2 quarters, don't give me that "they won't get home till 6".....so what, if you love it you can get there. It is much better to see the second two, or even three quarters than the first one......! Ask anyone, give them that choice and see...! This side of the country WORKS.....Early, long and hard.....! Besides, when the game is here, make it work for us, when it is there, they get the time....! It is all set up on LA time now.....!

[Roy Hobbs]

As for the LA sympathy, I would much rather see the last 1/2 than the first 2 quarters, don't give me that "they won't get home till 6".....so what, if you love it you can get there. It is much better to see the second two, or even three quarters than the first one......! Ask anyone, give them that choice and see...! This side of the country WORKS.....Early, long and hard.....! Besides, when the game is here, make it work for us, when it is there, they get the time....! It is all set up on LA time now.....!

So, you're cool with Games 3, 4, and 5 starting at 10:30 EST?  Because if we let L.A. pick the schedule, that's most likely what we'd see.

Trust we, with L.A. traffic, 6:00 PST starts aren't ideal for them, either.

[Brendan]

the local crowd should still be considered. I don't think a game should start before 6:30 or after 8:30 local time. Since BOS and LAL are both on the edges, we'd get a 9:30 eastern LAL home game start and a 8:30 eastern BOS start. BUT this should just be for weekday games.

Sat/Sun games should be at ~7 eastern (I picked my guess midpoint between earliest and latest sunday games) - which is close to the superbowl times.

these late games greatly weaken the home court advantage for the Celtics IMO, whereas LAL fans dont show up till the second quarter anyways.

[Brendan]

Also with TiVo - starting to watch late is no biggy. So the game starts at 8:30 you tivo, get home, catchup during ads and half time and at worst watch the last quarter  live.

I think a little defernce should be shown to the local team and give a slightly more convenient local start time for the home crowd.

[MBz]

My issue with the 9:00 game start, is that even if New Orleans or San Antonio was in the NBA finals, the games would still start at 9.  It's too late.  Some people do have work early and it sucks.  I hate the fact that theres not one game on a Friday or Saturday night as well.  Everything is on a work night.

[Roy Hobbs]

Also with TiVo - starting to watch late is no biggy. So the game starts at 8:30 you tivo, get home, catchup during ads and half time and at worst watch the last quarter  live.

I think a little defernce should be shown to the local team and give a slightly more convenient local start time for the home crowd.

The overwhelming majority of people don't have Tivo.

I think 9:00 is the fairest solution you're going to get, unfortunately.  I'd gladly give up the extra half hour from 8:30 until 9:00, to avoid games starting at 9:30 or even later.

I don't know, I feel bad for the East Coasters who go into work before 9:00 am, but for the majority of the work force, I think we can deal with it.  I mean, I don't go to bed most nights until around 1:30 or 2:00am; the human body functions perfectly fine on six hours of sleep, and having to do that a max of seven times isn't going to kill any of the 9 to 5 folks.  Inconvenient, yes.  Unbearable?  No.

I'm sympathetic to 1) kids and 2) those who have to work earlier.  As stated earlier, though, the thing the league needs to do is institute no fewer than two weekend games.  That doesn't solve the problem, but it helps a bit.

[Brendan]

Also with TiVo - starting to watch late is no biggy. So the game starts at 8:30 you tivo, get home, catchup during ads and half time and at worst watch the last quarter  live.
...

The overwhelming majority of people don't have Tivo.
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Yes - but Stern said the kids could "tivo" the games the next day. That's what I'm responding to.

[OriginalODb]

I have to get out of bed at 5:45 every morning and I don't have a problem with it, granted Im 26 and can recover quickly but the games are spaced out long enough so that you have a few nights to catch up on sleep. As for the kids, its June, schools almost out, they can stay up til midnight once and awhile pretty much everyone is just coasting through the last few weeks anyway

[Bleedgreen]

I'm on Mountain Time. I couldn't ask for a better start time! 

[Tommy Gun]

yes, you need to think about people on the west coast, for them the games will be starting at 6, some people dont even get back from work by then

They got a radio use it when they are stuck in traffic