That's what Fred called it.  Gotham has a number of talk lists where fellow Gothamites can chat about a variety of topics.  There is something about talking sports that allows people to debate, speculate, opine and even hurl light barbs without others taking things too personally.

Talking politics?  Most hate it.  It often gets nasty, personal and just gets under people's skin.  I used to love talking politics, now I hate it.  The country has become so polarized and peronally invested in their ideology that they rarely engage in discourse in a civil manner.  Even the chat from the movie talk list can get testy every once in a while with people defending their opinions vehemently.

Sports though is different animal.  Perhaps it is just a realization by basketball fans that hockey is the superior sport or that Yankee fans just have accepted that their time has come and gone and it is time for the young up and coming Mets to once again supplant them as the darlings of New York.

More than likely, it is the additional stream of consciousness and feeling of community one can enjoy while sitting at home watching a ball game.  For many of us, the days of sitting around the fraternity house watching a game and jawing are gone.  The tilme/inclination to go out to a bar with friends to watch a game are few and far between.  Gotham sports talk gves us a chance to enjoy that on a nightly basis...at least virtually.