Baseball is a game of beautiful rhythm. All events leading up to each pitch are slow and methodical, only to erupt with a ball put in play, causing a multitude of other actions. I miss that contract in other sports.

Baseball, rhythmically, is like a quality black and white photograph - it includes the darkest darks and the lightest lights. This ebb and flow gives flavor to the game within the game.

Then summer comes along and it's back to purely baseball, the WNBA if you like strong fundamentals lolz, and the occasional international competition (World Cup, Olympics).

I like the competitive nature of the Sharks and the electrifying game of hockey from season's start to the Stanley Cup.

The NFL has its moments, but with only 16 games in a season, there's something to remember in every game. Mostly "Holding, #76, 10 yard penalty, repeat First Down."

I used to follow the NBA back in days of the Shaq and Little Penny Orlando Magic. Then the luster of the NBA went away somewhere around the start of the 21st Century. IMO, I blame NBC for losing TV contract to the NBA and thus the disappearance of John Tesh's "Roundball Rock" as the theme synonymous with NBA Basketball, on NBC anyway.

Despite all that action in the winter, I rather enjoy the slow dog days of summer where there's numerous baseball games on every night, lesser on Monday and Thursdays.

No matter what your summer activities may include, there's always time for baseball. Baseball isn't even purely summer. With Spring Training in March, season starting in April and playoffs in October, there is really no baseball from November to February.

The endless possibilities for every at bat, every inning, seems like theres more variety than other sports

Not a lot of fouls and penalties that stop the action or takes back good plays.  If it happens in baseball, that's it.  No penalty to bring it back.

The pace of the game is smooth and continuous for the most part

Even in blowouts, there's always something interesting can happen.  Garbage time in other sports is just killing the clock.  

Its mostly outdoors in the fresh air

Etc etc

Funny, though, I also haven't been doing my usual offseason baseball book reading frenzy.  I guess sports just aren't that resonant for me right now.  Focusing on music and history (at least 'til spring training).

The tactile nature of the game is also a big part of it's attraction to me. Feeling the dirt beneath your feet, the grain of the bat in your hand, and the puff of the bases beneath your feet is wonderful. There's youthful vigor in it.

And even as a fan I feel that at the ballpark. Like alox said, hotdogs never taste as good as they do at the game. Ambient crowd noises build tension, yet also create an atmosphere of togetherness. That's one reason I love baseball on the radio with a great announcer. You can close your eyes and still feel those sensations. Like a good bedtime story, baseball stretches the imagination.

As a kid, baseball in the summertime was the best. It was one of the first places I was allowed to go without an adult - my sister and some friends and I would hop on BART, go to the coliseum, and roast in the sunshine and watch the game. It signaled our independence from parents, from school, whatever, and it meant that we (as a group of young females) were doing something that at the time wasn't "cool" for girls to be into, but we loved every minute of it. I have fond memories of sitting down the third base line during an A's-Indians doubleheader that we lost so amazingly badly, but it was fun because we were there. I can sit in the ballpark and ignore the rest of what is going on in the world. I've survived so much simply by going to the ballpark. I can not see someone for years, but then go sit with them at the ballpark and it's as if nothing has changed.

Big $$$ Fantasy leagues have helped me stay interested in baseball during the dog days of summer (and I will watch the pitchers I own any time of the season), but I still have lost interest in the game during the long summer months.  I love the game in April when it is fresh and the pennant race is great....but the season just has SO many games and is SO long.  Football keeps me captivated from Day 1.

I love studying and reading about baseball - numbers, projections and especially the history...but in terms of excitement and watching games, the NFL rules here.

I've tried to watch other sports but living in NY, other than the Yankees and Mets, most of the other teams here kinda suck. I'll watch a football game, but I don't really get it, and I like to watch hockey, but only for the fights and Sidney Crosby.

Baseball > all other sports

I much prefer college basketball over the NBA, and I've really grown to appreciate college hoops since moving to North Carolina.  I like hockey, too -- although I really can't get into the NHL season too much until the playoffs start, and probably the Carolina Hurricanes have to be in them.  (That stupid one point for OT/shootout loss rule also bugs the crap out of me.  If you lose, you should get nothing, end of story.)

I also like watching golf major tournaments (particularly The Masters) and tennis Grand Slam events (particularly Wimbledon).  I love the Olympics, too.  I think the one sport I really detest is boxing.

Why is baseball No. 1?  Maybe because it's just about every day.  Maybe it's because I like all the numbers.  Maybe because anything great and/or crazy can happen at any time, whether it be an awesome play or a squirrel running out on the field.

Coincidentally, the every day part is the reason I don't mind the offseason at all -- after the World Series, I need the break.

But Baseball is absolutely number 1. I loved your second to last paragraph! Would you mind if I quote you on my MySpace? Too many people don't understand my baseball obsession, and I have a very difficult time explaining it sometimes, other than to say, Baseball is Love!

NHL - whatever.

(Though when the Volleyball promotion ads come out on the blog, I often think I could get into that.)

Pretty much don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said. I love how baseball doesn't have a clock... nothing bothers me more than a football game ending, everyone walking on the field, while the clock is still clicking away. I know there's not really a chance to come back and win but it still bugs me. I love how in baseball, no matter how much you are down, it's not over until the last out is made.

New school basketball is boringly hyperactive.

Tournament Texas Hold'Em is my second favorite, but more to play than to watch.