And 720p is superior by having twice as many frames per second. Or at least it is with the same fallacious reasoning that says 1080i is better than 720p because 1080 is 360 more than 720. It ignores a few basic factors like only half the lines getting updated every 1/60 of a second in 1080i, while the entire frame updates every 1/60 of a second in 720p.
BeachComber's comparison of Lost and House is worse than meaningless to this discussion. Those shows originate at 24p and undergo either 2:3 pulldown to get 30i frames per second, or a 4% speedup and 2:2 pulldown to 25i frames per second. A good TV will be capable of reversing either of those pulldowns and displaying full 1920x1080 frames. All other things being equal, a 1920x1080p frame simply has the capability to display more than a 1280x720p frame. However, since that simply isn't possible with 60Hz content like sports (i.e. the topic of this thread), it's not a relevant argument and simply adds confusing information to an already unclear topic. A good deinterlacer will make for a good picture, but at best it's going to estimate what should be in those missing lines, and won't come close to 1080 lines of effective resolution.
