What's happening to this place?

[nicky g]

What's with all this sports crap? Don't you guys know this is supposed to be the place for arguments about Israel, Iraq, Bush and Fox News, with a smattering of cultural stuff and asides about pizza and squirrels? I demand all sports posters (which are completely meaningless to me, given that you guys insist on playing games that noone else understands - what's wrong with soccer for goodness sake?) be immediately transferred to the Heads-up and Short-handed forum, which is barely being used anyway. All us nutcases want is 1/20 of the total forum space, is that so much to ask? The posts about pizza and Ray's garden have all but died out; what's next, the 2000 election controversy! For the love of all that's good in the world this must stop now.

[KJS]

So who is your early pick for the Premier League title?

Chelsea seems to be gelling more than anyone expected, but can they win crucial points against Man U. and Arsenal? Saturday's game with the Gunners will be telling. I think Arsenal has a great side, but can they stay healthy and keep their heads on straight all year? They really lost their focus at the end of last season, when they looked like a lock in August. Man U. don't seem to miss Beckham much, and the addition of Christian Ronaldo seems good so far. But what if they lose Rio Ferdinand? They are already shakey in defense sometimes. Still, they are my pick at the moment. I think Van Nistelroy is the league's best player and is someone who can almost singlehandedly get them points when they need them.

KJS

[nicky g]

Lol. I understand football but that desn't mean I have any great interest in it. Nominally I support Celtic and hate Arsenal (living as I do in deepest Arsenal territory), but that's about it. I think it'll be interesting to see if Chelsea can make a long term success of suddenly having masses of cash thrown at them; it only worked temporarily for Blackburn, and barely at all for Newcastle, though Chelsea were already a pretty decent/wealthy team to start with so perhaps it'll work better for them. I just wonder whether Abramovich will tire of competing against a Man U and Arsenal that betweeen the two of them seem to have an invincible stranglehold on the top of the table, and endless funds. It'll be like the cold war arms race. Chelsea should spice things up a bit and I hope they make a go of it, but a three-horse race, if it works out, isn't that more entertaining than a two horse one. I find the bottom of the table provides far more entertainment, epsecially in the run-up to relegation time. I wish Real Madrid didn't poach all the best players, they're top of my hate-list, as a one-time Barcelona fan/resident, with Rangers and Arsenal. I don't understand it either - Barcelona's a much nicer city. It's a shame Beckham's left England, he made the league seem a bit more glamorous/historically significant. But that's enough sports talk from me.

[Joe Tall]

You have to like Pedro in Game 7 tonight. What's your take nicky? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[IrishHand]

Hey - leave them alone. They're about to have a discussion about NBA basketball. Didn't I see something about the Celtics up there? Definitely shoulda traded Walker this offseason...

[MMMMMM]

What I don't understand is why sports like football and baseball are so popular in the first place.

The real sports are genuine wrestling, gymnastics, fencing, track & field, and quarterstaff. All this other crap where they wear uniforms and try to do something with a little ball is just plain silly.

[daryn]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In risposta di:</font><hr />
The real sports are genuine wrestling, gymnastics, fencing, track &amp; field, and quarterstaff. All this other crap where they wear uniforms and try to do something with a little ball is just plain silly.

[/ QUOTE ]

come on now, this is just silly. what is a sport? is it some test of physicality and endurance? no... it's just a game. gymnastics is a serious test of physical ability, but what a lame sport!

now baseball, there's a sport. it's a mental game. only in baseball would david wells, the fat ass he is, be allowed to prosper, but he has talent, and he is able to outwit opponents. hitting a baseball, they say it's the hardest thing to do in sports, and i believe it!

i'm not talking about just hitting a ball in a batting cage, i'm talking about a pitcher trying to outsmart you, outthink you, trying to throw you the pitch you least expect. you're looking for that fastball and you look stupid real fast as the changeup comes in. you're looking to tag his curve, and before you know it the ball is in the catchers mit and you're gonzo...

what a sport!

[Joe Tall]

I lived and died the Celtics through the 80s. I'm 6'7" and own 2 high jump records in the State of Mass and briefly played Div. 1 in college; I love basketball. However, I HATE today's NBA, frankly, I have no idea what sport they are playing out there. I'll take the college game anyday.

Peace,
JT

[Joe Tall]

[ QUOTE ]
The real sports are genuine wrestling, gymnastics, fencing, track &amp; field, and quarterstaff

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes these are great sports for the individual.

Team sports seem to be more facinating and dynamic. As far as I am concerned Rugby is the greatest sport of them all. All the phyical and mental aspects of life, played out on field; pure beauty.

Peace,
JT

[MMMMMM]

I don't doubt that rugby is superior to football.

[adios]

Basketball is my favorite sport. I basically agree with your sentiments about the NBA. I will be watching more college hoops this year since they've moved the 3 point line back some. FWIW I think the 3 point line distance shouldn't necessarily favor one strategy over another.

[Joe Tall]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't doubt that rugby is superior to football.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is surperior to all sport.

Endurance, agility, team work, strength, courage, 4-quandrant skill (2 hands, 2 feet), strategy and individual ability (there is no blocking in rugby) all come to the surface in this game. Any other category you could think of rugby has it.

Peace,
JT

[MMMMMM]

All right, change the definition to exclude athletic activities of pure achievement (such as gymnastics) because they are not "games."

Now compare the mental contest between pitcher and batter with the mental contest between fencers or wrestlers. Far fewer options in pitching/batting = less complex contest.

[MMMMMM]

If so, then my initial point remains: why are sports inferior to rugby, wrestling, fencing, etc. by far the most popular?

[Joe Tall]

[ QUOTE ]
why are inferior sports by far the most popular?

[/ QUOTE ]

Am I assuming you are talking about the United States?

Because Soccer and Rugby are 2 of the most popular sports in the world, and I feel they are superior.

Peace,
JT

[MMMMMM]

I did not know rugby was that popular worldwide.

OK, then the answer is obvious. Americans do not prefer the best sports because the average American has very poor taste, as is evidenced by the dumfounding American passion for slop like McDonald's, cheap beers like Budweiser, and rap music.

Now my question has an answer. Thank you.

Also, now Chris Alger cannot claim that I never criticize America.

[adios]

To answer your question about the popularity of sports in the USA such as baseball and football (American style) IMO it's a cultural thing. People grow up in the USA playing these sports. Cities and schools are represented by teams so people watch the sports as well. Same reason hockey is so popular in Canada. Soccer (I know it's football to the rest of the world) is a team sport that is growing in popularity in the USA. As someone pointed out, track and field tends to be more of an individual sport but I agree that track and field may certainly be a more pure form of sport as an example. Some anecdotal info, when I attended high school way back when the football and basketball teams were mediocre at best but had a great following of alumni, parents and students. The track and field team was absolute dynomite, one of the best in the metropolitan area of Cleveland and had a pathetically anemic following. I know because I had several friends competing on the track and field team and went to about every track meet home and away including district, regional and state track meets.

[John Cole]

M,

I've read tons of great books and essays about baseball, but have read nary a word about quarterstaff. Nor have I read a good quarterstaff poem, but literature is filled with great baseball poetry; the sport must have something going for it.

John



John

[MMMMMM]

Thanks, Tom.

Don't get me wrong, I actually like baseball once in a while, I just think it's a tad silly as compared to real wrestling or fencing, or the incredible accomplishments of gymnasts, or a few track &amp; field people;-);-)

[nicky g]

Oh no!!! In my attempt to stop the sports threads, I've started a sports thread!!!!! /images/graemlins/confused.gif /images/graemlins/confused.gif /images/graemlins/confused.gif

M, I find it funny that me and others criticise American foreign policy etc, while you criticise American people, and we get called anti-American! /images/graemlins/grin.gif (not by you, that I remember, but still...)

[Joe Tall]

[ QUOTE ]
OK, then the answer is obvious. Americans do not prefer the best sports because the average American has very poor taste, as is evidenced by the dumfounding American passion for slop like McDonald's, cheap beers like Budweiser, and rap music.


[/ QUOTE ]

Bingo.

However, there is actually quality 'rap music'; it's just your bad taste in 'rap' that gives you this opinion. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Peace,
Joe Tall

[MMMMMM]

Didn't you read of how Little John defeated Eric O' Lincoln of great renown, whose name had been sung in ballads throughout the countryside, at the fair in Nottingham Town?

[ACPlayer]

Baseball as a sport. Now a good five day long cricket test match, country vs country with real pride at stake. Hard ball, no cissy gloves to catch the ball with. Ball moving through the air and off the ground, making it tougher to hit.

And dont forget that most elegant sporting activity -- the drink breaks.

Now that is sport!

[MMMMMM]

I've heard a tiny bit of good rap music, but I'm talking averages here, and the average rap I unwillingly hear generally really blows.

[Joe Tall]

[ QUOTE ]
Baseball as a sport. Now a good five day long cricket test match, country vs country with real pride at stake. Hard ball, no cissy gloves to catch the ball with. Ball moving through the air and off the ground, making it tougher to hit.

And dont forget that most elegant sporting activity -- the drink breaks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rugby has all of this and a 'drink up'!

[MMMMMM]

I criticize everyone. It is a significant personal fault.

[adios]

Your points are well taken. I'd also include tennis as a sport that requires a lot of athletic ability at a high level. You don't see too many fat pro tennis players /images/graemlins/smirk.gif. Ok that 375 pound tackle in the NFL isn't fat really /images/graemlins/smile.gif (I'm sure some heat's coming for that one). Anyway I'm more curious about the fan support for sports teams now. Today it seems a lot more extreme than it was say 25 years ago.

[MMMMMM]

Yes I almost included tenis in the list but I wanted to be able to put in quarterstaff without running out of room so something had to go.

[jstnrgrs]

[ QUOTE ]
though Chelsea were already a pretty decent/wealthy team to start with so perhaps it'll work better for them

[/ QUOTE ]
What's with using a plural verb eith a singular noun, shouldn't it be
though Chelsea was already a pretty decent/wealthy team to start with so perhaps it'll work better for them

[nicky g]

Yes. You're right. People often use the plural for singular nouns that represent a group of people, but yes, it should be the singular. Go straight to the top of the class.

[BruceZ]

what's wrong with soccer for goodness sake?

Nothing, it is a popular game children's game.

[Boris]

I think there is something with Soccer. It's boring and it promotes violence.

[nicky g]

lol.

[ACPlayer]

Actually for regulars on this forum, cricket has to be the game of choice.

There is actually a fielding position in cricket called, r u ready, "Silly Point"

[Gamblor]

Continue like this, AC, and you won't have a "Funny Short Leg" to stand on.

[andyfox]

"what's wrong with soccer"

-You can't use your hands.

-The score is always 1-0.

-The clock goes the wrong way.

-Europeans play it.

[Whitey]

[ QUOTE ]
-You can't use your hands

[/ QUOTE ]

Hence the name "Football" not soccer.Football was invented long before American Football,only Americans call it soccer.

[ QUOTE ]
-The score is always 1-0.

[/ QUOTE ]

No it isn't

[ QUOTE ]
-The clock goes the wrong way.


[/ QUOTE ]

Most people can work out how long is left without the need for a "countdown"

[ QUOTE ]
-Europeans play it.


[/ QUOTE ]

As do Americans,and most of the rest of the world.

/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[Ray Zee]

my gargen is just about over for the year. the whole garage floor is covered with pumkins, squash and such. i still have about ten bushels of tomatoes to cook down into sauce and numerous other vegis to deal with soon.
the good part is that i will have great pizza sauce soon.
eating great pizza while watching bush get a run for his money in the next election will be great.