Sports Talk

[Airbrush]

Any sports fans out there?  Anyone think there are some dumb sports out there?

As a sports fan I start following NFL football about mid-season.  I make a list of the few teams with the best records, and I follow them the remainder of the season.

There are other sports I like, such as NBA basketball, soccer, track and field, surfing, etc.

There are some sports I don't understand, and tend to think they are dumb, such as WWE (Pro Wrestling), boxing, mixed martial arts (where they are allowed to really beat and kick each other), auto racing (except for drag racing).

There are a few sports I don't like and don't think they are dumb, they are just boring, such as baseball, golf, and Hockey is hard to follow because the puck is so small.

The most under-rated sport is pole vault.  Why do I never hear about the best pole vaults of the year? 

So what sports do you like, dislike, or don't care about? 

Below is a youtube of Renaud Lavillenie setting a new record at 6.16m.  The man in the grey suit with blue necktie is the Ukrainian, Sergey Bubka, the greatest vaulter of all time.  Only 2 people  have ever vaulted higher than 20 feet, Sergey in 1986 (and many times since), and Renaud in 2014 which also happened in Ukraine.

 

Edited October 30, 2019 by Airbrush
spelling

[Sensei]

Now we have e-Sports! Does e-Sport count?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esports

People pay to see how do "professional player" plays some computer game.

 

Edited October 30, 2019 by Sensei

[koti]

2 hours ago, Airbrush said:

Any sports fans out there?  Anyone think there are some dumb sports out there?

As a sports fan I start following NFL football about mid-season.  I make a list of the few teams with the best records, and I follow them the remainder of the season.

There are other sports I like, such as NBA basketball, soccer, track and field, surfing, etc.

There are some sports I don't understand, and tend to think they are dumb, such as WWE (Pro Wrestling), boxing, mixed martial arts (where they are allowed to really beat and kick each other), auto racing (except for drag racing).

There are a few sports I don't like and don't think they are dumb, they are just boring, such as baseball, golf, and Hockey is hard to follow because the puck is so small.

The most under-rated sport is pole vault.  Why do I never hear about the best pole vaults of the year? 

So what sports do you like, dislike, or don't care about? 

Below is a youtube of Renaud Lavillenie setting a new record at 6.16m.  The man in the grey suit with blue necktie is the Ukrainian, Sergey Bubka, the greatest vaulter of all time.  Only 2 people  have ever vaulted higher than 20 feet, Sergey in 1986 (and many times since), and Renaud in 2014 which also happened in Ukraine.

 

I love sports and I love watching some, I agree with most of what you wrote but drag racing = good, rally/F1/DTM = bad?
Gee, I have it completely the other way around  
Plus there is less frames in that pole vault video than hprse power in my RIP Subaru Impreza STI Spec C which I took to the track quite a few times back in the day  

Edited October 30, 2019 by koti

[Phi for All]

2 hours ago, Airbrush said:

Anyone think there are some dumb sports out there?

All the professional ones. I think the amount of resources spent on them is ludicrous. I think they promote the entrenched tribalism, intellectual disdain, and ruthless extremism I see at the core of many global problems. The media loves to focus on rivalry and competition, and they thrive on situations where two groups are on opposite sides shouting each other down. Sportsmanship is an admirable quality that's fallen to the be-a-winner-at-all-costs mentality. Our workforce is encouraged to risk their health and play-through-the-pain the way the top athletes do. Us vs Them is ripping the world apart at a time when countries and industry want to venture off-planet, and refugees from various Us vs Them Wars are looking for a place where they aren't considered Them. I simply don't find enough enjoyment in watching sports to offset the negatives they seem to perpetuate. 

[koti]

4 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

All the professional ones. I think the amount of resources spent on them is ludicrous. I think they promote the entrenched tribalism, intellectual disdain, and ruthless extremism I see at the core of many global problems. The media loves to focus on rivalry and competition, and they thrive on situations where two groups are on opposite sides shouting each other down. Sportsmanship is an admirable quality that's fallen to the be-a-winner-at-all-costs mentality. Our workforce is encouraged to risk their health and play-through-the-pain the way the top athletes do. Us vs Them is ripping the world apart at a time when countries and industry want to venture off-planet, and refugees from various Us vs Them Wars are looking for a place where they aren't considered Them. I simply don't find enough enjoyment in watching sports to offset the negatives they seem to perpetuate. 

I like to watch Poker and Snooker. And armwrestling.

Edited October 30, 2019 by koti

[Phi for All]

Poker seems completely different. Poker players can have sponsors, but no team is paying them win or lose. They pay themselves by winning.

Watching others play games I can play (like pool or snooker) seems weird. With football, baseball, etc, there's some athleticism there I can't hope to achieve that makes watching pros interesting. That was my favorite part about those sports. 

Armwrestling should just be replaced with Whip Your Dick Out. Probably more crying, but definitely less sweat.

[koti]

7 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

 Armwrestling should just be replaced with Whip Your Dick Out. Probably more crying, but definitely less sweat.

Armwrestling is a combat sport like boxing or MMA with loads of technique and very specific training. It's better in many ways than any other combat sport because you don't get your head punched all the time but hey, I get it why youre making fun of it, literally everyone does  

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, koti said:

Armwrestling is a combat sport like boxing or MMA with loads of technique and very specific training. It's better in many ways than any other combat sport because you don't get your head punched all the time 

And this is a big plus, imo. The consequences for the athletes can be horrendous. 

1 hour ago, koti said:

but hey, I get it why youre making fun of it, literally everyone does  

I wasn't making fun of it, I was giving you my opinion on it. I can appreciate skills, but I'm not a fan of psycho macho contests. OTOH, I can't think of anything else a couple of guys could do legally with talcum powder while holding hands on TV. OK, OK, I made a small amount of fun with that last bit. 

[StringJunky]

2 hours ago, koti said:

I like to watch Poker and Snooker. And armwrestling.

I'd rather watch paint dry.

[Airbrush]

2 hours ago, koti said:

I love sports and I love watching some, I agree with most of what you wrote but drag racing = good, rally/F1/DTM = bad?
Gee, I have it completely the other way around  
Plus there is less frames in that pole vault video than hprse power in my RIP Subaru Impreza STI Spec C which I took to the track quite a few times back in the day  

A drag race is short enough to not become boring.  Long car races such as Nascar become boring to me quickly.  It just resembles the "thrill" driving on the freeway, in heavy traffic, but going fast.

Same with track and field.  The long distances races are boring to me, but sprints, hurdles, pole vault, high jump are not boring at all.  The exception is long jump, I don't care much for the long jump because even a very long jump does not LOOK very long.

2 hours ago, Phi for All said:

All the professional ones. I think the amount of resources spent on them is ludicrous. I think they promote the entrenched tribalism, intellectual disdain, and ruthless extremism I see at the core of many global problems. The media loves to focus on rivalry and competition, and they thrive on situations where two groups are on opposite sides shouting each other down. Sportsmanship is an admirable quality that's fallen to the be-a-winner-at-all-costs mentality. Our workforce is encouraged to risk their health and play-through-the-pain the way the top athletes do. Us vs Them is ripping the world apart at a time when countries and industry want to venture off-planet, and refugees from various Us vs Them Wars are looking for a place where they aren't considered Them. I simply don't find enough enjoyment in watching sports to offset the negatives they seem to perpetuate. 

I'm in agreement with all of this.  These are some of the negatives of organized sports, and it is important these negatives be mentioned.  We should work at stopping them.

And yet I do love some sports, I dislike some, and don't care too much about some others.

Any hunters out there?  I understand that hunting animals is a sport.  It is hard to understand how it can be fun to wait in a blind for a deer to blow away with a rifle and scope.  I guess they love to eat deer.  Is carving up its' corpse part of the fun?

[Mordred]

I used to enjoy hunting though I rarely used a blind. The real interest for me was stocking up a years worth of meat rather than the sport. This was before firearm regulations became too prohibited with my previous naval career. It became too problematic transporting firearms from one coast to the other everytime my home port changed.

 I only ever shot what I would eat. I always enjoyed the camping aspects of hunting it gave one a good reason to go on lengthy hikes and be in the woods. That was the aspects I enjoyed. 

 Lol though you best have a horse handy to pack out a Moose when you shoot him several km from the nearest road. 

 

[koti]

10 hours ago, Phi for All said:

And this is a big plus, imo. The consequences for the athletes can be horrendous. 

I wasn't making fun of it, I was giving you my opinion on it. I can appreciate skills, but I'm not a fan of psycho macho contests. OTOH, I can't think of anything else a couple of guys could do legally with talcum powder while holding hands on TV. OK, OK, I made a small amount of fun with that last bit. 

Its magnesium hydroxocarbonate  
Its called „chalk” colloquially but it isnt, it gives you loads of grip through friction, you should try it some time  

10 hours ago, StringJunky said:

I'd rather watch paint dry.

LoL, watching snooker can be boring but poker? Common  

10 hours ago, Airbrush said:

A drag race is short enough to not become boring.  Long car races such as Nascar become boring to me quickly.  It just resembles the "thrill" driving on the freeway, in heavy traffic, but going fast.

Same with track and field.  The long distances races are boring to me, but sprints, hurdles, pole vault, high jump are not boring at all.  The exception is long jump, I don't care much for the long jump because even a very long jump does not LOOK very long.

I'm in agreement with all of this.  These are some of the negatives of organized sports, and it is important these negatives be mentioned.  We should work at stopping them.

And yet I do love some sports, I dislike some, and don't care too much about some others.

Any hunters out there?  I understand that hunting animals is a sport.  It is hard to understand how it can be fun to wait in a blind for a deer to blow away with a rifle and scope.  I guess they love to eat deer.  Is carving up its' corpse part of the fun?

Yep, Nascar is a nightmare to watch, I’d rather watch paint dry  

6 hours ago, Mordred said:

I used to enjoy hunting though I rarely used a blind. The real interest for me was stocking up a years worth of meat rather than the sport. This was before firearm regulations became too prohibited with my previous naval career. It became too problematic transporting firearms from one coast to the other everytime my home port changed.

 I only ever shot what I would eat. I always enjoyed the camping aspects of hunting it gave one a good reason to go on lengthy hikes and be in the woods. That was the aspects I enjoyed. 

 Lol though you best have a horse handy to pack out a Moose when you shoot him several km from the nearest road. 

 

Although I dont like the killing part I can sure dig the being in the woods part, especially in the beautiful US nature. 

[Airbrush]

13 hours ago, Mordred said:

I used to enjoy hunting though I rarely used a blind. The real interest for me was stocking up a years worth of meat rather than the sport. This was before firearm regulations became too prohibited with my previous naval career. It became too problematic transporting firearms from one coast to the other everytime my home port changed.

 I only ever shot what I would eat. I always enjoyed the camping aspects of hunting it gave one a good reason to go on lengthy hikes and be in the woods. That was the aspects I enjoyed. 

 Lol though you best have a horse handy to pack out a Moose when you shoot him several km from the nearest road.

Is carving up the dead animal a fun part of hunting?  It is hard for me to imagine since I've never been around animal slaughter, and I only loved the animals I knew, my dogs and cats.

Do you know of any hunters that shoot animals to kill for the fun of it, and just leave them to be scavenged?

Ok, back to some other sports.  So a few more sports I would add to my 3 lists (LIKE, DISLIKE, DON'T CARE):

LIKE:  gymnastics, diving, swimming, dancing

DON'T LIKE:  bronco or bull riding, hunting, fishing, trapping animals

DON'T CARE:  lacrosse, rugby, billiards, sky diving, mountain or rock climbing

[dimreepr]

1 hour ago, Airbrush said:

DON'T CARE:  lacrosse, rugby, billiards, sky diving, mountain or rock climbing

Well you're not invited to the world cup final on saturday. 

[StringJunky]

39 minutes ago, dimreepr said:

Well you're not invited to the world cup final on saturday. 

And no coffee from me when he wanders around to where I'm fishing.

[Mordred]

2 hours ago, Airbrush said:

Is carving up the dead animal a fun part of hunting?  It is hard for me to imagine since I've never been around animal slaughter, and I only loved the animals I knew, my dogs and cats.

Do you know of any hunters that shoot animals to kill for the fun of it, and just leave them to be scavenged?

 

Carving an animal isn't particularly fun. If I knew of someone killing animals and leaving them to be scavenged I wouldn't hesitate to report them to the authorities.

[Phi for All]

4 hours ago, StringJunky said:

And no coffee from me when he wanders around to where I'm fishing.

It's Halloween. Forget the pole, grab a raft, and we'll all go Whitewater Apple-Bobbing. 

[StringJunky]

12 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

It's Halloween. Forget the pole, grab a raft, and we'll all go Whitewater Apple-Bobbing. 

What's that: leaning out of a canoe, down the rapids trying to catch an apple from the water with our gobs?

Edited October 31, 2019 by StringJunky

[Phi for All]

44 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

What's that: leaning out of a canoe, down the rapids trying to catch an apple from the water with our gobs?

You say that like there's no skill involved. Most of the pros have very few teeth left.

[MigL]

Women's soccer seems to be more popular in North America than men's soccer.
At least, judging by the viewership of this year's women's World Cup matches.
Might have to do with the fact that the American and Canadian national teams are both highly ranked.
I watched, and really enjoyed, all the games I could.

That being said, I'm shallow, and watch all the women's beach volleyball I can.

[Strange]

!

Moderator Note

OK. I have split off a load of posts that I found pretty offensive. They were also largely off topic. 

The subject here is SPORT. Stick to it.

 

[Airbrush]

On 10/31/2019 at 10:13 AM, StringJunky said:

And no coffee from me when he wanders around to where I'm fishing.

I tried fishing only a few times as a kid.  At age 10 we went grunion hunting at night.  I caught 2 big grunion by hand, one in each hand, and they struggled so hard to escape that I felt bad, and I would never forget their strong will to live.  I hated what I did.  When my mom cooked the fish I caught, it didn't seem worth the effort. 

Fishing with a hook was difficult removing the hook from its' mouth.  An older kid kept asking me to remove the hook from the mouth of the fish he caught, because it was unpleasant to him.  It was unpleasant to me also, but I did it for him because he was 3 years older.  I hated that, and now I dislike fishing.  And yet fish is a staple in my diet.

If society went to hell and my life depended on hunting and fishing to survive, maybe I would do it.  But it is sooo much easier to just buy it in the market.

How is our society changing?  In the old days animal slaughter was an integral part of most everybody's life.  Not so much now.  You can live a long healthy life without ever hunting or fishing.

Edited November 1, 2019 by Airbrush

[StringJunky]

34 minutes ago, Airbrush said:

I tried fishing only a few times as a kid.  At age 10 we went grunion hunting at night.  I caught 2 big grunion by hand, one in each hand, and they struggled so hard to escape that I felt bad, and I would never forget their strong will to live.  I hated what I did.  When my mom cooked the fish I caught, it didn't seem worth the effort. 

Fishing with a hook was difficult removing the hook from its' mouth.  An older kid kept asking me to remove the hook from the mouth of the fish he caught, because it was unpleasant to him.  It was unpleasant to me also, but I did it for him because he was 3 years older.  I hated that, and now I dislike fishing.  And yet fish is a staple in my diet.

If society went to hell and my life depended on hunting and fishing to survive, maybe I would do it.  But it is sooo much easier to just buy it in the market.

How is our society changing?  In the old days animal slaughter was an integral part of most everybody's life.  Not so much now.  You can live a long healthy life without ever hunting or fishing.

IIRC I don't think (most anyway) fishes brains are evolved enough to experience pain as we know it. I catch and release all mine and they mostly swim/saunter off apparently unperturbed. I saw a programme once where a shark bit a fish clean in half from the back and the front half just carried on swimming as if it wasn't aware of what happened. As much as I like fish generally and care about them and their environment, they are not sentient creatures. On the positive side, anglers are unpaid monitors of water and stock condition. Nobody stares at the water and surroundings as much as anglers do. UK anglers are a bit different from the rest of the world in that eating what we catch, save salmon, sea fish and trout perhaps, is the exception rather than the rule.

Edited November 1, 2019 by StringJunky

[Airbrush]

15 hours ago, StringJunky said:

IIRC I don't think (most anyway) fishes brains are evolved enough to experience pain as we know it. I catch and release all mine and they mostly swim/saunter off apparently unperturbed. I saw a programme once where a shark bit a fish clean in half from the back and the front half just carried on swimming as if it wasn't aware of what happened. As much as I like fish generally and care about them and their environment, they are not sentient creatures. On the positive side, anglers are unpaid monitors of water and stock condition. Nobody stares at the water and surroundings as much as anglers do. UK anglers are a bit different from the rest of the world in that eating what we catch, save salmon, sea fish and trout perhaps, is the exception rather than the rule.

Below is from the first article I found when I googled "do fish feel pain?"

"It is impossible to definitively know whether another creature’s subjective experience is like our own. But that is beside the point. We do not know whether cats, dogs, lab animals, chickens, and cattle feel pain the way we do, yet we still afford them increasingly humane treatment and legal protections because they have demonstrated an ability to suffer. In the past 15 years, Braithwaite and other fish biologists around the world have produced substantial evidence that, just like mammals and birds, fish also experience conscious pain. “More and more people are willing to accept the facts,” Braithwaite says. “Fish do feel pain. It’s likely different from what humans feel, but it is still a kind of pain.”

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fish-feel-pain-180967764/#BIJXE4pPVX5xXby7.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

Edited November 2, 2019 by Airbrush

[John Cuthber]

On a lighter note...
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