- 09:13 AM
- 11/22/09
I follow gymnastics regularly. The first time I saw He Kexin was at 2007 Chinese Nationals. The information available said that she had a 1994 birthdate and would not be eligible for Beijing. Imagine my surprise when she showed up on the Olympic training team.
If this much circumstancial evidence piled up around an athlete suspected of doping, the IOC would disqualify him or her immediately. This shouldn't be different.
posted by swerve at 04:04 PM on August 23
"According to Francona, the coaching staffs of previous MLB trips to Japan all were paid the same stipend as the players. The Sox manager was scheduled to join the Oakland A’s coaching staff in its team’s trip to Japan in 2003 and said it was agreed on that the coaches were to be paid. The trip was ultimately cancelled." Boston Herald I'm proud of the Sox for standing up for the staff, and I'm baffled as to why MLB thought it could get away with this.
posted by swerve at 12:50 PM on March 19
THX, from what I've heard, and I admit I'm guessing here, is that in these international endeavors that MLB has taken before (other sports too?), the coaches and staff for all teams involved have never been paid before now. I'm told that all coaches and staff were paid on the Yankees/Devil Rays trip to Japan in 2004. I'm looking for a source.
posted by swerve at 12:34 PM on March 19
I don't think men have the right to decide what is or isn't intimidating to women.
posted by swerve at 05:21 PM on November 22
It's hard for me to believe that Hank Aaron never took anything to enhance his performance. As I understand it, amphetamines were a common fact of baseball life for a long time (and perhaps still are). So, as before he tied the record, I'm conflicted.
posted by swerve at 01:48 PM on August 05
Disclaimer: I'm a horse person. Opinion: this just isn't a big deal. It was stupid and wrong and I'm sure the jockey regrets it, but yes, everyone I know who's worked with horses has lost his or her temper at some point and done something similarly stupid, wrong, and regrettable. I once smacked a show pony I was training when he bit me. I was seen and reported to the owners, who fired me. I understood, but so did other horse people, and I was on a new one two months later. Did I hit her? No. People who knew me knew that what had happened was out of character and not likely to recur. I've seen abuse. I've seen sores around the ankles of gaited horses from unpadded chains used to increase step height. I've seen ginger inserted into a horse's anus to lift his tail. I've seen a tired jumper beaten when he knocks down a rail in practice. A kick from a hundred-pound (and respected) jockey just doesn't set off my alarm bells. Give him a fine or a suspension and let him get back to his career. His longevity speaks, to a degree, to a gentle nature; it's very hard to have a career riding other people's horses unless you're widely regarded to be trustworthy.
posted by swerve at 05:34 PM on June 21
Aw. No mention of the great Bruins brawl at Madison Square Garden when they all climbed into the stands and started fighting with the fans. Mike Milbury pulled a shoe off a guy and beat him with it. Just priceless.
posted by swerve at 03:22 PM on May 17
A-Rod's on a tear, all right. But it's April.
posted by swerve at 01:56 PM on April 20
I was just thinking frisbie style would have been more effective. You'd definitely get more lift that way. Perfect if the target had been the girlfriend.
posted by swerve at 09:16 AM on April 18
Also, the pizza thower needs to work on his technique. I'm not sure how to throw a slice of pizza, but I'm pretty sure it's not like that. I don't know, his technique looked pretty solid to me. It landed cheese-side down, after all.
posted by swerve at 05:33 PM on April 17
Hi, yachts360. Please read the user guidelines. Thanks!
posted by swerve at 12:45 PM on December 10
The NBA does have an image problem, but it's certainly not marijuana that comes to mind.
posted by swerve at 05:40 PM on December 04
Two years ago, the Cards opened the gates to Red Sox fans and kept their stadium open late for the celebration. Must be good karma coming back around, along with some darn good baseball. Congratulations, Cards!
posted by swerve at 11:16 PM on October 27
There goes my prediction of the Tigers in 6. Could be worse; I predicted Detroit in five.
posted by swerve at 01:55 AM on October 27
Whod've thunk it. A-holes at Fenway! (Sorry, just a cocky remark from a Yankee fan). Many of them are wearing NYY caps.
posted by swerve at 05:24 PM on June 03
I have a very hard time believing her stated age is correct.
posted by swerve at 05:13 PM on June 03
The Rox also offered the GM position to Theo Epstein when he walked away from the Sox. I'm sorry the Royals are offended (and understandably), but the Rox crack me up.
posted by swerve at 12:29 PM on May 10
In the early 1990s, I worked at a small pool room with a snooker table. One of my jobs, along with running the register, cleaning the ashtrays, and officiating calls in money games, was teaching the locals to play snooker. Usually the third or fourth question was about my putting the balls back on the table; the first few were usually "Why would anyone build a table this big?" and "Why are the pockets so small?" When the place was quiet, I would run drills on the snooker table using pool balls to improve my accuracy. Many of the top nine ball players in the US started as snooker players and got lured across the pond by bigger prizes and endorsements.
posted by swerve at 05:19 PM on April 21
Isn't the Flyers' Antero Niittymaki a rookie as well? Seems a shame to overlook him.
posted by swerve at 03:28 PM on April 21
As I explained to someone in a similar discussion, "It's not like the Kazakhs are farmers in a pond-hockey league. They're professional hockey players." So if non-NHL countries send their Elite League players, we're supposed to counter with college kids?
posted by swerve at 07:25 PM on February 20
I didn't hear Bode running his mouth about medals, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. However, to add some substance to this conversation: FIS World Cup Standings 2006 Last year at this time, Bode was in first place, having a terrific year. Now he's in third overall, which breaks down to 7th in downhill, 31st in slalom, 6th in giant slalom, 27th in super G, and 2nd in combined. Hardly the top skier in the world this season.
posted by swerve at 01:53 PM on February 20
I regularly hear the Rays referred to as the Tampa Bay Double A's. Maybe that name is open.
posted by swerve at 03:37 PM on January 30
I don't understand the Celtics' trading Davis and Blount. I'm surprised. But sometimes shake-ups lead to better teams, so I'm reserving judgment until I see how the guys work together. Still, I liked Davis.
posted by swerve at 12:45 AM on January 27
I'm a Sox fan, but I'm also a baseball fan, and Jeter's play was just plain great baseball. Sure, maybe the third baseman should have handled it, but as it worked out, Jeter's play was insanely cool. I'm just glad I wasn't one of the people sitting where he landed. (It's nothing personal. I don't want anyone who's 6'3" + 190 landing on me, especially factoring in his personal velocity at time of impact.) I never give up hope for the Sox -- not even D. Lowe and Kevin Millar -- but things are looking pretty bleak right now.
posted by swerve at 10:50 AM on July 02
When is enough "enough"?
Katerina Thanou has been banned from the Olympics without a failed drug test. The IOC felt that she had "[brought] the Olympic Games into disrepute."
The IOC said the move to use this power signalled the strength of its feeling against Thanou's behaviour that was of "very serious prejudice to the Olympic Movement" and raise "significant moral considerations".