- 09:47 PM
- 11/21/09
Is the horse placenta used to specifically complement RVP's looks? I imagine Ruud Van Nistelhorse would also be a horse placenta man. Let's hope Craig Bellamy doesn't get injured - think how many pregnant rats you'd have to get hold of to treat him.
posted by JJ at 04:55 AM on November 18
Or get me to spell his name right.
posted by JJ at 10:38 AM on November 17
That's some SportsFilter gold right there. Thanks, yerfatma.
It got me wondering which modern French footballers would collude and which would join the resistance:
Zidane - Maquis
Henry - Vichy
Annelka - Vichy
Barthez - Maquis
Clichy - Vichy
Ribry - Vichy
Evra - Maquis
Vieira - Maquis
Platini - Full-blown Nazi
posted by JJ at 06:43 AM on November 17
I feel a bit sick.
posted by JJ at 05:45 PM on November 16
If I wasn't an economist I'd be annoyed by the all this stats talk, but fortunately I am an economist and it's keeping me interested in a sport than long ago started boring my tits clean off.
posted by JJ at 01:08 PM on November 16
Finally she wins one - a mere four years younger than Annika Sorenstam and Christie Kerr were when they won for the first time. In the longer term, all the beer-less performances will only make her a better golfer.
She's 20 years old. Rory McIlroy is the same age and being spoken of as the next big thing. He's won once too (although if he could putt, he would have won yesterday in Hong Kong - I've never seen so many good iron shots yield so few birdies); mind you, he's also in the box seat to win the European Order of Merit (or the Whacky Races to Dubai or whatever they're calling it now), has had two top tens in majors this year, and was 20th in the Masters.
But leaving that derail to one side; well done to Michelle Wie. At last.
posted by JJ at 11:56 AM on November 16
As a bit of follow up: coincidentally, the BBC have been working on an episode of Inside Sport devoted to depression in sport. The show will air in the UK on 25th November at 22:45. Gaby Logan (the show's host) writes about it, and its added poignancy in light of Enke's suicide, here.
One line that stands out for me in the trailer for the show comes from Neil Lennon: "Being depressed is one thing; having depression is another thing. Depression is an illness."
posted by JJ at 10:16 AM on November 13
jojo: Logically, the statement works with or without the word "untreated". People who get treatment for either condition can and do still die. The suicide of a depressed person is not necessarily caused by a failure in their treatment, just as the death of a cancer patient is not necessarily caused by a failure in theirs.
I saw what his wife said - crushingly sad to hear it and to imagine how she must be feeling at the moment - but again I'd argue that in a deep depression a person isn't capable of making a decision like "I don't want help anymore".
I tried to write a column here a few years ago about mental illness in sport, but I just couldn't get my words around my idea. I might try again.
Weedy: you're not really my type, but luckily for you I also have very low standards; and if there's drinking and smoking involved, almost no standards at all.
I'm not sure I'd agree that you have to have been clinically depressed yourself in order to relate to someone else who is, although unquestionably it makes it easier if you have been. I suppose maybe you can understand it without ever fully relating to it if you've never experienced it.
Depression + "if I killed myself, my loved ones will miss me" = "I deserve to die for even thinking about doing something that would cause my loved ones pain"
The saddest thing for the families and friends afterwards is the blame that flies around - whether it's projected at others or internalised. Everyone is wise after the event, but none of the wisdom is worth a damn by then.
posted by JJ at 05:19 AM on November 13
By all means be pissed if you think that's what Enke was doing. My point (it's so rare that I have one that I'm probably making a mess of expressing it) is simply that it seems very unlikely to me that Enke had such a thought - by the end he probably had no capability for such a thought.
posted by JJ at 11:11 AM on November 12
True, but some people have experience battling the same demons that Enke did, which I presume is where Drood's anger is coming from.
The source of Drood's anger is Bernie Ecclestone - we all know that - and maybe Max Mosely. And Michael Schumacher. And Ferrari in general. And... anyway.
Drood's ability (or mine, or yours, or anyone's) to overcome depression (if that's what drove Drood to attempt suicide) casts no shade on Enke's tragic loss of his own struggle with his own demons. If someone is so depressed that they want to end their own life, I think it's unrealistic to expect them to do it in a considerate way - that far into the darkness you can't see things like that. I don't know Drood's situation, but would suggest that in some way, the continued ability to still be thinking of others could have contributed to pulling him back from the edge.
This statement is missing one word, untreated.
Enke had been getting treatment since 2003. Or are you suggesting that all depression is treatable and curable? If you are, you're one step short of telling us all to just pull our socks up and get on with it, which isn't overly helpful.
posted by JJ at 08:18 AM on November 12
People who are kicking Drood up and down the thread seem to have overlooked his comment "And I say that as someone who has tried."
I saw that comment and chose to ignore it as the red herring it clearly is. By definition, no one posting on the topic of suicide can play the experience trump card. A failed suicide attempt doesn't make it OK for you to talk out of your arse.
And I didn't feel the need to drag someone else into the event like this asshole.
I chose to ignore that remark too. It smacks a little of "your suicide sucks".
rogerd has it spot on - suicide is a potential consequence of depression just as death is a potential consequence of cancer. Drood's argument is akin to Lance Armstrong walking through a palliative care ward calling the dying patients losers.
posted by JJ at 05:05 AM on November 12
Fair point, BoKnows - I'll qualify that as the suicide of someone suffering from depression is not a statement. Robert Enke had been clinically depressed for six years.
posted by JJ at 07:49 PM on November 11
Suicide isn't a statement - "fuck you" or otherwise - it's a tragic symptom of an unravelled mind. If the German goalkeeper had suffered a fatal aneurysm, no one would be decrying his lack of humanity for leaving his family. You wouldn't mock or criticise someone with a mental illness for behaving oddly; you'd accept that they weren't in control of their mental faculties. So why this idea that he "decided" to kill himself? In a deep depression, you don't decide anything.
posted by JJ at 06:52 PM on November 11
And you, irfc, don't understand depression. And, Drood? What StarFucker said. Grow up.
posted by JJ at 05:34 AM on November 11
Nice work, owly, although the result was hardly shocking.
Wah wah wah wahhhhhhhhhhh.
posted by JJ at 06:32 AM on November 04
That's the key though, IRFC. Cyclists have neither plates nor insurance. A friend of mine was driving and was hit by a cyclist breaking a signal. The back side window was smashed, the cyclist admited all responsibility, gave her a fake name and number and disappeared into the night, never to be seen again. Being in control of any kind of vehicle seems to enrage even the calmest people. To quote Dylan Moran:
"If somebody blocks you when you're walking, you're positively Edwardian in your manners. You do this sheepish little smile together. And you step aside. You both do it at the same time and you go 'Oh for goodness sake, what a to-do! Ha ha ha. Dear me... I'll just... I'll jus... OH we did it again, do you believe it? I can't believe it. We should be on the stage! One more time, I'll just.... OH how did we ever get this far as a species?' But, for some reason, in a car, that becomes 'YOU SPUNK BUCKET!' from, you know, an 89 year-old church warden." [4:30 in the clip linked]
posted by JJ at 06:27 AM on November 04
The most worrying thing about that racist dude? Doesn't even realise he's a racist.
posted by JJ at 06:00 AM on November 04
How will victory ever mean a damn thing to these kids if they've never suffered defeat? How will they relish the taste of success if they haven't spent time living off a diet of failure? How can they ever enjoy a win if they think the other team is pandering to their weakness instead of putting it all out there. I applaud the kids that executed the play. I applaud the coach that called it. And I despair of the alleged sports fans who think it was in any way morally objectionable.
Sports have rules, and within the boundary of the letter and spirit of those rules, anything else goes. If you don't like that, don't play/watch/or put your kid in the sport. Or lobby for a new rule that prohibits the hurting of one's opponent's feelings. Who knows? In this litigious world, maybe one of the defensive players could sue the QB for undermining their confidence and ruining their lives.
posted by JJ at 08:28 AM on November 02
I saw him the other day at the gym (I was walking past on my way to the pub I should point out). I had no idea who he was, but the guy I was with filled me in. Great story. Good for him.
posted by JJ at 08:20 AM on October 29
There is also likely to be much singing of this from the Utd fans this weekend. I've always preferrred the German version (of the song, not of Utd fans).
posted by JJ at 05:20 AM on October 20
It's because he has a big nose.
posted by JJ at 05:11 AM on October 20
Sportsfilter: Don't let the hop play you; you play the hop.
posted by JJ at 09:36 AM on October 19
The thing I found interesting about the circuit was how it made clear the trade off and choice teams had to make with downforce. Button had so much more straight line speed than Kobayashi and was all over him for most of the lap, until turns 9 and 10 (or maybe 10 and 11) where the extra downforce on the Toyota allowed Kobayashi to pull out just enough of a lead to hold on down the finish straight each time.
posted by JJ at 08:14 AM on October 19
Bet you Steve Bruce would have been quoting the rule chapter and verse if the goal had been scored at the other end.
I eagerly await the first psychology papers based on this incident about how a goalkeeper will always go for the larger object propelled towards him, or red is a danger colour, so he went for the beachball.
posted by JJ at 05:54 AM on October 19
Drood: I could look this up, but I'm guessing you probably know without having to, so I'll be lazy and ask you instead - how many titles has Ross Brawn won the title now?
posted by JJ at 05:39 AM on October 19
If she wants to leave her keys under the doormat...
posted by JJ at 03:32 AM on October 15
We need a real coach at the helm, not a JJ tail kisser.
Ummmm...
posted by JJ at 06:14 AM on October 12
At 23 already started studying for his Uefa B license.
There's a snark to be made about how long it may take him to get the qualification so he needs to get started early, but I'm not going to be the one to make that joke.
And what's all this "ying" talk? /pedantfilter
posted by JJ at 01:06 PM on October 11
The US are three points ahead going into the final day's singles in the President's Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco. The final matches line up like this:
Camilo Villegas vs Hunter Mahan
Adam Scott vs Stewart Cink
Mike Weir vs Justin Leonard
Robert Allenby vs Anthony Kim
Geoff Ogilvy vs Steve Stricker
Ernie Els vs Sean O'Hair
Ryo Ishikawa vs Kenny Perry
Tim Clark vs Zach Johnson
Y.E. Yang vs Tiger Woods
Vijay Singh vs Lucas Glover
Retief Goosen vs Phil Mickelson
Angel Cabrera vs Jim Furyk
I'm almost tempted to watch it, just to see if Yang can do Tiger again!
posted by JJ at 08:30 AM on October 11
Which part of the Olympic Games did you think wasn't about games?
posted by JJ at 05:51 AM on October 10
"Entrar no buraco, balo!"
I don't think excitement levels should dictate what gets in or not (I'm sure I find golf as exciting as anyone else here finds their favourite sport), but it just shouldn't be in the Olympics. Nor should tennis, and for precisely the reason outlined by sbcharach above. If the Olympic gold doesn't represent the pinnacle of your sport, then your sport shouldn't be in the games. The inclusion of golf is a seemingly unashamed money-chasing exercise, which is disappointing. If any international sporting body should be above something like that, the IOC should be.
posted by JJ at 08:24 PM on October 09
I'm moving to the smallest Olympic country I can find and turning pro again.
posted by JJ at 01:23 PM on October 09
So you're standing on the Humber Bridge about to throw yourself off and Phil Brown shows up? And this makes you decide against jumping? The woman's clearly in dire need of psychological help.
posted by JJ at 10:14 AM on October 03
The proposed dates are August 5-21 for the Olympics and September 7-18 for the Paralympics.
Brazil will also host the (soccer) World Cup in 2014, making it only the fourth country to host the World Cup and Olympics in proximate years. Without looking it up, can you name the other three?
I'm delighted Rio got the games. Security is certainly an issue, but perhaps a large injection of cash and effort from the Brazilian government might be just what's needed to help that problem. As for political figures lobbying the IOC - the only thing Obama did wrong was turn up late and give one speech. We sent Tony Blair out to Singapore for days and he took the time to meet a bunch of floating IOC voters in private. And yet, we still won the bid!
posted by JJ at 05:43 AM on October 03
That was the bit of his interview that really hit home for me too, tahoemoj. Inspirational stuff.
posted by JJ at 04:09 PM on October 02
Compare soccer to what Americans have done to their once-great professional sports. Despite all of the behind the scenes nonsense, the game of football (soccer) itself has not been fucked-wth at all.
Apart from the backpass rule. And the amount of time the keeper can hold onto the ball rule. And the "not interfering is not offside" rule. Catch yourself on.
posted by JJ at 02:43 PM on October 02
PARRAMATTA are urging every other league fan in the nation's biggest city to join their supporters and make Sunday's grand final not just the Eels versus Melbourne, but Sydney versus Melbourne.
Just like Man City would get behind Man United if they got to the final of...
Oh wait. Not so much.
Who's your money on, Owls, and where's your heart?
posted by JJ at 10:10 AM on October 01
Could you imagine trying to explain that entire spectacle to, say, an Afghan farmer?
Probably as easy as it would be to explain Buzkashi to, say, a skipping US cheerleader.
Although, Stallone made a reasonable stab at it in Rambo III, as did whoever posted the clip to YouTube and subtitled it "Sheep Rugby".
posted by JJ at 05:33 AM on October 01
The dancers are there to appease telemonjaro.
posted by JJ at 05:10 AM on September 27
If is dong is hard at the time, no matter how huge your anus, you're still going to be sore if you agree.
posted by JJ at 10:28 AM on September 23
National media - 0
SportsFilter - 1
Thanks, jags.
posted by JJ at 02:43 AM on September 23
Actually, the fourth official puts up the time on the board as signalled to him by the referee.
Today, I am learning new things. Good knowledge, owls.
posted by JJ at 08:43 AM on September 22
In all honesty, the methodology seems flawed to me - why tell me the average amount of time added on instead of telling me the average amount of time added on in excess of the 4th official's suggested minimum?
Still, as a Liverpool fan, I'm not going to let anything as petty as a flawed methodology stop me from dislking United even more than I already did.
Having said that, for all Mark Hughes posturing, it was sloppy defending and not the referee that allowed the 4th goal.
posted by JJ at 05:43 AM on September 22
I'm not sure I buy the notion of a psychological barrier in the 100m. The psychology of sprinters during the race is surely just "PEG IT!", unlike in any kind of distance running where you need to pace yourself and then push your body for longer than it wants to be pushed. I suspect a good sprinter doesn't think about anything at all when he runs, whereas over a mile, even in a record attempt when you've won the race by a distance, you need to think more or less constantly.
Also, the record for the mile dropped faster after Bannister broke the four minutes (at the track I'm about to walk past to get to work) not only because that psychological barrier disappeared, but also because track, shoe and overall fitness technology all started improving more rapidly around that time.
Now I'm late for work.
PEG IT!
posted by JJ at 04:05 AM on September 22
Christ, how did we lose the Ashes to this lot?
The 2009 series began with a tense draw in the first Test at Cardiff. England then achieved their first Ashes win at Lord's since 1934 to go 1-0 up. After a rain-affected draw at Edgbaston, the fourth match at Headingley was convincingly won by Australia to level the series. England took the fifth and last Test at The Oval by a large margin to win the series 2-1 and regain the Ashes.
I think that's how it went. I bring shame to my heritgae to be amused by that, but even so. A classic example of why we watch sport - the best side doesn't always win.
posted by JJ at 10:03 AM on September 18
I was at the US Open this year, HATER. Bethpage is a great course, but I think the others ahead of it in the NY area deserve to be so. We played Winged Foot during our visit and it is way beyond Bethpage, even though it really doesn't look it on TV, or even in the flesh.
At Winged Foot, the routing is perfect on every single hole. You're constantly faced with tough choices and risk/reward trade offs. Bethpage is stunning - theatrical almost - to look at, but there's really only one way to play most of the holes on it. That doesn't sound like much of a big deal, especially as the shots it demands are tough, but it does take an element of doubt out of the player's mind, which can often be the very thing that makes him hit a bad shot!
posted by JJ at 07:34 AM on September 18
Of course it's rampant. If it wasn't, the commentators would make more of it when it happens and ignore its absence when it doesn't. To take one example, in the Liverpool game on Wednesday night, I lost count of the number of times the commentator (which is about the least offensive word beginning with c that I can use to describe Clive Tyldsley) said how nice it was to see a player not making a drama having been challenged.
I'm reminded of Bobby Jones: "You might as well praise me for not cheating."
posted by JJ at 07:26 AM on September 18
I really enjoyed the video at the bottom of that link. Some hilarious efforts.
Diving is one of those things that should be policed by a fourth official who can radio the ref and tell him to automatic red anyone adjudged to be doing it. Part of the reason Cronaldo was so good in the Premiership was that defenders were too scraed to get in tight to him, knowing as they did that he'd more than likely hit the deck like he'd been shot the moment they touched him.
The biggest benefit to the diver isn't usually the free kick or penalty they win with their simulation, it's the space it buys them for the rest of the game (or season) if they can pull it off.
posted by JJ at 11:16 AM on September 17
every golfer will come up with a different list
No question about that. The thing that annoys me on these lists is the presence of courses that have clearly lobbied the magazine to get themselves included, often at the expense of far better courses.
The European Club is a nice course in the best Irish links tradition, but to have it at number 85 in the world, and thereby implicitly make it the 6th best course in Ireland is farcical. I could name ten better courses without even thinking about it.
posted by JJ at 10:50 AM on September 17
I'm loving that the architect of the Old Course is listed as "Nature".
I've played 14 of them, which makes me feel like I've been wasting time and have a lot of work to do.
posted by JJ at 09:28 AM on September 17
I don't remember anyone getting chastised for humor. When did this happen?
It's hard to explain a bad sense of humour to someone who has one.
posted by JJ at 04:38 PM on September 14
If Sportsfilter becomes the kind of site where only literal FPPs are permitted, then it's going to lose readership real fast. Well, mayb not, but it's going to lose me. I've got the mainstream sports media to give me banal facts flaccidly reported. I come here for a different take. Granted, perhaps the fact that I spotted rcade's humour required some foreknowledge of who he is and what he has posted in the past, but even so, do we all need our arses wiped so much?
As for the racism strawman, thanks for that, but put it away and come up with something better as an argument for all things literal.
posted by JJ at 04:34 PM on September 14
See what happens when Americans try a little gentle sarcasm?
I enjoyed it, rcade, even if it missed the target elsewhere.
posted by JJ at 12:52 PM on September 14
There's nothing bizarre about it. Complicated to resolve in the context of her sporting career, certainly, but it's not that unusual.
posted by JJ at 05:52 AM on September 11
Brett Favre Mic'd Up
I kept waiting for Will Ferrell to emerge from under his Brett Favre mask.