rodgerd's profile

rodgerd
846
Name: Rodger Donaldson
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Member since: July 23, 2003
Last visit: June 15, 2014

rodgerd has posted 17 links and 325 comments to SportsFilter and 0 links and 1 comment to the Locker Room.

Sports Bio

I was a lousy rugby player in school, and put off following sports by high-school jocks. Once I got free of high school, I rediscovered my interest in things sporting. I've taken up Judo at the ripe old age of 31, and I follow rugby, and have the misfortune to live in the home of the perennial underachivers - the Wellington Lions NPC team and the Hurricanes Super 12 side.

On the upside, I get to support the All Blacks, trying though this has been for the last couple of years (seeing a pattern yet?).

In October of 2000 I had the pleasure of attending the All Blacks v France for the Gallagher Shield, played at Stade de France in Paris. It was a fine match, won by New Zealand. Standing amidst 80,000 Frenchmen singing the Marsailles is a memorable experience, and the French supporters I was sitting with were kind enough to explain the crowd's rude chants ("Ou est Lomu! Ou est Lomu!").

Recent Links

I realise this will probably sound appallingly sexist : ...and that would be because it is.

posted by rodgerd to olympics at 06:40 AM on August 05, 2012 - 16 comments

The oldest olympian: : Hiroshi Hoketsu first competed in the Tokyo olympics in 1964; 48 years later, he is still gives his best in dressage.

posted by rodgerd to olympics at 07:48 PM on August 02, 2012 - 3 comments

"He's in pain, he's risking his career... and he's doing it for someone else.": Olympic lifting is not the easiest of endeavours. Getting 157 kilos over your head would be a challenge at the best of times. But imagine, for a moment, you were trying to execute a clean and jerk with a torn quadracep that has left you barely able to walk. Would you do that to qualify for the Olympics? Would you do that for someone else to qualify? Tevita Ngalu did.

posted by rodgerd to other at 06:59 AM on June 20, 2012 - 4 comments

NFL Union Screwing Players?: The folks over at ArsTechnica have focused on an interesting story: claims that the NFLPA and Players Inc. unilaterally made a decision to take $8 million dollars of the gross licensing revenue that should have been shared with retired players and reallocate it to the administration of the NFLPA and Players Inc.", while negotiating ridiculous royalities for older players.

posted by rodgerd to football at 11:04 PM on October 08, 2008 - 9 comments

Wake up, you're off!: To quote the New Zealand Herald: Ah, the irony. Welsh lock Huw Richards was having a pat-a-cake struggle with Gary Whetton during the 1987 World Cup semi in Brisbane [...] Richards was revived by the side of the pitch just so he could be shown the red card for giving Whetton a few handbags before Shelford arrived with his peacemaker.

posted by rodgerd to other at 01:55 PM on November 22, 2006 - 3 comments

Recent Comments

Boxer Orlando Cruz: I'm a 'Proud Gay Man'

I assume when he weighs in as a featherweight, someone's holding his balls so they don't tip the scales. Because there's no way those babys are anything other than huge brass tonnage.

posted by rodgerd at 06:08 PM on October 06, 2012

SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle

After recovering some sense of public equilibrium this season, Lewis Hamilton once again makes like a complete twit, while Alonso is lucky to still have a head.

posted by rodgerd at 12:28 AM on September 03, 2012

SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle

and looking like a man

Failing a drug test doesn't make that comment OK.

As a Kiwi I was pleased Val Adams didn't try to excuse not winning on the with accusations of doped opponents, and delighted it turns out she got the gold she's worked her arse off to get.

posted by rodgerd at 07:22 PM on August 13, 2012

Honey Badger gets cut

Certainly not an adult at 20,

Bullshit. Old enough to vote, join the army, join the police, marry, and do a bunch of other things. 20 year olds are not children.

posted by rodgerd at 05:39 AM on August 11, 2012

SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle

Bit rich coming from a guy who slags off all of China and complains about immigrants in the UK. Someone sounds like a Nazi, but I don't think it's Olympics fans.

Also, I cringed at this accident in the weightlifting.

posted by rodgerd at 08:41 PM on August 07, 2012

Olympic Boxing Scandal

Next time we have to endure some snotty nonsense from boxing writers about how rubbish MMA is, we can point them right here.

posted by rodgerd at 07:51 PM on August 02, 2012

Trying their best to win at losing

Completely disgusted that they seem to be set to progress in the tournament anyway. Between that and the fencing i'm pretty unimpressed.

posted by rodgerd at 05:51 AM on August 01, 2012

Chinese Swimmer's Amazing Time Raises Questions

Out-of-competition testing takes place in China, but bureaucratic delays and the state apparatus could conceivably lead to tip-offs that testers are on their way.

Well, it's not like the US athletics authorities ever covered up questionable test results for Carl Lewis, so we're totally in the clear only raising questions when Chinese athletes win, right?

posted by rodgerd at 05:50 AM on August 01, 2012

Chinese Swimmer's Amazing Time Raises Questions

It's kind of hard to know if that's the case, Weedy. It's not like saying you disagree gets you a bright and happy future in China. Certainly there's a lot of anger in Hong Kong about steady encroachment of the Party on their rights and freedoms.

posted by rodgerd at 06:30 PM on July 31, 2012

Chinese Swimmer's Amazing Time Raises Questions

From the British coach now working with the Chinese team: Chinese athletes train harder.

posted by rodgerd at 06:10 PM on July 31, 2012

2 Balotelli Goals Send Italy Into Finals

described him as the reincarnation of Gazza,

One hopes not. That ends in drunkeness, madness, and your 12 year old sun going on TV and hoping you just die instead of fucking up your own life any more.

It'd be far better if he was another Cantona, and ends up being involved in odd films.

posted by rodgerd at 04:57 AM on June 29, 2012

Italy Punts England on Penalties

Germany 3 Italy 2

You are aware Germany have never beaten Italy in the semi-finals of a knock-out tournament, right?

posted by rodgerd at 03:34 AM on June 26, 2012

Steve Williams explains why Adam Scott's victory at Bridgestone Invitational was best of his career

New Zealand is a benighted shithole

Yes, but at least it's not England, home of the most racist people in the world. Pot, kettle, much pom-boy?

Call Tiger an arsehole all you like, Stevie - I'll go a long way down that road with you; he is an absolute arsehole of the highest order - but the inclusion of the word "black" turns the whole thing around and reminds everyone that so are you.

Williams does seem to have lost his sense of... everything, really.

posted by rodgerd at 09:24 PM on November 05, 2011

Could Rugby Take Off in the US?

The US team play their first game of the tournament on September 11th.

posted by rodgerd at 06:17 PM on September 10, 2011

Japan Wins World Cup Over U.S.

Sorry. I am still salty about Pearl Habor. Call me a douch, But i have no sympathy for Japan. Screw the Axis Powers.

Yeah, fuck Yanks. Genocide in the Philipines, genocide of the First Nations, mass murder in Cambodia and Vietnam.

See how moronic you sound?

posted by rodgerd at 01:58 AM on July 18, 2011