- 07:06 PM
- 07/19/08
Substitute England won't be at Euro 2008, but neither will Frenchman Vikash Dhorasoo. Despite playing in every qualification match for the 2006 World Cup, Dhorasoo got just 16 minutes on the field during the tournament and retired from international football following France's defeat in the final. A year later he was gone from the game altogether.
Tomorrow the film Dhorasoo shot at the 06 World Cup, "Substitute" [Youtube] (warning: contains French), is released in the UK allowing you to watch a man fall out of love with football.
posted to Soccer at 12:02 PM CDT
Hawk attacks 13-year-old at Fenway Park And you won't believe the name of the girl.
posted to Baseball at 7:53 AM CDT
And you won't believe the name of the girl.
I don't get it.
posted at 8:48 AM CDT on April 4
OK, I think it would have helped if I'd been American. Alex Rodriguez? Virtually unknown outside of America. Sorry.
posted at 9:40 AM CDT on April 4
No problem. I was aware of the nickname A-Rod from various spofi FPPs, but rarely venture into any baseball threads, so didn't know his full name.
posted at 10:32 AM CDT on April 4
SI: The Vault Sports Illustrated has opened up its archives. For free.
posted to Culture at 4:38 PM CDT
This is awesome. Thanks nemo.
posted at 9:26 AM CDT on March 23
Arsenal's Eduardo Da Silva injured in outrageous tackle, possibly ending his career. A truly horrific injury, broken pieces of bone were sticking out of his sock as he was stretchered of the field. This is the sort of injury that you never truly recover from (See Alex Smith). I hope the FA bans Martin Taylor for life.
posted to Soccer at 1:12 PM CDT
Unfortunately for Eduardo, you can see from trox's pic that his foot was firmly planted in the turf when Taylor made contact. Nowhere for all that weight to go, except his leg. Yuck.
I tuned in to the match as he was being stretchered off and you could instantly tell how serious it was. The stadium was deadly silent and the commentators were very hushed. In fact, Sky Sports refused to replay the tackle until they found a "safe" camera angle at half-time. So you knew it was bad, bad, bad.
But how many awful tackles have there been this season - diving in at full speed, studs up and shin-height. Dozens. And after each one, the pundits have all said "how long 'til someone suffers a career ending injury?" Well now they have.
Arsene Wenger reckons Taylor should never play football again. Maybe that's a heated statement and a bit OTT, but it should be a long, long ban. Counted months, not matches.
posted at 4:12 PM CDT on February 23
Here's a good article by David Busst, the former Coventry player who had his career ended by a similarly gruesome leg break.
posted at 7:31 AM CDT on February 25
Manuel Almunia hears dead people. "ARSENAL goalkeeper Manuel Almunia’s house is being HAUNTED by the ghost of a monk. The star’s wife spotted the ghoul at their swish pad on the site of an old asylum. Spaniard Almunia, 30, has also heard chains rattling and had stereos turning on at full volume on their own." Looks like he and Lehmann are competing for the Goofy Gooner Goalie award.
posted to Soccer at 11:46 PM CDT
More award winning journalism from the nation's favourite newspaper.
posted at 3:40 PM CDT on February 20
From Exeter City to the 2010 World Cup... via Singapore? After struggling to forge a professional career in the lower leagues of English football, John Wilkinson was about to pack it all in and quit the sport. Then the Singaporean FA came calling, and he now has a realistic chance of competing at the next World Cup in two years time.
posted to Soccer at 10:10 AM CDT
See also: Chris Birchall in 2006. "Six months ago, Chris Birchall was hanging out with friends in Stone, Staffordshire, trying to become a regular at League One Port Vale, and now he's eating chicken feet with Dwight Yorke and heading to the World Cup finals with Trinidad & Tobago."
posted at 10:12 AM CDT on February 6
Dakar Rally cancelled by the Amaury Sport Organisation due to security concerns after four French tourists were killed in Mauritania. Have other sporting events of this magnitude been cancelled before due to terrorist threats or other such security concerns?
posted to Auto Racing at 11:32 AM CDT
The 2001 Ryder Cup was put back a year because the American team were a big bunch of wusses had concerns about post-9/11 air travel and security.
It's a shame about the Dakar Rally. I'm not a big motorsport fan, but I sometimes caught the highlights on Eurosport in the past and it looks like a spectacular race. I saw the press conference today and they said there had been a specific threat towards the race, so I guess they had no choice but to cancel.
posted at 4:01 PM CDT on January 4
For The Love of Sport: A Look Back Sportsfilter member Kyrilmitch_76 looks back at five of the biggest sports stories of 2007.
posted to General at 12:19 PM CDT
Michael Rasmussen being fired by his team just a few hours after winning the decisive mountain stage of the Tour de France, whilst wearing the yellow jersey. That was pretty damn big.
Oh, also that time Jose Mourinho's dog became a fugitive, heroically evading arrest from London's finest police officaers.
posted at 9:28 AM CDT on December 15
The Top Ten Obscure Sports in the World. Everything from surf lifesaving to unicycle hockey.
posted to Other at 6:30 PM CDT
Dog racing obscure? Uh... okay.
And also, I know all about surf lifesaving because I used to watch Home and Away (ya flamin' drongo).
My favourite obscure sport has got to be kabbadi, a weird Indian version of tag that used to be televised every Sunday afternoon on Channel 4.
posted at 10:43 AM CDT on December 3
McLaren drops Robinson and Beckham for final Euro 2008 qualifying group match. After riding the qualifying rollercoaster almost off the rails, and having their campaign pulled back on the tracks by an improbable 2-1 win by Israel over Russia, England manager Steve McLaren has opted for relatively junior players Scott Carson (Aston Villa keeper) and Shawn Wright-Philips (Chelsea winger) instead of stalwarts Paul Robinson and David Beckham. With England only needing a draw to qualify for next year's competition, is McLaren making another unnecessary gamble? (Last Friday's friendly with Austria that ended with Michael Owen injured, and only one viable striker left for tomorrow's match is considered another recent example.)
posted to Soccer at 9:59 PM CDT
Now all you England fans know what it feels like to be Welsh. Return of the home internationals tourney next summer?
posted at 4:49 PM CDT on November 21
Martina Hingis reveals she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon, announces retirement immediately thereafter. Is there any possible reason why she'd retire immediately after this announcement hit the news? I'm just trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, I guess... whether or not it's warranted at this point.
posted to Other at 1:27 PM CDT
WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott said the tour had not received any official information about a positive test and "as a result we are not in a position to comment on the matter."
So let me get this straight. One of the most well known female tennis players in the world tests positive for a banned substance at the biggest tournament of the year, and almost six months later the world governing body of female tennis hasn't received any information at all?
posted at 4:48 PM CDT on November 1
For that matter, couldn't coffee be considered a performance enhancer?
Pretty sure caffeine is banned above a certain level. I remember reading that cyclists (what else?) used to use caffeine suppositories in the past and current pros are only allowed two or three espressos before they start racing. Must annoy the Italians.
They also used to use vast quantities of amphetamines, and I'm sure they must have dabbled in cocaine too. One of the most famous doping horror stories of recent years was Willy Voet's exposé of pot-Belge, a truly mind-boggling cocktail of amphetamines, caffeine, cocaine, heroin, painkillers and corticosteroids (no seriously). This was only 10 years ago, and they didn't use pot-Belge for any particular performance enhancement, but just to keep them going throughout the season. The performance enhancers were put on top of that.
And now I'm rambling about stuff that has nothing to do with Hingis. I guess what I'm saying, is that sometimes you can dope without it being about sport. She's still young, doesn't really like tennis any more, has oodles of cash. It's happened to dozens of sports stars before.
posted at 5:23 PM CDT on November 1
Brazil Awarded 2014 World Cup The World Cup tournament will be held for the first time since 1950 in Brazil, the country that has won a record five times and played in all 18. History was made in that tournament 57 years ago, as Reuters recounts: the largest crowd ever to see a soccer match, over 200,000 fans, witnessed Brazil lose to Uruguay.
posted to Soccer at 10:43 AM CDT
Nice thing about this location is the kickoff times will be much friendlier for America; Germany wasn't terrible but Japan/Korea was pretty much Tivo-only (PST in the house).
I wouldn't be so sure. The last time the tournament was held in the Americas (USA '94), most of the matches were played around lunchtime and early afternoon to ensure peak time viewing in Europe. Better than the middle of the night, but still not good for office workers!
Not good for the footballers either, playing in the heat of the day. It seems strange, having the final in bright daylight, but that's what happened in '94, and might happen again in Brazil.
posted at 9:21 AM CDT on November 1
D'oh, for a moment I forgot that the Earth has, y'know, a totally different hemisphere! So that's not bad footballing weather at all.
posted at 4:41 PM CDT on November 1
Floyd Landis loses arbitration: by a 2-1 vote, an arbitration panel voted to "uphold the results of Landis's positive test" in the 2006 Tour de France. If Landis does not appeal, he will be stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title and be suspended from racing for two years. Full text of the decision here.
posted to Other at 3:22 PM CDT
"I am innocent and we proved I am innocent."
No, Floyd, you didn't. Now please go away and shut up. See you in two years for your failed Tyler-style comeback.
posted at 3:28 PM CDT on September 20
They should just kill off cycle racing as a sport
NFL too? Baseball? Track and field? Just scrap the Olympics? Even golf has had its drug controversies of late, kill that off too?
posted at 5:14 PM CDT on September 20
Your argument here is: He made up lots of time, ergo, he cheated. By that logic Pereiro cheated too. Which was my point to begin with. Strategy is far more reasonable explanation for Floyd's comeback then some testosterone patch or injection. Side note: Floyd wasn't hurt on Stage 16. Well, no more than having a degenerated hip, but that was nothing new.
Hmm, I disagree. Pereiro simply wasn't seen as a threat. He was over half an hour down, he's a solid yet unspectacular climber and he can't time trial. The bunch allowed him to get away because he wasn't a danger to them (although they turned out to be wrong).
Pereiro wasn't chased, but Landis was. Sure, the organisation was a little lacking at first, but CSC (O'Grady in particular) really put the hammer down in the valley before the final climb. And they made no impact at all.
Also, the bunch ambled all the way to the finish line on the Pereiro day, but Evans, Kloeden and co raced up the climb after Landis. After such an effort for over 80 kilometres, I find it implausible that Landis could hold that gap right until the end.
posted at 4:56 PM CDT on September 21
Stephen Ireland busted for lying. First he said his grandma died so he could skip the Republic of Ireland Euro 2008 qualification match (they lost 1-0). She was surprised to see the news in the paper. Then he said it was his other grandmother who had died. She was also surprised to see that in the newspaper. Oh, no, he meant his divorced grandfather's partner had died. Umm, nope. So now it turns out he was spending time with his "lonely" girlfriend. LMAO.
posted to Soccer at 10:44 PM CDT
Yes, I did not know who Stephen Ireland was before this event. But I do know the behaviors that I have witnessed in pathological liars, he is one.
What? He didn't lie for the sake of lying. He lied because he was put in a highly stressful situation and wanted to respect the feelings and privacy of his girlfriend. Let's not forget it was his unborn child too.
Sure, it was wrong to lie, and yes the situation could have been handled a million times better, but to call him a pathological liar is stupid. Have you never told a white lie to spare someone's feeling?
posted at 3:40 PM CDT on September 16
The ultimate sports theme tune In the wake of the death of the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti the English media discuss the impact of the decision to use Puccini's Nessun Dorma as the theme tune to the BBC's coverage of Italia '90 on both English football and the world of opera.
posted to Culture at 3:35 AM CDT
There's always Jerusalem in connection with English cricket.
posted at 8:14 AM CDT on September 7
Back to Pavarotti for a second. I've seen links to various Youtube videos of "Nessun Dorma" over the past couple of days, and you know the comments in Youtube, right? Any popular video on that site usually descends into a complete shitfest of personal abuse and utter idiocy. But all of the Pavarotti ones are unequivocally gushing in their praise of the big fella.
It's pretty rare these days that a celebrity is universally loved by just about everyone. Literally no-one has a bad word to say about him. And he was once on the books of AC Milan as a goalkeeper. What a guy.
posted at 4:24 PM CDT on September 7
The 6th Rugby World Cup kicks off tomorrow with the hosts France taking on the Argentineans. The BBC and the Independent have each compiled a handy team-by-team guide of the 20 nations taking part. [more inside]
posted to Other at 5:06 PM CDT
The Beeb also have guides for certain players to watch, including the midfield playmakers, who add a touch of poise and finesse to what is often a brutal sport, and the forward powerhouses, who use their brute strength to batter holes into the opposition defence.
Going into the tournament, the New Zealand All-Blacks are overwhelming favourites to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987. However, since that win 20 years ago, the ABs have almost perfected the art of peaking between tournaments, and many people are wondering if they will be able to handle the pressure this time around. If they falter, then France and South Africa are next in line on the bookmakers' odds sheet.
And hey, if the rugby's not really your thing, then at least drop in to take a look at the pre-match build-up, which can often be just as entertaining as the match, including some great anthems...
- Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Wales)
- L'Inno Di Mameli (Italy)
- Flower of Scotland
- La Marseillaise (France)
- Ireland's Call
...and some great haka by the South Pacific nations, including:
- The siva tau (Samoa)
- The cibi (Fiji)
- The kailao (Tonga)
- And the most famous of all - Ka mate (New Zealand)
Naturally, when two of the South Sea teams meet each other, all manner of awesomeness ensues!
posted at 5:10 PM CDT on September 6
I just don't know whether to cheer for France or Argentina yet.
Definitely Argentina! I wouldn't mind seeing France win the whole tourney, but I'd love to see Argentina do well. The progress they've made in the last decade or so is incredible, and their recent record against France is pretty good.
Unfortunately, I have no confidence in Wales doing well whatsoever. Gareth Jenkins is a total idiot. We'll make the QFs but that's it.
posted at 8:22 AM CDT on September 7
And now Canada expose Wales for the bumbling idiots they actually are (before running out of gas in the last 20 minutes).
Good showing from the Americas (North and South) so far. People have been saying this for 20 years, but if rugby ever gathered some momentum in the US and Canada, they would be really, really good. Just needs a bigger player base, better fitness and more competition against the better nations.
posted at 8:57 AM CDT on September 9
No gay old time in Brazil Judge in hot water after stating in ruling that homosexuals don't belong in soccer.
posted to Culture at 3:16 PM CDT
Very immature, but yes, I did have a little guffaw about the possibility of a gay Brazilian goalie called Roger.
posted at 4:09 PM CDT on August 15
The Age of Discovery is over. What are eight Tour de France wins worth? Not much, it seems, in the current climate: Team Discovery is set to disband at the end of the year when its sponsorship deal ends, and directeur sportif Johan Bruyneel will retire from pro cycling.
posted to Other at 3:53 PM CDT
As one exits, so enters another. Introducing the new American team, and great white hope for professional cycling: Team Slipstream.
They've been around for a couple of years already riding the US circuit and at a low level in Europe, but will be stepping up to the big time next year, having signed David Millar, Magnus Backstedt, Julian Dean and Christian Vande Velde. There are also 26 unemployed cyclists as of today, so it wouldn't surprise me if they took some of the Disco boys too.
More importantly, they are the biggest advocates of clean cycling... ever. We've heard that before, I know, but this time they mean it.
posted at 4:07 PM CDT on August 10
Panic in the Peloton - Team Astana pulls out of the Tour de France following the announcement that Alexandre Vinokourov's A sample has come back positive for blood doping.
posted to Other at 11:58 AM CDT
This is totally not surprising. Vino has been one of the dodgiest characters around for years - just look at the teams he rode for.
What is surprising is the method. I mean, how stupid can he get? Tyler Hamilton got busted for the same shit in 2004, and despite offering up approximately 438 different excuses, still didn't clear his name. The test works, so why do it?
German news agencies are apparently saying that the blood was from Vino's dad, so maybe he thought if the blood was from the same family he wouldn't be caught. I mean... wtf?
What with the whole Rasmussen thing - whoops, I forgot to go to four dope tests - this whole Tour is a write-off already. I wouldn't be displeased if they canned it tomorrow.
And got knows what this will do to cycling in the long term. Sponsors are dropping like flies already. T-Mobile are probably gone, Astana are already making noises about quitting, and there are still no replacements from Discovery, Cofidis or Credit Agricole. We should each chip in 50 bucks each and enter a Spofi Clean Team for next year's Tour de France.
posted at 4:27 PM CDT on July 24
Latest news is that Cristian Moreni has tested positive for synthetic testosterone and Cofidis have been "asked" to leave the Tour. This is the same Cofidis team that staged a sit-in protest at the start of this morning's stage and announced that they were forming a "movement for credible cycling" with the other French and German teams.
posted at 1:43 PM CDT on July 25
I think the Moreni result is particularly bad, even worse than the Vino one, because the French teams are the ones who everyone thought were clean.
Sure Cofidis have had some past form with David Millar and Philippe Gaumont in 2004, but those cases prompted a (supposed) clean up in the team with Eric Boyer brought in to replace the old guard. Didn't work, did it? This Tour could be rivaling the infamous '98 Tour by Sunday...
posted at 2:21 PM CDT on July 25
Rasmussen is out of the Tour. Pro cycling is in meltdown. News at 11.
posted at 4:44 PM CDT on July 25
Football player deserts Asian Cup to get married For the second time during this Asian Cup a player will desert his team to get hitched. Vietnam playmaker Phan Van Tai Em is to miss the biggest game of his life on Saturday as he has already organised his wedding on the same day.
posted to Soccer at 3:26 AM CDT
Or, to put it another way: Is the Asian Cup really that important?
posted at 8:07 AM CDT on July 21
Man Bikes Dog , Borat starts a breakaway, and it's all too much for Vino (who finished stage 9 and promptly burst into tears). Forty years to the day after the death of this man, another Brit made a doomed bid for glory. There was a big crash just before the end of the second stage, and the current leader has the physique of shaved chicken. It can only be Le Tour.
posted to Other at 8:31 AM CDT
Actually,its sort of bizarre and amusing.
If you think that's amusing, check out this clip from the Tour of Switzerland last month. I love how the front rider actually accelerates and tries to get into the slipstream :p
posted at 12:49 PM CDT on July 18
That's a pretty famous one, JJ (well amongst cycling nerds anyway). It was the Critérium International, a three-day French race held in the early season.
posted at 8:07 AM CDT on July 19
Adam, I guess you don't watch cycling very often. The Tour de France takes a different route every day and the overall route changes every year. It goes through hundreds of different towns and villages, so it's literally impossible to avoid incidents like that.
The only thing that organisers can do is close the roads to general traffic, which they do for four or five hours before the race passes. But you can't stop the millions of people who line the route, and you can't stop idiot people from letting their dog off a lead.
It's not just dogs that get hit, though. There are loads of incidents of people getting hit when they get too close. It's happened lots already this year with Mark Cavendish hitting a spectator and Patrick Sinkewitz having a particularly nasty incident when he hit an OAP after the race finished. Sinkewitz broke his nose and shoulder and the old guy almost died.
And believe me, Burghardt didn't hit that dog on purpose. Cycling is an incredibly dangerous sport, and no-one crashes if they can help it. Even a crash at a slow speed can land you with some broken bones.
Dogs are one of the most dangerous things about bike racing because they'll often run after the peloton. Samuel Dumoulin broke his arm after hitting a dog a few years ago in the Tour, and the saddest collision happened in 1984 when Portuguese rider Joaquim Agostinho died after hitting a dog.
There was no compulsory helmet rule in those days, so Agostinho hit his head and died later that day of brain injuries. So if you ever go and watch a bike race, please keep your dog under control!
posted at 7:35 AM CDT on July 20
The best athletes ever, by number. A team of SI.com's finest numerologists crunched the data on jersey numbers to come up with the best performers (across all sports) at each number from 00 to 99 (Eddie Gaedel was a lock at 1/8).
posted to General at 8:48 AM CDT
#1 should be Lance Armstrong. He did win the Tour de France six times whilst wearing it.
posted at 5:38 PM CDT on July 6
NFL folds Europe league, to focus on regular-season games abroad The NFL folded its development league in Europe after 16 years on Friday, calling the decision a sound business move that will allow for a stronger international focus on regular-season games outside the United States.
posted to Football at 11:34 AM CDT
If Europeans want to play gridiron on their own they are free to do so, and some of them do. They don't need the NFL.
That's very true. You can compare it to basketball in Europe, which seems to be growing in popularity every year. The Euroleague and the ULEB Cup are both thriving with good competition, live TV coverage and full arenas. As far as I know, the NBA has never been involved in its development.
posted at 8:45 AM CDT on June 30
Can you imagine Peyton Manning stuck in transition with Tb; with the playoffs starting. Better yet, the Patriots entire squad quarantined with some new flu virus.
Don't be flippin' ridiculous. It's 2007... most people are capable of travelling abroad without picking up fatal diseases.
posted at 6:21 PM CDT on June 30
Sporting perfection? The Telegraph's Brendan Gallagher compiles a list of 50 perfect sporting moments. You could go vote for your favourite, but isn't it much more fun to argue about why the list is wrong and how biased it is?
posted to General at 7:16 AM CDT
The Gareth Edwards try (#4) gets me every single time. Brilliance, absolute sporting brilliance.
posted at 3:14 PM CDT on June 27
"This is high-calibre marketing - taking an inferior product and improving it through packaging." Top quality trolling from Alexi Lalas, who responds to sniping from across the pond with tongue-in-cheek praise of the Premiership's capacity to sell Wigan-Charlton as a Super Sunday spectacular.
posted to Soccer at 4:01 AM CDT
The guy has a point. The past couple of weeks I've been watching the run-in of the La Liga season, and in terms of skill and entertainment, it shits all over the Premier League.
posted at 8:09 AM CDT on June 19
100 Years of TT Racing on the Isle of Mann. The longest, oldest, most dangerous course in motorcycle racing. When they do it well, it's beautiful. When it goes wrong, it really goes wrong. If you're lucky, you survive to tell the tale. 200 people haven't been lucky in the last 100 years. [previously discussed]
posted to Other at 8:16 AM CDT
I find it crazy that people even stand by the side of the road to watch it. Words can't even describe how mental I think the racers are.
Still, whatever floats your boat and all that...
posted at 2:08 PM CDT on May 29
1996 Tour de France winner admits to doping - "His admission Friday means the top three finishers in the 1996 Tour have all been linked to doping — and two have admitted cheating."
posted to Other at 11:38 PM CDT
WADA have a limitation of 8 years, so Riis' title is safe. Zabel too, only admitted to doping for one week in '96, so I doubt he will be banned.
posted at 10:58 AM CDT on May 26
The dig at Sean Kelly is a little below the belt. It's widely known that Kelly* doped, but that was 30 years ago when doping was endemic and tests amateur, to say the least. It was an accepted part of the sport. Things have changed since then.
*In the book "Breaking the Chain", disgraced Festina soigneur Willy Voet tells a story about how Kelly tried to beat a urine test by taking a syringe of his mechanic's piss into the testing room. The problem? Cycling mechanics work long, long hours, and Kelly failed the test because his mechanic had been necking amphetamines to keep him going through the night. Kelly got a 30 day ban.
Kimmage is a bitter, bitter man, though. He absolutely hates cycling and cyclists, and by his own admission would rather cover golf. I doubt he's ever written a cycling article about anything other than how cyclists are all dirty, cheating scumbags.
posted at 9:33 AM CDT on May 28
LeMond lets it all hang out: Greg LeMond's testimony at the Floyd Landis doping trial takes a turn for the bizarre, to say the least.
posted to Other at 9:25 PM CDT
I don't think it's a strange time to speak out - I see it more as a big FUCK YOU to Landis, who tried to intimidate Lemond the night before he testified.
Landis has now sacked "Will", who was stupid enough to use his own phone. Last ditch PR attempt I guess - too late IMO.
posted at 7:12 AM CDT on May 18
That's what makes the phone call so stupid. Lemond's testimony said basically nothing. Lemond urged Landis to confess and Landis replied "what good would it do?" That was it.
Lemond then told Landis that secrets can ruin your life, and then told him about the abuse. That's how he knew it was someone from Landis's camp that made the phonecall and how it subsequently came out in the hearing.
The fact that no-one has denied the phonecall by Will Geoghegan tells me that Lemond is telling the truth, and lowers Landis even further in my estimation.
posted at 9:04 AM CDT on May 18
Why Cyclists Really Shave Their Legs The cycling columnist for The Guardian has something to get off his chest today about his silky-smooth shaven legs: Cyclists don't do it for aerodynamic reasons. "Experts may try to tell you instead that smooth legs are worth a couple of seconds a kilometre, so this male depilation can mean the margin between victory and defeat," Matt Seaton writes. "But if this were true, we would all be shaving our forearms. And perhaps our eyebrows, too. ... we shave our legs because we think it looks good."
posted to Other at 10:22 AM CDT
Hmm, dubious. Cyclists shave their legs because they get massages every day. Naturally, a cycling masseur doesn't massage their arms as vigorously as he does their legs.
posted at 10:53 AM CDT on May 17
Floyd Landis's arbitration hearing started yesterday. The aforementioned link is to Trust But Verify (which I learned about thanks to Amateur), a blog that has been following the case and has transcripts of testimony. The Floyd Fairness Fund website has information on live streaming videos and recaps.
posted to Other at 12:58 PM CDT
Floyd is old and boring. The juicy stuff is all happening with Basso, and the will he/won't he name names cliffhanger.
Latest news: Seems the cycling mafia is still as strong as ever, with certain "sponsors and sports directors" doing their best to enforce omerta. "As we all know, during bike races, the easiest thing is to end up in a ditch. They (Basso and Scarponi) have expressed their fears on that matter."
Scary. Being hounded out of the sport is one thing (see Manzano, Simeoni, Gaumont etc), but deliberately pushed into a ditch?
posted at 3:25 PM CDT on May 15
Was that the bike shop where he was selling his autograph for $25 a go? Classy. Bet there were boxes of unsold "I Believe" Tyler Hamilton tee-shirts in the back room, too.
(I'm in a cynical mood today.)
posted at 4:40 PM CDT on May 15
Discovery cycling releases Basso, Citing concerns that his presence might be a hindrance to the Discovery Channel Cycling Team's efforts to find a new sponsor, Ivan Basso has parted ways with the Austin-based team that signed him late last year.
posted to Other at 12:27 PM CDT
Meanwhile, Tyler Hamilton and Jorg Jaksche have both been told by Tinkoff that there's no way they can ride the Giro, which makes Tyler's big comeback extremely pointless.
But Basso obviously knows what's gonna go down in Rome on Wednesday. This is the end for him as a rider. Game over.
posted at 3:19 PM CDT on April 30
Basso:
"I am at peace," said fallen Italian star Ivan Basso to La Gazzetta dello Sport in regards to his leaving Discovery Channel and an advancing investigation by Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
"Anyway, I am not going to be at the Giro. Even with the consensual separation with Discovery, I had already decided not to race it," continued the 29 year-old from Varese.
posted at 7:25 AM CDT on May 1
Bad Light Stops Play. Or Does It? Aussie hat trick as the Cricket World Cup finishes the way it began. And continued for most of the tournament.
posted to Other at 11:18 PM CDT
Terrible, terrible tournament. Absolute shambles.
Seven weeks is far, far too long to keep casual fans like me interested. Whenever I switched on to actually watch some of it, the stadiums were empty, the atmosphere was flat and the matches were tedious.
When even the Chief Exec. of the ICC says the tournament is flawed, you know something went seriously wrong...
Oh, and congratulations to Australia.
posted at 8:40 AM CDT on April 29
Remedial Parenting 101: Don't let your 4-year-old kid play in, around, or anyplace near the endzone! (Related story)
posted to Football at 3:53 PM CDT
Yikes, that wasn't pleasant to watch. Glad to read that the kid wasn't seriously hurt, but sheesh, someone needs to find the dumbass who let the kid stand there and kick him in the nuts.
posted at 4:53 PM CDT on April 24
Basso withdraws from upcoming races. Italian Olympic Committee investigation of Basso link to Operacion Puerto has been reopened. Discovery has issued a press release asking him to stop racing pending investigation. Will he be racing in Giro or TdF this year?
posted to Other at 2:55 PM CDT
No, he won't. The evidence against him looks pretty damning, and it seems more likely that the blood will get tested now that it's out of the Spanish legal system.
Even if he does get cleared - which I doubt - he still ain't riding the grand tours this year. The Giro starts in less than a month, and no way will this be wrapped up before then. And the ASO have already said they want all to Puerto riders to stay away from the Tour.
It's not looking good for him.
posted at 4:59 PM CDT on April 24
Positively Landis? Reigning Tour de France Champion Floyd Landis, still awaiting an arbitration hearing regarding his positive test for synthetic testosterone during last year's Tour, now learns his seven other "B" samples have come back positive as well. If the doping accusations are upheld, Landis faces a two-year ban from competitive cycling, and would become the first Tour champion in the event's 104-year history to be stripped of his title
posted to Other at 3:31 PM CDT
Once accused, the athlete is immediately fired by their team and typically left without the resources to fight back. They just get ground up by "the machine".
Or, if you're a photogenic Italian at the peak of his career, get signed by the biggest team in the world and get given a huge salary.
As for Landis, I don't care if he's guilty or not any more, I just wish they'd hurry the hell up and get on with it. I'm sick of reading this crap on cyclingnews every day.
posted at 4:25 PM CDT on April 23
Another take on the Queen of the Classics, the Hell of the North, L'Enfer du Nord, la Pascale, the Race with a Dozen Nicknames, etc etc...
posted at 5:28 PM CDT on April 23
Oh, and a completely irrelevant side-note... TBH's FPP is wrong. Landis would be the second rider to be stripped of his title.
Maurice Garin won the second ever Tour de France in 1904, but was stripped of the victory six months later when the organisers found out that he'd caught a train to the end of one of the stages. The top 4 riders on GC were all disqualified and 5th place Henri Cornet was awarded the title.
posted at 5:42 PM CDT on April 24
Bill Frakes' Favorite Sports Photos. Si photographer Bill Frakes shares some of his favorite sports photos. From the Silly to the sad. He has a few other sports galleries online as well.
posted to General at 5:47 PM CDT
Fantastic. Thanks for posting, Joey. I think the Carl Lewis one is my favourite.
posted at 6:25 PM CDT on March 22
Cricket Coach's Death Considered Suspicious Jamaican police are now treating the death of Pakistan national cricket coach Bob Woolmer, one of the most accomplished coaches in his sport, as suspicious. Woolmer died hours after the country's loss to Ireland in the Cricket World Cup.
posted to Other at 10:54 AM CDT
Various news reports are also saying that the murderer was probably someone he knew. Very strange indeed.
posted at 8:53 AM CDT on March 23
London Irish player Juan Leguizamon pulls a Jacobellis. With a twist of Patrick Stefan.
posted to Other at 10:22 PM CDT
Start showboating after you cross the line.
posted at 8:45 AM CDT on March 21
Better late than never : the 2007 French Open becomes the last Grand Slam tournament to extend equal prize money to women.
posted to Tennis at 3:18 PM CDT
Should I just cut and paste the Wimbledon thread from last month? Save us all the trouble...
posted at 6:21 PM CDT on March 19
And you thought Duke fans would be upset Angry Pakistani cricket fans took to the streets, burned players in effigy and held a mock burial of its World Cup team after it lost to Ireland in the World Cup. Many backers even called for the freezing of players' bank accounts. "That is the least they can do for the shame and disgrace they have brought upon us," one protester, Yasir Ali, said in Multan. They must be made to pay for their spineless performance."
posted to Other at 8:29 AM CDT
Holy crap, that's unbelievable.
posted at 1:22 PM CDT on March 18
Yep. Some team sources are saying it was a medical problem, but the circumstances looked like foul play.
Hmm, I must admit I had the same thought as I read the headline, but now I don't think that's very likely. Most probably a stress-related heart attack - his team were just on the receiving end of one of the biggest cricketing upsets ever, and it now looks like Inzaman told him that he was quitting as captain and retiring from one-day cricket. Not the greatest of days, all told.
holden: It's not really that unusual. England are coached by a Zimbabwean, Bangladesh are coached by an Aussie, India are coached by another Aussie, the Windies are coached by yet another Aussie and Sri Lanka are coached by... er, you guessed it, another Aussie.
I'm not even going to go into the vagaries of different nationalities playing for other countries.
posted at 6:46 PM CDT on March 18
If you wanted to keep a match fixing racket under wraps, then you wouldn't lose to Ireland in the first place. A result like that is going to bring a lot of attention.
posted at 8:49 AM CDT on March 21
Ullrich hangs up his cleats. After failing to find a team for the new season, and persistent doping allegations that refuse to go away, 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich announces his retirement. Ullrich was caught up in the Operacion Puerto doping case last year, and despite numerous other cyclists being given the all-clear, Der Kaiser has chosen to call it a day.
posted to Other at 10:30 AM CDT
It's a shame that Ullrich and others feel they must cheat in order to be successful. Hopefully his role as advisor will not include how to cheat on drug tests.
Well, Ullrich has never actually been caught doing anything wrong, and I am a big fan of his, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
As BikeNut says, I think it's pretty damn sad that his career has ended this way. Forced out by speculation and innuendo. The whole Operacion Puerto saga has been a complete farce since the beginning, and now looks like fizzling out completely without a single thing being done combat to doping. Careers have been ruined.
As for Ullrich, he was a great bike riders and I disagree with the people who say he wasted his talent. In the Tour, he was just unlucky to ride during the Armstrong era, but he still has a great palmarès. A Tour, a Vuelta, an Olympic gold, two World titles and numerous other wins... not a bad haul at all.
posted at 3:16 PM CDT on February 26
Rugby: a hooligan's game played by gentlemen. Football: a gentleman's game played by hooligans.
posted to General at 9:47 AM CDT
I said it to my mate on Saturday, but I reckon one of the best parts of the Six Nations is listening to the anthems (I know, that's kinda sad, but it's true). Unfortunately, the Welsh one is usually sung by that shrieking opera woman who drowns out the crowd.
posted at 9:11 AM CDT on February 27
Get your vote on!
The Canadian sports television network "The Score" has started a massive undertaking to determine the greatest sports highlight of all time. They've put together their list of the top 64 plays into a playoff bracket system. They reveal a new match-up each weeknight.
posted to Other at 10:38 AM CDT
Is that Sid Waddell doing the commentary on the Ronaldinho clip?! How bizarre. In Britain, he's more known for his rather colourful commentary on a far more athletic type of sport.
posted at 11:10 AM CDT on February 24
Imagine all that wrapped in an overwrought Scottish accent. It's brilliant.
Geordie, not Scottish.
posted at 3:54 PM CDT on February 24
afx237vi The announcer on Ronaldinho soccer play is absolutely a Scot!Absolutely!!!
Sorry, but Sid Waddell is absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not a Scot. He's an Englishman, a Northumbrian, a Geordie, possibly a Mackem or a Pitmatic, but absolutely, positively, 100 per cent not a Scot.
posted at 8:03 AM CDT on February 25
afx237vi listen to the guy talk!Thats Scottish thru & thru!Grum,thanks for the lesson!
Well I can only assume you've never actually heard a Scottish person talk.
posted at 3:08 PM CDT on February 26
We're not playing anymore! After Ryan Gigg's quick free kick, and resulting goal, Lille's manager, Claude Puel threatened to take his players off the pitch in protest. Not a smart move, as the match had already seen the use of tear gas on the crowd, and a crush scare.
posted to Soccer at 3:14 AM CDT
Those quick free kicks are completely ludicrous and should be disallowed. They are totally unfair, not to mention unsporting. The ref should blow his whistle, and then the player can take the kick.
Ferguson is a pillock - just because the crappy Premiership referees allow them to happen in England, it doesn't mean a French team should be aware of them. There needs to be a specific worldwide rule put down by FIFA (and for the love of god, please sort out the offside rule while you're at it).
posted at 7:35 AM CDT on February 21
Yes, the rules of football are the same in France and England, but the interpretation of the rules vary wildly from match to match. As Mr Bismarck says, sometimes the ref says wait for the whistle, other times he just stands there and watches. Clarification is needed.
Giggs may have asked the ref if he can take it, but I still think it's a very unsporting act to take a shot at goal while the keeper is organising his wall.
As for the offside rule, it was perfectly fine five years ago, but has become nonsensical since the active/inactive stuff has been introduced. Again, it's way too open for personal interpretation by the officials, and seems to be different in every match I watch.
I can't remember what game it was, but I was watching something last week and there was a player standing about three yards offside right in front of the goalkeeper. But because he was standing still and had his hands up in the air, he apparently wasn't active so wasn't offside. It's complete nonsense. The fans don't understand it, the players don't understand it and half the time the referees don't understand it.
posted at 9:18 AM CDT on February 21
I will put it in terms you may understand better. If the Colts are using a no huddle offense against the Bengals and the Bengals are not at the line of scrimmage yet, should the Colts have to wait until all the Bengal players are in their proper positioning before snapping the ball?
Uh, thanks, I'm British by the way. I have no idea what you just said.
(Look, I know that the quick free kick is within the rules. I just don't see it as something that's within the spirit of the game.)
posted at 10:33 AM CDT on February 21
A new way to watch How you can follow the Tour of California on Google Earth. (Thanks CSC)
posted to Other at 10:23 AM CDT
Hmm, it's pretty cool, but I think the organisers should focus more on getting live TV pictures first. It's nice to know where Bobby Julich is on the road, but it's fairly meaningless unless you can see what's happening on TV. Otherwise it's just a dot on a computer screen.
But aside from the TV issue, I like how cycling is embracing technology like this. Most big races now have excellent websites, and a lot of them have extras, like live updates, live telemetry - heart rate, speed, power output etc. I noticed in a lot of races last year that some riders also had bike-cams, which was very cool.
But they're all added extras. TV is the most important.
posted at 3:06 PM CDT on February 17
Chelsea does YouTube deal. English soccer champions Chelsea have signed a deal to show archive footage and daily news on the popular video-sharing site YouTube, becoming the first Premier League club to do so. I wish Liverpool would get on the bandwagon and stop being so proprietary with its content. With Chelsea leading the way, and Google opening the way to video advertising, can other teams, EPL and otherwise, be far behind?
posted to Culture at 3:09 PM CDT
BlueTube.
wc2k2 is right. The stuff is already there anyway, so why not give it an official endorsement and score some good PR.
posted at 8:27 AM CDT on February 17
England: Are you ready for some football?
posted to Football at 1:40 PM CDT
October 28th 2007, eh? I predict it'll be in the Millennium Stadium. And the 2012 Olympics will be in Cardiff, too.
posted at 3:42 PM CDT on February 9
If it's on ITV, it'll probably have Ant n Dec and Simon Cowell doing the commentary.
posted at 6:10 PM CDT on February 9
NFL Europe is still going, I think, but most of the teams are in Germany and supported by the large number of Americans on US military bases.
Come to think of it, it probably would have made more sense to give the match to Germany.
posted at 10:54 AM CDT on February 10
Welcome to Croker What do they say about serious sport being war minus the shooting? Well, in Ireland for many years Croke Park has been the home of the GAA, with the foreign "garrison" games banned. This weekend, for the first time, rugby will be played, and two weeks later, perfidious Albion will get their chance to shine, although without royalty in the crowd. Some are happy with the change, others aren't done complaining
posted to Culture at 7:37 AM CDT
I've been to Dublin twice on holiday in the last couple of years, but didn't even consider going on a tour of Croke Park, which is a bit disappointing. To be honest, and I'm sure a lot of Brits are the same, I'd never even heard of Croke Park before they announced that rugby and football will be played there.
But it's a fascinating story, and when England go there for the rugby... well, it should be something worth watching.
posted at 10:33 AM CDT on February 6
The countdown begins here It is less than a week until the 2007 Six Nations kicks off, and already the speculation is filling the newspapers. Wales have such talent in their backs, but do they have the forward play needed to win? Scotland are nowhere near favourites, but that won't stop them trying. Will it be the wooden spoon again for Italy? They haven't won a game in the competition since 2004 but they are looking more and more dangerous. France are rated second in the world and are last year's winner, but will they want to experiment before the World Cup? England have a new coach and a new outlook, and with Wilkinson declaring himself fit they can't be ignored. They are current World title holders after all. And then there is Ireland, the marginal favourites although Munster & Leinster's recent losses have raised questions about certain areas of their game. And let us not forget that Ireland are rarely happy with the favourites tag
posted to Other at 4:00 AM CDT
Hey Fence, you forgot to plug your Six Nations Fantasy Contest, which is still accepting sign-ups!
As for the actual Six Nations contest, I think Ireland are almost certain to win it. They have France and England at home, which is a huge advantage, and should comfortably thump both Scotland and Italy.
Really looking forward to the Wales-Ireland game, though. I think we'll come out strong in the first 20-25 minutes, but Ireland are probably too strong for us. It'll be a big boost if Shane Williams declares himself fit, because he is the only back we've got who knows for certain what position he is best in! We have like three number 10's, three inside centres, a couple of full-backs... it's ridiculous! But we also have Dwayne Peel - the best scrum half in the world, so there ya go.
And Wilkinson fit? Haha, yeah right. He'll probably tear a hamstring tying his boots up before the first match.
posted at 8:13 AM CDT on January 29
posted to Golf at 6:47 PM CDT
One other possible advantage is that EPO improves your eyesight. It's worth noting that the PGA Tour currently carries out no drug testing, but Tiger Woods himself has said they ought to. The LPGA is introducing testing from next year.
posted at 4:27 PM CDT on January 30
Champions League on ice? Well, it may not be quite as illustrious as the futbol version, but International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Rene Fasel proposes a club championship game between the Stanley Cup winner and the European Champions Cup winner. Should the game get played, I'm guessing that the trustees will deny any challenge for the Cup. [via MrFrisby in the spofi campfire]
posted to Hockey at 9:18 PM CDT
One problem I see is if you have, say, a Swedish player on your team and we play Sweden, where is that players loyalty going to lay?
Eh, that problem never rises in the soccer Champion's League. Your loyalty goes to the team that pays your wages. Besides, they'd be playing clubs, not nations.
I think a similar thing could happen between the NBA and the Euroleague. Basketball is growing more and more popular in Europe, and is now getting regular TV time. There's definitely a market waiting to be tapped, and some kind of trans-Atlantic basketball competition could get quite big.
posted at 11:11 AM CDT on January 27
Worse than Cantona? European Rugby Cup officials are to open an investigation into reports that Toulouse forward Trevor Brennan assaulted an Ulster fan during the Heineken match in France over the weekend. There are conflicting reports over what exactly was said to provoke the attack, but the pictures clearly show Brennan entering the stands and punching an Ulster supporter.
posted to Other at 3:56 AM CDT
Gareth Thomas is an idiot, so it's not surprising at all to see that he was involved.
But the whole incident sounds quite surreal. Players must hear this kind of thing all the time, and while I'm not excusing that kind of verbal abuse, Brennan's actions are way over the top. He wasn't even on the pitch at the time, so you can't even blame it on the heat of the moment.
Needless to say, Brennan should be banned for life and I think he should also spend some time in jail. Cantona got 120 hours of community service for his kung-fu kick, but Brennan's assault seems a lot worse -- just more pre-meditated and unprovoked. If a whole section of the crowd was chanting, why go after that one guy?
posted at 8:04 AM CDT on January 23
By the way, I love how BBC gallery contains 10 pictures and only two of them show any rugby being played. Must've been helluva match.
posted at 8:48 AM CDT on January 23
Heineken Cup rugby beginning to crack The French rugby clubs have voted to boycott next year's Heineken Cup (wikipedia) and are pointing the finger at England. There is still the possibility that this will be worked out, but there is also a chance that the English clubs will follow suit, meaning that this competition, which means as much to some players as international matches faces an uncertain future.
posted to Other at 5:42 AM CDT
First to go should be the Autumn Internationals. I know they are a big cash cow for the individuals RFUs, but I don't think many fans would miss them. Seeing New Zealand hammer Wales every year is starting to wear a bit thin now.
That'll free up three weekends, and after that, just reduce the size of the HC. Right now there are 20 teams, which is a stupid number for a knockout competition. Have four groups of three teams (12) and have the top two teams qualify for the QF. Three French, three English, two Irish, two Welsh, a Scottish and an Italian team.
posted at 8:41 AM CDT on January 20
I'm hardly in the "anti-International brigade". I love the 6 Nations, love the World Cup, and I've even been known to watch the odd Tri-Nation match. But, I'm sorry, the Autumn Internationals are totally meaningless. Who will miss them?
posted at 4:29 PM CDT on January 20
Goat's Head Soup Christmas-wrapped and placed under the tree, GM in Italy's Serie A gets the message.
posted to Soccer at 11:45 AM CDT
Unless the guy is telepathic, I don't think he realised there was a goat's head under his tree until he actually opened the package.
posted at 9:47 AM CDT on January 1
TV shows with boxing in them. While trying to corroborate that the late great Godfather of Soul James Brown was an amateur boxer, I happened upon this page that lists TV shows and episodes that were boxing-related. Savor the sweet sport.
posted to Boxing at 11:11 AM CDT
"The Homer They Fall" has got to be one of the best Simpsons episodes ever.
posted at 8:56 AM CDT on December 30
English flags banned at the Emirates. That's the Emirates Stadium; Arsenal's home stadium.
"Some of our fans have been upset with the flying of certain flags denoting particular regions of the world"via State of the Game
posted to Soccer at 4:22 AM CDT
From your second link:
This is political correctness gone mad.
posted at 8:22 AM CDT on December 18
Kalifornia Klinsy to manage US Soccer Team And thus a new era begins.
posted to Soccer at 8:34 AM CDT
Does this mean he's now going to move back to Germany and start watching MLS on satellite TV?
posted at 3:17 PM CDT on December 6
EUROPEAN FIELDS The landscape of Lower League Football. by Hans Van Der Meer. 85 photographs in colour of amateur-football in twenty-two different European countries. From Amazon: "At the beginning of the 1995 soccer season, Hans van der Meer set out to take photographs of the game that dodged the cliched traditions of modern sports photography. In an attempt to record the sport in its original form--a field, two goals and 22 players--he sought matches at the bottom end of the amateur leagues. He avoided tight telescopic details and the hyperbole of action photography, pulled back from the central subject of the pitch, and set the playing field and its unfolding action in the context of local elements. Over the last 10 years, Van der Meer has continued this project across the playing fields of Europe, traveling to every country with a significant history of the game. ... Van der Meer's understated observations of the poetry and absurdity of human behavior on the field use soccer to consider--and provoke a laugh at--the human condition." Published in hardcover and paperback. (via kottke)
posted to Soccer at 12:48 AM CDT
I find it slightly ironic that the first Italian shot (Prato, Italy) has a player laying on the floor clutching his ankle.
But some beautiful photos there, and consistently terrible pitches! Real football, in other words.
justgary: I'd love to see the same thing done with baseball, but the locations probably wouldn't be as varied, or exotic.
I guess that depends partly where you live. I think most Europeans would find a baseball version more "exotic" than a bunch of football pitches, the kind of which you find in every single town on the entire continent. I bet a collection of grass-roots baseball diamonds would be just as varied and interesting.
posted at 7:40 AM CDT on December 1
Arsenal stadium linked to death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB officer who met Litvinenko on November 1, the day he was taken ill, travelled to London on October 31 with his wife and family to watch CSKA Moscow play Arsenal in a Champions League fixture. Litvinenko was poisoned with a radioactive substance, polonium 210.
posted to Soccer at 11:27 PM CDT
Except everyone now knows that Putin is a murderous thug who abuses human rights, subverts Russian "democracy" and surrounds himself with ex-KGB goons.
Oh. Hang on. Everyone knew that anyway.
posted at 3:15 PM CDT on December 1
Polonium 210 doesn't travel through skin, so unless Arsenal fans go round licking the seats, I think they're OK.
posted at 7:43 AM CDT on December 2
Texans take a look at Gatlin The Houston Texans had an interesting guest in camp on Tuesday -- disgraced sprinter Justin Gatlin. The man who won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics and owns the record in the 100 metres could sign a contract late next month despite not having played football since 10th grade.
posted to Football at 5:17 PM CDT
Well, he has plenty of spare time on his hands now.
I take it the NFL is not signed up to the WADA anti-doping code? I wonder what Dick Pound has to say about it.
posted at 7:23 AM CDT on November 30
Accession Notes: In Praise of Athletic Beauty A review of Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht's In Praise of Athletic Beauty: "Gumbrecht has the ordinary sports fan in mind as an audience. Perhaps the 'educated' sports fan might be more accurate; someone with a passing familiarity with history, and the interest in seeing sports in historical context. One thing is clear: Gumbrecht is not providing an academic defense of the many 'readings' of sports of which he is so critical. Sports, in Gumbrecht's view do not need such a defense; they have the intransitive quality of being 'for themselves'." A good sign: no mention of Huizinga's Homo Ludens.
posted to Culture at 5:42 PM CDT
I don't have anything to add, other than this looks like an interesting book. Thanks for the tip.
posted at 7:31 AM CDT on November 29
Should we all just give up now? It is still ten months to the rugby world cup, but after the autumn international results it seems that no one can live with New Zealand. They won all of their matches with ease and the other big names of the Southern Hemisphere just didn't shine.
posted to Other at 8:06 AM CDT
In terms of what we saw in the Autumn internationals, NZ were frightening. Way, way ahead of the rest. But a lot can happen between now and the World Cup. I was a little surprised by the number of penalties they gave away against Wales, and an awful England team did score three tries against them.
I think SA and Australia still have a few more gears to go up, and as rodgerd says, with France you never really can tell. One minute they're breathtaking, the next they are utter pants. Argentina in the opening match of the World Cup should be telling.
I think you can pretty much rule out anyone else, including Ireland. They're good right now, and their performances against Australia and SA were impressive indeed. But can they get any better? And do they have strength in depth if a few of their key players get injured?
As for England... I'm with Fence. It pains me to say this, but I actually started to feel a little sorry for them on Saturday! They have major problems everywhere. Their forwards are slow and lumbering and their backs can't pass or kick to save their life. Robinson needed to go, but what can a coach do if he doesn't have the players?
posted at 4:48 PM CDT on November 27
Their own private haka New Zealand played Wales on Sat, but talk about the match has been dominated by discussions about whether New Zealand were right to perform the haka in private before taking the pitch, or whether the Welsh Rugby officials were right to ask the All Blacks to perform the haka between anthems. The Welsh reasoning was that they were the "tangata whenua" (which means the traditional owners and protectors of the land), and so should have been given the chance to answer the challenge of the haka.
posted to Other at 8:06 AM CDT
A lot of people here in Wales seem to be blaming the WRU, but I disagree. The ABs are in Wales, so why should they dictate the order of proceedings? It seems amazingly petty to issue a "challenge" and then start sulking when their hosts plan to issue a counter-challenge.
Both sides are partly to blame, I expect. The WRU informed the NZRFU six weeks ago, so why wasn't it sorted out? Whatever... 75,000 wanted to see a Haka and a silly argument robbed them.
But IMO, the international rugby world already panders too much to the All Black global brand. Richie McCaw is full of crap, it has nothing to do with "spiritual preparation" - it's about psyching out your opponent and getting an advantage. If the opponent wants to do a little psyching of their own, the ABs should shut up and deal with it.
posted at 9:23 AM CDT on November 26
Drood: The Welsh should have responded with what they're known for, pulled out sheep, and shagged them in front of the All Blacks.
What, and have the New Zealanders pile in and steal our thunder again??
noizyboy: Or get their own war dance. A touch of morris dancing, perhaps? ;)
Ahem, don't blame us for that one! A thoroughly English pastime, morris dancing. Perhaps the Irish could do Riverdance?
posted at 4:01 PM CDT on November 26
noizyboy: Do the Welsh have any sort of traditional dance they could whip out?
Hmm, well, the Welsh aren't really big on dancing. Singing, that's more our bag. Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey... er... Charlotte Church. I hear we're even trying to claim Rolf Harris these days.
And of course the Welsh team has its own mascot in the form of the lovely Katharine Jenkins, who sings the anthem at every home game. She's closely matched by the NZ anthem singer Hayley Westenra, who is possibly even lovelier.
In fact, I reckon all pre-match theatrics should just be dumped in favour of a bikini mud wrestling contest between Jenkins and Westenra. I'm sure the crowd would prefer that to a bunch of 18 stone thugs doing a silly jig :p They wouldn't even need to bring in the mud, they could just use the woeful Millennium Stadium pitch!
posted at 9:51 AM CDT on November 27
rodgerd, your post seems awfully defensive. No-one is saying the All Blacks couldn't do the haka. The WRU was perfectly willing to allow a haka, and actually encouraged it. Indeed, with regards to multiculturalism and respecting what the haka stands for, didn't their statement say "the WRU has also been advised by a top Maori expert and cultural adviser"...
It seems they put a lot of thought into it, but the All Black management seem to think they have a god given right to do it when and where they want. In fact, it's odd that they cite tradition, when the first ever sporting haka was done in Wales in between the anthems.
posted at 5:00 PM CDT on November 27
The trailer in the BBC article makes it look rubbish, but the Youtube clip looks much better. I love sporting documentaries like this - real candid, fly-on-the-wall film-making rather than the more staged talking-head stuff you usually see. I will definitely check this out.