- 08:42 AM
- 04/19/24
Back in the 60's President Kennedy decried the state of physical fitness in the nations youth.Today we have an obesity epidemic.In the 50's,every boy played pick up baseball,football,b ball etc.Today its indoor electronic games.Do you think there is a pattern here?
posted by sickleguy at 01:47 PM on July 25, 2008
Down deep inside I still love the Olympics but the excesses of the IOC make it difficult to wish the games well.I think the turning point for me was corruption at the Salt Lake City games. Why not let Iraq's teams participate.God knows they have very little to cheer about.
posted by sickleguy at 02:20 PM on July 24, 2008
This is great stuff.I grew up playing hockey on frozen ponds in Michigan.I bet many NHL players learned the game the same way.There is something essential about outdoor hockey,kind of like sandlot baseball.
posted by sickleguy at 12:14 PM on July 17, 2008
I have an admiration for Mike because he is a home town kid.He is from Livonia,a Western burb of Detroit. I realize that he is getting a little older now but he has allways been a class act,especially in the face of considerable adversity.
posted by sickleguy at 12:15 PM on November 08, 2007
First of all as a road bike fan for over 30 years, ( I have a bad bike now) I believe Floyd because a lot of cyclists here in North Texas believe in him also.In addition, one of the worlds biggest shops( and consistently rated #1) supports him. That said,this stuff is beyond political.One of the reasons I believe in Floyd is the test(s)were fucked up.Landis still has options legally. I hope he pursues them. That brings us to Lance and the French.Three Americanos have won the tour;Greg,Lance, and Floyd.The Froggies had no problemo with Greg. They consistently hated Lance. They dug the shit out of Floyd because he has cojones.I believe Lance's tour victories are suspect because of the cancer drugs he took whipped him into shape.In addition, he is a punk. He walked on his wife and kids. Then he walked on Ms. Gorgeous ass Crow. Word on the cycle track is he is into dudes.....Ola!!!
posted by sickleguy at 09:11 AM on September 23, 2007
Yo,Tommy,if the shoe fits.....
posted by sickleguy at 08:56 AM on September 23, 2007
Whatever.I'm still trippin' behind the 1958 CADILLAC Convertible that drove the Say-Hey KId to get his props.Back then teams played players cold, but at least they were loyal to each other.You real old scholars,didn't Bond's Godfather stay with the Giants his whole career in the bigs?
posted by sickleguy at 07:49 AM on September 22, 2007
You know what?Sports is important, but I'm sorry. Lets not obsess on the latest insignificaca. I could give a shit about the latest implications of the revelation that Belecheck and da Pats be cheatin'. Here in North Texas there is 2 sports, Football and Spring Football. However Texans love racing, and in NASCAR if you ain't cheating you ain't racing.
posted by sickleguy at 08:55 AM on September 19, 2007
All of you are wrong,( in my opinion). Lets see. He wins a World Championship with a basic team. Several years later,he has the same as when he started and he is offered a 5 year contract. Shades of a master plan. Who runs a team. The owner, of course. Who runs the team? Don't know, do you?
posted by sickleguy at 02:49 AM on September 12, 2007
Yo,wfraz, maybe you can explain this.When the Pistons made Darko their #1 draft pick,then chained him to the bench forever, I thought,yeah maybe he isn't quite ready to play NBA ball. But when they traded him I'm like ???? Because I'm deluding myself into thinking its the 80's again and here is Big Bad Ass Bill Lambeer and this Motown might 3peat like they could have except when Larry snatched the ball,gave it to DJ (God Bless HIS soul) and the ball goes swish on the dunk on the PARQUET floor in the Garden and the Pistons are out of the Finals and Boston is up against the West for the World Championship.
posted by sickleguy at 10:47 AM on September 08, 2007
Well,that's it.I am definitely changing my religion. The Hindus ARE right. Reincarnation is the NEW reality.Howard Cosell IS back in da booth. Dandy Dan, are ya listening?
posted by sickleguy at 10:35 AM on September 08, 2007
The last paragraph resonates with me.There IS a magical feeling when you put on a baseball uni. I played right field in the Babe Ruth league as a teen; much sandlot ball but that ol' feeling came right back 20 years later in Germany when I was one of the pitchers on our Army softball team. We really only had t shirts the same but most of us bought similar baseball pants, caps etc. I was still pretty good with a stick and I could strike 'em out in both bloop anfd fast pitch. Only problem was when we faced a unit team who had female and male hitters.To my great chagrin ( and CEASLESS shit talking from MY team mates) I was unable to do much but walk or hit the gals. I was usually benched when we played a mixed team.
posted by sickleguy at 07:04 AM on September 06, 2007
To quote the Bard, if this isn't a "Tempest in a Teapot" I do not know what is.
posted by sickleguy at 06:53 AM on September 06, 2007
I am far from an expert on NASCAR,Winston Cup Nextel Cup Championships, but my friends here in North Texas that are assure me that Toyota will need plenty of time and dinero to compete with GM,let alone Ford and Dodge.The cars are essentially alike but assembling a competitve team isn't easy,no matter how much money is thrown.Of all the Jap cars I despise Toyota the most because throwing money at a market is their solution to eveything(of course lets not pay our workers competitively).And I know, we're in the post industrial age, but the guys and gals building BIG GM trucks in Arlington Texas are pulling down UAW wages. I don't see the General going away anytime soon. I also think Toyota's fantasy of being numero uno in the world is just that.GM has many decades of experience as a World player.
posted by sickleguy at 06:49 AM on September 06, 2007
Hey,world,this is another reflection of America.Why shouldn't Tiger be able to retire with a 1B retirement fund? After all he is obviously the greatest American athlete today.We still adore heroes but there has been slim pickin's in other fields of endeavor.In fact I can think of no other American athlete that big on the world scene until you go back to Ali's time.
posted by sickleguy at 05:33 AM on September 06, 2007
I vaguely remember Campanella in the 50s.(Probably because the grownups were talking about his terrible disability).What the article reminded me of was how far we have come as a nation. It also remonds that we have a long way to go to fully reach our potential.
posted by sickleguy at 06:36 PM on September 04, 2007
All of this is just the sorry ass state of sport in America today.EVERY one of the big 4 has or just recently has been humiliated or held up for ridicule. Wrestling is just going with the flow.Of course, when you compare the physiques of today's star pro wrestlers with those of the 50s & 60s it tends to be illustrative..ya think?
posted by sickleguy at 08:42 AM on September 02, 2007
Actually, in my experience,Yank means 1 thing in da South and another abroad,ie Canada or Merrie Olde......
posted by sickleguy at 10:21 AM on September 01, 2007
Hey Drood,why don't you say what you REALLY think.Our press and associated media still,for the most part,tries to get it right.
posted by sickleguy at 11:06 AM on August 31, 2007
Of course you guys North of the border speak the King's English while us Yanks in the Colonies that speak American English rather Than Canadian English.Thanks,Tommy...Later.
posted by sickleguy at 11:02 AM on August 31, 2007
This man's live should be memorialized by an epic poem at the least,an old style Hollywood film or even a Grand Opera.
posted by sickleguy at 08:28 AM on August 31, 2007
Hey,Tommy, maybe you are the person who can address a question I posted a couple of weeks ago. Why is it the Leafs but the plural of leaf is leaves?
posted by sickleguy at 08:26 AM on August 31, 2007
Vaguely recalls Jim Thorpe. (do ya like my sentence structure so far?) Speaking of Thorpe,I don't care what various polls over the years indicate,(addressing the greatest athlete question.....the last one I recall said Michael Jordan was the greatest) Jim Thorpe was the greatest athlete in recorded history. Michael could barely hit a baseball, so....on my list,either Neon Deon Sanders or Bo Jackson is#2. Yes, MJ is in the top 10. Ali is also in the 10,along with Babe Ruth,Gordie Howe,Pele and so it goes.......
posted by sickleguy at 06:52 AM on August 26, 2007
"Its the same old story its the same old song and dance my friends" I love the Rangers because (a) its a Texas thing,(b) they always have been a big stick no pitch team(like Texas small ball is an alien concept) and dammit they are loveable losers ala the Cubbies and Stengal's Mets.If they ever were to get some consistent great pitching with these sticks and they didn't choke themselves to death ala late 90s they would easily be World Chaamps. Ya think?
posted by sickleguy at 06:37 AM on August 23, 2007
Why isn't this being shut down by Spo-Fi like They(the editor/founders of the blog) did about another thread (that was not as controvertial) about 5 weeks ago or so. That topic was arbitrarily ended. No explanation,just see ya.This thread is more emotionally charged but the viturperation is way beyond that of the censored entry.Anyone else remember or am I just trippin'?
posted by sickleguy at 06:11 AM on August 22, 2007
Here in da Big D,the radio chatter ESPN etc was a brief nod to how aweful Vicks crime is and then the usual patter about what his sentence might be and that he SHOULD be barred from ever taking a snap again.Fuck the football career. In my world he could do whatever after rehabilitation which would include psychological torture (ie letting him believe he would be subjected to the same treatment and mercy he showed to the dogs,getting the third degree by good cop badcop investigators and so forth.This would continue until he underwent a catharsis of self understanding.Then maybe he could be considered fit to live in our society.
posted by sickleguy at 10:26 PM on August 21, 2007
Yawn.
posted by sickleguy at 06:04 PM on August 20, 2007
Budman,that is alow,low comment.You should be ashamed. If I drank suds ,my name might be microbrewski and then Zindanes feelthy seester would be a courtesan,not a ho and we wouldn't worry about how she looked.
posted by sickleguy at 05:54 PM on August 18, 2007
By the way,Canucks,why is it leaves for trees but Leafs for the team?
posted by sickleguy at 05:31 AM on August 18, 2007
Sweet,sweet article about a guy that lived a dream life.I loved the many clever quips,such as unique doesn't begin to describe him. To have a close relationship with some of the demigods of hockey would be sufficient for me. And of course there is London,a town I remember well,as its on the way from Motown to the home of the Leafs.
posted by sickleguy at 05:30 AM on August 18, 2007
Just goes to show that we (ooh ess aah) are not the only sexually immature nation in the New World.( But we are definitely in a class by ourselves as far as the degree of this cultural norm among the major nations).
posted by sickleguy at 05:20 AM on August 17, 2007
It should be a lot of fun for the "what if "crowd. However, like an opinion,it will have no relevance or basis in reality(whatever that is).
posted by sickleguy at 07:27 PM on August 16, 2007
I only hope these horror stories coming from the older Pro Football veterans serve to make a young man pause when he is choosing a sport on the prep level.Sports injuries are a given, but the more severe the contact,the greater the potential for permenent damage,not necessarily down the road like Argo.Young men can be paralysed after one play in football. And, as the article suggests,hockey is also right there .I don't know about rugby, but boxing and other contact martial arts certainly contribute their share to the wounded.Sounds like warfare,eh?
posted by sickleguy at 05:50 AM on August 10, 2007
Hey Weedy,I gotta hand it to ya; that was one sick but hilarious comment.
posted by sickleguy at 09:07 PM on August 07, 2007
Two things come to mind after reading the article. First, I still don't get card collecting. Two,(I'm really confused here)after reading the article repeatedly I'm still in the dark as to whose card the Saint signed. Oh, and three, please go easy on the zingers,eh?
posted by sickleguy at 09:02 PM on August 07, 2007
Tommy,how are you going to compare Harper Lee to Albom?One wrote a masterpiece that became part of the canon taught in our high schools and colleges.Albom writes fluff that no scholarly high school English teacher takes seriously.Believe me,I know.As far as my magical use of the language, this is a sports blog,not the Atlantic Monthly.(Oh,and by the way, I publish every day. You're reading it as I speak).
posted by sickleguy at 01:13 PM on August 05, 2007
Thanks for getting my back on that one,Ying.
posted by sickleguy at 12:55 PM on August 05, 2007
Somethin' needs to be done about Canada's team.They are mediocre at best year in and year out.If I ran the Leafs I'd be a bitch like Steinbrenner of the Yanks.Whatever it takes.Scottie has been a winner whereever he goes.You take it from there.
posted by sickleguy at 10:40 AM on August 05, 2007
I with you ,dyams about Mitch Albom. He's basically still just newspaper hack for the Freep who got lucky when he wrote a couple of touchy-feely girly Oprah type of bestsellers.Has anyone else read these books? They arer so sweet you want to Ralph.
posted by sickleguy at 10:34 AM on August 05, 2007
robi is correct.Here in Big D,Slammin'Sammy Sosa has been essentially benched from his DH/outfielder slot so that new talent up from the farm can get a look see.Sammy is having a decent year. However he was snubbed for the All Star game completely and he was put on the block before the trade deadline and NOBODY was the least interested. You would think SOMEBODY still in the pennant race would bite.I believe Sammy,Barry and others might be humiliated ala Mark McGuire 5 years after they retire when they don't enter the HOF on the first ballot.
posted by sickleguy at 07:09 AM on August 05, 2007
French is right.The Rangers consistently make bad trades. When they traded Sosa he was basically an unknown quantity.But Pudge,Soriano and Tex?My real problem with this is they get squat in return.Texas has always been a big stick no pitch team,but you gotta get something in return.What the Rangers get in return is "prospects"and a sweet bottom line.Rangers management has shit for brains. Lets get A Rod. Lets get a "quality" pitcher in Chan Ho Park. Please. They are still paying dearly on these contracts. I wish the Rangers well because they are likeable losers and I live here. However, they remind me of the (shudder) Lions.
posted by sickleguy at 09:10 PM on July 30, 2007
"Who would actually want to own such a card?" I remember a few years back when a card company issued a serial killer collection,complete with"stats".Despite the outrage they did rather well with certain collectors.
posted by sickleguy at 09:43 AM on July 29, 2007
You might think its more "civilized" in merrie olde England but this shocking,cowardly deed proves otherwise.This is tragic for the sport in Britain and boxing fans everywhere.R.I.P.
posted by sickleguy at 05:06 AM on July 27, 2007
I believe that cycling will never completely escape etagloh's assessment. This is unfortunate but deserved,given its history.However, I also believe the sport will emerge in a new light when all the cheaters are tested out.This must occur or the sport may not survive.
posted by sickleguy at 01:06 PM on July 24, 2007
Hey, Atheist,show me another fat slob on the bases who could hit for power and average like Ruth and pitch like he could.The only player I can even imagine doing all these feats would have been Bo Jackson.
posted by sickleguy at 03:37 PM on July 23, 2007
Every time I've seen Cox ejected he had a legit beef and wasn't just putting on a show.Any manager that has lasted as long is bound to be tossed a few times.
posted by sickleguy at 07:59 AM on July 19, 2007
That clip was funny,apx.If you look at bike videos,you'll see many unusual images,some tragic,some funny and some gripping,along with the more mundane.Resembles life.
posted by sickleguy at 06:53 PM on July 18, 2007
I'm with Tiger on this one. I don't see many pro golfers using steroids.What is the payoff?Golf is a finesse sport where strength is secondary at best.
posted by sickleguy at 06:41 PM on July 18, 2007
Hey,the rider got a new wheel and continued.I'm glad the dog seemed unhurt. Actually,its sort of bizarre and amusing.
posted by sickleguy at 10:29 AM on July 18, 2007
Very refreshing after that horrible Vick indictment.
posted by sickleguy at 09:25 PM on July 17, 2007
About Goddamned time,too!
posted by sickleguy at 09:18 PM on July 17, 2007
Interesting insight on Weaver,one of the all time greats.With better training,techniques, and possibly untestable pharmaceuticals there is probably no limit (except physical law) to how fast a pitcher can hurl.And lets not even consider robotic enhancements.
posted by sickleguy at 01:59 PM on July 17, 2007
The people who were"shocked" to hear that Aaron was booed when he approached Ruth's record are very young,naive or have bad memories. Aaron received several death threats and even Ruth's widow came out against him. We are no better than before. We just cover up and delude ourselves.
posted by sickleguy at 09:33 AM on July 17, 2007
When Sheffield says Jeter isn't all black,what does that mean?And whatever it means its like Clemens saying Jeter isn't all white.Typical idiocy from a star.
posted by sickleguy at 09:28 AM on July 14, 2007
I wish he would buy the Lions. Since he bought the Mavs,things haven't been the same in Big D.A team of lovable losers,(the Cowboys won more games in a season one year)the Mavs are now annual contenders.
posted by sickleguy at 06:05 PM on July 13, 2007
Hey,Grum,nice post on a fascinating player.Whats up with the Brit spelling(favourite)?
posted by sickleguy at 06:31 PM on July 12, 2007
I like the publication"The Loss Column". Reminds me of an old radio show I loved called "Leonards Losers". Here in North Texas the only time other fans were an issue was during inter league play when we were exorted to support the home team because the Cub's fans were coming en masse.They did, taking up whole sections.Actually it was pretty cool.
posted by sickleguy at 05:33 PM on July 12, 2007
Carlos Sastre wins Tour de France
Despite the multiple doping incidents I liked this Tour.There was drama,excitement and many changes in who wore the yellow jersey.Often,when Lance won,it was a little dull because you knew he'd win yet another one.