Not receiving votes: New York Mets second half collapses, Michelle Wie missing the cut, Chad Ochocinco starving for attention
One of the innumerable selling points for sports is that fans have the chance to see something that's never happened before. (In a distant second, mascots throwing out free t-shirts.) The unknown is exciting, and we're in no position to get there, but there are some well-sculpted mammals out there that seem capable.…
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26 - Matthew T. Sussman
Lists will be Americentric. We will all get through this together.
27 - Dr Dreadful
you've never heard of calcio fiorentino, i assume. makes rugby look like a game for little girls.
I dunno about that, zing. From Wikipedia:
"The modern version allows tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking, but forbids sucker-punching and kicks to the head."
Sounds a bit wimpy to me.
28 - STM
And then there's Rugby League, a game that resembles rugby only in the shape of the ball, the field, the posts and the object of getting the ball over the line, but which takes toughness and fitness to another level entirely.
No offensive or defensive teams there either. Play the full 80 minutes or go and get a new handbag.
It's true that our American brethren, sadly, are a terribly insular bunch (as the rest of us in the English-speaking world commonly note).
Matt, who I'll admit really does seem to know his sport, once showed me a video of sports scientist testing the power of the hits between American footballers and rugby players (which of course showed Yanks hitting harder).
Except for one flaw: for the experiment, they'd used some rugby players from some mickey mouse competition in the US, not professional competitions that are at the top of the world game.
And they certainly didn't have any professional Rugby League players from the English Super League or the Australian NRL, the two top tiers of the sport.
I suspect the results would have been vastly different.
While the experiement is worth doing just to end the arguments, in that case a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Still, it all makes for a fun time :)
On the other hand, I do love American football, even if I don't understand all the rules and (not so subtle) nuances.
The thing is, unlike a lot of Americans, I will at least make the effort.
All of us who love sport can appreciate great athleticism when we see it, right? Soccer's not big in Australia but I like watching top-flight EPL just for the skill level.
And in last season's Super Bowl, someone scored a touchdown that was one of the best pieces of running football I've seen in any of the oval-ball codes anywhere.
29 - STM
Calcio fu.k-me-a-what-ino?
"The modern version allows tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking, but forbids sucker-punching and kicks to the head."
Must be why Italy is the lowest ranked of the six-nations northern hemisphere rugby competition.
They've played this other game and haven't learned how to do all that stuff, including sucker-punching and kicks to the head, without the ref seeing.
Another game for girly men, obviously, like American football.
Still, what do you expect from those Yanks? It's all talk and chest thumping.
Or in zing's case, a load of hot cock and bullshit.
30 - STM
On that note, it'd be interesting to know whether zing's ever pulled on a pair of boots himself and been smacked from pillar to post around a paddock.
Can't know how bad (or good, if like that kind of stuff - and I do) it is until you know first hand, zing ...
31 - zingzing
"Or in zing's case, a load of hot cock and bullshit."
hmm?
"On that note, it'd be interesting to know whether zing's ever pulled on a pair of boots himself and been smacked from pillar to post around a paddock."
jigga-who? "pillar to post around a paddock" is pretty purple prose, but of course i haven't. i don't particularly understand the game, what's legal and what's not, and i am in no way a physical match for rugby. a friend of a friend of mine plays the game, but the man is about 6'4" and a good 250 pounds, which is a good 4 inches and 100 pounds on me. i've also never played football (american) outside of some backyard toss arounds. but i don't think that matters.
i am, however, a very fine football (rest of the world) goalkeeper. or i used to be. i'm also a very fine wing in street hockey, although i got in trouble for being a bit too physical. little shit cried, his mom threatened to have me arrested, i quit in disgust. but i could score at will! at will! fucking children.
32 - STM
I hope you realise this is a gee-up.
We've had this discussion before, haven't we??
I played goalie too, mainly because I was a rugby player and knew how to catch a ball.
I loved shoulder charging opposing players, or "shoulder bustling" at any rate while jostling for the high ball, and watching them get all huffy.
I did occasionally sneak in a sneaky whack too.
Use of the shoulder - up to a point - used to be perfectly legal in soccer. Don't know if it still is. Doc might be able to enlighten us on that.
33 - Dr Dreadful
Shoulder-charging is still technically legal, Stan, but much depends on the player's intent, or in the final account on the ref's interpretation of it. The charge needs to be clean and sideways-on, or the player will more than likely get penalised for obstruction.
34 - STM
I used to get the feeling that in the old first division (now the EPL), the skill level and speed of the game was such that there wasn't really room or time for the physical stuff, whereas in the old English second division and below, there was heaps of boot, biff and barge going on.
Vinnie Jones springs to mind ...
35 - STM
Matt: "We will all get through this together."
Mmm. Geez.
Dunno there.
Not necessarily. I've already completely but inadvertently ruined your thread
36 - STM
Although to be fair, you've probably got waaaay more comments here than you'd usually get
37 - Dr Dreadful
Vinnie Jones springs to mind ...
Except that Vinnie spent most of his playing career in the top flight...
38 - Matthew T. Sussman
My next list is still Americentric, the way the Lord Our God intended, but it will feature an Australian. So, that's something.
39 - STM
Why are you putting Aussies on your lists Suss?
Do they really deserve this?
40 - STM
Doc,
Didn't Vinnie Jones play for a couple of old second division/new first division clubs, including QPR??
41 - Dr Dreadful
Well, he spent a season in Sweden before joining Wimbledon - where he made his name - had a couple of seasons at Leeds in the old Second Division, and spent his final year at QPR, also in the second tier. Aside from that, though, his whole career was in the Premier League/old First Division.
Pundits constantly panned him for bringing down 'the beautiful game' and moaned that he didn't belong at the top level, and he certainly wasn't the most skilful player the sport has ever produced, but nobody could fault him for his commitment and leadership.
There was that unforgettable moment - I think he was playing for Sheffield United at the time - when he managed to get himself booked within about five seconds of the kick-off. Charged straight for the other team's centre-half and flattened the poor sod before he even had a chance to figure out where the ball was.
When he made his international debut for Wales (he was found to be eligible through his grandfather who was from Wrexham) he actually took the trouble to learn the national anthem - in Welsh - and showed up his teammates, most of whom didn't know it despite being born and raised in Wales, by belting it out at the top of his voice.
Quite a character, both on and off the field.
42 - STM
Yeah, and he's been in some great pommy gangster movies.
43 - Charlie
I would say Matthew Mitcham getting a perfect 10 dive in the Olympics probably is unrepeatable.