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Post by betahat on Mar 5, 2009 16:15:34 GMT -5
ChickenSoda"I think that it'd be even more fun if we got rid of all of the fouls/penalties, and just let them go at it!" Agreed, though the "Slam ball" experiment proved to be less entertaining than I envisioned. UFC is certainly gaining in popularity, but even UFC has some rules. I guess we would draw the line at letting Michael Vick bring his fighting dogs onto the field! @stray: " I can barely dunk a ball. It's sketchy." To paraphrase a wise man, "Dunk or dunk not. There is no try." Maybe you can do it one out of every 10 tries but that still counts (even pros miss dunks all the time). Eternal props if you have video (and really, if you could dunk, why wouldn't you have video. That would be my freakin screen saver and wallpaper). And how tall are you exactly?
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Post by i move the stars for no one on Mar 5, 2009 21:05:39 GMT -5
I started out with gymnastics and swimming i forgot gymnastics counts as a sport!i LOVED it when i was a kid.i still enjoy it now,though people think a woman my age doing round-offs is a little funny in the head.i actually have gymnastics to thank for remaining limber. [ [edit] I don't play football almost at all anymore. Not my fault. Because I would. But who plays football at 30? Takes too much time and/or my friends are, and I hate to say this, way too out of shape for their own good. you should!age is all the more reason to do that kind of thing,keep you from turning into an old man. i'm woefully out of shape as well but i still play every chance i get.all those out of shape guys who might object to putting in time at the gym might go for something like a game of football.it doesn't have to take as long as a pro game.
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Post by admin on Mar 6, 2009 0:51:11 GMT -5
I'm a huge Hoops fan. Just saw a Cal game (almost a lock for the tournament!) After tonight's win, I'd say the lock is in! Stanford beat ASU - I hope we can do the same on Saturday.
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Post by betahat on Mar 6, 2009 1:22:05 GMT -5
Yup. 8 threes by Jerome Randle? The dude can't defend any decent sized guard but boy can he shoot! Random side note, Jamal Boykin (who starts for Cal) once played a pick-up game with me and some of my friends at gym. We didn't even know he was on the team at the time (though we checked immediately after) but he did a nice tomahawk dunk on one of my friends. He basically used the game as a chance to work on his jump-shot, which was interesting because he almost never takes a shot during games.
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Post by LaFace on Mar 6, 2009 3:25:40 GMT -5
This post is just an expression of approval regarding the guy talk around here finally involving sports for once (and it's detailed too). I was beginning to question a few things...
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Post by lisa91 on Mar 6, 2009 4:41:49 GMT -5
I used to play basketball and golf. Once I hit a tiny bird with a golf ball. The bird died... I haven't played golf ever since
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Post by LaFace on Mar 6, 2009 5:41:14 GMT -5
Hey, questionable guys like sports too. haha I wasn't necessarily questioning sexual orientation though Here are a couple of short AFL videos, highlighting the physical aspect to the game. The first one is not exactly fair play, although the hit in the second one is most definitely fair play. 'Line in the sand' match, 2004. One of my favourite players ever knocking out a man over 20cm taller, and over 20kg heavier than himself, fairly. Interested in any thoughts people might have. edit: one more for good measure
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Post by rob on Mar 6, 2009 9:21:46 GMT -5
One of my favourite players ever knocking out a man over 20cm taller, and over 20kg heavier than himself, fairly. Interested in any thoughts people might have. edit: one more for good measure I play ice hockey (which everyone says is ragingly violent) and by those standards, both of those "fair bumps" would be considered "cheap shots" . In the first video, the shorter dude (by virtue of his height) rammed his head into the taller dude's chin. In the second video, the guy threw his shoulder and elbow at the other dudes head. In the NHL (pro ice hockey league), both cases would get a major penalty (5 minutes), possibly a game misconduct or suspension. In hockey, theres violence, fighting and some blood but there's a rigidly enforced code for hits and fighting. Nothing cheap allowed.... and if you pulled anything like what that aussie rules guy did in the second video, your own teammates would be after you. Here's a few good hockey fights if anyone's interested: Zdeno Chara vs David KociGeorge Parros vs Riley Cote***funniest one!*** George Laraque vs Raitis Ivanans- Listen to the mike on George before the fight starts! Hilarious! Gives you some idea of the fact these guys respect each otherrob - how tall are you? And were you standing on a chair? Dunking the ball has always been a dream but I have such a pathetic vertical (even at 6'2) that I'm really not close, even if I could palm the ball. Diving and flopping are integral parts of all team sports with subjectively called fouls/penalties. The games wouldn't be half as much fun if you didn't get to yell at the ref/tv every time there is a terrible call. I actually find the offside rule in soccer to be more infuriating than flopping since a blown call there doesn't involve any skill (re: acting) by a player. Beta - I'm 5'8" and a half.... had some hops. Hands are small though so I could dunk a tennisball or hoped the ball bounced perfectly off the rim for a tip-in alley-oop. Could rarely pull it off tho and needed a wood floor for bit o flex. Wish I had some videos of my brother dunking... he's an absolute machine and could dunk in grade 7. I'm sure you could dunk easily if you just worked on some squats and crunches. On soccer, thankfully I've only played in Asia and N. America where there's very little flopping/diving (exception: Malaysia). I did though have 2 Guatemalans on my mens league team in Canada that were amazing divers! Got at least 3 penalty kicks a game from them! The slightest touch and they'd go armadillo on you! (always pissed off the opposing team ;D)
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Post by LaFace on Mar 6, 2009 10:02:01 GMT -5
I play ice hockey (which everyone says is ragingly violent) and by those standards, both of those "fair bumps" would be considered "cheap shots" . In the first video, the shorter dude (by virtue of his height) rammed his head into the taller dude's chin. In the second video, the guy threw his shoulder and elbow at the other dudes head. In the NHL (pro ice hockey league), both cases would get a major penalty (5 minutes), possibly a game misconduct or suspension. In hockey, theres violence, fighting and some blood but there's a rigidly enforced code for hits and fighting. Nothing cheap allowed.... and if you pulled anything like what that aussie rules guy did in the second video, your own teammates would be after you. I'll break down those two videos you mentioned. 1st: Was deemed fair on review because via a better angle not shown on that youtube vid, no contact to the head was made. In AFL, you are allowed to bump/hit/shirtfront (for reasons such as to prevent the opponent from catching your teammate with the ball, or to block him out of the passage of play, or to cause the ball carrier himself to lose possession)another player so long as you are within 5m of the ball and have your elbow tucked in against your body. Also not shown in the angle of that youtube vid is the taller guy actually prepared to hit the shorter guy in advance before the shorter guy knew about it. You can see in that youtube video from the closer replay angle that the shorter guy only prepares to hit him at the last minute, once he saw the taller guy was coming for him. From the normal live far away tv angle, you can see the taller guy in advance preparing to take him out, so in the end it was two guys going against each other. The shorter guy was renowned as being one of the strongest guys in the AFL pound for pound though, and one of the greatest 'bumpers' in history, so not exactly someone you wanna aim for, as evidenced by the result of what happened. I'd say the KO was due to just not expecting such verocity when the shorter guy only hit him at the last minute, and hence probably resulted in him getting winded. 2nd: Far more controversial. From memory, the guy that did the KO (Didak) originally got suspended for a few weeks, however, upon appeal, the suspension was either reduced or thrown out all together, because a) his elbow was tucked into his own body, and b) you have the right to bump the player with possession. Controversial though because he still made contact with the head, which is 100% disallowed. Can't remember the exact suspension (if there was one in the end...). The AFL has a match review committee and tribunal that looks at these incidents on a weekly basis (no one likes to see head injuries, especially when AFL players have no protective gear), and upon appeal the formal process is to fly to Melbourne to contest the matter in something similar to a court of law. Often lawyers get involved themselves. It happens on a weekly basis and often the decision cause controversy, because there are grey areas exploited in the rules depending on the scenario that unfolded. Hopefully that all made sense. I shall check out those hockey fights soon.
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Post by betahat on Mar 6, 2009 12:30:10 GMT -5
^"I hate to be a hater, but I tend to hate college basketball. I don't know who started the trend (duke maybe), but too many 3's, fast breaks, and slashers, and not a lot of post, even down to the top teams. Hell, they even fast break on 3's these days."
If you look at the College Game, the reasons why you don't see as many dominant offensive big men is the combination of (1)zone defenses that work pretty well, (2)the closer three point line, (3)college players haven't fully matured physically to the point that they can hold post position and dominate inside. Since (1) and (2) are absent from the NBA (while they pushed the college three back this year, which should help interior offense) there is more scope for dominant offensive big men, whereas in college there ARE dominant big men like Hasheem Thabeet or Greg Oden in recent years but they are primarily defensive players.
I don't think you are alone in bemoaning the lack of "Hakeem" type back to the basket skilled big men in recent years (that and the loss of the mid-range jumper). Pretty much every announcer bemoans it and players like that are a rare and hot commodity. But it's not entirely the fault of the college game - Euro big-men aren't any better at having those skills despite playing with different rules. Maybe I haven't watched enough ball from the 1980s and early 1990s, but I think Hakeem-type players have always been relatively rare. If it was that effective and easy to develop those skills, you think that competitive pressure would have led more players to develop those skills. On the other hand, the big men today can shoot the ball way better than those guys could back in the day. I would like to see more sky-hooks though...
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Post by betahat on Mar 6, 2009 17:23:53 GMT -5
Why do you think that big men in that mould are rare today in the NBA? The college rules were similar back then weren't they (in terms of zones, 3-pt line)? The only NBA rule that changed anywhere close to that era was the 3-pt line in 1979. I guess it must be the 3-pt line combined with the popularity of the slam dunk. If anything, one would think that some of the big men today might have more polished offensive games if they played four (or any) years of college (though that might not be the only difference between a Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum and a 4-year college grad like Duncan). I guess it could just be coaching that has changed?
Anyway, the Spurs have been my favorite team since they won their first championship against the Knicks, with Steve Nash's suns and the Toronto Raptors a close second (love the Raps but I need a team to cheer for in the playoffs). I'm a much bigger fan of the pro game because, let's face it, they are just that much better. The Wizards or Thunder would absolutely crush a Connecticut or any of the top college teams in the country.
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Post by Emily on Mar 7, 2009 7:45:52 GMT -5
@ emily: I've always wanted to play soccer (was a really good goalkeeper), but it was a boys only team in our hometown and they didn't want me :/ Aw, that's too bad. It can be difficult finding girls to play with, especially as you grow older. Once I hit 16-17, it seems like girls were preoccupied by other things. My senior year in HS, we weren't even enough to form a team, so I ended up practicing with the guys instead. About ice hockey, I tried getting into it (given that it's a religion in Montreal), but I just can't. I used to play street hockey with my neighbors every occasion we had when I was younger. But the NHL... the Montreal Habs... I just can't do it. Especially given the overt violence. I know it's tolerated and there's some kind of moral code about it. But still... must men resort to brutish violence to play hockey? Heh, I realise I'm the female minority in this thread so I'll shut up. And then the fans. I personally don't long to be associated with fans like these: Montreal Canadiens fans after WINNING the FIRST ROUND ONLY of the playoffs. Just for this reason, I almost hope Montreal won't get the cup anytime soon... can't imagine how fans would react. I know it's obviously not all fans. Probably 90% of my friends are Habs fans (hah, told you it was a religion here), and all frown down on such behavior. But if this is what pro sport can lead to...
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Post by betahat on Mar 7, 2009 17:33:22 GMT -5
So have any of the Canadians here ever played pond hockey (or backyard hockey)? Some people think it's the hallmark of a "real" Canadian - being Eurasian, I'm curious how many of us would qualify under that standard. Even though neither of my parents is a native Canadian and neither has the least bit of interest in hockey, I can say that I've played pond hockey a few times in my life (maybe a function of growing up in a smaller town rather than an urban metropolis where frozen ponds are scarce).
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Post by Emily on Mar 8, 2009 10:32:37 GMT -5
^ I sometimes played ice hockey with my neighbors at the park's outdoor skating rink. I'm terrible at coordinating hockey stick and skates though, so I'd usually stick to skating on the neighboring iced surface.
My Macau-born neighbor did however enjoy playing both street hockey and ice hockey.
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Post by betahat on Mar 8, 2009 17:44:50 GMT -5
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