H&I* Fires, 27 MAY 2008

No, really, tell us how you truly feel, Armorer. I know, it's not funny. A day that shouldn't be used for domestic politics and chust thumping like that...was. Still, I couldn't pass up the op. to turn that back on John. Sure, I'll pay for it(oi, I will pay for it), but you can't pass chances like that up, not if you're gollum.

While I understand your pique, Ry, if the others want to swap around their medals, hug, and sing kum-by-yah, that's okay with me. If would not be okay with me if the results of the race were officially overturned. If the participants want it that way, unofficially, amongst themselves, okay. Number two is just admitting she got spanked, and didn't want to win on a technical issue, regardless of how important the issue is. As a state champion myself, I admit I wouldn't be very proud of a distinction that came on a technical issue like that - but your point is well taken, like 'em or not, there are rules like that for a reason, not to gain an unfair advantage. It's a semi-empty gesture - Nelson is still going to get the credit. I'd save my ire for someone trying to overturn the official results, especially by lawsuit or something. This is among the athletes themselves, they know who won and who didn't. Heh. Until I read the article, I thought this was going to be about Danica Patrick's problems at Indy!

Snerk. Bloodspite - mind outta the gutter man!

I think you miss where I'm annoyed, BB. That ESPN is running this as a great example of sportsmanship(meaning that more people should be like this). That's wrong to encourage that. If you move the goal posts on what good sportsmanship like that you've got the, excuse please, was from psychological research(not mine either---no Castle Felines rending the rear upholstery of gollum, thanks), situation where girls change the rules of a game to make it 'more fair' instead of a single, universal rule for everyone(which is fair) as they walk in the door of the competition. I'm miffed at the media coverage. Damn it, kids are confused between the 'I's get's mine' of Allen Iverson-types and this rather silly example held up as what sportsmanship should be. It's an incredibly selfless gesture, to be sure. It's the girl who finished second understanding that the other girl was a much stronger runner(but that doesn't mean better). Distance running is a tactical endeavor. Much more cerebral than sprints. The girl who came in second probably, I'll withold that util I can see some tape of the event, deserved to win because she manipulated the conditions of the race to *her* advantage. Gamesmanship is part of the equation, not just raw ability. (Which is why I disagree with the statement of the athletes know who won as you intend it. No, this action shows they don't really understand who won. Part of all games is using what you have in your favor to maximum advantage, and if your strategy infuriates someone into doing something stupid, like breaking the rules, well, tough. That's part and parcel of gamesmanship. Like you never frustrated an opponent by doing something, repeatedly, that drove him angry to the point of stupidity.) Mmmm....Danica Patrick..... RBBH wants to know if BSBH wants to borrow the 14" cast iron skillet. RBBH says so long as it comes back forensically clean we'll eat the shipping charges(we'll what?!) Wait, did MajMike just drop a Heinlein reference(speaking of Heinlein, why is Green Hills of Earth on the floor of your garage, Armorer?) ?

Yes it's not good sportsmanship. All the same it's Ok for them to do that. Why does this matter to you so much? Bad sportsmanship is the norm in sports and that's mostly how the spectators like it. Armorer, politicians politicize, it's their job. The reason many of us avoid it is because it usually involves a great deal of dishonorable behavior.

Geo, dude, I'm walking on a bum knee because of how badly the contact rules are in track. Trust me, I know of what I speak. Boxing someone in is part of the tactical game of distance running. It's smart. It's taking their strength, the ability to push the pace high for a long time, without surrendering the advantage to us quick twitch muscle freaks. Look, I was a drafter too. Someone who ran just behind the leader instead of trying to lead the race myself and then booked it the last 300 m of the race. IT's part and parcel of the game. Just because you've got an amazing kick doesn't mean the game has to be arranged just so for you to use it to your advantage. That's abusing the rules too, for undo advantage. The best way for a grunter to win is to box someone like me in and hold on hoping for a mass at the finish. What, are they going to institute a rule saying that I can't draft, saving my energy the entire race, only to kick people down in the last 300m then to offset my undo advantage? That's the only way a grunter, someone who's got endurance for days but no real high gear, is going to win. If they don't, dude, I'm going to win every damn time. I'm just going to let the grunter do all the hard work for 90% of the race and then sprint ahead at the end. And, yeah, leading a race is damn hard work. It's a lot easier to be just off their shoulder or totaly in their wind shadow. And I've not gotten into the psychological effects of drafting someone either. Like I said, vagaries of the race. It happens. Sometimes someone plans to box you in, sometimes it simply happens. That doesn't mean you get to break the rules to escape. Hell frackin' no. If you're really that cool you slwo down, drop back, go gonzo up the outside, hope you've got enough left in the tank, and vomit when you cross the line(heck, she won by more than 5 seconds, that's totally within her capabilities). Sometimes you'll lose. Chance is part of it after all. John's got a different perspective. He outclassed so many of his opponents in wrestling that he doesn't seem to get how some of us lesser beings would have to gameplan him, to offset his natural advantages of size and speed, and put the fight on our terms so we'd have a snowball's chance of winning. Which is also part of the game too, afterall. If you want nothing but pure talent go for sprints of 400m or less where you're always in one lane. No tactics involved. No, that these girls coughed up their medals shows they don't understand how the game is played. They *got* played. Their whole conception of racing is the kick at the end, it would seem. He with the better kick is the best. balls. There's other ways of winning. And if the chick was so good why didn't she go back up the outside instead of cheating? No, they got played. I wouldn't complain if it *was* someone admitting they really didn't win, but this isn't. Though I agree about fencing. THe rule I always hated in saber was the elimnation of the fleche and the arm cocked grants right of way rule. Yeah, like that's fair. He's got right of way, indefinitly, and can just back me off the piste. (But that just shows how long I've been out of fencing, huh?)