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Sean Robinson wrote:

And lets face it, the Bills helped their own demise. I wonder what they’ll do this season?

Keep shooting themselves in the head?

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njerry wrote:

I can’t even enjoy the win now with the possibility of a season-ending Rodgers injury. At least we still have the Giants…oh, wait…

I know… The Jets went for Rodgers hoping he would do for them what Tom Brady did for Tampa Bay. Wasn’t a bad idea to try it. There are no real promising QB’s in the draft and the Jets don’t have a pick that high anyway. But when they did, just Google who they picked. Shame. The last young QB they had that did something for them was Joe Namath.

Why can’t the Jets get a nice young guy (happening) like Mahomes, or a Josh Allen type? I don’t believe in superstition, snakebit stuff.

Al-x wrote:

Chiefs lost to Detroit but as for the rest of it all… Sunday Sept 10.

All those drops killed us. No Travis Kelce and No Chris Jones.  But it’s a long season. Running it back.

francisg wrote:

Al-x wrote:

Chiefs lost to Detroit but as for the rest of it all… Sunday Sept 10.

All those drops killed us. No Travis Kelce and No Chris Jones.  But it’s a long season. Running it back.

The Jets take on the Chiefs next week. I say the Jets need to beat New England tomorrow and go 2-1 before they meet the Chiefs where they will most likely end up 2-2 afterwards. 🤣

That injury to Rodgers has brought back the arguing to use natural grass on all NFL fields.

Al-x wrote:

The Jets take on the Chiefs next week.

We were lucky to squeak out a win on this one. The Jets defense is really good. The Chiefs are currently 4-1 after beating the Vikings.  Onto Thursday night against the Broncos.

Al-x wrote:

hat injury to Rodgers has brought back the arguing to use natural grass on all NFL fields.

Yes, yes they have. Though, I’ve only started watching the NFL in 2017-2018 so not really sure when they started using artificial grass.

So, apparently Ireland rugby fans have decided to adopt the Cranberries’ Zombie, which has sparked a bit of controversy.

Had thought I didn’t know Zombie, had a look at the lyrics and it suddenly sounded a bit familar. Booted it up on YouTube and oh, it’s that one.  Then I paid closer attention – it’s one hell of a protest song.

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Todd

On Hockey Night in Canada’s Hot Stove, they said: “The Vancouver Canucks are Canada’s hope for the first Stanley Cup since 1993, and when was the last time you could say that?”

It’s a pleasure for me to have a great start like this, even if reality shows up eventually, racking up the points early is huge.
Being the highest scoring team in the League is surprising (30 more for than against!), and helps big time.
Contract year for Petterson, who will be an RFA at seasons end.
G Thatcher Demko looks healthy and awesome.
Coach Rick Tocchet has gotten them all to buy in and adhere to a strict work ethic.
Management made some improvements to the roster to zone in on the penalty kill, which worked (especially compared to last years shitshow).

Making D Quinn Hughes the Captain only made this kid better. He’s the highest scoring defenceman in the League.
Heard a guy say for last years Norris voting he ranked Hughes 3rd (I assume Hedman and Makar were above) and the reason why you don’t see that is because East Coast voters don’t stay up until 1 AM to see the completion of the West Coast Games.

I know, it’s way too early, but it feels like we are definitely headed the right way for once.
And it’s so much easier to watch.

The rest of Canada’s teams are either middling, or sucking.
The Edmonton Oilers think they have the best player in hockey (Connor McDavid) and are contenders, but back to back losses to Vancouver out of the gate have them 31st in the standing. They just waived their goaltender Jack Campbell (in 2nd year of a 5 year deal at $5 Million per) and sent him down to the minors. Need to make some decisions.
The Calgary Flames are 29th, and continuing last years chaos.
Those two are out.
Toronto and Winnipeg have squeezed in to a playoff spot lately. Maybe.
Montreal and Ottawa are .500, which will see you on the outside looking in.

Montreal won the Cup in 1993, and no Canadian team in the 30 years since.
Aha! No Stanley Cup awarded in 2004, so really it’s 29 straight American teams winning it all.
Someone still has a chance to prevent them from making it 30 straight.

The worst 4 teams in the League are in the West, 3 of them in the Pacific Division. Calgary, Chicago, Edmonton, and the San Jose Sharks.
Losing by 10 goals twice in a row (to Vancouver and Pittsburgh) woke San Jose up and they won a game, and play Edmonton tonight.
I get it, it sucks. But San Jose fans should think short term pain for long term gain.
A top four draft pick is huge long term. 5-8 is good also. But avoid that middling shit where you don’t make the playoffs and then don’t get a top draft pick. Wish that shit on Edmonton and Calgary.

NHL Mailbag

Vancouver has come out of the starting gates with haste. A 9-2-1 start has the fans excited. Is this the Canadian team to finally break the 30-year drought? Have they convinced you they’ll bring the Cup back to Canada or will it be another team? — @theashcity

Slow down. Full stop. The Canucks are off to a strong start. They’re fun. There is a lot to like. But Stanley Cup champions? That’s taking it too far as I write this in early November. They’re not the Vegas Golden Knights. They’re not the Boston Bruins. They’re not the Colorado Avalanche. Heck, they’re not the New York Rangers. The Canucks haven’t qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a full 82-game season since 2014-15. Playoff experience matters when it gets down to later in the season, and you’re not always going to be playing a struggling team like the Edmonton Oilers. However, there is a lot to like in Vancouver, which is why I picked them to make the playoffs before the season began. My opinion has been bolstered by their hot start.

Quinn Hughes is the early favorite for the Norris Trophy given to the best defenseman in the NHL. He had another four points (one goal, three assists) in a 6-2 win against the Oilers on Monday. That was, by the way, the Canucks’ third win against the reeling Oilers already this season, by a combined score of 18-6. Hughes has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the three games. Overall, though, he’s strong defensively and more dynamic offensively. He’s become the elite two-way defender that not long ago we were questioning if he could become. That started last season. It has continued this season.

Elias Pettersson has seven points (one goal, six assists) against the Oilers and is second in the NHL with 21 points (six goals, 15 assists). Could Pettersson win the Hart Trophy as most valuable player and Hughes the Norris Trophy in the same season? Yes. How about adding Thatcher Demko as the Vezina Trophy winner given to the best goalie? Again, yes. He is 7-2-0 with a 1.61 goals-against average, .948 save percentage and two shutouts. Rick Tocchet for Jack Adams Award as coach of the year? He’d get my vote right now. Imagine a full sweep by the Canucks in those awards come June. The start of the season suggests it is possible.

The Canucks are relying on their offense (Brock Boeser has 10 goals and J.T. Miller 18 points). They’re averaging 4.50 goals per game and 29.2 shots per game. The goals per game will regress. They’re shooting 15.4 percent. That’s 1980s Oilers good. No team has shot better than 14.0 percent for a full season since 1990-91, when the Pittsburgh Penguins shot 14.2 percent and the Los Angeles Kings shot 14.1 percent. The 2021-22 St. Louis Blues have the best shooting percentage in the NHL salary cap era (since 2005-06) at 12.4 percent. So, yes, the Canucks’ shooting percentage is expected to drop, but they’re also playing a strong defensive game backed by elite goaltending. That’s how they’re allowing 2.00 goals per game. Even if that creeps up, which it likely will, their offense is good enough to keep them going. And the way they’re defending, the commitment we have seen so far with Demko’s torrid start to the season has me believing they won’t be prone to a prolonged slump.

The Canucks are good. They’ve bought in. This started last season after Tocchet took over and certainly once Demko returned from his injury. At that point they had nothing to play for. The schedule was soft, but the results have carried over. They look different than we’ve seen in a long time. They look like a contender.

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Todd

Watching Vancouver at Toronto game. Honestly thought Austen Matthews (U.S. born) was the Captain of Toronto, but no, that’s John Tavares (Canadian, Ontario born, Maple Leaf pajamas growing up).

But it begs the question*. Nationality of Canadian Captains.

Vancouver – Quinn Hughes – U.S.A.
Edmonton – Connor McDavid – Canada
Calgary – Mikael Backlund – Sweden
Winnipeg – Adam Lowry – U.S.A.
Toronto – John Tavares – Canada
Ottawa – Brady Tkachuk – U.S.A.
Montreal – Nick Suzuki – Canada

*Well, it begged the question when I thought Canada’s two biggest English speaking cities** had U.S. born captains.
Then, I dunno…

** Yeah, Vancouver is third after Toronto and Montreal. And Surrey, a former suburb of Vancouver, is on pace to be BC’s biggest city (multicultural and having babies? What a thought!)

NFL – The Buffalo Bills lost last night in a last minute big mistake that led to a “redo” kick and Denver won. Buffalo then fired the offensive coordinator.

Crazy. That AFC game when Buffalo went toe to toe with Mahomes and the Chiefs. Everyone thought that Buffalo arrived and was going to be up there as an elite team. They took steps backward and are regressing. Only a half game better than the Jets.🤣

And they lost too…

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-12777795/Brazils-World-Cup-qualifier-Argentina-delayed-mass-brawl.html

The (ridiculous) Ohtani contract of 700M breaks down over 20 years:

The first 20M will be 2M/yr the next 10 years. Then from 2034 to 2043 he gets 68M/yr…. Booyah!

All because of California taxes. 97% deferred:

https://abc7.com/shohei-ohtani-taxes-dodgers-california/14188998/#:~:text=The%20Dodgers%20will%20pay%20Ohtani,per%20year%20from%202034%2D43.

——————–

I always like Gary Kasparov when he became the youngest chess world champion, then he walked away to get into political commentary, and he dodged a certain someone… Anyway, he commented on Magnus Carlsen’s game as a combination of Fischer and Karpov. I will take his word for it.

But I loved it when he commented on the 1970 Brazil World Cup team in Mexico City as the GOAT. He even said they would have dominated even without Pele and I will take his word for it on that too.

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Todd

[Sean Robinson]

This Denver Patriots game is good.
Tied at 23
2;53 left
Denver has all 3 time outs and 5he 2 minute warning.
Good for them, and they need this.

Now it’s the two minutes warning and New England on 4th down.
Denver in good position.

Edit: Heartbreaker!
New England acheived their 4th win of the season in regulation time.

In other news, I hate looking at Bill Belichick’s face. Even hate the way his last name is spelled.
For god sakes man have some decency and hide that.

In other other news, I want Seattle to be good, but deservingly so.
The may very well get a playoff spot and it shouldn’t be like that.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.

Speaking of Bellichek: He is to part ways with New England after 24 years.
They will transition to a new era.

It must be tough for fans of a dynasty to now adjust to starting over and being average.
All those winning years and Super Bowls. The glorious memories.

Must be nice. Not that a Jet fan would know. 🤣

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Todd

It’s important to remember that the single star on the Dallas Cowboys’ helmets is actually the team’s Yelp rating.

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Al-x, Sean Robinson

A little interesting about what will happen with the Dallas Cowboys now. The coach, Prescott, Jerry Jones…
But Green Bay just jumped out ahead and did what they had to do as the visiting team: take the home crowd out of it.

As for the rest: Expecting a team that usually plays in MIAMI to win in 5 BELOW weather. It might have been a different story playing in warmer weather, but Miami should have beaten Buffalo when they had the chance for home field advantage.

Buffalo is playing a postponed game. I swear, the snow in Buffalo every year and it’s always either postpone or play the game somewhere else. 🤣

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Todd

[Al-x]

Haven’t won since the Jimmy Johnson days and his successor Barry Switzer inherited the team and briefly won from Johnson’s players and gameplans. Cowboys most likely have a Jerry Jones problem.

And because the Super Bowl will be upon us soon:

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/every-super-bowl-halftime-show-ranked-from-worst-to-best?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

 

• This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by Al-x.
• This reply was modified 10 months, 4 weeks ago by Al-x.

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Todd

Ravens were a bit too much for the Texans
The other games were all right with Detroit being a nice story and Purdy with the Niners

I feel for the Bills. That was their game to win. They had home field advantage and they
might not get that again.

The Lions v 49ers should be a nice game, but the one everyone wants is Baltimore and the Chiefs.

If the Chiefs win, we will then get another 2 weeks of SB hype of Taylor Swift and now the guy’s brother
with his shirt off in the stands. Give me the Ravens to get rid of all that.

The Bills never had a chance.

[Al-x]

The Ravens had their chance yesterday with home field advantage and all. Just like Buffalo last week.
They might never that close ever again.

San Francisco had the experience to make a comeback.
Detroit didn’t have that and there might be a reason why the Rams traded Goff for Stafford.

Two more weeks of Taylor Swift hype. Sigh…

• This reply was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by Al-x.

That was painful AF to watch.

Baltimore should have won, but self-destructed.

Detroit had no clue how to be in the lead,
so another act of self-destruction was on display.

I guess I’ll cheer on San Francisco.
Real sick of Mahomes.

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Todd

Sean Robinson wrote:

I guess I’ll cheer on San Francisco.
Real sick of Mahomes.

I’m going to root for the Superbowl commercials. That’s who I want to win!!

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I’m just skipping the Super Bowl this year. CMC deserves a win so go SF, but I can’t watch the Chiefs anymore. So sick of watching teams just choke in the playoffs against KC. Plus Mahomes, Kelce, and Andy Reid seem to be in half the commercials I see. It’s just obnoxious.

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Sean Robinson, Todd

Chris D wrote:

I’m just skipping the Super Bowl this year. CMC deserves a win so go SF, but I can’t watch the Chiefs anymore. So sick of watching teams just choke in the playoffs against KC. Plus Mahomes, Kelce, and Andy Reid seem to be in half the commercials I see. It’s just obnoxious.

I love that conservatives are shitting kittens over Taylor Swift and the NFL.

“IT’S A PSYOP, MAN!!!” The game is rigged and everything is scripted. The refs will make sure it all goes according to plan. Kelce will score the last touchdown of the game and propose to Taylor. SHE’S RUINING FOOTBALL!!!

What they’re really scared of is Swift endorsing Biden and turn her Swifties into a voting bloc for the left.

Todd wrote:

I love that conservatives are shitting kittens over Taylor Swift and the NFL. “IT’S A PSYOP, MAN!!!” The game is rigged and everything is scripted. The refs will make sure it all goes according to plan. Kelce will score the last touchdown of the game and propose to Taylor. SHE’S RUINING FOOTBALL!!! What they’re really scared of is Swift endorsing Biden and turn her Swifties into a voting bloc for the left.

She is from Nashville Tenn, and started out with country music. The conservatives liked her until they realized that she was not their country girl. She transitioned to pop, was really more liberal and Dem., and she could sway over 100M to Biden.

She is expected to be on tour in Asia and might not make the big game.
Shame: If Detroit won, it would have been Eminem and Swift being hyped now.

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Todd

This upcoming F1 season is unprecedented for having no driver changes from (the end of) last season, I think for the first time ever. This has just meant that pre-season naval gazing has instead just focused on what changes might happen next year instead, which had seemed like fairly pointless speculation to me, given we’ve not even had testing on this season yet.

And then news broke today that Lewis Hamilton has signed for Ferrari next year, which is news so big it’s even affected Ferrari’s stock price.

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Todd

https://x.com/canucksarmy/status/1753621240194142230?s=46&t=sDN1sYOMyV1-wy3zY82Ikw

In a few weeks the Australia National Rugby League 2024 season starts… in Las Vegas?!

Four of the 17 teams are heading to the US to play two official games – it’s a bit of a gimmick, and potentially a bit of a mess, but to help promote it the comp has produced this video with Russell Crowe explaining the rules (since the team he loves and co-owns is one of the four).

I’m not convinced this kind of thing ever works. The NFL keeps playing games in London – I think because they’re ultimately trying to move a team there – but as much as it appeals to the existing NFL fanbase in the UK, it never really seems like it grows it and surely the time difference just annoys existing fans?

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Andrew

Here in New York, I watched two Six Nations rugby matches yesterday via the Peacock streaming service. But I acknowledge that most Americans have never watched a rubgy game, and probably have no desire to do so. In general sports from other parts of the world are not popular here, and I seriously think part of the reason is that network television, which lives and dies by commercial advertising, doesn’t want to broadcast a game that has 40-45 minute halfs with no commercial breaks.

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Ben, Todd

njerry wrote:

part of the reason is that network television, which lives and dies by commercial advertising, doesn’t want to broadcast a game that has 40-45 minute halfs with no commercial breaks.

“Part of the reason?” A major part, and one that stops growth in its tracks.

I’m sure the other North American sports leagues don’t help.
that would be the NFL ($13 B), MLB ($9.5 B), NBA ($5.2 B), and NHL ($3.7 B) being the Top Four, also with MLS ($0.9 B) and the CFL ($0.2 B).

Of note, Nascar seems to have intentionally hidden them selves from the conversation, but it’s assumed they are in front of hockey but behind basketball.
Try looking, but you find “NASCAR is a sanctioning body rather than a league of teams”

Then where are Golf, Tennis, Boxing and UFC?
Better than Nascar at hiding the money.

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Todd

It wasn’t a bad game. The 2nd half and OT was when the game got interesting. The halftime show was Ok.
The Super Bowl is one of the better showcase sporting events. Better than the World Series.
World Cup? Olympics? Can’t say.
As for making the Monday after a national holiday…

njerry wrote:

Here in New York, I watched two Six Nations rugby matches yesterday via the Peacock streaming service. But I acknowledge that most Americans have never watched a rubgy game, and probably have no desire to do so. In general sports from other parts of the world are not popular here, and I seriously think part of the reason is that network television, which lives and dies by commercial advertising, doesn’t want to broadcast a game that has 40-45 minute halfs with no commercial breaks.

To confuse things further these games are Rugby League which is different to Rugby (Rugby Union) – but most regular season Rugby League games here do air on commercial TV and there is a lot of advertising shown during breaks in play and all over the field.

Andrew wrote:

most regular season Rugby League games here do air on commercial TV and there is a lot of advertising shown during breaks in play and all over the field.

Throughout the Six Nations competition, there’s a Guinness logo superimposed ON the field; they don’t even try using the right perspective and angles to make it look legit, like the NFL does with scrimmage lines. It’s just….there.

Side anecdote: My dad loves watching Premier League matches on US television on the weekends, but all the advertisements on the players jerseys and flashing around the perimeter of the pitch are totally wasted on him. He has no idea what O2, Vodofone, Etihad, Emirates and many of the other sponsors are. Maybe the League should start making deals with Delta, Verizon and other Murrican companies.

njerry wrote:

Throughout the Six Nations competition, there’s a Guinness logo superimposed ON the field; they don’t even try using the right perspective and angles to make it look legit, like the NFL does with scrimmage lines. It’s just….there.

I’m sure they used to paint those onto the field at the right perspective. I don’t remember the digital ones being weird last time I watched a Six Nations match but it was jarring the first time I saw a player run “into” one. Same in F1 when someone binned it on a corner and drove through a digital billboard in the run-off area.

njerry wrote:

Side anecdote: My dad loves watching Premier League matches on US television on the weekends, but all the advertisements on the players jerseys and flashing around the perimeter of the pitch are totally wasted on him. He has no idea what O2, Vodofone, Etihad, Emirates and many of the other sponsors are. Maybe the League should start making deals with Delta, Verizon and other Murrican companies.

They’re too busy taking money from Chinese betting companies. If any Premier League matches are ever played abroad, it’ll be in China.

njerry wrote:

Andrew wrote:

most regular season Rugby League games here do air on commercial TV and there is a lot of advertising shown during breaks in play and all over the field.

Throughout the Six Nations competition, there’s a Guinness logo superimposed ON the field; they don’t even try using the right perspective and angles to make it look legit, like the NFL does with scrimmage lines. It’s just….there.

Side anecdote: My dad loves watching Premier League matches on US television on the weekends, but all the advertisements on the players jerseys and flashing around the perimeter of the pitch are totally wasted on him. He has no idea what O2, Vodofone, Etihad, Emirates and many of the other sponsors are. Maybe the League should start making deals with Delta, Verizon and other Murrican companies.

If your dad watches Welcome to Wrexham, he might recognize the companies on their jerseys.

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njerry

https://www.boredpanda.com/experts-weigh-in-on-jake-paul-mike-tyson-boxing-fight/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=BP_POST_2442ae54-7bc7-4ab1-af6f-7f584ecd0a7d&fbclid=IwAR3O8ywmDyMK10r9kiewHKBWD_3rCFJtqbyKxtNnWiPbYErjXpzAf8lQfxs

I only wish for this match, that Tyson was 19 again with Cus D’Amato, Kevin Rooney, and Teddy Atlas in his corner. 🤣

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JRCarter, Todd

There are worse like the Herschel Walker one. But Denver only has 11 W in two seasons to show for this trade

He is trying to sell his two mansions: https://nypost.com/2024/03/05/sports/russell-wilson-ciara-now-have-two-mansions-up-for-sale/

And now there was news about him talking with the NY Giants…

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Sean Robinson

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JRCarter, Todd

That last sentence was supposed to read “I’m coming for his ear”

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Dave, JRCarter, Todd, Sean Robinson

[Al-x]

Joking aside, I get Tyson.

He once said “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.
You get into competitive sports and if you lose and it psychologically
demoralizes you, if you’re not resilient, you’re never the same again.
I remember when Rhonda Rousey lost and she then moved on to WWE.

So Tyson wants to demoralize Jake and Jake will be broken and go WWE.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 3 weeks ago by Al-x.
• This reply was modified 8 months, 3 weeks ago by Al-x.

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Todd

https://triblive.com/sports/madden-monday-steelers-did-themselves-a-favor-by-trading-kenny-pickett-to-philadelphia/

He didn’t like it, got an attitude in Pittsburgh, and now he is in Philly.
Had he stayed, if Russell Wilson starts falling apart given that he is 35, Pickett would get back in.

But now it will be harder for Pickett to get back to starting qb as an Eagle because of Jalen Hurts.

Hockey Night in Canada (watching Vancouver vs. Calgary) showed someone’s ticket stub from March of 1994, LA vs Vancouver, the night Wayne Gretzky scored his 802nd goal to become the NHL leader.

The price on the stub? $24
Yeah, probably a nice bit of money for the day, but not out of hand. And you probably could get a beer or two without going broke.
Its like your in an airport nowadays.

Wayne Gretzky ended with 894 goals.
Alexander Ovechkin is in his 19th season with the Washington Capitals and is at 846.

24 goals this season, if he can keep that pace for 2 more seasons (remember, 2025-26 is an Olympic year, so he’s motivated) becoming number one is achievable, and you have to go for 900.

Although he was drafted first overall in 2004, there was a lockout year 2004-05, so he couldn’t start until 2005-06 (same as 2005 first overall Sydney Crosby).

2 more years would make him 40!
If he stays in shape, and keeps that “slow and steady wins the race” mentality, then even a 3rd year isnt out of the question.
As long as a major drop off doesn’t happen.
Don’t embarrass yourself!

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Todd

Update on the Alex Ovechkin story, he scored twice yesterday.

Ovechkin thriving in 2nd half, at forefront of Capitals’ playoff push
Forward has 18 goals in past 24 games heading into wild card showdown against Red Wings

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin is scoring goals at an Alex Ovechkin-like pace again, chasing down records and driving the Washington Capitals’ push toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 38-year-old forward has scored eight goals during a five-game goal streak to help the Capitals (35-26-9) move one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings (36-29-6) into the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference heading into a showdown at Capital One Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, BSDET).

Washington trails the Philadelphia Flyers by two points for third place in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand.
With 12 regular-season games remaining, Ovechkin is four goals away from his 18th season with at least 30, which would break his tie with Mike Gartner for most in NHL history. He is two goals from joining Wayne Gretzky as the only players in NHL history to score 850, and 47 away from breaking Gretzky’s League record of 894.

One thing about Tyson and Jake Paul would be stamina.
If Jake can keep Tyson out of reach and get things to Round 4 or 5 and Tyson gets gassed by then.
But if Tyson gets close in Rd 1 forget it!

What ????

https://sports.yahoo.com/packers-named-eagles-opponent-for-nfls-first-game-in-brazil-143017125.html

16M

https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/shohei-ohtani-interpreter-charges-gambling-scandal/story?id=109137484

Al-x wrote:

16M

https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/shohei-ohtani-interpreter-charges-gambling-scandal/story?id=109137484

This whole thing is sketchy as hell. I truly believe Ohtani did gamble but because there’s so much money riding on him, everyone is covering and the translator is having to fall on his sword to protect the operation.

I am out of the house for the second weekend in a row!
Getting crazy!

Now it’s the UFC 300.
Apparently it’s a stacked card, but I’ve lost track and haven’t cared for a while (before pandemic).

Now I just saw Joe Rogan on the screen.
Fuck! Was so nice to not see that prick.
Ah well. Maybe someone will punch him in the face.

Sean Robinson wrote:

Update on the Alex Ovechkin story, he scored twice yesterday.

Ovechkin thriving in 2nd half, at forefront of Capitals’ playoff push
Forward has 18 goals in past 24 games heading into wild card showdown against Red Wings

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin is scoring goals at an Alex Ovechkin-like pace again, chasing down records and driving the Washington Capitals’ push toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 38-year-old forward has scored eight goals during a five-game goal streak to help the Capitals (35-26-9) move one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings (36-29-6) into the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference heading into a showdown at Capital One Arena on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, BSDET).

Washington trails the Philadelphia Flyers by two points for third place in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand.
With 12 regular-season games remaining, Ovechkin is four goals away from his 18th season with at least 30, which would break his tie with Mike Gartner for most in NHL history. He is two goals from joining Wayne Gretzky as the only players in NHL history to score 850, and 47 away from breaking Gretzky’s League record of 894.

Every NHL Mascot Ranked By How Likely They’d Be to Win A Drunken Bar Fight

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Sean Robinson

From the WNBA draft – Caitlin Clark’s 4-year contract $338,056 and she went as #1

We always get the news about the structure of women’s sports leagues be it basketball or soccer, being smaller than men’s and therefore the pay rate.

These WNBA players will most likely get endorsements, and play overseas in the off season too.

Al-x wrote:

Caitlin Clark’s 4-year contract $338,056

She’s been the leading star of college basketball, both men’s and women’s, for the last couple of years. The average American couldn’t tell you the name of a single male college basketball player, but everyone knows who Caitlin Clark is. And yet she will earn an average of less than $85,000 a year for the next four years?

Shameful.

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Todd

[Al-x]

I know… but it is the structure of the league. It is just not as big as the NBA.
The same thing was said about women’s soccer when the US women’s team won the World Cup.

(There is a larger conversation on all this, with things like the only line of work where women make so much more
than men is in fashion etc.)

Caitlin’s contract got a lot of the public upset, with social media messages by other star players.

Fwiw, the rapper Ice Cube has a small 3 on 3 basketball league and he offered her 5M and she turned it down.
She wants to help build up the WNBA and that’s good.

• This reply was modified 7 months, 4 weeks ago by Al-x.

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Todd

NHL Playoffs start tomorrow. 2024 NHL Playoff Schedule

Since the Montreal Canadiens beat Gretzky and the LA Kings in 1993 there have been 30 straight years without the Stanley Cup in Canada.
No Cup was handed out in 2005 due to the lockout missing season of 2004-05, so it’s been 29 straight U.S. teams to get the Cup since then.
It’s been long enough, and now 4 of the 16 teams to make it are Canadian.
_______________________________________

EA Sports Predicts The Vancouver Canucks Will Win The 2024 Stanley Cup – The Hockey News

EA Sports has released their annual Stanley Cup Playoffs simulation, with the Vancouver Canucks as this year’s winner of the Stanley Cup. The simulation using NHL 24 has the Canucks and the Boston Bruins meeting in the Final, but this has Vancouver coming out on top in Game 7. Here is a look at the Canucks path to their first Stanley Cup, according to EA Sports.

More in link…
___________________________________________

That would be nice from my point of view.
We already know the parade route ends at Stanley Park.

STANLEY PARK: 5 COOL AND QUIRKY FACTS

…Stanley Park named for the Governor General but so is the Stanley Cup… Both names originating from Governor General Lord Frederick Stanley.
_______________________________

Canada legends hoping Oilers, Jets, Canucks or Maple Leafs can bring Cup home – NHL.com

In today’s fully global NHL, with players of many nationalities making up a team’s roster, there really shouldn’t be a fuss made about the fact that a club based in Canada hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in 31 years.

But there is a tremendous fuss being made north of the 49th parallel this spring with anticipation — no, make that expectations — higher than any time in recent memory.

The Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers finished first and second in the Pacific Division, respectively drawing First Round matchups against the Nashville Predators and the Los Angeles Kings.

The Winnipeg Jets were second in the Central, set to face the Colorado Avalanche. And the Toronto Maple Leafs, third in the Atlantic, will meet Boston, their nemesis Bruins first up.

The Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators failed to reach the playoffs but fully one-quarter of the 16 qualifiers are from Canada this season and all are girding to potentially make long runs and challenge, seriously, for hockey’s ultimate prize that hasn’t been won in these parts since 1993.

(That’s not including the Bruins capturing the Cup on Vancouver ice in 2011, a discussion for another time.)

This is an embarrassment of riches compared to 2016, when with 11 days left in the regular season, all seven teams from Canada had been eliminated from postseason contention.

That marked the first time in 46 years, since the NHL was a 12-team, two-division League in 1969-70, that Canada’s teams — then just two, in Montreal and Toronto — were on the outside looking in having finished fifth and sixth in the East Division.

“Woe Canada,” NHL.com and others headlined their 2016 stories when the country was skunked 0-for-7.

Now, the refrain is more “Oh Canada!” with an entire population, including three fiercely proud Canadian Hall of Famers who have won the Stanley Cup for teams in this nation, fully engaged by the possibilities.

To many Canadians, the Stanley Cup is little like a sterling library book that was signed out of this country by the New York Rangers in 1994 and never returned.

Lanny McDonald and Doug Gilmour, champions with the 1989 Calgary Flames, and Grant Fuhr, a five-time winner in goal for the Oilers in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990, are all pulling for the Stanley Cup to “come home,” Canada’s Governor-General Lord Stanley of Preston having conceived the trophy in 1892 as a gift to the country.

More in link…
________________________________

The Stanley Cup Bracket Challenge is free.

Create an account, or log in, and have a chance every year.

NHL…

Forgot to mention that the Phoenix Coyotes are no longer and the franchise has moved to Utah. (Good start too with 22,000 people wanting season tickets).

Of note: the former Winnipeg Jets (that came into the League in 1979 when the League absorbed 4 franchises from the defunct WHA along with the Edmonton Oilers, the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche) and the Hartford Whalers (now the Carolina Hurricanes).

The Winnipeg Jets went from the WHA, to the NHL, then to Phoenix, and now to Utah.
The current Winnipeg Jets are the relocated Atlanta Thrashers (second team Atlanta lost, first one became Calvary Flames).

Only Edmonton survives from 1979.

Just never a good fit in Phoenix, especially playing temporarily out of Mullet Arena which is part of a university. Couldn’t get a proper arena built.

I get it though. If the owner of the team buys the land, builds the arena, owns the parking and every revenue stream, then yeah! Put forth the money and pays back tenfold in the long run.

Expecting Municipal, or City, or State money to be thrown up, but then you still think you’re getting the parking and all the revenue streams?
Don’t be stupid.

And never move a team to a city’s suburb and think it’ll take care of itself.
Downtown people have the money,will spend it if they can walk or 5 minute Uber.
Suburbanites travel into the city, just the way it is.

But Bettman said Phoenix can get a team back with expansion if they get an arena built within 5 years.
Good luck on that.

Yes, Seattle wanted in after the good story that Vegas was, but who else really wants in?
Kansas City and Houston might just be myths that the League propogates.
You just took Utah out of the mix.
Forget Portland (10 years?) and San Diego a bunch of talk.
Hawaii, Alaska are pipe dreams (25 years?), as well as going global (50 years? 75? 100?).

Toronto wants too much to allow a team in Hamilton, and I guess Buffalo just across the border has rights?

Quebec City has same issues as everyone. Need an owner to step up at a time when middle class is not what it was, can’t afford.
Below middle class knows it’s watching TV.

Saskatchewan and the Maritimes have a good ‘Canadiana’ story, just neec an owner to put up along with a population that shows the money.
None of that was happening in 2019, and then the world got worse.

Are the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders on good footing?
Could throw Winnipeg in the mix.
Haven’t checked Columbus lately.
Florida did themselves a world of good by getting good.

Uhmm. Final paragraph.
I love my NHL, sometimes.
But not as rosy as some would have you believe.

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Todd

And Winnipeg just beat Colorado 7-6. Wow.

Honestly, Winnipeg has some shit, but Colorado can just turn it on, and they did sometime this season.
Hard 2-3 matchup, winner plays winner of Dallas and Vegas.

Kevin Bieksa (was with Vancouver for 2011 run) analyst for TV said “home ice advantage” is nothing you want for Canadian teams without experience (like the current 4).
Less pressure starting on the road.

Like here, Winnipeg wins game 1 on home ice is nothing without winning next game.

Oh, good after game comment. Colorado just scored 6 times on Connor Hellebuyck and didn’t win. If they lose the series then this was huge.

I just don’t think Houston is a hockey town.

There were the Apollos from 1965-69 and 1979-81 in the CHL.

They had the Aeros from 1972-78 as part of the WHA, and from 1994-2013 in the IHL and AHL (also as an independent for a bit during this time).

I truly can’t see any demand for hockey here. I also can’t see the city putting a dime towards it. The owner is going to have to completely front the bill. No one is going to want to take on that level of risk.

Hockey in Houston is just a pipe dream.

Now I’m actually watching Vancouver host a playoff game.

2020 was inside playoff bubble in Edmonton, last Vancouver game in home arena was 2015, three thousand and more days ago.

I guess you know I’m watching at home. Gong show prices on tickets, and resells are far worse ($9000? Are you fucking high?)

Hey Sean, I was thinking of you while watching Van play the other night. sorry to hear about the tickets. Nashville is a tough draw. they were playing very hot at the end of the season. I am glad my boys won Tuesday. Sunday was very fun but very tough to watch. Tonight they are playing at home. I hope we can keep the home ice advantage.

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Sean Robinson

Are you shitting me?
Vancouver’s goaltender Thatcher Demko was in consideration for the Vezina award, until his injury.

Misses 12 games, returns for final 2 regulation game.
Wins game #1 of round one series vs. Nashville, and injured again.
Rumors swirl they dont know, or need a specialists specialist to figure it out (or read an MRI).

Backup Desmith in for game 2, not great, series ties, but wins game 3 on road.

Game 4 Sunday afternoon and Desmith now injured, not even dressing.
The fuck!
Vancouver has the 5th ever Latvian to play a playoff game with Arturs Silovs in net, plus they are using the EBUG (Emergency Back Up Goaltender).

It is what it is.
Sink or swim, honestly hope no long term damage happens to 3rd and 4th string Goaltenders.
Unfair situation. Yes, sometimes “Heroes are made”.
But stay off the internet.

Vancouver has a 2-1 series lead, but Nashville doesn’t know how to pounce on Vancouver’s fragile confidence (they proved that by losing game 3 on home ice).
Today’s game 4 will be huge.
The winner may not stop winning.

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Rocket

Forgot to mention Vancouver’s Arturs Silov was the goaltender for Latvia last year when they beat the USA in the Gold Medal Game at the World Juniors.

Latvia never won a medal until that point.

Of note, the USA Junior Goaltender he beat?
Casey DeSmith, the teammate he has now taken over for.

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Rocket

[Sean Robinson]

So, update on that game.
Nashville had a 3-1 lead.
Vancouver pulled the goalie every time they could.

Vancouver scores, now only down 3-2.
Another goalie pull, includes a Nashville off of Vancouver’s empty goal post, and Vancouver ties the game.

[Edit]1 minute and 2 seconds[/edit] into the overtime and Vancouver scores winning 4-3, taking a 3-1 series lead.

Vancouver is the 18th team in NHL Playoff history to come back from 2 goals down in under 2 minutes to come back and win.

Awesome!

But, Vancouver best learn to go for the jugular in game 5.
Canuck Captain D-man )and Norris award candidate) Quinn Hughes is getting hammered including a highlight “sandwich”
Cant take that abuse if you want a hope.

edit. Corrected the time of the winning goal

• This reply was modified 7 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.
• This reply was modified 7 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.

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Rocket

The Knicks and Rangers are making their runs in the playoffs, and it’s giving the city flashbacks of 1994. This time I hope BOTH teams win.

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Todd

[Al-x]

Knicks playing against the Sixers tonight in Philadelphia.

Last time the Knicks played in Philly, the arena was filled with Knicks fans and the visiting team actually had home field advantage.

This time around, Sixers management made sure the majority of the tickets went to their fans.

And… The Knicks won in Philly anyway and they advance.

__________________

The Knicks and Rangers play in the same arena. The crew these days are practically working around the clock changing it from a hockey rink to a hardwood basketball court every other day.

• This reply was modified 7 months, 1 week ago by Al-x.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by Al-x.

[Sean Robinson]

Hockey talkey.

This is a text from my brother Jeff:

“Bruins getting mad about people getting away with crosschecks.
Now I’ve seen everything.

The only time I’ve seen a longer parade to the box than the Bruins right now, is the lesbian part of last year’s Pride!”

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by Sean Robinson.

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Rocket, Todd

Wow.

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/kansas-city-chiefs-player-faces-backlash-graduation-speech/story?id=110262999

You work alongside people but that doesn’t mean you’re on the same page on everything

——————-

Caitlin Clark got shut down and her team got blown out both games. Some overnight fans are blaming the coach but ignore how good the defense was.

It will get better, but as it is now, it’s like a college grad hired at entry level in your office and saying they will know and do better than staff that has been there over 5 years…

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Todd

Knicks are gone

About 3 starting players are injured. Wouldn’t have gone much farther anyway.

Hopefully next season the roster will be nice and healthy and go all the way

Let’s go Mets!

This year’s Stanley Cup final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers will cover a lot of ground. At 2,540 miles between Edmonton and Sunrise, FL (where the Panthers play), it’ll be the longest distance between finals opponents in Stanley Cup history.

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Sean Robinson

So the Tyson fight is being postponed.
I feel for Tyson at 58. If he gets in the ring, he got to end it in the early rounds with a combo.
He might not have the stamina to go 5 -6.

I wish the Time Stone was real so I could revert Tyson back to 19 for that one match.

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Todd

Belgium-Romania was intense, nice game to watch.

 

The Netherlands could meet Belgium in the 16th final, that would be fun.

[Al-x]

Brazil vs Costa Rica

Scoreless in the end

All these tournaments across the continents at the same time

• This reply was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by Al-x.

31 years after the Montreal Canadiens were the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, the Edmonton Oilers are playing the Florida Panthers in game 7.

After being down 3-0 in the series, Edmonton has comeback to force a game 7 and intent on a ‘reverse-sweep’.
This would put Conor McDavidin the history books (he just joined Gretzky and Lemieux as only players with over 40 points in a playoff year).

Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs have comeback from down 3-0 to win it in 7 (in the final round).
Has not been done in MLB or NBA.

Hope its a good game. They’re hitting the ice in Sunrise Florida right now.

And wow, how many in the audience joined Alanis Morissette in the singing of O Canada!

And good on the Americans for matching/bettering the effort.

[Sean Robinson]

The Florida Panthers have halted Edmonton’s comeback and won the Stanley Cup!

And who would wish three trips to the Finals with nothing to show for it?
St. Louis won it on their 4th attempt in 2019, leaving Vancouver alone at 0-3 (dammit).

So now 30 U.S. teams have won the Stanley Cup over the last 31 years (1994 – 2024, no Cup in lockout year 2005).

Like a true sports fan, “There’s always next year!”

• This reply was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean Robinson.

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Todd, njerry

I was rooting for the Oilers. I was hoping they could end the Canadian drought.

Wow, another own goal…probably a record this tournament.

Turks played well, but no one is going to miss the Turkish fans, whistling whenever the opponent had the ball and doing the wolfs salute…fuckity bye.

Congratulations to the English, you were the better team.

They did well in the end. But after watching the Spanish this tournament, I think the final could be a little one-sided.

So Brazil did tie a lot and they lost on penalty kicks to Uruguay

Then Uruaguay lost to Columbia and afterwards there was a fight in the stands, and the Uruguay players
went in the stands to fight over their families being assaulted

https://apnews.com/article/copa-america-fight-85b028e382c0df90bb2deaf5cbe64c24

My new brother-in-law just sent me a text:

Hey Sean
My mates just messaged me. He has 2 tickets for the England v Spain game on Sunday.
He paid $1600 each, including flights but he didn’t realize when he bought them months ago that it was going to be the same day as his wedding is.
If you’re interested, he is looking for someone to take his place.
It’s at the Fairmont Waterfront, at 7pm. The bride’s name is Sarah, she’s
5’7″ & quite attractive.
Pm for more details.

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Todd, Dave

Olympics in 2 days. Will we keep the discussion here or a new thread?
A few things I’d like to check out: Basketball will be a given, some boxing, martial arts matchups, swimming, some track and field.
A wider range of sports than Winter.

Al-x wrote:

Olympics in 2 days. Will we keep the discussion here or a new thread?

I would recommend keeping the discussion here, as I don’t think it will get that much traffic and this thread is rarely very active.

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Dave, Al-x, Sean Robinson

I do wonder how much of the Olympics I’m even going to be able to see (the bits I’m interested in I mean). The BBC is against limited to two live streams at most and is (understandably) going to focus on “British interest”. This is because Discovery-Warner have the pan-European rights and have done a limited deal for FTA with the BBC. Last time, they had a decent selection on Eurosport as well, with lots of pop-up channels. This time, Eurosport is doing one additional pop up channel and mostly seem to be replicating what the BBC will be showing. The rest is paywalled on TNT. I can’t find any access to archery this week, for instance.

[Al-x]

NFL –  I know the Jets have Aaron Rodgers, but to write them in to the SB? They did that last year and for all the hype.

I know the AFC and the big names Chiefs (with Patrick Mahomes, Kelce, Swift 🤣) , the Bills, Dolphins, Ravens, Steelers, Texans etc.and I can’t just say that the Jets are just as much up there to win like the Chiefs and these other teams. They got a LOT to prove.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Al-x.

I like the esthetics of this gun shooting sport, especially the Turkish guy with his left hand in the pocket.

 

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Todd

[Al-x]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/01/sport/yusuf-dikec-turkey-olympics-shooter-viral-spt/index.html

———-

Check out Kim Yeji:

https://www.npr.org/2024/07/31/g-s1-14616/olympics-paris-sharpshooter-style-kim-yeji

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by Al-x.
• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by Al-x.

[Al-x]

On a serious note:

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by Al-x.

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Todd

[Martin Smith]

Oh look, a relatively mediocre white woman complaining about a non-white woman with naturally elevated testosterone beating her in a sport. It’s Caster Semenya all over again. Khelif is not trans. The “gender test” she failed was administered by a Russian agency not recognised by the IOC and this isn’t even the first Olympics she’s competed at.

From a Wired article about it:

Everything seemed to be running smoothly until the 2023 World Cup, organized by the International Boxing Association. The Russia-led IBA, which is not recognized by the International Olympic Committee, disqualified Khelif after a gender eligibility test allegedly found she has XY chromosomes. IBA president Umar Kremlev has said that both Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, who allegedly had a similar test result, “were trying to deceive their colleagues and pretend to be women.” Khelif has contested the allegations.
Both Khelif and Lin were admitted to Olympic boxing competitions. Admission rules in this case are handled by the so-called Boxing Unit, which has ensured that all athletes participating in the Games’ boxing tournament comply with the rules of eligibility and registration for the competition as well as all medical regulations, which also includes the appropriate demonstration of medical certificates stamped and verified to at least three months before the start of the competitions.
“These boxers are completely eligible. They are women on their passports, they are women who have competed in the Tokyo Olympics and have been competing for many years, I think we all have a responsibility to tone it down and not turn it into a witch hunt,” said IOC spokesperson Mark Adams, at a news conference on Tuesday.

Having naturally higher testosterone levels might give her an advantage (though worth pointing out she didn’t even get a medal in the last Olympics, so clearly not a dominant one) but that’s just how sport goes. Michael Phelps was a dominant swimmer in part because he had a naturally better lung capacity than most other people. Can’t compete with that? Tough shit, that’s the nature of sport.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 1 week ago by Martin Smith. Reason: Cleaned up the formatting on the quoted text

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Todd

LOL

I think there’s a lot of misinformation around this issue, predictably, and you have the usual people from both sides shouting loudly to suggest that she’s either a trans woman and clearly shouldn’t be allowed to compete or that she’s a biologically female-born woman and clearly should be allowed to compete, when it seems like the reality lies somewhere in the middle.

Attempting to cut through the bullshit of all the conversation around it, it seems as though Khelif is not trans but has (or may have) a disorder of sex development (DSD) that could give her a potential physical advantage over women without a DSD and result in her having XY chromosomes.

Whether this means she should be allowed to compete in the women’s sport is probably a question for the governing body of that sport, as it revolves around science and judgement that the average person isn’t expert enough in to be able to come to a sensible conclusion.

I’ve seen the comments from the IBA but I’ve also seen the comments discrediting the IBA, so I don’t know how much credence to give that.

Ultimately I think that, as we’ve seen in other sports (like swimming), there need to be clear standards set out over eligibility, to take account of cases like this and to make it clear who can and can’t compete to ensure a level playing field for competitors.

I can understand frustrations that Khelif is getting treated like a man when she is a woman; I can also understand frustrations that she is allowed to compete, if (and as far as I can tell, it is an if) her biology gives her a clear advantage over other women and potentially makes it dangerous for them to compete against her.

Most of all though, I think the subject needs to be discussed calmly and openly on a factual basis so that misinformation can’t swirl around it as we’ve seen in the last 24 hours.

I also think that people need to stop latching on to complex and unique situations like this as fuel for trans arguments in general, because this is an incredibly niche set of circumstances in an incredibly niche area that doesn’t really hold that much emblematic value for the realities of most trans people, and it must be very frustrating to see these ultra-specific issues constantly become a wider political football.

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njerry

Martin Smith wrote:

Having naturally higher testosterone levels might give her an advantage

As far as I can gather the testosterone thing that’s being widely debated is a bit of a red herring, and the issue is more about general physical developmental advantages that come with DSD.

Regardless, it just comes down to “this person is naturally better suited to this sport than other people”. That’s life. That’s the lottery of genetics. Sucks for that Italian woman to not be as good at boxing as she wants, but that doesn’t mean the woman who beat her shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

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Todd

Martin Smith wrote:

Regardless, it just comes down to “this person is naturally better suited to this sport than other people”. That’s life. That’s the lottery of genetics. Sucks for that Italian woman to not be as good at boxing as she wants, but that doesn’t mean the woman who beat her shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

Obviously though the key issue at stake is whether Khelif belongs among the male competitors or female competitors, regardless of appearances.

I don’t pretend to be expert enough in the science or the sport to make that call, especially in this specific case where all the facts aren’t 100% clear.

But in general, for obvious reasons you can’t just allow people to compete in the category that they choose to based on their stated sex or gender identity, there have to be objective science-based admission criteria (and they have to be comprehensive enough to take into account even difficult borderline cases like this one).

Saying “she’s obviously just a woman with physical gifts that make her better than other women” ignores the complexities here I think.

There’s also the point doing the rounds that, if her advantage is so great, how come she’s lost nine times?

Alternatively, the Italian boxer was crap.

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Martin Smith, Todd

I think that probably neither of them are crap if they’re competing at Olympic level, this is all a matter of relative advantage.

Of course it is. It’s also something which can’t be perfectly accounted for, there’s always going to be someone that bit faster or stronger within whatever rules-based confines are set up.

A woman athlete deciding her opponent wasn’t really the same, kicking off a social media pile-on, is a pretty spectacular form of being a bad loser. But one that goes way beyond being merely that to be causing more widespread harm.

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Todd

Dave wrote:

But in general, for obvious reasons you can’t just allow people to compete in the category that they choose to based on their stated sex or gender identity, there have to be objective science-based admission criteria (and they have to be comprehensive enough to take into account even difficult borderline cases like this one).

There is an objective science-based admission criteria: they asked her what sex she is and then confirmed it. They then weighed her and put her in the appropriate weight class for the competition. Whether she’s got an arguably more advantageous genetic make-up is as immaterial as to whether someone else has got longer arms or naturally better eye sight or a sixth finger on one hand. You play the hand you’re dealt.

The other issue with this argument is that it reduces boxing down to an issue of pure physical strength, which is completely contrary to all the components the sport allegedly requires: speed, stamina, psychology, spatial awareness and endurance.

Ben wrote:

A woman athlete deciding her opponent wasn’t really the same, kicking off a social media pile-on, is a pretty spectacular form of being a bad loser.

Definitely.

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njerry, Todd

Martin Smith wrote:

There is an objective science-based admission criteria: they asked her what sex she is and then confirmed it.

Are you able to expand on this confirmation in any detail, or do you just mean that the IOC clearly decided (on whatever basis) that she was eligible to enter in the female category? It seems like a key aspect of what a lot of people are arguing over.

I’m somewhat wary of these kinds of simplifications in discussions like this, as the detail here is really the crux of the issue.