Tiger Woods. Has there ever been anyone like him?
March 29th, 2011 at 7:23:02 AM
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I'm not a golfer, but continue to be amazed by the fall of Tiger Woods. Has there ever been a sports figure as successful & talented as Woods & then fallen as far as him because of a divorce or other similar situation? It's like Mickey Mantle going without a home run for a season because he got caught cheating and divorced during the off season.
Tiger has gone from top of the heap to middle of the road over night. He isn't as good as he used to be. Because of a divorce? Divorce is tough, but he certainly isn't the first.
So any other athlete lost his talent over night because of a divorce or similar situation?
Tiger has gone from top of the heap to middle of the road over night. He isn't as good as he used to be. Because of a divorce? Divorce is tough, but he certainly isn't the first.
So any other athlete lost his talent over night because of a divorce or similar situation?
March 29th, 2011 at 8:15:03 AM
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Quote: YoyomamaI'm not a golfer, but continue to be amazed by the fall of Tiger Woods. Has there ever been a sports figure as successful & talented as Woods & then fallen as far as him because of a divorce or other similar situation?
[..]
So any other athlete lost his talent over night because of a divorce or similar situation?
Talent or standing?
It's not like either golf or baseball are sports (let's not get into that), but you've got Pete Rose. he was banned for life and barred from the hall of fame (apparently these past times honor their people for some reason) because he gambled on baseball. Or you might read up on the Black Sox earlier last century. I'm not sure what they did, but apparently it was pretty bad; for baseball at any rate.
As to real players losing their talent or ability, well, Kurt Warner was at the top of his position in 200, and got cut from the Rams shortly thereafter.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 8:19:01 AM
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Middle of the road?
He is the favorite to win The Masters
He is the favorite to win The Masters
March 29th, 2011 at 8:21:04 AM
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I think it shows how much golf is a mental game
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
March 29th, 2011 at 8:22:26 AM
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Quote: Nareed
It's not like either golf or baseball are sports (let's not get into that), but you've got Pete Rose. he was banned for life and barred from the hall of fame (apparently these past times honor their people for some reason) because he gambled on baseball. Or you might read up on the Black Sox earlier last century. I'm not sure what they did, but apparently it was pretty bad; for baseball at any rate.
I have read hitting a fastball is the hardest skill inb sports. To do it right the batter must swing BEFORE the ball actually leaves the pitchers hand. Again, I have read.
I think the OP meant has anyone been at the top then fallen because of personal issues, not injury or age. I can't think of one so on-top in their prime years who fell so hard.
On Pete Rose, it is a sin he is banned for life. A guy like Vick can just come back after sitting out 4 games and the world wants to forgive him. Rose OTOH gets banned. Though I do remember seeing a "Meet Pete Rose" sign at the Caesars Forum Shops. I thought, "The sportsbook is just over there, he might be here anyways?"
I'd lift his ban. Major League Sports long ago stopped caring about image.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
March 29th, 2011 at 8:55:03 AM
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Quote: NareedIt's not like either golf or baseball are sports (let's not get into that),
You can't just leave that hanging... How is baseball not a sport?
"In my own case, when it seemed to me after a long illness that death was close at hand, I found no little solace in playing constantly at dice."
-- Girolamo Cardano, 1563
March 29th, 2011 at 9:03:42 AM
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Quote: Yoyomama... Tiger has gone from top of the heap to middle of the road over night. He isn't as good as he used to be. ...?
As for Mr. Woods's decline in performance, perhaps he just hasn't been getting enough nookie recently. I understand that an addict experiencing withdrawal symptoms may be a bit off his game.
Not an issue of sports, but I think a divorce pretty much quashed Eddie Fisher's career.
March 29th, 2011 at 9:09:03 AM
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Quote: MathExtremistYou can't just leave that hanging... How is baseball not a sport?
How is it a sport?
The only positive contribution of baseball to Western culture is the Abbot & Costello's "Who's On First" bit. WHich just makes it marginally better overall than soccer, which has no redeeming value at all.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 9:09:51 AM
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I wouldn't bury Tiger yet. He is still ranked the #4 player in 2011 as of last week. He is the top ranked American.
I have a bewitched egg that I use to play VP with and I have net over 900k with it.
March 29th, 2011 at 9:11:34 AM
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Wow. What is sport then, motorcycle racing?
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March 29th, 2011 at 9:14:40 AM
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Speed painting?
March 29th, 2011 at 11:24:59 AM
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Quote: NareedHow is it a sport?
The only positive contribution of baseball to Western culture is the Abbot & Costello's "Who's On First" bit. WHich just makes it marginally better overall than soccer, which has no redeeming value at all.
Wait, now soccer isn't a sport? Tell that to Wayne Rooney:
If soccer isn't a sport then I don't have any idea what you mean by "sport". Gladiator combat, perhaps?
"In my own case, when it seemed to me after a long illness that death was close at hand, I found no little solace in playing constantly at dice."
-- Girolamo Cardano, 1563
March 29th, 2011 at 11:29:28 AM
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Quote: MathExtremistWait, now soccer isn't a sport?
I dind't say it wasn't. But since you mention it, it's not.
Quote:I don't have any idea what you mean by "sport", then. Gladiator combat, perhaps?
A sport is an athletic contest with a defined objective on the field. How's that for a concise definition?
Soccer, or as I call it, sucker, has no clearly defined objective. Baseball does, in fact it has two, but none are on the field. One is to bore the audience to death, an impossible task. The other is to sell large amounts of beer.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 12:18:23 PM
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Nareed, quit trolling.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
March 29th, 2011 at 12:25:16 PM
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I will keep this short and to the point, before any of you start criticizing a sport you know nothing about, try and play said sport at a high level, see how stupid it makes you look and feel then try to not call it I sport. I refrained from judging any of the criticizers fat and lazy considering I have never met any of you.
As for tiger hoods I cannot recall another professional athlete that was so dominant for so long and then took a downward spiral quite like this.
As for tiger hoods I cannot recall another professional athlete that was so dominant for so long and then took a downward spiral quite like this.
"In the poker game of life, women are the rake" Edward Norton (Rounders)
March 29th, 2011 at 12:25:53 PM
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Does the name " Shoeless Joe Jackson" ring a bell ?
March 29th, 2011 at 12:44:02 PM
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Quote: thecesspitNareed, quit trolling.
I'm not trolling. I haven't called anyone names, nor implied anyone who likes these pastimes are in any way bad or lesser persons.
I'm sublimating, through rather adolescent satire, years and years of repressed anger from being pushed to watch, play and like these so-called sports.
As to another comment, I don't deny there are levels to these pastimes and that, at high levels, playing them is hard. It's hard to carve a side of beef into cuts suitable for a 5 star restaurant, too, and it takes a great deal of skill and constant practice. The same can be said, even more so, about just any kind of surgery. That doesn't make beef carving or neurosurgery sports.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 1:06:34 PM
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Quote: NareedI'm not trolling. I haven't called anyone names
That's flaming, not trolling. A troll provokes others to call each other names, not does that himself.
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:14:53 PM
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Quote: NareedA sport is an athletic contest with a defined objective on the field. How's that for a concise definition?
Does it necessarily require a field? Is boxing a sport? How about squash (enclosed court) or bobsledding (icy track)? All three of those, ahem, sports have defined objectives but no field. Do they count?
"In my own case, when it seemed to me after a long illness that death was close at hand, I found no little solace in playing constantly at dice."
-- Girolamo Cardano, 1563
March 29th, 2011 at 1:23:19 PM
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Quote: NareedA sport is an athletic contest with a defined objective on the field.
How does golf not meet this definition? Is it not athletic, or does it not have a defined objective, or both?
March 29th, 2011 at 1:25:55 PM
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I'm sorry I asked. I won't do this again.
March 29th, 2011 at 1:29:55 PM
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Quote: P90That's flaming, not trolling. A troll provokes others to call each other names, not does that himself.
A troll goes about causing trouble, it doens't matter how. I'm not causing anything save some mild amusement.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 1:32:18 PM
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Trolling is an age-honored activity with its own traditions. One is that a troll avoids breaking the rules explicitly as much as possible, he makes other members break the rules.
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:34:19 PM
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Quote: MathExtremistDoes it necessarily require a field?
A field or something like it.
Quote:Is boxing a sport?
No. Two troglodytes trying to give each other brain damge is a barbaric spectacle, not a sport. and I ammend not one iota of that statement in the case of women's boxing.
Quote:How about squash (enclosed court)
Squash does better in fertile fields out in the sun with plenty of water. What does this have to do with sports?
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 1:37:34 PM
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Quote: NareedA sport is an athletic contest with a defined objective on the field.
Can you provide some examples?
March 29th, 2011 at 1:42:56 PM
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I believe someone here is trying to turn leg-pulling into a sport.
I asked the sports guys from my local paper if they considered poker to be a sport, and they just laughed. We were at a baseball game and they considered THAT to be a sport, though. So, hah. :P
I asked the sports guys from my local paper if they considered poker to be a sport, and they just laughed. We were at a baseball game and they considered THAT to be a sport, though. So, hah. :P
Each of us is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.
Preparing for a fight about your bad decision is not as smart as making a good decision.
March 29th, 2011 at 1:43:06 PM
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Quote: odiousgambitI think it shows how much golf is a mental game
Absolutely!! All the guys are on tour are superb golfers with incredible skills. Tiger has consistently demonstrated that he had the ability to perform at a level a notch above the best players in the world. The mistakes he made in his personal life have definitely affected his ability to concentrate on his game.
March 29th, 2011 at 1:44:59 PM
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Quote: NareedA troll goes about causing trouble, it doens't matter how. I'm not causing anything save some mild amusement.
A troll goes out and tries to start an argument by making an inflammatory point.
It's nothing to do with causing insult or injury... just that many trolls end up with that as well.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
March 29th, 2011 at 1:45:28 PM
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Quote: NareedA field or something like it.
Well, let's see.
Forum is a field, or if not, quite like it.
The objectives are clearly defined as attracting attention and causing heated arguments or unrest.
So baseball is not a sport, but trolling by your definition is.
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March 29th, 2011 at 1:55:59 PM
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Maybe to recoup some of his losses from the divorce Tiger is deliberately tanking until the odds on him winning a particular tourney are so long he can make a huge score, more than making up for the lost prize money.
March 29th, 2011 at 2:16:27 PM
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Quote: NareedSquash does better in fertile fields out in the sun with plenty of water. What does this have to do with sports?
There was once a company called Fitness Gaming Corporation. They obtained U.S. Patent No. 6,413,191 on exercise equipment attached to a slot machine. In order to keep playing, you had to be actively working out.
. Now, suppose I put one of those machines in a grassy field and started playing it. The activity is obviously athletic, it's happening in a field, and the defined objective is to win money. Therefore, playing a slot machine while riding a connected exercise bicycle in a grassy field is a sport. Q.E.D.
"In my own case, when it seemed to me after a long illness that death was close at hand, I found no little solace in playing constantly at dice."
-- Girolamo Cardano, 1563
March 29th, 2011 at 2:44:46 PM
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No athlete has flamed out near their peak as much as Mr. Woods. However, there are physical issues associated with the decline in his athletic performance. Knee surgery cost him, and I am not sure he ever really recovered.
Kobe came close to losing it all, with the rape allegation distracting him, but he battled back.
As for the definition of "sport", I would posit that any contest requiring athletic skill, but primarily decided by judge's scores is not a sport. Therefore, figure skating = Not A Sport, Ice Hockey = Sport... XGames Half Pipe = NAS, Pipeline Surf Contest = NAS, Shin Kicking = Sport, Baseball = Sport
Kobe came close to losing it all, with the rape allegation distracting him, but he battled back.
As for the definition of "sport", I would posit that any contest requiring athletic skill, but primarily decided by judge's scores is not a sport. Therefore, figure skating = Not A Sport, Ice Hockey = Sport... XGames Half Pipe = NAS, Pipeline Surf Contest = NAS, Shin Kicking = Sport, Baseball = Sport
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo da Vinci
March 29th, 2011 at 3:04:51 PM
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Quote: MathExtremistNow, suppose I put one of those machines in a grassy field and started playing it. The activity is obviously athletic, it's happening in a field, and the defined objective is to win money. Therefore, playing a slot machine while riding a connected exercise bicycle in a grassy field is a sport. Q.E.D.
Physical does not mean the same thing as atheletic.
In any case you're taking a concise definition and turning it into an exhaustive one. A concise definition does not work that way. if you want to gradually expand it, we can do that.
What I find amazing is that someone found a way to make working out even more boring.
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 4:10:21 PM
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Javelin throwing? Well, you need to be atheletic to throw it very far. The object is to stick one of the guys downfield. Not easy, as they try to avoid it.
Sanitized for Your Protection
March 29th, 2011 at 4:13:42 PM
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Tiger Woods reminds me of the biblical story of Samson.
With Samson it was taking away his long hair. Tiger Woods, it was taking away the prostitutes (er, girlfriends). Maybe "long hair" is code for prostitutes.
With Samson it was taking away his long hair. Tiger Woods, it was taking away the prostitutes (er, girlfriends). Maybe "long hair" is code for prostitutes.
Sanitized for Your Protection
March 29th, 2011 at 4:24:07 PM
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Its not hard to figure out why Tiger has fallen. His confidence has been shaken to its core. He was top of the heap in his own little fiefdom, and it came crashing down around him. Now when he plays golf, he HAS to win, and it effects his game. I predict he'll never recover, he'll always be in the middle of the pack from now on. He's been turned overnight into a clutch player.
Doyle Brunson won a lot of money playing golf before his hip gave out. He would be given a good handicap because of his physical limitations, and the games would always be about equal until the last 2 or 3 holes. Doyle's advantage was, he has the ability to always play his best game no matter how much money is at stake. All the other amateurs were clutch players, they froze up and their games fell apart in the final holes. Doyle always won because he's a gambling pro. Tiger has lost his edge.
Doyle Brunson won a lot of money playing golf before his hip gave out. He would be given a good handicap because of his physical limitations, and the games would always be about equal until the last 2 or 3 holes. Doyle's advantage was, he has the ability to always play his best game no matter how much money is at stake. All the other amateurs were clutch players, they froze up and their games fell apart in the final holes. Doyle always won because he's a gambling pro. Tiger has lost his edge.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 29th, 2011 at 4:41:36 PM
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Quote: EvenBobTiger has lost his edge.
The interesting thing about the top 2 or 3 hundred players. All are highly skilled, and likely would crush your average golfer easily - yet few can withstand the pressure of the winning couple shots in major tournaments. Shots which they could normally make 99 times out of 100. It just a few seconds at the end of the game in second or third place, or just maintaining a lead, and a lot of them can't master those moments very often. Tiger did have a steely edge in that respect for not crumbling under the pressure shots.
Sanitized for Your Protection
March 29th, 2011 at 4:49:14 PM
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Quote: NareedPhysical does not mean the same thing as atheletic.
In any case you're taking a concise definition and turning it into an exhaustive one. A concise definition does not work that way. if you want to gradually expand it, we can do that.
What I find amazing is that someone found a way to make working out even more boring.
Well if you're looking for "not boring", what about the ancient Mesoamerican ball game played by Mayans and other indigenous peoples in Latin America over 3000 years ago? That sometimes involved human sacrifice. Would that be a sport?
Gaufqwi matches can be pretty exciting too, so I hear. And that's athletic, played on a field, and has well-defined objectives (drive a paintball-marked gerbil into the goal with a 2x4), so that's clearly a sport. From the FAQ:
Quote: Gaufqwi FAQQ: What athletic skills does Gaufqwi most rely on?
A: Speed, reflexes, vision, endurance, concentration, a fierce competitive spirit. Because even the smallest swardsmen is huge and mighty next to a gerbil, strength and size matter little.
"In my own case, when it seemed to me after a long illness that death was close at hand, I found no little solace in playing constantly at dice."
-- Girolamo Cardano, 1563
March 29th, 2011 at 4:51:00 PM
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Quote: rxwineTiger did have a steely edge in that respect for not crumbling under the pressure shots.
Thats exactly where Doyle Brunson had his edge. He said he never clutched up on the money shots and everybody else did. In poker, he was always able to accurately calculate the odds of where he was, no matter how much money was in the pot. He's never emotionally involved. Thats where Tiger used to be, he had the utmost confidence in his ability, and now he doesn't. Very hard to get back once its gone.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 29th, 2011 at 5:13:11 PM
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Quote: MathExtremistWell if you're looking for "not boring", what about the ancient Mesoamerican ball game played by Mayans and other indigenous peoples in Latin America over 3000 years ago? That sometimes involved human sacrifice. Would that be a sport?
That's something really odd to bring up. I sense you're trying to needle me in some way, but I fail to see why you chose that example. Aside from sucker, I can't think of anything farther removed from me (of course if I gave it some thought, I could come up with something).
You know what's interesting? I declare something's not a sport, and sudenly I have people begging me to tell them what is or isn't a sport. :P
Donald Trump is a fucking criminal
March 29th, 2011 at 10:06:43 PM
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Tiger was very much at the top of his game for many, many years (yes, Golf is a game -- we can argue if it is a sport or not, but heck, curling's in the olympics... where else can you get into the olympics and chug a beer while your tossing a rock down a sheet of ice -- sorry fellow Canadians). But the game is extremely mental. Anyone who is at the top of the heap in any game that requires a physical component as at the very pinnacle of coordinating their brain with their body. Any distraction or lack of confidence and the house comes crumbling down. While golf may not require a great deal of physical strength, it does require a fantastic amount of coordination and an intense amount of concentration to make your body translate the swing of your club... plus a dose of luck like my favorite shot of Tiger's at the 2005 Masters. Video here.
This skill which is available to anyone with practice, concentration, and confidence, is what makes golf such an addicting game.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side of the Tiger camp you're on), I feel that Tiger's done as that elite golfer because of his personal life that has been bared to the public and because of the various feelings that he must be feeling as a result of his actions. He may come back if he gets the mental cobwebs out of his head.
This skill which is available to anyone with practice, concentration, and confidence, is what makes golf such an addicting game.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side of the Tiger camp you're on), I feel that Tiger's done as that elite golfer because of his personal life that has been bared to the public and because of the various feelings that he must be feeling as a result of his actions. He may come back if he gets the mental cobwebs out of his head.
-----
You want the truth! You can't handle the truth!
March 29th, 2011 at 10:33:22 PM
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Quote: boymimboHe may come back if he gets the mental cobwebs out of his head.
Doubtful, he's too old. If he was 25, maybe. But he's 35 and approaching the end of his best years, not the beginning.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 29th, 2011 at 11:00:55 PM
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Quote: AZDuffmanI have read hitting a fastball is the hardest skill inb sports. To do it right the batter must swing BEFORE the ball actually leaves the pitchers hand. Again, I have read.
Meh. The mechanics of the swing must start before the pitch is released; the pushing off with the back leg, twisting of the hips, rotating of the shoulders...but the swing itself is done well after (relatively speaking) the ball is released. My best friend was a terrific pitcher with curves, sliders, knucklers, the junk ball, and 90+mph heat as part of his arsenal. Of them all, the heat was the easiest to hit, IMO. Pretty much anything anyone threw I could put into play, but I couldn't hit a beach ball with a Flintstone bat if he was a lefty. Go figure.
Baseball IMO is worse than even soccer (or futbol, whatever). Of the estimated 77,000+ games that have been played in my life, I could only bring myself to watch ONE, that being when Ripken eclipsed the Iron Man record. With soccer there's at least the World Cup, which I find entertaining. In any event, they both are pretty terrible, but very much sports that take a good long time and natural skill to be good at.
Whether Tiger's situation takes the title as Biggest Fall Ever remains to be seen. As has been said, golf is probably the most mental sport in the history of sports, and if he can't shake it and get into gear, he'll never recover. And if he doesn't, I'd say yeah, no one's ever fallen farther. Sure Kobe, Rose and a host of others are good examples, but NOBODY dominated a sport quite like Tiger. There's folks close to Kobe's talent, and there were many better than Rose,...but no one could even fathom 20 yrs ago how good a golfer could be until Tiger, and he's just your average Joe now. For the greatest golfer ever to drop off the map, and at the very height of his career, is something else.
The opinions of this moderator are for entertainment purposes only.
March 29th, 2011 at 11:06:40 PM
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Quote: YoyomamaTiger has gone from top of the heap to middle of the road over night. He isn't as good as he used to be. Because of a divorce? Divorce is tough, but he certainly isn't the first.
So any other athlete lost his talent over night because of a divorce or similar situation?
How about this girl's point of view of Tigers fall from the top.
Serves him right. When you have a wife AND kids you do not fool around on your wife, unless she lets you.
And from all the news items, I see it as his wife nailed him in his head, not the one in his pants, the one on top of his neck with that 9 iron or whatever golf club it was, and good for her, and messed up his brain. Way to go Elin!!!
Sure he had things fixed up not to show any damage after a hit or two to his head, but he is now damaged goods.
He will never, never be the same.
Damaged goods, Tiger Woods
I would not want him, of course it would be nice to have his spending money.
I Heart Vi Hart
March 29th, 2011 at 11:10:38 PM
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To AZDuffman:
No, you do not start swinging before the pitch is thrown. You shift weight a little bit but the decision is generally made when the ball is about 10' out of the pitchers hand in the major leagues. Sport science is a relatively bad show but they did a pretty good expose on this issue.
No, you do not start swinging before the pitch is thrown. You shift weight a little bit but the decision is generally made when the ball is about 10' out of the pitchers hand in the major leagues. Sport science is a relatively bad show but they did a pretty good expose on this issue.
March 29th, 2011 at 11:13:51 PM
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Nareed - your comment about Kurt Warner implies that he was cut due to failure or loss of talent. That's not the case. He was cut by the Rams due to a combination of a hand injury and a large contract. The emergence of Marc Bulger allowed the Rams to save money at Quarterback.
It's not like Warner dropped off the face of the earth, or was out of the game after that. He was the starting QB at New York the next year, then was the starter in Arizona for the next 5 years. He was a Pro-Bowl quarterback in both 2009-2010. Many people believe he's a decent candidate for the Hall of Fame.
He's probably not the best example of an athlete losing his talent or standing.
As far as Tiger goes, golf is such a mental game that it may take him another year or two to get back to where he was prior to his downfall.
It's not like Warner dropped off the face of the earth, or was out of the game after that. He was the starting QB at New York the next year, then was the starter in Arizona for the next 5 years. He was a Pro-Bowl quarterback in both 2009-2010. Many people believe he's a decent candidate for the Hall of Fame.
He's probably not the best example of an athlete losing his talent or standing.
As far as Tiger goes, golf is such a mental game that it may take him another year or two to get back to where he was prior to his downfall.
"Bite my Glorious Golden Ass!" - Bender Bending Rodriguez
March 29th, 2011 at 11:15:51 PM
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Quote: Faceif he can't shake it and get into gear, he'll never recover. And if he doesn't, I'd say yeah, no one's ever fallen farther.
If you've ever heard Wood's in an interview, you realize he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, he's a jock. He built a house of cards, a lot of it from bad advice he got from some pro basketball players he hung with. They told him to go for it, do whatever he wanted, he was at the top. Thats fine for BB players, its expected they'll act that way. Not so with golfers. Golf is a gentleman's game, its governed by different rules of whats proper and what isn't. As Tiger found out.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 29th, 2011 at 11:42:49 PM
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In cricket, hitting a 100mph seamer from a top flight fast bowler is pretty hard too... as the ball will move in the air and at the point of bounce. Yes, you can leave balls in cricket, but you can't leave everything and a mis hit defensive shot can get you out as well. The ball travels a bit further in cricket due to bounce but covers the same horizontal distance.
On top of that, you have spin bowler's who confuse you with both flight and massive changes in direction after the bounce, despite the ball coming in at a lowly 50-60mph.
Course hitting a ball with a flat piece of wood is slightly easier than a round pole, so it balances out (a lot of catches in cricket are from not hitting the ball cleanly and getting an "edge" on the ball). The cricket ball is slightly bigger and heavier than the baseball too. I know that some professional cricketers have tried baseball and have done okay at it, and vice versa, though baseball batters have found the bounce of the cricket ball a lot to get used to.
On top of that, you have spin bowler's who confuse you with both flight and massive changes in direction after the bounce, despite the ball coming in at a lowly 50-60mph.
Course hitting a ball with a flat piece of wood is slightly easier than a round pole, so it balances out (a lot of catches in cricket are from not hitting the ball cleanly and getting an "edge" on the ball). The cricket ball is slightly bigger and heavier than the baseball too. I know that some professional cricketers have tried baseball and have done okay at it, and vice versa, though baseball batters have found the bounce of the cricket ball a lot to get used to.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
March 29th, 2011 at 11:44:33 PM
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Basketball
Tennis
Football
Soccer
__________
Sports
How can you say soccer is not a sport when those players run about 6 miles per game? I'm not a fan, but it's the world's most popular spectator game. Can't argue there.
Bowling
Golf
NASCAR
Billiards
Poker
the Luge
__________
obviously not sports. Talents, yes. Skills, of course. Not sports.
In fact, you can pull a novice off the street and put in the Luge and have him just as skilled as the 'pros'. Oh look, he pointed his toes! What an athlete!
Tennis
Football
Soccer
__________
Sports
How can you say soccer is not a sport when those players run about 6 miles per game? I'm not a fan, but it's the world's most popular spectator game. Can't argue there.
Bowling
Golf
NASCAR
Billiards
Poker
the Luge
__________
obviously not sports. Talents, yes. Skills, of course. Not sports.
In fact, you can pull a novice off the street and put in the Luge and have him just as skilled as the 'pros'. Oh look, he pointed his toes! What an athlete!
"Poker sure is an easy game to beat if you have the roll to keep rebuying."
March 30th, 2011 at 6:19:22 AM
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Quote: bbvk05To AZDuffman:
No, you do not start swinging before the pitch is thrown. You shift weight a little bit but the decision is generally made when the ball is about 10' out of the pitchers hand in the major leagues. Sport science is a relatively bad show but they did a pretty good expose on this issue.
That could be what the article meant. It has probably been 15+ years since I read it. The basis was how fast the ball covers the ground vs the speed the bat moves to the "sweet spot." But given how little contact area between the two I would still put it as taking at about the hardest thing in pro sports. Pro sports being NFL, basketball, baseball, and hockey. Sorry to all readers outside North America, that is all the pro-sports we look at here.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
