Tour de france

[Leprkon]

then find a picture of Carl Edwards

ummmm that would be on the August 2006 issue of Men's Health magazine....... titled "The Fittest Men of Summer" and I didn't seem to find a "professional" tennis player anywhere in the artical


http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=life.lessons&conitem=f92412aa5028c010VgnVCM10000013281eac____

 

[Nick250]

I find most car racing pretty boring. HOWEVER, have you ever watched the Paris to Dakar Rally? They have trucks, bikes, cars going as fast as they can through the wilds of Northern Africa for ten days or two weeks. Man that is fun to watch. Talk about skill and ENDURANCE, especially for the guys on the bikes. If you crash and break your leg, the nearest hospital may be 500 miles away. Assuming, of course, they actually find you at all before you expire. If you are not unconscious you set your bike on fire to help the helicopters spot you. Takes big ones to do that. It's a big deal in the rest of the world with some ex F1 drivers in the faster cars. Some of it is 140 mph and other times it is 0 mph in the soft desert sand with your weels dug in in the middle of nowhere. If you like motor sports at all you will love this.

Nick

 

[racquetman]

ummmm that would be on the August 2006 issue of Men's Health magazine....... titled "The Fittest Men of Summer" and I didn't seem to find a "professional" tennis player anywhere in the artical


http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=guy.wisdom&category=life.lessons&conitem=f92412aa5028c010VgnVCM10000013281eac____

You're right. Because Men's Health decided not to include any tennis players in their article, they must not be very fit. That is a brilliant deduction. The gospel according to Men's Health - hilarious!! Is that where you came up with the idea that a tennis player couldn't possible handle a synchronized swimming practice?! I've got to say, your arguments are extremely poor, and that's being kind.

 

[racquetman]

I would NEVER say a Formula 1 driver is not an athlete. The G-forces alone they take in one race is enough to cause even the fittest athlete to pass out.

NASCAR is another story.

This doesn't make you an athlete by my definition, maybe it does by yours. I'm not saying that it doesn't take any fitness to drive a race car, I said it doesn't fit my definition of a sport.

Anyway, being able to handle G-forces and being able to run around a tennis court for 3 or 4 hours every other day when it's 90 to 100 degrees and the humidity is unbearable are two different things.

 

[billy p]

Dear Major

I think their back from summer vaction.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

This doesn't make you an athlete by my definition, maybe it does by yours. I'm not saying that it doesn't take any fitness to drive a race car, I said it doesn't fit my definition of a sport.

Anyway, being able to handle G-forces and being able to run around a tennis court for 3 or 4 hours every other day when it's 90 to 100 degrees and the humidity is unbearable are two different things.

I think I would put race car driving above chess, table tennis, sport fishing/hunting, fencing, archery, and my favorite - curling. Is the Iditarod a sport? I'm an avid golfer, and Tiger and Scott Adams are in fantastic shape. Does that make it a sport? Look at Craig Stadler.

No doubt tennis is a grueling sport, and a very intense work out. You're going to back what you've played or enjoy. This is an earlier photo of Davenport. No doubt she looks 100% nowadays.

 

[racquetman]

No doubt tennis is a grueling sport, and a very intense work out. You're going to back what you've played or enjoy. This is an earlier photo of Davenport. No doubt she looks 100% nowadays.

Ya, don't even get me started on women's tennis vs. men's tennis - Davenport is the poster girl for why women don't deserve equal prize money in the sport. Women don't need to be in great shape to do well at a high level in tennis, although that has started to change quite a bit in the last 5 years. However, in the majors, they still only play best 2 of 3 sets while the men have to work infinitely harder while playing 3 of 5 sets. It is very common for the top women to win their early matches in under an hour which is a joke - that speaks to the lack of depth in the women's game and the 2 out of 3 requirement. If a male has a few early tough 5 set matches in a tournament, he has almost no chance of winning the whole thing. The body just can't endure 7 matches of that magnitude over 2 weeks. You need some luck and some easy matches or you aren't going to win a major in men's tennis.

 

[Johnd]

Athleticism is not relinquished to one neat definition. Endurance, strength, speed, accuracy and skill all come into play. I have worked with concrete finishers that would give just about any tennis player or nascar driver a heart attack...whether it be finishing inside a 115' factory on a 90' day, or outside in the elements on a breezy 60' day. Does that make it a sport? I don't know...but concrete finishing could be made into a sport...believe me.

Almost any field of endeavor that requires some physical effort can eventually make one more physically fit, if not especially fit...particularly if one strives to master the endeavor. If someone wants to call bowling or power eating a sport, so be it. Levels of physical prowess varies from one sport to another, let alone one athlete to another. It is patently unfair (sophomoric?) to compare different "sports" to one another. A sport by definiton requires competition, as well as some physicality. Of course there are different levels of speed, strength and (specialized) skill necessary for each.

 

[billy p]

Ah..

I don't think trying to compare one sport to another is fair. They are all excellent athletes when they reach a pro level. The question here is "cheating" to gain a edge, not who has the edge!
I would agree with a eariler post, yard work or construction around the house and raising children, thats hard. Only then, I would consider a cold pick me up from the fridge for that edge!

 

[j_garcia]

The problem I have, Alan, is that you seem to be suggesting that tennis is somehow the "pinacle" of all sports. Sorry man, but that is simply delusional. Just as a F1 driver wouldn't stand a chance against a tennis pro in a match, a tennis pro would absolutely not have a chance in a race against an F1 driver. Johnd has the right idea - all sports require a specialized skill set. Sumo wrestlers won't make good 100m runners, you know? You are also saying that we can't say anything about tennis because you doubt we've played, well I highly doubt you've ever tried any kind of racing as well.

I also didn't mention anything about hitting someone in a race, however you did. Contact is not allowed in most racing, though it does happen. In open wheel racing, it can be a very bad thing.

Ever been hit with a hockey puck?

Nick - R&T recently did an article on the best drivers and rally car drivers were considered the ultimate because they are capable in all conditions, day or night, for extreme periods.

 

[racquetman]

The problem I have, Alan, is that you seem to be suggesting that tennis is somehow the "pinacle" of all sports.

I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm just trying to defend the sport - the point that I was trying to make was that the only people that seem to rip on it are the ones who don't know the first thing about it. It does require a great amount of fitness and athleticism to play at the professional level. I'm not under the delusion that tennis players are the greatest athletes or are the fittest athletes - you can't make that statement about any athlete as their own specialty requires different abilities than others.

I just hate the dimwitted statements like "my favorite nascar driver can beat up all tennis players" and "synchronized swimming practice is the ultimate workout and a tennis player wouldn't survive it". If you don't like tennis, fine, but why make idiotic statements like these?

 

[captain_tinker]

Folks,
It's funny to watch you all argue about sports. I am not a sports fan at all, in fact I avoid it. Not because it is bad, but because it is boring to me. Now, playing it is another matter. I do enjoy playing it, but watching it on TV is just a waste of time for me. Going to the games and participating in the crowd is lots of fun too.

But for me the most fun is to actually watch the people who are into sports watching it and getting into it. In college I had three roommates that were just HUGE golf fans. I used to get such a kick out of watching them watch golf. I remember one dude putted up a small hill in such a way that the ball rolled up and then down, right into the hole. They were on the edge of their seats screaming at the tv rooting for this guy, and just erupted into cheers and high five's when it went in. To me I would have just said whoop-de-doo, it went in. But watching them celebrating like it was the winning touchdown at the superbowl was a real kick!

-capT

 

[Johnd]

Ever been hit with a hockey puck?

I nominate this for "the quote of the day." I'm still chuckling over it...humor is a good way to begin the weekend.

 

[j_garcia]

Could not get any more apporpriate for the discussion:

http://www.sanjosegrandprix.com/news/news-tennisracing.html Right in my own town...

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Folks,
It's funny to watch you all argue about sports. I am not a sports fan at all, in fact I avoid it.

In college I had three roommates that were just HUGE golf fans. I used to get such a kick out of watching them watch golf. I remember one dude putted up a small hill in such a way that the ball rolled up and then down, right into the hole. They were on the edge of their seats screaming at the tv rooting for this guy, and just erupted into cheers and high five's when it went in. To me I would have just said whoop-de-doo, it went in. But watching them celebrating like it was the winning touchdown at the superbowl was a real kick!

-capT

Do you mean this one? If that didn't get you excited, then you definitely are not a fan of sports. You wouldn't want to be around me during a Buckeye game - especially the Texas matchup Sept. 9th.

http://www.jaffejuice.com.nyud.net:8090/files/tiger_did_it_30.wmv
View just did_it_30.wmv

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

The second test confirmed the first result. It's an embarassing day for the US Cycling team. The home of Floyd Landis' parents had a sign out front this weekend that said "God Bless, went camping." What was he thinking, and why is he trying to cover it up now?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2006-08-04-landis-doping-test_x.htm
USATODAY.com - Synthetic testosterone found in Landis' 'B' sample; Tour winner likely to lose title

 

[racquetman]

The second test confirmed the first result. It's an embarassing day for the US Cycling team. The home of Floyd Landis' parents had a sign out front this weekend that said "God Bless, went camping." What was he thinking, and why is he trying to cover it up now?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2006-08-04-landis-doping-test_x.htm
USATODAY.com - Synthetic testosterone found in Landis' 'B' sample; Tour winner likely to lose title

I don't know if he cheated or not, but if he did, I think he believes that the doping didn't make a difference in his performance. That's the only thing I can think of with these athletes and their egos. Look at all the baseball players. It is so obvious that some of these guys were using steroids, yet they refuse to admit it. Maybe actually saying they cheated would make them come to grips with the fact that they aren't as good as they think they are and they're not willing to admit that. I don't know, it will always just be speculation on our end.

I do think that the way cycling handles these athletes gives more credibility to Lance Armstrong. It doesn't seem that any of them can get away with anything. They always get caught. Unless Armstrong found a way to cheat that no other has (and that seems unlikely), you'd have to say that he was clean while winning all his races. He has been accused a lot of times, but as far as I know there is no evidence to support that he cheated. I think a lot of people just can't believe that he did what he did, and they have to go with the only logical explanation for them - he must have cheated.

 

[billy p]

I bet most in the top 100 aren't clean? It's a shame but I think Greg LeMond is on to something. Like him or not!

Just ask Jose Canseco

 

[Audioholics]

You apparently have no perspective when it comes to tennis.

It certainly would be way more interesting if the players would, on occasion, accidentally run full speed into the side walls and burst into flames.... and then come away completely unscathed.

 

[captain_tinker]

It certainly would be way more interesting if the players would, on occasion, accidentally run full speed into the side walls and burst into flames.... and then come away completely unscathed.

My wife calls me insensitive, but whenever she watches Figure Skating, I root for them to fall on their bums, or to smack into walls really hard. I find it utterly hilarious when they do. I guess that's the only "sport" (if you can really call what is more of an art form a sport - don't get me started on trying to quantify if one persons triple lutz is better than anothers) that I get excited about and root for, but only for them to fail. Of course, most of it is just to tease my poor wife. How she puts up with me during the Olympics, I'll never know.

-capT