Rough Sports (was Invasion of Alaska )

[Targan]

But first things first... Canada vs USA for the gold medal game in world junior hockey... I have my beer and pizza and my remote... I am set...

Real hockey or ice hockey?

[Legbreaker]

Real hockey or ice hockey?

Tsk, Tsk, Targan, you KNOW there's only one REAL Hockey. That thing they do on ice is a pale imitation!

;)

[Targan]

Tsk, Tsk, Targan, you KNOW there's only one REAL Hockey. That thing they do on ice is a pale imitation!

;)

Right on brother.

[Cdnwolf]

and what the hell is Real Hockey? Figure skating? Oh I see now... the girls sport... field hockey!!

[Targan]

and what the hell is Real Hockey? Figure skating? Oh I see now... the girls sport... field hockey!!

Hmm, I don't think the members of the Kookaburras look much like girls. And if we are questioning the masculinity of certain sports people, lets take a look at some popular North American sports. Gridiron - kind of like rugby (the sport played in heaven) but strangely ritualised and with all that pansy padding and helmets. Shrunken testicles anyone? Ooh, and lets see what else. Baseball? What the hell is with those pants? Strongly influenced by gay fashion methinks.

You want real sports played by real men, come to the southern hemisphere.

[Legbreaker]

Down here in the southern hemisphere, terms like "armour" and "padding" are looked upon as a sign of weakness.

REAL men play games that can result in SERIOUS injury - broken arms and legs, torn tendons, even the odd spinal injury.

And do they moan about the risk? Do they dress up in fancy protection? NO, they grit their teeth against the pain, get up and play on!

[pmulcahy11b]

Hmm, I don't think the members of the Kookaburras look much like girls. And if we are questioning the masculinity of certain sports people, lets take a look at some popular North American sports. Gridiron - kind of like rugby (the sport played in heaven) but strangely ritualised and with all that pansy padding and helmets. Shrunken testicles anyone? Ooh, and lets see what else. Baseball? What the hell is with those pants? Strongly influenced by gay fashion methinks.

You want real sports played be real men, come to the southern hemisphere.

Hey, don't look at me! My sport in high school was judo -- and we weren't considered real jocks.

[Targan]

Down here in the southern hemisphere, terms like "armour" and "padding" are looked upon as a sign of weakness.

REAL men play games that can result in SERIOUS injury - broken arms and legs, torn tendons, even the odd spinal injury.

And do they moan about the risk? Do they dress up in fancy protection? NO, they grit their teeth against the pain, get up and play on!

Hell yeah! Wait a sec, are you taking the piss? :D

[pmulcahy11b]

Down here in the southern hemisphere, terms like "armour" and "padding" are looked upon as a sign of weakness.

REAL men play games that can result in SERIOUS injury - broken arms and legs, torn tendons, even the odd spinal injury.

And do they moan about the risk? Do they dress up in fancy protection? NO, they grit their teeth against the pain, get up and play on!

No, real men do really dangerous things -- like tell a girlfriend they're breaking up with that they're an insane bitch...ouch!

[Legbreaker]

Hell yeah! Wait a sec, are you taking the piss? :D

Why would I do that? I'm a REAL Australian male!

No, real men do really dangerous things -- like tell a girlfriend they're breaking up with that they're an insane bitch...ouch!

Real men marry the homocidally insane bitch, then break up with them....

:devil2:

[pmulcahy11b]

Real men marry the homocidally insane bitch, then break up with them....

:devil2:

I knew there was a good reason I never got married...

[Webstral]

The Irish do pretty well with insane games. I've seen hurling/hurley. For those not familiar, you get a bunch of bog warriors, divide them into two teams, give them sticks, and send them out onto the field. When the referee throws a little ball onto the playing field, the men get to chop at each other with their sticks until (quite by accident) the ball goes through an upright at either end. When this happens, there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth--apparently so that the wives and the clergy will think the ball had something meaningful to do with the hacking, slashing, smashing, and bashing on the field. Eventually, one side is declared the winner, and everyone who is still capable of going to the pub does so.

Webstral

[Targan]

Thanks for moving this discusion to its own thread Kato :D

[kato13]

Thanks for moving this discusion to its own thread Kato :D

No problem

11 OT posts made it seem pretty obvious.

[Rainbow Six]

kind of like rugby (the sport played in heaven)

Amen from the Northern Hemisphere...

Is this a good time to mention the fact that Scotland beat the Wallabies (for the first time in 29 years)? ;)

[Targan]

Is this a good time to mention the fact that Scotland beat the Wallabies (for the first time in 29 years)? ;)

Absolutely its a good time. When it comes to rugby I'm a New Zealander :D. A New Zealander of Scots descent I might add...

[Rainbow Six]

Absolutely its a good time. When it comes to rugby I'm a New Zealander :D. A New Zealander of Scots descent I might add...

Sorry, forgot you were from the land of the long white cloud...:)

Have seen Scotland play the All Blacks a couple of times at Murrayfield...awesome sportsmen who seem to have the knack of being able to step up a gear whenever required.

[Legbreaker]

Is this a good time to mention the fact that Scotland beat the Wallabies (for the first time in 29 years)? ;)

We thought we'd better give you lot a taste of victory or you'd just give up trying. Is once in a generation enough?

:D

[Cdnwolf]

Once more wimpy summer sports... try it with -30 C temperatures and winds howling and zero visibility... then you have a real sport.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Once more wimpy summer sports... try it with -30 C temperatures and winds howling and zero visibility... then you have a real sport.

Meh... at least you'll get warm with all that running to and fro.
Try the same thing here in summer with 47-50 C and 70-80% humidity when we play our "wimpy summer sports" :D
For a rough translation for the USA, I think 48 C is equal to 100 F

[kato13]

I think 48 C is equal to 100 F

Closer to 118 F

[Ronin84]

I'll leave it to this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7tGY-VDx3o

[Targan]

The tests in that YouTube video should have used two roughly equal athletes, not some amateur rugby player vs a professional NFL quarterback. How is that a fair assessment?

[StainlessSteelCynic]

The tests in that YouTube video should have used two roughly equal athletes, not some amateur rugby player vs a professional NFL quarterback. How is that a fair assessment?

And they should have used equal tests for a comparison rather than the two different types. I have no doubt that a professional rugby player who hard-charged that dummy could have generated a similar force or that a gridiron player could have been just as successful at slamming the rugby player down onto the ground.
The show itself was a little too high-gloss, high-tech wank, sensationalist for my tastes.

[kato13]

The tests in that YouTube video should have used two roughly equal athletes, not some amateur rugby player vs a professional NFL quarterback. How is that a fair assessment?

I agree the tests should have been more standardized, but they probably did not want the expense of flying in a Rugby pro. However the fact that the used a cornerback, which is generally the smallest (non kicking) player means that the highend power ratings of the NFL players might have been even higher.

[General Pain]

and what the hell is Real Hockey? Figure skating? Oh I see now... the girls sport... field hockey!!


Figure skating.....good one m8

[General Pain]

No, real men do really dangerous things -- like tell a girlfriend they're breaking up with that they're an insane bitch...ouch!

That's what textmessages are for on a cell phone.

[Legbreaker]

I'm certainly not suprised that the force of the rugby player was less. Afterall, they were really just lifting their oponent of the ground and putting them down again.
The gridiron player was putting his entire effort into slamming into the dummy with virtually no regard for avoiding injury due to the helmet and padding. He also gets to run off the field every few minutes and have a rest while the offensive team take over.
A rugby player is on the field for the entire game. Depending on which grade they're in, etc they might get lucky and the team gets to change maybe three players total throughout the game (40 minute halves if my memory serves). There are no breaks for television adds, there are no breaks for the change in teams, there are no time outs, it's a pure forty full minutes of smashing into each other over and over again.
Rugby league, a very similar game to rugby union is basically the same situation. Padding is minimal, a little on the shoulders and the occasional man might wear a head protection (a lighter version seen worn by amateur boxers).

[headquarters]

That's what textmessages are for on a cell phone.

these lads mean proper spouses married with a vicar or a peace judge or something like that .

Not the paid for variety thaty you cancel your appointment with .























:D

[Ronin84]

I'm certainly not suprised that the force of the rugby player was less. Afterall, they were really just lifting their oponent of the ground and putting them down again.
The gridiron player was putting his entire effort into slamming into the dummy with virtually no regard for avoiding injury due to the helmet and padding. He also gets to run off the field every few minutes and have a rest while the offensive team take over.
A rugby player is on the field for the entire game. Depending on which grade they're in, etc they might get lucky and the team gets to change maybe three players total throughout the game (40 minute halves if my memory serves). There are no breaks for television adds, there are no breaks for the change in teams, there are no time outs, it's a pure forty full minutes of smashing into each other over and over again.
Rugby league, a very similar game to rugby union is basically the same situation. Padding is minimal, a little on the shoulders and the occasional man might wear a head protection (a lighter version seen worn by amateur boxers).

I have played and currently coach high school football here in the states, I have never played Rugby though I do appreciate the athletic talent needed to play.

In your post you stated it's 40 minutes of smashing into each other over and over again. Now as I have said I have never played and really never sat and watched an entire rugby game BUT I don't remember each player being slammed for a full 40 minutes, I remember seeing one guy with the ball getting slammed and a lot of others just chasing. During the "scrum" I believe, and again not trying to flame, I saw guys holding onto each other while the ball is up for grabs.

I have know kids who have gone on played both rugby in college and football in the States and they have told me that they thought american football was much tougher than Rugby.

I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer and I have friends in Australia who swear that Rugby is the toughest sport there is, and I respect there opinion. Either way, enjoy the sport of your choice!

Done because I don't want to get involved in a flame contest of which is better.

[simonmark6]

I think it's nearly impossible to compare the American Football and Rugby anecdotally because you usually end up comparing apples and oranges.

I coach rugby at my local school and I played at county and university level, I was up for selection at national level in my early twenties but wasn't good enough. Given the modern professional level of the sport, I'd be nowhere near now.

When I was at University, an American College team came touring and we played them. They were fit but lacked the skill our team had and we wiped the floor with them. My point is here that American College Rugby is not top class level and someone playing college football would be operating at a far higher level in a college football team than a college rugby team.

Later, when I went to America on a Brass Band tour, we played rugby using a scratch team against an amateur football team. We won the rugby game, they won the football game.

I have, therefore, to agree with Ronin84 that it's pointless saying one is harder or tougher than the other and enjoy whichever game tickles your fancy.

[boogiedowndonovan]

this thread cracks me up.

text messages on a cell phone? If we learned anything from the Tiger Woods scandal, if you're gonna cheat, get a second phone! Tiger, prepaid cell phone, Target, fiddy dolla!

If anyone besides me and CdnWolf is interested:

Team USA beat Team Canada 6-5 in OT for the World Junior Hockey Championship.

http://sports.yahoo.com/juniorhockey/news?slug=capress-hko_world_jr_us_cda-052377823&prov=capress&type=lgns

However, I doubt that the result will be the same for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

As for rugby, I played rugby for a bit in grad school. I never played (american) football, but my undergraduate university has a strong football tradition. I follow football and will be glued to my TV at 5pm Pacific Time tonight.

One thing that I took from rugby is that you must be in excellent cardiovascular shape. You won't see a 300 lb lineman in rugby.

Now, if I were Roger Goddell (NFL commissioner), I would do two things.

First, eliminate all pads and helmets. Players would still need to wear mouthpiece and cup, googles or eye protection optional and at players own risk.

Second, eliminate the unsportsmanlike conduct or delay of game penalties for excessive celebration.

Then lets see how many players do their funky little dances after getting a first down, sack, good hit or touch down.

We do have some rugby tradition in the United States, many colleges have rugby teams dating back to the 1800's. I look at the local University of California which has fielded a rugby team since 1882 and has won 24 national collegiate championships since 1980. Legend has it that before going to the NFL and infamy, OJ Simpson moonlighted for the University of Southern California rugby team.

While we're talking about gayness, has anyone considered Mark Bingham? He was on of the Flight 93 passengers who tried to fight back on September 11, 2001. He was gay and played rugby.


We should talk about something more substantive, like which country has the hottest women!

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Hmm, if you start talking about the hottest women, we'll have to start a new thread - not that I'd mind, especially if pictures were included :D

As for the ball games mentioned, even in Australia there's a lot of "discussion" over which is the better game, AFL (Australian Football League AKA Australian Rules Football) or rugby. Both have been described in less than polite terms by the other side. AFL is often snubbed by rugby fans as being "aerial ping-pong" while the AFL fans describe rugby as being "thugby".

There is only one area in which I would continue to argue that an Australian football sport is better than any other and that would be in kicking, many AFL players kick goals from quite far out compared to some other football games.
Apparently the longest kick to goal was by Jeff Fehring for a distance of 98 yards, 6 yards further than the longest goal shot in soccer and 18 yards further than the longest goal shot in rugby. To be fair though, it was wind assisted but the point is that AFL players regularly try for goal kicks further out than many other football sports.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123638854895858635.html


As for the hottest women... I like them from any country :D
I'm not a fan of fat lips so Angelina is not one I'd put on my list so for the US Eliza Dushku would be the one
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3300034816/nm0244630
Lucy Brown, a British actress I recently found http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1071155968/nm1374033
From Germany, Eva Habermann as Zev from the show LEXX http://www.fanpop.com/spots/lexx/images/258737/title/zev

Time to either stop or start a new thread...

[Legbreaker]

Everyone definately has their own opinion and "scientific" tests (such as the mentioned video clip) to back them up. Personally I tend to think that the lack of armour and padding in full contact sports is what makes them tougher. It can also be dependant on the players mindset - if they're more interested in hurting the opposition than playing the ball.

The potential for injury in unprotected players is therefore higher than protected players in ful ontact sports. This may be why their are rules and penalties dealing with dangerous situations (only certain types of tackles allowed, sent off and/or suspended for fighting, etc).

[Legbreaker]

Time to either stop or start a new thread...

Or have a cold shower!

[pmulcahy11b]

That's what textmessages are for on a cell phone.

Last time I broke up with anyone, I was actually lucky enough to afford a pager -- cell phones were new, weird technology.

Damn, it's been a long time. Anyone willing to buy me a decent, disease free, high-class call girl? My birthday's coming up in May...

[headquarters]

Last time I broke up with anyone, I was actually lucky enough to afford a pager -- cell phones were new, weird technology.

Damn, it's been a long time. Anyone willing to buy me a decent, disease free, high-class call girl? My birthday's coming up in May...



got a paypal account ?

Come on lads - its the least we can do .

You would have to post an illustrated post - celebration report though ...

[Legbreaker]

Is it just coincidence that we're discussing getting Paul a callgirl in a thread entitled "rough sports"?

I think not....

:D