Olympic ins and outs.

[Gob]

The use-by dates of a few sports have long passed, and there are better alternatives.


FIVE SPORTS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE OLYMPICS

SOFTBALL
It's played by both sexes, is popular among all ages and requires little equipment, which makes it appealing for developing nations, but that was not enough to save the sport, along with baseball, from being controversially axed for London. Even worse for Australia, its men's team were crowned world champions in 2009, and would have been among the favourites for gold this year. But there is an international move by world softball and baseball officials to have the sports reinstated for the 2020 Games. ''We recognise we would have a better chance of getting back into Olympics if we joined with baseball and the men's game would be baseball,'' Softball Australia chief Sue Noble said. Noble recalls a story from her holidays in Malawi earlier this year when she introduced some locals to the game. ''I showed them how to play, and they loved it,'' Noble said. ''They said this is a great game that they could use without having purpose-built facilities. They could see the kids enjoying it, and it's a fun game to play. One of the great benefits of softball in developing countries is you don't need much to play.''

CRICKET - TWENTY20
Tests and ODIs were always going to be hard sells for the Olympics, but in Twenty20 cricket finally has a format that lends itself to the Games. England could be a stumbling block as it would clash with their home season, while the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India would also be reluctant to lose control of its side to the International Olympic Committee. Inclusion in the Olympics would help the ICC's aim of spreading the game beyond its traditional participants. IOC president Jacques Rogge has said he would welcome an application for cricket to join the Olympics. The ICC is still evaluating the pros and cons of inclusion.

NETBALL
The IOC wants to increase female participation in the Olympics but don't bet on seeing netball at the Games any time soon. One of the most popular sports among women in Australia and the Commonwealth nations, netball will not be an Olympic sport until 2024 at the earliest. Ironically, netball being a female-dominated sport could be a hindrance, as the IOC is keen for gender equality. Crowned champion at five of the past six world titles, Australia would be strongly favoured to win gold should netball be accepted by the IOC powerbrokers.

SNOOKER
If shooting and archery can claim a berth at the Olympics then why not snooker? All three sports require participants to be still and have a precise aim. Unlike the other two, snooker players go head to head. And if we're going to kick out dressage then we need a sport where competitors are dressed to the nines in waistcoats, vests and perhaps even a bow tie. Snooker, recognised by the IOC, is part of the Asian Games and is booming in China. If only they would support a Facebook petition for snooker to be included in the Olympics. It has received just eight likes.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Created in 1993 to determine which martial art was the most effective in combat, the sport's popularity has surged in recent years thanks to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which has expanded beyond its native US into Australia, Canada, the Middle East and Asia thanks to a cable television deal. But, unlike the lesser-known wushu, derived from traditional Chinese martial arts, it was not among the eight sports shortlisted for the 2020 Games. Initially, combatants used their natural fighting style but it has since evolved and now employs a mixture of disciplines such as boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, taekwondo, wrestling, muay thai and karate.

FIVE THAT SHOULD BE OUT OF THE OLYMPICS

TAEKWONDO
The Beijing Games was not one of the finest moments for this centuries-old Korean martial art, which became a medal sport in Sydney. ''The way of the hand and the foot'', as it is known in Korean, did its best foot-in-mouth contortions, in more ways than one. One competitor, Cuba's Angel Matos, earned a lifetime ban by kicking a referee in the face. Another, two-time champion Steven Lopez of the US, alleged that athletes were told by the World Taekwondo Federation not to protest so as not to draw controversy to the sport, which was under pressure to retain its Olympic status. And that's not to mention the drama involving Great Britain's Sarah Stevenson, who almost bowed out in the quarter-finals after judges failed to award two points for a high kick to the head of her Chinese opponent, Chen Zhong, which would have handed her a one-point lead with 10 seconds remaining. After studying video footage, judges upheld a post-match protest from Stevenson and reversed the result. But the subsequent introduction of sensors, which detect legal hits, and a protest system, which allows coaches to immediately contest a ruling by raising a card, have the sport's officials optimistic of a smooth Games in London. ''If the protest is upheld then he keeps the card. If it's dismissed, he hands the card in and he doesn't have any more protests,'' said Phil Coles, WTF vice-president and former IOC member. ''The last couple of years almost all the protests about the judges have been eliminated.'' The sport, which delivered Australia gold in 2000 through Lauren Burns, has also been confirmed as a starter for Rio de Janeiro.

MODERN PENTATHLON
Those with tickets to this event could well file a false advertising suit against Games organisers on two fronts. The sport no longer comprises five events and its claims to being ''modern'' are tenuous at best. Just as the pentathlon of the ancient Olympics was modelled on the desired skills of a soldier of that period, the contemporary version - created by the founder of the modern Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin - was created to match that of the 19th-century fighter. Therefore, pentathletes must be able to ride a horse (show jumping), fight with a pistol (shooting) and sword (fencing), swim (200 metres freestyle) and run (3000m cross country). But after a decision by the sport's governing body, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, in 2009, the running and shooting legs have been merged. Competitors must shoot five targets then run 1000m, repeating three times, but do not have to carry their pistol while running. There are no moves to rename it a tetrathlon.

TENNIS
Just as golf is all about the four majors, so, too, is tennis, which was reintroduced to the Olympics program in 1988 after a 64-year hiatus. The grand slams remain the pinnacle of the sport, and the Olympics is a quadrennial disturbance. As much as Roger Federer would love to win his first gold in London, his CV will not be marked any lower should he fail to do so. That said, there are some handy types who have claimed gold, such as Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Justine Henin to name a few.

FOOTBALL
Imagine if Usain Bolt could not contest this year's 100m because it was limited to athletes under 23. How would that affect the event's legitimacy? Well, that's the credibility question confronting men's football at the Olympics. Only three players over 23 are allowed in each team, which essentially makes the Olympics an under-age competition. As an open-aged competition, women's football can stay.

ANYTHING THAT NEEDS MUSIC
Sport has been likened to theatre but any event requiring music can stay out of the Summer Olympics. At the risk of alienating female readers, we can do without dressage, rhythmic gymnastics and synchronised swimming. We respect the difficulty in asking a horse to move to the beat, a teenager to balance a ribbon and ball to Tchaikovsky or to breathe while having your nose pegged underwater but, as you can see, there are other sports that warrant the attention of this nation's armchair critics.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics-20 ... z1xG7bfdP4

For me, horse dancing has to go, and rock climbing should be in.

[Long Run]

The use-by dates of a few sports have long passed, and there are better alternatives.


FIVE SPORTS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE OLYMPICS

SOFTBALL
Only if they serve beer, cheap beer, to all the players.

CRICKET - TWENTY20

Only if they serve beer, and lots of it to the viewers.

NETBALL

Anything that would make a good "film" title out of Burbank doesn't belong in the Olympics.

SNOOKER

Higgins!

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

If you moved the "i" before the "t", might be watchable.

FIVE THAT SHOULD BE OUT OF THE OLYMPICS

TAEKWONDO

Agreed, even without some pun about ties.

MODERN PENTATHLON

Real sports and competition with a historical legitimacy. Yea, let's get rid of this for some dufus "event" that is currently mildly popular.


TENNIS

Agreed. If the Olympics aren't the biggest event of the year for the sport, it doesn't belong in the Olympics.

FOOTBALL

Yo, Americans: this is Soccer. See comments on Tennis. World Cup may well surpass the Olympics in worldwide popularity in the near future.

ANYTHING THAT NEEDS MUSIC

Or any event whose judging includes the outfit as an element of its scoring. The essence of the event should be about competition. Just because an event is athletic and a "competition" has been created to "judge" who is the best, does not mean the art form is now a sport.

[dales]

All Olympic Contests Should Be Done In The Nude.

[MajGenl.Meade]

...and spectated that way too!

Well they are at my house anyway.

[Lord Jim]

..and spectated that way too!

Well they are at my house anyway.

Perhaps you can get together to watch The Games with Beer Sponge...

[Gob]

Oh fucking cheers for planting that image in my head Jim, excuse me while I

[Beer Sponge]

Meade, PM me. We'll set something up. If Gob and Jim would join us, we could make it a foursome.















For golf. Still nude though.

[dgs49]

How about this: Let's make the Olympics strictly for ATHLETIC COMPETITION, as contrasted with GAMES. Most of the GAMES have their own international championships anyway, so the Olympics are redundant for those sports.

The Olympics should consist only of events that focus on running, jumping, swimming, and traditional field events...like a major track & field event. Add the events like weightlifting and bicycling, which measure strength, speed, endurance, and traits like that.

And eliminate every "sport" with subjective judging (e.g., boxing, gymnastics).

Two days and done.

Naked would be OK.

[Lord Jim]

How about this: Let's make the Olympics strictly for ATHLETIC COMPETITION, as contrasted with GAMES.

I can't agree with you on that Dave...

That would involve eliminating the best thing going at The Summer Olympics...

The sport which represents the absolute apex of competitive skill and athletic excellence...










I'm speaking of course, of Women's Beach Volleyball....

[Big RR]

And eliminate every "sport" with subjective judging (e.g., boxing, gymnastics).

If you do that, I think most sports would be eliminated, as judging plays a big point in many competitions, not necessarily to detemrine the winner, but to disqulaift/penalize those who do not perform "properly". And these judgments can affect the outcome of the events in the same way that judges can declare a gymnast or a boxer winner. So, weight lifters are disqualified (or a lift is) for improper form, runners for things like improper passing, swimmers for false starts or improer strokes, etc. If you have rules, you'll need judges.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Er Big RR - those would be objective judgements - comparing an actual event to an actual rule. The suggestion was subjective judgements on the merit of the performance.

Judge not that ye be not allowed to compete

Meade

[Big RR]

Not really Meade, anymore than comparing a gymnastics skill against the standard is "objective". Yes, some judgments are somewhat "objective" (like whether someone stepped out of bounds), but many are subjective (like whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a particular swim stroke is permitted or not). Are these not "judgments on the merits of the performance" in the same way that points are awarded in boxing or wrestling? I agree that some sports have outcomes more heavily/directly determined by the judging of the offficials, but one need only look at the arguments that continue about (suposedly erroneous) judgment calls in other sports to see how they can affect the outcome as well.

[MajGenl.Meade]

No they are not judgements of merit - i.e. ranking one competitor versus another.

Baseball shouldn't be in the Olympics but even so, the winner is the team with the most runs. Swimming strokes - I suppose you mean if a breaststroker suddenly threw in a couple of crawl strokes? That's cheating. Can umpires and referees affect the course of a game - naturally. But in the end it is the competition that decides the winner - head to head - not some bunch of faceless stooges awarding 9.675 over here and 9.674 over there.

Swimming yes - diving no
IMHO of course!

Meade

[dales]

Gladiator sports, anyone?

[Gob]

Yes please ! (as long as both chicks are hot.)

[dgs49]

The folly of sports being decided by judges was manifest yet again last weekend, when in the Paquaio fight, there were apparently only two (2) people in the entire international audience who thought Paquaio lost...unfortunately, those two people were two of the three judges.

One would almost suspect that the fight were fixed, in order to create a high-money rematch in the fall, to settle the matter.

Nah. This is BOXING we're talking about here.

[Big RR]

No they are not judgements of merit - i.e. ranking one competitor versus another.

Baseball shouldn't be in the Olympics but even so, the winner is the team with the most runs. Swimming strokes - I suppose you mean if a breaststroker suddenly threw in a couple of crawl strokes? That's cheating. Can umpires and referees affect the course of a game - naturally. But in the end it is the competition that decides the winner - head to head - not some bunch of faceless stooges awarding 9.675 over here and 9.674 over there.

Swimming yes - diving no
IMHO of course!

Meade

Tell that to the basketball team that loses because of a blown foul call, giving the other team free throws and the lead, or hockey team that has a longer power play against it because aref thought a foul was flagrant, or a baseball umpire call a player tagged when he was on base. I've seen a football team erroneoously getting an extra down that decided the game in their favor, and runners erroneously penalized because a judge thought they crossed into another lane at an appropriate time. All of these were outcome determinative.

Yes, the above not judgments of the merit of entire performances, but they are judgments, nonetheless that are subjective on the part of the judges/officials and are debated over and over by others having seen the same plays/actions.

And that's my point, nearly every sport is affected by subjected judgments of officials.

DGS--I didn't see the Paqaio fight (I presume you did?) so I really can't comments, but what's the alternative; have the boxers pound each other into submission until one cannot fight any longer? That's haw boxing was before, and many boxers were severely injured or even killed. Sure, there are blown calls, and there is out and out corruption, but unless there are no rules, such calls can always be outcome determinative in almost any sport.

[Crackpot]

boxing isn't judged the way that fans watch it. absent a knockdown a fighter is unlikly to lose more than one point a round making possible to rebound from getting pummeled for a few rounds or even a fighter still winning the fight after collapsing after round 7. From what I understand all the hoopla is based on a claim that a judge changed his scorecard.

[Econoline]

Yes please ! (as long as both chicks are hot.)

AND NUDE!!!!

[rubato]

Now that we're letting professionals into the Olympics I think we should kick out tennis, soccer, hockey, basketball, boxing and all similar sports that already have well-organized, televised, and funded competitions. There is just no point to it.

yrs,
rubato