I support Manchester United because when I was growing up they and Arsenal were the only teams on tv with any regularity, and I didn't like Arsenal. I made the right choice. The Rogers Cup is this week, which, as a Toronto-based tennis fan, is always one of the highlights of the sporting calender. Canada's top female player Rebecca Marino plays tonight. Hopefully she'll last a few rounds to draw more local interest for the tournament.
Went to Lambeau Field today. I seriously recommend going there for anyone, football fan or no, and watching a game or at least taking a tour, because it's gorgeous. Perfect blend of the rich history of the field and team and the modern era. I prefer it to any overly flashy stadium today (cough, cough, Jerryworld). Didn't go to the practice fields though, and anyway the team practices more at night this offseason. Got a pretty awesome Packers necklace -- gold chain with a small green and gold G on it. The Pro Shop is awesome, and it has EVERYTHING you could ever want. And the XLV merch is great, too.
Port Vale 2-4 Huddersfield Town. A brace from Lee Novak and goals from Jack Hunt and Gary Roberts secured Town's progress into round two of the Carling Cup. Town fell behind to a strike from Port Vale's Gary Roberts (same name, different player), before Novak struck twice in 7 minutes to send Town into the break 2-1 up. In the second half, Hunt scored a screamer and Roberts a free kick before Vale pulled one back with a late penalty.
So apparently the Jays stealing signs has reached urban myth status, with ESPN devoting an article to this phantom 'man in white.' This is pretty much the most interesting thing to happen to Toronto baseball in years.
It's the method. They've been accused by 'anonymous sources' (the Whitesox bullpen) of hiding someone in the crowd, dressed in white, who waves his arms to indicate what kind of pitch is being thrown. From centre field. In a section that is covered in tarp. The Jays are owned by Rogers, one of two major media companies in the GTA. The one sports channel owned by Rogers has spent the day showing Jays general manager Alex Anthopolis rip the article apart (it's a really bad article) and having their anchors all but high-five after each of Anthopolis's put downs. The other sports channel, owned by the other media company, is showing Jays home runs, then cutting to fans in white holding their arms up. It's great.
ESPN tends to go overboard on their coverage. I remember when Favre came back last season, they dropped every other story and replayed just footage of him arriving at the airport for five hours.
Okay, I got a question, who in your opinion was the best multi-sport athlete of all time? This thread discusses alot about particular sports and teams in only one sport, but there have been athletes who have transcended the specialized nature of the sports world and successfully competed in mulitple sports. They are very rare, but it is an amazing thing to witness when they do. Who was the best of them all?
Rebecca Romero has Olympic golds in cycling and rowing. Jessica Ennis is an outstanding heptathlete (and Yorkshire lass). Looking further back, Denis Compton is the ultimate multi-code sportsman. He played 12 times for England in football, and also played 78 Test matches for England in cricket. In the latter sport, he made 17 Test centuries and is regarded as one of the most talented English cricketers of all time, with an average of 50.06. In the football, his record is blighted by the Second World War, appearing only 60 times for Arsenal in official matches, but winning both the League and the FA Cup.
CB Fry begs to differ. Played for England both as cricketer and footballer. Played rugby for the Barbarians. Long-jump world record holder. Not too shabby.
Preseason starts tonight. Very eager to see our rookies in play. ETA: After-game observations: 1) That Rodgers-to-Driver pass in the first quarter.... magnificent. Great throw, great catch. Looking forward to Donald getting those 42 yards and then some and beating James Lofton's career record recieving yards in Green Bay. 2) A bit rusty, but we settled in after a while and got into a groove. And then again, who isn't rusty after an offseason, especially one like this? 3) Randall Cobb was looking pretty good, can't wait to see him in action in the regular season. Same with Shaky Smithson. 4) I'm glad we have more practice and more exhibition games to get into a good groove before the season.
I am sure that someone here has heard of Bo Jackson? Or what about Jim Thorpe? Lemme give you some info on Bo: '6''1 220 pounds, played running back for the LA Raiders, and was an all-star MLB player with the Kansas City Royals. As a running back, before he got injured, he was poutting up some Hall of Fame numbers, like an unbelievable 5.4 yards career average yards per carry. He had 32 homeruns, 105 RBIs and 26 stolen bases in his best year with the Royals, and a blaster cannon for a throwing arm from outfield. Jim Thorpe was probably the first truly awesome multi-sport athlete. He won Olympic gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon, and played for pro teams in football, baseball AND basketball (though admittedly the competiton was probably not as fierce as it is today). Nonetheless, he was an amazing all-around track and field athlete, and could play with the big dogs in the 3 major American sports. I am a little surprised no one else mentioned one of these guys first...
Bo Jackson played both professional football and baseball in his career, until injuries forced him out of football. Still, a prolific athlete with amazing skill in both sports.
Well, I just think that people do not give enough credit to all-around talent in general. I mean, the saying, "jack of all trades, master of none", comes to mind. I think society is too specialist-focused, and we have lost a bit of appreciation for those can are good (but not necessarily great) at many things. It seems that the Renaissance men are an extinct breed nowadays, or at least appreciation for them.
