Conference hbahba::cam_sports

    Judging solely on the emotional roller coaster my family has had
    to ride out in 1994.  I'm damn glad to just have survived it.
    
    As far as sports goes...
    
    o the Steelers start the year by taking it in the tank with the
    poorest excuse for special teams I've seen.  They win the AFC Central,
    but loose their first playoff game to KC and their has-been QB.
      They're ending the year, after winning not just the AFC Central
    again, but with HFA throughout.  They are better by leaps and bounds
    over the previous season's team.  I just hope any traces of chicken
    bones have been exported to Cleveland.
    
    o The Pirates continue their salary dumping.  The quality of baseball
    in 3Rivers drops sharper than the incline on Mt. Washington.  The best
    part was that the MLB Allstar game was played there.  The worst part
    was that I watched the game on the tube just 5 miles from the stadium.
    (My BIL, who was supposed to get me the tix is still seen on milk
    cartons in the area)
      The strike kept the Bucs from going into the record book in last
    place.
    
    o The Pens let their chances to drink from Lord Stanley's Cup slip
    away.  Knowing what Super Mario has been going through I'm suprised
    he played as much as he did.  The strike helped the Pens by not forcing
    them to play an entire season without Mr. Lemieux.  My gut feeling is
    that he'll be back next season, if there is one, guiding the Pens to a
    third Cup in 4 seasons.
    
    
    billl

The highlights:

 o Baseball Strike. I hope they all go broke.

 o Hockey Strike. Who needs 'em. We got the Checkers.

 o Buffalo and Denver don't make NFL playoffs. Count your blessings.

 o Hakeem and the the Rockets win the NBA. Finally somebody besides
	the Bulls (with a tip o' the hat to Michael Jordan).

 o NFL gives FOX the NFC. More fun than NFL should be allowed to have.


The lowlights:

 o Hornets not making the playoffs. Injuries to Zo and LJ didn't help.
	Early season losses that shoulda been wins contributed, as well.

 o Even though the NCAA Basketball Final Four was played right across
	the street, the ACC lost the crown after winning it 3 straight
	years (Duke, Duke, No Carolina).

 o China's dominance in women's athletics. They win but caint pass the
	drug test. 

 o The Charlotte Observer Sports Section. In what's supposed to be 
	a_up-and-coming big time sports town, they publish very few
	pages of sports, always filled with X-rated ads and often
	padded with the singles pages.

    3 replies and no mention of  OJ?
    
    Mark.

>    3 replies and no mention of  OJ?

Isn't that one of those circular references? I mean you have to mention
OJ to say that he hasn't been mentioned.

FWIW, I was bored by OJ shortly after he was incarcerated. I would rather
watch a_infomercial for making beef jerky than tune into the latest OJ
news. 

I feel confident that the reason that god made remote controls for TVs
was so I could change the channel when OJ comes on. ;-)

TTom

    1. O.J. Simpson       "Run To Daylight"
    2. Tonya Harding      "Sex, Lies and Videotape"
    3. Darryl Strawberry  "Attica"

    OJ who?
    
    
    billl

    
    RE.1
      
        I think Houston actually won the AFC central last year.
      Then lost to KC, who beat Pittsburgh in the wild card game.
        I'm pulling for Pittsburgh to take the AFC this year though.
    
                                  
       
                                          Clark C.
          

    re.7
    
    Houston DID in fact win the AFC CEntral lasted year with a 12-4 record.
    
    JaKe
    

    re 1993 AFC Central champ:
    
    I knew that!
    
    
    
    billl

AP's Top 10:

 1. World Series canceled (when did this happen?).
 2. The Tonya and Nancy show ices the rest.
 3. OJ drives slowly into infamy.
 4. George Foreman eats a real big hamburger.
 5. Rangers win one finally despite numerous p-name bets.
 6. NHL lockout (is this still going on?).
 7. Jimmy Johnson quits coaching and joins Bart Simpson.
 8. Dan Jansen does worldwide commercial for Panthers.
 9. Michael Jordan takes up baseball and still makes most money.
10. Cowboys win Super Bowl (lasted season, I guess).

Best sports joke of year, IMHO:

The one about Tonya Harding joining up with Michael Jackson in horse 
racing business. She does the handicapping and he rides the three year 
olds.

TTom

  Sports Illustrated picked Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair as sportsmen of the
year. It was well deserved, both dominated men's and women's speed skating
respectively as well as winning gold medals in the Olympics. 

  The U.S. Alpine Ski team did unexpectedly well at the Olympics. 

  Nancy, Tonya, Oksana, and the mouse made headlines only because Christie
Yamaguchi and Madori Ito had retired. If they had both been in Lillihammer, all
the fuss would have been over a fight for the bronze. 

  Baseball, Hockey, became studies in labor law.

  A.C. threw one final block for O.J. in what may have been the most famous
ride since Paul Revere. 

  The B.C. Eagles beat Notre Dame (who didn't) but sputtered down the stretch
ending up with a vacation in Hawaii.

  New England sports was saved by the patriots. Drew Bledso made his bid to
join the ranks of Williams, Orr, Yaz, and Bird. 

  George

    
    
>  Nancy, Tonya, Oksana, and the mouse made headlines only because Christie
>Yamaguchi and Madori Ito had retired. If they had both been in Lillihammer, all
>the fuss would have been over a fight for the bronze. 
    
    
    	The only reason this pseudo-sport made headlines at all, was
    because Nancy got wacked on the knee. Otherwise nobody would have paid
    any attention, as usual....
    
    
>  New England sports was saved by the patriots. Drew Bledso made his bid to
>join the ranks of Williams, Orr, Yaz, and Bird. 
    
    
    	Its a little early to be mentioning "Drew Bledso" (sic) in the
    same sentence with those guys. If and when it is really time, you
    probably won't mispell his name! :-) :-)
    
    JimH
    
    
    
    

    The tier of Williams,Orr and Bird is not the one Yaz is on, he is on
    a Boston one with the likes of Hannah,Hondo,Clemens, Grogan.
    
    There are Boston "tiers" and then there are National.  In the sports
    represented there are only a few that could join those three.
    
     This does sort of beg the question "Who makes up the tier in football?"
    
    Postwar I'd guess Brown,Unitas and Butkus.  If they want to play a hand
    of bridge maybe Montana can join them.

RE<<< Note 204.12 by TOOK::HALPIN "Cleveland Browns - Super Bowl Bound in 1995!" >>>

>    	The only reason this pseudo-sport made headlines at all, was
>    because Nancy got wacked on the knee. Otherwise nobody would have paid
>    any attention, as usual....

  Woops, someone's looking down the wrong column in the stat books. Figure
skating is always the #1 draw at the winter Olympics and always gets the
highest ratings of any Olympic event on TV.
    
  George

>  Woops, someone's looking down the wrong column in the stat books. Figure
> skating is always the #1 draw at the winter Olympics and always gets the
> highest ratings of any Olympic event on TV.
    
  Maybe if they'd stopping including Women's opinions in these polls these
  numbers would change.............

 ;^)

    
    
    
>  Woops, someone's looking down the wrong column in the stat books. Figure
>skating is always the #1 draw at the winter Olympics and always gets the
>highest ratings of any Olympic event on TV.
    
    
    	Great entertainment, yes. A crowd draw at the Olympics, both at the
    live gate and on the tube, yes. (I enjoy watching myself...)
    
    	But lots of people watching doesn't make it a sport. I bet the WWF
    get better ratings than Olympic Figure Skating, and more often than
    once every four years too. That doesn't make it a sport.....
    
    JimH
    
    
    
    

  ... well the International Olympic committee has continued to view figure
skating as a sport for going on a century now. 

  Of course, what does the IOC know about sports?

  George

re: figger skatin

I've seen several polls, skating is more popular than college hoops.

TTom

RE               <<< Note 204.18 by HBAHBA::HAAS "dingle lingo" >>>

>I've seen several polls, skating is more popular than college hoops.

  That makes sense. Figure skating is the best against the best. College
hoops is just minor league basketball.

  George

Here in Europe, figure skating is very popular, and not only among women.

Hey, gorgeous young women in skimpy costumes performing astonishing feats
of athleticism with artistry and grace--what's so surprising?

I understand there are a few people who watch the men, as well.

Steve

    
    
    
>  ... well the International Olympic committee has continued to view figure
>skating as a sport for going on a century now. 
    
    	Yup, they also consider Rythmic Dancing, Synchronized Swimming,
    Horseback Riding, and Freestyle Skiing, along with other fringe
    activities, "sports". All very worth-while activities, most very
    pleasing to watch, but hardly "sports"
    
>
>  Of course, what does the IOC know about sports?
    
    	Very little actually. The IOC is a huge bureaucracy responsible
    for staging the Olympics every four years. To the best of my knowledge
    the IOC is the ruling body of zero (0!!!) "sports". They get to decide
    which "sports" they consider worth to become part of the Olympics. If
    that makes them experts on "sports", then the person who hands me a
    toll ticket as I get on the Mass Pike is an automotive expert!
    
    JimH
    
    

  Yeah yeah yeah, I've heard it all before.

  So are you one of the ones who feels soccer isn't a sport? Seems we went
through that last summer.

  How about duck hunting is that a sport? A man armed with a shotgun against
an unarmed duck doesn't seem real fair to me. I wonder, how often does the duck
win and take the hunter home for supper? 

  George

    
    
    
>  So are you one of the ones who feels soccer isn't a sport? Seems we went
>through that last summer.
    
    	Soccer is most definitely a sport. Most of the times, Figure
    Skating would be more exciting to watch. But that is a side issue...
    
    
    
>  How about duck hunting is that a sport? A man armed with a shotgun against
>an unarmed duck doesn't seem real fair to me. I wonder, how often does the duck
>win and take the hunter home for supper? 
    
    
    	I'm not a hunter, and having nothing against hunting, but I don't
    consider it a "sport", and more than I would consider hiking or rock
    climbing a "sport". Kayake or canoe racing, yes. Paddling a canoe
    down a river as recreation, no.
    
    JimH
    
    
    

  Well I consider figure skating a sport because:

  - It's been recognized by the IOC as a sport for almost a century and I
    do have some respect for the IOC.

  - It's a competition between athletes played according to an agreed upon
    set of rules.

  - Only people who practice a great deal have a shot at winning.

  - I've never heard anyone who understands the basic fundamentals of figure
    skating say that it was not a sport.

  - Unlike hunting, It's fair and all competitors have an equal chance at
    winning.

  - Unlike dog racing, I'm the same species as the competitors.

  No doubt if I were an Irish Setter, I'd feel that dog racing was the only
true sport.

  George

    
    
  >- It's been recognized by the IOC as a sport for almost a century and I
  >  do have some respect for the IOC.
    
    	What has the IOC done, with regards to "sports", other than
    organize the games every 4 years??? Most of the IOC's history 
    generates anything but respect from me. Especially the discriminatory
    rules arround "amateurism" and "professionalism". Rules designed by the
    aristocracy to benefit the rich, ruling class of the late 1880's, and 
    exclude the working classes. Rules they only recently, and grudgingly
    changed nearly 100 years later....

  >- It's a competition between athletes played according to an agreed upon
  >  set of rules.
    
    	The competition still boils down to the subjective opinions of the
    judges as to which competitor performed the technical componeents
    better and which competitor's performance was the most "artistic".
    
    	The rules do a great job of weeding out the poorer performers, but
    when it comes down to selecting a "winner", it is basically a matter of
    opinion on the part of the judges (most of the time...).
    
    	You've probably guessed that this is the main reason why I don't
    consider Figure Skating a real sport (as well as any other "judged"
    events...). I guess I like my sports resolved on the field of play,
    not in the judges booth.
    

  >- Only people who practice a great deal have a shot at winning.
    
    	No problem here...

  >- I've never heard anyone who understands the basic fundamentals of figure
  >  skating say that it was not a sport.
    
    	In other words George, anybody who doesn't agree with you is
    ignorant. Correct???? An interesting debating style, but irrelevant to
    the discussion......
    

  >- Unlike hunting, It's fair and all competitors have an equal chance at
  >  winning.
    
    	Explain to me why the judging results so often has followed along
    the lines of the politcal orientation of the judge's home countries,
    i.e. Eastern Blocks judges vs Western judges.
    

  >- Unlike dog racing, I'm the same species as the competitors.
    
    	I like this one. Explain to me why the IOC, whom you so greatly
    respect, consider the Equestrian Events an Olympic "sport"????
    
    JimH
    
    
    

I've never been able to recognize figure skating as a sport... if you lined
up a panel of judges at the ballet, you'd have the same thing.  Both take a
great deal of athleticism, but there just isn't any intrinsic competition --
it's all contrived.  Doesn't mean that it isn't popular and enjoyable to
watch.

I have the same problem with many of the other olympic 'sports' that require
subjective judgeing: Diving and Gymnastics for example.  No question that the
participants are athletes, but what they are doing is an art not a game.  And
_my_ definition of a sport is 'a game requiring physical prowess'.  of course,
Webster disagrees.  ;)

My 2�

Greg

re: subjective.

There's virtually no sport, nor anything close to a sport, that does not
include subjectivism. In most every sport, results are dependent on being
judged. Certainly figure skating, gymnastics and diving are examples.

But so is about every other sport, especially at the Olympics. Take
boxing. Did you watch the games in Soeul? Take basketball. How about
Muniuch?

Saying that a_event is subjective doesn't prove whether or not the event
is a sport.

TTom

I agree that there is subjectivity in almost every sport.  But events that
determine winners and losers strictly by judges awarding points is a whole
lot different than umpires and referees applying the rules on the field.
I mean, there rarely is a dispute in basketball whether or not the ball went
through the hoop, but in skating when one judge gives a 8.2 and another a 9.4
it really makes me wonder what the hail I'm watching.

>I mean, there rarely is a dispute in basketball whether or not the ball went
>through the hoop, ...

Like in the Ga Tech game in the NCAAs a couple of years ago? Replays
showed that the shooter had the ball when the clock went off. The refs
judged it to be good. Ga Tech went on. The other team (Michigan St?) went
home.

In boxing, minus a knockout, the results are completely dependent on
judges assigning numeric values to their opinions.

Maybe Tonya had it right. They should consider the judges opinion in
skating only if'n there's more than one standing. ;-).

TTom

>>I mean, there rarely is a dispute in basketball whether or not the ball went
>>through the hoop, ...

>Like in the Ga Tech game in the NCAAs a couple of years ago? Replays
>showed that the shooter had the ball when the clock went off. The refs
>judged it to be good. Ga Tech went on. The other team (Michigan St?) went
>home.

I did say rarely... meaning that it does happen once in a great while.  Even
then, those were only 2 (or 3?) points out of the whole game.  I'm sure there
were other calls that were questionable during the rest of the game as well,
some probably even affected the score too.  That's part of the game.  But not
the WHOLE game.  The object is to score more points than your opponent, as
opposed to, receive the highest subjective rating from a panel of judges.
I believe there is a difference.  


Re: Boxing     I don't like boxing decisions either, and there has been much
discussion in here about the negative impact some have had on the 'sport' 
recently.  At least there is the possibility of a definitive win.

I'm not saying Figure Skating, Boxing or about anything else is or isn't
a sport.

We have this "discussion" often. The problem is in arguing for or against
something being a sport or not.

The examples used against figure skating apply to a lot of sports.

TTom

>  That makes sense. Figure skating is the best against the best. College
>hoops is just minor league basketball.
>
>  George

   That has almost never been the case.  Wasn't this the first Olympics
   (as well as the last) that professionals had been allowed to regain amateur
   status to skate in the Olympics ?  Where was the world's best female
   figure skater ?  Not at the Olympics, I can assure you.

I thought this was the Year in Review, not the great "Is it or isn't it"
debate all over again.......


To me, 1994 was notable for TWO things:  striking or locked out sports, and
the man-child money syndrome in hoops.  The "I want more money but don't
want to be responsible to the team...." syndrome...


'Saw

  I agree 'Saw but realistically you have to add Tonya and O.J.

  Between felonies and labor law, 1994 was the year that sports moved from the
major networks to Court TV. 

  George

George Foreman has been chosen as the AP Male Athlete of the Year.

Foreman, famous for the manner in which he dominates hamburgers, received
204 votes. Hakeem was second with 138 and golfer Nick Price was third at
111.

Meanwhile, the US Olympic Committee named Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair as
Sprotman/woman of the year. No totals were given, nor was there any
indication of how any figger skaters did.

TTom

    |I agree 'Saw but realistically you have to add Tonya and O.J.
    
    Are Tonya and OJ dating?  Now there's a match...  

    The World Cup - i enjoyed seeing cynics like ::BRYDIE being converted
    into a slevering exciteable heap by the world's greatest game.
    
    Davie  :-)