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Post by pacific on Oct 4, 2023 8:05:13 GMT -5
Ice Hockey is one of those sports I have always wanted to watch but it doesn't seem to have very good access in the UK. I used to love watching it at the Olympics, a few of the games from the 80s of the Soviet Union against Canada and the US will forever be etched on my memory - absolutely incredible! And the brawls to are hilarious - I remember France vs. the US and literally both teams just in a massive scrum in the centre of the pitch, with one of the Goalies somehow on the top of the pile, and most of them going into the sin-bin afterwards!
Indycar is another US sport I have been trying to watch more of recently. More entertainment in a race than F1 manages in an entire season, they definitely have a much better formula for keeping it competitive and thus interesting for spectators.
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Post by easye on Oct 4, 2023 9:44:33 GMT -5
I have noticed some F1 highlights on my feed, but I have not gotten to watch them yet. I find F1 more fun to watch than Indy.
However, I was at an actual Indy Car race once, and that is an experience X100M better than seeing in on TV! I actually get why it was so popular.
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Post by crispy78 on Oct 4, 2023 10:09:13 GMT -5
I'd like to see more ice hockey. Lived in Sweden for a few years when I was about 10, and obviously it's an awful lot bigger there. Many more ice rinks available, and you could do stuff like take hockey sticks and a puck out on the ice and have a knock-about in a general skating session - a far cry from the UK's default 'all skate around the edge slowly in the same direction' approach. Hell, once we went to our local ice rink for a skate and couldn't because there was a game on, which we stayed on to watch. Turned out it was Sweden vs Denmark kids teams (under 11 maybe?)...
Bit random, the guy who looks after our Fedex shipping software at work used to be a big player in UK ice hockey!
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Post by pacific on Oct 5, 2023 4:32:21 GMT -5
I have noticed some F1 highlights on my feed, but I have not gotten to watch them yet. I find F1 more fun to watch than Indy. However, I was at an actual Indy Car race once, and that is an experience X100M better than seeing in on TV! I actually get why it was so popular. Can I honestly ask EasyE what was it you found more fun? Was it the lack of overtaking, the processional racing, guessing how many races spare that Verstappen will win the WC by, or someone getting disqualified from a well-earned podium for farting in their cockpit?*  (Sorry for the sarcasm!) * this is only a marginal exaggeration! As there is no sport on earth that loves throwing the rulebook around as much as F1. I have a similar relationship with F1 as I do with 40k. You have a rose-tinted view of something, and fond memories, so try it again and then quickly realise why you stopped before. So these days I realise the world has moved on without me and I don't bother as much... But it's interesting that F1 is meant to be the pinnacle of the sport, and in terms of it being an engineering exercise and rulebook-waving it probably is, but as a form of entertainment it is fundamentally lacking. And the problem then is, that casual fans watch it, think there is all that is to offer in the world of motorsport, and then turn off from motorsport entirely - which is a massive shame. Totally agree on seeing these things in person. I am more into bike motorsport than cars, but try and get to at least one or two events a year. I would love one day to do the Indy 500 though, and visit Laguna Seca, if I ever get the chance! |
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Post by easye on Oct 5, 2023 9:55:15 GMT -5
I probably like it better because I do not get to see it that much! Indy cars racing I have seen a lot of. Therefore, novelty!?!
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Post by pacific on Oct 6, 2023 8:13:07 GMT -5
Hah yes that is very true! I did used to find F1 (in the same way as test match cricket) the ideal accompaniment to a hangover or just being tired after eating a roast on a Sunday afternoon, and falling asleep in front of the TV  Going back to ball sports, nothing particularly stands out about the rugby world cup this week, other than a few teams will be fighting quite hard to get out of the group stages. France v Italy tonight might be OK, otherwise all of the other matches are pretty poor matchups and I think will be very one sided. Maybe Japan v Argentina on Sunday afternoon (or very early US time) might be worth a watch. |
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Post by dabbler on Oct 6, 2023 9:31:28 GMT -5
On motorsports, for you endurance fans Bathurst is on soon. Anyone watching that?
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Post by easye on Oct 6, 2023 10:18:50 GMT -5
The Minnesota Twins, my hometown baseball team; managed to get out of the first round of the play-offs for the first time in 21 years! They had constantly hit a NY Yankee shaped wall. They got through the 1st round this time, but now face the defending champs, the Houston Astros.
This actually made National news....
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Post by easye on Oct 16, 2023 9:55:36 GMT -5
.... and then the Minnesota Twins were out again.....
NHL is now for real too!
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Post by pacific on Oct 19, 2023 8:57:33 GMT -5
Some absolutely excellent games of Rugby last weekend (although utterly heart-breaking for both Ireland and France!) The first half of France/SA was probably the best rugby I have seen in years.
Somehow England has made it to the semi-final, and you have to think that is the end of the run unless some dodgy escargot gets into South Africa's lunches.
But, a good couple of semi-final games this weekend to watch!
And also, if you have ever wanted to give motogp a watch, you could do worse than watching the race this weekend: Phillip Island in Australia, wonderful track and always has good racing, and the title fight has well and truly kicked off.
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Post by easye on Oct 25, 2023 9:25:51 GMT -5
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Post by easye on Nov 2, 2023 13:26:00 GMT -5
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Post by pacific on Nov 6, 2023 6:51:26 GMT -5
Had read about that, really sad.
It's difficult to know what kind of rules or guidelines can be put in place, or are needed, and for freak accidents (which from reading this, it was) causing rule changes vs. sports that are inherently dangerous.
I come from a big motorcycling family who are all into racing, with various family members who have been involved over the years (my dad, uncles, cousins). We have a deep passion for it and I'm very lucky in that it was something my dad and I shared. I started watching in the early 90s and I will say even since then the measures taken to make the sport safer have been significant. From my dad's era (late 60s and 70s) it went from riders being killed almost every other race meeting, then on to it becoming a few a year, and now it is an abnormality (the last MotoGP death, which is the 'blue riband' class for bikes, was Marco Simoncelli back in 2011 - 12 years ago - although the support classes have had numerous fatal accidents).
But the problem is that riding a vehicle that can travel at 220mph+, hanging on to the outside of it with just 2 thin patches of rubber between you and the ground, is always going to be dangerous. Obvious things, such as making run-off areas, improving suit safety, making sure there are medical staff/helicopters available etc. can do a great deal (and it has taken a long time, and some very serious lobbying by competitors and a few noble individuals to change things) but it will never remove the risk entirely.
It's also a difficult balancing act in terms of society allowing people to take part in dangerous activities, that could result in their death, but also allowing them the freedom to do so. the Isle of Mann TT for instance, which suffered 6 fatalities in 2021, would have been cancelled 30 years ago if it had been on the UK mainland. But, because it enjoys a local government separation (it's home to numerous financial institutions that the UK gov will not interfere with) it has managed to avoid being banned. I don't tend to watch it any more as a rider I had followed for many years was killed there, but you will still hear arguments that it is ultimately each individual's choice to go and compete - the other side is that people only do it because it is there, and it should be banned. It's a very difficult choice to make, especially ultimately as these things exist as a form of entertainment.
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mdgv2
Ye Olde King of OT
Posts: 927
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Post by mdgv2 on Nov 6, 2023 8:28:42 GMT -5
I guess safety measures tend to be seen as Sufficient, until they’re No Long Sufficient.
For Motorcycle racing, I guess it involves a proper analysis of the whole of the thing. First, what caused the accident. Mechanical failure? Rider Error? Shit road surface? Oil or other hazards on the track? Because all of those will have different possible tweaks and adjustments.
Then, which injury was actually fatal. Reinforced spinal protection and a proper skid lid won’t stop you breaking limbs, but can prevent being full in crippled or head injury. Or indeed, finding out an aerodynamic tweak to helmet shape caused an unforeseen structural weakness or hazard. Heck, I’d even wager riders learn how to “properly” come off a bike at high speed, to maximise the protection they’re wearing. Like in parachuting or parascending, there’s a distinctly safer method of landing which massively reduces the risk of breaking yourself. And that was probably 30 years ago I did it, so improvements may have since been made.
It’s like the gradual evolution of civilian car safety devices. Crumple zones to disperse impacts, ABS, minimum tyre tread safety depths, the structure being a single piece to provide greater strength in case the car rolls, seatbelts, side and front airbags etc. None on their own was a particularly grand leap forward, and people absolutely still die in car accidents - but the chances of survival have only gone up.
It’s like morons claiming seatbelts are unsafe, because they can break ribs in a car crash of sufficient velocity and impact. And….that’s kind of right. And I suspect having broken ribs hurts and sucks with equal gusto. But it’s still preferable to a short trip through the windscreen before buttering yourself up the road.
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Post by pacific on Nov 6, 2023 12:28:54 GMT -5
Yes that is very true MDG. I think something like 7 of the last 8 fatalities (on track racing, rather than road racing) have been when a rider has fallen in front of other riders or a pack from behind. It very nearly happened to the current World Champion Pecco Bagnaia earlier in the year whilst he was leading, on about the 3rd corner so he still had the the entire pack right behind him - I turned away from the screen as I had no desire to see what you could see was coming, but fortunately (incredibly) he just got hit in the leg and was able to race again the following weekend.
They do now have rider/jacket air bags which detect when you have crashed and go off in the air, before you hit the ground (these have even made there way into the public market! I have one myself, they are expensive but massively improve your chance of avoiding serious injury or death) so they get up and walk away from accidents that, even a decade ago, would have been season or even career-ending. The 'falling in path of approaching' vehicles (if you imagine, the bikes are a lot smaller than something like a car, but you still have a 200kg or so object travelling at that velocity) is the bit that they seem to be struggling to find an effective remedy for.
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(Sorry for the sarcasm!)