Sport

[noddy]

it will be nice when murrily retires and they can just focus on banning the chucking, ermm doosras, without it being wah wah racial bullshit.

botha is the same but you can call him on it, cause he is a whitey .. the doosra requires a chuck and thats all there is to it.

saffers choked, how surprising

hideously, im tempted to support NZ but thats just not cricket, so ill support the sri lankans instead, who despite the chucker, have the best team, with the best attitude and deserve to win it... couldnt bring myself to support india or pakistan under any conditions.. one are shameless cheats the other hysterical whiners.

ill just read the writeup on cricinfo the day after, cant afford pay per view and they didnt even bother showing the aus games, so the chances of me getting to see the final are pretty much zero.

[noddy]

[Colonel Sun]

[CgDs]

[noddy]

[CgDs]

[noddy]

this makes sense - in cricket their are actually 2 versions of the swing ball and the early one uses the seam on the ball like that - you get the angle of the seam correct and the angle of the delivery correct and the air working against the seam will make it move in the desired direction.

however, because the ball is typically bowled on the bounce the seam is also used for movement on the bounce and thusly gets smashed flat so this form of swing bowling is only done for the first 60 or so deliveries until the seam is dead.

then their is a period where the ball doesnt move much at all and the batsmen run amok as much as they can .. before the second type of swing ball starts coming into play (one side rough and dry, the other shiny and heavy) and the bowlers can get back on top of them again.

"watching the ball out of the hand" is also a must in cricket, to identify the swing direction and to catch the bounce deviations (seam bowling and spin bowling)

another common trick is the slow ball, the bowler huffs and puffs and does all the action like they are doing the 100mph effort ball but in reality let it go at less than 70mph.. the instinctive reflex of the batsman gets all confused and they play all around it.

cricket typically has 3 or 4 types of bowler

the "hit the deck seamer" who is as fast as they possibly can be and relies on pain and fear and dangerous bounce (90-100mph)
the "swing bowler" who is less fast but has awesome control over the air movement and ground movement (70-90mph)
the "spinner" who is all about "flight" in the air (up and down curve aswell as side to side curve) and gets as much sideways spin on the ball as they can (50-60mph)
the "slow bowler" who is sort of a swing bowler, sort of a spinner.. very common in amateur games but sometimes works in pro ones.

the most famous guys can do 3 out of those 4, sometimes in the same delivery.

top class spinners can do all the action for a ball that will spin one direction but it actually spins the other direction, confusing most batsmen.

top class cheaters (the conversation between torchwood and i above) do this by "chucking" .. bending the elbow, so they can get traction in the other direction.

cricket bowling must be done with a straight arm, unless you are.... dont say it noddy.

[CgDs]

Interesting. Much overlap, although the bouncing only comes into play for catchers trying to block a curve versus a fastball that hits the ground before they can catch it in the air. (Critical importance because baserunners can advance if muffed, and on 3rd strikes (usually because the batter was fooled and swung at a ball in the dirt) the batter can advance to first base if he can beat the catcher's throw (if first base is not occupied, or there are two outs...).

My youngest (the 18yr old) is an interesting case. He's maybe 5'6", 130 or so pounds. Most 18yo pitchers are 6'2"-6'X" and 180+lbs. He throws 4 pitches, but his main pitch is a submarine pitch at about 45mph. His "fastball" is only in the low 60's, but the contrast between the speeds is enough to drive good batters crazy.

[Torchwood]

Thanks, CogDis, first time I have understood anything of the mysteries of baseball.

[amos]

The only professional sports team I have ever been especially loyal to is the Mets. Been at it for 42 years, but now I'm bailing. Lest anyone think I am jumping to a winner, ain't gonna happen. Go Orioles! See you in Boston sometime this year. Bring the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe with you. Can't hurt.

[noddy]

the reason i cant follow pakistan is that all that went through my mind while checking the OBO, was "how much is a dropped tendulker worth"

[CgDs]

[amos]

[CgDs]

[Colonel Sun]

[Torchwood]

[noddy]

[noddy]

only makes sense if you know the new zealand accent and follow rugby, so i put it here instead of levitas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wiremu, a New Zealander, was in Australia to watch the upcoming Rugby
World Cup and was not feeling well,

So he decided to see a doctor.

"Hey doc, I dun't feel so good, ey" said Wiremu.

The doctor gave him a thorough examination and informed Wiremu that he
had long existing and advanced prostate problems and that the only cure
was testicular removal.

"No way doc" replied Wiremu "I'm gitting a sicond opinion ey!"

The second Aussie doctor gave Wiremu the same diagnosis and also advised
him that testicular removal was the only cure. Not surprisingly, Wiremu
refused the treatment.

Wiremu was devastated, but with the Rugby World Cup just around the
corner he found an expat Kiwi doctor and decided to get one last opinion
from someone he could trust.

The Kiwi doctor examined him and said: "Wiremu Cuzzy Bro, you huv
Prostate suckness ey."

"What's the cure thin doc ?" asked Wiremu hoping for a different answer.

"Wull, Wiremu", said the Kiwi doctor "Wi're gonna huv to cut off your
balls."

"Phew, thunk god for thut!" said Wiremu, "those Aussie bastards wanted
to take my test tickets off me!"

[Torchwood]

OK, let's go to a game which noddy and I can share with the Yanks, although there is now a remarkable dearth of the latter at the top: golf.

I don't play the game (ruins a good walk) but find the back nine on the last afternoon at the Augusta Masters quite gripping to watch. Touted wonderboy Rory McIlroy, who led for the first three days, melted down yesterday and thus this young Ulsterman showed himself to be:
- a true Brit: it's playing the game that matters, old chap, not winning;
- a true Irishman: soaring genius followed by going bust.

Forget his private life, even when he is making a comeback, is there anyone more graceless and egocentric than Tiger Woods?

[noddy]

alas, i put it so heavily into the "ruins a good walk" section of life i dont bother watching it.

am currently refreshing the OBO of watson butchering banglas (59 off 37), hoping not to cringe at the egocentric gracelessness of our team and its supporters on completion.

[Azrael]

What's in a name? Distribution of use of terms "soccer" and "football" for Association Football.
Soccer -- Red. Football -- Blue. Disputed -- Green.

[CgDs]

[Azrael]

Yellow -- Australian rules football more popular. Green -- Rugby more popular.

[Azrael]

[Colonel Sun]