I recall how we had a half dozen sporting world champions at one point who'd garnered not one iota of national coverage between them (before it became a talking point, at least).

Nicole Begg got a couple of brief news stories when she won the world inline speed skating title.…

God I love urban legends.

Not that the experience would touch a game of Dwarf Fortress. You've all read boatmurdered,…

If it hadn’t been for the celebratory hand-job offered by a passing Nigerian carer, he would have walked away with nothing!

I wouldn’t complain…

(Although I might enjoy all sports a lot more if they involved celebratory handjobs, actually. Get your Olympic medal, and then have some poor hapless official deliver the wanking as the national anthem played. In the bonds of love we meet, indeed.)

(Erm, also,…

I guess so. Maybe he has trouble meeting people online (which really is sinking low), so he just built his own gang.

Do you think he's got a Leeroy Jenkins in his team?

If it hadn’t been for the celebratory hand-job offered by a passing Nigerian carer, he would have walked away with nothing!

Pardon?

Like the online version of a gang?

I guess so. Maybe he has trouble meeting people online (which really is sinking low), so he just built his own gang.

And it’s not just our female athletes who are discriminated against in terms of coverage, funding and popularity, either.

In 2003, my intellectually handicapped cousin represented New Zealand in archery at the Special Olympics in Dublin. Not only did he win our country a…

I thought the thing in WOW was to make friends with other players and then all go around beating things up together?

Like the online version of a gang?

It is for this guy

I feel the need for video of the guy playing to see how its possible to play 36 different characters in a game at once.

I thought the thing in WOW was to make friends with other players and then all go around beating things…

World of Warcraft – that's a sport, right?

It is for this guy

I'm quite the opposite though I think the commentators are hilarious!

Lon and Norman really make that show, I agree. I've tried to watch other poker tournaments and they're just not the same. I think the key for me is that the WSOP is only tangentially about poker: it's really…

World Series of Poker on ESPN, how I love thee.

I'm quite the opposite though I think the commentators are hilarious! They manage to create a sense that something incredibly complex and tense is happening.

some element of physical movement requirement more than putting a small papery rectangle down on a table is required

Hey, there's a rule that you *do* have to stand up and pace around muttering after you go all in before the flop with your pair of kings and someone else…

I am aware that under the guidelines I have just proposed striptease (and a bunch of other stuff) is probably now a sport

Recently in Wellington the Pole Fitness show was…

Sport in many ways is like art....It's there to distract people from their otherwise meaningless lives...er-um...I mean to inspire people.

Sport to me, is a different form of art....though highbrow art snobs might disagree with me.

Thus…

One thing the Aussies consistently beat us at is media coverage and water-cooler discussion of women's sport. It's REALLY noticeable.

That doesn't really fit with the Australian netballers regular comments about how they are blown away by the level of interest and media coverage of netball in NZ when compared…

Oh, maybe I should mention softball. I mean, I get the tension, kind of, but could someone hit the bloody ball, just occasionally, please.

Yeah I don't get softball. Baseball I like (usually), but softball is a bore (again better to play than watch).

I am even less interested in baseball than I am in cricket. So it approximates negative interest levels and I couldn't name you any current players (Barry Bonds & Babe Ruth are probably the only 2 I could name from any era.)

That said, I once read an interesting book…

This is a general question, not just to Don: is there any sport where you find women's version is more interesting than the men's?

Certainly hockey, as you mentioned.

There are a raft of sports where the gender doesn't matter, as seen in the Olympics...athletics, swimming, cycling, sailing and so…

I had failed to realise that John Daly was a benchmark figure in your parallel universe. Does this also mean that other pastimes such as snooker and darts are also "not sports" because men with a neck-girth larger than your thigh take part?

Or is it not to do…

Why is golf "not a sport"?

Golf isn't a sport because if John Daly can play it, it can't be sport. (I await your rebuttal with gleeful anticipation)

Though I'm still trying to deal with why motorsport isn't sport. Schumacher used to do three hours a day in the gym…

If you're blogging quite a lot about sports, you should get the numbers right. Basketball has 10 on the court, netball has 14.

Quax!

I wrote that at high speed and I remember thinking "is that right?" before blipping to the next point and hitting submit.

There's no difference between…

Admittedly it doesn't take a high degree of fitness, but it is a competitive outdoor pastime requiring a high degree of physical coordination.

Or is it because it can truly fuck with your mind?

I love netball as a spectator sport, except I'd like to see something done about the fake injury breaks.

Didn't they try to do something about that before the world champs? I'm pretty sure they changed the rules, but I did notice in one of the Aussie tests it seems…

That’s mainly because the rallies are longer, and there’s more down to skill and finesse rather than brute power, particularly on the first serve.

In fact 1970s men’s tennis is more like modern women’s tennis than modern men’s tennis.

Which is as good…

Yeah but there are ten people on the court and only one standing still with the ball.

If you're blogging quite a lot about sports, you should get the numbers right. Basketball has 10 on the court, netball has 14.

This is a general question, not just to Don: is…

That's because the rules of the game are to stop whenever you get the friggin ball and only run around in a little area of the court. Shesh, no wonder they have the energy left over for more games.

Whatever. I hear it's a non-contact sport too. Sheesh, look at…

Spot on with motor racing, Americas cup BTW.

Seriously, think of the rules of netball. Clipboard mania gone mad.

Not to disagree, because after all, what you like, you like, and I'm not going to say any one sport is better than another. (Except motor sport and the america's cup – not sports)

But at least the netball…

Good to see the U17 women's football getting a bit of media coverage…

Seriously, think of the rules of netball. Clipboard mania gone mad.

I agree with you about the defensive contact rule. Which is another reason why Casey "Chopper" Williams is such an axe, if she can get around those. Oh yeah, we gave them all cool nicknames as well.

Seriously, think of the rules of netball. Clipboard mania gone mad.

So, in my original post I deleted my rant about netball as a spectator sport (frankly women's hockey, football, cricket are all far more entertaining).

This is a general question, not just to Don: is there any sport where you find women's version is more interesting than the men's?

For…

That's because the rules of the game are to stop whenever you get the friggin ball and only run around in a little area of the court. Shesh, no wonder they have the energy left over for more games.

Yeah but there are ten people on the court and only…

Or is it that you only can't pass through a third of the court, but shooting is fine?

No, you can only shoot from inside the goal circle. I was referring to the whole exciting buzzer-beater element. But hey I'm all for a rule change that lets Julie Seymour biff…

Netball has that. See Donna Loffhagen in the 1999 World Championship final.

I thought you couldn't shoot until you were in the bottom third. Or is it that you only can't pass through a third of the court, but shooting is fine?

And the netballers played a three-test series in a week! And a world cup over 8 days!…

Face it, netball is just a dreadful sport to watch. Players imprisoned in certain sections of the court, Subbuteo like restrictions on how far they can move with the ball, and way too much whistle.

Jeez LB you must hate rugby

And any sport that discourages a Phil Jones type shot from your own side of halfway to beat the buzzer and bring the crowd to their feet... c'mon.

Netball has that. See Donna Loffhagen in the 1999 World Championship final.

Face it, netball is just a dreadful sport to watch. Players imprisoned in certain sections of the court, Subbuteo like restrictions on how far they can move with the ball, and way too much whistle.

I somewhat concur. I realise that the netballers are tremendously good at what they do,…

Players imprisoned in certain sections of the court, Subbuteo like restrictions on how far they can move with the ball

I thought, ah, sport was all about sitting down, thinking up the most contrary rule you can think of and then implementing it.
My random selection
*Not being able to…

Face it, netball is just a dreadful sport to watch. Players imprisoned in certain sections of the court, Subbuteo like restrictions on how far they can move with the ball, and way too much whistle.

Stiil, beats talking about the cricket.

The lady makes an excellent point.

Well I can tell you that you will love Field Theory over summer when there will be little to no talk of cricket.

But maybe more about that Frisbee stuff Don's into :)

Casey's unusual double plaits were down the sides of her head, and you just can't get the same swing up like that.

Casey's entire body is a weapon on the court. I have a feeling she uses them like a ninja with two swords. Deft little flicks of the head…

Stiil, beats talking about the cricket.

The lady makes an excellent point.

I was playing Volleyball at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin on Wednesday (the court was right next to one of the doors into…

When did women start reading the sports section in large numbers? ;)

Um... when did Chris Cairns start playing cricket?

During the game Amy mentioned how the players shouldn't be allowed ponytails because they hurt if whipped about, especially if they are plaited.

What we used to call a Dutch…

When did women start reading the sports section in large numbers? ;)

Dude.
The only reason it isn't the section I read first is that my boyfriend has longer arms than I do ....

Which is great for NZ because there will always be one game where we're more or less guaranteed world champions.

Except for the 8 times we haven't won it, you mean? :)

And I take your point, it is a minority sport on the world stage. As, it could be…

I was told (some time ago so correct me if this isn't accurate) by a former Black Fern that even though much of the funding isn't earmarked for either men's…

None at all?

Outside NZ, Aussie and maybe Jamaica it's an amateur minority sport. Which is great for NZ because there will always be one game…

Ive been blathering on about this to anyone who will listen for years. Girls' sports just don't rate a mention. In fact, if you aren't men playing cricket, rugby, or league, you are pretty lucky to get one at all.

Having said that, with…

...and even feel mildly positive towards the sponsors (aren't you nice people Milo, National Bank and New World!)

If you have a listen to the Dropkicks commentary (and I recommend you do!) you here us bitch about New World's decision to paint the court red and white, give red and…

I can't wait for your topic in then (albeit unlikely) event that Wellington…

When did women start reading the sports section in large numbers? ;)

About 1981. Or that's when I did anyway. I cut out the All Whites paper thing and had their photos on the inside of my wardrobe door. (Do I get points off for soccer, aka "football" as it…

Have a gander for womens sports covered in the Guardian online.

There's one way, way down near the bottom on a female squash player.

I'd say a ratio of about 1 story on female athletes to 100 on male athletes.

Points off to the first person to congratulate Canterbury on beating Hawke's Bay or to weep over Hawke's Bay's loss.

I can't wait for your topic in then (albeit unlikely) event that Wellington pull off a win on Saturday, No doubt there will be a fascinating game in the [[http://beachultimate.org/blog/2008/07/the_subic_bay_beach_ultimate_f.html|World…

No mention of the huge turnout to see the semi-final in Canterbury. The figure I heard was that approx 4000 brave souls turned…