Barry Bonds

[Super Fluke]

I hope Barry never gets to 756, he cheated he doesn't deserve the best record in all sports. I hope someone throws at him and hits his knee or elbow and breaks it so he can't play any more. In about 10 years, A-rod will have about 810 homers.

[bassfisher02]

Why did he cheat? Because he used a supplement that hasnt been banned from MLB? I call it smart, not cheating. Ofcourse I could care less because to me baseball is just about as entertaining as watching grass grow and paint dry. I also know nothing about it, I just heard Barry Bonds used a performance enhancing drug that hasnt been band by MLB.

[Nitro911]

And there is NO WAY anything related to baseball qualifies for the "best record in sports". Emmitt Smith has what may the greatest record in sports, and there couldn't have been a classier guy to break Payton's record.

[Super Fluke]

I think hitting home runs is the hardest thing to do, especally more than 755.

[bassfisher02]

Well damn if I can only learn to hit the ball every time its pitched I would have a shot! Every time I manage to hit the ball its good as gone, problem is I cant consistently hit it.

But if I was any good at baseball I sure would play it over football, you take a beating in football, baseball seems like a walk in the park compared, which makes me wonder why there are so many more players in the MLB using 'roids. Yet the only thing i'm good at is hitting people so that seals my fate haha.

[BPACA]

I betcha in the NFL steroids are pretty popular......its just that everyone is probably one them....

[bassfisher02]

I doubt it, considering they have steroid testing all the time...
I play High School football and they even test us for steroids!!

They wouldnt just let someone using slide, it would be just as big a deal as with these baseball players.

[Super Fluke]

That cheater just hit 755

[hackattack]

the only thing I know is that baseball sucks...

[Bender]

Baseball used to be a great game. I used to go to Indians games a fair amount, until they sold off their players in the late 90s and I realized finally that it is all about money. Pretty much all professional sports are about creating some type of a soap opera scene to keep people interested, I guess the sport itself is not good enough anymore.
Now the only sport I watch is college football. IMO pro athletes are the most overpaid people around. I really don't have time to watch tv, I'm usually out doing something and suggest the same.
Edit:

[bassfisher02]

Its all about that college football. No other sport comes close.

[Super Fluke]

Football takes no brains, for baseball you have to have some smarts.

[FlyRod]

Steroids...SCHMEROIDS!
A REAL basser has Hemorrhoids!

Fly"Preppie H"Rod

[bassfisher02]

Originally Posted by Super Fluke

Football takes no brains, for baseball you have to have some smarts.

What is your logic there? If you can remember over 40 plays[in some cases], all unique in their own way and have specific jobs for each player with ease then I guess you can say it takes no brains. Although baseball, you hit the ball, catch the ball, run 90ft from base to base, and every time you hit homebase thats a score for the hometeam!! Are there many complex plays? That have to be thought up and worked out in a matter of seconds, then improvised when nessacery, which is almost every play? Football is the fastest sport, and the only sport where it takes a whole team to win. Take A-Rod or Barry Bonds, have them hit 4 homeruns in a game, and just them alone can win the game. Take basketball, get a Michael Jordan to go off on a scoring streak and they win. Take Emmitt Smith, he can run and run and run, but without the o-line he will go nowhere, without the qb to hand off he will go no where, without each person doing their specific roll he will go nowhere. It takes a lot of brains, and a lot of skill to play football. Now granted it may take mor skill to play baseball, its hard to hit that ball, but as far as brains go? I dont know about that. add in some mind juggling hits form a 240lb linebacker and well those plays become that much more difficult to remmeber.

[bassthumb32]

if you ask me i want everyone to go on roids it should be required i want to see them hit a ball 550 feet every time and i want runningbacks to run right throught linebackers. it would make for a more entertaining game. i know people around here that i play softball against that use steriods lol for slowpitch softball lmao. i think that that is hilarous.

[BLWeng]

Originally Posted by bassfisher02

Football is the fastest sport, and the only sport where it takes a whole team to win.

Actually O2, i agree with just about everything you said there, except the above. Hockey, it takes the entire team also. You get hit harder, the game is faster, and it is more demanding than any other sport out there. While you are on the ice, there is no rest, and at any moment you can get your head taken off. Much less padding than football. All IMO

[MississippiBoy]

Originally Posted by bassfisher02

Although baseball, you hit the ball, catch the ball, run 90ft from base to base, and every time you hit homebase thats a score for the hometeam!! Are there many complex plays? That have to be thought up and worked out in a matter of seconds, then improvised when nessacery, which is almost every play? Take A-Rod or Barry Bonds, have them hit 4 homeruns in a game, and just them alone can win the game.
Now granted it may take mor skill to play baseball, its hard to hit that ball, but as far as brains go? I dont know about that.

Let me disagree with you here, 02 (It's a free country country, I can do what I want ).
First, I do agree with football being complicated, fast-paced, and very brain-intensive, if that's a word. Everybody has their own little part in a big play, and they must adapt to the situation on the fly. 22 people on the field makes for a very intricate "dance," if you will.
However, I think you're slighting baseball when you dismiss its convolutions and complications. The hitter's job is simple, just smack the small white sphere hard somewhere between the white lines where a defensive player ain't, or just put it over the fence. Fine. Not complicated, but difficult. That's why somebody who is able to hit a third of the pitches effectively is considered pretty durn good.
But the defense actually has a fairly big job to do. If the ball is hit to one part of the field, one player fields it, and everybody else reacts to where that player has to go. An infielder must cover different places/bases based (sorry for the repetitiveness there) on the situation.
For example, runner on second, ball hit to left field, say it makes it to the fence. The shortstop runs out and acts as cutoff man, the third baseman backs him up, and the pitcher backs up home plate. Left fielder throws it to the cutoff man, who has a decision to either throw it home to get the runner, if he thinks he has a shot at him, or to second to try to get the batter. The first baseman reacts by backing up second, and the catcher will even run to back him, leaving the pitcher at the plate. Everybody backs up everybody else, and covers bases when the "designated" fielder is pulled away for some reason. And don't get me started on a run-down, when a runner is trapped between bases, and 4-5 infielders relay the ball back and forth to get him. There's also double plays, fly balls to the outfield with runners on, any hit with bases loaded, bunts, etc.
And about the home runs, 4 in one game for a single player is, shall we say, highly unlikely. That's like saying have Barry Sanders or whomever score 6 touchdowns every game. It might happen, but not even close to being consistent (Ok, I know you were exaggerating, but there we go). And if they do hit 4 homeruns, what if their pitcher sucks that day? If you score 16 runs, great, but if the other team scores 17, you still lost the game. To translate this to football, if you score 6 TD's, but your placekicker keeps booting it out of bounds at the 40 on the kickoff, or your defense has more holes than a seive, you're still screwed, more than likely.

I think it was Jerry Seinfeld that had a routine about covering yourself by saying "I'm just saying...", at the end of it. Example: "Your face reminds me of a cesspool. I'm just saying..."

So I'm just saying, baseball, while not as intricate as football, is not as brainless as you seem to think. Fire at will

Wow, longest post to date...

[bassfisher02]

Oh I deffinitely think it takes more skill to play baseball, no doubt about it. But I just think a big misconception with a lot of people is that football takes no brains, just a bunch of mindless jocks out there hitting eachother. But anyone who plays it can tell you its a very 'brain-intensive' sport, haha. I'm not saying baseball doesnt take brains, every sport takes brains, but I think football takes a lot more than anyone who doesnt play gives it credit for.

BL, kinda forgot about hockey there, that is correct hockey is one hell of a sport.

I think the reason I said it was t only sport in which it takes a whole team to win is because at last nights midnight practice the coach gave us a huge speech about things and that came up once or twice. It was fresh in my mind.

[WTL]

EXCLUSIVE: Barry Bonds' Home Run Record Tainted by Mechanical Device

By Michael Witte

Published: August 06, 2007 10:45 AM

NEW YORK (Commentary) Beyond his alleged steroid use, Barry Bonds is guilty of the use of something that confers extraordinarily unfair mechanical advantage: the “armor” that he wears on his right elbow. Amid the press frenzy over Bonds’ unnatural bulk, the true role of the object on his right arm has simply gone unnoticed.

This is unfortunate, because by my estimate, Bonds’ front arm “armor” may have contributed no fewer than 75 to 100 home runs to his already steroid-questionable total.

Bonds tied Henry Aaron’s home run record of 755 on Saturday night and will go for the new standard this week back at home in San Francisco. As a student of baseball – and currently a mechanics consultant to a major league baseball team -- I believe I have insight into the Bonds "achievement." I have studied his swing countless times on video and examined the mechanical gear closely through photographs.

For years, sportswriters remarked that his massive "protective" gear – unequaled in all of baseball -- permits Bonds to lean over the plate without fear of being hit by a pitch. Thus situated, Bonds can handle the outside pitch (where most pitchers live) unusually well. This is unfair advantage enough, but no longer controversial. However, it is only one of at least seven (largely unexplored) advantages conferred by the apparatus.

The other six:

1) The apparatus is hinged at the elbow. It is a literal "hitting machine" that allows Bonds to release his front arm on the same plane during every swing. It largely accounts for the seemingly magical consistency of every Bonds stroke.

2) The apparatus locks at the elbow when the lead arm is fully elongated because of a small flap at the top of the bottom section that fits into a groove in the bottom of the top section. The locked arm forms a rigid front arm fulcrum that allows extraordinary, maximally efficient explosion of the levers of Bonds' wrists. Bonds hands are quicker than those of average hitters because of his mechanical "assistant."

3) When Bonds swings, the weight of the apparatus helps to seal his inner upper arm to his torso at impact. Thus "connected," he automatically hits the ball with the weight of his entire body - not just his arms - as average hitters ("extending") tend to do.

4) Bonds has performed less well in Home Run Derbies than one might expect because he has no excuse to wear a "protector" facing a batting practice pitcher. As he tires, his front arm elbow tends to lift and he swings under the ball, producing towering pop flies or topspin liners that stay in the park. When the apparatus is worn, its weight keeps his elbow down and he drives the ball with backspin.

5) Bonds enjoys quicker access to the inside pitch than average hitters because his "assistant" - counter-intuitively - allows him to turn more rapidly. Everyone understands that skaters accelerate their spins by pulling their arms into their torsos, closer to their axes of rotation. When Bonds is confronted with an inside pitch, he spins like a skater because his upper front arm is "assistant"-sealed tightly against the side of his chest.

6) At impact, Bonds has additional mass (the weight of his "assistant") not available to the average hitter. The combined weight of "assistant" and bat is probably equal to the weight of the lumber wielded by Babe Ruth but with more manageable weight distribution.

Bonds has worn some sort of front arm protection since 1992. In '94, a one-piece forearm guard was replaced by a jointed, two piece elbow model. In ‘95 it got bigger and a small "cap" on the elbow was replaced by a "flap" that overlapped the upper piece and locked the two pieces together when the arm was elongated. In '96, the "apparatus" grew even larger and so did the "flap."

It seems to have remained relatively the same until -- interestingly— 2001, the year of his record 73 home runs, when an advanced model appeared made (apparently) of a new material. It had softer edges and a groove for the flap to slip into automatically at full arm elongation. More important, the upper half of the machine was sculpted to conform more comfortably to the contours of Bonds' upper arm. Since 2001, the apparatus seems to have remained relatively unchanged.

Several years back, baseball was rightfully scandalized by the revelation that Sammy Sosa had "corked" his bat. The advantages conferred by the Bonds "hitting machine," however, far exceed anything supplied by cork. Ultimately, it appears the Bonds "achievement” must be regarded as partly the product of “double duplicity" -- steroidal and mechanical.

Michael Witte (gmitchell@editorandpublisher.com) is a well-known illustrator whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal and dozens of other publications. The New Yorker recently wrote a piece about him and his study of mechanics. He appeared on network TV coverage of the 2003 World Series, providing cartoon sketches of some of the action.

[MississippiBoy]

Roger that, 02. There's no doubt football takes a lot of thinking. Last season, ESPN put up a play that Peyton Manning might call in the huddle. I can't remember what it was, exactly, but it was something like "Double over break 93 option grasscutter wide gap shoot boilermaker sunshine cross."
Now the actual play was nothing like that, but as far as length and detail, pretty darn close. It was 3 plays in 1. "Double over break 93 option" first, but if it doesn't work, do "Grasscutter wipe gap shoot," and if that goes south, "boilermaker sunshine cross" is the last option. And remember, those are 3 COMPLETELY different plays, that any one of them could be used by itself. Everybody had different responsibilities for the 3 different plays, and would have to change on the fly. And that was just ONE DOWN in the 3 hour game. I can't imagine how many permutations the average football team's plays go through every game. My hat's off to them, especially the QB's.

[BLWeng]

[quote=bassfisher02;163478]BL, kinda forgot about hockey there, that is correct hockey is one hell of a sport. quote]


No prob...just wanted to give this canadian sport some U.S. credit. Definately, the most exciting sport to watch, especially if you understand it. lol

Now, for the discussion about which one takes more skill, is harder to play, which one takes more brains....each sport has its own expectations, its own character...so on. You can have the argument that one is harder to play, one is harder physically...etc..but no one will win. Alot of people talk crap about golf...if you don't play, try it before you knock it. If you do play, you understand what i'm talking about. Golf is probably the only sport that is mostly mental, if you have any coordination and talent at all, and the most difficult to play well.

But being a sports phanatic, college, pro, doesn't matter, I am more sad to watch sportscenter every day and see nothing but the negative side of life. I turn on sportscenter to get away from the world problems, and when I do you see Michael Vick, Barry Bonds, Packman Jones, Donaughy (Sp ?) etc. Sports is turning into nothing but overpaid "kids" that can't stay out of trouble. IMO only.

[Fendercaster]

I like golf.

[bassfisher02]

I agree thats why I stay away from Pro sports. At that point of an atheletes career, you ahve to ask yourself what are they playing for other than money? The superbowl? Yeah right, I mean its deffinitely something to do, and you will get paid extra, but there all in it for money, they arent trying to prove anything anymore.

In my opinion, High school football is the most entertaining of the three categories [High school, college, and pro football] Because highs chool players are playing to play. They dont get paid, they play to play.

Golf is pretty hard, I stick to the Golf course ponds...

[CLENSKH]

I hate Barry Bonds with a Passion.. I will not get started on his roid poppin ***! HE DOES NOT DESERVE IT! Hank is still the man in my book!