The athletics news you can’t live without 8

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1. 

   katakanadian Posted 8:09 am
   16 Mar 2008

   Not so green sportsI'll just toss out a couple observations on the lack of greenness in my sports.
   Gymnastics - massive amounts of chauffeuring around of children to distant gyms.  >_<  No easy way around this but the best bets involve better public transit, making neighbourhoods safer for cycling, carpooling, and improved fuel economy standards for personal vehicles will also make a difference.
   Rowing - it's human-powered and looks great on the surface but usually involves participants driving some distance to facilities. Since more of the participants are adults, there is greater ability to make personal decisions reducing fuel use.

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2. 

   Sir Oolius Posted 12:01 am
   17 Mar 2008

   Go Red Sox!Nice pic of Fenway.  Home opener is just a few short weeks away.

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3. 

   caniscandida Posted 1:24 am
   17 Mar 2008

   The Beijing Olympics, and TibetHave the GHG emissions of international travelers going to attend the various Olympic Games on various continents been compared, with other attendance patterns being taken into account?  If it is true -- which perhaps it is not -- that most such travelers are from Europe and North America, then would locations of Olympic Games in, say, Athens, Barcelona, Atlanta, and, in four years, London, elicit a smaller amount of GHG emissions than Beijing, or, mein Gott!, Sydney?
   By the same token, though, do venues outside of Europe and North America tend to draw fewer visitors?  Was Sydney well-attended, relatively?
   Will very many Chinese from outside of Beijing be attending the Olympics? -- whether willingly, or encouraged by the government.  If so, how will they be traveling?
   Are there any fans and lovers of the Olympic Games, who are saying, "I would love to go to Beijing, but, for the sake of the planet, I am just going to stay home and watch the Games on TV"?
   As for Tibet: Certainly Jacques Rogge and the IOC do not think there is any reason to boycott the Beijing Games at this point, and that seems reasonable.  And the poor Dalai Lama is doing all he can not to seem to push the Chinese too much, while still expressing strong solidarity with the protesters:
   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/world/asia/17tibet.html ....
   A cynic would say he is just struggling to remain relevant, after he has failed to establish a more satisfactory arrangement with the Chinese.  Well, that is not impossible; but I think it would be hard to doubt that he really does have the best interests of his people at heart, and that these include cleaving strictly to non-violent forms of protest, and achieving autonomy within China, not full independence.  How realistic he is being, is another matter.
   I have never felt sorrier for him.  He is as aware as anyone of the significance of the Beijing Olympics in the background; and without calling attention to that particularly, he rather piteously calls on the international community to speak out for human rights in Tibet -- piteously, I say, because we in the international community, cowards and opportunists, are not going to say anything of consequence, and nevertheless the Chinese government will feel all the more justified to treat the Dalai Lama as a bitter foe.
   
   Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

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4. 

   caniscandida Posted 1:42 am
   17 Mar 2008

   Isenhour and the hawkGolf balls are not easy missiles to aim, sure.  But this pro golfer had a few shots at the hawk, to make corrections on his aim.  If all he was trying to do was to scare the hawk away, then he went about it in a quite brainless way.
   Sibley says of the Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), a smallish buteo:
   
   <<
   
   Population in southern Florida has much paler and grayer adult plumage than northern birds .... Voice: Very vocal and often heard.  High, clear, repeated keeyuur keeyuur ...
   
   >>
   And there is a picture of the Florida subspecies, with grey and buff plumage, in contrast with the brown and orange plumage of northern birds.
   
   Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

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5. 

   malechem Posted 2:07 am
   17 Mar 2008

   Team competitive sportsIt seems to me that you could compete in sports  like weightlifting, cheerleading and gymnastics remotely, with enough standardization. You'd still have to meet up for wrestling and tennis, but technology will catch up....

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6. 

   caniscandida Posted 2:40 am
   17 Mar 2008

   remote competitionNice idea, MaleChem.  But I am sure there are thousands of sports aficionados who would always feel that the conditions were never quite even and fair, if the competitors were not in the same place at the same time.
   It never made total sense to me, why, if an athlete broke a record or beat his/her personal best in a fair and well-monitored pre-Olympic competition, he/she could not just send in those statistics in lieu of showing up at the Olympics.  But that is the way it goes.  There are lots of examples, are there not, of athletes who performed fantastically well in the year prior to an Olympics, who then did not nearly so well at the Olympics themselves.  That seems so cruel and unfair -- but where, really, does justice lie?
   In terms of ancient Greek religion and theology, and the relationship between gods and human beings -- the Olympic Games of course having been a religious festival in honor of Zeus -- , that makes perfect sense.  But we are supposed to be much more enlightened nowadays, no?, and religion should never count any more.
   
   Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

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7. 

   caniscandida Posted 2:43 am
   17 Mar 2008

   "happier birdie news"(Yes, Sarah, I see what you did: very cute.)
   Bobby Ginn is a genius, maybe even a saint at times.  God bless him!  And God bless the beleaguered wild animals of Florida, and their human friends!
   
   Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

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8. 

   Gymbo Posted 12:06 am
   01 Oct 2008

   Prince a Vegetarian??I didn't know Prince when Vegetarian this year.  No wonder why he was struggling with his power early in the season.  
   The Mets should of used some of that eco power to get there team over the hill this year and actually make the playoffs.
   Little Rock Personal Injury Lawyers

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