Here are the first and last pictures (plus captions) in a photo gallery entitled Wimbledon Arms Race in the Toronto Star in 2011:
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| Sure he may be the greatest player of all time. But Roger Federer is nowhere near the tops when it comes to arm muscles at Wimbledon this year. There are more impressive specimens to come.... |
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| But really, Serena Williams takes the cake. Her arms look more muscled than Roger Federer's thighs. No wonder she has such a powerful serve. |
And, again, here's that article in the New York Times Magazine trying to figure out why tennis fans have never really taken to the Williams Sisters. Is it their race?
Let me ramble a moment about Access Journalism. Anybody can put together snarky photo galleries like The Star did. But, there's no prestige in that. The high end of journalism is doing interviews for profiles, especially with posed photos. People apparently like these beefcake glamour photos of celebrities that magazines put on their covers. But if the interviewer asks unwelcome questions, like, "Serena, why are your arms more muscular than the world's greatest tennis player's thighs?" not only will the interview be over, but, worse, the photo shoot will be off.
Moreover, it often turns out that your access is terminated not only to Serena Williams, but to the 17 other clients of her offended PR manager. Your career could be over. So, don't ask unwelcome questions. Instead, just go with the conventional wisdom about "Aren't these strong women wonderful role models?"
You can tell that the guy writing the NYT Mag article about Serena thinks his assignment is kind of screwy, but he can't come out and say that.
The other thing that I wanted to mention is the weird climate we are in where you aren't really supposed to mention that it's nice to see a champion athlete who looks like Federer -- a grown man who, for once, doesn't look like a cartoon character or a mutant. I guess that would be too offensive to all the science project athletes and their fans.
So, what other top athletes out there besides Federer are still built more like, say, Joe DiMaggio in 1941 than like Predator or Alien?
The other thing that I wanted to mention is the weird climate we are in where you aren't really supposed to mention that it's nice to see a champion athlete who looks like Federer -- a grown man who, for once, doesn't look like a cartoon character or a mutant. I guess that would be too offensive to all the science project athletes and their fans.
So, what other top athletes out there besides Federer are still built more like, say, Joe DiMaggio in 1941 than like Predator or Alien?
Posts
154 comments:
Serena actually ended Michael Chang's career after she beat him up and stuffed him in a locker for making eye contact with her at a tennis club.
From my epic pwnage: "Basically this whole op-ed is a white elite apologetic for access to elite black friends at the expense of non-elite whites."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-26/-diversity-isn-t-colleges-need-affirmative-action.html#comment-630679654
I'm sure I'm not the first one to point out that it's rather disturbing to see Serena Williams in a mini-dress.
I'm sure I'm not the first one to point out that it's rather disturbing to see Serena Williams in a mini-dress.
It'd be more disturbing to see her in shorts. At least a mini-dress can cover a bulge.
premier league's last year's mvp robin van persie doesn't look beefed up at all.
Soccer and cricket players.
Thirty years ago I'd also have said rugby players, but no longer.
Martina Navratilova looked more muscular and manly in her prime than US Open Champion Arthur Ashe. Her thighs were thicker than Ashe's waist.
Here's a picture of an older Martina with Serena:
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020919/sp4.jpg
Basketball player Kevin Durant looks like he could have played in the 80s.
So, what other top athletes out there besides Federer are still built more like, say, Joe DiMaggio in 1941 than like Predator or Alien?
Neymar the star soccer player from Brazil, ranked among the 3 best in the world, is smaller and leaner than Federer:
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m40id8Ghi71r90e96o1_500.jpg
"Serena actually ended Michael Chang's career after she beat him up and stuffed him in a locker for making eye contact with her at a tennis club."
You're joking right? Right?
Tim Lincecum.....he still looks like the Mitch Kramer character in Dazed and Confused. There are a few other baseball pichers that are more wiry the bulky still. In fact the giants/braves game last night featured Lincecum vs. Tim Hudson two very successful guys who don't appear to be overly muscle bound.
"Serena actually ended Michael Chang's career after she beat him up and stuffed him in a locker for making eye contact with her at a tennis club."
Careful people, mind the unintended consequences before posting. Yan Shen must be lurking out there, making an iSteve-return whightknighting Chang from such despicable rumors.
Allow free use of PEDs and end back-alley juicing. Let the Docs get credit for their work.
You're joking right? Right?
Yeah, it was actually because Chang dropped the soap while Serena was passing by. Threw out his back for good and ended his career.
Tiger Woods was playing a whole lot better when he was leaner and looser than when he became muscle-bound.
Bj Penn was never a muscular specimen in MMA.
Anonymous said...
Martina Navratilova looked more muscular and manly in her prime than US Open Champion Arthur Ashe. Her thighs were thicker than Ashe's waist
I always confused her with Tom Petty?
I thought that dude had retired to his native Brooklyn to raise pigeons after biting Holyfield's ear off.
In defence of modern physiques (thinking about rugby players for example), I would say that core strength training and better nutrition explain some of it. I started working out again post-fifty with a distant background of near elite level sports. All I basically do is stand-crouch on a half balance ball and hurl an eight kilo medicine ball from all angles at a mini-trampoline for about thirty minutes three times a week. The results are better than hours of bench press, etc, including military boot camp.
Do people dislike Serena because of her race?
No, not at all- don't be silly. It doesn't help though.
Eli Manning?
The joke on the Giants is that when he takes his shirt off, he looks like he's never seen a weight room.
In all these posts, you haven't even mentioned the veins.
Ugh, the veins! Bulging veins that seem to lay right on top of the muscles.
Serena's "Crip Walk":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqxo05tMVP4
Taki (who played professional tennis) on how no one in tennis likes Serena Williams:
http://takimag.com/article/whingers_at_wimbledon_taki_theodoracopulos/print#axzz22sCTJphA
@Tank.
Hence the name of my fantasy football team this year: "Body By Eli". He should be lauded as a model for the rest of us!
Photo evidence here.
Patrick Kane who plays for the Chicago Black Hawks looks like a regular college student despite being one of the best players in the NHL.
Jesus H.; the gheyness increases daily around here.
I don't get why Serena needs to be super muscular like that. She's good enough, she'd win a lot anyway.
Fedor Emelianenko is known for having a healthy layer of blubber over some very strong and fast muscles. Though with heavyweight athletes, there comes a point where there is no way to gain extra muscle without gaining some fat along with it. Not really an indication of whether or not they are juicing.
McEnroe apparently took steroids at least once, but he didn't get bigger or so he says. Also, some people are prone to hypertrophy, some aren't. If you read McEnroe's book he talks about how no matter what he did, his forearms were the same size. He was envious of players like Laver, whose forearms were crab-like in their lopsidedness.
Moreover, it often turns out that your access is terminated not only to Serena Williams, but to the 17 other clients of her offended PR manager. Your career could be over. So, don't ask unwelcome questions. Instead, just go with the conventional wisdom about "Aren't these strong women wonderful role models?"
And this is one of the reasons why tennis fans do not love the Williams.
They are poor sports. And not entertainly like McEnroe was at times. They do everything except draw pictures of the "Race Card" in a clay court.
They routinely fake injuries for time-outs in order to break opponents scoring runs. Can't say anything though.
They have no respect for the game or it's most storied institutions, always needing to be the center of attention.
They have no "class" and more often than not look like they just blew their welfare check at some Afro-centric salon.
Steroids in sports are not really very important in the grand scheme of things. Neither is the way top PR people use access to control the coverage of their clients. We can transition to the point where most elite athletes look and act like the Incredible Hulk, and where the most useless and smarmy celeb is never asked a difficut question, and the world will be little the worse for it.
But the lessons we learn looking at this stuff, seeing how media coverage is controlled, how people blind themselves to obvious stuff like female elite athletes who look like they could work as bouncers at a biker bar, that's really important. Because it's not just Tom Cruise or Serena Williams whose PR people use access to reward friends and punish enemies--politicians use access and leaks for exactly the same purpose. And it's not just that people have an aversion to hearing anyone talk about their favorite sports heroes as doping even when they go from stick figures to bodybuilders in a couple years--they also have an aversion to hearing that their party is screwing them or taking money from unsavory sources, or that their country is doing seriously nasty crap outside their view.
It doesn't really matter if Serena is juicing or Tom is gay, but it matters a great deal that Barack is continuing the Bush war on terror, along with using access and leaks to control the coverage. It matters a lot that every congressman must raise a few million dollars and avoid offending the big dark-money organizations that can show up in his district and run attack ads on him he can't afford to respond to. The same mechanisms that make it hard to have a sensible discussion or decent coverage of Serena or Tom also keep us from having decent coverage of those other, much more important, things.
Look at Serena - it's hard to imagine that her astounding physique didn't result from anabolic steroids. How good is the drug testing program in professional tennis? Apparently, not very good. Here's a quote from an article in Slate magazine (http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2009/07/steroids_anyone.html):
Why does tennis remain so lax when it comes to drug testing? Perhaps it's taking a lesson from the other major sporting event taking place this weekend: the Tour de France. Cycling, baseball, and track and field are the sports that have been the most stained by drug cheats. They're also the sports that have the most-rigorous testing programs. Based on recent evidence, it's not realistic to expect top-flight athletes to be clean. It is possible, though, to simply sweep the syringes under the rug—or better yet, not look for them in the first place.
....
Here's another article that thinks tennis has a steroid problem - http://tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.com/p/the-case-against-tennis.html.
Speaking of class, didn't Venus "crip walk" out to the court during the London Games?
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137834/adam-tooze/germanys-unsustainable-growth
Thanks, Steve, this matter of access explains why I've seen hosts gush to Serena about how beautiful she is. I found it weird and assumed that it was one of those overcompensating things, but perhaps she expects it.
In her favor I must point out that unlike Mike Tyson, to whom she bears a strong resemblance, Serena has never bitten off an opponent's ear.
I dunno, Steve, I have a comment but why bother when it will be moderated at whim?
Harry Baldwin said...
In her favor I must point out that unlike Mike Tyson, to whom she bears a strong resemblance...
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Great idea for the basis of a SNL skit: Mike Tyson in a tennis dress and a wig as Serena Williams.
Would probably be rejected for actually being funny.
Somewhat related: I'm pretty sympathetic to the "let the athletes use whatever juice they want to" argument on general principle, but in practical fact I find that I lose interest in a sport the more its athletes start looking like cartoon superheroes. For instance: I recently attended a big league baseball game for the first time in a couple of decades ... And (despite my fondness for the game) I found I couldn't get involved -- at all -- with what these hulking, videogame heroes-and-villians were up to out on the field. They didn't seem to belong to the same species that I belong to. So the only feelings I could summon up were amazement and curiosity of a rather impersonal kind.
And one reason I root for Federer is that he's got a normal-person sort of build. So (as far as I'm concerned, anyway), let the athletes juice ... but expect me to lose interest the more they do it.
But I'm pretty retro in many ways. I prefer to do my sports spectating at minor-league and amateur events -- hey, there are real people out there enjoying themselves. Gotta love that. And if someone were to get a wooden-racquets-only tennis tour going, I'd be a faithful fan of that.
Something no one's explored enough: the connection between the taste for videogames and steroid use ... Those major league baseball players I failed to get interested in reminded me more of the characters I'd seen in stuff like Metroid than of people I've actually known. Do guys who grow up on computer games expect real-life sports to resemble the videogames they love?
Also: the changing relationship people have these digital days to fantasy. Art and culture used to be about the collision between fantasy and reality -- this may be what you want; but this is what IS. Today, many younger people seem to prefer (and unashamedly so) their fantasies -- they actually prefer the Photoshopped image, the porn scenario, the videogame world, the digital spectacle ... For example, it's really striking at the Game blogs, the way many of the commenting betas say they can't bear the thought of a girlfriend who doesn't look like a porn star. There's something about the digital media that promotes this kind of attitude, I guess.
Ichiro Suzuki.
maybe some high school or junior college kids? Everyone else is at least using serious supplements and lifting.
I'm a tennis fan who has watched most of the top pros play in person. They're all pretty normal looking physical specimens compared to most professional athletes. The most notable thing today is that they are getting taller, a lot of 6'5"+ men.
Serena is the most extreme in that she's both muscular and curvaceous, with a huge rear of the type that Sir Mix-a-Lot extolled in his hit. Venus looks like Olive Oyl in comparison, and it is amazing to see such variation in body types from the same parents.
Federer is remarkably thin looking in person, almost like a distance runner. Despite the talk about him being "girly", he has broad shoulders and a wide chest.
Lastly, hitting a two-handed backhand with bent arms will make the arms look huge in photos. Even the rail thin (though ripped) Gael Monfils arms look enormous in some 2hbh photos. So be careful, the 2hbh shot is like doing a bodybuilder pose to maximize the apparent size of the arms.
Anonymous said...
Do people dislike Serena because of her race?
No, not at all- don't be silly. It doesn't help though.
Sure as hell helps with black folks. Blacks with no interest in tennis still support Serena/Venus because they're black.
Truth said...
Jesus H.; the gheyness increases daily around here.
So being turned off by a woman who looks like she played free safety for the Jets in the early 80s is now a sign of gheyness?
So, what other top athletes out there besides Federer are still built more like, say, Joe DiMaggio in 1941 than like Predator or Alien?
Boxing champion Celestino "Pelechin" Caballero of Panama. He is 5'11" tall and competes as a 126-pound featherweight.
The world's greatest soccer player on the beach:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cDsXaevLJS8/TTgiIPHuajI/AAAAAAAAAJM/2oRElt8K29k/s1600/0721-lionel-messi-splash-credit.jpg
(World's greatest soccer player pictured on the right.)
Buster Posey.
Think it's just pro sports? Check these pics of real people in Camden.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2193971/Camden-police-disbanded-270-officers-fired-amid-budget-crunch.html
Speaking of class, didn't Venus "crip walk" out to the court during the London Games?
You mean she used a wheelchair?
So, what other top athletes out there besides Federer are still built more like, say, Joe DiMaggio in 1941 than like Predator or Alien?
NBA players before the 90s.
Larry Bird was tall of course but didn't have a ridiculous build.
"Would probably be rejected for actually being funny."
Yes, hilarious, Serena Williams looks about as much like Mike Tyson in a wig, as Hope Solo does Brian Urlacher.
They say every scouting evaluator who saw Tom Brady's combine photo, shirtless with shorts, immediately crossed him of the late-round list.
Mike Tyson recently admitted to having used PEDs.
First time poster on this blog (found it through Half-Sigma); if one looks at the world's most popular sport, the best players are mostly 'normal physique-ed' which bucks the trend from the late 90's-early 2000's where power and strength were starting to dominate the game. Of course I'm talking about football/soccer. All the players in the following list of world class footballers are under 5'9" and under 160lbs, with many in the 140 lbs range:
Leo Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, David Villa, David Silva, Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes to name a few.
Cristiano Ronaldo is more the exception than the norm these days when it comes to world class attacking/midfield talents.
It is interesting to see how football/soccer reverted from the path it looked to take in the late 90's/early 2000's. 10-15 years ago one would've never guessed that it would be dominated by short and pretty lightweight players.
Men's pro tennis on the other hand will kill you if you are not tall. A player like chang has zero chance these days. It isn't necessarily the guns on the player (djokovic and fed are not hulks) but they are both 6'1"+. If you are under 6', forget about playing elite tennis.
Soccer is much more forgiving when it comes to height and power if you can compensate with immaculate technique.
If you look at who gets endorsement deals, it's not the Williams ... siblings. Its mostly Maria Sharapova. Who looks like the tennis ideal for mostly White middle class women who buy stuff: tall, blonde, pretty, athletic, and human. Not a hulking "she's a man! Baby!" Austin Powers parody.
Being an obnoxious female version of Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, etc. does not help either.
I am Lugash.
In defence of modern physiques (thinking about rugby players for example), I would say that core strength training and better nutrition explain some of it. I started working out again post-fifty with a distant background of near elite level sports. All I basically do is stand-crouch on a half balance ball and hurl an eight kilo medicine ball from all angles at a mini-trampoline for about thirty minutes three times a week. The results are better than hours of bench press, etc, including military boot camp.
+1 to this. I've lifted weights on a fairly regular basis for 20 years. The first 15 were nearly a complete waste. I followed the Joe Weider dogma, didn't do compound lifts and ate way too many carbs.
I've put on a solid 25 pounds of muscle, dropped a lot of fat and I'm the strongest I've ever been by eating paleo, deadlifting and squatting, dropping the hours of cardio and making my workouts much more intense. All in my late 30s, and I probably have piss poor genetics for weightlifting.
That said, there are definitely a lot of juicers at any given gym.
In all these posts, you haven't even mentioned the veins.
Ugh, the veins! Bulging veins that seem to lay right on top of the muscles.
The Williams sisters aren't particularly vascular. Serena is too fat for it. Martina is, but then she's pushing 60 and is still an incredible athlete.
I am Lugash.
Mike Tyson had sex change and went into tennis?
That's what you get with the right to bare arms.
The same mechanisms that make it hard to have a sensible discussion or decent coverage of Serena or Tom also keep us from having decent coverage of those other, much more important, things.
Exactly!
Try to imagine the Washington Post allowing two nobodies like Woodward & Bernstein jeopardizing their access to the White House today.
ADHD: Amphetamine derivatives. This diagnosis can be given to anyone who claims to have trouble paying attention by a simpatico doctor.
MLB has an astounding number of players who need the good stuff that cures ADHD.
Anyone know the stats of half of the top 50 players needing Therapeutic Use Exemptions?
You don't need steroids to bulk up like the Williams, especially if you're black. A lot of heavy-lifting will do.
The photo is somewhat misleading. It shows her when her muscle is most tense--when batting the ball.
In contrast, the other photo of Federer showed him when he was most relaxed.
And the cover photo of NY Times may have right after Williams did her workout.
google image Serena and you can see her in a bikini. Not a pretty sight, to me, but this is apparently what black men like.
As I said before, much of the so-called narrowing between the sexes in sports had to do with black women catching up with white men.
It certainly had nothing to do with white women catching up with black men.
So, even that issue was more about race than about sex.
And the fact that a black women can frighten so many white guys commenting on this blog shows there's real racial panic when it comes to muscle power. So, wake up fools.
Steroids or no steroids, it wasn't uncommon for black girls to beat up even white boys when I went to school in the city in the late 70s.
Blacks are that much tougher.
Again, wake up fools.
In her favor I must point out that unlike Mike Tyson, to whom she bears a strong resemblance, Serena has never bitten off an opponent's ear.
She's also never been convicted of rape, and she didn't get into tennis because she wanted to mug people better (as Tyson did with boxing according to his own words).
She could play an Uruk-hai with no makeup.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PGfw6KS0IMM/TWWNjRnWbiI/AAAAAAAAAAo/oIxrrwLP4eo/s320/uruk-hai.jpg
Wow, you mean IQ is important after all?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9426205/Cannabis-smoking-permanently-lowers-IQ.html
Sam Stosur
Dunno guys, I'm kind of with Truth here. Maybe Serena's juicing, but maybe she's a stockily-built lady who's waging a heroic battle against her own fat girl genes. And despite having a temper, she's not actually very ghetto-- she has an intact family, listens to Green Day, and by her own account likes to date Jewish guys (Whiskey, you might have a shot!) She used to live with party boy director Brett Ratner.
"it wasn't uncommon for black girls to beat up even white boys when I went to school in the city in the late 70s."
This never happened.
it wasn't uncommon for black girls to beat up even white boys when I went to school in the city in the late 70s.
Ha ha.
The comments section has been unusually funny of late. Let me see if I can contribute to this new genre of comedy.
Why, when I was a kid in the Bronx back in the sixties, there was this little six year old black girl with pig-tails who took on the entire honky NYPD in a fist-fight, and whipped 'em all! True story!
Again, wake up fools.
Mr T?
"In her favor I must point out that unlike Mike Tyson, to whom she bears a strong resemblance, Serena has never bitten off an opponent's ear."
True, but it's easier to bite off an opponent's ear in a boxing ring than on a tennis court.
Frankly, to me she looks brutish enough to tear a person's face off.
Carmelo Anthony
"Neymar the star soccer player from Brazil, ranked among the 3 best in the world, is smaller and leaner than Federer:
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m40id8Ghi71r90e96o1_500.jpg"
Neymar as the 3rd best player in the world? He hasn't even played in Europe to prove himself, not that I want Brazilians there. But at this point you really have to play in Europe to prove yourself as one of the best in the world.
It's beyond laughable that the anonymous poster at 3:25 PM attempting to see the tennis world from the Williams sisters' perspective assumes that the Williams sisters see themselves as ugly. It's just as likely that the two dumb ugly hulks see themselves as beeyooteeful, white debil, and don't you forget it!
When I was a kid in 1954 BC, a gang of knuckle-dragging white tards stomped Harlem into the ground, and put on their red capes and flew over the ocean to do the same to Africa.
"First time poster on this blog (found it through Half-Sigma); if one looks at the world's most popular sport, the best players are mostly 'normal physique-ed' which bucks the trend from the late 90's-early 2000's where power and strength were starting to dominate the game. Of course I'm talking about football/soccer. All the players in the following list of world class footballers are under 5'9" and under 160lbs, with many in the 140 lbs range:
Leo Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, David Villa, David Silva, Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes to name a few."
It seems that England is going for the faster,smaller, black player with less technique than the Spanish, especially on the wings. England might be overlooking the smaller more technical players unlike the Spanish.
Players like Chamberlain, Walcott, Sterling, Young, Lennon are being put through to the national team even though their less skilled in their passing than the smaller white players like the Spanish.
None of these players will probably be as good as Beckham yet they can beat him in a running race.
I wonder what would have happened to Beckham if had been 18 now, a cm or even 2nd divison player, not because he is not good enough, but because of the4 bias of the coaches?
Anonymous at 3:32 said...
"Blacks are that much tougher.
Again, wake up fools."
No, blacks are that much thugger, you self-hating white fool.
Again, "muscularity" looks very different depending on % fat. And that is in large part genetics.
Already mentioned Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the greatest no-weapons fighter ever lived, has plenty of fat and does not look "muscular" (just heavy). But he probably can kill any one of the "muscular" bodybuilder freaks within seconds. And no, Fedor Emelianenko does not trace any significant ancestry back to the West Africa.
I think the last thing you have to worry about is black females becoming excessivley fit. I have been riding the bus in the D.C. area, and the number of blacks (of both genders) who are grossly obese is -- jaw dropping. I mean I live in this society and have seen loads of fat people, white and all colors; but the obese blacks (and a smaller percentage of whites) look like the fat ladies in the circus. They look like whales with hair jobs. They look almost unbelievable. I see parades of them getting on the bus, which are understandably getting bigger and stronger -- the busses that is -- to accommodate them. The bus drivers often lead the show, weighing in at 300 plus, sitting on padded thrones all day, hauling around many tons of ass, of varied hue, but mostly blacks.
It's like a Hieronymous Bosch painting. But mostly they don't seem dangerous. Busses actually strike me as less dangerous than the metro train these days. As long as they don't break in half under the weight of the occupants.
"As I said before, much of the so-called narrowing between the sexes in sports had to do with black women catching up with white men."
this never happened.
it doesn't become more true the more you post it in different threads.
you just plain don't know what you're talking about when you post about sports. and you post as anonymous, but it's usually evident which anonymous you are.
And the fact that a black women can frighten so many white guys commenting on this blog shows there's real racial panic when it comes to muscle power. So, wake up fools.
Steroids or no steroids, it wasn't uncommon for black girls to beat up even white boys when I went to school in the city in the late 70s.
Blacks are that much tougher.
Again, wake up fools.
Only in your foolish mind. In real life, I scare them, and I get the girls
it wasn't uncommon for black girls to beat up even white boys when I went to school in the city in the late 70s.
Now now doubters a 6th grader would be favorite against a kindergartner!
All I know is when I see a black women that looks like that, I give her a wide berth and keep my mouth shut. Actually this is pretty much my strategy around all blacks. Minimal contact.
That picture of Serena is scary, but then she weights 160 lbs. and is 5'9. BTW, Ken Roswall was 5'7" 147, Chang is listed at 5'9" 160, Jimmy Connors 5'10" 150, and Ashe was 6'1 160.
By comparison Chris Evert was 5'6" 126 lbs and Steffie Graf 5'9" 130.
So she's quite a load.
One thing about tennis today is that players don't aggressively volley like they used to. Much more power hitting from the baselines.
There's really no shortage of black women that look like black men with a wig, is there?
next this guy will be posting about how chinese women have caught up to european men in science, engineering, and medical output.
having examined the issue, i guarantee we'd all be in deep trouble if we had to rely on chinese women for that stuff.
This rambling about tennis players is misplaced, there are also plenty of elite black athletes that lack the He-Man physique now in vogue. Chris Paul, a player generally regarded as the top point guard in the NBA, has a completely smooth chest with no muscle separation, I saw him posing with 3 other athletes in a Sports Illustrated photoshoot with a swimsuit model. Another one of the athletes in the shoot was Michael Phelps who practically looked like an NFL player by comparison and that's with his lighter skin. Kevin Durant is so skinny and with such a underdeveloped upper body that he couldn't even do 1 bench press at the NBA combine, which is set at only 185 lbs, as compared to the NFL which sets it at 225 lbs. Part of that is he has really long arms, but he clearly is not built anything like LeBron James, Durant is a finesse athlete the likes of which used to predominate in the NBA, until Michael Jordan came along started lifting like a football player. Since then, everyone thinks you have to look like a superhero in order to be a great athlete which is really misplaced. Dennis Rodman particularly later in his career was ripped but he was never an explosive athlete, nor was Karl Malone who looked like black Arnold Schwarzenegger except half a foot taller. Malone had a vertical jump under 30 inches, just like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird did. Karl Malone in his prime could have bench pressed Kevin Durant, but Durant is clearly a more versatile and gifted player.
Chris Paul
Excellent suggestion: an average size man (6'0" 175 pounds) who doesn't look like a plastic action hero, yet is probably the best point guard in the world. A fine complement for Federer on the All World Regular Guy Team.
Durant's cool, but he's out on the far edge of the bell curve in height.
"It seems that England is going for the faster,smaller, black player with less technique than the Spanish, especially on the wings. England might be overlooking the smaller more technical players unlike the Spanish.
Players like Chamberlain, Walcott, Sterling, Young, Lennon are being put through to the national team even though their less skilled in their passing than the smaller white players like the Spanish.
None of these players will probably be as good as Beckham yet they can beat him in a running race.
I wonder what would have happened to Beckham if had been 18 now, a cm or even 2nd divison player, not because he is not good enough, but because of the4 bias of the coaches?"
England is not a great example because as a country it is technically deficient. Oxlade-Chamberlain is actually quite gifted technically (I agree with the rest of those you noted; they are technically poor). It isn't that England is overlooking players as much as there is a sheer lack of technique throughout its player-pool. Forget England, no country has the technical ability that the Spaniards currently have in their player pool.
Ferdinand and Smalling are england's most technically gifted Center Backs, Wilshere is almost-spaniard in his level of technical ability...and that's about it. Ashley Cole has very good fundemental ability as a LB. Rooney is much too inconsistent to say he is a technician.
Technique is a more nurture than nature attribute and england just has a poor track record nurturing that in it's player pool.
As for Becks, he would've made it at a top club even in today's premiership for the simple fact that the domestic game in england still relies on crossing and he had a wand of a right foot along with being an extremely hard worker and having immense endurance.
Allen Iverson and Deon Sanders are two of the greatest all around athletes of recent history, both relatively lean yet muscular.
And don't forget the ageless NFL great Darryl Green. Little tiny feller.
Chris Paul's height and size isn't that unusual for a point guard though. A lot of point guards, and thus a good deal of basketball players have those dimensions.
"So being turned off by a woman who looks like she played free safety for the Jets in the early 80s is now a sign of gheyness?"
No, the Jets had a lot of 155 lb. safties in the early 80's.
"it wasn't uncommon for black girls to beat up even white boys when I went to school in the city in the late 70s."
LMAO.
Again, Serena is listed at 155 lbs. When she's in bad shape, it's obvious, and she's probably 15 lbs. heavier, but, I don't need to see you guys to know that as average American men, most of you are much heavier than 170 lbs. Here's the kicker. I believe that if I picked 20 of you at random and put you in cage matches with Serena Williams, even with a 20, 30, 50 lb. weight advantage...she'd kick 12-15 of your asses.
All this Mike Tyson stuff, you sound like you're physically terrified of some little girl. She is still a woman, gentlemen, that's what's Ghey about this.
"Again, "muscularity" looks very different depending on % fat. And that is in large part genetics.
Already mentioned Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the greatest no-weapons fighter ever lived,"
"Say What?!?!"
-Dan Henderson
" Anonymous Anonymous said...
That picture of Serena is scary, but then she weights 160 lbs. and is 5'9. BTW, Ken Roswall was 5'7" 147, Chang is listed at 5'9" 160, Jimmy Connors 5'10" 150,"
LOL, and those guys were BRUSIERS!
How big is that Justin Beiber anyway?
Monica Seles BTW was 5'10 and 155-160 lbs.
Lindsey Davenport was 6-1 175 (about Venus' Size)
Martina was 5'8 145 when she was young.
"If you are under 6', forget about playing elite tennis."
Hewitt would still be much, much richer than most even without his Grand Slam wins. His real height is probably 5'9"-5'10".
From that perspective, it's not a waste of time. Short retrievers with incredible speed will always have a place in tennis. They can even win a Grand Slam or two, before their speed inevitably fades. If you look at career prize money, tennis pays very well to be an also-ran.
Not being able to dictate play is very taxing on the body. For career longevity it is much better to be able to end points rapidly and run the other guy around. But never underestimate the capacity of tactically smart, human ball machines to frustrate an opponent usually capable of dictating play, and eventually wear him out.
I'd also be surprised if Baghdatis is really 6', he seems shorter. The one constant in all sports is padding of stats by the majority of athletes.
If Agassi were in his prime he'd very likely pick up a few slams too, even now. His real height is shorter than 6'.
The truth is that being on the pro tour can be profitable in the top 100, and it is possible if you are even 5'6 or so, like Chang was reputed to be. You'd have to be extraordinarily gifted though.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=91476
One thing to mention is that in the pair of photos Serena is hitting a two-handed backhand while Federer has a one-handed forehand and backhand. One-handed groundstrokes rely much more on a whiplike motion which requires less (and therefore develops less) arm musculature. As a comparison to Federer, consider Nadal who hits a two-handed stroke on his dominant side (he's right-handed but plays lefty) and a one-handed stroke on his non-dominant side. Nadal is very muscular... but as a longtime follower of tennis, I would bet almost anything that he's not juicing. For one thing, it's not entirely clear how much of an advantage drugs would provide an athlete in an all-around sport like tennis. Tennis also has an incredibly rigorous--some say overly so--drug testing regiment. Every pro tennis player's arms look a bit scary in the instant that they hit a two-handed groundstroke. Just google-image search any tennis player and "backhand"... eg. http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Championship+Wimbledon+2009+Day+One+212jF8cYJ2yl.jpg
http://tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.com/
Going back to the one-handed versus two-handed backhand distinction between Federer and Serena... consider Justine Henin who more than held her own against Serena during her relatively short career despite being 5'5.5" and 130 lbs. She had a one-handed backhand. In general, players with one-handed backhands don't have "guns".
Truth:
"I believe that if I picked 20 of you at random and put you in cage matches with Serena Williams, even with a 20, 30, 50 lb. weight advantage...she'd kick 12-15 of your asses."
If that were true, it would tend to undermine your defense of Serana against doping charges.
But hey, who cares about winning arguments when there are insults to be hurled?
FYI The Williams sisters didn't fare so well the last time (pre-juice?) they were matched up against a man.
From Wikipedia:
Karsten Braasch (born 14 July 1967 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a former professional German tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking was 38th, which he reached on 13 June 1994. His career high in doubles was at 36 set at 10 November 1997.[1] He was well-noted for his service motion and his habit of smoking during changeovers.
Braasch competed in a 'Battle of the Sexes' contest against Venus Williams and Serena Williams at the 1998 Australian Open when he was ranked 203. A decade and a half older than the sisters, Braasch "was a man whose training regime centred around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple bottles of ice cold lager."[2] He nonetheless handily defeated both sisters, playing a single set against each, beating Serena 6–1 and Venus 6–2.[3] According to his own account of the event, he prepared for the game by playing a leisurely round of golf and drinking a couple of shandies.[4]
There were NBA players back in the 70s and before who used to smoke cigarettes in the locker room at halftime.
“Already mentioned Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the greatest no-weapons fighter ever lived”
I think Anderson Silva would like a word with you.
Worth mentioning that most of the UFC title-holders beneath heavy-weight tend to be lean and streamlined as opposed to stocky and lumpen with muscle.
Already mentioned Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the greatest no-weapons fighter ever lived, has plenty of fat and does not look "muscular" (just heavy).
Gladiators were heavy and packed on the fat. They deliberately ate a lot of simple carbs to pack on lots of subcutaneous fat in order to better shield muscles and organs from the blows and cuts in the arena:
http://www.archaeology.org/0811/abstracts/gladiator.html
"Gladiators, it seems, were fat. Consuming a lot of simple carbohydrates, such as barley, and legumes, like beans, was designed for survival in the arena. Packing in the carbs also packed on the pounds. "Gladiators needed subcutaneous fat," Grossschmidt explains. "A fat cushion protects you from cut wounds and shields nerves and blood vessels in a fight." Not only would a lean gladiator have been dead meat, he would have made for a bad show. Surface wounds "look more spectacular," says Grossschmidt. "If I get wounded but just in the fatty layer, I can fight on," he adds. "It doesn't hurt much, and it looks great for the spectators.""
:"..science project athletes..."
lol.
Anon.
Why do we need someone to ask her anything? Human being only have one way to get big muscles - anabolic steroids. Men usually have enough testosterone that they don't need supplements but women don't. So she either has something like an adrenal tumor or she is injecting some testosterone like substance. There is no other way.
I take that back. There are body builders who inject oil into their arms and shoulders. They get oil balloons in their biceps for example. They look hyper muscular but they are really wearing "falsies" like soft porn stars who fill their breasts with silicone.
But Serena doesn't look like an "oiler". She looks like a "juicer". I don't need anyone to ask her anything.
Albertosaurus
I don't need to see you guys to know that as average American men, most of you are much heavier than 170 lbs. Here's the kicker. I believe that if I picked 20 of you at random and put you in cage matches with Serena Williams, even with a 20, 30, 50 lb. weight advantage...she'd kick 12-15 of your asses.
Come clean, Troot. Are you the Anonymous going on about how in your high school the black girls were kicking the white guys asses?
It seems that England is going for the faster,smaller, black player with less technique than the Spanish, especially on the wings. England might be overlooking the smaller more technical players unlike the Spanish.
Players like Chamberlain, Walcott, Sterling, Young, Lennon are being put through to the national team even though their less skilled in their passing than the smaller white players like the Spanish.
What all these guys have in common are black fathers and white mothers. Calling them "black players" isn't really accurate.
Come clean, Troot. Are you the Anonymous going on about how in your high school the black girls were kicking the white guys asses?
You're talking to the guy who said (paraphrasing), "seriously, what white woman is hotter than (Italian broad's name here)?" Like nobody saw what he did there with the "white" part. Honesty's not part of his makeup. Hence, the hilarity of the handle.
All this Mike Tyson stuff, you sound like you're physically terrified of some little girl. She is still a woman, gentlemen, that's what's Ghey about this.
Truth actually makes a good point here. The excessive fear of black men makes perfect sense in light of the excessive fear of black women, lol.
Karsten Braasch (born 14 July 1967 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a former professional German tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking was 38th, which he reached on 13 June 1994. His career high in doubles was at 36 set at 10 November 1997.[1] He was well-noted for his service motion and his habit of smoking during changeovers.
Braasch competed in a 'Battle of the Sexes' contest against Venus Williams and Serena Williams at the 1998 Australian Open when he was ranked 203. A decade and a half older than the sisters, Braasch "was a man whose training regime centred around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple bottles of ice cold lager."[2] He nonetheless handily defeated both sisters, playing a single set against each, beating Serena 6–1 and Venus 6–2.[3] According to his own account of the event, he prepared for the game by playing a leisurely round of golf and drinking a couple of shandies.[4]
LOL! This reminds me of when one of the eXile fellas (Ames or Taibbi, I can't remember which) challenged the US women's Olympic basketball team. You could almost never be sure when those guys were serious, but you could tell he was about this. He said he'd take random high school kids to round out his team. He wasn't talking trash to the team so much as he was trying to get feminists to STFU.
Both Venus and Serena can be hot and sexy when they want to be. Did anyone see Serena on David Letterman in the red dress?
You wouldn't do a woman who looked like that?
Sucks to be you.
Here is a link for super models without make up
http://imgur.com/gallery/148p5
Sure, they look a bit harsh, but they are still women.
Severn,
The UK Premier League is a very physical competition. In the non-top teams speed, height, strength are rewarded much more than strategy, skill and ball virtuosity. This has always been the case, so much so, that British football (soccer) got reduced to 'kick and rush'.
Players like Xavi, Iniesta, Modric, Messi and Sneijder would be very unlikely to blossom in the UK as juniors. Sspeedy, tall and strong players such as Adebayor and Carroll are the much more logical preference. The UK PL isn't unique in this sense, the German Bundesliga is also full of buff tall physical players.
Both Spain and Holland depend much more on tactics, skill and virtuosity. In these leagues shorter players have much more of a chance to compete on non-physical aspects of football/soccer.
"Come clean, Troot. Are you the Anonymous going on about how in your high school the black girls were kicking the white guys asses?"
No, that be me. And it be true. In 6th grade, two toughest kids in class was black guy named Halva and black ho named Juanita(not hispanic). They once got into a fight after lunch and it was craaaaaaazy. Halva won but it was a bruiser.
"Did anyone see Serena on David Letterman in the red dress?"
The visuals this question evokes are as horrifying as they are hilarious.
"But hey, who cares about winning arguments when there are insults to be hurled?"
Who hurled an insult, apparently half the guys on this board would agree with me...even vis-a-vis themselves.
"FYI The Williams sisters didn't fare so well the last time (pre-juice?) they were matched up against a man."
("A man" being the operative part of that sentence.*)
*Hahahaha now that, my good Sino-American friend is hurling an inult.
Durant's cool, but he's out on the far edge of the bell curve in height
He does however look much taller than he is, because he has incredibly long limbs, he is listed at 6'9" but he has 7'5" wingspan, and his legs also look disproportionately long as well. I've heard broadcasters and former players say that he is a seven foot plus guy when he is actually three inches short of that. The recently paralyzed boxer Paul Williams has a similar build, he is 6'2" but has a 6'10" wingspan.
"You're talking to the guy who said (paraphrasing), "seriously, what white woman is hotter than (Italian broad's name here)?" Like nobody saw what he did there with the "white" part..."
And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!
Both Venus and Serena can be hot and sexy when they want to be. Did anyone see Serena on David Letterman in the red dress?
You wouldn't do a woman who looked like that?
Ha!
I believe that if I picked 20 of you at random and put you in cage matches with Serena Williams, even with a 20, 30, 50 lb. weight advantage...she'd kick 12-15 of your asses.
So you believe she is a roider but do you have any proof?
Truth said...
All this Mike Tyson stuff, you sound like you're physically terrified of some little girl.
Little Girl with ex boyfriend.
She is still a woman, gentlemen, that's what's Ghey about this.
Yeah, she's a woman but in a Tyler Perry/ Larry "Grandmama" Johnson kinda way.
"Tennis also has an incredibly rigorous--some say overly so--drug testing regiment. "
This was posted a few posts above.
http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2009/07/steroids_anyone.html:
Why does tennis remain so lax when it comes to drug testing? Perhaps it's taking a lesson from the other major sporting event taking place this weekend: the Tour de France. Cycling, baseball, and track and field are the sports that have been the most stained by drug cheats. They're also the sports that have the most-rigorous testing programs. Based on recent evidence, it's not realistic to expect top-flight athletes to be clean. It is possible, though, to simply sweep the syringes under the rug—or better yet, not look for them in the first place.
"Here is a link for super models without make up
http://imgur.com/gallery/148p5
Sure, they look a bit harsh, but they are still women. "
and Serena went make-up free?
Not only super models but even TV stars don't really look that good without it.
http://www.justjared.com/2009/05/01/90210-stars-with-no-make-up-on/
I recall this muscle-thing became huge in the 80s. In the 70s, Stallone was a big guy but not hard muscled(though Carl Weathers was naturally very muscular like Woody Strode). But in the 80s in ROCKY III and RAMBO, he was hard-muscled and all pumped up.
In the 70s, Schwarzenegger was like a cultural oddity. And as Conan, he was like a freakshow-hero. But by the late 80s, he became the standard big-muscle hero. And professional wrestling was big in the 80s. In earlier times, pro wrestlers used to be big but not very muscular. But the 80s wrestlers were all heavy muscle.
Basketball players of the 60s and 70s used to be more about height and leanness, but the newer players of the 80s and then especially 90s were big towering muscular mofos.
At some point, the muscleheads sort of lost out in movies. The big stars in the last decade have been guys like Johnny Depp and Matt Damon in action movies. I don't there are too many big muscle guys in movies around. I think in our nifty shifty internet age, kids prefer speed and nimbleness than big lugs. Besides, if kids wanna see towering power, they'd rather see big machines than big guys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfb5FlSTCFI
PUMPING IRON II: THE WOMEN posed an interesting question. What should be the idea of female athleticism? Mere power and mass or athleticism in service of feminine appeal?
Kylie:
I keep wondering what Serena was wearing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXFCEcknlt4
This is a fine movie about female athletes, maybe the best.
Love Patrice Donnelly. One of my favorite films ever.
What should be the idea of female athleticism? Mere power and mass or athleticism in service of feminine appeal?
That's an equally worthwhile question if you substitute "male" and "masculine" for "female" and "feminine".
Both Venus and Serena can be hot and sexy when they want to be. Did anyone see Serena on David Letterman in the red dress?
You wouldn't do a woman who looked like that?
Sucks to be you.
"
Most of the men here appear, either tacitly or outspokenly, unattracted even to more traditionally attractive blacks, so I hardly think Ms. Williams is a great turn on, even coated in red fabric. I don't know if it "sucks" to be unattracted to blacks. There are plenty of other types around that they are attracted to. Attraction to blacks of the opposite gender doesn't usually end well all too often for whites.
"PUMPING IRON II: THE WOMEN posed an interesting question. What should be the idea of female athleticism? Mere power and mass or athleticism in service of feminine appeal? "
that's not an interesting question, the question should be "why do they have to be such copycats? never mind the eternal "independence from men" whine"
here is a connossieur of such thing:
"In sports that are drug tested on a regular basis such as track, shot-put, discus throwing and weightlifting women continue to get faster, stronger and more powerful, and to develop more muscle mass and muscularity. "
http://www.billdobbins.net/PUBLIC/pages/articles/Michelangelo%27s_Women.htm
anti-steroid crusader on youtube
"MILLIONS of people do, including 100lb females. "
http://www.youtube.com/user/SexualStrat/feed?filter=1
"What all these guys have in common are black fathers and white mothers. Calling them "black players" isn't really accurate."
I'm pretty sure Young and Sterling are all black, but the others aren't.
"Both Venus and Serena can be hot and sexy when they want to be. Did anyone see Serena on David Letterman in the red dress?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlHxg2UzCag
"Technique is a more nurture than nature attribute and england just has a poor track record nurturing that in it's player pool."
I know some kids in England and they have been taught the techniques from a young age, but some of it is just pure natural born talent .Y
How many Messi's are there from Aregentina? One. I am sure they all got the same training he did at a young age.
If you look at England and take Rooney, Wilshere, Lampard and Bale, you would be hard pressed to find too many national teams with players in those 4 positions that are better collectively and technically.I say Bale because Bale could have played for England, but didn't for various reasons I am not sure of.
Those are top class players. Lampard set up the 2 goals against Barca that beat them. He set up the goal in the FA Cup final. This is a player that Villa-Boas pushed to the side. I think he also is the highest scoring mf in Prem history.
Funny how many gheys and oddballs post on the internet. Most Men don't find 5'9 155 lbs. women with 10% body fat and enormous biceps attractive.
We didn't find Martina attractive & we don't find the Williams sisters attractive either.
Anna K - now that's attractive.
""Both Venus and Serena can be hot and sexy when they want to be. Did anyone see Serena on David Letterman in the red dress?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlHxg2UzCag "
lol and lol at whitey women
steroid documentary on youtube
"The documentary examines the steroid use of director Christopher Bell's two brothers, Smelly and Mad Dog,[5] who all grew up idolizing Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan, and Sylvester Stallone, and also features professional athletes, medical experts, fitness center members, and US Congressmen talking about the issue of anabolic steroids.[6]
Beyond the basic issue of anabolic steroid use, Bigger, Stronger, Faster* examines the lack of consistency in how America views drugs, cheating, and the lengths people go to achieve success. The film looks beyond the steroid issue to such topics as Tiger Woods' laser eye correction to 20/15 vision, professional musicians use of blood pressure reducing drugs, or athletes' dependence on cortisone shots, which are a legal steroid. It takes a skeptical view of the health risks of steroids and is critical of the legal health supplement industry."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigger,_Stronger,_Faster*
"So you believe she is a roider but do you have any proof?"
Nah, if I thought she was on roids, she'd go from kicking 60-75% of your asses to 80-85% easily.
What began simply as a documentary about steroid use in America, "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*" (The asterisk refers to the movie's subtitle: "The Side-Effects of Being American") turns out to be a surprisingly comprehensive and insightful look at a culture predicated on might and obsessed with achieving success at any cost. This, more than rampant steroid use among professional athletes, is what makes Bell's documentary so timely and ultimately so sobering. What Bell and co-writers and producers Alex Buono (who also shot the movie) and Tamsin Rawady discover -- through countless hours of interviews, news, movie and cartoon footage as well as home video of the Bell family -- is a country in which it's literally impossible to win if one plays by the rules, because winners almost always cheat."
U-S-A U-S-A
nytimes review
competition for serena?
Ann Wolfe (born January 17, 1971) is a female boxer who held world titles in four different weight classes simultaneously.[1] Wolfe is regarded by many within the sport as the hardest puncher and best fighter in the history of women's boxing"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Wolfe
second coming of foreman?
and her competitor
we all be living in america
"anti-steroid crusader on youtube"
correction: albertosaurus-like views on steroids, but wants everyone to know that the girls they are praising to high heavens are just a juicer, and they are being fleeced off by the "supplement" sellers.
"MILLIONS of people do, including 100lb females. "
It's as if US is a hyper androgen(steroids) and estrogen(from fatty deposits on the the great many) rolled into one!
"In every corner of the world and in every epoch of history, the men and women of every culture deserve each other. - Spengler's Law of Gender Parity"
I think Anderson Silva would like a word with you.
So would Jon Jones. Fedor's had 3 losses in a row, by TKO and submission, in 2010-11.
But how good is fast twitch muscle for fighting?
Wouldn't the grown up version of 5' 8" 9 year old 11 second running 100 yards Serena Williams be more suited to sprinting than fighting?
Truth said: "my good Sino-American friend"
Not guilty on two counts. (I'll take "good" and "friend.")
As someone already pointed out, what if Serena never needed roids to win?
Who here thinks Joe Frazier was juicing?
Or was he just the biggest meanest _______ they could find to shut Ali up?
Maybe this was the genius of Richard Williams. He studied womens tennis and noticed its mainly elite white girls playing their "sisters".
He knew black females would make great raw material, they just needed to refine their technique
Everyone was surprised by the Williams sisters except their dad.
And a few other people like me.
Prepare for more surprises.
Nolan Ryan's Arm. Years ago some magazine (Sports Illustrated, I think; I haven't been able to find it online) wrote an article about the fearsome fast ball pitcher Nolan Ryan. The first two pages, stretching from one page to another was a high-res photo of his arm.
It looked like an ordinary arm--no bulging muscles or rope veins. And yet that arm could strike out, and strike fear into the greatest hitters of the day.
if I thought she was on roids, she'd go from kicking 60-75% of your asses to 80-85% easily.
But remember, everyone, Troot is not racist. He said so himself!
What percentage of the comments on this site come from Troot posting anonymously?
"What percentage of the comments on this site come from Troot posting anonymously?"
I would estimate, approximately; 0.
"But remember, everyone, Troot is not racist. He said so himself!"
How is it racist? I think very few white guys here feel that they could kick Serena's ass.
How is it racist? I think very few white guys here feel that they could kick Serena's ass.
"How is it racist for I, Troot, a black man, to project my own racist fantasies into the minds of the white readers here? Everybody knows that we blacks can never be racist!"
"Now, if any of you white guys claimed that Serena could beat the average man in a fight, that would be racist, but only because you are white. Do you get it yet? Wake up, you fools!"
""Now, if any of you white guys claimed that Serena could beat the average man in a fight, that would be racist, but only because you are white. Do you get it yet? Wake up..."
So you and Serena knuckle-up with nobody around to break it up; honestly now, who do you think would win?
Brock Lesnar!
"I know some kids in England and they have been taught the techniques from a young age, but some of it is just pure natural born talent .Y
How many Messi's are there from Aregentina? One. I am sure they all got the same training he did at a young age.
If you look at England and take Rooney, Wilshere, Lampard and Bale, you would be hard pressed to find too many national teams with players in those 4 positions that are better collectively and technically.I say Bale because Bale could have played for England, but didn't for various reasons I am not sure of.
Those are top class players. Lampard set up the 2 goals against Barca that beat them. He set up the goal in the FA Cup final. This is a player that Villa-Boas pushed to the side. I think he also is the highest scoring mf in Prem history."
I'm not sure if you grasp fully what technical ability encompasses. Assured-ness and consistency of touch, ability to consistently pick out long and short passes, ability to cleanly strike a ball, ability to dribble or perfectly touch a received ball into open space away from a defender. One can be technically gifted but fail in other aspects such as awareness, 'footballing intelligence', athleticism, etc.
I'm a massive United supporter and I would not class Rooney as a master technician(he does have high football IQ however). He is extremely inconsistent with his first touch and is a very poor dribbler. He is a very streaky player as well (Fergie would have sold him when he spit his dummy out if Ronaldo had stayed at utd).
It is also laughable to consider Bale technically gifted as well. He is a kick and rush footballer. Di Maria, Nani, Robben, Ribery to name a few are wide players who are very technically gifted. Take pace and strength away from Bale and he would be a mid-table player at best (inconsistent passing and runs into blind alleys too much).
Lampard is a very consistent player and technically proficient but not technically elite. He does not set up the tempo of a game and control matches (like Vieira, Keane, Scholes did/can). He is very disciplined though and has great awareness but cannot beat a man with a dribble or touch into space from a received pass like scholes can.
Wilshere is the only example you used of an English player that oozes technical ability that would not be out of place at Barcelona and national teams such as Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland. He could become technically better than Scholes (who is the best english technician since Hoddle and Gazza.)
As I stated in earlier comments, Rio (for his position) is one of the most technically gifted CB's and Ashley Cole likewise at LB.
As for Messi, he is the best on the planet but using that as an example to downplay Argentina's depth of players who have technical training is poor.
Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Tevez, Di Maria, Pastore. They are so deep in attack they cant field all these guys at once. England would kill to have these options.
If you want to compare technical depth with england, consider:
Germany: Ozil, Kroos, Schweinstiger, Goetze, Muller, Hummels
Italy: Pirlo, Marchisio, rossi, cassano, montolivo, chiellini
Portugal: Ronaldo, Nani, Moutinho, Coentrao
I wont even begin to list holland, argentina, and brazil.
England and British national teams are extremely poor at possession and comfort on the ball and regularly show this when matched up even against 'midtable' sides.
English academy and youth football is very much in the dark ages compared to their counterparts on the continent and south american when it comes to technical ability and footballing awareness. Forget about analyzing the topic, you only need to hear the national outcry after every loss at a tournament or failure to qualify for one.
I'm not a particular sports fan, but I've come to suspect, over the last few years, that most athletes are doping or otherwise using high technology to improve their chances anywhere they think it will give them an advantage. Some of the technology is easier to detect, some is easier to ban, and elite athletes are presumably balancing the risks of getting caught and fined/banned against the benefits.
If you have a situation where we've effectively filtered out the top .0001 of the population in terms of natual talent, ideal body type, genetics, etc., and now several thousand of us nationwide are trying to go from, say, being top high school football players to NFL players, or from being aspiring gymnasts to Olympic gymnasts, most of us are going to be grasping for anything at all that can ratchet up our chances of making it by one percent. Extra-long practices that screw up your schooling? Training so hard you don't go through puberty at the normal time because your bodyfat percentage is so low? Doing stuff in practice and competition that you know has some chance of honest-to-god killing or crippling you? You've already decided on all those things, just to get into the running. Now, someone says "take these shots and you'll recover from that injury a little faster" or "eat these nutritional supplements and they'll help you bulk up so you're not overmatched by the defensive lineman you're facing off against," or "sleep in this special tent and it will help you win that marathon next year." And the people who won't do all those things probably mostly just don't make it, competing against the ones who do. (Nor is it obvious to me why HGH to help you recover faster from training is morally different from sleeping in a low-pressure chamber to improve your endurance.)
My guess is that the fight against this stuff at the top is pretty much lost. I suppose if my kids decide they want to pursue some sports at some elite level, I'll worry more about this. Because competing at that level probably implies doping, just as it does weightlifting. Perhaps this is a reason to push your kids away from those sports (the way I'd make it almost impossible for my kids to take up boxing and buy a ticket to cumulative brain damage).
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/1004/serena.venus.williams.rare.photos/images/1990.venus-serena-williams.1636932.jpg
http://www.askdro.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/youngwilliamssisters.jpg
http://williamssistersrock.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/baby-girls.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/07/02/article-1197033-0591C183000005DC-249_468x353.jpg
At least one of those photos is of the 5' 8" 9 year old who could run the 100 yards in 11 seconds.
Serena Williams is so damn creepy. Have anyone ever seen her and Mike Tyson in the same room at the same time? Everytime I see her on tv, I get this feeling something is so wrong. That`s not a woman but it tries to be. I`m a little amazed that some people actually thinks she is a woman. That`s a mighty big bulge for a woman to carry around. But who cares anyway, some crazy person pretends to be a woman and plays tennis, big yawn.
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