Off Topic Thread 3.0

Teferi · 06-09-2017 06:13PM

pickarooney wrote: »

What do American footballers do between February and September?

The same as any professional athlete in the off-season - holiday with the family, make gains in the gym, work on anything that their coaches told them to work on. The more dedicated guys and the guys on the fringe of teams normally go to specific gyms to go through a pre-season plan for diet/gym/skills to try make those marginal gains.

thomond2006 · 06-09-2017 06:59PM

pickarooney wrote: »

What do American footballers do between February and September?

Preseason happens all of August. Prior to that there are training camps.

pickarooney · 06-09-2017 07:58PM

Preseason must be longer than the season. It's mental how much these chaps get paid for about three hours playing time a year.

Stheno · 06-09-2017 08:58PM

Awec style dating :pac:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-41167296

bilston · 06-09-2017 09:06PM

Why is the NFL season so short?

Player welfare, or a belief that less is more?

thomond2006 · 06-09-2017 09:30PM

bilston wrote: »

Why is the NFL season so short?

Player welfare, or a belief that less is more?

A bit of both I'd say. The injury rate is pretty high and the short season means the regular season is more meaningful, despite the fact that 12 teams out of 32 reach the playoffs.

dregin · 06-09-2017 10:52PM

bilston wrote: »

Why is the NFL season so short?

Player welfare, or a belief that less is more?

For the rest of our sanity :pac:

pickarooney · 06-09-2017 11:20PM

Ah now, player welfare would be the last thing I'd associate with the NFL. Former players on welfare is another matter.

irishbucsfan · 07-09-2017 12:49AM

bilston wrote: »

Why is the NFL season so short?

Player welfare, or a belief that less is more?

When the schedule was originally concieved player welfare wasn't even a twinkle in the eye of administrators. Its entirely commercial of origin and hasn't been extended due to labour disputes, part of the motivation of which now is player welfare.

07-09-2017 09:14AM

Even now player welfare isn't really taken all that seriously with some teams playing on Sunday and again on Thursday, unless it's changed for the coming season.

07-09-2017 09:16AM

if you select the satellite view on google maps and zoom out far enough you can see the latest cloud cover including the path of the hurricane.

thomond2006 · 07-09-2017 10:09AM

Kailani Dirty Teenager wrote: »

if you select the satellite view on google maps and zoom out far enough you can see the latest cloud cover including the path of the hurricane.

I never knew satellite view showed current weather patterns.

07-09-2017 02:20PM

doesn't seem to update very often, however

Erik Shin · 07-09-2017 03:47PM

The premier league are the turkeys who just voted for Xmas .... can't buy players after Aug 9th....but can still sell to other leagues...this was done to stop players being unsettled once the domestic season started.
...it won't make a jot of difference.... Costa...Couthino....they are wanted by foreign clubs... Aug 9th won't affect them whatsoever... English players tend to get on with the job whether a move goes thru or not....other nationalities...not so much

LostArt · 07-09-2017 04:09PM

Do other leagues have the disproportionate amount of deals done at the last minute that the PL has? Or is that just because of the money in the PL

awec · 07-09-2017 04:21PM

LostArt wrote: »

Do other leagues have the disproportionate amount of deals done at the last minute that the PL has? Or is that just because of the money in the PL

It's not uncommon.

The PL's new rule will stop late transfers within the league but it'll have minimal impact on foreign clubs buying PL players. I think they are hoping that players and agents will realise that once the PL can no longer buy in the chances of them selling anyone are close to nil.

07-09-2017 04:50PM

Can't really understand this. Coutinho doesn't get any less unsettled by this move because Barca can still buy him right until the end of the month, but if he goes they can't replace him. They needed to close the selling window too. They're hoping for this:

"The risk is minimal and even those powerful clubs have to know if we can't buy players we're not going to sell," said Mourinho.

irishbucsfan · 07-09-2017 06:30PM

Erik Shin wrote: »

The premier league are the turkeys who just voted for Xmas .... can't buy players after Aug 9th....but can still sell to other leagues...this was done to stop players being unsettled once the domestic season started.
...it won't make a jot of difference.... Costa...Couthino....they are wanted by foreign clubs... Aug 9th won't affect them whatsoever... English players tend to get on with the job whether a move goes thru or not....other nationalities...not so much

Right... When was the last time a Premier League club sold a major player after the transfer deadline closed?

bilston · 07-09-2017 08:40PM

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Right... When was the last time a Premier League club sold a major player after the transfer deadline closed?

Coutinho was clearly unsettled by his potential move to Barcelona, this isn't going to change that, it just means Liverpool wouldn't be able replace him if they did sell. Now what you're saying is that Liverpool just wouldn't sell, and that's fine, but it won't make Coutinho any more settled at Anfield.

I would say that I don't think the PL clubs really appreciate what they have voted for, but equally they aren't stupid and will surely have thought through the consequences.

The other thing is that the team that finishes 4th in the PL and has to qualify for the CL will find it tough recruiting the right players, they won't know if they're in the CL until after the deadline has passed.

irishbucsfan · 07-09-2017 08:47PM

bilston wrote: »

Coutinho was clearly unsettled by his potential move to Barcelona, this isn't going to change that, it just means Liverpool wouldn't be able replace him if they did sell. Now what you're saying is that Liverpool just wouldn't sell, and that's fine, but it won't make Coutinho any more settled at Anfield.

I would say that I don't think the PL clubs really appreciate what they have voted for, but equally they aren't stupid and will surely have thought through the consequences.

The other thing is that the team that finishes 4th in the PL and has to qualify for the CL will find it tough recruiting the right players, they won't know if they're in the CL until after the deadline has passed.

He was unsettled because Liverpool could sell him and replace him. If the transfer window had shut before the first game he still would have been unsettled but it would have been a closed case before the first game kicked off.

Erik Shin · 07-09-2017 08:50PM

irishbucsfan wrote: »

He was unsettled because Liverpool could sell him and replace him. If the transfer window had shut before the first game he still would have been unsettled but it would have been a closed case before the first game kicked off.

He's unsettled because he wants to go to the biggest club in the world in his eyes. ..he's still unsettled ... changing the dates that English clubs can deal with each other doesn't affect this situation

irishbucsfan · 07-09-2017 09:11PM

Erik Shin wrote: »

He's unsettled because he wants to go to the biggest club in the world in his eyes. ..he's still unsettled ... changing the dates that English clubs can deal with each other doesn't affect this situation

It does affect his situation. It means by the time the league starts he knows whether or not theres a realistic chance he'll get to move to the club he wants to go to.

As opposed to sitting around for the first games of the season waiting to get your transfer.

Erik Shin · 07-09-2017 09:14PM

irishbucsfan wrote: »

It does affect his situation. It means by the time the league starts he knows whether or not theres a realistic chance he'll get to move to the club he wants to go to.

As opposed to sitting around for the first games of the season waiting to get your transfer.

It absolutely won't make any difference, he'll still throw a strop, he'll still be crying on international duty....it just means there will be an extra 2 weeks if it..the internal date won't change a thing for the likes of himself or Costa...or any other player who wants out to the continent.... whether the club lets them leave or not won't change their attitude

irishbucsfan · 07-09-2017 09:32PM

Erik Shin wrote: »

It absolutely won't make any difference, he'll still throw a strop, he'll still be crying on international duty....it just means there will be an extra 2 weeks if it..the internal date won't change a thing for the likes of himself or Costa...or any other player who wants out to the continent.... whether the club lets them leave or not won't change their attitude

Yes. It will make a difference.

This is a great comment though. You've said it absolutely won't make any difference and then in the next sentence gone on to explain the difference it will make :pac:

It's a fascinating world that is completely out of control. They need to bring windows in line for every league but money is more powerful than the organisers. I don't watch the sport myself but I have a friend involved and it just seems like madness that noone is in control of. This is a positive move from the Premiership clubs that allows them to get guys in and settled much earlier, you'd much rather guys "holding out" during your pre-season tour to Azerbaijan than in August. Agents know that clubs are not going to make big transfers out after the window closes and more importantly agents don't want them to because they lose the chance to make money on the other side.

irishbucsfan · 07-09-2017 09:35PM

EDIT:

As an aside I used to live beside a soccer agents office. I don't know who it was but they were open all the time. I'd walk home from a few pints very late at night and there'd be guys sitting in an office just watching kids playing soccer endlessly. About 40 desks there and they were all analysts making notes and doing whatever else. I have no idea exactly what their endgame was but I'd guess they're watching youths and trying to find guys they can sign up and profit off, like vultures. Its such a different world to rugby.

09-09-2017 08:17AM

Looks like our old Friend George Hook has probably put the final nail in the coffin of his career. He turned a corner a few years ago when his commentary went very sour. He always had a grumpy persona but he kept things reasonably measured.

Definitely a pundit I found entertaining and his historical insights could often be interesting, but his vendetta against Joe Schmidt having gotten it so wrong on him several times became a bit toxic and the second he issued legal proceedings against Sexton he was done in my mind.

He was sidelined from the sport after that and whilst he failed to apologise in any substantive way (he wrote an apology that was more a wide apportionment of blame) I think most people had no interest in his insights on sport having tried to sue the Irish playmaker mid 6 nations.

Either way, I know what he was trying to get at with his comments this week but it's a terrible notion and a terrible double standard that is directed towards women to seemingly justify the actions of men around them. He likes to stir things up for rating, but advancing the notion of victim blaming in sexual assault should really be met with zero tolerance.

I can't see him being retained by anyone at this stage. He may talk his way out of this to a degree but I reckon his public career is done.

sydthebeat · 09-09-2017 08:29AM

A bit ott Venjur.

What he said was clumsy and maybe a bit insensitive, but suggesting that an increased awareness of personal responsibility would lessen the risk of being assaulted isn't exactly an earth shattering view point.

09-09-2017 08:38AM

sydthebeat wrote: »

A bit ott Venjur.

What he said was clumsy and maybe a bit insensitive, but suggesting that an increased awareness of personal responsibility would lessen the risk of being assaulted isn't exactly an earth shattering view point.

I'm not sure if you've read all his comments so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here - but this isn't clumsy:

George Hook wrote:

"But is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger"

George Hook wrote:

"But modern day social activity means that she goes back with him. Then is surprised when somebody else comes into the room and rapes her"

How many times have you seen blokes half passed out in the toilets from drink. How many times have you heard someone say "if they get raped it's partially there own fault"

It's a really terrible thing for him to say, it justifies an attitude. If you find someone passed out, you don't rape them, you shouldn't even be thinking it.

It's a problem that can only be corrected by changing the way people think and act and George Hook is advancing the notion that it should still somehow be the woman's fault for doing something we never criticise men for.

irishbucsfan · 09-09-2017 09:02AM

There's no reason to be listening to him about anything. He has absolutely no insight and does nothing original. He's only talking about current affairs because he was a controversial sports broadcaster and he's not even one of those any more. He's a Kardashian, he's only famous because he's famous.

Newstalk have to dispose of him now. If they don't it'll only be because there's an unfortunately large number of people in the country who love listening to those kinds of views. Similar to how Fine Gael are yet to dispose of that councillor Brian Murphy... I can only imagine its because they're debating whether or not keeping loonies like that on the fringe of their party will attract the far-right votes.

09-09-2017 11:19AM

I used to listen to Hook a lot in the car in the evenings and over time he got more and more and more absurd. I haven't listened to him for a few years now. He's a complete buffoon.

Might actually tune in on Monday to see firstly if he's there and secondly if he addresses his comments and the reaction to them.

"But modern day social activity means that she goes back with him. Then is surprised when somebody else comes into the room and rapes her"

This is just an incredible thing to say. He has to be ditched.

Off Topic Thread 3.0

Comments