The sports thread

[m7600]

What sports do you like, if any?

For my part, I mostly watch Jiu Jitsu and MMA, and a few other combat sports. Not really a fan of the more traditional sports like basketball or soccer.

 

[O_Bruce]

I once trained martial arts, but after 3 years I felt out of love with it and I decided it isn't for me. Besides that, I have little to no interest in watching any kind of sports. I think if anything, my time would be better spent on actually taking care of my own physical health.

 

[m7600]

This was one of the best matches of the CJI tournament, Ffion Davies vs Mackenzie Dern:

 

[m7600]

Kade Ruotolo vs Andrew Tackett was surreal:

 

[JustKneller]

I used to do martial arts. I was having fun with (mainly animal styles) kung fu until my school decided to get into rhythmic gymnastics wushu for the Olympics. I couldn't find another school in my area (would have liked to do wing chun) and eventually fell out of the hobby.

I played tennis in high school and liked it. I don't keep up with the scene/players anymore, but if it's playing at a restaurant, then I'm paying more attention to it than the people I'm with. I would probably get back into it if a) I knew anyone around here that played tennis and b) I wasn't having a problem with one of my knees.

These days, I'm hearing a lot about pickleball and nordic walking. Don't know much about either. I've heard pickleball is easier on the knees so I started to look into it. However, I only found people trying to make money teaching pickleball (I couldn't imagine paying to learn a social sport) but no actual pickleball players.

 

[Cahir]

My sport interests changed over time, I used to watch a lot of various sport events when I was young (the whole 90s), from tennis to ski jumping. I even used to watch wrestling events (the Undertaker was my guy), something that I find silly these days. Football was always my number one, but today I mainly watch World Cup, European Championships, some more interesting Champions League matches and of course, my beloved FC Barcelona.

I liked to watch boxing, but I find today's champions so much inferior to the giants from the past, that I find it less interesting now. I am not a particular fan of MMA style, but it's probably because it became highly polluted with every kind of freak fights, which I find extremely obnoxious.

I like watching Olympics, mostly track & field performances, but also team events (like football or volleyball). I rooted for Spain, and I'm very happy their teams won both European Championship and Olympics.

There was a period when I was watching Formula One, but mostly to support our only Polish representative in this sport (Robert Kubica). I was devastated after his accident, which basically ended his F1 career (surprisingly this accident was not during F1 event, but rally racing between seasons, that Robert decided to take part of).

I used to be a fan of ski jumping, supporting the careers of our big champions (first Adam Małysz and later Kamil Stoch), but lately I am less interested in watching those.

What else? When I was really young (primary school) I was watching a lot of snooker on TV. I mostly remember the competition between two great champions, Stephen Hendry and Steve Davies. That was fun to watch and by watching it, I learned the rules of the game, which came handy couple of times (although in Poland it's much harder to find a snooker table than pool table (the latter is quite popular in Polish pubs).

Writing this I realised, my sport discipline interests often follow the careers of Polish athletes or teams, and then I usually lose interest in that specific discipline when they end their careers and there is no other champion to replace them.

 

[shmity72]

I watched the Qatar world cup and for the first time last year I really got into football. I love American football and strongly encourage sports and the arts with my grandkids for social teamwork health and culture. for the most part I don't watch but a good Seahawks football game/Superbowl. I play fantasy football with my family too.

 

[m7600]

I liked to watch boxing, but I find today's champions so much inferior to the giants from the past, that I find it less interesting now.

I'll watch a boxing match if it's a crossover with a fighter from a different background, like Francis Ngannou vs Tyson Fury.

What do you think of what Jake Paul is doing? I think it's lame from a sports perspective, but it makes sense from a business perspective.

 

[Cahir]

I'll watch a boxing match if it's a crossover with a fighter from a different background, like Francis Ngannou vs Tyson Fury.

What do you think of what Jake Paul is doing? I think it's lame from a sports perspective, but it makes sense from a business perspective.

I'm very glad it didn't come to his fight with Tyson. Mike is a bad boy, but he is also a legend, and I'd hate to see grandpa hurt. Besides, he totally sold me in The Hangover: Part 2.

As for Jake Paul, I don't follow him to have a solid opinion on him, but I don't like where boxing and martial arts are going, in general. This is more and more of an entertainment now and less of sport.

 

[m7600]

I think Mike Tyson could beat Jake Paul, or at least that's what I would hope to see. True, he's about 60 years old, so I don't expect to see him perform like he did in his prime, but I still think he could beat Jake Paul.

 

[m7600]

Though I still think that if Jake Paul is as good as he says, then he should fight against a currently active champion. Personally, I don't think he stands a chance. Imagine if he fought Canelo Alvarez. He would get murdered.

 

[Cahir]

Though I still think that if Jake Paul is as good as he says, then he should fight against a currently active champion. Personally, I don't think he stands a chance. Imagine if he fought Canelo Alvarez. He would get murdered.

I agree, he would stand no chance against any of acting champions, but as you said, Mike is 60, and even if he still looks fast on training shots, I don't think he could last more than couple of rounds against much younger opponent. His only chance would be to KO Jake in first or second round.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

I'm very glad it didn't come to his fight with Tyson. Mike is a bad boy, but he is also a legend, and I'd hate to see grandpa hurt. Besides, he totally sold me in The Hangover: Part 2.

That fight is still on, unfortunately - rescheduled for November. I think Tyson is going to get stopped. It's all around embarrassing and unnecessary, especially considering that Tyson is making loads of money from podcasts and other business ventures. It's not like he's still broke with the IRS on his case.

The thing with Jake Paul is that he's actually a very good boxer. No, he's not a top-level pro, but he's been an athlete his whole life and he's been training very hard for years now with top level coaches. Yes, he's a gimmick and seems like a joke with his YouTube background, but he works really hard and knows what he's doing. And his handlers are great at picking people he can beat. If I were chosen to fight Jake Paul, I'd be really worried. Paul's people really know what they're looking at. I think he may fight a champion some day, but he'll wait until he's on his way out the door. It won't go well for him, but it will be a nice final cash grab and I think he's prideful enough to try. Hell, I'd fight Canelo myself at this point for a fraction of what Paul would generate.

 

[m7600]

Hell, I'd fight Canelo myself at this point for a fraction of what Paul would generate.

Well, so would I, but I'm 100% certain that I would lose. And that's my point: I don't think Jake Paul has a chance against someone like Canelo either. They're worlds apart. I'm not trying to hate on the guy, nor do I think that he's not a good boxer. He is. And you can see that he's put in a lot of work. My point is that he's just not on the same level as current, active champs.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

Well, so would I, but I'm 100% certain that I would lose. And that's my point: I don't think Jake Paul has a chance against someone like Canelo either. They're worlds apart. I'm not trying to hate on the guy, nor do I think that he's not a good boxer. He is. And you can see that he's put in a lot of work. My point is that he's just not on the same level as current, active champs.

Oh, I don’t disagree with you on that. And for the record, I’m not a fan. I’m not a hater, but I have no interest in seeing him fight. I wish this phenomenon wasn’t a thing. But, I do acknowledge that he has some skills. Combined with his youth, it may be enough to beat Tyson - assuming, of course, that it really will be a real fight and not a glorified sparring session.

 

[m7600]

They say that power is the last thing that you lose as you grow old. And I think that Tyson still has knockout power. So I agree with @Cahir there. True, Jake Paul could fuck him up with some quick combinations, he has the advantages of youth like speed and endurance. But all that Tyson needs is one good, well-timed power shot to clip Jake. I honestly don't think that Jake has the chin to withstand a heavy hand from Tyson.

 

[Cahir]

They say that power is the last thing that you lose as you grow old. And I think that Tyson still has knockout power. So I agree with @Cahir there. True, Jake Paul could fuck him up with some quick combinations, he has the advantages of youth like speed and endurance. But all that Tyson needs is one good, well-timed power shot to clip Jake. I honestly don't think that Jake has the chin to withstand a heavy hand from Tyson.

This. Tyson had one of the most or *the most* devastating punch in the boxing history. His hand was a terror on his own. And he had the speed, that allowed him to avoid being KO. But... he doesn't have a steel jaw, as we've seen in fights vs. Douglas or Lewis, so he can be knocked out too. Not sure how heavy of a hitter Jake Paul is, but if he can strike a heavy punch, this can shake 60 year old Tyson pretty bad.

But I stand by my previous statement. If Jake survives first 2-3 rounds, his chance of winning will grow significantly. I am pretty sure Tyson cannot hold full 12-round distance anymore.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

But... he doesn't have a steel jaw, as we've seen in fights vs. Douglas or Lewis, so he can be knocked out too. Not sure how heavy of a hitter Jake Paul is, but if he can strike a heavy punch, this can shake 60 year old Tyson pretty bad.

But I stand by my previous statement. If Jake survives first 2-3 rounds, his chance of winning will grow significantly. I am pretty sure Tyson cannot hold full 12-round distance anymore.

Oh, he did in fact have a steel jaw, and the Lewis and Douglas fights are the proof. He was blasted over and over in those fights from practically the outset, and managed to last 10 and 8 rounds respectively. Outside of George Chuvalo, I’m hard pressed to remember anyone taking that much punishment for so long. He’s lucky he didn’t die against Lewis. As for now, yeah, at nearly 60, getting punched like that isn’t a good idea. The fight should never have been sanctioned.

 

[Cahir]

Oh, he did in fact have a steel jaw, and the Lewis and Douglas fights are the proof. He was blasted over and over in those fights from practically the outset, and managed to last 10 and 8 rounds respectively. Outside of George Chuvalo, I’m hard pressed to remember anyone taking that much punishment for so long. He’s lucky he didn’t die against Lewis. As for now, yeah, at nearly 60, getting punched like that isn’t a good idea. The fight should never have been sanctioned.

Agree, what I just wanted to highlight is that he can be knocked out. It's not easy, in fact it's very difficult, but it happened before. I am not so sure, though, Lewis could beat him that easily (or at all) in his prime. The loss with Douglas was just an accident, he was ill-prepared for this fight.

 

[shmity72]

They say that power is the last thing that you lose as you grow old. And I think that Tyson still has knockout power. So I agree with @Cahir there. True, Jake Paul could fuck him up with some quick combinations, he has the advantages of youth like speed and endurance. But all that Tyson needs is one good, well-timed power shot to clip Jake. I honestly don't think that Jake has the chin to withstand a heavy hand from Tyson.

this is true