The A/R Off Topic Thread

Gavlor

hillsiderunner wrote: »

I've been thinking all through the past weeks that if a "Leave" vote did happen, in practice there'd be a year or two of discussions and then a decision that staying was better. Or another referendum. But looking at what's been said by EU/Cameron, it seems that there's to be no messing around and they're to start making plans asap ... which makes an actual Brexit more likely.

Probably UK will negotiate to be in the EEA. And I'd expect the long-standing agreements on trade/movement with Ireland (there for decades before the EU happened) to stay in place.

Another referendum for Scotland for sure though ...

Basically they have been given a mandate by their people to begin negotiations to exit the EU. If these exit talks, which cannot be instigated for up to 2.5 years, turn up new and improved version of the EU then the British gov will ask its electorate to vote again. the Scotland issue is another reason why a second vote is likely.

Plus, the lies that have been spun by Nigel & co are already being busted so there could be a significant swing if another vote takes place.

RayCun

Gavlor wrote: »

Basically they have been given a mandate by their people to begin negotiations to exit the EU. If these exit talks, which cannot be instigated for up to 2.5 years, turn up new and improved version of the EU then the British gov will ask its electorate to vote again. the Scotland issue is another reason why a second vote is likely.

Plus, the lies that have been spun by Nigel & co are already being busted so there could be a significant swing if another vote takes place.

No, the exit process takes two years, it's not that they can't start for two years.

Gavlor

RayCun wrote: »

No, the exit process takes two years, it's not that they can't start for two years.

That's correct, I phrased it badly should have said result of which. However it has to be ratified by the other member states and negotiations can be extended beyond 2 years.

A general election in UK, very likely with Cameron stepping down causing a split in Conservative party could also lead to another referendum.

Clearlier

Gavlor wrote: »

That's correct, I phrased it badly should have said result of which. However it has to be ratified by the other member states and negotiations can be extended beyond 2 years.

A general election in UK, very likely with Cameron stepping down causing a split in Conservative party could also lead to another referendum.

Anything's possible and it would be no surprise if there is a general election however unless the GE were fought specifically on a 2nd referendum issue I just don't see another one happening and even if it were to happen there would have to be some significant changes to ensure a different outcome.

It's far far more likely that Britain will exit the EU than it would be to have a second referendum. Perhaps if they go through the negotiation process, work out what the 'offer' is and put that to a referendum. I suppose I could see that happening and for the sake of the UK remaining within the EU I'd like to see it happen. I won't be holding my breath though.

Gavlor

Clearlier wrote: »

Anything's possible and it would be no surprise if there is a general election however unless the GE were fought specifically on a 2nd referendum issue I just don't see another one happening and even if it were to happen there would have to be some significant changes to ensure a different outcome.

It's far far more likely that Britain will exit the EU than it would be to have a second referendum. Perhaps if they go through the negotiation process, work out what the 'offer' is and put that to a referendum. I suppose I could see that happening and for the sake of the UK remaining within the EU I'd like to see it happen. I won't be holding my breath though.

It'll be a very interesting and potentially defining period anyway following on from yesterday's vote.

adrian522

Given the problems we had picking 3 from 4, can imagine the social media uproar picking 3 from 417 😀

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1094709677255356&substory_index=0&id=400363426689988

KielyUnusual

adrian522 wrote: »

Given the problems we had picking 3 from 4, can imagine the social media uproar picking 3 from 417 😀

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1094709677255356&substory_index=0&id=400363426689988

Ah yea, but it's only the ones that have run sub 2.04 that are really worth considering

El Caballo

adrian522 wrote: »

Given the problems we had picking 3 from 4, can imagine the social media uproar picking 3 from 417 😀

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1094709677255356&substory_index=0&id=400363426689988

As amazing as that number of marathon qualifiers sound and as lauded as the Kenyans are as having incredible genetics, in the 1980's, The UK used to regularly have 180-200 athletes under 2.20 every year without the benefits of being born and able to train at altitude. What makes that number of athletes even more impressive is the fact that running under 2.20 was only 12 and a bit minutes slower than the World Record whereas Kenya's 417 athletes had a range over 16 minutes slower than the WR to get that number. Add in the fact that pacemakers didn't even exist back then and the fastest ever first half marathon split up until the last 3 years was run by Steve Jones with an opening 61:3x en route to running the 2:07:13 WR all the way back in 1983 with now primitive training methods and it starts to make the Kenyans not look all that special at all in terms of talent or whatever else, I actually expected a much higher number of Kenyans under the Q mark which actually leads me to question my beliefs on the inherent talent of Kenyan runners. What would have happened if you put the top 500 British athletes each year of the 80's into a full altitude camp and even paced races with rabbits and even at that, keep the 30 year old training theory? I reckon they would have had the same number if not more sub-2.19 runners than the Kenyans. Just a thought.

tang1

adrian522 wrote: »

Given the problems we had picking 3 from 4, can imagine the social media uproar picking 3 from 417 😀

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1094709677255356&substory_index=0&id=400363426689988

But sure they have picked there 3 runners, Eliud Kipchoge, Stanley Biwott and Wesley Korir.

tang1

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Ah yea, but it's only the ones that have run sub 2.04 that are really worth considering

There third choice man has only run 2.06 in qualifying so is obviously the rabbit for Biwott and Kipchoge.

El Caballo

tang1 wrote: »

There third choice man has only run 2.06 in qualifying so is obviously the rabbit for Biwott and Kipchoge.

Korir hasn't run 2.06 in qualifying. He's hasn't even broke 2.10 in the Q window. He's well past his prime and all the news that was on the grapevine when the team was selected was that he used his political power as a member of the Kenyan Parliament to get his spot.

tang1

El Caballo wrote: »

Korir hasn't run 2.06 in qualifying. He's hasn't even broke 2.10 in the Q window. He's well past his prime and all the news that was on the grapevine when the team was selected was that he used his political power as a member of the Kenyan Parliament to get his spot.

Jeez your a pedantic Limerick man!! You are of course right, I was looking at the mans PB, apologies.

El Caballo

tang1 wrote: »

Jeez your a pedantic Limerick man!! You are of course right, I was looking at the mans PB, apologies.

No need to apologise. I'm having a mini rant at him being sent when there is so many better Kenyan athletes that I'd like to see run in Rio*, not at your post.

*Will probably win it now

tang1

El Caballo wrote: »

No need to apologise. I'm having a rant at him being sent when there is so many better Kenyan athletes that I'd like to see run in Rio*, not at your post.

*Will probably win it now

Ah I know, as I said he'll probably be used as the rabbit for Kipchoge and Biwott. Kipsang is probably past his best, would have liked to see the lad who won Paris given a chance(his name just won't come to me). But then again I would have preferred to see Sergiu go for us instead of Paul Pollock.

Enduro

tang1 wrote: »

Ah I know, as I said he'll probably be used as the rabbit for Kipchoge and Biwott. Kipsang is probably past his best, would have liked to see the lad who won Paris given a chance(his name just won't come to me). But then again I would have preferred to see Sergiu go for us instead of Paul Pollock.

Are all these posts not very on topic for the off topic thread? Does that make them on topic off topic off topic posts? Could this create eddies in the space time continuum that could potentially cause the universe to collapse in on itself?

Ed Mc Groarty

Enduro wrote: »

Are all these posts not very on topic for the off topic thread? Does that make them on topic off topic off topic posts? Could this create eddies in the space time continuum that could potentially cause the universe to collapse in on itself?

Have you slept yet?

walshb

Are Irish soccer fans the best in the world, or does them/us needing to say it time after time kind of make it null and void?

Peterx

walshb wrote: »

Are Irish soccer fans the best in the world, or does them/us needing to say it time after time kind of make it null and void?

Iceland have the best soccer fans in the world, in fairness only one letter out. They probably say it all the time but only 330,000 people speak the language..

Peterx

Shane Lowry the latest golfer to say he won't go to the Olympics.

Golf/Tennis/Soccer/Rugby/Road cycling and any other games where the Olypmics is not the pinnacle of the sport have no place in Rio or any other Olympics.

And whilst I am in the off topic thread;
There was a great suggestion to move indoor track cycling to the winter Olympics from the Summer games but it was shot down

Chivito550

Peterx wrote: »

Shane Lowry the latest golfer to say he won't go to the Olympics.

Golf/Tennis/Soccer/Rugby/Road cycling and any other games where the Olypmics is not the pinnacle of the sport have no place in Rio or any other Olympics.

And whilst I am in the off topic thread;
There was a great suggestion to move indoor track cycling to the winter Olympics from the Summer games but it was shot down

I disagree.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of doubles and mixed doubles. It’s the only time you see the top male players play doubles. It is also a highly sought after prize in singles, and part of the rarely achieved “Golden Slam”.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of women’s football.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of International Basketball.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of international ice hockey.

You could argue the Olympics is the pinnacle of one day road cycling, though I’m not sure there.

The Olympics will be the pinnacle of 7’s rugby.

The problem with golf isn’t the fact it’s in the Olympics, but the stale, mundane, same old-same old individual 72 hole stroke play format. How uninspiring can you get. The event should be a team event, with no individual honours at stake. It should be a unique format with various kinds of team golf included such as foreballs, foresomes, greensomes etc. This would allow the Olympics to become the pinnacle in team golf (the Ryder Cup doesn’t include most of the world and unless you are playing for USA you don’t represent your country). A format like this would really engage the players, and you wouldn’t get guys bailing like this over the most ridiculous excuses as they’d be letting their team mates down. The organisers of this event in Rio have failed spectacularly, and by the time they organise something more creative and exciting it might be too late, and golf may have already lost its Olympic status. They decide in 2018 if it will continue past Tokyo, so basically Rio is the one shot to impress. Who makes these decisions! Incredible!

On your second point, of course it was shot down. The Winter Games are only for sports which are competed on snow or ice. Daft suggestion really.

average_runner

Chivito550 wrote: »

I disagree.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of doubles and mixed doubles. It’s the only time you see the top male players play doubles. It is also a highly sought after prize in singles, and part of the rarely achieved “Golden Slam”.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of women’s football.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of International Basketball.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of international ice hockey.

You could argue the Olympics is the pinnacle of one day road cycling, though I’m not sure there.

The Olympics will be the pinnacle of 7’s rugby.

The problem with golf isn’t the fact it’s in the Olympics, but the stale, mundane, same old-same old individual 72 hole strong play format. How uninspiring can you get. The even should be a team event, with no individual honours at stake. It should be a unique format with various kinds of team golf included such as foreballs, foresomes, greensomes etc. This would allow the Olympics to become the pinnacle in team golf (the Ryder Cup doesn’t include most of the world and unless you are playing for USA you don’t represent your country). A format like this would really engage the players, and you wouldn’t get guys bailing like this over the most ridiculous excuses as they’d be letting their team mates down. The organisers of this event in Rio have failed spectacularly, and by the time they organise something more creative and exciting it might be too late, and golf may have already lost its Olympic status. They decide in 2018 if it will continue past Tokyo, so basically Rio is the one shot to impress. Who makes these decisions! Incredible!

On your second point, of course it was shot down. The Winter Games are only for sports which are competed on snow or ice. Daft suggestion really.

The top male single players are not the top double players in the world.

The woodie's destroyed most top single players at doubles in tennis when they were around.


The most sought prize for the tennis player is the majors and the number 1 ranking.

Chivito550

average_runner wrote: »

The top male single players are not the top double players in the world.

The woodie's destroyed most top single players at doubles in tennis when they were around.

How come Federer/Wawrinka won Olympic gold in Beijing then?

average_runner

Chivito550 wrote: »

How come Federer/Wawrinka won Olympic gold in Beijing then?

Because the woodies weren' t there.

But since your so smart, why was it the double specialist won it in 96, 2000, 2004, 2012.

Chivito550

average_runner wrote: »

Because the woodies weren' t there.

But since your so smart, why was it the double specialist won it in 96, 2000, 2004, 2012.

I didn't say the best singles players were the best doubles players though. I said that their presence in the doubles event at the Olympics brings far more credibility to the doubles event there compared to at slams.

average_runner

Chivito550 wrote: »

I didn't say the best singles players were the best doubles players though. I said that their presence in the doubles event at the Olympics brings far more credibility to the doubles event there compared to at slams.

I didnt say you did, what you did say was "It’s the only time you see the top male players play doubles"

I am just saying that the top single players are not the top male double players, you see the top male players in doubles all year, its the best part of the majors

dastardly00

Chivito550 wrote: »

You could argue the Olympics is the pinnacle of one day road cycling, though I’m not sure there.

I don't think you could say that the Olympics is the pinnacle of one-day cycling. Riders would probably choose a win in The Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastonge-Liege, or Milan-San Remo ahead of the Olympics Road Race, even though the four races I've mentioned occur every year. Riders would perhaps even choose a single stage win in the Tour de France ahead of the Olympics.

Chivito550

average_runner wrote: »

I didnt say you did, what you did say was "It’s the only time you see the top male players play doubles"

I am just saying that the top single players are not the top male double players, you see the top male players in doubles all year, its the best part of the majors

Jaysus, I meant to say the top male singles players play doubles. Would the top doubles players still win if the best singles players played? Yes probably. Would they win as frequently? Probably not. Would the guy ranked 20th in the world still be 20th? No way, he'd be 40th or 50th. That's my point. The Olympics is probably the deepest doubles competition you can get, and it's the only time you are representing your country properly, as both players must be from the same country, unlike at slams.

Chivito550

dastardly00 wrote: »

I don't think you could say that the Olympics is the pinnacle of one-day cycling. Riders would probably choose a win in The Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastonge-Liege, or Milan-San Remo ahead of the Olympics Road Race, even though the four races I've mentioned occur every year. Riders would perhaps even choose a single stage win in the Tour de France ahead of the Olympics.

Perhaps you are right. Or the Rainbow Jersey for winning the world title.

But what about on the women's side? I love the way we seem to base our arguments based solely on men's sport.

dastardly00

Chivito550 wrote: »

Perhaps you are right. Or the Rainbow Jersey for winning the world title.

But what about on the women's side? I love the way we seem to base our arguments based solely on men's sport.

Yes the World Championship would be held in higher regard. There is so much prestige with the Rainbow jersey. Perhaps they should have a jersey for the Olympic RR :P

I will hold my hand up and admit that I don't know how highly ranked the Olympic RR is for women's cycling.

BTH

dastardly00 wrote: »

I don't think you could say that the Olympics is the pinnacle of one-day cycling. Riders would probably choose a win in The Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastonge-Liege, or Milan-San Remo ahead of the Olympics Road Race, even though the four races I've mentioned occur every year. Riders would perhaps even choose a single stage win in the Tour de France ahead of the Olympics.

Chivito550 wrote: »

Perhaps you are right. Or the Rainbow Jersey for winning the world title.

But what about on the women's side? I love the way we seem to base our arguments based solely on men's sport.

There is no perhaps about it. Any rider would certainly take a monument or a TdF stage ahead of the Olympics any day.