The unimportant news thread

[Pohjolas Daughter]

CPA = Cyclistes Professionnels Associés = Euro pro cyclists' union
UCI = Union Cycliste Internationale = world governing body of cycling

French seems to be the lingua franca of int'l sporting acronyms. 

Merci beaucoup!

By the way, are you a cyclist yourself?

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Trump Organization and CFO charged with tax crimes...[news is currently live on CNN]....more info here:

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-organization-charges-07-01-21/index.html

PD

[T. D.]

Merci beaucoup!

By the way, are you a cyclist yourself?

PD

No.
For many years, I was fanatical about aerobic/endurance exercise, and the last several of those years I was a compulsive recreational cyclist. But I backed almost completely off. Ran quite a few marathons, but never had any interest in racing bicycles, as it seemed far too hazardous (and that's coming from someone who played recreational ice hockey for many years).
During my big cycling years, I was intensely interested in pro cycling events like the TdF, but after realizing how heavily the sport (and let's be honest, the Olympics and basically all professional sport) depends on chemistry, became a much more casual follower.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

No.
For many years, I was fanatical about aerobic/endurance exercise, and the last several of those years I was a compulsive recreational cyclist. But I backed almost completely off. Ran quite a few marathons, but never had any interest in racing bicycles, as it seemed far too hazardous (and that's coming from someone who played recreational ice hockey for many years).
During my big cycling years, I was intensely interested in pro cycling events like the TdF, but after realizing how heavily the sport (and let's be honest, the Olympics and basically all professional sport) depends on chemistry, became a much more casual follower.

Well, kudos to you for working so hard and trying to achieve certain goals and for stretching your boundaries and capabilities!  Truly!  And, yes, there are the cheaters, but I don't think that everyone goes there (re professional sports)....perhaps I'm naive, but I don't think that everyone does that.  Do you think that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic do that?  I don't.

PD

[T. D.]

Well, kudos to you for working so hard and trying to achieve certain goals and for stretching your boundaries and capabilities!  Truly!  And, yes, there are the cheaters, but I don't think that everyone goes there (re professional sports)....perhaps I'm naive, but I don't think that everyone does that.  Do you think that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic do that?  I don't.

PD

I'm not a big tennis fan, and Nadal and Federer seem like really nice guys (though Djokovid [joke] much less so). But I wouldn't be surprised one whit if any of them dope.
First, doping innuendo has swirled around Rafa for years, see https://www.thedailybeast.com/tennis-has-a-doping-problem .
Federer: the length of his career at the top makes me suspect drugs; although he's fallen off the past several years, performance increase well after the age of 30 is one of the biggest PED indicators.
Djoko: Sorry, but I'm always suspicious of Eastern Europeans, see recent Russian history.

Also, when the enormous "Operation Puerto" scandal hit cycling, Spanish authorities confiscated hundreds of blood bags from Dr. Fuentes. "Donors" were never disclosed, but it was strongly suspected and widely rumored that many bags came from tennis and (Euro) football, see above link.

I think PED testing in FIFA and ATP works like in the American pro sports: big names get off free, while token small fry periodically get offered up in sacrifice. These sports don't want to kill any golden geese.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I'm not a big tennis fan, and Nadal and Federer seem like really nice guys (though Djokovid [joke] much less so). But I wouldn't be surprised one whit if any of them dope.
First, doping innuendo has swirled around Rafa for years, see https://www.thedailybeast.com/tennis-has-a-doping-problem .
Federer: the length of his career at the top makes me suspect drugs; although he's fallen off the past several years, performance increase well after the age of 30 is one of the biggest PED indicators.
Djoko: Sorry, but I'm always suspicious of Eastern Europeans, see recent Russian history.

Also, when the enormous "Operation Puerto" scandal hit cycling, Spanish authorities confiscated hundreds of blood bags from Dr. Fuentes. "Donors" were never disclosed, but it was strongly suspected and widely rumored that many bags came from tennis and (Euro) football, see above link.

I think PED testing in FIFA and ATP works like in the American pro sports: big names get off free, while token small fry periodically get offered up in sacrifice. These sports don't want to kill any golden geese.

I had read about that doctor and the scandal some years ago.  Just found another story on CNN.  https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/30/sport/operation-puerto-fuentes/index.html  And, yes, there should have been further investigations into the players/donors involved.  I hope that Spanish laws have since changed?  I also remember when Nadal was accused of doping by the now former French secretary of sport--who then sued him.  This is an interesting article which you might enjoy reading:  https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/17693288/tennis-pristine-image-performance-enhancing-drugs-which-no-accident  Some of the very top players have also come out asking for more/better testing and transparency (like Federer and Murray).  The biological passports is something new to me however.  I hadn't heard about them, but it sounds like a great idea.  The article is from 2016 by the way.  From Rafa's own mouth:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61EF6RBKBzs

In any event, happy cycling riding/watching! 

PD

[T. D.]

Not meaning to cast aspersions.
Back when I followed athletics (track/field) and cycling I repeatedly found that my sporting heroes turned out to be PED users.
My attitude now is to enjoy the events as spectacles, but have no illusions or expectations about the participants. I suppose sports are like laws or sausages; the observer is better off not examining the underlying processes. 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

This was bizarre!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-9772229/Rory-McIlroy-looks-bemusement-spectator-takes-club-bag-Scottish-Open.html

PD

[greg]

No.
For many years, I was fanatical about aerobic/endurance exercise, and the last several of those years I was a compulsive recreational cyclist. But I backed almost completely off. Ran quite a few marathons, but never had any interest in racing bicycles, as it seemed far too hazardous (and that's coming from someone who played recreational ice hockey for many years).

On this topic (somewhat), today I discovered that ancestry.com has a new feature that shows traits based on your DNA (it's just $20 extra if you've already submitted your DNA to them).

There's actually something called a sprinter's gene, one out of four or five people have it, and apparently I have that gene as well. A little surprised. It basically means that you are going to have more fast twitch muscle fibers, so won't be naturally gifted for marathons, but will naturally be more gifted towards weightlifting and speed for sprinting. If of European heritage, it's only an 18% chance of having it, and I've heard West Africans have the highest but I'm not seeing exact stats on that.

I saw somewhere that only 3% of professional sprinters don't have this gene. They must go hardcore with their training, then!

[steve ridgway]

On this topic (somewhat), today I discovered that ancestry.com has a new feature that shows traits based on your DNA (it's just $20 extra if you've already submitted your DNA to them).

There's actually something called a sprinter's gene, one out of four or five people have it, and apparently I have that gene as well. A little surprised. It basically means that you are going to have more fast twitch muscle fibers, so won't be naturally gifted for marathons, but will naturally be more gifted towards weightlifting and speed for sprinting. If of European heritage, it's only an 18% chance of having it, and I've heard West Africans have the highest but I'm not seeing exact stats on that.

I saw somewhere that only 3% of professional sprinters don't have this gene. They must go hardcore with their training, then!

It would be very handy to be tested as a baby then told what sports to make the effort in and what not to bother with at all.

[greg]

It would be very handy to be tested as a baby then told what sports to make the effort in and what not to bother with at all.

I think it's good to know this stuff still, so people can know what is realistic.
Though it could also be a deterrent- "if I'm not naturally gifted at all, why bother?" Just depends on each person's attitude how they will approach it. If they like the sport enough, they'll do it anyways.

[T. D.]

This is cool:

https://alttour.ef.com/

Lachlan Morton is just about to finish riding the whole TdF route (plus the transfers) unsupported. His final day was 579km. He'll beat the TdF circus by about 5 days.

https://twitter.com/EFprocycling/status/1414792643163435010

[Pohjolas Daughter]

This is cool:

https://alttour.ef.com/

Lachlan Morton is just about to finish riding the whole TdF route (plus the transfers) unsupported. His final day was 579km. He'll beat the TdF circus by about 5 days.

https://twitter.com/EFprocycling/status/1414792643163435010

Oh, wow!  Impressive!

Ran across this article today.  Doesn't make sense to me as to why he was denied citizenship.    Can anyone elaborate?   

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57804651

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Loved this story (short video) of an Italian woman repairing donated dolls that would otherwise become landfill and then giving them to children during the pandemic.  She is now teaching others how to do it too. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-57808946

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

In Tokyo, a gourmet delicacy becomes a problem weighing down floats in an area to be used for canoeing and rowing events.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57883922

PD

[drogulus]

     Help!!... the market crashed.

[T. D.]

     Help!!... the market crashed.

If you consider a decline of around 2.5% from close to all-time high levels (DJIA, 1:10 PM) a "crash", one might question your level of experience in financial markets.   
I hope you didn't buy a boatload of stock on margin last week. 

[Karl Henning]

Loved this story (short video) of an Italian woman repairing donated dolls that would otherwise become landfill and then giving them to children during the pandemic.  She is now teaching others how to do it too. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-57808946

PD

Wonderful story!

[drogulus]

If you consider a decline of around 2.5% from close to all-time high levels (DJIA, 1:10 PM) a "crash", one might question your level of experience in financial markets.   
I hope you didn't buy a boatload of stock on margin last week. 

     
     

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Wonderful story!

Glad that you enjoyed it Karel. 

PD