Jesus Christ, Americans are probably the most heavily propagandized people on earth. We will literally just eat up CIA press releases from our “free press,” accepting claims made by unnamed sources within the intelligence community as gospel.
Not only do we have more cases and more deaths than “authoritarian” China, we also have more people locked up in prison. And we are making them dig their own mass graves: https://www.gq.com/story/rikers-island-mass-grave/amp
If we must do this, let us also take a moment to remember the victims of US wars. Like the 233,000 killed in the senseless, US-backed Saudi war on Yemen.
If by screwing up you mean having to deal with multiple US attempts to overthrow your government to take your oil, then yes, those countries screwed up big time.
Our massive military budget. All of this research and innovation is government subsidized in the name of defense, and it all goes down at the universities on this list. Universities in other countries just can't compete.
Americans are not unique in their distaste for diving/simulation. They are just not as familiar with the game. It might be more correct to say that diving is why many Americans are turned off by soccer.
And yes, as other commenters have suggested, it happens in basketball and hockey as well. In fact, it happens in direct relation to how big of an advantage it can potentially give your team. No matter how much a hockey player feigns injury, he can really only hope for a 2 minute power play. In basketball, where you can get opposing players ejected, it is much more prevalent. And of course, in soccer, where penalties are even more severe, it is rampant. This will not change unless the rules change.
I'm confused about the knock on Dave Zirin. He was in no way endorsing the theory in his article, only reporting that it was indeed a theory--emanating from the Seahawks own locker room which, in and of itself is a story. He even ends the article by giving reasons that it's probably not true.
Zirin has done a lot of important work shedding light on corruption in the NFL and NCAA. You may not like his politics, but to say he does not deserve to be taken seriously over something like this is unwarranted in my opinion.
Am I the only one that considers such posts/threads political? At the very least, they are a tacit endorsement of militarism, which some us may be strongly opposed to. Just saying.
Sorry to break it to you guys, but SNL has always been terrible. A few sketches are gems, but they are very few and very far between. Mostly, you are just supposed to laugh at how terrible the writing is and wonder how much heroin it took for a sketch to get written and greenlighted. Hopefully, a cast member will go off script, or break character--and that's the only time it really gets interesting.
So anyone saying that SNL isn't funny anymore--or talking about the golden years--needs to get over themselves and just enjoy mindless television for what it is...mindless television.
When talking about the country Spain, even British people would agree that "Spain is in debt." When talking about the Spanish soccer team, you would say "Spain are European Champions." What else would it be? Spain is European Champions?
We do it with our own sports teams all the time, like "the Miami Heat are NBA Champions," or "the Thunder are playing poorly." In this case, the team names are also countries, so it is confusing you.
Jesus Christ, I hope none of you are English majors.
A bit anticlimactic in the end. Milan hunkered down and defended and Arsenal seemed to move away from what was working in the first half. Van Percie will be thinking about his point blank chance for the equalizer against Abbiati, who was on the ground and came up huge in the end. 3-0 is your final. Milan are through.
Had to work late and didn't catch the game. I just got in after hearing the result on the radio. After joyfully ululating, I couldn't help but think about the opportunities we missed to take the championship outright. Purdue comes to mind. So does Iowa.
Oh well, we also won a lot of close games, and I'm sure the Buckeyes and Sparties are lamenting their winnable losses as well. It just would've been really nice not to have to share the title with those boobs.
Enough being an asshole. This one is huge. Especially for the seniors.
That video is quite amusing, but in defense of soccer, a lot of those floppers were cautioned or ejected for their theatrics (apparent in the video). I have long held that the only reason you see so much flopping in soccer is because, if you pull it off, it can give your team an incredible advantage on attack (free kick, penalty kick), or bail you out if you've lost possession in a dangerous area. In a sport with often limited scoring opportunites, and where possession is so important, these advantages can make all the difference.
Another factor is that you have essentially one referee making the final call on fouls that occur across the length of a massive field of play (usually 120 x 70 yards or so). So, if there actually is illegal contact, some players will take a tumble or embellish to ensure the referee sees it and it is called. Referees are also easily swayed by the reactions on the field and emotions of the crowd, and players know this. When you see a player feigning injury, he is trying to get the offender carded, which can also give your team a huge advantage. Also, since the clock doesn't stop (for anything) in soccer, it is also a timewasting tactic.
If all this turns you off to soccer, that is totally fine, but please don't call it soft (not that anyone did, but people do). If you actually watched a match, you'd see these guys take some pretty hard shots and tough it out for the full 90, with only a 15 minute breather. And also don't act like flopping doesn't occur in other sports, because it happens all the time in basketball, and increasingly in hockey. The only reason it's not to the same extent is because it doesn't provide the same advantage, but whenever it can provide that advantage, you will see it.
The O.J. thing was quite different. There was no reasonable doubt; that was a classic case of jury nullification. That is unlikely to happen in this case.
All I'm saying is that Hoke should've brought in a spread guy to run this offense. If I recall correctly, last year (as a first year starter), Denard Robinson set Michigan and NCAA records running and throwing. In one offseason, Borges turned our legit Heisman candidate into "uhh, let's see what Devin can do."
Our offense, lead by a second-year Denard Robinson would've been any (spread-minded) o-coordinator's wet dream. Instead we are stuck in what appears to be Brady Hoke's confused wet manball dream, and I don't like it.
The officiating was bad, but Brady Hoke blew this game the moment he hired Al Borges to run this offense. That guy has no idea what to do with the immense talent at his disposal.
Recent Comments
Jesus Christ, Americans are probably the most heavily propagandized people on earth. We will literally just eat up CIA press releases from our “free press,” accepting claims made by unnamed sources within the intelligence community as gospel.
If it’s not abundantly clear, our government is trying to deflect blame for it’s inept response to the pandemic, where a quarter million dead is now being presented to us as a best case scenario. We should try to do something about that instead of blame China, who by the way, is sending us aid: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-million-n95-masks-are-coming-from-chinaon-board-the-new-england-patriots-plane-11585821600?mod=e2tw
Not only do we have more cases and more deaths than “authoritarian” China, we also have more people locked up in prison. And we are making them dig their own mass graves: https://www.gq.com/story/rikers-island-mass-grave/amp
That was against MSU. He was mocking them.
Why?
If we must do this, let us also take a moment to remember the victims of US wars. Like the 233,000 killed in the senseless, US-backed Saudi war on Yemen.
If by screwing up you mean having to deal with multiple US attempts to overthrow your government to take your oil, then yes, those countries screwed up big time.
Wow. The refereeing is not good.
That hummus is wack as hell. If you live in Michigan and are buying your hummus from a supermarket, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Boycott aparthied hummus.
Our massive military budget. All of this research and innovation is government subsidized in the name of defense, and it all goes down at the universities on this list. Universities in other countries just can't compete.
The word is magnate, and your comment is racist.
Americans are not unique in their distaste for diving/simulation. They are just not as familiar with the game. It might be more correct to say that diving is why many Americans are turned off by soccer.
And yes, as other commenters have suggested, it happens in basketball and hockey as well. In fact, it happens in direct relation to how big of an advantage it can potentially give your team. No matter how much a hockey player feigns injury, he can really only hope for a 2 minute power play. In basketball, where you can get opposing players ejected, it is much more prevalent. And of course, in soccer, where penalties are even more severe, it is rampant. This will not change unless the rules change.
Oh, and here's this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKh8Zq6zhRc
Can't think
Sweet zinger. I doubt soccer will ever recover.
Perhaps helmet stickers are not an OSU thing, but they still look like dog shit.
These refs will cost us this game.
Whiplash is better than all of those movies.
Birdman kind of sucked. I said it.
It was changed to David because Bruce sounded too gay. That's seriously the reason.
I'm confused about the knock on Dave Zirin. He was in no way endorsing the theory in his article, only reporting that it was indeed a theory--emanating from the Seahawks own locker room which, in and of itself is a story. He even ends the article by giving reasons that it's probably not true.
Zirin has done a lot of important work shedding light on corruption in the NFL and NCAA. You may not like his politics, but to say he does not deserve to be taken seriously over something like this is unwarranted in my opinion.
I'm down with Lupe, but Kendrick Lamar's new release will be rap album of the year.
This is the worst thread ever.
I think you illustrated my point perfectly, donk_destroyer. In my opinion, your statement was a highly political one.
Am I the only one that considers such posts/threads political? At the very least, they are a tacit endorsement of militarism, which some us may be strongly opposed to. Just saying.
Getting kicked by soccer players hurts dude.
Sorry to break it to you guys, but SNL has always been terrible. A few sketches are gems, but they are very few and very far between. Mostly, you are just supposed to laugh at how terrible the writing is and wonder how much heroin it took for a sketch to get written and greenlighted. Hopefully, a cast member will go off script, or break character--and that's the only time it really gets interesting.
So anyone saying that SNL isn't funny anymore--or talking about the golden years--needs to get over themselves and just enjoy mindless television for what it is...mindless television.
never mind
I may have been a dick about it, but I'm not wrong.
When talking about the country Spain, even British people would agree that "Spain is in debt." When talking about the Spanish soccer team, you would say "Spain are European Champions." What else would it be? Spain is European Champions?
We do it with our own sports teams all the time, like "the Miami Heat are NBA Champions," or "the Thunder are playing poorly." In this case, the team names are also countries, so it is confusing you.
Jesus Christ, I hope none of you are English majors.
I have absolutely no problem with people that comment in threads that they are not interested in just to share their ignorant opinions.
That being said, you are a shitty person that has likely never played soccer, and has never travelled outside the US, ever.
Hope he doesn't get Judge Simpson.
officiating is bad
A bit anticlimactic in the end. Milan hunkered down and defended and Arsenal seemed to move away from what was working in the first half. Van Percie will be thinking about his point blank chance for the equalizer against Abbiati, who was on the ground and came up huge in the end. 3-0 is your final. Milan are through.
RVP just blew a golden opportunity.
Had to work late and didn't catch the game. I just got in after hearing the result on the radio. After joyfully ululating, I couldn't help but think about the opportunities we missed to take the championship outright. Purdue comes to mind. So does Iowa.
Oh well, we also won a lot of close games, and I'm sure the Buckeyes and Sparties are lamenting their winnable losses as well. It just would've been really nice not to have to share the title with those boobs.
Enough being an asshole. This one is huge. Especially for the seniors.
That video is quite amusing, but in defense of soccer, a lot of those floppers were cautioned or ejected for their theatrics (apparent in the video). I have long held that the only reason you see so much flopping in soccer is because, if you pull it off, it can give your team an incredible advantage on attack (free kick, penalty kick), or bail you out if you've lost possession in a dangerous area. In a sport with often limited scoring opportunites, and where possession is so important, these advantages can make all the difference.
Another factor is that you have essentially one referee making the final call on fouls that occur across the length of a massive field of play (usually 120 x 70 yards or so). So, if there actually is illegal contact, some players will take a tumble or embellish to ensure the referee sees it and it is called. Referees are also easily swayed by the reactions on the field and emotions of the crowd, and players know this. When you see a player feigning injury, he is trying to get the offender carded, which can also give your team a huge advantage. Also, since the clock doesn't stop (for anything) in soccer, it is also a timewasting tactic.
If all this turns you off to soccer, that is totally fine, but please don't call it soft (not that anyone did, but people do). If you actually watched a match, you'd see these guys take some pretty hard shots and tough it out for the full 90, with only a 15 minute breather. And also don't act like flopping doesn't occur in other sports, because it happens all the time in basketball, and increasingly in hockey. The only reason it's not to the same extent is because it doesn't provide the same advantage, but whenever it can provide that advantage, you will see it.
Trey Burke is sweet.
Don't say "no homo." It's not cool.
The O.J. thing was quite different. There was no reasonable doubt; that was a classic case of jury nullification. That is unlikely to happen in this case.
Also, fwiw, I remember Denard having some lingering injuries as the season progressed last year.
...run a no-huddle spread offense.
Wait, what?
All I'm saying is that Hoke should've brought in a spread guy to run this offense. If I recall correctly, last year (as a first year starter), Denard Robinson set Michigan and NCAA records running and throwing. In one offseason, Borges turned our legit Heisman candidate into "uhh, let's see what Devin can do."
Our offense, lead by a second-year Denard Robinson would've been any (spread-minded) o-coordinator's wet dream. Instead we are stuck in what appears to be Brady Hoke's confused wet manball dream, and I don't like it.
The officiating was bad, but Brady Hoke blew this game the moment he hired Al Borges to run this offense. That guy has no idea what to do with the immense talent at his disposal.