Michael Phelps.... Deserving of the hype?

[--Pete]

Hi,

Which brings up a story of judging.

Interesting story. Funny how, even in an event as 'objective' as swimming, there are so many subjective calls, such as the legality of the stroke or kick or turn or finish. I guess as long as there are rules, there have to be judges and that opens the door for bias. Glad you got it fixed that time:)

--Pete

[kandrathe]

Hi,
Interesting story. Funny how, even in an event as 'objective' as swimming, there are so many subjective calls, such as the legality of the stroke or kick or turn or finish. I guess as long as there are rules, there have to be judges and that opens the door for bias. Glad you got it fixed that time:)

--Pete

I think the higher up in the sport (whichever) the better the judging gets. Less corruption too. When I was 14, and my younger sister was 13, she and I belonged to a "Saddle Club" where we would show our horses at a weekly event from April thru October. This is a pretty huge commitment of time and effort. The end of the year resulted in the "High Point Trophy". The very last show of the year, my sister was ahead by 64 points. Throughout the year, she, I and another girl consistently ranked within the top 3 in every show. The only way for my sister to lose, was if she never ranked within the top 6 places in any event and the other girl needed to win every event. Guess what happened?

It turned out the judge for the final show was her uncle. Needless to say, after my parents petitioned the club officers resulting in no action, we quit the club. This girl was also a spoiled brat who frequently would take her frustration out by beating her horses. Her parents are the type who should have been fixed.

[--Pete]

Hi,

This girl was also a spoiled brat who frequently would take her frustration out by beating her horses. Her parents are the type who should have been fixed.

I once knew somebody like that, only with show dogs. I coined the phrase, "It wouldn't be murder, it would be retroactive birth control." And, sometimes, I was tempted;)

--Pete

[kandrathe]

The thing is, women's volleyball is still a fairly new sport in terms of historical perspective. May and Walsh were already the greatest team in that history, even before this current hot streak. The records they have broken this year were their own records.

Walsh and May-Treanor won the gold medal, again.