What SPORTS are you following?

Shaw made the mistake of saying it loudly enough that the microphones picked it up.

He totally should have been suspended. What kind of message would the NHL have sent to the general public if there was no punishment? That calling someone a faggot is completely tolerable by them. They shouldn't and couldn't let that be the takeaway message. Notice that neither Shaw nor the Hawks made a big stink about the suspension. They knew the NHL had no choice.

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Also, I'm glad to see the Hawks eliminated. I can't stand Patrick Kane.

You can no longer make big stinks about this stuff because people will quickly (and lazily) think you are defending the word.

I think a fine would have been totally appropriate (that's what tennis does). I think a game suspension for something that isn't violence or breaking any rules is total overreach. Make it a big fine, do the speeding-ticket approach. That works for stuff like this. But don't affect the outcome of a playoff series because someone used harsh language. As this asshole chauvinistic friend of mine likes to say, "sack up"

btw, I don't like the Hawks AT ALL in case anyone thought this was fanboyism.

I think we're entering into an era where there's going to be lots of speedbumps on stuff like this and it'll be interesting to see what makes sense and where people trip over themselves trying to do what they think is the right thing.

the_jake_1973 wrote: I follow American football and hockey in a casual fashion. The Denver Broncos are my team of choice to root for, so I am interested how exactly they are going to recover from their QB foibles this season. I am also a Detroit Lions fan. I think it is much like playing Dark Souls, except you never actually get any better.

LOL @ the Lions = Dark Souls - Thank you good sir. I cannot fathom for the life of me, with the parity in the league, how the Lions and the Browns have not been able to put together a team that can put together a playoff run. And all of the wasted high draft picks over the years, it just boggles the minds - Other than Stafford, those two teams have been a graveyard for QB's.

About the Broncos - I think they are going to be just fine - The paradigm of needing an All Pro QB has pretty much been shattered - I mean it certainly helps to have a pedigreed quarterback, but really the model that's been effective for the quickest turnaround is : Build a deep, fast, young disciplined defense - be 3 deep on qualilty corners - have a good d line with a mix of fast young pass rushers and bargain veterans - get a quarterback that doesn't turn the ball over and run the ball.

I actually think the all-pro quarterback thing can be more of an albatross, really - because you got to pay them - Look at the Ravens after Flacco's pay day - All those years that Payton shot the lights out throwing the ball around the yard, while indy's paper d got crushed come playoff time.

Belichick is pretty amazing in how he has managed to reset his defense based on personal, and they do a good job training up role players on that team, toa loow for them to carry Brady's salary and still compete. But that's not the norm.

Black Barney wrote: You can no longer make big stinks about this stuff because people will quickly (and lazily) think you are defending the word.

I think a fine would have been totally appropriate (that's what tennis does). I think a game suspension for something that isn't violence or breaking any rules is total overreach. Make it a big fine, do the speeding-ticket approach. That works for stuff like this. But don't affect the outcome of a playoff series because someone used harsh language. As this asshole chauvinistic friend of mine likes to say, "sack up"

btw, I don't like the Hawks AT ALL in case anyone thought this was fanboyism.

I think we're entering into an era where there's going to be lots of speedbumps on stuff like this and it'll be interesting to see what makes sense and where people trip over themselves trying to do what they think is the right thing.

Thankfully the Shaw suspension didn't affect the outcome.

I'm following the Premiere League seriously for the first time this year. I picked Bournemouth as "my team" because of the small town/tiny stadium David/Goliath thing (should have picked Leceister ). Safe from relegation and poised to strike next year!

I'm of two minds about the Shaw suspension. On one hand, yes it is absolutely something that an image-conscious league needed to do something about since apparently it was audible during the broadcast, and there are certainly fans and members of the NHL who were offended by that patently offensive term.

On the other hand, as an observer of human nature I find it distressing that we are giving that word and others like it more power to cause offense and harm. Think about the hurly burly of online FPS shooters: use of that word by a certain demographic (teenaged boys, pretty much) is practically ubiquitous and is therefore almost powerless. It's crude but it's just another curse word in that setting. Is it actually desirable to go from the current situation to one where the use of the word in that same setting would cause distress and real hurt feelings? I don't think so--it just gives trolls, assholes, and bullies more ability to harm.

Think about the word "lame," as in "dude, that joke was lame." Right now in that context it does not generally cause offense or hurt feelings to cripples. Should we as a society set out to give this powerless word the ability to hurt feelings? We have that choice, and I'm sure there are well-meaning people out there who are trying to do just that. Witness the transformation of the word "retarded" over the last decade from being something like how "lame" is now to practically being hate speech. "That joke was retarded" had no ability to cause general distress or offense when I was a kid, and now it does.

I want to shrink the set of words that can harm, not grow it.

They're professionals and it reflects poorly on their brand and company. They should've tossed his ass like they did. There's no place for slurs like that in such a public forum. You want to be a cunt to friends in private, knock yourself out. When you're on the ice (or stage, or whatever) there's a higher standard. Kids watch sports, and teaching them bigotry is total bullshit.

Sports are entertainment first, so the events this summer have been totally worth it for these two videos. Particularly the second.

With the World Cup news, I have now diverted all of my attention to the Street Fighter Tournament. An American always qualifies in that one...

Yeah. I feel like soccer in America just got set back ten years.

What a fucking joke.

Not Sure wrote: Yeah. I feel like soccer in America just got set back ten years.

What a fucking joke.

Well, except maybe for the USWNT which struggles to NOT win the World Cup. Soccer is fine.

I was paying attention to the Red Sox, but they are out now, so who gives a shit. And don't mock Street Fighter, man. PunkDaGod is Rank 1 and NuckleDu is right up there. The US actually is dominating in SFV right now.

Paying attention to Cleveland to try and put away the Yankees tonight. I would be really bummed if we ended up losing the divisional series.

I'm enjoying college football a lot right now. The Buckeyes did not have an auspicious start, but they seem to be heating up now. Hopefully they can roll Penn State in a couple weeks.

US Soccer will always struggle until a better youth development system is in place. The current "pay to play" model (being part of expensive and time-consuming travel squads) not only locks out a good chunk of the economic ladder and the potential players therein, but also favors constant gameplay, rather than fundamental skills development. There's no reason that a nation of this size shouldn't have enough athletes for pro (American) football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and, yes, soccer, but 4 of those sports have development systems that put the onus of discovery and development on someone other than the family of the child in question. One of them doesn't.

All of that said, the situation is better than it used to be, as the US U17 squad is packed with talent. But there's still no excuse whatsoever for the US losing to an island nation of 1 million people. The US should be dominating CONCACAF with Mexico almost by default, but still struggles to win Gold Cups and qualify for international tournaments. And I won't even get started on the inanity of the MLS structure and its schedule which is based far more on the owners' short-term profits than the long-term vision of a viable pro league.

So, yeah. Been looking forward to the WC for four years. Wiped away. Michigan football remains in a malaise. Liverpool just lost its best striker to a hamstring injury for six weeks, has 1 win and 5 draws out of the last 7 games against far less-talented competition, and has to play its greatest rival this weekend. I hate sports.

I agree with most of what Jackwraith said.

FB friend of mine actually made a good point about MLS---in many ways, MLS has made the *other* CONCACAF nations a lot better. MLS has a lot of central american players and Caribbean players who otherwise might not see time in the Liga MX. I know that's counter to what MLS was "designed' for (MLS MAKE US TEAM STRONG) but I actually think it's a good thing, long term, it means the league is finding under appreciated talent in the region which is what it should be doing.