"Did you see Costas Now on HBO (his new monthly [?] sports magazine on HBO?
He has a panel of talking head ""experts"" to talk about sports: John McEnroe, Chris Collingsworth and Charles Barkley.
Barkley was obviously upset at Lance Armstrong's regularly winning athlete of the year awards, so after dismissing most golfers as athletes, he said Armstrong wsn't one either, because: ""after all, it's just riding a bike"", no different than race car drivers like NASCAR or Formula 1.
I suppose he would also say that people who run the mile in sub 3:45 aren't athletes either, because after all, ""that's just walking"".
What an idiot."
Is Lance Armstrong an athlete?
Mon, 05/16/2005 - 3:06pm
Mon, 05/16/2005 - 5:12pm
#1
Not much of a surprise, another example of a (multi) million dollar physical talent capped off with a 10 cent head.
How 'bout this one... the 2008 'Athlete' of the year is the Texas hold'em world champion. Don't laugh, ESPN already carries this type of program. As America gets more and more sedentary... who knows?
Mon, 05/16/2005 - 5:20pm
#2
Lance is no athelete - competing in a non-american sport
Lance should be ashamed at the waste of his talents competing in a non-american sport. There should be a law about it. How could you possibly have an athelete of the year competing in one of those foreign sports? Clearly Americans should focus on sports only themselves, and a few minor league nations, play - basketball, baseball, american football and hunting / fishing / bull riding - pretty much anything a combination of OLN and ESPN show.
Mon, 05/16/2005 - 6:45pm
#3
Bush: Cyclist
"Hey, waitaminute! I'm with you regarding the perception of cycling among ""Amurricans"" as ""not a real sport"" and say what you will about GWB, but he does bike!
(BTW, until a few years back, car racing was seen as a niche sport. It was not until NASCAR got PR-savvy and started to promote itself that it began to grow in popularity. Other genres of car racing have not been as ""lucky."" Don't write cycling off, yet.)"
Tue, 05/17/2005 - 3:10pm
#4
how about challenging Barkley to ride to Nyack and back?
Barkley also dismissed Nascar drivers as being non-athletes. There I wouldn't argue, but Chris Carmichael might.
Would love to see Barkley, especially in his current out-of-shape state, attempt to ride a bike to Nyack and back. Bet he'd have a hard time even doing it.
Barkley's lame argument was if 10-year-olds ride bikes than it's not a sport. Hello? Ten-year-olds play in Little League, play hoops... All sports can be ridiculed as being childish. Putting a ball in hoop is a sport? Etc. Ultimately all sports are games little kids play. But only the very best (and very lucky) get paid ridiculously well to play the sport they love as an adult.
Tue, 05/17/2005 - 5:41pm
#5
Formula 1 drivers
Slightly off topic.........I don't know about NASCAR drivers but Formula 1 drivers are among the fittest athletes in the world today!
The big names (Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Jarno Trulli etc.) all have very strict training regimens.
That doesn't mean they will excel at every sport......Jarno Trulli did the New York city marathon a few years ago. Of course, he may not have been trying too hard (to avoid injury etc.) but his time was actually slower than mine.....and that's not because mine was fast.
Mon, 05/16/2005 - 7:53pm
#6
Hey, don't pick on W
"While D.C. was under attack last week by a single-engined private plane with a couple of (other) idiots in it, ""our"" president was out riding his bike.
Now that's a athelete!!!"
