Seti Refuge Bar & Bistro Wing of Cafe Einstein

I tend to watch Pro FB anytime I get a chance, which is almost always.  Specifically (after the Chicago Bears), I'll watch the north NFC division's teams, then the other Pro teams which are doing very well when they're available on cable TV.

My next favorite sport to watch is Pro NBA, and yes, specifically the Chicago Bulls.  Love watching the game, but have never played in any organized game or league in my life.

I don't watch much baseball at all, the game itself makes me fall asleep.  Soccer has been becoming a bigger sport in the U.S. and I realize that it is a World Wide favorite sport.  I can't quite get into watching it anywhere near as much as football or basketball though I will watch it a bit more than baseball.

I do love what used to be called 'open wheel' racing like Formula1 and Indy Cars.  Road racing is my preferred favorite, and a few oval tracks like the Super Speedways of Daytona, Texas, Michigan & Talledaga, which obviously includes NASCAR events.  I'm not a big fan of NASCAR, but I will watch some of the races if nothing else is on.

College sports such as football and basketball are okay, but I can't get into every game as much as some people do until the playoffs.  Then I'll be looking for the soon-to-be a pro player in the drafts.

Am I a 'couch potato'?  Not specifically, but I'm becoming one since I don't get around anywhere near as much as I used to at nearly 70 years young.

George

Proud member of the Old Farts Association

Sad Panda*. I put $100 AUD ( at 12 to 1 !! ) on the recent Bathurst 1000 motor race and made the correct prediction of who would have been the winner, however this was scuppered by a bizarre & little known rule change ( see here ). As I've been taking quite a bit of money off Ladbrokes consistently over the years for this event, but not so this year, then I'm not a happy camper. 

During a safety car period one can't overtake another vehicle ( without authorisation ) as it is a full course yellow. But if a car has ducked into the pits ( as is legal under safety car periods ) then there will be re-join with the field of cars on exit from the pits. Seems simple, right ? Not so, as it is legally possible for a re-joining car to overtake cars for a short distance from the pit exit to a nominated line across the track. It's an approximately 100m opportunity for the exiting car ( while "getting up to speed" ) to pass those cars already passing by in single file and then blending in with the field. However if it reaches the said line just in front of another car in the existing queue, but does not blend ahead of the other car, it is deemed that this other car has overtaken the one coming from the pits! A non-redressable penalty is applied. It's a pit lane drive through at the earliest convenience under restoration of green flag conditions that is required, losing at least 30 seconds with respect to the field.

It's bizarre because a pass under yellow flag conditions creates a penalty that is applied to another car which has not changed direction or speed! Hence this favours pitting cars over the ones that stay out and circulate, plus now that everyone knows this rule has changed it will be gamed and force penalties on unsuspecting teams. Actually it is doubly bizarre as it will force cars already on the track to give way to cars exiting the pits. Traditionally the onus has been upon the pit-exiting car to not impede those passing by : with the worst case being a re-join at the tail of the field. It's little known because this novel sub clause in the rules was not widely announced and most teams had not received any notification ( official or otherwise ) of it. My selection^** for a win lost ( relative to the winner ) by a time rather less than that penalty. 

No Cheers, Mike.

* Rant alert!

** Dave Reynolds and Garth Tander in car 26, the most experienced pair of drivers in the field and both prior winners. They are experts in car setup for the changing conditions.

( edit ) FWIW here are my rules for betting ( which can be a rational activity ) :

- NEVER bet more than you can afford to lose and in practice ONLY a fraction of that.

- bet infrequently so that it DOES NOT become habitual.

- NEVER bet in order to redress a loss. Walk away.

- ONLY bet when you know something that the bookie doesn't ( relevant information can be monetised ).

- NEVER bet if the odds are too short, in particular if the return is less than the stake.

- GIVEN that the above are true then PREFER to bet when the bookie is/appears-to-be running a 'Dutch Book' ie. is setting odds in response to the betting outlays of punters rather than real world chances of outcomes.

I agree, so would I. 

But if it's a blow out, that just means the coaches need to emphasize what they teach (supposedly) better.

...or get new coaches...!

...and I think they're going to get new coaches very soon...!

.....[EDIT].....

Oh... the days of a fiery Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan!  I wish they were back!

George

Proud member of the Old Farts Association

I realize it's a bit self-congratulatory, but I reached 100 million yesterday! Here's to all the diligent number crunchers out there!