| Winter Sport | tradition | strenuous | Summer Equivalent | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downhill Skiing | Yes | Yes | Sprinting | Yes |
| Slalom Skiing | Yes | Yes | Hurdles | Yes |
| Cross Country Skiing | Yes | Yes | Distance Running | Yes |
| Biathlon | Yes | Yes | Pentathlon | Yes |
| Ski Jumping | Yes | Yes | Long Jump | Yes |
| Moguls Skiing | No | Yes | Hurdles / Diving ? | Yes |
| Freestyle Skiing | No | Yes | Diving | Yes |
| Snowboard Slalom | No | Yes | Hurdles ? | Yes |
| Snowboard Halfpipe | No | Semi | Skateboarding | No |
| Bobsled | Yes | No | Soapbox Derby | Maybe |
| Luge | Yes | No | Cycling? | Yes |
| Speed Skating | Yes | Yes | track | Yes |
| Short Track Skating | No | Yes | Roller Derby | No |
| Figure Skating | Yes | Yes | Gymnastics | Yes |
| Pairs Skating | Yes | Yes | no comparison | Yes |
| Ice Dancing | Yes | No | Ballroom Dancing | No |
| Ice Hockey | Yes | Yes | Soccer | Yes |
| Curling | No | No | Shuffleboard | NO! |
The quality of the Winter Olympics is diminished by Sport Inflation. It had been happening for a while, but in 1998 I finally realized they'd gone too far. The IOC wants the winter games to rake in more sponsorship money, so they're adding events that don't deserve it. For the good of the human race, we must remove these lesser faux-sports and send them back to the minor leagues.
Don't get me wrong, I think that Halfpipe, Dancing, and Bocce / Shuffleboard / Lawn Bowling are great things to do. I've enjoyed all of them myself. But in the final analysis, they're NOT sports, they're advertising revenue generators.
p.s. Yes, the Summer Games are also badly inflated. I'd rather watch Texas Hold-em than some postmodern dance show with hoops and ribbons.
| 1998 Hockey Hall of Shame | |
|---|---|
| Guy Hebert | Anaheim Mighty Ducks |
| Raymond Bourque | Boston Bruins |
| Theoren Fleury | Calgary Flames |
| Keith Primeau | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Chris Chelios Gary Suter Keith Carney Tony Amonte | Chicago Blackhawks |
| Adam Deadmarsh Adam Foote Joe Sakic Patrick Roy | Colorado Avalanche |
| Derian Hatcher Jamie Langenburnner Joe Nieuwendyk Mike Modano | Dallas Stars |
| Brendan Shanahan Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings |
| Curtis Joseph Doug Weight | Edmonton Oilers |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | Florida Panthers |
| Rob Blake | LA Kings |
| Mark Recchi Shayne Corson | Montreal Canadiens |
| Bill Guerin Martin Brodeur Scott Stevens | NJ Devils |
| Bryan Berard Trevor Linden | NY Islanders |
| Brian Leetch Mike Richter Pat LaFontaine Wayne Gretzky | NY Rangers |
| Shawn McEachern | Ottawa Senators |
| Eric Desjardins Eric Lindros Joel Otto John Leclair Rod Brindamour | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Jeremy Roenick Keith Tkachuk | Phoenix Coyotes |
| Kevin Hatcher | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Al Macinnis Brett Hull | St Louis Blues |
| Rob Zamuner | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| Matthieu Schneider | Toronto Maple Leafs |
So, the fat cat executives got together in their smoke-filled room and said "hey, we could make a bunch of money if our hockey players had gold medals". Show the rest of the world how hockey is done, just like the Dream Team did with Basketball. As easy as scoring on a power play against a team of Samoan grandmothers, right?
BZZT!The National Hockey League got their skates handed to them in Nagano, for one simple reason. THEY SUCK!
The US team was nowhere near the quality of the amateur teams we've sent in previous years, and the Canadians weren't much better. They were outranked by teams like Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan! We're talking about a country that didn't even exist ten years ago, and here they are whomping on the highest paid skaters in the world!
And these guys are supposed to be the very best in the NHL? I'd hate to see how badly kicked the rest of the League's asses would get. Along with the idiots who came up with this brilliant marketing idea, the NHL ought to fire as many current players as possible and replace them with some headhunted Czech's.
Go back to Frankie's Politics Page, or wherever you came from. Last updated 2004/07/18