Rodeo safety

I've been to a couple of small, local rodeos in the past couple of years, and I've seen several cowboys hurt rather badly. It's always a worrying time with the paramedics huddled around, making sure this person is at least okay to move out of the arena. The announcers always have to fill in the time and distract from the accident scene, and they always make sure to say that, of course, this is part of the risk of the sport.

What I haven't seen is a lot of helmets and body armour. My best guess is that this is a machismo issue. If you believe yourself to be tough enough to ride a bull, why would you need a helmet? Or if none of the other guys wear helmets, why would you do so? Do you want to be the only wimp who needs armour to protect himself when sitting on top of a 500kg mad bull? The very same bull who, minutes earlier, gave someone a concussion and broke someone else's ribs?

My guess is that protective equipment will, in fact, become more common, as it has in other sports. Even when I was a kid, you wouldn't see cricketers going to bat wearing a helmet, but these days you won't see a single one without it. You'd be crazy to face down a hard ball coming in that fast with an unpredictable bounce that is, quite regularly, aimed at your head.

That's a ball. You can see it coming. It can still kill you, as has been proven, but it's still a small ball and the bowler might want to scare you, but doesn't want to kill you. A bull may be just one letter away, but it's heavy, its hooves are just as fast as a cricket ball, it's less predictable, you spend a lot more time a lot closer to it and it has a temper. So, in brief: rodeo cowboys need to wear helmets and body armour. Come on, guys. You're not riding kittens out there. Those bulls often want to kill you.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - It might just be our very small, local rodeos where protective equipment is uncommon.
PPS - And it may be that "rodeo safety" is another oxymoron.

I need sports info

At social gatherings, I often feel left out when other guys start talking sports (which, in Australia, means cricket and two codes of football, plus the soccer world cup). The last time I thought to myself that there must be some news feed I can follow that gives enough info for me to fake my way through these conversations.

Then I thought, maybe there isn't, and I could create it.

Then my last thought was maintaining the site - adding content - would mean making it my job to watch these sports live (so the site updates would be timely) and suddenly I've signed up to be Full-Time Sports Guy when my goal was not to have to deal with sports directly at all.

So, in short, this is probably not happening, but I wish someone else would do it.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I need this for world news, too.
PPS - Right now, I'm only as informed as John Oliver can make me.

Friday Photo - The Ashes

This is a replica of the Ashes, the smallest professional sporting trophy in the world. You can't quite tell the scale, but it's only about a handspan tall. This particular replica is owned by my Dad, who is fond of telling the story of its origin, and simultaneously dismayed that other Australia vs England sporting events call themselves "the Ashes" too.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I know it's not the official trophy of the competition.
PPS - But the official trophies now given are the same size.

A maroon-coloured soul

I've mentioned previously that I care very little for spectator sports, but I do watch the State of Origin matches every year. I only managed to see the second half of last night's game, but that was the exciting one, so it's okay. Unfortunately for Queensland, a missed conversion meant that the scores were tied with three minutes to go, and a simple field goal from New South Wales effectively ended the match. I was interested to see the excitement the game generated in me, shouting gleefully at good plays and tries. It's not something I usually do, but I now understand why spectators can have so much love for a game they never play.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - I need to buy Meg a little kitty clock so she knows when is too early for breakfast.
PPS - For future reference, half past four is too early.

The Origin Of Painful Defeat

Last night was an atrocious game of football. I only watch the State of Origin matches plus the AFL grand final (sometimes) so it's a bit disappointing for one of the four games I watch in the year to be such a solid routing as Queensland got last night. The one plus is that we scored a few points at the end, avoiding the total humiliation of a nil-score game and the subsequent traditional lap of the field with shorts around the ankles. I am aware, however, that certain girls present last night at Erin's would not have considered that last part a bad thing.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Laura's announcement of changing sides halfway through the game did not go down well.
PPS - We win together, we lose together. That's the rule.