: Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:49 am  

I bet that SKY won't be showing meaningless fixtures from Sugust onwards.

eg

Harlequins v Salford
Celtic v Hull KR

Matches where all there is to play for is pride and a win bonus.

Re: The league structure..... : Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:50 pm  

lufcshorty wrote:

Hi guys.....

I'm just wondering..... what is the general feeling about this new league structure, with no one in our league able to get promoted?

I'm writing in my uni newspaper about the annoyance of fighting for a league position that kinda has no meaning now.

Just wondering if anyone feels as strongly as I do that the sport has been taken over somewhat by this decision.

Absolute disgrace it is. Sport is about rewarding (promoting) teams who succeed (fairly) on the field. Cash in the bank, attendances, geographic location, etc, should have no bearing on it at all.

: Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:11 pm  

This is dictionary.com's interpretation of the word sport:

sport   /spɔrt, spoʊrt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [spawrt, spohrt] Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun 1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.
2. a particular form of this, esp. in the out of doors.
3. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
4. jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously.
5. mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him.
6. an object of derision; laughingstock.
7. something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything.
8. something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.
9. a sportsman.
10. Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person: He was a sport and took his defeat well.
11. Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler.
12. Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant.
13. Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation.
14. Obsolete. amorous dalliance.
–adjective 15. of, pertaining to, or used in sports or a particular sport.
16. suitable for outdoor or informal wear: sport clothes.
–verb (used without object)
17. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
18. to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal.
19. to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport.
20. to trifle or treat lightly: to sport with another's emotions.
21. to mock, scoff, or tease: to sport at suburban life.
22. Botany. to mutate.
–verb (used with object)
23. to pass (time) in amusement or sport.
24. to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often fol. by away).
25. Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., esp. with ostentation; show off: to sport a new mink coat.
26. Archaic. to amuse (esp. oneself).
—Idiom27. sport one's oak. oak (def. 5).

Now when you relate the highlighted descriptions of the word to the way the RFL treat the game, it all makes sense!

: Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:17 pm  

Very good Yob. Very good!

I've been so wrong about sport all these years

: Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:27 pm  

I think you all need to get your cloth capped heads out of the sand and embrace reality. Franchising is the future !!!

Bubba - come on mate, you must be excited by the league table for the number of seats per stadium; the rankings of the baby changing facilities and the charts showing the distance from the M62 of franchised clubs. It adds another dimension to the sport. We ("the fans") have been watching Rugby League for decades - rugby rugby rugby. It's time for a change. We're one step away from this .....................

: Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:07 pm  

: Thu Feb 12, 2009 7:44 am  

You can't escape the conclusion that a cartel exists.

Set up by the Hetherington's, Caisley, Lindsay (I'm talking several years ago) etc and run by their selected yes men Lewis and Wood.

: Thu Feb 12, 2009 12:47 pm  

Piston Broke wrote:

You can't escape the conclusion that a cartel exists.

Set up by the Hetherington's, Caisley, Lindsay (I'm talking several years ago) etc and run by their selected yes men Lewis and Wood.

People will say - "so what"? The game has more TV air time nowadays and attendances are up. They have revolutionised the game and, although it may not seem palatable to some, the game has moved forward since the advent of Super League (apart from the Challenge Cup and the Internationals).

: Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:58 pm  

littlerich wrote:

People will say - "so what"? The game has more TV air time nowadays and attendances are up. They have revolutionised the game and, although it may not seem palatable to some, the game has moved forward since the advent of Super League (apart from the Challenge Cup and the Internationals).

Have you been on the singing syrup?

: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:22 pm  

Tortured Soul wrote:

Have you been on the singing syrup?

No - i've just read the facts. It's not all rosy though - as i alluded to in my post - the Challenge Cup has sadly been relegated to a "Carling Cup" style comp and the international game has stagnated. Attendances are up. RL has more TV exposure. Fancy a drink of syrup?