Wolverines

Ok, do we have any baseball fans in the house that can answer a question for me.

Why does baseball have a dirt infield?


Baseball is the only sport that has rain delays because they don't want to get muddy or play in the mud.  So why is the infield dirt instead of a different cut grass pattern?

Course I know baseball is not truly a sport more of a pass time that for some reason pays people stupid amounts of money to swat at a ball every so often.  But seriously why are they the only sport that panics when it rains?

Well, The dirt is there because of the simple fact that having the entire infield be grass would be impossible. The wear and tear of playing around 70 games on the same surface would take it down to dirt anyway. Sure in the outfield they are spread out enough that grass can be managed, but in the infield with basemen and base runners all running and moving in the same area inning after inning, its just not feasable. They have tried turf and still use it at some places, but the venues that have it are generally disliked.

Baseball isn't a sport? Don't be a dope.

Nascar stops in the rain. Golf has rain delays....and then every other sport not in a dome stops for lightning.

more importantly... why are you watching baseball?

NASCAR is a sport?

Again I say baseball is not a sport, all sports play through the rain.  Sure they won't play with thunder and lightning but if its raining they are playing because that is what actual sports do.  If its not played in the rain its not a sport.  Nascar drive fast turn left takes balls but is not a sport, golf takes skill but not a sport.

So, your qualifications that baseball is not a sport is the fact that people use bats to swat at a ball every now and then.  Let's see the basis of other sports then.

A rubber ball is bounced around and thrown at a circular hoop.
A "pigskin" ball is passed down a field where someone can run into a rectangular portion of the field.
A ball is kicked into a net.

Baseball is the only sport I dislike watching more than basketball.  Fucking lame.

Sport:  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. - Dictionary.com

Does being indoors make it not a sport?  If so, I call shennanigans on hockey.

Ooooh, I love this argument.  I brought a NASCAR fan to tears of rage once with this discussion.

What is a sport?

If you actually look up the word in a dictionary the definitions are usually very lenient.  They say things like, a pleasurable physical activity or anything where you compete against another person.  I have a hard time accepting that boning your mom or taking a test are a sport soooo....

Some old work friends of mine weren't happy with this so broke into catagories.

This is basically what we came up with.

Actuall sport - an event where the actions of one person or team directly effects the the performance or outcome for the opposing person or team.  The winner is not determined by a judge.

Examples
Tennis - If I hit a sweet shot and you miss then I get a point.
Football - If i throw a shitty pass and you intercept it then you are effecting my game.

Competition - Where you cannont directly effect the performance or outcome for the opposition, Usually judged, not always.

Examples
Golf - If I get a bogey then I get a bogey and there is nothing  you can do about it.  My score doens't effect your score and vise versa
Gymnastics - If Stallionite gets a 8.7 on the uneven bars.  It doesn't matter how hard we laugh we can't change the score.

Race - Using only human power, who can achieve a certian objective first

Examples
-Marathon
-seeing who can shotgun a beer first


A few more examples
Baseball - actuall sport - it kills me to say it but the teams can effect the performance of each other.
NASCAR - operating a gas power machine, not a sport, or a race, just commuting

Fixed.

Formula One is definitely a sport then.  Did anyone else watch the Grand Prix of China this weekend?  Holy fuck was that madness.  NASCAR is what I'd call "NapCar."  Boring.

The sports that are terrible to watch I actually enjoy playing (Softball/Baseball, Volleyball, Golf, Curling)...and the ones that are fun to watch I really suck at (Football, Basketball, etc).  The only anomaly there is that I really enjoy many forms of racing, both as a driver and as a spectator.  Racing FTW.

Your whole summary was quite good and I am having difficulty finding any holes in that theory.  +1 for you.

wow...this thread is chock full of gold.

Get off the forums and login to wow please

Alright assholes, shut the hell up.

To Shane's original question and Rams' response I would also add that dirt around the base pads is to reduce injuries from sliding feet first - think about getting a clete stuck in the turf as you are sliding into 2nd at full speed - not pleasent.  Pitchers like to tear up the mound to get the footing that they want when they pitch, so turf on there would never last.  The only answer I have for why some parks have a 1st and 3rd baselines that's a dirt path is style.

So, what sports play through the rain other than football and rugby?  Playing in a dome or an arena doesn't count either. 

Yes, Nascar is a sport.  When was the last time any of these other so-called professional athletes put up with punishment like 120 degree temperatures while they are subjected to 4-5Gs going through the turns?  Now do that moving at over 200mph and closer to your competitors than any of us were to the guy in the next parking space this morning.  It puts alot of stress on your body and takes skill to do it without wrecking yourself and the other 42 guys out there. 

I'll skip the debate on open-wheel vs. NASCAR cause life is too short.  Personally, open-wheel bores the shit outta me but I respect the drivers for their skill.

So I'm partaking in a sporting event everytime I sit in Traffic on a HOT July afternoon, blocking people from cutting me off?  That takes some skill too you know.  That puts a lot of stress on me mentally, not so much physically.

I should get paid for that.  Anyone want to sponsor me? 

Kith just PWNED all your faces.

And thats why Nascar is not a sport. It takes balls to do that stuff at speed but you don't have to be an athlete to drive a car.

Soccer, Lacrosse, GIRLS field hockey, Rugby, Football, Cycling, Triahtlons

And since I really don't watch it but when I'm around my dad and he's got it on doesn't Nascar stop when it rains as well?  So again another reason why Nascar is not a sport.  I know Lemans races and such take place in the rain and at least the drivers there have to turn left and right.

Yeah they stop because they don't want cars hydroplaning into the stands at 200mph. I know it's fucking stupid right? Also NASCAR is riding on SLICKS....they don't WORK in the rain. Just saying.

Baseball stops for the rain because they don't want the players to get hurt. An absurd idea protecting your investments.

Football clearly doesn't care if their athletes have comfortable lives after their career is over or they wouldn't have all the crippled droolers they have now.

Shane....another thing...NASCAR has road courses that go left and right so your troll is obsolete on the left and right schtick.

Yes, NASCAR stops in the rain due to no tread on the tires.  I'm pretty sure Lemans cars have treaded tires, so weather isn't as much of a problem.

For the whole left-turns only complaint - isn't the most famous US open-wheel race, maybe most famous race in open-wheel racing period, the Indy 500?  All left turns at Indy.

Peyton Manning throws a football and I can throw a football... so in theory we're equal and he's not an athlete?

(http://mobocracy.net/media/Yoda-Flame-war-begun.jpg).

Can you throw a football 75 yards in the air? No.....  Can you drive a Car 200MPH in a circle? Yes.....

I wanna see a demo, stat.

This argument became useless the minute you started redefining "sport" into your personal definition to satisfy your unconscious (or even conscious) elevation of "sports" from non-sports.  I could say sports are only sports if the competitors have at least a 50% chance of dying (i.e. gladiators from Rome).  Or sports are only sports if the people wear pink polka dots.  You can't just go around redefining words.  If I say the only things that are bricks (sports) are yellow and made of clay and everything else are blocks (races), you'd bring a regular red brick and smack me over the head with it.

Also, I really doubt you could drive a car at Nascar speeds with the precision and endurance that Nascar drivers do.  There are a lot of racing levels leading up to Nascar and a lot of people do stay at the lower levels cause they can't cut it at the higher ones.  Things like drag racing also require skill, how else could a technically slower less powerful car beat a faster more powerful one?  (Which happens all the time) 

Now does this make Nascar a sport?  Most dictionaries define sports as a diversion requiring physical exertion and competition.  Dictionary.com says: 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.  Athletic: of or pertaining to athletes; involving the use of physical skills or capabilities, as strength, agility, or stamina

All you have to determine is whether driving a car at high speeds for long periods of time, being required to react and adjust quickly to constantly changing conditions and enduring high G forces is athletic (involves the use of physical skills or capabilities such as strength, agility or stamina) or not.

oh snap... you got rothlan to post something in a non-WoW related topic.

(http://www.8bitreview.com/images/Billpaxton.jpg) /obscure?

Woot!  Does that mean I win!?!?

you win the girl award. stop being stupid. baseball is a sport and so is kicking sand in your face.


Come take a drive in South Carolina and you will see MANY people who cannot even drive in a circle.

OK Nascar is a sport, Before restrictor plates.  And I must point out, almost all of your Definitions, Makes the WWE Legitimate. Thik about it

WWE is staged...it's a performance art.

i know this but by the def posted its a sport

but it's not of a competitive nature since it's staged.

Sorry Varg have to disagree with you on both of those. Baseball has already been argued but kicking sand probably needs a little clarification.

1) Kicking sand in someones face is done in a one on one environment and does not require any training or athletic skill to be able to do.
2) Again this is not something that would work really well in the rain as the sand would not spray properly giving the proper blast of grit into the face. 
3) There are no sand kicking competitions so therefore there is no way to judge ones ability to kick sand against another.  This would be all personal bias and thus would put it more into a hobby or pastime event.
4) Kicking sand is even worse than baseball and Nascar that stop when it rains, I mean if you have a strong wind there would be a good chance you would have to cancel the sand kicking for fear of getting blow back.  Isn't the whole point of sand kicking to get sand in the other persons face and not your own so a strong circling wind puts a kaibash on the entire event.


And Artic I'm gonna have to agree with Red on the whole WWE thing.  Yes you have to be in shape and athletic to do a lot of stuff those guys do but your not an athlete for doing it because there is no competition.  I mean if you say this is athe

By their own definition, WWE is "Sports Entertainment." You have to be in good shape to perform, you have to practice, and there is a degree of danger involved. However (comma), it is coreographed, thus not a real competition, more like a soap opera for guys.