3 hours ago, hemingway said:

I have watched plenty of fights over the years and been in a few in my younger days, but it was one of the lamest excuses for a boxing match that I have witnessed.

Simply disgraceful. 

And it was with gloves on!

[censored] Cats.

Try bare knuckle fighting. 

I believe that Santiago in 'The Old Man And The Sea' was a bare knuckle boxer was he not?

I also think that the fact that a) there is a nearly 15 year age gap between the two and b) that Horn had just fought Terrence Crawford might have had a bit to do why the fight was as lopsided as it was.

being the "off" season and this thread being the pre-eminent source of all things banana, i thought the following fascinating factoid would be of interest to all you banana aficionados................

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Chewing Banana Slug

By Contributing Writer

April 13, 2011

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Photo: David Sifry

Slimy Banana slugs need little introduction. Honored as the official mascot of the University of California, Santa Cruz, they can often be seen on huge roadside hoardings and printed on t-shirts. The second largest species of slug in the world, Banana slugs live on the damp forest floors of the Western United States.

Usually bright yellow in color, the Banana slug is a shell-less mollusk which can grow up to 15-25 cm (5.9-9.8 in) in length. Banana slugs eat many different foods such as plants, rotting fruits, animal waste, and surprisingly other banana slugs too! But the most bizarre fact concerns their strange mating habit, where one slug chews the penis off its partner after finishing sex. Chomp… Chomp! Interesting but disgusting.

Photo: Swirll

Banana slugs are hermaphrodites, which means they have the reproductive organs associated with both the sexes. So, they can act as both male and female at the same time, and on rare occasions are even known to mate with themselves too. Their Latin name is dolichophallus, which means ‘giant penis’. It’s a fitting name too as they do all have enormous penises, almost as long as their entire body length.

If a Banana slug is to mate properly, it has to choose a partner of equal size. If it doesn’t and the calculation is not done properly before mating, the chances are that its penis will get stuck during copulation. Unable to pull out afterward, the only option left is to bite off the other slug’s member. This strange process of penis-chewing is termed apophallation.

Photo: Jim Bahn

Another very strange fact about Banana slugs is that they mate on a thick layer of slime, which they produce before the mating begins. They often eat each others’ slime, perhaps in the process of getting to know each other.

One might well wonder for hours about such a bizarre mating ritual. What if both slugs were to start chewing, for example? Obviously both would end up penis-less. Eeek!!

On 11/29/2018 at 8:57 PM, Moonshadow said:

Here you are Biffo...

 

The cyclist was totally unreasonable . Fair bump.

Congrats Daisy, you have made me feel sick. I never want to see another banana slug again.

16 hours ago, Colin B. Flaubert said:

I found this little assortment on Reddit @daisycutter Apparently they are hipster AFL logos.

 

The Bummers one is a bit too cryptic for me.  A bit like Red's countdown clues - too much for my simple brain.

And how does Sydney get to claim the coffee image??  I thought anything coffee-wise was copyrighted to those very earnest folks of inner Fitzroy.

52 minutes ago, bjDee said:

The Bummers one is a bit too cryptic for me.  A bit like Red's countdown clues - too much for my simple brain.

And how does Sydney get to claim the coffee image??  I thought anything coffee-wise was copyrighted to those very earnest folks of inner Fitzroy.

Bummers - record - need a needle to play

i don't get the dogs one, and why all blue?

3 hours ago, daisycutter said:

Bummers - record - need a needle to play

i don't get the dogs one, and why all blue?

There was more than a touch of Chet Faker in the Dogs one. Surely they could have worked a red beard in with that motif?

On 11/6/2018 at 4:57 PM, Redleg said:

Kent 

Are you upset we lost the big fellow to the Shockers?

Oh and Kent wants out as well, not sure if that happened or not.

1 minute ago, DemonFrog said:

Are you upset we lost the big fellow to the Shockers?

Oh and Kent wants out as well, not sure if that happened or not.

Just woken from your hibernation, Toady?

15 hours ago, DemonFrog said:

Are you upset we lost the big fellow to the Shockers?

Oh and Kent wants out as well, not sure if that happened or not.

Have you just returned from an interplanetary trip?

Disappointed JH gone but understand why. 

Kent now a Saint.

La Tour will not seem the same without the mellifluous sound of Paul Sherwen's commentary. 

RIP Paul, you brought pleasure to many cycling fans with your commentary at the Tour, The Classics and the TDU.

A class act in every way. 

 

1 hour ago, hemingway said:

La Tour will not seem the same without the mellifluous sound of Paul Sherwen's commentary. 

RIP Paul, you brought pleasure to many cycling fans with your commentary at the Tour, The Classics and the TDU.

A class act in every way. 

 

I went off cycling a few years ago when the were the biggest drug takers in sport Ernest.

I have not been able to take it seriously since.

Has some similarities to the Victorian justice system or perhaps that should be the Unjust system.

6 minutes ago, old dee said:

I went off cycling a few years ago when the were the biggest drug takers in sport Ernest.

I have not been able to take it seriously since.

Has some similarities to the Victorian justice system or perhaps that should be the Unjust system.

Drug cycles are the quickest way to deliver them to the people .I view it as progress OD.

18 minutes ago, Biffen said:

Drug cycles are the quickest way to deliver them to the people .I view it as progress OD.

uberdrugs?

1 hour ago, daisycutter said:

uberdrugs?

Deals on Wheels?

18 hours ago, old dee said:

I went off cycling a few years ago when the were the biggest drug takers in sport Ernest.

I have not been able to take it seriously since.

Has some similarities to the Victorian justice system or perhaps that should be the Unjust system.

I can understand your sentiments OD. Many feel the same way particularly after Lance.

However, for me, cycling is still a beautiful sport. 

The drug taking thing is a turnoff for many, but for me, it is simply a matter of degree. 

Professionalism and money in cycling came before many other sports. Cyclists for over 100 years have always tried to gain a competitive advantage by fair or foul means. In the early part of last century, Tour riders would take all sorts of things to keep themselves awake and give them energy. In the 60s, they turned to amphetamine use and then later to anabolic steroids, EPO, testosterone, and growth hormone. 

However, the use of illicit substances has been part of all professional sport for years. Perhaps not in the same systemic way as in cycling but nevertheless still present. At the same time, we can point to other sports, such as the football codes where drug taking has been rife for many years and where there have been attempts to use performance enhancing substances in an organised systemic way.  

What I do know is that of all the sports, cycling federations at the world and local level have done more to curb drug taking than any other sport. What's been done by other sports is window dressing and only masks over the true reality of what has happened and is continuing to happen.  

In any event, my original comments were not about this issue but simply acknowledging the passing of a truly great sports commentator in Paul Sherwen. Whatever, your view about professional cycling, Sherwen was a giant in the commentary field. He shared his knowledge, insights and enthusiasm with sports lovers around the world, and, together with Phil Liggett, has been influential in the uptake of cycling as a recreational sport and as a popular viewing sport.  

On 12/3/2018 at 6:27 PM, Moonshadow said:

Deals on Wheels?

I know meals on wheels.

39 minutes ago, Redleg said:

I know meals on wheels.

Next step is the gastric tube.

Count your blessings you whining Old C.

Apologies Redleg,

Thought you were OD .

Same probably applies to many though.

India to rip us a new one in the test series IMO 

Thank God that perrenial underperformer Mitch Marsh got the chop although with Hanscombs extravagent back foot defence LBW is a given.

 

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

India to rip us a new one in the test series IMO 

Thank God that perrenial underperformer Mitch Marsh got the chop although with Hanscombs extravagent back foot defence LBW is a given.

 

After the lead up to sandpaper gate and the event itself I have lost interest in the Aust Cricket team.

Arrogant bunch of overpaid sports people who would not know the real world if it bit them on the [censored].

More than Happy for India to win the series. For different reasons but they have fallen into the "cycling " twilight zone for me.

On 12/5/2018 at 5:18 AM, Biffen said:

Apologies Redleg,

Thought you were OD .

Same probably applies to many though.

And you have a nice day too!

34 minutes ago, old dee said:

After the lead up to sandpaper gate and the event itself I have lost interest in the Aust Cricket team.

Arrogant bunch of overpaid sports people who would not know the real world if it bit them on the [censored].

More than Happy for India to win the series. For different reasons but they have fallen into the "cycling " twilight zone for me.

any enjoyment left OD ?

other sports?

2 minutes ago, hemingway said:

any enjoyment left OD ?

other sports?

Not many Ernest, many are tarred with the same brush.

Still enjoy NBA and NFL but I know  they are not paragons of virtue.

My problem with big time sport Ernest is there is too much money involved which leads to Performance drug taking and the participants losing track of the real world.

I used to go to NBL games but they deleted my team and as a result I cannot find the same interest.

Over things take up the space in my life.

14 minutes ago, old dee said:

Not many Ernest, many are tarred with the same brush.

Still enjoy NBA and NFL but I know  they are not paragons of virtue.

My problem with big time sport Ernest is there is too much money involved which leads to Performance drug taking and the participants losing track of the real world.

I used to go to NBL games but they deleted my team and as a result I cannot find the same interest.

Over things take up the space in my life.

There are a lot in your camp, including young people.

Professional sport has changed the whole landscape of sport and viewing sport, so that we view everything now through a veil of cynicism and skepticism.  

Sadly, superior performance is now viewed against our doubts of doping. Whether it be a team or an individual.

Since the beginning of time, cheating has been part of life therefore also part of sport. But the big money and the big interests in sport have taken cheating to a whole new level to the point where we are no longer surprised, and, indeed, expect it. 

I guess you either like it or lump it.

I like it but swallow with the odd lump.

At the end of the day, I still enjoy the beauty of the sport tarnished as it may be.