swimming

A bizarre match up indeed. Will competitive eating swallow up the billiard balls or will it be snookered?

Competitive Eating:

Competitive eating involves the consumption of large quantities of food in a short time period – typically 15 minutes or less. The type of food varies, although contests are primarily focused on fast food or dessert; items are almost always a single type of food, such as hot dogs, pie, or mayonnaise, among many others.

Competitive eaters, sometimes known as "gurgitators", compete in more than 100 Major League Eating events annually worldwide that are governed by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). The IFOCE, which first established eating as a sport in the 1990s, has recently launched Major League Eating to serve as an umbrella for competitive eating worldwide while also providing a recognized brand for licensing of t-shirts and other products. It features videos of contests and eaters and offers a complete online community similar to MySpace, for eating fans.

The website features a video of Joey Chestnut's recent record-breaking performance, when he ate 59.5 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes to top Kobayashi's previous record of 53.75. Major League Eating, as overseen by the IFOCE, is the only organization that has established extensive safety regulations for events. A smaller organization, the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters (AICE), established by Coondog O'Karma and Arnie "Chowhound" Chapman, also sanctions contests. The IFOCE awarded nearly $350,000 in prize money in 2006. In addition to a one-hour live broadcast of the Nathan's Famous contest for ESPN, IFOCE has produced a three-hour elimination tournament on ESPN called the Alka-Seltzer US Open of Competitive Eating and additional hours of ESPN programming on eating for Johnsonville Brats and Krystal hamburgers. The IFOCE also recently produced a series of 30-minute television shows, Eats of Strength, for the high-definition network, InHD. Spike TV is also running a series of one-hour Major League Eating events featuring the top eaters of the IFOCE.

Other open-ended eating contests sponsored by restaurants can involve a challenge to eat a huge amount of foods such as a giant steak or hamburger, in a set amount of time, typically an hour. Often the prize is that the winner does not have to pay for the large amount of food they just consumed.

Outside of the professional realm of eating challenges, amateur eating contests between friends and strangers have found their way into popular culture. Loose associations such as the Federation of Amateur Eating Contests have formed to provide spontaneous challenges to patrons of restaurants at any given time. Members enter into an agreement, often set up so that the loser of the contest pays the bill. From there, onlookers to the challenge are openly invited to enter the contest and "out eat" the competition. Several competitions have seen upwards of 20 contestants competing.

Being overweight is not necessarily an advantage. In fact, the "fat belt" theory holds that any excess body fat is a disadvantage in that it prevents the stomach from expanding as much as it otherwise could.[1][2] Stomach elasticity is usually considered the key to eating success, and competitors commonly train by drinking large amounts of water over a short time to stretch out the stomach. The IFOCE actively discourages training of any sort.

Billiards:

Billiards are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber cushions.

There are three major subdivisions of games within cue sports: 1) carom billiards, referring to games played on tables without pockets, including among others balkline and straight rail, cushion caroms, three-cushion billiards and artistic billiards; 2) pocket billiards (or "pool") generally played on a table with six pockets, including among others 8-ball (the world's most widely played cue sport), nine-ball, straight pool, one-pocket and bank pool; and 3) snooker, which while technically a pocket billiards game, is generally classified separately based on its historic divergence from other games, as well as a separate culture and terminology that characterize its play. More obscurely, there are games that make use of obstacles and targets, and table-top games played with disks instead of balls.

At least the games with regulated international professional competition have been referred to as "sports" or "sporting" events, not simply "games", since 1893 at the latest. Quite a variety of particular games (i.e. sets of rules and equipment) are the subject of present-day competition, including many of those already mentioned, with competition being especially broad in nine-ball, snooker, three-cushion and eight-ball...

Snooker, though technically a pocket billiards variant and closely related in its equipment and origin to the game of English billiards, is a professional sport organized at the international level, and its rules bear little resemblance to those of pool games.

A "Billiards" category encompassing pool, snooker and carom was featured in the 2005 World Games, held in Duisburg, Germany, and the 2006 Asian Games also saw the introduction of a "Cue sports" category. Efforts have also been underway for many years to have cue sports become Olympic competitions.

As always, this poll ends in 24 hours.

So we stuck with Competitive eating, eh?  So much for Lacrosse...

I'm voting for Billards anyway.

EDIT:
Completely missed the comment about Lacrosse vs. Ice Hockey.

Comptetitive eating. I hope that in the second round there's only real sports left. (Hopefully Olympic disciplines)

or you could reopen it and as soon as the next (tie breaking) vote comes in close it again.

That's true, but what happens when I'm not here to open the poll and wait? Hmm.. I've got an idea. How about the first post that is posted after the poll closes with a person voting for one of the two sports wins. Like: "I can't vote because the poll is closed, but since it's a tie I'd like to break it by voting for Sport X." That should work since the poll closes at a specific stated time. It would be easy for me to compare post times with this time.

I wonder if Hundley will even show up to vote for this match :P

Once in a while people will play billiards out of boredom, but it is a sad and strange person who challenges another to a waffle eating contest when its a slow news day, imo.

So, what the hell happened in Cinncinati? I never got to see the match between Roger Federer and James Blake! I wonder who won ;__- ....

Anyway, when does the US Open start? Any way we can get more info on this?

HOW FCAN YOU PEOPLE VOTE FOR ANYTHING BUT COMPETITIVE EATING


 ​you are all goin to hell

Swimming wins 13-1.

Billiards wins 13-3.

Which of these two games will stick around for the next round, and which one will get shafted?

Ice Hockey:

Ice hockey is played on a hockey rink. During normal play, there are six players per side on the ice at any time, each of whom is on ice skates. There are five players and one goaltender per side. The objective of the game is to score goals by shooting a hard vulcanized rubber disc, the puck, into the opponent's goal net, which is placed at the opposite end of the rink. The players may control the puck using a long stick with a blade that is commonly curved at one end. Players may also redirect the puck with any part of their bodies, subject to certain restrictions. Players can angle their feet so the puck can redirect into the net, but there can be no kicking motion. Players may not intentionally bat the puck into the net with their hands.

Hockey is an "offside" game, meaning that forward passes are allowed, unlike in rugby. Before the 1930s hockey was an onside game, meaning that only backward passes were allowed. The period of the onside game was the golden age of stick-handling, which was of prime importance in moving the game forward. With the arrival of offside rules, the forward pass transformed hockey into a truly team sport, where individual heroics diminished in importance relative to team play, which could now be coordinated over the entire surface of the ice as opposed to merely rearward players.[16]

The other five players are typically divided into three forwards and two defencemen. The forward positions consist of a center and two wingers: a left wing and a right wing. Forwards often play together as units or lines, with the same three forwards always playing together. The defencemen usually stay together as a pair, but may change less frequently than the forwards. A substitution of an entire unit at once is called a line change. Teams typically employ alternate sets of forward lines and defensive pairings when shorthanded or on a power play. Substitutions are permitted at any time during the course of the game, although during a stoppage of play the home team is permitted the final change. When players are substituted during play, it is called changing on the fly. A new NHL rule added in the 2005-2006 season prevents a team from changing their line after they ice the puck.

The boards surrounding the ice help keep the puck in play (they can also be used as tools to play the puck), and play often proceeds for minutes without interruption. When play is stopped, it is restarted with a faceoff. There are two major rules of play in ice hockey that limit the movement of the puck: offsides and icing.

Lacrosse:

Lacrosse is a team sport that is played with ten players (men's field), six players (men's box), or twelve players (women's field), each of whom uses a netted stick (the crosse) in order to pass and catch a hard rubber ball with the aim of scoring goals (each worth one point traditionally, but Major League Lacrosse uses a two point goal for goals scored from a distance of 16 yards or greater from the goal) by propelling the ball into the opponent's goal. The team scoring the most points after two halves, of varying length from competition to competition, and overtime if necessary, wins.

Most popular in North America, lacrosse is Canada's national summer sport. It has grown in popularity in the United States, becoming the fastest growing sport at the high school and NCAA levels.

In its modern form, men's lacrosse is played on a field of grass, artificial turf, or field turf. Each team is composed of 10 players on the field at a time: three attackmen, three midfielders, three defenders and one goaltender. In men's lacrosse, players wear protective equipment on their heads, shoulders, arms, and hands, as body-checking is an integral part of the game, and stick checks to the arms and hands are considered legal. Women's lacrosse is played in a similar manner except with two additional midfielders per team. Players of women's lacrosse (in the United States only) need only wear protective eyewear (except for the goaltender, who wears additional padding, usually consisting of a helmet, shin guards, and chest pad, and most goalies do not wear arm pads), as contact is not permitted apart from minor stick-checks.

Men’s lacrosse is a full contact sport, with players wearing complete protective equipment. Thus “checking” - striking opponents’ stick or body with the stick - is legal and very much part of the game.

Each team starts with ten players on the field: a goalkeeper and three defenders in the defensive end; three midfielders free to roam the whole field; and three attackers in the offensive end. Each quarter starts with a “face-off” in which the ball is placed on the ground and two “face-off-men” lay their stick horizontally next to the ball, head of the stick inches from the ball and the butt-end pointing down the midfield line. Face-off-men scrap for the ball, often by “clamping” it under their stick and flicking it out to their midfielders, who start on the wing restraining line near the sideline and sprint in when the whistle is blown to start play. Attackers and defenders cannot cross their “restraining line” until one player from the midfield takes possession of the ball. A face-off also restarts the game after each goal.

Time continues to run in dead ball situations such as in between goals, with two exceptions: when the referees deem it necessary to avoid a significant loss of playing time, for example when chasing a ball shot far away or during care of an injured player; and in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter of any men’s game.

In men's lacrosse, players can be awarded penalties of two types by the referee for rule infractions. Personal fouls always result in the player serving time in the penalty box, located at the side of the field between the opposing teams' interchange benches. These penalties can last one to three minutes at the referee's discretion. Two and three minute penalties are usually reserved for the most serious slashing or unsportsmanlike conduct fouls. Technical fouls are less severe and result in 30 seconds being served only if the foul was committed while the opposing team was in possession of the ball. If there was a loose ball situation or the player's team was in possession at the time of the foul, they only result in a turnover. Technical fouls are "releasable," meaning that a player may return to the game without spending the entire duration of his penalty in the box if the opposing team scores during the penalty. Fouls form an important part of men's lacrosse as while a player is serving time, his team is 'man down'. At this time his defense usually plays a 'zone' while they wait for the penalty to expire while the attacking team has its best opportunity to score.

Which one of these sports will skate its way to the next round, and which one will slip and fall?

Speed Skating:

Speed skating (also long track speedskating or long track speed skating) is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. Sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating have also been called speed skating. Long track speed skating enjoys large popularity in the Netherlands, and has also had champion athletes from Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, Italy, Norway, South Korea, Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and the United States. Speed skaters attain maximum speeds of 60 km/h (37 mph) during the shorter distances.

All races are held in pairs, for which two lanes on the track are used. Skaters wear bands around their upper arm to identify which lane they started in. The colours are white for inner lane and red for outer lane. At the back straight, the skaters switch lanes, which causes them both to cover the same distance per lap. When both skaters emerge from the corner at the exact same time, the person currently in the inner lane will have to let the outer lane pass in front of him.

Occasionally, quartet starts are used, for the pragmatic and practical reason of allowing more skaters to complete their races inside a given amount of time. This involves having two pairs of skaters in the lanes at the same time, but with the second pair starting when the first have completed approximately half of the first lap. The skaters in the second pair will then wear yellow and blue arm bands instead of the usual white and red.

When skating the Team pursuit, the two teams of three team members start at opposite sides of the oval. In marathon races there is usually a mass-start.

Figure Skating:

Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, couples, or groups perform spins, jumps, and other moves on ice. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level (senior), and at local, national, and international competitions. The International Skating Union (ISU) regulates international figure skating judging and competitions. Figure skating is an official event in the Winter Olympic Games. In languages other than English, figure skating is usually referred to by a name that translates as "artistic skating".

Major international competitions are sanctioned by the ISU. These include the Winter Olympic Games, the World Championships, the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, the European Figure Skating Championships, and the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

The sport is also associated with show business. Major competitions generally include exhibitions at the end in which the top-placing skaters perform for the crowd by showing off their various skills. Many skaters, both during and after their competitive careers, also skate in ice skating exhibitions or shows which run during the competitive season and the off-season.

Olympic sports in figure skating comprise the following disciplines:

• Singles competition for men and women (who are referred to as "ladies" in ISU rulebooks), wherein skaters perform jumps, spins, step sequences, and other elements in their programs.
  
• Pair skating teams consist of a woman and a man. Pairs perform singles elements in unison as well as pair-specific elements such as throw jumps, in which the man 'throws' the woman into a jump; lifts, in which the woman is held above the man's head in one of various grips and positions; pair spins, in which both skaters spin together about a common axis; death spirals, and other elements.
  
• Ice dancing is again for couples consisting of a woman and a man skating together. Ice dance differs from pairs in focusing on intricate footwork performed in close dance holds, in time with the music. Ice dancers do not perform the acrobatic jumps, throws, and lifts of pair skating.
  

Ice Hockey!



This is the coolest game on earth.

This is a tough one for me, but I went with Speedskating.

There is less corruption in speedskating.  Plus massive thighs are sexy.