Ok, fair enuff:)Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
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Ok, fair enuff:)Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Your memory is on the mark. He was leading and looked comfortable there in 1987, something like 3 or 4 days before the finish. This was a little more than a week before Roche started the Giro he went on to win. Kelly won it the next year though, had been fouth and fifth before that. He still has won the points jersey in Spain more times than anyone else (just like the TDF, if Zabel hadn't been on incredibly powerful drugs).Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie
Who was born in Britain?Quote:
Originally Posted by bennocelt
(unless it has escaped your attention - Northern Ireland is not in Britain)
As mentioned before, can we leave the petty British/Irish stuff aside please?
Sorry you are right, silly me...........I mean the United Kingdom:pQuote:
Originally Posted by The Fly
Are cycling, snooker, motor biking and horse racing the only sports Ireland have had serious world beaters?
Its a little pathetic really.........considering we have been playing a lot of sports for 100 years or more and we are always told we are a "sports mad nation". But then the government never put much effort into it all really.
I think the footage you are thinking of is actually Kelly pulling out of tour de france in 87.kas jersey and broken collar bone.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie
Cant beleive Sonia O Sullivan didnt get a mention so far...to me she is deffo up there with the top Irish sports people of all time.
Here are some people who have probably slipped under the radar so far:
Neil O'Donoghue, played NFL and football for Drumcondra, Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne.
Jack "Nonpareil" Dempsey superb boxer in the late 1800s never really reached his peak as he died of TB aged 33.
Marty Conlon, great Basketball player with the LA clippers or Pat Burke, only Irish born player to have played in the NBA for the Magic 6 or so years ago.
Ger McDonnell, first Irishman to climb to the top of K2 (commonly acknowledged as the hardest mountain in the world to climb) tragically he died on the descent when a shaft of ice fell in an avalaunche cutting the ropes.
Barry McGuigan, Brendan Ingle, or Katie Taylor - she represented Ireland at football and boxing (was world champion last year).
But for me, the answer is Steve Collins:
Total fights 39
Wins 36
Wins by KO 21
Losses 3
Draws 0
No contests 0
A superb fighter.
There's only one worthy man that's slipped under the radar. An achievement that will never be equalled;)Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
http://www.hoganstand.com/Common/Ima...mccarthy22.jpg
what about boxing we had a few world beaters , athletics / swimingQuote:
Originally Posted by bennocelt
don't care what sport you win still a great achievement due to serious lack of funding by our wonderfull goverments
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeLorean
who is he :confused:
Gary Doherty's dad ?
Teddy McCarthy, only player to win a Hurling and Football All Ireland in the same year, 1990.Quote:
Originally Posted by old git
I wasn't really serious, great achievement though.
Brilliant :DQuote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
Wayne McCullough - was done out of Olympic Gold and with a broken cheekbone to boot. Won a proper world title in his opponents backyard, defended it against top fighters and beat Naseem Hamed clearly but thanks to sky had to lose. Has proved one of the toughest and most likeable fighters in many years.
Billy Bingham - played in the WC and brought NI twice to the finals, the blow out in Windsor can be excused by the fairweather lowlifes who gloried in a thrashing in Dublin.
Steve Collins, great choice Edmundo, beat the best in his division, world titles at 2 weights, robbed in a world title fight and in an EBU one too. Possibly his post-boxing antics count against him.
Michelle DeBruin deserves her place, she fled Ireland's swimming "culture" and re-invented herself. Her times were still well below her accusers (step forward Janet Evans) and she had the mental strength to achieve.
Sonia O'Sullivan, if only she'd found a mental peace earlier she'd have been massive. At her peak she came up against the best and beat them, and lost out in 2 majors to Ma's Army (regardless of drug allegations they were robotically scary) and to a Romanian who not only failed drugs tests before and after but in her autobiography admitted she'd been doping all along.
Catriona McKiernan, amazing runner cross country and just lost it physically on the track, massive in her first marathon and became famous for, well, being unwell in the middle of it.
Our cyclists were heroes in the 80's, it's hard to think that they could have been doped up and while it's easy to say "Sure they were all at it", I worry for their long term health. Kelly seemed a beast of a different colour though and his idea of a "spin" was to cycle to Dublin, drink a pint of milk and cycle home.
Eamonn Coughlan - Master of the Boards, European Champion, falling short in the Olympics. Talks great sense when on TV.
Brendan Ingle - Ringsend boy, has he produced more Champs than any other irish coach? He's certainly the most innovative coach I've ever met with and has done wonders for Sheffield.
Agree with most of your post, excellent choices in fact (esp Catriona and Wayne)Quote:
Originally Posted by weecountyman
But De Bruin must have had the drugs in her for a long time before - I mean you really only have to look at her upper body strength - jesus she had a mans physique
I agree with her physique, but most swimmers who are in full training get that way, however I think she did use some sort of substances, to get to the top you have to (sick as that is). But I wonder if she started when she went to the US on scholarship or when she went to Holland? Or if what she was using was an early creatine? I was shocked last week when 2 team-mates were there loading up on creatine at training, I guess it must make them better.Quote:
Originally Posted by bennocelt
My vote would go to Delaney followed closely by O'Driscoll. Don't think those involved in horse racing should be on the list as its not a real sport and Keane shouldn't be on it as he's a traiter to the country as evidenced by his comments last week.
Closely by O'Driscoll? Why?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronan85
so greatest sportsperson of all time is only based on sports you like..Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronan85
would not have o driscoll anywere near it ( media hype ) what about keith woods i am not a big rugby fan but used to love watching him play.. personally i think that people involved in horse racing particulary jockeys do not get enough credit/ praise they do it for very liitle money loads of injurys and yet still come back with desire to win..:p harrington wins golf tournament we all praise his achievment / ireland win triple crown and o driscoll is the best player in the world ( thought it was a 15 man game ) , boxers / gaa players all get great praise and media coverage when they win .. yet a legend like tony mc coy and even ruby walsh seem to only merit mentions on back pages or sports sections..
my vote would be for george best and ronnie delaney
on george best you are joking :confused::confused: i hopeQuote:
Originally Posted by Sheridan
brady & mc grath better players an insult to best ... :mad:
No he wasn't. He was clearly beaten by a terrific Cuban fighter. Absolutely no question about the decision at allQuote:
Originally Posted by weecountyman
BTW Neil O'Donoghue has a bit of a cult following in the NFL, as he has the worst Field Goal percentage of any player to have tried 100 FGs. Its something like 50%
Thats rubbish, horse racing gives me as much or more pleasure as 90% of those listed sports. Jockeys have to put their lives on the line every time they get on a horse as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronan85
An Irish winner in Cheltenham is a great sporting sight
And Roy is a hero of mine too. Traitor my hat
Has the result of this been announced?
I think that jockeys should be nominated moreso than the trainers. To my mind a sportsperson is a person who is actively involved in the doing of the sport, rather than the watch / coaching / commentating. For example, IMO Heffernan should be on the list for his playing days alright, prolly not Micko, who was a better coach but also played.
If you allow trainers and coaches on the basis of their "active involvement in sport", why not journalists who can elevate a game, or TV pundits, or fans? Micheál O'Hehir or Jimmy Magee, sporting legends; Liam Griffin - great sportsperson in that regard; Tom the Gom - watching every League of Ireland game played for the past 35 years - I've met him at Dalymount the same night there'd been confirmed sightings of him at Belfield and Richmond! Surely he'd be eligible too? And without the fans, there would be no sport.
To be fair, the majority of people who watch horse racing do so in bookies. In my opinion, a lot of them are either gamblers or drunks, as opposed to sports fans. Besides, its the horse that are the stars of the show, whereas there's very little to appreciate about jockeys or trainers. Whilst I realise there are Irish winners at Cheltenham, I can never recall any of them and I think for most sports fans, such achievements barely measure on the richter scale.Quote:
Originally Posted by bennocelt
As for Keane, he was a gutsy performer, but there not a particularly good player technically. Elements of the Irish media (like Dunphy and Curtis) hyped him up no end. In the last year or so, even his most fervent supporters are beginning to see through Keane, particularly after his departure from Sunderland. In my opinion, he's a bottler who lets on to have principles, but is really only a hypocrite. He showed little interest in playing for Ireland so given that this award is for the greatest Irish Sportsman, I don't think he should be in the running.
To be honest Bluebeard I would have no problem with that:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebeard
Could be talking about an awful lot of the Irish football away fans there going by recent outingsQuote:
Originally Posted by Ronan85
But thats your small world - in my world Cheltenham is a major event, so is the Flat season, etc. Its a mans thing, someday when you sip your Starbucks coffee and put down your Irish Times you might understand (to copy your generalisations!:p)
[QUOTE=Ronan85;1283389]To be fair, the majority of people who watch horse racing do so in bookies. In my opinion, a lot of them are either gamblers or drunks, as opposed to sports fans. Besides, its the horse that are the stars of the show, whereas there's very little to appreciate about jockeys or trainers. Whilst I realise there are Irish winners at Cheltenham, I can never recall any of them and I think for most sports fans, such achievements barely measure on the richter scale.
will you get a life .. go to any pub during a rugby match / soccer match / gaa match and see plenty of drunks even at the games themselves ... just because you dont follow horse racing you just cant class it as a non sport .. nearly everybody in ireland would have a little bet on the aintree grand national every april .. 50 -60,000 fans attend the chelthenham meeting every year .. yes the horses are stars but you also need jockeys to help try and guide them round safely... aslo going on your reckoning so called superstars of irish rugby / soccer / hurling would not be so good if their teamates did not put in 100% doing the dirty work which makes them look so good .. :mad:
A lot of the Jockeys are awesome - how dedicated must they be to remain so light and fit ......... Christy O'Connor Jnr for that 2 iron in the Rider Cup and on talent alone George Best and Big Pat Jennings
Meant also to mention Steve Collins - dominated the Super Middleweights until Calzaghe came along
Kelly for me too, a grand tour, every one day race worth winning (except the Worlds), numerous shorter stage races, 4 green jerseys. Undoubted world number 1 for (over) a decade - I don't think anyone else can compete with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie
Not sure about him being robbed in the Tour of Spain (most famous robbing was Robert Millar), but I think the footage is either the 85 or 87 Tour de France as billsthoughts says..
Dodge, he was leading clearly through the fight despite horrible refereeing, foul play from the Cuban and it turned only when, after being told to stop boxing, the Cuban cracked Wayne with a sneaky shot (in the second) which did his cheekbone and his eye closed right away. Even still on the punch count he led but inexplicably lost overall. Not surprisingly 2 of the judges and the referee were suspended right away by the AIBA and never were allowed on international panels again!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
However Casamayor was a terrific fighter (both amateur and pro) but still didn't deserve to beat him.
That's funny as I dont remember this as well, I thought at the time that McCullough boxed very well, with the broken cheekbone and all, but that the better boxer won in the endQuote:
Originally Posted by weecountyman
McCullough ed on punches thrown, but not in ounches landed. That was his style though
He was clearly behind, and lost to a better fighter. No shame in that, but no point in trying to add extra hype to it
If horse racing is such a great sport and the Aintree Grand National is such a big event, why do those people (who you refer to as "nearly everybody in Ireland" :o) need to have "a little bet" to enjoy the sport? In most other sports, people are happy just to spectate. Horse racing is more of an industry than a sport. The difference between horse racing and sports such as rugby / soccer / hurling is that those team sports involve athletes playing with skill and putting their bodies on the line, whereas jockeys are passengers on an animal for the benefit of an audience that is primarily comprised of gamblers, snobs, and political hacks (the Galway Races being a case in point).Quote:
Originally Posted by old git
The day our greatest sports person comes from the horse racing industry will be a sad day for Irish sport.
I thought it had been well established at this stage that Kelly was doping. Didn't he fail a drug test in the '80s? In my opinion, there's nothing to admire about someone who stayed at the top through the use of drugs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
Dodge, he won on punches landed - the countback showed he won by 14 punches yet he ended up losing by half a dozen, which does happen sometimes, however the two judges who cost him the fight landed only 1 scoring punch (ie with .2secs of the other judges) between them. In fact when the computer read outs were analysed (by a Spanish investigative reporter) it showed that on the fights involving the 2 judges there were "serious anomalies" that favoured Cuban fighters. He won the first round easily by bullying and scoring 5 clear headshots and taking no shots himself, yet lost 4-1. As with the later Hamed fight, he won overall but lost the decision.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
10. Paul McGrath
9. Vincent O Brien
Just turned it on. Joey Dunlop third, BOD second.
Bit of a farce that O Driscol got 2nd.
Brilliant year so I suppose he is fresh in the mind.
Who did they give number 1 to?