Yes, the great lover. Good-looking almost to the point of being pretty. Cast against physical type he became the ideal Robin Hood/swashbuckler. Wayne & Heston were the ruggedly handsome types.

and John Wayne was six-four, while Heston was
six-three . . . In Like Flynn is famous for more than
his height! -- j

In a truly free society, government on any level would not be involved; whether any sport could be a profession would be entirely dictated by the free market. And taxes? Those would be a thing of an aberrant past.

Errol Flynn was 6'5" but they filmed him shorter. But modern day actors are mostly short. The good ones, anyhow.

I did SCA for a while, found it to militant for my tastes but lots of fun and switched to battle guard, it had a different name back then. Battle Guard is a better name.

Both were fun, had a few injuries in SCA none in Battle Guard.

Professional Sports, do not care about them personally. So long as there are people who want them and will pay for them let it ride the course and provide the good and service people want to buy.

+1 that is a great quote from Carroll Shelby

I'm really glad that you got the height. . according
to my small sampling, it helps in life. . just look at
BHO's body language, for example -- he relishes
his six-one height and acts imperious, lording over
people, looking down his nose at them ... helped him.

sorry. . John Wayne and Charlton Heston are the
examples I should have cited. -- j

vets must stick together, else we'll be stuck apart.
and the recent treatment of our vets shows how
that goes. -- j

I wouldn't ban any sport. But I wouldn't mind if cities and states were banned from spending tax money on teams, stadiums, and so forth. The fans can afford to pay their own way, and team owners have plenty of money. Even Donald Trump (who got hosed when the USFL went under).

As far as fans' own activity level, though, that's their business individually, and it's not the place of government or anyone else to nag them about it.

I like pro baseball and football, but I don't go to the stadium. I watch from a nice bar-and-grill here in town.

As for games played myself, I'm a Life Master in the ACBL, and I'm into various card and board games. I also moderate the 18xx (train games) list on Yahoo.

I have always been very pro sports, fitness and health. While the dollars involved in US pro sports looks excessive-it is the free market-for the most part. I guess if one wants to complain about $50 parking and $10 hotdogs at a stadium-don't go. What DOES gripe me is when the owners prey on the taxpayer for these behemoth stadiums. But I believe it's a testament to a free, mostly capitalist society that we have the luxury of rewarding superior talent with the big bucks-rather than waiting in line for a potato or stale bread.. We don't always feel the personal nature of it but we all get to vote with our wallet many times a day.
What I have realized about myself is I have slowly evolved from team sports (maybe because I'm 59) to a love for golf, scuba and biking. All three very personal and very.... very quiet.

Wake up at 2:30AM. Dress in a tent in-10 below temperatures. Put on heavy clothes, boots, a sidearm, pick up a 20-pound daypack and a 10-pound rifle, walk five miles and 2,500 feet upwards into the wilderness before the sun comes up. Spend the day trying to sneak up on animals who are faster than you, have better hearing and eyesight than you, and a better sense of smell than you can imagine - and, by the way, you are pursuing them on their own turf, not yours. Walk back out to camp after dark, arriving between 8:00 and 10:00PM. Rinse and repeat for five to ten days, depending on the season.

If you succeed - if you win the game - you are awarded the prize of backpacking 250 to 400 pounds of meat out of the wilderness to your truck. The compensation is some of the best eating available on the planet, but you sure earn it.

Elk hunting is a strange species of insanity.

There's an art to boxing. It depends much less on hitting than body movement and coordination. My father and two uncles were into boxing, one became a fairly well known promoter and the other a trainer. That was when they were young. I guess I Took after them in a way. There were 5 boys and 4 girls in my dad's family all of them ranged from 5' to 5'.4", at 5' 11" I looked like a giant in family photos. Since they were small people, back in the 20s I think they took up boxing mostly for self defense. But that's a whole 'nother story.

Hi Neal, I am from Stevens Point myself, left in 1976 and finished high school in Littleton, Colorado. However, I had relatives who lived in West Allis and Elm Grove, so I know the area. I went to Mad City as my aunt and uncle lived 2 blocks from the campus. That was before you were required to live on campus and I stayed at their house for my duration there. I ran out of money before I graduated but my heart is still Badger White and Red.

You're welcome.
That was nice.
I wasn't expecting that.

I have friends who like pro and college football, on our
tv/sound system. . we also watch nascar races. . I watch
with them sometimes. . but, usually, I'm fussing
around with some gizmo or other trying to invent
Galt's motor. -- j

tried tennis, but it killed my knees. . boxing turns
my stomach -- why hit people as a sport? . it's bad
enough that it happens in anger. . just my opinion. -- j

Thank You for your service, and your marksmanship!!! -- j

While I personally care nothing for sports, if there's a market for it, it shall be.

Agreed. To your point about government, I get particularly peeved when professional teams lobby to have cites build stadiums for them on the taxpayer dime. Hey, if your team makes money (and based on some player salaries [not a criticism], they must be), build your own [expletive deleted] stadium. Vent over.

I agree. Professional sports are essentially just another valid entertainment business, like theater, movies, etc. I don't see it as an ethical question at all, just a matter of personal preference. (Except, and this would be true of any business at all, where cheating and fraud may be involved.)

I grew up in a rabid "sports city" and attended an equally rabid university where sports were very much emphasized (and provided a lot of money for the school). There was a time when I would get very depressed if "my team" lost. After maturing a little (i.e., reading Atlas etc.) I put it more in perspective. It's no longer a big deal, just something to watch.

Now, like you, I watch very occasionally, except I will admit to watching more if "my teams" are in the playoffs, but if they lose, ah well.

I'm from Wauwatosa myself, but a long time ago. I've still got my Green Bay hat and wear it on occasion. As far as supporting sports, I don't. I find it ironic how we put professional sports and professional politicians on a pedestal and pay them the big bucks for being bigger, stronger, more intimidating, teleprompter abilities, etc. Fortunately for them there are enough people out there willing to support their wealth, they don't need me. What does it make me, that I'd rather watch it on the boob-tube because its better and easier to see and I can freeze and slow motion if I wish? GO HAWKS. Yes, I think the Hawks might make it to the Superbowl next season. Sports is definitely like the Roman Circuses, but so is politics..

You are probably right about the tendency to end up with more individual sports. If someone has a hobby such as gymnastics and they are so good others are willing to pay to see the routine, its good for everyone, value for value. Damn this objectivism, thing, just can't seem to prove it wrong ;)

How is hunting elk masochistic?

are you familiar with the philosophy of Objectivism, scarlet?