- Feb 13, 2016
- 2,681
- 3,332
Is Griner a female?
I am not so sure
What does it matter? If she just claims to be, you and anyone else will be excoriated for questioning otherwise.
Is Griner a female?
I am not so sure
What does it matter? If she just claims to be, you and anyone else will be excoriated for questioning otherwise.
Agreed. In fact, I am surprised I haven't been attacked on this thread yet.
Is Griner a female?
I am not so sure
I don't know whether other teams do this but the UConn women practice against a male team of former high school basketball players...all of whom are fellow UConn students. Sometimes the women win...sometimes they don't. When they first started this practice in 1994, the starting UConn guards couldn't even get the ball across mid-court. Some years UConn's only losses would be to this boys team of good high school players of less than Div. I talent. Can't imagine Griner living through a match-up against Cousins. Laughable really.
It looks like the WNBA stocks their practice squads with former male college practice squad players and current high school male basketball players. So basically scrubs. Which makes the entire idea even more ludicrous.
This was really interesting. So I actually had to look it up. It looks like it started with Uconn but a lot of other teams do it now. They are told that they cannot do certain things in practice like dunk.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2004/03/...e-men-lots-of-guts-but-little-glory.html?_r=0
Here's an article from 1997 when they first implemented the process.
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/20/...-uconn-s-no-1-basketball-team-get-better.html
I think the only women that could beat male contemporaries in their sport are possibly the Williams sisters. And they wouldn't beat the elite players like Nadal or Sampras. But I think they would be able to beat some of the mail pros on the circuit.
I guess you never saw this.
https://www.theguardian.com/observer/osm/story/0,,543962,00.html
Women tennis players, even the best in the world, have no chance against male pros. Completely different ballgame.
J, I clicked on it and read it. Is it a dead-link because that guy has lied or is it from The Onion ?
Think back when Women's tennis was complaining about getting so much less prize $ than men.
I never saw anyone come to the defense of men's pay, contrasting the extra # of hours' work men
did in the broiling sun. Plus the extra excitement/fan interest generated by the obvious power and
lightening speed of the men's game. ??
Is this a dead link?That's a dead link. I'm just saying if there's a sport that could have equitable pros it's tennis. The Williams both have powerful serves. Just as powerful as some of the lesser males in the pro circuit. I think it's possible. Again, obviously not against the top guys.
This isn't a slap at women....I think they are the bees knees. It's just reality.Both sisters are great tennis players and hit the ball extremely well. However, if you've been playing on the men's tour there are certain shots you can play that are going to put them in difficulty. Try and put a lot spin on the ball - I was hitting the ball with a degree of spin they don't face week-in, week-out. Another key is to chase down every shot. In our match, they were putting shots into the corners that on the women's tour would be winners but I was able to return them.
Is this a dead link?
https://www.theguardian.com/observer/osm/story/0,,543962,00.html
In 1998, a man ranked 203 in the world whipped one Williams sister 6-1, and the other one immediately following at 6-2. Their serves cannot compare to any pro male tennis player - they just don't have the same physical strength for serves and returns, even a couple of manly chicks like the Williams sisters. From the article:
This isn't a slap at women....I think they are the bees knees. It's just reality.
J, you know you're my favorite poster, but female tennis players have absolutely no chance against men. It would be an embarrassing blowout, just as bad as a WNBA player against an NBA player.I can't read that article. Maybe you're a paying member of the guardian?
Here's an article that compares serves between men and women.
https://www.slate.com/articles/spor...e_explains_why_female_tennis_players_can.html
It was the 1998 Australian Open and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, had seen some of the male players practising. On the basis of what they saw, they were convinced that they could beat a man ranked around 200 in the world and wanted to set up a game. At the time I was ranked 203 so the men's tour manager mentioned the possibility of a challenge to me, thinking that I was the perfect candidate. I didn't take much persuading, it seemed like a fun thing to do.
My advice if you're ever in a position to play a match of this nature is be patient - don't be annoyed or surprised if your match against the Williams sisters is cancelled, as they both have very busy schedules. My game against them had to be re-organised at least a couple of times.
Preparation is crucial. Remember that a game like this is light-hearted - taking it too seriously would be a mistake. My training regime consisted of a leisurely round of golf in the morning followed by a couple of shandies. I turned up on court feeling suitably laid-back.
My first game of the afternoon, just a one-set match, was against Serena. A hint: try and play your match somewhere quiet, where you're not going to be pestered by big crowds or lots of press - we were out on one of the back courts at Melbourne Park, No 17 I think it was. I felt so relaxed that I didn't even warm up properly. We started playing and I raced into a 5-0 lead.
At this point Venus turned up to watch. She had just finished a press conference after a quarter-final loss against Lindsey Davenport. In the end I won my game against Serena 6-1 but by the time we were at the net shaking hands, Venus was on court, ready to have a go against me as well. The game against Venus was very similar. I ended up winning 6-2.
Both sisters are great tennis players and hit the ball extremely well. However, if you've been playing on the men's tour there are certain shots you can play that are going to put them in difficulty. Try and put a lot spin on the ball - I was hitting the ball with a degree of spin they don't face week-in, week-out. Another key is to chase down every shot. In our match, they were putting shots into the corners that on the women's tour would be winners but I was able to return them.
In the end I won, but neither myself, nor Venus or Serena took the game too seriously - we were just having a bit of fun.
Apparently, after the game, Serena and Venus immediately told the press they wanted to challenge a male player again. This time they revised the ranking of the man they wanted to face, to 350 in the world. I informed the journalist who told me this that in the next week I was set to lose a lot of ATP points and drop down to 350 in the rankings. I told him that if Venus and Serena waited just one week they could challenge me all over again!
That never came about, but when I saw Venus a few months later at the French Open she came up to me with a big smile on her face and said, 'You know that thing in Australia - it never happened!'
J, you know you're my favorite poster, but female tennis players have absolutely no chance against men. It would be an embarrassing blowout, just as bad as a WNBA player against an NBA player.
Here's the whole damn article: