Rarely discussed but intriguing topic...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Mick D @ Oct 26 2009, 11:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>For me it was when Semenko wasn't around and some one thought they had Wayne lined up along the boards or open ice, and seeing him roll his slighter-than-average body gracefully out of the way of harm. Years of summer lacrosse paying off there more than equipment or "protection"...

He had the same knack of getting out of harms way as Rossi does. I guess every champ learns that you have to survive to be champ, that may be the most important thing. Cementhead, as we called him, did his job. But, OT, clearly Gretzky ruined the NHL in Canada. That is nothing I'd call ledgendary. Rossi on the other hand has exploded the viewership of motoGP a thing that he will be known forever for in a positive light.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Oct 27 2009, 09:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>He had the same knack of getting out of harms way as Rossi does. I guess every champ learns that you have to survive to be champ, that may be the most important thing. Cementhead, as we called him, did his job. But, OT, clearly Gretzky ruined the NHL in Canada. That is nothing I'd call ledgendary. Rossi on the other hand has exploded the viewership of motoGP a thing that he will be known forever for in a positive light.
You don't place any of the blame on Peter Pocklington?

He was just a money guy. It was Gretzky that was the forefront of southern US expansion. He's all for blocking expansion this way though. Proof enough with the last fiasco.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Oct 27 2009, 05:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>He was just a money guy. It was Gretzky that was the forefront of southern US expansion. He's all for blocking expansion this way though. Proof enough with the last fiasco.
Sorry, I misunderstood your initial point. I'd place more of the blame at the feet of Bettman. Sounds like the NHL will end up owning the Coyotes, we'll see how committed he is with the sunbelt experiment at that point. I can't understand why the NHL is so resistant to moving the team back to Canada. The experiment in Phoenix failed, deal with it. Now rather than trying to save a franchise that is already dead in its current locale, move it to a location where it can thrive and focus attention on other organizations that are struggling like Nashville. Bettman is a .....

I think it's the capacity of concentrating the mind completely while keeping the muscles relaxed.
A brain capable to sustain sharp concentration means less mistakes (Rossi usually falls cause of sporadic lapses into distraction, typically at relatively slow speeds); relaxed muscles allow better bike and throttle feeling and control, and a more elastic response to tarmac when sht happens.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Mick D @ Oct 27 2009, 09:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Gotta go with Oost on this, GS. Bettman and cronies were the sharp end of the NHL's southern invasion and Wanye bought into the flawed idea that the NHL needed presence in non-traditional markets.
To the credit of Gretz, California produces a lot of good hockey players (it's no Minnesota but I digress). That wasn't the case pre-1988.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Mick D @ Oct 27 2009, 10:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>NHL's presence in so-cal dates from '67 and the Kings became a solid fixture in the LA sports landscape long before Bettman's push for non-traditional markets... Gretzky's arrival in '88 certainly fit nicely into LA's star culture but was hardly the pillar upon which Californian's love of hockey was built... IMHO...
I'm too young to remember The Trade, much less the Kings franchise before that, so I have to go off what I've read and seen in documentaries. The way it was always illustrated to me that Gretzky's arrival coincided with a youth hockey boom, starting the generation of Californian hockey players. But like I said, my knowledge of the subject doesn't extend too far past the documentaries and brief articles about the trade itself. Probably giving Gretz too much credit for being Gretz. Just how David Beckham's arrival in LA started the soccer revolution in the states...

Rossi as has been suspected, is only part human. He is covered with a thick chitinous shell like that of a dung beetle - from the neck down.

OMG you mean...he's reptilian?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Gaz @ Oct 26 2009, 08:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well, in total honesty I woudl love to say that it is sheer luck that VR hasn't injured himself with the crashes he has had and what not - as the only injury I can recall is the broken wrist of years ago.

But I simply cannot believe that one person can have that much luck in that type of regard, so what is it?

Truth be known I have no farken idea but put it down to a number of things really.


Yes the above is general but you put them together and really, he along with a lot of riders today do appear to avoid injuries that would have occurred in yesteryear under similar circumstance, but ultimately whether a rider is hurt or not is luck (IMO the injuries he gets?


Gaz

I couldn't help but notice you left out rider skill in your list of potential reasons, did you cover this with 'frequency of accidents- low' or are you implying that vr is impervious to gravity and other things humans face whilst racing a motorcycle and this is somehow the reason why he hasn't fallen off and really injured himself?

I suggest one of the major ones you left out is 'rider skill' why is that? After all you are normally so precise with your posts

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Talpa @ Nov 1 2009, 09:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I couldn't help but notice you left out rider skill in your list of potential reasons, did you cover this with 'frequency of accidents- low' or are you implying that vr is impervious to gravity and other things humans face whilst racing a motorcycle and this is somehow the reason why he hasn't fallen off and really injured himself?

I suggest one of the major ones you left out is 'rider skill' why is that? After all you are normally so precise with your posts


Wow, you sure are in one of your moods aren't you and once again I notice that you have omitted some of my points, so here they are for all to see again.

- a bit of luck
- frequency of accidents - rare
- type of incident - generally lowside or at lower speed
- doesn't impact walls or obstructions
- safety improvements at circuits (air fence, sand trap improvements, run-off area increase etc)
- also, general single rider incidents
- generally he is not fighting when incident occrs, so risk lessened of subsequent bike/rider impacts

The answer is actually quite easy, so here goes.

For mine, when a rider falls all semblance of 'rider skill' is gone as he has fallen and now other things are at play - such as the type of accident, location on track, when the fall occurred (in race/practice sense), track condition (wet vs dry) etc etc

The skill part is in not falling or minimising the fall itself (ie. being able to maintain a semblance of control prior to the incident and then deliberately lowside etc), but again, for me the discussion is about how he avoids injury, not accidents. Given that Rossi is one of the less frequent fallers in the field I would have figured that there would be no need to mention how he stays upright as I would have expected that to be obvious.

There, pick away as you seem to want to tonight.






Gaz

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Gaz @ Nov 1 2009, 09:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Wow, you sure are in one of your moods aren't you and once again I notice that you have omitted some of my points, so here they are for all to see again.

- a bit of luck
- frequency of accidents - rare
- type of incident - generally lowside or at lower speed
- doesn't impact walls or obstructions
- safety improvements at circuits (air fence, sand trap improvements, run-off area increase etc)
- also, general single rider incidents
- generally he is not fighting when incident occrs, so risk lessened of subsequent bike/rider impacts

The answer is actually quite easy, so here goes.

For mine, when a rider falls all semblance of 'rider skill' is gone as he has fallen and now other things are at play - such as the type of accident, location on track, when the fall occurred (in race/practice sense), track condition (wet vs dry) etc etc

The skill part is in not falling or minimising the fall itself (ie. being able to maintain a semblance of control prior to the incident and then deliberately lowside etc), but again, for me the discussion is about how he avoids injury, not accidents. Given that Rossi is one of the less frequent fallers in the field I would have figured that there would be no need to mention how he stays upright as I would have expected that to be obvious.

There, pick away as you seem to want to tonight.






Gaz

Nice Back pedal, But in the same breath, you say you have no farken idea of how he hasn't injured himself badly-which means the first point 'A bit of Luck' reads more true than the rest, so yes you do need to mention the fact that his skill has helped him to remain injury free, otherwise we don't really know where you are coming from, and additions like 'Safety Improvements at circuits' when riders (on the same bike) like JL have broken ankles and much more with these safety improvements implemented - makes this fairly invalid.

'Doesn't impact walls or obstructions' how can VR, or any rider, determine this??? And how does something reasonably 'Impossible' for a rider to control once he has fallen off-like this, make your list when a simple 'Rider Skill' or 'Throttle Control' does not?

IMO-a simple 'VR's exemplary riding skill has prevented or assisted the following'
- frequency of accidents - rare
- type of incident - generally lowside or at lower speed
- also, general single rider incidents
- generally he is not fighting when incident occrs, so risk lessened of subsequent bike/rider impacts

(note the Exclusions)
Would this not make your 'original meaning' a little clearer?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Nov 1 2009, 12:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>OMG you mean...he's reptilian?

Insect like actually.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Talpa @ Nov 1 2009, 04:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I couldn't help but notice you left out rider skill in your list of potential reasons, did you cover this with 'frequency of accidents- low' or are you implying that vr is impervious to gravity and other things humans face whilst racing a motorcycle and this is somehow the reason why he hasn't fallen off and really injured himself?

I suggest one of the major ones you left out is 'rider skill' why is that? After all you are normally so precise with your posts

Sorry but that's just plain silly. When you fall off a bike at 100 plus mph - you've run
out of skills and are simply subject to the laws of nature and a measure of chaos
theory and just plain luck. It doubtless helps that Rossi has a bit more size and
weight, so he doesn't tumble as easily as the midgets. Smaller riders do tend to
accrue more injuries of a serious nature. This is a pretty good explanation for
why guys like Spies, Mladin, and Aaron Yates have remained largely injury free
for so many years.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Keshav @ Nov 1 2009, 12:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Sorry but that's just plain silly. When you fall off a bike at 100 plus mph - you've run
out of skills and are simply subject to the laws of nature and a measure of chaos
theory and just plain luck. It doubtless helps that Rossi has a bit more size and
weight, so he doesn't tumble as easily as the midgets. Smaller riders do tend to
accrue more injuries of a serious nature. This is a pretty good explanation for
why guys like Spies, Mladin, and Aaron Yates have remained largely injury free
for so many years.
I agree , but I think it is also fair to say that rossi crashes far less often than most, and usually at low speed rather than in a high speed battle.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Nov 1 2009, 09:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I agree , but I think it is also fair to say that rossi crashes far less often than most, and usually at low speed rather than in a high speed battle.

No argument here.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Keshav @ Nov 1 2009, 11:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Sorry but that's just plain silly. When you fall off a bike at 100 plus mph - you've run
out of skills and are simply subject to the laws of nature and a measure of chaos
theory and just plain luck. It doubtless helps that Rossi has a bit more size and
weight, so he doesn't tumble as easily as the midgets. Smaller riders do tend to
accrue more injuries of a serious nature. This is a pretty good explanation for
why guys like Spies, Mladin, and Aaron Yates have remained largely injury free
for so many years.
And what stops rossi from falling off in the first place genius? You also seem to have a good knowledge of dung beatles, spent a bit of time around ........ have you? Of course you have

He's lucky in that he has not suffered serious injury, broken wrist at assen and concussion at donny only spring to mind but i think a lot of this amazing record is down to his personal drive, the same drive that has awarded him 9 world championships. The drive that will not let illness injury or stress keep him from doing what he loves.