I have been issued a challenge to define what makes a sport a sport. According to dictionary.com, a sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively. Although Wikipedia lists bowling as a sport, under the definition provided, I don’t believe that activities such as bowling, darts, and even juggling could fall under the label of a sport since they all require a skill and have rules and involve competition, but they require little or no physical exertion.

The argument could be made that golf is not a sport because it requires no physical exertion, but I would argue that combining walking 6 or 7 kilometres over an 18 hole course and maintaining the skill of hitting the golf ball does constitute physical exertion. Golf carts are not permitted in professional competition.

I would add that my personal definition of a sport would require the paricipants to possess some level of athletic ability. Can anyone else actually say that from the photographic evidence provided below that either of them would have any athletic ability?

Athlete #1?

Athlete #2?

Especially compared to these two?

Real Athlete #1

Real Athlete #2

Although some definitions may state that bowling and darts, for example, can be considered sports, I believe that different people can have different opinions on what constitutes a sport. My personal belief is that for any activity to be considered a sport, there has to be some level of athletic ability involved (combined with the competition, skill etc.). I don’t believe that the 3-5 metres you walk before you release the bowling ball constitutes athletic activity, nor do I believe that standing in a stationary position before throwing a dart constitutes athletic ability either. People may disagree with what I’m saying, but that’s my take on it and you’re all welcome to your beliefs on the matter.

The NBA playoffs have begun and I have to admit that I really don’t have a great idea of who I think will win. I didn’t follow the NBA that closely this season as a result of the poor play and attitude of the Trail Blazers. Despite that, I have opinions on who will win the individual playoff matchups to move on to further rounds. Here they are: In the Western Conference there are two matchups that will be blowouts and two that will be very close. The two blowouts will be the San Antonio Spurs over the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks over the Memphis Grizzlies. The two close series will be Phoenix against the Lakers and the Clippers up against the Nuggets; in these two series, I like Phoenix and the Clippers. The fact that the Clippers finally made the playoffs after years and years of futility is good to see, but it’s almost hard for me to believe that I would pick them to win a series.

In the Eastern Conference, I like the Pistons over the Bucks (and Aussie, Andrew Bogut), Lebron James (and the Cavs) over the Wizards, the Nets over the Pacers, and the Heat over the Bulls. After seeing some clips from the Heat vs Bulls game tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulls give the Heat a real run in this series. They have a young energetic team and Ben Gordon is just an unbelievable player - can someone please tell me why he isn’t starting for that team?

In other sports news, the Imola Grand Prix gets underway in a few hours, with Michael Schumacher starting from Pole Position. Fernando Alonso is starting from 5th on the grid, and Kimi Raikkonen is starting from 8th. For the Aussies, Webber is starting from 10th. Schumacher looks in good form, and if his Ferrari stays reliable throughout the race, no-one should come near him.

In golf, Stuart Appleby is ahead by two shots going in to the final round of the Shell Houston Open. If he holds on for the win, it will be his second win on tour this year and will get him closer to cracking in to the top 20 in the world golf rankings.

In a previous entry, I gave ESPN a serve for showing bowling on their sports channel. I’m here to apologise to the game of bowling. I should have left you out of my discussion because unfortunately, I wrote my article a week before I discovered ESPN showing the WJF. What is the WJF, you ask? The WJF stands for the World Juggling Federation. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I switched the channel to ESPN to see some fool juggling 5 different pins (bowling and juggling all in one!) in a variety of different ways. In all I watched no more than 30 seconds of the WJF, but it was more than enough to last the rest of my life.

There are so many other great sports out there that ESPN could be covering instead of the rubbish they show, but they resort to showing this and countless other ’sports’ when they could be showing REAL sports that get little or no exposure in the U.S. even though there is a following for them, such as Rugby. How does ESPN get away with showing this crap on television? Are they getting paid by the WJF or the Professional Bowling Association to televise the events? Next thing you know they’ll be showing the World Championships of Marbles.

I just read a funny article on news.com.au which can be found here. I guess asking nicely doesn’t work, so you have to hit the TV execs where it hurts. At least it is less controversial than “can’t bowl, can’t throw.”

By now I think it’s been established that I’m a big fan of sport. What I don’t understand is this: ESPN and Fox Sports are sports channels, so why do they show Poker, Ten Pin Bowling, and Hunting?? I can’t find a game of Rugby Union, Rugby League, or Cricket over in the U.S., but they have this stuff blocking the airwaves. I’m a big fan of poker - I love playing it and watching it, but it IS NOT a sport and should not be shown on either ESPN or Fox Sports. Ten Pin Bowling is a game that either big fat dudes play, something you enjoy with your your mates while having a beer, or a place you take your kids for a birthday party - it is not a sport, never has been a sport, and never will be a sport.

Is the sun in your eyes? Idiot.

There has to be a market in the U.S. for other international sports, especially with today’s electronic media where the world is significantly smaller and society can get almost anything they want off the internet. I believe that if ESPN or Fox Sports were to make room in their scheduling, even late at night, people would watch it.

I know when I turn on these sports channels I would love to see sport. So please, stop with the non-sports crap and put on some Rugby for me!

Welcome to sportsbbq. I’ve always wanted to write about sports, and thanks to the beauty of the internets I have the opportunity to attempt it. Being Australian and living in the U.S.A., I have been exposed to sports ranging from Cricket, Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Australian Rules Football all the way through to the N.F.L., N.B.A., Baseball, Soccer, Tennis, Golf, and Formula One Racing.

I know that some readers may not have a lot of experience with some of the sports that I discuss, so I hope my musings on topics will give some of you a better insight into some sports that you may not be exposed to on a regular basis. I especially plead to my friends in Australia who have certain opinions on American sports to give my articles a chance!

My articles will no doubt be very opinionated as I’m extremely passionate about sports. Sit back, crack open a beer, and enjoy sportsbbq!