Roughest game in th world

Search

0

The Great Govenor of California
Joined
Feb 21, 2001
Messages
15,972
Tokens
0
ATHENS, Greece – In the late 1800s, water polo was touted as "the roughest game in the world." But U.S. coach Ratko Rudic says what's being played at the Olympic Aquatic Center looks more like hockey.


Rudic, who claims his players were punched in a 9-6 win over Kazakhstan on Tuesday and roughed up during their last-second 7-6 win over Croatia, said the sport is more violent than he's seen in a very long time.


"I cannot remember such a violent game," said Rudic, who won an Olympic gold medal playing for Yugoslavia, and then won three more as a coach before he was hired as U.S. head coach in 2001.


ADVERTISEMENT

The 13-man U.S. squad - 2-0 in Athens - has a growing injury list as it heads into a run against world and Olympic champion Hungary, No. 3-ranked Serbia-Montenegro and Sydney 2000 silver medalist Russia.


Hungary is 2-0 after beating Croatia 10-8 on Tuesday and the Serbs and Russia were each 1-1.


Although injuries are expected in water polo, which was developed in Britain in the 1860s as a kind of "rugby in water" to keep swimmers fit and lure crowds to race meets, Rudic thinks limits need to be set.


"It's not football - it's water polo," Rudic said after the win over Kazakhstan, pleading for some intervention from referees. "We thought it was a good result, but I've got three injured players."


The Americans' match with Croatia, he said, was a similar free-for-all.


"If some teams can't get the result, this is the way they play," Rudic said. "Who will protect us? We need to know that we can play the normal water polo."


Other teams have complained of excessive violence going unnoticed, but nobody has been as vocal as Rudic.


But U.S. driver Wolf Wigo suggested the fuss may be a bit overblown.


"I think (Rudic) just wanted to get us a couple of calls," said Wigo, who scored four goals. "We don't want to get hurt. A couple of times they were coming after us ... (striking) out of the water and we didn't get calls. But that happens in water polo."


Wrestling, grabbing and underwater kicking are normal, but punching should be stamped out, he said.


"It's pretty rough in most of the matches," he said. "What you want to avoid is anything above the water. One time, one of our guys got kicked out, and the other player hit him above the water. You never know what they're going to call."


Jeff Powers and Kazakhstan's Artemiy Sevostyanov were expelled for fighting with four seconds in regulation. Wigo said Powers might have retaliated for an incident two minutes earlier.


Three teams advance from each of the six-nation groups. The top qualifiers advance to the semifinals, and the next two in each group go into playoffs for the other semifinal positions.


In other matches: Serbia-Montenegro edged Russia 4-3 and Greece upset 1996 Olympic champion Spain 8-5, with thousands of Greek fans chanting "Hellas, Hellas, Hellas."


Francesco Postiglione scored three goals for No. 2-ranked Italy in an 8-4 win over Australia and Germany thrashed Egypt 13-3.


The world champion U.S. women are back in action Wednesday against Canada, while Olympic champion Australia is against Kazakhstan.
 

0

RX Senior
Joined
Apr 20, 2002
Messages
47,431
Tokens
0
nope.

pre-historic ulama. you would be decapatated with your horrid dribbling mr.rail, and frustrated asking the judge to know the rules knowing you will die at everyones delight as your team suffers miserably in front of the raucous attendance.
 

0

in your heart, you know i'm right
Joined
Mar 21, 2002
Messages
14,785
Tokens
0
didn't the aztecs play basketball and the losers were killed? that's a rough game. plus, i heard the hoop was 100 feet high.
 

0

Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
8,658
Tokens
0
You'd be amazed at the kind of bull shit that happens under the water, it's a very rough sport much more than people think not to mention some of the best conditioned athletes
 

0

New member
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
3,976
Tokens
0
Well I'll be damned.... Rail and I finally agree on something. Nice post, Rail.
 

0

Rx. Senior
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
17,238
Tokens
0
agree here Rail, Ulama aside, Water Polo is brutal and it is completely physically exhausting. If you have ever played the sport at any sort of competitive level, you would know.
 

0

Active member
Joined
Oct 20, 1999
Messages
75,444
Tokens
0
Water Polo looks like one very tough sport........especially if one cannot swim.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,119,903
Messages
13,575,005
Members
100,883
Latest member
iniesta2025
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com
TheRX uses cookies to help us provide, protect & improve our services. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
Accept & Close