General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron.. Rss Feed  
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2011-07-14 1:28 PM

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Subject: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

Here's an article about the car hitting the cyclists in stage 9 of the TDF..

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/post/tour-de-france-car-crashing-into-cyclists-draws-laughs-from-espns-michael-smith/2011/07/12/gIQAM3pxAI_blog.html



2011-07-14 2:04 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

I won't really comment on Smith too much...because I know a lot of people (non cyclists) who saw that clip on SportsCenter and found it somewhat amusing (once they knew he wasn't seriously hurt).

What I really take out of this is how stupid some people are when using social media.  If you're someone nationally recognized, you just have to be smarter than that.  So I do agree that Smith is a moron.  Not necessarily for what he posted...but more so for thinking that he could post whatever he wants to a national audience and think it's okay to "rub it in" three more times to people who found his first comments offensive.

 

 

2011-07-14 2:08 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
I like how he really never apologies either, he kind of did more damage then fixed.
2011-07-14 2:17 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
Great.  A national figure making a laughing match out of a bike/car interaction, TdF or not.  Just what the cycling world needs...to have the GP think it's just something you walk away from with some nice scratches and an embarrassing bum shot.
2011-07-14 2:17 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
I certainly am not going to forgive Smith's insensititivity, but I also wondered at the time why the driver seemed to speed up and pull away after the collision.  I have to assume that he felt he was between a rock and a hard place and was fearful of getting rear-ended and causing a worse calamity if he stomped on the brakes.  I'm hoping that he at least pulled over as soon as it was safe and went back and check on the guys he hit.

Mark

2011-07-14 2:27 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
his half a$$ apology that ESPN forced him to do is 10x worse.


2011-07-14 2:28 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
SoberTriGuy - 2011-07-14 2:28 PM

Here's an article about the car hitting the cyclists in stage 9 of the TDF..

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/post/tour-de-france-car-crashing-into-cyclists-draws-laughs-from-espns-michael-smith/2011/07/12/gIQAM3pxAI_blog.html

 

you do realize all of this could be a ploy to sell more papers or have more links to your site.

 

I don't really care when people of professional status make these comments.  Just like the Tony Kornheiser comments, who cares.  If you ever watch his shows (PTI) or listen to his radio show hes joking about 95% of the time.  

 

But I'll refrain from making anymore comments about that... got a little warning from the makers of this site on that.

2011-07-14 2:34 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
Dlaxman31 - 2011-07-14 2:28 PM
SoberTriGuy - 2011-07-14 2:28 PM

Here's an article about the car hitting the cyclists in stage 9 of the TDF..

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/post/tour-de-france-car-crashing-into-cyclists-draws-laughs-from-espns-michael-smith/2011/07/12/gIQAM3pxAI_blog.html

 

you do realize all of this could be a ploy to sell more papers or have more links to your site.

 

I don't really care when people of professional status make these comments.  Just like the Tony Kornheiser comments, who cares.  If you ever watch his shows (PTI) or listen to his radio show hes joking about 95% of the time.  

 

But I'll refrain from making anymore comments about that... got a little warning from the makers of this site on that.

 

I did consider that and I remember calling Kornheiser "Crazy like a fox" especially after he got L.A. to actually be on the show, however after much deliberation I decided that this type of joking should be left to comedians hosting awards shows...(Which I wish they would quit doing both the award shows and the hurtful jokes)..

In conclusion, Michael Smith is still a moron, and in today's society, the Moron's are the news makers...

2011-07-14 3:02 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

I saw this live Monday. They kept showing the clip as a lead-in to the discussion. I was honestly expecting all of those guys to laud Hoogerland for being such a badass after taking that hit and still finishing the race. Instead, Michael Smith laughed, kept saying how funny it was, and all the other guys (Woody Page and Tim Cowlinshaw) chimed in to offer their "expert" opinions on a sport they clearly know very little about, slandering the French and commenting on how that cycling and the Tour were jokes. Smith made things much worse through his condescending apology, but Page, Cowlinshaw and the producers that decided to steer the conversation/debate in the direction are equally cuplable.

I initially wrote this off as typical ESPN bias to the sports it covers, but Smith's apology went over the line. Coupled with Kornheiser's comments last year on his radio show promoting the running over of commuter cyclists on the way to work, ESPN needs to take some ownership of this and put a stop to its commentators ignorance and insensitivity to these very serious issues.

With that said, you can lodge your complaints about this to ESPN through this link:  http://t.co/YUpNjQZ

2011-07-14 3:08 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
The real irony is that shows recent ongoing discussions about the Texas Ranger fan that fell out of the stands and died trying to catch a ball. Neither Smith nor his colleagues found that very funny. What would have been the reaction had they played that video over and over with Smith saying "I'm sorry, that is hillarious. Every time."
2011-07-14 3:10 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 2:17 PM I certainly am not going to forgive Smith's insensititivity, but I also wondered at the time why the driver seemed to speed up and pull away after the collision.  I have to assume that he felt he was between a rock and a hard place and was fearful of getting rear-ended and causing a worse calamity if he stomped on the brakes.  I'm hoping that he at least pulled over as soon as it was safe and went back and check on the guys he hit.

Mark

the driver it looks like was trying to avoid the tree on his left which was way WAY to the left, but i really do think that happend.

you have to understand the roads like the one they were riding on are extremely narrow, i think he was looking at the rider saw the tree thought OH SNAP accelerated and over corrected. 

but who knows i can't speak for him, that is what it looks like to me.

guy laughing should be suspended for a month without pay, maybe he would understand his comments and where he went wrong.  maybe i am biased considering i ride but i can't even look at the accident and cringe....its not even the car hit its carnage the split second after as the bikes are flying through the air....argh....



Edited by trix 2011-07-14 3:12 PM


2011-07-14 3:21 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
trix - 2011-07-14 3:10 PM

RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 2:17 PM I certainly am not going to forgive Smith's insensititivity, but I also wondered at the time why the driver seemed to speed up and pull away after the collision.  I have to assume that he felt he was between a rock and a hard place and was fearful of getting rear-ended and causing a worse calamity if he stomped on the brakes.  I'm hoping that he at least pulled over as soon as it was safe and went back and check on the guys he hit.

Mark

the driver it looks like was trying to avoid the tree on his left which was way WAY to the left, but i really do think that happend.

you have to understand the roads like the one they were riding on are extremely narrow, i think he was looking at the rider saw the tree thought OH SNAP accelerated and over corrected. 

but who knows i can't speak for him, that is what it looks like to me.

guy laughing should be suspended for a month without pay, maybe he would understand his comments and where he went wrong.  maybe i am biased considering i ride but i can't even look at the accident and cringe....its not even the car hit its carnage the split second after as the bikes are flying through the air....argh....

I also think he swerved to avoid the tree.  It was an avoidable accident.  The road was narrow and Paul Sherwin was commentating that the race official had told cars not to pass the riders.  Not sure if that's true or not.  The car and driver are no longer allowed in the tour, I didn't hear if there was any other punishment.  

I'm sending the ESPN guys this T-shirt.

http://stomachofanger.com/hoogerland.shtml

2011-07-14 3:26 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
2011-07-14 3:33 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

 

WINNER!  Love it..  

2011-07-14 3:56 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
I like them both, but that "Welcome to Hoogerland" is awesome.   Whenever I think of him, I imagine how he'd be greeted in a hockey arena or coming up to bat at a baseball game:   HOOOOOOOOGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER.    That picture of his tush in the original linked article doesn't leave much to the imagination.  Am I rambling?
2011-07-14 4:54 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
SoberTriGuy - 2011-07-14 4:21 PM
trix - 2011-07-14 3:10 PM

RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 2:17 PM I certainly am not going to forgive Smith's insensititivity, but I also wondered at the time why the driver seemed to speed up and pull away after the collision.  I have to assume that he felt he was between a rock and a hard place and was fearful of getting rear-ended and causing a worse calamity if he stomped on the brakes.  I'm hoping that he at least pulled over as soon as it was safe and went back and check on the guys he hit.

Mark

the driver it looks like was trying to avoid the tree on his left which was way WAY to the left, but i really do think that happend.

you have to understand the roads like the one they were riding on are extremely narrow, i think he was looking at the rider saw the tree thought OH SNAP accelerated and over corrected. 

but who knows i can't speak for him, that is what it looks like to me.

guy laughing should be suspended for a month without pay, maybe he would understand his comments and where he went wrong.  maybe i am biased considering i ride but i can't even look at the accident and cringe....its not even the car hit its carnage the split second after as the bikes are flying through the air....argh....

I also think he swerved to avoid the tree.  It was an avoidable accident.  The road was narrow and Paul Sherwin was commentating that the race official had told cars not to pass the riders.  Not sure if that's true or not.  The car and driver are no longer allowed in the tour, I didn't hear if there was any other punishment.  

I'm sending the ESPN guys this T-shirt.

http://stomachofanger.com/hoogerland.shtml



Gotta disagree with the unavoidable part.  IMHO the guy was distracted and wasn't looking ahead.  When he finally saw the tree his survival instinct was to yank the wheel to the right.   If he had been looking far enough ahead he could have slowed enough to avoid being at the pinch point with the tree at the same time as the riders.

Mark 


2011-07-14 5:21 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 2:54 PM
SoberTriGuy - 2011-07-14 4:21 PM
trix - 2011-07-14 3:10 PM

RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 2:17 PM I certainly am not going to forgive Smith's insensititivity, but I also wondered at the time why the driver seemed to speed up and pull away after the collision.  I have to assume that he felt he was between a rock and a hard place and was fearful of getting rear-ended and causing a worse calamity if he stomped on the brakes.  I'm hoping that he at least pulled over as soon as it was safe and went back and check on the guys he hit.

Mark

the driver it looks like was trying to avoid the tree on his left which was way WAY to the left, but i really do think that happend.

you have to understand the roads like the one they were riding on are extremely narrow, i think he was looking at the rider saw the tree thought OH SNAP accelerated and over corrected. 

but who knows i can't speak for him, that is what it looks like to me.

guy laughing should be suspended for a month without pay, maybe he would understand his comments and where he went wrong.  maybe i am biased considering i ride but i can't even look at the accident and cringe....its not even the car hit its carnage the split second after as the bikes are flying through the air....argh....

I also think he swerved to avoid the tree.  It was an avoidable accident.  The road was narrow and Paul Sherwin was commentating that the race official had told cars not to pass the riders.  Not sure if that's true or not.  The car and driver are no longer allowed in the tour, I didn't hear if there was any other punishment.  

I'm sending the ESPN guys this T-shirt.

http://stomachofanger.com/hoogerland.shtml



Gotta disagree with the unavoidable part.  IMHO the guy was distracted and wasn't looking ahead.  When he finally saw the tree his survival instinct was to yank the wheel to the right.   If he had been looking far enough ahead he could have slowed enough to avoid being at the pinch point with the tree at the same time as the riders.

Mark 

"An avoidable" vs. "unavoidable".

2011-07-14 5:26 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
briderdt - 2011-07-14 6:21 PM
RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 2:54 PM
SoberTriGuy - 2011-07-14 4:21 PM
trix - 2011-07-14 3:10 PM

RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 2:17 PM I certainly am not going to forgive Smith's insensititivity, but I also wondered at the time why the driver seemed to speed up and pull away after the collision.  I have to assume that he felt he was between a rock and a hard place and was fearful of getting rear-ended and causing a worse calamity if he stomped on the brakes.  I'm hoping that he at least pulled over as soon as it was safe and went back and check on the guys he hit.

Mark

the driver it looks like was trying to avoid the tree on his left which was way WAY to the left, but i really do think that happend.

you have to understand the roads like the one they were riding on are extremely narrow, i think he was looking at the rider saw the tree thought OH SNAP accelerated and over corrected. 

but who knows i can't speak for him, that is what it looks like to me.

guy laughing should be suspended for a month without pay, maybe he would understand his comments and where he went wrong.  maybe i am biased considering i ride but i can't even look at the accident and cringe....its not even the car hit its carnage the split second after as the bikes are flying through the air....argh....

I also think he swerved to avoid the tree.  It was an avoidable accident.  The road was narrow and Paul Sherwin was commentating that the race official had told cars not to pass the riders.  Not sure if that's true or not.  The car and driver are no longer allowed in the tour, I didn't hear if there was any other punishment.  

I'm sending the ESPN guys this T-shirt.

http://stomachofanger.com/hoogerland.shtml



Gotta disagree with the unavoidable part.  IMHO the guy was distracted and wasn't looking ahead.  When he finally saw the tree his survival instinct was to yank the wheel to the right.   If he had been looking far enough ahead he could have slowed enough to avoid being at the pinch point with the tree at the same time as the riders.

Mark 

"An avoidable" vs. "unavoidable".


My bad.  Too much multi-tasking at the end of the day for me...
Mark
2011-07-14 5:44 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
I hope he experiences getting slammed by a vehicle while riding a bike.  Or just walking.  Or just getting slammed by something.  Hard.  Then show it on the innerwebz and on National T.V.  And then we can all laff at him.
2011-07-14 5:53 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

what a putz.........typical



Edited by MX n TRI n Az 2011-07-14 5:55 PM
2011-07-14 8:33 PM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
You see the tan that Dutch dude has? Damn!


2011-07-15 7:31 AM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..
smbrown - 2011-07-14 9:33 PM You see the tan that Dutch dude has? Damn!


Wait a second, are you making a joke??  Don't you know there's nothing funny about this?

2011-07-15 7:46 AM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

RedCorvette - 2011-07-14 5:54 PM

Gotta disagree with the unavoidable part.  IMHO the guy was distracted and wasn't looking ahead.  When he finally saw the tree his survival instinct was to yank the wheel to the right.   If he had been looking far enough ahead he could have slowed enough to avoid being at the pinch point with the tree at the same time as the riders.

Mark 

Agreed.  He could have run the left wheel up on the base of the tree.  It would have been quit a bump to the car but would have been safer than what he ended up doing.  He should have never been in that position anyway.  100% driver error.

2011-07-15 9:50 AM
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Subject: RE: Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron..

- There was nothing funny about that crash.

- Hoogerland showed fierce determination and razor-sharp focus in getting back up and finishing the stage.

- Smith should have either kept his mouth shut or simply said something like "Hoogerland exemplfied some of the best that we all can achieve in just getting back up and getting back in the race."

- Smith was an idiot for his "paperboy" apology and I get no sincerity in his last apology.  I'm guessing, since I don't work for ESPN, that he only issued the second apology because he was told to.

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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Michael Smith from ESPN is a moron.. Rss Feed