Olympic Hall of Fame

I got to meet AVD once. She was nice enough. But her antics at her last Olympics turned my stomach. Can't handle the spoiled temper-tantrum thing. I'm so excited Mary T. is up for induction. No brainer there. Class act and really great person.

I see that Amy Van Dyken is on the list as a 2008 finalist for being inducted to the Olympic Hall of Fame. Some people don't think she should be considered for such an honor until her Balco testimony is made public. I'm inclined to agree with Gary Hall Jr. on this issue....... www.theraceclub.net/.../viewtopic.php usocpressbox.org/.../f12722d0d10d4064852573fc006225f2 John Smith I can't believe that anyone would actually believe that by spitting in an opponent's lane, a cheater would increase the opponent's chances of failing a urinalysis. I don't really like Gary Hall Jr., but I respect him. Then he has to run his mouth like that. I think it just shows some ignorance on his part. There is no way that a relatively tiny amount of saliva makes it, in sufficient quantity, into Inky's system and is filtered out by her kidneys in time for a post-race drug test.

I can't believe that anyone would actually believe that by spitting in an opponent's lane, a cheater would increase the opponent's chances of failing a urinalysis. I don't really like Gary Hall Jr., but I respect him. Then he has to run his mouth like that. I think it just shows some ignorance on his part. There is no way that a relatively tiny amount of saliva makes it, in sufficient quantity, into Inky's system and is filtered out by her kidneys in time for a post-race drug test.I initially had the same thought but then decided it was a lame attempt at a joke. He says something like, seriously though... Hard to believe he'd actually think a loogey (sp?) in a 50 meter pool full of water would make anyone test positive. I don't like Gary Hall Jr.'s antics very often. He may be really nice in person but he seems like he might be a jerk sometimes...

I initially had the same thought but then decided it was a lame attempt at a joke. He says something like, seriously though... Hard to believe he'd actually think a loogey (sp?) in a 50 meter pool full of water would make anyone test positive. I don't like Gary Hall Jr.'s antics very often. He may be really nice in person but he seems like he might be a jerk sometimes... That's actually nice to hear. I read that post and couldn't really believe it at first. I read back for a while, but couldn't tell one way or the other. The article that someone posted not too long ago about Amy painted her in a very positive light, despite the less than admirable sportsmanship. Oh well.

I didn't think it was a lame attempt at all. I thought it was pretty darn funny myself. At least he has the guts to call out what he thinks is wrong. You may agree with him or not, but he does has something when he discusses how the resident team held her out as the shining light of the success of Pursley's creation. I don't have an opinion one way or the other regarding the RT, but at least Gary will speak up. You have to respect him for that.By "lame" I meant that it was a joke that wasn't very well done. I had to go back and read it a second time. Even then it wasn't worded in a way that clearly indicated he was joking. The "seriously, though" or whatever he said was the only indication that he wasn't serious the whole time. I agree with what Hall says wholeheartedly. I am almost offended that AVD's even on the same list with Mary T. No way that AVD's accomplishments even come close to MTM. And MTM didn't even get to swim the Olympics at her absolute peak (boycott 1980). Again, not a big fan of Hall's. He seems little better than AVD in terms of class and sportsmanship. But at least he sounds clean and I've never heard him whine like a baby on national TV.

I didn't think it was a lame attempt at all. I thought it was pretty darn funny myself. At least he has the guts to call out what he thinks is wrong. You may agree with him or not, but he does has something when he discusses how the resident team held her out as the shining light of the success of Pursley's creation. I don't have an opinion one way or the other regarding the RT, but at least Gary will speak up. You have to respect him for that. No kidding! I don't mind opinions and personality. Cynically speaking, I'm inclined to agree with him about AVD.

I didn't think it was a lame attempt at all. I thought it was pretty darn funny myself. At least he has the guts to call out what he thinks is wrong. You may agree with him or not, but he does has something when he discusses how the resident team held her out as the shining light of the success of Pursley's creation. I don't have an opinion one way or the other regarding the RT, but at least Gary will speak up. You have to respect him for that. The only part of Mr. Hall Jr's rant I was questioning was the bit about spitting to cause Inky's urinalysis to come up positive. He can have opinions all he wants, but if he was serious about the spitting thing, then I think he's a moron. I have only really started following swimming over the past couple of years, so I don't remember watching van Dyken compete. And, I don't think it's a bad thing to have a personality and to express it, but it's a fine line between expressing your personality and having poor decorum. That's all I'm saying.

The spitting comment was a joke. But poor decorum is spitting in someone's lane IMHO. AVD not only did this, but on the Olympic stage which took bad taste (no pun intended) to a whole new level. When I was 10, we would do that as punk kids, can't believe someone would do it at that level. I agree and I said as much in the thread where we discussed Ms. van Dyken and her spitting. Poor sportsmanship is a pet peeve of mine.

Bravo for Mary T!

I initially had the same thought but then decided it was a lame attempt at a joke. It was meant to be a joke. But he does go on to raise serious questions about AVD and her (sealed) testimony before the BALCO grand jury. I think her testimony should be unsealed before she is inducted in the Hall of Fame.