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      Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread

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      Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Aug 10, 2012 11:03:18 pm
      What it says in the title really.

      Been reading up on 'alternative' type sports stories and must say I've been finding them very interesting.

      Would be most grateful if some of you could contribute. We have members from all over the world on here who I'm sure know some great stories.

      A few I've read today to get it going.

      I didn't even know that this first one had even happened:

      Black September and the Murder of 11 Israelis at the 1972 Munich Olympics
      At 4:30 a.m. local time on Sept. 5, 1972, in Munich, Germany, Palestinian commandos armed with automatic rifles broke into the quarters of the Israeli team at the Olympic Village, killed two members of the team and took nine others hostage. Twenty-three hours later, the nine hostages had also been murdered. So was a German policeman. So were five of the Palestinian terrorists.
      The 1972 massacre is by far the worst case of violence in Olympic history since the modern games began in 1896, and one of the most notorious cases of terrorism on record.

      Black September

      The Palestinian commandos were part of the then-unknown Black September movement—a band of Palestinian militants who broke away from Fatah , the Palestinian faction that controlled the Palestine Liberation Organization . Black September militants were disaffected with what they perceived to be the PLO’s ineffective tactics against Israel.

      Black September’s demands in the Munich attack: the release of more than 200 Palestinian guerillas held in Israeli jails, along with the release of German Red Army members Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, held in German prison.

      The Palestinian terrorists knew all too well how to attack in Munich: At least one was employed in the Olympic Village and knew his way around a compound housing some 8,000 athletes. The Israeli delegation was at 31 Connolly Street, a particularly inaccessible dormitory tucked away inside a larger structure. But German security was lax to nonexistent, the Germans believing that a pacifist strategy was the more effective answer to rising terror at the time.

      Negotiations and Stalemate

      Three Israelis, Yossef Gutfreund, a wrestling referee, Moshe Weinberg, a wrestling coach, and Yossef Romano, a weightlifter who’d fought in the Six Day War, used their considerable size and skill initially to fight and confuse the terrorists, allowing some members of the Israeli team to escape capture. Romano and Weinberg were the terrorists’ first murder victims.

      Negotiations began later the morning of Sept. 5 as the Palestinians held nine Israelis in their quarters. The negotiations were mostly fruitless. The West German military provided three helicopters for the Palestinian commandos to transport the hostages to the airport, where a jet was prepared for a flight to Cairo, Egypt. The plane was a subterfuge: Egypt had told the German government it would not permit it to land on Egyptian soil.

      Bungled Rescue Attempt and Murder

       Once at the airport, some 20 hours after the ordeal had begun, two of the terrorists walked from the helicopters to the plane and back, presumably to pick up the hostages. At that point, German snipers opened fire. The Palestinians returned fire. A bloodbath ensued.

      The Germans had planned their rescue attempt shoddily, using five sharp-shooters, one of whom admitted later to have been unqualified. German police drafted to support the sharpshooters abandoned the mission halfway through. The Israeli hostages were bound hand and foot in two helicopters. They were killed—by a grenade thrown by a terrorist and ensuing fire in one helicopter, by strafing, point-blank rifle shots in the other.

      Five Palestinians were killed: Afif, Nazzal, Chic Thaa, Hamid and Jawad Luttif Afif, known as Issa, who had two brothers in Israeli jails, Yusuf Nazzal, known as Tony, Afif Ahmed Hamid, known as Paolo, Khalid Jawad, and Ahmed Chic Thaa, or Abu Halla. Their bodies were returned to heroes’ funerals in Libya, whose leader, Muammar Qaddafi, was an enthusiastic supporter and financier of Palestinian terrorism.

      The three remaining hostage-takers, Mohammed Safady, Adnan Al-Gashey, and Jamal Al-Gashey, were held by German authorities until late October, 1972, when they were released in compliance with demands by Palestinian hijackers of a Lufthansa jet. Various documentaries and written accounts argue that the hijacking was a sham enabling German authorities to end their involvement in the Black September chapter.

      The Games “Must Go On”

      The German government and police’s actions were not the only embarrassing or repugnant responses to the terrorist attack. Five hours after learning of the attack, Avery Brundage, the president of the International Olympic Committee, declared that the games would go on.

       As two Israelis lay dead and nine Israeli hostages were fighting for their lives in the Olympic Village, competition went on in 11 of the 22 sports on the program, including canoeing and wrestling. “Anyway,” went a dark joke coursing through the Village, “these are professional killers. Avery doesn’t recognize them.” It would not be until 4 p.m. that Brundage reversed his decision. A memorial service for the Israelis was held at 10 a.m. on Sept. 6 in the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium.

      This one I seen earlier on the BBC and it brought back memories of watching the Olympics when I was 5 years old - remember it happening which is strange as I don't remember anything else at the Los Angeles Olympics in 84:

      Budd and Decker Clash in Explosive Final
      Los Angeles, 1984, and golden girl Mary Decker is on a collision course with Zola Budd in the eagerly-anticipated 3000 metres final.
       
      On one side is Decker, the glamorous home favourite tipped for glory. On the other, the controversial figure of bare-footed Budd from Bloemfontein, who had circumnavigated South Africa's Olympic ban by becoming a British citizen only earlier that year.
       
      Whether either would have beaten eventual winner Maricica Puica will never be known, despite the fact the Romanian was an outsider beforehand, but the pair's clash just past the midway part of the race led to furious recriminations and accusations.
       
      Decker, Budd, Britain's Wendy Sly and Puica were some way clear of the rest of the pack and, with a mile to go, the winner looked certain to come from this quartet. It did - but only after the sort of incident more common in horse racing than women's athletics.
       
      "It was the third or fourth lap when the pace drastically slowed," recalled Budd. "Because I was barefoot, I wanted to get to the front. On the next lap, I felt something tug on my vest and the crowd started booing. On the next lap, Mary was lying on the infield."
       
      The teenager, whose style of running without shoes always sparked debate, had altered her position on the track and hampered the American, and they both fell after the New Jersey-born runner's spikes appeared to catch Budd's heel, causing her leg to jut out and trip her rival.
       
      Although Budd was able to continue, she looked a shadow of her usual self and never threatened a place on the podium, finishing down the field in seventh spot and clearly looking affected by the incident.
       
      Decker was distraught, a picture of anguish as she lay stricken on the grass on the inside of the circuit. Comforted by her hulking British discus-thrower husband-to-be Richard Slaney, and carried off weeping in his arms, it was a dramatic image for those watching at home.
       
      And the pain felt by the crowd's heroine was not purely for effect or a response to the realisation of seeing her dreams go up in smoke. "It was like I was tied to the ground," she complained after pulling a muscle in her hip, the tears flowing in front of the cameras.
       
      Budd was jeered by the 85,000-strong crowd and was initially disqualified, only to be reinstated an hour later after video evidence was studied. The fact an English newspaper, the Daily Mail, had paid cash to fund her switch of allegiance, on the strength of a British grandfather, only added to the negativity surrounding her involvement - and casting her as the villain of the piece seemed an inevitable conclusion.
       
      Decker was in no doubt as to where to the blame should lay, as this was no accident in her mind. "Zola tried to cut in without being far enough ahead. There was no question she was in the wrong." An apology from the youngster was met with a "don't bother" response in the tunnel.
       
      "It is just sad that it happened between me and Mary," Budd later reflected. "If it had been anyone else, if it had been Wendy Sly, say, but because it was Mary
"
       
      The pain has now subsided for Decker, now Mary Slaney. "It was a living nightmare," she recalled but revealed she had exchanged letters with her rival. She had been one of Budd's self-proclaimed heroes before the fateful race and there would be a form of reconciliation, even though they haven't spoken since 1992.
       
      "We both felt like, 'My God, this has turned into this big battle between us,' and there wasn't one," said Slaney. "It was like, well, that's what happens when you get on the track: you race, some people get spiked, some get tripped, whatever. It was not a personal issue."
       
      Never personal and purely accidental. Some later painted Decker as a bad sport who should have accepted it was simply a moment of great misfortune, rather than blame an already under-fire youngster. Despite what some in the US media felt, the heroine wasn't denied gold by the South African who cheated the system to challenge for the medal.
       
      However, Budd did later admit: "Athletics was the only sport at school in which I could not hurt someone with my aggression. I get aggressive in about 90% of all races." Could the jostling for position, not to mention the painful clip on the Achilles, have provoked that flick of the left leg out of anger - rather than by accident? We'll never know the answer but there's no doubt Decker was left with plenty of hurt in Los Angeles.
       
      What happened next?
      Budd and Decker raced each other twice more with the American emerging victorious on both occasions. Budd competed in the 1992 Olympics for South Africa and was seen on British TV show 'Come Dine With Me' recently. The Slaneys are still happily married and have a daughter.

      And I remember this one. Apparantly his killer shouted 'GOAL' everytime he shot him, shocking:

      Colombia's own-goal star shot dead
      ANDRES ESCOBAR, the Colombian defender whose own goal against the United States helped eliminate his nation from the World Cup, was shot dead early yesterday in his home town, the cocaine cartel city of Medellin.

      Escobar, 27, thought to be no relation to Pablo Escobar, the cartel boss killed by troops last December, was shot 12 times by three men who fled in off-road vehicles of the type favoured by drugs and gambling mafiosi. 'Thanks for the own goal,' said one, according to witnesses.
       
      The killing heightened speculation that gangsters from either the United States or Colombia had tried to 'fix' the US-Colombia match, which the US team won 2-1 in a major upset. The Colombian coach, Francisco Maturana, and several players were said to have received death threats before the game. Midfielder Gabriel Gomez refused to play.
       
      There was talk of big money, both American and Colombian, riding on a US win at long odds. Some said US mafiosi with a financial interest in the host side's success may have bribed or threatened the Colombian team. But Medellin police said a lot of Colombian money, including cocaine funds, was riding on a Colombian win.
       
      Medellin police said the men had argued with Escobar, who played for the local First Division side Nacional Medellin, over the fateful own goal as he left a restaurant with a woman friend at 3.30am yesterday.
       
      In the match against the US in Pasadena on 23 June, Escobar stretched to cut out a cross from the left but instead stabbed the ball past his own goalkeeper for the opening goal. In a normal game, it would have looked like bad luck. In the context of Colombia, where betting on football is like horse-race betting in Britain, there was just a suggestion that he should have been able to steer the ball wide for a corner. For the rest of the game the Colombians continued to play below form.
       
      Carlos 'the Kid' Valderrama, their peroxide- dreadlocked midfield star, could not hit a straight pass.
       
      As for the normally-dazzling leftwinger, Faustino Asprilla, 'he didn't even try' in the words of the man who marked him, US right-back Fernando Clavijo.
       
      The US team, who were rank outsiders, went on to qualify for the last 16 of the tournament while Colombia, who had been tipped by the great Brazilian star Pele to win the tournament, had to pack their bags in disgrace. Already out of the tournament, they showed their true form in beating Switzerland 2-0 in their final group match.
       
      Colombia had joined the ranks of the favourites to win the World Cup after dominating their South American qualifying group with electrifying performances. The high point was reached with a 5-0 humiliation of Argentina in Buenos Aires. Dozens were killed in the boisterous celebrations that followed in Colombia.
       
      Escobar is not the first football victim of Colombian violence. Another leading player and at least one top referee have been shot dead in Medellin by cocaine-financed gambling mafias who bet millions of dollars on matches.
       
      After the US match, the disappointing star Asprilla told reporters: 'It's not the end of the world.' It was for Escobar.
      HeighwayToHeaven
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #1: Aug 10, 2012 11:13:25 pm
      In 1994, Nancy Kerrigan of Stoneham was practicing for the U.S Figure Skating championships. She was leaving the ice when a man assaulted her with a club. Forced to drop out of the competition, she recovered in time to compete for the U.S. at the Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. In February, Kerrigan joined teammate Tonya Harding at the Olympic Village. The media was in a frenzy. Kerrigan's assailant had confessed and told police that he was part of a plot involving Harding, her bodyguard, and her husband. Since Harding had not been formally charged with a crime, she was allowed to compete. She did not skate well, while Kerrigan turned in a nearly flawless performance, winning the silver medal.
      Background
      On the afternoon of January 6, 1994, Olympic skating hopeful Nancy Kerrigan, the pride of Stoneham, Massachusetts, skated a practice session at a rink in Detroit. She was scheduled to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships the next night and was widely favored to win the title for the second year in a row.

      The Olympics were scheduled for Lillehammer, Norway, in February; the first- and second-place skaters would automatically receive spots on the U.S. team. As Kerrigan left the ice, she stopped briefly to speak with a reporter. Suddenly, a six-foot tall, 200-pound man wielding a police baton charged past her, clubbed her on the right knee, and fled through a nearby door.

      Her father carried her to her dressing room; she was later treated at a hospital for severe bruising to the tissue and muscle of her knee. When swelling occurred the next day, the skater was forced to drop out of the competition.

      With Kerrigan sidelined, Tonya Harding and Michelle Kwan came in first and second at the U.S. championships, and won places on the Olympic team. But in an unprecedented move, U.S. figure skating officials decided that since Kerrigan's injuries were the result of a criminal assault, rather than a skating accident, she would be permitted to compete at the Olympics. Kwan would go to Lillehammer as an alternate.

      The drama, however, had only begun. There was wild speculation about who would want to injure a prominent figure skater. At first the media focused on a deranged fan, such as the one who had stabbed tennis player Monica Seles nine months earlier. It was apparently not uncommon for top female figure skaters, including Katarina Witt and Kristi Yamaguchi, to get frequent hate mail. Tonya Harding reported having received a phoned death threat only two months before the U.S. Championships. Asked about the Kerrigan attack, Harding told a reporter, "It scares me because it could have been anyone here. It doesn't make me feel very safe." After the death threat, Harding claimed, she had hired a bodyguard. Skating officials saw the attack on Kerrigan as evidence that figure skaters now faced the same dangers as other highly visible and well-paid celebrities.

      Within a week, the drama took a decidedly bizarre turn. The police were looking for an Arizona bounty hunter named Shane Stant in connection with the assault on Kerrigan. Stant turned himself in and made a surprising confession. He said that the attack was part of a plot involving Tonya Harding, her husband, and her bodyguard. According to Stant, Harding had been involved from "way back," and had staged the death threat against herself to make Kerrigan's attack look like part of a pattern.

      As the charges unfolded, both Kerrigan and Harding arrived in Lillehammer to prepare for the Olympics. In an atmosphere that resembled a daytime soap opera, the two women lived in the same small skater's village, ate in the same dining hall, and skated in the same practice group. Harding was ordered to appear before the U.S. Olympic Committee's Administrative Board to explain why she shouldn't be sent home for violating its athletic code. But the USOC decided that they could not discipline an athlete for an alleged crime, and facing the threat of a $20M lawsuit, the committee voted to let Harding skate.

      Harding's poor performance during the first part of the competition cost her a chance for a medal. She reclaimed the spotlight for the long program by protesting that a broken lace had interfered with her skating. She appealed to the judges, who agreed to allow her to repeat her program.

      Despite her injury and ensuing drama, Nancy Kerrigan turned in a nearly flawless performance. After she finished skating, commentator Scott Hamilton told millions of television viewers, "Olympic dreams do come true." He assumed she would win the gold medal, but it was not to be. The last skater of the night was the young Russian Oksana Baiul, whose story of hardship and survival had been told and re-told during the games. When the final scores were posted, Baiul had beaten Kerrigan by the closest margin in Olympic figure skating history to that point.

      Kerrigan went home with a silver medal, and Harding returned to the U.S. to face charges of conspiracy to interfere with the investigation of the assault on Kerrigan. Tonya Harding pled guilty, paid a $110,000 fines, contributed $50,000 to the Special Olympics, and did 500 hours of community service at a soup kitchen. The most severe penalty was levied by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, which banned her for life from USFSA events. She was never charged with planning the attack and consistently maintained her innocence. Although she hoped to have a professional career, most skaters, including Kristi Yamaguchi, refused to share the ice with her.

      Four men eventually served time in jail for the assault on Kerrigan: Stant, the assailant; his uncle, who drove the getaway car; Harding's bodyguard, who hired Stant; and Harding's husband, who engineered the crime.

      Nancy Kerrigan continues to skate professionally; she is married, the mother of two, and lives a few miles from her childhood home.

      http://massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=3


      BogotĂĄ Bracelet

      The BogotĂĄ Bracelet incident took place in May 1970 when Bobby Moore, the captain of the England national football team, was detained in Colombia for four days after being accused of stealing a bracelet from a jewellery shop located in the BogotĂĄ hotel in which the team were staying.
      The arrest took place in the build-up to the World Cup Finals where England were to defend the cup they had won in 1966. It provoked widespread reaction in the United Kingdom, including a diplomatic intervention at the behest of the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and across the world in general.
      On 28 May, Moore was conditionally released and flew to join his team-mates in Mexico where he played in all of England's World Cup matches. The Colombian authorities came to the conclusion that Moore was innocent of any wrongdoing, but the case was not formally closed until 1972.
      As part of their preparations for the 1970 FIFA World Cup being held in Mexico that summer, the England football team planned to play two friendly matches in South America to help them prepare for the high altitudes they would face once the tournament began.
      They were scheduled to play first in Colombia, on 20 May, and then in Ecuador on 24 May. England left their forward base in Mexico City on 18 June and arrived in the Colombian capital BogotĂĄ, checking in to the Hotel Tequendama.[1]

      [edit]Incident

      [edit]Alleged theft

      Although the various accounts of the incident differ somewhat in exactly details, the basic outline of what happened is all the same. Located near the foyer of the hotel was a gift shop selling jewellery known as the Fuego Verde (Green Fire). A number of the English players visited the store at one point or another, browsing for gifts to take home. At 6.25pm, Moore went in with Bobby Charlton to look for a present for Charlton’s wife. Team doctor Neil Phillips was also in the shop as at one point was Peter Thompson.
      After looking at some of the items in the display cases, Moore and Charlton found nothing that interested them and left again. They were standing in the foyer when the assistant in the shop, Clara Padilla, came out and accused them of having stolen a valuable bracelet from a display case. Moore and Charlton protested their innocence and offered to allow themselves to be searched.
      Despite their denials, Padilla repeatedly identified them as the culprits of the alleged theft. Soon tourist police and hotel staff were on hand, as were most of the English players. Doctor Phillips went to fetch Alf Ramsey. When he arrived, Ramsey took charge of the situation and spoke to the authorities. Moore and Charlton were briefly questioned, and made an official statement.
      This appeared to have cleared the matter up, and they even received apologies for the inconvenience. The match against Colombia went ahead, and England won the game 4-0, with Moore and Charlton both playing. By a gentlemen's agreement, the travelling British sports journalists agreed not to mention the incident.

      [edit]Arrest

      After their win in BogotĂĄ, England then proceeded on to their match against Ecuador in Quito and won 2-0 there. England were scheduled to fly back to Mexico City via BogotĂĄ, where there would be a four and a half hour stopover. Neil Phillips suggested that to avoid any further problems they should take an alternative route via Panama City. Both Ramsey and Moore rejected this idea, as they felt it would indicate wrongdoing and England took their arranged flight back to BogotĂĄ.
      They checked into the same hotel where the bracelet incident had taken place. To fill the time up while they waited for their flight the team sat down to watch the film Shenandoah. As they were sitting there two plainclothes Colombian police officers quietly took Moore out and formally arrested him for theft.[2]
      The Colombian police had acted after a new witness Alvaro Suarez had come forward, claiming to have seen Moore take the bracelet. Only lobbying by the British ambassador had stopped Moore from being arrested at the airport in front of cameras. Suarez said he saw what happened through the shop window and supported the version of Clara Padilla.[3]
      As it became clear that Moore might be detained for some time, Ramsey decided that, with the World Cup just a few days away from beginning he had to go on to Mexico without his captain. Two FA officials were to remain in BogotĂĄ to assist Moore, and further help was provided by British Embassy officials.
      Neither Bobby Charlton or Peter Thompson were arrested, despite their presence in the shop at the time of the incident, and they left the hotel along with the rest of the squad and boarded the plane. Many of the other players hadn’t noticed or realised the significance of Moore’s absence, as he was often called away to do interviews or meet people. Once they had taken off, Ramsey explained what had happened to the players, staff and press.[4]
      The public relations problems of the English were further added to when Jeff Astle, who hated flying, had several drinks to calm his nerves. Astle was clearly intoxicated once they reached Mexico City, and had to be helped along by his team mates. This led one Mexican newspaper to brand the English “a team of drunks and thieves”.[5]

      [edit]Detention

      Moore was held in a room in the Bogotá police headquarters while his fate was decided. He was ultimately charged, and faced with prosecution for theft. In light of the special circumstances, it was arranged that, rather than be sent to one of the city’s prisons, Moore would be kept under house arrest at the home belonging to the Director of the Colombian Football Federation Alfonso Senior. He would be allowed to train, so he could keep up his fitness, although he was constantly followed by armed police guards. In press reports there was initially some confusion about the fact that the alleged theft and Moore’s arrest had taken place several days apart.[6]
      The arrest sparked international media attention. Interest in the incident was stoked by the fact that Moore was a particularly well-known footballer generally respected throughout the game. In Britain there was massive press interest in Moore’s wife Tina, who was shortly due to go out and watch England play in Mexico, and she was followed by a crowd of journalists wherever she went.[7]
      Generally Moore was perceived to be innocent. Ramsey expressed his own belief in his captain. “I should have thought that the integrity of this man would be enough to answer these charges. It is too ridiculous for words”.[8] The former Brazil coach Joao Saldanha observed that when he had stayed at the hotel with his team Botafogo they had experienced a similar incident - in which jewellry had been hidden on them and money demanded in order to avoid a scandal. Saldanha described the allegations against Moore as “disgraceful” and “slander”.[9]
      In the England camp many of the players considered the charge ridiculous and treated it as a joke. Ramsey was more concerned as the matter disrupted his carefully planned preparations for the World Cup, and made a contingency plan to play Norman Hunter in Moore’s central defensive role and make Alan Mullery the team’s captain. He was facing up to the possibility that he might lose Moore for the entire World Cup.
      In Bogotá, Moore was taken before a judge, Justice Peter Dorado, and questioned for four hours. Moore denied he knew anything about the theft or had even ever seen the bracelet in question. Confused by the conflicting claims, Justice Dorado arranged for the authorities to stage a re-enactment of the incident with Moore and Padilla. Her version was undermined as she claimed that Moore had slipped the bracelet into the left-hand pocket of his blazer, and it was demonstrated that the blazer had no pocket on the left side. She then changed various parts of her story and eventually left in tears. It was also questioned why the fresh witness, Alvaro Suarez waited four days to come forward.[10] There were also conflicting suggestions about the value of the bracelet. Initially it was said to be valued around £500, but later it is claimed to be worth £5,000, while the owner of the shop requested £6,000 in compensation. As Moore was driven back from the re-enactment, cries of “Viva Bobby” could be heard from the streets.[11]
      Harold Wilson had hoped that a strong performance by England at the World Cup would boost the chances of his governing Labour Party being re-elected in the 1970 General Election. Wilson was so concerned by Moore’s arrest that he requested repeated lobbying of the Colombian government by the British embassy in Bogotá. The Colombians were wary of creating what was fast becoming a diplomatic incident.

      [edit]Release

      On 28 May, Moore was taken before Justice Dorado and told there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution and he was to be set free. Moore released a statement “I am happy to be set free and the allegations against me turned out to be groundless”. He promised to further co-operate with the Colombian authorities and thanked the Colombian people “for the many expressions of sympathy and support which I have received from them in the last few days”.[12]
      Moore was given a conditional release that required him to report to the Colombian consulate in Mexico, although this was abandoned soon afterwards with an official stating “It was an accusation that needed proof. “It was never proved. Moore has no obligation with the embassy. There was never much case”.[13]
      Moore arrived in Mexico City and then flew on to Guadalajara where the English were preparing to play their opening match against Romania on 2 June. He was greeted warmly at the airport by Ramsey. Moore was taken back to the England team hotel where he was greeted by the other players lined up in a guard of honour to applaud him.[14] On 2 June he captained England to a 1-0 victory against Romania.

      [edit]Aftermath

      England went out of the World Cup in the Quarter Final stage after losing 3-2 to West Germany. Bobby Moore was widely praised for his performances in the tournament, especially in England's group stage match against Brazil. Ramsey later told a journalist that the incident had been the worst thing that ever happened to him in all his years of football.[15]
      In October 1970, the Colombian authorities re-opened the case but could find nothing to prove there had ever been a theft. Moore and Charlton had to attend a hearing at Bow Street Magistrates Court after which the case was formally closed in 1972. Despite being cleared the incident continued to dog Moore, and it has been suggested as a major reason why he was never awarded a knighthood. The Fuego Verde shop closed soon afterwards and Clara Padilla ended up fleeing to the United States.[16]
      A general consensus exists that the incident was an attempted frame-up, either to try to secure money from the England camp or possibly to have Moore ruled out of the World Cup, weakening England’s chances of winning it. Another theory has occasionally been proposed, that a bracelet was taken by one of the other England players, possibly as part of a prank, and that Moore took the blame to protect them. This was given credence by a comment that Moore made shortly before his death, that seemed to hint at this, when he told biographer Jeff Powell “Perhaps one of the lads did something foolish, a prank with unfortunate consequences”. However, this theory has been dismissed by Tina Moore, his wife at the time, and by Doctor Phillips.[17]

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogot%C3%A1_Bracelet

      If I can remember any more, I'll post them.  ;)
      srslfc
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #2: Aug 10, 2012 11:38:45 pm
      Some good reading there.

      Wahs, the first one you posted about Munich was made into a film by Steven Spielberg and is a very good film, well worth a watch.
      LFCbronx
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #3: Aug 11, 2012 12:22:17 am
      1972 Summit Series   Game 8

      Canada vs USSR  Ice Hockey

      First time the best from Canada played vs the Russians. Nobody knew what to expect in the 8 Game series. USSR tried to cheat and did, but still lost. Went something like this.....

      -----------------------------
      Momentum was clearly on the Canadian side heading into decisive Game 8, yet they still had to win the game in order to claim victory in the series. A tie game would result in a tied series, but the Russians would have claimed victory because they had scored one more goal. That didn't sit well with the Canadians, so Team 50 set out to make sure that would not happen.

      It became apparent early on that the Russian bureaucrats were going to do everything they could to see that the Russian hockey would be victorious, including cheating. And cheating is exactly what they did.

      On the evening before the concluding game, the Russians switched officials. It was agreed upon earlier that Swedish referee Uve Dahlberg and Czechoslovakian referee Rudy Bata would officiate the final game, but Dahlberg had suspiciously fallen ill -- food poisoning was the story.

      The Russians said that West German officials Josef Kompalla and Franz Baader, who both horrendously officiated Game 6, would have to officiate the final game. But Canada wanted no part of that. Those two, Kompalla in particular, proved to be brutally incompetent. The power-play advantages given to the Soviets so outrageously outnumbered the advantages given to Canada in Game 6 that one had to wonder if they were deliberately trying to throw the game.

      Canada wanted no part of such an arrangement. Alan Eagleson had threatened to leave without ever playing Game 8, and, at least on the night prior to the big game, he had the support of the players on that issue. By doing so the Soviets would lose out on thousands of dollars of television money.

      An agreement was made just hours before game time. The Canadians would stay and play Game 8 and each team would choose one official each. Canada chose Bata, while Russia chose Kompalla.

      Team Canada's fears about referee Kompalla were quickly realized. Just 2:25 into the game Bill White was given a questionable penalty, followed by another to Peter Mahovlich just 36 seconds later. The game was just three minutes old and already Canada was having to kill off a two-man disadvantage. Thirty-three seconds later Alexander Yakushev opened the scoring.

      Less than a minute later, Kompalla was at it again. At 4:10 J.P. Parise was given a minor penalty that was even more questionable than the others. Parise became enraged, slamming his stick on the ice so that it splintered while he yelled obscenities. Kompalla added a 10-minute misconduct on top of the two-minute minor.

      That almost pushed Parise over the top. Parise aggressively skated up to Kompalla, who was positioned along the boards. Parise stopped just shy of doing what would have been one of the blackest marks in hockey history. He pulled his stick well over his head and was about to whack the referee like he was a piñata. Thankfully he stopped himself in time. Kompalla rightfully added a game misconduct on to Parise's penalty total.

      The Russians held a commanding 5-3 lead after two periods of play. Espo  scored the all important early goal at just 2:27 of the third, narrowing the score to 5-4. Canada continued to pour it on, and at 12:56 tied up the score, thanks to Esposito once again. Espo refused to be denied as he shook off two defenders and tested Tretiak with a good shot. Tretiak made the stop, but he was unable to stop Yvan Cournoyer's tap in on the rebound.

      An interesting melee erupted after that goal was scored, but this didn't involve Team Canada and their on ice opponents, but rather Team Canada and the military policemen in the stands. The Soviet goal judge did not turn on the red light when Cournoyer tied the score. This enraged Alan Eagleson, who feared the Soviets were going to cry "no goal." Eagleson, who was in the stands, tried to make his way to the public address announcer's booth to make sure that the goal was announced. He pushed his way past several of these military men who did not appreciate Eagleson's actions. They apprehended Eagleson and started to drag him off.

      That's when big Peter Mahovlich showed up and poked the militia men with his stick. Mahovlich, who actually hopped the boards and was in the crowd in a scrum with the Russian military men, was quickly followed by his teammates. At the time it was quite something to witness. It was said that Team Canada was at war when they were in Moscow. For a few minutes, they actually did fight Soviet soldiers. The goal stood and the game was tied 5-5.

      Canada won the game and the series with a goal with 34 seconds remaining. 6-5.

      1972 summit series Game 8 and aftermath

      Diego LFC
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #4: Aug 11, 2012 01:07:13 am
      Brilliant idea for a thread! I'll read everything when I have the time and will post some stuff too. Nice one!
      what-a-hit-son
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #5: Aug 11, 2012 06:25:07 am
      Cheers for posting chaps, good stuff.

      Some good reading there.

      Wahs, the first one you posted about Munich was made into a film by Steven Spielberg and is a very good film, well worth a watch.

      Just looked it up Si and I think I do remember the film coming out but it must of went over my head. Will have a look on LoveFilm tonight and give it a whirl. A docu type film from 1999 called 'One Day in September' seems to have some good reviews also.

      The more I read about the attack the more I can't believe that I've never known it happened, a little embarrassed even.

      whyohwhyohwhy
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #6: Aug 11, 2012 09:55:50 am
      Great thread wahs!

      A needless cheat considering he was such a good fencer:

      1976 Modern Pentathlon

      Having already earned his country an Olympic medal earlier in Mexico City and Munich, Onishchenko entered the event as a three-time world champion and a sportsman respected by his fellow Olympians. After the first event of the pentathlon, the Soviet team found itself in fourth place, trailing closely behind Britain. Fencing was the next event: a one-touch épée tournament. Onishchenko was considered the finest fencer among his competitors and was favored to win his matches.

      During Onishchenko's bout with British team captain, Jim Fox, the British team protested that Onishchenko's weapon had gone off without actually hitting anything.[2] The director confiscated the Soviet's weapon and brought it to the bout committee, where an illegal modification to the grip was discovered. The bout was allowed to continue, and despite using an unmodified sword, Boris still won by a large margin.
      He was disqualified from the competition afterwards, and the Soviet Union were forced to withdraw from the team event as a result. The British team that exposed Onishchenko went on to win the gold medal.[1]

      In electric épée fencing, a touch is registered on the scoring box when the tip of the weapon is depressed with a force of 750 grams, completing a circuit formed by the weapon, body cord, and box. It was found that his épée had been modified to include a switch that allowed him to close this circuit without actually depressing the tip of his weapon, so Onishchenko could register a touch without making any contact on his opponent.

      Newspapers decried him as "Disonischenko" and "Boris the Cheat". Onishchenko earned the enmity of other Soviet Olympic team members: for example, the USSR volleyball team members threatened to throw him out of the hotel's window if they met him.[3] He was removed from the athletes' village by Russian officials the night of his disqualification and the next day reported to be "back in his home town of Kiev." Two months later it was reported he had been called before Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev for a personal scolding, dismissed from the Red Army, fined 5,000 rubles, stripped of all his sporting honours, and was working as a taxi driver in Kiev. [1]

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Onishchenko
      whyohwhyohwhy
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #7: Aug 11, 2012 10:15:42 am
      Did Italian job rob Shankly? Night of dark deeds at the San Siro

      Liverpool return tonight to the scene of their controversial European Cup defeat over 40 years ago. Ian Herbert asks whether foul play was behind Inter's highly suspicious goals

        TUESDAY 11 MARCH 2008
       
      San Siro, 12 May 1965: a time and a place which are branded across the collective consciousness of Liverpool football club and, so it has always been said, haunted Bill Shankly to his grave. Shankly might have been a hardened campaigner when Liverpool arrived in Milan to face Internazionale – as they finally do, once again, tonight – but nothing quite prepared him for the European Cup semi-final second leg there or for the Spanish referee whose name, to this day, still extracts a flinch of recognition in the pubs around Anfield.

      No one knew of Jose Maria Ortiz de Mendibil before Liverpool appeared with the same two-goal, first-leg advantage which they defend tonight, but everyone did by the time Shankly's (right) side trooped off after a 3-0 defeat which meant that Inter, and not they, would be back at San Siro for the final. The suspicion, fuelled by evidence of systematic bribery of referees by Italian officials from the 1960s, has always been that Liverpool were victims of forces beyond their control that night.

      Shankly's psychological ruses during Liverpool's progression to San Siro showed that he was no ingénu where European competition was concerned, even though this was Liverpool's first year in the tournament.

      Ahead of the second-round tie against Anderlecht, he described the Belgians as "rubbish" and then, having beaten them 3-0 at Anfield, promptly admitted they were "one of the best teams in Europe". But Milan, with a raucous 90,000 capacity crowd in attendance, was something else.

      "Purple things – smoke bombs – landed on the steps in front of us and Bob Paisley's clothes were covered in smoke," the Liverpool manager recalled in his biography and his words provide a sense of how foreign, in every sense, the place must have seemed. Liverpool – 3-1 up from a first leg in which they were buoyed by overcoming Leeds 2-1 in the FA Cup final three days earlier and in which they had glittered – knew the going would be tough.

      The Milanese press had somehow taken offence at their parading the FA Cup at Anfield and described the Liverpool fans as "animals." But from the start decisions began going against them. "We didn't seem to be getting anything in our favour," Ian St John recalls. "Not a throw-in or a free-kick. It was so obvious. We just couldn't get on the ball." The footage of two highly contentious Inter goals which followed might be grainy (see web address below) but the frames belong to Liverpool legend.

      First came a free-kick which should have been indirect, but which Inter's Corso was allowed to fire direct, left-footed into the goal, past a bewildered Tommy Lawrence. It is impossible to discern from the footage the extent of Liverpool's protest but their anger at the second was unbridled. The winger Joaquin Peiro hared down the left wing with the ball, only for Lawrence to beat him to it, collect on the edge of his area, and run back across his area, bouncing it. Peiro sneaked up behind him, hooked it back and scored. It was a precursor of what George Best accomplished against Gordon Banks for Northern Ireland in May 1971 – but while Best's goal was disallowed, Peiro's stood.

      It has almost been forgotten in the ensuing controversy that St John later found the net for Liverpool, though that goal, perhaps inevitably, was disallowed.

      "I just remember running through and putting the ball in," says St John. "I don't know what the infringement was supposed to have been." With an away goal, Inter had won long before Facchetti wrapped things up with a genuine finish.

      St John does not recall the referee looking him straight in the eye that night. "I didn't really see him properly," he says. But the same cannot be said for Tommy Smith, who manhandled De Mendibil after the second goal and kicked out at him as the two sides trooped off. "I hoofed him in the left ankle but he just kept on walking, just as he did when I was screaming el bastido at him," Smith recalls. "I also dragged him around [to face me] after the second goal but he just fluttered away." Just before Smith swung his leg, a bottle was also thrown from the crowd which landed inches away from the referee. "I've always said that if it had hit him he would have been unconscious and it might have opened up some inquiry into the whole business of that night," Smith says.

      So what evidence is there that De Mendibil threw the match? Perhaps less than legend allows. Viewed again, that most controversial second goal does not provide incontrovertible proof of a fix. Shankly was adamant that Lawrence was fouled as Peiro and he tussled for the ball. There are also suggestions a linesman flagged and was ignored. But the footage suggests it was Lawrence who barged the Italian and that the goalkeeper might also shoulder some blame for the way the winger stole up to pinch the ball back from him. Even some of the British press gathered at San Siro that night believe Lawrence was complacent to run across his area bouncing the ball. "He [did so] casually and neglected what was going on behind him," reported journalist Horace Yates.

      The Liverpool FC museum curator, Stephen Done, believes the events do not present prima facie proof that the referee was deliberately handing the game to Inter. "You have to stand back, allow the passions to fade," he says. "In the spirit of fairness, you have to say that stealing the ball as Peiro did is gamesmanship, but it was not at the time illegal. The direct free-kick seems more suspicious."

      It was Yates, among the journalists, who came closest to suggesting malign influences were at play – "this referee was clearly punishing Liverpool," he wrote – but that is as severe a panning as the referee got.

      Reports focused instead on Inter's gamesmanship and the partisan crowd. Michael Charters of the Liverpool Daily Post complained of "time-wasting, sham injuries and interminable back-passing." The paper quoted a Liverpool vice chairman complaining that "it is quite obvious that they will never let a British team win the European Cup." But there is no evidence from Shankly that he believed there was a conspiracy at the time. "In a game like that you hope for sanity from a referee," he told journalists. Even in his 1978 biography, Shankly, written when awareness of match-fixing was widespread, he had no more to say on the subject than this: "Inter beat us 3-0 but not even their players enjoyed the game and we didn't think two of their goals were legal."

      It was the investigations which followed which allow De Mendibil's conduct to be placed in a criminal context. There had been a long-running practice in Italy of sudditanza – literally "subjection" – or a referee favouring big-name teams. But evidence emerged by the late 1960s of more systematic bribery of Italian officials. The prime mover was Dezso Solti, a Hungarian fixer who, according to the testimony of a number of officials, worked with Inter's secretary Angelo Moratti to persuade referees to fix matches and allow Inter to win. The Liverpool match sits right in the middle of a highly dubious period. In 1964 Borussia Dortmund had a key man sent off in a semi-final at San Siro while the linesman Gyorgy Vadas has told how he was offered enough dollars to buy five Mercedes to help fix it for Inter to beat Real Madrid in the 1966 European Cup final.

      If De Mendibil was paid to help Inter win, then he took the secret to the grave. But it is the Spaniard's extraordinary tolerance of Tommy Smith's attack which also raises suspicion for Mark Bushell, a football historian and director of World Football Exhibitions. "If he had not been got at, then why didn't he red card Smith at the end of the game?" Bushell asks. "I think the game did fit a pattern of bribery."

      The positive outcome, says Done, was that the events of that Milan night hardened Liverpool to the vagaries of Europe. "Shankly and Paisley always said afterwards that you had to be canny in Europe and with five European Cups since, you have to say the club learnt," he says. "While Liverpool prospered, Inter won nothing in Europe."

      How they lined up in 1965

      Internazionale

      Sarti
      Burgnich
      Facchetti
      Bedin
      Guarneri
      Picchi
      Jair
      Mazzola
      Peiro
      Suarez
      Corso

      Liverpool

      Lawrence
      Lawler
      Moran
      Strong
      Yeats
      Stevenson
      Callaghan
      Hunt
      St John
      Smith
      Thompson

      http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/did-italian-job-rob-shankly-night-of-dark-deeds-at-the-san-siro-794018.html
      what-a-hit-son
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #8: Aug 11, 2012 03:24:36 pm
      Good reads folks, nice one.

      Ali Dia - the greatest SCAM the Premier League has ever known
      The name Ali Dia doesn’t ring a bell for many of you out there, but for those who watched Premier League Football back in the 90s, it is a name that is mainly remembered as one that’ll go down in the league’s folklore. His story in the Premier League is a truly remarkable one. It was November 1996, when Southampton’s manager at the time, Graeme Souness, received a phone call from someone claiming to be George Weah (one of the greatest African footballers of all-time and World Footballer of the Year at the time) recommending his cousin, a certain "player" called Ali Dia, to Southampton.

      This person on the other end of the phone (who obviously wasn’t George Weah) told Souness that Dia had played for Paris St Germain and had been capped by Senegal. Souness was told that he should consider giving him a trial at the club.

      Football Fake: Ali Dia (Southampton)

      Putting things into perspective a little bit, there was no internet at the time or anything high-tech that could possibly have allowed Souness to know whether or not this was true (though the fact that Weah is from Liberia and Dia is from Senegal should’ve been a good clue). The Southampton manager took the risk and was convinced by the phone call. He signed Dia on a one-month contract.

      According to some of Southampton’s players at the time, Ali Dia’s first day at training was horrible and they didn’t expect him to ever play for the club. So when Southampton faced Leeds at The Dell the following day, due to the numerous injuries at the club, to everyone's surprise, Dia was put on the substitutes bench (only 3 subs were allowed at the time).

      Their main striker, and club legend, Matthew Le Tissier got injured during the game and Dia was ready to make his debut. Here’s a man, with no professional experience whatsoever to back him up a part from his word and that of his “cousin George Weah”, about to make his Premier League debut. The stuff of dreams! His debut was so poor that he had to be re-substituted 33 minutes later. That’s how bad he was. The following day he went to the physio with an “injury” and then never showed up again. He went on to play for non-league side Gateshead, but then vanished again. His whereabouts are unknown today, but his name is still sung by Southampton fans to remember his story: “Ali Dia, is a liar, is a liar”.


      Matt Le Tissier recounts the Ali Dia saga
      HUYTON RED
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #9: Aug 11, 2012 04:37:13 pm
      1988: Johnson stripped of Olympic gold

      Sprinter Ben Johnson has been sent home from the Seoul Olympic Games in disgrace.

      The Canadian has also been stripped of his 100m gold medal after testing positive for drugs.

      Johnson has just arrived home in Toronto and has said he will appeal against the International Olympics Committee's verdict.

      But the IOC has already said the athlete's intended defence - that a herbal drink he consumed before the race had been spiked - will not be accepted.

      Samples of Johnson's urine were tested for drugs immediately after the 100m final three days ago which he won in a world record time of 9.79 seconds.

      And Olympic officials confirmed last night that traces of the anabolic steroid, Stanozol, had been detected.

      The sprinter was woken in the early hours of the morning to be told the IOC had decided to send him home.

      Canada's Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said it was the correct decision, but a tragedy for Johnson and a great sadness for all Canadians.

      But the athlete's sister, Clare Rodney, told reporters she was convinced the drug testers had made a mistake.

      "I can really tell anybody from the depths of my heart that he is not guilty," she said.

      The Canadian media has labelled Johnson a cheat, but there was also sympathy for the man who said he valued a gold medal over a world record because no one could take it away from him.

      Britain's Linford Christie - who was awarded the silver medal after Johnson's disqualification - said he felt sorry for someone who had been a "great ambassador" for the sport.

      "I'm also sad for athletics because this has been a bad day for us," he said.


      http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/27/newsid_2539000/2539525.stm
      George Lucas
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #10: Aug 11, 2012 05:06:51 pm
      1968: Black athletes make silent protest
      Two black American athletes have made history at the Mexico Olympics by staging a silent protest against racial discrimination.
      Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medallists in the 200m, stood with their heads bowed and a black-gloved hand raised as the American National Anthem played during the victory ceremony.

      The pair both wore black socks and no shoes and Smith wore a black scarf around his neck. They were demonstrating against continuing racial discrimination of black people in the United States.

      As they left the podium at the end of the ceremony they were booed by many in the crowd.

      'Black America will understand'

      At a press conference after the event Tommie Smith, who holds seven world records, said: "If I win I am an American, not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say 'a Negro'. We are black and we are proud of being black.

      "Black America will understand what we did tonight."

      Smith said he had raised his right fist to represent black power in America, while Carlos raised his left fist to represent black unity. Together they formed an arch of unity and power.

      He said the black scarf represented black pride and the black socks with no shoes stood for black poverty in racist America.

      Within a couple of hours the actions of the two Americans were being condemned by the International Olympic Committee.

      A spokesperson for the organisation said it was "a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit."

      It is widely expected the two will be expelled from the Olympic village and sent back to the US.

      In September last year Tommie Smith, a student at San Jose State university in California, told reporters that black members of the American Olympic team were considering a total boycott of the 1968 games.

      'Dirty negro'

      He said: "It is very discouraging to be in a team with white athletes. On the track you are Tommie Smith, the fastest man in the world, but once you are in the dressing rooms you are nothing more than a dirty Negro."

      The boycott had been the idea of professor of sociology at San Jose State university, and friend of Tommie Smith, Harry Edwards.

      Professor Edwards set up the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) and appealed to all black American athletes to boycott the games to demonstrate to the world that the civil rights movement in the US had not gone far enough.

      He told black Americans they should refuse "to be utilised as 'performing animals' in the games."

      Although the boycott never materialised the OPHR gained much support from black athletes around the world.

         
      George Lucas
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      • JFT96
      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #11: Aug 11, 2012 05:10:43 pm
      Everyone knows that at the 1936 Olympics Hitler snubbed Jesse Owens. As the story goes, after Owens won one gold medal, Hitler, incensed, stormed out of Olympic Stadium so he wouldn't have to congratulate Owens on his victory.
      Such a performance would have been perfectly in character, but it didn't happen. William J. Baker, Owens's biographer, says the newspapers made up the whole story. Owens himself originally insisted it wasn't true, but eventually he began saying it was, apparently out of sheer boredom with the issue.

      The facts are simple. Hitler did not congratulate Owens, but that day he didn't congratulate anybody else either, not even the German winners. As a matter of fact, Hitler didn't congratulate anyone after the first day of the competition. That first day he had shaken hands with all the German victors, but that had gotten him in trouble with the members of the Olympic Committee. They told him that to maintain Olympic neutrality, he would have to congratulate everyone or no one. Hitler chose to honor no one.

      Hitler did snub a black American athlete, but it was Cornelius Johnson, not Jesse Owens. It happened the first day of the meet. Just before Johnson was to be decorated, Hitler left the stadium. A Nazi spokesman explained that Hitler's exit had been pre-scheduled, but no one believes that.

      Several other misconceptions about the 1936 Olympics are prevalent. Not only was Owens not rebuffed by Hitler, Owens wasn't shunned by the German audience at the Berlin stadium either. Baker reports that Owens so captured the imagination of the crowd it gave him several ear-shattering ovations. Owens had been prepared for a hostile reception; a coach had warned him in advance not to be upset by anything that might happen in the stands."Ignore the insults," Owens was told,"and you'll be all right." Later Owens recalled that he had gotten the greatest ovations of his career at Berlin.

      Another popular belief is that the games marked a humiliating moment for the Nazis because a few blacks walked away with a fistful of medals while Hitler had predicted the Teutonic lads would be the big winners, proof of the superman abilities of the white race. In reality, the competition was anything but a German humiliation. It is forgotten that Germany managed to pick up more medals than all the other countries combined. Hitler was pleased with the outcome.

      This article was excerpted from Rick Shenkman's Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History. © Rick Shenkman

      http://hnn.us/articles/571.html
      whyohwhyohwhy
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #12: Aug 11, 2012 05:25:58 pm
      This is a cheeky cheater :D

      Frederick Lorz
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      Frederick "Fred" Lorz (June 1884 – February 4, 1914) was an American long distance runner who won the 1905 Boston Marathon.[1] Lorz is also known for his "finish" in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics.

      In the marathon at the 1904 Olympic Games, Lorz stopped running because of exhaustion after nine miles (14.5 km). His manager gave him a lift in his car for the next eleven miles (17.7 km), after which it broke down; Lorz then continued on foot back to the Olympic stadium, where he broke the finishing line tape and was greeted as the winner of the race.

      Though he initially went along with it, he soon admitted that it was a joke after spectators claimed that he had not run the entire race.[3] Thomas Hicks went on to become the real winner, though he too had an unusual race, walking part of the route and being assisted by strychnine, which has since been banned; among the 32 runners that entered, he was one of several who came near death (along with William Garcia), and he retired the next day.[4]

      Lorz was banned for life by the Amateur Athletic Union, but was reinstated soon afterwards after he apologized for the stunt and it was found that he had not intended to defraud.[5] He won the Boston Marathon in 1905 with a time of 2:38:25.[6]

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Lorz

      And another not so cheeky:

      Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      The Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal of 2010 centres on certain members of Pakistan's national cricket team being convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed, to under-perform deliberately at certain times in a Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, in 2010.

      Undercover reporters from N*TW, secretly videotaped Mazhar Majeed accepting money and informing the reporters that fast bowlers Asif and Amir would deliberately bowl no balls at specific points in an over. This information could be used by gamblers to place bets with inside information (i.e. spot-fixing).[1] In response to these allegations, Scotland Yard arrested Majeed on the charge of match fixing. The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned three players—Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir—for terms of between 5 and 10 years. In November 2011, Butt and Asif were found guilty by a London court on criminal charges relating to spot-fixing. Amir and Majeed had entered guilty pleas on the same charges. All four were given prison sentences, ranging from six months to 32 months

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_cricket_spot-fixing_scandal

      Hand ball cheats in football:

      Maradona and "his hand of god" against England and Thiery Henry demonstrating his basketball skills against Ireland.
      whyohwhyohwhy
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #13: Aug 11, 2012 05:34:23 pm
      And a mixture of cheating and tragedy:

      Tom Simpson
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      Tom Simpson (30 November 1937–13 July 1967) was, until the success of Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour de France, the most successful English road racing cyclist of the post-war years.[citation needed]

      Simpson was Britain's first men's road race World Champion (a feat matched only by Mark Cavendish in 2011), and won three monument classics, Paris-Nice and two Vuelta a España stages. He infamously died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the 1967 Tour de France. The post mortem examination found that he had taken amphetamine and alcohol, a diuretic combination which proved fatal when combined with the heat, the hard climb of the Ventoux and a stomach complaint.



      ...

      Aftermath

      For a while, nothing happened. There was no inquest in either Britain or France. Then a British reporter, J. L. Manning of the Daily Mail, broke the news:

      Tommy Simpson rode to his death in the Tour de France so doped that he did not know he had reached the limit of his endurance. He died in the saddle, slowly asphyxiated by intense effort in a heatwave after taking methylamphetamine drugs and alcoholic stimulants.[7]
      Manning was a serious and well-respected journalist. His exposure, the first time a formal connection had been made between drugs and Simpson's death, set off a wave of similar reporting in Britain and elsewhere. The following month, Manning went further, in a piece headed "Evidence in the case of Simpson who crossed the frontier of endurance without being able to know he had 'had enough'".
      One consequence of Manning and those who followed was that the Tour organizers billed the following year's Tour as the Tour of Health, starting symbolically at Vittel, a town which produced mineral water.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Simpson
      soxfan
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #14: Aug 12, 2012 01:23:29 am
      And I remember this one. Apparantly his killer shouted 'GOAL' everytime he shot him, shocking:

      Colombia's own-goal star shot dead
      ANDRES ESCOBAR, the Colombian defender whose own goal against the United States helped eliminate his nation from the World Cup, was shot dead early yesterday in his home town, the cocaine cartel city of Medellin.

      Escobar, 27, thought to be no relation to Pablo Escobar, the cartel boss killed by troops last December, was shot 12 times by three men who fled in off-road vehicles of the type favoured by drugs and gambling mafiosi. 'Thanks for the own goal,' said one, according to witnesses.
       
      The killing heightened speculation that gangsters from either the United States or Colombia had tried to 'fix' the US-Colombia match, which the US team won 2-1 in a major upset. The Colombian coach, Francisco Maturana, and several players were said to have received death threats before the game. Midfielder Gabriel Gomez refused to play.
       
      There was talk of big money, both American and Colombian, riding on a US win at long odds. Some said US mafiosi with a financial interest in the host side's success may have bribed or threatened the Colombian team. But Medellin police said a lot of Colombian money, including cocaine funds, was riding on a Colombian win.
       
      Medellin police said the men had argued with Escobar, who played for the local First Division side Nacional Medellin, over the fateful own goal as he left a restaurant with a woman friend at 3.30am yesterday.
       
      In the match against the US in Pasadena on 23 June, Escobar stretched to cut out a cross from the left but instead stabbed the ball past his own goalkeeper for the opening goal. In a normal game, it would have looked like bad luck. In the context of Colombia, where betting on football is like horse-race betting in Britain, there was just a suggestion that he should have been able to steer the ball wide for a corner. For the rest of the game the Colombians continued to play below form.
       
      Carlos 'the Kid' Valderrama, their peroxide- dreadlocked midfield star, could not hit a straight pass.
       
      As for the normally-dazzling leftwinger, Faustino Asprilla, 'he didn't even try' in the words of the man who marked him, US right-back Fernando Clavijo.
       
      The US team, who were rank outsiders, went on to qualify for the last 16 of the tournament while Colombia, who had been tipped by the great Brazilian star Pele to win the tournament, had to pack their bags in disgrace. Already out of the tournament, they showed their true form in beating Switzerland 2-0 in their final group match.
       
      Colombia had joined the ranks of the favourites to win the World Cup after dominating their South American qualifying group with electrifying performances. The high point was reached with a 5-0 humiliation of Argentina in Buenos Aires. Dozens were killed in the boisterous celebrations that followed in Colombia.
       
      Escobar is not the first football victim of Colombian violence. Another leading player and at least one top referee have been shot dead in Medellin by cocaine-financed gambling mafias who bet millions of dollars on matches.
       
      After the US match, the disappointing star Asprilla told reporters: 'It's not the end of the world.' It was for Escobar.
      If you are really interested in this, watch this ESPN "30 for 30" documentary. I think it's about 90 minutes long. It follows his life in parallel with drug kingpin Pablo Escobar and how Colombia's football team and the drug wars intertwined. Sad but amazing show. (and I highly recommend finding any of the other "30 for 30" docs on youtube. They are all tremendous).

      First of 11 parts...
      The Two Escobars HD (esp/eng) ESPN 1 of 11 
      soxfan
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #15: Aug 12, 2012 01:37:17 am
      Spy catcher: The story of Moe Berg
      Moe Berg played his last game for the Boston Red Sox on Sept. 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland. Nowadays, some ballplayers retire to coach in the minors; some become partners in Ford dealerships or Planet Hollywood franchises. But Berg — whom Casey Stengel called “the strangest man ever to play baseball” — had other plans. Which is why, five years after his last at-bat, Moe Berg stood in a packed lecture hall in Zurich with a loaded gun in his pocket, ready to shoot the speaker, famed German physicist Werner Heisenberg, in the head. The Red Sox catcher had become an assassin and a spy.

      Berg was born in New York in 1902, the Jewish son of a pharmacist. As a baseball player, he stood out only for his consistent mediocrity. He hit a career .243 batting average, barely high enough to keep him out of the minors. His sole distinction was to play 117 games in a row without an error — an American League record, but exactly the kind of record that no one bothers to remember.

      Berg became well-known, though, because of a distinction that doen’t appear in the statistics or box scores: He was probably the biggest egghead ever to swing a bat. A Princeton graduate, Berg finished a law degree at Columbia during his first seasons, and over the course of a long career, he was rarely caught without a book or, when asked his opinion, an erudite aperçu drawn from his classical education. When he played for Princeton, other players traded coded signs by touching their cap brims or scratching their noses; Berg and his second basemen communicated by speaking Latin. He went on the radio quiz show “Information, Please!” in 1938, and shot to celebrity as the Red Sox player who  somehow  knew obscure  trivia  about the Dreyfus affair and Hawaiian cuisine.

      But Berg’s undistinguished baseball career was merely a prelude to a more dramatic one as a spy. He committed his first act of espionage as a freelancer, during a 1934 goodwill baseball tour of Japan, China and the Philippines. As part of a delegation that included Babe Ruth, Berg played in exhibition games and acted as an occasional interpreter. But on the side, he found time to slip past security in a tall building and take a home movie of the Tokyo skyline. Seven years later, after Pearl Harbor, the footage was out of date (Japan had industrialized rapidly and the skyline had changed), but it was still screened in the Department of War to prepare for Tokyo’s first air raids.

      In 1942, after working briefly as a coach for the Sox, Berg went fully professional with what had, up till then, been an espionage hobby. The precursor to the CIA, the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, had recently embarked on a hiring spree, and men and women with unusual minds found themselves in Washington and foreign capitals, conniving brilliantly to kill Germans and Japanese. Those who combined sufficient gumption with their talents — like the eventual celebrity chef Julia Child — served covertly with great success. 

      Linguists were highly sought after, and Berg spoke 11 languages — although most of them too haltingly to pass as a native. Nonetheless, he started on the OSS’ Balkans desk. In 1943, however, he joined Operation Larson, whose goals included the debriefing of European scientists with knowledge of German nuclear programs. American scientists — including many Central European exiles — were working feverishly on an atomic bomb, and the intelligence services worried that Germany had similar programs. At first, Berg quizzed Italian scientists, but the OSS knew of only one man who was absolutely certain to know if the Germans would be splitting the atom soon. If Berg could just find out what Werner Heisenberg, the German Nobel Prize-winner and an architect of quantum theory, was thinking, the U.S. could determine whether Hitler was on the verge of becoming unstoppable.

      Heisenberg planned to travel to Zurich for a public talk in December 1944. Berg’s handlers assigned him a most unusual mission. He was to sit in the audience, and if the physicist let slip any sign that a Nazi super-bomb was near completion, Berg should take out his weapon and kill him on the spot. For the previous year or two, Berg had educated himself in physics, though his knowledge remained that of a gifted layman. Still, Berg knew the key words, and in the unlikely event that Heisenberg spoke out of turn, assassinating him could set back the Nazi efforts considerably.

      “Heisenberg must be rendered hors de combat,” Berg wrote in his notes, according to Nicholas Dawidoff, who wrote a definitive biography in 1994. Berg disguised himself as a Swiss physics student and carried a cyanide tablet to swallow if detected. Heisenberg, for his part, lectured smoothly and without concern, unaware that a paid assassin sat in the audience weighing whether to walk away politely or put a bullet in his legendary brain.

      In the end, Berg left without incident. Indeed, after meeting Heisenberg again a few days later at a dinner, he came to accept Heisenberg’s own explanation that he was anti-Nazi, and hardly eager to help arm Hitler. Within months, the war was over anyway, and Heisenberg ended up in Allied hands.

      Berg did little of interest in his final years, though he milked his spy days for melodrama during the last two decades of his life. When asked about his activities, he liked to put his finger to his lips, implying ongoing secrecy. In reality he was something of an intellectual vagrant, with little money and more desire for the company of books than that of humans. He died in 1972.

      Still, even if Berg’s sole post-baseball achievement was the non-assassination of a world-renowned physicist, it ranks his retirement among the most interesting of all pro ballplayers’. It’s also a memory of a time when spycraft and assassination were not the relatively professionalized trades they are today. Nowadays, Iranian nuclear scientists are shot dead and blown up on the streets of Tehran, and no one knows who’s doing the killing. The most likely culprits are trained assassins, perhaps Israelis, who strike surgically and vanish. The era of colorful, talented amateurs is over.
      HeighwayToHeaven
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #16: Aug 12, 2012 01:50:54 am
      ^^^ That Moe Berg story is a great read.
      ayrton77
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #17: Aug 12, 2012 07:46:40 am
      In the marathon at the 1904 Olympic Games, Lorz stopped running because of exhaustion after nine miles (14.5 km). His manager gave him a lift in his car for the next eleven miles (17.7 km), after which it broke down; Lorz then continued on foot back to the Olympic stadium, where he broke the finishing line tape and was greeted as the winner of the race.

      Though he initially went along with it, he soon admitted that it was a joke after spectators claimed that he had not run the entire race.[3] Thomas Hicks went on to become the real winner, though he too had an unusual race, walking part of the route and being assisted by strychnine, which has since been banned

       :o

      Tom Hicks seems to be genuinely some kind of Mr Burns-style figure, hundreds of years old, keeping himself alive with strange medical techniques.  :f_tongueincheek:

      And a mixture of cheating and tragedy:

      Tom Simpson (30 November 1937–13 July 1967) was, until the success of Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour de France, the most successful English road racing cyclist of the post-war years.[citation needed]

      Simpson was Britain's first men's road race World Champion (a feat matched only by Mark Cavendish in 2011), and won three monument classics, Paris-Nice and two Vuelta a España stages. He infamously died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the 1967 Tour de France.

      Live right next to it, if I step outside into the garden I can see it.

      Seen the little memorial to him a couple of times.
      adammac
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      Re: Success, Failure, Cheating, Rivalry and Tragedy, etc - The Sports Stories Thread
      Reply #18: Aug 22, 2012 02:27:16 am
      To continue with hockey and more Canada v USSR comes a darker moment for some but bright for others was brawl in 1987 during a u20 tourney known as the "Punchout in Piestany"

      Quote
      Canada Russia Hockey Fight ‱ The "Punch-up in Piestany" erupted halfway through the final game of the 1987 world junior hockey championship. Canada was assured a medal, and would have moved ahead of Finland for the gold if they had beaten the Soviets by at least five goals. ‱ The blow-up began as a fight between Pavel Kostichkin and Theoren Fleury. Four Soviet players left their bench to join the brawl, and then all the players on both teams swarmed onto the ice. Excerpt from cbc.ca.
      Canada Russia Hockey Fight Brawl Czechoslovakia

      1987 WJHC - Canada vs Soviet Union Brawl Part.1

      1987 WJHC - Canada vs Soviet Union Brawl Part.2

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz6YXaBv2WM&feature=player_embedded#!

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