Poker on ESPN - A Referendum

I’m sorry, Poker, but I’ve held my silence for too long. While you may have a “World Series,” I have been curious as to why ESPN and TSN cover your events. I am here to make my arguments against your inclusion on the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” television network, because let’s face it, Poker. You just aren’t a sport.

According to Webster’s dictionary, a sport was defined as “1. A source of diversion: PASTIME”. In the 19th century, sporting newspapers would cover horse racing, boxing and baseball. However, they would also make note of the happenings in burlesque, music halls and vaudeville. By Mr. Daniel Webster’s definition, just about anything can be a sport. Scrabble, while an enjoyable pastime, is not a sport. Other sources of diversion that aren’t sports include singing, reading, and watching television.

By nature of what can be included in Webster’s archaic definition, we clearly need to redefine “sport”. Because as enjoyable as playing Hungry Hungry Hippos may be – it isn’t a sport.

Traditionally accepted sports include boxing, football, baseball, hockey, basketball, tennis, golf, and anything found at the Olympics. They all include elements of competition, physical exertion, and demand intense focus. In fact, I would argue that in order for an activity to be a sport, they must have all three of these elements.

A heated debate over the years has been regarding Nascar’s inclusion in the term “sport”. A quote attributed to Ernest Hemingway says: “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering, all the others being games.” By my definition, Nascar is definitely a sport: while the engine does most of the work, drivers toil in 140 degree cockpits, sweating off ten pounds of water throughout the course of a race. They must maintain an intense focus for up to 4 hours, covering 500 miles of ground at speeds that most of us have only traveled on commercial airliners. The consequences of losing that focus are potentially disastrous. Anybody who has witnessed a Nascar race on television cannot question its level of competition. While Nascar drivers probably aren’t “athletes” per-se, they are definitely “sportsmen”.

Mountaineers could be also called “sportsmen”. What Hemingway liked about auto racing, mountaineering and bullfighting was the passion it required to look death in the eye and to choose to participate in that activity. These events are essentially struggles for survival between man and The Great Beyond – man’s decisions in the arena of those sports were tantamount to the decision between life and death. In the spirit of Hemingway’s quote, I am prepared to invite bow hunters and fishermen into the Club of Sports. There is a physical degree of difficulty that is included in pulling a 220 lb halibut from the sea. And there is no question that a life-and-death struggle is competitive and demands focus, whether it is man vs. man or man vs. beast.

Using the same criterion, let’s examine poker: It is undoubtedly competitive. I can’t imagine anything more cutthroat than a hundred men clamoring for several million dollars. Poker demands an intense amount of focus. One bad hand can spell disaster for a someone’s chances of winning “The World Series of Poker”. But the thing that trips me up is the degree of physical exertion. There just isn’t any. Sure, in the heat of the moment, a poker player might break a sweat. Mick Jagger sweats during his concerts; however, being a Rolling Stone is not a sport.

Poker – you’re close. You require focus and are very competitive. But two out of three doesn’t make you a sport. It leaves you in the “games” category. There is no shame in being grouped with Candyland, Halo, and Tic-Tac-Toe. They are all worthy peers. But in comparison to the potential for physical devastation in boxing, football, and hockey – real sports – you are just fun and games.

Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs: Successes Already Achieved - and Challenges That Lie In The Future

On the off-chance that you like reading old news, this is a profile of a Canadian gymnast I did in May, 2008.

Prior to last week’s World Cup event in Tianjin, China, Canadian gymnast Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs explained that she went there with one thing in mind – preparing for Beijing. Because of the magnitude of an Olympic experience, Coaches Carol-Angela Orchard and Brian McVey wanted Ms. Hopfner-Hibbs to have some event experience in China.

If it seems premature to be focusing on the Olympics before she is even able to qualify, Coach Orchard clarifies that she has been preparing for this for the past nine years. “Since she was 10. She was the novice champion of Canada when she was 10 and it’s a matter of building on that constantly.” The two women to represent Canada in Beijing will be selected at the National Championships in Calgary, from June 1-8.

The amount of preparation required places a tremendous amount of pressure on Ms. Hopfner-Hibbs. “The psychological aspect is now probably the most important thing for Elyse. We are dealing more with the psychological aspect of dealing with the pressure of an Olympic Games, which is huge.”

Orchard is no stranger to the Olympics. She has trained three former Olympians, including Canadians Monica Covacci and Michelle Conway. “On paper, (Hopfner-Hibbs) is superior to any gymnast that we have ever had in Canada – she has accomplished things nobody else has ever done. She has shattered that glass ceiling, so now little kids think, ‘a Canadian can do it.’”

Despite her lack of Olympic experience, Hopfner-Hibbs leads Canadian women with several firsts for the program. She was the first Canadian woman to medal at a World Championships – she won bronze on the balance beam in 2007. She was the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal at a World Cup event. Until April, Canadian women had won 5 medals at World Cup events – four of those belong to Ms. Hopfner-Hibbs.

Last week, on her first ever trip to China, she won her 3rd World Cup medal of the year on the uneven bars – a silver, following a gold medal won in Maribor, Czech Republic and a bronze from Dohar, Qatar. She says that her international success gives her confidence leading up to the Olympic qualifications. “My name has gotten out there, which is important in a judged sport. The judges have seen me and have responded to my routine, so it gives you confidence to know that you are able to compete with the best.”

Orchard says she is well prepared, but is quick to point out that the pressure of the Olympics changes the competition. For an uneven bars and balance-beam specialist such as Hopfner-Hibbs, it all depends on how she performs from moment-to-moment. “Her routines are definitely comparable. She could definitely make a final. And once you’re in the final, anything can happen, especially on beam.”



Following the Olympics, Hopfner-Hibbs will reap the benefits of her past decade of hard work – she will enroll as a student at University of California – Los Angeles in August, where she will be on a full scholarship for gymnastics. She isn’t sure what she wants to study. “I’ve changed my mind so many times… I’m just going to go and see what I like best,” she gushes, suddenly an excited 18-year-old. Following a brief pause, she catches herself and looks again like the professional she has been for the past decade. “But that’s all for after the Olympics.”