Which Sport?

[Cavebear]

This kind of surprises me.  I'm not trying to get harsh here, but dog and horse racing seems to harm the animals involved.  I have cats as pets and eat other animals, so maybe I'm not on the highest ethical ground here, but the racing sports seem to promote breeding that result in faster but more injury-prone animals.  

I'm all in favor of humans wanting to risk life and limb if they choose. but I don't think the dogs and horses get much choice.

Agreed.  We still have jumps racing here in Australia,
and also trots, and  greyhound racing.  Currently, all
three are on the public agenda to be banned, although
these so-called "sports" events vary from state to state,
as does their legislation.

The Australian Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses
(CPR) has published its Deathwatch 2024 Report, which
highlights 151 recorded deaths on track during the
season 2023/’24.

Many horses sustain injuries and are taken off the racetrack
and euthanised out of sight. This way their deaths don’t have
to appear in Stewards' Reports. The industry can then record
them as "retired" when, in reality, they're well and truly dead.

A snapped cervical spine... with thanks to steeplechasing:


A partial solution to these unwarranted inhumane deaths
is to require that when any horse is killed on the racetrack,
its jockey is subject to a mandatory lifetime ban in Australia.

   —Killing horses is not a sport in any way, shape or form.    

I wouldn't blame the jockeys so much. They are mostly just riding the horses they are assigned to. The blame should fall more on the breeders who are mostly choosing horses who can run fast at the expense of their limbs, ankles, whatever.

Sport is sport. But I would rather it be among those who can choose to rather than those who are forced to.

[c172]

That was a bit strange.  The MLB Yankees are not going to become a AAA team even if they finish last for years in a row.

I know. It was just an explanation of the promotion/relegation concept, which is foreign to American, big-four-sport ears.

[Speedfreak]

I find it really irritating when you come across an unlevel table it really puts me off my game. Also I find in a lot of pubs there's insufficient room around the table to comfortably take your shots, damn pinball or poorly positioned fruit machines.

I have played pool (just for personal enjoyment) in a local place a few times.  Mostly because I miss Grampa's heavy slate pool table I enjoyed as a teen. The tables are spaced well apart to avoid interference with other tables.  

I'm not sure what you mean by "damn pinball".  I spent 8 years at one office and there was a pinball arcade across the street in a shopping mall.  I used to secretly eat a sandwich at my desk quickly and run to the pinball place for "lunch".  They had a system where the high-scorer of the week at any of the 20 or so pinballs earned 5 tokens for free games.  Pinball was really my game.  I routinely had the high score at 3.  The manager knew me, so when I waved my hands around to announce a new high score, he came right over to record it.  He actually liked that I had the high score on multiple machines because you could only get tokens for one and it meant fewer tokens from him.

I will mention that those were older machines where you could actually capture and direct the ball.  The newer ones are just beyond personal control and they cheat.  The flippers spread apart randomly, the ball is actively directed to the outlets, and barriers arise in front of targets.  

When I changed jobs to a different location I never went back to the arcade.  I gave the tokens to a few friends who also played there.

What is a "poorly positioned fruit machine"?

It was just a general comment about things that are placed in silly positions in pubs. In one of our local pubs there are shortened cues in the rack due to there being a dining area in the pool room, to me it's simple either don't have people eating in there or get rid of the pool table.

My son is really getting into pool so a table for home is on my radar, I'm hoping to pick up a second hand one as cheap as possible, we have a large log cabin in the garden that gets limited use and I think a pool table and maybe dart board would go well in there, I've just got to convince my wife.

[Cavebear]

I have played pool (just for personal enjoyment) in a local place a few times.  Mostly because I miss Grampa's heavy slate pool table I enjoyed as a teen. The tables are spaced well apart to avoid interference with other tables.  

I'm not sure what you mean by "damn pinball".  I spent 8 years at one office and there was a pinball arcade across the street in a shopping mall.  I used to secretly eat a sandwich at my desk quickly and run to the pinball place for "lunch".  They had a system where the high-scorer of the week at any of the 20 or so pinballs earned 5 tokens for free games.  Pinball was really my game.  I routinely had the high score at 3.  The manager knew me, so when I waved my hands around to announce a new high score, he came right over to record it.  He actually liked that I had the high score on multiple machines because you could only get tokens for one and it meant fewer tokens from him.

I will mention that those were older machines where you could actually capture and direct the ball.  The newer ones are just beyond personal control and they cheat.  The flippers spread apart randomly, the ball is actively directed to the outlets, and barriers arise in front of targets.  

When I changed jobs to a different location I never went back to the arcade.  I gave the tokens to a few friends who also played there.

What is a "poorly positioned fruit machine"?

It was just a general comment about things that are placed in silly positions in pubs. In one of our local pubs there are shortened cues in the rack due to there being a dining area in the pool room, to me it's simple either don't have people eating in there or get rid of the pool table.

My son is really getting into pool so a table for home is on my radar, I'm hoping to pick up a second hand one as cheap as possible, we have a large log cabin in the garden that gets limited use and I think a pool table and maybe dart board would go well in there, I've just got to convince my wife.

Grampa's old home had a huge basement, so there was plenty of room for a pool table.  No matter what the shot, you were never restricted by walls.  I loved it as a teen.  My Dad actually cried when he learned that Grampa sold it cheap shortly before he (Grampa) died.  Later in my life, the local pool hall had the tables far enough apart that you couldn't interfere with other tables.

Since you are considering buying one, keep the bed construction i mind.  Slate is best, honeycomb close.  Slatron, Permaslate, and MDF develop warping issues and are more subject to temperature/humidity.  Wood, plastic and rubber are just junk.  Hope that helps.

My teenage house had a full basement (which Dad expertly electrified, floored, ceilinged, and paneled).  And then he found a 20' shuffleboard table (free to just "take away").  But no pool table.  

BTW, I mentioned pinball machines.  Don't buy one unless you are skilled at electronics.  The various parts fail often.  I adore them, but they are impossible to maintain at home.  And I meant to mention air hockey.  I love that.  The bowling alley had one.  And I was fantastic at it!  You would go there, lay down a quarter, and the winner of the game played the next for free.  I played for free so often that I would sometimes just stand away and let others play a game or two before rejoining.

But good luck on the pool table.  Among game devices, it hardly needs any care and is always there.  

[Cavebear]

I have played pool (just for personal enjoyment) in a local place a few times.  Mostly because I miss Grampa's heavy slate pool table I enjoyed as a teen. The tables are spaced well apart to avoid interference with other tables.  

I'm not sure what you mean by "damn pinball".  I spent 8 years at one office and there was a pinball arcade across the street in a shopping mall.  I used to secretly eat a sandwich at my desk quickly and run to the pinball place for "lunch".  They had a system where the high-scorer of the week at any of the 20 or so pinballs earned 5 tokens for free games.  Pinball was really my game.  I routinely had the high score at 3.  The manager knew me, so when I waved my hands around to announce a new high score, he came right over to record it.  He actually liked that I had the high score on multiple machines because you could only get tokens for one and it meant fewer tokens from him.

I will mention that those were older machines where you could actually capture and direct the ball.  The newer ones are just beyond personal control and they cheat.  The flippers spread apart randomly, the ball is actively directed to the outlets, and barriers arise in front of targets.  

When I changed jobs to a different location I never went back to the arcade.  I gave the tokens to a few friends who also played there.

What is a "poorly positioned fruit machine"?

It was just a general comment about things that are placed in silly positions in pubs. In one of our local pubs there are shortened cues in the rack due to there being a dining area in the pool room, to me it's simple either don't have people eating in there or get rid of the pool table.

My son is really getting into pool so a table for home is on my radar, I'm hoping to pick up a second hand one as cheap as possible, we have a large log cabin in the garden that gets limited use and I think a pool table and maybe dart board would go well in there, I've just got to convince my wife.

Meant to add: Thanks for the explanation about "poorly positioned fruit machine". That part really threw me. And wanted to add that my neighbors across the street have dedicated the basement to a poker table, a pool table, and a dartboard. I mention the dartboard because they have parts to it. One is the 4'x4' plywood backing and the other is a posterboard wall-hanging place for people to sign (in shame) when they miss even that! LOL!

[pattylt]

In our last home, before we finished the basement, we had a ping pong table and dart board in it. My son was ~14-15 during that time and he and his buddies were always down there playing on them or being Rock Stars with their guitars and drums. I never minded the noise as I knew where the kids were! That’s huge at those ages!

When we finally started on the basement, we finished the large area last so they were grown by the time we made it our media center with a wet bar. We finished that basement over two years time and a hundred dollars at a time. We enjoyed it finished for about two years before we sold the house…which sold in two weeks! Pre wired for speakers, cable and internet wasn’t common yet.

[SYZ]

The so-called "sport" of greyhound racing is to be abolished in
the Australian state of Tasmania in 2029 due to the cancellation
of its annual ~$30 million state government funding.

As an active opponent of animal cruelty I was more than pleased
to see this in the media today.  Unfortunately, all other states are
allowing this barbaric cruelty to continue unabated.      

Last year (2024) 128 greyhound were killed on tracks in Australia,
with another 1,445 being injured on tracks—most being euthanased
on-track by veterinarians after sustaining broken hocks or legs,
head trauma, spinal fractures. or cardiac arrest.

And—surprisingly—as of 2025, there are only two active greyhound
racetracks in the United States, both located in West Virginia.

[TheGentlemanBastard]

The so-called "sport" of greyhound racing is to be abolished in
the Australian state of Tasmania in 2029 due to the cancellation
of its annual ~$30 million state government funding.

As an active opponent of animal cruelty I was more than pleased
to see this in the media today.  Unfortunately, all other states are
allowing this barbaric cruelty to continue unabated.      

Last year (2024) 128 greyhound were killed on tracks in Australia,
with another 1,445 being injured on tracks—most being euthanased
on-track by veterinarians after sustaining broken hocks or legs,
head trauma, spinal fractures. or cardiac arrest.

And—surprisingly—as of 2025, there are only two active greyhound
racetracks in the United States, both located in West Virginia.

I'm pleased to say that all greyhound racing in Colorado was banned over a decade ago (March of 2014) with all OTB banned in 2023.

Those two tracks that still operate in West Virginia are primarily supported by OTB. Hopefully that will change as more states ban OTB.

[SYZ]

...I'm pleased to say that all greyhound racing in Colorado was banned over a decade ago (March of 2014) with all OTB banned in 2023.

Those two tracks that still operate in West Virginia are primarily supported by OTB. Hopefully that will change as more states ban OTB.

Australia is one of only seven countries in the world with a
commercial greyhound racing industry, and it’s by far the
biggest.  Our greyhound racing "industry" is financially
supported by a gambling industry that is the largest per
capita in the world, and Australia’s main political parties.

For example, in FY 2019/2020 around AU$7 billion was
gambled on the results of greyhound racing, with state
governments reaping million of dollars in tax revenue. In
the state of NSW, the greyhound racing industry generates
AU$90 million per year for the state government in tax.   

https://greyhoundcoalition.com/