Letsrun.com a "cesspool"?

Bill Huntington wrote:

"To call letsrun.com a cesspool is an insult to cesspools." - quote from poster on Track and Field News message board. in response to another poster.

They have a point, a cesspool does something useful.

for all it's shortcomings, trolls, guys arguing. It's a cesspool I love. Wouldn't change it for anything. it's raw, it real, and that's how I feel, and I be the swine that revels in the filth. CUz swine love dirt. Smells like roses to the pig. Cuz all men are pigs, according to some women.

lol

"...one of the biggest tools to ever from the midwest."

What?

And holier than thou is "Ooh, Haunt Hitler"....

...your point being?

Who could forget when Track and Field News plagiarized a hoax thread from Letsrun and reprinted it in their magazine? Garry Hill's perpetually red face got even redder.

No, they don't read Letsrun's message board. Sure....

Thumbs Down

Track and Field News

The magazine is nicknamed the Bible of the Sport, but it looks like they've quit doing some of their own research. On page 36 of the newest Track and Field News, it says "Ivy League officials are considering withdrawing their schools from NCAA Div. 1 competition and moving to Div. III reports the New York Times. The only problem is this item never appeared in the NYTimes, it appeared on the LetsRun.com message boards as a hoax post. We like knowing that the so called "Bible of the sport" gets their information from our website. If Track and Field News is "The Bible of the Sport", then does that mean that LetsRun.com is the "God of the Sport"?

In the future, they just need to ask us what is a joke and what is true. Their editors as they advance in age must not be able to catch the wit, sarcasm, and hoaxes of our younger posters (although we'll admit that for a brief moment, we fell for the hoax as well).

It may seem funny to you but Rojo has sent word from the East Coast that more than a few of the Ivy League coaches are blowing their lids off at the mistake as it's bound to be used against them in recruiting.

The article goes on to say some other things that may be misleading and inaccurate about Ivy League schools. The same notes section says "Div III prohibits any member from giving financial aid for athletics, a practice already in place at the Ivies." This might leave the impression that athletes can not receive financial aid at an Ivy League school which is not the case. Ivy League schools can not give athletic scholarships or give extra financial aid to someone just because they are an athlete, but athletes can get need-based financial aid just like everyone else. All Ivy League schools have very generous need-based financial aid where financial aid is given based on need not athletic ability. In fact one of the little known secrets of college athletics is that for many athletes, the value of the financial aid is worth more than an athletic scholarship at another school (especially for a male runner where very few full scholarships are given out), but that's another matter.

And while we're defending Ivy League schools (the founders of this site went to Yale and Princeton and now Rojo coaches at Cornell), we'll go even further. This month's track and field news has a full page story praising the women's recruiting class as Duke, which is indeed exceptional. However, it includes quotes from Duke coaches which seem to take digs at the Ivy League.

http://www.letsrun.com/2002/tutd1002.php

Track and Field News retraction. Note the deliberate omission of any reference to Letsrun.

"In the October issue of T&FN, in the "On Your Marks" section you'll find a small note which cites a NY Times report that the Ivy League schools are

considering dropping down to Div. III.

This "news" was a bit of Internet tomfoolery which found its way to the T&FN office, at which point the fact-checking system obviously failed completely. There are no such plans, of course.

T&FN (the buck-stops-here guy in particular) is of course very redfaced about the whole incident and wishes to apologize profusely for any problems this note might cause. Formal letters of apology have gone out to the schools concerned and an article of retraction will of course appear in the next issue."

E. Garry Hill

Editor, T&FN

You're comparing a plagiarized hoax thread to the 24/7 posting of trash that is commonplace on LR? lol.

rhthg wrote:

You're comparing a plagiarized hoax thread to the 24/7 posting of trash that is commonplace on LR? lol.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Letsrun doesn't post hoax's, teenagers do. T&FN publishes them. What a joke.

Nice handle "rhthg".

After the first time I looked at this website I canceled my subscription to the, ahem, "Bible of the Sport." As the old saying goes, why pay for it something when you can get it for free?

I'd have to agree with the cesspool characterization. After many years in the world of running, with great high school and college coaches, supportive team mates, and a fun local road race scene, I can say that the only place I've experienced this angry, malicious, denigrating attitude toward competition in sports has been on Letsrun.

holier than thou wrote:

The letters in "cesspool" can be re-arranged to spell "cops lose". Coincidence? I think not.

hahah genius. I have been wondering why cop running teams seem to be so slow in races that have 'corporate cup' type teams. Now I think I have my answer.

Hoax's?

Bay Watch wrote:

I'd have to agree with the cesspool characterization. After many years in the world of running, with great high school and college coaches, supportive team mates, and a fun local road race scene, I can say that the only place I've experienced this angry, malicious, denigrating attitude toward competition in sports has been on Letsrun.

Yet you are still drawn here on a regular basis, aren't you? Don't worry, you are safe here among your own kind.

Drawn here? No. More of a maintenance thing, like taking out the trash every day.

I think Mr. Webb might not share the opinion that the Let's Run board lives to promote his interests.

rhthg wrote:

You're comparing a plagiarized hoax thread to the 24/7 posting of trash that is commonplace on LR? lol.

Nice call.

Gary Hill is a good guy.

The brojo's?

Not so much.

(Based on observing the behavior and attitudes of all 3.)

He's not American

Get Real Real wrote:

rhthg wrote:

You're comparing a plagiarized hoax thread to the 24/7 posting of trash that is commonplace on LR? lol.

Nice call.

Gary Hill is a good guy.

The brojo's?

Not so much.

(Based on observing the behavior and attitudes of all 3.)

Come on, Marlow...er....Tafnut...your style is obvious.