Ok I don't get it.
I'm sure playing at the Pro level can get frustrating and I'm sure if your a player like Rocky who it seems always ends up meeting Kane in the final's the frustrations must be 100 times more but I don't understand the reason behind getting a technical when your down 10-0 so that the final score is 11- (-1)..?
I haven't seen other players do it (not saying they don't do it, I've just not seen it) but I have scene Rocky do it a couple of times and I've never understood why..?

A good friend of mine claims it's so a player doesn't get a donut but I don't think anyone is fooled by the -1..

Love the Rock but ...
I agree, this is akin to quitting. Impossible to have the miracle comeback when you quit.
And there is not an uglier term in sports competition than he/she quit.
This saves face?

I heard somewhere that he takes a T on purpose to avoid getting a donut. It may be true (but still doesn't make much sense).

So a concession to -1 looks better than 0? Beauty in the eye of the beholder?
One thing I always have in my mind, is the toughest point is the last point. If I can get 1, than I can get 2, etc ... and as I get closer the pressure redirects to my opponent.
No chance for this to happen if I take the technical and rollover.

think it's just momentary frustration ... think I've only seen him do it vs Jack and Kane

Momentary frustration? I am sorry, I think it is more than that, as he has done it one more than one occasion. I think it is well thought out and he knows exactly what he is doing, which I think makes it worse. We would be killing any other athlete in other sports if they did something like that. Yes? I mean, when Lebron supposedly quit on his team (Cleveland) in the playoffs last year, he was killed by the media and fans. What would happen if Derek Jeter refused to bat in the 9th inning of a blowout or Tom Brady fumbled on purpose because he didn't want to play anymore? Can anyone picture the outcry if Nadal walked off the court at love-40, triple set point vs Federer in the Final of a major?
Rocky is one of the two faces of the sport and has many fans, both young and old, and this action should be condemned. I am surprised more people haven't called him out.
Wondering if the Tour/Jason has any comments on this action and if there is something they can or should do to prevent it.
Some of you might call it gamesmanship, but I call it being a poor sport.

Also, before anyone jumps down my throat or attacks me, let's look at it from several different perspectives.
A. Head- I'm sure their reps have to pleased to see their franchise player quit on a game and proceed to get himself an intentional technical, then finish a game with a negative score on purpose. Lots to promote there.
B. IRT- how do they explain those actions to their sponsors/potential sponsors. Why would I, if I was a potential sponsor, want to dump money into a sport where the #2 ranked player does something so self serving on one of the biggest stages of the year.
C. Fans- If I payed money, either to have a ticket, or irtnetwork, I would be disappointed. Furthermore, if any of you have kid's who play, try explaining that move to them. Would you want them to emulate that behavior?
Also, people want ESPN or SI to cover Kane's streak. If they do, do they mention how Kane is so dominant, his opponent ended up with a negative score in the championship match? It would be a joke. Not the best way to grow the game.
I have a suggestion though. If someone has zero and they get an intentional technical, the penalty should be imposed in the next game, meaning they start the next game with negative 1. That would be a deterrent.

I'm not defending this kind of behavior in any way, but I don't understand the alleged outrage and controversy.

His action fools nobody. There is no advantage for Rocky to do this and there is no damage to his opponent to win by a bigger margin.

This is not a problem. This is not an issue. It "damages the game?" That's bulsht -- it only damages Rocky.

My issue with it is it is quitting. He is not taking the penalty to back up for a running start! He is taking the -1 versus a goose-egg and than quitting for logic that defeats the word competition. As a spectator I want to see the possible "miracle" comeback. Isn't going to happen when you roll-over.
DSF makes good points about the possible repercussions and credibility to the sport, not just the impact of the act to Rocky's ego.
CF, I agree it only damages Rocky versus the game to you and I, but the potential to damage the game for the casual fan, first time viewer, or possible sponsor exists.
Giving up should never be an option, yet alone at a professional level.

Exactly, Tony. It's a total ego thing, and a poor sportsmanship issue. Every time he does it, it's like a little tantrum, without him actually crying I QUIT!

There's a simple solution to this. Simple rule change to prevent Rocky tantrums: He gets a 0 in the game anyway, and the point is deducted from the NEXT GAME PLAYED! Something tells me he'll be a "good sport" that way :)

Well, I have to admit I'm ignorant on this, I haven't seen any of these described Rocky incidents.

Is there something more heinous than so far reported that I'm missing here? Did he sacrifice a goat in center court?

tonyh

Giving up should never be an option, yet alone at a professional level.

When the player who rightfully earned his #2 ranking in the world gives up a thoroughly beaten man, is it a pimple on the ass of racquetball or is it tribute to the man who kicked hell out of him on the court?

I will say this has been blown out of context. But Rocky does throw an actual adult tantrum to get the -1 call which is embarrassing. I do not see it hurting the game at all. but yes to the sponsorships he receives Rocky does not look great. And I try to understand Rockys position he feels beaten BAD, he cant get a point and he is number #2 in the world. He is currently the second best player in the world who gets destroyed by #1. That has to be frustrating.

Control Freak

tonyh

Giving up should never be an option, yet alone at a professional level.

When the player who rightfully earned his #2 ranking in the world gives up a thoroughly beaten man, is it a pimple on the ass of racquetball or is it tribute to the man who kicked hell out of him on the court?

CF, I guess we see this one differently. Pimple on the arse of rball or tribute to the man kicking the hell out of him? Neither, someone rolling over verus fighting to the last nail is driven in. It is extremely rare you see a champion quit, let alone how many times Rocky has done this.
Actually this might support Hogan's claim about yesteryear players and todays. Could you picture Hogan, Brum, Swain, or Peck folding the tent because they were getting kicked?

"sacrifice a goat in center court" Hmmmmm might be the best way to get some national coverage!

I'm not disagreeing with you, Tony. Nobody should roll over, ever. I just see it as a personal stain on Rocky and a character issue, not something that threatens the integrity of the game and warrants rule changes.

I have little tolerance for bad court behavior. But what torques me off most about bad behavior on the court is when -- intentional or not -- a player's antics have an effect on the fair outcome of a game. As you guys describe it, this is not what is happening with Rocky losing by 12 points instead of 11 points.

Someone is losing and gets frustrated, and has a bad moment. What's the big deal? Did it affect the outcome of that particular game? NO! Did it affect the integrity of racquetball or the IRT? NO! I'm sure none of you have ever gotten frustrated on the court before. Imagine there is the one guy at your club that you play over and over again and you can never beat him. Does that frustrate you? Ok, now you know how Rocky feels. He's a great player, but Kane is better. If you played Rocky for two years straight and were still getting a donut, I can guarantee you will get frustrated. This is a complete non-issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxAPKtOe0fQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsskSxe3Nyg

dbarry14

Someone is losing and gets frustrated, and has a bad moment. What's the big deal? Did it affect the outcome of that particular game? NO! Did it affect the integrity of racquetball or the IRT? NO! I'm sure none of you have ever gotten frustrated on the court before. Imagine there is the one guy at your club that you play over and over again and you can never beat him. Does that frustrate you? Ok, now you know how Rocky feels. He's a great player, but Kane is better. If you played Rocky for two years straight and were still getting a donut, I can guarantee you will get frustrated. This is a complete non-issue.

DB, there is more than one player I can never beat!! LOL Do I get frustrated? YES. Have I ever rolled-over? NEVER!!!
I brought a friend to the Tampa prostop. He had never seen the pros play. He was absolutely amazed at every aspect of their games. Particularly their hustle. He was like "WOW" they are always scrambling court position running everything down. If someone had T'd themselves to avoid the goose-egg, what do you say? Oh he was frustrated? ...(giggle giggle) He didn't do-nut him! My buddy would have said, "in other words he quit".
I would be curious what peoples reaction would be if they went to a top level sporting event (single or team) and an individual or team gave up. I'd want my money back.

CF, McEnroe's tantrums did not illicit him to quit, they fired him up to play harder! Imagine the reaction had he ever had one of his "snits" and than he went out on the court and rolled over!
And if Rocky ever does it when he's playing legends ... it might be funny than.
Imagine if Huczek had done anything remotely similar to this during the height of Huczek hatred!

I am impressed that a few people are willing to at least talk this. Progress ...

[quote=dbarry14]Someone is losing and gets frustrated, and has a bad moment. What's the big deal? Did it affect the outcome of that particular game? NO! Did it affect the integrity of racquetball or the IRT? NO! I'm sure none of you have ever gotten frustrated on the court before. Imagine there is the one guy at your club that you play over and over again and you can never beat him. Does that frustrate you? Ok, now you know how Rocky feels. He's a great player, but Kane is better. If you played Rocky for two years straight and were still getting a donut, I can guarantee you will get frustrated. This is a complete non-issue.

Let me clarify my opinion. I do not think Rocky's actions are going to bring racquetball down...and yes, I get it, it's 10-0 in the first game and he knows he can't win. Skip the next ball and walk off the court, game over. No discussion. Rocky, by getting the intentional technical makes this non issue and issue. Name me another sport where you can even have a final score in the negative's? I don't know any. In a bigger picture, the point is to grow the game and just like Tony said, an outside viewer might get turned off by seeing Rocky's actions. Also, to me it sends such a bad message and if I was with Head, the company that pays Rocky, I would say something to him. Finally, can you imagine if ESPN was covering the event and showed the highlights of Rocky getting an intentional Tech and the final score was 11 to negative 1 in the championship match. It would make the NOT top 10 list, and would be a joke. In the small circle of RB as it is now, this is probably nothing. I was talking about the possible ways it could hurt the game.

You could look at his actions as a positive: as they say any publicity is good publicity. However for it have any impact it has reach people thus if its just at an event or on this forum zero publicity.