The top runners are always Kenyans Africans (I know no one probably cares about track and field, but I like running):

MEN'S ROAD RUNNING
5 km 13:00 # Sammy Kipketer (KEN) 26 Mar 2000 Carlsbad
13:00 # Sammy Kipketer (KEN) 1 Apr 2001 Carlsbad
4 miles 17:24 # Josphat Machuka (KEN) 17 Jun 1995 Peoria
8 km 22:02+ # Ismael Kirui (KEN) 2 May 1993 Dublin
22:03 # Peter Githuka (KEN) 20 Jul 1996 Kingsport
5 miles 22:05+ # Phillimon Hanneck (ZIM) 20 Mar 1993 New Orleans
22:08 # Ismael Kirui (KEN) 2 May 1993 Dublin
10 km 27:02 Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 11 Dec 2002 Doha
12 km 33:31 # Joseph Kimani (KEN) 10 May 1997 Evansville
15 km 41:29 Felix Limo (KEN) 11 Nov 2001 Nijmegen
10 miles 44:45 # Paul Koech (KEN) 21 Sep 1997 Amsterdam-Zaandam
44:51 Martin Irungu (KEN) 12 Dec 2004 Kosa
20 km 55:57+ # Paul Tergat (KEN) 26 Mar 2000 Lisbon
56:18+ Paul Tergat (KEN) 4 Apr 1998 Milan
57:37 # Khalid Khannouchi (MAR) 7 Sep 1998 New Haven
Half Marathon 59:06 # Paul Tergat (KEN) 26 Mar 2000 Lisbon
59:17 Paul Tergat (KEN) 4 Apr 1998 Milan
25 km 1:12:45 Paul Kosgei (KEN) 9 May 2004 Berlin
30 km 1:28:00 Takayuki Matsumiya (JPN) 27 Feb 2005 Kumamoto
20 miles 1:35:22+ # Steve Jones (GBR) 20 Oct 1985 Chicago
Marathon 2:04:55 Paul Tergat (KEN) 28 Sep 2003 Berlin


Excuse me, there are Ethyopians and a guy from Zimbawee too.

[Edited on April 18, 2007 at 9:10 AM. Reason : .]

4/18/2007 9:09:50 AM

your right no one cares. but the baseball money isn't as good as football or basketball, plus it takes practice with other people to work on your game.

4/18/2007 11:30:48 AM

and steriods

4/18/2007 1:14:07 PM

and hormones (HGH)

4/18/2007 1:20:56 PM

Quote :

"but the baseball money isn't as good as football or basketball, plus it takes practice with other people to work on your game."

Are you serious? First off large chunks of football contracts aren't even guaranteed and second baseball contracts are nearly always higher paying and longer for the top players and their careers are longer. The only difference is that it might take an extra 2-3 years of playing in the minors for kids to get their first MLB contract. Even after that they are under control for 3 years completely and then eligible for binding arbitration after that for 3 years.

One of the main reasons there aren't as many baseball players in the inner cities (which are majority black) is because of the need for instant gratification. You don't get the $$$ right out of school and you can be a complete bust and still make a few million (there are countless examples of that in both the NFL and NBA, but not in MLB). In other words you have to actually EARN your big payday in baseball. However, I would bet my life without looking at the numbers that the top baseball players earn FAR MORE than the top bball or football players in salary over their respective careers.

^,^^ you are naive and stupid if you don't think a hefty % of NFL players use..

[Edited on April 18, 2007 at 1:50 PM. Reason : x]

4/18/2007 1:47:20 PM

Quote :

"cause blacks are generally better athletes? is that racist to say that?"

Its not racist, just moronic.

4/18/2007 2:33:28 PM

so you dont think blacks are generally better basketball players? since that was the context of that^

4/18/2007 2:35:12 PM

maybe they should take a look at hockey. That stuff is 100% white dudes.

4/18/2007 2:38:04 PM

Quote :

"is because of the need for instant gratification."

besides just about $$$ i think another reason that basketball is more popular is the instant gratification of getting a basket every few possessions or so. I find it kind of annoying at basketball games how every 20 seconds the stadium is yelling and in a roar over someone dunking the ball again.

Sports like soccer, hockey, even baseball, etc take a lot more time, patience, and teamwork in order to "score" and win the game. When a goal in soccer does happen the crowd goes wild and it is much more meaningful.

4/18/2007 3:50:03 PM

Quote :

" ^,^^ you are naive and stupid if you don't think a hefty % of NFL players use.."

Dude its a joke... the baseball players just seem to get more publicity for it of late. God, you'd think in a thread this retarded that someone would be able to take a joke

4/18/2007 4:42:52 PM

What percentage of "historically black" universities' students are white? probably less than 8.4%

4/18/2007 4:53:55 PM

It's possible that black people are better at basketball because more play basketball from a young age with hopes of the NBA than whites.

People say that whites are better at baseball because they play it more than blacks, I think it works the same way with basketball.

4/18/2007 10:59:12 PM

yeah i agree with that

but also dont black people have like a slightly different shaped calf or something? at least certain bloodlines...show me a white person who has the calves of t-mac or vince

4/18/2007 11:23:42 PM

Quote :

"so you dont think blacks are generally better basketball players? since that was the context of that^"

Their ability has nothing to do with their race. For the same reason, it is not logical to say "white people are better at hockey than blacks". I remember at least one study that rated hockey players as the best overall athletes of all the professional sports after performing tests on peak and limits in strength, speed, and cardio.

Quote :

"but also dont black people have like a slightly different shaped calf or something? at least certain bloodlines...show me a white person who has the calves of t-mac or vince"

That calf bit falls into the same urban myth as "extra bone in their foot" nonsense. The size of the calf is going to vary based upon the demands of your sport. Most people don't realize just how athletic hockey players are because of the bulk of their gear hides pretty much everything. I sure haven't seen too many basketball players as ripped as Rod Brind'Amour (see http://www.hhof.com/graphfea/SCJ06_07b.jpg). Plces like Russia, China, and Germany manage to crank out exceptional athletes without a significant black population. It all comes down to what you work towards in combination with your genetics. I can see the plausibility of saying that African-Americans started with a "good base" to work with because of slavery... as bad as it sounds, the harsh conditions of the journey and livestock approach to salve trading (even so far as "breeding" the best) probably did have an impact. Physically weak or unhealthy individuals would not be as likely to survive the process and the traders/owners intent of acquiring only the strongest and most healthy slaves probably did have some impact. To what extent that effect would be noticeable (if it even ever existed) is hard to say.

4/19/2007 1:08:55 PM

i've never even heard the "extra bone in the foot" myth but i thought the calf thing had more of a legitimate anthropological basis...not sure if its the shape of the calf muscle, or something about bone density in the legs or some type of spacing or what...how come kenyans always win the steeplechase

4/19/2007 1:25:23 PM

Quote :

"Dude its a joke... the baseball players just seem to get more publicity for it of late. God, you'd think in a thread this retarded that someone would be able to take a joke"

Eh, I can never be sure when people are being serious on here.. you'd be surprised at how many people are so naive that they think just b/c ESPN doesn't report as much on NFL steroid/hgh use (for the obvious reason that it is an ESPN cash cow) that it doesn't happen.

4/19/2007 1:36:09 PM

Quote :

"i've never even heard the "extra bone in the foot" myth but i thought the calf thing had more of a legitimate anthropological basis...not sure if its the shape of the calf muscle, or something about bone density in the legs or some type of spacing or what...how come kenyans always win the steeplechase"

There are tons of urban myths about physiological differences. About the only thing that is remotely true is a possible difference in East and West Africans muscle fiber type... East Africans had a lightly higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers which gave more endurance but less ability for strength, speed and power. The inverse was seen in West Africa. These sort of geographical trends are going to be common regardless of race, its more of a survival and nutrition regulated outcome.

What people grow up doing and what their culture is interested dictates FAR more than anything else. Oh, and look at the Olympic decathlon winners to see a good indicator of overall athletic ability.

[Edited on April 19, 2007 at 2:08 PM. Reason : .]

4/19/2007 2:02:35 PM

4/19/2007 4:49:11 PM

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet but from the 80's and early 90's to the late 90's there was a dramatic shift in the game from speed to power.

Speed is a "black" attribute


Power and hand eye coordination is more of a work ethic learned skill. Work ethic is a "white" attribute


Hence the decline in blacks in baseball.

4/19/2007 6:18:56 PM