In a message dated Wed, 6 Feb 2002 12:39:18 PM Eastern Standard Time, James Dunaway <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Don't we, perhaps, respect the four-minute mile a little too much? >> All depends who "we" is. I think the sport's hard-core statisticians (yeah, that includes me) did the sport a great disservice by trying to pound home the "irrelevance" of the 4:00 mile lo those many decades ago. But for the most important people--the athletes and the fans--it still has its luster, just as does a 1000y rusher in the NFL (even though the season has gone from 12 games to 16), a 20-goal scorer in hockey, 50 homers, etc., etc. If it's a nice round number that has magic simply becuase of its roundness, forget trying to demythify it. Use its strength to help build the sport, not tear it down. gh
