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Everybody wanted Andre Agassi to win the 1999 mens singles final at Wimbledon, because he was a showman, because it would be a better story, because it would be a nice change. No one wanted Pete Sampras to win, because he was boring.Im still capable of feeling rage on the subject. Back in the days when Wimbledon courts were seriously fast, Sampras was the ultimate master. He won that final in straight sets and Agassi was brilliant throughout. The problem was that Sampras was perfect. And people still found that boring.The same dilemma exists in cricket. Some people who will tell you that Virat Kohli (44 Tests, average 45) is a better Test batsman than Rahul Dravid (164 Tests, average 52). The reason is that Dravid was boring. He was as near a complete player as you can get, so why did he get nicknamed The Wall? An excellent defensive method was just a part of what he did.But the power of the word boring is very considerable in 21st-century sport. At its heart is the question of whether a professional athlete is required to offer entertainment or whether his only obligation is to pure sport. Is sport a jolly day out? Or is it the pursuit of victory and excellence?I have always inclined towards the purist view that sport is not entertainment; it just so happens that sport is, quite often, entertaining. But then you must ask yourself what would you rather watch: an immaculate display of highly skilled defensive football in a 0-0 draw, or a ten-goal thriller full of mistakes?The Olympic Games is packed with events that we normally consider boring, but once every four years they become essential viewing, sometimes from local patriotism, sometimes because the quest for excellence is in itself compelling. For one week in four years, swimming ceases to be boring.But thats a response Ive always distrusted a little. Shouldnt the audience be participants, making some kind of effort to understand, to meet the athletes halfway? The modern consensus has the audience as passive - sitting back and waiting to be amused.Sport v entertainment: an ancient dilemma. In 1973 the American League brought the designated hitter to baseball. The DH bats instead of the pitcher, who, like fast bowlers, is traditionally weak with a bat in his hand. The idea was more hits and more home runs. The subtler issue of the pitchers versatility was regarded as boring. The National League didnt accept this, however, and the two sides snipe at each other every October when the champions of the two leagues meet in the World Series.But cricket has gone further than this. Much further. Cricket hasnt tinkered with the rules, cricket has changed the game - all in the attempt to escape any accusation of being boring. Cricket is the incredible disappearing game, shortening itself from five days to 65 overs, then 60, then 50, and then 20.It was decided by some cosmic agreement that batting is exciting so long as it involves a lot of boundaries, but bowling is boring. So pitches became batter-friendly, boundaries were brought closer to the wicket, and any number of rules were brought in to keep the flow of boundaries - free hits, fielding restrictions and one ball at each end to make things easier for the batsman. At the same time batting technology was revolutionized, while ball technology remained static. At one time a six was a rare and thrilling thing, so people felt that if there were more sixes, cricket would be less boring. As a result the six is now a run-of-the-mill sort of thing. Shahid Afridi has 351 sixes in ODIs all by himself.But the debate is not really about the future of cricket. Its a deeper and wider issue than that. The extent to which sport must go out of its way to please its audience, and what sport loses when it does so. Some changes are good. The tiebreaker in tennis has worked out well as a way of deciding a tight set. Other changes are less good. The penalty shoot-out in football is, in any sporting or logical terms, absurd.If you let the mass audience - the least thoughtful sections of your clientele - dictate terms, then you are in danger of losing the more profound and meaningful parts of sport. But that is precisely the kind of audience that sponsors and advertisers love. It comes down to one question: is sport about making as much money as possible, or about seeking the highest level of excellence that humanity can achieve?If you happen to find excellence boring then seek something more your own size, say I. Im told that professional wrestling is very entertaining. In fact, it sometimes seems that cricket adopted this activity as a role model. What could possibly go wrong? St.Louis Blues Pro Shop .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Blues Jerseys 2020 . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". https://www.cheapblues.com/ . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Fake Blues Jerseys .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. Stitched Blues Jerseys . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. DENVER -- The Rockies struck out in their bid to make up ground against a last-place team.Colorado tied a season high by fanning 15 times in an 11-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.This after striking out 12 times the night before.Colorado has whiffed 12 times or more in consecutive home games for the first time in franchise history, according to the team.In losing two of three to last-place Tampa Bay, the Rockies were outscored 25-11 and outhit 35-24 with 31 strikeouts.We understood that we were going to face a team that is having a tough time, Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said. We are in a situation where weve got to make things happen -- and it didnt happen.Archer (5-13) struck out 11 over six innings for his first win since June 6. He also took some inspiration from rookie Blake Snell, who pitched a gem the night before. Archer went out and tried to duplicate it.Nearly did, too.Archer allowed two runs and four hits to halt a slide in which he had lost six of seven starts.Archer struck us out a lot today and pitched well, said Gonzalez, who scored a run in the eighth, his 600th as a member of the Rockies. He mixed his pitches where he needs to and as a hitter it was frustrating not being able to score runs.Evan Longoria kept up his hot hitting with two doubles as the Rays captured their first road series since June 6-8 at Arizona. Longoria turned in a big series with two doubles, two triples, a homer and five RBI.Jorge De La Rosa (6-7) lasted only four innings and gave up nine runs, seven of them earned. He usually fares well at Coors Field -- with a better home ERA (4.27) than on the road (4.38) since joining Colorado.Everything was bad, De La Rosa explained. I threw pitches where I dont have to throw them.Tampa Bay trailed 2-1 before breaking open the game with three runs in third and five more in the fourth.Former Rockies outfielder Corey Dickerson had three hits, including a triple, to increase his career average in this park to .dddddddddddd360. He was traded to the Rays last January for reliever Jake McGee.With two doubles Wednesday, Longoria has 50 extra base hits this season. Only one other Tampa Bay player, Aubrey Huff in 2003, had that many through 94 games.Archer allowed two runs in the second but quickly settled into a groove. He struck out the side in the fourth and the sixth -- his last pitch a 96 mph fastball that Mark Reynolds couldnt hit.We saw two guys the last two days that throw a lot of good breaking balls, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. Snell had a real good slider. Archer had a real good slider. That was the common denominator the last two games.TRAINERS ROOMRays: OF Kevin Kiermaier got the day off.FEELING PRESIDENTIALWeiss is playfully campaigning for his man: Gerardo Parra.Weiss wore a Parra for President T-shirt before the game. The shirts were created as a joke before the season and Parras teammates constantly wear them.More pressing than getting Parra into the White House is getting him back on the field. The outfielder is on the disabled list with a sprained left ankle.THIS & THATRockies hitting coach Blake Doyle was throw out in the second inning for something he said from the dugout to home plate umpire Paul Emmel concerning the strike zone. ... There was a review over a tag at home plate in the second inning that lasted 6 minutes, 28 seconds, and had players just standing around. Archer threw warmup pitches. ... OF Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to 12 games.UP NEXTRockies: Righty Chad Bettis (7-6) makes his 20th start of the season when Colorado opens a four-game series against Atlanta. ' ' '