Nikko LoCastro intimidating a PDGA official at European Open '22

[Three Putt]

Behavior like this is learned young. Always makes me wonder what the person went through that made it necessary/appropriate at the time.

See posts #152 and 159.

This is something that shouldn't really have anything to do with what a 30+ year-old man did, but for real when I yelled at the skinny 10-ish year-old version to stop hitting my car with that stick he puffed out his chest and stepped forward toward me holding onto that stick and glaring at me like he was going to hit me with it. When I grabbed the stick so he didn't hit me with it he freaked out, screamed and started going tug-of-war style trying to get the stick back from me. I had spent about five years earlier in my life working with kids who had the dual diagnosis of MR and behavior disorders, so it wasn't my first rodeo with a completely unhinged kid. It didn't escalate and I managed to get him to put the stick down and get away from my car. He didn't apologize and he continued to chirp at me after he moved away from where I was until Dave finally showed up. Dave yelled at him, he kicked my car as he walked to Dave's Jeep, and they drove off.

Which is why I'm having a hard time just condemning the guy; I'm watching a video of a 30+ year-old guy throwing his career away and seeing that skinny 10 year-old. Whatever happened to him that made him that wild, untamed 10 year-old, he never dealt with it. He did the same thing this weekend he did when he was 10. Whatever rage he feels inside is right there, ready to burst out. It makes me sad to watch.

 

[Dingus]

I drink a half shot of Malort after dinner most nights. Good for what ails you. I genuinely like the taste.

 

[ballgolfconvert]

Haha this reminds me of a story from electrical code class... some bonehead was arguing that
"That's not what they meant with that rule"

Our teacher responded with
"Turn to page XIV, halfway down the page, section 6.....

DO YOU SEE MY NAME? I think I damn well know what I damn well meant when I wrote the damn rule"

Best smackdown ever!!

I don't get it, sorry. Was that somehow suppose to diminish the fact that there are several instances where benefit of doubt goes to the player and not only one? it's a good story but doesn't really apply here.

Bottom line is the current rules are poorly written. Who wrote them matters not at all.

 

[flatflip]

Seltzer doesn't have enough flavor to be considered rancid :|

Maybe we could try mixing it with 4loco? Or one of the more piquant hard seltzers that have hit the market in recent years?

 

[EarthRocker]

Malort means wormwood or moth herb in swedish.

Both sound nasty, but I'll try anything once.

Cool! Learned something new...in Swedish, no less. Thank you.

"Wormwood" is the name of a Demon-In-Training in CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. Can't be a good thing...(And now you know something new. Maybe. :|)

 

[krupicka]

I don't get it, sorry. Was that somehow suppose to diminish the fact that there are several instances where benefit of doubt goes to the player and not only one? it's a good story but doesn't really apply here.

Bottom line is the current rules are poorly written. Who wrote them matters not at all.

QA-APP-4
Q:
My group thinks my disc is OB, but I think it's unclear. Doesn't benefit of the doubt go to the player? I'm safe, right?

A:
Benefit of the doubt only comes into play as a tiebreaker when the group cannot make a decision, for example if two players see the disc as safe and two see it as OB. If a majority of your group thinks it's OB, then it's OB.

 

[foxdawg10]

Cool! Learned something new...in Swedish, no less. Thank you.

"Wormwood" is the name of a Demon-In-Training in CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. Can't be a good thing...(And now you know something new. Maybe. :|)

This is something new to me as well.

 

[dmoore1998]

I don't get it, sorry. Was that somehow suppose to diminish the fact that there are several instances where benefit of doubt goes to the player and not only one? it's a good story but doesn't really apply here.

Bottom line is the current rules are poorly written. Who wrote them matters not at all.

The entire thing reminds me a lot of pickup basketball. There are the rules of basketball, and there are the "unspoken" rules of pickup basketball. Everyone just kind of agrees to call some things and not call others. Eventually someone takes that "unspoken" agreement of say not calling charges and decides they're just going to start lowering their shoulder or throwing elbows at faces anytime they have the ball because "nobody calls charges" and eventually after they do it enough someone calls it. They flip out in a rage because the unspoken rule has been broken...without regard for the fact they are breaking multiple unspoken rules in their actions.

Is it a problem that current rules are poorly written? Maybe. It's a bigger problem that they are poorly conceived and/or poorly applied in a professional setting. Nobody wants to play 6 hour rounds because someone is taking 2 minutes for each shot...and at an amateur level you can't do as many things to keep the pace up because of lack of real officials. It's tough to have a professional sport operating under the same rules premise that pickup basketball games do. At some point, you need real officials.

EDIT: It's probably also worth noting that the real problem might be the tour not having their own rulebook. They're glomming onto a rule set that was written for the masses, requiring free rules enforcement essentially. Major League Baseball doesn't play by the same set of rules that Little League does. Might be time for some DGPT rules specifically.

 

[Three Putt]

I drink a half shot of Malort after dinner most nights. Good for what ails you. I genuinely like the taste.

I mean...you're lying. No one does that. :| :gross:

 

[ballgolfconvert]

The entire thing reminds me a lot of pickup basketball. There are the rules of basketball, and there are the "unspoken" rules of pickup basketball. Everyone just kind of agrees to call some things and not call others. Eventually someone takes that "unspoken" agreement of say not calling charges and decides they're just going to start lowering their shoulder or throwing elbows at faces anytime they have the ball because "nobody calls charges" and eventually after they do it enough someone calls it. They flip out in a rage because the unspoken rule has been broken...without regard for the fact they are breaking multiple unspoken rules in their actions.

Is it a problem that current rules are poorly written? Maybe. It's a bigger problem that they are poorly conceived and/or poorly applied in a professional setting. Nobody wants to play 6 hour rounds because someone is taking 2 minutes for each shot...and at an amateur level you can't do as many things to keep the pace up because of lack of real officials. It's tough to have a professional sport operating under the same rules premise that pickup basketball games do. At some point, you need real officials.

EDIT: It's probably also worth noting that the real problem might be the tour not having their own rulebook. They're glomming onto a rule set that was written for the masses, requiring free rules enforcement essentially. Major League Baseball doesn't play by the same set of rules that Little League does. Might be time for some DGPT rules specifically.

Well said.

 

[wims]

The entire thing reminds me a lot of pickup basketball. There are the rules of basketball, and there are the "unspoken" rules of pickup basketball. Everyone just kind of agrees to call some things and not call others. Eventually someone takes that "unspoken" agreement of say not calling charges and decides they're just going to start lowering their shoulder or throwing elbows at faces anytime they have the ball because "nobody calls charges" and eventually after they do it enough someone calls it. They flip out in a rage because the unspoken rule has been broken...without regard for the fact they are breaking multiple unspoken rules in their actions.

Is it a problem that current rules are poorly written? Maybe. It's a bigger problem that they are poorly conceived and/or poorly applied in a professional setting. Nobody wants to play 6 hour rounds because someone is taking 2 minutes for each shot...and at an amateur level you can't do as many things to keep the pace up because of lack of real officials. It's tough to have a professional sport operating under the same rules premise that pickup basketball games do. At some point, you need real officials.

EDIT: It's probably also worth noting that the real problem might be the tour not having their own rulebook. They're glomming onto a rule set that was written for the masses, requiring free rules enforcement essentially. Major League Baseball doesn't play by the same set of rules that Little League does. Might be time for some DGPT rules specifically.

I think it's unreasonable for the DGPT to expect players to call rule violations on other players. Doesn't sound like a pro environment. The Disc Golf PRO tour needs to step up

 

[Jukeshoe]

Cool! Learned something new...in Swedish, no less. Thank you.

"Wormwood" is the name of a Demon-In-Training in CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. Can't be a good thing...(And now you know something new. Maybe. :|)

+1 Screwtape Letters reference!

 

[vadisc]

Bottom line is the current rules are poorly written. Who wrote them matters not at all.

You do realize that Nikko had the opportunity to appeal if he thought the call was wrong.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

This is something that shouldn't really have anything to do with what a 30+ year-old man did,
...
It makes me sad to watch.

Your insight is genuinely appreciated.

Most of us state our opinions and jump to conclusions based solely on than what we see, read, or hear, often lacking the full (if any) context of a situation.

 

[Dingus]

Cool! Learned something new...in Swedish, no less. Thank you.

"Wormwood" is the name of a Demon-In-Training in CS Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. Can't be a good thing...(And now you know something new. Maybe. :|)

Wormwood is the main ingredient in Absinth and Malort. In Absinth, the Thujone present in the wormwood is what has given it the hallucinogen mystique. That is why Wormwood has a negative connotation. Thujone is what makes Absinth illegal in most states. Malort does not contain a measurable amount of Thujone, the wormwood is purely for flavor and aroma.

 

[jenb]

This is something that shouldn't really have anything to do with what a 30+ year-old man did.

I'm reminded I read that studies show chronic use of mind altering substances (alcohol or other) before age 25 prevents emotional maturation. Once people reach age 25, emotional maturation is no longer possible even if the substance use ceases. I think I encountered a few children in adult bodies in my disc golf tournament years. Not saying that's the case here. Just food for thought.

 

[Countchunkula]

Wormwood is the main ingredient in Absinth and Malort. In Absinth, the Thujone present in the wormwood is what has given it the hallucinogen mystique. That is why Wormwood has a negative connotation. Thujone is what makes Absinth illegal in most states. Malort does not contain a measurable amount of Thujone, the wormwood is purely for flavor and aroma.

No wonder Malort tastes so bad then. I have a bottle of extra strength absinthe and it's similarly vile. Actually probably worse. The bearded hippy (wearing a wizard's hat and an assless kilt) that sold it to me claimed it had 50x the amount of Thujone as the legal absinthe sold in Europe.

 

[Jukeshoe]

I'm reminded I read that studies show chronic use of mind altering substances (alcohol or other) before age 25 prevents emotional maturation. Once people reach age 25, emotional maturation is no longer possible even if the substance use ceases. I think I encountered a few children in adult bodies in my disc golf tournament years. Not saying that's the case here. Just food for thought.

So you're saying drug use makes people incapable of emotional maturation? Riiiiight...opcorn:

 

[EarthRocker]

Wormwood is the main ingredient in Absinth and Malort. In Absinth, the Thujone present in the wormwood is what has given it the hallucinogen mystique. That is why Wormwood has a negative connotation. Thujone is what makes Absinth illegal in most states.

Thank you...I actually knew this! (I'm a trained mixologist from way back, and lived in Europe for a couple of years as a yoot. Not to mention that I am a professional drinker who is fascinated by all the fun and interesting ways we have for altering consciousness.)
But I know nothing about Malort, aside from what I've read here.

A very erudite bunch up in this jernt. Love it. Bonus points for derailing McDimple at random intervals, too.

 

[Streets]

Yeah...still pulling for Nikko. Hope he makes some personal changes and makes a big comeback.