First off, anyone that wants to debate the merit of croquet as a sport can turn around and walk right back out the door right now.
Okay, now that we've cleared out the deadwood, let's roll. Mallethead doesn't see how you can count the one-year entry of croquet in the Olympics in 1900 (before switching to roque for the 1904 event) as a valid attempt to evaluate the sport before giving it the boot. Consider this excerpt from Wikipedia:*
Visit the Store Croquet World Online reports that former world golf croquet champion Khaled Younis from Egypt had a recent car accident that has forced him to withdraw from the WCF World Golf Croquet Championship. According to the online article, the crash occured at 1:00 a.m. in the morning after a croquet match. Younis suffered a broken left hip and is currently in the hospital, but does a have a good prognosis. He needs six weeks of rest and is projected to be able to return to croquet in three-four months. A profile of Younis from Mohammad Kamal accompanies the piece --
http://croquetworld.com/People/khaled.asp
Visit the Store Maine's Big Lobster Croquet Tournament will be held from Tuesday, September 6, through Sunday, September 11, 2011. The opening reception and BBQ will be on Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. and play will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The finals will finish before 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. The format will be the same as all previous "Big Lobsters" -- nine wicket doubles and six wicket singles, USCA sanctioned. Details and entry forms will be sent out later, but mark it on your calendars and come join us here on the coast of Maine for a fun week of croquet in a beautiful setting. Perry Mattson
TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- Players didn't so much notice the 95 degree heat today as the real battle was against the wind. The wind claimed the pop-up tent on court four and at times gusted enough to move stationary balls. No matter what it made everyone a little un-easy on hoop shots. Eight players each from the championship and first flights advance to tomorrow morning's playoff round. Matt Smith and Matt Baird took the top two seeds in the championship flight.
TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- Day three of action at the 2011 USCA Midwestern Regions kicked off singles play. The event is taking place on four courts at LaFortune, Park in Tulsa. Weather on Saturday was warm with occasional cloud cover.
A Paddy Chapman video of random highlights from the first two New Zealand tests during the 2010 MacRobertson Shield competition.