XX Olympic Winter Games

[Moonliner]

I have to admit, I'm a winter Olympic junkie and this year I'm practically foaming at the mouth... I think this will really be the golden age for broadcast Olympics. Why? Tivo (or in my case snapstream (http://www.snapstream.com)). Since all the coverage is tape delayed anyway I can Tivo it, watch it when I want and skip all the commercials, inane back-stories and best of all the endless figure skating!!! I get to watch the good stuff, My way, ha ha ha!!!! Power is mine!!!!

[scaeagles]

Love the Olympics, also find the backstories to be WAY overdone. Though the thing I can't take is figure skating. Love the downhill stuff, hockey, and even curling.

I prefer the Summer Olympics, though.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Agreed. Luge, Speeskating, Hockey, curling here I come!!

[Not Afraid]

I LOVE Figure Skating! I think it helps that I used to hang with Olympians and know waaaay too much about the sport and the difficulties and the stupid revised rules.

But, I love most all of the sports. My favorites are Luge, Bobsled, Ski Jumping, downhill ski events, scary speed skating and.....yay for this year....Skeleton!!!!

Chris and I first started "dating" during the Sarajevo Olympics. We spend 2 weeks drinking slivovich in celebration. Good times. Good memories. Love the Olympics.

[Alex]

I'll watch the curling if I remember but all the rest can be cancelled for all I care. The only way they could provide any other compelling winter sports is if they added outdoor water polo.

[Not Afraid]

Shrinkage!

[scaeagles]

I realize this debate happens every time the Olypmics come around, but the whole "judgement" aspect bothers me. I can remember ISM and I being on opposite extremes of this debate. I do not think figure skating is easy in the least. I just am uncomfortable with judges deciding that his double axel was just a tad better than the other double axel, and that makes the difference. Opinion rather than a quantifiable (albeit miniscule) 100th of a second.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I don't necessarily dislike figure skating. My family and I actually used to follow it pretty closely. I definitely hate the judging. But mostly what I hate at this point is the endless coverage. The judging stupidity combined with the fact that all other sports have been completely marginalized to make room for the hours and hours and hours of figure skating coverage have left me wanting to avoid it at all costs.

[Alex]

I'm not a big fan of judged sports but some of them are fun to watch and if the participants are willing to subject themselves to subjective evaluation who am I to complain.

When it comes to the Winter Olympics the judged sports are actually more entertaining to me than the objectively measures sports which mostly are in the form of finding a different way to fall down a mountain.

Let's go down the mountain on two long sticks! Let's go down on a single board! Let's go down on a sled headfirst! Let's go down on a sled feet first! Let's go down two at a time, no let's go four at a time! Let's take the sled and curl the rails! Now let's do it on a sled with no rail! Let's go down the mountain on a sheet of cardboard! Hey! What about inner tubes, those can go downhill as well! I once went down a mountain in a canoe made out of Dixie cups, it was gnarly!

I don't know, it is hard to get too excited about gravity as a sport.

[innerSpaceman]

The judging stupidity combined with the fact that all other sports have been completely marginalized to make room for the hours and hours and hours of figure skating coverage have left me wanting to avoid it at all costs.
That's because figure skating is more popular, and in turn that's because it's more visually interesting than a race. Something is going on when people skate ... lots of movement and showmanship, rather than mere forward momentum.

Don't get me wrong, I love bobsled and skeleton and speed skating and every kind of skiing, but I can certainly see why figure skating is far more interesting. It's similar to the way gymnastics is the more interesting (and more covered) summer Olympics sport, as compared to relay racing on foot or in water.


Judging may be a dicey subject of too much subjectivity, but I find the 100th of a second difference between race winners to be an absurd measure of championship, albeit a quantifiable one. I do not happen to exclusively equate quantifiable with winning ... and neither do the Olympic Games.


In any case, I enjoy far more of the winter sports than the summer sports, so I get far more excited about the Winter Games. Not enough to watch any of the inane network coverage, nor enough to bother with Tivo. But I'll catch some of it here and there. Heheh, I'll be happy just to watch the opening ceremonies and quick recaps of the days' highlights for the rest of the games.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Ah, but with the popularty came greater judging scrutiny. And with greater judging scrutiny came greater focus on the technical aspects. And with greater focus on the technical aspects went my interest in the sport. It used to be a performance. Now it's a gruling test. It no longer matters how visually interesting their routine is, if they land on the wrong edge on one jump, they can't win. It's taken all the fun out of watching it.

[Not Afraid]

And it has COMPLETELY ruined the artistic portion of the program and fu<ked up Ice Dancing beyond all belief.

Damn I miss those incredible, cutting edge Russians.

[innerSpaceman]

Quite the contrary ... the new judging system reduces the emphasis on jumping. Without starting at 6.0 and getting demerits from there, every aspect of a performance can be added to gain points ... and the reliance on constant jumping has fallen by the wayside.

I personally think this makes for more interesting performances.


If it seems that some skaters are suffering under the new system ... well, that's because it's new. It will take a while for skaters who can excel artistically and techinically under the new rules to come to the fore. But it will happen.

[€uroMeinke]

I love watching the Olympics while loungeing my robe, eating chocolate and drinking an appropriatly themed beverage.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Reminder, Opening Ceremoonies air tonight!

I'm excited. I'm really looking forward to seeing if Bode Miller can win gold in skiing, and Shawn White in Snowboarding.

[Gemini Cricket]

What has me worried this year is that everyone will be watching 'American Idol' rather than the Winter Olympics...
Bleh.

[Not Afraid]

I'm so excited about the opening ceremonies, I made a meeting with Chris in Outlook to watch it. ;)

There's an article in today's Times (which I haven't read yet) about Skating judging revisions. The bits I did see make me want to barf. But, heck, I actually LIKE artistry. Imagine that?

[innerSpaceman]

Reminder, Opening Ceremoonies air tonight!
I'm excited.
Me, too (but really only about the Opening Ceremonies).

[scaeagles]

I'm a competition kind of guy. The opening ceremonies do nothing for me except put me to sleep.

Although I did like watching the clip of Katie Couric releasing doves (a couple of days ago there in Italy) and one of them pooping on her head. If the opening ceremonies contained stuff like that, I'd watch.

[Gemini Cricket]

Although I did like watching the clip of Katie Couric releasing doves (a couple of days ago there in Italy) and one of them pooping on her head. If the opening ceremonies contained stuff like that, I'd watch.
The jacket she was wearing looked like it had been pooped on for days and days...
:D

Do they always do the opening ceremony on a Friday? Seems like a bad day to do it... Less viewers?

[Ghoulish Delight]

I learned the other day that we have the Nazis to thank for the pomp and circumstance that now surrounds the lead-up to the Olympics (e.g., the torch relay) and the opening ceremonies.

[Matterhorn Fan]

I've never enjoyed the opening ceremonies.

But I am looking forward to the coverage of gravity as a sport.

[innerSpaceman]

I knew the Nazis had to be good for something.



(heheh, as you might imagine from someone who enjoys theatricality and cares zero about sports or competition, the opening ceremonies and the figure skating are about the only things I give a damn about)

[SacTown Chronic]

In other words, iSm's gay.

[innerSpaceman]

oh, yeah, sure ... if you wanna say it in less than six sentences. :iSm:

[scaeagles]

They have giant bubble heads.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/10/D8FMEREO2.html

Perhaps I am uncultured, but I just don't get it.

[innerSpaceman]

OMG, SPOILORZ!

[Not Afraid]

In other words, iSm's gay.

I know he is but what am I?

[Gemini Cricket]

I know he is but what am I?
I name thee Pussies Galore.
:D

[Not Afraid]

OUCH! Salsa in sinuses!

[Gemini Cricket]

Opening ceremonies...

Uh, what the hell am I watching? Ceramic cows on rollerskates? Ballroom dancers with cowprint clothes? Burning ice skaters!

This is horrid!

:D

[Not Afraid]

HEY! Spoiler tags man!!!


I like cows.

[€uroMeinke]

Hey - some of us live in other time zones

[Ghoulish Delight]

So far I'm loving it. The intro was great, and I'm loving the coverage of the training runs/last chance qualifying for downhill. Gives a little more context to the whole thing.

But what's with the fake fire?

[Prudence]

Okay, so far the fire and the hammer thing remind me of an arty porno I've seen a few times.

[Not Afraid]

Well, I love it! Duh. The Fellini moment was soooo sweet, I love the standard bearers' dresses and I LOVRD the cows (but I spent a good deal of tiime in the Alps yelling "Hi Cow" out the window.


What I'm not thrilled about is the K-Tel Best of Disco soundtrack.


Oh, and I miss Reindeer.

[MickeyLumbo]

interesting to hear only American "hits" (songs) during the Parade of Nations.

i wouldn't mind if Bob Costas would shut the f up.

one last note before they get back from commercial...i was amazed at how i learned to actually find curling pretty exciting to watch...just had to learn the rules and strategy and i was hooked.

bring on the speed skaters...oh, and the bobsleds:evil:

[Prudence]

When I lived in Bellingham, despite being just down the road from a US station I got only CBC out of Vancouver, BC. In addition to enjoying news reports with profanity and late-night movies with nudity, I also got to watch A Lot of curling. It's somewhat mesmerizing.

Oh good. Because what would a parade of 70s/80s disco pop be without Y.M.C.A. And I would like you to know that I typed that just before annoying announcer man mentioned it. Are they trying to shame and demoralize the US team?

I'm looking forward to the aerials.

[Not Afraid]

Ooooh,I forgot the wonderful ski jumper complete with telemark landing. Coolness.


Is the Flying Tomato is the love child of Danny Bonaducci and Susan Dey?

[Ghoulish Delight]

OMG, the ski jumper was awesome! The cow thing escapes me, though.

You think Bush arranged for Freedom to be playing when the US team came in?

[Prudence]

The ski jumper was pretty cool.

I'm amused when the country name is pronounced the same way in all three languages.

[€uroMeinke]

As always, I'm digging the outfits - Love the hats for Great Britan - felt sorry for the Canadians since it appears we stole their designer and now they look dorky. Oh and the Nino Rota/Felini introduction was the swankiest thing to ever go down in an Olympic Opening

OMG - the birth of Venus - Bottecelli Rocks!

[Prudence]

must...stop...trying to blazon...flags....

Botticelli does, indeed, rock.

oooh! shiny sparky men!

eeep! dancing mime!

[€uroMeinke]

I love Futurismo

[€uroMeinke]

Figure Formula One!

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Okay, so far the fire and the hammer thing remind me of an arty porno I've seen a few times.

Ah, dude, you must SHARE!

[Prudence]

Now BT is showing off by translating Italian.

[Prudence]

Ah, dude, you must SHARE!

Cafe Flesh. although I think the "hammer" in the scene I'm remembering was actually an over-sized baby rattle. But I'm almost certain there was flame.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

I don't say it enough.

I love LoT.

[Not Afraid]

Bob Costas needs to be introduced to spoiler tags.

Shut up Bob!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Dude, Peter Gabriel looked like Vader sans-helmet with that collar.

[Not Afraid]

We thought he looked like Bill Murray in Life Aquatic.

[Prudence]

Yeah, I'm going with Bill Murray.

Pavarotti rocks.

[Not Afraid]

LOL! Chris just said "Is this stadium actually stretching?"

[Ghoulish Delight]

Well, I guess he can hold it together for one short song, but sadly my uncle who is a professional opera singer and has worked with Pavarotti in recent years says his voice is largely shot.

I loved the acapella firework finale. I was expecting some good pyro as Italy is renowned for its fireworks prowess.

I could have done without that "Opening Ceremonies recap" with that awful song at the end. Had to turn it off.

[Snowflake]

Well, I guess he can hold it together for one short song, but sadly my uncle who is a professional opera singer and has worked with Pavarotti in recent years says his voice is largely shot.

I loved the acapella firework finale. I was expecting some good pyro as Italy is renowned for its fireworks prowess.

I could have done without that "Opening Ceremonies recap" with that awful song at the end. Had to turn it off.

Well, this is why the Big P is on a farewell tour. Nonetheless, I give the man snaps, he's over 70, pulled it off and sounded far better than Jose Carreras in Bacelona. Pavarotti is Italy to many, to not have included him would have been wrong, I think.

Sophia Loren looks more gorgeous every year, how does she do that? The women carrying the Olympic falg was great.

LOVED the Botticelli! Loved the ski jumper, that was totally great.

Yoko was there, why not just play John Lennon on the soundtrack?

I loved the acrobats and the Olympic Rings.

LOVED the lighting of the flame. Italians and fireworks=YUM!

Loathe Bob Costas, Jim Lampley and I still miss Jim McKay and ABC coverage. Already too much coverage on Bode Miller. I hope NBC will focus on the fact this is a world event and not only focus on the American team.

Gotta agree with you 100%, hated the recap and the Andrea Boccelli song. Oh well.

Donna

Donna

[Gemini Cricket]

You think Bush arranged for Freedom to be playing when the US team came in?
I don't think so, the song is actually called 'Think'.
:D

I'm sorry about not using spoiler tags, I thought it was on at the same time everywhere...
D'oh!

The ladies carrying the signs are muy pretty but their Alps dresses stink.
:D

What was with the race car? It covered all the athletes in exhaust fumes.

:D

[MickeyLumbo]

did any one else see some hootch during the birth of venus, or was i just halucinating after an hour of bob listentomeannounceoverwhattheannouncerissayingatth esametime costas?

wondering if the very cool Disneyland Resort salutes the Olympic Athletes commercial was was broadcast nationally...anyone?

thought maybe , after the smoke cleared, the Ferrari was gonna leave behind tire marks in the shape of Olympic Rings...

was hoping for Apollo and only got Yoko:(

i love Brian Williams, but, was very annoyed at hearing about what country is enemies with what country and who last conquered whom during a celebration that has the intent to bring unity and harmony. interesting stuff, Brian, but, not the time and place for it.

OH! and one more annoying moment(s)...
it's about the Olympic flag and it's tradition, Susan Sarrandon, it's NOT about you...please stop waving to the crowd. and yes, i misspelled your name...but you know who you are...after all- it's all about you.

flying tomatoe? that would suck to have as a nickname. if i were in the Olympics... i would die if they zoomed in and called me the "Flying Butterball".

[Stan4dSteph]

I had to change the channel when Yoko came on.

[innerSpaceman]

worst.opening.ceremony.ever.




Does anyone know if opening ceremonies for prior Olympics are available on DVD anywhere, or on the net? I particularly liked the Albertville, France Winter Opening and the Athens, Greece Summer Opening. I'd really like to find them, especially to wipe out my memory of last night's travesty.

(I'd have to find musical scores to dub over them, tho. If you guys thought Bob Costa talked too much last night, then you are forgetting how the commentators would never shuthefukup for 10 seconds in past years.)

[Stan4dSteph]

Does anyone know if opening ceremonies for prior Olympics are available on DVD anywhere, or on the net? I particularly liked the Albertville, France Winter Opening and the Athens, Greece Summer Opening. I'd really like to find them, especially to wipe out my memory of last night's travesty.It would make sense for NBC to make this available. I haven't seen anything that is currently available for purchase except a compilation video of Olympic highlights. There's an Alberville highlights video on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6477012458&category=309).

[Alex]

I wastched about 8 minutes of the parade of nations (Monaco through about seven countries after that).

What amazing television that was.


Does anybody know a place to find out what sports will be on what TV channels when? The NBC site is preposterously convoluted and tends to provides schedules of when the events are actually happening without mention of when they'll be on TV.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Well, if you had a DVR, you could do a search and it would give you the entire lineup ;)

[Stan4dSteph]

Does anybody know a place to find out what sports will be on what TV channels when? The NBC site is preposterously convoluted and tends to provides schedules of when the events are actually happening without mention of when they'll be on TV.There's a little box on the front page of NBColympics.com where you can enter your zip code to get local info. I haven't tried it.

[Alex]

That little box, here's how it works (or worked for me):

I entered my zip code and submitted.
It took me to a page where I was asked to enter my zip code.
I entered my zip code and submitted.
It took me to a page that listed options for my zip code (broadcast, cable, DISH TV, etc).
I selected my cable company and submitted.
It did nothing.
I submitted.
It did nothing.
I submitted.
It took me to a page that told me that my local NBC affiliate is on channel 3.

That was all.

And if you use the left navigation drill down and click curling you go to a curling page. On the curling page is a link that says "Schedule." If you click this link you are taken to a page that tells you when all the speed skating events are happening (with no mention of when they'll be on TV).

[Ghoulish Delight]

http://online.tvguide.com/special/olympics/2006winter/guide.asp

[Stan4dSteph]

That little box, here's how it works (or worked for me):

I entered my zip code and submitted.
It took me to a page where I was asked to enter my zip code.
I entered my zip code and submitted.
It took me to a page that listed options for my zip code (broadcast, cable, DISH TV, etc).
I selected my cable company and submitted.
It did nothing.
I submitted.
It did nothing.
I submitted.
It took me to a page that told me that my local NBC affiliate is on channel 3.

That was all.

And if you use the left navigation drill down and click curling you go to a curling page. On the curling page is a link that says "Schedule." If you click this link you are taken to a page that tells you when all the speed skating events are happening (with no mention of when they'll be on TV).
Knowing the IT support I get at work, this does not surprise me.

[€uroMeinke]

I love the opening cerimonies becasue there is just no other thing like them. It's the host countries chance to load up as much cultural symbolism as possible into a huge venue with a garanteed huge audience - most of whom don't have a clue what you are doing. You're likely drawing from a huge pool of "talent" meaning many of your participants will have no talent at all. Such a monumental endevour.

And I love it - the awkward transitions, the reliance on arcane mythology, homages to the obscure - I mean, think of how they had to plan to get a Farrari on stage? Dancers, Acrobats, Children, Fire - and look at all the symbols and icons they brought on stage, the Reneissance, Futurism, Speed, Fillini, the Alps, traditional costumes, floating borders, waltzes, cows, the Blue Danube...

I don't know, I was tickled the whole time.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I thought it started pretty week...right up until the giant ski jumper. It got cool from there.

[€uroMeinke]

NPR Once again programing just for me:

Nietzsche's Love Affair with Turin (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5201822&ft=1&f=1008)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Does anyone know if opening ceremonies for prior Olympics are available on DVD anywhere, or on the net? I went to Olympics.org and they had some links to video clips for each opening ceremony through the years. I didn't watch them so I can't vouch for them.
I don't know, I was tickled the whole time.I'm with you. I love the scale, the innovation, the pageantry. At one point I turned to GD and said "I'm so glad pageantry is still around." You're right, you don't see anything like this anywhere else, and all the symbolism and oddness make it really unique.

I enjoyed nearly every minute. I think the only truly bad part was when Yoko had to READ her "poem" off a piece of paper. For God's sake, she couldn't memorize it? Oh, and she's still a nutter after all these years. Blech.

GD's Peter Gabriel/Vader observation was killing me. Every time they did a close up I was in hysterics.

But everything else was beautiful and amazing. :snap:

[Ghoulish Delight]

Stupidest line from an announcer (other than 90% of what Costas said) so far:

"There have been no upsets so far today , and none are expected."

Well, uh, yeah, if they were expected [I]they wouldn't be upsets!

[Mousey Girl]

I missed it last night, but managed to watch the beginning at 3am. By 4 am I was ready for sleep. What I did see was ok, nothing really great, just ok. I would have appreciated it more if I had been sitting in the stadium. The one thing I really liked was the music.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh hell. Looks like I'm going to have to spend the next two weeks without visiting any news sites as they all have results of stuff yet-to-be-aired right on their front page. Lame.

On another subject...oooh, ski jumping.

[Ghoulish Delight]

That little box, here's how it works (or worked for me):

I entered my zip code and submitted.
It took me to a page where I was asked to enter my zip code.
I entered my zip code and submitted.
It took me to a page that listed options for my zip code (broadcast, cable, DISH TV, etc).
I selected my cable company and submitted.
It did nothing.
I submitted.
It did nothing.
I submitted.
It took me to a page that told me that my local NBC affiliate is on channel 3.

That was all.
I just checked it out...you were one click short. Really bad design, but on the page that shows your local affiliate is a "Finish" button. That brings up the full schedule.

[Gemini Cricket]

Pavarotti needs to stop coloring his hair. We all know it ain't jet black no more. Tenors! Sheesh.
:D

[Alex]

I thought I'd clicked the button. Maybe they fixed it, I see that now the "Schedule" link on the curling page actually provides the curling schedule now (and not the speed skating schedule).

[Gemini Cricket]

Ice dancing. These commentators stink. They're so brutal yet lame. One of the Americans falls down and one says, 'That's where the inexperience shows.' Yeah? You think? The inexperienced fall a lot? Really? :D

[Not Afraid]

I missed Ice Dancing????

Damn.

Maybe it was compulsaries - those are boring. But, if it was the short program, damn.

I know Pairs short is on tonight. I'm going to park my non-bubble rush in front of the screen.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Thoughts on the new scoring system in figure skating:

1) I'm baffled. The scandal in 2002 was not becuse the scoring system was broken, it was because a couple judges cheated. So why in god's name was the scoring changed? I mean, I can understand the anonymous/9 of 12 scores at random part. That directly adressed the problem of one or two judges being able to purposely fix a score. But the whole thing about turning it all technical? Bloody pointless.

2) With this amazing new scoring system that's supposed to judge on the technical excellence of each element, then why did the American couple that landed a flawless triple axel throw and were whose synchronization was fairly good score lower than both Chinese couples, one whose synchronizatino sucked start to finish, and one who had a hand down on the very first jump?

Lame. Good skating, but lame.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I missed Ice Dancing????
I don't think it's aired out here yet.

[orbitalpunk]

wow, snowboarding is unpopular here. Can't wait for the half pipe.

[Ghoulish Delight]

wow, snowboarding is unpopular here. Can't wait for the half pipe.
Oh, me neither. Shawn White's hinted that he's got a trick or two that he didn't even pull at the X-Games. Should be awesome.

[innerSpaceman]

Waaaaaa! No Kwan!

[Not Afraid]

KWANTASTROPHE!


Well, you can't spin when your groin isn't functioning.

[Moonliner]

Waaaaaa! No Kwan!

I can't say I liked the way they bent the rules to get her on the team in the first place. I'm happy the team is back to the best skaters at this moment. Not that I plan to watch any skating with or without Kwan.

[Not Afraid]

Isn't that show Kwan ended up skating at her first Olympics?

[wendybeth]

I saw Michelle Kwan skate here a while ago- absolutely amazing. She seems to to be the Susan Lucci of skating, though- to be pretty much the best and have all these roadblocks is heartbreaking.

[Alex]

Well, since for most skaters getting gold at the Olympics is more a feat of lucky birthdate than anything else, I'd say her 5 world championships and 9 U.S. championships are more indicative of skill than an Olympic medal is (many top notch skaters blow through the prime of their career in the gap between Olympics) and even almost competing in four Olympics is pretty amazing.

But yeah, since I won't be watching any figure skating it doesn't much matter to me who actually skates, though Kwan is a much better representative to the world than many of our recent previous spotlighters.

[scaeagles]

Wow - a lot of US "stars" are gacking, big time.


Ohno - no medal in short track 1500 meter, and he was the defending gold medalist.

Womens' moguls team, supposed to win big, gacked.

Bode Miller no medal in the downhill/


We had 41 medal in Salt Lake City. Not looking like we'll be anywhere near that. I read that historically that following a year of hosting, that coutry experiences a 40% drop in medal count the next time around. Certainly looks like that will hold true this time.

[Alex]

This Slate article has four tips for ensuring a strong U.S. medal count.

http://www.slate.com/id/2135954/nav/tap1/

The one about "keep creating a bunch of stupid new sports that nobody else does" rings truest.

[Stan4dSteph]

I wouldn't say that Bode "gacked." There was a very narrow margin among those skiers from 2 - 5th where he ended up.

As long as they put out their best effort, I don't mind if they don't win a medal. Sometimes luck plays a part and it doesn't fall your way. The obsession with medal count gets on my nerves.What new sport should we invent? Hmmm...

[scaeagles]

My issue with Bode isn't that he didn't medal. With the attitude of superiority he puts forth when interviewed (except after he didn't medal), it would seem like he nrrds to back up the talk. I would never be critical of any athlete giving their all and not medaling. Just pointing out that we aren't performing as well was expected in certain events.

[Gemini Cricket]

Bode's cute. :)

[scaeagles]

I, for one, do not shed a tear for Michelle Kwan. Sorry if this makes me some mean old monster. She didn't deserve to be at the Olympics. She whined and manipulated her way in. Now she quits because she's still too hurt to skate.

Now, I would feel bad for her if, due to injury, she was unable participate in the Olympic trials and tearfully announced her retirement. I would genuinely feel for her. But to get there as she did and then give the terarful "I'm pulling out of the Olympics" speech, and to hear all the commentators gushing over her......kind of makes me ill.

[Gemini Cricket]

Being skeptical about everything, I was thinking 'Is this the real reason she is pulling out?'

[MickeyLumbo]

a good old fashioned backstage clubbing would be entertaining.:eek:

[Alex]

I got to watch an hour of curling or so last night before falling asleep so I declare the Olympics over (for me) and a success all around.

[scaeagles]

I watched some this a.m. whiling exercising. Some of the US curler chicks are hot!

[Gemini Cricket]

I'm thinking curling has nothing to do with hair...

[Ghoulish Delight]

My issue with Bode isn't that he didn't medal. With the attitude of superiority he puts forth when interviewed (except after he didn't medal), it would seem like he nrrds to back up the talk. I would never be critical of any athlete giving their all and not medaling. Just pointing out that we aren't performing as well was expected in certain events.](seeing as this has aired, I'm going sans-spoilers)

I don't really get "superiority" from Bode. I get, "Who gives a crap about what people think of me?" And I respect him for that. He's not living up to some "role model" bs, he's not partying hard and pretending to me mr. clean-cut. He's being himself and skiing the best he can. Rock on.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

FYI, we missed watching Shaun White's medal winning run, and I found it on youtube.com only hours after it had aired. I'll bet you can find nearly any video you want on there.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Pavarotti needs to stop coloring his hair. We all know it ain't jet black no more.For me, it was his eyebrows. The looked so weird to me! Kinda like they were splooshed on with a giant black Magic Marker.

[Gemini Cricket]

For me, it was his eyebrows. The looked so weird to me! Kinda like they were splooshed on with a giant black Magic Marker.
It looks like he had them plucked and dyed. You know they're grey, too.
:D
I think it was his make-up, too. Very, very white.

[€uroMeinke]

I, for one, do not shed a tear for Michelle Kwan. Sorry if this makes me some mean old monster. She didn't deserve to be at the Olympics. She whined and manipulated her way in. Now she quits because she's still too hurt to skate.

Considering it was her last Olympic performance that secured three American's chances at the Olympics instead of two, I had no problem with her being allowed to come to Torino. It's not an unusual occurance in fielding an Olympic figure skating team. I think evryone was hopefull that she could heal in time, and I applaud her for aknowledging that despite her efforts she can't.

There are some real jerks in the skating world, but I don't think Michelle Kwan is one of them.

[Not Afraid]

OUCH!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Seriously. Ouch was definitely the word of the day with 2 falls in women's skiing, an American knocked unconcsious in a luge crash, and of course figure skating. Ouch.

Was it just me, or did the look on Tatiana Totmianina's face when they announced Xiang and Xiang's score say, "Damnit, no one's going to talk about our gold, all anyone's going to talk about is that bitch falling and winning silver. Bitch."

I think the women's snowboard judging gives way too much weight to "amplitude". The winning runs were certainly huge, but that's all they were. One of the medal runs had one 720, a 900 with no grab, an invert 540, and a that's it. Meanwhile, Hight, the 16 year old, did two 720s, a 540, and a 900 with a grab, all clean, and she ended up 5th, simply because she didn't go as big. Bleh. On the other hand, Kelly Clark's run was out of this world. She probably shouldn't have gone for that 900 at the bottom, but I'm glad she did, even though she didn't land it.

[Mousey Girl]

I think part of her look was her reliving the parts of her own fall that she can remember.

[Ghoulish Delight]

I think part of her look was her reliving the parts of her own fall that she can remember.
I like my version better.

[Not Afraid]

Pairs skating is so dangerous. I've seen some really bad falls and they make me cringe every time I witness a lift or a throw.

I'm really sorry the Chinese couple didn't complete a quad in performance. I'd love to have seen that. But, her fall looked nasty! I can't believe they were able to complete their program and do it so beautifully.

I loved the piece they did about the Chinese coach. Going to your first Olympics without a coach never having been outside your country before, learning how to skate from pictures, being laughed at, coming in dead last........I think the definition of determiniation added a new example.

It was fun watching the half-pipe, but I know NOTHING about the sport. I felt like I was watching foreign television.

And the look on Cheek's face when he saw his first time was priceless!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh yeah, Cheek. That was awesome.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Ice dancing. These commentators stink. They're so brutal yet lame. One of the Americans falls down and one says, 'That's where the inexperience shows.' Yeah? You think? The inexperienced fall a lot? Really? Flash forward to the long program, where of the same couple he says, "They've got a lot of maturity..."

CP and I were rolling our eyes at the commentators for figure skating a lot. I swear, if I heard one more time about how horrible someone's entry into the death spiral was...

[Not Afraid]

Dick Button seems to pick one or two moves to be obsessed about and they usually involve the ass. He's an ass man all the way.

Sandra us a choreographer and I like her attention to the choreography elements. She's a much better commentator, IMHO. My favorite it Scott Hamilton. His enthusiasm is infectious and I really like his commentary. I know he was diagnosed with a brain tumor recently but I'm not sure if that it the reason he is not around. Or, maybe I just don't watch enough TV.

[scaeagles]

He (Hamilton) has been demoted to "Skating with Celebreties". I'm sure he's thrilled about that.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Heh, American figure skating champion, Johnny Weir was wearing a Micky sweater while warming up for his short program.

[€uroMeinke]

So NBC decided to go with the local pronounciation and spelling of the olympic location, "Torino" instead of the accepted anglicization of "Turin." Do you suppose other Angicized names will soon be dropped for their less familiar local names? Will we visit Firenza and Roma in the Future?

[scaeagles]

Hmmm...If an American Skater has respect for Russian culture, that's cool, but I think there's a better way to show that than to where a sweatshirt, during warmups, that says "CCCP".

I'm not that upset that an American skater wore a sweatshirt from another country (or former country), though I thought it to be odd when he is there representing the USA, but why one that says CCCP?

[innerSpaceman]

Sorry, but what's "CCCP?"

Oh, and I'd love it if we dropped the retarded anglicization of non-anglo place names. What an arrogant and stupid, not to mention anachronistic, practice!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Sorry, but what's "CCCP?"
Wow, has it really been that long that people don't remember this? CCCP is the cyrilic acronym for the country name "USSR" in the Russian language.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Anyone catch the combined downhill/slalom event yesterday? Major drama as Bode Miller was disqualified when his ski just barely missed one of the gates. He didn't realize it during the run, it was only caught on a replay. Just one of those things.

Meanwhile, American Ted Ligety was behind by over 3 seconds after the downhill run, but made up the difference and then some in his two slalom runs to take the gold by a convincing margin. The top slalom skier in the world missed a gate in his final run, which take a little bit away from the victory, but even before he missed that gate, he looked like he was going to loose the time to Ligety. It was a really excellent performance for him. So while a few American favorites have been faltering thus far, some longshots like Ligety and Cheek seem to be picking up the slack.

[scaeagles]

I thought it was interesting last night, after seeing Bode Millers disqualification, to hear the announcers talk about how many American skiers have been disqualified in recent high level skiing competitions for just that recently. I don't recall the number, but there was a bunch, and of course I don't know how many skiers from other countries have experienced the same thing recently.

[scaeagles]

Wow, has it really been that long that people don't remember this? CCCP is the cyrilic acronym for the country name "USSR" in the Russian language.

So did anyone else find this to be in bad taste? Or am I the only one?

[Ghoulish Delight]

So did anyone else find this to be in bad taste? Or am I the only one?Which American was it?

[Stan4dSteph]

So did anyone else find this to be in bad taste? Or am I the only one?Nope. Not in bad taste. It's something you wouldn't necessarily be able to buy in a store, thus raising its cool factor.

It was Johnny Weir, GD. He was wearing it in one of those "bio" pieces.

[scaeagles]

Well, I suppose that Olympic participants from Latvia or Estonia or Lithuania or any other number of former Soviets states might disagree. Something tells me seeing a sweatshirt (which I believe de facto shows support) of their former political oppressors wouldn't seem too cool.

But it is possible that I am over reacting to it. I don't think the guy is a jerk - just that he made a really poor decision.

[Ghoulish Delight]

It was Johnny Weir, GD. He was wearing it in one of those "bio" pieces.Oh, then my reaction would be :rolleyes: , which is my reaction just about anything Weir does or says. He strikes me as someone trying a little too hard to be little mr. rebel.

[Not Afraid]

Yeah, Wier is a poessuer rebel, but I still am amused by him. And, he's a great skater, which is the most important factor.

I didn't notice his CCCP shirt, but I did notice his cool Mickey shirt. So, did he switch from support of fomer political oppressors to support of famous capitalist icons?

[Prudence]

Союз Советских Социалистических Республик.

Or, if you prefer, Soyuz Sovietskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik.

3 years of Russian and I still had to look up the spelling. Oh, the shame.

[scaeagles]

Anyone who learns Russian has my admiration. Language is one thing, a completely new alphabet is another.

[€uroMeinke]

I have no problem with the CCCP jacket thing, it's just another cold war icon made into fashion. I bet you can buy them at your local Hot Topic next the the Che T-shirts.

But I also own a CCCP tie that I used to wear on May Days in the hopes to see a parade of Tanks.

[Not Afraid]

Why, Cafe Press, who does the LoT swag, has over 800 CCCP items to choose from. (http://www.cafepress.com/shop/wire/browse/CCCP?CMP=KAC-googleh&ef_id=1129a242b78c0460b3618bfa615731760da9bqUENIYX sAAHanShkAAAAI)

ETA: I like the selection on this site (http://www.bornintheussr.com/shirts1.htm) - escpecially the Space Shuttle shirt.

http://www.bornintheussr.com/t098s.jpg

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Ugh, poseur rebel just wanted some press.

I know € would only wear it for the mischievous silliness, but I personally find the wearing a shirt for an overthrown regime famous for repression to be gross. This made me think about China, and I realized I probably wouldn't have a problem with a Chinese-American wearing a "People's Republic of China" shirt because that's their deal...but if the current regime were overthrown then I'd feel differently. Weird, eh?

[Not Afraid]

It's fashion. And Johnny Wier is hip to rebel fashions of the moment. Hell, I did the same thing only not on national TV. Yeah, I think he tries too hard and is a posseur, but go to Goth Day at Disneyland as see oodles of posseurs who "go Goth" for the day. Big deal.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I understand the need to mess with people using fashion - I used to do it a lot. But I still can't say that a shirt supporting communist Russia is cool. At its worst, Stalin killed 20 million people. At it's best, it still had full control over the media, over freedom of expression, over challenging authority. What they did to their kids in their education system is not funny.

Wearing a funky outfit - go for it. But wearing a CCCP shirt because you have freedom of expression doesn't make much sense to me.

[scaeagles]

Speaking of China, I am not really happy about Beijing being awarded the 08 summer Olympics.

That being said, however, some of the venues being built there are pretty cool. The entire side of the main basketball arena being built is going to be a TV so that people who couldn't get tickets can see what's happening.

The entire side of the building. How cool is that? They are having s afew engineering issues, but they are still thinking they'll have it done.

[Prudence]

When I see a CCCP shirt I tend to assume it's not so much a "yay weren't they cool" but more of a "ha-ha! you lost! now we treat you like a cartoon character."

[Snowflake]

But I also own a CCCP tie that I used to wear on May Days in the hopes to see a parade of Tanks.

That day may come and sooner than we think!

Donna

[scaeagles]

When I see a CCCP shirt I tend to assume it's not so much a "yay weren't they cool" but more of a "ha-ha! you lost! now we treat you like a cartoon character."

So, wearing a shirt with Stalin on it is roughly equivalent to wearing one with Mickey Mouse?

[Not Afraid]

So, wearing a shirt with Stalin on it is roughly equivalent to wearing one with Mickey Mouse?

In 2006, yeah, sort of.

[innerSpaceman]

And just because a regime has been overthrown makes its symbols verbotten? There are plenty of symbols at the Olympic games that are offensive to most of the world population ... the American flag being chief among them.


Get over it.

[scaeagles]

Get over it.

Having a bad day? I don't think anyone here is throwing any sort of fit they need to get over.....it's simply a point of discussion.

[innerSpaceman]

Sorry, but I find taking offense at someone's sweatshirt reference to a former national regime to be so trifling as to assume an odd fixation exists in even bringing the subject up.


Still, I apologize for my lapse in manners.

[Ghoulish Delight]

What if it were a swastika?

[Not Afraid]

The swastika is a terrible example. There was so much Hindu symbolism tied up in the swastika long before Hitler took it over. It's become taboo in Western cultures but, with the continual blending of East and West, I wonder how long that will remain the case.

[Ghoulish Delight]

The swastika is a terrible example. There was so much Hindu symbolism tied up in the swastika long before Hitler took it over. It's become taboo in Western cultures but, with the continual blending of East and West, I wonder how long that will remain the case.
OKay fine, what if it were a shirt that said "Nazi Germany".

[Not Afraid]

I'm probably not the best person to argue about this. I could care less what people wear on their shirts. I get more disgusted by some of the shirts at T-shirt hell than is someone was to wear "Nazi Germany" emblazened on their chest. But, people can wear what they want and I can be disgusted as I choose. No big deal.




Now, where is my Anarchy Now shirt?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Likewise, I don't particularly care. Largely because I choose to ignore most of what Weir says anyway. But I do find the choice to be in poor taste. I'm obviously not going to call for his head on a platter, but while the Mickey sweater ammused me and raised my esteem for him in a minor way, a CCCP sweater just confirms in my mind his status as someone whom I don't particularly respect.

[mousepod]

OKay fine, what if it were a shirt that said "Nazi Germany".

Oh great. One more thing I can't wear to the park.

Seriously though, I think that the CCCP iconography has become a part of fashion. Silly fashion, mind you, but fashion nonetheless. While I agree that many people find old Soviet Union stuff to be representational of an oppressive regime - that's just the viewer applying his own point of view on someone else's fashion choice. I'll bet there are thousands (millions?) of people who felt that life was OK during the time of the USSR, and don't attach any of the totalitarian or oppressive tags to their opinion. Personally, I'm not a fan of the "big brother" government that the USSR represented (at best), but I'll bet there are people who'll find a red, white and blue shirt with USA emblazoned on it offensive for just that reason - and I'm including many in free and democratic countries when I say that.

[Not Afraid]

I sort of like the fact that he gave us a range of Capitalist Icon to Former Opressor to choose from. I mean, what a great dichotomy.

[innerSpaceman]

What about an FCUK shirt? Those were popular awhile back. Certainly potentially offensive, for reasons outside of geopolitics. There's just no accounting for taste.

[Prudence]

I don't know that "Nazi Germany" is the best analogy. It was called Germany then and it's called Germany now and people who wear shirts with "Germany" across the front don't often offend the public.

Unless iSm's around, of course.

Similarly, CCCP was the name of the country. If they'd knocked off the gulag nonsense and become respectable world citizens and still wanted to call themselves CCCP would that be a problem? If the People's Republic of China embraces individual freedoms and renames itself will People's Republic of China shirts be socially forbidden?

I'm trying to think of a better analogy and of course I can't. Maybe "Soviet Gulag"?

Anyhow, I think any item has the potential to offend someone and one makes one's fashion decisions accordingly. I will probably hear in class yet again today about the ramifications of wearing a "fvck the draft" t-shirt in a court house, because we're up to 1st amendment issues. If I really really want to wear a fylfot on my shirt I can, but I should be prepared for the reaction. I think "Nazi Germany" on a shirt might rile a number of people - probably most people. Clearly some people here find CCCP offense. Others find it to be so much kitsch. I suspect that in a larger population the latter out number the former, so it's not solidly in the "poor taste" group.

[innerSpaceman]

zapppop delights in wearing offensive t-shirts. Fortunately, he's not likely to become a posseur rebel Olympic athlete.


But I wonder what shirts posseur rebel Olympic athletes would wear to Gay Day?

[scaeagles]

As a court professional, would you wear a "Fvck the draft" t-shirt in a courthouse? I would guess not, because you are, well, a professional. There are places and times where certain things aren't appropriate.

Likewise, an athlete from the USA, representing the USA, while that person does indeed have an individual personality, bears a certain amount of responsibility. We fought a long cold war and a couple indirect hot wars with the Soviets. If you want to wear a CCCP sweatshirt, fine, but not as a representative of the USA.

It isn't an issue of offense.....it's an issue of decorum.

[MickeyLumbo]

It isn't an issue of offense.....it's an issue of decorum.

precisely why i will refrain from a post about wearing a DCA t-shirt.:evil:

[innerSpaceman]

Eh, it always bugs me when they tout the medal count as being the medals of the USA. I know that the athletes are there via their nationality, but they are not playing as part of a "team." They are individual athletes competing for the most part quite individually.

I don't think the USA earns any gold medals. And, despite the trappings, I never think of the American athletes as belonging to "Team USA."


I'll concede, though, that - like it or not - they are representing the United States in some fashion (not meant to be a pun).

[Moonliner]

Bahh, it was a gift from a Russian skater. He respects the Russian skaters and wears it because a friend gave it to him. The fact that it's a bit "in your face" is just a bonus for him...

Nothing to see here, move along...

[Not Afraid]

Weir, who loves the country so much he taught himself to speak the language, seems awed by Russian style and excellence, but he admits most of his countrymen don't share his instinct to sit back and simply applaud.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021300722.html

[Ghoulish Delight]

Similarly, CCCP was the name of the country. If they'd knocked off the gulag nonsense and become respectable world citizens and still wanted to call themselves CCCP would that be a problem? But they didn't, they change the name. Thus, CCCP specifically represents an opressive, murderous regime, not the entire history of the region. That's why simply saying, "Germany" isn't a good analogy. "Nazi Germany" specifies a particular period of the history, just as CCCP does.

Like scaeagles, it's not the wearing of the sweater, it's the wearing of the sweater in a professional setting that bugs.

[Prudence]

Guess it's just one more reason for me to burn in hell.

[Gemini Cricket]

The swastika is a terrible example. There was so much Hindu symbolism tied up in the swastika long before Hitler took it over. It's become taboo in Western cultures but, with the continual blending of East and West, I wonder how long that will remain the case.
Now correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a reverse swastika a Chinese symbol for good luck? I see it on Chinese lanterns a lot. If the symbol faces the way 2 letter S's face then it's SS for SwaStika (at least that's how I remember it). If it faces the other way it means good luck.
Has anyone else heard this?

[Gemini Cricket]

zapppop delights in wearing offensive t-shirts.
While not necessarily offensive, doesn't he have an 'Asthma is Sexy' shirt? I remember him posting it somewhere. Now that's funny.
:D

[Ghoulish Delight]

Now correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a reverse swastika a Chinese symbol for good luck? I see it on Chinese lanterns a lot. If the symbol faces the way 2 letter S's face then it's SS for SwaStika (at least that's how I remember it). If it faces the other way it means good luck.
Has anyone else heard this?
Acutally, both the clockwise and counter clockwise versions have been used by many cultures before and after the Nazis.

[Prudence]

But they didn't, they change the name. Thus, CCCP specifically represents an opressive, murderous regime, not the entire history of the region. That's why simply saying, "Germany" isn't a good analogy. "Nazi Germany" specifies a particular period of the history, just as CCCP does.


I still disagree. "Nazi" is inherently evil. It's not a matter of individually objectionable leaders, it is a philosophy that is itself evil. Communism is not inherently evil. Stalin was about as oppressive and murderous as they come, but he's certainly not alone in history. He also doesn't represent the entire history of CCCP. There are plenty of Russians who'd like to go back to CCCP - and not because they favor gulags.

[scaeagles]

I still disagree. "Nazi" is inherently evil. It's not a matter of individually objectionable leaders, it is a philosophy that is itself evil. Communism is not inherently evil. Stalin was about as oppressive and murderous as they come, but he's certainly not alone in history. He also doesn't represent the entire history of CCCP. There are plenty of Russians who'd like to go back to CCCP - and not because they favor gulags.

Stalin may not represent the entire history of the CCCP, but are you suggesting that the political oppression and human rights abuses under Brezhnev or Kruschev (please excuse my seplling if I'm getting them wrong) was OK? There were probably plenty of Germans who would have liked to back to Nazi Germany as well.

CCCP does represent political oppression and suppression of human freedom. What else does it represent?

[Gemini Cricket]

Anyone remember the song 'American Soviets' by the group CCCP?
Cold War 80's song.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Fashion pushes all kinds of clothing that make me gag. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Also doesn't mean I'm offended. I'm almost never "offended" by anything. We all have a right to do things that other people wouldn't do.

I'm not offended by the CCCP shirt, I just think it was a lame decision, seeing how he's representing the US. I agree with scaeagles.

I probably would raise an eyebrow at anyone wearing a CCCP shirt at any time, but I do the same to people with ridiculous hair or ill-fitting pants.

[innerSpaceman]

Switching away for a moment from the important Olympics fashion faux-pas ....

Daily Variety reported today that, well, nobody is watching the Olympics. Ratings in the States are miserable. With the games outside the U.S. this time, there's been plenty of network competition scheduled from the likes of American Idol and other heavy hitters.

The lack of compelling storylines in these Winter games is also cited as a reason for the lame levels of viewership. Heheh, note that we've had to talk about nothing but sweatshirt slogans for two days. Yep, nothing worthwhile going on in Turrino.

[scaeagles]

Topics of important happenings at the Olympics:

Russian doping scandal in the hugely popular choice of fans everywhere biathalon. OK....maybe not hugely popular.

Then there's....um.....the hot chicks on the US women's curling team.

Then there's....um.....the cat fight a-brewing between the US womens and Canadian womens hockey teams. (The US has accused the Canadians of running up scores against their opponents, which may be true considering they are winning 16-0, 12-0, etc, but tone tie breaker is goals scored, so....maybe that's valid)

That may be about it.

OH! I almost forgot! That pillar of popularity Bryant Gumbel has referred to winter Olympians as pseudo-athletes and criticized the games in many ways, one of which being because they are "whiter than a GOP convention". I think Bryant Gumbal is a pseudo news-man being that so few people actually watch him it is possible that he doesn't actually report anything.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yep, nothing worthwhile going on in Turrino.Bah. Cheeks winning surprise gold in speed skating. Ligety winning surprise gold in downhill/slalom combined. Xiang and Xiang finishing their routine and winning silver after a fall that would have had any normal human being in the hospital. Plashenko's record score in the short program. I've unfortunately had tonight's broadcast of the inaugural snowborder cross event spoiled for me today, but I suggest you tune in as it's got a great finish.

And we're not even half way through the games yet.

[innerSpaceman]

Won't tune in. I've been spoiled on that, too. Other than the Xiang-Xiang thing, there's been nothing dramatic. People winning gold medals is NOT dramatic; that's what's supposed to happen.

That long-shots are winning over favorites is not really that big a deal, dramatically.


Believe me, I'm not complaining that the games is a sporting event rather than a soap opera ... just pointing out that the sporting angle is obviously not enough to lure viewers away from American Idol (or to lure swanksters away from sweatshirt criticism).

[Ghoulish Delight]

(or to lure swanksters away from sweatshirt criticism).We'd be doing that no matter what. That's what we do.

I haven't found these Olympics any more or less dramatic than others. I think the biggest factors are 1) it always suffers when it's outside the US because of the huge time delay and the fact that results are all over the place hours before it airs, 2) American Idol is getting absolutely mamoth ratings, nothing is tearing people away from that, 3) Winter Olympics are always a little weak ratings-wise in the US because US athletes just aren't as dominant as in the summer games.

[innerSpaceman]

Well, anecdotal as this may be ... I'm not watching them at all (and I'm usually glued to them).

[Not Afraid]

I watch figure skating. And I never turn on the TV.

I do think it is funny that the media has pumped up a bunch of athletes who haven't been spectacular. I mean, Bode who? Oh, and are there other figure skaters out there besides Michelle Kwan? I guess they haven't had a good week in Vegas.

Oh, and ALL this coverage and WHERE is the most famous resident of Turino? Anyone heard from the shroud lately?

[Matterhorn Fan]

One of the guys on the Daily Show was wearing it last week.

[€uroMeinke]

CCCP does represent political oppression and suppression of human freedom. What else does it represent?

Cosmonauts!

[Ghoulish Delight]

That long-shots are winning over favorites is not really that big a deal, dramatically.So what is your definition of drama?

[innerSpaceman]

Oh, um, there was that thingy that happened at women's gymnastics a few Olympics back. Something where some girl was injured, but had to pull it together for the U.S. to win. It was a really tense final competition and she pulled it off, but then collapsed in a broken heap. The U.S. won, and she was on the Wheaties box the following week. I don't remember her name or any of the details, but it was about the most dramatic thing I've ever seen at the Olympics.

Then there was the thug-clubbing with those two bimbo figure skaters. Oooh, it was so dramatic that I even remember their names are Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. Hahaha, they will live in infamy. Tonya got to skate, despite being like a Darwin's Award mastermind behind the clubbing attack on her rival. She goes out on the ice and gets her laces all tangled up and trips and has to start over, but blows it completely ... cause like she's a skanky criminal on worldwide tv. Hahaha, how was that for drama?!?


And we wonder why womens' gymnastics and womens' figure skating are the hot sports at the Olympics.

[wendybeth]

Isn't Tonya mud-wrestling or some such thing these days?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh, um, there was that thingy that happened at women's gymnastics a few Olympics back. Something where some girl was injured, but had to pull it together for the U.S. to win. It was a really tense final competition and she pulled it off, but then collapsed in a broken heap. The U.S. won, and she was on the Wheaties box the following week. I don't remember her name or any of the details, but it was about the most dramatic thing I've ever seen at the Olympics.Okay, but what does that have to do with ratings? Such things can't be known until people are watching and they happen. They really have no affect on the rating.

And, for the record, while compared to the rest of televsion, the ratings have been bad, it's the best ratings NBC has gotten in a long time. So this may just be a matter of NBC sucking wind.

[scaeagles]

If I wasn't married I might be stalking one particular women on the US curling team. That fair skinned red head with the smile.

[MickeyLumbo]

If I wasn't married I might be stalking one particular women on the US curling team. That fair skinned red head with the smile.

you go, boy!:p

er, um, you don't go boy.

[Ghoulish Delight]

If I wasn't married I might be stalking one particular women on the US curling team. That fair skinned red head with the smile.She is cute. Hell, they're all cute.

[€uroMeinke]

Maybe there will be a curling team calendar

[scaeagles]

Maybe there will be a curling team calendar

NBC could up their ratings - change the Olympic rules to require all women's sports be done in bikinis. Curling in bikinis, downhill in bikinis, moguls in bikinis....

[Snowflake]

NBC could up their ratings - change the Olympic rules to require all women's sports be done in bikinis. Curling in bikinis, downhill in bikinis, moguls in bikinis....

and the guys in speedos:evil: (some of the guys, NOT Dick Button, thank you very much, nor Bob Costas, Jim Lamply, etc.)

[scaeagles]

She is cute. Hell, they're all cute.

I've always been one more attacted to the "girl next door" type rather than the "super model" type.

[Not Afraid]

Snowboardcross - or whatever it is called - it sort of like watching Roller Derby with men.

The highlights of last night were Evan L doing so well in the long and a Swiss skater winning silver. I can name only one other recent Swiss skater - Denise Bielman. His tears were touching.

[innerSpaceman]

Okay, but what does that have to do with ratings? Such things can't be known until people are watching and they happen. They really have no affect on the rating.
Sorry to get back to this so late, but this thread has grown a bit over night.

I just must point out that these things became known as the Olympics proceeded, and ratings skyrocketed as the dramas moved along. The Tonya/Nancy thing was news from the beginning. And the gymnastics competition heated up and then got huge ratings for the final showdown where the injured girl's performance would likely (and did) decide the difference between winning and losing. That the final performances turned out to be uber-dramatic does not mean that the drama was not anticipated, and tuned into, aforehand. It was in both cases.

It was the Drama Gods who saw to it that drama was fulfilled for all we mortals who tuned in for the drama we sought.

[innerSpaceman]

As for the prevailing topic of cuteness and skin ... well, we have the summer Olympics for near-naked cuties.

I find the winter Olympians, ironically, to be much hotter.

[Ghoulish Delight]

So I'm not saying Plashenko didn't deserve the gold, but 82 on the Program Component (nee artistic impression)? Hardly.

Bummer that Lyscek was just barely judged out of the bronze. What a superb performance he had in the free skate (it doesn't even need the "especially after the disasterous short progrm" qualifier. It was just awesome).

[DisneyDaniel]

Excerpt from this article (http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=33147):

Johnny Weir, second after the short program, dropped to fifth overall with a free skate that included six triples and only one combination. Weir said a lack of preparation for the free skate after he missed the bus for the arena didn't help his cause. He had to take a car to Palavela and didn't arrive until 9:20 p.m., less than an hour before he was to take the ice for warm-up.

"I felt very rushed," he said. "I missed the bus and had to jump in a car. I got here late. I never caught up to myself, and my body didn't catch up.

"I'm very disappointed in myself. I'm beyond angry with myself right now," he continued. "My elements weren't strong. I don't deserve a medal tonight; I didn't expect one."
In tough competition such as the Olympics, isn't mental preparedness just as important as physical skill? Hence, Weir didn't expect to get a medal, so he didn't ... and he didn't skate very well in the free skate either.

Onto women's figure skating, I think this is Sasha Cohen's time to shine. She's proven she has the athletic skill, artistry and elegance to compete on the international level. As long as she doen't make any small mistakes--the cause of her several second and third places in recent years--I think there's a chance Sasha (a Southern California/Newport Beach resident) could beat Russia's Irina Slutskaya for the gold.

[innerSpaceman]

Ooooh, if she wins - being a local - will she be "going to Disneyland?"

[scaeagles]

If she does, all 200 of the people around the country watching the Olympics will hear about it, I'm sure. :)

[Moonliner]

Ooooh, if she wins - being a local - will she be "going to Disneyland?"

If she does you can be sure she won't be wearing a mic (http://www.annoying.info/2001/view.asp?ID=336)while riding in the parade. :eek:

[DisneyDaniel]

If she does you can be sure she won't be wearing a mic (http://www.annoying.info/2001/view.asp?ID=336)while riding in the parade. :eek:
Hehehe...
I had forgotten about Nancy Kerrigan's corny comment to Mickey Mouse. :rolleyes:

[Stan4dSteph]

Men's curling makes me laugh.

"Haaaaaaaaard!"
"Yeeeeeeeeeeees!"
"Wooooooooooooah!"

[Not Afraid]

Well, that is the BEST I've ever seen Sashe Cohen skate. Let's hope she can keep it up on the long program. Her lead is TINY and Irian Slutskya is a tough competitor. Thursday should be fun!

[Ghoulish Delight]

I really liked Gegevanishvili and Suguri's programs. Really entertaining. Cohen and Slutskaya were technically outstanding, but uninteresting to watch.

Dick Button is an Ass.

[Gemini Cricket]

Are the Olympics still on?
When are the closing ceremonies?
:p

[scaeagles]

I watch curling again this morning while exercising.

Trust me - none of the other women's teams are hot like the US team. Not even close. Hardly worth watching.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

I think we are forgetting what's really important about the Olympics... checking out hot guys! :evil:
So in that spirit, I present to you (courtesy of OutSports (http://www.outsports.com/)):
The Art of Speed Skating (http://www.outsports.com/olympics/2006torino/broeksmaspeedskatingimages.htm)
Hot Jocks of Torino (http://www.outsports.com/olympics/2006torino/torinohotjocks.htm)
The second site is work safe. The first one shows a great deal of skin and some artistic nudity, but no genetalia.

[Gemini Cricket]

Jeremy Bloom!
Biiiig smile. :)

[DisneyDaniel]

Well, that is the BEST I've ever seen Sashe Cohen skate. Let's hope she can keep it up on the long program. Her lead is TINY and Irian Slutskya is a tough competitor. Thursday should be fun!
Right before Sasha skated, I felt a little sorry for the Italian skater who fell on her first jump and then skated inconsistently for the rest of the program--in front of the host-country crowd. But this is the Olympics where screw ups are more costly and potentially embarassing.

Sasha was radiant, full of energy, and technically superb! After her first-place finish in the short program, I wanted to shout out: "Way to go, but don't screw it up (again) in the long program with any mistakes." Yes, let's hope Thursday night will be her golden moment.

[Not Afraid]

It was nice to see John Nicks so happy. He was the coach of my skater friends and he can be a very serious grump when he's not happy.

[scaeagles]

I'm freakin' sick of this Olympic crap and the largely spoiled brat athletes.

The US hockey team members are all sniping at each other because, well, they sucked. "If I had played more we would have done better, wah, wah, wah." Go screw yourself, crybaby whiners.

Our best speed skaters (mens) can't seem to shake hands and be happy for one another.

Our supposed hope in the alpine events, being Bode Miller, doesn't even seem to care that he hasn't performed anywhere near his potential. I honestly don't care that he didn't win. I just think if you're going to go to the Olympics you should damn well give it your best, and I'm not convinced he did.

Michelle Kwan whined her way into the Olympics and then quit.

I don't know....maybe I'm making too much of this, but there are more examples.

Anyone ever watch the X-games? What I love about the X-games is that the athletes genuinely love to watch each other and have tremendous respect for one another. There's none of the bickering and whining and jealousy.....those guys (and girls) participate in their sports because they love their sports.

I know many of the Olympic athletes do, and that the arguing and fighting makes a better news story than does the happy people all getting along. Sigh.

[Ghoulish Delight]

May I suggest getting a DVR. Much easier to ignore all that crap.

[Gemini Cricket]

What bugs me are the announcers that are just completely bashing what a particular athlete is doing.
"Oh, look so-in-so is having an off night. Not his best performance. That is such a shame. Terrible. And he knows it."

I'm like, 'Oh, yeah? Let's see you do it, fartypants.'
:D

[Not Afraid]

YEah, NBC seems to be struggling to find what sells and grasping at straws. The only "controversy" that I even cared about was the Italian pairs skaters - and that was because it was so incredibally like a soap opera and hard to believe it was real.

Bodi is lame.

Chad and Shawnie need to screw each other. There's obviously some latent sexual tension there.

Oh, and when you've blown out BOTH knees doing arials wouldn't you think that was a sign from God to stop doing them?

[scaeagles]

Oh, and when you've blown out BOTH knees doing arials wouldn't you think that was a sign from God to stop doing them?

I'd take it as such, but you've got to admire the guts of that Aussie girl (at least I think that's who you are speaking of). Major reconstructive surgery only 7 months ago and your are doing a sport that involves landing on your feet from a 50 foot fall? Guts....or stupidity. Whichever.

[Not Afraid]

Yeah, at first I was admiring her guts and tenacity, then the more I thought about it, I just kept landing on stupid. But, hey, she got a bronze.

[Prudence]

Chad and Shawnie need to screw each other. There's obviously some latent sexual tension there.


Show of hands - who else watched that press conference and was expecting one of them to jump up and shout "Bitch, you did *not* just say that"?

[Not Afraid]

http://www.tcnj.edu/~ladisla2/raised%20hand.gif

[Ghoulish Delight]

Yeah, at first I was admiring her guts and tenacity, then the more I thought about it, I just kept landing on stupid. But, hey, she got a bronze.Oh, that one. She was only 4 months out of surgery (don't recall her nationality). The Aussie that was 7 months out of surgery actually did blow her knee out again in quals. They kept showing it over and over, including the audio of her shrieking in agony.

What bugs me are the announcers that are just completely bashing what a particular athlete is doing.This is why I'm absolutely loathing Dick Button right now. I don't know if NBC decided that to compete with American Idol they had to have one person be the Simonesque asshole, but it's really getting old.

It was bad enough when Dick was criticizing the hell out of the lower-rung competitors, while being a total appologist for the top 5 contenders (suddenly his comments would go from, "That was just a terrible example of that move" to, "A small bobble, but it can be overlooked" for the more well known skaters). But he crossed the line for me the other night when he said of one skater, "She needs to not just go to the gym to work out, but she need to think when she's there." Scott Hamilton must have shot him a look or something becuase he pathetically followed it with, "I hope that's not being unkind." :rolleyes:

[Stan4dSteph]

Yeah, those aerials athletes are nuts. However, since they keep opting for the allograft there's no shortage of ligaments to worry about, as long as people keep dying.

[Not Afraid]

Dick Button picks a body part and/or move to concentrate on every year.

This is the Year of the Ass (especially involving a sit spin and a death spiral).

[Ghoulish Delight]

I may have to change my opinion of Ice Dancing...

http://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/ap/20060220/capt.olypa22102202100.winter_olympics_figure_skati ng_ice_dancing_tr2_russia_olypa221.jpg?x=380&y=329&sig=HvJrXRnJ.NwyWXcdexabpA--

[Gemini Cricket]

Women's ice skating commentators:

Male Announcer: "Well, she hasn't started skating yet but, boy, does she stink."
Female Announcer: "Yes, you're right. I can smell her stinkiness from here."
Male Announcer: "Her short program sucked, too. We can't expect much from her tonight, I'm afraid."
Female Announcer: "Nope."
Male Announcer: "She's starting off her routine strong, but she's just not into it."
Female Announcer: "Boy, her routine is so bad it's giving me hives."
Male Announcer: "No passion, no drive. Gee, I think she should go out into the parking lot and shoot herself in the face."
Female Announcer: "That's what I'd do if I were her."
Male Announcer: "My biggest complaint is about her shoelaces. They're sticking out, she should tuck them in. That's really ruining it for me."
Female Announcer: "I stopped paying attention, she's horrid. I wish the ice were too thin to skate on."
Male Announcer: "What a disappointment."
Female Announcer: "Completely."
Male Announcer: "I hate to be so negative, but she deserves it."
Female Announcer: "If I see her off the ice later, I'm going to tell her off."
Male Announcer: "Well, her routine finally ended and not a moment too soon."
Female Announcer: "Her score puts her in first place."
Male Announcer: "And I, for one, think that's wonderful."
:D





These judges are brutal!

[Not Afraid]

Male Announcer: "My biggest complaint is about her shoelaces. They're sticking out, she should tuck them in. That's really ruining it for me."


OMG I tnougnt you were joking!

[mousepod]

Is it me... or is the music they keep playing to go to commercial the theme from "Brisco County Jr."?

[wendybeth]

I defy anyone to grow up with the unfortunate moniker of 'Dick Button' and not be a bit of a bastard.

I confess I have had zero interest in these Olympics, excepting the psycho-Austrian drama, of course.

[mousepod]

Should have searched before I posted:
Though the show only lasted one season, the series' majestic theme song composed by Randy Edelman found a new life as part of NBC's sports productions, namely during NBC broadcasts of the World Series and the Olympic Games (played while announcing the upcoming events).

[Prudence]

Brisco County Jr. was one of the best shows ever.

[wendybeth]

I love Bruce Campbell- have his autobiography, which is hilarious.

[scaeagles]

I am not one who follows or watches figure skating. Do skaters usually fall this much? It seems like all you have to do is stay on your feet and you win a medal. Some fall and still win medals.

[Gemini Cricket]

OMG I tnougnt you were joking!
:D I couldn't believe my ears. Shoelaces? I haven't heard anyone else criticize a skater's shoelaces before...
:D

[innerSpaceman]

Um, Tanya Harding anyone? She made skatelaces famous! (or is that infamous?)



As the only night of Olympics coverage I watched, I must say it was terriby disappointing. The Japanese skater who won gold (is it Arakawa?) did so only by not falling on her face. She was generally graceful and pleasant and professional and poised, but would not have come near a gold CD during an Olympics where the top skaters didn't fudge their programs.


That said, Cohen's skating is so artistically beautiful and elegant that I'm really glad she had the true professionalism to put so much moxie into her program after falling twice. I somehow consider it more of a feat to pull off a beautiful performance in the face of failure than to just pull off a beautiful performance without flaw. A silver medal richly deserved, imo.



And yes, Dick Button is a buttwad. Hahaha, I hope he lived all the scorn imaginable by virtue of having that name (thanks for pointing that out, Wendybeth). Someone should radio broadcast a fitting musical accompaniment timed to the network tv coverage. If I didn't have to listen to the beyond-lame commentators, I might just start watching the Olympics again.


I think one of the main reasons I want to go to Vancouver in four years is so that I can see the Olympics without the agony of watching the lame-tard TV coverage.

[MickeyLumbo]

I somehow consider it more of a feat to pull off a beautiful performance in the face of failure than to just pull off a beautiful performance without flaw. A silver medal richly deserved, imo.



And yes, Dick Button is a buttwad. Hahaha, I hope he lived all the scorn imaginable by virtue of having that name

:snap: :snap: couldn't agree more.

[Stan4dSteph]

One of the best quotes of the night was from the female skating commentator, something like "The difference between Sasha and the other skaters is that they skate to Romeo and Juliet, but she is Juliet."

So cheeseball I laughed out loud.

[innerSpaceman]

I LOVED that line. It was cheesy, and yet was the only thing said that expressed why her performance was a million miles better than anyone else's. I called it "moxie," some called it "heart" ... it was essentially showmanship and in-the-moment artistry that put her in a league beyond all the other competition this time out.

That another skater used the Romeo & Juliet music was an irresitible opening to claim that Sasha was Juliet while others only skate to it on TV. It was so funny.


It was so true.

[Gemini Cricket]

She can't be Juliet. Juliet is dead.

:D

[innerSpaceman]

She lives on in our hearts.

[Matterhorn Fan]

You know, if Dick Button's going to be an ass, he could at least have lots of things to be an ass about. If I hear one more comment about how much he hates it when a skater hits a really unattractive position, but that they get points for it . . .

Say it ONCE. We get it.

Also, does he even know jack about ice dancing? Surely there are some retired ice dancers who know what they're looking at and could provide some more meaningful commentary.

[CoasterMatt]

There are probably retired pole dancers that could provide more meaningful commentary

[scaeagles]

In spoilers for those of you who will be viewing coverage today -

Bode Miller - was a moron. Not only did he once again straddle a gate in a slalom event for the second time and get disqualified, he chose not to finish (which I can understand if you know you are going to be disqualified), but then he had to mockingly raise his hands in triumph at the side of the course.

I don't care if you don't win, Bode. I care about your disrespect for the sport you participate in the Olympics.

[Not Afraid]

Chad, Shawnie, Bode - boy I'm so proud of our athletes. :rolleyes:

[€uroMeinke]

Perhaps it's time to ditch the athlete profiles - maybe we're better off not knowing what these guys and gals are really like...

[Prudence]

Maybe there's some hope. (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/olympics/260908_thiel25.html)

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Indeed. That's a pretty uplifting story, Prudence. Thanks for sharing. :)