Olympics 2008 [Archive] - Lounge of Tomorrow

Strangler Lewis

08-04-2008, 08:55 AM

Yeah! I love watching the Olympics, as long as they show events, not hyped backstories.

Then you should write the network, because they produce that sh*t for you broads.

I'm a bit of an Olympics curmudgeon. If the opening ceremonies were limited to the parade of athletes and the release of doves, I'd be a happy man. I suppose this year it will be interesting to see if the doves fall back to earth gasping.

I would also favor the elimination of all Olympic summer Olympic sports that are not tests of pure athleticism (running, walking, jumping, throwing, gymnastics, swimming, women's beach volleyball) or somehow related to killing people (boxing, wrestling, shooting, fencing, archery, women's beach volleyball).

While I basically enjoy it, I have a hard time caring when, as with the Sydney Olympics, we in America knew who won everything about a week before the events were aired.

Not Afraid

08-04-2008, 09:15 AM

I'll watch the opening ceremony, but the Summer Games have never been my favorite.

Moonliner

08-04-2008, 09:15 AM

Some interesting tidbits:

The order for the parade of nations is set by the number of strokes in the first character of the countries name in Chinese. The United States comes in 140th out of 205. Australia and Zambia (plus of course China) bring up the rear.

Time wise Beijing is 12:00 hours ahead of eastern time. (Which makes it easy for me to keep track of things....)

NBC has managed to get some finials moved early/late so they can be shown live.

The next summer games will be the 2012 XXX Games in London.

Alex

08-04-2008, 09:26 AM

I have no interest in the various ceremonies (I don't even keep paying attention for medal ceremonies) and could hardly care less for watching the opening ceremonies. "Look! Croatia apparently has at least 8 people in it!"

I also don't really care for the sports that tend to be the focus of the Olympics. I don't like "subjective evaluation" sports much so diving and gymnastics are out (plus I'm a little yucked out by the creation of an environment where a 14-year-old doing vaults on a broken leg is considered a great thing).

I don't really care for spring sports because they tend to be really boring to watch, and in swimming most of the formats are just silly. If the goal is to go as fast as possible why limit yourself to a slower stroke. Why not add a sprint where everybody swims with their left foot strapped to their right thigh? If there is an advantage to a certain stroke (such as endurance) then only use it for races that cater to that advantage.

I do like the secondary sports such as team handball, badminton, table tennis, fencing, archery, etc. But these are rarely on TV, though I am hoping that the modern internet age will finally bring me the ability to watch them without having to stay up until the dead-air coverage at 3am.

Also, I hope that will avoid most of the annoying hyping and human interest stories we're forced to watch. So the end result is that I haven't really followed an Olympics since I was a kid but I'm hoping that will change this year.

Alex

08-04-2008, 09:38 AM

However, if they bring back croquet as an official Olympic sport I'll promise to watch every hour.

innerSpaceman

08-04-2008, 09:39 AM

I'm gonna watch less of them than ever. I'm a sucka for the opening and closing ceremonies. And I enjoy the winter sports far more than the summer ones anyway. So I'll thing I'll China boycott the rest.

Strangler Lewis

08-04-2008, 09:49 AM

The swimming events are borderline in terms of pure athleticism or war skills. I agree it probably would be better if the swimming events were more like Survivor events where everyone had to find a treasure or spear a fish underwater in the process. Much like biathlon.

Gymnastics is, indeed, a degenerate endeavor, but it still qualifies for inclusion despite its debasement.

scaeagles

08-04-2008, 09:50 AM

Alex pretty much stated my whole feelings on the issue.

Cadaverous Pallor

08-04-2008, 10:30 AM

I do like the secondary sports such as team handball, badminton, table tennis, fencing, archery, etc. But these are rarely on TV, though I am hoping that the modern internet age will finally bring me the ability to watch them without having to stay up until the dead-air coverage at 3am. Don't forget TiVo, which will allow us to record freaking everything, fastforward through BS, and watch the 3am stuff. :snap: Shoot, gotta start setting that up...

Alex

08-04-2008, 10:32 AM

Ghoulish Delight

08-04-2008, 10:35 AM

I'm not about to go through all the listings for Olympics stuff and manually set up recordings. I haven't yet even taken the minimal steps necessary to stop my DVR from recording all 27 reruns of The Soup every week.No, but you can pick the few sports you might actually care about and set up a keyword-driven season pass.

innerSpaceman

08-04-2008, 10:42 AM

I'm the complete opposite of Alex. I want to see the theater of the ceremonies, and I ONLY want to see the subjective performances that are performances rather than sports, per se.

I don't give a fig about sports. And I don't much care to who wins the subjective contests in gymnastics and diving. I just like watching the routines and dives. They are artistic athleticism.

I don't care at all about races. Who's the 'fastest' doesn't interest me one bit ... even if the difference were in hours, much less the completely meaningless tenths of seconds that are not on a human time scale.

But much like the American government after 9/11, the Chinese government seems hell bent to squander the public relations earthquake sympathy they had going into these games with their blunderbus and misguided crackdowns of basic freedoms and human rights. So I think I'll give even the gymnastics and diving a pass this year, and not support this Olympics with my advertising eyeballs.

Not Afraid

08-04-2008, 10:50 AM

I have a feeling Swimming is the next Tour de France as far as doping issue go.

BarTopDancer

08-04-2008, 10:55 AM

On one hand I want to boycott because it's being held in China.

On the other hand, Olympics are supposed to bring the world together.

Regardless, I'll probably watch snippets here and there, and grumble that there's nothing but the stupid Olympics on NBC for the next 3 years. Or weeks.

Advertisers could have refused to advertise in protest, but it wouldn't have stopped the Olympics. I am curious to see if anything happens in protest that makes it out over the airwaves. While they can try and squelch protests within their country, its doubtful the international media isn't going to be so quick to succumb to their demands.

Alex

08-04-2008, 11:00 AM

No, but you can pick the few sports you might actually care about and set up a keyword-driven season pass.

I don't have Tivo, but the Comcast DVR. If it has any kind of "keyword-driven season pass" option I'm unaware of it.

Ghoulish Delight

08-04-2008, 11:25 AM

Oh. Wow, even our crappy Time Warner DVR had some rudimentary keyword capabilities. But yeah, a quick google search turns up a lot of people complaining about no keyword search on Comcast.

Cadaverous Pallor

08-04-2008, 12:54 PM

So I think I'll give even the gymnastics and diving a pass this year, and not support this Olympics with my advertising eyeballs.I assume the money made from advertising doesn't go to the Chinese, but to the network.

It would be hard for one of us to truly boycott the Chinese gov't. I guess if you really feel we shouldn't be at the games, you should complain to the US Olympic committee, or to the International Olympic committee, or maybe to Bush.

Moonliner

08-04-2008, 01:05 PM

I assume the money made from advertising doesn't go to the Chinese, but to the network.

It would be hard for one of us to truly boycott the Chinese gov't. I guess if you really feel we shouldn't be at the games, you should complain to the US Olympic committee, or to the International Olympic committee, or maybe to Bush.

NBC paid something like $500 Million for the rights to air the games but that money goes to the... Well not to the host city. It's a loss leader for them. So if you watch the games or not makes no difference to anyone except NBC.

The money is paid to the International Olympic committee and now that it's been brought up, it makes me wonder what do they do with all that booty? What do they pay for?

innerSpaceman

08-04-2008, 01:19 PM

Oh, I wouldn't be buying anything advertised anyway. I'm not advertiser boycotting really. But my personal boycott for moral reasons will have no less effect than any 1-man advertiser boycott I could stage (especially since, as I said, I am not a consumer of anything advertised during the Olympics).

Nope, I just hate China ... and don't much care for the summer Olympcis ... and don't really watch TV EVER ... so, ipso factor ... instant boycott!

Moonliner

08-04-2008, 01:25 PM

SzczerbiakManiac

08-04-2008, 02:22 PM

Well iSm is a boy....

innerSpaceman

08-04-2008, 02:30 PM

Heheh, maybe it should be boicott?

Kevy Baby

08-04-2008, 04:02 PM

Biscotticot?

scaeagles

08-04-2008, 04:03 PM

Eunicott.

innerSpaceman

08-04-2008, 04:07 PM

Epcott

Capt Jack

08-04-2008, 04:09 PM

apricot

no wait...tangerine....no wait....uh....kiwi

Alex

08-04-2008, 04:10 PM

manicott(i)

scaeagles

08-04-2008, 04:12 PM

Prescott, AZ.

Ghoulish Delight

08-04-2008, 04:12 PM

Gul Dukat.

Kevy Baby

08-04-2008, 04:13 PM

Well iSm is a boy....

Heheh, maybe it should be boicott?True Story:

I grew up with four older sisters and no brothers. When we went to one particular restaurant (Love's: my Mom worked there), I would always order a BOY cheese sammich because I already had enough girls in my life (I thought it was a "girl-cheese sammich").

My Dad still loves to tell this story :rolleyes:

scaeagles

08-04-2008, 04:14 PM

Kevy Baby

08-04-2008, 04:16 PM

Alex

08-04-2008, 04:18 PM

Not good, but it is about 2000 miles away from Beijing.

libraryvixen

08-04-2008, 05:19 PM

I enjoy the Olympics. It reminds me of traveling to Indonesia for vacations when I was a kid. The trips always conincided with the Olympics. When I was missing home, I could watch the sports events on foreign televisions and feel comforted.

I love to watch synchronized swimming. It's amusing to me!

Ghoulish Delight

08-05-2008, 12:30 AM

So we were trying to set up a keyword wishlist on our TiVo to catch as much of the olympics as we could. It became apparent that several of our favorite shows refuse to have the good graces to stop airing new content while the Olympics are running, so, even with 2 tuners, we were running into a LOT of conflicts.

Then it hit me...it costs all of $10 extra per month to get Time Warner's HD DVR. Hell, that's a fraction of the cost of triple-cast, it's in HD, and replayable whenever I want. And if I understand everything correctly, there's no fee to get it and no penalty to just return it at any time. So if we just do that, problem solved (assuming I'm right about no fees or penalties, and I'm pretty sure I am).

Now, the real question is whether we'll be able to resist just keeping the extra DVR, especially since it's HD (though if it's as sucky as the last Time Warner DVR we had, it'll be easier to send it back).

Kevy Baby

08-05-2008, 08:07 AM

Before we got our HD TiVo, we had the TW HD DVR. Even though we've had the TiVo for a while, we still have the TW unit as well. Every once in a while, it comes in handy. And since it too (like the TiVo) can record two shows at once, we have the capacity to record up to FOUR HD (or SD) shows at once (although we've never gone beyond three and that was only once).

BDBopper

08-05-2008, 08:49 AM

As far as The Olympics go I usually only watch the Ceremonies and the team sports.

blueerica

08-05-2008, 08:54 AM

I love the Olympics - though I prefer to simply watch the athletics, the backstory crap isn't a massive turn off.

And, this sort of thing tends to motivate me to work out longer, better, more consistently. Not sure why - probably just watching all the athletes makes me a bit conscious of my own physical fitness.

Morrigoon

08-05-2008, 10:29 AM

I'd like them more if we could see more of the events and not just "the events USA medaled in"

Moonliner

08-05-2008, 10:35 AM

On a more serious note, apparently a group of Islamic extremists today killed 16 people in some form of pre-Olympic terrorist event. I haven't read much about it, so I'm not exactly sure what happened.

Ah - here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7540138.stm)'s a link with some details.

I believe "Pre-Olympic" is used in a misleading way. It makes it sound like this was somehow related to the Olympics and from what I read in the story I don't see the link.

scaeagles

08-05-2008, 06:44 PM

Gotta love China - "That's not pollution - it's only mist!".

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're not the Chinese people who must believe what they are told, or at least not question it, or face imprisonment.

Kevy Baby

08-05-2008, 06:45 PM

Gotta love China - "That's not pollution - it's only mist!".They must have learned from Los Angeleans.

€uroMeinke

08-05-2008, 07:17 PM

I like the pageantry, the fashions selected for each national team, the ritual of the opening and closing ceremonies, the unusual sports and gear.

Alex

08-05-2008, 07:24 PM

I imagine I would enjoy the opening ceremony if I were there but somehow it doesn't carry across over TV for me.

€uroMeinke

08-05-2008, 07:26 PM

But in HD

JWBear

08-05-2008, 09:12 PM

We're not the Chinese people who must believe what they are told, or at least not question it, or face imprisonment.

No, not yet... But give the Republicans time...

scaeagles

08-05-2008, 09:30 PM

Last time I checked speech codes usually come from the left side of the spectrum.....:p

JWBear

08-05-2008, 10:07 PM

Last time I checked speech codes usually come from the left side of the spectrum.....:p

You just haven't been paying attention for the past 8 years, have you. ;)

innerSpaceman

08-05-2008, 10:23 PM

We're not the Chinese people who must believe what they are told, or at least not question it, or face imprisonment.

No, we are the people who will have to make political protest inside Freedom Cages far from observation.

China's got us beat ... but only by degree.

* * * * *

I like all the things about the Olympics that €uro does, and i agree with Alex that the ceremonies would be far, far and far better live. But i remember when the Winter Olympics came to Utah, the opening and closing ceremonies were way beyond my means.

So i content myself with TV as a poor man's substitute. I can tolerate it ... but what I cannot stomach is being told what I'm about to see in 10 seconds throughout the entire 4 hours of the ceremony. Gak.

CoasterMatt

08-05-2008, 10:35 PM

I watch gymnastics for the bone shattering, tendon tearing good times.

Winter Games has far more opportunities for severe injury, and possibly death than the Summer Games, so I watch those much more closely.

scaeagles

08-06-2008, 05:09 AM

No, we are the people who will have to make political protest inside Freedom Cages far from observation.

Indeed. But I would suggest that it isn't as close as you would say, but that's a discussion for a different forum.

Or remove the homeless populations so that our sities look good when in the national spotlight, whether for the Superbowl as AZ and the city of Glendale did, or for the dem convention and what Denver is doing.

Stan4dSteph

08-06-2008, 05:20 AM

We got to see the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies when I volunteered at the Atlanta games in 96. It was very cool. We also got to skip all the boring speeches and the endless parade of nations, which is fun but only if you can fast forward through some of it. I like critiquing the fashions...

Moonliner

08-06-2008, 07:36 AM

Wow. They have changed the way gymnastics is scored (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/sports/olympics/06scoring.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin). No more perfect 10's. You can now get 14, 15, even 17 points.

Spurred in part by the judging errors at the 2004 Olympics, the international gymnastics federation, known as the F.I.G., changed the system to better differentiate one gymnast’s routines from another’s.

Gymnasts now receive separate marks for degree of difficulty and for execution in each event. The two are added to obtain the overall score, which usually ranges from 14 to 17 for top-level gymnasts.

It is only possible, but not probable, for a gymnast to score a 10.0 in the execution appraisal.

SzczerbiakManiac

08-06-2008, 12:35 PM

Gul Dukat.Visible DS9 Mojo GD! ;)

Ghoulish Delight

08-06-2008, 12:56 PM

I believe early round soccer matches are beginning today.

Moonliner

08-06-2008, 01:13 PM

I believe early round soccer matches are beginning today.

Past tense. The first round Woman's games were today, the men start tomorrow. I saw a bit of live coverage this morning (about 4:30am Socal time)

Tenigma

08-06-2008, 01:44 PM

OK, I want to know how much the Chinese government spent bribing the Olympic officials to have the games held there.

I can't stand the government. WTF was the committee thinking?

I am particularly annoyed that there are censors all over the place and they are trying to control what the foreign media can do and say.

Stan4dSteph

08-06-2008, 01:49 PM

I believe early round soccer matches are beginning today.Yes.The US Women already lost 2-0 to Norway. Not a good start.

BarTopDancer

08-06-2008, 01:56 PM

I am particularly annoyed that there are censors all over the place and they are trying to control what the foreign media can do and say.

If one thing comes from it, let it be the rest of the world seeing what's really up with the Chinese government. The US media won't stand for it, even if it's reported after they get back to the states. The athletes will have first hand accounts of how bad the "mist" is and how it effected them.

I'm really trying to look at the Olympics as a people-to-people/we're the same/we all bleed red type of unifying event above country politics.

JWBear

08-06-2008, 01:59 PM

If athletes collapse during the track and field events due to air pollution, will the Chinese allow those images out?

Tenigma

08-06-2008, 02:14 PM

If athletes collapse during the track and field events due to air pollution, will the Chinese allow those images out?
Hmmm... kind of a take on "if a tree falls in the woods"... nobody will hear it fall because that information will be censored! :eek:

Stan4dSteph

08-06-2008, 02:17 PM

Sky News had a piece on yesterday about people who were in Beijing from outlying areas to protest various grievances (corrupt officials etc.). Within minutes of the camera crew arriving there to film, the police were on scene, demanded the journalists' credentials, and took detailed notes about their reporting. Then the police started to drive away with the documents still in hand.

There are "official protest zones" but they're empty because everyone has already been rounded up.

I also saw a report on a whole group of people who were kicked out of their homes so that the government could build a new shopping area for the Olympics.

BarTopDancer

08-06-2008, 02:22 PM

If athletes collapse during the track and field events due to air pollution, will the Chinese allow those images out?

Unless they ban camera phones and block cellular service from the venue.

Wasn't Tienemin Square footage shot by a civilian or the foreign media who got the video out before the police showed up?

The first hand reports after it's over will be interesting. The Chinese can do their best to control what happens during the games, but once the athletes and press are back in their own countries (especially the ones with free speech...) they can't stop it.

scaeagles

08-06-2008, 03:13 PM

The media is a business. GE owns NBC. You think GE is going to allow NBC to put at risk any business dealings present or future by having any negative reporting?

CBS and ABC and FOX may not have a similar motives, but they will find reason to glorify the host country. I really doubt there's going to be much negative news, but I hope I'm wrong on anything being censored from within the media community itself. I even think the USOC will pressure our athletes to keep their mouths shut. The cyclists already had to apologize just for wearing masks.

JWBear

08-06-2008, 03:18 PM

BarTopDancer

08-06-2008, 03:20 PM

Maybe not the mass media. But there's this thing called the internet where anyone can share information.

Kevy Baby

08-06-2008, 03:21 PM

If athletes collapse during the track and field events due to air pollution, will the Chinese allow those images out?It's not smog, it's just haze.

(I actually heard someone use that phrase in an attempt to defend LA's weather.)

SzczerbiakManiac

08-06-2008, 04:00 PM

Okay, now I'm pissed!

Check out the regulations regarding beach volleyball players:Originally Posted by NBCOlympics.com (http://www.nbcolympics.com/beachvolleyball/insidethissport/equipment/newsid=118853.html)
Teammates in Olympic beach volleyball must wear uniforms of the same color. The women can wear either a one-piece or a two-piece bathing suit, though due to the typically warm playing conditions, most opt for the two-piece. The men must wear shorts and a tank top. (emphasis mine)whatWhatWHAAAAT!?!

So it's fine for the big-breasted Brazillian bombshells to wear bikini tops, but the ripped-abded beach studs have to cover up? LAME! :mad:

Alex

08-06-2008, 04:06 PM

Hey! Way to tease and make me think there are actually some large breasted women in Olympic beach volleyball.

But here's the Brazil team:

http://www.fivb.org/vis_web/beach/2005/Photos/WSHA2005/Screen/WSHA2005.91.jpg

I am, however, amused that their national abbreviation becomes a simple clothing label when put on their uniform.

Not Afraid

08-06-2008, 04:20 PM

Those are women?

scaeagles

08-06-2008, 04:57 PM

The Chinese do have a sex check procedure for all participants, so perhaps not.

alphabassettgrrl

08-06-2008, 05:54 PM

I have no idea what sports are included in the summer games. If it comes to my attention and seems interesting, I might watch some.

For the record, I hate the backstory crap. Just give me the sports. If you have to do backstory, please keep it short. I just don't care. I want to see the competition.

I like the volleyball girls.

Moonliner

08-06-2008, 06:51 PM

Damn, scheduling what I want to see looks to be a pain in the arse.

For example, I would like to watch the fencing on Saturday. The NBC schedule shows it as part of "multi sport coverage" from 2:00am to 7:00am. So I need five hours of record time for just one sport. That is going to be a problem.... Can your Tivo do better than that? I'm guessing not since the fencing coverage will be mixed in with other sports during that time frame...

Alex

08-06-2008, 06:53 PM

In looking at options I think I'm just going to rely on YouTube to give me what I want and play it by ear for network coverage.

Gemini Cricket

08-06-2008, 06:59 PM

Did they already do the opening ceremony? Did I miss it?

Alex

08-06-2008, 07:06 PM

NBC's coverage of the opening ceremony starts on Friday at 7:30 I think.

innerSpaceman

08-06-2008, 07:10 PM

Yeah, I was confused by having some competitions early. Whew. Since that's likely the ONLY part of the Olympics i'll see this time, i kinda don't want to miss it.

Well, as far as TV goes anyway. I think YouTube is a brilliant idea.

Because worse than all the backstories is ... as Moonie points out .... most of the sports being part of a mish/mash that you have to slog thru to find the stuff that interests you. Blcch.

scaeagles

08-06-2008, 07:15 PM

It's all about ratings. If they tell you when what you want to watch will be on then they don't have the crossover viewers.

Gemini Cricket

08-06-2008, 07:18 PM

NBC's coverage of the opening ceremony starts on Friday at 7:30 I think.
I'm glad I didn't miss it. One must get in their fix of crepe paper streamers, confetti, dancing children and fireworks every two years or so.

scaeagles

08-06-2008, 07:20 PM

They called that Light Magic and it was cancelled at Disneyland.

Gemini Cricket

08-06-2008, 07:24 PM

They called that Light Magic and it was cancelled at Disneyland.
You know, Leo, only gay boys remember and talk about Light Magic.

:D

scaeagles

08-06-2008, 07:26 PM

Something about those little fairies dancing so close to me was so...so...spine tingling.:)

BarTopDancer

08-06-2008, 07:37 PM

Something about those little fairies dancing so close to me was so...so...spine tingling.:)

Paging GC, iSm and MBC to evaluate this statement....

Gemini Cricket

08-06-2008, 07:39 PM

Paging GC, iSm and MBC to evaluate this statement....
No evaluation needed. Just tell him that his gay is showing, BTD.
:D

Kevy Baby

08-06-2008, 07:39 PM

The Chinese do have a sex check procedure for all participants, so perhaps not.Surprisingly, the IOC's test is chemical (hormones I believe) and not just a simple issue of "drop your drawers."

I have a vague recollection (though I think I am just making it up) of someone having as medal revoked because they didn't pass the gender test.

But then again, the way this day has been, I am probably just smoking something.

lashbear

08-06-2008, 07:44 PM

I watch gymnastics for the bone shattering, tendon tearing good times.
Thanks for the Torn Tendon reminder.... :p
Those are women?
They don't have Periods, they have peroids....

Something about those little fairies dancing so close to me was so...so...spine tingling.:)
Go ahead punk, make my day. :D

innerSpaceman

08-06-2008, 07:46 PM

It's all about ratings. If they tell you when what you want to watch will be on then they don't have the crossover viewers.

Oh, I know why it's done. I still hate it.

Now someone tell me why the hosts unfailingly describe in detail what you are about to see in the Opening Ceremonies? Is it for all the blind people watching on TV? Why can't they just describe it as it happens ... or, hell, the blind won't know ... 10 seconds after?

Why is it always 10 seconds before, they tell you exactly what's about to happen??? I don't see the ratings advantage.

scaeagles

08-06-2008, 07:48 PM

I have a vague recollection (though I think I am just making it up) of someone having as medal revoked because they didn't pass the gender test.

But then again, the way this day has been, I am probably just smoking something.

I have read that as well. I think it has happened 5 times, with a few being reinstated.

alphabassettgrrl

08-06-2008, 09:55 PM

Not everybody's chemical gender is clear. Some people register with three chromosomes- XXY, I think, some female athletes have registered.

Kevy Baby

08-06-2008, 10:46 PM

Not everybody's chemical gender is clear. Some people register with three chromosomes- XXY, I think, some female athletes have registered. Leo has a "W" chromosome. Doctors are stumped.

alphabassettgrrl

08-06-2008, 11:04 PM

We don't let that affect how we feel about him.

Stan4dSteph

08-07-2008, 01:56 AM

The media is a business. GE owns NBC. You think GE is going to allow NBC to put at risk any business dealings present or future by having any negative reporting?It will most likely be dismissed as corporate BS, but in case anyone cares, here is an official statement (http://www.ge.com/citizenship/priorities_engagement/growth_markets_co_olympics.jsp) regarding GE and the Olympics sponsorship.

Ghoulish Delight

08-08-2008, 12:07 AM

Any one catch US vs. Japan? Good match. US let Japan get a few too many good looks on goal in the frist half, but did a good job of controlling things in the second. Good win against a team they definitely should have beat. Uphill climb from there.

On a tangential note, we watched the Last Comic Standing finale, which ran tonight smack in the middle of the absurd Olympic hype. Keeping it in that context, I was was able to partially forgive the ridiculousness of the opening bit (it was definitely one of those situations where they want to look like they were making fun of Olympic hype, but really they were, understandably, just part of the machine). It was pretty horrible. And then at the end when the winner was announced (yay Iliza!) they went a little overboard with the confetti. I'm pretty sure I saw Rip Taylor step on stage and say, "Hey, you oughtta tone it down a bit," then start stuffing confetting into his pockets.

Alex

08-08-2008, 06:22 AM

I haven't watched the show at all but caught a bit of Jon Lovitz's set and it was seriously unfunny.

Moonliner

08-08-2008, 07:17 AM

I watched the opening ceremonies live this morning via Nigerian TV (Fios is cool).

Overall I'd say they were typical. Long boring parts delimited by fun bits.

I have the DVR set to record the HD version tonight because there are a few things I think will be really cool in HD but I will definitely wait until at least Saturday to actually watch it so I can use the skip button liberally.

SzczerbiakManiac

08-08-2008, 02:13 PM

Here's a fun little game from NBC: Guess The Abs (http://www.nbcolympics.com/swimming/photos/galleryid=156776.html)
Pictures of male swimmers' torsos are shown, then a few seconds later the face is revealed.

Can you tell who is who just by the abs?

Do you care if you're wrong and just like the pretty pictures? :evil:

Chernabog

08-08-2008, 02:47 PM

Do you care if you're wrong and just like the pretty pictures? :evil:

Wooooooooo I'm getting woooooooozy.

Zer-bee-yak, go check out page 1 of the Olympic Opening Ceremony thread and tell me what you think.

innerSpaceman

08-08-2008, 05:14 PM

Do you care if you're wrong and just like the pretty pictures? :evil:

Nope, I didn't care at all. But the first one was the best, which was kind of a let down. Though I would say the series had the opposite effect overall.

Alex

08-08-2008, 06:30 PM

I'm currently watching singles women's badminton live on NBCOlympics.com and it doesn't ANY commentary. Yay!

alphabassettgrrl

08-08-2008, 06:31 PM

I'm currently watching singles women's badminton live on NBCOlympics.com and it doesn't ANY commentary. Yay!

Perfect! Hot athletes and no commentary!

Morrigoon

08-08-2008, 06:39 PM

Oh, I know why it's done. I still hate it.

Now someone tell me why the hosts unfailingly describe in detail what you are about to see in the Opening Ceremonies? Is it for all the blind people watching on TV? Why can't they just describe it as it happens ... or, hell, the blind won't know ... 10 seconds after?

Why is it always 10 seconds before, they tell you exactly what's about to happen??? I don't see the ratings advantage.

Simple arrogance. They want to demonstrate to you that they have superior inside knowledge, just to make sure you know they're better than you.

...Or something.

Alex

08-08-2008, 07:13 PM

In a symbolic recreation of the Battle of Gallipoli, Indonesia beats Germany in three sets.

Morrigoon

08-08-2008, 07:55 PM

Good lord, would it START already? This is like showing up to a movie 20 minutes late and they're still showing previews

lashbear

08-08-2008, 08:04 PM

Good lord, would it START already? This is like showing up to a movie 20 minutes late and they're still showing previews
HEY !! Save that for the "Opening Ceremony" thread.

innerSpaceman

08-08-2008, 08:21 PM

That's right, lady. This is the HAWT ATHLETES thread exclusively.

Morrigoon

08-08-2008, 08:27 PM

Pffft. I'll let you know when I see one.

(and since my tastes run to, shall we say, "softer" men, this may take a while)

NickO'Time

08-08-2008, 08:32 PM

Here are a few pictures of the USA cycling riders and more here. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/olympics08/?id=photos)

We have a super strong contingent from the USA.

George Hincapie (United States Of America)Last chance I think, but the sacrificing rider will probably work for the others.
Levi Leipheimer (United States Of America) Relatively quiet this year, he should be in there with the climb involved with this one.
Jason McCartney (United States Of America)
Christian Vande Velde (United States Of America) Top Six in the Tour De France.
Didn't mean to interrupt, just excited to see our best guys go.

innerSpaceman

08-08-2008, 08:44 PM

As long as some of the cyclists are cute, it's all good.

NickO'Time

08-08-2008, 09:24 PM

As long as some of the cyclists are cute, it's all good.
LeipHeimer and Hincapie could fit the bill perfect. They are both handsome.
The short and Tall of the team

BTW- Here is the link too the Live feed (http://live.cyclingnews.com/) from Beijing the race just started.

NickO'Time

08-08-2008, 11:27 PM

I just downloaded the new Microsoft Silverlight player. I can't believe how crisp the live feed is for the road race.

The best part is there are no rattletrap inexperienced commentators at all.

They are covering every key move and change in the Peloton! This is better coverage then the Tour De France or any other race online.

lashbear

08-08-2008, 11:44 PM

Looked like an awful lot of Crotch Shots during the cycling (to me)

...it's cool seeing them cycle under/through the Great Wall !

NickO'Time

08-08-2008, 11:59 PM

Looked like an awful lot of Crotch Shots during the cycling (to me)

...it's cool seeing them cycle under/through the Great Wall !

LMAO! Yea they sure do. When you see them in a single file it means they are at least ( on the flat sections) doing 35 mph+. I've been there! :blush:

China is very green, plush. I like that.

Australia has a good chance! Too bad the Americans let this one slip by. Jason Mccartney is all over the front, since they missed the move.

Alex

08-09-2008, 12:07 AM

Too bad, apparently baseball is not an Olympic sport this year. They have a substitute (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080703041.html), but it isn't something I can get behind even if they're still calling it baseball. I propose that in the 14th inning batters start hitting off a tee.

NickO'Time

08-09-2008, 12:29 AM

The cameramen on the motorbikes are doing a good job of not covering the "nature breaks" while the riders are still going.;)

Imagine yourself on the back of a motorcycle with a 50 lb camera on your shoulder. Kudos to the drivers!

Morrigoon

08-09-2008, 01:21 AM

Okay, I concede, there were some hotties in that parade of nations :)

lashbear

08-09-2008, 01:33 AM

The cameramen on the motorbikes are doing a good job of not covering the "nature breaks" while the riders are still going.;)
Now there's something I hadn't thought of.... you mean the cyclists just... I mean.... don't they stop or anything?... how about the folks travelling right behind them ?? :eek:

NickO'Time

08-09-2008, 07:59 PM

Now there's something I hadn't thought of.... you mean the cyclists just... I mean.... don't they stop or anything?... how about the folks travelling right behind them ?? :eek:

Occasionally, they do stop but in a race like the Olympics, there is very little time. And if its the race leader(or the guy they think will have the best chance to win from the team) half the team drops back too draft/ pull you up too the pack after your flat or nature call.

Read at your own discretion here in this.

When I was racing you have a teammate push you from behind with one hand, while you are both rolling along with your hand holding it out for #1 Number 2 is usually done before and after.(A rolling piss)http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y209/TicTocDragon/naturalbreak2.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y209/TicTocDragon/janu.jpg

It's unwritten rule not too attack a respected rider(although that carries no weight whatsoever) but it still happens.

blueerica

08-09-2008, 08:51 PM

I don't know if anyone hasn't seen the event yet, so I'll spoiler this...

... but when Michael Phelps was getting his nat'l anthem, all I could think was "REMIX 2008!"

swanie

08-09-2008, 09:06 PM

If there was any question of whether the "eyes" of the world are on Phelps, the pan across the gazillion cameras in anticipation of his 400 IM final answered that question.

I couldn't even count the number of lenses.

BarTopDancer

08-09-2008, 09:22 PM

I don't know if anyone hasn't seen the event yet, so I'll spoiler this...

... but when Michael Phelps was getting his nat'l anthem, all I could think was "REMIX 2008!"

You should probably say what event in the future.

mousepod

08-09-2008, 11:45 PM

As is typical for our home, the Olympics are playing on the TV in the background when we're not watching movies. This is our first one in HD, so I'm probably watching more than I used to.

I love that NBC uses the theme from The Adventures of Brisco County Jr as one of its themes for their Olympics coverage... I think I'll have to pull out the DVD set when the games are over.

figment1986

08-10-2008, 02:22 AM

I don't know if anyone hasn't seen the event yet, so I'll spoiler this...

... but when Michael Phelps was getting his nat'l anthem, all I could think was "REMIX 2008!"

It was strange hearing it, esp when...
They cut it off around "in the land of the free"...

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 06:43 AM

Yeah, flippy...

I doubt a similar thing will happen with the Chinese anthem.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 07:12 AM

Can someone explain to me the appeal of the Olympic sport of horse dancing? I guess the proper name is "dressage", but it's horse dancing.

This is a sport? And an Olympic Sport?

??????????????

Alex

08-10-2008, 07:20 AM

Doesn't strike me as any sillier than diving.

innerSpaceman

08-10-2008, 07:24 AM

Um, ice dancing anyone?

Speaking of which, from the other end of the spectrum, I'm glad baseball's being dropped after this Olympics. Oh, it's a sport alright. I just don't cotton to professional-type sports mixing with Olympic sports. Yes, that includes soccer.

I think the Olympics should be an outlet for the weirdo sports no one ever gets to see ... like horse dancing.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 07:25 AM

I'm not a diving fan (no gymnastics, for that matter - any sport that has to be "rated" by judges to me is always suspect - not to say gymnastics is easy), but this seems particularly silly. I'm sure training the animal is challanging, but athletic prowess is involved for the human? At least the other events like diving invovle some sort of athletic involvement for the human.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 07:26 AM

Um, ice dancing anyone?

With you - i think that's ridiculous as well....but at least it is humans doing the work.

innerSpaceman

08-10-2008, 08:48 AM

yet we differ on what interests us in the Olympics. I don't give a rat's asshair who comes in 15 tenths of a second faster in a race. Oh, I admire the athleticism of running or swimming at incredible speeds, but it doesn't matter who "wins."

And so, by that same token of it not mattering who wins, I find the athleticism displayed in the judged competitions of diving and gymnastics to far exceed in human ability, not to mention artistry, the mere notion of moving fast.

So it doesn't matter to me whether the win is competely whimsical or subjective, any more than it matters who's the fastest person on that particular day by a measurement of time completely meaningless to the humans being measured. Diving is fantastic to watch. Gymnastics are amazing to behold. The "contest" is - like most contests - just plain silly.

Alex

08-10-2008, 08:53 AM

I'm sure training the animal is challanging, but athletic prowess is involved for the human? At least the other events like diving invovle some sort of athletic involvement for the human.

Have you ever tried it? It isn't easy for the human either. It's not like you take a trained horse out there and just sit there while it runs through a pre-programmed routine.

lizziebith

08-10-2008, 10:12 AM

Dressage is insanely difficult for the human on the horse. The problem is it involves tiny physical cues given to the animal that can't really be seen by an observer. The judges only see the results of those cues (changing leads, etc.).

Believe me -- giving those cues takes YEARS to even learn. Dressage is most certainly a sport.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 10:15 AM

I'm not trying to imply it is easy. Cleaning my grill isn't easy but I don't think it should be an athletic event. The training, etc, of the animal is very difficult and I said that. It just doesn't seem require athleticism.

I've ridden horses. When the horse is galloping, there is some effort involved. When the horse is walking, not too much is involved that requries physical effort.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 10:19 AM

Dressage is most certainly a sport.

I guess I'll take your word for it. Are those cues physically demanding?

BarTopDancer

08-10-2008, 10:19 AM

I wonder what will happen to the Chinese athletes who "bring dishonor to their country" by not receiving a gold medal.

Ghoulish Delight

08-10-2008, 10:20 AM

I guess I'll take your word for it. Are those cues physically demanding?Have you ever ridden a horse at all, let alone such precision riding? Yes. It's physically and mentally demanding.

And we've had this discussion before, iSm. The vast majority of races are NOT decided by inhumanly small margins. You may not be able to count to 5ms, but you can see who crosses the finishline first. Photo finishes are rare exceptions, not the rule. And even when they do happen, the photo clears it up. A winner is declared based on perfectly perceptable, clear cut criteria. Just because we can't count to 1/27 mississippi doesn't mean it's not human scale.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 10:22 AM

Did you read the earlier post where I said

I've ridden horses. When the horse is galloping, there is some effort involved. When the horse is walking, not too much is involved that requries physical effort.

Have you been involved with precision riding?

All I did was ask a question, and even said I'd take the word of the person who said it is indeed a sport.

blueerica

08-10-2008, 10:23 AM

I am enjoying the new round of commercials (though admittedly I've DVR'd right past many). I caught some beautiful animation and realized it "Rhapsody in Blue"... one of my favorite tunes, and... the old United theme which I haven't heard in what seems like forever. As a marketer, I'm glad to see them repositioning themselves to where they were in an economic heyday.

Back on topic... loving the Olympics. We've been absolutely glued to our sets. Watching it during the day - setting the sleep timer and falling asleep to it at night.

Thank you, Olympics.

lizziebith

08-10-2008, 10:23 AM

We posted at almost the same time, so I think you didn't see my answer. [edit I see you did :) ] But since I see you've ridden a horse at a gallop I'll try to elaborate: while on that horse you were probably using your leg muscles to stay on right? Gripping the animal? In dressage you can't do that as every move of your body is a cue to the animal. The rider essentially balances on the animal, and uses their muscles to control his movements -- like lead changes (which forefoot is placed down first). It's very difficult and counter-intuitive when one is on a massive cantering animal. I've ridden a great deal and can't do dressage. I think Boss Radio's wife can though...

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 10:27 AM

Interesting. OK.

I still don't think I could get into watching it, but I have a better understanding of it now.

Alex

08-10-2008, 10:29 AM

Well, a lot depends on how you define athleticism. And whether athleticism and sport are synonymous or just frequently go hand in hand.

And yes, it is all very muddy. I don't really consider gymnastics a sport but it is certainly athletic. The target shooting competitions essentially involve the ability to not move at all, the opposite of athleticism and are still widely accepted as sport.

As far as athleticism goes I'd put dressage much closer to gymastics in athleticism than shooting.

lizziebith

08-10-2008, 10:29 AM

:) I was just about to add pretty much the same point Alex.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 10:33 AM

Agreed. I hadn't even considered shooting, which indeed isn't very athletic. At least that can be quantified by closest to the middle of the target methodology.

I admit a bias against Olympic events that are scored by judges.

Alex

08-10-2008, 10:36 AM

I have that same bias as well (against subjectively judged events) and among the horse events dressage is my least favorite while the others are scored by mostly objective measures of time and penalties.

I was watching boxing for about 15 minutes last night and was amazed at just how subjective the judging has become. The commentators were quite openly disgusted with it.

Cadaverous Pallor

08-10-2008, 11:04 AM

The range of games played at the Olympics is part of the multiculturalism of it. It recognizes that it is all subjective, and to get billions of people to care, they have to cover a wide range. I tend to feel inclusive in this regard because the whole concept is to include everyone. Chopping out either the "less athletic" or "split second" events would exclude those that like them, and eventually would undermine the rest of the games.

Alex

08-10-2008, 11:40 AM

True. I don't really have a problem with those being in the Olympics, they are just of very little interest to me. In fact, I would be much more interested if they did include more regional events than they currently do. Even if I still didn't watch them.

Though I wouldn't mind seeing a return to a principal of amateurism. I would be fine with rules saying that if you make your living being paid to perform your sport then you're not in the Olympics.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 11:41 AM

A bit of a departure from the current train of thought in this thread....with China being a relatively closed society with control over the media, I was reminded of a story from something BTD had posted regarding athletes who don't win gold failing to bring honor to China.

I have an acquaintance named Charlie Hickcox (I used to coach his kid in basketball) who won several swimming medals (3 gold and a silver) in the Mexico City 1964 Olympics. He told me once the US swim team had a two country meet with the Soviets in Moscow shortly thereafter, and the US team beat them rather handily. The press in the Soviet Union reported that in the international meet, the Soviets took second and the US placed next to last.

I thought that was pretty creative spin. Might be tough for China to spin the media that much in this day and age.:)

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 12:27 PM

Ghoulish Delight

08-10-2008, 12:48 PM

I watched a lot of the USA-China basketball game. I think the US could struggle when they play against teams that know how to control tempo. From what I saw, the US struggled in the half court offense - they scored a very high percentage of their points off the break off of turnovers.I watched that game, and all I could think was how totally different world basketball is from the days of the Dream Team. The US beat China, by a lot in the end. As they should have. But it wasn't because China sucked. China played a great game in the first half. They let the US go on one big run, outside of that they played them even. They just don't have the conditioning to keep up with the intensity that the US can maintain for the whole game, especially since the game is 1/6 shorter than what they're used to playing. But China didn't look foolish out there, they looked like a somewhat outmatched team. LOVED Yao cheering them on for good plays, even when down by 27.

The difference between this team and the '04 team is that they're actually taking it seriously. The world snuck up on them in '04 and they learned they can't just phone it in. They've put a lot more work in than the '04 team did and it shows. Even the loose defense they showed in today's game would have been beyond that '04 team.

Of course, the other teams have progressed too, but I'm betting the US takes it.

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 01:03 PM

BarTopDancer

08-10-2008, 01:07 PM

The Dream Team was awesome. I watched the game too (used to love BB back when.... almost as much as I love hockey now). Completely different playing field. Team USA can't walk in and expect to win anymore. I think they see it, but they aren't used to the playing styles of the teams they are playing now - even if those teams have NBA players on them.

Ghoulish Delight

08-10-2008, 01:15 PM

Yeah, China didn't suck, but they didn't have any real shooting threats either. The US should indeed take it, but the European teams, and probably Brazil and Argentina will have much better perimeter shooting.

I have tremendous confidence in Krzyzewski.No doubt. But as long as they actually play and don't get sloppy, they'll win easily. And they've at least done a good job of making it appear like they've put the preparation in to make sure they don't get sloppy so we'll see.

Motorboat Cruiser

08-10-2008, 02:44 PM

Quick question - I seem to remember that when I was a kid, the Olympics were broadcast on multiple networks. Am I remembering correctly? I could swear that I remember (before a million cable stations) changing the channel to watch different events. And if they did used to be on multiple networks, when did it change?

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 02:53 PM

All I recall is other stations like TNT or MSNBC or CNBC or some cable stations sometimes broadcasting (like they are this time around), but I don't remember being able to switch from ABC to CBS to watch a different event.

Alex

08-10-2008, 02:56 PM

I'd forgotten anybody other than NBC ever did them.

According to information at Wikipedia, in the United States each individual Olympics has had single network coverage* since 1960, though the network involved has changed from event to event and this is NBC's fifth consecutive summer Olympics.

1960 - CBS (summer and winter)
1964 - NBC (summer) / ABC (winter)
1968 - ABC (summer and winter)
1972 - ABC (summer) / NBC (winter)
1976 - ABC (summer and winter)
1980 - NBC (summer) / ABC (winter)
1984 - ABC (summer and winter)
1988 - NBC (summer) / ABC (winter)
1992 - NBC (summer) / CBS (winter)
1994 - CBS (winter)
1996 - NBC (summer)
1998 - CBS (winter)
2000 - NBC (summer)
2002 - NBC (winter)
2004 - NBC (summer)
2006 - NBC (winter)
2008 - NBC (summer)

* Also according to Wikipedia, for the 1998 TNT paid CBS $50 million for rights to air 50 hours of coverage.

blueerica

08-10-2008, 03:27 PM

I was watching boxing for about 15 minutes last night and was amazed at just how subjective the judging has become. The commentators were quite openly disgusted with it.

A fair number of hits that weren't counted as 'clean' seemed pretty damn clean to me. I need to look into it further, but if what I'm understanding is correct, all judges have half a second to all hit the button for a hit to be considered valid. One or two judges falling asleep at the switch could turn the tide. Caught a bit of a Brazil v Haiti fight, and they didn't give the Haitian points until almost the end, and punch after punch from him early on that went untallied indicated (to me) that he should have won the fight at the end of the day.

I'm wondering if there will be any challenges to this increasingly subjective style of judging.

Ghoulish Delight

08-10-2008, 03:39 PM

I'm wondering if there will be any challenges to this increasingly subjective style of judging.It's not so much subjectivity that's a problem as subjectivity masquerading as objectivity. They introduce these fancy systems to supposedly make it less subjective when, unless there is a knockout, subjectivity will always be a part of it. In non-Olympic boxing they make no bones about the fact that the decision is subjective and it's not like anyone's trying to change that.

swanie

08-10-2008, 07:58 PM

If you add up the "true" ages of the girls on the Chinese Women's Gymnastics team..I doubt even then that you'd come close to 16.

16 years old my a$$.

:mad:

BarTopDancer

08-10-2008, 08:14 PM

If you add up the "true" ages of the girls on the Chinese Women's Gymnastics team..I doubt even then that you'd come close to 16.

16 years old my a$$.

:mad:

Wouldn't that be a scandal. Forged passports and other government documents too (they said the IOC verified ages using passports).

scaeagles

08-10-2008, 08:20 PM

Swanie - is that a pic of the Chinese gymnastics team in you avatar?

wendybeth

08-10-2008, 08:37 PM

Literal lol here, Scaeagles- we were just commenting on the Chinese girl gymnasts a minute ago.

swanie

08-10-2008, 08:37 PM

Wouldn't that be a scandal. Forged passports and other government documents too (they said the IOC verified ages using passports).

Now there are reports that a 3rd Chinese gymnast may be under age.

From the CBC...
The age of a third Chinese gymnast is in doubt, making half of China's women's gymnastics team possibly too young to compete in the Olympics.

Yang Yilin was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists previously posted on the General Administration of Sport of China's website.

Yang is a medal favourite in the all-around and uneven bars, but the previously listed birth date would make her 15 at the end of August, below the minimum age of 16.

Yang's birth date on the 2007 registration list, however, is stated as Aug. 26, 1992, making her eligible.

The ages of two other Chinese gymnasts are also in doubt: He Kexin, a gold-medal favourite on uneven bars, and Jiang Yuyuan.

Then from the NY Times...
Several Chinese sports registries showed that He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin did not meet that age requirement.

Chinese authorities have produced passports to prove those gymnasts are old enough to compete. The international gymnastics federation, known as the F.I.G., issued a statement Saturday, saying the passports were proof that the Chinese were playing fair. International Olympic Committee officials agreed.....

....A passport, however, may not be undisputed documentation of a gymnast’s age. Yang Yun won two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Games, in the uneven bars and as a member of the Chinese team. The United States team finished fourth.

Afterward, Yang said on state-run television that she was 14 when she competed at the Games. A Hunan Province sports administration report confirmed that.

I know none of this is new, but in this day an age it seems ludicrous to simply accept photocopied passports as proof. By having the due diligence be the responsibility of the submitting country, the IOC is turning a blind eye to this kind of cheating. By their non-involvement they are basically condoning it.

swanie

08-10-2008, 08:40 PM

Swanie - is that a pic of the Chinese gymnastics team in you avatar?

I'm sure I have a photocopies of their passports around here somewhere... ;)

alphabassettgrrl

08-10-2008, 10:02 PM

I could get behind the "amateur-only" qualifier for the Olympics. It just doesn't seem fair to have professionals alongside non-pros.

Alex

08-10-2008, 10:05 PM

I say let them compete at whatever age. If they can get their Olympics career out of the way at 13 that is four fewer years of exploitation and abuse.

Gemini Cricket

08-10-2008, 10:05 PM

Watching the USA ladies gymnasts tonight was nerve wracking for me. It's like when I watch the skating during the Winter Olympics. I keep thinking someone's going to totally eat sh!t. (And a couple of times tonight they did. Ouch.)

Alex

08-10-2008, 10:08 PM

When did they change the vault apparatus?

Seems like it would make for less spectacular failures. And really everybody is watching for the spectacular crashes. Nothing funnier than an apparent (even if really 23) 13 year old doing a face plant.

swanie

08-10-2008, 10:54 PM

4x100 relay swimming result spoilered for those of you on Pacific time..

If you are stupid enough to talk smack and provide fodder to your opponents...you best not let your a$$ get kicked in the final 35 meters.

The look on the French 4x100's anchor's face was priceless. :D

Best post-race quote...Lezak, "Well, I was tired of loosing." Poor guy has to race Phelps every race, so this was his chance to shine...and he smashes the all time split and the world record in the process.

Good job boys! What a hell of a race.

edited to add: One of the French swimmers gave this good sport quote after the race, "Experience was better than talent." Excuse me?

Kevy Baby

08-10-2008, 11:27 PM

Whoda thunk? A 33 year old female gymnast!

Kevy Baby

08-10-2008, 11:33 PM

Not Afraid

08-10-2008, 11:47 PM

amazing freakin race!!!! I'm so glad I caught it.

€uroMeinke

08-10-2008, 11:58 PM

Yeah - that was an Olympic moment if ever there was one

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 12:06 AM

I'd forgotten anybody other than NBC ever did them.

I didn't. To this day I still think of CBS as standing for "Can't Broadcast Sports" because of their last bout of coverage. Glad NBC has it now.

LashStoat

08-11-2008, 01:24 AM

Now Kevy Baby,

Play nice...my Mother's sister's auntie's younger brother's step father twice removed was French once.

Have a heart.

:cool:

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 03:11 AM

There is nothing better than defeating someone who thinks they have already beaten you.

The only way to regain anything resembling respect if you are the defeated is to take the loss and compliment the ictors unconditionally....which they losers in this case certainly did not do.

blueerica

08-11-2008, 05:43 AM

When did they change the vault apparatus?

Thank you.. I thought, perhaps, I was losing my mind.

And, while I'm thinking of gymnastics, did anyone else think that Shawn Johnson got a bum deal when it came to her score on the beam. With the exception of one little wobble, she performed what seemed to be a perfect routine, including a solid landing. Then she got a 9 in execution... WTF?

I'm really becoming annoyed with the scoring in these Olympics, and not with just points Americans are getting, but other nations too.

As for the Men's 4x100m relay... how freaking awesome was THAT??! I was screaming with joy, still cheering as it seemed the Americans might not pull it through, and then they did! Favorite moment, again, was the podium with Phelps. Even if I was inserting my own thoughts... it seemed as though he and the guy to his left were going to crack up when the anthem started playing. When they did only two intros and completed the song, there was a chuckle of relief...

... or so I say.

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 05:50 AM

BTW, here's a link to the race video for anyone who didn't see it or wants to watch it again -

2008 Olympics Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay (http://digg.com/olympics/Olympic_Swimming_Men_s_4x100_Relay_Video)

innerSpaceman

08-11-2008, 07:21 AM

Thanks for the link. I rely on them to see any of these Olympics.

Yes, very exciting race. Um, paging Ghoulish Delight, though ... exactly the kind of essentially meaningless difference between 1st and 2nd place.

And what's with that Huge Bruise on George Bush's arm??

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 07:47 AM

This is exactly what is so exciting, though, ISM. To beat the French, the American anchor (Lazek?) come from a half second behind in one length of the pool to edge him out by 8 1/100ths of a second. That .08 seconds is exceptionally exciting and there is no issue of judgement of the wall touch, which is electronic.

Snowflake

08-11-2008, 08:06 AM

Wow, it was an awesome race! I hate the tape delay for the west coast, but it was great to see it. There was an Olympics party going on across the street last night, when the race was won, an earth shaking cheer was heard all up and down the block. It was very cool.

I felt sad to see the Latvian beach volleyboll team lose to Argentina.

I have to give major chops to the lady cyclists, could those conditions have been any worse to race in?

I enjoyed the coverage I was able to catch over the weekend. It was fin, exciting and I enjoyed seeing the Korean swimmer get the first gold in swimming for his country, his Mom was priceless.

I'm looking forward to diving and men's gymnastics and more swimming. I wish I could catch some of the archery and shooting and equestrian. Don't know how the scheduling will go.

innerSpaceman

08-11-2008, 08:07 AM

No, you miss my point, scaeagles. It DID make the race super ultra heart-pounding exciting. I LOVED watching it. I'm happy that, um, my countrymen whom I know no better than the French boys won. Er, strike that. I hate the happy feeling I get when the U.S. wins. What does that mean to me? It's shameful nationalism. To the extent the French were trash-talking, if that's at all unusual for this sport, I'm glad they got the cumuppance of, what, a silver medal?

But the result, sir, is what I find meaningless. 1 second faster between what's taken to be shining glory and what is seemingly perceived as horrible defeat.

Just as silly as me finding more joy in Americans winning than equally unknown-to-me humans of any nationality.

Fun? Yes. Dumb? Certainly.

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 08:18 AM

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 08:27 AM

It's shameful nationalism.

Why is it shameful? Don't you suppose that most every person on the face of this planet wants the athlete from their country to win? Or is it that everyone is shameful?

Everyone wants to be a part of the winning team. Granted, none of us here were swimming, but we are Americans and I think that feeling is wonderful. It is wonderful for whomever win and their countrymen (er...and countrywomen....ok, countrypersons).

LashStoat

08-11-2008, 08:38 AM

And what's with that Huge Bruise on George Bush's arm??

Dear IsM,

Please show the First Lady a bit of respect.

Love and hugs,

The Stoat XXX.

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 08:43 AM

<---- <3's LashStoat

swanie

08-11-2008, 08:59 AM

I don't know if all of you west coasters stayed with NBC's coverage until the end (luckily, ours ends an hour earlier being on MST right now), but the swimming commentators were able to isolate a very cool moment at the end of the 4x100 race...

As Lezak and Bernard were closing in on the wall, there was a moment when Bernard turned and looked at Lezak and Lezak returned the glance...as he pushed past him to the wall. It was AWESOME!

It reminded me of "the look" Lance Armstrong gave to Jan Ullrich in the Tour a few years ago just before he blew past him up the climb.

:D

Alex

08-11-2008, 09:22 AM

Why is it shameful? Don't you suppose that most every person on the face of this planet wants the athlete from their country to win? Or is it that everyone is shameful?

Everyone wants to be a part of the winning team. Granted, none of us here were swimming, but we are Americans and I think that feeling is wonderful. It is wonderful for whomever win and their countrymen (er...and countrywomen....ok, countrypersons).

I wouldn't use the word shameful. It is simply silly. I don't gain any excitement from an American winning as opposed to a Kazakh. To the extent I enjoy watching a sport it is to see it well played. Simply being American is not a personal connection to the competitor. If I knew one of the swimmers personally (or even knew someone who knew them personally) then it would be a bit of a rooting interest. And yes, I carry that to the sport I most love: baseball. I'm a fan of whatever team is local, not because of that local connection but simply because it is more satisfying to root for the team I can actually watch regularly. Since I don't watch swimming events except at the Olympics there is no "local access" advantage to any particular team. If I were to move from Oakland to Dallas I would immediately switch allegiance from the Athletics to the Rangers, just as I have already done from the Mariners to the Athletics.

In fact, because so many people are engaged in what I see as silly nationalism I kind of end up actively rooting against the American teams simply to be contrarian. I've certainly been pushed by endless hype into hoping Phelps loses soon so people will shut up.

My problem with a 0.08 second difference (and with all sports which inherently produce such slim margins) is that it is essentially a meaningless increment of time. So far as I'm concerned they were tied.

Gemini Cricket

08-11-2008, 09:28 AM

Isn't smack talking between countries in Olympics normal? Not sure why the French comments were so highlighted. I'm sure they aren't the only country who want to beat another country in Beijing... The "smash incident" sounds contrived to me. You know, to get people to stay up, stay tuned and watch the swimming event. And there's celebrating, but the French team did come very, very close to the US time, so they should be thinking about how they almost got their tails kicked. Also, Phelps got the US off on a slow start... Oh, and Lezak is hot.

As for Bush's arm, it looked like a scrape or something. Maybe from biking? But, sheesh, cover the thing up.

There was a Bush interview by Costas during (after? I forget) the Women's Gymnastics qualification round. It totally came out of nowhere. It wasn't even announced it was coming up. All of a sudden, 'Hey, we have the president here.' I was like, 'Uh, okay.' And it was painful to watch as always. He kept repeating 'engage' over and over. It was weird. And he brought up religion 3 times during his short appearance. I'm thinking free speech in China would be the topic I'd highlight if I was him.

Ghoulish Delight

08-11-2008, 09:29 AM

There was a Bush interview by Costas during (after? I forget) the Women's Gymnastics qualification round. It totally came out of nowhere. It wasn't even announced it was coming up. All of a sudden, 'Hey, we have the president here.' I was like, 'Uh, okay.' And it was painful to watch as always. He kept repeating 'engage' over and over. It was weird. And he brought up religion 3 times during his short appearance. I'm thinking free speech in China would be the topic I'd highlight if I was him.The interview was mentioned at the top of the broadcast.

On the topic of smack talking, apparently one of the female rowing teams (Australian, I believe) called another team (Netherlands?) fat.

ETA: Finland, not Netherlands. story (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/beijing_olympics/story/0,27313,24152734-5014104,00.html)

Gemini Cricket

08-11-2008, 09:32 AM

It was mentioned at the top of the broadcast.
Ah. I sat through the entire Women's Gymnastics section and didn't hear about it. Was it before that? I'm thinking a 'coming up next, the president of the United States' would have been in order.

They showed a clip during the Bush interview where he was talking to Putin. They were standing right in front of Laura. Laura seemed to be ticked having Putin's rump in her face.

LashStoat

08-11-2008, 09:33 AM

With all this rooting* going on, I'm surprised that anyone has the energy to toss their javelin !!!

*In Oz, rooting is a birds and bees topic.

:blush:

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 09:37 AM

I feel a connection to swimming because I used to swim. I feel no connection to anything to do with horses though and while I want our team to do well in every event it's not something I'm going to go out of my way to watch or root for.

Team USA is the home team in the Olympics. I want them to do well. I also want the world to be reminded that the USA isn't just Bush and war. It's people, just like them.

innerSpaceman

08-11-2008, 10:02 AM

Alex pretty much answered it for me, scaeagles. Except that I'll go him one further and say that rooting for your city's home team, while admittedly fun, is pathetic ... to the exent most people refer to it as "my team" - as if they have some kind of ownership stake, or are, heaven forbid, PLAYING THE FRELLING GAME THEMSELVES.

Alex makes a good point about a team you are used to seeing play ... but they still HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU.

BTW, if 217 of the 640 Chinese Atheletes win gold medals, China will have won ZERO gold medals. Despite the tyrannical MACHINE the Chinese have to churn out Olympians ... the fact remains: Countries don't win medals, Individual Human Beings DO.

As such, I really feel somewhere between silly and shameful when I experience a tinge of nationalistic joy at Americans winning some competition. The competition itself is silly, my personal connection to American atheletes is non-existent, and the nationalism is, imo, contrary to the higher spirit of the Olympic Games.

I am happy for ANYONE who wins. I am happy for ANYONE who can even compete at this level.

And yeah the race was exciting. The Americans were overjoyed, the French were dispondent. Ugh, since - as Alex pointed out - the race was a freaking TIE.

blueerica

08-11-2008, 10:43 AM

On the topic of smack talking, apparently one of the female rowing teams (Australian, I believe) called another team (Netherlands?) fat.

ETA: Finland, not Netherlands. story (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/beijing_olympics/story/0,27313,24152734-5014104,00.html)

One of my favorite 'human interest' stories from rowing.

Yes, I watched rowing.

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 10:45 AM

Except it wasn't a tie. Have either of you swam competitively?

It's effort and technique coming into the wall. You can't just float on in and hit the wall. In a race that close you're finishing technique better be damn good.

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 10:50 AM

I wouldn't use the word shameful. It is simply silly.

I suppose silly is in the eye of the beholder. People make and feel connections with others for all sorts of reasons.

If it is silly to be happy for the American to win in his/her/their event, than I am happy to be silly (though I don't consider it to be so).

If it is contrary to the spirit of the Olympic games, ISM, why doesn't the IOC throw out the concept of country from the games entirely? Anyone can compete in regional trials for individual sports, make their own teams to compete, etc.

I think the competition between countries is ingrained into the Olympics. It may not be by design, but to eliminate it, no one should represent countries, just themselves.

Gemini Cricket

08-11-2008, 10:50 AM

Yeah, it's not a tie. I swam on two swim teams in Hawai'i.

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 10:50 AM

Team USA is the home team in the Olympics. I want them to do well. I also want the world to be reminded that the USA isn't just Bush and war. It's people, just like them.

To that end, it would be good for us to do pretty well, but also good for us to not totally dominate. Some close calls, some occasional very near losses, those are good for national goodwill. Though it's good to be victorious, we can't seem unbeatable either.

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 10:51 AM

Yeah, it's not a tie. I swam on two swim teams in Hawai'i.
Yeah, it's not like the swimmers don't know where the finish line is. They either give it that last minute push or they don't.

Gemini Cricket

08-11-2008, 10:57 AM

innerSpaceman

08-11-2008, 11:02 AM

Kevy Baby

08-11-2008, 11:08 AM

Ah. I sat through the entire Women's Gymnastics section and didn't hear about it. Was it before that? I'm thinking a 'coming up next, the president of the United States' would have been in order.If I recall correctly, there was a "coming up next" announcement as well.

But we skipped right over it (we were on self-imposed Tivo delay so we could skip the commercials).

Gemini Cricket

08-11-2008, 11:10 AM

And Kudos to Gemini Cricket for rooting for the underdog. Root for whomever you please. It's fun.
Oh, I'd like to add that I also root for which ever male athlete is the hottest. It's not as noble as rooting for the underdog but, hey, I'm only human. When is wrestling, btw?

Ghoulish Delight

08-11-2008, 11:14 AM

I know it's technically not a tie. There was a 1 second difference. I am suggesting that difference is completely meaningless, though humans have ascribed the meaning of "winning" to it. It's absurd.

Yes, it's a race, and a win is a win even by a second. But it's why I simply don't care for races. How can it conceiveably matter to anything but the race itself whether one human is faster by one second at that particular moment of that particular day?

I admire the skill of the winners. I don't admire the skill of the so-called losers who came in second by one single second any less at all.It's a competition, not an exhibition. What is to be admired is the ability of an individual to perform as well as they possibly can in a situation where one small mistake means they don't succeed.

And while such a small margin seems meaningless on the scale of an individual race, that gold medal race is not an isolated event. On top of all of the qualifying rounds are the years in between of world championships. And what you'll find is that the best in the world seem to more often than not end up on the plus side of those seemingly insignificant margins. So much so that it becomes clear that it's not a matter of luck, it's a matter of will. The best in the world will, when it matters most, find that extra step, have their timing down just that little bit better. And if they aren't able to do so in the most important race, they are not the best in the world.

alphabassettgrrl

08-11-2008, 11:20 AM

The announcer was just talking about the Israeli swimmer Mandel who nearly didn't qualify , but did in the end, but two days before the opening ceremony finds out his father back home died. He said his father would have wanted him to compete, so he did. Dude.

Ok, that's the kind of human-interest story I can deal with. Short, but dang. And they didn't go off the race for it; just a narration during and around the actual race.

Plus the guy did ok in the race. Amazing.

Alex

08-11-2008, 11:21 AM

I would be fine with eliminating the "country" concept from the Olympics. If the 23 best shot putters in the world are from Lithuania and there's only room for 25 shot putters, then I'd rather see 23 Lithuanians than the 163rd best shot putter from Namibia. But I know it won't happen because if you eliminate the silly nationalism of it all then you eliminate any emotional justification for the hassle of hosting it.

Of course silly is in the eye of the beholder. Just because I think you're being silly is no reason for you to change your behavior. But yes, being happier about a victory just because that person is American is, to me, pretty darn silly.

BTD, no I haven't swam competitively but I have done other things that are inherently differentiated by very narrow margins. And I still say it was a tie in all but the most technical sense of the word. The French result was 0.03% slower than the American result. That's just not a difference I can work myself into caring about.

Kevy Baby

08-11-2008, 11:23 AM

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 11:23 AM

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 11:25 AM

I'm loving the Olympics this year :)

Enough so that I'd consider buying a DVD set of all the broadcast coverage, if such a thing were to be sold.

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 11:28 AM

I'm sorry, but I find this ridiculous. Isn't the Olympics about bringing the best of the world together and seeing who wins? Honestly, if the french (just singling this out as one example) have bad will toward America because they lost the 4x100, that's their problem, not ours.
I'm not suggesting it as a strategy, but the reality of it is, such things DO have an impact on international relations and on the sentiment one country holds toward another. That's kind of the point. Using sports as a way to compete and yet cooperate with other countries and generate goodwill.

Kevy Baby

08-11-2008, 11:30 AM

That's kind of the point. Using sports as a way to compete and yet cooperate with other countries and generate goodwill.Or perpetuate ill will :)

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 11:35 AM

I'm not suggesting it as a strategy, but the reality of it is, such things DO have an impact on international relations and on the sentiment one country holds toward another. That's kind of the point. Using sports as a way to compete and yet cooperate with other countries and generate goodwill.

OK....makes more sense (and not ridiculous), but I suppose it is a sad thing that anyone would have to worry about someone disliking them because they win. I will always reagrd that as an issue of the loser having a problem, not the winner. Of course, there is such a thing as being a bad winner, though the initial exuberance of winning doesn't fall into that.

What makes one better in any competitive endeavor is going against those who are better than you and forcing you to find a better way to do things. I don't hate my main basketball rival, but I want to beat them desperately. A couple of years ago I lost to them by 23. Four days later we beat them in overtime because I was forced to try some different things to beat them. Made me a better coach, made my players better, too. And it was one of the most satisfying moments of any athletic moment of my life.

Alex

08-11-2008, 11:40 AM

Okay, I am sure it is just another name in Isreal, but there is an athlete named Nimrod (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331173492&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull).

It's a biblical name (grandson of Noah and builder of the Tower of Babel per some stories). It's meaning of idiot is somewhat recent and generally credited to a Bugs Bunny cartoon (but such usage actually seems to predate the cartoon and it was probably an intentional combining of the Hebraic meaning of "hunter" with the existing slang meaning of dolt; very appropriate for Elmer Fudd).

The things I occasionally remember from various "Word of the Day" mailings.

innerSpaceman

08-11-2008, 11:43 AM

Wow.

Well, except for that last bit of historical revelation ... I've decided to just say "ditto" to all of Alex's posts on the subject of the Olympics.

cirquelover

08-11-2008, 11:54 AM

As for who to root for, I'm a sucker for the underdogs and the people with amazing comeback stories or athletes with hard luck stories, triumph over adversity and all that. I don't always root for the American. ie. I remember rooting for Nadia Comăneci when I was 5. She was an amazing athlete. I was 5 and even then I could see that.

You know we have a lot in common! I've also been known to root for the one with the cute smile.

Also I always feel bad for the person in fourth place, they did just as well but get nothing to show for it. I think they are all winners just because they made it to the Olympics in the first place!

I had Gary bring up a list of the countries last night because I couldn't figure some of them out. Wow there are a lot of listed countries, a lot of which I have no idea where they are!

Strangler Lewis

08-11-2008, 11:58 AM

It's a competition, not an exhibition. What is to be admired is the ability of an individual to perform as well as they possibly can in a situation where one small mistake means they don't succeed.

And while such a small margin seems meaningless on the scale of an individual race, that gold medal race is not an isolated event. On top of all of the qualifying rounds are the years in between of world championships. And what you'll find is that the best in the world seem to more often than not end up on the plus side of those seemingly insignificant margins. So much so that it becomes clear that it's not a matter of luck, it's a matter of will. The best in the world will, when it matters most, find that extra step, have their timing down just that little bit better. And if they aren't able to do so in the most important race, they are not the best in the world.

I basically agree. However, as a kid, I used to think that it must be cool to get any kind of Olympic medal. It's sad to think that the reality of expectations means that someone would be disappointed with a bronze.

Ghoulish Delight

08-11-2008, 01:04 PM

I basically agree. However, as a kid, I used to think that it must be cool to get any kind of Olympic medal. It's sad to think that the reality of expectations means that someone would be disappointed with a bronze.The only reason anyone would have to be disappointed with bronze is if they don't perform as well as they know they can. If you perform your best and you're still beaten, you applaud the guy that beat you and move on.

If it is contrary to the spirit of the Olympic games, ISM, why doesn't the IOC throw out the concept of country from the games entirely?It should be noted that the IOC maintains no official record of total medals won by countries. Not that it's hard to piece it together, but any stats you see regarding total medals by country are handled entirely by media outlets and not the IOC.

Gemini Cricket

08-11-2008, 01:10 PM

I knew the feet thing was fake. Just like the fireworks at the televised Garth Brooks Central Park concert that made giant cowboy hat shapes in the air.

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 01:48 PM

Geez, talk about a buzzkill... that totally diminishes the effect. I thought they'd actually arranged to have pyro going off in various locations around the city. Far less interesting now :/

Ghoulish Delight

08-11-2008, 01:52 PM

Geez, talk about a buzzkill... that totally diminishes the effect. I thought they'd actually arranged to have pyro going off in various locations around the city. Far less interesting now :/They did, but what we saw on television was a recreation due to the fact that it wouldn't look right on TV and that having a helicopter flying through mortar fire wasn't considered safe for some reason.

Morrigoon

08-11-2008, 01:53 PM

Heh, imagine that :rolleyes:

Okay, as long as they actually DID the firework footsteps...

Moonliner

08-11-2008, 02:01 PM

And NBC did announce the footsteps as a "virtual" shot during the broadcast.

Ghoulish Delight

08-11-2008, 02:04 PM

I'm sure there are those who will declare that we are being bamboozled, but as I have not heard of anyone attending the opening ceremony saying that they didn't happen, I'm taking the official story at its word.

innerSpaceman

08-11-2008, 02:40 PM

Well, of course, if you were attending the Opening Ceremonies, you would have no way of seeing the Footsteps pyro until they creeped up on the edge of the Bird Cage.

But as I'm still pointing out in the Opening Ceremonies thread, NBC made it pretty clear they were digitally recreating the visuals of the Footsteps over Beijing.

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 03:43 PM

To that end, it would be good for us to do pretty well, but also good for us to not totally dominate. Some close calls, some occasional very near losses, those are good for national goodwill. Though it's good to be victorious, we can't seem unbeatable either.

I'm sorry, but I find this ridiculous. Isn't the Olympics about bringing the best of the world together and seeing who wins? Honestly, if the french (just singling this out as one example) have bad will toward America because they lost the 4x100, that's their problem, not ours.

I'm not suggesting it as a strategy, but the reality of it is, such things DO have an impact on international relations and on the sentiment one country holds toward another. That's kind of the point. Using sports as a way to compete and yet cooperate with other countries and generate goodwill.

OK....makes more sense (and not ridiculous), but I suppose it is a sad thing that anyone would have to worry about someone disliking them because they win. I will always reagrd that as an issue of the loser having a problem, not the winner. Of course, there is such a thing as being a bad winner, though the initial exuberance of winning doesn't fall into that.

What makes one better in any competitive endeavor is going against those who are better than you and forcing you to find a better way to do things. I don't hate my main basketball rival, but I want to beat them desperately. A couple of years ago I lost to them by 23. Four days later we beat them in overtime because I was forced to try some different things to beat them. Made me a better coach, made my players better, too. And it was one of the most satisfying moments of any athletic moment of my life.

Since I'm pretty sure my original comment of wanting the world to see that the US was more than just Bush and war prompted this exchange, I'll go on to say graciously winning every event is a lot better than "in your face" winning one or two event

I'll give this analogy - I want the Ducks to dominate the NHL again. But I want the former Ducks to do well in every game they play, except when they play against us. I want every athlete from every country to do their best, but I want ours to win.

Kevy Baby

08-11-2008, 03:53 PM

GO SJ SHARKS.

Thank you.

.

Strangler Lewis

08-11-2008, 03:57 PM

If it's an event I know we have a chance of winning, I'll root for the U.S.
If it's an event I know the U.S. has no chance in, I will simply root for a highly competitive finish.
If it's an event I know nothing about, I will root for the U.S. until it's clear that the U.S. has no chance. Then, I will root for the highly competitive finish.
I will never pick a favorite based on an NBC back story.

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 04:09 PM

.

What's your point?

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 08:06 PM

Dear Mom,

You are 4 hours ahead. I don't want to talk about today's events!!!!!!

swanie

08-11-2008, 08:11 PM

NBC just did a day in the life bit on Michael Phelps. The boy eats 10,000 calories a day and still can't crack 200 lbs. :eek:

alphabassettgrrl

08-11-2008, 08:12 PM

Statistically, bronze medal winners are ecstatic at getting *a* medal, where silver medal winners feel like a failure because they are so close to gold and yet not there.

Not to apply to individuals, but overall that seems to be the way it works.

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 08:12 PM

Pure muscle. :drool:

Alex

08-11-2008, 08:21 PM

Lani and I have agreed that Phelps is fine from the shoulders down (thought so out of physical proportion on the lengths it is kind of weird) but he's kind of hard to look at from the neck up.

Not Afraid

08-11-2008, 08:21 PM

First of all, men's synchronized diving is on. Great bodies, tiny swim suits.

Secondly, commentary that goes like this:

Question from our viewers; why do the men go to the showers immediately after their dive?

Female sportscster: The water is cold so they go there to warm up, stay loose and have FUN!

LOL!!!

Also, great Honda commercial
Car Salesman: "looking for a car with better gas milage?"
Shot of customer looking at Suburban
Customer: "Ahh, I haven't done as much river fording as I thought."

CoasterMatt

08-11-2008, 08:27 PM

I root for whoever seems most likely to have a dramatic (possibly tragic) physical/emotional breakdown during competition.

When the 1984 Olympics were in L.A., I got to go to a few events, including Men's Soccer at the Rose Bowl - I rooted for Egypt to beat Italy, but alas, despite a brutal player (who ended up with bandages on his head after some wonderful interactions with opponents), Italy won :(

Kevy Baby

08-11-2008, 08:31 PM

Question from our viewers; why do the men go to the showers immediately after their dive?FWIW, the women did it too

Alex

08-11-2008, 08:56 PM

I knew that sychronized diving is lame, but I'd never had such a strongly negative reaction to it before.

Then after about 10 minutes I realized that the female commentator has a voice that is a dead ringer for Nancy Grace. Apparently that produces a deep visceral and immediate hatred. Once I realized that I kept expecting her to say "and to have a chance at taking silver they need to average 6.5 and why did you kill your wife sir?!"

And speaking of subjective judging, it just strikes me as completely broken when two judges can look at the exact same thing and one gives a 4.5 on execution, as New Zealand on China's last two dives, while the Japan judge gives 9.0 on the same dives.

BarTopDancer

08-11-2008, 08:58 PM

NBC just did a day in the life bit on Michael Phelps. The boy eats 10,000 calories a day and still can't crack 200 lbs. :eek:

I think I gained 10lbs watching that :eek:

The American Heart Association is going to be all over him.

lashbear

08-11-2008, 09:01 PM

I'm sure there are those who will declare that we are being bamboozled.
I think you're being bamboozled.

..or is it just the Darvon talking? :p

lashbear

08-11-2008, 09:04 PM

And speaking of subjective judging, it just strikes me as completely broken when two judges can look at the exact same thing and one gives a 4.5 on execution, as New Zealand on China's last two dives, while the Japan judge gives 9.0 on the same dives.
cos japan's just kiss-assing to become friends with China again?

cirquelover

08-11-2008, 09:05 PM

Dear Mom,

You are 4 hours ahead. I don't want to talk about today's events!!!!!!

Are we related?! My Mom is driving me crazy by telling me stuff. The first words out of her mouth every night is " Did you see.... win?". Followed by her saying " Oh, you probably don't want to hear the results do you.?", umm I think you already did thanks!

Alex

08-11-2008, 09:07 PM

cos japan's just kiss-assing to become friends with China again?

Well, on a different dive by the Russians the New Zealand and Japan judges were switched and NZ gave 9.0 to the Russians while Japan gave 4.5 to them. Do kiwis love Russia (or maybe hate Georgia)?

scaeagles

08-11-2008, 09:09 PM

This is why I hate the subjective scoring system. At least when a race is close you don't have one clock saynig Team A won by .07 seconds and team B won by .13 seconds.

swanie

08-11-2008, 09:11 PM

And speaking of subjective judging, it just strikes me as completely broken when two judges can look at the exact same thing and one gives a 4.5 on execution, as New Zealand on China's last two dives, while the Japan judge gives 9.0 on the same dives.

Are you sure they were grading the same diver? The 1st two scores are for one diver and the 2nd two scores are for the other diver.

It made for a HUGE disparity on a few dives.

Alex

08-11-2008, 09:19 PM

Ok, that would explain it. But if each judge is only paying attention to one of the divers how are they rating the synchronization?

swanie

08-11-2008, 09:27 PM

I can't speak for your example since we're an hour ahead here, but the 1st 4 scores (2 and 2) rate the divers individually. The remaining scores rate the pair's synchronization.

I found this on the grading system...

There are nine judges in the synchronized diving events. Two judges rate one individual diver, two other judges rate the second individual and five judges rate the synchronization of the pair. The high and low individual scores and the high and low synchronization scores are thrown out. The five remaining scores are totaled and multiplied by 0.6 and then multiplied by the DD.