2006 (ET/CT Time Zone) Torino Olympics Thread (Spoiler Rules in First Post)

[sterlingice]

Ok, since we don't have one- why not.

EDIT: Since we've had some discussion about spoilers and the like, here's what I figured would work the best for the most people (unfortunately it doesn't work for everyone so you might need to start your own thread for your chosen purpose).

No spoilers for events may happen before the NBC Eastern/Central broadcast of the event (ie we all know it's tape delayed but some of us try not to see the results until we get to 'see' them).

I know this doesn't work for everyone in the later time zones or the Tivo'ers but Mountain/Western and Tivo'ers can start their own threads. The problem with having a spoiler-free thread is that it likely will have absolutely nothing in it and this is meant as a 'follow along' thread as the events are broadcast to us.

SI

[sterlingice]

To the comments in the Bodie Miller thread, I'm a fan of just letting the NBC guys designing their show coverage. Then, after they're done with that, tell them to cut out half of the "human interest" time and replace it with the sports we don't see. You know, those sports where the Americans finish 12th so we see them and then whoever wins, squeezed in between 5 minute commercial breaks. Yeah, stretch that bad boy out into 30 minutes, show me the top 3 at least and maybe the top 5-6 if it's close instead of that story about the reluctant alternate US luge member who was eaten by a bear when he was a little kid but miraculously escaped with the magic of Santa Claus and Richard Dean Anderson cutting into the bear with a spoon and performing emergency surgery with duct tape.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

Holy crap! The 'ski jumper' in the opening ceremonies was absolutely incredible!

[ISiddiqui]

To the comments in the Bodie Miller thread, I'm a fan of just letting the NBC guys designing their show coverage. Then, after they're done with that, tell them to cut out half of the "human interest" time and replace it with the sports we don't see. You know, those sports where the Americans finish 12th so we see them and then whoever wins, squeezed in between 5 minute commercial breaks. Yeah, stretch that bad boy out into 30 minutes, show me the top 3 at least and maybe the top 5-6 if it's close instead of that story about the reluctant alternate US luge member who was eaten by a bear when he was a little kid but miraculously escaped with the magic of Santa Claus and Richard Dean Anderson cutting into the bear with a spoon and performing emergency surgery with duct tape.

SIExactly! I couldn't have said it any better.

[sterlingice]

Holy crap! The 'ski jumper' in the opening ceremonies was absolutely incredible!Yeah, I usually half pay attention to these, but my wife was watching these and was like "wow! really cool!" so I looked over. That and she loved the cow spotted people but she has a thing for cow spotted pattern.

SI

[MJ4H]

I have to weigh in with my opinion on the opening ceremonies.

I think we are beginning to assign to much weight to these games. I'm watching the opening ceremony and you would think we had made contact with some advanced alien civilation and were offering up our most lavish production to please them. Come on people, it's just a bunch of games. I don't write a damn opera every time I get out Scrabble.

I'm only half serious, but I did give myself quite an interesting idea with that last bit.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, I usually half pay attention to these, but my wife was watching these and was like "wow! really cool!" so I looked over. That and she loved the cow spotted people but she has a thing for cow spotted pattern.

SIYou must have interesting wallpaper then ;).

[JonInMiddleGA]

re: Opening ceremonies -- I had the misfortune of stumbling across this while looking for something to watch. Hearing Bob Costas utter the words "the tree people" may have scarred me for life. Between that, the rollerball looking costumed skaters with the flames shooting from the back of their heads and the collection of guys looking for the Ricola commercial auditions I can only surmise that Up With People wasn't available for the show this year. Honestly one of the most surreal scenes I can recall on television in quite a while.

[ISiddiqui]

I like the Costas and Williams have been instructed not to say too much, but can they at least tell us something about the flag bearer. Like what they did in the last Olympics or something?

[Eaglesfan27]

I like seeing some of the smaller delegations come in.

[ISiddiqui]

I'm waiting for Jamaica :). They always get a loud cheer.

[henry296]

I'm waiting for Jamaica :). They always get a loud cheer.

Just looking at the country list, I don't think you'll get to see them this year.

[DaddyTorgo]

wow. people actually watch the opening ceremonies??

yawn

[MJ4H]

I am having my own olympics of hot chicks while watching this. Some countries have already been eliminated.

Luxemborg is quite alive, I should mention.

[Eaglesfan27]

wow. people actually watch the opening ceremonies??

yawn
I don't just sit there and watch every second, but yeah, I like watching it while I do something else on my laptop. There are some good looking women in this which is always a plus. Plus, I love seeing how much enthusiasm some of the athletes show, particularly of the "smaller" countries.

[saldana]

wtf is with the music??? i didnt realize "video killed the radio star" was popular in mongolia

[ISiddiqui]

Just looking at the country list, I don't think you'll get to see them this year.:(

And I love the Opening Ceremonies! I watch them every Olympics. The Parade of Nations is get wondering to watch.

[Crapshoot]

To the comments in the Bodie Miller thread, I'm a fan of just letting the NBC guys designing their show coverage. Then, after they're done with that, tell them to cut out half of the "human interest" time and replace it with the sports we don't see. You know, those sports where the Americans finish 12th so we see them and then whoever wins, squeezed in between 5 minute commercial breaks. Yeah, stretch that bad boy out into 30 minutes, show me the top 3 at least and maybe the top 5-6 if it's close instead of that story about the reluctant alternate US luge member who was eaten by a bear when he was a little kid but miraculously escaped with the magic of Santa Claus and Richard Dean Anderson cutting into the bear with a spoon and performing emergency surgery with duct tape.

SI

yes!!

[sterlingice]

wtf is with the music??? i didnt realize "video killed the radio star" was popular in mongoliaI was eating dinner and watching at that moment and turned to my wife and asked "what country is that for?" "Mongolia" "Lots of Buggles fans there?"

SI

[sterlingice]

I like seeing some of the smaller delegations come in.Same here. Like the one dude who had to carry the flag because he was the only one from that country (granted, he was getting schooling in the US but no need to split hairs).

I always love seeing the Lithuanians since that's my entire dad's family (granted I'm 3rd generation born American so it's not like our family's been there for nearly 100 years but all the same).

Then there was our delegation where we had the jerkoff on the cell phone. YES, YOU'RE ON GLOBAL TV. PUT DOWN THE DAMN CELL PHONE AND WAVE.

SI

[sterlingice]

I have to weigh in with my opinion on the opening ceremonies.

I think we are beginning to assign to much weight to these games. I'm watching the opening ceremony and you would think we had made contact with some advanced alien civilation and were offering up our most lavish production to please them. Come on people, it's just a bunch of games. I don't write a damn opera every time I get out Scrabble.

I'm only half serious, but I did give myself quite an interesting idea with that last bit.I agree- there's something to be said for overdramatizing stuff, but this is the only thing where we can actually get the world together to do something without wanting to kill each other (mostly). It is a giant stage that the world comes together for.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

I agree- there's something to be said for overdramatizing stuff, but this is the only thing where we can actually get the world together to do something without wanting to kill each other (mostly). It is a giant stage that the world comes together for.

SIWell put. Where else (well except the World Cup of Soccer) can you have Iran and the US in the same place and be all smiles? :D

[cthomer5000]

anyone else think the two-man luge looks really uncomfortable?

[ISiddiqui]

Depends on your.... preference ;).

[sterlingice]

So, anyone else waking up bright and early tomorrow to watch the Finland v Germany women's hockey game at 6AM live on CNBC? Ok, me neither, since it requires waking up early, but if I were awake there's a decent chance I'd watch ;)

SI

[Tigercat]

Rocky music in the performance pieces? All 80s American pop when the countries came in? Is this part of Italy stuck in a time warp?

[ISiddiqui]

Well, I'm sure to watch the noon women's hockey match. I'm estatic that we just got Universal HD, so I can watch some of the stuff broadcast on NBC's cable partners on HD (because Universal HD will simulcast them in HD). SWEET!

[ISiddiqui]

YOKO ONO?!! WTF?!

[oliegirl]

YOKO ONO?!! WTF?!


I'm so glad I am not the only one who was thinking that! All I could think of while she was talking was the BNL song - You Could Be My Yoko Ono...

[ISiddiqui]

Well that was an impressive as Hell torch lighting.

[oliegirl]

Well that was an impressive as Hell torch lighting.

Not sure if you are being sarcastic here or not, but I thought it was very cool...different, but in a good way :)

[ISiddiqui]

Pavarotti! Pavarotti!

And why would I be sarcastic?!

[Eaglesfan27]

Well that was an impressive as Hell torch lighting.

I thought so as well (Tivo'd and running behind a few minutes.)

[sterlingice]

Ok, so they had Pavarotti, Peter Gabriel, and Yoko Ono (as different parts of the opening ceremony, not some hideous Super Bowl halftime-eque monstrosity). So was she there to break up the Three Tenors and Genesis at the same time?

SI

[JPhillips]

I don't know if that's Pavarotti's most famous piece, but every time I hear him sing it he kills.

Most of the performance was odd with bits of interesting thrown in. For my tastes it was nothing in comparison to the show in Athens. That was a well concieved and directed show.

Finally, the clothing of the night goes to the Brits. I think they were St. Laurent if I remember right. The coats and scarves were really nice. I foresee Theo Fleury beating up one of the Olympians for one of the coats. The U.S. on the other hand... As my wife said, we're constantly the nation of polar fleece and dorky hats.

[Airhog]

Whats was up with the word "Roots" on the Us clothing?

[biological warrior]

Ok. This opening ceremony is just a little weird. The moving blue thing was just plain weird.

[ISiddiqui]

The moving blue thing? What, you mean the moon-like thing?

[biological warrior]

The moving blue thing? What, you mean the moon-like thing? I think it was a bunch of people moving around the stage, creating an image of a moving skier or something.

[ISiddiqui]

I think it was a bunch of people moving around the stage, creating an image of a moving skier or something.You mean the ski jump thing? That was freaking awesome!

[Galaxy]

Whats was up with the word "Roots" on the Us clothing?
It's a Canadian apparel company. We can't outfit our athletes with US-company clothes? Nike and Reebok are avaliable.

[RPI-Fan]

So, anyone else waking up bright and early tomorrow to watch the Finland v Germany women's hockey game at 6AM live on CNBC? Ok, me neither, since it requires waking up early, but if I were awake there's a decent chance I'd watch ;)

SI

Women's hockey is basically unwatchable for me.

[Karlifornia]

I hate how every comment is so America-centric. Mongolia comes out: "Mongolia just had a great moment in their country's history---When President Bush visited them!!"

[TazFTW]

Iran is funkytown?

[Karlifornia]

Iran is funkytown?


LOL

[ISiddiqui]

I hate how every comment is so America-centric. Mongolia comes out: "Mongolia just had a great moment in their country's history---When President Bush visited them!!"Yep... and when Williams just out of the blue said Italians still remember the US bailed them out in WW2. WTF does that have to do with anything?!

I think people are just getting fed up with NBC's ultra jingoism.

[Flame Eater]

Okay here's my bit. By 8:00 pm EST the opening ceremonies were actually over in Italy. Why did I have to sit and listen to Bodie Miller for 45 minutes before the coverage of the opening started? I went to bed at 11:00 (before the torch lighting).

The ceremonies were completed when the NBC coverage began, why the filler for 45 minutes?

I like the Olympic ceremonies. They're wacky and artistic, and I always go to bed shaking my head saying, "What was that all about?" BUT...NBC really cobbed this one up for me!

Oh...I heard Yoko was lighting the flame befor the coverage started. WTF is right! I'm glad I went to bed.

[henry296]

Oh...I heard Yoko was lighting the flame befor the coverage started. WTF is right! I'm glad I went to bed.

Yoko didn't light the flame. It was an Italian athlete who had won 10 medals.

[Craptacular]

The opening ceremony was pretty good over all, but the whole Yoko Ono / Peter Gabriel "Imagine" sequence was not. I like Genesis and Peter Gabriel, and it could have been a sound problem, but he sounded horrible ... you couldn't even understand him until the chorus. Yoko was just ... well ... Yoko.

I also now know where my 100% Funk CD went.

[Greyroofoo]

This will probably be the only time i get to see any hockey this year

[Airhog]

Dammit!

Please don't post spoilers in this thread without warning. They will probably show that event during primetime, and its kinda ruined now :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dammit!

Please don't post spoilers in this thread without warning. They will probably show that event during primetime, and its kinda ruined now :)

Ditto. I'd rather not have to stop reading this thread.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I deleted it. Sorry, fellas. Didn't even think about possible spoilers and such. Won't happen again.

[Airhog]

Dont take my words the wrong way HB, Im sure you didnt mean it purposely. But feel free to create a thread with spoilers in it, if you'd like. I would just rather not know, since all of the good stuff will be time delayed

[Honolulu_Blue]

Dont take my words the wrong way HB, Im sure you didnt mean it purposely. But feel free to create a thread with spoilers in it, if you'd like. I would just rather not know, since all of the good stuff will be time delayed
Don't worry about it. I realized that I watched the event live on CBC and didn't even think about the time delay because I had just watched it. I am flipping around and often forget which event is on which channel.

I'll keep mum on all results in this thread. I'll keep 'em to threads dedicated to events, like the US/Swiss women's hockey thread.

[Eaglesfan27]

I deleted it. Sorry, fellas. Didn't even think about possible spoilers and such. Won't happen again.
Thanks for deleting it. We all make mistakes :)

[ice4277]

I heard on CBC a little while ago that Canada's women's hockey team may beat the Italian team by 20-30 goals :eek:

[Honolulu_Blue]

I heard on CBC a little while ago that Canada's women's hockey team may beat the Italian team by 20-30 goals :eek:
While I understand that goal differential matters, beating a team by 20-30 goals doesn't really seem to be in line with the Olympic spirit...

[Johnny93g]

While I understand that goal differential matters, beating a team by 20-30 goals doesn't really seem to be in line with the Olympic spirit...

Unfortunatly, the home team for the gold medal game will be decided by goal differential. While noone wants to see a game like that, Canada can't afford to let up, because home ice in the final games will bring some important advantages

Right now, it's 5-0 Canada, so i dont think it will be 20 goals bad

[Young Drachma]

How do they determine home ice on a neutral site like the Olympics?

[ISiddiqui]

While I understand that goal differential matters, beating a team by 20-30 goals doesn't really seem to be in line with the Olympic spirit...I watched the first period and Canada could have put their 3rd team out there and scored over 15 goals. The only way for them to stop scoring would be to go to the trap... and never go into the Italy offensive zone. Even then they'd score a couple ;).

[Honolulu_Blue]

They just noted that the combined age of the Italian defensive pairing on the power play was 30. They are each 15 years old. Wow.

[SirFozzie]

Wow. What a jump. It's alternatively scary and exhilerating to watch the ski jump... and these aren't the true ski jumpers (the nordic combined)

[saldana]

Wow. What a jump. It's alternatively scary and exhilerating to watch the ski jump... and these aren't the true ski jumpers (the nordic combined)
i really liked the camera that goes down the chute with them and keeps going down along side the jumpers...that really gave a great sense of how far they are jumping.

[saldana]

They just noted that the combined age of the Italian defensive pairing on the power play was 30. They are each 15 years old. Wow.
are you sure? just because i thought you have to be at least 16 to compete in the olympics

[saldana]

Oh...I heard Yoko was lighting the flame befor the coverage started. WTF is right! I'm glad I went to bed.

i cant decide which was more utterly ridiculous...yoko ono who has never done anything except marry john lennon and obviously write really bad poetry, or the part when the olympic flag came in, carried by sophia loren (possibly the most famous italian woman alive right now), a nobel peace prize winner, a human rights activist from africa, an award winning author, several other not famous but noteworthy, accomplished women, and SUSAN SARANDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF DOES SUSAN SARANDON HAVE TO DO WITH THE OLYMPICS. FINE SHE IS AN ANTI-WAR/ANTI-BUSH ACTIVIST, BUT THERE FREAKING WAY SHE SHOULD BE WITHIN 8000 MILES OF THE OLYMPICS WITHOUT A TICKET, imo.

[Honolulu_Blue]

are you sure? just because i thought you have to be at least 16 to compete in the olympics
Well, it's what the folks on CBC said. Checking the website there is a player on Italy named Valentina Bettarini who was born in June 1990, which would make her 15 still. Not sure if that's one of the two players they were talking about, but I assume so.

[RPI-Fan]

I played open hockey with some Italian girl (maybe 15-16 years old at the time), about two years ago... I wonder if she made her way onto the team (she was quite good -- was holding her own with a girl who was regularly in Team USA camps, etc.).

[SirFozzie]

it's weird to watch folks ski as hard as they can for 90% of the course, and then at the end, deliberately slow down so they don't go near the end tommorrow.

[Honolulu_Blue]

i cant decide which was more utterly ridiculous...yoko ono who has never done anything except marry john lennon and obviously write really bad poetry, or the part when the olympic flag came in, carried by sophia loren (possibly the most famous italian woman alive right now), a nobel peace prize winner, a human rights activist from africa, an award winning author, several other not famous but noteworthy, accomplished women, and SUSAN SARANDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF DOES SUSAN SARANDON HAVE TO DO WITH THE OLYMPICS. FINE SHE IS AN ANTI-WAR/ANTI-BUSH ACTIVIST, BUT THERE FREAKING WAY SHE SHOULD BE WITHIN 8000 MILES OF THE OLYMPICS WITHOUT A TICKET, imo.Why not? Susan Sarandon is an Oscar winner. That's not bad. She is also of Italian and Welsh heritage. She's also a big time supporter/fan of hockey. That's A-Ok in my book. It's nice to have an actor/actress with some gavitas behind him/her support hockey instead of the usual fair: Alex Tribec, Alan Thicke, Dave Clouier, etc, etc. (Apparently she was also involved in an effort to get Dr. Laura's show off television. Now that is a noble goal worthy of the highest praise.)

If I had to choose an US actress to be at the Opening Ceramonies in Italy, I think an Oscar winner with Italian heritage who's a hockey fan is a pretty solid choice.

Go Susan. It was an inspired choice.

[saldana]

Why not? Susan Sarandon is an Oscar winner. That's not bad. She is also of Italian and Welsh heritage. She's also a big time supporter/fan of hockey. That's A-Ok in my book. It's nice to have an actor/actress with some gavitas behind him/her support hockey instead of the usual fair: Alex Tribec, Alan Thicke, Dave Clouier, etc, etc. (Apparently she was also involved in an effort to get Dr. Laura's show off television. Now that is a noble goal worthy of the highest praise.)

If I had to choose an US actress to be at the Opening Ceramonies in Italy, I think an Oscar winner with Italian heritage who's a hockey fan is a pretty solid choice.

Go Susan. It was an inspired choice.

but why an actress....compared with the other people carrying the flag, it basically sent the message that we as americans value academy award winners more than anyone else in our society. I cant believe that there isnt someone of Italian heritage that has done a hell of a lot more for the world than make a bunch of movies that we could have sent.

[SirFozzie]

wow. Talk about a dream crushed at the beginning

[SirFozzie]

wow, what a dream crusher right at the beginning. nice fight back, if he had another ten seconds, he just might have done it

[saldana]

it's weird to watch folks ski as hard as they can for 90% of the course, and then at the end, deliberately slow down so they don't go near the end tommorrow.


skiing at the end of a draw is sometime very hard, as the lines of all the other skiers have been cut in, and since it gets warmer as the day goes by the best line down the hill may change, so skiing outside the earlier cuts could be necessary and very difficult.

[SirFozzie]

btw, sorry to double post, but I'm getting errors (server reset) every now and then..

maybe they need to set up a system where the fastest run gets to choose where he goes in the draw instead.

[saldana]

wow, what a dream crusher right at the beginning. nice fight back, if he had another ten seconds, he just might have done it
what were you refering to, i was watching the disaster that is the italian women hockey team for a few minutes.

[Honolulu_Blue]

but why an actress....compared with the other people carrying the flag, it basically sent the message that we as americans value academy award winners more than anyone else in our society. I cant believe that there isnt someone of Italian heritage that has done a hell of a lot more for the world than make a bunch of movies that we could have sent.
Culture is our biggest export! Maybe they asked Dinero or Pacino and they backed out or something... I have no idea who was asked or how it was chosen. The more highlights I see of Opening Ceramonies the more I regret missing it. It looked very sureal...

[Eaglesfan27]

btw, sorry to double post, but I'm getting errors (server reset) every now and then..

maybe they need to set up a system where the fastest run gets to choose where he goes in the draw instead.

I'm also getting errors on the board today.

That Bode Miller piece with Robert Redford just about made me turn off the coverage.

[saldana]

I'm also getting errors on the board today.

That Bode Miller piece with Robert Redford just about made me turn off the coverage.

i did...i went back to the ridiculous hockey game again...16 goals on 65 shots for canada

[General Mike]

Canada-Italy is at 16-0, right now. 1:20 left in the 3rd

[saldana]

i feel really bad for the Italian girls. they didnt deserve that, but i cant decide what would have been worse, the canadians bringing it the whole game, or having them skate around between the circles in their own end for 2 periods.

[ISiddiqui]

This was Italy's first women's hockey team. They got an auto bid because they are the home squad. Ouch!

[Eaglesfan27]

That was very cool :)

[Celeval]

Should we assume prime-time spoilers are okay?

[Eaglesfan27]

Should we assume prime-time spoilers are okay?

Good question. I wasn't sure if the West Coast might be getting it on even further tape delay than the East Coast and Central Time zones, which is why I stopped myself from posting specifics in my above post.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Good question. I wasn't sure if the West Coast might be getting it on even further tape delay than the East Coast and Central Time zones, which is why I stopped myself from posting specifics in my above post.
I like this strategy. The thread will be filled with a bunch of random posts like:

Oh my god!

Unbelievable!

Did that just really happen?!?!


Good stuff!

[digamma]

We get everything on double tape delay out here.

Between all of the different time zones we have on the board and espn.com, yahoo and every news organization publishing and broadcasting results, I think it's pretty unrealistic to think this thread (and my olympic viewing) can be spoiler free.

[saldana]

for anyone else watching in HD, is your picture and sound cutting in and out? Craptacular said he had some problems earlier on Universal HD with the audio, but this entire primetime show is giving me all kinds of problems with both audio and visual.


also, anyone else noticing that the audio is out of sync with the video?

[gstelmack]

btw, sorry to double post, but I'm getting errors (server reset) every now and then..

maybe they need to set up a system where the fastest run gets to choose where he goes in the draw instead.
I was thinking the same thing watching the downhill training runs. Any system that encourages people to not do their best needs fixing. As it is these guys are just guessing anyway about how much time to hold up on. You're almost getting a random seeding.

If you want fast times, reward them by letting them choose their position, rather than setting it by times. Especially in a sport where not everyone gets the same playing conditions.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm watching on a bit of a TIVO delay, but the German pairs figure skater is VERY hot.

[Rizon]

Beating Italians badly should be ok anytime, anyplace, and under any circumstances.

[Rizon]

I don't understand the scoring for pairs figure skating. I always thought if you fall you were pretty much toast.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm watching on a bit of a TIVO delay, but the German pairs figure skater is VERY hot.i thought this too. well actually i just thought the girl was hot. i was rooting for them just because of her hotness! liked their routine too, just a shame she couldn't land that throw.

[Eaglesfan27]

i thought this too. well actually i just thought the girl was hot. i was rooting for them just because of her hotness! liked their routine too, just a shame she couldn't land that throw.

Heh. I thought it would be assumed I was talking about the girl ;)

Yeah, I was rooting for them a bit too. Her partner just threw her with a bit too much force.

[DaddyTorgo]

catching some of the early stuff on the replay.


wow...that throw-triple-axle is BADASS.

[ISiddiqui]

This may be the only time I've heard a figure skating move described as "badass" ;)

[DaddyTorgo]

did you watch it though? it totally was.

and is there anything better than GISing a random female athlete from another country and finding hot pictures?

kari traa

mmmm beautiful (and i'm not even talking the semi-naughty pictures, she just looks like a real pretty lady)

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, I saw it... it's still figure skating.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah, I saw it... it's still figure skating.hater

[dervack]

You know, hearing that Kwan is withdrawing from the Olympics makes me irritated that she took a spot for someone else who had qualified for the team at the US championships.

[DaddyTorgo]

You know, hearing that Kwan is withdrawing from the Olympics makes me irritated that she took a spot for someone else who had qualified for the team at the US championships.i don't think she has actually withdrawn yet. and they said if she does withdraw that the other Hughes sister is her backup.

[dervack]

i don't think she has actually withdrawn yet. and they said if she does withdraw that the other Hughes sister is her backup.
I wasn't sure if they could replace her once she did withdraw. If they can good. It's on the Olympics home page that she did withdraw already.

[dervack]

Dola,

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/5101092/detail.html

[DaddyTorgo]

Dola,

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/5101092/detail.htmlwow. i'm sure she didn't "want" to, but that's pretty lame.

[dervack]

wow. i'm sure she didn't "want" to, but that's pretty lame.
Reading the article it states they are going to ask to replace Kwan, but it isn't a sure thing. I hope they let her be replaced.

[kingfc22]

I can't wait for Monday. CURLING!! WOO!!!!

[Eaglesfan27]

catching some of the early stuff on the replay.


wow...that throw-triple-axle is BADASS.

That was what my cryptic wow comment was about before. I was amazed they pulled it off.

[Eaglesfan27]

You know, hearing that Kwan is withdrawing from the Olympics makes me irritated that she took a spot for someone else who had qualified for the team at the US championships.

I thought she petitioned and didn't take someone else's spot. I thought we didn't have another skater that qualified to go, so that there was no downside to the USA for her to go. :confused:

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I'm mildly drunk, tired, and about to pass out. However, I was apparently confused about Kwan. In any case, they said that the IOC has unofficially approved Emily Hughes (The younger sister of Sara) to come to the Olympics as a replacement.

[Airhog]

Emily Hughes finished 3rd at the trials I believe

[Honolulu_Blue]

Wow!! What a race! Who knew cross-country skiing could be so exciting?

[saldana]

I thought she petitioned and didn't take someone else's spot. I thought we didn't have another skater that qualified to go, so that there was no downside to the USA for her to go. :confused:


kwan didnt skate at nationals, where the 3 top finishers qualify for the olympic team, but she petitioned the IOC for an exemption and a spot on the team based upon her previous performances and the fact that she was injured. they set this precedent by letting Nancy (whhhyyyyyyyy) Kerrigan go to Lillehammer in '94. so they bumped out emily hughes and let kwan have her spot. i thought it was bs at the time, and this only confirms it.

[Craptacular]

for anyone else watching in HD, is your picture and sound cutting in and out? Craptacular said he had some problems earlier on Universal HD with the audio, but this entire primetime show is giving me all kinds of problems with both audio and visual.


also, anyone else noticing that the audio is out of sync with the video?
Last night I also tried watching some of the coverage in HD from my local NBC affilliate through my antenna, and had a bunch of picture / sound issues again. I was getting awesome signal strength, so I don't think that was the problem. I think NBC is just having problems with their HD feed altogether. The problems were bad enough to make it unwatchable, and I flipped back to SD through DISH.

[MIJB#19]

One-Two Woohoo!

[ISiddiqui]

kwan didnt skate at nationals, where the 3 top finishers qualify for the olympic team, but she petitioned the IOC for an exemption and a spot on the team based upon her previous performances and the fact that she was injured. they set this precedent by letting Nancy (whhhyyyyyyyy) Kerrigan go to Lillehammer in '94. so they bumped out emily hughes and let kwan have her spot. i thought it was bs at the time, and this only confirms it.Spot on! I'm actually glad that Kwan pulled out, because she totally screwed over Emily Hughes. Right after they let Kwan get in, I wondered why anyone ever thought figure skating was a legit sport when crap like that happens.

[Young Drachma]

I wasn't sure if they could replace her once she did withdraw. If they can good. It's on the Olympics home page that she did withdraw already.

Kwan had to try out for her spot. And what she did, was no different than what Kerrigan did to her in 1994 when she ended up being the alternate. Hence, it wasn't unprecedented or anything.

Plus, they made her actually perform her routine, so it wasn't as though she didn't have to work for it.

I think what she did here, proves she's gracious and doesn't think she's above the sport. People need to cut this girl some slack, she's done a hell of job representing America over the years.

[ISiddiqui]

Kwan had to try out for her spot. And what she did, was no different than what Kerrigan did to her in 1994 when she ended up being the alternate. Hence, it wasn't unprecedented or anything.

Plus, they made her actually perform her routine, so it wasn't as though she didn't have to work for it.

I think what she did here, proves she's gracious and doesn't think she's above the sport. People need to cut this girl some slack, she's done a hell of job representing America over the years.Oh screw that! Gracious would have been to admit she hasn't been well enough to participate in Qualification and shouldn't try to nose her way into the US team simply based on reputation. She's a prima donna, plain and simple.

[saldana]

i am about half and half with agreeing with the two posts above this one, but i do give her alot of credit for walking away early enough for Emily Hughes to get here and get ready....she could easily have stayed a few more days, or not left at all...so i will give her a ton of props for doing what is best for the US team.

[clintl]

Why all the consternation about Kwan doing something that was within the rules to be on the team? It's not like she's the first athlete ever to have done this.

[oliegirl]

Oh screw that! Gracious would have been to admit she hasn't been well enough to participate in Qualification and shouldn't try to nose her way into the US team simply based on reputation. She's a prima donna, plain and simple.


I disagree. I think her dream was to win Olympic Gold and this was her last chance, and she was going to do anything to attempt to fulfill that dream. She obviously was healthy enough when she went through what she did to get onto the team but since then has suffered some minor injuries that have thrown her off her game. If she was truly a prima donna she would have stayed, knowing that all eyes were on her, and continued to try to practice and maybe pull off a mediocre performance in 10 days. But she did the right thing and stepped aside for Hughes...I am sure it wasn't an easy decision to make, I bet there are quite a few athletes who wouldn't have done what she did and would have selfishly stayed just to stay knowing they had no shot at a medal, or even being a contender for a medal.

*insert Brando "I should have been a contender" joke here*

[Vegas Vic]

The Flying Tomato takes down the gold.

[Eaglesfan27]

I agree that having a bunch of useless posts with generic comments is not a good strategy, but please put a spoiler warning with some space before posting results.

[oliegirl]

I agree that having a bunch of useless posts with generic comments is not a good strategy, but please put a spoiler warning with some space before posting results.


Why don't we just create a spoilers thread? This one can be for the "political" discussions and the other for results and such...

[saldana]

The Flying Tomato takes down the gold.


thanks for ruining that event for everyone that planned on watching the event when they show it tonight..... :mad:

apparently some people either didnt bother or is incapable of reading the part of this thread where it says not to post spoilers.

[saldana]

Why don't we just create a spoilers thread? This one can be for the "political" discussions and the other for results and such...

that is pretty much what was commonly agreed upon about 40 posts ago, when the people that were frequenting this thread said they would keep specific event results confined to threads about that event unless it had already been broadcast.

[Airhog]

Im glad that I dont know who that is :D

[ISiddiqui]

I disagree. I think her dream was to win Olympic Gold and this was her last chance, and she was going to do anything to attempt to fulfill that dream. She obviously was healthy enough when she went through what she did to get onto the team but since then has suffered some minor injuries that have thrown her off her game. If she was truly a prima donna she would have stayed, knowing that all eyes were on her, and continued to try to practice and maybe pull off a mediocre performance in 10 days. But she did the right thing and stepped aside for Hughes...I am sure it wasn't an easy decision to make, I bet there are quite a few athletes who wouldn't have done what she did and would have selfishly stayed just to stay knowing they had no shot at a medal, or even being a contender for a medal.

*insert Brando "I should have been a contender" joke here*There are different ways to be a prima donna, IMO. Kwan, I believe, knew she was injured and didn't want to look like a fool during the competition and taint her legacy. I think she fell during practice and just totally broke down and didn't want to look bad, so she said I'm not going to do it.

Basically I got no respect for him using the "Kerrigan rule" when the situation with Kerrigan was far different (purposeful sabotage by a competitor).

[Craptacular]

Am I the only one whose favorite Olympic event (summer or winter) is the downhill? These guys are insane ... always an inch from disaster.

[DaddyTorgo]

yes. and my dad totally faked me out by saying he looked at the results and insinuating one thing that hasn't turned out to be the case so far. it's great! fake spoilers rule!

[Craptacular]

I'm about 15-20 minutes behind their coverage (using the DVR), but this has been amazing so far. I can't believe how some of these guys recover from sure doom.

[ISiddiqui]

SEMI-SPOILER:






Well that new ski thing didn't work out so well, did it?

[sterlingice]

Am I the only one whose favorite Olympic event (summer or winter) is the downhill? These guys are insane ... always an inch from disaster.It's one of my favorites- I still most like the mogul, but the downhill is one of my other couple of favorites (along with the 4 man bobseld).

Go Lichtenstien-- er.. Lichstenstein-- err.. Lichtenstein :D

SI

[Craptacular]

Can you imagine how awesome it would be if these guys raced together a la Skier X at the X Games. It would be incredibly dangerous, but fun to watch. :D

[ISiddiqui]

Holy crap!! What a downhill!

[oliegirl]

Spoilers thread has been created - let's all respect each other and use it please...

[DaddyTorgo]

why doesn't SI just edit the title of this thread to say spoilers are inside?

[ISiddiqui]

That wasn't a spoiler ;). Unless they didn't want to know X event was going to be exciting.

[Eaglesfan27]

Downhill racing is one of my favorite events as well (I'm about 50 minutes behind catching up on TIVO.)

[DaddyTorgo]

more short-track speedskating after the downhill. 1500 meters

[Craptacular]

Downhill racing is one of my favorite events as well (I'm about 50 minutes behind catching up on TIVO.)There'll be a couple of parts you might want to rewind.

[sterlingice]

I guess I could do that with the spoilers. I was kindof hoping to have a simultaneous thread where it's commentary as we watch, tho. Basically, no spoilers until it's been shown on tv kind of thing. But that's up to everyone else.

Frankly, a non-spoiler thread will just be empty since everyone will just assume everything is a spoiler.

SI

[Craptacular]

Can you imagine how awesome it would be if these guys raced together a la Skier X at the X Games. It would be incredibly dangerous, but fun to watch. :DOK, that "simulcam" is pretty cool.

[Eaglesfan27]

There have been some amazing jumps (and recoveries) in the downhill.

Definitely had a few "rewind moments" so far.

[sterlingice]

The entirety of the downhill is the perfect reason why there is no need to build up stupid human interest stories for half the primetime schedule. That whole story wrote itself.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

Speaking of human interest stories... is it just me, or do we have much less of that so far this time around?

[sterlingice]

Speaking of human interest stories... is it just me, or do we have much less of that so far this time around?I missed most of yesterday since I was out of town, but tonight seems relatively "human interest" free. Maybe they took a cue from everyone saying that and have cut down.

SI

[sterlingice]

Ok, I've got a possible solution idea to the spoilers thing- gonna see what people think. How about we have two Olympic threads based on time zone: one east/central time zone, one mountain/west (those are the two television zones for something on tape delay, right?). This would just become the East/Central one and the results one can become the Mountain/West one or something like that?

That way we can do some spoilers. Otherwise, I just don't see much point of having an Olympic thread if we can't talk about it "as it's happening" or at least as it's happening for us. It'll just have a couple of "daily" recaps, maybe a discussion if some controversy comes up, and that's about it.

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

i don't understand the scoring in snowboarding. i mean i get it's bad if they fall, and the longer they grab the better...but beyond that and the amount of air i don't really see how they differentiate between say White and Aguierre (who had a higher degree of difficulty in his routine, right?)

[Craptacular]

Honestly, I think we should keep this one spoiler free. If no one posts in it, then so be it. I've been using the DVR a lot so far, and if nothing else, this could be a thread to see what events I really need to watch without knowing the results.

[DaddyTorgo]

Honestly, I think we should keep this one spoiler free. If no one posts in it, then so be it. I've been using the DVR a lot so far, and if nothing else, this could be a thread to see what events I really need to watch without knowing the results.well if we can't post some kind of spoilers it's going to be pretty crappy discussion.

"oh wow you should watch the downhill."

"oh yeah that was neat."

end discussion

[Craptacular]

Whatever, I guess I'll just stay out of these altogether then. I'm having a hard enough time avoiding results on every frickin' web site I visit.

[DaddyTorgo]

i think you almost have to embrace the results when the olympics are happening overseas. look and see who won, but then focus more on how they got there then the fact that they won. i've already had a couple events spoiled, but i try not to let that ruin my appreciation of their athletic achievements...

[ISiddiqui]

Yep.. I mean sports sites like ESPN, CBS Sportsline, etc, have NO interest in keeping you in the dark until you can watch the Olympics on NBC that evening (though for some strange reason NBC's site reveals results before broadcast as well). They want to give you the sports news as soon as it happens.

[Eaglesfan27]

I love the Flying Tomato's seemingly sincere emotion after the win. His attempts to pick up Sasha Cohen were rather humorous as well.

[DaddyTorgo]

only problem is there's no english version, but it's self-explanatory really

http://skichallenge.orf.at/challenge/stories/download/#body

[sterlingice]

Honestly, I think we should keep this one spoiler free. If no one posts in it, then so be it. I've been using the DVR a lot so far, and if nothing else, this could be a thread to see what events I really need to watch without knowing the results.I meant it as a serious question, tho- if we kill the thread by putting nothing in it, what's the point of having it in the first place? Why even have a thread if there's nothing that can be discussed?

I'm thinking of putting this in the first post and renaming the thread:
"2006 (ET/CT Time Zone) Torino Olympics Thread (Spoiler Rules in First Post)"


"EDIT: Since we've had some discussion about spoilers and the like, here's what I figured would work the best for the most people (unfortunately it doesn't work for everyone so you might need to start your own thread for your chosen purpose).

No spoilers for events may happen before the NBC Eastern/Central broadcast of the event (ie we all know it's tape delayed but some of us try not to see the results until we get to 'see' them).

I know this doesn't work for everyone in the later time zones or the Tivo'ers but Mountain/Western and Tivo'ers can start their own threads. The problem with having a spoiler-free thread is that it likely will have absolutely nothing in it and this is meant as a 'follow along' thread as the events are broadcast to us." SI

[saldana]

SI, that sounds like a great idea. that way we can have actual discussions about stuff that is happening like we did in the womens ice hockey thread, and everyone is warned not to read the thread if they are delayed by their TIVO (like i will be all week)

[rkmsuf]

I have a hard time viewing snowboarding as an olympic sport.

[saldana]

I have a hard time viewing snowboarding as an olympic sport.


100 pecent agree. i dont think it belongs in the olympics at all, same with the freestyle skiing....not saying that they arent sports or arent hard to do, i just dont think they should be in the olympics AT ALL.

[rkmsuf]

100 pecent agree. i dont think it belongs in the olympics at all, same with the freestyle skiing....not saying that they arent sports or arent hard to do, i just dont think they should be in the olympics AT ALL.

I have nothing against the activity but found myself saying "WTF is this doing in the Olympics."

Do they have Olympic surfing?

[Butter]

I know everyone is going to find this incredibly dorky, but I'm actually excited to go home and fire up the curling from my DVR. It only comes once every 4 years, so I'm trying to enjoy as much of it as I can.

[Butter]

If I go the rest of my life without hearing the term "fakey to fakey", that would be OK by me.

[Eaglesfan27]

I have a hard time viewing snowboarding as an olympic sport.
Why? Is it because it hasn't been around as some of the other events? Is it because it has been popularized by the X-games? Or is there some other reason? I'm just curious as to what makes it less worthwhile than any of the other subjective sports in the Olympics.


Edit: The 2nd question was supposed to be: Is it because it hasn't been around as long as some of the other events?

[rkmsuf]

Why? Is it because it hasn't been around as some of the other events? Is it because it has been popularized by the X-games? Or is there some other reason? I'm just curious as to what makes it less worthwhile than any of the other subjective sports in the Olympics.

It's probably irrational but it doesn't seem like there's much competition to it. Dunno, just didn't excite me last night between some of them looking like they were in their pajamas and one guy listening to the ear buds as he performed.

I'm sure they are very talented but again to me it's like Olympic surfing.

Nothing is dumber than syncronized swimming so snowboarders take solice in that.

[gstelmack]

I think a strong case could be made for eliminating all "subjective" sports from the olympics. Any sport that requires judges to make an arbitrary call on something that just flies past them doesn't belong. Speed skating is in, figure skating out. Swimming is in, diving is out. Downhill racing is in, Nordic combined (where they get freakin' judged on their skijumping form instead of just how far they go?) is gone.

Just my personal opinion. Not saying the others are not fun to watch or worthy of competing in, just that they are too subjective for judges to decide who is "best".

[rkmsuf]

Now why isn't ski jumping just who goes farthest? See that would make sense.

[sterlingice]

Opening thread post and thread title have been changed.

SI

[sterlingice]

I think a strong case could be made for eliminating all "subjective" sports from the olympics. Any sport that requires judges to make an arbitrary call on something that just flies past them doesn't belong. Speed skating is in, figure skating out. Swimming is in, diving is out. Downhill racing is in, Nordic combined (where they get freakin' judged on their skijumping form instead of just how far they go?) is gone.

Just my personal opinion. Not saying the others are not fun to watch or worthy of competing in, just that they are too subjective for judges to decide who is "best".I'm torn about this. Frankly, I love the "non-subjective" sports a lot more anyways (give me the downhill over figure skating and javelin over gymnastics any day). That said, I'm not sure there'd be enough sports then.

SI

[sterlingice]

Ooh! Curling is live on CNBC at 4.

SI

[Butter]

Ooh! Curling is live on CNBC at 4.

SI

I'd be surprised if it's live, since Torino is something like 6-7 hours ahead of the East Coast.

[rkmsuf]

I'd be surprised if it's live, since Torino is something like 6-7 hours ahead of the East Coast.


You can't curl at 10pm? They ain't wussies you know.

[sterlingice]

My bad, yeah, it's taped. Still...

Anyways, it's USA vs Finland in the Battle for Earth or somethin'

SI

[AnalBumCover]

Fred Rogin is covering Curling?

[Celeval]

Nice shot!

[Warhammer]

I think a strong case could be made for eliminating all "subjective" sports from the olympics. Any sport that requires judges to make an arbitrary call on something that just flies past them doesn't belong. Speed skating is in, figure skating out. Swimming is in, diving is out. Downhill racing is in, Nordic combined (where they get freakin' judged on their skijumping form instead of just how far they go?) is gone.

Just my personal opinion. Not saying the others are not fun to watch or worthy of competing in, just that they are too subjective for judges to decide who is "best".

Amen. Plus, I used to love how back in the good old days, which ever power bloc in the world had more judges in the event, their "side" won.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nice shot!
Agreed. I'm surprised to find that I'm actually enjoying Curling in the background.

[Celeval]

I'm really beginning to not like this stocks guy.

[sterlingice]

He seems like the Walton/Madden/Vitale of stocks

SI

[RPI-Fan]

Honestly, I think we should keep this one spoiler free. If no one posts in it, then so be it. I've been using the DVR a lot so far, and if nothing else, this could be a thread to see what events I really need to watch without knowing the results.

A bit ironic you talking about spoilers, isn't it? :rolleyes:


I think the two threads should work well -- one for "live" spoilers, this one you can't talk about until it's happened in Eastern/Central TV.

[Eaglesfan27]

That curling match had a surprisingly compelling ending.

[Celeval]

That was disappointing... I thought we were positioned very well going into the last couple stones.

[Eaglesfan27]

That was disappointing... I thought we were positioned very well going into the last couple stones.
Me too. Quite a bit of interesting strategy in the game.

[RPI-Fan]

Me too. Quite a bit of interesting strategy in the game.

I'm glad I worked the early end of my shift today (7:45am-4:45pm EST instead of 8:45-5:45) and got to see the majority of the match (even though I watched in the background).

I think I'll plan on doing the same the rest of the week.


Does anyone have a link to the men's hockey TV schedule without spoilers (you can't go to the NBC Olympics page without spoiling)?

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm glad I worked the early end of my shift today (7:45am-4:45pm EST instead of 8:45-5:45) and got to see the majority of the match (even though I watched in the background).

I think I'll plan on doing the same the rest of the week.


Does anyone have a link to the men's hockey TV schedule without spoilers (you can't go to the NBC Olympics page without spoiling)?
I don't know the schedule for the same reason. I'm avoiding all websites besides this one, the eNFL, and Gamespot to avoid spoilers. On another note, there were some nasty crashes that NBC just showed during the women's downhill practice runs.

[Celeval]

I'm pretty sure that http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv/index.html is spoiler-free.

[sterlingice]

I'm pretty sure that http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv/index.html is spoiler-free.Yeah, in fact it says at the top:
Don't want to see results? View TV listings directly: NBCOlympics.com/tv (http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv)

SI

[sterlingice]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but that was exciting. Also, my wife said something about this being why she never worries about me having an affair- I was sitting in front of the tv, strangely compelled to watch curling for the past 3 hours. :D

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but that was exciting. Also, my wife said something about this being why she never worries about me having an affair- I was sitting in front of the tv, strangely compelled to watch curling for the past 3 hours. :D

SI
Hehe. What is odd is that Mrs. Eaglesfan as was compelled to watch the Curling as well! She is home sick today, and she watched every minute of the match and was more into it than I was. She kept comparing it to 9 ball which she loves to shoot. :D

[ISiddiqui]

Freaking NBC :mad:

The only time they are showing curling so that people who actually have a normal workweek can see it is during the weekends!! Bastards! :mad:

edit: WAIT! CNBC is showing it the next few days so I can at least catch a half hour or more! Woot!

[sterlingice]

Yeah, that's what we were watching it on- it was the Finland/USA barn burner on CNBC.

SI

[SirFozzie]

ah, relay short track speed skating.. otherwise known as Roller Derby with more folks on the ice then your average pond hockey game.

[Celeval]

My wife is loving the woman's half-pipe, because they do little dances when they finish.

[sterlingice]

Like the Ickey Shuffle for Olympians :)

SI

[SirFozzie]

Gah, I have six things of the WInter Games to watch on my Tivo.. if I get behind, I'll need my entire five day weekend to catch up with em!

[Eaglesfan27]

Joey Cheek was a huge surprise to me. That was cool :)

[Eaglesfan27]

I feel bad for that poor figure skater (not going to try to butcher her name.) That was a very nasty looking fall.

[sterlingice]

I feel bad for that poor figure skater (not going to try to butcher her name.) That was a very nasty looking fall.I heard an oof from my wife in the other room. I've been flipping between that and the KU game and since they went to a human interest story for a couple of minutes, that sounded like a good chance to change stations and watch the last 5 minutes as KU pulled away for their 8th in a row.

Oh, and the reminds me of U-15 and his unspellable name from earlier in curling.

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

Very courageous performance from the young figure skater to finish her routine after that terrible fall.

[Celeval]

Absolutely... that looked really bad when it happened. Impressive that they were still able to medal despite the lost points from the toss and the deduction for the fall.

[Eaglesfan27]

Absolutely... that looked really bad when it happened. Impressive that they were still able to medal despite the lost points from the toss and the deduction for the fall.

Yep. I was suprised at how well they skated once she refocused.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Joey Cheek was a huge surprise to me. That was cool :)
Didn't read the rules so...

**SPOILER WARNING FROM TUESDAY'S EVENTS**






Very cool.

Here's a great story on Joey Cheek. While a lot of the article is sort of same old, same old crap (we should focus on the good guys, not the "stories") the actual facts and quotes from Cheek are worth the read.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter06/speed/columns/story?id=2329588



The newest gold medal speedskater fretted half jokingly before these games about how a 26-year-old would be received when he switched from skater to student and enrolled in college this fall. He self-mockingly worried that he'd be the "dirty old man" around campus.



http://espn-att.starwave.com/media/oly/2006/0213/photo/w_cheek_275.jpg
Steve Levin/WireImage.com
Joey Cheek helped the Americans win their second straight 500-meter race in the games.






Now, Will Ferrell's got nothing on this guy. He's an Olympic champion after being the only 500-meter speedskater to break 70 seconds in two rounds of competition Monday, and he took his 15 seconds of fame to announce in a post-victory news conference that he will donate every penny of the $25,000 he wins from the USOC to refugees in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Cheek also called on his sponsors to match or beat that pledge.



"The best way to thank someone," he said, "is by helping someone else."



Here's your Olympic hero, America. Or maybe we should say, "Here's your boy, Red, White and Blue!"



Amazing how reporters like yours truly chase after the Bode Millers and Michelle Kwans of the world and stories like Cheek's get largely ignored. While Miller had to avoid the media, Cheek came to the pre-Olympic media summit in Colorado Springs and basically sat around waiting for reporters to find him. When a few trickled by, he spent as much time quizzing them about their lives as the scribes asked about his. He disclosed his goal of getting into Harvard, and suggested that it might mean more to him than winning a gold medal. How many pro athletes feel the same? (Besides Ryan Fitzpatrick.)



And it wasn't like Cheek lacked any of the usual myth-making credentials. He won a world championship, just like Miller. He's honest and eloquent and witty, just like Bode. (Cheek recently told USA Today that he planned to major in economics because "I heard that's what gets the girls.") He has a cool backstory, with parents who had little money but did tons of charity work anyway. Joey's mom gave her time to help the homeless and help child victims of abuse. Joey's brother, Michael, remembers waking up on Christmas morning to get a card announcing that an uncle had donated money in his name to a cause.



(To be fair, Miller has a family full of philanthropists and he himself donates time and money to the Special Olympics. But that didn't get many headlines, did it?)



Yet most Americans will only see Cheek's name for the first time now. And if he placed fourth or lower on Monday, most Americans would probably never have heard his name at all.



And it's not like only the media looked past him. Nike did not start a "Get Cheeky" campaign. Harvard, in its infinite wisdom, turned him down for early admission. (Full disclosure: The school did admit this writer. Another error.)



No, Cheek is not a "rebel" or "outspoken," like Miller or fellow speedskater Shani Davis (http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5056846/detail.html?qs=pt=espn). He's not a made-for-TV movie in the making, like Vonetta Flowers (http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5058655/detail.html?qs=pt=espn). He has no cool nickname, like "Flying Tomato" Shaun White (http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5058606/detail.html?qs=pt=espn), and has no matinee idol jaw line, like Chad Hedrick (http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5056822/detail.html?qs=pt=espn). Cheek describes himself as "geeky." He's an everyman, a guy you'd like to grab a beer with. That makes for good company, but not good ink.



Too bad.



But he won the nation's attention for a few minutes Monday because he moves really fast in circles on steroid-addled razor blades and now he's diverting that attention to this Web site: righttoplay.org.



Too good.



Maybe Harvard will now admit the guy. Maybe Nike will spend a bit more time on this particular client in the coming days. Maybe cameras will peel off of Rick Tocchet coverage and travel to Chad to cover Joey surveying the genocide there.



And maybe next time, in Vancouver, we'll all work harder to zero in on the athletes with intentions beyond winning and earning and sounding off. Hint: They'll say things like:



"My parents always instilled in my brother and I to be good people."



"I've always felt that if I ever did something big like this I wanted to be prepared to give something back."



"I skate around ice in tights. It's not that big a deal."

Except it is. Cheek's gold medal weighs just as much as any won by the names you've seen in commercials or on NBC. And, thank goodness, his impact might be much heavier.

[Honolulu_Blue]

My wife is loving the woman's half-pipe, because they do little dances when they finish.
Granted there are a lot of odd Olympic events, but I find it very hard to accept any X-Game event as an Olympic event. There's just something about the half-pipe that just doesn't ring true for me. I guess it's a good way for us to keep our medal count high.

[sterlingice]

I'm a bit less than impressed with the goalkeeping in this USA/Finland women's game- there are 30 footers going in and too many cheap, little goals. It's like watching the NHL All-Star game.

SI

[sterlingice]

Hot damn. What do i watch now? Women's curling on MSNBC or cross country skiing and luge on NBC? Luge is tempting but curling was really fun to watch yesterday... decisions, decisions. :D

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

Ok, my wife is absolutely enthralled with curling. She wants to know: Are there any curling rinks in the USA where she can try learning this sport? (Yes, she is serious.)

[Wolfpack]

In the US, I'm sure. But I don't think you'll be seeing one in Louisiana any time soon. On that line of thought, maybe you have an in to convince her to move elsewhere. Granted, you'd have to move to Minnesota or something like that, but you can dangle curling as a carrot for her to move. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

In the US, I'm sure. But I don't think you'll be seeing one in Louisiana any time soon. On that line of thought, maybe you have an in to convince her to move elsewhere. Granted, you'd have to move to Minnesota or something like that, but you can dangle curling as a carrot for her to move. :)
She says she doesn't like curling enough to move for it. However, she wants us to see if we can build a rink down here ;)

I thought about the climate issue right after I hit reply. I don't even think there are any ice skating rinks down here.

[oliegirl]

Ok, my wife is absolutely enthralled with curling. She wants to know: Are there any curling rinks in the USA where she can try learning this sport? (Yes, she is serious.)


We were watching curling at dinner last night and also this morning for a little while (in between the opthamologist and court - it's been a fun day!), it actually looked kind of cool. I'm not sure of all the rules and strategies yet, and I still think it's one of the silliest "sports" I've ever seen, but it does have some entertainment value.

[MIJB#19]

So, when does the women's 500 metres speed skating get aired on NBC Eastern, so I can vent my emotions on that event?

[Wolfpack]

Living next to Canada as I do now, we get curling occasionally on the CBC, usually one of their national tournaments. I've watched enough times that I generally understand how it all flows together and why certain actions were taken during the course of an end. I don't understand well enough to see what to do in foresight (things like when to go for a takeout or set up a guard or things like that), but the basic concepts aren't too complicated. You could always Google it and probably come up with the most Canadian sites you could ever find in any Google site that doesn't have anything to do with hockey or hating George Bush or the United States. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

So, when does the women's 500 metres speed skating get aired on NBC Eastern, so I can vent my emotions on that event?
Not until sometime between 7:00 and 10:30 PM Central Time tonight. Thanks for not posting spoilers :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Living next to Canada as I do now, we get curling occasionally on the CBC, usually one of their national tournaments. I've watched enough times that I generally understand how it all flows together and why certain actions were taken during the course of an end. I don't understand well enough to see what to do in foresight (things like when to go for a takeout or set up a guard or things like that), but the basic concepts aren't too complicated. You could always Google it and probably come up with the most Canadian sites you could ever find in any Google site that doesn't have anything to do with hockey or hating George Bush or the United States. :)

She has already googled and bookmarked several sites. She has read up on the rules. She is reading up on strategies. It could be due to the fact that she has been home sick with the flu, but I've never seen her take such an interest in a sport (that wasn't figure skating.)

[ISiddiqui]

Granted there are a lot of odd Olympic events, but I find it very hard to accept any X-Game event as an Olympic event. There's just something about the half-pipe that just doesn't ring true for me. I guess it's a good way for us to keep our medal count high.
It's more of a sport than figure skating.

Anyway, the curling match today is even better because the Japanese and American womens teams are super hot! I love this game (even if they were ugly) :D.

[Eaglesfan27]

Anyway, the curling match today is even better because the Japanese and American womens teams are super hot! :D.

Yes, they are. I'm glad Mrs. Eaglesfan is enjoying the match ;)

[ISiddiqui]

This is my first curling of these games... how I missed it so!!

[sterlingice]

So, when does the women's 500 metres speed skating get aired on NBC Eastern, so I can vent my emotions on that event?"Speed Skating - Women: The fastest female skaters in the world, including China's Wang Manli, sprint for Olympic gold in the 500m." - It's slated to be part of the 7pm broadcast but there's no telling at exactly what time it'll be on so best to see when people post about it. I'm guessing around 8:30 or 9 CT (so an hour later ET) as that's kindof what they did a couple of days ago when they had speed skating and figure skating on the same day (drag out the figure skating, squeeze everything else around it).

SI

[MIJB#19]

Alrighty, I will stay away from posting 'spoilers' until the following morning then. Now, as a result, I will have to keep Marianne Timmer in my mind throughout the night.

You are sooooo lucky I'll be on a skiing trip for the rest of the Olympics...

[sterlingice]

That Japanese striker (or whatever the term is) is just awesome- she almost never misses.

SI

[ISiddiqui]

"Speed Skating - Women: The fastest female skaters in the world, including China's Wang Manli, sprint for Olympic gold in the 500m." - It's slated to be part of the 7pm broadcast but there's no telling at exactly what time it'll be on so best to see when people post about it. I'm guessing around 8:30 or 9 CT (so an hour later ET) as that's kindof what they did a couple of days ago when they had speed skating and figure skating on the same day (drag out the figure skating, squeeze everything else around it).

SI
Well... I do enjoy fast women.

[sterlingice]

What an amazing shot!!

SI

[TazFTW]

So I was watching curling on CNBC and there was this ad for some CNBC show where one of the stories was for a curling calender and they showed a picture of some women topless (arms covering up). WTF? A curling calender?

[ISiddiqui]

So I was watching curling on CNBC and there was this ad for some CNBC show where one of the stories was for a curling calender and they showed a picture of some women topless (arms covering up). WTF? A curling calender?
Since it is the best sport at the Olympics, I don't see a problem.

[TargetPractice6]

I caught on to curling during the Salt Lake games and really enjoy watching it. However, I have to mute the USA/Japan women's match today. The Japanese yelling was one of the more annoying things I've ever heard.

[ice4277]

This is my first curling of these games... how I missed it so!!
We are 'lucky' enough around here to catch it on CBC most weekends during the winter. It looks like something I might enjoy playing, but watching it bores me to tears.

[ISiddiqui]

I caught on to curling during the Salt Lake games and really enjoy watching it. However, I have to mute the USA/Japan women's match today. The Japanese yelling was one of the more annoying things I've ever heard.
You have to take it for the unintentional comedy of it :D. Japanese people are funny ;).

[sterlingice]

That curling match between the US and Japan was awesome :D

I missed the last part because I had to leave but prior to that, the shot in the 10th inning was just pure awesome. It was the equivalent of hitting a solo shot with 2 out, 2 strikes in the 9th to tie.

SI

[sterlingice]

You know, I think they're doing some good stuff with the coverage this year. They're showing national anthems from other countries, showing a lot less human interest stuff, and a lot more sports. Unfortunately, I've seen ratings are down so I'm sure they'll mistakenly take that as a sign that these are bad ideas rather than that they are hangover from previous Olympics and because we don't have a stupid figure skating controversy.

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

You know, I think they're doing some good stuff with the coverage this year. They're showing national anthems from other countries, showing a lot less human interest stuff, and a lot more sports. Unfortunately, I've seen ratings are down so I'm sure they'll mistakenly take that as a sign that these are bad ideas rather than that they are hangover from previous Olympics and because we don't have a stupid figure skating controversy.

SI


I agree with all of your points. We really enjoyed tonight's coverage.

[kingfc22]

Love watching curling. I've stayed up til 2 AM the past two nights watching the US teams play. Hey, it's only on TV every 4 years.

[sterlingice]

Love watching curling. I've stayed up til 2 AM the past two nights watching the US teams play. Hey, it's only on TV every 4 years.It's been on MSNBC the last two days from 4-7pm CT

SI

[kingfc22]

It's been on MSNBC the last two days from 4-7pm CT

SIYea, saw that US/Japan match today.

[sterlingice]

Yea, saw that US/Japan match today.I missed the end- had to read about it online :(

Still, I saw the awesome part. It was like seeing that grand slam to tie the game but missing the 10th where the other team put up a 5 spot on singles to win. :)

SI

[saldana]

i am honestly a little bummed that i havent watched any of the curling yet, i enjoy it. i was in montreal last year during some kind of major curling tournament, and it was on for about 5 hours a day, it was the only thing i watched in the hotel room all day.

[sterlingice]

(Ok, I missed the primetime stuff tonight because of something else I had to do so I'm just now catching up) I don't care if he just slides across the ice and does a little twirl, give the medal to the guy who did his short program to a James Bond theme with a uniform with a 007 on its back.

SI

[MIJB#19]

Men's ice hockey starts today!

And I'm once again amazed how my country, top three country in both field hockey and speed skating, can't field a good enough ice hockey team to even qualify for the Olympic Games.

[Butter]

The US Women's curling team has been fairly awful. They made a great shot to even get to the extra end yesterday, but still ended up blowing it because their "skip" sucks.

But the US Men have been a force. Maybe an Olympic medal could be around the corner? They are one good shot from being 3-0 in the prelims.

I have been TiVoing curling, and think it's probably a similar audience to soccer. It seems like not much is going on for long stretches, but there is a lot of underlying strategy involved that is interesting if you want to take the time to become interested. The end of the ends is very interesting (except for the ones where you're just trying to throw for a blank), and it takes great precision to get where you need to go.

How did the Italy/Canada hockey match end up?

[MIJB#19]

I have been TiVoing curling, and think it's probably a similar audience to soccer. It seems like not much is going on for long stretches, but there is a lot of underlying strategy involved that is interesting if you want to take the time to become interested. The end of the ends is very interesting (except for the ones where you're just trying to throw for a blank), and it takes great precision to get where you need to go.Maybe in the USA, but in traditional soccer countries curling is mocked just as much as it is in the USA. Not start a long discussion, but given the historical interest in the two sports worldwide, I don't think they compare well at all.

How did the Italy/Canada hockey match end up?I thought no spoilers until the evening coverage on the East coast?
It doesn't matter anyway, the game isn't over yet. :)

[Butter]

Maybe in the USA, but in traditional soccer countries curling is mocked just as much as it is in the USA. Not start a long discussion, but given the historical interest in the two sports worldwide, I don't think they compare well at all.

Yeah, well you've got me there. I like posting analogies with little or no backup to them. It's like a walrus dressing up in a business suit and buying you lunch. Or maybe it's more like playing with a knife that's already been dipped in the mustard (a Shorty classic).

Is Italy even keeping it close?

[rkmsuf]

I just saw the one of the most disturbing Olympic things ever on the Today Show. Two man luge.

I wish I still didn't know that existed.

[Blade6119]

Yeah, well you've got me there. I like posting analogies with little or no backup to them. It's like a walrus dressing up in a business suit and buying you lunch. Or maybe it's more like playing with a knife that's already been dipped in the mustard (a Shorty classic).

Is Italy even keeping it close?
ESPN has a live gamecast on their site for the game if you need to know

[Butter]

ESPN has a live gamecast on their site for the game if you need to know

ESPN likes to spoil the shit out of the other events too.

If anyone wanted to PM me, that would be fine, I'm not intentionally trying to spoil the game for anyone... but I am trying to lay off the Olympic/sports sites.

[Celeval]

The US Women's curling team has been fairly awful. They made a great shot to even get to the extra end yesterday, but still ended up blowing it because their "skip" sucks.
The plus about the women's team is that they have those two sisters in their mid-20s as their top two... figure, they'll be competing in the next 5-6 Olympics and should be a force by the end of it.

Plus, uh, they're not the hardest pair to look at.

[MIJB#19]

Tip: Speed Skating Team Pursuit.

Potentially the most exciting speed skating event with a knock-out element. Eight countries, first seeding races, then knock-out trees: 1 vs 8, 4 vs 5, 3 vs 6, 2 vs 7. Time qualification and quarterfinals today (15th), semi's and the finals are tomorrow ( 16th).

[sterlingice]

USA/Latvia hockey on USA right now, at 1st intermission. Pretty frantic pace in the first period.

SI

[kingfc22]

Plus, uh, they're not the hardest pair to look at.
Agree 100% with that one.

[sterlingice]

4pm today: USA vs Italy in curling on CNBC :)

I'll have to flip between that and hockey, tho the hockey should be getting over not too long after it starts.

SI

[sterlingice]

John! Learn to stop the puck! ARGH?!?!? I mean, nothing... nothing at all.. carry on (man, this game is electric to watch with all the crowd noise)

SI

[kingfc22]

Would be nice if we would stop getting trapped in the offensive zone.

[sterlingice]

Ok, looks like no night coverage for the hockey game so spoilers are ok as this is the live coverage.

Tonight's schedule, btw:
2006 Torino Games: Primetime
Alpine Skiing - Women: The brightest stars on the American team since Picabo Street, 21-year-olds Lindsey Kildow and Julia Mancuso look to challenge the sport's reigning superstar -- Croatia's Janica Kostelic -- in the women's downhill.
Freestyle Skiing - Men: Reigning World Cup champion Jeremy Bloom leads a strong group of American skiers in moguls.
Speed Skating - Men: Gold-medal winner Chad Hedrick leads the U.S. in the men's team pursuit competition.
Short Track - Women: 500m gold-medal final.
Short Track - Men: Seattle's Apolo Anton Ohno leads the United States in the 5000m relay semifinal and goes for individual gold in the 1000m.
Luge - Men: Team USA's doubles sliders Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, who won bronze in 1998 and silver in 2002, attempt to become the first American men to win medals at three different Winter Olympics.

SI

[sterlingice]

Another close one with the US Curling team on CNBC. Italy up 5-4 after 8 ends.

SI