Beijing Olympics 2008

[clemsonfan]

I didn't see a general thread out there to discuss the Olympics. So I thought I would make one. It's only about two days away!

I'm pretty excited about watching it with my kids. Hopefully they will get into them.

[molson]

The Women's Soccer tournament has already started, with 6 games already played. Men's Soccer starts tomorrow.

[Celeval]

Except that they started today. USA 0 - Norway 2 (women's soccer). Ew.

[molson]

How in the world did China get an Olympics?

China revokes visa of gold medalist, Darfur activist Cheek - Fourth-Place M... - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Chi?urn=oly,98718)

"Olympic gold medalist and outspoken Darfur activist Joey Cheek has had his visa revoked by the Chinese embassy, hours before the speedskating champion was set to fly to China. And he wasn't even planning on wearing a mask when he got there.

"Chinese officials don't need a reason to revoke anyone's visa but, in their eyes, they had plenty of reasons to snatch Cheek's. He is the founder of Team Darfur, a group of 70 athletes whose goal it is to raise global awareness of the human-rights violations taking part in the Darfur region of Sudan. China's military, economic and diplomatic ties to Sudan have been well-publicized in the lead-up to the Games.

[darkenigma510]

I am hoping the China Olympics are a trainwreck for the sake of Schadenfreude.

[tyketime]

I used to be so psyched to watch the Olympics when I was a kid. But I find as I grow older, it holds less and less of an appeal to me. I wonder how much has to do with the state of international sports today, with so many international events now (and the accompanying TV media blitz), it's lost the thrill of a "once every four years" unique event for me. I will watch some of it, but by no means am I scheduling around certain events.

[Young Drachma]

I used to be so psyched to watch the Olympics when I was a kid. But I find as I grow older, it holds less and less of an appeal to me. I wonder how much has to do with the state of international sports today, with so many international events now (and the accompanying TV media blitz), it's lost the thrill of a "once every four years" unique event for me. I will watch some of it, but by no means am I scheduling around certain events.

:+1:

[johnnyshaka]

Agree completely with tyketime and DC...I can't quite put my finger on what killed it for me. Maybe the constant "pending drug test results" so-and-so won or the constant political overtones that seem to overtake the true spirit of it all.

[path12]

I still like them and will watch a lot of it, but what has irritated me more and more each time is the incessant "USA USA USA" coverage -- when an event comes down to a 10 minute profile of the American entry and then maybe 10% of the contestants are shown actually competing.

I tend to watch the Canadian coverage more, but they're starting to do the same thing it seems.....

[molson]

I think the "human interest story" stuff is more perception than reality, at least for the 2006 and 2004. With more channels this year I think there'll be even less of that (just stay away from NBC in prime time, if possible).

[path12]

I remember it starting in the 70's and then getting steadily more annoying into the 90's. I think you're probably right about 06 and 04 being toned down from the peaks, but I'd still rather just watch the damn events.

[sachmo71]

How in the world did China get an Olympics?





$$$$

[JonInMiddleGA]

... or the constant political overtones that seem to overtake the true spirit of it all.

I'm 8 years older than you (give or take whether your profile is accurate), so we're not all that far apart in age but I've got an almost completely opposite feeling about it. It's the lack of the USA/USSR (and associated allies on both sides) that has pretty much killed my interest.

Well that & the high percentage of events that I wouldn't look out my window to watch much less bother to choose over anything else on television.

[BrianD]

The USA/USSR battles did have a great us vs. them kind of feel, but now we are back closer to real sport. Aside from some of the major sports like basketball and soccer, we've got a bunch of people who have been training their whole lives for this one moment. Once it is over, their lives will probably change forever as they are forced to take on a new focus.

[MrDNA]

So, is there anywhere that will tell you exactly WHEN events are happening? NBC's site just says "Women's Volleyball, somewhere between 9 AM and 9 PM" Thanks, NBC, I'll be sure to watch! :nuts:

[Groundhog]

Well that & the high percentage of events that I wouldn't look out my window to watch much less bother to choose over anything else on television.

It's a funny thing though, the Olympics (to me). Sports like Handball for example I wouldn't even dream of watching outside of the Olympics, but as soon as something like a gold medal is up for grabs, it grabs my attention.

It's only really team events and track and field stuff that I watch though.

[tarcone]

Pro athletes ruined it for me. How exciting was it to watch a bunch of college kids beat Team USSR? Awesome.
Now they want to dump baseball and softball. But they keep crap like ballroom dancing.
And I looked all day for Olympic coverage and couldnt find it anywhere except UHD (some hi-def channel I dont get on directv.) Any help finding coverage would be great.

[Alan T]

I'm 8 years older than you (give or take whether your profile is accurate), so we're not all that far apart in age but I've got an almost completely opposite feeling about it. It's the lack of the USA/USSR (and associated allies on both sides) that has pretty much killed my interest.

Well that & the high percentage of events that I wouldn't look out my window to watch much less bother to choose over anything else on television.

This is exactly it. I remember as a kid, you would always see the medal counts with the references to the USA vs the "Eastern Block" where East Germany, USSR, and a few other communist countries would be the "bad guys" and team USA was trumpeting the cause of democracy in every event that they won...

Maybe it is the events in the world, or the disappearance of the cold war, or no strong rival such as the USSR was, but it just doesn't feel the same anymore. And lets face it, I just don't really care about men's gymnastics if there isn't some patriotic reason to watch it.

[Brownkeg8]

This is exactly it. I remember as a kid, you would always see the medal counts with the references to the USA vs the "Eastern Block" where East Germany, USSR, and a few other communist countries would be the "bad guys" and team USA was trumpeting the cause of democracy in every event that they won...

Maybe it is the events in the world, or the disappearance of the cold war, or no strong rival such as the USSR was, but it just doesn't feel the same anymore. And lets face it, I just don't really care about men's gymnastics if there isn't some patriotic reason to watch it.


Agreed, always was built up as we were sending amateur athletes and the Eastern Bloc countries were grooming young men and women to win at all costs. There was always that big buildup of us vs. them. I have always preferred the winter games over the summer games as most of the winter games are not events that you see on tv everyday.

[Young Drachma]

The Olympics are only around so I can have hope to someday build toccer up enough to see it played in the Games. lol

[ISiddiqui]

I like the winter games better too... but there are plenty of interesting summer games sports. I like most of the swimming events and short running events. Men soccer is usually fun (especially when you consider its the young, up and coming players).

[flere-imsaho]

Winter Games > Summer Games

The thing that kills it for me is the style of the U.S. TV coverage. When I lived in the UK, I really enjoyed the BBC coverage, because they would actually, you know, show the competition.

The BBC would flit from one event to another, each with their own play-by-play and color commentator (usually a former competitor) and they'd show a ton of the events. Even stuff like badminton which you never see on U.S. networks. You got a really good feel for the various sports and it was kept interesting.

Compare this to NBC et. al., who it seems spends 50% or more of each hour with some sappy "human interest" story, almost solely focusing on a U.S. athlete, and then shoehorn in some events, almost always the "marquee" events. Completely uninteresting.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Winter Games > Summer Games

The thing that kills it for me is the style of the U.S. TV coverage. When I lived in the UK, I really enjoyed the BBC coverage, because they would actually, you know, show the competition.

The BBC would flit from one event to another, each with their own play-by-play and color commentator (usually a former competitor) and they'd show a ton of the events. Even stuff like badminton which you never see on U.S. networks. You got a really good feel for the various sports and it was kept interesting.

Compare this to NBC et. al., who it seems spends 50% or more of each hour with some sappy "human interest" story, almost solely focusing on a U.S. athlete, and then shoehorn in some events, almost always the "marquee" events. Completely uninteresting.

To be fair, the NBC coverage you're discussing is mostly found on the prime-time coverage each evening on the NBC network. They have several other channels that have coverage that is much more event oriented. For example, the HD Soccer and HD Basketball channels are just one game after another. The Universal HD channel has a lot of great events planned with minimal storytelling. As long as you steer clear of NBC in prime time, you should be pretty happy with the coverage. That evening coverage is catered to women, hence the stories to help the viewer be emotionally involved in the event.

[molson]

You can also watch stuff online this year (2,000 hours of stuff online v. 1,400 hours of TV).

You can watch 1st round badminton tomorrow night if you really wanted to.

I'm pretty sure the people who are still stuck on the "human interst" angle haven't actually watched the Olympics since 1996.

[JPhillips]

We'll be watching a lot as my adopted daughter will really enjoy seeing lots of shots/stories on China.

[LloydLungs]

Yeah, the "human interest" stories, while probably still too numerous, have been in steady decline since the 1990s. I don't really see them as that big of a problem anymore.

My real issue with the Olympics is that most of the major events will be shown on a severe tape delay. The nature of the modern Internet is such that it's almost impossible to avoid getting results spoiled. It's not as simple as, say, not going to a specific site or a specific thread. Because of the massiveness of the Olympics, you basically have to avoid your computer altogether, and even if you do that, ESPN will gleefully spoil everything without much if any warning if you happen to stumble on any of their zillions of channels.

I think I would immensely enjoy an Olympics held in the U.S., but the time differential is the biggest obstacle for me.

[Radii]

I'm pretty sure the people who are still stuck on the "human interst" angle haven't actually watched the Olympics since 1996.


That's definitely true for me. The coverage in the 90s really killed my interest entirely. With you guys saying that it improved a lot in recent Olympics I may make more of an effort to catch some events this year.

[BishopMVP]

My real issue with the Olympics is that most of the major events will be shown on a severe tape delay. The nature of the modern Internet is such that it's almost impossible to avoid getting results spoiled. It's not as simple as, say, not going to a specific site or a specific thread. Because of the massiveness of the Olympics, you basically have to avoid your computer altogether, and even if you do that, ESPN will gleefully spoil everything without much if any warning if you happen to stumble on any of their zillions of channels.

I think I would immensely enjoy an Olympics held in the U.S., but the time differential is the biggest obstacle for me.Chicago is lining up to host in 2016 at least. Until then, it really is terrible trying to avoid being spoiled. Even if I'm just trying to find out what events are being held on which channel, I probably have to hit up a site that will spoil results.

US-China has potential for a US-Soviet like medal race, but the problem is that the countries rarely go head to head. We're not producing Ping Pong players and outside of the one hurdler, they aren't producing Track athletes or swimmers. Women's gymnastics is the one huge showdown that I'm sure will dominate multiple nights of prime-time coverage.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I wonder if I'm the only person who thought that massive drum thing in the opening ceremonies evoked memories of Germany in the 30's?

[Young Drachma]

Chinese National Anthem

Arise! All who refuse to be slaves!
Let our flesh and blood become our new Great Wall!
Chinese nation faces its greatest peril,
All forcefully expend their last cries.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Our million hearts beat as one,
Brave the enemy's fire, March on!
Brave the enemy's fire, March on!
March on! March on! On!

[Senator]

I am curious to see the "before the games" and "after the opening ceremonies" comments on this thread.

[BishopMVP]

I agree with JimGA - I'm not sure exactly what look China is going for with these opening ceremonies, but fascist, totatlitarian and monolithic are the words popping into my mind.So, is there anywhere that will tell you exactly WHEN events are happening? NBC's site just says "Women's Volleyball, somewhere between 9 AM and 9 PM" Thanks, NBC, I'll be sure to watch! :nuts:Double whammy - USA, etc have their coverage in 12-hour blocks with events listed as occuring somewhere during that 12 hours, making it impossible to DVR.

Only thing saving them in my eyes are the Olympic Soccer & Basketball channels available in HD with individual game listings.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Nice gimmick with the people inside there. I kind of saw it coming but it was still a well crafted moment

[kcchief19]

While the "color commentary" of the opening ceremonies is driving me a bit nuts talking about the "cinematography" and the genius of Johnny Moe or somesuch, the opening ceremonies have been rather amazing.

Another note ... anyone notice Bush and Putin were sitting next to each other? They cut to a shot of them and they appeared to be somewhat animated. Does anyone know about the timeline of the Russian bomings in Georgia? Was Russia bombing Georgia during the ceremonies?

[Flasch186]

Hey George, you havnt been watching TV today have you? no. Good...enjoy the show.

[JPhillips]

I assume everything is done by humans. When we were in China there were people pushbrooming the freeways and standing for 12 hour shifts at the end of grocery aisles for questions. The volume of people is truly staggering and they just don't need to mechanize a lot of things we take for granted.

On a side note, and I'm not sure what this means, but my wife and I are engrossed while our Chinese daughter is much more interested in her Disney princess game.

[kcchief19]

Only thing saving them in my eyes are the Olympic Soccer & Basketball channels available in HD with individual game listings.
Time Warner has also temporarily added USA HD, giving us four HD networks for the Olympics. Sweet.

The scheduling in blocks has always been an Olympic programming touch. While it certainly would be nice if the blocks where more specific and spliced up differently, but these are live sporting events and the schedules routinely get all shot to hell pretty quickly. Plus, unless you're awak in the middle of the night, all ove the coverage is going to be time delayed and edited so that an event that took an hour or two will take like four hours in editing.

Swimming is going to be the star event of these games since they are essentially the only events that will take place live in U.S. prime time.

[BishopMVP]

The scheduling in blocks has always been an Olympic programming touch. While it certainly would be nice if the blocks where more specific and spliced up differently, but these are live sporting events and the schedules routinely get all shot to hell pretty quickly. Plus, unless you're awake in the middle of the night, all of the coverage is going to be time delayed and edited so that an event that took an hour or two will take like four hours in editing.That's supposed to be the beauty of DVR/Tivo - I can sleep like a normal person, but wake up Sunday and start watching at my own pace. For example, Sunday morning I know US-NED soccer will be at 7:45am and US Basketball starts at 9am, but there's no way to record only those events on the USA coverage (thankfully I get the Soccer and Basketball channels). I'd have to record the whole 12-hour block, which in HD just takes up so much space it's untenable.

Here's a decent guide for online viewing to get proxies and other countries feeds - hxxp://valleywag.com/5034866/the-definitive-guide-to-watching-the-olympics-online

[JonInMiddleGA]

That United Airlines spot (which I assume was a network buy that everybody just saw) was actually pretty creative.

[JPhillips]

My heart swelled with pride when Bush checked his watch.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And while I'm posting anyway, a couple of other things
1) Why do I have a sudden compulsion to watch this?
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NC1qkLn6IRI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NC1qkLn6IRI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

2) Djibouti !!!

[SirFozzie]

Adopted homeland of our own AE!

[Racer]

Sounded like Iran was getting booed by a decent portion of the crowd. Haven't noticed that from any other country that's been announced so far.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sounded like Iran was getting booed by a decent portion of the crowd. Haven't noticed that from any other country that's been announced so far.

My son actually pointed out to me that Pakistan appeared to be getting booed earlier in the night (or, as he put it, "they're getting heel heat")

[miami_fan]

I am sure my military and military sports background has everything to do with this, but this has to be an absolutely awesome feeling to be walking into that stadium as part of your country's Olympic team.

[SirFozzie]

I'm watching the Team Handball Prelims on NBCOlympics.com Fun stuff :)

[MrDNA]

Thanks for the heads-up, Fozz. Team Handball is pretty cool! :)

[sabotai]

Just the sport and the crowd, no annoying announcers. I'll probably end up watching more online than I do on TV.

[Toddzilla]

"they're getting heel heat":lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[ISiddiqui]

My son actually pointed out to me that Pakistan appeared to be getting booed earlier in the night (or, as he put it, "they're getting heel heat")

Which seems to be weird since China and Pakistan are allies. Probably the Indians around the audience who are pissy :D.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Which seems to be weird since China and Pakistan are allies. Probably the Indians around the audience who are pissy :D.

Since then I've read a couple of accounts mentioning the warm reception that Pakistan got, so I guess we just misinterpreted the crowd response.

[ISiddiqui]

Maybe the crowd was just chanting "Moooooooooslims!" or "Impeach Mooooosharraf"?

[SirFozzie]

Watching Live on NBCOlympics.com Looks like USA will have 3 of the 8 quarter finalists in Women's Sabre

(Sada Jacobsen, Mariel Zagunis and Becca Ward). Odds are good that USA will get an early medal, even gold? (Zagunis won the gold at the 2004 Olympics and is ranked #1 in the world, Ward won the 2006 Worlds Title, and Jacobsen won the bronze in 2004 at Athens),

[sabotai]

I watched Jacobson's and Ward's matches. Jacobson's was close, but Ward destroyed her opponent. I have no idea how good their opponents really were, though.

[SirFozzie]

Watching Live on NBCOlympics.com Looks like USA will have 3 of the 8 quarter finalists in Women's Sabre

(Sada Jacobsen, Mariel Zagunis and Becca Ward). Odds are good that USA will get an early medal, even gold? (Zagunis won the gold at the 2004 Olympics and is ranked #1 in the world, Ward won the 2006 Worlds Title, and Jacobsen won the bronze in 2004 at Athens),

(Each "discipline" of fencing is a one day, 64 fencer elimination tournament, matches are to 15 touches. Sabre's a bit wierd, as it's not ALWAYS first to touch their opponent, there's rules that once the opponent's launched an attack, you have to deal with it (parrying, or moving out of range) before launching your own.)

[sabotai]

And unlike epee or foil, you can use most of the sword (tip, front blade, top 1/3rd of the back) to score a point. In epee and foil, only the tip counts.

[SirFozzie]

Love the four in 1 video, have all four tuned to matches

[SirFozzie]

Zagunis is winning handily, but there's an injury on one of the other mats...

[SirFozzie]

Zagunis wins, 15-9 against the #3 fence in the world Yingying Bao. Got two shots at a medal there.

Edit:Jacobson wins 15-11, she's in the semifinals as well.

Ward wins on a sudden death touch that takes the judge a minute to figure out and determine who had priority on the attack, 15-14.

3 USAers out of 4 in the semi finals. Great way to start the Olympics

[SirFozzie]

Semifinals will pit

Sada Jacobson (USA)
Sofiya Velikaya (RUS)

Zagunis (USA)
Ward (USA)

Semi-Finals, Bronze and Gold-Medal Matches will not start until 7 AM Eastern

[sabotai]

I tried watching all 4 like you said, but those videos were small. I couldn't make out the scores. I edned up watching most of the Jacobson match and the end of the Ward match.

Looks like there is a long break until the Semis (meaning I'll be asleep when they start). I wonder if there is a way to go to the video of the matches (if they'll save them) before knowing the results. (Looks like they might show it on USA at some point tomorrow morning. TiVo to the rescue again!)

[Vegas Vic]

the opening ceremonies have been rather amazing.

Spectacular. I just bought my first HDTV, and the opening ceremony was simply amazing to watch.

[Senator]

I like what I am hearing. The past 8 years this board has been very tough on the Olympics. When it gets going, it seems people get pulled in and become advocates. It seems it's one of those things that is more fun to be a part of than just thinking about it.

[sabotai]

Female Sabre Semi and Finals will be on MSNBC at 3pm

[MrBug708]

(BEIJING) Beijing authorities say a Chinese man attacked two American tourists on the opening day of the Olympic Games, killing one of them before committing suicide.

The Beijing Municipal Government says the attack happened in downtown Beijing at noon on Saturday. Officials issued a statement saying the 47-year-old attacker, Tang Yongming, also injured an American woman and her Chinese tourist guide.

The attack took place on the second level of the Drum Tower, a popular tourist attraction in north Beijing. Tang threw himself from the ancient monument used to tell time centuries ago.
--------------------------------------

Wonderful

[SirFozzie]

Question: It might be a bit late now, but what's the stance on "spoiling events"

For example, the semis and the finals of the Sabre competition will air at 7 AM on NBCOlympics.com, should I avoid saying the results here for those of you who want to watch the medal matches at 3 PM on MSNBC?

[SirFozzie]

Sabre finals have begun. Results in spoiler tags.

All USA Final! Jacobson defeats Velikaya 15-11 (she was down 8-5 at one point) USA Could sweep the medals.

[SirFozzie]

the 2nd semi final is about to come up. These two have not only fought each other for World Titles before, but they also are members of the same fencing club, so they PRACTICE against each other too.


It's spooky. They have the exact same mannerisms, when looking to the judge to see who gets the point

[allpro10050]

Becca Ward clinches a American sweep in Sabre

[MrDNA]

Can you imagine how much the Chinese spin doctors must be freaking out right now about that stabbing? NOT the image you want to put out there when hosting the world, trying to show you're not the bad guys.

Actually, I wonder if that's part of why this guy did it. :eek:

[Icy]

Nice, first gold medal for Spain! (we were favorites so not big surprise)

In cycling

[MrDNA]

US women not doing too hot against Japan in Volleyball. I hope they pull it out as this is probably my favorite Olympic sport to watch. Gotta say Japan is putting on a show, though.

[sterlingice]

Question: It might be a bit late now, but what's the stance on "spoiling events"

For example, the semis and the finals of the Sabre competition will air at 7 AM on NBCOlympics.com, should I avoid saying the results here for those of you who want to watch the medal matches at 3 PM on MSNBC?

I remember last time that once it was on tv, we could talk about it, but not until. Now that we have spoiler tags, it should probably be in there.

That said, I don't know how anyone else feels about that but it seems reasonable.

SI

[AZSpeechCoach]

Woman's beach volleyball just makes me want to whip it out and spank it. I love uniforms from Victoria's Secret and celebrations that could be on the Playboy Channel. :popcorn:

[Karlifornia]

Fencing SUCKS! The Olympics are GARBAGE! Here's my myspace blog about it:

The Olympics..........


....FUCKING SUCK ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just woke up this beautiful Saturday morning, and I saw that the Olympics were on two different channels. "Oh, that's cool," I thought. First off, MSNBC had women's handball (I don't care if these lame ass sports are men's or women's competition, btw, they are equally unwatchable). I don't know what handball qualifies as in the Olympics, but it didn't look like the handball I played as a kid. You'd hit the ball against the wall, and your opponent would get one bounce to gauge it, and they'd smack that shit against the wall. And you'd have little rules like "black magic" where you'd say "black magic" and then swing your hand above or below the ball, and it would be up to your opponent to try and hit the ball again before it bounced twice. But, they couldn't! They were totally fucked! Now, this handball I was watching was like soccer where you used your hands. Honestly, I don't have any idea what was going on. However, team handball was awesome compared to...

WOMENS' FENCING! I fucking hate fencing. I hated it before, now I hate it even more. So, I switched from MSNBC to plain ole NBC. You know, NBC must have the quality programming, since it's network and all. Nope!!! It was fencing, followed by men's bicycle racing. Oh my fucking Christ. What a puddle of liquid SHIT!

The fencing was mind-boggingly ridiculous. To call that sport is laughable. It's like playing tag with swords, if the rules of tag forced you to run directly into each other, and then shriek horrifyingly loudly if you got tagged. I mean, I didn't mind the shrieking entirely...it was two well-off nerdy ivy league girls (who else, really? I've never seen a fencing team from the projects) sounding like they were orgasming after every "touch" as the announcers called it.

So, anyway, they'd run into each other, one girl would cum, and then the announcer would say "Ohhh...point for Jennifer! Amazing footwork on the repost touch", and then I would change the channel.

[ISiddiqui]

Your blog fucking suck ass. Fencing is great.

[sabotai]

Female Sabre Semi and Finals will be on MSNBC at 3pm

Ugh, I turned on MSNBC at 3 and it wasn't on. The chick on CNBC lied to me last night.

[molson]

Why do the fencers shriek when they're hit? That was a little startling at first - I thought she got stabbed right through the armor.

[LloydLungs]

I thought some of the fencing girls were kind of cute.

[MJ4H]

dude. your blog said handball and fencing suck?

GTFO

[BrianD]

I was a bit disappointed by the fencing as well. I was hoping for a bit more defense and back-and-forth action. There is probably nuance that I am unaware of, but I didn't get the feeling that I was looking at world-class talent.

[sabotai]

Question: It might be a bit late now, but what's the stance on "spoiling events"

For example, the semis and the finals of the Sabre competition will air at 7 AM on NBCOlympics.com, should I avoid saying the results here for those of you who want to watch the medal matches at 3 PM on MSNBC?

Going to be tough. Watching sports live online and not talking about it, not really knowing when they will be broadcast on TV...

Maybe have two threads? One with spoilers (free to talk about live online stuff) and one without (the one to go to just to talk about stuff on TV)?

Either way, doesn't really matter to me. Extensive use of spoiler tags would probably be enough.

[sabotai]

I was a bit disappointed by the fencing as well. I was hoping for a bit more defense and back-and-forth action. There is probably nuance that I am unaware of, but I didn't get the feeling that I was looking at world-class talent.

I'm not an expert on fencing (or even a novie or causal fan), but with the rules being different for Sabre and Foil and Epee, you might get more back and forth with Foil and Epee since only strikes with the tip of the sword count.

[ISiddiqui]

Maybe have two threads? One with spoilers (free to talk about live online stuff) and one without (the one to go to just to talk about stuff on TV)?

Probably the best option.

[BrianD]

I'm not an expert on fencing (or even a novie or causal fan), but with the rules being different for Sabre and Foil and Epee, you might get more back and forth with Foil and Epee since only strikes with the tip of the sword count.

I'm hoping this is the case. I want to like fencing, but I just couldn't get into it this morning.

[Karlifornia]

Your blog fucking suck ass. Fencing is great.

Oh, dude. You're so wrong...fencing is terrible. It's a lame "sport" for lame rich people. Watching the gold medal match was ridiculous. I can't believe someone won a gold medal for that. If I was her family, I couldn't even pretend to be excited. And just imagine, her family is going to have to watch that ridiculous dog and pony show at every holiday dinner.

"Hey, aren't you Becky's new husband? Wanna watch my Gold Medal match from Beijing?"

"Oh, wow! Yeah, you got a gold medal? That's AMAZING! Let's totally watch it!"

"Ok, you're about to have a mindgasm!"

(the video plays, and finishes..Becky's husband responds)

"So you won the gold medal! Now, if you could be so kind as to tell me WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT BULLSHIT?"

That is so not a sport. It's garbage. I'm convinced that the gold medal winner could go on a 20 year bender of booze and clove cigs, and come back and at least medal.

[Karlifornia]

dude. your blog said handball and fencing suck?

GTFO

Handball could have been ok...I was just waking up when I watched the handball. I'll give it a pass. The fencing...yeah...no!

[ISiddiqui]

I will quote MJ4H

dude. your blog said handball and fencing suck?

GTFO

Olympics just ain't for you.

[Karlifornia]

I will quote MJ4H



Olympics just ain't for you.

I enjoy many olympic sports, particularly the ones that display feats of athleticism. Swimming, track and field, hell, I even respect gymnastics.

Maybe I'm just jealous. I was a great tag player as a child, but my mom couldn't afford to buy me a sword.

ISiddiqui, you'd probably like the movie Stay Tuned, starring John Ritter..he brought the joy of fencing to inner city youths after he escaped a nightmare alternate, television-based reality. BTW, yes, I always turned that movie off when he started trying to make like D'Artagnan.

Why don't the olympics just have paintball duels while their at it? 20 paces and then turn and fire your paintball.

[MJ4H]

So anyway, back to the olympics now?

[DaddyTorgo]

I enjoy many olympic sports, particularly the ones that display feats of athleticism. Swimming, track and field, hell, I even respect gymnastics.

Maybe I'm just jealous. I was a great tag player as a child, but my mom couldn't afford to buy me a sword.

ISiddiqui, you'd probably like the movie Stay Tuned, starring John Ritter..he brought the joy of fencing to inner city youths after he escaped a nightmare alternate, television-based reality. BTW, yes, I always turned that movie off when he started trying to make like D'Artagnan.

Why don't the olympics just have paintball duels while their at it? 20 paces and then turn and fire your paintball.

they do have shooting. Just not with paintballs and at other people.

[Karlifornia]

So anyway, back to the olympics now?


I was hoping someone could, you know...maybe TELL ME about the finer points of fencing?

I'm only calling it out in the hopes of being proven wrong, like any good scientist (I am not a scientist)

[Karlifornia]

Three Americans standing on the pedestals? Why even waste the jet fuel taking them to Beijing? Just do this in Valdosta, Georgia...the true titletown.

[duckman]

Just let me know when USA Men's Basketball play.

[sabotai]

I was hoping someone could, you know...maybe TELL ME about the finer points of fencing?

I'm only calling it out in the hopes of being proven wrong, like any good scientist (I am not a scientist)

FWIW, that's not at all how your blog post read.

Anyway, they are showing the fencing semi-finals and finals on MSNBC now.

[Karlifornia]

FWIW, that's not at all how your blog post read.

Anyway, they are showing the fencing semi-finals and finals on MSNBC now.

I thought the fencing fans would be a little less sensitive, what with the participants being STABBED WITH SWORDS!

[Karlifornia]

For anyone who would like to see what the sun can do to your skin, check out the beach volleyball finals on right now.

EDIT: errr..this probably isn't the finals..

[Young Drachma]

Your blog fucking suck ass. Fencing is great.

+1

[DanGarion]

Time Warner has also temporarily added USA HD, giving us four HD networks for the Olympics. Sweet.



And depending on where you are the USA HD might not actually be temporary... :cool:

[Senator]

Just let me know when USA Men's Basketball play.

Please be joking.

[MrDNA]

Wow, Latvia v. US Men's Beach Volleyball was friggin' nuts! Good game.

[DanGarion]

I love how they already showed the Saber final and showed the girls with their medals but now they are showing the Bronze match... WTF?

[Jas_lov]

I wasn't a big fan of the fencing either. I actually enjoyed women's weightlifting more than the fencing. Some Chinese woman dominated the event and set an olympic record. Pretty cool, huh? I'm looking forward to the swimming tonight, the basketball tomorrow at 10 AM ET, and track and field later on in the games. I also like the volleyball and I'm going to check out the boxing on CNBC in a half hour.

[molson]

There's a decent chance we'll see a Georgia v. Russia Judo confrontation at some point.

[molson]

Beach Volleyball is of course a no-brainer, but I'm strangely drawn to these female weightlifters......

[Karlifornia]

Beach Volleyball is of course a no-brainer, but I'm strangely drawn to these female weightlifters......

The beach volleyball isn't really doing it for me. I'm kind of a "T" man in the T or A question, though....I could see the appeal.

[duckman]

Please be joking.
:)

[Suburban Rhythm]

Wow, Latvia v. US Men's Beach Volleyball was friggin' nuts! Good game.

They even have beaches in Latvia?

[DaddyTorgo]

Yes

Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=map+of+latvia&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&mid=1218317071)

[kcchief19]

And depending on where you are the USA HD might not actually be temporary... :cool:
I'm assuming temporary but would love to get it permanently for Monk, Psych, Burn Notice and In Plain Sight. TWC always gives us USA HD during the US Open and then it goes away. Hope it's permanent.

[DanGarion]

I'm assuming temporary but would love to get it permanently for Monk, Psych, Burn Notice and In Plain Sight. TWC always gives us USA HD during the US Open and then it goes away. Hope it's permanent.

According to my sources there is a chance it might stay here in LA. I hope it does, would love to watch my Burn Notice in HD.

[ISiddiqui]

Just watched my DVR taping of the Opening Ceremonies (was out last night), and

:jawdrop:

That was absolutely amazing. That is the greatest spectacle I have ever seen in my life. It was just magnificent in all aspects, from the drums to the moving blocks to the calligraphy print to the modern day colors to the taek-won-do. WOW!

And Jon, I think you and your son misheard. The Pakistanis were loudly cheered. Are you thinking of the Iran reception instead?

[JonInMiddleGA]

And Jon, I think you and your son misheard. The Pakistanis were loudly cheered. Are you thinking of the Iran reception instead?

I agree on the misheard part (which I mentioned up the thread a bit) and granted I wasn't paying specific attention to it until he mentioned it (although I did watch for the Iraq/Iran reactions later). My best guess is that he mistook one of the first strong reactions of the night for being anti rather than pro.

[BishopMVP]

Potential spoiler womens 4x100 freestyle swimmingAnyone read the Deadspin link about possible Chinese ghost teams after their 4x100 team shattered their record and came in first in prelims? Could be the best scandal since the East Germans. (btw - Loved the comment last night when Germany was walking in about how they were going back to an East German style training program due to lack of success. Pause. Followed by the other commentator quickly saying something along the lines of "Well, most of the program.")

[sterlingice]

Your blog fucking suck ass. Fencing is great.

So is fencing this olympics' curling?

SI

[sterlingice]

(btw - Loved the comment last night when Germany was walking in about how they were going back to an East German style training program due to lack of success. Pause. Followed by the other commentator quickly saying something along the lines of "Well, most of the program.")

That was great :D

SI

[BishopMVP]

Michael Phelps and the 400IM final in seconds on NBC.

[sterlingice]

Just watched my DVR taping of the Opening Ceremonies (was out last night), and

That was absolutely amazing. That is the greatest spectacle I have ever seen in my life. It was just magnificent in all aspects, from the drums to the moving blocks to the calligraphy print to the modern day colors to the taek-won-do. WOW!

I liked the opening ceremony- pretty darn cool. I know that's an understatement but I think you'd have to be there to really get a grasp on how neat it looks. Well, except for Matt Lauer. And I'm not a big Costas fan either (it's not pronounced "Cape Verd", guys).

Also, I've decided DVR is really the way to go for the Olympics. I could fast forward through some of the countries and still see them but in fast motion.

Same with the events- like gymnastics- just fast forward to the dismount and you'll see how they grade crap (*grumble, grumble*)

That said, I just love the wall-to-wall sports. I didn't care about the US-centric rowing this morning because I'm not a huge rowing fan. So I was flipping back and forth between the Canada-China women's soccer game and the Italy-Russia volleyball match.

SI

[SirFozzie]

Gold Medal for Phelps and he breaks his own WR by about 2 seconds in the 400 IM (the event that folks thought that he'd have troubles in)

[DaddyTorgo]

nobody's going to touch phelps in these olympics. He's just...superhuman

[sterlingice]

The beach volleyball isn't really doing it for me. I'm kind of a "T" man in the T or A question, though....I could see the appeal.

Revoke my guy license or whatever, but it just doesn't do it for me either. I'm watching sports, I don't need sex appeal. The team volleyball is a lot better than beach, which is just a spike contest. That poor Japanese team where they were facing the two Americans who had almost a foot on them- it just wasn't even fair.

SI

[sterlingice]

nobody's going to touch phelps in these olympics. He's just...superhuman

Here's the problem- it's not cumulative. No matter how good he does in any individual events, it's not like they carry over. That's 8 individual events and like 20 races in a week. Really rough.

SI

[LloydLungs]

Wow, Michael Phelps' mom's scream is unpleasant to listen to.

[BishopMVP]

Anyone know the story on those new full-body suits? I was hearing they gave a borderline unfair advantage and were the main reason why so many world and American records were falling at the American trials, but none of the medalists were weating them here. Is their effect overblown, do they only help for certain strokes, or is Phelps just that absurdbly good?

[DaddyTorgo]

Here's the problem- it's not cumulative. No matter how good he does in any individual events, it's not like they carry over. That's 8 individual events and like 20 races in a week. Really rough.

SI

5 individual events, 17 races

but he's just...a freak.

[BishopMVP]

Here's the problem- it's not cumulative. No matter how good he does in any individual events, it's not like they carry over. That's 8 individual events and like 20 races in a week. Really rough.I'm in the camp that he does it (as long as the relays hold up.) The guy is built for swimming. His body is freakish, and he apparently has the work ethic to match it. He nearly pulled off the 7 Golds last Olympics when he was only 19, and he's better now.

[sterlingice]

5 individual events, 17 races

but he's just...a freak.

Well, by individual, I didn't mean single person but discrete or specific events.

SI

[BishopMVP]

Wow. South Korea/China 1-2 in the 400 Freestyle. First swimming medal for SK and first mens medal for China.

[wbatl1]

Wow, I honestly don't know where Phelps' breastroke leg came from! It's now obvious that he wasn't fully tapered for Trials. It's also too bad Ryan dropped off a bit from Trials, but it was still his 2nd fastest swim ever and a podium position.

[DaddyTorgo]

Wow, I honestly don't know where Phelps' breastroke leg came from! It's now obvious that he wasn't fully tapered for Trials. It's also too bad Ryan dropped off a bit from Trials, but it was still his 2nd fastest swim ever and a podium position.

kudos to the hungarian guy too though

[DaddyTorgo]

Anyone know the story on those new full-body suits? I was hearing they gave a borderline unfair advantage and were the main reason why so many world and American records were falling at the American trials, but none of the medalists were weating them here. Is their effect overblown, do they only help for certain strokes, or is Phelps just that absurdbly good?

i'm all for them using technology like that to make the swimmers swim faster - anything to keep them off PED's is fine by me.

[wbatl1]

kudos to the hungarian guy too though

For sure. Cseh has had a great lead-up, and swam a great race!

[wbatl1]

i'm all for them using technology like that to make the swimmers swim faster - anything to keep them off PED's is fine by me.

Ah, the suits...I wish we were back in the days where the suits were only a concern of those of us involved in the swimming world.

Long story short, the LZR Racer (Speedo's latest suit) debuted around the 1st of this year, and immediately records started falling at nearly every big meet in the world. Why? Maybe because the suit is buoyant and provides a distinct advantage. Or maybe because athletes were entering into the peak of the four year cycle. It probably can never be scientifically determined, but it sure has led to a lot of fuss.

The NCAA banned the suit from its championships. There is a lawsuit and counter-lawsuit between TYR, USA Swimming, Speedo and Erik Vendt, there are now competing suits that are also on the verge of the not-quite-clear line between acceptable and unacceptable, but the most important thing is that everyone does have access to the suits, and thus, the competition is fair in Beijing, even if the record board might be taking some unfair hits.

[SirFozzie]

sheesh. they're DESTROYING World Records in the pool

[lighthousekeeper]

Watching the men's 56kg weightlifting competition, which seems about as pointless as having a 5'9''-and-under basketball competition.

[SirFozzie]

The funny thing is if folks tie after their three lifts, then they use whoever weighs the least to determine who wins

[LloydLungs]

Man, the online live streaming coverage is really comprehensive. Loving this.

[Young Drachma]

Ah, the suits...I wish we were back in the days where the suits were only a concern of those of us involved in the swimming world.

Long story short, the LZR Racer (Speedo's latest suit) debuted around the 1st of this year, and immediately records started falling at nearly every big meet in the world. Why? Maybe because the suit is buoyant and provides a distinct advantage. Or maybe because athletes were entering into the peak of the four year cycle. It probably can never be scientifically determined, but it sure has led to a lot of fuss.

The NCAA banned the suit from its championships. There is a lawsuit and counter-lawsuit between TYR, USA Swimming, Speedo and Erik Vendt, there are now competing suits that are also on the verge of the not-quite-clear line between acceptable and unacceptable, but the most important thing is that everyone does have access to the suits, and thus, the competition is fair in Beijing, even if the record board might be taking some unfair hits.

Meh, I guess it's like the debates in golf about equipment dominating the sport.

[Anthony]

anyone catch how our national anthem was cut short when Phelps was on the podium, right before the "land of the free and home of the brave" part was about to be played. bad form, i wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional.

you mean to tell me a country that can put on a grandios spectacle for the opening ceremonies can't work a cd player?

[DaddyTorgo]

hey - who's this anthony guy??

[BrianD]

Was that the only mistake you noticed in the playing of the anthem?

[sterlingice]

anyone catch how our national anthem was cut short when Phelps was on the podium, right before the "land of the free and home of the brave" part was about to be played. bad form, i wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional.

you mean to tell me a country that can put on a grandios spectacle for the opening ceremonies can't work a cd player?

Yeah, but $300M to put on the opening ceremony and $40B+ for infrastructure improvements doesn't leave much money for CD players ;)

SI

[Anthony]

they come out of the womb knowing how to dissemble a cd player and reassemble it. just bad form, especially with our President in attendence. they should be ashamed of themselves, i highly doubt the same thing happens if a Chinese person wins a gold.

[MrDNA]

Revoke my guy license or whatever, but it just doesn't do it for me either. I'm watching sports, I don't need sex appeal. The team volleyball is a lot better than beach, which is just a spike contest. That poor Japanese team where they were facing the two Americans who had almost a foot on them- it just wasn't even fair.

SI

I agree with you on wanting sex appeal/sports separate, but I have to disagree on the "spike contest." Beach volleyball has a lot of finesse shots, as does women's indoor (my favorite to watch). Men's indoor, now that's a spike contest. Bump, set, spike, possible block, repeat... snooze.

[MrBug708]

Woot! Phelps won his first gold!

[DaddyTorgo]

I agree with you on wanting sex appeal/sports separate, but I have to disagree on the "spike contest." Beach volleyball has a lot of finesse shots, as does women's indoor (my favorite to watch). Men's indoor, now that's a spike contest. Bump, set, spike, possible block, repeat... snooze.

men's indoor is on now.

I vastly prefer beach vollyball. Much more finesse.

[DanGarion]

anyone catch how our national anthem was cut short when Phelps was on the podium, right before the "land of the free and home of the brave" part was about to be played. bad form, i wouldn't be surprised if it was intentional.

you mean to tell me a country that can put on a grandios spectacle for the opening ceremonies can't work a cd player?

We know you are perfect.:lol:

[MrBug708]

It was a surprise that Phelps won a medal and all :)

[MrBug708]

What time will the soccer game (US-Holland) be shown?

[Big Fo]

Looks like it will be shown live on USA at 7:45 am ET. But they might be switching between that and Serena Williams.

Multiple Sports
Eight-time grand slam singles champion Serena Williams of the U.S. faces Olga Govortsova of Belarus in a first-round women's tennis match. Also, the U.S men's soccer team plays its second game of preliminary group play, against the Netherlands (LIVE ET/CT). The Americans, who did not qualify for the 2004 Athens Games, defeated Japan, 1-0, in their Olympic opener.

If they focus too much on tennis I might watch the soccer online instead.

[MrBug708]

445 to watch my two favorite teams...

Probably not

[Honolulu_Blue]

Just watched my DVR taping of the Opening Ceremonies (was out last night), and

:jawdrop:

That was absolutely amazing. That is the greatest spectacle I have ever seen in my life. It was just magnificent in all aspects, from the drums to the moving blocks to the calligraphy print to the modern day colors to the taek-won-do. WOW!

I agree. I was stunned. Every time I see a clip from it again, I still can't believe what I am seeing.

[Neon_Chaos]

USA vs. China Men's basketball right now.

China started off fast, but are running out of gas now...

3:40 left in the 1st, 16-11 USA.

[sterlingice]

But they have equestrian events on USA. Which to watch?!? ;)

SI

[MrDNA]

This is much closer than I would've thought. China is playing tough.

[sterlingice]

Apparently archery is next on USA. The equestian stuff continues tomorrow on Oxygen so that's a guarantee I won't watch the second half.

SI

[Jas_lov]

China stayed in it with 3 pointers for a quater and a half, but the U.S. is pulling away now.

[sterlingice]

You do not want to run into the South Korean women's archery team in a dark alley if they have their bows and arrows

SI

[terpkristin]

Water polo on MSNBC. I wish I knew how to play/that there was a league around here, it looks like a lot of fun.

/tk

[Jas_lov]

I was just going to say, the Korean women win the gold in team archery again! What an exhilarating match!

[MJ4H]

You do not want to run into the South Korean women's archery team in a dark alley if they have their bows and arrows

SI


especially if they are at the other end of the alley

[Neon_Chaos]

The US is just out-muscling China. The Chinese team is out of gas.

Oh, and Yao Ming might have just reinjured his ankle.

68-48 USA. 2:15 left in the 3rd.

[duckman]

US outscored the Chinese 25-11 in the 3rd.

[duckman]

The ass raping is commencing. 84-50 with 6:52 remaining.

[Big Fo]

445 to watch my two favorite teams...

Probably not

It was a good game, I was glad I at least woke up early enough to catch the second half.

I thought the US was through to the quarterfinals until that last minute equalizer. Hopefully we can get a draw against Nigeria with Adu and Bradley out.

[Neon_Chaos]

101-70. USA.

Lol. The spread for China over here in the Philippines was +33. HAH!

[Buccaneer]

While the Americans struggled shooting jump shots, they soared for array of reverse slams and tomahawk jams

That is so cool. :rolleyes:

[Big Fo]

That is so cool. :rolleyes:

You figure if an open jumper can be made 50-60% of the time, and a dunk is >90% then yeah, that is pretty cool. They won by 31 anyway...

[MIJB#19]

It was a good game, I was glad I at least woke up early enough to catch the second half.

I thought the US was through to the quarterfinals until that last minute equalizer. Hopefully we can get a draw against Nigeria with Adu and Bradley out.Freaky enough, I started watching when it was 1-0 for Oranje u23, right before the quick back to back goals. By no means do I think we're a clearcut medals candidate, but not surviving the group stage would be a clear failure with the players on that team. I had no idea that, of all people, Gerald Sibon would ever do something that would make me yell: "Yes!". Until today that is.

And please do draw vs Nigeria, that would be really good for our chances to stay in the tournament. :D

[sterlingice]

This question comes from my wife, in a matter-of-fact sort of way: "How is this fair? The women's beach volleyball team is prancing around in their underwear but guys are just wearing tank tops and shorts."

I suppose there's something to it such that if there were a significant competitive advantage, guys would be running around with no shirt and speedos. Or if there isn't, girls could easily wear a shirt or even sports bra and shorts. But, nope. Is there some logical reason as to this setup (or just the usual about how I'm glad I'm from the gender which values comfort over look)?

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

This question comes from my wife, in a matter-of-fact sort of way: "How is this fair? The women's beach volleyball team is prancing around in their underwear but guys are just wearing tank tops and shorts."

I suppose there's something to it such that if there were a significant competitive advantage, guys would be running around with no shirt and speedos. Or if there isn't, girls could easily wear a shirt or even sports bra and shorts. But, nope. Is there some logical reason as to this setup (or just the usual about how I'm glad I'm from the gender which values comfort over look)?

SI

very good question - i've often wondered the same. It's not like the indoor girls teams wear bikinis either - so you can't argue it's something involving freedom of motion or whatever

[ISiddiqui]

I think its just cultural. After all, look at people on the beach.

[gstelmack]

You'll probably find it's a fair factor in having built popularity for the sport...

[gstelmack]

I apologize to all American soccer fans for having to head downstairs to breakfast. I took my shower, then turned on the soccer game while I got dressed. They immediately scored the first goal, and I was watching for the second. I then had to turn off and head downstairs for breakfast, and it went downhill from there. I'll try and watch all of the next game...

[terpkristin]

Watching swimming right now on NBC, one of my all-time favorite Olympic sports to watch. It always intrigues me to see the breathing patterns of Olympic athletes. Just watching the 200m free, most of the swimmers seem to breathe on every other stroke. Makes sense, for what I guess is still a "sprint" distance. It seems that the longer-distance swimmers breathe instead every 3-5 strokes.

/tk

[DaddyTorgo]

swimming + skiing are my two favorite olympic events to watch, in all of their different forms (okay maybe not synchronized swimming)

[tarcone]

I have really made China into the arch enemy this Olympics. So I really watch the USA/China matchups.

Directv has a cool toy. Hit the red button on your remote and you get medal counts or trivia or the Olympic guide. Pretty cool little toy.

[Big Fo]

I have really made China into the arch enemy this Olympics. So I really watch the USA/China matchups.

The water polo game between those two was fun to watch, that's a pretty cool sport I'd never seen much of.

[DaddyTorgo]

not to be a women's gymnastics geek, but I was dissapointed that Memmel sprained her ankle and can only compete on uneven bars - I thought she was a great "ace in the hole" really strong #3 all-around gymnast for the USA in our quest to top the chinese. bummer

[kingnebwsu]

Random thoughts on the Men's basketball game:

Michael Redd will be a key player in at least one game before the Olympics is over. He was the only player who could hit an outside shot today.

3-point shooting needs to improve if the U.S. wants to medal.

Great & intense defense for the U.S. Watching the pressure and steals and especially some of the blocks was truly impressive.

LeBron James is the best player on the court.

The Chinese fanbase was cheering like crazy even when down by 20 or more. They hit a shot to cut the lead to 20 early in the 2nd half and the crowd cheered like they just hit the game-winning shot.

Entertaining game to watch. First sporting event I've given a crap about in months, so it was good to be cheering for a team. Can't wait for the rest of the games.

Would it be corny if I chanted "U-S-A!"? ;)

[DaddyTorgo]

wow - katie hoff just broke Janet Evans' 20-year old Olympic Record in the 400m Freestyle

[terpkristin]

wow - katie hoff just broke Janet Evans' 20-year old Olympic Record in the 400m Freestyle

And then that new O.R. was broken in the next heat, by the Italian swimmer.

/tk

[DaddyTorgo]

yes yes

heyyyy!!! it's the black american swimmer!!! WOOHOO!!! (just kinda cool imo)

[terpkristin]

yes yes

heyyyy!!! it's the black american swimmer!!! WOOHOO!!! (just kinda cool imo)

Colin Jones just swam a great leg in the 4x100m free.

Nothing like watching Olympic swimmers to really drive home how slowly you swim. :D

/tk

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah - they're crazy-fast!

jones was 47.6! Grevers (however you spell it) was 47.7 -- I'd love to see Jones get the last spot on the A-team.

haha!! the USA B-team just broke the WR.

[terpkristin]

New WR set by the Americans in the 4x100m free relay prelims--i.e. no Phelps yet.

Crazy.

/tk

[Jas_lov]

World record! Should be some more great swimming action tonight. It's by far my favorite olympic event.

[sterlingice]

That's just crazy- the second string just set a world record.

SI

[sterlingice]

This synchronized diving is darn impressive.

SI

[Buccaneer]

This synchronized diving is darn impressive.

SI

Final round of PGA Championship >>>> Synchronized diving

[DaddyTorgo]

synchronized diving? an olympic event? really?

what's next - competitive eating? give me a fucking break - wasn't plain-old diving good enough? why do we have to synchronize it? how about synchronized gymnastics? why not right?

[Jas_lov]

Final round of PGA Championship >>>> Synchronized diving

I agree. What a finish by Harrington. He made the putts down the stretch and Sergio didn't. But now it's over and diving is still on? When do the real events start?

[sterlingice]

I dunno. This isn't synchronized swimming where we have people making shapes in the water. This is taking diving and making 2 people do it the same way at the same time.

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

synchronized swimming IS bullshit. Fuck that. Might as well have synchronized-cocksucking (i really just wanted to say cocksucking). I guess I can see the point with diving, it just seems like a real "fad" - like really...do we have to synchronize everything?

[Groundhog]

Pathetic effort by the Aussie basketball team last night. After all that promising preparation, we get blown out of the water against Croatia, and looked terrible doing it. Bogut was awful.

Only thing worse was the TV coverage. Game started at 10pm, but "coverage" didn't start until 11:30, when they then showed 8 minutes of the 3rd Q, before revealing the final score and cutting to the next event.

[sterlingice]

Ok, the Chinese all look like they're about 12. Then again, they pretty much explained that at the top of the show- basically, they're using Cuban-style age records.

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

Ok, the Chinese all look like they're about 12. Then again, they pretty much explained that at the top of the show- basically, they're using Cuban-style age records.

SI

that's the benefits of being so closed-off to the rest of the world - they can get away with that. Frankly i think it's bullshit.

That first girl who was on the uneven bars couldn't have been more than 13

[Jas_lov]

This girl who fell looks about 10-12. Do the other countries get away with this?

[larrymcg421]

Terrible start for the US women.

[BishopMVP]

This girl who fell looks about 10-12. Do the other countries get away with this?As if "womens" gymnastics wasn't a pedophiles dream already. Add in the comments by the announcer how he "was surfing the net about a year and a half ago and came across a video of this girl doing a routine and said what is this" and should we send Chris Hansen to the studio now or save costs by having him wait at NBC Studios in NY?

Then there was the vault attempt, where the fact the Chinese girl is 14 at most wasn't even the most objectionale part. The girl landed on her head and she only got a .1 deduction for it! She still scored a 14.something :eek: It's hard for me to take it seriously when the scoring system is so complicated the announcers don't even attempt to explain it, but shouldn't she get a 2 for the execution on that or something? She landed on her head!

Yeesh, those are some ugly uniforms for the Americans.

[DaddyTorgo]

As if "womens" gymnastics wasn't a pedophiles dream already. Add in the comments by the announcer how he "was surfing the net about a year and a half ago and came across a video of this girl doing a routine and said what is this" and should we send Chris Hansen to the studio now or save costs by having him wait at NBC Studios in NY?

Then there was the vault attempt, where the fact the Chinese girl is 14 at most wasn't even the most objectionale part. The girl landed on her head and she only got a .1 deduction for it! She still scored a 14.something :eek: It's hard for me to take it seriously when the scoring system is so complicated the announcers don't even attempt to explain it, but shouldn't she get a 2 for the execution on that or something? She landed on her head!

Yeesh, those are some ugly uniforms for the Americans.

I agree. It's like impossible to get below an 8 on execution or something. It's like frigging penalties in football or fouls in basketball - I think there's a lot of like "reputation" involved which is lame,

[sterlingice]

My biggest objection is that it's a subtractionist's dream. Vault, uneven bars, balance beam, pommel horse, and rings- you might as well just fast forward to the dismount as that's where half the points are gained/lost, barring a fall or something.

Honestly, I think every gymnastics coach has this conversation with every 7 year old gymnast:
"How does scoring work?"
"You get a 10, and each little mistake you make, you lose X points."
"What about adding neato elements that are more difficult?"
"Why? It's not like you get extra for them"

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

wow - memmel just came off the uneven bars too

I think this us team is not going to compete for the team gold - we're reduced to rooting for nastia + shawn in the all-around

[DaddyTorgo]

heh - and nastia just fell on her back on her dismount

I think this us team is cursed

[sterlingice]

I agree. It's like impossible to get below an 8 on execution or something. It's like frigging penalties in football or fouls in basketball - I think there's a lot of like "reputation" involved which is lame,

With all the big missteps the US has had, how are the Americans even in it for the team competition, particularly since everyone else gets to drop a score except us? Are the other teams kissing the mat every other participant?

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

With all the big missteps the US has had, how are the Americans even in it for the team competition, particularly since everyone else gets to drop a score except us? Are the other teams kissing the mat every other participant?

SI


that's a damn good question SI. prolly because due to "reputation" the other teams are ending up with 14's for comprable exercises while we get 15's?

[DaddyTorgo]

that being said - none of these scores affect the team finals, so really they could still win it all if they just don't fuck up the same ways then. Means fewer US girls in the all-around or the individual event finals though.

[DaddyTorgo]

solid beam score for alicia on beam there

[RendeR]

Remember guys this is just the qualifiers, they still have to actually have the all around competition, this is just to get into that round and we're a shoe in to be in the top 8 teams overall.

[MrBug708]

Bah. I wish NBC would show coverate all at the same time. This thread is useless because the results are posted 3 hours before they are shown on the West Coast :(

[DaddyTorgo]

Bah. I wish NBC would show coverate all at the same time. This thread is useless because the results are posted 3 hours before they are shown on the West Coast :(

are we being bad about not spoiler-izing the things that aren't live?

[DaddyTorgo]

Remember guys this is just the qualifiers, they still have to actually have the all around competition, this is just to get into that round and we're a shoe in to be in the top 8 teams overall.

I think I just said that - lol

[sterlingice]

Bah. I wish NBC would show coverate all at the same time. This thread is useless because the results are posted 3 hours before they are shown on the West Coast :(

Really? Sorry, didn't realize that. I figured that since the east coaster (EST) and myself in flyover territory (CST) were getting stuff at the same time that it was the same for everyone. I presume the live stuff is the same for everyone (i.e. the morning swimming stuff that they show here in the evening).

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

that girl (shawn johnson) is just...wow. flawless! and nastia's not far behind her.

[RendeR]

Even with all the mistakes they put up good numbers, tey have two absolute studs and if their third member comes through big in the team final they have every chance to win gold.

[bulletsponge]

so many cute ponytails. i wish more women would wear them

[Jas_lov]

Well at least they're in good spirits. Did you guys know that this is just prelims? The medal competitions are later in the week. Now for the real event, swimming.

[DaddyTorgo]

oh I knew Jas. Just didn't bode well it seemd (although of course it is wiped-clean)

[MJ4H]

calm down jas lov this was just the prelims. sheesh.

[sterlingice]

Now for the real event, swimming.

Damn straight :popcorn:

SI

[RendeR]

Real good Andrea, focus on what she's doing wrong, don;t try to sabotage her any further or anything, sheesh. Reporters are morons.

[DaddyTorgo]

kudos to coventry. Yay for zimbabwe!

[RendeR]

Very impressive swim. Love seeing records fall.

[Jas_lov]

Magnuson gets the silver in the 100 fly!

[DaddyTorgo]

wow - cute story abou this 30-whatever year old german gymnast

[RendeR]

Yeah talk about a sport where she's 'out of the age bracket'

[DaddyTorgo]

that's cute. Norway's first ever swimming medal!

[sterlingice]

that's cute. Norway's first ever swimming medal!

It's tough to swim when your water is only unfrozen in July and August ;)

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

It's tough to swim when your water is only unfrozen in July and August ;)

SI

hahah. Hey that's okay - their bread n butter is all the winter olympic events

[sterlingice]

hahah. Hey that's okay - their bread n butter is all the winter olympic events

Yeah, when every event has some combination of Norway, Sweden, and Finland on the medal stand ;)

SI

[sterlingice]

(How can there be a sex scandal between Italy and France? By which I mean- they don't seem to care about sex in public in those countries ;) )

SI

[mckerney]

LeBron James is the best player <s>on the court</s> in the world, and has been for the last 3 years.

Fix'd

[ISiddiqui]

I dunno. This isn't synchronized swimming where we have people making shapes in the water. This is taking diving and making 2 people do it the same way at the same time.

SI

Very true. Synchronized diving is freaking amazing. I don't know how they do it.

[DaddyTorgo]

soooo close by katie hoff there! damn!

[sterlingice]

Here we go. Here's the big event for the night

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

this may be phelps' most difficult gold medal to get

[Jas_lov]

Must beat the French! They are shattering the world record so far!

[DaddyTorgo]

helluva catchup by phelps there in the 2nd 50...wow

[sterlingice]

Man, look at that world record line

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

I think france will take it i'd say

[Jas_lov]

GO!!!!!!!!!!! THEY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DaddyTorgo]

OMG!!!!

WHAT A FUCKING CLOSE BY LEZAK!!!! HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!

[sterlingice]

Oh. My. God!

SI

[QuikSand]

Okay that was pretty fucking clutch.

[DaddyTorgo]

46.06 - is that the fastest relay-split in history?

[Eaglesfan27]

WOW!!! Love that win after France talked smack.

[Tigercat]

Oh those silly, silly frenchies. Good to see the mouth was the one that lost to the greatest split in the history of swimming.

[DaddyTorgo]

and cullen jones gets a gold too - yay for that!

[sterlingice]

That was positively electric

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

phelps apparently broke the american record on the leadoff leg too