2014 Winter Olympics Thread- Sochi (spoiler tags for events that haven't aired)

[Lathum]

State department says go at own risk

U.S. issues travel alert for Sochi Olympics - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/10275324/us-issues-travel-alert-sochi-olympics)

[gstelmack]

Between this and the World Cup, it's going to be an "interesting" year for international competition.

[JPhillips]

This is the first time in my lifetime I would be scared to go to the Olympics. It's still a small chance that something happens, but I wouldn't go if offered free tickets. I have no faith in the ability of the Russians to keep everyone safe.

[claphamsa]

This is the first time in my lifetime I would be scared to go to the Olympics. It's still a small chance that something happens, but I wouldn't go if offered free tickets. I have no faith in the ability of the Russians to keep everyone safe.

also its the olymipics....

[DaddyTorgo]

This is the first time in my lifetime I would be scared to go to the Olympics. It's still a small chance that something happens, but I wouldn't go if offered free tickets. I have no faith in the ability of the Russians to keep everyone safe.

Yep. Similar with the World Cup IMO - as awesome as it would be to see it in Brazil with all the passion down there for the sport.

[Grover]

I'm so glad the US Hockey team didn't pick Sidney Crosby!

Is pretty much the best line any of us could ever hope to see regarding the 2014 Olympics. It's such a shame @bruinsgirl18 deleted her account after the comments and tweets started coming in after she posted that.

[cartman]

I have a couple of friends from high school over in Sochi for the event. One of them is a behind the scenes guy that works on the technical stuff for the broadcasts. The other is a reporter for NBC, and this will be her 9th straight Olympics to cover.

[sterlingice]

re: safety
I felt perfectly safe in Moscow and St Petersburg (aside from the danger of pickpockets, etc from a large city) last year but don't know anything about Sochi and the Olympics is a bit of a security powder keg

SI

[sterlingice]

Might as well establish this early since we have this argument every 2 years: Spoiler tags for anything that happens in real time before the NBC (or CNBC or MSNBC or whatever) broadcast or open season on spoilers as they happen in real life?

I'm always for the former with spoilers before it's on tv because, for some reason, I can suspend disbelief for the Olympics and we can't visually see things that happen before prime time here. But, of course, for the other side: we live in an interconnected world so results are everywhere. ESPN seems to love to plaster it across the front page in what seems like a dickish way to give spoilers and get people to watch anything but NBC that night.

And, of course, the important question: what channel is curling on?!?

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

I think spoiler tags until stuff airs on TV is the right way to do it, otherwise you drive people away from the thread it seems.

[gstelmack]

If the TV coverage was in anyway reasonable, I'd be all for spoilers, but given how they'll bury some events and spend half the time on interest stories and not showing actual events, I'm not sure I see the point of spoiler tags.

[Ryan S]

I think spoiler tags until stuff airs on TV is the right way to do it, otherwise you drive people away from the thread it seems.

It's probably going to need to be a spoiler tag until the next day for anyone who is living outside the US. I imagine most countries will be showing the big events live rather than tape delayed.

[JonInMiddleGA]

{scratches head} How much conversation is there to be had if nobody can say anything in the open without waiting 24 hours? (or whatever it is)

[Young Drachma]

Spoiler tags, fine. But really, if you know you haven't watched, just avoid the thread until you have?

[EagleFan]

1st, ****ing no way would I go over there.

But on that note, saw what I see as a humerous comment from a politician when asked about it. Unfortunately I didn't see who it was.

He basically said there is no way that he would go and he doesn't think he would let his family go.

So let me clear this up.... you are certain that you don't want to risk your life but not so certain about your family's lives?

[MrBug708]

Maybe he believes in free will and realizes he can't make people not go?

[Lathum]

Or he has adult children and thinks they could make their own decisions?

[EagleFan]

Or he has adult children and thinks they could make their own decisions?

Then you say "I wouldn't want my family to go"

[EagleFan]

Nevermind. I guess everything has to be serious around here...

[Chief Rum]

Nevermind. I guess everything has to be serious around here...

Heh... a wee bit ironic. I thought you were the one being serious.

[GrantDawg]

Heh... a wee bit ironic. I thought you were the one being serious.


His comment made me laugh.

[molson]

This is a bathroom at one of the venues. Imagine crowding in here with a bunch of Romanian national team supporters. I think I'd just bring an extra pair of pants.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72422000/jpg/_72422810_66920715-ebfc-40fe-a0b4-c244d18941e5.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25830617

[BillJasper]

This is a bathroom at one of the venues. Imagine crowding in here with a bunch of Romanian national team supporters. I think I'd just bring an extra pair of pants.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72422000/jpg/_72422810_66920715-ebfc-40fe-a0b4-c244d18941e5.jpg

BBC News - Twitter storm in Russia over Sochi Olympics twin toilet (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25830617)

Imagine being the person that causes an overflow in that bathroom? No way to make a discreet escape! :lol:

[NobodyHere]

I really hope tax dollars didn't pay for these...

http://msn.foxsports.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/Olympics/images/2014/01/23/OpeningCeremonyUnis/Ralph-Lauren-Partner-Athletes.vadapt.955.medium.82.jpg

[Chief Rum]

I really hope tax dollars didn't pay for these...

http://msn.foxsports.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/Olympics/images/2014/01/23/OpeningCeremonyUnis/Ralph-Lauren-Partner-Athletes.vadapt.955.medium.82.jpg

I'm thinking, "What's the girl on the right looking at?"

Which leads me to the follow up thought of some frustrated photographer saying "This was the best shot we could get in 100 shots..."

[NobodyHere]

Something just caught my eye in that picture, do the stars in the American flag look off to anyone else?

[B & B]

1. Let me be the 23,435,829th person to say that the terrorists are gonna pull off something awful there.

2. Lucy Liu is an Olympian?

[chadritt]

Something just caught my eye in that picture, do the stars in the American flag look off to anyone else?
It doesn't look like every other row is properly indented, if thats the right word for it.

[sterlingice]

Yeah, it looks like 7 stars x 7 stars, but that's ok. As Grandpa Simpson said: "I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognise Missoura! (http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F06.html)"

SI

[sterlingice]

They look like a cross between a Nascar uniform (is that the right word) with all the ads and a winter sweater from grandma

SI

[MIJB#19]

Just getting myself prepared for this event, starting the habit to spoiler tag.

[Johnny93g]

2014 WInter Olympics Thread- Sochi ( spoiler tags forevents that haven't aired yet)

i don't mean to sound like a dick(ok, maybe i do somewhat) but if you don't want to know the results of something that's happened, stay out of a thread about the actual events. I'm not going out of my way to find out when something airs if it's not live.

Common sense.

[Lathum]

I added that because it seemed like something people wanted. The problem is you can't ever really be in the thread then. You may be coming in to post about a different event and someone spoils something that hasn't aired for you yet. We live in different time zones. Now if it happened the day before that's a different story.

[Johnny93g]

I added that because it seemed like something people wanted. The problem is you can't ever really be in the thread then. You may be coming in to post about a different event and someone spoils something that hasn't aired for you yet. We live in different time zones. Now if it happened the day before that's a different story.

I totally understand, and this makes sense, it's just the nature of the beast I guess. I would say never read the current page of this thread...haha, but then it's hard to have a conversation. I dunno, I just won't ever enter a thread unless I want to know something. TV, movies, sports, whatever.

[sterlingice]

That's right, curling, keep being awesome :D

Cancel the Olympics because Norway’s curling team has already won | For The Win (http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/cancel-the-olympics-because-norways-curling-team-has-already-won/)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BeivgbPIYAICmhH.jpg

SI

[Logan]

Twitter is fantastic with a lot of media getting over to Sochi and realizing how horrendous their hotel rooms are.

Sochi hotels seem like quite an adventure - SBNation.com (http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/2/4/5377254/sochi-hotels-seems-like-quite-an-adventure)

[DaddyTorgo]

What a hilarious fustercluck.

[Julio Riddols]

I worry this will not be a pretty olympics.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Typically, I don't have much interest or sympathy with reporters bitching about accommodations or the like when covering sporting events. It was all the rage for a while for reporters to rip various Super Bowl host cities. It was whinging of the highest degree.

This, however, seems a bit more legitimate and concerning.

[flere-imsaho]

2018 World Cup looking good!

[molson]

Sochi has plenty of regular hotels. Probably not enough for this event, but it's not some third world country. But their version of a Super 8, where the bottom-of-the-barrel reporters are relegated, I'm sure is a lot more rustic that comparable accommodations in the West. I hope the media doesn't come across as too snobby covering the whole thing. It's the same thing I felt when Qatar got the World Cup. I know there's problems and bribery that went into both of those selections, but I think it's possible to overdo the reaction. The entire world isn't a 5-star resort. Is it really absolutely necessary that the entire media get treated to 5-star accommodations for any major international event?

Edit: From what I can gather from a little research online, Sochi is kind of like Russia's Miami, a sea resort town with great nightlife with a spectacular natural backdrop. But it's oddly domestic, not a lot of foreign travelers. So it's not very Western or international. Which I guess makes it less than ideal for the Olympics. But partly that's just because it's not a place that has been overrun by American tourists yet. I just kind of dislike the idea that something has to be basically Disneyland to avoid ridicule.

[DaddyTorgo]

Sochi has plenty of regular hotels. Probably not enough for this event, but it's not some third world country. But their version of a Super 8, where the bottom-of-the-barrel reporters are relegated, I'm sure is a lot more rustic that comparable accommodations in the West. I hope the media doesn't come across as too snobby covering the whole thing. It's the same thing I felt when Qatar got the World Cup. I know there's problems and bribery that went into both of those selections, but I think it's possible to overdo the reaction. The entire world isn't a 5-star resort. Is it really absolutely necessary that the entire media get treated to 5-star accommodations for any major international event?

No, but having a lobby in the hotel, or having say...potable water seems like a pretty low bar.

[Logan]

No, but having a lobby in the hotel, or having say...potable water seems like a pretty low bar.

It seems like most are also legitimately surprised by not being able to flush TP, and having to throw it in a garbage can.

I was a little surprised learning that Tulum in Mexico would be that way, when I was planning our honeymoon. But that is a small, fairly recently-developed beach town, and not the site of a worldwide sporting event.

[molson]

And I'm sure because of the reputation going in, every hotel/lodging/food/water issue will be twittered and will go viral immediately. But I don't think Sochi in general has brown water, or lobby-less hotels. It looks nice to me, and uniquely Russian, which for me, would be the draw of going there, and traveling generally. An odd Olympic choice though, to be sure.

Edit: It's kind of weird in retrospect that lake Placid got an Olympics (Looking back, they kind of won it by default when the only other host candidate dropped out). I'm not even sure how that worked. There must have been some rustic accommodations. No international mockery though. But they did use the local high school as a bar. It's the only high school ever to get a liquor license, says wikipedia.

[BishopMVP]

And I'm sure because of the reputation going in, every hotel/lodging/food/water issue will be twittered and will go viral immediately. But I don't think Sochi in general has brown water, or lobby-less hotels. It looks nice to me, and uniquely Russian, which for me, would be the draw of going there, and traveling generally. An odd Olympic choice though, to be sure.Putin owns a lot of property there, which is a large reason why it was the Russian city put forward.

[nol]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>To anyone in Sochi: I am now in possession of three light bulbs. Will trade for a door handle. This offer is real: <a href="http://t.co/7AeesqDi8Y">pic.twitter.com/7AeesqDi8Y</a></p>&mdash; Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanWetzel/statuses/430829086022569984">February 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[sterlingice]

It seems like most are also legitimately surprised by not being able to flush TP, and having to throw it in a garbage can.

For covering a world event, it's like they've never been international before.

When we've been overseas (Italy, Colombia, Russia), except for the modern buildings like new hotels and airports, that's pretty much the norm.

This reminds me of all the complaints at every Super Bowl about how Jacksonville is boring or Dallas doesn't have enough strippers or whatever.

SI

[sterlingice]

So what's up with a day of competition on Thursday before the Opening Ceremony on Friday?

SI

[Alan T]

So what's up with a day of competition on Thursday before the Opening Ceremony on Friday?

SI


There usually are events prior to the opening ceremony at both summer and winter olympics. I don't think they used to be televised years ago, but these days with so much more coverage I guess it makes sense that they are too.

Usually it is just preliminary heats or rounds or such in sports that last a long time. I remember soccer started before the ceremony in the last summer olympics for instance.

[DaddyTorgo]

Shaun White pulls out of slopestyle, citing safety concerns with the course after a "jammed" wrist on a training run. This after the gold medal favorite broke his collarbone on a training run on the course. Way to go Russia.

2014 Winter Games -- Shaun White withdraws from Olympic slopestyle - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/olympics/winter/2014/snowboarding/story/_/id/10406292/2014-winter-games-shaun-white-withdraws-olympic-slopestyle)

[britrock88]

In Soviet Russia, you don't attack the course; the course attack YOU.

[bhlloy]

To be fair, at least nobody has died yet, and it seems that a big part of White's decision is the fact that the course isn't suited for him as much as it's dangerous.

[stevew]

torah bright? Aussie snowboarder.

Edit-hmmm sounds like she's the Aussie lolo jones

[flere-imsaho]

It's the same thing I felt when Qatar got the World Cup. I know there's problems and bribery that went into both of those selections, but I think it's possible to overdo the reaction.

Qatar (and, to a lesser extent, Russia) getting the World Cup is very different. It's not a question so much of suitability (though summer in Qatar enters into that), but bribery and vote-rigging. There have now been multiple investigative stories that indicate that the Qatar vote, and possibly also the Russia vote, were the result of rampant bribery.

In addition, it'll be interesting to see if they move the Qatar world cup to the winter (i.e. in the middle of the major european leagues' seasons). To me, if they do so, it'll be interesting to see how far apart that pushes UEFA and FIFA. There are already plenty of players, for instance, who value the Champions League over the World Cup.

[molson]

Qatar (and, to a lesser extent, Russia) getting the World Cup is very different. It's not a question so much of suitability (though summer in Qatar enters into that), but bribery and vote-rigging. There have now been multiple investigative stories that indicate that the Qatar vote, and possibly also the Russia vote, were the result of rampant bribery.



Whatever the motive, in both instances it seems criticism about corruption is being expressed more through attacks on the locations as being beneath Western/American standards. "Nobody's going to go to that shithole in the dessert" kind of stuff. Like bribery wouldn't be as bad if it led to a proper western host like Salt Lake or Vancouver.

[flere-imsaho]

I'm pretty sure that's not the knock on Qatar. People know they have the money to put in "first world" facilities, including hotels, etc... by the time necessary.

The problems, aside from the obvious bribery, are:

1. Those facilities are being built, essentially, with migrant slave labor: Qatar World Cup: Fifa demands update on efforts to improve worker conditions | Football | theguardian.com (http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/31/qatar-world-cup-fifa-worker-conditions)

2. If the WC is held in the summer, the games will be held in uniformly brutally hot conditions. (As opposed to Brazil, where they'll be held in sporadically hot conditions, depending on location. And yes, Brazil has a lot of other problems, too.)

3. If the WC is held during the winter, it simply deepens the enmity between FIFA and UEFA, the main result of which (this is my opinion) serves only to continue to devalue the WC (that's devalue from a relative standpoint) in comparison to the Champions League.

[DaddyTorgo]

Whatever the motive, in both instances it seems criticism about corruption is being expressed more through attacks on the locations as being beneath Western/American standards. "Nobody's going to go to that shithole in the dessert" kind of stuff. Like bribery wouldn't be as bad if it led to a proper western host like Salt Lake or Vancouver.

disagree

The criticism about corruption is being expressed in disbelief about what $51 billion dollars won't buy you (thanks to all the money that was siphoned off).

I mean jeezus - it cost them $51 billion dollars and they don't even have potable water or lightbulbs or enough pillows? It's Russia, not some country with zero infrastructure or zero industry.

If you gave another country with less rampant corruption $51 billion to put on the Olympics they'd do a frigging phenomenal job. Hell, give them HALF of that and it'd be a hell of a lot better still, no doubt. You realize that this cost Russia 6x what the Vancouver winter games did? 6 TIMES.

[molson]

I'm sure I've read a ton of about Qatar being "backwards" generally, in addition to the other problems you listed. I know the thread here when it was announced was a rage-fest. I think just about any non-North American venue is going to get that kind of reaction. The reaction is more harsh the further the location is perceived to be from the western ideal.

[molson]

disagree

The criticism about corruption is being expressed in disbelief about what $51 billion dollars won't buy you (thanks to all the money that was siphoned off).

I mean jeezus - it cost them $51 billion dollars and they don't even have potable water or lightbulbs? It's Russia, not some country with zero infrastructure or zero industry.

Your rage towards Qatar went way beyond corruption in that thread, it seemed you hated that country and that region of the world generally.

Edit: The people who vote for these things, and presumably took bribes (though that allegation was retracted) are from all over, yet the focus was on how disgusting that "sand infested shithole was", etc, and how nobody would ever want to go there. What does that have to do with corruption?

[DaddyTorgo]

Your rage towards Qatar went way beyond corruption in that thread, it seemed you hated that country and that region of the world generally.

You're wrong - it's real patronizing to think I'm that...simple-minded too BTW.

My rage toward the selection of Qatar was due to: (a) obvious bribery, (b) the obvious fact that as much as they tried to claim otherwise there was no way they'd be able to pull this off during the traditional months and hence they'd have to move it and screw up league calendars all over the world and expose them to more TV competition

I'd love to go to both Russia and the Middle East actually. Not necessarily the safest of tourist destinations at the moment so they're a bit "suspended from the active list" at the moment, but I'd love to.

edit: since you edited your post I will edit mine too.

[molson]

I don't think it's about race or anything like that, just Western-centrism. Would corruption be just as bad if it lead to a host city like Chicago or something (or Salt Lake, where there was corruption, as there probably is with most Olympic and FIFA host decisions)? If so, I don't see why the focus of the criticism isn't corruption, instead of what it was in that thread, that Qatar is a "sand-invested shithole", that "nobody will want to go there", and that the site was going to be an "epic fucking disaster." (And the same kind of stuff for Sochi this time around) It's just a different tone of criticism that has nothing to do with corruption. Edit: China got that same thing, Athens got it, Rio got it. Maybe there's different ideas about what makes a suitable host city, or what that decision should be based on, I just don't think it always has to be the richest place with the most hotels. As someone pointed out in that prior thread, it's not necessarily always about what will be the most comfortable spot for media, there is an idea that the Olympics and Soccer can bring positive things to the places they go. I'll shut up about this now but it just seems like the Olympics and the World Cup are this special occasion for the Western media to gleefully declare their superiority over the backwards parts of the world.

[Coffee Warlord]

Proper Soviet stairway!

http://i.imgur.com/UqwZMV5.jpg

[Logan]

Or maybe we shouldn't take random lines from internet posts and attribute them to how "everyone" feels about the area.

[Buccaneer]

So you think it's acceptable to go without adequate health, hygiene and comfort considering that $51b was spent? This is not like western tourist going Nairobi but a major international event where they had the time and money. The host, being a G8 nation, should be embarrassed in offering such inadequate conditions.

[cartman]

molson sure gets hooked on strange tangents sometimes.

[DaddyTorgo]

I don't think it's about race or anything like that, just Western-centrism. Would corruption be just as bad if it lead to a host city like Chicago or something (or Salt Lake, where there was corruption, as there probably is with most Olympic and FIFA host decisions)? If so, I don't see why the focus of the criticism isn't corruption, instead of what it was in that thread, that Qatar is a "sand-invested shithole", that "nobody will want to go there", and that the site was going to be an "epic fucking disaster." (And the same kind of stuff for Sochi this time around) It's just a different tone of criticism that has nothing to do with corruption. Edit: China got that same thing, Athens got it, Rio got it. Maybe there's different ideas about what makes a suitable host city, or what that decision should be based on, I just don't think it always has to be the richest place with the most hotels. As someone pointed out in that prior thread, it's not necessarily always about what will be the most comfortable spot for media, there is an idea that the Olympics and Soccer can bring positive things to the places they go. I'll shut up about this now but it just seems like the Olympics and the World Cup are this special occasion for the Western media to gleefully declare their superiority over the backwards parts of the world.

I had no issue with South Africa. I've got no issue with Brazil in theory (although they're making a hash of it with stadium construction and questionable labor stuff I guess). Shit - I had no issues with Beijing getting the Olympics (despite some of the forced relocating of people for stadiums and such), and even though I'm sure there was a fair bit of corruption there, they weren't lacking basic sanitation/hygiene. The corruption in Sochi had to be on an EPIC scale if they couldn't even equal what Beijing was able to put out there (with less money spent in Beijing too - at least "officially.")

Did I call Qatar a sand-invested shithole? That's pretty harsh. I can't imagine I used those words. Maybe I was just having a bad day if I did...

The site is an epic disaster. They couldn't do the "air conditioned stadiums" they promised, so now they're talking about moving the whole tournament 6 months and fucking up the league calendars of every single Football Association on the planet. That qualifies as an epic disaster to me.

I also don't think many Westerners want to go there - some due to proximity to terrorism (as unfounded as that fear may be), some due to Islamic restrictions (that may or may not apply, in some form or fashion to guests for the World Cup). Maybe I'm wrong about that though (could very well be in fact) and most Europeans have no issues with those sorts of fears and that's really an American-issue. I could see that being the case in fact. Certainly the well-off wouldn't have an issue with it, but I'm talking about the "everyman." The average Westerner (who as we know, is pretty stupid and anti-Islam).

[molson]

molson sure gets hooked on strange tangents sometimes.

That's true.

Edit: Which actually DOES make me fun at parties, when the tangent is on something more entertaining than this. I do have weird and random sensitivities. But I can't be the only thing who sees this Olympic/World Cup thing pop up every year. Can I? Maybe I am. I bet there's some hot feminist Asian professor at some northeast liberal arts school that would be impressed.

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

I don't think it requires the biases you point out to note that Sochi looks to be unprepared for this.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>We paid for 3 Sochi hotel rooms days ago,then left for 2 days on a trip (with the keys!). Came back to find guests living in all 3 rooms.</p>&mdash; Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/IvanCNN/statuses/431470668765736960">February 6, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[cartman]

I don't seem to remember hearing these kinds of complaints from the 2008 Olympics. China spent over $40 billion, and the results were pretty impressive. A rebuilt airport, and world class athletic facilities to go along with greatly improved tourism infrastructure.

[Galaxy]

I like that the Canadian hockey team will have this:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfqBSryIEAEKHVU.jpg:large

[cartman]

Russian Officials Fire Back at Olympic Critics - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304680904579366712107461956)

Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister responsible for the Olympic preparations, reflected the view held among many Russian officials that some Western visitors are deliberately trying to sabotage Sochi's big debut out of bias against Russia. "We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day," he said. An aide then pulled a reporter away before Mr. Kozak could be questioned further on surveillance in hotel rooms.

[Galaxy]

Russian Officials Fire Back at Olympic Critics - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304680904579366712107461956)

So they have cameras in the guestroom bathrooms? :)

[sterlingice]

So you think it's acceptable to go without adequate health, hygiene and comfort considering that $51b was spent? This is not like western tourist going Nairobi but a major international event where they had the time and money. The host, being a G8 nation, should be embarrassed in offering such inadequate conditions.

It's their $51B to screw up spending, correct? Cost is pretty immaterial to us (we can't even say "it's our tax money!") but always seems to be mentioned solely to bury them and make it seem that much worse. "Well, it's crappy but even crappier because they spent so much on it" (cue faux outrage).

SI

[sterlingice]

Russian Officials Fire Back at Olympic Critics - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304680904579366712107461956)

That is pretty awesome!

"At least the damn security contractor remembered to put in the secret camer- I mean, never mind"

SI

[Buccaneer]

But it's not something built and hosted for themselves. We shouldn't expect our (insert your country) athletes and staff to be subjected to sub-standard conditions in a modern Olympics. I work 1 block from the USOC HQ and know Olympic staff and volunteers that were dreading going there. You didn't hear that in other games except about the air in Beijing (but they knew china would have good conditions otherwise).

[cuervo72]

I don't get this slopestyle. Yeah, it takes some skill to do, but it seems so low-key and leisurely. With some big jumps. Oh, and an occasional contestant landing on her head. It's like batting practice, but more dangerous.

[molson]

But it's not something built and hosted for themselves. We shouldn't expect our (insert your country) athletes and staff to be subjected to sub-standard conditions in a modern Olympics. I work 1 block from the USOC HQ and know Olympic staff and volunteers that were dreading going there. You didn't hear that in other games except about the air in Beijing (but they knew china would have good conditions otherwise).

I'm sure where 8th-string media accommodations fall on the responsibilities/priority list, but if we're just looking at how well they host the Olympics, I'm much more interested in the slopes/hills/rinks that actually host the competitions, security, and to some lesser extent, the athlete accommodations. I'm not surprised people were "dreading" going there based on the media reaction, but there are lots of regular hotels and resorts there, this isn't a small village that pocketed the money and has everyone living in factory worker guest rooms. It's true also that it's not an international economic and travel hub, and that there are more rustic accommodations at the fringes below that regular infrastructure - I just don't think that's enough to render the entire site so much more terrible than any other that came before it. But we do hear the complaints more often thanks to twitter and such.

Edit: It does look like most of the existing and new hotel infrastructure was reserved for athletes instead of journalists. Somebody said on the last page that this is similar to the media reaction to a super bowl site that doesn't have enough night life for them, or the right restaurants. But why would fans give a shit about the the experience of journalists? Waaaah, I have to go to Sochi or Jacksonville for my job and I can't get turn down service, Waaah. And it's usually some blogger from a newspaper with a small audience.

http://www.today.com/sochi/journalists-share-sochi-hotel-horror-stories-many-olympians-havent-had-2D12057959

"And while journalists have documented their hotel horror stories, often with a hilarious bent, many Olympic athletes say they haven't run into similar problems. In fact, they raved about their accommodations.

“They’re top-notch, we haven’t had a problem at all,” Monique Lamoureux of the U.S. women's hockey team told TODAY.com. “I was stoked at the size of my room, I think it’s great. It has a nice bathroom, and it’s clean and well-kept, so it’s been great."

American pairs figure skater Simon Shnapir also lacked a single complaint about his hotel, which offered “absolutely huge” rooms.

"We've really had no issues,” he said. “Everything is working out for us. Maybe we're lucky. The rooms are absolutely huge."

Olympic Hotel Problems in Sochi Have Been Blown Out of Proportion - Us Weekly (http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/olympic-hotel-horrors-have-been-blown-a-little-out-of-proportion-sochi-is-beautiful-201462)

"That said, journalists are blowing the hotel situation a little out of proportion. There were a few tweets that people sent out that blew the "bad room" story up. From what I am hearing, the hotels in the mountain cluster are the bad ones. The coastal ones are fine. Everyone has running clear water, heat, etc. The hotels are by no means luxurious, but they're fine.

U.S. Skeleton Team athlete Katie Uhlaender tells Us exclusively, "Compared to Vancouver, it is way better! I have my own bathroom, places to store my clothes, and a fantastic view!"

Adds U.S. slopestyle skier Nick Goepper, "My room is great. It's state-of-the-art and brand-new. I have a Tempur-Pedic mattress, and we have a great gym and PT room. I love the rooms in athlete village. They're nice!"

My hotel room has a twin-size bed with a small TV that was still in the box when I got to my room. I also have a dresser, a small fridge, and a desk. It's tiny -- smaller than my college dorm room -- but I've stayed in a similar-size room in London. There are no toiletries and only one small towel; however, everything is brand-new. I can literally still smell the fresh paint"

[General Mike]

Putin is gonna have Bob Costas whacked if he keeps this up.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Posner must have found the fountain of youth when he went back home. He's hardly aged at all from when I last saw him (and it's been a while IIRC), either the vodka or the Dannon yogurt or something agrees with him, we should all look so good at 79 years old.

[kingfc22]

I can't wait for Sunday...CURLING!!!

[sterlingice]

I'm disappointed that the local times for curling are midnight and 5am :(

SI

[MIJB#19]

Yay, yet another way too long opening ceremonies!

[MIJB#19]

Ah... I was surprised by the empty stands, but apparently the seats were reserved for the athletes. :D

Inventive to have the athletes appear from out of the ground.

[MIJB#19]

Germany doing their best to win the ugliest outfits contest, as per usual.

[stevew]

Spoiler alert. The US team is wearing red, white and blue

[Galaxy]

Haha...Sochi Hotel Guests Complain About Topless Portraits of Putin in Rooms at Olympics : The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2014/02/sochi-hotel-guests-complain-about-topless-portraits-of-putin-in-rooms.html)

Topless portraits of Putin in the rooms?

[Chief Rum]

Spoiler alert. The US team is wearing red, white and blue

We already saw those, right? There's a picture of the outfits on the first page here in thread.

[Chief Rum]

Haha...Sochi Hotel Guests Complain About Topless Portraits of Putin in Rooms at Olympics : The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2014/02/sochi-hotel-guests-complain-about-topless-portraits-of-putin-in-rooms.html)

Topless portraits of Putin in the rooms?

I don't believe it. He's a self-avowed nudist. Pants are not optional.

[Alan T]

I love the line in the story attributed to Putin:

For his part, President Putin has been dismissive of the complaints, today calling the hotel guests “babies who cry.”
“These people who are complaining about what is on their walls should be grateful,” he said. “At least they got one of the hotel rooms with walls.”


At least they got one of the hotel rooms with walls..... hah :)

[MIJB#19]

Alright. Torch is flamed, let's get started.

[Galaxy]

Slightly off-topic, but it's interesting that cities/countries are basically pulling back from bidding for the 2022 games:

2022 Winter Olympics bidders are thinking twice - Sports - The Boston Globe (http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/01/28/winter-olympics-bidders-are-thinking-twice/6PVYj668TQXQ8ooNVOOO1H/story.html)

"Stockholm, which had hoped to be the first city to stage both versions, withdrew from the race this month because politicians concluded that a bid would require “too much speculation with taxpayers’ money.” And a recent poll found that a majority of Norwegians oppose a financial guarantee for even the bargain $6 billion undertaking that Oslo, the 1952 host, was contemplating.

Admittedly, the Sochi price — more than seven times what Vancouver spent in 2010 and more than Beijing lavished on its 2008 summer party — has been grossly inflated by runaway infrastructure costs (the railway and road from seaside Adler to the Krasnaya Polyana mountain resort alone is more than Vancouver’s total tally) as well as inefficiency and graft. But even a fraction of that amount seems to be too rich for most bidders.

Munich, which was bypassed for Pyeongchang for 2018, decided last fall against another shot after local voters said nein. If Oslo opts out too, that would leave four less-than-ideal candidates for 2022, with the IOC required to choose one next year.

The Polish city of Krakow would cohost with the Slovakian ski resort of Jasna, 95 miles away. Beijing would share the Games with Zhangjiakou, 100 miles distant. Lviv, the western Ukrainian city, currently is being turned upside-down by protesters. And Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, is in a remote spot near the Kyrgyzstan border."

Outside of Oslo, not exactly "sexy" bids.

[Galaxy]

Looks like a bomb threat and a demand to divert to Sochi by a man on a plane lands in Turkey:

Plane lands in Turkey after bomb threat, Sochi demand, ministry says - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/07/world/europe/turkey-flight-bomb-threat/index.html?hpt=hp_t1)

[DaddyTorgo]

Slightly off-topic, but it's interesting that cities/countries are basically pulling back from bidding for the 2022 games:

2022 Winter Olympics bidders are thinking twice - Sports - The Boston Globe (http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/01/28/winter-olympics-bidders-are-thinking-twice/6PVYj668TQXQ8ooNVOOO1H/story.html)

"Stockholm, which had hoped to be the first city to stage both versions, withdrew from the race this month because politicians concluded that a bid would require “too much speculation with taxpayers’ money.” And a recent poll found that a majority of Norwegians oppose a financial guarantee for even the bargain $6 billion undertaking that Oslo, the 1952 host, was contemplating.

Admittedly, the Sochi price — more than seven times what Vancouver spent in 2010 and more than Beijing lavished on its 2008 summer party — has been grossly inflated by runaway infrastructure costs (the railway and road from seaside Adler to the Krasnaya Polyana mountain resort alone is more than Vancouver’s total tally) as well as inefficiency and graft. But even a fraction of that amount seems to be too rich for most bidders.

Munich, which was bypassed for Pyeongchang for 2018, decided last fall against another shot after local voters said nein. If Oslo opts out too, that would leave four less-than-ideal candidates for 2022, with the IOC required to choose one next year.

The Polish city of Krakow would cohost with the Slovakian ski resort of Jasna, 95 miles away. Beijing would share the Games with Zhangjiakou, 100 miles distant. Lviv, the western Ukrainian city, currently is being turned upside-down by protesters. And Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, is in a remote spot near the Kyrgyzstan border."

Outside of Oslo, not exactly "sexy" bids.

Maybe they ought to institute measures to bring the cost of the games down to a more reasonable level?

Oh wait - I'm talking crazy again. :lol:

[flere-imsaho]

They should give it to Qatar. Just build huge buildings, make snow, and hold the events inside.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Maybe they ought to institute measures to bring the cost of the games down to a more reasonable level?

{scratches head} Short of only giving it to cities/countries that have most everything in place already ...

[Alan T]

They should give it to Qatar. Just build huge buildings, make snow, and hold the events inside.


This made me laugh :)

[Lathum]

I can't stop looking at Bob Costas' eye.

[cartman]

Is it sad that I recognize the Russian national anthem mainly due to watching Red Dawn about 10,000 times in the 80s?

[DaddyTorgo]

{scratches head} Short of only giving it to cities/countries that have most everything in place already ...

Maybe they don't have to build all sorts of new stadiums and infrastructures and such was my point. It would require "scaling them down" in some ways I'm sure, but that's my point.

Then again I recognize I'm being crazy and that's not going to happen.

[Shkspr]

Maybe they ought to institute measures to bring the cost of the games down to a more reasonable level?


The irony is that the smaller and more remote your host, the more you have to spend on infrastructure. You'd almost think that Stockholm could cut their outlay even further and win the bid with the slogan, "We have running water".

[Thomkal]

I can't stop looking at Bob Costas' eye.

yeah me too-at first I thought it was just the angle of the camera through his glasses, but that one eye is definitely drooping

[JonInMiddleGA]

Maybe they don't have to build all sorts of new stadiums and infrastructures and such was my point. It would require "scaling them down" in some ways I'm sure, but that's my point.

A certain amount of infrastructure is sort of required if you're going to host a few thousand extra people (what is it, 2k-3k competitors for the Winter games, 11k for the Summer games). Then add spectators & support personnel.

I mean, you gotta be able to house 'em, feed 'em, bath 'em, and get 'em from point A to point B.

And how many places even have specialized venues for some of the events?

[Galaxy]

Zdeno Chara's "custom" bed:

Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara gets 'custom' bed at Sochi Olympics | FOX Sports on MSN (http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/bruins-d-chara-gets-custom-bed-at-sochi-olympics-020714)

[Galaril]

Having lived overseas for 13 years including Korea I can say if people are ripping the accommodations in this Winter Games wait till they 2018 when they are in Pyeonchang. Shit and Soju literally. LOL.

[JonInMiddleGA]

So earlier tonight I'm talking to my son about Tretiak and he asks me a question that I had to pause & think over:

Who was the greatest non-Canadian (and ultimately non-North American) hockey forward?

I threw out a couple of names, fairly contemporary ones though. Is there a consensus answer to that question?

[DaddyTorgo]

So earlier tonight I'm talking to my son about Tretiak and he asks me a question that I had to pause & think over:

Who was the greatest non-Canadian (and ultimately non-North American) hockey forward?

I threw out a couple of names, fairly contemporary ones though. Is there a consensus answer to that question?

Consensus - no I wouldn't think so.

Jagr is the leading point-getter among European forwards in NHL history. Selanne is like 300 points behind him, and Jari Kurri is like 55 behind him.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Consensus - no I wouldn't think so.

Jagr is the leading point-getter among European forwards in NHL history. Selanne is like 300 points behind him, and Jari Kurri is like 55 behind him.

He mentioned Jagr, I kinda froze & threw out Bure's name. Wasn't sure if there was some equivalent to Tretiak that I was just totally blanking on.

[Lathum]

Mogilny early in his career was amazing.

We were really treated to a golden age with Mogilny, Bure, Jagr, Federov, Selane, etc...

[DaddyTorgo]

Bure at his peak maybe talent-wise, but he's not in the Top 25 in career NHL points.

In fact, those 3 I listed were the only Europeans in the Top 25 Career Points.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thanks Lathum, Fedorov's name was one I tried to come up with & totally went blank on.

I really did basically kinda answer the question with a long "Uhhhhh ...."

[DaddyTorgo]

Top 10 all-time Europeans - The Hockey News (http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/48036-Top-10-alltime-Europeans.html)

[ISiddiqui]

What a fantastic Opening Ceremony!!

[EagleFan]

I would think any of the three from the KLM line could be among the top European forwards.

[SirFozzie]

I know NBC wants to air everything Winter Olympics, but it was a bit bemusing to see them air "The first training session" from the Women's Ski Jumping :/

[SirFozzie]

...and before there was vuvuzelas... there was the Dutch skating fans blowing horns at speed skating (airing on NBCSN now)

[SirFozzie]

Warning, do not go to espn.com for major olympic spoiler:

Sage Kotsenberg wins the first US Gold of the Olympics, winning men's slopestyle

[SirFozzie]

Orange Crush, Netherlands sweeping the podium in Men's 5,000 speed skating.

[Galaxy]

Warning, do not go to espn.com for major olympic
spoiler


It's terrible on how the media is spoiling everything. Turn on a news channel, pr open up your browser and go search, or to the news sites, and they spoil it right for you. MSN is really bad.

[cuervo72]

Just stick to MIJB's updates. You might not even get spoiled as to what events are going on.

[Buccaneer]

MIJB's updates and ISiddiqui's cheerleading and you'll be all set.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It's terrible on how the media is spoiling everything.

Yeah ... God forbid that news outlets covering an event actually provide, you know, news about the event.

[Young Drachma]

People in internet age complaining about internet. News at 11.

[EagleFan]

It wouldn't be hard to link to results with no spoilers so only those who wanted to know the results would find out instead of plastering it on the main page. Sadly common courtesy is no longer a rule to live by.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It wouldn't be hard to link to results with no spoilers so only those who wanted to know the results would find out instead of plastering it on the main page. Sadly common courtesy is no longer a rule to live by.

That's not common courtesy, that's a disservice to those who wanted the info in as quick & easy a fashion as possible. If something is headline worthy (which is questionable I'll admit) then it belongs in the headline, site visitors shouldn't be forced to make an extra click because people are too f'n stupid to anticipate the presence of so-called spoilers.

For ESPN, it's a matter of competition. The more viewership they can kill, the happier they are. It's not their event after all.

For MSNBC, it's a matter of trying encourage casual viewers by reminding them that some obscure event even exists (and to emphasize that "yes, we're part of this too")

[EagleFan]

That's not common courtesy, that's a disservice to those who wanted the info in as quick & easy a fashion as possible. If something is headline worthy (which is questionable I'll admit) then it belongs in the headline, site visitors shouldn't be forced to make an extra click because people are too f'n stupid to anticipate the presence of so-called spoilers.

For ESPN, it's a matter of competition. The more viewership they can kill, the happier they are. It's not their event after all.

For MSNBC, it's a matter of trying encourage casual viewers by reminding them that some obscure event even exists (and to emphasize that "yes, we're part of this too")

Thankfully this wasn't the prevailing line of thought in 1980.

[EagleFan]

What's stupid is for any entity involved in televising the events spoiling the results. I have seen several results on MSN that means I won't be watching those events later, makes no sense watching a sporting event in which you know the outcome.

[kingfc22]

What's stupid is for any entity involved in televising the events spoiling the results. I have seen several results on MSN that means I won't be watching those events later, makes no sense watching a sporting event in which you know the outcome.

+1

[JonInMiddleGA]

What's stupid is for any entity involved in televising the events spoiling the results.

But that isn't the typical viewer. These are largely "spectacle" viewers -- especially in the winter games -- watching for the fact that it's on rather than because it's compelling sports.

We fall into a trap of thinking the world (err ... the rest of the country) thinks like us, reality is that we're far from the norm.

[bhlloy]

I think we've had this discussion before in length about sportscenter showing a 2 minute segment on a game - and then displaying the score on the ticker 15 seconds in, but it IS ridiculous when I want to watch highlights on nbcolympics.com of an event and on the right there are three stories about who got gold, silver and bronze.

If you're going to offer the online streams and replays and use it to drive advertising content, surely you can avoid doing that right? That's an instant switch off, no point in watching any more for me.

EDIT - to add the additional annoyance of the twitter feed, which I don't think I can turn off, that tells me the results even in real time ahead of actually getting to see the run (this was very notable during the slopestyle the last couple of nights)

[ISiddiqui]

MIJB's updates and ISiddiqui's cheerleading and you'll be all set.

Woohoo!! Wait, what?

[ISiddiqui]

That's not common courtesy, that's a disservice to those who wanted the info in as quick & easy a fashion as possible. If something is headline worthy (which is questionable I'll admit) then it belongs in the headline, site visitors shouldn't be forced to make an extra click because people are too f'n stupid to anticipate the presence of so-called spoilers.

For ESPN, it's a matter of competition. The more viewership they can kill, the happier they are. It's not their event after all.

For MSNBC, it's a matter of trying encourage casual viewers by reminding them that some obscure event even exists (and to emphasize that "yes, we're part of this too")

Indeed. It's NBC's fault for tape delaying events. Don't go on sports websites if you don't want to be spoiled - some folks want to see the results and not wait until they are aired before they can find out what is going on.

[Galaxy]

Indeed. It's NBC's fault for tape delaying events. Don't go on sports websites if you don't want to be spoiled - some folks want to see the results and not wait until they are aired before they can find out what is going on.

I agree, NBC sucks with their tape delayed coverage. However, it's plastered all over the MSN homepage and other non-sports sites. I could understand going to ESPN, NBC Sports, ect.

[MIJB#19]

I kid not, today I witness people run for a tv and watch Sven Kramer skate his 5,000 meters. After he finished they knew the gold medal was in the pocket and went on with their normal Saturday afternoon business. The podium sweep was just icing on the cake.

[MIJB#19]

MIJB's updates and ISiddiqui's cheerleading and you'll be all set.Hey, I kept my side to the agreement: comments on live events in spoiler tags. I did miss the failing Olympic ring (which did get aired overhere), fwiw. :D

[JonInMiddleGA]

I agree, NBC sucks with their tape delayed coverage. However, it's plastered all over the MSN homepage and other non-sports sites. I could understand going to ESPN, NBC Sports, ect.

NBC paid $775m for the U.S. broadcast rights for Sochi alone.
NBC production costs in Sochi are described as "at least $100m"

They've managed to sell $900m in advertising.

All those hits to stories on MSN & the other non-sports sites are to give them more tonnage, extra spots to sell to advertisers. They also add into the heavily hyped figures about how "online traffic for the Olympics is higher than ever", which are then used to sell ads for subsequent years (NBC has the contract through 2020)

[Eaglesfan27]

Watching the Olympics from Grenada tonight, it is striking how different the coverage is in other countries.

[Brownkeg8]

Watching the Olympics from Grenada tonight, it is striking how different the coverage is in other countries.

NBC and our cable company have been in a dispute for several months. They did negotiate a deal with CBC to show American athletes performing.

[stevew]

Watching the Olympics from Grenada tonight, it is striking how different the coverage is in other countries.

I wonder how much the Winter Olympics even register for an equatorial nation. Like for starters, what's a winter.

[stevew]

Dola-
(nice humblebrag)

[MIJB#19]

Nice, my prediction for the 3,000 meters was spot on: 1. Wüst, 2. Sablikova, 3. Graf. Another één-twee-drie would have been nice, but wasn't realistic. Great start to the Games for the Netherlands. :cool:

[SirFozzie]

Next time, no dutch speed skaters allowed. Hog all the medals ;)

[Galaxy]

NBC paid $775m for the U.S. broadcast rights for Sochi alone.
NBC production costs in Sochi are described as "at least $100m"

They've managed to sell $900m in advertising.

All those hits to stories on MSN & the other non-sports sites are to give them more tonnage, extra spots to sell to advertisers. They also add into the heavily hyped figures about how "online traffic for the Olympics is higher than ever", which are then used to sell ads for subsequent years (NBC has the contract through 2020)

Oh, I get it's about driving money. Just an annoyance.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The kid wanted to see what was on while we ate lunch so we end up on ski jumping. Announcer says something like "and now for more we go to Randy Moss"

Scared the shit outta me.

As it turned out, this Randy Moss was an old white guy.

[Suicane75]

One of the things I like about the Olympics is that it allows me to imagine I would watch this stuff if there were an organized league. Like, I could imagine watching a season of cross country skiing. I mean, I wouldn't, but I could imagine it.

Also, sexiest Olympics ever.

[sterlingice]

The end of the Skiathalon was awesome

SI

[sterlingice]

My wife and I were talking about this today: I don't have anything against figure skating (or in summer, gymnastics). However, the Olympic presentation just grates on me. Aside from my bi-annual complaint that those two sports take up a disproportional time, the cattiness of announcers is awful and it makes it hard for me to watch them.

We had family in town so I'm going back and forth between the afternoon coverage today and the evening coverage last night in commercials. During the French, who skated pretty well last night, the announcer comes out and says something backhanded about how it was a good skate because normally the guy chokes. Compare that with the guy just calling the Skiathalon. It's an over hour long "boat race" with a sprint to the finish and he spends the air time during the race explaining who some of these people are, what the event are, etc. And then he go all Gus Johnson for the final 5 minutes in the race to the finish. A FIVE MINUTE RACE TO THE FINISH and he's excited as can be about how awesome this is.

SI

[sterlingice]

I can't stop looking at Bob Costas' eye.

I haven't seen online: what is up with his eye? It looks like his glasses magnify his eye and one is off.

SI

[Vince, Pt. II]

My guess is pink eye. His left eye was more than halfway closed and looked irritated on opening night.

[JPhillips]

He's said eye infection, but hasn't specified beyond that.

[Julio Riddols]

Bob Costas will never tell the world how intense his face sitting fetish is, but his pink eye says it all.

[sterlingice]

I'm a sucker for stuff like the biathalon and I love the afternoon coverage because you get some more "offbeat" sports. I think the announcers love saying "Sachenbacher"

SI

[sterlingice]

(still watching last night's stuff) Snowboarders are entertaining interviews

SI

[SirFozzie]

(still watching last night's stuff) Snowboarders are entertaining interviews

SI

Wait till you see the mogul interviews.

[sterlingice]

Scott Hamilton is such a whiny bitch (as is his co-announcer)

(note: finishing up last night's coverage during tonight's commercials)

SI

[sterlingice]

We've only seen a few but the women don't seem to do as tough of elements as the guys. Whereas the guys did a lot of 1080s and a 1440, the women do a lot of 540s and 720s with fewer flips and spins. I wouldn't think being male or female would matter that much but maybe I'm wrong.

SI

[sterlingice]

5-8pm tomorrow: United States vs Norway and their pants in curling. BE THERE!

(dang it: 4pm CT, which is when I'm driving home from work)

SI

[sterlingice]

Whoa. That's gotta be a concussion

SI

[EagleFan]

Whoa. That's gotta be a concussion

SI

Looked like she was out for a bit the way she was rag-dolling after that hit. If that isn't a concussion the NFL needs to talk to the company that makes those helmets.

[EagleFan]

How did she just get the highest score? I am totally missing something because I thought she did well but not 1st place well.

[sterlingice]

How did she just get the highest score? I am totally missing something because I thought she did well but not 1st place well.

Same. I thought the Fin had a fairly pedestrian run while the Czech who had the concussion got robbed on her first run. I would have gone USA - GB - Czech or Swiss

SI

[sterlingice]

She's totally high just like... well, all the male snowboarders

SI

[ISiddiqui]

My wife and I were talking about this today: I don't have anything against figure skating (or in summer, gymnastics). However, the Olympic presentation just grates on me. Aside from my bi-annual complaint that those two sports take up a disproportional time, the cattiness of announcers is awful and it makes it hard for me to watch them.

Well, the disproportional amount of time are there because of ratings. And I think the people who enjoy watching also enjoy the cattiness (I realize this sounds misogynist, but I'm ok with it here ;)). Tons of women don't care about much else aside from the ice skating/dancing events. My girlfriend enjoys watching snowboarding and skiing events, but gets absolutely giddy for any figure skating or ice dancing events.

[kingfc22]

Hopefully Slopestyle gets bumped from prime time coverage next Winter Olympics. Just not that entertained by it compared to the other skiing and snowboarding events

[SirFozzie]

Heh. We nearly had a Janet Jackson moment at the Olympics.. as a russian speedskater, exhausted after a 3,000 meter skate that would end up getting her the bronze medal, was overheating and unzipped her suit down to the belly button to get some air... while she was on the track :P

She quickly realized the faux pas and zipped back up.

[flere-imsaho]

One of the things I like about the Olympics is that it allows me to imagine I would watch this stuff if there were an organized league. Like, I could imagine watching a season of cross country skiing. I mean, I wouldn't, but I could imagine it.

Well, there is a World Cup circuit in which they compete each year....

:D

[sterlingice]

Woke up to some women's curling this morning. USA didn't play so well, tho, and lost their opening match

SI

[NobodyHere]

Heh. We nearly had a Janet Jackson moment at the Olympics.. as a russian speedskater, exhausted after a 3,000 meter skate that would end up getting her the bronze medal, was overheating and unzipped her suit down to the belly button to get some air... while she was on the track :P

She quickly realized the faux pas and zipped back up.

This post is worthless w/o pics

[DaddyTorgo]

Snowboarders reporting that the halfpipe is "garbage" and "unsalvageable."

http://deadspin.com/olympic-halfpipe-is-garbage-snowboarders-report-1519801369

[Suicane75]

Funny, that's how I'd describe most snowboarders!

[sterlingice]

Deadspin is making a living off this week of posting Olympic complaints

SI

[Brownkeg8]

This post is worthless w/o pics

http://img2-2.timeinc.net/people/i/2014/news/140224/olga-graf-600.jpg

[flere-imsaho]

Deadspin is making a living off this week of posting Olympic complaints

SI

Between that and Michael Sam, Deadspin's essentially on auto-pilot today.

[sterlingice]

Dammit! Work has the NBC Olympics site blocked so I'll be waiting until I can see Norway-USA tonight on tv

SI

[sterlingice]

Great drama at the Russia-Denmark curling match

Denmark down 9-7 in the 9th but with the hammer just picked up 3 to take a 10-9 lead on host Russia. But Russia is going to have the hammer in the 10th

SI

[Logan]

http://img2-2.timeinc.net/people/i/2014/news/140224/olga-graf-600.jpg

With what she doesn't have under there, I'm not sure it would qualify for even an FCC warning.

[sterlingice]

If your "job" is to race 2 miles on skates, I suspect your body fat percentage is pretty darn low

SI

[tucker rocky]

I'm a sucker for stuff like the biathalon and I love the afternoon coverage because you get some more "offbeat" sports. I think the announcers love saying "Sachenbacher"

SI

40 Funny Names from the 2014 Winter Olympics
http://www.totalprosports.com/2014/02/07/funny-names-from-the-2014-winter-olympics/

[MIJB#19]

Amazing finish to the 500 meters speed skating. The defective time measuring tools for about half a minute had the wrong winner, leading to some crazy emotional turn of events. This één-twee-drie was unexpected, given the lottery the 500m usually is, despite that these three guys were amongst the top five favorites.

[sterlingice]

Norway has brought their pants.

http://media.fresnobee.com/smedia/2014/02/10/16/47/143-MqQ5K.AuSt.91.jpeg

SI

[Chief Rum]

MY EYES!!!!!

:banghead:

[sterlingice]

Amazing finish to the 500 meters speed skating. The defective time measuring tools for about half a minute had the wrong winner, leading to some crazy emotional turn of events. This één-twee-drie was unexpected, given the lottery the 500m usually is, despite that these three guys were amongst the top five favorites.

Wow- the ending for the 500 was crazy

SI

[sterlingice]

The finals mogul run by Bilodeau was amazing after he was just mediocre in the first two runs. The first jump was good, the middle section was fast and slick, and that final jump was awesome

SI

[Suicane75]

I've developed an irrational annoyance with that Hansen girl. Every time I see her dance I wanna take a dump in her helmet.

[SirFozzie]

Halfpipe Spoiler:

Shaun White doesn't get any medal in the Slopestyle, finishing 4th. Haters having a big old bowl of Schaden-Fruity Pebbles

[Thomkal]

Bob Costas' Eye Infection Forces Host to Be Temporarily Replaced by Matt Lauer | Bleacher Report (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1955944-bob-costas-eye-infection-forces-host-to-be-temporarily-replaced-by-matt-lauer)

[sterlingice]

Ok, the Canadian slopestyle run was tremendous. Doing this on snowboard looks hard. Doing this on skis looks like death on a a pair of sticks.

SI

[sterlingice]

I've complained my bi-annual complaint about gymnastics and ice skating announcing. But to contrast with good announcing- the women's slalom/downhill from last night was really good

SI

[sterlingice]

I'm not in the figure skating demographic, but the Russians knocked that one out of the park

EDIT: I guess that's not too hard to say when they got the highest score ever for short program

SI

[sterlingice]

Kindof a bummer with Shaun White getting 4th. He just didn't have a good set of runs

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

Kindof a bummer with Shaun White getting 4th. He just didn't have a good set of runs

SI

Pretty broad consensus that the halfpipe was shitty quality from what I saw from a lot of posters online who seemed to know what they were talking about (I don't at all, so keep that in mind).

For example

Men's Halfpipe Final Ends In Disaster Of Gnarly Wrecks (http://deadspin.com/mens-halfpipe-final-ends-in-disaster-of-gnarly-wrecks-1520746370?utm_source=recirculation&utm_medium=recirculation&utm_campaign=tuesdayPM)

[SirFozzie]

You may want to watch tonight: Women's Downhill Spoiler

The first ever time that there's a TIE FOR THE GOLD MEDAL, as Switzerland's Dominique Gisin and Slovenia's Tina Maze have the exact same time (down to the hundredth of a second).. so they both win gold!

[stevew]

Shaun White is only 27 years old. That's insane. I barely follow any of this type of stuff and it feels like he's been around forever. Matt Lauer was pressing him about being 31 for the 2018 games and it blew my mind.

[SirFozzie]

USA Women Curling very nearly force an extra end, but Japan makes the shot to win, USA Women 0-4 and dead in the water.

[Fidatelo]

I left for work with Canada down 1-0 after two periods (women's hockey), but see now that Canada has taken a 2-1 lead in the third. Wish I could stream the game here!

[jbergey22]

I left for work with Canada down 1-0 after two periods (women's hockey), but see now that Canada has taken a 2-1 lead in the third. Wish I could stream the game here!

Should be 1-1. Ref blew the whistle on Canada's 2nd goal yet they still counted it.

Not that is much matters as this is just the warmup for the big game in another week.

[sterlingice]

Pretty broad consensus that the halfpipe was shitty quality from what I saw from a lot of posters online who seemed to know what they were talking about (I don't at all, so keep that in mind).

For example

Men's Halfpipe Final Ends In Disaster Of Gnarly Wrecks (http://deadspin.com/mens-halfpipe-final-ends-in-disaster-of-gnarly-wrecks-1520746370?utm_source=recirculation&utm_medium=recirculation&utm_campaign=tuesdayPM)

I'm going back to one of my previous statements about Deadspin making a living this Olympics by crapping on everything venue and Russia related because, I dunno, I think some people still want to relive the cold war :confused:.

From an uneducated observer's perspective, it wasn't perfect down at the bottom of the pipe and during the qualifying runs during the daytime, it was probably too warm. However, at night, it was colder and a lot of the wipeouts in the finals were from guys doing hard tricks without enough speed. And, yes, a really cold pipe would have better speed but that also would have made it even harder to pull of some tricks and easier for others. A lot of those spills were when the snowboarders lost it in the slush down at the bottom but if they had control on their boards or wouldn't have landed partway down the pipe instead of at the top, it wouldn't have been a problem.

Look at the video of the silver medalist Ayumu Hirano- the run is clean as can be. However, his wasn't as hard as the gold medal run and Iouri Podladtchikov's run looked rougher but that's because he was doing harder tricks. I dunno- at an average X-Games, how many guys wipe out trying to do tricks too hard for them? I got the impression that especially in the finals, it was about who performed and who didn't much more than the conditions.

SI

[flere-imsaho]

I have to ask: when did snowboarders become such prissy little children?

[sterlingice]

USA Women Curling very nearly force an extra end, but Japan makes the shot to win, USA Women 0-4 and dead in the water.

I was flipping back and forth between that and Canada-UK on the way to work this morning. The latter was more entertaining and came down to the second to last shot (kindof the final shot but not really).

SI

[sterlingice]

I'm not quoting because spoiler text gets revealed, but it's downhill so damn right I'm watching

80mph down a hill: yes, please :D

SI

[nilodor]

Should be 1-1. Ref blew the whistle on Canada's 2nd goal yet they still counted it.

Not that is much matters as this is just the warmup for the big game in another week.

Hell of an ending to this one.

[Logan]

I'm going back to one of my previous statements about Deadspin making a living this Olympics by shitting on everything venue and Russia related because, I dunno, I think some people still want to relive the cold war :confused:.

From an uneducated observer's perspective, it wasn't perfect down at the bottom of the pipe and during the qualifying runs during the daytime, it was probably too warm. However, at night, it was colder and a lot of the wipeouts in the finals were from guys doing hard tricks without enough speed. And, yes, a really cold pipe would have better speed but that also would have made it even harder to pull of some tricks and easier for others. A lot of those spills were when the snowboarders lost it in the slush down at the bottom but if they had control on their boards or wouldn't have landed partway down the pipe instead of at the top, it wouldn't have been a problem.

Look at the video of the silver medalist Ayumu Hirano- the run is clean as can be. However, his wasn't as hard as the gold medal run and Iouri Podladtchikov's run looked rougher but that's because he was doing harder tricks. I dunno- at an average X-Games, how many guys wipe out trying to do tricks too hard for them? I got the impression that especially in the finals, it was about who performed and who didn't much more than the conditions.

SI

Weren't they feverishly working on "fixing" the halfpipe basically up until it started, or am I sipping on Deadspin kool-aid?

[Thomkal]

USA Women Curling very nearly force an extra end, but Japan makes the shot to win, USA Women 0-4 and dead in the water.


I gave up on the Women's team when they gave up a 7 spot to the Brits yesterday-how do you let that happen in an Olympics?

[sterlingice]

Weren't they feverishly working on "fixing" the halfpipe basically up until it started, or am I sipping on Deadspin kool-aid?

For the daytime session, yes, but I didn't see anything about that for the evening session?

SI

[sterlingice]

I gave up on the Women's team when they gave up a 7 spot to the Brits yesterday-how do you let that happen in an Olympics?

I was on my way to a meeting yesterday and turned on the live stream on my phone just in time to see that 7 and I just turned it right back off. But, hey, Olympic record!

SI

[SirFozzie]

Why giving the winter olympics to Hoth was a bad idea.

http://i.imgur.com/JcwUkLd.gif

[Butter]

I gave up on the Women's team when they gave up a 7 spot to the Brits yesterday-how do you let that happen in an Olympics?

Because they're terrible. Both of our curling teams are bad. Shuster of the men's team at least seemed to redeem himself a bit this morning against Denmark.

[chadritt]

For the daytime session, yes, but I didn't see anything about that for the evening session?

SI

I thought I saw footage of them doing it for the nighttime session as well on NBC. It looked like they were pretty frantically trying to fix things.

[sterlingice]

I really like this downhill announcer. She's good with explaining the technical bits and very positive with the commentary in pointing out in both the good and bad

SI

[sterlingice]

You may want to watch tonight: Women's Downhill Spoiler

The first ever time that there's a TIE FOR THE GOLD MEDAL, as Switzerland's Dominique Gisin and Slovenia's Tina Maze have the exact same time (down to the hundredth of a second).. so they both win gold!

That was awesome! I really felt for the 9 knee surgery girl as she was down by 0.4 and then Gisin hit some snow near the bottom and the tie is amazing.

SI

[stevew]

After hearing about how much the olympics cost to run, and how much money they lose, my 15 year old determined that the country that did the worst overall should be forced to host the next set of games.

[sterlingice]

After hearing about how much the olympics cost to run, and how much money they lose, my 15 year old determined that the country that did the worst overall should be forced to host the next set of games.

:D

SI

[sterlingice]

I think the main Russian figure skaters look like Jaws and Dolly from Moonraker (ok, not quite)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/JawsandDolly.jpg

SI

[SirFozzie]

Oooh, the team luge is today.. (you have to sit up and hit a pad just after the finish line to allow the next slider on your team to go.. miss it and your team's fucked.. hard to do when you're going 80KM/h)

[jbergey22]

Because they're terrible. Both of our curling teams are bad. Shuster of the men's team at least seemed to redeem himself a bit this morning against Denmark.

Agree. I think what makes it even worse is that they seem so unprepared in comparison to the other teams. Even the sweepers seem lazy.

These elite teams have skips that just punish the American skips.

[Logan]

Hockey. Finally.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Hockey. Finally.

Best part of the US game being early...my 7 year old got up at 7a. I told him send me messages from his iPod giving me score updates, eventhough an AM station is broadcasting here.

I have random messages that read:

00

10 us

11

[mauchow]

Hockey. Finally.

Kicking ass

[EagleFan]

Kicking ass

Oh no! The butt kickers are comin'

:)

[SirFozzie]

USA do something that's only been done twice before in US Winter Olympic History..

They sweep the podium in Skiing Slopestyle! (other times it's been done: 1956 men's figure skating and 2002 men's halfpipe snowboarding)

[sterlingice]

US women in danger of winning their first match, up 7-4 in the 9th end but about to give up 2. Still, up 7-6 with the hammer going into 10

SI

[SirFozzie]

Men's figure skating drama. NBC's going to love this shit

the crowd favorite Russian Plushenko withdraws from the event in warmups due to back injury, the US medal hope Jeremy Abbot falls, crashes into the boards and doesn't get up for 15 seconds... but finally gets up and finishes his routine to the approval of the crowd, and is high enough in the standings (currently in the lead with half the field to go) to possibly still medal

[BishopMVP]

Team Canada hockey panic level is now up to Orange. More offsides than shots on goal, multiple offsides and an icing on their own power play, Mike Babcock waiting all of 12 minutes before he started shuffling lines!

(Btw, didn't realize you can dress 20 skaters at the Olympics. That seems like one of those CFL rules that's unnecessarily different.)

[Suburban Rhythm]

Team Canada hockey panic level is now up to Orange. More offsides than shots on goal, multiple offsides and an icing on their own power play, Mike Babcock waiting all of 12 minutes before he started shuffling lines!

(Btw, didn't realize you can dress 20 skaters at the Olympics. That seems like one of those CFL rules that's unnecessarily different.)

Need more Subban!

[Suicane75]

Johnny Weir needs to stop eye fucking Tara Lipinski, it's getting creepy.

[BishopMVP]

Need more Subban!Oooh, now we have D/goalie miscommunication leading to a Norway goal!

Dammit, Doughty with a great little play to make it 3-1, and it'll still probably end up 6-1 or something. Which actually could make all the panicking articles sure to come out even funnier.

[MIJB#19]

Team Canada hockey panic level is now up to Orange.On skates and orange? Sounds like a recipe to success. :cool:

[Johnny93g]

Team Canada hockey panic level is now up to Orange. More offsides than shots on goal, multiple offsides and an icing on their own power play, Mike Babcock waiting all of 12 minutes before he started shuffling lines!

(Btw, didn't realize you can dress 20 skaters at the Olympics. That seems like one of those CFL rules that's unnecessarily different.)

No, no it's not

[Vince, Pt. II]

On skates and orange? Sounds like a recipe to success. :cool:

:)

[cuervo72]

Please inform the Flyers of this, k thx.

[sterlingice]

Rough luck for Plushenko. He's one of the few I actually was hoping to see skate. And I'm guessing there will be a bunch of figure skaters I don't care much about and won't get to see the bobsled before heading to sleep.

SI

[stevew]

Really pulling for US-1 in women's bobsled. The driver is the neice of one of my wife's friend. Looks like the us driving/pushing is all weird though. Hopefully they get it figured out.

[sterlingice]

Norway's curlers want to know where the Spanish figure skater got his pants

SI

[SirFozzie]

40 minute cross country skiing race comes down to one tenth of a second between a bronze medal and the no-medal.

Holy shit

[Logan]

Sochi Olympics: Under Armour Suits May Be a Factor in U.S. Speedskating's Struggles - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304703804579381002780722432)

[SirFozzie]

Great Britain women put up 12 again versus Japan, tying their own Olympic Record.

What worse, scoring seven with the hammer (vs US) or stealing five (vs Japan)

[Butter]

Scoring 7. No reputable team should allow another team to fucking lie 6 before the hammer. That just requires all kinds of ineptitude.

[MikeVic]

I wish I could watch more of the Olympics. The raw emotion from these athletes is nuts and what I think a lot of us like about sports. I think it's really evident in certain interviews where they just can't hold back their tears. There was one with some Canadian women's athlete (wish I could remember her name or even what sport) that I saw last night, and she was talking while obviously just finishing crying. It had that like gasp-talking and she kept wiping away tears, the interview had a kind of funny part too and it had me glued to my screen. She was trying to explain why she's crying and just quickly said something like 'oh i'm always crying.' Made me chuckle a bit. :)

Anyone else see this? I just love seeing raw emotion that shows they actually care about this more than just for money. One of the more recent examples I could think of in pro sports was when Garnett won the NBA title and did his 'anything is possibuuuuuuuuul' with Bill Russell there. Loved it.

[Neon_Chaos]

Woowoo. The lone filipino in the winter olympics is in the top 24.

[JPhillips]

I'll probably jinx things, but the Kazakhstan skater still having a shot for a medal is pretty incredible.

[DaddyTorgo]

I haven't been able to get into this iteration of the Olympics like...at all.

Which is weird, because usually I love it and I love watching the crazy winter sports, probably even more than the summer ones. Just...it hasn't grabbed me and said "HEY FOOL...WATCH ME!" and I don't know why.

[jbergey22]

I haven't been able to get into this iteration of the Olympics like...at all.

Which is weird, because usually I love it and I love watching the crazy winter sports, probably even more than the summer ones. Just...it hasn't grabbed me and said "HEY FOOL...WATCH ME!" and I don't know why.

For me personally it has to do with knowing the action isnt live when I watch. I havent felt the American star power as much this olympics either.

Vancouver and St Lake City were easy to get into. When live action is from Midnight until around noon our time. Its tricky.

I am looking forward to USA/Russia/Canada in hockey however.

[BishopMVP]

For me personally it has to do with knowing the action isnt live when I watch. I havent felt the American star power as much this olympics either.

Vancouver and St Lake City were easy to get into. When live action is from Midnight until around noon our time. Its tricky.Yeah, but even beyond this they do a terrible job of putting the events into context and presenting them. The couple times I've watched NBC's prime-time coverage they'll go to an event where X number of people have already gone, not mention how many have gone, who's left, or how the competition is scored (best run, combined times, etc), then show a few runs (the Americans, plus a seemingly arbitrarily selection of others) before putting up the standings which'll have a person or two they didn't even bother to show in the top 5.

Last night cracked me up because they spent a few minutes watching the warm-up before the men's skating, cut to the locker room for a "weird moment" with Plushenko showing his back scar, do their 10-minute feature on him, spend a few more minutes watching him struggle during warm-ups, cut to commercial, then come back discuss him for a few more more minutes before watching him say he can't skate. I know I'm not the target audience, but I just always get the feeling the announcers and producers know the results and are tailoring their narrative instead of just commenting on what's in front of them. It's possible to tape-delay something but still retain the feeling that it's live - these olympics feel more like I'm watching WWE Smackdown.

[sterlingice]

The skeleton was awesome drama. It's so unfortunate as there were 4 really close competitors (really, 5) for 3 medal stands. The emotion was so genuine and great (but also hard to watch- you just wanted them to pull the mic away from 4th place)

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

you just wanted them to pull the mic away from 4th place)

That was brutal even with the sound off. Felt very gratuitous. As my wife noted "it's NBC, of course they're going to milk it".

[sterlingice]

It went on at least 2 questions too long. How many different ways can you ask "so, how devastating was this? was it the 0.04 seconds- you know, like one single mistake? or that it was because you were doing this for your dead father?" It was just hard to watch

SI

[sterlingice]

I much more enjoyed the emotion from the silver medalist. And I would have loved if they had talked to the bronze medalist. I have to think the home town emotion is great

SI

[MIJB#19]

Sochi Olympics: Under Armour Suits May Be a Factor in U.S. Speedskating's Struggles - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304703804579381002780722432)Reportedly team USA is reverting to the pre-Olympics suits.

[mauchow]

US looking much better to start the second period vs Russia until Russia got a power play and started hitting the US players with the puck and knocking them out of the game. :)

Hopefully the US can bounce back here. I thought Russia controlled most of the 1st period and so far US has been doing better in the second period(up until two minutes ago).

[mauchow]

jinx........

[Ryan S]

If Russia loses the refs may need an armed guard to get out of the arena. It's a shame the refs can't explain why they disallowed the goal. Was it because of the net or a high stick?