2020(1) Tokyo Olympics
 

As the Olympics approach, I figured I would start a thread. The big controversy going in right now is that Sha’Carri Richardson is not going to be allowed to run for the 100 meters because she failed a drug test due to cannabis. It is a little ridiculous they still ban pot, but on the flip the allowable amount suggests she would have literally had to have smoked pot the day of the race to fail the test. That's pretty dumb.

Extremely dumb, knowing if you win you are automatically tested.

Agree on both points, stupid it is still banned, but she made a choice knowing she would be tested and you can't assume you didn't smoke enough to exceed the threshold, which is pretty high.

Sad, she was set to become a national sweetheart, and she still put herself in that position.

Interestingly, part of the problem here is the US selection criteria. Richardson's suspension will expire before the Olympics. The reason she can't compete in the 100m is that the positive test will mean she gets DQ'd for her trials performance. In the US, the only way to make the team is to make top 3 at the trials.

Most other countries have a mixed selection process, where they keep a spot open for someone who may be injured or just has an off day during the trials. 4 years ago, Usain Bolt was injured during the Jamaican trials and unable to compete. Under the US system, he would've missed the Olympics, but Jamaica was able to select him and thus send their best team. If the US had the same system, they could still select Shacarri for one of the three spots and send a much better team than they will now.

She's made a good case for being geologically dumb.

I feel sorry for Japan.

What would've have been a great celebration and boost for the entire country is now "let's get it over with and put us out of our misery".

Several people have tested positive for Covid in the Olympic village already. The biggest US name stratch so far is CoCo Gauff on the tennis team. One of the Women's Gymnastic team has also tested positive, but she has not been identified other than she is an alternate. It had to be devastating to put so much into preparing for the Olympics only to get sick right before it starts.

I keep reading this thread title and thinking someone downloaded the 2020 file twice.

Man these positive tests already suck and with an event of this magnitude, sadly it is only going to get worse. I feel for both Japan and all the athletes and I was really looking forward to these Olympics too.

I hope once the competition starts, I will really get into the Olympics. Right now I have no interest at all.

Its a shit show already and Toyota has pulled advertising from the games.

On another note, I watched the 5000m womens race today. A girl I saw run several times in HS was leading the pack until about 5 laps left. It was fun to see. She ended up out of the top 10, so I imagine she was the rabbit. till really cool.

Just talked to my oldest daughter about seeing Werner on TV. I asked if she remembered her and she was like "oof, I hated that girl." just because she was so dominant. And she didnt finish in the top 10. Makes me think of the latest trend going on about dudes who think they have friends in their rec leagues that coul play in the NBA.

Already saw floated the "cancel the whole thing" as a live idea on the four-letter network. Suggests to me it's a live idea.

Hope not.

I didn't realize HGTV was so concerned with the Olympics. TIL.

Sounds like, "We're not Not cancelling the games."

Games have already started, so if they haven't done it by now it would be real stupid to allow these preliminary softball and soccer matches to go on just to cancel the competition.

Italy / USA softball on NBCSN right now. Zero hits for either team through 3 innings

US Women's soccer team just got stomped by Sweden 3-0.

This was the first result that reminded me to turn my notifications off on my phone lest I get a barrage of spoilers over the next couple of weeks for already completed events from the middle of the night

USA softball won thanks to the old-timers in the circle. Not going to beat Japan by scoring 2 runs against Italy. The softball team make-up is interesting - lots of older players who the coach believes deserve one more chance to compete in the Olympics because it's not been an Olympic sport since 2008. In reality, especially among hitters, many great young hitters were left off the squad.

I didn't even realize softball/baseball were back in the Olympics.

Looks to be temporary, at least for now. Neither will be in the 2024 Olympics.

If Twitter is to be believed, it's because they kneel and hate America.

I kinda feel like it's the same with the women's soccer team as well. Like they deserve another shot instead of just playing up and comers.

It's based solely on the fact that Japan loves baseball and softball. There's a legit pro softball league in Japan that many Americans play in.

It got shut down after Beijing Games for political reasons. We are too good, basically. Barring a stunning collapse, US and Japan will be 1-2, it's just a matter of which one beats the other for the gold.

Do we have an etiquette for these things any more?

There was a time where Olympic spoiler were a huge deal on FOFC.

Japan was allowed to pick a couple of sports as gimmicks additions and they chose one that's popular over there. In a non-COVID-19 universe, this could have been an attendance hit (which it probably wouldn't be in Paris).

The USA has won 1 gold medal in baseball. Japan's best effort has been a silver. There's no track record to support that "too good" statement. The MLB not wanting to have their own sport be part of the Olympics is what got baseball voted out, which was quite unique, there must have been a lot of bad blood. It's silly enough to see what the (male) soccer world was and still is doing with sending third tier players, baseball was even worse. The way the Olympics are evolving into being a stage for the best of the best to compete in (read: including professionals), these 'medal events' just don't belong in this megaevent. Main difference with soccer: the soccer world doesn't need the Olympics to promote itself, it has its own mega event. But baseball isn't a global sport at all. To promote itself, it could embrace the biggest stage they can get on. I've probably said this before here (like 5 years ago, or 9, or 13): learn from the NBA.

Softball is a very different story, I bet it's too niche. Here, your USA/Japan domination statement certainly holds up. But in Tokyo'20/21, it's a 50% chance to win at least a bronze medal as only 6 teams are participating. It used to be 8 teams, which was quite small already.

Yeah, I'm talking mainly about softball. I don't really care about international baseball. Since US pro softball leagues suck, college is the peak for the sport here so international play is a big deal. Especially since so many recognizable US college stars play on rosters all over the world. The Italian reliever in the US game who got out of the bases loaded jam will be a freshmen at UK this coming year. Australia's best pitcher Gabby Plain is a dominant pitcher for Washington. Mexico's team is basically a college all-star team from like 2014 to present.

There's certainly more at play on the baseball side in terms of shutting down the pro leagues to play in the Olympics. It's not important enough. Theoretically they could do softball and another men's sport if they really wanted to have softball in the games, which it should be. I don't know that there's any reason baseball and softball have to be tied together.

I'm cool with them here, as I choose to click on it. But it's just ESPN pushing notifications to me about random shit I want to avoid

Not the Olympics but somewhat related.

I guess rules are rules but this seems to be a rule that needs changing. Wonder what the Olympics handball uniform rules are.

Norway Women's Beach Handball Team Fined For Not Wearing Bikini Bottoms : NPR

Wow. I don't even know what beach handball is (I assume ping pong without paddles on a volleyball court?), but they might as well just do a swimsuit photo shoot with the women pretending to hit an invisible ball back and forth. To promote the sport, of course.

I can't wait to see how they explain this. Women's bottoms can't cover more than 10cm on any side. Meanwhile, the guys wear...

For anyone curious, this is a group shot of both beach handball teams from Norway. pic.twitter.com/sJdnlsojzB

— Ina Aletheia (@inaaletheia) July 18, 2021

LOL. That picture is pretty funny. The double standards are crazy. Same for Volleyball. I think the argument for girls/women wearing spandex is to avoid the net, but the men wear shorts that are not tight.

There was also the female para-Olympian that was punished for wearing shorts considered too revealing.

The IOC should kick baseball and male soccer out and just leave the female variants of both. Sure, possibly less spectacular to watch, but at least the best in the world will try to show up in those two events.

This seems the right spot to mention that the Tokyo 2021 Olympics Game is fee to play this weekend on Steam. Not sure what sports are on it, or if any of it is any good, but maybe it will help you get in the Olympic spirit. :)

Does it also include random COVID-19 infections that immediately eliminate you from the entire event?

Only if you don't wear a mask

Can I play it while wearing a bikini bottom?

Only if you are gay :)

I think you mean only if they're patriotic undies.

Watched the replay of the opening ceremonies. Pretty underwhelming without a large, large crowd and the noise.

They are still calling it the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, better IMO to call it 2021 so it'll always be remembered as "that" Olympics in 50 years.

Not that it's any better, but I think an official just made a comment on her attire, she wasn't punished for it.

The double-standard is gross and needs to go away.

Amen. As long as the outfit doesn't convey an unfair athletic advantage, an competitor should wear what they compete best in. Or, if the women have to wear it then men do as well.

The 3 on 3 basketball looked I watched this morning was far more intense than I expected it to be.

This Russian gymnast competing after tearing his Achilles IN APRIL is freaking nuts.

I didn't know whether they were introducing the US men's gymnastic team or the TMNT.