2016 Summer Olympics

[larrymcg421]

U.S. swimmers damaged gas station, quarrelled with guards: source

[Breeze]

Lochte issue solved?

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/nationa...obbery-/nsHk7/

[JPhillips]

Lochte is 31. He's way too old for bullshit like this. He's very likely to implode now that he doesn't have the forced discipline of swimming competition.

[Breeze]

All the Lochte stuff aside. Apparently 2 Aussies were robbed...

Aussies Emma McKeon, Josh Palmer Robbed While Out Past Curfew In Rio

[Breeze]

A Brit was also robbed at Gunpoint..

British Olympic Athlete Robbed At Gunpoint In Rio On Tuesday

[Logan]

A Brazilian website has a lot of video of them at the gas station. It crashed on me halfway through, nothing particularly noteworthy seemed to happen so far...but I just love that in these black and white scenes you can see Lochte's stupid hair identifying him.

[Logan]

Brazil, not Olympics related, but this is an awful story:

UK sports TV anchor Charlie Webster on life support in Brazil after contracting malaria

[SirFozzie]

Honest question:

Does the fact that the USA has more medals then anyone else by far (USA 94, Britain and China 55) make the Games less compelling to watch, as it turns into a running "America, Fuck yeah" thing?

I've seen a couple of things about it, and a weird thing, I'm tending to pay attention more to events like handball, fencing etcetera where we're not automatically guaranteed a medal. I am probably different because I already watch non-American sports like rugby, cricket, etcetera (was going to put soccer/football there, but it's still growing.

[digamma]

No.

[JPhillips]

How many days until Lochte endorses Trump?

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Breeze

No they didn't...they reported it to the media...the police picked up the story.

It´s the Olympics, the police is under insane pressure to go after everything. Even if they never talked to the police (and no one associated with them), which however they did : Those guys giving an (apparently bogus) story to the international media to me is not any less of a waste of police time than filing an official report. Heck, it´s more of a waste of their time. Just imagine the outcry if the police would NOT have acted on the media reports ...

You make it sound like the police is at fault for believing stupid 3rd-hand gossip in a tiny tabloid.

Those guys tried to cover up their own fuckup by making use on the major problems existing in Brazil (that civilians and police have to navigate every damn day) as a cover up. That is extremely despicable behavior in my book.

decent looking rundown from the BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37115680

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Honest question:

Does the fact that the USA has more medals then anyone else by far (USA 94, Britain and China 55) make the Games less compelling to watch, as it turns into a running "America, Fuck yeah" thing?

I've seen a couple of things about it, and a weird thing, I'm tending to pay attention more to events like handball, fencing etcetera where we're not automatically guaranteed a medal. I am probably different because I already watch non-American sports like rugby, cricket, etcetera (was going to put soccer/football there, but it's still growing.

It has for me.
I almost feel, not sure the right word, almost "guilty" that we are just running up the score.

Makes me wish the Russians were there.

I also wish more non mainstream sports were televised.

[albionmoonlight]

I agree that things like "Walsh-Jennings is going for another gold medal" and "Phelps is extending his record total of gold medals" are less compelling than watching young athletes in more competitive contests.

Not sure what to do about it. To use the above examples. They are still the best in the world. There's no reason that they should not compete at the highest level just because I would prefer to watch younger athletes try for their first medal instead of older athletes try to pad their career record stats.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Makes me wish the Russians were there.

I like this idea.

(1) Take some Ivan Drago looking motherfuckers. (2) Tell them that we won't drug test them. (3) And see if we can still beat their ass.

THAT's the Olympics I remember as a kid.

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by whomario

It´s the Olympics, the police is under insane pressure to go after everything. Even if they never talked to the police (and no one associated with them) : Those guys giving an (apparently bogus) story to the international media to me is not any less of a waste of police time than filing an official report. Heck, it´s more of a waste of their time. Just imagine the outcry if the police would NOT have acted on the media reports ...

You make it sound like the police is at fault for believing stupid 3rd-hand gossip in a tiny tabloid.

Those guys tried to cover up their own fuckup by making use on the major problems existing in Brazil (that civilians and police have to navigate every damn day) as a cover up. That is extremely despicable behavior in my book.

It wasn't my intent to make it sound like it was the police's fault for believing the media story...I was approaching it from a legal perspective. If no report was filed you can't charge someone for filing a false report. I don't know how making a false statement fits into this.

I have no sympathy for the swimmers, most of all Lochte. Especially based on the new findings at the gas station.

[Edward64]

Ugh. I don't want it to be true but if so, another example of the Ugly American.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I agree that things like "Walsh-Jennings is going for another gold medal" and "Phelps is extending his record total of gold medals" are less compelling than watching young athletes in more competitive contests.

I think both angles are compelling and that's why I love the Olympics. I enjoy watching the dominant athletes like Bolt, Phelps, Ledecky and the underdogs or surprises.

Ledecky's 800 this year was amazing, but also amazing was her 800 from 4 years ago when no one thought she had a chance and it's awesome listening to the announcers doubt her until it was clear no one would catch her.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Honest question:

Does the fact that the USA has more medals then anyone else by far (USA 94, Britain and China 55) make the Games less compelling to watch, as it turns into a running "America, Fuck yeah" thing?

Not for me. But I think I've cared enough to watch maybe 15 mins total regardless, so it'd be kinda hard for me to get less interested.

Once I got to the point where the U.S. athletes weren't particularly more likable than anybody else's the whole nationalism angle kinda went out the window. And absent the "hell yeah, 'murica" aspect of the Olympics, there's really not much there for me to care about {shrug}. It's largely stuff I don't care one whit about 200+ weeks of a four year cycle, why would I suddenly start caring for two weeks?

[molson]

Originally Posted by Breeze

It wasn't my intent to make it sound like it was the police's fault for believing the media story...I was approaching it from a legal perspective. If no report was filed you can't charge someone for filing a false report. I don't know how making a false statement fits into this.

It looks like they did end up giving statements to local police after the USOC got involved. Even if the USOC initiated the contact, that might not matter under local law. And even aside from that, who knows, maybe its a crime in Brazil just to publicly lie about the commission of crime.

And of course at this point, it appears they made up the story of the robbery to cover up other crimes committed at the gas station, so there's all kinds of legit reasons for the authorities to pursue this.

[thesloppy]

I think something that contributes to the deflated-nationalism feel of this Olympics is that the announcing is sneaky fucking terrible. Every single announcer pretty much just repeats cliche after cliche, the same appeals to your emotions with cardboard snippets of public interest bullshit at the prescribed moments....everybody sounds like they're doing customer service, reading off a laminated script, and there's no real emotion to any of it. The bigger & more popular the event, the worse it is. Making it all the worse is that the great majority of athletes or experts doing the color commentary are just as boring and rote, but they are also plagued by the usual malapropisms and questionable grammar/speaking skills, so that it all sounds like shitty pre-season football commentary.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Honest question:

Does the fact that the USA has more medals then anyone else by far (USA 94, Britain and China 55) make the Games less compelling to watch, as it turns into a running "America, Fuck yeah" thing?

I've seen a couple of things about it, and a weird thing, I'm tending to pay attention more to events like handball, fencing etcetera where we're not automatically guaranteed a medal. I am probably different because I already watch non-American sports like rugby, cricket, etcetera (was going to put soccer/football there, but it's still growing.

No difference for me either. I have zero interest in watching any of our men's basketball games and them adding another medal. But I made sure to watch Bolt run.

Beyond that, these events to me are just a little something different to have on in the background during an otherwise dead part in the sports calendar.

[Logan]

I have been surprised at how far out ahead we are though. I didn't remember it being to this extent in recent summer Olympics, and sure enough Russia/China were much closer last time around and China was right behind us (and ahead in golds) during Beijing.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Honest question:

Does the fact that the USA has more medals then anyone else by far (USA 94, Britain and China 55) make the Games less compelling to watch, as it turns into a running "America, Fuck yeah" thing?

I've seen a couple of things about it, and a weird thing, I'm tending to pay attention more to events like handball, fencing etcetera where we're not automatically guaranteed a medal. I am probably different because I already watch non-American sports like rugby, cricket, etcetera (was going to put soccer/football there, but it's still growing.

If it makes you feel any better, work out how many medals per capita of population, and then you can feel safe in the knowledge that you are actually underachieving

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by Logan

I have been surprised at how far out ahead we are though. I didn't remember it being to this extent in recent summer Olympics, and sure enough Russia/China were much closer last time around and China was right behind us (and ahead in golds) during Beijing.

That triggered a thought. I wonder how many additional medals we've earned because Russia's T&F isn't present.

Their absence was going to skew the medal distribution a bunch, wonder if we've been a big recipient of the redistribution.

I'll have to see if I can find just the T&F medal results from London.

[Critch]

If you go Medals per head of population, Britain is totally destroying the US.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Logan

I have been surprised at how far out ahead we are though. I didn't remember it being to this extent in recent summer Olympics, and sure enough Russia/China were much closer last time around and China was right behind us (and ahead in golds) during Beijing.

Huh? China was far ahead at Beijing. Or are you looking at the bronze is just as good as gold tables?

[whomario]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Huh? China was far ahead at Beijing. Or are you looking at the bronze is just as good as gold tables?

While i certainly see the difference between a Gold and a Bronze, i kinda feel weirded out that the medal table is so often sorted just by Golds. I mean, is 1 gold and nothing else really better than 0 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze ?

I wish there was a generally accepted weighted system to sort things by. 3-2-1 (3 points per gold, 1 per bronze) was done in yeh olden times as well as 5-3-1. Maybe do a 5-3-2 system to split the difference would be my choice.

[whomario]

NY Times education blog did a pretty damn cool graphic-filled analysis of historical trends based on the 3-2-1 method just a few days ago btw, breaking it down into individual sports as well:

Log In - The New York Times

Edit: Picture useless when copying onto, crucial info gets cut off.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Huh? China was far ahead at Beijing. Or are you looking at the bronze is just as good as gold tables?

I was using the same numbers that were originally used to frame the question. I also added that China was ahead in golds.

[Arles]

What's killing my interest is ESPN/FOX/etc putting the winners up the second it happens on the ticker. I was watching the Cards-Cubs game and was going to turn over to NBC to see the oympics after - but the ESPN ticker ruined the Bolt race and two other events for me. I've had to pretty much disable every alert on my phone already, but unless I avoid Facebook/Twitter/ESPN/FOX all day - I know the results before they happen.

The one day I really enjoyed was last Saturday when the Men's 4X100 swimming relay ran. I didn't check online all day doing other things around the house - nor did I go to ESPN. So, it was nice to have a small amount of drama as I watched the US win. Today's instant media coverage around the clock combined with the prime time tape delay has killed a lot of my interest.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by Arles

What's killing my interest is ESPN/FOX/etc putting the winners up the second it happens on the ticker. I was watching the Cards-Cubs game and was going to turn over to NBC to see the oympics after - but the ESPN ticker ruined the Bolt race and two other events for me. I've had to pretty much disable every alert on my phone already, but unless I avoid Facebook/Twitter/ESPN/FOX all day - I know the results before they happen.

This, this, this. I've ruined the big results a million ways but by far the most common is seeing the result on a ticker, typically ESPN or CNN. I've also seen people splashing it all over social media, absent mindedly surfed to websites where it's been the top story and my personal favorite was going to NBC olympics to try and look up a schedule and finding the mens 100m result taking up the entire screen.

Yes there's a decent dose of personal stupidity and absent mindedness, but I also think it goes to illustrate that tape delay in the modern world just isn't a viable way to show large sporting events. If I'm not watching primetime because most of the events were ruined already, I'm sure lots of other people aren't as well.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Despite the declining ratings for traditional broadcast (down 25% vs 2012 give or take), NBC is looking at the most profitable Games for any network to date.
And that's even with having to do "makegoods" (free commercials to make up for underdelivery vs promise) ... which they had enough leftover inventory to do (and were probably expecting all along frankly)

NBC's Olympic ratings drop while online viewership surges: 'There is a cultural shift' - LA Times

Meanwhile, the ticker things, well of COURSE the other networks are doing that. If they can discourage viewing of their competition, they're going to do so.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Despite the declining ratings for traditional broadcast (down 25% vs 2012 give or take), NBC is looking at the most profitable Games for any network to date.
And that's even with having to do "makegoods" (free commercials to make up for underdelivery vs promise) ... which they had enough leftover inventory to do (and were probably expecting all along frankly)

NBC's Olympic ratings drop while online viewership surges: 'There is a cultural shift' - LA Times

Meanwhile, the ticker things, well of COURSE the other networks are doing that. If they can discourage viewing of their competition, they're going to do so.

I know it´s a tiny point to harp on and probably no real place in this thread, but ...

But Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College, believes that technology is not the sole reason younger viewers are watching less Olympics coverage on TV. “There is a cultural shift,” he said. “Young people today don’t watch as much television. When they do watch sports on television it’s because they are in a fantasy league.”

1) While i realize that "professor of economics" is pretty much the go-to expert on anything nowadays, it weird me out that you have him commenting on (and naming it as such) a cultural issue.

2) Use of Technology is a cultural thing

3) Either he had no idea what the article says of he is confusing "on the TV" with "watching Television (content)"

4) "When they do watch sports on television it´s because it´s exclusively available there" more like it.

5) This a question: Do people really sit down in front of the TV due to playing in a fantasy league ? I would bet personally that nothing is better for online streaming than fantasy league (take league pass for the NBA: You can check on all your players rather than spending 3 hours for the 1 player on one of the two teams currently playing)

6) Great name. Not quite Billie Gold level, but great

7) I have no idea why the paragraph on Zika, the Blue Hair Group and the green pool is in there.

[Arles]

I just don't think there's a lot of interest in tape delay sports for the younger crowd. They have an iphone, ipad, laptop and another streaming device. They've been told what's happened on twitter and facebook all day. I would be willing the bet the demo watching the tape delay shows is resoundingly over 40.

[Butter]

I've done almost all of my viewing on the NBC Sports app via the Roku.

They have an international English feed for the track stadium that starts with the first event and cuts back and forth with almost no commercials. Also individual feeds for the field events themselves if you're so inclined.

Starting out with the decathlon javelin throw right now. WAYYYY better the NBC network coverage which gives almost no coverage to the field events but fills the space between track races with interviews and commercials.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I like this idea.

(1) Take some Ivan Drago looking motherfuckers. (2) Tell them that we won't drug test them. (3) And see if we can still beat their ass.

THAT's the Olympics I remember as a kid.

And that was the Women

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Honest question:

Does the fact that the USA has more medals then anyone else by far (USA 94, Britain and China 55) make the Games less compelling to watch, as it turns into a running "America, Fuck yeah" thing?

I've seen a couple of things about it, and a weird thing, I'm tending to pay attention more to events like handball, fencing etcetera where we're not automatically guaranteed a medal. I am probably different because I already watch non-American sports like rugby, cricket, etcetera (was going to put soccer/football there, but it's still growing.

For me, not really. This is by far the least amount of actual Olympics I've watched since I can remember, but that has nothing to do with US dominance. I just find our broadcast to be horrible. I get happy when anyone does well and wins a medal, I don't really care if they're from the US, Australia, etc.

Basketball and Bolt are the only two events I've gone out of my way to watch, otherwise it's just random events when I'm killing time.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Starting out with the decathlon javelin throw right now. WAYYYY better the NBC network coverage which gives almost no coverage to the field events but fills the space between track races with interviews and commercials.

I love the decathlon ! To me it (and the womens heptathlon) come closest to the "amateur" idea of the whole thing. Not only do very, very few of those guys make any money* they are also quite naturally not world class in any 1 event with rare exceptions. But all work as hard or likely harder as any other T&F Athletes because of the insane range of the disciplines they have to combine.

* (even less so than the specialists, not least because there are almost no competitions outside the big championships and they couldn´t participate in more events in any case due to the toll it takes on their body)

[MrBug708]

White Male Privilege Is Why We Laugh At Lochte And Vilify Douglas

Is this really a story? Or is this just finding people who tweeted to make a point that doesn't need to be made?

[jbergey22]

There is more to this story. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Perhaps the Americans were so drunk they have a vague memory of the situation but there were people impersonating police(security guards), gun/s pointed, and money exchanging hands. Rio has more reason to deflect blame on the American swimmers than the swimmers have reason to make up this story.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Rio has more reason to deflect blame on the American swimmers than the swimmers have reason to make up this story.

I might be inclined to say that both sides probably have plenty of reason to make up stuff on this one.

The one thing that bothered me from the get-go with the Lochte & Co story was how strikingly similar at least the media accounts of it sounded to the incident that happened right around (just before?) the start of the games. Struck me like a carbon copy at the outset & that elicited a little mental "hmm" but not much more.

We've got plenty of a'hole athletes I'm sure, so a complete fabrication is entirely believable to me.

Rio has come off in the run up to the games like the centerpiece of some third world backwater, so the entire tale that was told by the swimmers is also entirely believable to me.

[Groundhog]

All that stuff I was saying about swimming? I guess the Olympic walking events are way, way worse.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by whomario

I know it´s a tiny point to harp on and probably no real place in this thread, but ...



1) While i realize that "professor of economics" is pretty much the go-to expert on anything nowadays, it weird me out that you have him commenting on (and naming it as such) a cultural issue.

Zimbalist is a fairly well known sports economist. He is also on the board of directors for the Journal of Sports Economics.

2) Use of Technology is a cultural thing

I'd rather say that use of technology has changed the culture.

3) Either he had no idea what the article says of he is confusing "on the TV" with "watching Television (content)"

Well of course he had no idea what the article said - he's quoted in it. He was likely called up and just asked his opinion on the falling broadcast ratings.

4) "When they do watch sports on television it´s because it´s exclusively available there" more like it.

I also find this to be less and less common (watching sports on TV live) except for big events.

5) This a question: Do people really sit down in front of the TV due to playing in a fantasy league ?

Well I do know that people will take far more interest in a game when someone on their fantasy team is playing. Maybe they won't tune the TV to a particular channel, but they'll pay more attention at the bar when the game is on in the background.

[panerd]

Sounds like one of the guys paid $10,000 to get out of the country so I am leaning towards it being the swimmers fault. I am trying to imagine any robbery situation that would cause me to pay ten grand as a victim. That said I thought this Rio spokesman put it best...

During a daily news briefing at Olympic Park, Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada — who apologized to the swimmers before more was known about the case — took a moderate stance.

"Let's give these kids a break," he said. "Sometimes you take actions you later regret. They are magnificent athletes. Lochte is of one of the best swimmers of all time. They had fun. They made a mistake. It’s part of life. Life goes on.”

This isn't anything worthy of international incident or 24/7 news coverage or people demanding apologies on behalf of countries. Of course it is 2016 so all three will definitely be happening!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by panerd

This isn't anything worthy of international incident or 24/7 news coverage or people demanding apologies on behalf of countries.

Probably not.

At the same time, if they did indeed file a false report then I hope the Brazilian authorities hit them with the exact same charge & punishment they would apply to a local (I have no clue what that would be).

[albionmoonlight]

"Let's give these kids a break," . . . Lochte is of one of the best swimmers of all time.

That a spokesman felt that there was such a natural connection between these two phrases says a lot.

[larrymcg421]

Also, "kids"? Lochte is 32 and this was his 4th Olympics.

[larrymcg421]

The US had 3 runners qualify for the 1500m final for the first time since 1968, but Robby Andrews was DQ'd for stepping off the track to make a pass. Rewatching it, it does look like he's trying to fit through a tight space, but it looks like he makes it through that space until the runner he's passing bumps him off. He appealed the DQ, but lost.

I still think Centrowitz has a great shot to medal. He finished 4th last Olympics and is a better runner now.

[whomario]

They settlement payment from Feigen is going to a children´s sports academy btw and not into the police christmas party fund btw

What pisses me off about that Lochte statement is not just that it is an "apology" paired with an attempt at justification, but mostly that the one thing he did not address was him/them being an ass to what were essentially their hosts before anything "happened to them".

[whomario]

Looking forward to tonights events. Germany in the womens soccer final (you root for us over the swedes, right ? ) and both basketball semi finals are on my personal menu. Handball semi Ger-Fra and USA-Spain are at the same time unfortunately, so i´ll catch the handball later tonight or tomorrow maybe.