Ze Olympics... zey do nothzing!
 

Anyone watching the Olympics?

I caught the end of the opening ceremonies and was blown away by the torch lighting ceremony. Then I read this article:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olym...g-ceremon.html

:unamused:

At least the US come from behind in the 4x100 freestyle over shit-talking France was awesome.

I usually think the opening ceremonies suck and ooze gayness, but I watched the whole thing this year and it was incredible. I was very impressed with the effects they were able to create. Oh well.

China wants us to forget all their problems by showing us ridiculously rehearsed flashy thingies.

I was also reading this story about how China just built walls around the bad parts of the city.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asi...vanishing_act/

America should learn from that. Very effective :D

That was a fucking awesome finish!

I can't even begin to explain how disinterested I am in this year's olympics...

I've actually been watching almost every night this year. Not because its anything spectacular or anything, but just cause it looks so good in HD.

Which is the first time since the Barcelona games that I've really done that.

HD DVR FTW

Indeed

That was the most carefully designed & rehearsed mass circle-jerk I've ever witnessed.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...urn=oly,100463


1) If Michael Phelps were a country (Phelpsylvania, perhaps), he'd be tied for third overall in gold medals won.

2) In the total medal count, Phelps would be tied for 12th overall with the Netherlands.

3) India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Mexico and Bangladesh (appx. combined population = 2.1 billion) have earned a total of four Olympic medals in Beijing. Phelps (appx. population = 1) has five.

4) Phelps has won five of the eight gold medals awarded in the men's swimming competition.

5) Excluding the United States and Australia, the rest of the world has earned a total of five golds in the men's and women's swimming competition. Phelps -- well, you get the picture.

12,000 calories per day :eek:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08132008...rge_124248.htm

Phelps is this generation's Mark Spitz or Matt Biondi, the later of which I went to high school with.

It appears that when someone is truly gifted moving their body through water, for the most part, it is not really important what stroke they use. I think a huge part of what he excels at is going into and out of walls. His launch off the block or walls along with amazing dolphin kick that he often uses for 1/3 to almost 1/2 the length of the pool is where he makes up a huge amount of distance/time.

I bet he sucks at math.

Maybe, but he can hire spectacular accountants.

I like torch!

It sucks to be any other male swimmer right now.

The 100m dash was amazing, that Jamaican kid, Bolt, is some crazy running freak. He beat the world record and looked like he stopped running about 5m short of the finish because he was so far ahead of the rest of the runners. He could have beaten the time by another 1/10 of a second. :O

Bolt was just showboating those last 10-15 meters or so. :lol:

My guess? He wants to leave some breathing room to break the World Record again next year.

OK I really didn't need to see that last picture. That's almost as bad as the one of the pirate actor wearing tights.

Was anyone else a little offended by the showboating in the 100m dash?

Sure, you just scored a touchdown or hit a homerun... showboating a bit is fine. But in an individual medal competition in the Olympics? Have some respect for the last pure sporting contest and accept the win graciously... and most importantly, don't friggen slow down in the race to show off. A runner's WR achievement in the Olympics isn't just an individual record, it's also a record for the rest of humanity to enjoy. It's the benchmark that says "this is what man is capable of". Don't cheapen that by coasting to the finish. :unamused:

^agreed.

I think it enhances the burn, like when I beat Dean with a passenger on saturday :P

Clearly an enhanced burn. :D

Laugh it up all you want Turbo Boy... [Extended Duration Burn]Just remember you would be in third place behind me if you were cheating again this year like last and running in SM! [/EDB] :P :lol:

On-Topic, I thought it was pretty weak. Post race celebration is fine, but coasting to the finish while basically saying "look at me" in an Olympic final is an insult to your competitors and shows an incredible amount of disrespect for the sport and reflects poorly on your country IMHO.

The U.S. runner took silver by running all the way to the tape. He is the true winner/competitor given the other Jamaican runners.

too bad for the Chinese hurdler dude.

that swedish hurdler chick was hot though. then she smashed herself against the track, oops.

If that was his intent which I doubt, its a stupid thing to do in any sport. His ass might be in a wheel chair next year and his world record could be beaten. Even if its by a small margin he will spend the rest of his life saying "if I had given it my all, perhaps I would still hold the record.." He is the Randy Moss of Olympics.

One thing, a lot of sanctioned races (outside the Olympics) offer extra money prizes if a world record is broken at their event. The Olympics don't need to offer the money because they get enough publicity already.

I have nothing to base that on, its just a guess.

Bolt kept his head down this time in the 200.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/sp...cs/21bolt.html

IBfaileddrugtests

OMG... the objective of the relay is to get the baton from the beginning to the end... Apparently nobody told the US men's or women's team that... :rolleyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQCi3mayB3Q

You tell 'em, Dean. :rolleyes:

Adrenaline + rain + expectations is going to be a wildcard every time. I'm not talking shit about anyone at that level of the sport - it's got to be heartbreaking for them.

Rumor has it proof that the Chinese womens gymnists passports are as phony as the opening ceremony fireworks has been found. China may be about to lose a handful of their medals.

There were comments that there had been very little practice for the relay by the US team relative to other countries. And this has apparently been the case in the past. They either win or fail spectacularly. I am not saying I could do better, just that the U.S. appeared to be more focused on going fast than getting the baton to the next runner which is doubly important in bad conditions. And apparently, Gay didn't bother showing up for the training camp in China and Williams failed on the exchange 4 years ago in Athens... The U.S. is getting their ass kicked in the sprints ( 0 for 6) where they usually shine and it is not entirely Bolt's fault.

I am convinced that Bolt is a robot.....

I'm slightly pissed that baseball and softball will not be Olympic sports in 2012, but we are keeping Rhythmic gymnastics and the equestrian events... I'm sorry, how you can possibly score Rhythmic gymnastics in any sort of meaningful way is beyond me. Why not make Hula Hoop, juggling and ballet Olympic sports? :rolleyes:

And why do we need a bunch of medal sports for rich people who ride horses? The horses should get the medals! If you want to ride a horse in the olympics, compete in the modern pentathlon, now those are riders!!!

I didn't see mountain biking, but wonder what it is scored based on?

And where did all these "synchronized" events come from? pairs and 8 person swimming as well as pairs diving? Pairs Diving? WTF is up with that? The judges can't accurately score one diver, now they have to watch two at once without slow motion or replays... :rolleyes:

I am not a big fan of anything that basically has subjective judging. 8 person synchronized swimming is a laugh from a scoring perspective.

I am not saying these are not sports or do not require skill, athleticism, etc., just that they should not be Olympic sports.

So what events do you think should be canned or added?

I almost forgot... Team Handball???? What is this ridiculous thing? Soccer for those who can't kick, basketball for those who can't jump, or water polo for those who can't swim?

The summer Olympics are full of sports that nobody gives a crap about. There are a few that I look forward to, but mostly, they suck.

A1GP should become an Olympic sport.

FWIW, I didn't see mountain biking on the calendar, and BMX is the old-fashioned, get in a start gate and try not to stack up in a corner with 7 other riders.......a normal "who gets there fastest" race. Mountain biking in Atlanta was the same way.

Mountain Biking was today. It looks like it was time over a specific course, but not positive.

Lose the Speed walking and add Olympic Chopper Building and an Olympic Weight Loss challenge.

Good call on speed walking. Lets have a race but do it using a sub-optimal method of human locomotion... Not sure about your additions though. Maybe Speed Crawling. :)

Basketball... I might just watch the NBA if it was like either the men's or women's Olympic finals or many of the other games. There was actual passing and team play and way less 1 man showboating... Reminds me a lot of the NBA in the 80s. Wish the defense had been better in the men's game, but still a good game.

OMG, there is group rhythmic gymnastics too... With pink silicone tube jump ropes. :rolleyes:

Serves me right for turning on the TV... I think I'll go work on my car or dig up my septic tank access cover to try and clear the images from my brain...