# What, no Olympics thread?



## Desdichado (Aug 17, 2004)

Pretty cool watching Men's gymnastics just now.  My wife and I turn into Olympic junkies every time they come around.  Our Netflix account will most likely _not_ pay for itself this month..  

But I'm surprised there's no thread out there; usually big sporting events have some lively discussion around here.


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

As usual, the ping pong games were amazing.  I like the rules changes toi the not hiding the server and enjoyed that they are using a larger ping pong ball.  I learneda bit more about water polo so that I actually feel comfortible watching it and understanding the subtle differences between it and other similar sports.  I still don't get the equastrian thing.  Having horses walk, trot, and the gallop in a certain area doesn't seem like much of a sport.


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## Wycen (Aug 17, 2004)

Well, Hurricane Charley decided to strike the same time the Olympics started.

I just watched the men's gymnastics.  I was hoping for gold but the US got the silver, that's cool.  

I also watched ping pong yesterday.  The guys really like running after the ping, or is it the pong?, while the women prefer close up play.


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## Staffan (Aug 17, 2004)

Well, Carro hasn't started taking gold yet, so I'm not all that interested.


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## Klaus (Aug 17, 2004)

And let's not forget the (to quote Fiery James) "greatest sport known to man":

Women's Beach Volleyball!



Olympics rock! And the opening ceremony really struck a chord with me!


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## Lord Foul (Aug 17, 2004)

Klaus said:
			
		

> And let's not forget the (to quote Fiery James) "greatest sport known to man":
> 
> Women's Beach Volleyball!
> 
> ...


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## Mystery Man (Aug 17, 2004)

Lord Foul said:
			
		

> Klaus said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

I haven't seen archery yet and I hope to.  Least Gena Davis was trying out this year


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## Desdichado (Aug 17, 2004)

Klaus said:
			
		

> And let's not forget the (to quote Fiery James) "greatest sport known to man":
> 
> Women's Beach Volleyball!



Dude!  Totally yeah!  I caught the blowout match with May and Walsh against the Japanese; great game.  I haven't heard much other than that, though; I think they broadcast it during the day, which means it'll be hard for me to watch without taking time off from work.    

Also, the latest; the US is now guaranteed to medal in women's saber, which will be the first time US women have ever medalled in an Olympic fencing event.  Saber's my favorite anyway; much more "cinematic."


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

why can't that put sabre on TV?  All I have now is either a 2 man rowing or the women's soccer.


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## Desdichado (Aug 17, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> why can't that put sabre on TV?  All I have now is either a 2 man rowing or the women's soccer.



They will, but it's on a second tier channel like CNBC I think.  Check out http://www.nbcolympics.com to find out what's being broadcast where.


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

the interesting stuff is actually on the second tier channels.


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## Krug (Aug 17, 2004)

Yao Ming shoved some New Zealand guy in Basketball prelim earlier.. and didn't get called! C'mon refs! This ain't the WWE!!


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## drothgery (Aug 17, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> I haven't seen archery yet and I hope to. Least Gena Davis was trying out this year



There's an American woman who's made it to the final 8. I expect she'll show up on NBC if she medals.

I've got a radical idea for changing the broadcast format, though. When the Olympics aren't in the Americas (so very few events can be shown live, except when most Americans are asleep or at work), NBC shouldn't try to broadcast entire events. By 8 PM Eastern (or Pacific), all the events for the day are long since over (and "tomorrow" hasn't started yet), and thanks to the Internet, radio, and SportsCenter, anyone who cares already knows who's won the big events of the day. So They should just do something along the lines of an extended, Olympic-focused SportsCenter for their prime time coverage. Show highlights. Do puff pieces on the people who actually medaled. Don't spend a lot of time on a puff piece on the American, only to see him finish 7th. Do do an occasional puff piece on a non-American (but show at least highlights of every American that medals; this is for NBC, after all).


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

What they need is a listing of all the events and after they are done a way to download or stream the video so people can watch exactly what they want.


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## tarchon (Aug 17, 2004)

Nah, no D&D event yet.


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

well, not sure D&D is remotely close to a sport.....


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## diaglo (Aug 17, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> well, not sure D&D is remotely close to a sport.....




i've had spectators.

and the hooligan had to be ejected...

very bad experience.... negative xps really


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

I've gamed with spectatros to...though the guy selling popcorn and peanuts was a little odd......


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## stevelabny (Aug 17, 2004)

my friends and i were discussing this the other day.
around here...
SPORTS fans dont watch the olympics.
the regular non-sports following people do.

sports fans despise the olympics.
it makes a big deal about things that are unimportant.
like 2nd and 3rd place.

and also, why do the change the rules to EVERY sport?
while flipping the channels the other day, we came across beach volleyball. the ONE rule of volleyball is that you only get points on your serve and THEY CHANGE IT. teams were getting points on either serve. GAH.

its unforgiveable the way the olympics massacres all that is right and good about sports.


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## Mystery Man (Aug 17, 2004)

Bottom line...

There is football. 

Everything else is just filler.


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

stevelabny said:
			
		

> my friends and i were discussing this the other day.
> around here...
> SPORTS fans dont watch the olympics.
> the regular non-sports following people do.
> ...




Actually most of the rule changes are with innational play, not olympic specific.  And lots of sports fans like the Olympics, 2nd and third place are not something to be uncelebrated.  Pro teams take pride in being seciond, they might want to be first but they still better then the other thirty or whoever many teams.


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## Frostmarrow (Aug 17, 2004)

One of the rules for women's beachvolley is that the bikinibottom-sideseam can't be more than 7 centimeters (2.75"). That's a big deal in Sweden (and Norway) right now. -Apparantly it's sexist.


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## stevelabny (Aug 17, 2004)

the announcers seemed to indicate the beach volleyball rule change was NEW. one would assume its to save time so they could be out of the arena as quick as possible and use it for another sport.
im aware that international sports have altered rules but often the olympic rules vary even from the international ones.

also, sure, AFTER the season a team might say "hey we made the world series/superbowl/finals and lost but that was a good season" but you NEVER see them standing on the platform with the winning team getting a smaller trophy and smaller bottles of champagne. its WRONG to immediately celebrate losing.

and as for mystery man, in an olympic thread, you really have to specify WHICH football youre talking about. the fun american kind that isnt an olympic sport, or the boring international kind that would only be exciting if the cows were still grazing on the field during play.


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## Desdichado (Aug 17, 2004)

stevelabny said:
			
		

> and as for mystery man, in an olympic thread, you really have to specify WHICH football youre talking about. the fun american kind that isnt an olympic sport, or the boring international kind that would only be exciting if the cows were still grazing on the field during play.



That's why I learned to like hockey after moving to Detroit.  It's like football (soccer) except it moves fast and has lots of violence; the lack of which sink soccer as a spectator sport, as far as I'm concerned.

Then again, I suppose I'm not much of a sports fan; I don't like watching (American) football, baseball or basketball very much unless a team I connect to regionally is doing very well.


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

stevelabny said:
			
		

> its WRONG to immediately celebrate losing.




Why?

The team would have come a long way and wona lot of games.  They might not have won the whole thing, but they still did very well.


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## drothgery (Aug 17, 2004)

stevelabny said:
			
		

> the announcers seemed to indicate the beach volleyball rule change was NEW. one would assume its to save time so they could be out of the arena as quick as possible and use it for another sport.



They changed to 'rally scoring' in indoor volleyball for the 2000 games, and mentioned the change was coming in 1996, IIRC. I imagine the change on the beach was just to keep the indoor and outdoor games in sync.


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## Crothian (Aug 17, 2004)

least they added cheerleaders to the volleyball.......


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## Klaus (Aug 18, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> least they added cheerleaders to the volleyball.......



 Once again, the greatest sport known to man!



As for celebrating 2nd and 3rd places, I think that's great!

Most countries don't have athletes that are on par with powerhouses like China, Cuba, USA or Ukraine. For them, simply getting a better positioning than previously is something to be celebrated.

For instance, this year Brazil had its first female participant in the single skiff (rowing them boats, y'know). The simple fact that she made it to the Olympics is something to be celebrated. We also managed to send a complete gymnastics team for the first time, and for the first time (again) three of those girls managed to qualify for the finals. That by itself is a victory worth celebrating.


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## diaglo (Aug 18, 2004)

stevelabny said:
			
		

> its unforgiveable the way the olympics massacres all that is right and good about sports.




what is right and good about sports?

win or lose

it teaches in individual events: discipline,  competition, self-reliance, confidence, achievement

in group events: teamwork, sacrifice, plus some of the above traits


win or lose to be able to compete in the Olympics is important.

you get to test yourself against the very best. you are no longer just a big fish in a small pond. you get to swim, fence, run, dance.... with all the other big fish. a true test of where you are in the World


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## Wombat (Aug 18, 2004)

The world is not about WINNING and LOSING.

So why should there be that single line in sports?

I give you two grand examples that many people will remember -- Eddy the Eagle & the Jamaican Bobsled Team.

Were they great?  No, not even close.  But they brought a grand human element to the game, along with huge amounts of clumsiness.  More than this, however, they showed determination, gumption, and the pure, plain _joy _ of competition.  

The Olympics are set up to recognize three tiers of winners -- Gold, Silver, Bronze.  The same is true in many other sports (say, for example, Win, Place, and Show...).  Not only do I see nothing wrong with this, but I think it is a matter that actually improves such competitions.  Being the second or third best in these competitions is truly praiseworthy, showing how much time and dedication has been put into individual and team efforts, facing off with dozens, nay, hundreds of opponents to get to this place.

Is there any problem is recognizing worth in this manner?  I see none.


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## Dogbrain (Aug 18, 2004)

diaglo said:
			
		

> what is right and good about sports?




High-priced endorsements.
Getting let off scott free in criminal cases, even though the judge directly states that you are "guilty as sin" because a drinking and resisting arrest conviction would "end your career" (http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/breaking_news/9425487.htm)
Committing assault on new team-mates, sending some to the hospital with your hazing behavior, but still being allowed to stay on the team (http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2187089&nav=4QcHPy5f)
Special "training tables" at dormitories.


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## The_Gunslinger658 (Aug 18, 2004)

Hi ya-

I love the Olympics, but I just do not have the time to watch TV. I do wish they had an Iron Man Competition, I'm always training for the local chicago Iron Man competitions just because its always gratifying to be in great shape at 40 and still be at my best. Its tough though, working 12 hours, hitting the gym and then taking care of personel stuff, but it has to be done or else I'd become a fat body.
I'm too old to be in the olympics but if its any Consolation, the Army is sending me to Air Assualt school.

BTW an Iron Man competition is Biking, swimming and running so many miles. Its not the Marvel Super hero. ; )

Scott


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## drothgery (Aug 18, 2004)

Actually, Triatholon makes its debut as a medal sport this year.


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## drothgery (Aug 18, 2004)

Wombat said:
			
		

> The Olympics are set up to recognize three tiers of winners -- Gold, Silver, Bronze. The same is true in many other sports (say, for example, Win, Place, and Show...). Not only do I see nothing wrong with this, but I think it is a matter that actually improves such competitions. Being the second or third best in these competitions is truly praiseworthy, showing how much time and dedication has been put into individual and team efforts, facing off with dozens, nay, hundreds of opponents to get to this place.



The only thing annoying about the medal setup is that it's not consistent among sports where you're compenting against another person/team (rather than against a time or score). In some sports, they award two bronze medals (Judo comes to mind, but I think tennis works like this too), while in others (basketball, soccer, fencing, and most sports), the semifinal round losers play for the bronze.


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## johnsemlak (Aug 18, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> well, not sure D&D is remotely close to a sport.....



 Chess is considered a sport in many countries.


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## Crothian (Aug 18, 2004)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> Chess is considered a sport in many countries.




And many countries are wrong


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## Krug (Aug 18, 2004)

Worst sport to watch: Women's weightlifting.

Yeap one of the new categories.


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## drothgery (Aug 18, 2004)

Krug said:
			
		

> Worst sport to watch: Women's weightlifting.
> 
> Yeap one of the new categories.



In the interest of not appearing to be too sexist, we'll note here that it's only slightly worse to watch than men's weightlifting.


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## Crothian (Aug 18, 2004)

Equarian were they walked, trotted, and galloped.  No obstivcles, no race, just boring.


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## WayneLigon (Aug 18, 2004)

As a non-sports-fan, I used to like the Olympics, since it really does showcase the best the world has to offer. Once I started paying closer attention to it in recent years, I became disenchanted with it. Winning by hundredths of seconds or by 0.1 points isn't proving you're the best, to me. I might be wrong about how such things are done, but to me that seems more like luck than anything else. A strong wind, a slight burp, any of those things can surely influence outcomes when you take it down to that level of precision.

That, and the various doping cases. Such tests are not always conclusive and I'm sure that some people are barred that should be competing; four years is forever in the life of some athletes, esp. someone like a gymnast. Likewise there may be some competing that should not be.


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## Dark Jezter (Aug 18, 2004)

I've been watching the Olympics a lot these last few days.  It's great watching the best athletes in the world complete against each other, and I love watching both the summer and winter Olympics (when the winter Olympics visited my state two years ago, I was loving it ).

And, like most guys here, I do enjoy watching the women's beach volleyball. 

Speaking of which, does anybody else think that Misty May sounds more like the stage name for a stripper than the name of a beach volleyball player?


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## Desdichado (Aug 19, 2004)

Just watched Paul Hamm win the gold -- could there possibly have been any more drama?


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## Stormfalcon (Aug 19, 2004)

Dark Jezter said:
			
		

> Speaking of which, does anybody else think that Misty May sounds more like the stage name for a stripper than the name of a beach volleyball player?




Old-school anime fans certainly would recognize the name from the mockumentary, _Otaku no Video_.  Actually, I wouldn't complain too loudly if the RL Misty May cosplayed as her anime namesake


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## Ranger REG (Aug 19, 2004)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Just watched Paul Hamm win the gold -- could there possibly have been any more drama?



That's a good Chandler Bing impression.   

Still, kudos to him for winning the gold.

For me, personally, I am still laughing at the US men's basketball team. Could I BE any more cruel? Gawd, I hope so.


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## Wycen (Aug 19, 2004)

MSNBC has been showing the "other" events like shot put, rowing, archery, fencing.  CNBC has shown a bit, but mostly just boxing.  Bravo has shown badmitton, ping pong and other stuff.  NBC you probably know is filled with swimming, volley ball and other "popular" sport.  According to the RSS feed on the bottom of MSNBC's show apparently Telemundo is also showing events, but I can't seem to find what channel that is on my cable system, though we might not have it like CBC.

They showed archery yesterday.  The American girl unfortunately drew her first match against the Chinese champion and got knocked out.


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## Maerdwyn (Aug 19, 2004)

Anyone happen to have video (or a link to it) of the shot put even held in Olympia?  I recorded the Iraq-Morocco soccer match over it accidentally and my wife was not pleased, as she hadn't seen it yet.


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## Qlippoth (Aug 19, 2004)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Just watched Paul Hamm win the gold -- could there possibly have been any more drama?



Not to take away from the athletes themselves, but could there have been any more ridiculous commentary? Elfi Schlegel seems to be OK, & Tim Daggett will always be somewhat over-the-top, but the remaining gymnastics commentator (name eludes me) might as well have been Fred Willard in _Best In Show_ :  (as one of the Japanese mens' team readies his routine): "He really needs to hit one out of the park here." ???


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## Desdichado (Aug 19, 2004)

Yeah, I remember for a long time John Tesh did the gymnastics commentary with Elfi and Tim.  What the heck did he know about gymnastics?  Nothing.  

Whoever this guy is, it's the same deal though -- I really wonder why they bothered.

By the way, one of my friends here in Michigan used to train in the same gym with Jason Gatson.  He was a good 8-9 years older, but that's still interesting.


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## drothgery (Aug 19, 2004)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> For me, personally, I am still laughing at the US men's basketball team. Could I BE any more cruel? Gawd, I hope so.



We'll see if this holds up in later games, but as for today -- apparently Larry Brown found the real USA basketball team at halftime vs. Australia, and replaced the replicants that were wearing team USA jerseys.


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## johnsemlak (Aug 19, 2004)

drothgery said:
			
		

> We'll see if this holds up in later games, but as for today -- apparently Larry Brown found the real USA basketball team at halftime vs. Australia, and replaced the replicants that were wearing team USA jerseys.



 Well, Larry Brown is a great coach, but in this tournament, he should have _brought_ a real team.  His team doen't seem to contain any decent outside shooters.  They have great inside players but nothing from the outside.  Watching then play, it's comical how the opposing teams simply give the US the outside shot, virtually nobody is a real threat.

It's not like there aren't any shooters available to the US.


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## Wycen (Aug 19, 2004)

Qlippoth said:
			
		

> Not to take away from the athletes themselves, but could there have been any more ridiculous commentary? Elfi Schlegel seems to be OK, & Tim Daggett will always be somewhat over-the-top, but the remaining gymnastics commentator (name eludes me) might as well have been Fred Willard in _Best In Show_ :  (as one of the Japanese mens' team readies his routine): "He really needs to hit one out of the park here." ???




Yeah my dad said he was getting T'd off by one of the announcers, though I don't remember him mentioning who in particular.  I kinda figure it's like the commentarors for WWE.  One is the "normal" guy that talks about the heel wrestler being evil and the other points out the "good" points of the heel wrestler.  Not that WWE is anything like the Olympics.


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## Krug (Aug 19, 2004)

Man the Cuba vs China women's volleyball game was exciting. Cuba finally won the fifth set 15-13.


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## Connorsrpg (Aug 20, 2004)

> Originally Posted by stevelabny
> and as for mystery man, in an olympic thread, you really have to specify WHICH football youre talking about. the fun american kind that isnt an olympic sport, or the boring international kind that would only be exciting if the cows were still grazing on the field during play.




Yeah or even, Aussie Rules Where they crash and bash each other for 2 hours WITH NO HELMETS AND PADDING!

Oh and the game goes for 2 hours, with only short breaks.  Not the other way around.  A few short plays and LOTS OF BREAKS, STITTING AROUND DISCUSSING PLAYS AND BLAH BLAH BLAH



BTW: I love the Olympics.  I especially lved seeing USA lose basketball, and nearly lose again vs Aussies 

But hey we'll take a 10 point lose every time vs the team that has now only lost 3 games in history.  Interesting comparrisons on total team $ value too ;0

Connors


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## Hypersmurf (Aug 20, 2004)

It was quite amusing listening to the commentators on the basketball game between New Zealand and Serbia-and-Montenegro last night.

NZL were down 13 points at the start of the 4th period, and the commentators were, if anything, sounding kinda bored.

Then about halfway through the period, NZL started scoring, and SCG stopped scoring, and the gap began to narrow, then disappeared...

... and the commentators started talking faster, and faster, and louder, and louder...

Funny 

-Hyp.


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## Staffan (Aug 20, 2004)

Speaking of beach volleyball, the two guys on the Swedish team are named Berg and Dahl. In Swedish, that means Mountain and Valley (though with a slightly odd spelling on the last one), which at least I find kind of funny.

Oh, and tomorrow Carolina Klüft will start her gold-taking - the heptathlon(?) is split up over two days, so it won't be final until Saturday, but her main competitor (Eunice Barber, France) isn't there so it should be a shoe-in unless she screws up totally.


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## Ferret (Aug 20, 2004)

I don't know whether or not I'm disapointed about how many medal Great Britain has gotten... I didn't expect lots, but that isn't a good excuse either.

Oh well, lots of others getting medals. I don't know if I like the idea of things like tennis or football (the soccer kind) that already get coverage.


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## Chaos Drake (Aug 20, 2004)

Well at least basketball is interesting this year. The US team plays like none of them wanna get hurt. I saw NZ play China and the Kiwis put up a good fight. Yao Ming shoving that NZ player to the ground should DEFINITELY have been a foul. Very unsportsmanlinke conduct.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 20, 2004)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> Well, Larry Brown is a great coach, but in this tournament, he should have _brought_ a real team.  His team doen't seem to contain any decent outside shooters.  They have great inside players but nothing from the outside.  Watching then play, it's comical how the opposing teams simply give the US the outside shot, virtually nobody is a real threat.
> 
> It's not like there aren't any shooters available to the US.



From what I hear, many of the better NBA players declined the invitation to join Team USA. Either that or they joined their home country's team.

Still, they're nothing like the original Dream Team that includes Air Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, etc.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 20, 2004)

Connorsrpg said:
			
		

> BTW: I love the Olympics.  I especially lved seeing USA lose basketball, and nearly lose again vs Aussies



Honestly, I'll cheer for any team going against our Team USA Basketball.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 20, 2004)

Chaos Drake said:
			
		

> Well at least basketball is interesting this year. The US team plays like none of them wanna get hurt.



They can't afford to get hurt. If they're not playing one game in the NBA's regular season, that's $200,000 minimum loss of income.


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## Prince of Happiness (Aug 20, 2004)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> They can't afford to get hurt. If they're not playing one game in the NBA's regular season, that's $200,000 minimum loss of income.




Yeah! And they need that for child support and lawyer fees.


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## Wycen (Aug 20, 2004)

MSNBC is showing more of the varied sports, however, right now, they are showing run walking.

1.  Run walking is not a sport.

2.  Run walking sure as hell should not be in the Olympics.

3.  Nobody should be wasting television time airing this ridiculous event.


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## FireLance (Aug 20, 2004)

Klaus said:
			
		

> As for celebrating 2nd and 3rd places, I think that's great!
> 
> Most countries don't have athletes that are on par with powerhouses like China, Cuba, USA or Ukraine. For them, simply getting a better positioning than previously is something to be celebrated.



Yup, take it from me and my country .

We have only ever won one single Olympic medal - a silver - and that was a long time ago.

During the last Olympics, we were all excited even at the chance of getting a medal when one of our table-tennis players qualified for the semi-finals.  Many of us were glued to our TV screens watching the match. Unfortunately, she lost both the semis game and the bronze playoffs.

We were excited again just last week when one of our badminton players beat the world No 1, but he lost during the quarter finals.

Just yesterday, another of our table-tennis players qualified for the semi-finals. All our hopes and best wishes are with her now. Perhaps this will be the year that we win our second medal.


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## Klaus (Aug 20, 2004)

THE match of these Olympics already happened:

Brazil vs. Italy in men's volleyball. The tie-breaker (fifth) set, slated to end at 15 points, went ON and ON until Brazil won by an amazing 33 to 31!!! Those balls just wouldn't fall! :O


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## mhacdebhandia (Aug 20, 2004)

Klaus said:
			
		

> Most countries don't have athletes that are on par with powerhouses like China, Cuba, USA or Ukraine. For them, simply getting a better positioning than previously is something to be celebrated.



Then there are countries which do better, per capita, than the United States, China, or Russia.

Like, oh, Australia? 19 million people, 20 medals in total, 7 gold.

Compare to the USA: 293 million people, 36 medals in total, 15 gold.

China: 1.3 billion people, 32 medals in total, 15 gold.

Russia: 143 million people, 22 medals in total, 4 gold.

We will *kill* you, you underperforming fools! Mwahahahahahaaaaa.

By my count, the US has to get another 257 medals in total to even equal Australia's performance.


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## Iuz (Aug 20, 2004)

mhacdebhandia said:
			
		

> Then there are countries which do better, per capita, than the United States, China, or Russia.
> 
> Like, oh, Australia? 19 million people, 20 medals in total, 7 gold.
> 
> ...






I think what would be very interesting to see is how many medals different countries are winning per $. Look at how much money is being spent both by governments and coporate sponsors and see how that reflects in medals count.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 20, 2004)

Wycen said:
			
		

> MSNBC is showing more of the varied sports, however, right now, they are showing run walking.
> 
> 1.  Run walking is not a sport.
> 
> ...



Many would disagree with you.

Personally, boxing with headgears and boxing gloves is ridiculous, too. Go back to the traditional way: one round, last man standing is the winner. Oh, stiff leather wrapping is optional.

And screw freestyle wrestling. Ultimate fighting combat is the way to go.

IOW, I want blood spilled.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 20, 2004)

Iuz said:
			
		

> I think what would be very interesting to see is how many medals different countries are winning per $. Look at how much money is being spent both by governments and coporate sponsors and see how that reflects in medals count.



Exactly how much is our US governments (federal, state, and/or local) are spending toward our olympic teams? (I've heard they have given tax breaks toward the building of training facilities.)

I thought it was private-sponsored (individual and corporate sponsored).


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## drothgery (Aug 20, 2004)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Exactly how much is our US governments (federal, state, and/or local) are spending toward our olympic teams? (I've heard they have given tax breaks toward the building of training facilities.)
> 
> I thought it was private-sponsored (individual and corporate sponsored).



Government sponsorship varies wildly from country to country and event to event. Even on the (extremely well-funded by global standards) US Olympic team, there are people who had trouble just covering the plane tickets to Athens, and multi-millionaire pro athletes like the men's basketball team or Venus Williams. Probably the closest thing to complete government sponsorship we've got is a few athletes in a special program the military has for athletes in some less-popular sports.


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## Chaos Drake (Aug 21, 2004)

Klaus said:
			
		

> THE match of these Olympics already happened:
> 
> Brazil vs. Italy in men's volleyball. The tie-breaker (fifth) set, slated to end at 15 points, went ON and ON until Brazil won by an amazing 33 to 31!!! Those balls just wouldn't fall! :O




Boy wish I had seen that. True nailbiter.


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## Ranger REG (Aug 21, 2004)

drothgery said:
			
		

> Probably the closest thing to complete government sponsorship we've got is a few athletes in a special program the military has for athletes in some less-popular sports.



Hmm. I'm having problems trying to see the US Navy sponsoring the synchronized swimming and diving teams.


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## Wycen (Aug 22, 2004)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Hmm. I'm having problems trying to see the US Navy sponsoring the synchronized swimming and diving teams.




How about synchronized dolphin handling?


----------



## Guillaume (Aug 22, 2004)

Ferret said:
			
		

> I don't know whether or not I'm disapointed about how many medal Great Britain has gotten... I didn't expect lots, but that isn't a good excuse either.
> 
> Oh well, lots of others getting medals. I don't know if I like the idea of things like tennis or football (the soccer kind) that already get coverage.



 If your discouraged with Britain's performance, look at Canada's.  After 8 days of competition, we only have 3 medals, 2 silver and a bronze.  Even in our best olympic sports (swimming and athletics), we have failed to win a single medal.  This is really depressing !


----------



## Krieg (Aug 22, 2004)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Hmm. I'm having problems trying to see the US Navy sponsoring the synchronized swimming and diving teams.



There are a couple of SEALs who are top ranked Tri-Athletes.

Quite a few Olympic boxers & wrestlers have come from the military teams, heck back in the days of the draft the Olympic boxing team was almost entirely drawn from the ranks of the US Military.


----------



## Ferret (Aug 22, 2004)

Guillaume said:
			
		

> If your discouraged with Britain's performance, look at Canada's.  After 8 days of competition, we only have 3 medals, 2 silver and a bronze.  Even in our best olympic sports (swimming and athletics), we have failed to win a single medal.  This is really depressing !




41st place? Thats not so good. Good luck getting some more.

For all those that don't know the BBC has a listof all the medals: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/medals_table/default.stm

Following what 'mhacdebhandia' said compared to Great britain most of the other countries have far less in relation to their populance. For instance if the USa had 6 mil people they would have and estimated 4 gold and only 15 total medals, and china has Far more people. When I have time I will try to 'average them out'.


----------



## Ranger REG (Aug 23, 2004)

Wycen said:
			
		

> How about synchronized dolphin handling?



They're allowing dolphins participate?   

Why them and not the humuhumunukunuku'apua'a?


----------



## Ranger REG (Aug 23, 2004)

Krieg said:
			
		

> There are a couple of SEALs who are top ranked Tri-Athletes.



SEALs and synchronized swimming ... well, that ruined my image of them.   




			
				Krieg said:
			
		

> Quite a few Olympic boxers & wrestlers have come from the military teams, heck back in the days of the draft the Olympic boxing team was almost entirely drawn from the ranks of the US Military.



Well, boxing and wrestling are easy to associate. I'd even go so far to see them as members of the hockey team in the Winter Olympic, but ice dancing?


----------



## Krug (Aug 23, 2004)

And down goes the US in basketball again... Still, they made it to the next round.


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 23, 2004)

Krug said:
			
		

> And down goes the US in basketball again... Still, they made it to the next round.



 And the meet Spain in the Quaterfinals.  Though luck for Spain, to play so well in the group phase and then have to meet the US.

So a virtual unknown wins for the US in the 100m, Justin Gatlin.  Doesnt' break a record, but overall it's supposed to be the fastest 100m race ever.


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 23, 2004)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> So a virtual unknown wins for the US in the 100m, Justin Gatlin.  Doesnt' break a record, but overall it's supposed to be the fastest 100m race ever.



Yeah, less than a tenth of a second amongst all of the top five racers.

I do wish Mo Green would have won, though.  Gatlin comes across as unsufferably arrogant.


----------



## diaglo (Aug 23, 2004)

Krug said:
			
		

> And down goes the US in basketball again... Still, they made it to the next round.





yeah, i love the fact that the Olympics at least when it comes to basketball proves that team sports should be played with teams and not with individuals.

there is no "I" in team.


----------



## drothgery (Aug 23, 2004)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> And the meet Spain in the Quaterfinals. Though luck for Spain, to play so well in the group phase and then have to meet the US.



The seeding's not set until the Puerto Rico-Greece game later today. I haven't seen much of the men's basketball team playing, because even when they manage to show the game live on the east coast, they still tape-delay it California, and watching sports on tape-delay when I already know the winner just isn't fun. 

But it seems like they're getting a bit of a bum rap. Sure, they've had problems coming together as a team, and adjusting to international rules. And there's no way they should have lost to Puerto Rico under any circumstances. But they've improved with every game -- there's absolutely no disgrace in losing a close game to Lithunia -- and if these guys scrap their way to a gold medal, then I'll be cheering for them every step of the way. And not just because Carmelo's an ex-Syracuse guy.


----------



## Ranger REG (Aug 23, 2004)

diaglo said:
			
		

> yeah, i love the fact that the Olympics at least when it comes to basketball proves that team sports should be played with teams and not with individuals.
> 
> there is no "I" in team.



Generally, that's true ... but honestly, I really don't care about our 2004 USA basketball team. Well, there is one thing I do care: the display of public embarrassment to the world. To be disgraced in front the worldwide audience, brings great joy to my sinister heart.


----------



## Crothian (Aug 24, 2004)

So, the Hamm guy won the Gold in all around gymnsatics but it turned out there was a scoring error.  I think hew should return the medal and accept the Silver.


----------



## Hypersmurf (Aug 24, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> So, the Hamm guy won the Gold in all around gymnsatics but it turned out there was a scoring error.  I think hew should return the medal and accept the Silver.




It's interesting - in Gymnastics, they're basically saying "Yeah, there was an error, and the officials who made it have been suspended, but the decision stands", while in Equestrian (Team Eventing, I think), when an error was pointed out, the gold medallists (Germany) had their medals rescinded, and the next three teams moved up a spot.

Consistency would be nice.

Hamm will find that for the rest of his life, the "It wasn't a _real_ gold medal" whispers will follow him around... I'd think he'd do far better with a real silver and a reputation as a stand-up guy, than a gold based on a screw-up at the administrative end...

On a related note, now that pseudoephedrine has been removed from the banned substances list, Andreea Raducan is appealing to get her Sydney AA gold back...

-Hyp.


----------



## drothgery (Aug 24, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> So, the Hamm guy won the Gold in all around gymnsatics but it turned out there was a scoring error. I think hew should return the medal and accept the Silver.



There were two scoring errors on the South Korean's parallel bars routine. The first one, which the South Koreans are complaining about, is that his routine was given a 9.9 start value instead of a 10.0, which probably cost him a tenth of a point in scoring. But he also apparently did four "stops" instead of three, which is an automatic .2 deduction. And there's no way to know how he would've done on the two later events, if he'd had a bigger lead.


----------



## Krieg (Aug 24, 2004)

diaglo said:
			
		

> yeah, i love the fact that the Olympics at least when it comes to basketball proves that team sports should be played with teams and not with individuals.
> 
> there is no "I" in team.



Yeah, but a single decent outside shooter and this team would be undefeated.


----------



## drothgery (Aug 24, 2004)

Krieg said:
			
		

> Yeah, but a single decent outside shooter and this team would be undefeated.



obSyracuseFan: If they were going to pluck someone out of the Big East for the team, it should've been Gerry McNamara, not Emeka Okafur.


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 24, 2004)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> It's interesting - in Gymnastics, they're basically saying "Yeah, there was an error, and the officials who made it have been suspended, but the decision stands", while in Equestrian (Team Eventing, I think), when an error was pointed out, the gold medallists (Germany) had their medals rescinded, and the next three teams moved up a spot.
> 
> Consistency would be nice.
> 
> ...



 The problem with consistency in this is that rules for each sport (including disputes with officials) are mostly handled by the federations governing each sport (the FIG in the case of Gymnastics).  I'm not familiar with the exact rules in either case, but the FIG could have different procedures for how to dispute (and correct) an judge's decision, than say in Equestrian.

Also, I think different Olympic sports are vastly different from each other in terms of how they are officiated, the degree of subjectivity involved, the influence judges' decisions have on the outcome, and the practical means to correct errors made by officials.


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 24, 2004)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Yeah, less than a tenth of a second amongst all of the top five racers.
> 
> I do wish Mo Green would have won, though.  Gatlin comes across as unsufferably arrogant.




Well, I know nothing about Gatlin, but the article I read about his victory commented on his grace in winning (compared with the infamous celebrations of the USA's 4x100 team in Sydney).


----------



## Hypersmurf (Aug 24, 2004)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> The problem with consistency in this is that rules for each sport (including disputes with officials) are mostly handled by the federations governing each sport (the FIG in the case of Gymnastics).  I'm not familiar with the exact rules in either case, but the FIG could have different procedures for how to dispute (and correct) an judge's decision, than say in Equestrian.




Yeah - the FIG basically said "Protests regarding scoring will not be entered into, by FIG regulations", even though they admitted the scoring was incorrect, as I understand it.

I haven't seen any of the gymnastics this Olympics   (It's about the only gymnastics coverage we get here in New Zealand, ever, and this year I haven't caught any of it...)  ... but I hear a rumour that in the apparatus finals today, the judges changed their scores for a high bar routine based on crowd reaction...?

-Hyp.


----------



## Tallok (Aug 24, 2004)

I was watching said high bar competition, and even the raised score was too low, imho. great routine, nearly flawless, to my untrained eyes. one step at the landing. the entire crowd, and the announcers were schocked to see a score much lower than expected. lower, in fact, than other people with routines less impressive, granted, slightly smaller steps on the landing. anyway, it was clearly unfair, and so the people yelled about it in the crowd, and the guy overseeing judging went over and talked with the judges who had given very very low scores, inconsistently low, in fact, and they changed them. that's how I remember it, at least.


----------



## Dogbrain (Aug 24, 2004)

Any so-called "sport" wherein the results are determined by "scores" handed out by judges rather than an objective measure should be eliminated from the olympics, as it is not really a sport.


----------



## Maerdwyn (Aug 24, 2004)

Tallok said:
			
		

> I was watching said high bar competition, and even the raised score was too low, imho. great routine, nearly flawless, to my untrained eyes. one step at the landing. the entire crowd, and the announcers were schocked to see a score much lower than expected. lower, in fact, than other people with routines less impressive, granted, slightly smaller steps on the landing. anyway, it was clearly unfair, and so the people yelled about it in the crowd, and the guy overseeing judging went over and talked with the judges who had given very very low scores, inconsistently low, in fact, and they changed them. that's how I remember it, at least.



The scoring that whole night  - not just regarding Alexi Nemov, who you're talking about, was just awful.  I think four gymnasts  did routines of varying difficulty, completing them with varying proficiency, and received the exact same score, down to the thousandth of a point.  The crowd had been booing the judging all evening, and when Nemov, who had done a supremely difficult routine better than the four 9.762 gymnasts, save for a step on the end (two of the 9.762 gymnasts had steps on the end as well), received a 9.732, they went nuts.  The booed the judges, loudly, for upwards of ten minutes.  The judge's supervisor reviewd the scores and got one of the judeges to up his score, but the crowd kept going.  Only when Nemov went out and tries to calm the crowd down was the next gymnast - Paul Hamm - able to go.  The judges proceeded to over-inflate his score, IMO, just to prove they weren't being overyly harsh anymore.  And yet when the final gymnast clearly outshined Hamm, he received the same score as Hamm did, winning only on a technical tie-breaker.  Judging is always subjective - I'd never seen it so awful before.


----------



## Ferret (Aug 24, 2004)

They are measured. They have a system of scoring so that say a handstand for less then 3 seconds is a two point penlty where as some flipping out on the Floor could give two points. It isn't based on whether the judges like them, it's based on the skill.

Any of you following Paula radcliffs progress?


----------



## Maerdwyn (Aug 24, 2004)

Ferret said:
			
		

> They are measured. They have a system of scoring so that say a handstand for less then 3 seconds is a two point penlty where as some flipping out on the Floor could give two points. It isn't based on whether the judges like them, it's based on the skill.



Ideally, of course - in actuality, reputation (personal or national) factors in.  Order of competition factors in (those who go late generaly receive higher marks, because judges need to leave room for improvement over what early competitors do.  Last night (or whenever what I saw last night was taped), evidently, randomness factored in.


----------



## Iuz (Aug 24, 2004)

Don't get me start on the men's vault . . .

Evidently I could get a 9 in the Olympics because totally messing up is worth that much.


----------



## Ferret (Aug 24, 2004)

Maybe they start at 9 and doing nothing can't incure penalties?


----------



## Maerdwyn (Aug 24, 2004)

For gymnastics, they assign point values to each skill involved in a routine.  They total all the points that could be gained from completeing those skills flawlessly.  That's the highest value you could possibly get, usually in the 9.7-10.0 range at the olympics.  

For everyflaw in the skills you demonstrate, or fail to include, you lose points from that maximum score, down to a minimum of zero if you fail to attempt the routine. Things like completely falling over and off to the side after a vault that starts at a 9.8 difficulty should *not* net you a score over 9.0.


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 24, 2004)

Dogbrain said:
			
		

> Any so-called "sport" wherein the results are determined by "scores" handed out by judges rather than an objective measure should be eliminated from the olympics, as it is not really a sport.


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 24, 2004)

Maerdwyn said:
			
		

> And yet when the final gymnast clearly outshined Hamm, he received the same score as Hamm did, winning only on a technical tie-breaker.  Judging is always subjective - I'd never seen it so awful before.



I don't know that he _clearly_ outhone Hamm, and he did win the gold after all.  And, the _final_ gymnast was the Korean who's been bellyaching about the scoring in the allround.  He miffed his routine so badly it was almost embarassing that he even qualified at all.

But I agree; that was the worst judging I'd seen in this particular sport.  Even so, with the exception of Nemov, really, eveyone ended up about where they belonged.


----------



## Ranger REG (Aug 25, 2004)

Crothian said:
			
		

> So, the Hamm guy won the Gold in all around gymnsatics but it turned out there was a scoring error.  I think hew should return the medal and accept the Silver.



I wouldn't. While there is still question of judging error, it's the official's fault. To return the gold and accept the silver to compensate for the official's fault is not the way to go. The international olympic committee should improve official judging performance so there is no future muck-up.

Still, I feel for Hamm. Like a dark, dank cloud, it will hover him no matter where he'll go, and it's because of the officials' mistake. I would not be surprised he will feel uncomfortable sleeping in the Olympic village.


----------



## Chaos Drake (Aug 26, 2004)

Poor Iraq. Well they really came far. Just a step away from getting a medal and a very impressive showing.


----------



## Maerdwyn (Aug 26, 2004)

I thought the bronze  medal game between Iraq and Italy was tomorrow?


----------



## drothgery (Aug 26, 2004)

Krieg said:
			
		

> Yeah, but a single decent outside shooter and this team would be undefeated.



And Stephon Marbury isn't a decent outside shooter, but he played one on TV this morning, so the best team in the prelims by a fair margin (Spain) is going home without a medal.


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 26, 2004)

So, I missed the women's beach volleyball final because it comes on when I'm at work, except on the weekends.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





  Misty May and Kerry Walsh all the way to the top.

Not really surprising; those two were incredible to watch.  They really played extremely aggressively, and were all over the sand.  They've been hot the whole time in Athens.  In more ways than one.


----------



## Klaus (Aug 26, 2004)

When the two brazilian teams had to play against each other, there were two opinions going on:

1) Adriana Behar and Shelda (who won that game and went on to take Silver) were the best duo overall of the two;

2) But Sandra and Ana Paula (who lost that game) had better chances to beat May and Walsh, specially since they had similar heights. Shelda was 6 inches shorter than Walsh, and in beach volleyball it makes a HUGE difference!

But the favorite team won! And we got to keep the Gold in the Men's Beach Volleyball!


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 27, 2004)

Yesterday I watched the US-Spain quarterfinal in a bar with a bunch of Spaniards.  The US played a very solid game.  Great defense, rebounding, and finally some good 3-point shooting from Marbury.

Still a very hard-fought victory.  It will take two more of those to win this medal.

I do think the greater US depth might help in Saturday and Sunday games.  3 games in three days is a lot of action, some of the players will be getting tired.


----------



## LizardWizard (Aug 27, 2004)

A hard-fought game indeed, and I have serious doubts that US will win these Games. The Dream Team doesn't look unbeatable anymore; Team Lithuania does.


----------



## drothgery (Aug 27, 2004)

LizardWizard said:
			
		

> A hard-fought game indeed, and I have serious doubts that US will win these Games. The Dream Team doesn't look unbeatable anymore; Team Lithuania does.



They only beat the US by 4, and the Americans led for most of the game. I wouldn't bet on that happening again.


----------



## Crothian (Aug 27, 2004)

LizardWizard said:
			
		

> A hard-fought game indeed, and I have serious doubts that US will win these Games. The Dream Team doesn't look unbeatable anymore; Team Lithuania does.




Well, its not even close to being a Dream Team, its just a team.  And while the tema is looking better, I do expect the coach to have them ready.


----------



## Lichtenhart (Aug 27, 2004)

LizardWizard said:
			
		

> A hard-fought game indeed, and I have serious doubts that US will win these Games. The Dream Team doesn't look unbeatable anymore; Team Lithuania does.




We will play against them tonight and, frankly, I don't think we have many hopes. Still, I think our team has been great in reaching the semifinals.

And if you liked so much Itay-Brazil volleyball match, what about a replay on Sunday? I hope this time we will be the ones getting a couple points ahead.


----------



## LizardWizard (Aug 27, 2004)

81:89.
Team United States has lost to Team Argentina in the semifinals.
Rest in pieces. I doubt competing for the bronze medal was in the team's plans.


----------



## drothgery (Aug 27, 2004)

drothgery said:
			
		

> They only beat the US by 4, and the Americans led for most of the game. I wouldn't bet on that happening again.



... but I really expected the rematch to be for Gold, not Bronze.

I'm rather suprised Italy made it to the gold medal game, but that has to make the US loss to start the pre-Olympic tour look a lot less bad, I'd think.


----------



## Lichtenhart (Aug 27, 2004)

drothgery said:
			
		

> I'm rather suprised Italy made it to the gold medal game, but that has to make the US loss to start the pre-Olympic tour look a lot less bad, I'd think.




I'm surprised too. It's been 24 years since our last olympic finals, and many countries did not take part to the Moscow 1980 games. I was really expecting the final to be Usa-Lithuania (and then I would have bet on the Lithuania).

We're on the final of both basketball and volleyball. Not bad for two sports that are considered minor in Italy.


----------



## Ranger REG (Aug 28, 2004)

LizardWizard said:
			
		

> A hard-fought game indeed, and I have serious doubts that US will win these Games. The Dream Team doesn't look unbeatable anymore; Team Lithuania does.



Oh, please! Team USA Basketball don't even deserve the title of "The Dream Team." 2004 Allen Iverson's Crew are nowhere near the caliber of 1992's Magic Johnson's Crew.

I feel sorry for the average American kids who look to these guys. We oldtimers have to remind them of the Hoop Trinity (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson).


----------



## drothgery (Aug 28, 2004)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Oh, please! Team USA Basketball don't even deserve the title of "The Dream Team." 2004 Allen Iverson's Crew are nowhere near the caliber of 1992's Magic Johnson's Crew.
> 
> I feel sorry for the average American kids who look to these guys. We oldtimers have to remind them of the Hoop Trinity (Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson).



That's not really fair; the 1992 team had the best players in the NBA, and the 1996 team was close to that. The 2000 team was really the beginning of the downslide; that team wasn't close to the best players in the NBA, and had three games they won quite narrowly. Still, despite having worse talent (or at least less mature talent; I expect in 2008 or 2012 people who forget how young this team was will wonder how a team with 'Melo, Wade, and LeBron could possibly lose) than the 2002 World Championship team that finished 7th, they're going to be no worse than 4th. A 2004 team on the level of the 1992 would certainly have Shaq, Kobe, Kevin Garnett, and at least one player from the team that just won the NBA title (Rasheed Wallace's game is just about perfect for international basketball; Billups can shoot; Big Ben would be another reliable inside player beyond Duncan).

I mean, I think the "Dream Team" moniker should be reserved for the 1992 team, but USA Basketball didn't have the option of sending the best Americans in the NBA this year.


----------



## Ranger REG (Aug 28, 2004)

drothgery said:
			
		

> I mean, I think the "Dream Team" moniker should be reserved for the 1992 team, but USA Basketball didn't have the option of sending the best Americans in the NBA this year.



And you know the reasons why, right, though a few of us (including myself) have joked about them a few pages ago?  

You're right. It is unfair ... to have the best American born-n-bred NBA players refusing to play in the summer and opt to shack up in their mansions, not returning calls from their illegitimate children's mothers and her lawyers about late support payments and admiring their latest acquisition of bling-blings.


----------



## Krieg (Aug 28, 2004)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> .../snip/...opt to shack up in their mansions, not returning calls from their illegitimate children's mothers and her lawyers about late support payments and admiring their latest acquisition of bling-blings.



Well at least you aren't overgeneralizing or stereotyping at all.


----------



## LizardWizard (Aug 28, 2004)

Lichtenhart said:
			
		

> I'm surprised too. It's been 24 years since our last olympic finals, and many countries did not take part to the Moscow 1980 games. I was really expecting the final to be Usa-Lithuania (and then I would have bet on the Lithuania).
> 
> We're on the final of both basketball and volleyball. Not bad for two sports that are considered minor in Italy.



Too bad Lithuania lost; although Lithuanians despise us, I really admire their basketball team. The bronze medal match will definitely attract more attention than the final.
There is really something wrong with modern basketball: Argentina advancing to the finals, Serbia & Montenegro fighting for the eleventh (!!!) position, and Russia not qualifying for the Olympics at all...


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 28, 2004)

LizardWizard said:
			
		

> Too bad Lithuania lost; although Lithuanians despise us, I really admire their basketball team. The bronze medal match will definitely attract more attention than the final.
> There is really something wrong with modern basketball: Argentina advancing to the finals, Serbia & Montenegro fighting for the eleventh (!!!) position, and Russia not qualifying for the Olympics at all...



 Yeah, I mean, a Gold medal match between Italy and Argentina.  Sounds more like a soccer match (wait a minute- wasn't the soccer final also Italy-Argentina?).


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 28, 2004)

It's easy to peg US basketball players as overpaid greedy players with no national pride.  It's true to a limited extent perhaps, but I have  a bit a sympathy for guys who refuse.  The US team gets a lot of flack for not winning (or even coming close to not winning, as in 2000), and not much credit for winning it.  Plus, the structure of the NBA makes it very difficult for the US to organize a team properly.  In most sports like soccer, powerhouse countries spend all year every year developing their national team, thru qualification tournaments, exhibition matches, etc.  Most countries have a permanent national team coach for major sports only only does that.  The US just throws together a team a few weeks before the Olympics.   It's not the US players' fault that the US doesn't organize a team.

Still, it's easy to say the US would have won if it had had its best players.  Maybe it's true.  Would have they gotten due credit for not taking the summer off working out the whole time?  That's why I do give a lot of credit to the guys on the team this year.  They're giving their best and probably won't get any praise for it.


----------



## Lichtenhart (Aug 28, 2004)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> Yeah, I mean, a Gold medal match between Italy and Argentina.  Sounds more like a soccer match (wait a minute- wasn't the soccer final also Italy-Argentina?).



Nope. The olympic Argentina team (olympic teams are quite different from national teams) was way too strong. We managed to score a goal, and that's more than anyone else has done. Only bronze for our soccer, but it's no shame losing against such a team.

The final was Paraguay-Argentina 0-1.


----------



## Klaus (Aug 28, 2004)

The US not playing for Gold is like, say, the Brazilian soccer team not even qualifying for the Olympics...

... wait! It didn't!

Well, at least the girls played some great soccer and deserved to win the final match, showing better skill than the US team. But two balls on the pole and an uncredited penalty (for the defender-as-goalie stunt) really hurt the team. The arbiters in that match were simply abusmal!


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 28, 2004)

Klaus said:
			
		

> The US not playing for Gold is like, say, the Brazilian soccer team not even qualifying for the Olympics...
> 
> ... wait! It didn't!
> 
> Well, at least the girls played some great soccer and deserved to win the final match, showing better skill than the US team. But two balls on the pole and an uncredited penalty (for the defender-as-goalie stunt) really hurt the team. The arbiters in that match were simply abusmal!



 Still, Brazil is showing awesome overall performance in team sports.

Silver in Woman's soccer, possible bronze in Woman's volleyball, a gold/silver in Men's volleyball, 4th place in woman's basketball, the men's basketball team is traditionally strong, and the men's soccer team need's no further proof.

You guys any good at handball, per chance?


----------



## hong (Aug 28, 2004)

Hearty congrats to the Americaian womens basketballers for taking the gold medal from the Opals, in a close-fought game. They have now extended their winning streak over us Austrians to 12 games over the last 8 years. Just goes to show what Americaian basketballers are capable of, when they take the Olympics seriously.


----------



## Klaus (Aug 28, 2004)

Handball? Hmm, not so much.

Sailing? Hell, yeah! (Gold on Laser and Gold on Star classes)

And here's to our Silver in Horseriding! Go, Baloubet de Rouet!


----------



## drothgery (Aug 28, 2004)

[deleted because I really don't want to continue in this vein, especially after Iverson's crew won the bronze medal game]


----------



## johnsemlak (Aug 28, 2004)

Just watched the Woman's volleyball final.  I have to say that even though Russia lost, Ekaterina Gamova is one of hte atheletes of this Olympics.  She's a towering woman at about 208 and was virtually unstoppable when she spiked.  Wasn't enough though.


----------



## Klaus (Aug 28, 2004)

Too bad, I was rooting for Russia (and Gamova is kinda cute, too! Now I know how a halfling feels like next to a human woman...)


----------



## drothgery (Aug 28, 2004)

hong said:
			
		

> Hearty congrats to the Americaian womens basketballers for taking the gold medal from the Opals, in a close-fought game. They have now extended their winning streak over us Austrians to 12 games over the last 8 years. Just goes to show what Americaian basketballers are capable of, when they take the Olympics seriously.



If the guys didn't take the Olympics seriously, they would've lost the bronze medal game. They didn't take the world championships seriously, which was why a more talented team than this one finished sixth in 2002. But I think the last week showed pretty clearly that despite the flaws in the way team USA was built, if they had a few more weeks of preparation they'd've won the gold anyway.


----------



## Bagpuss (Aug 28, 2004)

Have to mention Kelly Homes of Great Britain, winning 
the Women's 1500m after getting Gold in the 800m, I think that's only been managed twice before in the history of the games.

And Hicham EL GUERROUJ getting gold in the mens 5000m after getting gold in the 1500m.

The has been some amazing running on the track this year.


----------



## Perun (Aug 29, 2004)

*We got the gold! We got the gold!*

And we won the gold in handball!  Yay. That's five medals for Croatia (one gold, two silver, two bronze). That's one medal per 900,000 people 

The great bit is that all five medals were won by good folk of my home city of Split (the Skelin brothers in rowing, Draganja in swimming), had people from Split in the team (Ancic in tennis pairs, two guys from the handball team), or lived in Split at least some time (Peshalov, when in Croatia, stays in Split ). Quite good for a city of less than 180,000 people 

Yay for us!


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## LeapingShark (Aug 29, 2004)

Wow did you see what just happened in the marathon.  That man should be hung, drawn, and quartered.


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## Stormfalcon (Aug 29, 2004)

LeapingShark said:
			
		

> Wow did you see what just happened in the marathon.  That man should be hung, drawn, and quartered.




All that I'll say is that it's a good thing the bastard was wearing a kilt, considering where he's going...


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## Bagpuss (Aug 29, 2004)

He did the same thing at the British Grand Prix, ran onto the track narrowly avoiding a high speed crash. Got 2 months in jail, he needs to be put away for longer this time. He's some crazy drunk Irish priest who believes the nation of Israel is a sign that the second coming and end of the world is about to happen.


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## Klaus (Aug 30, 2004)

That man should be locked up in a mental institution for the remainder of his life...

And to think Queen Elizabeth II wrote to him commending him for his services to the Church in the past (before the Formula 1 thing last year).

You guys wouldn't believe what Vanderlei Silva (the brazilian runner) had to go through during his life to make it as a runner (not the best way to support one's self in Brazil). Only to have a nutso ex-priest blemish it with such an absurd scene.

The IAAF (International Athletism Federation) refused to comply to the Brazilian Olympic Comitee's request that two gold medals be awarded (to the Italian who won and to Vanderlei). But the International Olympic Comitee awarded the Baron Pierre de Coubertain medal to Vanderlei, for his olympic spirit. This medal was awarded only twice in the past (in the 60s to a bobsled athlete who lent a part of his bobsled to his rival, who ended up taking the gold; and in 88 to a sailing sportsman who abandoned a race to save another constestant whose boat had upturned and was drowning).

The Brazilian Olympic Comitee will enter a petition at the Referee Board in Lousanne, Switzerland, for the marathon's result to be reviewed.


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## Desdichado (Aug 30, 2004)

The runner seemed happy enough with the bronze result, though.  The commentators on our channel were asking if the guy out there had had any result on the actual outcome of the race, and most of the former athlete experts opinion was "probably not."  For a race that long, something like that doesn't really make too much of an impact.

And like I said, Silva seemed quite thrilled with the bronze...


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## Klaus (Aug 30, 2004)

He was absolutely thrilled with the bronze. He said that if the BOC manages to get the IOC to award two golds (one for the italian and one for him), it'd be great.

The thing is, Vanderlei was already in auto-mode (he's kinda famous for that). He had a 46 second lead on the chasers when he got attacked by that irish bastich. Between staggering when seeing the attacker, being thrown on the curb, being rescued my spectators (way to go, greek police!) and starting to run again, he lost about 20 seconds. Then he had to struggle within himself to find the resolve to keep on running (which is the reason he's getting the Pierre de Counertain medal). But his rythm was entirely lost.

Baldini (the italian who won), seeing that Vanderlei was _right ahead of him_ (after being so far away that he lost sight of him) gained much energy from the possibility of catching up with Vanderlei. Same with the Eritreian-turned-American who won silver.

And let's remember that this happened mere 6km from the finish line. So yeah, it was quite possible that Vanderlei could have won the gold if not for the Irish Madman. Silver, at the very least.

As a sidenote, Cornelius Horan, the Irish Madman, was sentenced to 1 year in prison, paid 3000 euros and is alread free, because he had no previous offenses in greek soil (according to the police dept.).


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## Hypersmurf (Aug 30, 2004)

Klaus said:
			
		

> You guys wouldn't believe what Vanderlei Silva (the brazilian runner)...




I've only seen him referred to as Vanderlei de Lima... Why the multiple names?

-Hyp.


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