Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympics is coming in a few days. I don't know about all of you, but I always look forward to the Olympics every two years (more so summer than winter). I love seeing medal counts, upsets, and world-record breaking performances. It's clear that the Olympics has lost its luster in the last decade or so, but I like the made-for-TV feel good stories that come along with the games, so I always end up getting sucked in.

What events, if any, are you looking forward to? For me, its taekwondo. As some of you know, I was competitive in my younger days and one of my acquaintances - Steven Lopez - will be going for his third gold medal. He's been described as the Michael Jordan of taekwondo - he hasn't lost in the last eight years. What makes the story more interesting is that his two younger siblings will be joining him in Beijing, marking the first time since the early 1900's that three siblings have been on the same Olympic team. Their eldest brother is also the national coach. I'll be rooting for them to make history.

Basketball's the only one I watched intently but I'll try to catch as much coverage as I can

I love the Olympics; the pomp, the spectacle, the world stage. It's great to see small countries have a great performance or even compete. I'm not into the medal count. I like the human interest stories that are generated and I usually cheer for the underdog.

Gymnastics and Track and Field are always exciting. I'm sure there will be some stories and achievements that will bring a tear to my eye.

I enjoy the track and field immensely!

I just hope i can see it for all the smog?

A couple of girls from my neck of the woods will be competing, one of whom is Amy Tran, who plays field hockey. I'll be following that team.

Sad to say, but I haven't followed the Olympics too closely in recent years. I admire the amateur athletes from around the world, who have dedicated their lives to this moment, but many of the events don't interest me.

I'll watch to see if Michael Phelps can win a bunch of gold medals, and the track events are enjoyable. I'm a little less inclined to watch the sports where the judging is more subjective.

I'm also disappointed that baseball and softball won't be continued in 2012.

I expected this to be a topic for another fantasy game. You've let me down, DB.

What's the world coming too?

They have to have the fantasy game for the Olympics, I believe I won the winter olympics fantasy game by picking Estonia (2 silver medals )

That makes the two of us although there is still hope that the IOC will change its mind between now and 2012.

For the summer games my main interests are baseball, basketball, soccer and to a lesser extent track and field so I will follow those events. It will also be inspiring to see athletes from Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan (in Afghanistan's case if they do indeed send a team) and other war torn nations around the globe compete.

Why isn't baseball and softball going to be continued after 2012?

The IOC voted it out in 2005, and reaffirmed the vote a year later. It was the first sport voted out by the Committee since they got rid of polo 70 years ago.

Unless it is replaced by another sport, there is a possibility that it can be reinstated for 2016. I'm not holding my breath though.

Baseball has been a medal sport since 1992 although it has appeared numerous times at the Olympics as an exhibition, including 1904 in Athens.

****Quick Trivia****

What are the only three nations to have qualifying baseball teams playing in every Olympic games since 1992?

Hmm, interesting. Thanks klydon. I wonder why they voted it out? I think it has global interest, especially from South American and Asian countries (most notably, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Japan)

Its definitely true. The IOC's decision doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean you've got: Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Taiwan, the U.S.A. and Venezuela with a legit interest in the sport. That's ten countries over three continents (four if Central America is taken as a separate territorial division). Just take a look at the link under "Confederations/Member Federations" and it shows that there are 110 countries around the world that to differing extents play some form of organized baseball. Some of the more interesting are India, Iran, Kazakhstan(!), Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

What I could see happening is that if the IOC does not reinstate baseball over the next few summer games, the World Baseball Classic will become the true determination of the international champion of the sport in the same way that the World Cup is (and has been since 1930) for soccer.

http://www.ibaf.org/

USA, JAPAN, CUBA. ??

Surprise! It's Cuba, Japan and.....Italy.

This may have contributed to the banishment of baseball from the Olympics. The qualifying requirements were such that only two countries from the Americas could make it while Europe, Asia and Africa would also have a representative or two.

Also, only recently did the US Olympic committee open the doors to non-amateurs, but still the team comprises only minor league players. Obviously, players under major league contracts are in the middle of their seasons, and the dream of playing in and winning the World Series overshadows an Olympic gold medal.

It was remarkable that Tommy Lasorda's young team in 2000 won the Gold. A few future major leaguers played for him, including Ben Sheets, Roy Oswalt and CC Sabathia. Brad Wilkerson, Adam Everett and Doug Mientkiewicz were among the offensive standouts, and the only recognizable name on the team that year was recently retired catcher, Pat Borders, who at 37 brought along the young pitching staff nicely.

Are you sure you're talking about Doug "I can't hit my weight in the Majors" Mientkiewicz?

That's the guy. I remember watching him as a Double A star in the Twins' system, and he was projected to be the next Will Clark. He could tear it up in the minors, but never materialized.

Likewise, Wilkerson, who had some productive major league seasons, never reached the level that some expected.

I like the sprinting.

Powell,Bolt and Gay et al

- Don't think I wasn't looking...

I actually found a game at cnnsi.com, but I found it too late and I didn't feel like registering.

I'll watch the weightlifting and track events. I'd also like to see some of the women's swimming. I'm kind of burned out on gymnastics though.

Watching the opening ceremony right now....

Nice to hear a good old fashioned Chinese pipe band blasting away in the background

Team Great Britain look awesome in their white suits

Team US look very dapper in their white caps also

Yeah?? It says it's airing "Live" here tonight at 7:30PM ET -- 7.5 hrs from now! It's almost Midnight in Beijing now...!

4.5 hours long, too... ouch. Not sure if I'll catch all of that!

And damn ESPN for not having Fantasy Olympics!

yesterday there was a special report on a sports channel in here about your relatives DB. I cracked laughing when I saw that and none of my friends understood.

Phelps have won his 1st Gold out of a possible 8 in swimming..

The murder of the volleyball coach's father-in-law and the vicious attack on the victim's wife in China has dampened the Olympic mood.

I'm watching the US women's gymnastics team and they are making one mistake after the other. One missed the uneven parallel bar completely. Another fell over on her dismount. Madonne!

Yea I seen that to. Tomorrow is another day.

Double Madonne. The girls really looked tight and rattled. The big controversy is the age of two Chinese gymnasts. They look like little kids. Bela Karoli is hot about it.

That 4x100 relay was one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever seen. Unbelievable.

UK wins its first womens gold in swimming for 20 years?

Awesome

I lied

It's not 20 years....its 48 years

They start training at 3 years old. Triple Madonne!

I saw this too, very exciting. 2nd Gold for Phelps..

Unfortunately, I haven't hardle seen any of the Olympics. I wanted to see the men's basketball team beat China but didn't know what time the game started. I think they're playing again tomorrow so I need to record it

Doesn't the UK usually do well in the equestrian events and sailing?

And don't forget my favorite winter olmpian of all time, Eddie the Eagle.

Great performances by Team USA in swimming last night. The male US gymnasts had a really good showing as well.

I had lost interest in the Olympics prior to this year, but have found myself watching swimming, gymnastics, volleyball, and basketball. I agree with Don Sicilia - they men's swim relay was about as exciting as it gets in sports.

What a starting bunch of studs on Team USA: LeBron, Kobe and Dwight Howard. There is no excuse for them to lose any games in the Olympics.

Klyd & MC?

Eddie the Eagle is a national hero to us....and possibly the worst athlete of all time...but he gave it his all and thats all that matters to us

We do do well in equestrian and sailing. We have won a bronze in the team event equestrian today and a silver in the kayaking,but i'm not to sure how the old sailors are coming along?

I've just been watching synchronized diving and beach volleyball...and they are going to drop baseball and softball. Go figger. Next they'll have synchronized walking.

What's with those divers? After every dive they have to take a shower. Come on, you were just in the water! How stupid.

I asked my daughter the same question about the showers. And I thought it was interesting that the Chinese divers were the only ones who wore shoes in the showers.

I thought the Australians were amazing. The Chinese girls were great, don't get me wrong, but I thought the Australians deserved the gold.

I'm practicing now for the 2012 London Olympics.

My event?

One-man synchronized swimming. I'm going out to the pool now. My neighbors think I'm nuts.

That's about the extent of it.

I would have loved it if one of the diving duos did a synchronized cannonball.

Or a sychronized belly flop.

"Just a little too much splash on that landing. I don't think they can get get higher than an 8.0."

Phelps is five for five now, with both relays out of the picture. Anybody have their doubts about him picking up the other three, and does he have to do them in world-record fashion?

I wouldn't say he has to win them in world-record fashion, just winning them is enough. He's already the most decorated Olympian of all-time with 11 Gold medals now!

On a sad note, I was looking forward to the Olympics and I've still hardly seen any of them I recorded team USA's win over Angola the other day and I'll do the same with the Greece game tomorrow but I have to find time to watch them now. I haven't seen any of the swimming of gymnastics.

I'm with you on that, but how cool would it be if he gets the record-breaking eight golds AND breaks a WR in every single one? That's mind-boggling!

That's too bad about not seeing much, especially the swimming. I woke my kids up yelling during the instant classic men's 4x100 relay. I think that may be the best sports moment I've ever seen.

Maybe they should check those speed suits for some kind of propulsion device or adrenaline drug on the lining of the suit that's absorbed into the skin. Oh, how cynical I am.

The suits certainly reduce the times. That's their purpose.

Yeah, and in one of his races his goggles were acting up and he still won the gold AND set a world record

Messing up is an understatment. Those things were full up! Rowdy Gaines commented that that alone proabably cost him a half second, yet he still won by .67. Not too shabby.

The track and field finally starts tomorrow!

Michael Johnson, one of my all time favourite athletes, commentates on the BBC,which is a bonus for me!

The 100 metre final is always one of my top 3 must watch sporting events and this one should be red hot!

My fav event of the olympics is the 10,000 meters and the final is on Sunday which i wont be able to see as im coming home from germany on this day... Gutted..


Haile Gabriel Selassie will be running this year as well one of the all time greats..

If they are just starting when you take off, you might be back home in time to catch the finish.....

Good point..

The Africans just seem to sprint round though don't they?

The hot and humid conditions will be right up their street too!

Team USA beat Greece rather easily today. They're first true test as a team thus far and they passed. Next up is Spain!

I saw Lithuania beat Russia this morning.

The standard was surprisingly poor!

Yeah, Gay, Bolt, and Powell are gonna put on quite a show!

Oh, i am looking forward to that....

Very much

What do you guys see in the UK? I am so tired of watching women's beach volleyball. Their asses are so skinny. Show me some wrestling.

I agree. Show me some weightlifting.

I have a similar complaint. Whenever I tune in, it is not interesting. There was a boxing match between a guy from Ecuador and a guy from a country whose abbreviation was UZR.

I had a few beers with a friend last night, and we just couldn't get interested in sychronized diving.

Now news reports are stating that the star Chinese female gymnast, whose performance won China the gold, was actually underage. Chinese govt. reports 9 months ago state that she's 13, but she got a passport saying she's 16.

The IOC in their wisdom has said that if the passport says she's 16, she is 16...regardless of the year of the birth.

Anyhow, I'm very happy for Michael Phelps. I was amazed by Mark Spitz when I was 8 in '72, and Phelps is generating the same excitement.

1/100th of a second... I still cannot believe that!! Phelps is an animal!!! Good for him!

WTF...until I saw the replay, I thought he got beat. What a finish! That extra half-stroke was just sick, and won it for him. Here's hoping the relay team can bring him the record-breaking 8th gold.

I had to see the replay at least 10 times before I believed it... and I still don't fully believe it! lol

^ Pwned.

Pwned? That doesn't show anything... as I said, I still barely believe it -- look how much farther away he is here!

Phelps won.

[/end]

...and Costas doesn't use Just For Men™

100 meters final result..

IT'S USAIN BOLT! 9.68 SECONDS! NEW WORLD RECORD!

That was amazing..

BBC.co.uk

Usain Bolt powered to a new world record as he produced a stunning run in the 100m Olympic final.

Bolt was well clear at 60m and although he eased down and started to celebrate 15 metres from the line he still set a new mark of 9.69 seconds.

Richard Thompson finished second while American Walter Dix came third.

Bolt's Jamaican team-mate Asafa Powell had been tipped as a possible rival but finished in fifth place as Bolt produced a superlative performance.

Second-placed Thompson posted a time of 9.89 seconds while Dix was two-hundredths of a second back in third as six men broke the 10-second barrier, but the race was all about Bolt.

Earlier this year he had set a new world record of 9.72 seconds to take the record away from Powell, and the 23-year-old had looked in imperious form on his way to the final.

Powell had also looked in fine form but from the gun it was clear there was only going to be one winner.

The 6ft 5in Bolt was away as quickly as anyone and when he hit from front with 50m to go it was all over bar the shouting.

The only question was just how fast a time he was going to set and despite easing down well short of the line he took three-hundredths of a second off his previous record in one of the most astonishing displays ever seen in the history of athletics.

Costa's also has to sit on 3 phone books in order to appear slightly taller than your average 5-year-old when he's on-screen.

Anybody familar enough with bicycle racing to answer this:

the spokes on their rear wheels are solidly covered. The front wheel spokes are only partially covered, some more than others. Why aren't the front wheel spokes completely covered like the rear wheel spokes?

In the UK we get it all on the good old BBC. They start at 3am with the swimming and go right through till 3pm. you can use the interactive button to get whichever sport you want to see!

GB won 9 medals today

We are untouchable in the cycling just now.

"Thunder" Bolt was something else in the 100m final.

Wow!!!

I think Costas is wearing a rug. He also changes his eye color with contacts. One night they were blue, the next time I saw him they were brown.

He can get on your nerves after awhile. He tries too hard to be intellectually witty. Sometimes it works and sometimes it's tedious and trite. We need Jim McKay of 20 years ago.

I can't believe "Trampoline" is an Olympic Sport. I also can't believe I'm watching this.

Trampolining??

And i missed it?

Curses

It's still on. I'm hoping someone goes flying into the crowd. It's kind of like watching NASCAR waiting for the wrecks.

I think a hurtling trampolinist may do more damage than a NASCAR wreck.....

Damn, that Dong Dong kid really got some height!

The Dong Dong Kid....


Is he an athlete or a gunfighter?

...or a porn star

Now that gave me a good old belly laugh

Does anyone remember a few years ago where there was a basketball league where the court was a series of trampolines. That was quite a spectacle.

Great Britain did very well today indeed.

Yes. It was hilarious. I'll have to search for it.

Slam ball:

Wow, Phelps just did it. Just WOW!

Damn, I missed it... Good for him!!

Did I just hear that right?? Usain Bolt was running 25-30 MPH??!! What??!!

Man, just saw his 8th medal presentation... what a moment!

I have no interest in the Olympics but I heard people on ESPN debating whether or not Phelps was better than Spitzer and I thought it was a ridiculous idea to even consider that he wasn't, and that was 3 medals ago.

Ex-NY Governor Eliot Spitzer didn't swim in the Olympics... you mean Mark Spitz?

I was talking about the medals from the 7 hookers, what did you think I meant? Swimming?

phelps has more gold medals then france. lol

ds

Usain Bolt was amazing. The guy started celebrating/thumping his chest at the 80-85 meter mark. He would have shattered his world record if he ran all the way through.

Phelps was/is awesome.

Bolt is the same.

Team GB continue to punch well above our weight,third in the medal table no less

I mentioned the BBC before for the folks sick of watching beach volleyball,trampolining and toe nail growing....


www.bbc.co.uk/olympics


Good site to follow the Olympics on!

This is the worst U.S. track and field team I've ever seen.

Well your still better than team GB..

The U.S. usually sweeps some of these events, and this year they're missing the podium or not even making the finals.

When do the games end?

8/24

I caught some of the US/China baseball game this afternoon, and the Chinese catcher learned a painful lesson that you don't stand in front of the plate without the ball and with a runner storming down the third baseline, especially after your pitchers plunked five of the runner's teammates throughout the game.

Thats true i have noticed a decline..

A water jump in the steeplechase?? Can't say I've seen that before... a bit dangerous, no??

You're watching this too, huh? Some of these event's are silly. I was watching men's "Handball" before. I thought it would be like when we played as a kid, hitting a ball against a wall with your hands. But no, it's 7 guys throwing a ball around trying to score goals in a net.

Wait a second. "BMX Racing" is an Olympic Sport now????

Like, basketball? lol didn't see that one

Handball would be weird. What next, kickball? Double-dutch jump rope? Rock/Paper/Scissors??

It was really like water polo without the water. Same concept. Instead of swimming, they just run up and down a field and throw the ball at the goal. ...I was watching it earlier on NBC's coverage on the "Universal HD" channel.

Off-topic, but "HD" reminded me of it, after Godfrey's joke at the Sagat Roast ("you'd have to be 'high' or 'deaf' to enjoy [Sagat's standup]")... Did you see it? I wish they would've picked on Jimmy more: he seemed a little upset that ppl were ignoring him so much. But it was pretty damn funny.

I heard the clips played on O&A, but that was it.

Comedy Central played it back-to-back 3 times (and it ran over each time ) -- but catch it if you see it on, it's pretty good...

OK. I'll catch it on YouTube in the morning.

Why the hell does Bolt keep shutting it down before the race is over??? He may be great, but being that cocky could screw him down the road...

Doesn't that, in a way, add to his allure? He shuts down before the end of the race and still breaks a world record. It makes you wonder "what if". That's how good the guy is. I'm a fan.

GB continue to rake in the medals

Christine Ohurugu has just won the gold in the womens 400 metres, which is brilliant.

Wait a minute. My brother and I invented that game when I was 9.

Hope you trademarked,or patented, it Klyd?

You could be worth millions

Heartbreak for Lolo Jones in the womens 100 metres hurdles but fellow US star Dawn Harper wins.

GB lassie comes last

We'll have her in the stocks when she gets home

Ohurugu may just have the best name on the planet. My daughter was rooting for her simply because she loved her name.

We used a tennis ball and actually used targets on the side of the garage, but never officially codified the rules.

That's OK. She's still hot.

Let the X-Games... I mean... Olympic BMX Racing... begin!

What's wrong? Just because they replaced Baseball with BMX?

I actually don't mind it... well, during the X-Games... but it does seem kinda weird seeing it in the Olympics!

Maybe we'll see "Extreme Gymnastics" at the X-Games someday.

I'd watch that!!

Yeah, so would I.

Moreso than Men's volleyball... WTF? Why not Women's volleyball, or gymnastics, or swimming, or.....?? lol

There are all sorts of ways to liven up the Olympics. Why not make swimming more "Xtreme" by adding some great white sharks into the pool and we'll see swimmers make Phelps looks like he was dogging it.

Well team USA easily disposes of Australia today. 1 down 2 to go for the gold. They are really playing incredible ball right now. Kobe's offense (especially his 3-point shot) has eluded him but his defense has been stellar. I'd say our best players have been LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.

bbc.co.uk/sport

Bolt claims 200m gold with record

Jamaica's Usain Bolt added the 200m crown to his Olympic 100m title in an incredible new world record time of 19.30 seconds in Beijing.

The 21-year-old, who won the 100m title in a world record of 9.69 secs, powered past the field to cross the line and smash Michael Johnson's mark of 19.32.

American defending champion Shawn Crawford took silver with team-mate Walter Dix getting the bronze.

Great Britain's Christian Malcolm clocked 20.40 secs for fifth place.

While Bolt's win was never in doubt the minor medals were shuffled twice, first when American Wallace Spearmon was disqualified for running out of his lane and denied bronze.

wow. this guy is incredible.

Taekwondo started last night. As I mentioned earlier, three of the four members are from the same family. The only non-family member competed last night and lost in the quarterfinals. Two of the Lopez family members (the younger two) go tonight and the third goes tomorrow.

Can they really say that two-hundredths of a second faster "smashed" the previous record?? In the UK does "smash" mean "barely beat"?

I hope I catch some of that... any idea when it's on?

Had I kept up with my TKD I'd've had my black belt by now!

Never too late to pick it up again, JG!

As of right now, they're only showing taekwondo via streaming live video (which can be found on www.nbcolympics.com). They MAY show Steven's on primetime since he's the most well-known of the bunch, but I doubt it.

The start times for the competitors are as follows:
Diana Lopez - Wednesday 10:00 PM EDT
Mark Lopez - Wednesday 11:30 PM EDT
Steven Lopez - Thursday 11:30 PM EDT

JG will go for Gold in 2012!!

But it might be a little late, I couldn't call myself a Blue Belt right now. I'd have to start over probably.

Thanks for the schedule!

But could you say that you have blue...oh, never mind.

Anyone catch Women's Javelin Thrower/Model Leryn Franco from Paraguay? If you didn't, you really missed out. Unfortunately, she finished 25th out of 26.

I just watched the American duo of Mays and Walsh beat China for the gold in women's beach volleyball in straight sets. Both tems were outstanding and the match was exciting. Mays and Walsh won the gold four years ago and this was their 109th consecutive match victory.

Jason Kidd was in attendance, and I have to applaud the men's basketball players not only for their performance on the court, but also their support of fellow American athletes in some of the less poular sports.

I'm watching more Olympics than I thought I would.

Damn, Lou. Leryn may not have won a medal, but Olga Korbut never looked like that.

We're lucky nobody was impaled by one of her throws because when she threw it, my guess is that nobody was following the flight of the javelin.

Good grief - what a beauty! I had heard about the javelin thrower's good looks, but had yet to see her until now. So Klydon, do you think the judges would keep asking her to do her throws repeatedly due to phantom "violations" just to see her run?

Just to prove she does actually throw the thing.

The younger siblings of the Lopez family had their turn on the taekwondo stage last night.

Diana got a bronze!

Mark got a silver! In the gold medal match, Korea scored a point that broke a tie in the last 10 seconds of the final round. (Also of note - to get into the gold medal match, Mark had to defeat Peter Lopez of Peru. Peter Lopez (no relation) actually trains in the Lopez family school in Houston. The one school sent four Olympians to Beijing!)

Great job by both!

(And now back to javelin pictures... )

Funny you should ask that.

When I was in high school, every student had to be timed in a 40 yard dash as part of the state requirements for physical fitness. A girl in my class, who was well endowed and very pretty, ran her sprint toward the old gym teacher, who was at the finish line with a stopwatch. He made her run it again because he had forgotten to start the stopwatch.

Great job indeed.

In more Olympic news...

Michael Phelps Returns To His Tank At Sea World

Japan won the softball gold, upsetting the US in the final softball Olympic game, 2-1.

Well, silver's not too bad.

Wow, softball lost the gold

I don't see any throwing! I see posing in the throwing position. I see, I see...wow, I seeee...

I think there were a few women who should have been sex-tested. The catcher on the USA women's team for one. And some of the sprinters are boobless with shoulders bigger than most men.

Wow MC you pay alot of attention to detail huh?

I'm watching the men's beach volleyball and it's USA/Brazil.
I like the abbreviation for Brazil is BRA

How pathetic, the men's and women's 4x100 relay teams drop the baton. This committee owes an apology.

Teamwork, coaching, leadership. Doesn't sound hard. The anchor sprinter, Lauryn Williams, who was involved in the dropped baton was interviewed and said it's like someone has a voodoo doll. Yeah, right. Just admit you lack teamwork, coaching, and leadership.

That was a very good match, and a great performance by the American team.

Did anyone catch the women's handball final. The Koreans made an amazing comeback in the final minutes and tied the match with about 6 seconds. Norway, which had been making mistakes, charged the length of the floor, and scored a goal at the buzzer to win the gold. The Koreans were stunned as they were still celebrating their comeback.

Taekwondo update...

Steven Lopez lost in his quarterfinal match on a VERY questionionable point deduction which tied the score with Italy in the 3rd and final round (Steven was leading 2 to 1 at the time of the point deduction). The match went into sudden-death overtime and Italy was able to sneak one in to score the deciding point. The US filed a protest re: the point deduction but the protest "was not accepted" (I don't know what that means - denied? not allowed to file papers?). The loss was his first since 2002 and in my opinion, the streak was just as amazing as the dominance of US Women's softball (and therefore, the loss was just as big an upset as the loss suffered by the softball team yesterday - at least in taekwondo circles).

Because of the way the tournament is structured, Steven was still eligible for the bronze and he won a couple of more matches after his loss to claim the bronze medal.

Although lacking in gold medals, the Lopez family made history by having medals from three siblings in the same Olympics (1 silver and 2 bronze).

Great job by all!

congratulations to your relateds DB!

You american brats don't know what an individual achievement means to these guys. By the time Phelps retires he'll have way more gold medals than Brazil ever had in the history of the Olympics. today we won our 2nd gold medal - women's long jump - and you don't have an idea what happens to the people who get gold medals in here. of course that's why we choke on every decisive moment. the atheletes have to carry the weight of the country on their shoulders, while the authorities are playing the mob.

Both volley finals will be Brazil X USA and although Brazil has the best teams I wouldn't be surprised if we lose both.

I'm surprised Brazil has only two gold medals. But if they truly have the "best" volleyball teams (and I don't follow volleyball), they should win. Being the best means raising your performance at the most compelling times. If they choke at decisive moments, as you say, then I don't think they can be called the best.

Also, what does happen to athletes that win golds. If they receive national adoration and praise, I don't know how that contributes to athletes choking as you say. Maybe I'm missing something. I don't know whether Brazilian athletes are under more pressure to succeed than , say, Michael Phelps.

How are athletes treated, who are expected to do well, but fail? I know some places have treated them and their families crouelly. I recall a Columbian soccer player, who accidently knocked the ball into his own goal, was murdered by a mob upon his arrival home. That's an extreme and uncommon reaction, of course. But I would be interested in knowing what the national mood is concerning the Olympics. Thanks.

Like, literally killed???

Colombia had a great team heading into the 1994 World Cup - Pele, in one of his many unlucky predictions, said they were one of the big favorites to win it - but the team was a big disappointment . they lost 1-2 to USA in the game that sealed their elimination and one of the american goals was an own goal by Andres Escobar, who later was killed but I remember hearing that it was proved that it had nothing to do with the own goal. wikipedia makes you think it did.

Yes. It was a true story. It wasn't a mob that killed him though. It was allegedly the Columbian drug lords that lost millions of dollars betting on the game that had him killed. I believe the game was played at Giants Stadium too. I'll have to search it.

EDIT: Although Giants Stadium hosted World Cup games in 94, that game was played at the Rose Bowl.

no klydon it has nothing to do with violence to the athletes - I know I didn't explain it well in my previous post and the line "the authorities are playing the mob" may have linked it to Colombian drug lords and such. but hey, every now and then there's a newspaper or opponent politician linking the Brazilian government to the FARC. and that's what I'm talking about. I know you have your issues in the US Government but in Brazil the consequences of corruption and deviation of public funds are way bigger. every week there's a new case of a politician who stole 500 million bucks that were destinated to public health or something like that, and NONE of them went to jail. the Supreme Court is a shame. the government is a mob. and that translates to sports. Brazil host the Pan Amaerican Games last year and the expense still haven't been approved by the Court of Audit. even so, the government authorized I-dont-know-how-many billion bucks to be invested in the Rio 2016 Olynpic program.

I don't even know where to begin. if you want to get deep in this subject, let's do it!

I believe brazilian athletes have to deal with a different kind of pressure than americans for instance, because if an american fails in the dinal round, some fellow countrymen will win another gold medal within half an hour. a brazilian who wins a gold medal becomes a celebrity and his sport gains never before seen coverage, because in Brazil we live, eat, drink and breath soccer and only soccer. especially in these 2008 Beijing games I'm sensing desperate brazilians choking against cold americans (beach volleyball, both men and women and women's soccer are a big example). Brazil had 12 world champions in the last 4 years among its atheletes and almost all of them choked badly. the brazilian women's soccer team has got to be better than USA's. but those girls have to work another part time job because there is no female soccer tournament in here. the Brazilian Soccer Confederation, among the Mob that exists here, is the Corleone Family. and those girls are buttonmen in suicide missions.

concerning to volleyball, Brazil male team may be the winningest team of the past 10 years in any sport. and the female team has not lost one single set so far in Beijing. again, it will be NO surprise if we lose both.

Very interesting, Tony. Thanks. I got a good picture. I guess the US Women's soccer team won the gold? I missed that somehow.

I'll have to make a point to follow the volleyball finals.

I didn't mean to imply that I thought the Brazilian athletes, who fell short, were subjected to mean-spirited treatment. I knew that wasn't the case.

I didn't know about the extent of governmental corruption and the Soccer Confederation. That was an intriguing analogy.

I would guess that national attention to the World Cup exceeds that of the Olypics?

This armstand diving is pretty amazing... wow

Bolt... again. In a relay yet, and another world record! Yah, mon!

Yeah, I saw that last night and can't remember that ever being done before. Is that something new since the last Olympics or did I just miss it somehow?

I've never seen it before... sure beats ping-pong as an Olympic event!

...and this 14-year-old Thomas Daley (UK)?? Why do I feel like I've wasted my life? lol

Water polo is boring. I had to change the channel.

Wow. I just heard/recalled the name Bruce Jenner... I was 10! Was that when McDonald's was giving away Leroy Neiman prints from the Olympics? I wonder if I still have them somewhere, but I doubt it...

How old is he now?

Jenner? He's gonna be 59 in October

see what I'm talking about? it was a national commotion in here.



The 2014 World Cup is set to be here too. that is just insane. do you want an example? in the final game of the Second Division National Soccer Championship last year the stands of one of the biggest stadiums of the country just BROKE and 8 people FELL OVER 40 feet IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET and died of course. that shows you that FIFA is a joke too for allowing Brazil to host the World Cup.



no doubt. the country really stops to see the World Cup.

I actually like Water Polo. At least when the U.S. is playing.

I didn't watch any of the taekwondo but couldn't believe this when I heard it

---

Matos banned for life after kicking referee following match

I'm watching Rhythmic Gymnastics now. They are dancing using a hula hoops. Since when is this a sport?

Liked to see you try it.

I'd fall and break my neck

Glad to see Team USA reclaim the gold in Men's Basketball. Spain gave them a heck of a fight but like true champions, they still prevailed

The US Boxing team won 1 bronze medal. That's it. Has boxing the the USA has become a dead sport; take over by UFC?

I like how they put all the gold medals around the coaches neck.

Why oh why does London have a red bus as its mascot?

It's like something off a kids TV show


Been a great Olympics though.

Phelps and Bolt.....both absolutely awesome and a great show form Great Britain,4th in the medals table!

I'm a very proud chap tonight

Any of our UK alums going to the 2012 Games in London? I REALLY wished New York City would have gotten it

Of all the wonderful landmarks in London, they pick the bus? What about Big Ben, or London Bridge, Buckingham Palace. The bus? it's so.....pedestrian

Taekwondo did not have a good Olympics - first with the Protest controversy and then the article pasted by IM above. Not good news for the sport going forward in terms of Olympic participation...

I would like to go to the Games in 2012 but i imagine tickets,travel and accomadation prices will go through the roof that summer.

How far from London are you Yogi?

300 miles or so Irish,give or take a few!

It's a 4 hour train journey.

Yeah that's kinda long but you could always make your reservations today

Good idea,good idea

I was in Atlanta in '92 when they were preparing for the '96 Games. There were a dozen or so large hotels being built in the surrounding area and they were all booked already for the Olympics...at scandalous rates, I'm sure.

By the way, I thought NBC did an outstanding job covering the Olympics this year. I watched more than I had planned and it was partly due to the excellence in coverage. They provided compelling camera angles and commentary. I don't care for diving, but the instant replays from every conceivable perspective made it interesting.

Watching the close up of Bolt sprinting from the camera that races along the side track with him on hi-def big screen makes you think you're running with him.

[quote=klydon1By the way, I thought NBC did an outstanding job covering the Olympics this year. . [/quote]

Kly, I guess I didn't watch enough, or I watched at the wrong time. All I remember about the Olympics is beach volley ball ad nauseum, indoor volleyball, water polo. It seemed every time I turned on the TV I was watching volleyball. I saw some gymnastics, diving and track. I wish I saw some of the lesser sports. Just show me the highlights, the winners and the USA losers. There were no human interest stories from other countries. I would like to have seen the bronze medal winner from Mauritius or Moldive. I don't need to see slo-mo over and over again of a kill shot in volleyball. All they do is hug after every point. BORING! And Bob Costas, what color contact lenses are you wearing tonight? Sorry, I was turned off.

There were no human interest stories from other countries. [/quote]

I'm not a big fan of the human interest stories. That's why I liked the coverage. And I thought they did a good job limiting the studio time, and focusing on the events. Again, I certainly wasn't glued to the set, but I found myself watching events that I would never watch otherwise just because it was taking place in the Olympics.

It was kind of ironic that the US lost the softball gold in the last softball game. A big reason that the sport was voted out was because the US had been dominating it. In light of Japan's win, I will bet that the sport returns in 2016.

Yes. like literally killed. He was murdered while he was in a store in Columbia. They announced this while the playoff round was on. Now, I'm not going to speculate if it was drug lords who killed him because they lost a bet or just a disgruntled fan. But he was indeed killed.

I have been thinking about posting a a thread of the hottest 2008 olympians. Perhaps I will do it sometime soon. I have done that already in other forums.

DS, I saw what was obviously a rerun of Letterman last night, and he had a bit on about the Olympics with various members of the US team. Steven Lopez was on and I thought of you.

That's cool, SB!

Biff from Letterman with the Olympic hopefuls

Here's the You Tube video of the sketch, DS. Steven Lopez is at 2:25.

That was great. I always enjoy the Biff pieces.