NationStates Jolt Archive

With the Olympics Opening ceremony only 8 hours away I thought I might start up a thread for all Generalities to be able to talk about the Olympics.

This may be on events you watched and the controversies that happened while they were held.

Why China was a poor or good pick for the 2008 Olympics.

You might even use it as a bragging point when your country manages to take out the gold.

So despite the fact that the Olyroos managed to draw with Serbia still keeping them in contention despite Argentina winning their first game against the Ivory Coast.

I will ask NSG who they think which countries will finish in the top 5 in regards to the gold medal standings?

Or just post whatever you want on your thoughts on the Olympics

Man I'm a bloody idiot I posted it in the wrong forum.

Mods can you please move it.

no jews allowed

Hardly a problem, jews aren't exactly sportsmen, I doubt any could qualify.

Indeed. I just wanted to make sure they couldn't come.

Anyway, USia USia USia!

I know the US and Japanese teams are providing the athletes with face masks for the pollution. It'll be interesting to see how many masked faces there are when they march in.

Beijing's only an hour different from JST, so no late nights/early mornings to watch events live. :)

We should dress our athletes like Combine Overwatch.

Not to mix the olympics and politics, but im sure you guys read about the athlete who wasnt allowed in due to his views on darfur right? Disgusting...

Could have been worse, the IOC could have allowed Nazi Germany host....oh, never mind.

Seriously, how can a city with AIR POLLUTION so thick it seems like your head is covered in cheesecloth host an Olympics? Other than the fact that that China has 1+ Billion people in a growing economy and it's been over 40 years since the last Asian Olympic games.

Could have been worse, the IOC could have allowed Nazi Germany host....oh, never mind.

Seriously, how can a city with AIR POLLUTION so thick it seems like your head is covered in cheesecloth host an Olympics? Other than the fact that that China has 1+ Billion people in a growing economy and it's been over 40 years since the last Asian Olympic games.

How about we have the olympics in Baghdad? Nothing like a trackside bomb to give a sprinter that extra boost he needs!

My thoughts are several:

1. If I know the Chinese, this will be the gamblingest Olympics ever held.

2. An Irish comic I saw on t.v. said that the only gold medal that country ever won was taken away because the horse (equestrian events) was doped up. Well, it was funny the way he said it. I'll cheer for an Irish athlete if I see one.

3. I won't watch boxing, because the winner is too often the rightful loser. They get points for the number of hits, rather than the damage inflicted. Since they wear headgear and heavy gloves, knockouts don't happen (at least I've never see one). Boring.

4. I can't imagine anyone ever enjoying the opening or closing ceremonies at an Olympics, and I sure won't be watching those. :p

4. I can't imagine anyone ever enjoying the opening or closing ceremonies at an Olympics, and I sure won't be watching those. :p

You won't be?

I will be of course I will be attending a Prosh after dark event at the time and by the time the Olympic opening ceremony comes on at 9:30 I will almost be totally drunk thanks to the Uni subsidizing the beer, so it won't really matter how bad it is.

But how many people on here intend on watching the opening ceremony it is only 4 hours away.

I usually enjoy the opening ceremonies.

I usually enjoy the opening ceremonies.

:eek: .

Anyone notice that the olympics won't be televised until 7:30p EST, even though they've already begun in China? That'll mean a full day's tape delay for all the events. And that means I'll know who won each event a day before the tape airs on t.v., the internet being what it is. Nice. :rolleyes:

Anyone notice that the olympics won't be televised until 7:30p EST, even though they've already begun in China? That'll mean a full day's tape delay for all the events. And that means I'll know who won each event a day before the tape airs on t.v., the internet being what it is. Nice. :rolleyes:

That's just uncivilized.

I usually enjoy the opening ceremonies.

March of the athletes is always nice to watch, especially the smaller non-western countries who usually are brave enough to try something wacky.

Mongolian flag carrier was teh ace IMO.

T -17 days until the MEN'S OLYMPIC MARATHON

RYAN HALL!
RYAN HALL!
RYAN HALL!
RYAN HALL!

:eek:

Horses for courses. :wink:

That's just uncivilized.

Indeed.

March of the athletes is always nice to watch, especially the smaller non-western countries who usually are brave enough to try something wacky.

Mongolian flag carrier was teh ace IMO.

The opening show was fun.

The ordering of entries, according to the Chinese character stroke order, was cool.

American flag carrier is a miler! Lost Boy Lamong, talk about a smack to the face of China's Sudanese policy.

I will definitely be watching the opening ceremony.

Wish the TV schedule wasn't so hectic though. I can't seem to find a listing for some of the events, mainly taiquondu.

and it's been over 40 years since the last Asian Olympic games.
You've forgotten Seoul... 1988, wasn't it?

You've forgotten Seoul... 1988, wasn't it?

Try the 1998 games in Nagano.

The 1972 games in Sapporo also fall earlier than 40 years ago. meaning that not only are the current games not the first Asian games since the Tokyo games Qazox was thinking of, they aren't even the second or third, but the fourth Asian games since then.

I will definitely be watching the opening ceremony.

Wish the TV schedule wasn't so hectic though. I can't seem to find a listing for some of the events, mainly taiquondu.

Perhaps because Taiquondu isn't a sport, you wanna look for Taekwondo

I'll be looking out for an acquaintance of mine over there - she's fencing Sabre and she's up tomorrow against a Polish sabruer.

Perhaps because Taiquondu isn't a sport, you wanna look for Taekwondo

Alternate transliterations/spellings for the same sport, I'm afraid.

Fixed the title of the thread, because I'm OCD like that.

Anyone notice that the olympics won't be televised until 7:30p EST, even though they've already begun in China? That'll mean a full day's tape delay for all the events. And that means I'll know who won each event a day before the tape airs on t.v., the internet being what it is. Nice. :rolleyes:

Well that is money talking bloody network trying to get the most ratings they can.

At least my network didn't try anything stupid like that, I wouldn't put it past them based on past experiences with them.

As for the ceremony well I enjoyed most of it, but a word of warning to people DO NOT play a drinking game where you must take a swig every time you hear a Chinese language. I forgot about the rule where they speak french, then English and then mandarin, not to mention the fact that when the countries come out they say it in Chinese yes that's right that bit alone had 204 swigs. And our telecaster had a bit before it started where a boy spoke in Chinese and each sentence was translated by a Australian girl where we were able to test out the others rules that being every time China and Australia were mentioned another swig was taken I went through a bottle in that 3 minute bit alone. Needless to say I don't feel well right now.

Fixed the title of the thread, because I'm OCD like that.

What was wrong with it? Spelling? I don't even remember what I wrote now.

The Chinese national anthem is awesome.

This is the most impressive thing I have ever seen...

NBC has ruined this for the US.

NBC has ruined this for the US.

Why? jews

Why? jews

Are you watching the opening ceremony right now?

Are you watching the opening ceremony right now?

Yeah. Not paying attention that much, but yes.

Yeah. Not paying attention that much, but yes.

How can you pay attention to it when there's commentators talking over everything? I stopped watching half an hour ago.

How can you pay attention to it when there's commentators talking over everything? I stopped watching half an hour ago.

I thought they were doing pretty good. Their commentary has, IMO, been well placed and informative.

How can you pay attention to it when there's commentators talking over everything? I stopped watching half an hour ago.

At least that's something. NBC here is showing Family Guy for the next hour, followed by preseason football. :tongue:

I thought they were doing pretty good. Their commentary has, IMO, been well placed and informative.

You're smoking crack.

At least that's something. NBC here is showing Family Guy for the next hour, followed by preseason football. :tongue:

I'd rather watch Family Guy. :p

I like the quality of live Internet streams that NBC provides on their website.

You're smoking crack.

I wish, I wish.

And the Parade of Nations is my favorite part. I wonder if the Russian and Georgian teams will start a fight.

What was wrong with it? Spelling? I don't even remember what I wrote now.

Beijing was spelled wrong. :tongue:

How can you pay attention to it when there's commentators talking over everything? I stopped watching half an hour ago.

Don't like it? Change the channel. Waaah waaah.

I get both CBC and NBC, so I watched the CBC broadcast, and then watched the NBC broadcast in HD about a half-hour later.

Comparing the two, there was much more information presented by NBC's broadcasters- the Canadians kept breaking away for frequent breaks and spending bits profiling their athletes. At least NBC stayed on the ceremony, and let me tell you, it looked amazing in HD.

I chuckled a little when I saw the end with the various Chinese ethnic groups dancing it up- especially the obviously Chinese guy with a fake white beard pretending to be an ethnic Uighur. The Miao dancers made me smile the mot.

Parts of it were pretty spectacular, parts came a little close to sentimentality.

The parade of nations was a little boring.

Zaire changed it's name to the Democratic Republic of Congo? Was that just to spite the original Congo? Canada should change its name as well to 'The slightly better part of North America'

Parts of it were pretty spectacular, parts came a little close to sentimentality.

The parade of nations was a little boring.

Zaire changed it's name to the Democratic Republic of Congo? Was that just to spite the original Congo? Canada should change its name as well to 'The slightly better part of North America'

"Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. relations with Kinshasa cooled, as Mobutu was no longer deemed necessary as a Cold War ally, and his opponents within Zaire stepped up demands for reform. This atmosphere contributed to Mobutu's declaring the Third Republic in 1990, whose constitution was supposed to pave the way for democratic reform. The reforms turned out to be largely cosmetic, and Mobutu's rule continued until conflict forced him to flee Zaire in 1997. The name of the nation was returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the name Zaire carried strong connections to the rule of Mobutu."

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo#Zaire_.281971_.E2.80.93_1997.29

Beijing was spelled wrong. :tongue:

Ah damn. I suppose I splet it Biejing?

Well two medals have been decided already, China managed to get one, the Women's 48 kg weightlifting and the Czech Republic has won the other one for the Women's 10m air rifle.

Just watching the Men's Beach Volleyball now Australia playing Georgia come on Aussie come on.

The Women's beach volleyball team managed to dispose of the Russian team.

Same goes for the Opals (Women's basketball) that was a good game to see them nicely beat Belarus.

I can't believe NBC has delayed the telecast, it shouldn't be allowed why couldn't they show it live first and then show the replay? Hopeless it is reasons like those why I hate TV stations.

I kind of wanted to hate the opening ceremonies because of the evil China etc etc etc and i was honestly stunned at how spectacular it was. It was by far and away the best Opening Ceremonies that i have every seen hosted by any Country bar none. Its not often in this day and age that i sit amazed at what i see on TV. Fireworks that duplicated the footprints of a giant running thru downtown Bejing? I mean how cool is that concept? And that had to have been a $60 million dollar LCD TV sitting on the floor of that stadium.

Don't like it? Change the channel. Waaah waaah.
If you knew how to read you would see that I did change the channel.
Comparing the two, there was much more information presented by NBC's broadcasters- the Canadians kept breaking away for frequent breaks and spending bits profiling their athletes. At least NBC stayed on the ceremony, and let me tell you, it looked amazing in HD.
Who cares about information? Honestly. I don't need to know what this and that means, I just want to hear what the fuck the little girl is singing. They never did shut their mouths, they interrupted every song, every announcement, and didn't even pause the broadcast for commercial.

NBC can suck my cock.

ok, is anyone watching the US v. Japan volleyball match? 'Cause I have a question. I'd like to know if there's a reason why some of the Japanese athletes have their first names on their jerseys? I know this is kinda a weird question, but I'm curious.

[I]*snip*

I resent your attempt to enlighten me with facts, it's not the legitimacy of your point, it's the manner in which you provide it.

:$

ok, is anyone watching the US v. Japan volleyball match? 'Cause I have a question. I'd like to know if there's a reason why some of the Japanese athletes have their first names on their jerseys? I know this is kinda a weird question, but I'm curious.

I don't know, but in the MLB some Japanese players have their 1st name - Ichiro comes to mind. Yao Ming, although not Japanese, simply has Yao instead of Ming on his jersey in the NBA.

USA sweep in women's sabre. Rather suprising.

Was I the only one who was bored when they watched the opening ceremony? I watched it last night, and last night was the first time I actually thought a terrorist attack would've been a good thing. It would've liven it up.

I didn't watch it, I was playing Rome: Total War.

I didn't watch it, I was playing Rome: Total War.

rome:total war?great game.i watched boxing today and two things left me wonder:why there are amateur boxers competing in the olympics?,and why professional boxing is banned in cuba?

cos Fidel coud've been a contender... but he can't play no more

Was I the only one who was bored when they watched the opening ceremony? I watched it last night, and last night was the first time I actually thought a terrorist attack would've been a good thing. It would've liven it up.

I guess some people have unrealistic expectations. I mean what did you expect, the dancers all dropping thier pants and having rabbits hop out of their ass? What would you do better?

rome:total war?great game.i watched boxing today and two things left me wonder:why there are amateur boxers competing in the olympics?,and why professional boxing is banned in cuba?
boxing is an excellent sport. it belongs in the olympics.

pro boxing is as corrupt as horse racing. its not the sham that pro wrestling is but its bad.

cuba has its own rationale for all of its policies.

boxing is an excellent sport. it belongs in the olympics.

pro boxing is as corrupt as horse racing. its not the sham that pro wrestling is but its bad.

cuba has its own rationale for all of its policies.

oh,i didn't know that. my mum loves boxing.she watches a lot of it and even took boxing lessons.i did too until i quit it.

oh,i didn't know that. my mum loves boxing.she watches a lot of it and even took boxing lessons.i did too until i quit it.
was your question why the pro boxers arent in the olympics like the pro basketball players are?

was your question why the pro boxers arent in the olympics like the pro basketball players are?

yeah.(BTW i just put them there because of the character limit)

..

was your question why the pro boxers arent in the olympics like the pro basketball players are?

Didn't Oscar De La Hoya represent the US in 2000 or 2004?

USA sweep in women's sabre. Rather suprising.

Nah not really. Ward and Zagunis were hot favourites. Jacobson was the only surprise. USA's been pretty good at Women's Sabre for the last few years, not so much in the other weapons.

Kudos to them.

Didn't Oscar De La Hoya represent the US in 2000 or 2004?


dunno but when i went to look at who is on the team this year i found out that there is no women's boxing in the olympics. whats up with THAT?

(or did i miss the listing?)

I guess some people have unrealistic expectations. I mean what did you expect, the dancers all dropping thier pants and having rabbits hop out of their ass? What would you do better?

Maybe something with explosion? I know the Olympics has a global audience, but here in the USA, we're not entertained with "artsy" stuff, we want car chases, hot women/men, beer, and explosions. *nod*

yeah.(BTW i just put them there because of the character limit)

..
most of them probably cant pass the drug test.

and

not enough money in it for don king (is don king still THE boxing promoter?)

Maybe something with explosion? I know the Olympics has a global audience, but here in the USA, we're not entertained with "artsy" stuff, we want car chases, hot women/men, beer, and explosions. *nod*

You didn't watch the end, did you? The Chinese put enough explosives in that area to blow up San Marino.

On that note, the Vatican should have an olympic team.

You didn't watch the end, did you? The Chinese put enough explosives in that area to blow up San Marino.

On that note, the Vatican should have an olympic team.

Sorry, but molestation isn't an Olympic event. Bada-Bing.

Nah not really. Ward and Zagunis were hot favourites. Jacobson was the only surprise. USA's been pretty good at Women's Sabre for the last few years, not so much in the other weapons.

Kudos to them.

Well, a suprise to me at least. I don't keep track of fencing, so I didn't know that we were a women's sabre power.

Also the Spanish got their first gold medal in the Bicycle Road Race. Congrats to Samuel Sanchez. I also feel Spain will get the Men's Tennis Gold....

Also the Spanish got their first gold medal in the Bicycle Road Race. Congrats to Samuel Sanchez. I also feel Spain will get the Men's Tennis Gold....
who is playing on the spanish team in tennis?

The Olympics are boring.

who is playing on the spanish team in tennis?

Rafael Nadal, soon to be named the World Number 1 in Tennis.

Rafael Nadal, soon to be named the World Number 1 in Tennis.
ahhhhh

but isnt federer playing too?

ahhhhh

but isnt federer playing too?

Yes but Nadal is favourite to win. Maybe Federer will want to get some payback after losing the Wimbledon final to Nadal. No matter what though Nadal is still being named Number 1.

Yes but Nadal is favourite to win. Maybe Federer will want to get some payback after losing the Wimbledon final to Nadal. No matter what though Nadal is still being named Number 1.
it should be a good match. its not like nadal is a runaway favorite.

of course there may well be an upset because neither man is hungry enough to play for glory only...

Blah. Did anyone else think that the opening ceremony was basically China saying "Ooooh, look at me, I can do what dozens of countries already did!" Just parade the bloody flags and get on with it, already...

Oh, and by the way, did anyone catch the 56 minority groups coming in (China: where 55 are persecuted) and the soldiers goose-stepping? I always wondered what the 1936 Olympics were like, and I suppose now I have a pretty good idea.

I found the Opening Ceromony really interesting. I don't think any other country has done giant firework footsteps going across their city to the main stadium. That was impressive.

Some boxers in the past have been successful professionally and in the Olympics. Professional boxing has a different style, though, as there is headgear in the Olympics and thus knockouts are rarer. So my understanding is Olympic boxing is based more on speed, agility, and torso shots. Not that professionals don't have those qualities, but its different.

Whoever asked about Womenx Boxing - It will be in at London 2012.

Some boxers in the past have been successful professionally and in the Olympics. Professional boxing has a different style, though, as there is headgear in the Olympics and thus knockouts are rarer. So my understanding is Olympic boxing is based more on speed, agility, and torso shots. Not that professionals don't have those qualities, but its different.

Whoever asked about Womenx Boxing - It will be in at London 2012.
ooooo cool!

I'm not looking forward to London 2012 for one reason. Transport is going to be a bitch...

I'm not looking forward to London 2012 for one reason. Transport is going to be a bitch...
pfffft its only a couple of weeks. you can rent space to your NSG friends.

pfffft its only a couple of weeks. you can rent space to your NSG friends.

And I can use these NSG Friends as transportation! Genius!

I don't much like Gymnastics, but damn those guys are athletes.

I don't much like Gymnastics, but damn those guys are athletes.

Very impressive indeed.

So, apparently a couple of relatives of the coach of the US mens volleyball team and their tourguide were attacked in China. One of the relatives was killed, the other injured, and the attacker committed suicide.

Always the best news to hear the day after the opening ceremonies...

I don't much like Gymnastics, but damn those guys are athletes.

It's exciting to see, but it's a sport that destroys the body if you keep at it long enough, paradoxically. The invention of the trampoline obviated all that for me - no need to break a knee when you can do the same acrobatics bouncing. :p

Jesus...Micheal Phelps just broke the record on the 400m Medley...by 2 entire seconds.

So there's a girl from China swimming right now, Li, I think, and she has a piece of duct tape over the logo on her wetsuit, anyone know why?

You'd think duct tape would have a bad effect on her hydrodynamics.

So there's a girl from China swimming right now, Li, I think, and she has a piece of duct tape over the logo on her wetsuit, anyone know why?
Maybe it's like an IBM logo in the '38 Olympics?

You'd think duct tape would have a bad effect on her hydrodynamics.

I did think that. :p

For the duct tape, complete guess but I know Speedo have some amazing swimming suit that provides quite some advantage.

Since some swimmers are sponsored by rival brands, there was a dilemma as to what to do, some have just decided to forget the sponsorship and use Speedo anyway, it may be that they cover the Speedo logo as a compromise.

Could have been worse, the IOC could have allowed Nazi Germany host....oh, never mind.

To be fair, Germany was given the Olympics before they were taken over by Nazis

Also the Spanish got their first gold medal in the Bicycle Road Race. Congrats to Samuel Sanchez.

Yes that was a good race, I watched the last 12 km of it, and although Rogers was in the first chase group with Kolobnev I knew he wouldn't win it and then I wanted the Luxembourg racer I think his name was Scheck and he ended up 5th despite being with the leaders for all of that time.

It was good to see Steph Rice win Australia's first gold for the 400m IM, and it looks like Phelps has started well for his 8 golds. It was a shame to watch Australia only manage to get the bronze in the women's 4x100 freestyle relay.

I just watched Micheal Diamond have to settle for fourth in the Men's Trap, which is a shame cause it was one of the few sports which I participate in and wanted Australia to win it.

Just watching the news break on our broadcaster they are talking about empty seats, and a bunch of government officials are given the seats they showed those at the end of the Men's Road race and not many were even paying attention when the riders came through. Yes I know there is some bias but something to think about.

And does anyone else think the Bush has not a clue on how to cheer on an American athlete, just before the Men's 400m IM he held up the flag but he had it the wrong way around, the stars were in the top right hand corner as opposed to the left.

To be fair, Germany was given the Olympics before they were taken over by Nazis

And we wouldn't have the torch ceremony without Hitler. I like the torch ceremony. :)

So, apparently a couple of relatives of the coach of the US mens volleyball team and their tourguide were attacked in China. One of the relatives was killed, the other injured, and the attacker committed suicide.

Always the best news to hear the day after the opening ceremonies...

sadly, the Father-in-Law of the coach was attacked and killed, the Mother-in-Law was seriously injured and the attacker killed himself.
Linky (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26104003/)

I found the Opening Ceromony really interesting. I don't think any other country has done giant firework footsteps going across their city to the main stadium. That was impressive.

Yeas indeed, that was cool.

Some boxers in the past have been successful professionally and in the Olympics. Professional boxing has a different style, though, as there is headgear in the Olympics and thus knockouts are rarer. So my understanding is Olympic boxing is based more on speed, agility, and torso shots. Not that professionals don't have those qualities, but its different.

Whoever asked about Womenx Boxing - It will be in at London 2012.

Indeed. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Lennox Lewis were all gold medalist Olympic boxers.

And yeah, the women's boxing should be good.

pfffft its only a couple of weeks. you can rent space to your NSG friends.

Heh. I had the same worries when Osaka was hosting World Cup games, especially since the Osaka venue was on my primary train line. I had very little trouble.

DAMN I just watched the Olyroos fall flat on their faces with a 1-0 loss to Argentina.

Did anyone just watch the Men's 4x100m freestyle relay? The Americans just managed to beat it over the French with the Australians managing the bronze and making a new world record after they broke it last night.

Nice to see Libby Trickett win the gold for Australia in the 100m butterfly with Schiper getting the bronze.

Did anyone just watch the Men's 4x100m freestyle relay? The Americans just managed to beat it over the French with the Australians managing the bronze and making a new world record after they broke it last night.

Nice to see Libby Trickett win the gold for Australia in the 100m butterfly.

We have the TV on in our office in reception, which is just next to the glass wall meeting room so I watched the race during an internal meeting, it was pretty close.

The line they tranpose over the swimmers, was that the world record?

We have the TV on in our office in reception, which is just next to the glass wall meeting room so I watched the race during an internal meeting, it was pretty close.

The line they tranpose over the swimmers, was that the world record?

Yes it is.

And it was very close it could have been either France or the US in that one.

Freestyle relay was glorious. Makes up for that sickening draw the soccer team had against the Netherlands this morning.

Aww man, I got a crick in my neck from all the cringing I did watching those Gymnists trip, wobble and fall.

Romania was just... :(

China was great and I agree with the US coach that the US was 'fine'.

Yes I'm just watching the Men's team final now and it is starting to look like China is going to get another gold medal.

I watched Phelps take his 3rd Gold today in the200m Freestyle, he was 2 seconds ahead of 2nd place which looked like about the length of Phelps himself

And the US managed to win gold as well in the Men's 100m backstroke with an interesting result for the bronze as both Hayden Stoeckel for Australia and Arkady Vyatchanin both had the same time and so we saw two people receive the bronze not something you see everyday.

Interesting fact, the medals the US got today including a gold and bronze in the Women's 100m backstroke makes 15 medals for the US swimming team.

sadly, the Father-in-Law of the coach was attacked and killed, the Mother-in-Law was seriously injured and the attacker killed himself.
Linky (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26104003/)
And Chinese authorities banned local media from reporting on it.
What was that IOC said about how the Olympics were going to make China open up and free speech and all that?

Speaking on the Opening Ceremonies, anyone else hear that some of the fireworks were faked? CGI for the TV audience. Lengths Beijing will go to in order to make the World think they're doing okay.

Speaking on the Opening Ceremonies, anyone else hear that some of the fireworks were faked? CGI for the TV audience. Lengths Beijing will go to in order to make the World think they're doing okay.

Actually, the fireworks were real, what happened is that they couldn't figure out a safe way to film the footsteps properly, it would be too dangerous for a helicopter to follow so they CGI'd the effect for television instead, par for the course for large televised events, they're fraught with complication.

However, they did fake the little girl who sang, replacing the original dodgy-toothed girl with TV-friendly girl while keeping the original's voice.

As for media freedom, anyone with half a brain knew they'd renege on that one.

Welp, Japan's Ueno managed to defend her gold, but... damn, that woman always looks like she's pissed off about something and is 2 seconds from taking it out on anyone who's handy.

Speaking on the Opening Ceremonies, anyone else hear that some of the fireworks were faked? CGI for the TV audience. Lengths Beijing will go to in order to make the World think they're doing okay.

Yes and some fireworks were left off and filmed about a year before the event.

China released a statement on the little girl who mimed it (China's answer to Madonna?) and they said they needed the little girl in there instead of the actual singer for the well being the nation. Bloody ridiculous.

It looks like Phelps is going to get the 8, and Australia managed to win their first medal in canoeing this year, but their football team went down with another 1-0 loss to the Ivory Coast.

Did anyone see the Women's team event for gymnastics?

The Chinese were on the balance beam but a lot of them were quite shaky yet got higher points than the Americans when they wont shaky at all? China won the gold medal in that as well.

Looks like some Saudi clerics aren't too happy about the Olympics.

Following are excerpts from an interview withSaudi cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid, which aired on Al-Majd TV on August 10, 2008.

Muhammad Al-Munajid: how come modern sports – especially women’s sports – involve the exposure of private parts? It is well known that the Olympics – both in the past and the upcoming games... the world’s worst display of women’s clothing is the women’s Olympics. No exposure of women’s private parts on a global scale could make Satan happier than Olympic games that include women’s sports.

Interviewer: And in a scandalous manner...

Muhammad Al-Munajid: Yes. It is an enormous Satanic issue.

[...]

One of these criminals compared a soccer team that made it to the top in Asia and traveled to Spain to the conquest of Andalusia! Allah be praised! The conquest of lands, the bringing of monotheism to these lands, where the name of Allah is uttered, where Islamic learning and scholars emerge, and where the banners of Islam are raised high – all these you compare to people chasing an inflated piece of leather?!

[...]

Many people nowadays watch sports rather than participate in them.

Interviewer: And this is a problem...

Muhammad Al-Munajid: If only they would run or move their bodies a little... All they do is sit and watch the sports channels. Some fathers come to me and ask if it is permitted to hook up just to the sports channels. It is for the kids, they say. There is pressure. Football leads to temptation. It is not an innocent sport. Take boxing, for example, or some types of so-called free[style] wrestling, which involve hitting the face, breaking bones, inflicting injuries and pain. They involve obvious bodily harm. The Prophet Muhammad said: If you beat someone, avoid the face. The Islamic juridprudence authority banned boxing, because it involves beating in the face, which can lead to blindness, brain damage, broken bones, and even death. The beater is not held responsible, because they both consented to this, and the spectators are happy. When someone is beaten in the face and is knocked down, they jump for joy.

[...]

Wrestling involves the exposure of women’s private parts. Even the promotion of the competitions is done by scantily-clad women. It is done at the beginning of the match, in the middle, and at the end, or so I hear... the matches are promoted by half-naked women.

[...]

The sport of yoga was originally a Hindu game used for divine worship. For them, practicing yoga is a means of divine worship. Whoever practices yoga today is emulating their form of worship.

[...]

Beijing or not... I call it Bikini, anyway... because they are likely to display women in the worst possible way in these “Bikini” Olympic games.

[...]

What women wear in the Olympic games are among the worst clothes possible. The inventions of Satan, with regard to the exposure of the body in gymnastics, in swimming, in whatever, in tennis... Women have never got naked for sports like they do in the Olympics. It is aired to billions of people worldwide. The problem is not just with the spectators who are present. The whole thing is aired on TV...

Interviewer: And maybe the men’s clothing is more modest than the women’s...

Muhammad Al-Munajid: There’s no “maybe” about it. It is definite.

I'm not surprised Hotwife, although some elements of the Australian media has made mention of this as well talking about how it is sexist that the women have more skin showing. I didn't watch it as that particular program is full of dribble all the time but still.

Oh well did anyone see the Men's 200m freestyle relay? The Americans won it (of course) but they cut a whole 5 seconds of the world record, Australia just managed to get in third despite being second before the last 100m.

However, they did fake the little girl who sang, replacing the original dodgy-toothed girl with TV-friendly girl while keeping the original's voice.

Yep, "Made in China" is still synonymous with crap.

Did anyone see the Women's team event for gymnastics?

The Chinese were on the balance beam but a lot of them were quite shaky yet got higher points than the Americans when they wont shaky at all? China won the gold medal in that as well.

the chinese deserved that gold medal.

but DAMN they are scary looking. not even the 20 year old looked 15 (minimum age to compete is turning 16 some time this year). most of them looked maybe 10. poor things

im glad the the US choaches have been pressured into treating our girls better than that. they look like beautifully developed athletes instead of waifs.

the chinese deserved that gold medal.

but DAMN they are scary looking. not even the 20 year old looked 15 (minimum age to compete is turning 16 some time this year). most of them looked maybe 10. poor things

im glad the the US choaches have been pressured into treating our girls better than that. they look like beautifully developed athletes instead of waifs.

Yes the US gymnasts looked like they had been treated better and not ripped from the womb and chucked on the uneven bars straight away.

It seems the US isn't happy about the officials, how true it is or not is a different matter, but I wouldn't put it past the Chinese.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=614128

Have just been watching the swimming a Japanese won the Men's 200m breaststroke that make four gold medals he has won all up and twice as more as any other Japanese athlete.

Shame Schipper had to settle for the bronze with the two Chinese swimmers taking out 1st and 2nd in the Women's 200m Butterfly, not to mention that the winner made a new world record.

I just then watched the Men's 100m freestyle a tight race between Bernard (France) and Sullivan (Australia) Bernard just managed to take the gold, what a shame.

The Women's 4x200m freestyle on later today, I will be going for Australia but I think that France and the USA will be battling it out between each other for gold.

Michael Phelps has been absolutely amazing. He has won six gold medals since the Olympic games began and I think he competes again tomorrow! He now holds two gold medals.

I watched the women's vollyball game yesterday and Brazil mopped the floor with Russia.

Don't know what's going on with the women's swimming competition as of right now, but I think the U.S. has been doing well.

And rumors are swirling that the Chineese's female gymnastics team has broken the rules by having three underage competitors.

Michael Phelps has been absolutely amazing. He has won six gold medals since the Olympic games began and I think he competes again tomorrow! He now holds two gold medals.

I watched the women's vollyball game yesterday and Brazil mopped the floor with Russia.

Don't know what's going on with the women's swimming competition as of right now, but I think the U.S. has been doing well.

And rumors are swirling that the Chineese's female gymnastics team has broken the rules by having three underage competitors.

Well that is what Ashmoria was saying also, I hope it gets looked into properly.

And I was way off with the Women's 4x200m freestyle.

AUSTRALIA won it. Wiping 8 seconds of the old world record time. The US came in third and France only managed 5th, China got the silver but AUSTRALIA was so far in front it they were in a class of their own.

Big disappointments in US fencing after a clean sweep in women's sabre- the US women's sabre team dropped to Ukraine's WS team 39 to 45.

After staying up to watch the videofeeds, I'm very disappointed. The women didn't seem to compete at the same level, and now they'll have to settle for a bronze medal.

Did anyone hear that a British journalist was arrested for reporting on an unofficial 'Free Tibet' protest? He was let go after awhile but still.

And apparently some Chinese natives who applied to hold protests in the official protest areas have been either arrested or escorted out of the capital.

Not the best way to hold an Olympics especially when you see outside the sporting complexes hardly anyone and a few armoured patrol vehicles, not what you want to see military vehicles in the middle of the Capital.

Michael Phelps has been absolutely amazing. He has won six gold medals since the Olympic games began and I think he competes again tomorrow! He now holds two gold medals.

He is certainly the greatest swimmer, but all this crap about him being the Greatest Olympian of all time is getting tiresome. He is just lucky to be in a sport where he can compete in eight different events with the same skill set. For competitors in, say, Archery or Badminton, there is hardly the same opportunity to win so many medals.

Given the frequency with which individual swimmers rack up huge medal hauls, it seems to me that the number of swimming events should be reduced (for example, get rid of stupid events like butterfly - it's like having a moonwalking race in the track and field), to make room for a greater variety of sports.

That said, if Phelps is still raking in all the golds at the 2024 olympics, then we can call him the greatest.

He is certainly the greatest swimmer, but all this crap about him being the Greatest Olympian of all time is getting tiresome. He is just lucky to be in a sport where he can compete in eight different events with the same skill set. For competitors in, say, Archery or Badminton, there is hardly the same opportunity to win so many medals.

Given the frequency with which individual swimmers rack up huge medal hauls, it seems to me that the number of swimming events should be reduced (for example, get rid of stupid events like butterfly - it's like having a moonwalking race in the track and field), to make room for a greater variety of sports.


I say we do it.

My new favorite sports are now kayaking, badminton, and weightlifting.

And that moonwalking thing, I second that and I propose skipping, backwards walking, power walking (athletes MUST wear pastel colored 1980s workout suits), sideways running, backwards running, hopscotch, jump rope, and slapface (make it take it rules apply, of course) to be new Olympic sports.

Did anyone hear that a British journalist was arrested for reporting on an unofficial 'Free Tibet' protest? He was let go after awhile but still.

And apparently some Chinese natives who applied to hold protests in the official protest areas have been either arrested or escorted out of the capital.

Not the best way to hold an Olympics especially when you see outside the sporting complexes hardly anyone and a few armoured patrol vehicles, not what you want to see military vehicles in the middle of the Capital.

In their quest to prove themselves to the world, China is not making a good impression. They appear to be doing more harm than good.

It may not take such a wide array of skills to compete in the swimming competitions, but it takes skills none the less, and he has certainly worked hard to earn what he has. It would be interesting to see if he makes it through 2024; who knows, he just might keep scooping up those medals. :D

My new favorite sports are now kayaking, badminton, and weightlifting.

And that moonwalking thing, I second that and I propose skipping, backwards walking, power walking (athletes MUST wear pastel colored 1980s workout suits), sideways running, backwards running, hopscotch, jump rope, and slapface (make it take it rules apply, of course) to be new Olympic sports.

I think that is already an Olympic sport. I seem to remember seeing at the 2000 Olympics a few athletes being knocked out of that event because they had two feet off the ground at the same time.

I haven't been able to see any events so far today, but I hope to see the repeats, also the first of the track and field events started today from memory.

I did hear Phelps won another gold medal.

In their quest to prove themselves to the world, China is not making a good impression. They appear to be doing more harm than good.

Yes they are taking it their actions to far to ensure they show how much better they are than everybody else.

Could have been worse, the IOC could have allowed Nazi Germany host....oh, never mind.

Seriously, how can a city with AIR POLLUTION so thick it seems like your head is covered in cheesecloth host an Olympics? Other than the fact that that China has 1+ Billion people in a growing economy and it's been over 40 years since the last Asian Olympic games.

In Air Quality Index, Beijing and Los Angeles are equivalent. I think Beijing is efficient in the pollution because they have 11 million, and LA has 3 million.

The reason there is so much smog in Beijing is because of its thick, humid air, which traps the smog. In LA, the air is cool, dry, and light, making it easier for the smog to be less noticeable.

Well it seems like China lied again with their Opening ceremony, instead of having 65 children each one from a different member of the ethnic groups of Chinese people, they all 65 were of Han decesnt.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=615146

Shame Schipper had to settle for the bronze with the two Chinese swimmers taking out 1st and 2nd in the Women's 200m Butterfly, not to mention that the winner made a new world record.
...
AUSTRALIA won it (Women's 4x200m freestyle). Wiping 8 seconds of the old world record time. The US came in third and France only managed 5th, China got the silver but AUSTRALIA was so far in front it they were in a class of their own.
Interesting innit, how well the Chinese women swim team is doing vs their men's team (4 medals to 1). especially considering that steroids have a much more pronounced effect on female athletes than male. Shades of 1994 again, eh?

Well it seems like China lied again with their Opening ceremony, instead of having 65 children each one from a different member of the ethnic groups of Chinese people, they all 65 were of Han decesnt.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=615146
Guess the ethnics didn't look ethnic enough for the Party Officials, hence the substitution. For the 'well-being of the nation' no doubt.

I don't know, but in the MLB some Japanese players have their 1st name - Ichiro comes to mind. Yao Ming, although not Japanese, simply has Yao instead of Ming on his jersey in the NBA.

Yao Ming's family name is Yao, not Ming. The Chinese put their family name first. Hence President Hu Jintao's family name is Hu. As for the Japanese, as I understand it, they usually put their family name first when in Japan, but switch it around for international audiences.

Well it seems like China lied again with their Opening ceremony, instead of having 65 children each one from a different member of the ethnic groups of Chinese people, they all 65 were of Han decesnt.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=615146

One of China's official ethnic minorities are white Russians. I thought I couldn't spot a white kid during the opening ceremony. That explains it, then.

I'm speechless.

Does anyone know if the tai quon du events will be aired on any of the NBC affiliated stations such as USA? I can't seem to find them.

it looks like taekwondo is only being shown online on the 20th

Phelps just clinched his 7th Gold, equalling Spitz' record:

Phelps wins 7th gold (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/swimming/news?slug=ap-swm-mens100butterfly&prov=ap&type=lgns)
BY just 0.01 of a second and the 1st one this Games w/o setting a world record. He must be getting tired!

Here's an interesting article about how much - and what - Phelps eats:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7562840.stm
12,000 Calories a day!

Monkey farts that was a close race. Even after the replays I was kind of unconvinced that he actually did it.

USA is winning in medals!

Eat that fucking commies!

USA is winning in medals!

Eat that fucking commies!
USA will come out ahead. We've had nearly all the events China's expected to do well in. Now onto the Track and Field, where China's expected to win just one medal (110m Hurdles) and even that's not guaranteed anymore.

Personally, I'm more interested in the outcome of the Guinea Pig Olympics:
The Guinea Pig Olympics (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/2510906/The-Guinea-Pig-Olympics.html)

The speed with which Wiki updated Phelps's medal is impressive

My god, the men's 100 meters was crazy. Bolt sorta stopped running after 70 meters and still made a world record? Either he's some physical miracle man or he's been doped up most excellently.

My god, the men's 100 meters was crazy. Bolt sorta stopped running after 70 meters and still made a world record? Either he's some physical miracle man or he's been doped up most excellently.

probably doping.

probably doping.
Did your name always lack that last "n"? I only just now noticed. o_o

Did your name always lack that last "n"? I only just now noticed. o_o

yeah,space issues.

the chinese deserved that gold medal.

but DAMN they are scary looking. not even the 20 year old looked 15 (minimum age to compete is turning 16 some time this year). most of them looked maybe 10. poor things
yes, well take their stated official ages with a very large pinch of salt. Some of the girls were officially 13 last year when they were competing in the Chinese Nationals. Now they're 16 (or turning 16 within a couple of months).
I like one reporter: They asked one of the 'womens' team how she celebrated her 15th birthday this year (she was officially recorded as 14 at the beginning of this year until her inclusion into the Olympic team whereupon her newly-issued passport put her age down as 16). She replied that it had been "an ordinary day" spent with teammates.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/13/sports/OLYGYMNAST.php

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1832312,00.html?imw=Y

Ask yourself: do any of these girls look 15+?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6Bf3V-RKSMI/SKYAli0xTPI/AAAAAAAAGhk/htpphzSUlPA/s1600-h/715969.jpg
One of them is still got her babyteeth (she lost a tooth recently)!

Nothing will be done about it of course. Already the IOC has stated they'll accept the passport information as truth (because we all know that we can rely on the Chinese government to always tell the truth).
Yet another example of the IOC rolling over and doing everything possible to please China. Lord knows they wouldn't want to embarrass China by enforcing Olympic rules now.

yes, well take their stated official ages with a very large pinch of salt. Some of the girls were officially 13 last year when they were competing in the Chinese Nationals. Now they're 16 (or turning 16 within a couple of months).
I like one reporter: They asked one of the 'womens' team how she celebrated her 15th birthday this year (she was officially recorded as 14 at the beginning of this year until her inclusion into the Olympic team whereupon her newly-issued passport put her age down as 16). She replied that it had been "an ordinary day" spent with teammates.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/13/sports/OLYGYMNAST.php

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1832312,00.html?imw=Y

Ask yourself: do any of these girls look 15+?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6Bf3V-RKSMI/SKYAli0xTPI/AAAAAAAAGhk/htpphzSUlPA/s1600-h/715969.jpg
One of them is still got her babyteeth (she lost a tooth recently)!

Nothing will be done about it of course. Already the IOC has stated they'll accept the passport information as truth (because we all know that we can rely on the Chinese government to always tell the truth).
Yet another example of the IOC rolling over and doing everything possible to please China. Lord knows they wouldn't want to embarrass China by enforcing Olympic rules now.

What do you want them to do? Accuse them with no actual proof? Walk into the CAS saying 'they look a bit young'?

The online listings would be changed and explained as a mistake, the conference would be said 'she made a mistake' (what language were they speaking)? And they'd produce all manner of documentation confirming their age group.

All they'd achieve would be to annoy China. Welcome to reality.

USA is winning in medals!

Eat that fucking commies!
Depends who's counting, BBC has China ahead because they have 11 more Gold medals.

What do you want them to do? Accuse them with no actual proof? Walk into the CAS saying 'they look a bit young'?
no actual proof? All the official reports had their ages down as 12 or 13 last year until they qualified for the Olympic team, whereupon their newly-issued passports added a couple of years to their ages. That alone shows a need for an investigation.
There are tests that can be done (how else do they work out the age of bodies?) MRI scans can show skeletal age, based on shape of some bones and amount of fusion. ie wrist radials for example. By 16 the radials are almost completely fused. It's non-invasive and accurate way of predicting age.

You are certainly correct that all China will do is say the previous official reports were all wrong (though that in itself raises the question of if we can't trust the old documents, why can we trust the new ones?) and issue a raft of previously unsighted documents to prove their case.

And yes, it will annoy them. But so what? At best, they're disqualified and the US is rightfully awarded gold. At worst, China won't want this potential loss of face to happen again and would start playing by the rules, only entering real 16yr olds into International competitions. Which levels the playing field and would save the poor underage wretches from hours of daily what is little more than physical abuse masquerading as training.

Of course, knowing how desperate the IOC are to appease the Chinese, nothing of the sort will happen.

I was so happy when I heard Mongolia won its first gold ever. ^_^

On medal counts, the only fair and accurate way is thus:
3 points for a gold
2 points for a silver
1 point for a bronze
Rank teams by points.

Why should a team with 75 bronze be ranked lower than one with 1 gold?
Why should a team with 75 bronze be ranked higher than one with 74 gold?

well phelps did it.

8 gold medals in one olympics.

14 gold medals total

All they'd achieve would be to annoy China.
That works for me!

Looks like some Saudi clerics aren't too happy about the Olympics.

We need to restore the original rules: no clothing allowed for either participants or audience.

well phelps did it.

8 gold medals in one olympics.

14 gold medals total
Truly amazing accomplishment. The greatest swimmer ever, no doubt about it.

However...

Spitz won 7 at a time when 50m freestyle wasn't an Olympic event AND swam with an impressive Ron Burgundy-style mustache. Let's have Phelps grow a Village People handlebar and then we'll see how fast he is!

And of course, he hasn't got a stitch on Nero who entered - and won - every event in the 67AD Olympics, including the chariot race where he fell from his chariot. The other racers were polite enough to wait for him (for several hours) to remount. So we should all give it up for Nero, the greatest Olympian of them all!! :hail: Nero

the chariot race

Now there's an event that needs to come back. And not 'harness racing,' fucking chariot racing.

But, and this is how I feel about the equestrian events as well, you should give the medal to the fucking horse.

no actual proof? All the official reports had their ages down as 12 or 13 last year until they qualified for the Olympic team, whereupon their newly-issued passports added a couple of years to their ages. That alone shows a need for an investigation.
There are tests that can be done (how else do they work out the age of bodies?) MRI scans can show skeletal age, based on shape of some bones and amount of fusion. ie wrist radials for example. By 16 the radials are almost completely fused. It's non-invasive and accurate way of predicting age.

You are certainly correct that all China will do is say the previous official reports were all wrong (though that in itself raises the question of if we can't trust the old documents, why can we trust the new ones?) and issue a raft of previously unsighted documents to prove their case.

And yes, it will annoy them. But so what? At best, they're disqualified and the US is rightfully awarded gold. At worst, China won't want this potential loss of face to happen again and would start playing by the rules, only entering real 16yr olds into International competitions. Which levels the playing field and would save the poor underage wretches from hours of daily what is little more than physical abuse masquerading as training.

Of course, knowing how desperate the IOC are to appease the Chinese, nothing of the sort will happen.

There's no completely accurate way of dating a body to an exact age, and even then there are always anomalous people who don't develop the same way. If they were 13 last year that makes them 14 or 15 now, and they have to be 16 by the end of the year. Science is good, but not that good, and not definitively so..

Passports > online listings

They'd go to the CAS, lose, and the IOC would lose face (probably have to issue a formal apology etc) to the extent that they wouldn't want to prosecute again. And China, having got away with having underage athletes even with an official investigation and a visit to the CAS would be even more confident about doing it again.

And if China felt that annoyed, I wouldn't put it past them to muck around in customs and delay people etc.

probably doping.

That guy was amazing he had slowed down well before the finish line and was way ahead of the field too, he could have gone a lot faster.

The guy who came in second was celebrating a lot more than Bolt.

Interesting innit, how well the Chinese women swim team is doing vs their men's team (4 medals to 1). especially considering that steroids have a much more pronounced effect on female athletes than male. Shades of 1994 again, eh?

Oh I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Guess the ethnics didn't look ethnic enough for the Party Officials, hence the substitution. For the 'well-being of the nation' no doubt.

Yes a bit like how the girl who lip-synched was placed there instead of the actual singer because it was for the good of China and its people.

As for the ages, I would not be surprised that they have placed in young children.

Truly amazing accomplishment. The greatest swimmer ever, no doubt about it.

However...

Spitz won 7 at a time when 50m freestyle wasn't an Olympic event AND swam with an impressive Ron Burgundy-style mustache. Let's have Phelps grow a Village People handlebar and then we'll see how fast he is!

And of course, he hasn't got a stitch on Nero who entered - and won - every event in the 67AD Olympics, including the chariot race where he fell from his chariot. The other racers were polite enough to wait for him (for several hours) to remount. So we should all give it up for Nero, the greatest Olympian of them all!! :hail: Nero
well.....

nero.

phelps is the greatest MODERN olympian.

have you taken a look at the swimmers spitz swam against? its not like they were completely hairless.

But, and this is how I feel about the equestrian events as well, you should give the medal to the fucking horse.

Hear, Hear, The rider gets the money, the medal and the fame while the horse gets an extra carrot for dinner.

That guy was amazing he had slowed down well before the finish line and was way ahead of the field too, he could have gone a lot faster.

The guy who came in second was celebrating a lot more than Bolt.
he slowed down AND set a record!

that was a hell of a race.

It was good to see Australia win the 4x100 medley race, good on for the girls, they even managed to wipe 3 seconds of their world record

Shame to see Grant Hackett just lose to the Tunisian and he has to settle for silver in the 1500m freestyle.

he slowed down AND set a record!

that was a hell of a race.

I know, it is going to be good to see him in further races especially the relay, Jamaica should win that hands down.

what was a shame was to see the korean blow a 2 point lead in archery on the final round when he had just shot 3 10s in the 2nd to the last.

and so cool to see the ukrainian shoot the 10 on his last shot to get the gold when he had shot 3 mediocre 9s in the 2nd to the last round.

I haven't been able to see any archery (maybe because Australia isn't going so well in it) but yes that does sound like a bit of a disapointment.

Oh I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Eh, 2 of those are relays, if you're good in the individual then it stands to reason you're likely to be good in the relay. And the ratio's not out of line, Japan's is 4-1 to the women, GB's 3-0


Yes a bit like how the girl who lip-synched was placed there instead of the actual singer because it was for the good of China and its people.


It's the opening ceremony, the only point is that it looks good. Faking them is nothing new.

and it's been over 40 years since the last Asian Olympic games.

winter Olympic 1998 Nagano Japan.
summer Olympic 1988 Seoul Korea.

its only been 10 years since the last Asian Olympic games. And 20 years since the last Asian summer Olympic games

Eh, 2 of those are relays, if you're good in the individual then it stands to reason you're likely to be good in the relay. And the ratio's not out of line, Japan's is 4-1 to the women, GB's 3-0

We won't talking about the individual and the relay, but I do see you point in your second sentence, but if China was found to be doping it still wouldn't surprise me.

It's the opening ceremony, the only point is that it looks good. Faking them is nothing new.

Well how many other opening ceremonies had fireworks added in later? How many other opening ceremonies said they had people of a certain ethnic group when in reality they were not of that ethnic group?

And Nikki Webster didn't fake it.

We won't talking about the individual and the relay, but I do see you point in your second sentence, but if China was found to be doping it still wouldn't surprise me.
Which country would it surprise you to be found doping?



Well how many other opening ceremonies had fireworks added in later? How many other opening ceremonies said they had people of a certain ethnic group when in reality they were not of that ethnic group?

Actually, the fireworks were real, what happened is that they couldn't figure out a safe way to film the footsteps properly, it would be too dangerous for a helicopter to follow so they CGI'd the effect for television instead, par for the course for large televised events, they're fraught with complication.

Off the top of my head in Barcelona the archer deliberately missed and they lit the bowl from below, because it was too risky to try and land the arrow in it directly. But with helpful camera angles the world thought it was great.

Which country would it surprise you to be found doping?

Mongolia, Australia (for Olympic sports) and Togo at least doping where the state was aware of it and didnt mind it happening


Off the top of my head in Barcelona the archer deliberately missed and they lit the bowl from below, because it was too risky to try and land the arrow in it directly. But with helpful camera angles the world thought it was great.

Well yes so that is just as bad, if it is true. (And I am sure it is but some confirmation would be nice)

Anyone from Spain have any local reaction to the two Spanish teams posing for pictures while using their fingers to "slant" their eyes? The men's basketball and another team both had planned photographs taken, all participants making the gesture.

I ask the question for two reasons. One, if those teams had been from the USA, you can bet that the world's outrage at such a racist gesture would have been loud and unified. Two, a pair of the Spanish basketball players are NBA players as well, and so far, Commissioner Stern has been silent.

If you'd like to read the relevant article and commentary, Yahoo! has them in their olympic coverage.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Spanish-basketball-team-poses-for-offensive-pict?urn=oly,100152

Anyone from Spain have any local reaction to the two Spanish teams posing for pictures while using their fingers to "slant" their eyes? The men's basketball and another team both had planned photographs taken, all participants making the gesture.

I ask the question for two reasons. One, if those teams had been from the USA, you can bet that the world's outrage at such a racist gesture would have been loud and unified. Two, a pair of the Spanish basketball players are NBA players as well, and so far, Commissioner Stern has been silent.

If you'd like to read the relevant article and commentary, Yahoo! has them in their olympic coverage.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Spanish-basketball-team-poses-for-offensive-pict?urn=oly,100152

because when Europeans do it, it is not racist, just dry humor making fun of racist. Same with throwing bananas and making monkey sounds at the black footballers/soccer players.

but heaven forbid an American squint his eyes in the sun or a drunk white fan get in a argument with a player at a basketball game.

Mongolia, Australia (for Olympic sports) and Togo at least doping where the state was aware of it and didnt mind it happening

I admit state involvement would be surprising in many nations. But I wouldn't exactly be shocked if any athletes from those countries tested positive.



Well yes so that is just as bad, if it is true. (And I am sure it is but some confirmation would be nice)
Enjoy (or just skip to near the end) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fca-MbAKOV0&feature=related)



because when Europeans do it, it is not racist, just dry humor making fun of racist. Same with throwing bananas and making monkey sounds at the black footballers/soccer players.

but heaven forbid an American squint his eyes in the sun or a drunk white fan get in a argument with a player at a basketball game.
Any basis for this, or are you just whining with no basis?

But this is a big problem in Spain, it's happened from football matches to F1 races. F1 at least has started to threaten moving races out of Spain which is what needs to happen, but is much harder to do with football. Sadly it's clearly quite deep-rooted there.

Actually, the fireworks were real, what happened is that they couldn't figure out a safe way to film the footsteps properly, it would be too dangerous for a helicopter to follow so they CGI'd the effect for television instead, par for the course for large televised events, they're fraught with complication.
Do you truly believe their official reasons?
So it was safe enough to film the fireworks a year earlier in heavy traffic but not on the Opening Ceremony night where there was a blanket traffic ban. That make sense to you?
China worrying over safety issues? China?

Anyone from Spain have any local reaction to the two Spanish teams posing for pictures while using their fingers to "slant" their eyes? The men's basketball and another team both had planned photographs taken, all participants making the gesture.
If that's the case, I hope they're seriously reprimanded over it. Very poor taste.
Not wanting to harp on about it, but it'll be rather ironic if the Chinese get all upset over this considering they felt it perfectly okay to mimic their own ethnic minorities.
Imagine if the USA did that? Held an Olympics and did a parade of all it's minorities (Native Americans, Blacks, Latinos etc) but only used white people to represent them.

Enjoy (or just skip to near the end) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fca-MbAKOV0&feature=related)

Thank you, but as I say it is still disgraceful for them to do it, even the Spanish.

Any basis for this, or are you just whining with no basis?

But this is a big problem in Spain, it's happened from football matches to F1 races. F1 at least has started to threaten moving races out of Spain which is what needs to happen, but is much harder to do with football. Sadly it's clearly quite deep-rooted there.

If you are going to quote someone else can you please ensure that you have the person you are quoting, as it seems like you are quoting me, when it wasn't me who quoted you. Thank you.

The Chinese are going into mourning right now I just watched their "god" who was going to win gold in the 110m hurdles just leave the stadium because he injured himself during warm up.

The stadium was almost in shock as they watched him walk off.

Returning slightly to the spirit of the Olympics - did anyone see the Canadian girl winning in wrestling, the lighter weights so she was quite pretty as well, which helped, in a shallow kind of way.

Point being that I've rarely seen such joy, she cried happily, her smile was just radiant.

It reminded me that people dedicate their lives to sports we rarely care about, minor things, but the Olympics represents the pinnacle of that achievement.

I was quite touched, brought a lump to my throat I must admit.

Nice to see Australia gets its 9th Gold medal with Emma Snowsill winning the triathlon.

Has anyone been watching the Waterpolo? That is a viscous sport, I never realised but I have watched people being kicked at, some of the men have had their testicles grabbed at, others have been dragged underwater. I never realised that it was so rough, I was looking at a couple of the athletes and they are sporting black eyes and bruises.

Normally I wouldn't care enough about this to post here but I feel compelled to ask on a forum where I might actually be answered: does anyone else think that Alicia Sacramone got robbed on the vault? I'll be the first to admit that the Chinese girl posted an excellent first vault, but she landed on her goddamned knees on the second vault and still got scored higher for the event, edging out Sacramone for the bronze, which I thought was shameful on the part of the judges. My voice rose almost immediately when I saw the average score, and my sentiments were echoed moments later in the commentary by Béla Károlyi during the American broadcast.

Now I'm not just saying this because I'm an American, or because I feel sorry for Sacramone's performance on the Team Finals--she had a couple teeny hops on her vaults but nothing that would be worse than landing out of bounds or landing on her knees like the Chinese girl did. After I saw Cheng Fei's score, I fast forwarded through the rest of the event in disgust. Bela said it best--this was a ripoff. Agree? Disagree? Discuss.

Normally I wouldn't care enough about this to post here but I feel compelled to ask on a forum where I might actually be answered: does anyone else think that Alicia Sacramone got robbed on the vault? I'll be the first to admit that the Chinese girl posted an excellent first vault, but she landed on her goddamned knees on the second vault and still got scored higher for the event, edging out Sacramone for the bronze, which I thought was shameful on the part of the judges. My voice rose almost immedialtely when I saw the average score, and my sentiments were echoed moments later in the commentary by Béla Károlyi during the American broadcast.

Now I'm not just saying this because I'm an American, or because I feel sorry for Sacramone's performance on the Team Finals--she had a couple teeny hops on her vaults but nothing that would be worse than landing out of bounds or landing on her knees like the Chinese girl did. After I saw Cheng Fei's score, I fast forwarded through the rest of the event in disgust. Bela said it best--this was a ripoff. Agree? Disagree? Discuss.

well 2 things.
1. china is the host. judges tend to slightly lean in their favor.
2. due to the US's large historic judges tend to lean against us.
this is normally seen in rounding of scores and such.
2b. US also doesn't support athletes near as much as other countries. I just came back from vacation in Korea. Every Korean could just about name 30 Korean athletes and also easily 10 American athletes.

Is it fair ? maybe not. is it technically right ? yes.

to be honest the American public wont really be into the Olympics until we lose a few pretty badly. so until such time as Americans fully lend their support to their athletes like other countries do I expect similar situations to continue. Really until the Olympics becomes something more for then just a 10 pm highlight reel for the average American expect the judges to not favor us.

well 2 things.
1. china is the host. judges tend to slightly lean in their favor.
That's kind of a cop out. Judges don't really "lean" in the host's favor (if they did what would be the point?); people just tend to perform better: China has home field advantage and it's called an "advantage" for a reason. :p

2. due to the US's large historic judges tend to lean against us.
this is normally seen in rounding of scores and such.
With God as my witness, I haven't the foggiest idea what you're trying to say here. Please elaborate.

2b. US also doesn't support athletes near as much as other countries. I just came back from vacation in Korea. Every Korean could just about name 30 Korean athletes and also easily 10 American athletes.

Is it fair ? maybe not. is it technically right ? yes.

to be honest the American public wont really be into the Olympics until we lose a few pretty badly. so until such time as Americans fully lend their support to their athletes like other countries do I expect similar situations to continue. Really until the Olympics becomes something more for then just a 10 pm highlight reel for the average American expect the judges to not favor us.

As for the rest of this, I can't help but wonder what in the hell you're thinking. Are you honestly trying to tell me that the judges will judge these events based on public opinion of the sport from the competing countries? Give me a break. Yeah, I can just see the judges sitting there "well the Americans don't pay that much attention..." (which isn't true, by the way, the Games are always a monster in the ratings--much more than the "10pm highlight reel" that you've decided they are) "so we can safely screw them on the scores." How does that make any sense at all?

Holy shit, China's baseball team is fucked up.

If you are going to quote someone else can you please ensure that you have the person you are quoting, as it seems like you are quoting me, when it wasn't me who quoted you. Thank you.
Sorry.



That's kind of a cop out. Judges don't really "lean" in the host's favor (if they did what would be the point?); people just tend to perform better: China has home field advantage and it's called an "advantage" for a reason
I can't speak specifically about gymnastics, but in most of the judging events (boxing, diving etc) the commentaters have generally acknowledged that judges favour home athletes, whether consciously or not (eg with thousands of people cheering louder for one athlete rather than the other it affects perception).


As a Brit I'm watching a lot of the track cycling, it feels downright weird to watch us dominate at a sport.:eek:

Now I'm not just saying this because I'm an American, or because I feel sorry for Sacramone's performance on the Team Finals--she had a couple teeny hops on her vaults but nothing that would be worse than landing out of bounds or landing on her knees like the Chinese girl did. After I saw Cheng Fei's score, I fast forwarded through the rest of the event in disgust. Bela said it best--this was a ripoff. Agree? Disagree? Discuss.
Sadly, it's symptomatic of Women's Gymnastics these games. Nastia Liukin being relegated to silver despite having the same score as the Chinese girl due to some highly convoluted and confusing system. Previous they would have both been given gold. Even the head of the International Gymnastics Association came out and said they both deserved gold but IOC decided otherwise. Would they have done the countback system if it proved Nastia the winner? hmmm....
Add that to the farce about the Chinese girls ages, and that the IOC have already said they basically won't do an investigation even if a team makes an official complaint and it wouldn't surprise me if IOC had been bribed enough to agree to let China sweep the gymnastics this time round.

Sadly, it's symptomatic of Women's Gymnastics these games.
You can say that again! If landing out of bounds or on all fours wins medals, maybe I should go to London in 2012. Sacramone had a little hop on both landings but posted two strong, medal-worthy vaults. The German woman (33 years old?! :eek:) was still better but Cheng Fei's second vault would have certainly crushed anyone else's medal hopes. The whole time I was watching the women's all-around I was convinced the judges would find some way to mung up the scoring--I became intensely worried when I saw near-identical scores on Shawn Johnson (2 balance checks) and Yan Yilin's (4) balance beam routines.

Nastia Liukin being relegated to silver despite having the same score as the Chinese girl due to some highly convoluted and confusing system. Previous they would have both been given gold. Even the head of the International Gymnastics Association came out and said they both deserved gold but IOC decided otherwise. Would they have done the countback system if it proved Nastia the winner? hmmm....
Add that to the farce about the Chinese girls ages, and that the IOC have already said they basically won't do an investigation even if a team makes an official complaint and it wouldn't surprise me if IOC had been bribed enough to agree to let China sweep the gymnastics this time round.
Early in the broadcast one of the commentators mentioned that they had changed the scoring as a result of some controversy I am unaware of, and it seems the response (as it so often is) was to add more bureaucracy to the process. I don't mind the start value thing so much--it makes sense--but I often find myself wondering what competition the judges are watching. How they found .500 to take away on Liukin's vault the other day I'll never know.

did you see the sort of explanation that was on the TV tonight?

the judges from the competing countries arent allowed to judge so only the lesser qualified judges are left to make the decision. they left off bunches of smaller deductions that should have been counted from the computer replays.

not a great excuse but....

Sorry.

Perfectly alright.


As a Brit I'm watching a lot of the track cycling, it feels downright weird to watch us dominate at a sport.:eek:

That's because you didn't invent the sport. Unlike cricket, football, rugby union etc. ;)

I was watching the sailing and nice to see Australia win the gold in both the Men's and Womens' 470

As a Brit I'm watching a lot of the track cycling, it feels downright weird to watch us dominate at a sport.:eek:

All my previously held beliefs about British sports are currently being shattered.

How, HOW are we number 3 in the medal table?? We're actually doing well, this feels incredibly wrong.

As a Brit I'm watching a lot of the track cycling, it feels downright weird to watch us dominate at a sport.:eek:

On the other hand, the immediate response (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/britains_cycling_succcess_is_i.html) of the British media is downright typical.

did you see the sort of explanation that was on the TV tonight?

the judges from the competing countries arent allowed to judge so only the lesser qualified judges are left to make the decision. they left off bunches of smaller deductions that should have been counted from the computer replays.

not a great excuse but....

They don't get to see the replays though do they? They just get it live.

That's because you didn't invent the sport. Unlike cricket, football, rugby union etc.
As a comedian put it, we're good at all the olympic events africans can't afford to compete in.

because when Europeans do it, it is not racist, just dry humor making fun of racist.
Really? That's funny, because the only one who called it "dry humour" instead of racism is you. Maybe you should inform the European media.

Not wanting to harp on about it, but it'll be rather ironic if the Chinese get all upset over this considering they felt it perfectly okay to mimic their own ethnic minorities.
Imagine if the USA did that? Held an Olympics and did a parade of all it's minorities (Native Americans, Blacks, Latinos etc) but only used white people to represent them.
Do we even know if the Chinese were upset over this? I've only seen the story on German and American news sites (and can't read Chinese), so who knows if it even made a blip on the Chinese media horizon.

Do we even know if the Chinese were upset over this? I've only seen the story on German and American news sites (and can't read Chinese), so who knows if it even made a blip on the Chinese media horizon.

just got back from Asia. There were several riots with burning of the Spanish flag. got asked by several Chinese if I was Spanish and I had to show my passport to show I was American at knife point once. they got real friendly when they found out I was American though. you wont see too much news footage as the military and police were confiscating any cameras they saw before and after the riots( don't want to tarnish their image during the games). I spent 30 minutes showing them all my pictures on my digital to avoid them taking mine. so yes the Chinese are irate. I think more so because the Spanish team/government has refused to apologize.

just got back from Asia. There were several riots with burning of the Spanish flag. got asked by several Chinese if I was Spanish and I had to show my passport to show I was American at knife point once. they got real friendly when they found out I was American though. you wont see too much news footage as the military and police were confiscating any cameras they saw before and after the riots( don't want to tarnish their image during the games). I spent 30 minutes showing them all my pictures on my digital to avoid them taking mine. so yes the Chinese are irate. I think more so because the Spanish team/government has refused to apologize.

Sure...

Usain Bolt :eek:

Usain Bolt is amazing... O_o

Usain Bolt is amazing... O_o

Have to give some credit for the (former) silver medalist Churandy Martina too: 0.3 sec improvement of personal record in a -0.9 m/s wind....

Besides, the track was quite heavily tilted so basically Bolt ran downhill for the first 100 meters ;) :p

edit:
Weird end results in the race after all with all sorts of protests and counterprotests going through. Might even go as far as to say that team USA was being slightly unsportsmanship with the protest.

Did anyone see that Afghanistan won their first Olympic medal ever?

He won a bronze in Taekwondo (I know that is spelt wrong), the best place an Afghan has been before was 5th in 1964.

There was also a Japanese man he is in his 70's if I remember correctly I saw him in the dressage the last time he competed in the Olympics before this one was in 1960.

Amazing stuff.

On the other hand, the immediate response (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/britains_cycling_succcess_is_i.html) of the British media is downright typical.

Wow, and i thought our media hated us...He thinks youve won TOO much? lol

Sure...
I'm not surprised by what G&D said. The murder of the US volleyball team coach's father-in-law was banned from being reported in the Chinese media.
Chinese journalists censored (http://www.smh.com.au/news/latest-news/chinese-journalists-censored/2008/08/11/1218306780012.html)
And look how much they rioted just a few weeks ago over the French leg of torch relay. The Chinese are incredibly thin-skinned over any perceived criticism so them rioting over the Spanish is not so far-fetched.

Good article here from Sydney Morning Herald over the Chinese Gymnast's ages:
Hackers unearth more underage gymnast allegations (http://www.smh.com.au/news/gymnastics/underaged-gold-winner-allegations-grow/2008/08/21/1219262374664.html)
They've uncovered cached documents issued by the General Administration of Sport of China that state He Kexin's age as 14.
Notice the total capitulation from Rogge of the IOC:
it was not (IOC's) job to check the age of athletes. "The IOC relies on the international federations, who are exclusively responsible for the eligibility of athletes," (Rogge) said.
Basically handing carte blanche to the Chinese to ignore all rules and regs.
The cached pages are now being deleted by the Chinese authorities. But hey, they have nothing to hide don't they?


Back onto the Olympics: Usain Bolt. All I can say is wow. His coasting to a WR, with one shoe lace untied, in the 100m defies description. He deserves an extra medal just for his chutzpah!
I read an article by Ato Bolton (silver and 3 bronze in the 100 and 200m) where he said had Usain pushed himself the whole way, had both shoes tied and had a 1.9m tailwind (max allowed for records to stand is 2m), he would have gone under 9.5! :eek:
He also went into detail about everything Usain is doing wrong (too technical to get into here) and once he sorts these out will be phenomenal. Well, even more phenomenal if you want to get pedantic about it.

Usain Bolt is amazing... O_o

That 200m final was awesome. He didn't just win, he practically humiliated them.

I'm not surprised by what G&D said. The murder of the US volleyball team coach's father-in-law was banned from being reported in the Chinese media.
Chinese journalists censored (http://www.smh.com.au/news/latest-news/chinese-journalists-censored/2008/08/11/1218306780012.html)
And look how much they rioted just a few weeks ago over the French leg of torch relay. The Chinese are incredibly thin-skinned over any perceived criticism so them rioting over the Spanish is not so far-fetched.
To be honest, I was more doubting that he actually just was in Asia, but that's probably just me being cynical. :p

Back onto the Olympics: Usain Bolt. All I can say is wow. His coasting to a WR, with one shoe lace untied, in the 100m defies description. He deserves an extra medal just for his chutzpah!
I read an article by Ato Bolton (silver and 3 bronze in the 100 and 200m) where he said had Usain pushed himself the whole way, had both shoes tied and had a 1.9m tailwind (max allowed for records to stand is 2m), he would have gone under 9.5! :eek:
He also went into detail about everything Usain is doing wrong (too technical to get into here) and once he sorts these out will be phenomenal. Well, even more phenomenal if you want to get pedantic about it.
I don't know. I think I'm going to withhold judgement on Bolt (and maybe a few of the other Jamaican medal winning sprinters) for a couple years. The leads Bolt had on the other runners were way too effortlessly big to be accepted without suspicion these days - especially seeing how he's from a country that doesn't even have a doping-controlling agency.
If he keeps up his performance for a couple years without being caught doping, I'll reevaluate. :tongue:

America softball... lost. :eek: It lost to Japan.

I'm gonna have to see this for the next MONTH!

Not to mention live with a gloating wife for the next week and a half! :mad:

America softball... lost. :eek: It lost to Japan.
Ah well, this might have been the last occasion on which it could do so in Olympics... I read somewhere that the IOC is dropping both Softball and Baseball from the Olympic events list for London (2012) & onwards, because too few countries are interested in them: Can anybody here definitively confirm or refute this?

Bring back [Olympic] Cricket!

That 200m final was awesome. He didn't just win, he practically humiliated them.
humiliated them in the heats, blew them away in the finals. In the semi (iirc) he let an American race away, caught up to him and practically jogged through the final 1/4 neck and neck to the American, just beating him at the line. What better way to totally demoralise and psychologically destory your opponents!

As for his level of cleanliness - he's never failed a test and has been tested 8 times since being in Beijing! And it's not like he's just suddenly appeared suspiciously. He was junior World 200m champ at age 15. He failed in 2004 due to a hamstring injury. With his height it would take him til he's at least 20 to fill out and build strength.

Ah well, this might have been the last occasion on which it could do so in Olympics... I read somewhere that the IOC is dropping both Softball and Baseball from the Olympic events list for London (2012) & onwards, because too few countries are interested in them: Can anybody here definitively confirm or refute this?


I heard the same in Dutch news sources.

Ah well, this might have been the last occasion on which it could do so in Olympics... I read somewhere that the IOC is dropping both Softball and Baseball from the Olympic events list for London (2012) & onwards, because too few countries are interested in them: Can anybody here definitively confirm or refute this?

Bring back [Olympic] Cricket!

They are, cricket can't be in till 2016 though.

They are, cricket can't be in till 2016 though.
are they going to go with that new indian tournament format? they were bitching about how baseball and softball are hard to schedule due to the open time format. cricket is much worse on time eh?

I'd like to see Calvinball in the Olympics.

Ah well, this might have been the last occasion on which it could do so in Olympics... I read somewhere that the IOC is dropping both Softball and Baseball from the Olympic events list for London (2012) & onwards, because too few countries are interested in them: Can anybody here definitively confirm or refute this?

Bring back [Olympic] Cricket!

Yes they are this was the last time.

are they going to go with that new indian tournament format? they were bitching about how baseball and softball are hard to schedule due to the open time format. cricket is much worse on time eh?

Actually they should bring in cricket, it should be the exhibition sport for the 2012 games. The 20/20 version, which I think is what you are referring to as "Indian tournament format" is the best way to go, one day tests wouldn't be that good. But then I would say that rules for participants should be similar to the rules for Football, i.e only 2 professionals over the age of 23 are allowed to compete in each team.

Meanwhile it seems that the underage Chinese gymnasts are going to be investigated to see if they are the right age.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=619153

And what the hell happened to both the Men's and Women's US relay teams?

Good. Those dang Chinese can't get away with them underage girls!

Usain Bolt :eek:

After watching some other races, the lesson of this Olympics is clear-do not bother trying to run from a Jamaican. They will catch you. I don't know what they'll do with you, but presumably you were running for a reason...

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=619195

How accurate it is or not is another matter, but it is a bit suspicious that the records just vanished.

Meanwhile Australia has for the first time had one athlete win two medals in athletics for the first time in 36 years.

Jared Tallent won bronze in the 20km walk and has now won silver in the 50km walk, the last Australian to win two medals in the same games in an athletic even was Raelene Boyle who won silver in both the 100m and 200m sprint.

How awesome is it that Latvia gets gold in BMX? Not only is it tiny Latvia, but you had to expect that the US would walk with this. The US winning would have been boringly predictable, that's the cool thing in sport, the result you didn't see coming.

I guess unless you bet on sports. Then it's exactly not that. But that was still cool. There is a 11 year old inside me still upset his parents wouldn't take him seriously about his desire to BMX despite the fact that I would have sucked balls at it. It'd still have been awesome. I like BMX as an Olympic sport, more now that its 'open.'

Meanwhile Australia has for the first time had one athlete win two medals in athletics for the first time in 36 years.

Jared Tallent won bronze in the 20km walk and has now won silver in the 50km walk, the last Australian to win two medals in the same games in an athletic even was Raelene Boyle who won silver in both the 100m and 200m sprint.
Oh wow. I watched parts of that last night when they were around kilometers 15-20 and the commentators couldn't stop going on about how surprised they were that he was still among that leading group seeing how tired and done-in he apparently looked. Guess looks were deceiving.

Quality (http://www.theonion.com/content/news/michael_phelps_returns_to_his_tank)

I'd like to see Calvinball in the Olympics.

me too

All though this olympics people have been talking about medal tables, while not quite at cold war levels both the competition for topspot was always going to be important to the US and China.

The US are counting total medals since it puts them out in front, British (and I'd imagine the Chinese) are counting golds since it puts them higher in the rankings then total, or do medals count at all, some in Britain prefer to focus on Average finish irrespective of medals. Which is best?

BBC Article on medal tables (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7576446.stm)

Damn Chinese are cheating their asses off, and they paid off the judges to give them gold when other countries athletes actually do better...

All though this olympics people have been talking about medal tables, while not quite at cold war levels both the competition for topspot was always going to be important to the US and China.

The US are counting total medals since it puts them out in front, British (and I'd imagine the Chinese) are counting golds since it puts them higher in the rankings then total, or do medals count at all, some in Britain prefer to focus on Average finish irrespective of medals. Which is best?

BBC Article on medal tables (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7576446.stm)

The IOC will list in order of most golds.

Like this:

http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/table_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=2004

See how Japan is listed over Germany, even though Germany has 12 more medals, because Japan took more golds. Seems like the "official" way.

I like the points scored method, though.

The IOC will list in order of most golds.

Like this:

http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/table_uk.asp?OLGT=1&OLGY=2004

See how Japan is listed over Germany, even though Germany has 12 more medals, because Japan took more golds. Seems like the "official" way.

I like the points scored method, though.

technically the IOC does not encourage medal counts as they feel it takes away from the spirit of the games.

What a joke the 'official' IOC investigation into the Chinese gymnasts' ages was!
Took less than 12 hours and all they did was look at the exact same papers China had submitted to them previously!

They ignored and dismissed all the other evidence as 'speculation' and 'hearsay'. Accepted the official ages as put forward by the General Administration of Sport of China - this despite the fact the Administration listed He Kexin birthdate as Jan. 1, 1994 on it's 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists. But now it's 2008 and her birthdate is listed as Jan 1, 1992. And that's okay with the IOC, as everyone makes mistakes don't they?
Amazing it took 4 years for Chinese officials to spot their mistake. Amazing and oh-so-fortunate for them considering how well He Kuxin did.

I'm glad that's been all sorted out so satisfactorily.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/gymnastics/news/newsid=246060.html#ioc+despite+questions+proof

What a joke the 'official' IOC investigation into the Chinese gymnasts' ages was!
Took less than 12 hours and all they did was look at the exact same papers China had submitted to them previously!

They ignored and dismissed all the other evidence as 'speculation' and 'hearsay'. Accepted the official ages as put forward by the General Administration of Sport of China - this despite the fact the Administration listed He Kexin birthdate as Jan. 1, 1994 on it's 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists. But now it's 2008 and her birthdate is listed as Jan 1, 1992. And that's okay with the IOC, as everyone makes mistakes don't they?
Amazing it took 4 years for Chinese officials to spot their mistake. Amazing and oh-so-fortunate for them considering how well He Kuxin did.

I'm glad that's been all sorted out so satisfactorily.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/gymnastics/news/newsid=246060.html#ioc+despite+questions+proof

They can't prove it though, and they were never going to be able to prove it. This was inevitable.

ESPN does quite an amusing take on the coverage (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=3548749&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos2)

What a joke the 'official' IOC investigation into the Chinese gymnasts' ages was!
Took less than 12 hours and all they did was look at the exact same papers China had submitted to them previously!

They ignored and dismissed all the other evidence as 'speculation' and 'hearsay'. Accepted the official ages as put forward by the General Administration of Sport of China - this despite the fact the Administration listed He Kexin birthdate as Jan. 1, 1994 on it's 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists. But now it's 2008 and her birthdate is listed as Jan 1, 1992. And that's okay with the IOC, as everyone makes mistakes don't they?
Amazing it took 4 years for Chinese officials to spot their mistake. Amazing and oh-so-fortunate for them considering how well He Kuxin did.

I'm glad that's been all sorted out so satisfactorily.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/gymnastics/news/newsid=246060.html#ioc+despite+questions+proof

What do you honestly want the IOC to do? They can't very well prove these girls are under the age of 16. If China produces suspicious documents that say they are all of age, what does the IOC do, say "No, give us different documents that say they're under age"? Unless they have some sort of independent evidence, they really can't do anything. As strong as the speculation may be, that's still all it is: speculation.

What do you honestly want the IOC to do? They can't very well prove these girls are under the age of 16. If China produces suspicious documents that say they are all of age, what does the IOC do, say "No, give us different documents that say they're under age"? Unless they have some sort of independent evidence, they really can't do anything. As strong as the speculation may be, that's still all it is: speculation.
Except they can prove it. Demand an MRI scan of each competitor's hand and wrist. This is a completely safe, non-invasive and extremely accurate method of gauging physical age. As we age, bones in the hands and wrist fuse together, especially during the teen years. The difference between a 13yr-old's wrist and a 16yr-old's is significant and very noticeable (it's also why China prefers 13 yr old gymnasts - they're more flexible because many of their bones have yet to fuse). It's one method coroners use to determine the age of skeletons.

The fact that the General Administration of Sport of China had He Kuxin's birthdate as 1994 for three years running up until last year is suspicion enough (and independent evidence to boot) to warrant further investigation and MRI scanning. If an official body like the GASC claims this was just a 'mistake', then why should we now believe them, or the other official bodies? If they could make such a huge 'mistake' in the past why are we expected to believe them now? At the very least, they need to show all their documents to explain why they had her age wrong in the first place and how they then found out her 'real' age.
MRI scans can quickly prove who's telling the truth. If the Chinese have nothing to fear, why then did they delete all the cached documents showing their athletes underage once they were uncovered? If they truly have nothing to hide an MRI scan showing them all 15+ would immediately silence the critics.

At the end of the article I posted, a medal-winning Chinese competitor from the 2000 Olympics admitted to being underage at the time. So what has the IOC done about this? nothing. My, how surprising. And before anyone says, "what other proof do they have?" - what other proof did they have of, for eg, Marion Jones cheating except her coach's word she did? That was enough for a thorough, indepth investigation. An investigation that lasted a lot longer than the 12 hours IOC took here to accept China's word.

From what I figure it cost $300 million for the opening ceremony and probably another $300 million to pay off Rogge and his cronies. Hence their total disinterest and capitulation towards China.

Speaking of Rogge, anyone else read his lambasting of Usain Bolt? I swear, Rogge deserves a medal for having his head furthest up his ass. Dismisses out-of-hand the blatant underage cheating; instead decides to attack the best thing to happen to Track for years for 'not showing proper respect to the Olympic ideals'. China cheating apparently is showing proper respect but a young man dancing in jubilation at winning is not. Go figure that one out.
I watched on-line the 200m final with an English commentary. All the other athletes were stunned at the end, shaking their heads in amazement. Some were laughing in disbelief. They later interviewed the British sprinter who came 6th (later pushed up to 4th due to 2 DQ). He was still smiling about Usain's run and said it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen and was happy just to have run against him. For the life of me I couldn't see any anger or resentment by him towards Usain because of Usain's 'unsportsmanlike behaviour'.
Everyone: competitor, commentator, spectator, have reveled in his antics. Well, everyone except Rogge. Guess Rogge decided he had to make himself look like he was doing something to warrant all the money he gets. Also helped to deflect interest away from the gymnastics at rather an opportune time...

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu ssssssssssssssssss aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Except they can prove it. Demand an MRI scan of each competitor's hand and wrist. This is a completely safe, non-invasive and extremely accurate method of gauging physical age. As we age, bones in the hands and wrist fuse together, especially during the teen years. The difference between a 13yr-old's wrist and a 16yr-old's is significant and very noticeable (it's also why China prefers 13 yr old gymnasts - they're more flexible because many of their bones have yet to fuse). It's one method coroners use to determine the age of skeletons.

The fact that the General Administration of Sport of China had He Kuxin's birthdate as 1994 for three years running up until last year is suspicion enough (and independent evidence to boot) to warrant further investigation and MRI scanning. If an official body like the GASC claims this was just a 'mistake', then why should we now believe them, or the other official bodies? If they could make such a huge 'mistake' in the past why are we expected to believe them now? At the very least, they need to show all their documents to explain why they had her age wrong in the first place and how they then found out her 'real' age.
MRI scans can quickly prove who's telling the truth. If the Chinese have nothing to fear, why then did they delete all the cached documents showing their athletes underage once they were uncovered? If they truly have nothing to hide an MRI scan showing them all 15+ would immediately silence the critics.

At the end of the article I posted, a medal-winning Chinese competitor from the 2000 Olympics admitted to being underage at the time. So what has the IOC done about this? nothing. My, how surprising. And before anyone says, "what other proof do they have?" - what other proof did they have of, for eg, Marion Jones cheating except her coach's word she did? That was enough for a thorough, indepth investigation. An investigation that lasted a lot longer than the 12 hours IOC took here to accept China's word.

I don't know of the authenticity of an MRI scan to determine age. Would it be able to determine the difference between a 14 year old and a 16 year old? A 15 year old and a 16 year old. The only controversy has been with He, and the concern with her is that she's only a year too young. At the very least, she's 14 right now, and will be 15 on 1/1. So, would an MRI scan be able to conclusively show that she is not 16? I have to believe that it cannot make such a definite distinction. I suspect it can give an estimate of age, but I have to highly doubt that it can pinpoint age without a doubt. After all, how old is a 15 year old girl who has had her growth stunted by gymnastics to the point that she has yet to go through puberty? Is she 15? Or, because she has the body of a 12 year old, is she 12? You'll have to show me some pretty compelling evidence that an MRI scan can pinpoint age with 100% accuracy before I'll believe that it's an effective method.

Of course China is conspiring to cheat and make He eligible for these Oympics, because they want to win. I think there's very little doubt that China is lying about her age. But it cannot be proven.

And I'd recommend you read up about Marion Jones and her downfall. The IOC had nothing to do with the investigation, and a coach's admission was far from the only evidence they had of her ties to BALCO.

Yay good sportsmanship...


http://gfx.dagbladet.no/pub/artikkel/5/54/544/544536/cubanerXcopyX4_1219496504_1219496525.jpg

Cuban fighter banned for life after attacking judge (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/23/olympics.cubanattacksref?gusrc=rss&feed=sport)

There are actually people over at the ESPN message boards saying the ref deserved this.

I don't know of the authenticity of an MRI scan to determine age. Would it be able to determine the difference between a 14 year old and a 16 year old? A 15 year old and a 16 year old. The only controversy has been with He, and the concern with her is that she's only a year too young. At the very least, she's 14 right now, and will be 15 on 1/1. So, would an MRI scan be able to conclusively show that she is not 16? I have to believe that it cannot make such a definite distinction. I suspect it can give an estimate of age, but I have to highly doubt that it can pinpoint age without a doubt. After all, how old is a 15 year old girl who has had her growth stunted by gymnastics to the point that she has yet to go through puberty? Is she 15? Or, because she has the body of a 12 year old, is she 12? You'll have to show me some pretty compelling evidence that an MRI scan can pinpoint age with 100% accuracy before I'll believe that it's an effective method.

Of course China is conspiring to cheat and make He eligible for these Oympics, because they want to win. I think there's very little doubt that China is lying about her age. But it cannot be proven.

And I'd recommend you read up about Marion Jones and her downfall. The IOC had nothing to do with the investigation, and a coach's admission was far from the only evidence they had of her ties to BALCO.
Way to go with the straw there. Nothing is 100% accurate and to insist that a very simple, safe, non-invasive test not be used because it isn't 100% is just balderdash and poppycock. You should submit your CV to the Chinese authorities; Your excuses and denials would fit well with theirs.
According to their own previous official figures, she's 14yrs 8months. The youngest possible age she could be right now is 15yrs9months. So if an MRI scan shows her actual age anything less than, say, 15 years it's pretty damning and should be proof enough. If all the Chinese had to fall back on then is saying she only looks young cause our training has stunted and abused her into being prepubescent at age 16 that in itself is incredibly damning and needs immediate addressing.
Speaking of child abuse, and off-topic slightly, one of the Chinese divers is 15 and 33kg. She was in the paper today saying how she needs to diet to stay trim and is worried as she gets older, she'll gain too much weight and will be kicked off the team. That is truly obscene. 15years and 33kg! The IOC should bring in not only minimum ages but minimum bodyweights. It would help stop the sort of abuse that goes on in Chinese sport schools and would also probably help prevent more underage athletes competing.

As for the Marion Jones, again you totally missed the point there. I suggest you re-read what I wrote. I said the investigation was started because her coach (and there I was wrong: it was the person supplying her coach the drugs) admitted to her drug-taking, despite Jones vehement denials. Notice the word: STARTED. The admission in itself wasn't enough but it was enough to warrant an investigation.
So why, when they have a Chinese athlete herself admit to cheating, has the IOC done nothing? And the IOC would have to do something because it's obvious the Chinese won't. The IOC didn't have to do anything with the BALCO case because, unlike China, the USA has actual, real, proper, independent investigations, and a separate court system.

There are actually people over at the ESPN message boards saying the ref deserved this.
Don't all refs at at least one time in their career deserve that? :p

I know one person who would be happy about it: That Swedish wrestler who refused his bronze medal. Now there's someone even more badly behaved than him! He won't go home with the "Worst Behaved Athlete 2008" award.

Way to go with the straw there. Nothing is 100% accurate and to insist that a very simple, safe, non-invasive test not be used because it isn't 100% is just balderdash and poppycock. You should submit your CV to the Chinese authorities; Your excuses and denials would fit well with theirs.

You might need to reexplore what a strawman is. If it's not 100%, then it can be dismissed. And that's exactly what China would do. You can use your MRI test all you want, but if there is the possibility of disputing its results, that would be done. Again, you can't prove these girls are under the minimum age. The burden of proof is on the accuser, and unfortunately, because the Chinese government is complicit in this, you will never be able to amass sufficient evidence. The IOC will let this go because they'd rather not be embarassed by launching accusations at China that they know they, ultimately, cannot prove.

As for Marion Jones, there was a mountain of evidence provided to federal investigators by Conte that linked her to steroid use, including documentary evidence of purchases and shipments, as well as sworn testimony by no fewer than three people, including her husband at the time, C.J. Hunter. The federal government began investigating BALCO in 2003, and Marion Jones did not surface in the investigations until December of 2004. There was far, far more evidence than just a simple accusation.

Don't all refs at at least one time in their career deserve that? :p

I know one person who would be happy about it: That Swedish wrestler who refused his bronze medal. Now there's someone even more badly behaved than him! He won't go home with the "Worst Behaved Athlete 2008" award.

Does a referee deserve to be physically assaulted because a competitor disagreed with a ruling?

You might need to reexplore what a strawman is. If it's not 100%, then it can be dismissed. And that's exactly what China would do. You can use your MRI test all you want, but if there is the possibility of disputing its results, that would be done. Again, you can't prove these girls are under the minimum age. The burden of proof is on the accuser, and unfortunately, because the Chinese government is complicit in this, you will never be able to amass sufficient evidence. The IOC will let this go because they'd rather not be embarassed by launching accusations at China that they know they, ultimately, cannot prove.
Gravity isn't 100% proven, so you going to dismiss that too?
Well then why are we to accept their documents? They're not 100%, as shown by their previous ones which showed different birthdate. You can't have it both ways.
Nothing is 100% proven. But if it is scientifically verified to have a very large degree of accuracy and is accepted by the scientific community as a valid and accurate method then it can be used. I'm surprised I have to tell this to you.
The Chinese could complain all they want, but unless they prove that wrist scans have no valid scientific basis despite decades of proven research and use, they're pushing diarrhea uphill with a chopstick.
And yes, your dismissal of MRI scans on the basis that it's not 100% accurate is a strawman. Again, nothing is 100% accurate, so bringing that 'fact' up is pointless and redundant and, yes indeed, a strawman.

And, sigh, once again I direct you to what I wrote about Jones. The admission by the BALCO chairman was what got the investigation started. Nowhere did I say that said admission was all that was needed to ban Jones (and others - I was just using her as an example). Is that not plain enough for you, or do I need to say it again?

Does a referee deserve to be physically assaulted because a competitor disagreed with a ruling?
Mmmm....I see sarcasm is lost on this one.

Gravity isn't 100% proven, so you going to dismiss that too?

Now who's using strawmen?


Well then why are we to accept their documents? They're not 100%, as shown by their previous ones which showed different birthdate. You can't have it both ways.
Nothing is 100% proven. But if it is scientifically verified to have a very large degree of accuracy and is accepted by the scientific community as a valid and accurate method then it can be used. I'm surprised I have to tell this to you.

Why are you surprised you have to tell me this? Did I claim to be a medical expert?


And, sigh, once again I direct you to what I wrote about Jones. The admission by the BALCO chairman was what got the investigation started. Nowhere did I say that said admission was all that was needed to ban Jones (and others - I was just using her as an example). Is that not plain enough for you, or do I need to say it again?

Your condescending tone is really inappropriate, considering you're wrong in this matter. The investigation did not start based on an accusation by Victor Conte. The investigation began based on an accusation by Victor Conte, along with mountains of physical evidence that she had purchased, accepted delivery, and used his products. He did not simply tell federal investigators that Jones used steroids without any proof, and that prompted them to open an investigation into her, where they later found the evidence. He came to them, with the evidence, in an attempt to cooperate with investigators to reduce his eventual sentence. There is a canyon of difference between what you are saying, that the investigation began based on a sole accusation, and what actually happened, that the evidence was provided ALONG WITH the accusation.


Mmmm....I see sarcasm is lost on this one.

No, it just wasn't clever.

I know one person who would be happy about it: That Swedish wrestler who refused his bronze medal. Now there's someone even more badly behaved than him! He won't go home with the "Worst Behaved Athlete 2008" award.

Everybody has forgotten about him already, in light of the Cuban.

The fight was pretty bad, and is a disgraceful, it is one thing to verbally abuse a coach for making a decision but another to physically abuse him.

Did anyone see the marathon? The Kenyan won it he is only 21 years old and has only competed in 3 marathons before fairly amazing.

As for the Men's 10m diving good to see the Australian win it (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie) managing to beat the favourite Chinese.

Young Thomas Daley who finished 6th is going to be amazing in 4 years time he will be 18 and with the amount of money that will be spent on him by the British government he should be able to get the gold.

Can't wait to see the Closing Ceremony, and I hope the bit where they display the British performance to indicate they have it next is a hell of a lot better than in 1996, really what the fuck was that. Whoever thought of that deserves to be shot.

So.

Now the competition is over...

I find it funny to see how the Olympics show some reality of the geopolitical world.

USA winning more medals but China achieving the first place.

...and France won it's place on the ten best at the very final sport, winning a gold medal in the last contest of the Olympics :]

And, by the way, just put together the medals of Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Sweden...and behold the might of European Union !

Aaaah...the day our peoples could do something like this for real...

And, by the way, just put together the medals of Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Sweden...and behold the might of European Union !
That'd be, behold the might of independent European nations. And Sweden, of all nations? Sweden's presence at these Olympics was dominated for me by two Swedes, the Swedish referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden (to quote The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/23/olympics.cubanattacksref?gusrc=rss&feed=sport)) and the Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian, also of Sweden.

I know it is slightly late but I just watched the closing ceremony, (I wasn't able to on the night and had to record it) but it wasn't as good as the closing ceremony.

The part representing the transition to London, with the double decker bus, and I know that David Beckham was a major part of the bidding team but really he is the most overrated footballer in the world, surely there was someone else to have.

And what is with the logo? It is the worst I have ever seen.

Well that is it and I think I have had enough of watching Olympic games say for about four years.