Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

More sports? The Olympics is cluttered up enough with sports I've never heard of and endless variations of the ones I do know. So many of the events are so trivial that any new world records in the event should just be logged in to the Guiness Book and the gold saved for a more useful purpose, like for Ali G. Why do we need Women's Beach Volleyball? There is already Women's Volleyball. I appreciate Women's Doubles Swimsuited Ass-Slapping as much as the next guy, but why does it have to be an Olympic Event?

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

That would be a decent show if it didn't involve the unbelievably annoying blowhard Penn. Or Teller. Whoever the tall fat one is. Nice ponytail, dick.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Agree. He's Penn. He's annoying. I think they should let Teller run the show. Maybe with cue cards.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

I found myself giggling uncontrollably yesterday as I explained to my husband and coworkers that I had just spent the past hour and a half at the gym watching Women's Snatch. Granted, the clean and jerk was in there also, but it sounded dirtier leaving that out.

ETA: I did not explain that I was watching the Olympics. Just that I had been looking at women's snatch at the YWCA.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Because (absent a porn library equivalent to Less') where else would you see Norwegians and Swiss doing same?

I thought we'd already covered this.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Paigow does not want you in her yoga class.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

I will defer to gwink on all issues regarding Scandanavian Women's* Doubles Swimsuited Ass-Slapping.

*dtb?

Israel
 

Steve the fat guy,
Within his stomach there's a child.
What's the child's name?
Steve the fat guy!

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Not Scandinavian (Brazilan), but ass-slapping and Olympic beach volleyball related:

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...2047739944.jpg

The Netherlands (closer!):

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com...2295937098.jpg

Speaking of the Olympics
 

The sightings. The typos.

This post proves - beyond any reasonable doubt - that Paigow has hijacked this login.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

I'm beginning to feel the Olympic spirit. Please hold my calls.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Santa Vaca! I swear to Bhudda if you don't stop it, I going to give you the turkey.

(I saw it, too)

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Finally some respect.
My official position is that I'm in favour of it.

Referral Needed
 

A friend of Mrs. Wonk lives in LA and needs an inexpensive IP person to help her with licensing and royalty issues for a new business venture.

PM me or email mabg922@comcast.net

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

What the hell else do trampolinists have to keep themselves going?

http://www.athens2004.com/images/Oly...mpoline_2b.bmp

http://www.athens2004.com/images/Oly...mpoline_4b.bmp

http://www.wvtc.co.uk/images/history...echsynchro.jpg

I hear ltl is looking for a teamate for the synchronized eating competition, but has not yet been able to find someone who can keep up her record pace.

TM

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Really, why isn't the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest winner sporting an Olympic gold medal instead of, well, instead of whatever it is he got? I watched a few minutes of Doubles Badminton yesterday. I'll admit that they looked like they were really, really, really good badminton players. But who gets that good at badminton? How do they practice - are there other badminton players out there? If this is an Olympic event, why not horseshoes or lawn darts? Fuck, Olympic D&D would merit about the same cool factor as Doubles Badminton.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

did they shed the cardigans tied around their shoulders for the final set? did you see dtb there?

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

I put on my robe and wizard hat.

PLF: Paging Wardrobe
 

Shhh. Cardigans are in; bondage pants are out (NY Times)

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/...prep.chart.jpg

Olympic Coverage
 

[Long post, so skip if you don't want to read an Olympic-sized rant.]

Okay, I'm sick of this shit. Every year it gets worse. The Olympics needs to form a subsidiary that handles all of the Olympic Coverage. NBC fucking sucks large, not-female-beach-volleyball ass.

1. Enough with the forced drama. We don't need to know the background of every single American competitor. I don't give a shit if the guy has been swimming the breaststroke since he was four. In fact, I kind of assumed it. How the fuck else do you get to be the best in the world? His parents sacrificed? No shit. He had an injury at some point that he came back from? He's an athlete. Jesus.

The Olympics contains enough drama already. That's why it's so great. People want to see their countries do well. In fact, the best part is watching countries that are underdogs in every other aspect of their existence beat the shit out of the world super-powers. There's your drama. The competition is what I tune in for, not the filler. Who likes that crap? How about showing more events and less life-stories.

2. Yez, we're Americans. We get it. Let us cheer. We don't need the announcers constantly telling us where the American is in every single event. Once, at the beginning when you set out which countries are in the race and which lane each occupies is enough. I don't give a shit that the American is in 13th place in a 15 person race. I want to see the best in the world. Not the best American in the race.

So, recognize that this country is made up of people from all over the world who would love to see some coverage of events in which Americans might not have a shot to win. Hell, there are always some cool events I'd like to see that I normally wouldn't because that sport isn't popular here.

And when someone from another country does well, stop telling me that they train here, or that they live here or that their coach is from here or was taught by some great former American coach. I don't give a fuck. Neither does anyone else (with half a brain). The woman who is currently kicking everyone's ass in the event will be medaling for Romania, not the US. Stop trying to take credit for it.

(Last night, one of the commentators criticized the Japanese winner for ever-so-slightly, almost using a dolphin kick out of the turn in the breast stroke final. Uh...what? They showed it in slow motion and the guy talking was smoking crack. No dolphin kick. He straight up beat our guy's ass. Shut the fuck up and accept it. In fact, applaud him for being the better man. And stop making excuses for our guy who just lost. Jesus Christ.)

3. Put the fucking Olympics in high def, live, damnit. If I can watch numerous golf events, the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals in high def, you would think they could get this done in the largest sporting event in the world.

4. Do NOT mention Mark Spitz until someone is actually holding 4 or 5 gold medals. Fuck Phelps. He won one race out of the three he's been in. But before the first race, you were saying he had a chance to win 8 golds. Kiss my ass. Ridiculous expectations.

The thing that is cool about the Olympics is that people do things they aren't expected to do because they are competing for their country as well as themselves. It seems to give a good many people a little bit extra. That sense of pride won't be beaten down by the "underdog" label, no matter how many times you repeat it.

I assume other countries have coverage that is like ours (meaning, they focus way too much on their own citizens). Are there any major differences in coverage that make it a better experience elsewhere? Anybody?

TM

Olympic Coverage
 

The CBC generally has better coverage because they show everything live and will frequently show a lot of events with non-Canadians. (however, they missed the US/PR game yesterday and are getting beat up for it) They are also less schmaltzy (although NBC has gotten better). However, when a Canadian does well, they are all over him or her, so not that much different from NBC in that respect. Perhaps Penske has a feed and can tell us whether the CBC is any good this year.

The BBC also used to be good (I watched the Atlanta Olympics on the BBC, and a little of Barcleona). I don't know how it is these days.

Olympic Coverage
 

I'm curious if they will use the story about the U.S. woman swimmer (I think)* who killed her boyfriend and a teenager in an auto accident several months ago and who will be serving a jail sentence after the Olympics and how the kid who she (accidently) killed's family doesn't think that she should be allowed to delay her jail sentence until after the games. Maybe that one isn't uplifting enough.


*ETA: just remembered it is a U.S. woman synchronized swimmer.

EATA: here's a story about her: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5196638/

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

In-laws are planning to go to Norway next summer and I very much want to go with them. If and when we plan the trip, I will try to remember to solicit beach recommendations from you. Should I try to see Sweden on the same trip, or should I spend it all in Norway?

Olympic Coverage
 

The worldwide population of women is holding steady at 51%. Do you seriously think this is something NBC would continue to do without volumes of market research to back it up? Those little vignettes piss off sports fans, but the overall demographic for Olympics coverage doesn't consist of sports fans --- not even a majority. My mother watches the Olympics.

Whether she watches from the Liz Phair position is none of your beeswax, BTW.

Random Thoughts on the Olympics
 

Apropos of this and last week's poll, wasn't there a really dumb beer ad* a few year's back featuring the Swedish Bikini Team? (Or maybe that's the Finnish Bikini Team, since I seem to have problems with those two countries -- something I'm hoping a visit will straighten out.)

* Redundancy noted.

Olympic Coverage
 

Then why does Lifetime have such shitty ratings?

TM

Olympic Coverage
 

Don't you mean the US population of women is holding steady at 51%? Leaving aside your insult (which as a woman residing in the US I take great offense to, seriously), who watches NBC outside the US?

Olympic Coverage
 

'Cuz women are all watching the Olympics on NBC.

Olympic Coverage
 

Sexist fuck.

Olympic Coverage
 

Concur. Apparently, there was some sort of problem with how Nielsen was tracking viewers in high-def, such that putting on a high-def feed would poach viewers from the standard def feed being tracked by Nielsen. So they give affiliates the HD feed on an even worse time-delay so their Nielsen numbers don't suffer.

Olympic Coverage
 

You just took dead seriously a post in which I referred to my mother getting stabbed in the back while watching the Olympics. FWIW.

Olympic Coverage
 

The Greek baseball team may merit an exception to your rule.

The coverage on the not-NBC channels (CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, and USA) was better, though intermittent. More obscure sports, fewer human interest stories, and more athletes from other countries. I watched some of the boxing coverage (announced by Teddy Atlas, who sounds the way a boxing announcer should) and they seemed to feature bouts with boxers they believed had a chance of going the distance, without regard to what country they were from.

And I think someone's offereing a hi def olympics package. It would piss me off if they made you pay extra for it if you already had hi def.

TM [/QUOTE]

Olympic Coverage
 

I'm sorry about your mother. FWIW, you didn't answer my question.

Olympic Coverage
 

I don't know why they even talked about it. He never had a chance. He has never been w/in a second of Thorpe in the 200 Free. Thorpe has swam 8 of the 9 fastest 200 frees ever. And The Flying Dutchman has always been faster than Phelps as well.

The 4x100 team never had a chance either. And I'm not saying this in hindsight. It was obvious based on previous times before this year's race. At most, Phelps could have won 6 gold medals, but even that is/was unlikely.

Olympic Coverage
 

Gt to disagree with you here. He definitely used a dolphin kick, and it definitely mattered - he was behind coming off the wall and was a meter or so ahead when they came up for air the first time - the same margin by which he won.

Be that as it may, I've liked watching the coverage on the other channels. There seems to be less of the crap vignettes, more action.

Bob "Here's another country that's never won a medal" Costas needs a bullet in the head.

Olympic Coverage
 

All these years of lefty cred shot to hell with a single joke. With all this talk of Olympics, how could you not remember Jimmy the Greek? Give your ACLU card and your angry female folk cds to Ty on your way out of the politics board. I'll miss you over there.

Olympic Coverage
 

If I may ask a silly question or two, I was wondering why the Australia colors for uniforms are green and yellow (clearly having nothing to do with the color of the flag), and further why announcers might call them the "great green and white" in light of the uniform colors. and yes, I know I should have said colours.

Olympic Coverage
 

2.

The underwater dolphin kick is the fastest stroke in swimming. Which is why they only allow it during the first 15 meters of the butterfly/freestyle.

Do breaststrokers no longer have to keep some portion of their head above water?

Olympic Coverage
 

Technically, yes, but there was a rule change about 12-14 years ago such that (and I don't remember the exact way it's phrased) water washing over the head is okay. The rule caused a change in technique that has dropped serious time in the breaststroke, especially now that the top competitors have been doing it that way for their entire careers (I used to swim breaststoke and butterfly in competition up until highschool, and then the rule change came in breaststroke and I never adjusted, so I became just a butterflier).

Olympic Coverage
 

Three different color combinations were long commonly thought of as Australia's national colors: red, white and blue; blue and gold; and green and gold. Red, white and blue were featured in the first coat of arms of the Commonwealth in 1908 and are the colors of Australia's national flag. Green and gold (center) were commonly accepted as the national colors in sporting events even before Federation. Green and gold (yellow) were proclaimed Australia’s national colors on April 19, 1984.

Link: http://www.geobop.com/symbols/world/australia/