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AP Olympics Thread

DocTee Feb 10 2006 10:20 PM

Looking forward to the Games...

metsmarathon Feb 10 2006 10:38 PM

are these the worst opening ceremonies ever, or what?

metirish Feb 10 2006 10:40 PM

I will watch the hockey and the female ice skating, for some strange reason the female ice skating at the games gets me hooked, USA/Canada in the hockey final would be great.

cooby Feb 10 2006 10:41 PM

The female ice skaters playing hockey would be great

DocTee Feb 10 2006 10:53 PM

Actually, I like the more esoteric sports-- bobsled (not figure skating) ski jumps (not hockey)--

DocTee Feb 10 2006 10:54 PM

Why does the USA wear outfits manufactured by ROOTS, a Canadian company?????

metsmarathon Feb 10 2006 11:05 PM

cos all the american companies make their clothes in bangladesh??? hey, if you're an athlete, standing there in the opening ceremonies, are you just a little ticked off that they just dumped burt rubber all into your lungs? cos i would be.

apmorris Feb 12 2006 02:53 PM

I like the olympics. I wish we could get round the clock coverage, no commercials and little commentary (like TV in Europe). AND I still dont understand why there was no world cup alpine skiing on this winter (I have 300 cable channels). AND seems $ was behind Kwan's dream to replace other more qualified skaters' dreams. and now she's gone. defending kwan: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter06/figure/columns/story?id=2328132 kwan and coke: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter06/figure/columns/story?id=2328319 ps. did anyone see bryant gumble's take on how he hates the winter olympics on HBO's Realsports? What, a jerkoff.

metirish Feb 12 2006 03:03 PM

I saw that apmorris, I really do not like him, most everything he does on that show is race related, maybe he should be reminded that there are African and Caribbean nations at these games, are there a lot of Black athletes?, no , but to hear him dismiss the games becuause there are hardly any Blacks is just bullshit, also I remember on a show last year he dismissed the 1969 Mets as the most undeserving World Series winner ever, he's a Cubs fan you see, asshole.

Frayed Knot Feb 12 2006 05:00 PM

Just something I noticed in the morning papers: The winning time for the 5,000 meters speedskate was 6:14 Folks that's a pace of almost exactly 30 mph kept up for 3 miles and change. That's fuckin' truckin'!

cooby Feb 13 2006 10:10 AM

I got caught up in the snowboarding yesterday; I love the boys, I love the outfits (like jammies!), I love the jumps they do. I have a new favorite Olympic sport.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 13 2006 10:29 AM

Ms. Dickshot said they should be deducted points when the waistband of their boxers appear. Those PJs the US guys wore were ridiculous, and I'm sure millions will sell. I was also turned off by them holding their boards up for the camera so's we could see the sponsor. Very nascary.

cooby Feb 13 2006 10:31 AM

I think they're cute. Mrs. Dickshot needs a teenaged son :)

Centerfield Feb 13 2006 10:32 AM

I still don't understand the luge. How they steer, what makes one better than another. It's amazing after that long run the margins of victory are hundredths of a second. If the top ten are all within a tenth of a second of each other, didn't everybody just essentially tie?

Elster88 Feb 13 2006 10:54 AM

I also don't understand why anyone gives a crap who the best luger(?) is. So the guy can steer a sled down a man made track really fast. I'm just not that impressed. Events like skiing or skating are normal and everyone does them.

Elster88 Feb 13 2006 10:56 AM

I'm with apmorris on the commentary. I don't understand why the majority of events necessitate someone screaming non-stop into a microphone.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 13 2006 11:28 PM

Well that was nice. The Chinese pair skaters started their long routine and in the first stunt, the guy throws the chick and she lands knee first on the ice with he leg bending away from her -- looked hideous. They stopped for a while and I figured she'd go straight to an orthopedic surgeon for an ACL repair -- instead they resume their routine and take silver. Good day for Olympian accidents, including two agony-of-defeat style wrecks in women's downhill, and the Chinese speed-skater winning a medal despite crossing the finish line face first in the 500 meters.

Elster88 Feb 14 2006 08:57 AM

She won the silver? How many times did the bronze medalists fall down?

metirish Feb 14 2006 10:08 AM

I watched the women's half-pipe last night and thoroughly enjoyed it, America was going for a medals sweep but settled for Gold and Silver, it's kinda cool to watch people compete from different countries and have fun doing it, plus to hear the announcers say things like," she went ballistic on that ride" is fun, and Hannah Teter wearing a studded belt while competing is just rad man.

Elster88 Feb 14 2006 10:10 AM

I don't see why snowboarding events are in the Olympics. Halfpipe is basically a way to increase the US medal count. It should be kept in the X-Games.

cooby Feb 14 2006 10:10 AM

That Australian girl was a doll. What a pretty smile. I forget her name though

metirish Feb 14 2006 10:16 AM

Elster I would think it has as much to do with TV ratings as medal counts, plus other countries will get better, my 13 year old nephew in Ireland knows who Shaun White is and he and his friends pretty much only watch the snowboarding.I would think it is the same over here for a lot of kids that age and older.

cooby Feb 14 2006 10:24 AM

I like it; I'm glad it's there. They could do away entirely with all the ice skating junk and I wouldn't care. Well, maybe the speed skating is okay.

Elster88 Feb 14 2006 10:24 AM

My distaste for the X-Game style events is probably just a personal thing.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 14 2006 10:56 AM

I don't think any sport where one country takes 5 of 6 medals (men & women) overall should be an Olympic sport. It was silly. ]She won the silver? How many times did the bronze medalists fall down? I didn't see all of it, but if you watched the pairs you'd get the general impression that the long-program was difficult for any team to do flawlessly, and judging by the chick commentator, most entrants basically suck at ice skating anyway. Her favorite phrase was "I hope the judges penalize that mistake!" It's evidently in the rules to allow a team to re-start in the event of a screwup or injury: They can only deduct so much points for any single mistake, and I gotta say, the chick nailed all her jumps afterward when everyone in the arena and watching on TV was sure her leg would Thiesmanize at any second. I'm tellin ya, if this pair were Americans (or Canadians) they'd be the biggest story of the games so far.

metirish Feb 14 2006 11:24 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 14 2006 11:28 AM

ugly, very ugly...

cooby Feb 14 2006 11:26 AM

Yowch! Was he skating over to help or did he continue for a bit?

seawolf17 Feb 14 2006 11:33 AM

="cooby"]I like it; I'm glad it's there. They could do away entirely with all the ice skating junk and I wouldn't care. Well, maybe the speed skating is okay. Speed skating is fun to watch, because they're always thisclose to a massive pileup wipeout.

cooby Feb 14 2006 11:34 AM

Yeah! :)

metirish Feb 14 2006 12:23 PM

So much for Bode Miller hype.... ] SESTRIERE, Italy (AP) -- American Bode Miller's hopes for a gold medal in the Alpine combined evaporated Tuesday when he was disqualified for straddling a gate in the first slalom run. The disqualification, the fifth straight for the often-reckless American in a slalom race, gave the lead to Austrian Benjamin Raich, who had trailed Miller by nearly a second before the disqualification was announced. Copyright 2006 Associated Press.

metirish Feb 14 2006 11:22 PM

Here's hoping this kid has a blast in Torino....

Rockin' Doc Feb 15 2006 07:28 AM

]SESTRIERE, Italy (AP) -- American Bode Miller's hopes for a gold medal in the Alpine combined evaporated Tuesday when he was disqualified for straddling a gate in the first slalom run. The disqualification, the fifth straight for the often-reckless American in a slalom race, gave the lead to Austrian Benjamin Raich, who had trailed Miller by nearly a second before the disqualification was announced. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. Disqualification cuts both ways for American ski team. American Ted Ligety, 21, wins Alpine combined gold medal ]Austrian favorite Benjamin Raich , the leader going into the final slalom run, skied off course, setting off a red-white-and-blue celebration at the finish area. Copyright 2006 Associated Press.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 15 2006 07:46 AM

Bode sort of strikes me as a douche. Not to take anything away from how difficult it is to do what he does, and I'm sure he had to work very hard to be as good as he is... but given what you hear about his attitude toward practice the screwup he made didn't seem too unpredictable. Too bad the American kid won Gold when his main competition DQed on the mogul. But good for the Croatian who won Silver. The NBC coverage has been OK for me as long as I don't find out who won ahead of time and convince myself that its live. Tonight they show the women's downhill but just through osmosis I just found out who won.

Frayed Knot Feb 16 2006 11:11 PM

I can't watch figure skating. All those frilly costumes full of sequins and spangles, the mascara and glitter on their faces, the drama queens with their tears of emotion clutching their teddy bears and flowers in the "kiss-and-cry" room. Imagine how bad it will get when the women take their turn next week. (I suspect most of y'all saw that one coming) Letterman mentioned the other day how the first drug scandal had invaded the Turin Olympics ... turns out that one of the male figure skaters tested positive for heterosexuality.

seawolf17 Feb 17 2006 05:50 AM

Snowboardcross -- a mix of snowboarding and motorcross -- was a good time last night. Women go for it tonight, I believe.

cooby Feb 17 2006 07:41 AM

We enojyed them too. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like the guy in the yellow pants was always the one that fell down

Edgy DC Feb 17 2006 09:08 AM

Watched female curling this morning at the gym. Ms. DC didn't believe it was an Olympic sport.

metsmarathon Feb 17 2006 09:48 AM

curling is too a sport, and its the best winter sport out there. i don't know why, but i've loved it ever since the first day i saw it on olympic ice.

Frayed Knot Feb 17 2006 10:06 AM

I can't believe there's curling in Edgy's gym!

Edgy DC Feb 17 2006 10:31 AM

I don't say no, it was just new to her. It was said earlier in this thread, but there's no reason men and women should be in seperate divisions in curling, or most other sports that you can smoke during.

martin Feb 17 2006 11:14 AM

snowboardcross looks like one of the most fun sports anyone can imagine. after snowboardcross the second most fun looking sport is short track speed skating. both sports are always on the edge of a multi-man race changing crash. that must be stressful. i cant understand the scoring system of curling. i need to try harder i guess.

metirish Feb 17 2006 10:53 PM

WOW , did you catch Lindsey Jacobellis showboating and losing the Gold in the process?, she was home free coming inot the second to last jump when she grabbed the bottem of her board and landed badly, Tanja Frieden who was quite a bit behind zipped past her to take Gold, part of me feels for Jacobellis because no doubt she was caught in the moment but hell what are you doing?...

Rockin' Doc Feb 17 2006 11:03 PM She started celebrating victory a little too soon....

In her interview after the race, Jacobellis plays it as grabbing her board to stabilize herself coming off the next to last jump. Nice story, but I'm not buying. The more times they showed it, the more apparent it appears that she cost herself the gold with her premature celebraion.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 17 2006 11:03 PM

Considering one of her opponents she was trying to show up was being carried off in a stretcher I'd say that ugly bitch got more than she deserved. Poor sportsmanship is just epidemic.

apmorris Feb 17 2006 11:26 PM

waiting on this. right now there's skeleton going on and three annoucers in the box trying to out scream each other in false exuberance. "as she soared off the penultimate jump, Jacobellis did a backside method grab, rotating her board too far to the side."

metirish Feb 17 2006 11:44 PM

I still fell bad for her, I assume most of these snowboarders come form the X-Games where this kind of showboating is accepted and probably encourged, having said that after reading what Dickshot wrote about one of the girls getting carried off in a stretcher makes what she did seem worse, she lost the Gold because she was foolish, Bob Costas said she was 142 feet or 3 seconds ahead of the next girl, no one to blame but herself.

Frayed Knot Feb 18 2006 09:18 AM

Hey, if they want to choose sports wher style and fun dominate then they should just go all the way and allow roller-derby like tactics during the snowboard cross runs. THAT would be a blast; checking your opponents off the course would be not only permitted but encouraged!!

metsmarathon Feb 18 2006 11:49 AM

i was more interested in what she said in the first interview, before the PR reps got to her - basically, she admitted to showboating with the method grab but it didnt work and oh well, no big, silver is still cool and it was fun anyways. if i'm her coach, she does situps from now until the next olympiad, if i neither kill her nor fire myself first. OE: prior to seeing it live, i was just hoping htat it was a natural board-stabilization thing that didnt work, and that the media was making too big a deal out of it. that ALL went away when i saw it live, and also saw here interview immediately afterwards. she was asked the question "why did you try to go method on that jump?" or words to that effect. she acknowledged then and there that it was no stabilization move - that it was in fact a showoffy thing that didnt work. her blase attitude made me sick, and reinforced my hatred of american athletes, or at least those american athletes who think that they are so good that it doesn't even matter if they actually win their event

cooby Feb 18 2006 12:08 PM

Does anybody know how the Canadian girl is?

Johnny Dickshot Feb 18 2006 12:22 PM

Totally revolting. Like I said, silver is more than she earned. The American chick skiiers wearing tiaras and pearls and finishing in the back of the pack ain't too cool either.

cooby Feb 18 2006 12:29 PM

Took me all that time to finally find a little blurb that the girl that crashed is fine. Yeah, Johnny, the girl skier with the tiara was pretty easy not to root for. I don't mind strange people, but come on.

Frayed Knot Feb 18 2006 01:12 PM

I tried doing a "method grab" with a female skier one time and got my face slapped for it.

OlerudOwned Feb 18 2006 02:20 PM

The Swiss upset Canada in men's hockey pool play. Wow. USA taking on Slovakia right now in a huge game.

KC Feb 18 2006 02:30 PM

I had the Swiss game on this morning, I find I'm more interested in the Olympics for some reason (the HD broadcast is very nice) than in years past. Dude (Gerber, I think) saved closed to fifty shots on goal without letting one in.

Edgy DC Feb 19 2006 08:14 AM

The other boarders defending her for showboating even as she denies showboating. Zvetlana Zhurova, pulling a Goolagong and winning a gold in the 500-Meter speedskating championship 26 months after having a baby.

Frayed Knot Feb 19 2006 11:49 AM

Mike Emerick, who's calling the US vs Sweden game right now and is the regular for the NJ Devils games, is one of the great p-b-p announcers in any sport, any time ... and hockey is very tough to do well.

metirish Feb 19 2006 02:40 PM

Yeah Emerick is the best, he's the lead guy on OLN coverage , he has an amazing way with words.

metirish Feb 19 2006 04:10 PM

Sweden beat the USA ,great game on now, Finland is beating Canada 2 zip,it's non-stop action.

seawolf17 Feb 19 2006 04:35 PM

Watched the "Curl Girls" this morning take on Switzerland. Let me say that we really, really enjoyed it, and that I will not abuse curlers any more. It's a lot of fun, there's definitely some physical challenge involved, and I wish we had made the medal round, but we didn't. Either way, good show.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 19 2006 08:41 PM

Whenever they talk about Latvia it reminds me of [url=http://p079.ezboard.com/fthecranepoolforumfrm39.showMessageRange?topicID=8.topic&start=1&stop=20]this[/url].

Frayed Knot Feb 19 2006 10:56 PM

I kinda like it when tall good-looking Dutch women in tight spandex outfits win speed-skating medals. But hey, that's just me.

Frayed Knot Feb 19 2006 11:24 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Whenever they talk about Latvia it reminds me of [url=http://p079.ezboard.com/fthecranepoolforumfrm39.showMessageRange?topicID=8.topic&start=1&stop=20]this[/url]. And what's on Seinfeld tonight? ... why only the episode where George converts to Latvian Orthodox. P.S. There's Ice Dancing going on right now and the dudes are dropping the chicks all over the ice. It's getting dangerous out there!

seawolf17 Feb 20 2006 05:42 AM

That thread is one of my favorites, and I wasn't even there for it! I love the fact that 99% of our ezboard history is wiped out, but that remains.

cooby Feb 20 2006 08:28 AM

ScarletKnight41 Feb 20 2006 10:14 PM

That Italian pairs skater has to get over the fact that her partner dropped her last night Yeah, he screwed up, but it's not like he did it on purpose. It's like a pitcher getting miffed at a fielder who costs him a perfect game - even if your teammate makes a mistake, you can't go around sulking the rest of the game.

metirish Feb 20 2006 10:33 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 20 2006 10:58 PM

I kinda like the ice dancing SK, it gets better the worse they are, just keep throwing those poor women to the ice, how many did that happen to yesterday?, it was crazy.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 20 2006 10:55 PM

It was nuts yesterday. I felt bad for that French Canadian couple that couldn't compete in the finals because she bruised her hip on that fall Sunday. But that Italian couple was a soap opera. First she was glaring at him like she was ready to pull a Bobbit on him, then by the end of their free dance she was ready to be intimate with him on the ice!

metirish Feb 20 2006 10:58 PM

I think they might be at it again tonight, the announcer keeps talking about the 'Italian soap opera', the fella was just crying back stage.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 20 2006 11:21 PM

Yes - it was tonight where she went from glaring to amorous in the course of their free skate.

Centerfield Feb 21 2006 01:29 PM

I laugh when I hear Latvia too. In her defense, Jacobellis couldn't have had any idea how hurt her competitors were when she was finishing. Of course, that doesn't make what she did excusable. Leon Lett anyone?

TheOldMole Feb 21 2006 10:33 PM

My friend Taffy is over in Torino with the American team! She's the one in the white jacket you see sitting on the left side of the American skaters after they finish their programs.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 21 2006 10:42 PM

Go Taffy, go!

metirish Feb 21 2006 10:44 PM

I think Taffy will be pleased with her troops after today, I am now rooting for Sasha....

Frayed Knot Feb 21 2006 11:20 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 21 2006 11:27 PM

I'm certainly not a big fan of figure skating and for the most part couldn't tell you the specifics of what's going on. Staying up = good, falling on can = bad is about the extent of my knowledge. But in addition to all the obvious work and athletisism is takes to get there in that sport, it's gotta also take a ton of guts. All that prep time comes down to being given a 2-minute (or whatever) window where you go out and give it all you've got in a one-shot deal knowing that near perfection probably isn't good enough. And you're sent out one at a time all alone on that big ice surface with all those eyes focused only on you where any fall isn't going to look even slighty graceful. And, oh yeah ... you're all of 17! I despise all the soap-opera histrionics that dominate that sport and the fact that the line between competition and exhibition becomes too often blurred ... but that doesn't mean it's easy or wimpy.

TheOldMole Feb 21 2006 11:24 PM

Sasha has the skill and swagger of the 86 Mets.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 21 2006 11:31 PM

I wonder if she'll compete in her "Project Runway" outfit.

Frayed Knot Feb 22 2006 04:45 PM

Olympic Hockey: U.S. - OUT! Canada - OUT! NBC - PISSED!

Willets Point Feb 22 2006 05:06 PM

How much did the Gretzkys have on that happening?

TheOldMole Feb 22 2006 06:54 PM

Taffy wasn't on with Sasha, but she was with both Kimmie and Emily...I guess she's there for the younger skaters. It's so exciting seeing her. Taffy is the widow of my wife's ex-husband. I know it sounds strange, but we all kind of became a family, and she and Pat became very close friends. When Trilok died, I was asked to give one of the eulogies at his funeral, where I revealed -- to everyone's delight -- that I had always referred to him as "my ex-husband-in-law." Taffy was a figure skater in her youth, and she's stayed associated with the sport. She's been a judge at the American national championships, and now I guess she's there as a sort of mentor to the younger skaters...not actually a coach, but certainly helping out.

Willets Point Feb 24 2006 12:11 AM

Virtual Curling.

Rockin' Doc Feb 24 2006 07:14 AM

mole - "Sasha has the skill and swagger of the 86 Mets." Last night she opened with more of a stagger than a swagger. Cohen deserves credit for hanging tough and giving herself a chance after the abysmal start to her long program. After Cohen had finished her program I thought she would be lucky to make it onto the medal podium, but one by one , her competitors staggered and stumbled through their programs. By shaking off her poor start and skating cleanly for the remainder of her program, Cohen was able to grab the silver medal. The eventual winner, Shizuka Arakawa of Japan, was the only skater of the final group of six to sieze the moment without staggering, stumbling, or falling through their program.

ScarletKnight41 Feb 24 2006 08:52 AM

And even she had to settle for some triple doubles instead of her planned triple triples. Not the best free skate, by any means. The short program was much better this year.

Edgy DC Feb 24 2006 09:22 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 24 2006 09:33 AM

I heard from the cocky-assed teammate-attacking I-tell-it-like-it-is speedskater that you don't put in all that work to come home with any medal but a gold.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 24 2006 09:27 AM

I realized that Kimmie goes to a high school who's sports teams I useta occasionally cover (and was the alma mater of Matt Joel Sears, the prototypical Weird But Endearing Guy Across the Hall In Your Freshman Dorm). Kimmie (c'mon with that name) also trains at my old school.

Frayed Knot Feb 24 2006 04:16 PM

]The short program was much better this year Yeah, because if nothing else, it was shorter! WE WON A CURLING MEDAL ... WE WON A CURLING MEDAL!!!! U.S.A. kicks British butt for the Bronze medal in Men's curling. Truly it's a seminal moment in American curling history. Can't wait to see the hi-lights. I think I'll go lie down for a while.

cooby Feb 25 2006 11:04 PM

The best part is, he seems like a really nice person!

metirish Feb 25 2006 11:09 PM

You know Cooby I had known Ohno won the Gold but I wanted to see it, it waa great, especially after two false starts, yeah and he seems like a good guy.

metirish Feb 25 2006 11:12 PM

WOW the relay was some race,Ohno helping the US team win Bronze, that was exciting...

cooby Feb 25 2006 11:19 PM

They were both great races, between the speedskating and the snowboarding, I think maybe I can't wait for the 2010 games. Never thought I'd say that... How old is that Korean skater? (Ahn) I never heard them say but he looks so young! He is terrific too and I'm glad his team won the gold.

TheOldMole Feb 26 2006 10:16 AM

Sigh...no more curling for four years. But if poker can become a national TV craze, why not curling? It would be a great sport to bet on. A curling rotisserie league...?

Willets Point Feb 26 2006 10:47 PM

World Men's Curling Championship coming to Lowell, MA. You could make a road trip!