Official Thread of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (August 8-24)...

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mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: JujuFish
Originally posted by: Finalnight
1 PM GMT=8 AM EDT
Your first suggestion doesn't work
1 PM GMT = 9 AM EDT.

You're right, but London uses BST (British Summer Time) in the summer, not GMT, so it's a 5 hour difference still.
 

Mermaidman

Diamond Member
Sep 4, 2003
7,987
93
91
I just learned that the 2014 Olympics will be held in Sochi, which is just a tad north of . . . Georgia! Too bad it's six years away. If it were sooner, there might be political gestures. Would Georgian athletes attend? How will the locals treat them?
 

MaxDepth

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2001
8,757
43
91
Okay, this is probably a moot point since baseball will not be a sport in the 2012 games.

If we wanted to win the gold medal in baseball, why didn't we have MLB field a USA team? Granted the sport is in full swing towards the last stretch of the season, but we also could have had the All Star Break during the Olympics and have the best of both travel to China.

 

udneekgnim

Senior member
Jun 27, 2008
247
0
0
Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Okay, this is probably a moot point since baseball will not be a sport in the 2012 games.

If we wanted to win the gold medal in baseball, why didn't we have MLB field a USA team? Granted the sport is in full swing towards the last stretch of the season, but we also could have had the All Star Break during the Olympics and have the best of both travel to China.

owners of MLB would not allow it, and I'm not sure how much the players would care

I also think the US population cares less about olympic baseball than olympic basketball
 

MH2007

Senior member
Jun 26, 2007
830
0
0
Pretty sad that basically the only thing that was live on the West coast was the Gold medal men's basketball game. If it wasn't 2:30 am eastern time I'm sure they would have tried to tape delay that as well.

Very entertaining game, at least. I had to chuckle at Doug Collins, he's always seemed to have a bit of a love-hate relationship when calling a game Kobe plays in, and has always been quick to tear into him when he takes quick, bad shots or over-dribbles. He also was quick to praise him when he makes a good play, especially when he finds an open teammate when you are sure he's about to shoot. He's become much more balanced on that over the years. He seemed to genuinely enjoy Kobe taking over the game at the end and helping lead them to the win.

I did find it touching that several of the players came over to recognize Collins after they won. That team he was on (back in 1972 I think?) did get royally screwed over.
 

MH2007

Senior member
Jun 26, 2007
830
0
0
Originally posted by: Leon
Grats to team USA

36 38 36 110 Beijing

36 39 27 102 Athens

36 24 31 91 Sydney

Some upsets, sure, but also some surprising performance (v-ball and water polo, soccer, redeem team, and, of course, the mighty Phelps ). Looking forward to London 2012.

Bizarre that they won the exact same number of gold medals at each of the last three games.

And their total count goes up each time, although their silver count took a dip.
 

sciencewhiz

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2000
5,885
8
81
Originally posted by: MikeyLSU
cool historical interactive medal tracker

medal tracker

One thing that is interesting is the US won more medals this year then we did in Atlanta. However, it seems like when we don't host, we win about the same number of each type of medals. When we do host, we win more golds then other medals.
 

sciencewhiz

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2000
5,885
8
81
Originally posted by: dug777
Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Originally posted by: dug777
I suspect on a per-capita basis the poms and the aussies are stomping china and the us ;)

I'm amused too see all you yanks getting so excited about the total medal tally, that's the perennial resort of those countries who are getting creamed by someone else in the gold medal tally ;)
Kind of like bringing up the per-capita argument...oh wait...

;)

Never said it wasn't so.

Out of interest, does anwhere do a per-capita tally?

Of course, after a certain population size that should become statistically almost irrelevant compared to the amount of funding directed at atheltics programs in each country.

The poms have just done what we did after coming home without a single gold (they got one at least!), thrown boat-loads of cash at the problem :thumbsup:

Here is a limited list (top 25 and selections of others) http://latimesblogs.latimes.co...8/just-as-england.html
 

fustercluck

Diamond Member
Dec 29, 2002
7,402
0
71
Ah what the balls, USA softball team lost? :( - I just heard about it. I just expected them to win gold and didn't pay attention to them. How'd they blow it? How much did they lose by? Damn that sucks.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: udneekgnim
Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Okay, this is probably a moot point since baseball will not be a sport in the 2012 games.

If we wanted to win the gold medal in baseball, why didn't we have MLB field a USA team? Granted the sport is in full swing towards the last stretch of the season, but we also could have had the All Star Break during the Olympics and have the best of both travel to China.

owners of MLB would not allow it, and I'm not sure how much the players would care

I also think the US population cares less about olympic baseball than olympic basketball

and all star break is only ~4 days or so. not enough for Olympic competition. I think they should allow professionals, as there are plenty of very talented athletes in the farm system. Of course, the future stars of the ML are to found there, with lofty contracts. I'm sure owners would be just as leery of allowing them as they would a David Wright or Alex Rodriguez.

The US didn't allow professionals onto the US basketball team either, until we got pissed enough after constant assbeatings in the Olympics. So....the first dream team was formed. If baseball is reinstated, I think we would have to suffer another loss or 2 for national pride to kick in such that owners would allow their studs to participate on the national team.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: ChaoZ
How come the marathon medals were awarded during the closing ceremony?

because it's the most classic event associated with Olympic competition, I'd wager. It's classically considered the pinnacle of athletic achievement, being that what the original Marathon runner did was probably considered extremely badass at the time. That, and he died after he arrived.

The Decathlon was not an Olympic event until the 1908 or 1912 Modern games.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: Dari
Why is there so much damn swimming in this Olympics? Why aren't there more real sports? No American football. No golf. No crickets (for the rest of the English world). No Rugby. With crap like table tennis and badminton, they might add video games next.

no one plays american football.

golf is not a sport. it's a game

swimming rocks.

If you're complaining about diving, then I agree. That crapfest absolutely needs to be ejected from the games.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: Dari
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Originally posted by: Dari
Why is there so much damn swimming in this Olympics? Why aren't there more real sports? No American football. No golf. No crickets (for the rest of the English world). No Rugby. With crap like table tennis and badminton, they might add video games next.

Wait wait wait,

I agree that there is a ridiculous amount of swimming and things like synchronized swimming, synchro diving, and rhythmic gymnastics probably don't belong in the Olympics. Sports like cricket are certainly deserving of an Olympic spot, but I also have no problem with table tennis and badminton.

Death to BMX biking.

I forgot about the insane amount of gymnastics in this Olympics as well. If they're going to add all that crap, they may as well add cheerleading.

by far, boxing had more matches, and time devoted to the sport than either swimming or gymnastics. It's what NBC chooses to broadcast that gives you an unrealistic perspective on what went on.

complaining about gymnastics/swimming is asinine, anyway. They're traditional Olympic sports, and extremely athletic. My one gripe about Gymnastics is that it is a judged sport--I don't really consider the use of judges to be an indicator of a sport, but unfortunately, there is no other way to really score gymnastics.

Of course, all of the other judged sports should be thrown out. They're completely useless. Well...except boxing, I guess. Though with boxing, you could probably fashion some sort of pressure-sensitive electrodes that can do all the scoring, so long as it doesn't inhibit the athletes' movements. It would certainly be better than the what was on display for this Olympics...
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,908
16,174
126
Originally posted by: MH2007
Originally posted by: Leon
Grats to team USA

36 38 36 110 Beijing

36 39 27 102 Athens

36 24 31 91 Sydney

Some upsets, sure, but also some surprising performance (v-ball and water polo, soccer, redeem team, and, of course, the mighty Phelps ). Looking forward to London 2012.

Bizarre that they won the exact same number of gold medals at each of the last three games.

And their total count goes up each time, although their silver count took a dip.

I say they suck more now (especially in the traditionally strong tracks). Phelps got almost a quarter of all the gold medal US got this time around.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: sdifox
Originally posted by: MH2007
Originally posted by: Leon
Grats to team USA

36 38 36 110 Beijing

36 39 27 102 Athens

36 24 31 91 Sydney

Some upsets, sure, but also some surprising performance (v-ball and water polo, soccer, redeem team, and, of course, the mighty Phelps ). Looking forward to London 2012.

Bizarre that they won the exact same number of gold medals at each of the last three games.

And their total count goes up each time, although their silver count took a dip.

I say they suck more now (especially in the traditionally strong tracks). Phelps got almost a quarter of all the gold medal US got this time around.

3 of those events were relays.
 

JujuFish

Lifer
Feb 3, 2005
11,111
814
136
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: ChaoZ
How come the marathon medals were awarded during the closing ceremony?

because it's the most classic event associated with Olympic competition, I'd wager. It's classically considered the pinnacle of athletic achievement, being that what the original Marathon runner did was probably considered extremely badass at the time. That, and he died after he arrived.

The Decathlon was not an Olympic event until the 1908 or 1912 Modern games.

The decathlon is based on the pentathlon from the original Olympics.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,908
16,174
126
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: sdifox
Originally posted by: MH2007
Originally posted by: Leon
Grats to team USA

36 38 36 110 Beijing

36 39 27 102 Athens

36 24 31 91 Sydney

Some upsets, sure, but also some surprising performance (v-ball and water polo, soccer, redeem team, and, of course, the mighty Phelps ). Looking forward to London 2012.

Bizarre that they won the exact same number of gold medals at each of the last three games.

And their total count goes up each time, although their silver count took a dip.

I say they suck more now (especially in the traditionally strong tracks). Phelps got almost a quarter of all the gold medal US got this time around.

3 of those events were relays.

you mean the swimming? yeah, those went according to plan, I was talking about the T&F flop.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
Originally posted by: JujuFish
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: ChaoZ
How come the marathon medals were awarded during the closing ceremony?

because it's the most classic event associated with Olympic competition, I'd wager. It's classically considered the pinnacle of athletic achievement, being that what the original Marathon runner did was probably considered extremely badass at the time. That, and he died after he arrived.

The Decathlon was not an Olympic event until the 1908 or 1912 Modern games.

The decathlon is based on the pentathlon from the original Olympics.

yes, the pentathlon was an original event, but even the decathlon didn't exist as a cohesive event at track competitions around the time it was introduced into the Olympics. It was more of a team event, iirc.

The marathon, alone, is a symbol of Greek pride and victory over tyranny. It also marks the immortality of Greek culture.
 

JujuFish

Lifer
Feb 3, 2005
11,111
814
136
Originally posted by: zinfamous
The marathon, alone, is a symbol of Greek pride and victory over tyranny. It also marks the immortality of Greek culture.

The marathon was introduced in the modern games as a way to popularize them through the legend.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: sdifox
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: sdifox
Originally posted by: MH2007
Originally posted by: Leon
Grats to team USA

36 38 36 110 Beijing

36 39 27 102 Athens

36 24 31 91 Sydney

Some upsets, sure, but also some surprising performance (v-ball and water polo, soccer, redeem team, and, of course, the mighty Phelps ). Looking forward to London 2012.

Bizarre that they won the exact same number of gold medals at each of the last three games.

And their total count goes up each time, although their silver count took a dip.

I say they suck more now (especially in the traditionally strong tracks). Phelps got almost a quarter of all the gold medal US got this time around.

3 of those events were relays.

you mean the swimming? yeah, those went according to plan, I was talking about the T&F flop.

Yeah, what I'm saying is that Phelps contributed to 8 of the US's medals, but he was only solely responsible for 5 of them.

But yeah, we had some disappointments on the track. Also some great performances (including a couple of sweeps). And hopefully we don't lose any of those medals because of doping. :(
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/spo...dover-performance.html

Chinese media mocks London 2012 Olympic handover performance

Mr Johnson was accused of being "rude, arrogant and disrespectful" for accepting the Olympic flag with one hand, putting his hands in his pockets and not buttoning up his jacket.

Seriously? :laugh:

The Titan Sports Daily newspaper dismissed Page and Lewis as "not famous enough" to be known by the audience in China.

Jimmy Page is famous enough, even if not in China.

It also criticised Beckham for allegedly failing to hit the right spot when he kicked a football into the crowd at the Bird's Nest stadium.

The guy who caught the ball didn't seem to mind. ;)

"During the performance, when the London bus pulled over, all the passengers waiting for the bus rushed into the door at the same time, which truly damaged the 'British image'."

WTF? :confused:

Another newspaper, Daily First, commented that the London performance was "casual" and "beyond our understanding".

I'm with them there!

Zhang Yimou, the internationally acclaimed Chinese filmmaker who directed the opening and closing ceremonies, also said London's performance was "very creative" and praised the inclusion of the Routemaster bus and its use as a moving platform for the show.

That and the inclusion of Jimmy Page were really the only things that made sense in the British performance.

London 2012 organisers have already been at the centre of a row after an image of Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderer, was included in a montage of British achievements at the closing ceremony. It was immediately condemned by Mr Johnson and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Whose idea was that? :confused:

From this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7580261.stm
it sounds like it was included as a noteworthy piece of artwork (a painting composed of children's handprints), but still in poor taste.
 

MH2007

Senior member
Jun 26, 2007
830
0
0
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: udneekgnim
Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Okay, this is probably a moot point since baseball will not be a sport in the 2012 games.

If we wanted to win the gold medal in baseball, why didn't we have MLB field a USA team? Granted the sport is in full swing towards the last stretch of the season, but we also could have had the All Star Break during the Olympics and have the best of both travel to China.

owners of MLB would not allow it, and I'm not sure how much the players would care

I also think the US population cares less about olympic baseball than olympic basketball

and all star break is only ~4 days or so. not enough for Olympic competition. I think they should allow professionals, as there are plenty of very talented athletes in the farm system. Of course, the future stars of the ML are to found there, with lofty contracts. I'm sure owners would be just as leery of allowing them as they would a David Wright or Alex Rodriguez.

The US didn't allow professionals onto the US basketball team either, until we got pissed enough after constant assbeatings in the Olympics. So....the first dream team was formed. If baseball is reinstated, I think we would have to suffer another loss or 2 for national pride to kick in such that owners would allow their studs to participate on the national team.

They do use minor league players (I think this started in 2000 maybe?)

There was a lot of drama about how the Chinese went headhunting on Matt LaPorta, dude got a concussion. He's one of the top prospects there is.
 

MH2007

Senior member
Jun 26, 2007
830
0
0
Originally posted by: zinfamous
Originally posted by: Dari
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Originally posted by: Dari
Why is there so much damn swimming in this Olympics? Why aren't there more real sports? No American football. No golf. No crickets (for the rest of the English world). No Rugby. With crap like table tennis and badminton, they might add video games next.

Wait wait wait,

I agree that there is a ridiculous amount of swimming and things like synchronized swimming, synchro diving, and rhythmic gymnastics probably don't belong in the Olympics. Sports like cricket are certainly deserving of an Olympic spot, but I also have no problem with table tennis and badminton.

Death to BMX biking.

I forgot about the insane amount of gymnastics in this Olympics as well. If they're going to add all that crap, they may as well add cheerleading.

by far, boxing had more matches, and time devoted to the sport than either swimming or gymnastics. It's what NBC chooses to broadcast that gives you an unrealistic perspective on what went on.

complaining about gymnastics/swimming is asinine, anyway. They're traditional Olympic sports, and extremely athletic. My one gripe about Gymnastics is that it is a judged sport--I don't really consider the use of judges to be an indicator of a sport, but unfortunately, there is no other way to really score gymnastics.

Of course, all of the other judged sports should be thrown out. They're completely useless. Well...except boxing, I guess. Though with boxing, you could probably fashion some sort of pressure-sensitive electrodes that can do all the scoring, so long as it doesn't inhibit the athletes' movements. It would certainly be better than the what was on display for this Olympics...

To me it seemed like they showed a lot of boxing (on CNBC I think?) That channel either had boxing or rowing on all the time it was showing Olympics stuff. USA had a lot of variety on what it showed, including early morning basketball. Oxygen seemed to show a lot of equestrian crap. They didn't have any boxing at prime time on NBC because there were basically no Americans that had a shot at a medal, I guess :roll:
 

sciencewhiz

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2000
5,885
8
81
Originally posted by: MaxDepth
Okay, this is probably a moot point since baseball will not be a sport in the 2012 games.

If we wanted to win the gold medal in baseball, why didn't we have MLB field a USA team? Granted the sport is in full swing towards the last stretch of the season, but we also could have had the All Star Break during the Olympics and have the best of both travel to China.

Just having MLB players doesn't guarantee the US a gold medal, as many of the best MLB players do not come from the US. Look at the World Baseball Classic (which used MLB players), the US didn't make it out of the quarterfinals.