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Summer Olympics - Page 3

post #61 of 205
7/29/12 at 12:41pm

Just to put this Elton John thing to bed maybe. He is really not that popular over here. Of course he has his following but I think Danny Boyle would see him as an export who is bigger elsewhere and not much to do with current culture. From my point of view I'd prefer to have my finger nails extracted with pliers than be subject to his brand of commercial showmanship and banal music (the first couple of albums apart  but they are from 30+ years ago)

 

Over here some right wing tory politicians have branded the ceremony as lefty propoganda which makes me think it was even better than I first thought.

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post #62 of 205
7/29/12 at 1:10pm

So, temps in the Fahrenheit 40s and the Argentine beach volleyballers are still wearing bikinis?confused.gif

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post #63 of 205
7/29/12 at 1:17pm

40s and raining! That's waht we call a fine Summer's evening!

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post #64 of 205
7/29/12 at 1:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adie View Post

40s and raining! That's waht we call a fine Summer's evening!


No complaints from the USA ladies..... said they "love the venue".. "best venue we've ever played in".  yahoo.gif

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post #65 of 205
7/29/12 at 1:47pm

It's a pretty unique backdrop for sure.

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post #66 of 205
7/29/12 at 2:42pm

Womens volleyball Inside and out rule baby!  Just watched the men skip over the japanese team

 

loved the womens road race finish.  

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post #67 of 205
7/29/12 at 8:03pm
Yes, there was led zeppelin. Elton john will be at closing ceremonies, for those of you still smarting.
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post #68 of 205
7/30/12 at 6:12am

I'm holding out for Amy Winehouse.....

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post #69 of 205
7/30/12 at 11:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finndog View Post

I'm holding out for Amy Winehouse.....


Madonna tongue.gif  She was English for a minute or two wasn't she?rolleyes.gif

 

During the World Cup I had a British versus American Rock smack down thread.  I vote British Rock by a nose.  Lots of good bands from both places, but Great Britain has so many HUGE ones, especially considering how small they are compared to the US.

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post #70 of 205
7/30/12 at 11:33am

Womens Volleyball takes down Brazil!  YES>>>>  Destiny rocks.

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post #71 of 205
7/30/12 at 3:44pm

My top 5 favorite Summer Olympic events:

 

Men's Soccer/Football

Women's Gymnastics

Women's Volleyball (indoor)

Men's Basketball

Track and Field stuff

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post #72 of 205
7/31/12 at 7:09am

beach volleyball

soccer both mens and womens

Indoor v-ball

cycling

Although they never show it, I would love to watch more Trap and archery

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post #73 of 205
7/31/12 at 11:10am

USWNT beats N. Korea 1-0. The US had two go off the post and it felt like they played the second half a bit too laid back. Turned it back on in the last couple minutes, but not enough to score again. Regardless 9 points in group play doesn't give you much to complain about. 

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post #74 of 205
8/1/12 at 9:36am
Thread Starter 

The coverage is much better than the last Winter Olympics now that NBC is broadcasting so many events live and that the requirement for the cable password seems to be dropped.  The streaming is still not that good.  NBC still doesn't "get it" regarding the closing ceremonies, which people on the west coast will see some 12 hours late: The world now operates in real time and not inside time zones.   I guess I'll watch the closing ceremonies live off a European link.

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post #75 of 205
8/1/12 at 10:33am

Anybody but me disappointed that the Women's Gymnastics Team Competition coverage didn't show any other team competitors besides USA and Russia?  The cold war's over.  Last time they featured the Chinese and that made sense wince they were on home turf.

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post #76 of 205
8/1/12 at 10:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tylrwnzl View Post

USWNT beats N. Korea 1-0. The US had two go off the post and it felt like they played the second half a bit too laid back. Turned it back on in the last couple minutes, but not enough to score again. Regardless 9 points in group play doesn't give you much to complain about. 

 

The women played a great match. no sense in risking injury and undo wear.  They dominated the match with about 85% possession time. The N Koreans play dirty and had several cheap shots early., I think it was smart. keep in mind this is a team already banned from the World Cup and by all rights shouldn't have been permitted to play in the olympics

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post #77 of 205
8/1/12 at 11:23am

I don't really follow the women's game so hadn't heard about the ban. What was it for? They sound delightful.

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post #78 of 205
8/1/12 at 11:30am
happy reading
 
 
 
The North Korean Olympic Team appears willing to go to great lengths to achieve victory, which has led it into controversy. Infamously, five women’s soccer players tested positive for steroids in 2011, leading FIFA to ban the team from competing in the 2015 Women’s World Cup and hand the coach a six-year suspension. Nevertheless, much to the chagrin of Australia, which missed out as a result, the country is still allowed to compete in London, and although none of the five is on the Olympic team, the country will still be hoping for big things.

According to one defector, North Korea has been producing steroids on a state-wide level for years for its athletes, although the North Koreans officially blamed musk deer treatment for the soccer players’ failed drug tests a year ago.

The North Korean gymnastics team is also banned from this year’s Olympics due to age falsification. The suspension came after the International Olympic Committee discovered that gymnast Hong Su Jong had listed the three different birthdates in international competitions in the past. Further investigation revealed that she was officially too young at 14 to have competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Like any other country, the North Korean regime will be hoping that a solid, medal-winning performance on the world stage will bolster nationalist sentiment. The country has the rights to broadcast the London Games to its citizens, and must surely be keen to make use of them. Yet, North Korea’s attempts to gain an advantage in Olympic competition through foul play have only besmirched the country’s image in the international community, and raised the specter of some of the cheating that communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe were involved in the 1980s.

▲ Making History before Kick-off

The London Games will be North Korea’s 9th Olympic appearance. Although the team has been noticeably trying to lay low before the games, there has already been some coverage of incidents even before a javelin has been thrown in anger. At the DPRK-Columbia preliminary soccer match, Olympic organizers displayed the South Korean flag alongside images of the North Korean soccer team. This greatly upset the North Koreans and was quite the embarrassment of the London Olympic Committee. Media also brought attention to a North Korean table tennis official who threw his towel at South Korean journalists out of frustration. With the extent of media presence at the Olympics, it will be difficult for North Korea to stay out of the spotlight.
 
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post #79 of 205
8/1/12 at 11:38am

The flag issue was a big thing over here and an embarrassing mistake but state sponored cheating kind of evens things up somewhat don't you think.

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post #80 of 205
8/1/12 at 11:58am

READ THIS FOR MORE NORTH KOREAN BIZZARENESS

 

and... from Wiki

 

2006 World Cup qualifying stage controversy

In March 2005, the North Korean team entered a match with Iran with limited chances of qualifying for the World Cup finals due to poor performance in early fixtures. During the match hosted in Pyongyang, North Korean fans became enraged when the referee failed to award North Korea a penalty kick after a controversial play near the end of the match. Demanding a penalty, they rushed Syrian referee Mohamed Kousa, who instead gave a North Korean player a red card. Bottles, stones and chairs were thrown onto the field following the play. After the match was over, North Korean fans refused to let the Iranian team leave the stadium on their team bus. The violence was so severe that riot police forced back the crowd.[7] Following this incident, North Korea lost its right to host the subsequent home match with Japan and the game was instead played behind closed doors to an empty stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.[8]

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post #81 of 205
8/1/12 at 1:17pm

Hardly surprising from a nation who proclaimed their glorious leader was the greatest golfer in history after his one round of golf; a round of something like 52 including numerous 'hole in ones.'

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post #82 of 205
8/1/12 at 4:32pm

North Koreans say that Musk deer scent + lightning = positive steroid test.  

 

LMAO, I'd love to know what Porcupine gland extract + microwaves = ???  Maybe immortality?

 

 

HAHAHA.  They're still state-sponsored cheats no matter what they say.

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post #83 of 205
8/1/12 at 11:48pm
Thread Starter 

This is proof of corruption in Olympic boxing.  This decision was a joke.  Listen to Teddy Atlas, who knew exactly what was happening to the Japanese boxer (Atlas has seen it all before).  Later the decision was overturned.  Regardless, Olympic boxing has to be considered a joke.

 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/boxing/highlights-japanese-boxer-robbed-by-controversial-decision.html?chrcontext=beyond-possibilities

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post #84 of 205
8/2/12 at 6:04am

Haven't watched much of the Olympics.  I finally set aside about an hour last night to watch it on NBC.  They concentrated on men's synchronized diving almost the whole time I was watching.  Yuck.  Nothing against divers, but not my cup of tea.  This is why broadcast TV is going the way of the dinosaur.  I like track and field, especially distance events, which is like watching paint dry for most folks.  I will try to watch some of that next week, but may use the internet to see exactly what I want instead of tuning in for random broadcasts or having to wait until late in the evening to see my favorite stuff.

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post #85 of 205
8/2/12 at 9:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by quant2325 View Post

This is proof of corruption in Olympic boxing.  This decision was a joke.  Listen to Teddy Atlas, who knew exactly what was happening to the Japanese boxer (Atlas has seen it all before).  Later the decision was overturned.  Regardless, Olympic boxing has to be considered a joke.

 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/boxing/highlights-japanese-boxer-robbed-by-controversial-decision.html?chrcontext=beyond-possibilities


I had not seen this, but wow!  I'm glad the decision was overturned.  Where was that referee from that he so blatantly favored the Azerbaijan fighter?

 

Did you see this?

 

 

Quote:
fter Abdulhamidov was awarded the 22-17 victory over Shimizu, the uproar began. Fans rained boos from the stands, and Japanese officials immediately lodged a protest. It was, by any account, the biggest competitive disgrace of the Olympics so far. And there's reason to ask if this was more than the usual Olympic boxing incompetence, but rather something more sinister.

Last September, BBC Newsnight presented evidence that Azerbaijan had paid millions of dollars in an international boxing organization, in return for a guarantee that two Azerbaijanis would win gold medals at these London Olympics. They found documents showing a $9 million bank transfer, funneled through Switzerland, to a boxing organization owned by AIBA, which oversees Olympic boxing. Whistleblowers reported that the money came from an Azerbaijan government minister, and were strictly a cash-for-medals exchange.

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post #86 of 205
8/2/12 at 9:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gunnerbob View Post

North Koreans say that Musk deer scent + lightning = positive steroid test.  

 

LMAO, I'd love to know what Porcupine gland extract + microwaves = ???  Maybe immortality?

 

 

HAHAHA.  They're still state-sponsored cheats no matter what they say.

its not nice to insult the supreme leader and most honorable....  he is watching....  biggrin.gif

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post #87 of 205
8/2/12 at 9:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirquerider View Post


I had not seen this, but wow!  I'm glad the decision was overturned.  Where was that referee from that he so blatantly favored the Azerbaijan fighter?

 

Did you see this?

 

 

 

WHAO!  I did not hear about this. 

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post #88 of 205
8/2/12 at 11:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirquerider View Post


I had not seen this, but wow!  I'm glad the decision was overturned.  Where was that referee from that he so blatantly favored the Azerbaijan fighter?

 

Did you see this?

 

 

Turkmenistan.  The AIBA sent Ishanguly Meretnyyazov home expelling him from the games, but only gave the German ref who screwed the Iranian fighter a 5 day suspension.

 

I love listening to Teddy Atlas because he has the knowledge and experience of training world champion boxers, adds insightful analysis to each fight, routinely calls out HBO on their BS, and has no issue with calling boxing a corrupt sport.  He went crazy when he saw all those non-eight counts because he knew from years of experience the fix was in.  He can get away with being honest because Teddy Atlas is Teddy Atlas, and a decent veteran announcer like Jim Lampley could never have the same knowledge or insight to threaten him. 

 

Boxing has to go back to the 10-point must system, because the current system of electronic scoring is a joke.  Taekwondo was also laughable in 2008, with the Cuban fighter getting so mad he kicked the referee in his head.  I have no idea why Lopez got screwed by his kicks not "landing" in 2008.  Corruption?  Perhaps.  They almost dropped Taekwondo this year, so improved electronic sensors to aid in the scoring were added.  The rules were also changed so head kicks of any force score the same (3 pts), adding more spetacular kicking to the event.  Regardless, there will always be a bias against anyone named Lopez coming from the USA in Taekwondo, even if they both won world championships.  The Great Britain guy ranked #1 in the world didn't even make his country's team,  because he pulled a Bode Miller stunt and trained by himself.  What his country's Taekwondo association did by choosing another fighter--in obvious retaliation-- is disgraceful.


Edited by quant2325 - 8/2/12 at 2:28pm
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post #89 of 205
8/2/12 at 1:59pm

Back to more important matters.. What's the deal with the folks riding bicycles along side the row boats?  Are they some kind of judges or something, or can anybody just go riding down a bike path along side of the rowing bleachers???th_dunno-1[1].gif

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post #90 of 205
8/3/12 at 9:35am

Rockin the red and white hoops jersey to celebrate the US Women advancing :-)

 

700

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