2020/21 Olympics Thread

[Gil Dobie]

I'm loving the Olympic Channel - it's basically like watching the NFL Red Zone - they only show the highlights from things (like 5 seconds of Judo rather than watching a whole match) and you get to see who's medaled. Takes about 3 minutes for a segment and then they move on to the next sport. I mean, 3 minutes of air pistol is pretty much the maximum amount of time I'd like to spend on air pistol.

I just look at the medal count on the Internet once a day.

I mean if the fucking Russians cheated/doped so much, why didn’t the IOC just ban them instead of permitting them to win medals under an assumed name?

They say they are punishing the country that cheated, not the athletes that didn't get caught cheating.

[andy7171]

Dude the porn industry figured this shit out years ago

NBC is the government and porn is SpaceX

Left in the dust

This could be one of the best comparisons of all time.

[SuperHornet]

My first reaction to the Biles situation was this: Simone Biles = Steve Sax.

But the more I think about it, there's a big difference. While an argument could be made that the team might have had a better chance at gold if Biles had dropped out a day earlier, the fact that she didn't prolong this as long as Sax did with HIS situation gave the team a chance to grow, sort of like the backup quarterback who hasn't played a down all season coming in during the playoffs when the starter gets hurt. Sax seemed like he hurt the Dodgers for months because he didn't get his mental block treated. Biles, on the other hand, has stepped back, allowed her team to grow, and is getting the help she needs. And the fact that the organization is allowing her to do this shows how much better we are than the Sovs, who forced Elena Mukhina to compete at the '80 Olympics against the better judgment of doctors after she broke her leg; she ended up breaking her neck during preparations about two weeks before attempting the Thomas salto (the move was later banned, largely because of this and other similar accidents), and was paralyzed, ultimately dying early at 46. Let's not do this to Simone Biles....

[GannonFan]

My first reaction to the Biles situation was this: Simone Biles = Steve Sax.

But the more I think about it, there's a big difference. While an argument could be made that the team might have had a better chance at gold if Biles had dropped out a day earlier, the fact that she didn't prolong this as long as Sax did with HIS situation gave the team a chance to grow, sort of like the backup quarterback who hasn't played a down all season coming in during the playoffs when the starter gets hurt. Sax seemed like he hurt the Dodgers for months because he didn't get his mental block treated. Biles, on the other hand, has stepped back, allowed her team to grow, and is getting the help she needs. And the fact that the organization is allowing her to do this shows how much better we are than the Sovs, who forced Elena Mukhina to compete at the '80 Olympics against the better judgment of doctors after she broke her leg; she ended up breaking her neck during preparations about two weeks before attempting the Thomas salto (the move was later banned, largely because of this and other similar accidents), and was paralyzed, ultimately dying early at 46. Let's not do this to Simone Biles....

Well, people will argue that Bela Karolyi should be faulted for cajoling Kerri Strug to do that second fault after she basically broke her ankle on the first vault. Strug's career after that injury was never the same. Obviously less than being paralyzed, but still maybe questionable in retrospect.

The Biles thing is a little tough when you think about it. I know it's all vogue now to come out and praise her and be incredibly positive about her deciding not to compete, but I don't think every situation is the same and it's a real gray area when you talk about whether an athlete should step away versus an athlete deciding to still compete and push through the injury/trepidation/other roadblock. People talk about how Ronnie Lott basically amputated his finger on the sideline, during a game, just to get back in. People talk about Walt Frazier limping out onto the court in the NBA Finals, inspiring his team to victory. Michael Jordan playing through the flu in the NBA Finals and putting up 50 points is applauded. Tiger Woods comeback and win in the US Open at Pebble, on a ripped up knee, is still considered epic because he gutted it out. Heck, Kirk Gibson hitting that HR in the '88 World Series when he could barely walk is a highlight film forever.

Nothing is ever perfect, and almost no athlete will ever be perfectly fit, physically or mentally. Some of sports (or life even) is pushing through that and overcoming an injury or a mindset. I don't fault Biles for pulling out of competing if she felt she wasn't capable or ready to compete - she's the only one who knows her own mind and if she really felt she couldn't continue then it's a good decision on her part. But I also don't want to overly fawn over her decision and be overflowing with praise. Sometimes things are hard and we still do them. And that's not a bad thing.

[SuperHornet]

You're right, Gannon. Some HAVE recently questioned Karolyi for that very thing. The mind is a tricky thing, and age is a factor, though Biles is "ancient" relative to many elite gymnasts. There are some differences between what she wanted to do and what some of the guys you mentioned were trying to do. First, there's the professional vs. amateur aspect. There's also the more individual aspect of gymnastics vs. the more direct team aspect of basketball, football, and baseball. The team could back those guys up if they messed up. In gymnastics, the team can't really do that unless one removes oneself, and messing up can more seriously affect the team. For example, if the quarterback notices that his left tackle is hobbled, he can either call a time out to get the coach to remove him, or he can call plays that rely more on the right side of the line. That alone makes football different here. About the closest one could get in the examples you provided would be if Woods were trying to do what he did at the Open in the context of Ryder Cup.

Your conclusion is right, though, Gannon. We can't get into Biles' head. She is smart to take her future into account, and the organization was smart to allow her that choice, particularly in direct comparison to what the Soviets did to Mukhina. Your citation of the Karolyis is a great point to consider, Gannon. They got results, but at what cost, particularly given their coverup of that fiend Nasser. I guess my point, weak as it was, was that there IS a comparison to Sax, tenuous though it may be. She was smart enough, though, to recognize it before the Olympics were totally ruined for her and her teammates and before she totally destroyed her body doing stuff that her brain couldn't handle, and the organization was smart enough to allow her the choice. On the other hand, Sax eventually "got over" it, and hopefully Biles will as well....

[Winterborn]

Was reading that viewership was about 17 million for the opening ceremony, down about 36% from 2016 (which was a 35% drop from 2012). Guessing that the 13 hour time difference was a large portion of it and maybe just overall declining interest.

NBC did say that it's streaming service is up overall though. Probably a good indication that people are picking and choosing what to watch rather than watch from start to finish like in years past.

YouTube TV is great for watching olympics. You just select what sports you are interested in and it will dvr everything on those sports. Then you can watch exclusively the sport you want. It doesn’t matter what channel it’s on, it will automatically record irrespective of what channel it’s on if you select by sport. Of course you can always watch live (whatever live means) but why would you do that? If you feel like watching all the ping pong matches, choose the ping pong tag and you can watch nothing but ping ping. If you just want to watch the final 1500 freestyle race, select only the 1500 freestyle final from the swimming list and only watch that. If you want to see all the preliminary and semifinal heats, choose that. And it’s all dvr’d in the cloud for you to watch whenever you feel like it. I should be done watching sometime around Christmas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I looked into YouTube TV and I while I like the format, I maybe watch 10 hours of TV a month (and that is almost always MeTV) so the cost just isn't worth it for me.

I read too much, to sit down and watch TV. And just crossed over book number 50 here in July.

[Winterborn]

Dude the porn industry figured this shit out years ago

NBC is the government and porn is SpaceX

Left in the dust


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The porn industry will also be the one we have to thank for advances in VR and for getting the price range down to something reasonable.

[cx500d]

YouTube TV is great for watching olympics. You just select what sports you are interested in and it will dvr everything on those sports. Then you can watch exclusively the sport you want. It doesn’t matter what channel it’s on, it will automatically record irrespective of what channel it’s on if you select by sport. Of course you can always watch live (whatever live means) but why would you do that? If you feel like watching all the ping pong matches, choose the ping pong tag and you can watch nothing but ping ping. If you just want to watch the final 1500 freestyle race, select only the 1500 freestyle final from the swimming list and only watch that. If you want to see all the preliminary and semifinal heats, choose that. And it’s all dvr’d in the cloud for you to watch whenever you feel like it. I should be done watching sometime around Christmas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I looked into YouTube TV and I while I like the format, I maybe watch 10 hours of TV a month (and that is almost always MeTV) so the cost just isn't worth it for me.

I read too much, to sit down and watch TV. And just crossed over book number 50 here in July.

I used to subscribe when it was like $30/mo, when they doubled it I dropped it. I just subscribed for the Olympics then I will drop it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SuperHornet]

Something really smells in the track competition. The US mixed mile relay team was apparently disqualified because one of the ladies was aligned outside the exchange zone. Yet she claims that an on-track official placed her at that spot. If this is true, that smacks of intentionally getting Team USA disqualified. That's worse than the East German and Soviet gymnastics judges of yore (who are apparently still there, by the way).

Stupid! This smells to high heaven!

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/united-sta ... 34811.html

[tribe_pride]

Something really smells in the track competition. The US mixed mile relay team was apparently disqualified because one of the ladies was aligned outside the exchange zone. Yet she claims that an on-track official placed her at that spot. If this is true, that smacks of intentionally getting Team USA disqualified. That's worse than the East German and Soviet gymnastics judges of yore (who are apparently still there, by the way).

Stupid! This smells to high heaven!

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/united-sta ... 34811.html

They were reinstated. That said, not sure how you mix that one up even as the runner. Look at lane 3 of the link (45-55 seconds in) and see where the US runner is as compared to everyone in the other lanes. You have to be an idiot not to realize that you are in the wrong spot.

phpBB [video]

[SuperHornet]

You may have a point, tribe, but the fact that a uniformed OFFICIAL placed one in a spot would give one pause in terms of objecting, because A. the official may know of a rule change that you don't, and B. if the official thinks you're protesting too loudly, you could get the thumb anyway. Sure, you could do it in a way that doesn't emulate Billy Martin, but some officials are super-touchy....