2012 Summer Olympics - London, England (2 Viewers)

[Ockeghem]

Andrew,
I appreciate the different perspective. Oh, and I want those unclaimed medals -- wherever they are these days.

 

[Walter C]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem /t/322614/2012-summer-olympics-london-england/150#post_3960656
Speaking of Munich 1972 --
I thought this was a very nice gesture on the part of Aly Raisman:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185361/Olympics-2012-U-S-gymnast-Aly-Raisman-reveals-gold-medal-winning-routine-tribute-1972-Munch-Games-massacre.html

Major kudos to Aly for that, something the IOC should have done during the Opening Ceremony. I know Bob Costas wanted it done as well, and even called out the IOC during the broadcast. I am sure he will mention that in prime time, and call out the IOC again.

Too bad that Spain spoiled the party, as I thought Russia would put the game away in the 2nd half. If the two ended up playing for the bronze, it would not quite be the same (assuming the US finds a way to lose to Argentina).

Also, Botswana won their first Olympic medal ever, in the 800m.

 

[Simon Massey]

4x100m women race - what a race. Won't give it away in case it hasn't been shown yet but well worth watching

 

[Ockeghem]

Walter,
Yeah, I thought that Spain was done, after trailing by thirteen early on. Oh well. Now I have to hope that the U.S.A. loses to Argentina so that they get to play the Russians in the bronze medal game.
There are some track-and-field and wrestling events I'm really looking forward to seeing later tonight. A. Felix is running in a relay, and I hope they show some of the Burroughs match.

 

[Simon Massey]

4x100m women race - what a race. Won't give it away in case it hasn't been shown yet but well worth watching

 

[Ockeghem]

4x100m women race - what a race. Won't give it away in case it hasn't been shown yet but well worth watching

Much appreciated!

 

[Ockeghem]

4x100m women race - what a race. Won't give it away in case it hasn't been shown yet but well worth watching

Simon,
Oh my, were you right. I just saw the result. Now I can't wait to see it!!!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

What a race is right! And goodness, what a team: Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, and Carmelita Jeter. And a world record! Man, track-and-field doesn't get any better than this for me. One of my favorite Olympians (Felix) winning gold -- again!

 

[Simon Massey]

How long before you get it - I have read some pretty scathing reviews of the NBC coverage and can't believe the US can't watch these events live.
Also understand how the opening ceremony must have been even more baffling as it seems it was edited down and you have ad breaks all the time. I despise ad breaks

 

[Ockeghem]

How long before you get it - I have read some pretty scathing reviews of the NBC coverage and can't believe the US can't watch these events live.
Also understand how the opening ceremony must have been even more baffling as it seems it was edited down and you have ad breaks all the time. I despise ad breaks

Simon,
I'm guessing at least five, and possibly six, hours. The women's gymnastics (a huge primetime event over here) was shown first beginning around 8 p.m., again around 9 p.m., and again around 10 p.m. on various nights. Allyson Felix's 200m gold medal event was shown later than I wanted (in the vicinity of 10 p.m). I'm guessing that the 4x100m relay will be shown around 10 p.m. tonight, although I'd love to see it an hour earlier, mostly so that my little ones can see it without having to stay up too late!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/content/type/61/id/165124/width/350/height/700

Yeah, I too despise ad breaks. One of the neat things about DVR-ing the Olympics as I have been doing (provided I can wait a day) is that I can just fast-forward through all of the commercials.

 

[Walter C]

Just saw that South Korea won 2-0, over Japan, to claim the bronze medal in men's soccer. While not as good as gold, the Korean men should be thrilled, not only for beating their main rival, the Japanese, but also they will be exempt from military service back home.

Originally Posted by Simon Massey /t/322614/2012-summer-olympics-london-england/150#post_3960776
How long before you get it - I have read some pretty scathing reviews of the NBC coverage and can't believe the US can't watch these events live.

Well, we can, but only online. But the website will freeze at the most inopportune time, as it did during one of Usain Bolt's race.
Funny thing, there was one time when it buffered during the 110 hurdles final, so I ended up missing the actual race after refreshing it. By the time it got back online, the race was over, but luckily for me, they showed a replay of it, so I was glad to find out the result that way, rather than wait for prime time.

I was spoiled with the result of the 200m race before the airing of it, seeing that Bolt won it, but the only consolation was that there was still the "suspense" of who finished second and third in the race.

 

[Ockeghem]

Walter,
If I were a betting man, I would have put money on Japan defeating South Korea, thinking that they were a bit miffed at their loss to the U.S.A.
In the FWIW department, I only learned yesterday that Claressa Shields (gold medal in women's boxing) lives about three hours from where I live. That's kind of neat. Maybe we can get her to come visit our dojo [ ] since we have so many boxers and MMA fighters who train there. Jordyn Wieber also hails from Michigan, and Aly Raisman lives in the state (Massachusetts) in which I was born.
There's so much to watch again tonight. Where to begin?

 

[Patrick_S]

I was at the baseketball final in 1972 Olympics in Munich where Russia played the US. I've forgotten the problem but the US complained way too late and Russia was the rightful winner.

I don’t care if you were at the game or not but your memory is rather poor and I would recommend that you actually go read up on the events that transpired at the end of the game.
The end was a complete mess.
You had the German staff at the scorer’s table screwing up several times which compounded the confusion.
You had a Soviet coach interrupting play which should have resulted in a game ending Technical Foul that was not called. It should also be pointed out that his interruption of play resulted in a delay that gave the Soviets a chance to set up a play and make illegal player substitutions. Who says cheating does not have its’ benefits?
You had an FIBA official, who under Olympic rules had no authority in the matter, interjecting himself into the situation first by over ruling a ref’s decision to continue play with one second left and then threatening the US with forfeiture if they did not return to the court.
You had the head referee of the game refusing to sign the official scorer’s sheet in protest. It has been reported that he refused because of the interference of the FIBA official.
To top it off the US protest was ruled on by a five man board that had three member’s being from Soviet-allied nations. It has been reported that the board’s vote was 3-2 in favor of the Soviets. Big surprise.

 

[Patrick_S]

....something the IOC should have done during the Opening Ceremony. I know Bob Costas wanted it done as well, and even called out the IOC during the broadcast. I am sure he will mention that in prime time, and call out the IOC again.

I would disagree with the thought that the IOC should have had a tribute during the opening ceremony but then again I have never fallen into the strange line of thought that anniversaries that end with a zero are any more special than those that do not.
On a non-Olympic side note, Bob Costas is a tool. Always has been, always will be.

 

[Ockeghem]

Simon,
Well, the women's 4x100m relay ran closer to 10:30 p.m. than to 10 p.m. EST. We still let the kids watch, and they were impressed by what they saw. They also got a thrill out of watching the BMX events a bit earlier in the evening. There were some crashes (last night especially) that were quite startling.
I loved the women's 4x100m relay tonight. That sure was a blistering pace. It won't be too long before we see some 39s run by the women, maybe even before Rio.
Tomorrow is the women's 4x400m relay. I'd love to see another great race for the U.S.A. women in that one. A third gold for A. Felix would be awesome.

 

[Stan]

Here in the UK we use the official medal table, which uses numbers of gold medals only to decide position in the table (numbers of silver and bronze are only taken into consideration in the case of a tie). However, I caught a brief snatch of a US programme (sorry, program) last night and in that table, the UK were fourth, behind USA, China and Russia. The only way you can do that is by treating gold, silver and bronze equally and simply counting up the number of medals won (i.e. no weighting for the different types of medals - e.g. 3 for gold, 2 for silver, 1 for bronze). Is this how the USA usually works out medal tables, please?

No need to apologize about the spelling of programme, especially on this forum. I think we're all very international here.
I actually started using some British style spelling and phrasing years ago, not even sure why, I guess the brain just does its own thing occasionally. I've always used words like theatre, favourite and many other words in "British English". Also have always written dates in the European style on checks, papers, etc. I try to stay with basic American spelling when posting, but it really doesn't matter. It's not like one way is wrong or right. Maybe taking two years to learn French in college or I'm watching to much BBC. Doesn't matter, especially when the topic is the Olympics.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Originally Posted by andrew markworthy /t/322614/2012-summer-olympics-london-england/150#post_3960696
The only way you can do that is by treating gold, silver and bronze equally and simply counting up the number of medals won (i.e. no weighting for the different types of medals - e.g. 3 for gold, 2 for silver, 1 for bronze). Is this how the USA usually works out medal tables, please?

IIRC, I thought NBC did that only from Beijing 2008 onwards, when China overhauled USA in terms of number of golds won. To put USA on top, NBC starting counting medals regardless of type, and with the USA's broader sporting reach, the USA won by that count. (Or even with a weighted count, USA might still emerge on top.) But that might just be my own rationalisation as to why they (NBC) did something that seems instinctively wrong.

Having said that, at the moment it doesn't affect the USA's standing, since USA currently has the most golds anyway.

 

[Walter C]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem /t/322614/2012-summer-olympics-london-england/150#post_3960899
I loved the women's 4x100m relay tonight. That sure was a blistering pace. It won't be too long before we see some 39s run by the women, maybe even before Rio.

It was a great race, beating Jamaica by a wide margin, and Carmelita Jeter doing an Usain Bolt by pointing at the clock. And cleaning up the record, which was set and tainted by East Germany. Still, enjoyable to watch, despite the fact that I got spoiled, when seeing a tweet below the video screen on NBC Olympics site, congratulating Felix on another gold.

Also, I thought the special on the Dream Team from 1992, was really good, and brought back memories of the days of the NBA on NBC with Marv Albert at his prime. Even though I first knew him from football, I best remember him for basketball, and always liked the way he said "and the Bulls take a 1-point lead."

Looking at the original Dream Team roster compared to the 2012 roster, it does not compare at all, as the 1992 team just steamrolled through everyone. I remember this was after Charles Barkley got traded from the Sixers to the Suns, which was one of the most lopsided deals in the NBA.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'd never heard of a "weighting" system for medal count until this thread. To me, a medal has always been a medal. If only golds count, why bother awarding the silver and bronze?

 

[Johnny Angell]

I have watched bits of several field hockey games, all have been played on an artificial surface. I've never caught a glimpse of the arena that wil, tell me if it's indoor or not. It appears the field is wet every time.
OK, I was going to ask if it was watered down or something else was being scooped up by the players sticks, when for the first time, the announcers answered my question. The field is watered down to make the ball stick to the field better.
I know that I shouldn't expect to like every sport. When I look at rhythmic gymnastics, it looks like an event for those not good enough to make the gymnastics team. I know we have many cultures represented here, but RG does not seem like a bone fide Olympic event, IMHO. it particularly burns me when I remember that softball was dropped from the Olympics.
I agree with those who believe there should have been a remembrance of the tragedy in Munich.
And yes, the Russian victory over the US was one the greatest cheating scandals in Olympic history. Sure, it was a close game and luck can deal you unexpected sults. This had nothing to do with luck and I agree with the players who have refused to accept the silver medals.
All IMHO, of course.

 

[andrew markworthy]

I know that I shouldn't expect to like every sport. When I look at rhythmic gymnastics, it looks like an event for those not good enough to make the gymnastics team. I know we have many cultures represented here, but RG does not seem like a bone fide Olympic event, IMHO. it particularly burns me when I remember that softball was dropped from the Olympics.

You're on dangerous ground here! Here in the UK we couldn't work out how softball (a.k.a. glorified rounders, a game restricted to girls aged under 12 in the UK) could possibly be considered a sport in the first place.
Please don't hit me.
BTW, rhythmic gymnastics, like synchronised swimming, is WAY harder than it looks.
However, the choice of sports in the olympics is perverse at times, I agree. Why softball should be dropped is beyond me (for the record, we could easily have hosted it in the UK). If I recall correctly, to be considered a sport suitable for consideration in the olympics, it has to be played on at least three of the five continents and have a significant following in countries in each continent. So where is golf? Lacrosse? Bowls?