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[jmoore]

I like getting to see stuff I don't normally see. I love the long track speed skating. Bobsled/luge/skeleton is cool. So is biathlon.

I don't really care about the X-games type stuff - freestyle snowboarding, short track speed skating. Instant channel change. As is any figure skating.

[cloudguy]

As is any figure skating.

Remember the ski ballet competitions of the late 80's? So gey and perfect for that era.

[MattTuck]

I like getting to see stuff I don't normally see. I love the long track speed skating. Bobsled/luge/skeleton is cool. So is biathlon.

I don't really care about the X-games type stuff - freestyle snowboarding, short track speed skating. Instant channel change. As is any figure skating.

Yeah, at some level you have sports where the judge is the clock or a finish line camera, and others where it is a set of so called 'experts' that judge stuff on a bunch of quasi-subjective points.

I sort of feel the same way about basketball sometimes. Traveling and some fouls seem to be officiated on a selective basis.

[tuscanyswe]

Like to look at skating, hockey and of course cross country skiing as well as the alpine skiing. For you americans Diggins is looking great this year and the entire us team seem upgraded to years past at least the way i remember them. Biathlon is always a favorite but the swedish team is pretty week the last years unfortunately.

[Red Tornado]

I like getting to see stuff I don't normally see. I love the long track speed skating. Bobsled/luge/skeleton is cool. So is biathlon.

I don't really care about the X-games type stuff - freestyle snowboarding, short track speed skating. Instant channel change. As is any figure skating.

Right there with you on the first paragraph + regular xc & dh skiing. Also agree on the 2nd paragraph, except figure skating gets watched to keep the wife happy.
Nice to see some different sports occasionally.

[charliedid]

Shani!

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[charliedid]

Shameful when a Swedish guy knows who "Diggins" is, and I have to look her up. :o

She does seem really good, and fwiw I did already know the name Kikkan Randall...but this is her 5th Games so I guess I should.

I have never x-c skied in my life, but I do enjoy watching it, and would love to actually do it one day.



...is super!
.
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Watching the trials right now....he's in the lead! :-)

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[charliedid]

I watched the replays yesterday. It was pretty cool when the announcers stated that the Pettit track record for the Men's 1,000m was set way back in 2005 by...Shani Davis!
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"Big kid at heart"

What a career and what a great guy!

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[charliedid]

Have you met him? I have not. Pretty tough life, it seems, but he has stuck with it all, and apparently really matured through it as well. Good for him.

The crowd-love throughout these Trials was great.
.
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Yes as a matter of fact. I live in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago where he lived for a time as a early teen I believe. Not sure where he lives now but I'm pretty sure he still trains in Wisconsin some of the time. I have a friend who really follows skating who talks about him still.

We took a bunch of kids from the neighborhood to watch him skate in Northbrook back in 2001 I think. Just before the Olympics (2002 right?)

He was a big inspiration for those kids to see someone who "looked like them" doing what he was doing. None of them had ever been on skates.

You probably know his career much better than I. I just have a soft spot for the guy and what he has accomplished.

And I love the winter games!

[bironi]

It's the curling and the Danish men's team wear. Everything else is filler.

[72gmc]

Thumbs up for long track speed skating and skiing events. I've come to really like the nordic sports.

Some late nights of work-with-the-tv-on during the Vancouver games turned me into a curling fan. I'd put on loud pants and drink beer at that competition.

[shovelhd]

My favorite is the short track speed skating. A crit on ice.

[tuscanyswe]

My favorite is the short track speed skating. A crit on ice.

Yeah but with a tad more luck involved. You know that something is up when an Australian wins a gold medal on skates .)
Tho it makes for a good show i guess

[shovelhd]

That's the roller derby part of it. Love it.

[jmoore]

Yeah, at some level you have sports where the judge is the clock or a finish line camera, and others where it is a set of so called 'experts' that judge stuff on a bunch of quasi-subjective points.



Any event where a uniform and music selection can effect the outcome of the competition (figure skating, and to some extent gymnastics), is not a sport. I don't care how difficult it is physically. And yes I know figure skating and gymnastics are very difficult.

[Mark McM]

Any event where a uniform and music selection can effect the outcome of the competition (figure skating, and to some extent gymnastics), is not a sport. I don't care how difficult it is physically. And yes I know figure skating and gymnastics are very difficult.

Pretty much this. These event can be competitions (and frequently very difficult competitions), but they aren't truly sports.

Why aren't they sports? Because their judging is inherently biased. Human beings virtually can not be separated from subconscious biases. In many, if not most, judged competitions, the competitors who are expected to do well are judged well, regardless of the objective performance on that given day.

Other sports are measured by stop watches, tape measures, cameras, goal scoring, etc., which are objective and not swayed by subconscious expectations.

[shovelhd]

It's a little more grey than that. I'm a USAC official, and it's a rare race day when I don't have to make at least one judgement call. Even TT's, a race judged solely by the clock, have rules, which can affect a rider's placing.

[Jaybee]

It's a little more grey than that. I'm a USAC official, and it's a rare race day when I don't have to make at least one judgement call. Even TT's, a race judged solely by the clock, have rules, which can affect a rider's placing.

Agree. Every sport has referees, so every sport has some element of human judgement included that can affect the outcome. The closest thing I can think of to a purely non-judged sport is a 100m dash, where technology is determining false starts and finish order. Even then, there are officials watching for lane violations. While things like gymnastics and figure skating have a lot more observation and judgment included in their scoring, the specific moves/deficiencies and points gained/lost from them are pretty cut and dried.

[jmoore]

It's a little more grey than that. I'm a USAC official, and it's a rare race day when I don't have to make at least one judgement call. Even TT's, a race judged solely by the clock, have rules, which can affect a rider's placing.

Are the riders uniform aesthetics ever considered as a factor in their placing?

I'd have a lot more stomach for figure skating if everyone skated to no music and they all wore the same uniform. Look at the floor routine in gymnastics. The men all just blaze around and do their routine. No music or flashy costume. But the women have an artistic component. Is this sports, or a recital? Show me the technical mastery of your event and I'm interested.

[Mark McM]

Agree. Every sport has referees, so every sport has some element of human judgement included that can affect the outcome. The closest thing I can think of to a purely non-judged sport is a 100m dash, where technology is determining false starts and finish order. Even then, there are officials watching for lane violations. While things like gymnastics and figure skating have a lot more observation and judgment included in their scoring, the specific moves/deficiencies and points gained/lost from them are pretty cut and dried.

The difference is that in addition to the "technical score" (which is as you say is fairly cut and dried as far as points values/deductions), figure skating also includes the "program components score". This score is made up of 5 parts: Skating skills, choreography, performance, personal interpretation of the music, and movement. Clearly, these can't be anything but subjective.

Competitions based on time, placement, distance, goals scored, etc. are attempting to resolve performance by objective criteria. It is true that judging may inject some subjectivity, the goal is to be as objective as possible. In contrast, competitions like Figure Skating, Ice Dancing, Diving and Gymnastics purposely embrace subjective elements into their scoring.

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[bikingshearer]

Shameful when a Swedish guy knows who "Diggins" is, and I have to look her up. :o

Kind of like how the average Italian is much more likely to be familiar with Andy Hampsten than is the average American.

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[shovelhd]

Are the riders uniform aesthetics ever considered as a factor in their placing?

I busted Zanc for riding practically naked, but uniform violations are mostly ignored. The worst violators are women with their hair blocking their number.

[Frankwurst]

I like curling. Laugh if you will but having done it on more than one occasion there is alot more to it than meets the eye. Not as exciting as figure skating and someone landing a triple camel toe but the strategy and ability to place stones is a challenge and not as easy as it appears. I also enjoy the ski jumping, speed skating, downhill skiing, luge, bobsled and all the other high speed sports. Go U.S.A.:beer:

[jmoore]

I busted Zanc for riding practically naked, but uniform violations are mostly ignored. The worst violators are women with their hair blocking their number.Practically Naked Zank would be a good band name.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[martl]

no love for Biathlon at all? You fellas have no idea how big that is in D/FR/N/A/I - crowds at world cup races can exceed 100.000 (over 3-5 days), the 2012 world championship drew 240.000.
The top athletes like Bjoerndalen, Forcade, Neuner or Dahlmeier are absolute national heroes, only football players outrank them in popularity (and possibly income).

Exciting spectator sport too, both on location as on TV, there always is a lot of stuff happening.

Those folks do a 10km cross country in 27 minutes and stop a few times in between to hit 5 bullseyes in 6 seconds ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHILPbO-BOg

by the way, those people knoww how to ski, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F98o-C7c8M0

[bironi]

I like curling. Laugh if you will but having done it on more than one occasion there is alot more to it than meets the eye. Not as exciting as figure skating and someone landing a triple camel toe but the strategy and ability to place stones is a challenge and not as easy as it appears. I also enjoy the ski jumping, speed skating, downhill skiing, luge, bobsled and all the other high speed sports. Go U.S.A.:beer:

I was not laughing. To my eye it is one of the best spectator sports of the Winter Olympics. I do enjoy some of the others, just not as much.

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[buddybikes]

I stayed in a Vermont Bed and Breakfast back in the late 90's. The host was the national Biathlon coach who back in, think 80 won gold medal. He had pictures all over the B&B, his highlight was Lillihahammer from pure beauty and running of an olympic event.

His summer training for the day was to grab the gals and run up a big VT mountain. More fun than a gym!

[BobO]

Those folks do a 10km cross country in 27 minutes and stop a few times in between to hit 5 bullseyes in 6 seconds ....

I recall reading an article during the last winter games about how these athletes dose their efforts so they can be stable while shooting without having to take too much recovery time. As if it's not hard enough to get your pacing right for just the distance. :p

[72gmc]

no love for Biathlon at all?

I was watching Oberhof women's sprint last night while doing some homework!

I like the Michael Ebs Henschel channel on YouTube. Lots of biathlon and I get to practice listening auf Deutsch.

[wc1934]

no love for Biathlon at all? You fellas have no idea how big that is in D/FR/N/A/I - crowds at world cup races can exceed 100.000 (over 3-5 days), the 2012 world championship drew 240.000.
The top athletes like Bjoerndalen, Forcade, Neuner or Dahlmeier are absolute national heroes, only football players outrank them in popularity (and possibly income).

Exciting spectator sport too, both on location as on TV, there always is a lot of stuff happening.

Those folks do a 10km cross country in 27 minutes and stop a few times in between to hit 5 bullseyes in 6 seconds ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHILPbO-BOg

by the way, those people knoww how to ski, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F98o-C7c8M0

Lots of love here!!!
They are hard core athletes - I think, as with many events, they make it seem so easy that the general public doesnt realize how difficult it really is - thus under appreciated.

When we watch Tour riders climb the Col de la Madeleine or the Tourmalet, etc we wonder why no one attacks the leader - because they are Friggen impossible climbs!!!

[72gmc]

Further down the biathlon rabbit hole: pool footage of biathlon events from the 2010 Olympics (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADnLqLg2744) with no announcing, just natural sound.

[tuscanyswe]

Biathlon has so many things going for it. It can change in an instant. Its never over.

Ole einar is the most decorated winter olympian ever. 8 gold? Maybe 9. Gold in at least 4 winter olympics thus far.

Even as a swede im a big fan of this norweigan dude .)

[72gmc]

Those 2010 clips include women's events with Magdalena Neuner. While we're on the subject of athletes with a lot of trophies ...

[charliedid]

no love for Biathlon at all? You fellas have no idea how big that is in D/FR/N/A/I - crowds at world cup races can exceed 100.000 (over 3-5 days), the 2012 world championship drew 240.000.
The top athletes like Bjoerndalen, Forcade, Neuner or Dahlmeier are absolute national heroes, only football players outrank them in popularity (and possibly income).

Exciting spectator sport too, both on location as on TV, there always is a lot of stuff happening.

Those folks do a 10km cross country in 27 minutes and stop a few times in between to hit 5 bullseyes in 6 seconds ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHILPbO-BOg

by the way, those people knoww how to ski, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F98o-C7c8M0

Love watching it but don't know a GD thing about it. :-)

[tuscanyswe]

Those 2010 clips include women's events with Magdalena Neuner. While we're on the subject of athletes with a lot of trophies ...

You picked the one clip with a swedish dude winning, thanks :)
Such a great name to! Who names their sons "bear" anyways..

Ok ill admit it, i can watch almost any sport. Just leave me there infront of it for 30 min or so then im usually pretty into it. Tho for winter sports i could never get behind bobsleigh. I think it may just be reruns running in a loop, i wouldent know either way. Just not a great tv sport, imo ofc.

[martl]

I recall reading an article during the last winter games about how these athletes dose their efforts so they can be stable while shooting without having to take too much recovery time. As if it's not hard enough to get your pacing right for just the distance. :p

I'm not really an expert, but there are some facts i learned:

- Biathletes want to have the heartbeat down *a bit* for the shooting, but not too much, so wasting too much time at the shooting range is dangerous

- .22 LR ammo is used at a distance of 50 m today, but up until 1977, common rifle ammo (7.62 NATO or similar) was used at 250m range. (The whole sport started as a military competition)

- in the James Bond movie "for your eyes only", Bond gets chased by a nameless east german biathlete on skis. Even though the movie dates from 1981, the villain does *not* use .22 :)

- Ole Einar Björndalen participates infrequently in XC events, he has won several norwegian national titles and even a world cup race

- we frequently met olympic gold medallist Uschi Disl who used to live in our cycling club's favourite training areal. She kicked our asses whether she was on roller skis or on her bike.

[Davist]

Figure skating is definitely a sport that has very much "evolved" to capture the tv viewer with increasing glitz and glamour. When I was a child figure skating had three events:
1) Compulsories: the "figures" in figure skating. No music, no show, etc.; just skating pre-determined (by rule) purely technical routines in order to demonstrate skills. Like kids writing the alphabet, or cyclists doing track stands.
2) Short Program.
3) Long Program.

Jettisoning the compulsories was a bad move imo. Now, more and more, and with the introduction of "Ice Dancing" as an Olympic sport, figure skating is not at all the same thing. What is ironic is that today's skaters can land triples and quads, etc., all night long, but often with little if any real grace either within the moves or linking the moves.

I don't think that figure skating technical scores are actually "fairly cut and dried" at all. There is often controversy, and often variance and debate...as there will be with 9 judges and 1 referee. :eek:

.
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Actually, Ice Dance includes a "set pattern" dance (short dance) like the old figures/compulsories with a set pattern Dance. Ice dancing has been an Olympic sport since '76 Innsbruck.

Here's one of the patterns, one originating in the US:

http://iceskatingresources.org/YankeePolka-Lady.jpg

The true compulsories were not even watchable and required a different pair of skates, judges with magnifying glasses to look at the traces, etc.

bias: My wife is a multiple master's level world champion in Ice Dance, and while some here think it's not a sport, it certainly (along with all figure skating) takes tremendous dedication and fitness. Yes, the costumes are sparkly, but along with the new scoring in figures, it's a more athletic based competition. As far as subjectiveness, what's a catch in the NFL anyway?

[Frankwurst]

I was not laughing. To my eye it is one of the best spectator sports of the Winter Olympics. I do enjoy some of the others, just not as much.

It helps if you know how it scores and understand some of the strategy involved and I know to alot of people it looks simple but sweeping is an art and hard, as is throwing and being the skip. It really is a very intense strategic sport. It's like cycling, people who don't know it don't get it. Those that do know it, like it.:beer:

[bironi]

I read this recently, and it helped explain some of the mystery. I was already a fan, even though pretty ignorant of what I was watching.

https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Olympics/Olympics-blog/2010/0221/From-curling-with-love-scoring-explained-in-seven-easy-steps

[tuscanyswe]

:mad:

He is 43 and had a pretty tough season thus far. So Norway is not including him in the team for what would have been his 7th olympic in a row. Yes you read that correct, 7th! .)


8 Olympic gold medals
20 world championship gold medals
95 World cup victorires

Who knows how many bronze and silvers..

[Climb01742]

I'm a huge Summer Olympics fan. Track & field and swimming really pull me in.

I was much more a Winter Olympics fan when I was a kid and ski racing myself. '68 in Grenoble was incredible with JC Killy.

The modern Winter Games have, perhaps, become at bit to X Games for me (cue old man screaming, 'Get off my lawn you kids!'). But one event I always watch is the downhill for both men and women. Franz Klammer got me hooked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVMJKIx34SE

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[shovelhd]

I saw a news blurb that mass start races are going to be added to speed skating events on the full sized track, not the short track.

https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/sports/speed-skating

Team pursuit : Two teams of three athletes each start out from opposite sides and skate eight laps. Ranking is based on the time that the third skater passes the finish line.
Mass Start : Maximum 28 skaters race for 16 laps in an open racing track(without designating inner or outer lanes for a particular athlete). During the race, there are three intermediate sprints every 4 laps. At each intermediate sprint, the first three skaters will gain 5 – 3- 1 points. Then, at the last sprint, the first three skaters will gain 60 – 40 – 2- points. The competitors who are the first three to cross the finish line win the race.

Very velodrome like. I'll enjoy that.

[zank]

I busted Zanc for riding practically naked, but uniform violations are mostly ignored. The worst violators are women with their hair blocking their number.

That wasn't me!

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[tuscanyswe]

And the first gold medal goes to sweden!!! :)

Love Kalla such a fighter.

Next up, right now, some sprint biathlon for those that enjoy this..

Edit: haha a goal medal eh? Its the football gene kicking in.

[GParkes]

Feeling a bit of pride here......my best friend's son was selected to go to the Olympics. He is an assistant equipment manager for the women's hockey team. Wonderful young man that has a couple national championship rings from his time at Clarkson, and the past few years been working for USA Hockey. Had the pleasure to coach him a few years growing up. Awesome honor.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

Pretty much this. These event can be competitions (and frequently very difficult competitions), but they aren't truly sports.

Why aren't they sports? Because their judging is inherently biased. Human beings virtually can not be separated from subconscious biases. In many, if not most, judged competitions, the competitors who are expected to do well are judged well, regardless of the objective performance on that given day.

Other sports are measured by stop watches, tape measures, cameras, goal scoring, etc., which are objective and not swayed by subconscious expectations.

This Something won based on someone's particular music like, mood or color they like is not a competition. Imo.

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[tuscanyswe]

Kalla is so great; Bjørgen too. That was a great battle.

What an incredible comeback by Krueger (and Norway 1-2-3) in the Men's Skiathlon.
.

Haha damn i should have known better than to read olympic threads if i dont want to know results .)

Everything is so early here i miss a lot of the event untill i get a chance to c the reruns. But its hard to find what times the reruns actually airs without going to a page that reveals the result ha

Sounds like a great race

[Tickdoc]

Silly admission....I love seeing the different coats the different teams have on.

Germany gets the gold from what I’ve seen so far:

https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fstephanrabimov%2Ffiles%2F2018% 2F02%2FGermany-2-image-source-integration.DOSB_.de_.jpg%3Fwidth%3D960

[tuscanyswe]

Thats not a bad jacket.

After the last olympics im more of a bottoms man myself. Nothing can really compete with the Norweigan curling teams outfit.

https://storify.com/services/proxy/2/pr2ePuaynaoPUwsLbYVJlg/http/www.womensforum.com/images/stories/c_entertainment/olympic-fashion-norwegian-curling-teams-fancy-pants-2.jpg

[72gmc]

Those were world class pants.

Watching Norway vs China right now. China's pants are a statement of sorts.

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[Tickdoc]

Ooops, sorry.
Yes, it was....you should watch it anyway. Really fantastic.


Fixed for you. ;)


Why, thank you...thank you very much indeed!:)



What?
:eek:; :eek:; :eek:; and :eek:.
Those look like something that Jesper Parnevik would wear!

.


Like golf, Curling needs that tomspice things up a bit!
( I actually like watching the curling)

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[Tickdoc]

Yes.
I like curling too. Where are you watching it? I have looked on NBC and NBCSN and cannot find it anywhere.
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I’m sick with the flu so nbc, nbcsn, the olympics channel and my cable has free pay per view replays. I’m up like every three hours so I’ve just been watching and watching....

[peanutgallery]

I'm waiting for the the Chunnel maker/Bond movie device to tunnel into an event, pop out of the ground and have "Kim Jong Un" jump out

[gdw]

I'm waiting for the the Chunnel maker/Bond movie device to tunnel into an event, pop out of the ground and have "Kim Jong Un" jump out

CNN would be impressed and probably have a touching report about his reunion with his lovely sister.

[tuscanyswe]

Ooops, sorry.
Yes, it was....you should watch it anyway. Really fantastic.


What?
:eek:; :eek:; :eek:; and :eek:.
Those look like something that Jesper Parnevik would wear!

.


Hahah thats so very true. Sounds insane yet so accurate at the same time, good one.

[Frankwurst]

Like golf, Curling needs that tomspice things up a bit!
( I actually like watching the curling)

Both sports originated in Scotland. Hell they also gave us the kilt. I don't play golf, quit because it pissed me off. I have curled a few times and really enjoyed the game and atmosphere. It's a very courteous sport where the players introduce and wish the opposing team "good curling" and after the match shake hands and again say "good curling" and then go drink. Like I said I enjoyed it. I've never worn a kilt but I damn sure would and I'd be willing to bet I'd rather enjoy a nice wool quilt. :beer:

[Jaybee]

Women's snowboard slopestyle: what a ****show. Amazing that the organizers decided that winds high enough to postpone the giant slalom (where competitors speed down the hill at the edge of control, but ya know, still on the ground) were not high enough to postpone slopestyle (where competitors spend a significant amount of time 10-20 feet off the ground).

Watching 90% of the best snowboarders in the world struggle to complete their run was dangerous, not fun or good TV, and the 10% who stayed upright only did so because they kept it as basic as possible and won the wind gust lottery.

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[Jaybee]

^
Not really amazing at all, considering that as you stated the FIS had already cancelled the scheduled Women's GS alpine race. That was a big-draw event and, with it off the schedule, and tepid team figure skating all over the slate already, there was no way the FIS/IOC/NBC were going to cancel the snowboard events as well. $.

I am not defending the decision, but I do think that the risks inherent in running alpine events in high winds are more dangerous than in snowboard events.
.


As a pretty experienced skier, although admittedly one who likes to keep his airtime down, I'm curious why you think this. When the wind is gusting to 20+ mph I'd much rather be on the ground, even at speed than launching 30 feet off a kicker.

IMO, the real issue here is that FIS has always considered snowboard to be a red-headed stepchild. You're right that making a decision based on $$ rather than the safety of the athletes is in no way out of character for the Oly cartel.

I'm mostly happy that the competitors were smart enough to ride to conditions and no one got hurt.

[marsh]

FIS got the okay from the coaches, but no one asked the people actually risking their lives. Totally sucks.

[72gmc]

I thought Spencer O'Brien made the best statement about the conditions when she rode up to the lip of that kicker, stopped, and turned around.

Anna Gasser had the air of the day until the wind wrecked her landing.

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[Jaybee]

I think the real tragedy is the casual fan who has no idea what slopestyle is still doesn't know how badass these women are. The winning run was something from 20 years ago in terms of technical prowess and creativity.

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[tuscanyswe]

Diggins through to the final thats live in 10 min or something like that.

[tuscanyswe]

Wow stina just owned everyone that was super impressive .D

[pdmtong]

I can't stand them for things like having just given Fourcade and the entire men's biathlon a whopping 15 seconds of Tirico-praise-time, if that.... :rolleyes:
The other NBC channel on directTV showed the entire biatholon. funny how one can watch something he has no idea about and in a few minutes become an expert. fourcade nails the last shooting stage takes off for gold. but what was great was the 22yo guy, in bronze position seven seconds back makes a last charge on the hill and takes silver based on his skiing.

[pdmtong]

Really? (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chicagoinc/ct-met-pfchangs-chicago-inc-20180212-story.html)

http://www.trbimg.com/img-5a8215a5/turbine/ct-1518474657-b4kcyosknt-snap-image/750/750x422

[zap]

edit

The other NBC channel on directTV showed the entire biatholon.

Yes, NBCSN. Women's Biathlon too.

[tuscanyswe]

The other NBC channel on directTV showed the entire biatholon. funny how one can watch something he has no idea about and in a few minutes become an expert. fourcade nails the last shooting stage takes off for gold. but what was great was the 22yo guy, in bronze position seven seconds back makes a last charge on the hill and takes silver based on his skiing.

Agree he seems like a really nice guy to. Swedish ofc.

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[tuscanyswe]

She is in a class of her own now, and not "Silver Stina" anymore. At 24 she could compete in at least 2, maybe 3 more Olympics at the top levels, right?

I was very happy for Hirscher in Alpine Super-Combined yesterday. He definitely deserved that win; his slalom run was perfect. Nobody can touch that guy when he is really on, and that course (the blinding winds) was no simple run even for him.
.


One of the few events i missed thus far. I will watch the non combined slalom tho.

Yeah i guess but she is not yet a complete skier. Very few "sprint" skiers last that long in top tier. Seems the traditional length skiers have longer careers so hard to say. But maybe she can become better in these events with time and experience too i guess. Hehe silver stina. You know yr sports .)

[zap]

All I know, NBCSN is the NBC sports cable channel........F1 races and NHL hockey. We have att fiber.

drift..........ughh F1 on espn starting this year.

[72gmc]

Watching the sprint replay while I work.

Kowalczyk is a total sh*t show on downhills and corners. Last year she chopped two Americans in sprint races and should have been carded (Bjornsen and Caldwell IIRC), now she takes out another competitor. It's like she has never thought to spend time on her alpine skills.

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[72gmc]

Pellegrino is fun to watch. So capable and so good at waiting for the right moment.

Klaebo seems to be pure ability. It will be interesting to see him develop strategic tricks.

[pdmtong]

#3 means my Holbrooks just went up in value !!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180214/0398713735dfcc84df7c9d155dc1c36a.jpg

[martl]

The other NBC channel on directTV showed the entire biatholon. funny how one can watch something he has no idea about and in a few minutes become an expert. fourcade nails the last shooting stage takes off for gold. but what was great was the 22yo guy, in bronze position seven seconds back makes a last charge on the hill and takes silver based on his skiing.

Fourcade is a class of his own, really.
Try to get one of the women's races - Dahlmeier calmly adjusting her visor like 3 times in 5 shots to accommodate the extremely choppy wind, and scoring 5/5 when everyone else is struggling, well, thats something else!

[Hakkalugi]

Snowboard is definitely on the lower rung as far as FIS is concerned. However, I don't think the FIS/IOC should have to go around polling every athlete.
.

Not to pick on a specific comment or commentator, but I’ve been seeing this sentiment quite a bit. One thing to keep in mind is the FIS has totally separate divisions for Alpine, Freestyle (includes snowboarding), and Nordic. Each event has a Jury that makes the decisions based on conditions, safety, athlete and coach inputs. There are athlete representatives either on the Jury as a voting member (Alpine Referee) or as a Jury Advisor.

I can’t speak to the specifics a of a Freestyle Jury, but I have lots of experience in Alpine ski racing. At the OWG, the Alpine Jury is selected from experienced Technical Delgates of very high rank (experience), and every member has worked on hundreds of races. Even the Jury Secretary taking down the minutes is a high ranking TD. (TD is the chair of the Jury and is responsible for the event. They represent the sport federation. All FIS TDs must be high level national TDs first, and they go through an intensive process to get to the FIS level, including written and oral exams.)

The Alpine FIS core people who basically operate the World Cup tours are present and fulfilling similar roles to what they do on a regular basis (most OG sports use their federations and infrastructure, the Games themselves do not really operate the events). I know most of these people and have worked with them very closely, and I can safely say they are extremely professional and know what they are doing. Each of them puts the athlete first in any decision.

At Vancouver we had significant weather challenges for the Alpine events, and the Jury worked hard to find solutions. We had shortened training runs, rescheduled around rain, and had good results. The schedule of the games is set up to allow for weather flexibility but this is still limited by TV times and the 2 week window of the games. Keep in mind that the DH training started about a week before the opening ceremonies. The Men’s DH is scheduled for the first full day to allow for weather delays.

Logistically, these events are very intensive for resources, from snow conditions to feeding the crew. Large venues can take 1500 people or more to ensure the event is prepared and operated properly. Unfortunately, news does not present the big picture of why Jury descisons are made, who has input, and the results of those decisions. In my experience, events do not happen without buy-in from all parties. Plus, any athlete, at any time, has the right to not compete. No organization will force an athlete to go out of a start against their will.

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[gasman]

Mikaela Shiffrin, what an absolutely iron will.
Svindal too: the men's downhill was very impressive as well.
Shaun White, otoh...really seems like a world-class phony.
.

I would agree especially with the women speaking out against Shaun . Today was actually the first time I heard of what he had done and it makes me think he’s really a jerk underneath. It’s funny because my 25 year old son who skates and boards has never liked him.

I have liked Bode Millers commentary. Flat delivery though knowledgeable description of the skiers and conditions. Really well done.
Probably not the finest guy around in real life. 4 kids by three different woman, come on.


I hope Mikaela can win the slalom tomorrow .

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[peanutgallery]

Down on snowboarders and park/pipe in general, but Shaun White has been a douche canoe for those in the know for quite a while. Here's a hit that's been forgotten:
http://www.eonline.com/news/346596/shaun-white-charged-with-intoxication-vandalism-over-bang-up-hotel-behavior

Bode's off the cuff commentary/insight is pretty good. Doesn't bring his ego into too much, it has to be sort of drawn out of him by his broadcast partner. Guess he did make a comment that got the #MeToo crowd a bit triggered, treacherous waters in today's climate

Mikaela is a generational talent and incredible to watch, but Mom should be banned from skiing for being a generational...Helicopter Parent. Might even give Tony Alessi a run for his money in that department (classic MX dad that totally killed his kid's career). The fact that Mikaela has been successful with her "support" is what I find even more amazing. This article someone shared a while back is pretty enlightening and probably the source of the anxiety that Mikaela talks about:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/27/mikaela-shiffrin-the-best-slalom-skier-in-the-world

I deal with several ski parents in real life, albeit local yokels on our little local hill, and they're an interesting bunch. Fine line between being supportive and being a psycho

[cloudguy]

Down on snowboarders and park/pipe in general, but Shaun White has been a douche canoe for those in the know for quite a while. Here's a hit that's been forgotten:
http://www.eonline.com/news/346596/shaun-white-charged-with-intoxication-vandalism-over-bang-up-hotel-behavior


Can't stand White and was hoping he would lose. Seems like another Tiger Woods, personality wise. I could tell early on he was a douche when he said in an interview during his first olympics that he didn't like the nickname "flying tomato" and would rather be called "animal" (as from the muppets). Sorry, but you don't get to pick your own nickname.

[tuscanyswe]

Funny as i never really like him either. Then again im not really down with the snowboard crowd. Afaimconcearned all those evaluation events is just like figure skating. Can be great to watch and so very impressive but as for an actual competetion it doesent get me going at all.

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[72gmc]

I was rooting for Ayumu Hirano. He seems to be a classy kid (https://www.reuters.com/article/olympics-2018-sno-hp-m-hirano/snowboarding-i-need-more-air-to-catch-white-hirano-idUSKCN1FY19N) and to my untrained eye his entire run flowed better than White's jump-o-rama.

[Davist]

to me, snowboarding is VERY derivative of skateboarding, like the grabs (unnecessary when you're strapped in via bindings) all the same tricks etc.. Even the half pipe itself. I like the boarder cross version, but not the spinny tricks version. They "cheat" half the landings by 1/2 turn or so, try that on a skateboard..

[jlwdm]

Just looking at performance Shaun White is very impressive. Three out of four golds in the Olympics over 12 years. A lot of competitors would have slacked off with his financial success, but he worked hard and made an impressive last run.

Jeff

[William]

I pulled up YouTub on the XBox One and an Olympic live feed popped up from OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) and my wife and I ended up watching the Nordic combined and Men's Downhill events. No commercials, no fluff pieces or stupid commentary. Just the events in their entirety. In between events just a countdown clock, background music, and scrolling shots of the Olympic venues. It was excellent. Last night I tried to find that same channel and I'm now getting 404 errors or not available to upload in your area messages. Of course NBC pops up all over the place but that's exactly what I don't want.

Did anyone else get the feeds from OBS?






William

[martl]

What is very funny to me is how snow-boarding has always portrayed and stylized itself as the "rad/outcast/rebellious" sport, and yet, with almost all of the competitors adopting the exact same looks (hairstyles; clothing (not the uniforms); mannerisms; idioms; etc.) the whole thing actually comes off as extremely conservative, more so than even alpine skiing which is what the 'boarders were all James Deaning against originally.

That is true for all kinds of "nonconformist" "rebellious" youth culture, in sport or elsewhere. But it doesn't bother me :)

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[martl]

Wherever it is, the NED Olympic Champions Long Track Speed Skating Hall Of Fame must be one hell of a place. It is incredible how they develop so many medalists, generation after generation. And almost all of them seem to compete with a real joy. It is wonderful.

Besides their obvious dominance in the historical medal count, this statistic is also impressive:
In the history of Olympic Long Track Speed Skating, there have been 11 podium sweeps as of today. Of those 11, 6 are NED.

And: "The Netherlands' positions at the 2014 Winter Olympics women's 1500 meters is the first, and only, time in Olympic speed skating history that athletes from one country have taken positions 1, 2, 3 and 4".
.

I agree, that is amazing. Some sports are just so absolutely popular in certain countries that such an outcome happens (see Germany - luge).

But the Netherlands successes in sports are admirable on many levels, just think of football (soccer for you), a sport that is not as exclusive to NL as speed skating. The nation, which has as many inhabitants as Osaka has (17Mio), participated in 3 world cup finals and won one EC, in addition to many victories at club level.


Speaking of speed skating, today Claudia Pechstein (D) participated and came in on 8th overall. Pechstein has won 5 gold medals in her career, the first in Lillehammer 1994. She will be 46 years old next week.

[peanutgallery]

Good doping goes a long ways. Hold on...I meant "coaching"

Wherever it is, the NED Olympic Champions Long Track Speed Skating Hall Of Fame must be one hell of a place. It is incredible how they develop so many medalists, generation after generation. And almost all of them seem to compete with a real joy. It is wonderful.

Besides their obvious dominance in the historical medal count, this statistic is also impressive:
In the history of Olympic Long Track Speed Skating, there have been 11 podium sweeps as of today. Of those 11, 6 are NED.

And: "The Netherlands' positions at the 2014 Winter Olympics women's 1500 meters is the first, and only, time in Olympic speed skating history that athletes from one country have taken positions 1, 2, 3 and 4".
.

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[dancinkozmo]

....been watching male figure skating. far too much dancing and not nearly enough prancing IMHO

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[charliedid]

....been watching male figure skating. far too much dancing and not nearly enough prancing IMHO

Chen did 6 quads. That's about as prancing as you can get.

[peanutgallery]

Ester!!!!!

[Jaybee]

Ester!!!!!

What the hell just happened? I thought Vieth won? Is this just NBC primetime weirdness/assumptions?

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[charliedid]

Holy cheetahs, they chirruped 0.01 seconds too soon!

Wow, that was incredible*! Ledecka looked to be in absolute shock.



*(It must be the truly excellent coa/doping (https://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=2314953&postcount=108) on the Czech snowboard/alpine team, eh? ;))
.

That was huge.

[peanutgallery]

Czech is always low budget, Dutch not so much. Rode CZ's, so I should know:) Barum tires were far from great

Holy cheetahs, they chirruped 0.01 seconds too soon!

Wow, that was incredible*! Ledecka looked to be in absolute shock.



*(It must be the truly excellent coa/doping (https://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=2314953&postcount=108) on the Czech snowboard/alpine team, eh? ;))
.

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[martl]

Pechstein is amazing, and she fought well again today. In 4 years, who knows... I hope she does.

According to her, she sees the people she meets professionally "just black and white" now. If she keeps on going, her main motivation will be to annoy some officials some more, i recon :)

Another Grande to be witnessed today: Noriaki Kasai, age 44, will compete in the ski jump/120m. He debuted in the world cup in 1988.

http://static3.fr.de/storage/image/8/3/7/9/1059738_928x522_1qxKlm_IsraRo.jpg

[Ruimteaapje]

Good doping goes a long ways. Hold on...I meant "coaching"
You're a jerk

[peanutgallery]

You're welcome
You're a jerk

Whenever national pride is on the line...you think those mean Russians were the only ones with a systemized doping system in Sochi? Oympic sport has become where science, physiology, training, passion, money and pharma meet. Enjoy the spectacle, it's entertaining

[Ruimteaapje]

You're welcome


Whenever national pride is on the line...you think those mean Russians were the only ones with a systemized doping system in Sochi? Oympic sport has become where science, physiology, training, passion, money and pharma meet. Enjoy the spectacle, it's entertaining
Nice attempt to distract this from your innitial comment but unfortunately for you it has nothing to do with national pride. The facts are simple: there have never been any allegetions, no postive tests, not even smoke to suggest a fire concerning the Dutch skaters so your insinuations are completely uncalled for and for that you are a jerk. You can try dragging me into an argument about the Russian athletes but note that the soap about their alleged doping use has absolutely nothing to do with the Dutch.

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[Ruimteaapje]

Or post "Martina Sáblíková dopes" for that matter - the Czech speedskater who dominated the long distance races over the past decade with olympic gold and silver medals and multiple European and World allround champion titels. Equally vitriolic, equally poor without a shred of evidence. But I'm done with this jerk.

[tuscanyswe]

Thats all good with me just leave Kalla out of it .)

What about the norweigan x-skiers :banana: They are likely the most dominent team over the years ever in an endurance sport!!

Personally i dont think they cheat, which is a shame :)

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[peanutgallery]

News flash, there are no angels. No country is innocent. Each country's Olympic committee will do whatever it takes as sponsorship $ and pride is at stake. This includes doping and any other shenanigan they can come up with. Bribery is popular, too
Equal opportunity insult, So why did you then single out the Dutch speed skaters? :confused:

Again, I don't think the Dutch speed skaters dope, etc. and agree that it is at the least pretty silly to post such insinuations.

Post "Mikaela Shiffrin dopes!" or "Lindsey Vonn dopes!" or "The USA snowboarders all dope!" or "Nathan Chen, quad-doper-king!" here, and then see what happens. :rolleyes:.:rolleyes:.:rolleyes:
.

[peanutgallery]

Dude, there are no angels.
Believe what you will if it make you feel better. The only winner is the IOC, everything else is merely a source of income. Enjoy the show

Nice attempt to distract this from your innitial comment but unfortunately for you it has nothing to do with national pride. The facts are simple: there have never been any allegetions, no postive tests, not even smoke to suggest a fire concerning the Dutch skaters so your insinuations are completely uncalled for and for that you are a jerk. You can try dragging me into an argument about the Russian athletes but note that the soap about their alleged doping use has absolutely nothing to do with the Dutch.

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[peanutgallery]

Unfortunately, that guy just got scammed by the IOC PR machine. He did it, they printed it. Free content => bonuses all around. Great excuse for an incredible trip I will admit

"Dude"...:rolleyes:...read post #130. Perhaps that will cheer you up just a little bit (but I doubt it).
News flash: Cynics suck.
.

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[peanutgallery]

All about the cost of content. Thank the nearest MBA grad

Hey, it's better than watching a Kardashian spinoff...or a re-run of The Apprentice. The horror, the horror. Enjoy the show, it's winter

Yeah...I figured...jeezus....:rolleyes:
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[peanutgallery]

Lighten up Francis

It's a show, nothing more and nothing less. Waiting for Kim Jong Un to descend from the sky and into things. Now that would be entertaining. Imagine the ratings

I really have no idea why you read and reply to this thread, if in fact the Olympics are so base and distasteful to you. The comments are not funny, are definitely not interesting, add absolutely nothing of value, and are not even mildly "cute" anymore.
.

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[martl]

marti, what does Pechstein mean? I am not sure I understand.
[/COLOR]
There has been a lengthy and ugly controversy about her 2 year ban of 2009, which was one of the first based on "indirect proof".
(A blood test for her showed some above-the-limit values on reticulocytes, but no actual performance enhancing drugs had been found.)
This lead to her missing the qualification for the 2010 Olympics.

A long and messy series of legal actions evolved with many verdicts, appeals etc. There were, as always are, expertises and counter-expertises, among them a long-term study on her intitative that came the conclusion she had a heredetary blood anomaly.

I believe finally she didn't succeed. The sports authorities, both the german and international ones, left the impression they really wanted to get rid of her, including trying to kick her out of her employment as a police officer (in germany, many athletes are sort of "state-funded by having jobs at the police, the customs office, or the army). In the wake of the lawsuits and the accompanying drama, she suffered health consequences as well.

Today, she's running her own training outfit independent from the german speed skating team.

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[paredown]

Fourcade...wow!

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r654/traghetter/Fourcade_zpsqlslobm6.jpg (http://s1360.photobucket.com/user/traghetter/media/Fourcade_zpsqlslobm6.jpg.html)
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That was the best. If I heard it right, Fourcade said that if you don't like Biathlon after that, you never will!

[gasman]

That was an amazing race !
I’ve been more impressed this year with NBC’s coverage of the games. Maybe just because I’ve had more time to watch.

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[tuscanyswe]

@tuscanyswe: the 4x5km relay was amazing, with Silver Stina so close! I was hoping for her to pull around and win it. I imagine that even with the deep rivalry Bjorgen is still greatly respected in Sweden?
.

Yes great race idd!
Yes she is, i think the fact that there is love amongst the swedish n norweigan racers certainly help the "ppl" to feel the same way.

Björgen is a beast. Stina got time still to become our champion .)
Kallas stage was unbelivable again just like the last olympic (which is perhaps a top 5 sporting moment for me).

[gasman]

Yes, pretty exact quote.

The battle for bronze wasn't too shabby either. Really great race.


Highly agree. Tirico is more personable than Costas and in general there has been much less of the sentimental sappy pieces. The expert commentator for x-c skiing grates on me though...his words and intonation...one of the snowboard guys too. But overall much better than 2014.
.


Agree with you about Tirico and really agree with you about them not trying to insert artifical feeling human interest stories. There’s plenty of good contests to watch, except maybe ice dancing. :eek:

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[MattTuck]

Ok, so what events should the winter olympics add?

Some sort of Alpine Touring event, where you skin up a hill and then race down a Super G course?

Fat biking and/or cyclocross?

[semdoug]

Maybe something like the Ski to Sea race held around Bellingham, WA.

[fiamme red]

Ok, so what events should the winter olympics add?

Some sort of Alpine Touring event, where you skin up a hill and then race down a Super G course?

Fat biking and/or cyclocross?Ice fishing!

[mt2u77]

Ok, so what events should the winter olympics add?



Some sort of Alpine Touring event, where you skin up a hill and then race down a Super G course?



Fat biking and/or cyclocross?



You could do worse than Olympic Snow Shoveling. Total watt mania.

Lots of ways you could set it up— how much weight in snow you can shovel onto a scale in x minutes, or time to clear a regulation “Olympic driveway.” Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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[martl]

Ok, so what events should the winter olympics add?

Some sort of Alpine Touring event, where you skin up a hill and then race down a Super G course?

it exists and it is growing in popularity. so not entirely impossible

https://youtu.be/FAwYHmEcd5s

[Frankwurst]

Ok, so what events should the winter olympics add?

Some sort of Alpine Touring event, where you skin up a hill and then race down a Super G course?

Fat biking and/or cyclocross?

I'd be willing to bet fat bikes will show up sooner or later.:beer:

[MattTuck]

We also have this sport up here called ice sailing. Which is sort of like a sail boat and a speed skate had a baby.

Requires a large lake to be frozen, which doesn't seem to be something that can be depended upon in the olympics.

[cloudguy]

Ok, so what events should the winter olympics add?


Something with tele's - the only way to really alpine ski. Edit: OK, maybe not the only, but the purest.

[Jaybee]

GER-CAN bobsled tie was pretty cool. Love how happy they were for each other.

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[Anarchist]

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[martl]

Ok, so what events should the winter olympics add?

Meet Johann Wallner, European champion/snow groomer driving

http://www.zeit.de/entdecken/2018-02/wintersport-ski-pistenraupe-dachtstein-west

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[tuscanyswe]

I told you about Diggins and "her" team dident i.
Congrats! First US gold ever in Xcountry ?

Beating Kalla/Nilsson and Björgen/Falla is no small feat.

Diggens has the heart and mind of a champion imo. You could see this coming all season. She has that no retreat no surrender vibe about her.

[Mark McM]

IFirst US gold ever in Xcountry ?

Yes. And in addition, the first Olympic medal of any kind for American women X-Country skiers, and 2nd Olympic medal ever for an American X-Country skier (1st was Bill Koch's silver medal in 1976).

[LegendRider]

I told you about Diggins and "her" team dident i.
Congrats! First US gold ever in Xcountry ?

Beating Kalla/Nilsson and Björgen/Falla is no small feat.

Diggens has the heart and mind of a champion imo. You could see this coming all season. She has that no retreat no surrender vibe about her.

That was the most exciting event at these games IMO. Felt like a crit on skis.

[tuscanyswe]

That was the most exciting event at these games IMO. Felt like a crit on skis.

Xcountry skiing is the best to watch well that and biathlon, always exciting stuff. I prefer the mens and womens longer relays with 4 competitors vs the sprints but the essence is the same only its less fluctuations in form and position over the distance.

Very well done Diggins and Randall she was ofc pivotal as well.
Like Mark pointed out above. Quite an achievement beating sweden n norway who both actually had really good teams this season to. Unlike the swedish mens team bah.

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[Jaybee]

The women's hockey shootout was superb.
Lamoureux's last move/shot...cool, calm, collected, and then...holy cow! That was amazing.
.

The OT + Shootout was the most compelling TV I've watched since... well, the women's XC sprint relay yesterday. Or the men's 2-man bobsled a couple days ago. I know about all the moral/corruption issues surrounding the olympics, but damn, it's such a good show!

[ntb1001]

The women's hockey shootout was superb.
Lamoureux's last move/shot...cool, calm, collected, and then...holy cow! That was amazing.
.I hated it....cannot stand shoot outs in hockey. They should play until someone wins.


Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

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[verticaldoug]

I love the shootout. The chance of absolute glory for the goalie.

[ntb1001]

I agree completely on that, but it is a difficult thing in hockey, soccer, etc....

The shootout is completely alien to the game, so I abhor it, but...damn...Lamoureux's setup and shot were pure mastery, beautiful to watch.
She was better at it than even Agosta was, which is really saying something.

EDIT:
Oh, wait..no wonder you "hated it"...YOU LIVE IN CANADA! :rolleyes::);)
.Yes...from Canada, but I was hating it before the outcome.
I do think US had the game, but shoot outs drive me crazy. It is a team sport, not a individual showcase.

Still...congrats on the Gold!!

(Canadians can just be happy about having a higher medal count than you guys again☺☺)

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

[azrider]

Xcountry skiing is the best to watch well that and biathlon, always exciting stuff

Biathlon is the best! I was on edge of my seat for those races.


Did anyone happen to catch the ski halfpipe? Any thoughts on Nico Porteus not taking his 3rd run?? I mean, the kid is at the Olympics and didn't even try?? It was so odd. He was quoted as saying “I’d done as much as I could, and if that wasn’t enough then it wasn’t enough.”

What?? It's easy for me to sit here and say that's ridiculous, but that's ridiculous. What ever happened to never giving up??

On the opposite end of that spectrum is David Wise. To have fallen, and even broken a binding on his first two runs, to come back and clinch GOLD on his third run?? Dude that is the definition of clutch. Kudos to him.

[Jaybee]

Biathlon is the best! I was on edge of my seat for those races.


Did anyone happen to catch the ski halfpipe? Any thoughts on Nico Porteus not taking his 3rd run?? I mean, the kid is at the Olympics and didn't even try?? It was so odd. He was quoted as saying “I’d done as much as I could, and if that wasn’t enough then it wasn’t enough.”

What?? It's easy for me to sit here and say that's ridiculous, but that's ridiculous. What ever happened to never giving up??

On the opposite end of that spectrum is David Wise. To have fallen, and even broken a binding on his first two runs, to come back and clinch GOLD on his third run?? Dude that is the definition of clutch. Kudos to him.

I got the impression that Porteus was way above his normal scores - maybe he was just spent from the run of a lifetime. Still seems like he should have sent it anyway, unless he thinks he's going to get hurt.

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[azrider]

Same here, but Porteus is still only 16 so I guess we can give him a bit of a break. Perhaps he wanted to go again, but his coaches told him, "That's it. No more. Stop right there."

Wise, with the crashes, the comeback, his whole story, was pretty great. I thought he had a nice attitude about it all too.
.

Had absolutely no idea his coaches advised him not to. I simply saw it as giving up.

And I totally get the age factor, but then again, at 16 I was the most brazen I've ever been and lived by a "never give up" mantra.......different strokes different fokes i guess

[Red Tornado]

TiVo'd the women's hockey game & watching now. Very entertaining!
Someone please explain to me how the international rules have no provision for penalties due to hits to the head? That cheap shot by Canada's 29 would have been 5 minutes in any other league. That hit would probably be targeting in the NFL, or at least an unsportsmanlike for taking out a defenseless player, as she was playing the puck and not able to see another player bearing down on her.
29 may not have meant to deliver the head shot but that sure looked like a planned hit. Maybe not a body check proper, but definitely beyond the allowed "body contact" IMO. Ref's have missed several both ways, but none as obvious as that.

[Red Tornado]

TiVo'd the women's hockey game & watching now. Very entertaining!
Someone please explain to me how the international rules have no provision for penalties due to hits to the head? That cheap shot by Canada's 29 would have been 5 minutes in any other league. That hit would probably be targeting in the NFL, or at least an unsportsmanlike for taking out a defenseless player, as she was playing the puck and not able to see another player bearing down on her.
29 may not have meant to deliver the head shot but that sure looked like a planned hit. Maybe not a body check proper, but definitely beyond the allowed "body contact" IMO. Ref's have missed several both ways, but none as obvious as that.
Actually, after watching the replay, 29 seemed to lead with her shoulder/elbow. Head shot or not, at least 2 min IMO due to the nature of the hit.

[merlinmurph]

Craziest event I've seen in awhile - short-track skating relay. Crazier than boardercross.

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[martl]

As a german, i will allow my usually not-so-strong patriotic feelings erupt in the wake of the hockey HF: Go for Gold, you magnificent team! you heroes! you gods!!!

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[martl]

:)

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[Louis]

Gold for US Men's Curling team !!!

Final positions of the key end:

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/800/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2018/2/24/067bad97-76b9-46e7-af4a-a5542f2231a1.jpg

[merlinmurph]

Gold for US Men's Curling team !!!

I *just* finished reading about that. Very cool.

[Ozz]

Gold for US Men's Curling team !!!

Be nice, don't gloat, give hugs and buy rounds of hot chocolate!

:hello:

[Frankwurst]

Gold for US Men's Curling team !!!

They earned it given the way they started the round robin. It's been exciting to watch and I don't think anybody expected an outcome like this. :beer::beer:

[gone]

Most overused word by announcers this olympics: redemption.


Greg

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[tuscanyswe]

Marit Björgen wins gold in womens 30km classic style to become the best winter olympian of all times.

Well deserved. Such a great athlete!!!

[martl]

The men's hockey final is looking amazing for martl. :)

Almost... :D Still an amazing achievement! I remember watching the match 1992 when the QF against Lindros' CAN went to the penalties and the last puck danced on the goalline but just didn't want to go in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvgBy13lLfc

(heck, i'm old enough to remember the bronze from 1976 :D)

Anyway, Hockey player Ehrhoff wil carry the flag at the closing ceremony :)

[likebikes]

anyone else feel that this olympics was a giant disappointment for the united states? heads should roll at the united states olympic comittee or whoever governs it. pisspoor showing IMO.

and don't even mention the curling medal, LOL. :eek: