Glenn
Hall of Famer
Wasn't he favored for the down hill? He screwed up badly. Didn't know he had other events. Maybe I should just shut the **** up. I was trying not to ruin it for someone who may have DVR'd it.
Sochi Olympics Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Mad D
- Start date
Wasn't he favored for the down hill? He screwed up badly. Didn't know he had other events. Maybe I should just shut the **** up. I was trying not to ruin it for someone who may have DVR'd it.
PurpleHaze
All-Star
Nope, not really favored in men's downhill at Sochi. Only question going in was if Bode could metal in these Olympics which was decent possibility with gold much less likely. Age has caught up with him which is part don't think he now wants to have to admit. He's still very good, just not feared great like he was in his 20s, early 30s.
PurpleHaze
All-Star
I forgot about Giant Slalom as last race Bode Miller might take part. Basically, he's not said for sure which of three remaining he will enter. Seems his head is not right at this point in Sochi but maybe he pulls it together to challenge for metal in one or more of three remaining events.
My apologies. It honestly didn't even occur to me that anyone else would even care about the game, and I sometimes forget that other people take "spoilers" a lot more seriously than I do. On the rare occasion that I do want to avoid "spoiling" something, my preferred practice is to avoid all other media, including the entire internet, until I get a chance to watch it. But, that's just me rationalizing my behavior; it's no excuse, and again, I apologize.
Actually, when I posted that, the response I half-expected was more along the lines of ridiculing me for following yet another women's sport... "Really, Slim? Do you watch any men's sports, besides the NBA?" And, of course, the answer to that question would have been, 'On the whole? Not really..." 'Cause I'll be honest with you: I don't intend to watch a minute of the men's hockey. I'll probably watch any of the women's events that happen to be on when I tune in, except for figure skating, which I loathe. On the other hand, the only men's event I have watched, or plan to watch any portion of is curling.
To be fair, though, I'm not a big fan of any of the winter events... I do watch a lot of the men's events during the summer games, as well as the women's events, but that's because the summer games are more relevant to my interests.
Agreed. I was surprised at the lack of twists or somersaults in the women's style events. I should have just judged them on their merits and not expected them to be able to perform some of the physically-challenging stunts the men do seemingly with ease.
I guess it's a lot like figure skating. Men are throwing multiple quad jumps in combinations and women are lucky to be able to do triple-double combos.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
It surprised me very much. Perhaps they should have scheduled the women first. It wouldn't have been so disappointing.
Telemachus
Starter
Actually, Bode was favored to win the downhill. Even the top skiers said they were skiing for silver.
This is, IME, the single-biggest reason why women's sports are judged so harshly, across the board. Instead of being judged on their own merits, they are most often judged according to what they can't do, compared to the men. I find myself reminded of a discussion on a different message board, where they were talking about the women's soccer during the summer games, and some guy practically started foaming at the mouth; he couldn't wait to tell everybody who would listen how bad the women's soccer "sucked," compared to the men.
PurpleHaze
All-Star
No question U.S. media was talking up Bode Miller as downhill favorite but European press was not going off on a lock-step bandwagon. Any top alpine racer will tell you training runs are not indicator of anything. Going in Austrian ski crazy press especially were questioning Miller's laying off for entire year (2013) after major knee surgery and pointing out that his age was now a factor with what he was looking to do at Sochi. Some of his competitors were talking him up as "tough to beat, ready to become oldest ever to win" but that was just taking the pressure off them. Bode has been so great for long time, but father time is a *****. That 2 minute blur Sochi downhill he was on is as steeply tilted as anywhere on the planet tour with unimaginable G-force turns, absolute zero room for error. And it was just one flash of misread in second half of the mountain that cost Bode perhaps more glory.
Johnny Weir is looking FABULOUS today. Seriously.
Did anyone watch the cross country sprint races? Those are crazy. 2:30 second race on a slushy course with accidents left and right. Whoah. The temps in Sochi are ridiculous.
Can't wait for men's ice hockey to start. The alpine skiing is my other favorite but the snow conditions really detract.
Did anyone watch the cross country sprint races? Those are crazy. 2:30 second race on a slushy course with accidents left and right. Whoah. The temps in Sochi are ridiculous.
Can't wait for men's ice hockey to start. The alpine skiing is my other favorite but the snow conditions really detract.
PurpleHaze
All-Star
Canadian woman skier seriously injured in freeski slopestyle crash.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/worst-crash-sochi-games??ctx=top-moments
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/worst-crash-sochi-games??ctx=top-moments
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I used to cross country ski but this was more like a combo between water skiing and snow skiing. Also, never, ever did I fall down skiing in a straight line yet we saw that frequently.
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Glenn
Hall of Famer
The Japanese hockey team got screwed out of a goal because somehow the review officials were trying to get the attention of the on-ice officials but were ignored, not seen, or whatever you want to call it. I heard 4 whistle blasts from somewhere before the puck was dropped to resume play. On review, it was clear the puck was over the goal. There was no question about it. It was also clear that a Russian player had to retrieve the puck from inside the goal to get it for the officials to resume play.
The game would have been 1-1. The game ended 2-1 with the Russians winning. There is no telling what the final score would have been if the goal had been allowed as teams certainly play differently when 1-1 rather than 1-0.
What went wrong? It was the kind of play that one would think would need review and the officials should have asked for a review. Instead they simply ignored the attempts of the review officials to get their attention. IT WAS OBVIOUS!!!!
The game would have been 1-1. The game ended 2-1 with the Russians winning. There is no telling what the final score would have been if the goal had been allowed as teams certainly play differently when 1-1 rather than 1-0.
What went wrong? It was the kind of play that one would think would need review and the officials should have asked for a review. Instead they simply ignored the attempts of the review officials to get their attention. IT WAS OBVIOUS!!!!
Curling rocks but we are really not so good at it (USA we).
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I got hooked on curling last Olympics. Once you get an idea of the strategy and what all the screaming is about, it's fun. I think the last Olympics one if not both of our teams was based out of a small Northern Minnesota town so it got my attention. In high school we had a curling club and that's ancient history. Of course we all know why it's called curling.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I am watching a DVR'd UK vs USA match and UK just scored 7 points on one end. Considering they only throw 8 rocks per end, that's unbelievable, I've never seen 5 much less 7. That pretty much ends it.
A little research was done by the Olympics people and a score of 7 has never been duplicated in the history of the Olympics. It's always nice to be part of a record.
A little research was done by the Olympics people and a score of 7 has never been duplicated in the history of the Olympics. It's always nice to be part of a record.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
It just struck me how darn difficult it is to curl. As the announcers were saying, even the ice from one sheet to the next reacts differently. I'll set up a sheet in my living room and create rocks out of a bent tooth pick and poker chips and invite people over for a mini-bonspiel.
Cool game.
Cool game.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Someone tweeted the booth asking if they could get lessons from the dark haired Russian skip. She's not my favorite but it may be an age thing. She's also a little intense for me.
Could the UK team lighten up on the foundation?
Mad D
Starter
Jeez judging by her pictures I thought she was a lot older. Did they put that tweet on air?
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Yes the tweet was on air. Depends on what you mean by "a lot older."
Mad D
Starter
She just looked about a decade older than her age (the 23 year old). I supposed that might still be too young for you
Glenn
Hall of Famer
She just looked about a decade older than her age (the 23 year old). I supposed that might still be too young for you
I'm surprised that 23 is too old for you.
Mad D
Starter
Haha I guess that came back right at me. 23 will start to look too young for me soon too.
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7 points on one end? oi.
I don't like the US women's skip. I do like one of the Russian girls (nose piercing) and quite a few others. I happened to go to a lot of curling in Vancouver just because it was probably the easiest ticket of the games. Sometimes you had to buy curling to get a hockey ticket in a package, etc. I don't know when it made its Olympic debut (94? 98?) but I was instantly a fan. So I had to explain a lot of it to the folks who got tickets and had no idea what they were watching. I'd like to give it a try sometime, I am sure I'd really, really suck! But would be fun to be around a skip who really knew what s/he was doing and understand the real intricacies.
I don't like the US women's skip. I do like one of the Russian girls (nose piercing) and quite a few others. I happened to go to a lot of curling in Vancouver just because it was probably the easiest ticket of the games. Sometimes you had to buy curling to get a hockey ticket in a package, etc. I don't know when it made its Olympic debut (94? 98?) but I was instantly a fan. So I had to explain a lot of it to the folks who got tickets and had no idea what they were watching. I'd like to give it a try sometime, I am sure I'd really, really suck! But would be fun to be around a skip who really knew what s/he was doing and understand the real intricacies.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Tell people to watch a few matches (?) on tv. The announcers are great. They will explain the intricacies of the sport so that you can't help but appreciate the remarkable skill that it takes to play. I am surprised the sweepers don't bump into a rock. 
To compare: in ski jumping one announcer asked another, "what do you think the Americans need to do to move up?" The answer was, "they need to learn the hill." Some of my high school friends were ski jumpers so you would think I would have an affinity to the sport. I still don't get it so I don't watch it.
Then there was another where the captain of a luge team was asked about what difference the softer ice made on the sliders. He said "they need to go into the corners softer." What?
The USA's men's skip is shooting at a 50% rate, the worst in the tournament, while most skips are in the 80's. Can't win like that.
To compare: in ski jumping one announcer asked another, "what do you think the Americans need to do to move up?" The answer was, "they need to learn the hill." Some of my high school friends were ski jumpers so you would think I would have an affinity to the sport. I still don't get it so I don't watch it.
Then there was another where the captain of a luge team was asked about what difference the softer ice made on the sliders. He said "they need to go into the corners softer." What?
The USA's men's skip is shooting at a 50% rate, the worst in the tournament, while most skips are in the 80's. Can't win like that.
I spent one year of high school in New Hampshire and we had ski jumping there. I never tried it. It is kind of buried these days but it used to be a highlight of the games before all the freestyle skiing and snowboarding showed up. Remember Eddie the Eagle? And of course "The Agony of Defeat!"
