Olympic News Dump
 

A place to share interesting news bits about the Olympics in China over the next few weeks.

This was interesting. Security warnings to the participants. Not that anyone should be surprised.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...le-phones.html

That link gets me to "Naked sunbather impales himself on metal spike". Rusty spikes in the groin aren't for me - my ex maybe, I want a fresh link. Please?

Well, from the sound of his final landing position and how long he remained in it, he seems quite athletic. ;)

Damm! Screwed that up sorry.

Don't be sorry. It sounds like the Olympics have finally developed a sport worth watching.


(Except diving, fencing, soccer, and anything else favoured by cellarites.)

"Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don't be afraid to care."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

Be sure to click on the picture.

And border troubles.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7540138.stm

I have to admit, trouble 2500 miles away from London in 2012 isn't likely to affect our Olympics... That's Azerbaijan.

Still, it's nice to know that this is the Olympics we will be judged against ;)

Anyone need a ticket?

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

Scores of Australians duped by Olympic ticket scam: reports

Outspoken '06 Medalist Cheek Has Visa Revoked
 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080503798&pos=

I fear that is just the first of many. Same for explusions. You would hope to think that the Olympic organizers will have learned thier lesson about hold the games in places like China.

Not that revoking visas for political reasons is a good thing, but it irritates me that many of the headlines are spinning this as if China is barring our athletes. This guy was just going to watch the Olympics (and make his political activism appearances,) not compete in them.

Bird’s Nest Soup
The Beijing Olympics May Be News, But to NBC, They’re $900 Million—What Will the New York Media Do If Tiananmen Trumps the Triathlon? Sudden New Rules: Application by Fax for Permission to Interview

http://www.observer.com/2008/media/bird-s-nest-soup

Don't worry, it's not pollution, it's only mist. No worries...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008...pics2008.china

Damn, beat me to it!

US Men's National Team soccer beat Japan 1-0 in their qualifying game today. Don't have an article to link to yet.

We're like what 31st in the world? :greenface Tell Lil' Lookout to fix that.

We're at least a generation away from even cracking into the top ten even for a single day.

I agree. Maybe in a few decades when we become a larger Spanish speaking society things will change.

I disagree. I think the biggest problem is that our governing bodies are incompetent and too desperate to find a marketable identity rather than to develop and embrace our own. First they tried to be English, now they're trying to be Mexican. neither will work here because we're not english or mexican fans. Modelling ourselves after the Mexican program would be about 10 huge steps backward.

The US Soccer program is so inbred it is pathetic. They only look for the next marketable player. Landon Donovan? Sure, let's make him our poster child even though he failed out of the European Leagues twice and disappears in every big game. But he's looks good in ads so let's promote him as the greatest. Freddie Adu? Sure, he's only 14 and undersized but let's make him the poster child for the future of American Soccer. What's that you say? He's going to accomplish absolutely nothing other than whining and buying his own hype? Ah well, he'll look good on posters. Carlos Bocanegra, they walking red card??? sure...

You see a theme here? The guys on the US National Team are generally overrated and overhyped while guys who really could make a difference don't even get a shot because they skipped all the kids clinics and they didn't participate in the proper club circuit through the 80's and 90's. Meanwhile guys who have busted their butts outside of the system, gone to foreign countries and worked their way into teams there can't even get a game for the US because they aren't known to the good ol' boys. Jay Demerit is one example. He couldn't even get a tryout with a US team so he went to England, played in the pub leagues and landed a contract with Watford. While they aren't a great team, he did spend a year in the premier league with them before they were relegated. He is better equipped for the international game than any of our current defenders and yet... nothing.

Sad to say, but while I take Lil Lookout to the USMNT games and support them, my real team if in international tournaments is Spain. (not just because they won the euros, either. I've liked their style of play for a long time.)

Well it looks like it was a good start. Not that they don't actually have a few extra dollars laying around to pull it off, but cudos to them anyway for putting on a good show.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ravaganza.html

Sounds just like US Rugby, exactly like it. It's who you know to get to the top as a player or a ref. Btw, the Eagles, US national team, just hired an Aussie as the head coach.

The US screwed up last year. Klinsmann was going to take the job but only on the condition that he ran the team with no interference from the association. They wouldn't agree to it, so he said adios.

I think our new coach did make a deal like that with USA Rugby. Maybe we can get past the first round in the next World Cup. We are getting better every year but it may be another 10 years or so before we are there. Note, soccer and rugby are not promoted here at young ages like it is in other countries. Soccer has really boomed in growth and interests, unlike rugby, but both sports have a ways to go before they reach the popularity like they do in these other countries.

I believe that we are now producing the kids who will have the skills. I don't believe we are creating and organization to use those skills wisely.

That IS the problem. Same in rugby. We aren't creating an organization to use the skills because there already is an organization in place for both sports that is disfunctional. It is huge, it gets lots of money from players, parents, and sponsors. The problem is it is filled with old guard and people who are self serving controlling mofo's

I think the opening ceremony was awesome. Fantastic, and i learned so much about China through it.

Brilliant job.

Great Opening Ceremony. Watching it now. Here are a few pics from the NYT.

http://nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08...ONY_index.html

Just shows what you can do with absolute power, slave labor and 40 Billion dollars. :rolleyes:

American tourist murdered while on tour in China, relative of US volleyball coach. Developing.

US guaranteed Gold in women's sabre! As of this moment 3 of the final 4 fencers are Americanos. This should be the last mention of US fencing unless something really wacky happens.

Yeah, that's a medal sweep. In your face Equatorial Guinea.

I watched the final.. and was totally baffled. I did notice the beads of sweat on the inside of the loser's* plastic face shield.

*Loser somehow seems inappropriate for the Olympic silver medalist. :o

I was able to watch the brackets on NBC's website but can't get the final two bouts... maybe their innertubes are clogged...

If anyone is checking around the olympic events and knows if/when table tennis is being broadcasted let me know. Very epic event lol, I've looked and it seems like the matches start on the 12th but thats not when you can catch it on TV.

If you have broadband you should be able to watch it over the net on your own schedule. Ping pong rocks.

Its Table Tennis guys - get it right!

David Zhuang our lone male representative played against my brother years ago.

Factoid:

Tug-of-War use to be an olympic event. The US lost to the UK and protested because the UK stacked their team with a team made up completely by policemen.

Are you sure you're not thinking of Jeux Sans Frontieres?

Actually, one of the commentators on Friday uttered the immortal lines, "And here come the Belgians!" during the flag ceremony. I snorted to myself, but no-one else got it (or maybe didn't hear it). For the record, it was a standard line Stuart Hall used to say in Jeux Sans Frontieres - because the Belgians usually limped home out of sight of the rest of the teams ;)

Medal Count So far China is in the lead.

Here is an interesting if somewhat long illustration of soccer basics.

The US Men's 4x100 meter victory margin was 3:08.24 to France's 3:08.32--a mere 0.08 seconds. Eight hundredths of a second. Over the course of that four hundred meter swim, that means when the US swimmer touched the finish line, the Frenchman was *6.7 inches* behind him.

This > < much! Whooooo, that was close!

And the Americans beat the existing world record by FOUR SECONDS! Unheard of!

That was an amazing race to watch to. Lizak (sp) was nearly a body length back coming out of the final turn. He caught him at the very end with one final surge.

A bit of drama in the rowing last night (yesterday or this morning for you lot I guess). One of the Australian mens teams crossed over into Canadas lane for a little while.

A bit odd considering the team wasn't coxless. I'll bet someone will be kicking him in the cox!

WowESPN

Bravo!

Flippin' *perfect*. "10"

What a load of crap. I'd give it a zero.

zero? because it's untrue or because you don't like knowing about it?

Zero for putting on the best show they could? "Enhancing" the fireworks, covering a building under construction, dressing kids in ethnic costumes, filling empty seats? C'mon, that's nothing new. Shit, they even have people to fill seats, when someone goes to the bathroom, during the Academy Awards broadcast.

The switching girls in the opening ceremony was kind of shitty for the kids, but common practice in the entertainment industry. Well duh, this is entertainment folks. The games are, and the hoopla that always surrounds them is most certainly is.

The "updating" the ages of the gymnasts is bad, no question, but blocking access to controversial (embarrassing) web sites for reporters that are supposed to be covering the games, doesn't bother me. If they were really covering the games, why do they need that material? If they wanted to write about that stuff, they could have done that from home instead of burning tons of jet fuel to go to China.

I don't see the presentation of these games as fake, as a matter of fact, I think they are pretty damn good.
And guess what, unlike the tools that wrote that piece, I know China was, is, and probably always will be, unlike the west. If you disaprove of China, don't go there... or to walmart.

Neither of your reasons lookout. I think Bruce summed it up quite nicely (although it seems strange to me that I should be agreeing with him so much lately...must be something to do with going cuckoo and all).

The piece is obviously a farce for starters, and it's not very funny. Someone highly critical of China (perhaps even someone who happens to be anti-china) wrote it and in an attempt at humour, they've crossed out the blatant criticizms and changed the wording to more diplomatic language. It's just rude really in my opinion.

China have done a good job in presenting these games. They've provided excellent accomodation for athletes. The venues are second to none. They've done everything they can to present visitors, media and tourists with the best face they possibly can.

If you ask me, it's just sour grapes on the part of anyone who wants to criticize China for providing a safe and beautiful environment for the worlds premier sporting competitions.

I will also add once again that I believe the olympic games should not be a platform for any political adgendas and because China has done everything required of it in order to put on a world class event, they have fulfilled their resposibility to the rest of the world.

Once the torch is turned off and all the athletes go home, you can all go hard on it. Say what you want and go ahead and protest all you like, but don't make a mockery of the efforts of your own athletes and those of the rest of the world by suggesting they're participating in a less than acceptable competition.

I think the competitions have been legitimate and excellent except for the known cases of changing athletes ages for eligibility. I don't mind them switching out pretty for not quite pretty enough girls. I don't mind digitally enhanced fireworks displays. I don't mind having standins for the different ethnic groups.

I do mind when those things are supposed to be secrets.

We all know the fireworks display is mostly for the people sitting at home watching on tv. I'd have been more impressed if they'd explained how cool the technology is that made that replication possible, rather than pretending it was all happening just like we saw.

I actually think the putting up the pictures of the building is pretty cool, especially the two guys in the window. Nice touch. I'd think it was way cooler if they hadn't spent all that money to do when they are covering up slums with walls nearby.

I would have been much more impressed to hear the reason for the standin children is because the land is so widespread and diverse that it can be difficult to actually gather real representatives.

I don't have a problem with the games, other than where the cheating has been blatant. The athletes have given us some great entertainment and to them I say well done. China has hosted the games and for the most part they've done a good job and for that I say well done. If they ever get the chance to do something like this again I hope they do it a little different.

But then again, I was seriously irritated that before each of the Super Bowls that Phoenix has hosted we had cops rounding up the homeless and giving them one way bus tickets to anywhere they wanted to go. Welcome to life.

Yeah. Well put. The whole post expresses my feelings far better that I could articulate them. Further, I find the fact that many people, especially in China, no.... anywhere, will be mislead by these, uh, well, let's face it. These lies. That's why I'm chapped.

WooHoo!

US women beat Brazil 1-0 for the Gold in soccer!

ESPN

This is the result we should have seen at the World Cup if the former coach hadn't decided to be nostalgic and a big softy before the final when he switched keepers.

Why would you think the children were from each individual province anyway? Surely no one here is that naive? Why would they bother? If someone was showcasing the US and wanted someone to represent each state, do you really think they'd actually get someone from that state to do so? Especially if they didn't have a speaking part. Especially if they just had to parade around in a costume? I don't think so.

If they represented each of the 50 states? yeah, I would expect it.

Right. So do they choose someone who lives their now? Lived their most of their life but has moved? Wasn't born there but lived there most of their life? Or do they put an add in the local paper and ask for people who have a connection to the state in some way? What's your criteria of a representative?

Seriously, if these representatives were being presented to the rest of the world, do you think the rest of the world would really know the difference or even care if you had someone from south carolina representing georgia?

I don't think so.

These are, however, not just municipal border distinctions but actual race distinctions for them. It would be more like if the U.S. were trying to show off our racial diversity, and we marched out a train of white people wearing the traditional clothing of Africans, Mexicans, etc.

Certainly you're not saying someone would care about that? Don't be naive.

Here, I would expect it too, because there would probably be a competition in each state, sponsored by Coke, Pepsi or maybe McDonald's, and the winner in each state would be related to a large campaign contributor of the current state governor.

The Chinese just did the economical and expedient thing, by calling central casting. After all, don't all those orientals look alike? :haha: