The Official XXIX Summer Olympics Thread

#730
#730
"All the good work China did to put on these Olympics could be forgotten because of an unnecessary, arrogant move by the government. Why risk everything to put a 14-year old in the competition when they could have replaced her with an of-age 16-year old gymnast? Sure, He is a better gymnast than the Chinese gymnasts who were eligible to compete, but with the judges they had at the Olympics, would it really have mattered?"

IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age - Fourth-Place Medal - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports
 
#731
#731
VolDad said:
"All the good work China did to put on these Olympics could be forgotten because of an unnecessary, arrogant move by the government. Why risk everything to put a 14-year old in the competition when they could have replaced her with an of-age 16-year old gymnast? Sure, He is a better gymnast than the Chinese gymnasts who were eligible to compete, but with the judges they had at the Olympics, would it really have mattered?"

IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age - Fourth-Place Medal - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports
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Surprising, but good, if they actually investigate.
 
#732
#732
this whole 4th place medal thing from Yahoo has been wonderful during the Olympics. I rarely give Yahoo props, but they get it for this.
 
#736
#736
The US should be the first country to double up in beach volleyball... barring any complete and utter collapse of the men's team... they need 2 points to win.
 
#741
#741
glad I was still up to watch the volleyball. Well, not really glad since I'm working but it was a welcome distraction :)
 
#742
#742
Would it have been too much to ask for Kerri Walsh and Misty May to wear actual clothing since they were just there as spectators?
 
#743
#743
GAVol said:
Would it have been too much to ask for Kerri Walsh and Misty May to wear actual clothing since they were just there as spectators?
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They interview like they play beach volleyball for a living.
 
#745
#745
VolDad said:
"All the good work China did to put on these Olympics could be forgotten because of an unnecessary, arrogant move by the government. Why risk everything to put a 14-year old in the competition when they could have replaced her with an of-age 16-year old gymnast? Sure, He is a better gymnast than the Chinese gymnasts who were eligible to compete, but with the judges they had at the Olympics, would it really have mattered?"

IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age - Fourth-Place Medal - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports
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I read about the documents today. It was all brought to light on Wednesday by a Google hacker named Stryde. Check out his blog where he documented his findings. In the end there have been (3) different spreadsheets found on official chinese sites that indicate Kexin was born in '94.

Stryde Hax
 
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#746
#746
BigPapaVol said:
probably true, but it was boring as hell and looks completely ridiculous. Cotton had a good point about it flying in the face of the Olympic motto.

Crap like synchro diving, synchro swimming, bmx, sabre, etc also need to be 86'd.
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I used to get annoyed at all the crap events in the Olympics, but I just can't make myself care too much anymore. When you get down to it, there are only about five real Olympic events: the 100m dash, the marathon, the long jump, the high jump, and weightlifting. Once you let anything else in, you've started down the slippery slope towards dressage, race walking, and BMX.
 
#747
#747
BMX is pretty anti-climactic at times. It's all about whether you get out first and don't crash. Pretty much all it is to it.
 
#748
#748
the thing i dig about the Olympics is these people train religiously for 4 years and this is their one shot (for the most part). and nobody is doing anything glamorous unless it's the events Vercin mentioned plus swimming, diving, gymnastics, and maybe another event or two.

and really, most of those sports are pretty irrelevant to Americans as well, basketball being the exception, but once every 4 years.

for most athletes, not all, it's about dedicating your life to something for yourself, especially the individual events.

if there's a gold, silver, and bronze awarded, i'm probably going to be watching it.
 
#749
#749
Vercingetorix said:
I used to get annoyed at all the crap events in the Olympics, but I just can't make myself care too much anymore. When you get down to it, there are only about five real Olympic events: the 100m dash, the marathon, the long jump, the high jump, and weightlifting. Once you let anything else in, you've started down the slippery slope towards dressage, race walking, and BMX.
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Well, you and I have different definitions of "real Olympic events." How do you leave out the combat sports, for instance? I'd say the true spirit of the Olympics is watching one of our guys kick the a$$ of one of their guys.
 
#750
#750
cotton said:
Well, you and I have different definitions of "real Olympic events." How do you leave out the combat sports, for instance? I'd say the true spirit of the Olympics is watching one of our guys kick the a$$ of one of their guys.
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Oh, without a doubt. I'm just saying that there are about a half-dozen core events that satisfy the motto of "Faster, Higher, Stronger." Easily explained. Objectively decided. Once you put people in the water, you might as well put them on a bicycle, and then you might as well put them on a bicycle with a crapton of hills on the course and let them crash into each other. Once you can tell people they can only swim with a particular form, then you might as well have a "race-walking" event when they have to walk in a particular way. Once you admit judging into the process (gymnastics, boxing, diving), then you can screw up what ought to be a completely honest winter sport like ski jumping by including a "form" component. Etc.

Basically I'm saying that once you bloat much at all beyond the core group of events (and yeah, it's more than five), then further bloat is inevitable. How do you draw a line that includes gymnastics but eliminates trampolining, BMX, and synchronized swimming?
 
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