London 2012 Summer Olympics

[deep]

.

 

[deep]

who is this Mary Carillo, did NBC have her under contract from SNL

 

[cobl04]

Katie Taylor!

 

[cobl04]

Just watched the 4x100m relay... best Olympics ever. Bolt's finish was absolutely filthy.

 

[Axver]

Wonder what Usain Bolt might be doing after the Olympics?

Melbourne stars chasing Bolt for Big Bash League

Aaaahahahaha.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

 

[Hewson]

Deep, the worst thing in the Olympics, to me, is 4th place. That must be gutting, especially if tenths or hundredths of a second were the difference.

Or losing a tiebreaker like happened a couple of time in gymnastics this year. Don't understand why they can't do multiple bronzes like say the high jump had.

 

[Zootomic]

Eh, I dunno...I think when it takes someone as ridiculously head-and-shoulders above the competition as Bolt to get people enthused about watching your sport, that probably doesn't say much for its potential audience.

The point I was trying to make is that people like to see records broken and know that the men's sprint records could potentially be broken anytime Bolt runs, but that is not the case with the women. The men's 100m record has been broken several times by several different runners over the last 25 years whereas the women's remains the same and probably will remain the same for the foreseeable future thanks to Flo-Jo's record.

It seems to me you could just as easily argue (which I wouldn't, but just for the sake of it) that if anything, he's ultimately bad for the sport, because he feeds into the layman's fantasy that greatness=being such a once-in-a-century freak of nature as to make it look positively easy, rather than merely becoming the current best through a combination of talent and gruelingly hard work. 100M records are usually a matter of shaving off a couple hundredths of a second in a race that comes down to a lean, not the visually arresting spectacle of a guy with a dramatically different build from everyone else cruising a full two-tenths of a second ahead of the pack (while visibly slowing down to showboat, and having his shoelace untied...).

Bolt puts people in the seats not just because of his ability but also because of his personality. Track & field desperately needs charismatic stars right now to keep the sport relevant.

But I understand what you're saying about Bolt possibly being bad for track in the long term. If he's putting the sprint records out of reach for other runners then what happens when he retires? Will the men's records become as unbeatable as Flo-Jo's are now for the women?

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

David Boudia was amazing ripping those dives, what a performance. I was rooting for Tom Daley too, glad he got the bronze.

What Bob Costas said about Usain Bolt-spot on and finally someone on NBC was honest. I just wonder if he would have said the same thing about an American athlete. He basically said that it's hard to have a higher opinion of Usain Bolt than he has of himself. His act is tiresome, and he manages to make Le Bron et al look humble. People like him usually have a fall, not rooting for that but he needs to be taken down a few notches. A little humility wouldn't hurt.

I wish there was actually some competition in the basketball. Makes it so dull. At least Spain had the lead at one point. Maybe more than once, I haven't seen the whole thing. Of course this is more competition than any other team they've played. Bonus points for having Doc Rivers.

 

[DRay9911]

One point game at the half.

France needed a good run though to get back into it.

Hoping to get home in time to see the 4th quarter. We'll see if it's still a game by then.

 

[Zootomic]

David Boudia was amazing ripping those dives, what a performance. I was rooting for Tom Daley too, glad he got the bronze.

What Bob Costas said about Usain Bolt-spot on and finally someone on NBC was honest. I just wonder if he would have said the same thing about an American athlete. He basically said that it's hard to have a higher opinion of Usain Bolt than he has of himself. His act is tiresome, and he manages to make Le Bron et al look humble. People like him usually have a fall, not rooting for that but he needs to be taken down a few notches. A little humility wouldn't hurt.

I wish there was actually some competition in the basketball. Makes it so dull. At least Spain had the lead at one point.

No, Costas would definitely not have said that about an American athlete. I'm sure it annoys him and NBC overall that, as hard as they have tried to make Michael Phelps the star of these games, the real star is Bolt.

Normally the kind of hubris Bolt displays would bother me, but it doesn't with him. Right now he has no reason to be humble. He really is the best sprinter ever and everybody knows it, including his opponents. I think if he tried to be humble it would come across as false modesty and patronizing the other runners. Plus, I think his pronouncements declaring himself a 'legend' are just another part of his performance like doing the 'royal wave' as he's introduced or clowning around with spectators and race officials. He's putting on a show and track needs that.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

No, Costas would definitely not have said that about an American athlete. I'm sure it annoys him and NBC overall that, as hard as they have tried to make Michael Phelps the star of these games, the real star is Bolt.

Normally the kind of hubris Bolt displays would bother me, but it doesn't with him. Right now he has no reason to be humble. He really is the best sprinter ever and everybody knows it, including his opponents. I think if he tried to be humble it would come across as kind of patronizing the other runners. Plus, I think his pronouncements declaring himself a 'legend' are just another part of his performance like doing the 'royal wave' as he's introduced or clowning around with spectators and race officials. He's putting on a show and track needs that.

Well I don't believe in one star of these Olympics or any Olympics. If NBC does, if they think they need to do that, that's just lame.

If his legend stuff is just part of his schtick, I guess I get that. But last night after he said it for the third time, that was more than enough for me. His talent should just speak for itself. If track needs a show to get more attention I think that could also backfire.

As for what Costas said, people could probably say the same about him. I still thought it was funny and a refreshingly candid moment in all of the canned coverage.

Kevin Durant-wow. LBJ cheering from the sidelines. Everything he's touched has turned to gold For a minute I thought saying you could beat the Dream Team was going to equal bad karma, but it looks like LBJ saved the day. At least that will be the NBC version of events.

 

[Zootomic]

If his legend stuff is just part of his schtick, I guess I get that. But last night after he said it for the third time, that was more than enough for me. His talent should just speak for itself. If track needs a show to get more attention I think that could also backfire.

To be fair Bolt did display a teeny, tiny bit of humility during the interview with John McEnroe when he said he was honored to be mentioned in the same sentence with Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, and Michael Johnson. Of course, that was after he said he 'definitely' belonged with them in the discussion of greatest of all time. Baby steps!

 

[ntalwar]

Plus, I think his pronouncements declaring himself a 'legend' are just another part of his performance like doing the 'royal wave' as he's introduced or clowning around with spectators and race officials. He's putting on a show and track needs that.

Agreed - he's ultimately good for the sport - both short and long term. His pronouncements are tempered by his accessibility to fans - read an article where he was guest DJ'ing at a London club until 5am.

 

[Purplereign]

just catching a repeat of the mens gold medal game in the handball ~ so bloody exciting! Such a mental game

 

[U2DMfan]

Normally the kind of hubris Bolt displays would bother me, but it doesn't with him. Right now he has no reason to be humble. He really is the best sprinter ever and everybody knows it, including his opponents. I think if he tried to be humble it would come across as false modesty and patronizing the other runners. Plus, I think his pronouncements declaring himself a 'legend' are just another part of his performance like doing the 'royal wave' as he's introduced or clowning around with spectators and race officials. He's putting on a show and track needs that.

Agree with every word. He shows humility. You just have to give him a chance to do it. I would say he's supremely confident as well he should be. He's just a fascinating figure. I think some people prefer the Tiger Woods 'I'll bore your ass off with greatness' approach. And Tiger Woods isn't the best ever. Not yet. Bolt has created a gulf between him and...let's just say his teammate, the 2nd fastest man ever. Another dude that seems pretty cocky himself. We (the press, the fans) beat the personality straight out of these athletes and then complain when they give interviews like automatons.

I am all for humble athletes. I prefer it that way. I even got on Phelps and Lochte both for being arrogant. But even Phelps isn't as peerless as Bolt. Part of being humble is the recognition that there are others that can do what you do. That's not the case with Bolt. The distance between Phelps and Spitz (for one) is not incredible. Bolt is the best ever, by far, and everyone knows it. Michael Jordan is NOT far and away the best basketball player ever although he is the best basketball player ever. Neither was Muhammad Ali (another cocky, mouthy athlete) far and away the greatest boxer ever or even the greatest heavyweight. He was great but also - a lot of talk. Bolt is the real deal. He's superman. And this sport, like boxing, is global and anyone can relate to trying to run fast. He's playing to a big audience.

And Bolt doesn't belittle his competition. Pulling up before the finish line is showmanship and practically every runner he was up against was displaying some egotistical flash. Believe me, I normally hate cockiness, as I said - Phelps and Lochte were both rubbing me the wrong way.

Anyhow, the moral to the story is that he's trying to entertain people.
It's sports. It's not 'serious business'. It's entertainment. And I say this as a lifetime hardcore sports fan. Also, I've had it with milquetoast athletes, whether they are great or not. Give something back to the fans that make you millionaires. And Bolt probably isn't even that rich. Well, not yet.

All that said, there is a fine line between what Bolt is doing and what Chad Johnson does. Terrell Owens would be a better example because he might be the 2nd best WR to ever play the game. But he is a cancer on his team because of his personality. As far as I can tell, Bolt's teammates like him.

 

[No spoken words]

Agree with every word. He shows humility. You just have to give him a chance to do it. I would say he's supremely confident as well he should be. He's just a fascinating figure. I think some people prefer the Tiger Woods 'I'll bore your ass off with greatness' approach. And Tiger Woods isn't the best ever. Not yet. Bolt has created a gulf between him and...let's just say his teammate, the 2nd fastest man ever. Another dude that seems pretty cocky himself. We (the press, the fans) beat the personality straight out of these athletes and then complain when they give interviews like automatons.

I am all for humble athletes. I prefer it that way. I even got on Phelps and Lochte both for being arrogant. But even Phelps isn't as peerless as Bolt. Part of being humble is the recognition that there are others that can do what you do. That's not the case with Bolt. The distance between Phelps and Spitz (for one) is not incredible. Bolt is the best ever, by far, and everyone knows it. Michael Jordan is NOT far and away the best basketball player ever although he is the best basketball player ever. Neither was Muhammad Ali (another cocky, mouthy athlete) far and away the greatest boxer ever or even the greatest heavyweight. He was great but also - a lot of talk. Bolt is the real deal. He's superman. And this sport, like boxing, is global and anyone can relate to trying to run fast. He's playing to a big audience.

And Bolt doesn't belittle his competition. Pulling up before the finish line is showmanship and practically every runner he was up against was displaying some egotistical flash. Believe me, I normally hate cockiness, as I said - Phelps and Lochte were both rubbing me the wrong way.

Anyhow, the moral to the story is that he's trying to entertain people.
It's sports. It's not 'serious business'. It's entertainment. And I say this as a lifetime hardcore sports fan. Also, I've had it with milquetoast athletes, whether they are great or not. Give something back to the fans that make you millionaires. And Bolt probably isn't even that rich. Well, not yet.

All that said, there is a fine line between what Bolt is doing and what Chad Johnson does. Terrell Owens would be a better example because he might be the 2nd best WR to ever play the game. But he is a cancer on his team because of his personality. As far as I can tell, Bolt's teammates like him.

Great post.

And right or wrong, Bolt's "Behavior" is a lot easier for me to appreciate because he's not involved in a team sport. That sort of bias might cloud my judgement, but, it's my perspective, cannot be helped.

 

[yolland]

The Kampala Observer (Uganda), Aug. 9

"To say that the Ugandan team will return from the Olympic Games with a medal is similar to believing that Uganda will qualify for the 2014 World Cup...Kiprotich is not expected to mount any challenge in Sunday's marathon"

Great tactical race, taking advantage of the Kenyans' exhaustion from their too-early bid to put the Ethiopians firmly behind them.

The 4 x 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, the first 500 metres is run in lanes. Start lines are thus staggered over a greater distance than in an individual 400 metres race; the runners then typically move to the inside of the track.

wiki

It's called a 3-turn stagger, that setup (b/c the race proceeds for 3 turns, i.e. the first leg plus 100m of the second, before the second-leg runners break for the inside). The second-leg runner breaks along a marked tangent to the inside of the curve. It's all calculated very precisely to keep each leg at 400m for each runner--though in practice, the 3rd and especially the 2nd leg runners always wind up running a little bit farther, b/c of the running start when taking the baton, the imprecision when following the break path, and the fact that the organizers position the 3rd and 4th leg runners laterally (in order, from the inside, of their team's place in the race) to wait for their incoming teammates, so that some incoming runners have to veer out of place more than others to make the baton exchange.

At the high school level they often do 4x400s with a 2-turn stagger--I've done that, it's a far worse system since there's a much higher likelihood of collisions, with the exchange zone and break paths overlapping.

And yes, the teams are seeded into their assigned starting lanes based on performance in the heats, with the middle lanes being the choice starting positions.

 

[Thora]

Didn't ever get a chance to see the Opening Ceremony, so I'm glad I can watch this one.

 

[intedomine]

I like Bolt, but it sickens me that the brilliance of Fraser-Pryce is completely ignored. It's not easy to defend a 100m title, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman.

Marathon was a great race, but how precious are the organisers for not finishing the race in the stadium. That's what makes it cool, reaching the final destination after a marathon trek from the other side of the city. Another, let down to match the lighting of the cauldron by some kids who probably will never win an Olympic medal.

Closing Ceremony has been good. Waterloo Sunset but for some reason Emily Sandy has earned the right to sing every second song.

 

[speedracer]

Jason Byrne put it best - "you know the Olympics are nearly over when they start showing the silly walk event"

Women's 20k race walk to the Benny Hill theme. - YouTube

 

[DRay9911]

yakety sax!!!

and kudos to the men's hoops team for getting it done.

i'm not big on the nba guys playing. but if they are going to go, might as well win the damn thing.

 

[Zootomic]

I like Bolt, but it sickens me that the brilliance of Fraser-Pryce is completely ignored. It's not easy to defend a 100m title, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman.

Marathon was a great race, but how precious are the organisers for not finishing the race in the stadium. That's what makes it cool, reaching the final destination after a marathon trek from the other side of the city. Another, let down to match the lighting of the cauldron by some kids who probably will never win an Olympic medal.

Agree on both points. But unfortunately Fraser-Pryce doesn't set world records so gets overlooked. And yeah, the marathon finishing in the stadium isn't something that needed to be changed.

lmao at Prince Harry being the Royal representative! I can see the Queen not being there again but where is Charles?

OMG, John Lennon!

 

[Jive Turkey]

The Bolt hating is so lame. The guy is by far the most exciting athlete to watch at the Olympics. His actions before and after the races are entertaining and you can tell he's just having a laugh. The people complaining about his ego don't realize that to be great at something, you need to have an ego. It's part of the package and goes a long way to creating greatness. I'd rather have fun watching Bolt and Blake during their post race photoshoot than some boring faux humble 'aw shucks' athlete

 

[Jive Turkey]

Eh, I dunno...I think when it takes someone as ridiculously head-and-shoulders above the competition as Bolt to get people enthused about watching your sport, that probably doesn't say much for its potential audience. It seems to me you could just as easily argue (which I wouldn't, but just for the sake of it) that if anything, he's ultimately bad for the sport, because he feeds into the layman's fantasy that greatness=being such a once-in-a-century freak of nature as to make it look positively easy, rather than merely becoming the current best through a combination of talent and gruelingly hard work. 100M records are usually a matter of shaving off a couple hundredths of a second in a race that comes down to a lean, not the visually arresting spectacle of a guy with a dramatically different build from everyone else cruising a full two-tenths of a second ahead of the pack (while visibly slowing down to showboat, and having his shoelace untied...).

This implies that Bolt doesn't train hard, which I'm sure is completely off the mark and unfair. Every single one of the athletes is a freak of nature to some extent for being able to run 100 metres in under 10 seconds. That goes for the best athletes in any sport. You can train as hard as you want, but if you aren't born with it, you'll never be the very best.
and the 100m has always been the centerpiece of the summer Olympics, with or without Bolt. There's always a ton of enthusiasm for that event

 

[Liesje]

The Bolt hating is so lame. The guy is by far the most exciting athlete to watch at the Olympics. His actions before and after the races are entertaining and you can tell he's just having a laugh. The people complaining about his ego don't realize that to be great at something, you need to have an ego. It's part of the package and goes a long way to creating greatness. I'd rather have fun watching Bolt and Blake during their post race photoshoot than some boring faux humble 'aw shucks' athlete

I agree. I like him and think he's honest. When asked what he planned to do he always said to win and prove he's the greatest, not "to do my best" or "I'm just honored to be here for my country." He came to win and win he did.

 

[Axver]

The Bolt hating is so lame. The guy is by far the most exciting athlete to watch at the Olympics. His actions before and after the races are entertaining and you can tell he's just having a laugh. The people complaining about his ego don't realize that to be great at something, you need to have an ego. It's part of the package and goes a long way to creating greatness. I'd rather have fun watching Bolt and Blake during their post race photoshoot than some boring faux humble 'aw shucks' athlete

This.

I'm just glad he doesn't come out and do the whole "thank you Jaysus I COULDEN DUN IT WIDDOUT YAAA" thing.

 

[yolland]

This implies that Bolt doesn't train hard, which I'm sure is completely off the mark and unfair.

Well of course it would be, but that's not what I was saying at all. It was a devil's advocate argument about what kind of image (and feats) are needed to attract the viewership Bolt does to the men's sprints, in response to someone who was arguing that the lack of recent world records, specifically, is what accounts for the different levels of interest in the men's versus the women's events.

 

[cobl04]

My favourite bit of the relay win was when Bolt ran past the official and faked giving her the baton. Awesome

 

[ntalwar]

His actions before and after the races are entertaining and you can tell he's just having a laugh.

I like when he grabbed the photographer's camera and started shooting-
BBC News - In pictures: Usain Bolt behind the lens