London 2012 Summer Olympics

[cobl04]

There is a big difference between Olympic basketball and the NBA. So much slower and nowhere near as clean. A lot of snatching and grappling.

[bono_man2002]

Haven't seen any of the Team USA's, Spain or the like yet but I think that's just our team

[cobl04]

Kayaking and weightlifting: two events I absolutely love watching.

[bono_man2002]

Skeet shooting is awesome, not really made for tv though. Watching Water Polo right now.

[cobl04]

Anyone see the air pistol? Worst TV sport ever?

[No spoken words]

Team Handball is something I enjoy watching every four years. And now that I can stream full matches, I'm thrilled.

Time for the USA to hopefully teach France a valuable lesson in men's hoops.

[DRay9911]

Originally Posted by GirlsAloudFan

Our girls start their qualifying round at 8:45 am CST. So, in a little less than four and a half hours from this post. I'm gonna grab some sleep now so I can get up for it.

If you aren't all up for it and watching live I'll be completely fucking disgusted.

/team mckayla maroney

and i just caught the end of the shooting. kim rhode of the usa won. did a quick google search and this is her 5th olympics and 5th medal (3rd gold!). started at 17. how freaking awesome.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

surprisingly bad swim by Phelps. his time at trials (4:07) would have won him the silver easily. the 400IM is the hardest event in swimming, you can't fake it, and missing 2.5 years of solid training catches up to you. i just hope there's not more going on here -- he's still a huge favorite in the fly and in 2 of the 3 relays. speed is easier to come by than endurance, particularly as one ages. we'll see what happens.

Lochte looked fantastic. his work ethic has paid off and he earned this.

How long ago was it that he gained, and lost, 25 pounds? I was shocked by that-obviously when you've been in that kind of shape for that long and you put that kind of weight on, it's a shock to the system. When you see Ryan Lochte pushing that tire..and wasn't there another swimmer who criticized Michael's work ethic? I don't even know how old they both are. Twenty something, but I guess Michael is older.

[No spoken words]

They're both 27.

[anitram]

Originally Posted by Irvine511

that simply doesn't happen. ever. in any event in swimming. i hope i'm wrong, but given Chinese doping issues in the 1990s and their questionable tactics regarding, say, the ages of female gymnasts, well ... one is skeptical. i suppose it would be great if it were real, her final 100 was shocking and beautiful and she blew by the other women as if they were floating in a bathtub.

yes, we do get privileged to once-in-a-generation time warp athletes (Phelps, Janet Evans, Mary T. Meagher, Ian Thorpe, Spitz), but ... just, well, i'm uncomfortable with it is all.

We watched it live and she was unreal in her final 100, almost comical. I wouldn't be surprised if something was amiss.

[Thora]

I haven't had time to watch any Olympics until this morning. Sad to have missed the Opening Ceremony because I was working, but it's taped and I'll get to it next weekend.

Woke up in time this morning to watch some synchronized diving and see Canada win the bronze.

I need to figure out which events are on and when, so I can plan my TV watching.

[DRay9911]

the swimmer that criticized phelps was tyler clary. 1st time olympian.

the funny thing, if i remember right, is the only reason clary made the team was because phelps backed out of one of the events.

[MrsSpringsteen]

That's nice



I can't wait for the women's gymnastics. They're showing it now, but I guess that's from last night? I haven't watched any of it online, I went on the NBC Olympics site yesterday and just the schedule made my eyes cross. All you have to do is pick your cable system and log in with an account that you already have-or create a new account.

I'm rooting for Aly Raisman. She's from MA-she's incredible on floor exercise.

This morning I watched some of the tennis on Bravo-which is actually live. Andy Murray was playing.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally Posted by DRay9911

the swimmer that criticized phelps was tyler clary. 1st time olympian.

the funny thing, if i remember right, is the only reason clary made the team was because phelps backed out of one of the events.

Yes that was him. That seems like terrible form to me, to criticize your sport's icon when he's the reason you made the team. Plus it's the rookie and the "elder". There was also some female athlete (not a swimmer) who said that she didn't like Phelps because he didn't hang out and socialize with the other Olympians, that even the NBA players did that. She was talking about the last Olympics. Maybe that's just what he needs to do to focus, and obviously it worked last time. They say he's loosened up and become more social. Maybe that's just his personality too, who knows.

[anitram]

Originally Posted by MrsSpringsteen

I can't wait for the women's gymnastics. They're showing it now, but I guess that's from last night?

No, it's from this morning. Jordyn Wieber failed to qualify for the individual all-around, huge upset.

[DRay9911]

gymnastics has been going on live since this morning. some of the countries who historically aren't very good at gymnastics were first up. there was a lot of ladies going out of bounds and falling off beams and bars.

the nbc site was confusing for me at first too. i couldn't sign in and then read the fine print: "To watch NBC Universal's live coverage, full events and rewinds online, you must subscribe to Cox TV Essential or Cox Advanced TV"

luckily i was able to borrow a friend's information to sign in

some of the feeds don't have commentary (which can be both good and bad), but from what i read after the fact was...

 

aly did very well and will be going for the all-around title. jordyn wieber was the third best american and will not

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by anitram

We watched it live and she was unreal in her final 100, almost comical. I wouldn't be surprised if something was amiss.

the trend seems to be Chinese athletes blowing people away on the last 100 (or 50). Sun Yang did it in the 400 free, destroying Park, and he also broke Grant Hackett's world record in the 1500 at the 2011 worlds with an unreal final 50. one difference is that Sun Yang has been on the rise for years and at least his splits are in context ... whereas Ye's final 100 in that IM was almost 3 seconds faster than any woman has ever swum a final 100 in the IM, including Stephanie Rice's suit-assisted 2008 WR from Beijing (where everyone was suit-assisted). it's just ... weird. all the swimming blogs are unhelpful as you're either yelling "HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED EPPO!" or "YOU'RE A RACIST" -- but discussion has begun. as it always does in women's swimming, thanks to the legacy of the GDR.

poor Rice. i liked her, despite the homophobic tweet a while back. she seemed like she'd be fun.

but except for her, the Aussie women are swimming lights out so far.

[Irvine511]

Originally Posted by DRay9911

the swimmer that criticized phelps was tyler clary. 1st time olympian.

the funny thing, if i remember right, is the only reason clary made the team was because phelps backed out of one of the events.

Clary was 3rd in the 400 IM at Trials, beaten by Phelps and Lochte, and he would have been an easy medal contender if more than 2 athletes were allowed from a single country. he was pissed, because he didn't think Phelps was going to swim it. Clary made the team in the 200 fly (behind Phelps) and the 200 back (behind Lochte), and it is his first time. the swimmer who made the team when Phelps dropped the 200 free was Ricky Berens.

Clary said that Phelps had been "asking to get beat" for years, and that he has so much more talent than anyone else and doesn't have to work as hard, and when it comes to a distance event like the 400 IM in recent years, it seems to have come true. what was unfair about Clary's comments was that it seemed to be about Phelps' entire career, which is untrue -- he famously swam every day from the end of the Sydney Olympics through Athens (when he was 15-19).

i also think it's unquestionable that he's not in the same shape as he was in 2008, and i think it's also understandable. he was a phenom from the time he was 11, and has essentially been raised in a pool and wrapped in a bubble when not in the water. he also has millions of dollars and fame after 2008, and the mundanity of training for swimming must seem awful when you finally have the money to jet to Vegas for the weekend and party with girls in bikinis.

still, Phelps has had bad swims before and bounced back. so unless he's totally missed his taper, i expect him to swim well in the shorter events.

[GirlsAloudFan]

That was tough for Wieber. She seemed pretty devastated when the result came in. I was rooting for her to take home the all-around Gold. Damn. Now we just need Aly and/or Gabby to bring it.

I call bullshit on all of the sensationalist headlines saying stuff like "Wieber's Olympic Dream Is Over", though. Shit ain't over. She can (and probably will) still win Gold in the team competition, and be a huge contributor there. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but she can still compete for a medal in an individual event competition, right? If she qualified in the Top 8 or whatever on a certain event? I think her floor routine might have been good enough. I'll have to check the numbers again.

And Maroney is gonna win the fuck out of Gold on the vault, and it's gonna be awesome.

I'm enjoying this water polo match on NBC right now.

[GirlsAloudFan]

Beach volleyball on a Sunday afternoon.

It's been four years. I forget. Do these women always hug after every point they score? Is that a thing?