[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq]
I watched the US v Japan volleyball and I have to say this: the Japanese team puts on one hell of a show, but they cannot close the deal. Games three and four followed the same formula: middle-set push by the Japanses women, based on a series of amazing efforts, digs, etc., followed by late-set domination by the Americans as they blow past on the way to the convincing win.
I seem to remember from years ago a piece ABC did on the Japanese volleyball training methods, which had the women diving all over the place over and over and over, bloody knees and all. Seems like that spirit still exists for their team…
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The Americans also had a major height advantage over the Japanese, who apart from Kurihara and Saori aren’t particularly tall.
(I was a little surprised that the Japanese players who have their first names on their jerseys weren’t required to change them for the Olympics)
If swimming is such an important sport, how come nobody pays any attention to it whatsoever outside the Olympics? The only reason it gets any attention is all the medals, and the only reason it gets a lot of medals is because the swimming authorities have wangled it so that there are ten million variations of, basically, some people swimming up and down a pool.
If swimming wasn’t in the Olympics, few people would ever have heard of Phelps or Ian Thorpe or Mark Spitz.
[QUOTE=jsc1953]
And fencing just does not show up well on TV. A lunge, somebody screams, and lights go on. What the hell just happened?
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What’s with the yelling? One fencer, I think it was Ward, sounded like she was poking a cat with a sharp stick.
[QUOTE=Busy Scissors]
THe road race was awesome (is there any other olympic event that has 150 participants in the 1 race? Kind of tough to win a medal). Closing stages saw some heroic breaks - Cancellara was way back with 3k to go and straight buried himself to bridge up, first to 2 chasing guys who he then towed up to the leading 3. Didn’t quite have enough at the end and got the bronze. Sanchez took the gold, yet another cycling victory for Spain.
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Agree, Spain did quite a bit of work to get Sanchez up there. Andy Schleck looked pretty good too, if the break had stayed at three riders I think it was his to win.
[QUOTE=Usram]
If swimming is such an important sport, how come nobody pays any attention to it whatsoever outside the Olympics? The only reason it gets any attention is all the medals, and the only reason it gets a lot of medals is because the swimming authorities have wangled it so that there are ten million variations of, basically, some people swimming up and down a pool.
If swimming wasn’t in the Olympics, few people would ever have heard of Phelps or Ian Thorpe or Mark Spitz.
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In the US, swimming is all over the place. It’s a major college sport. As for the rest of your rather flimsy argument…by that logic we can toss out all but one footrace, we only need one sport that uses a ball of any sort, and we’re done.
The last comment defines non sequitur.
I watched some swimming earlier today. Hell, can you even call it swimming anymore? They spend more time kicking underwater than they do actually using their arms to make strokes.
[QUOTE=silenus]
In the US, swimming is all over the place. It’s a major college sport. As for the rest of your rather flimsy argument…by that logic we can toss out all but one footrace, we only need one sport that uses a ball of any sort, and we’re done.
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Swimming is the only sport in which demonstrably inferior ways of doing it are accorded equal status. Butterfly and breaststroke are inefficient ways of getting around a pool. I cannot see why they are events in their own right. It would be like there being a 100m sprint, and a 100m running backwards, and a 100m with your legs tied together. Doubtless there would be some technique involved in running backwards, like I suppose there is in butterfly.
[QUOTE=Usram]
Swimming is the only sport in which demonstrably inferior ways of doing it are accorded equal status.
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Well to be fair, it’s not the only one. Race-walking which is the single most assinine activity ever entered in the Olympics, is the same kind of thing.
But I fully agree with you. Lets let the shot putters have a chance for 12 golds by having seperate competetions for 16 pound ball, 12 pound ball, 20 pound ball, 16 pound cube, 12 pound dodecahedron wih one foot in a bucket of jelly, etc
So let’s get rid of the hurdles, since they are just a more difficult way of running, and dump fencing because guns are more efficient, softball goes away, since baseball is faster, etc., etc. I can understand not caring about a sport, but don’t belittle something you obviously don’t know shit about.
[QUOTE=wolfman]
12 pound dodecahedron wih one foot in a bucket of jelly
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I would watch this.
Has anyone been able to figure out if men’s gymnastics is available via online streaming, or failing that, when the hell it is going to be broadcast on NBC? The scheduling on the NBC website is driving me to the brink.
[QUOTE=silenus]
So let’s get rid of the hurdles, since they are just a more difficult way of running, and dump fencing because guns are more efficient, softball goes away, since baseball is faster, etc., etc. I can understand not caring about a sport, but don’t belittle something you obviously don’t know shit about.
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We’re not saying get rid of swimming. It’s just that something’s up when relatively minor sports like swimming and gymnastics dominate the medal tables every four years, then go back to obscurity in between. It overstates their importance relative to other sports.
I enjoyed watching the women’s saber. And it was really cool that the Americans swept the medals! Bronze, silver and gold, baby! We’re changing the national motto to “USA: Our Women Will Cut You.”
I’m watching boxing now. I forgot how much I enjoyed watching boxing as a kid. I wish we really had pro boxing these days.
[QUOTE=dalej42]
I’m watching boxing now. I forgot how much I enjoyed watching boxing as a kid. I wish we really had pro boxing these days.
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I know what you mean - amateur (well, amateur rules) boxing is great - the pro game can be really shit at the higher divisions nowadays.
Sorry, guys. I get defensive when my sport is questioned. (2 year varsity letterman in high school, swimming and water polo).
I can see your point, sorta. Of course, I feel that way about soccer at any time. 
[QUOTE=vibrotronica]
We’re changing the national motto to “USA: Our Women Will Cut You.”
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I’m so sorry I didn’t get to watch. Way back in the dark ages when I fenced in college, foil was the only sanctioned women’s fencing, and sabre wasn’t electrified.
What name did the Taiwan team march in under (I’m assuming Chinese Taipei), and did they at least get to carry their flag?
[QUOTE=Usram]
We’re not saying get rid of swimming. It’s just that something’s up when relatively minor sports like swimming and gymnastics dominate the medal tables every four years, then go back to obscurity in between. It overstates their importance relative to other sports.
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You are being absurdly parochial. Swimming may not be big from where you are from, but it is huge elsewhere (Australia, SoCal). Likewise, gymnastics (former Soviet states, China). They only go back to obscurity to you. High-level competition continues constantly in-between Olympics, and the sports have sufficient support that many, many high-level competitors in different nations can support themselves on swimming or gymnastics sponsorships.
Additionally, the name-recognition of people like Mark Spitz or Michael Phelps or Nadia Comaneci pretty much demonstrates that they do not go back into obscurity between Olympics.
Aside from that: I am really happy that they got Rowdy Gaines to do the swimming commentary. Not only does he actually know what he is talking about, he is able to point it out to the viewers so they can see what he means. For example, a couple of times on the prelims he pointed out that swimmers weren’t kicking hard, because they wanted to save their energy for the actual event, which is good strategy. Contrast to the fencing commentary, which explained absolutely nothing, and left me bewildered as to what they were up to.
Also, I happen to think Rowdy is a cool dude.
I just watched the medal ceremony for whatever event it was that Michael Phelps just won the gold medal in, and the botched national anthem was pretty funny. (I am a total sucker for the medal ceremony, BTW. Makes me cry every time.) It looked like Phelps was doing his best to be stoic, was starting to choke up just a little, then the first flub came and distracted him. Then the early ending got him laughing.
Have any other national anthems been mangled so far?
A bit of a complaint (I promise to take anything major to the Pit.) But why do they have to tape-delay by a freaking hour here in the Mountain zone? They wouldn’t do that if this was Sunday Night Football or Wimbledon or something like that.
