# I pit Michael Phelps, Omega, NBC and the Olympics. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 16, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267 "2008-08-16T22:02:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/21 "2008-08-17T00:13:32Z")
Thanks for that link, **don’t ask**. I’d seen stills and regular old slo-mo, but that super-duper slo-mo at the end makes it much clearer. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/22 "2008-08-17T00:24:44Z")
[QUOTE=Spartydog] You do what typically happens when the fix is in. You show the guy that you can beat him then you pull up at the last instance. It’s been happening in horse racing and boxing since anybody place the first bet. Remember the old LA Lakers? The first team to ever win the first 4 games of a 7 game series and still lose the series. [/QUOTE] You can’t be serious…you can’t “pull up” and lose by a hundredth of a second. He could have easily won by a tenth of a second. Then what would have happened when the co conspirators caught up with him? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/23 "2008-08-17T00:37:01Z")
This has to be a joke thread. Dude, [http://gawker.com/news/softball/battle-of-the-titans-gawker-vs-onion-softball-114780.php](http://gawker.com/news/softball/battle-of-the-titans-gawker-vs-onion-softball-114780.php) is a link to the softball match between [The ONION](http://www.theonion.com/content/index) and The Gawker. See any similarities? Hello! McFly. Anybody home? ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/24 "2008-08-18T16:03:59Z")
[QUOTE=aerodave] Wait…they won 4 in a 7-game series, and then kept playing? And then they somehow lost the other, uh…5? You undermine your own argument with every post. [/QUOTE] GEEEEZ–US!!! Do you have a clue? Do you know anything about the series? Let me set the scene: The NBA was nowhere near as rich as it is today. Magic Johnson of the Lakers and Larry Bird of the Celtics are meeting in the Finals. Those two are in the process of resurrecting interest in the NBA. Before the Finals, the Commissioner David Stern is heard to have said, “It would be great if the series went seven games.” The Lakers win the first two games. In the third game the score is close with the Lakers behind and in possession. Magic has the ball. Instead of taking the last shot he dribbles out the clock. In the next game James Worthy of the Lakers makes a boneheaded play at the end that gives the game to the Celtics. Series tied. In many people’s minds, the Lakers clearly outplayed the Celtics could have won the third and forth games to win the series but pulled up at the end to extend the series. Crazy huh? There’s an ex-NBA referee sitting in jail who claims that the refs were pressured to extend a different playoff series. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/25 "2008-08-18T16:13:12Z")
**Spartydog** , you’re undermining your own credibility by ignoring very reasonable questions from reasonable posters. Several people, and I will add myself to that list now, have asked you how a swimmer could be eyeing his opponent closely enough and pull back just enough to lose by 1/100th of a second. You have talked around this several times now. It’s not a complicated question. Also, swimming ≠ horse racing and most certainly ≠ boxing. If you are at all serious about your claims, I would greatly appreciate a rational explanation from you. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/26 "2008-08-18T16:35:31Z")
[QUOTE=Spartydog] GEEEEZ–US!!! Do you have a clue? Do you know anything about the series? Let me set the scene: The NBA was nowhere near as rich as it is today. Magic Johnson of the Lakers and Larry Bird of the Celtics are meeting in the Finals. Those two are in the process of resurrecting interest in the NBA. Before the Finals, the Commissioner David Stern is heard to have said, “It would be great if the series went seven games.” The Lakers win the first two games. In the third game the score is close with the Lakers behind and in possession. Magic has the ball. Instead of taking the last shot he dribbles out the clock. In the next game James Worthy of the Lakers makes a boneheaded play at the end that gives the game to the Celtics. Series tied. In many people’s minds, the Lakers clearly outplayed the Celtics could have won the third and forth games to win the series but pulled up at the end to extend the series. Crazy huh? There’s an ex-NBA referee sitting in jail who claims that the refs were pressured to extend a different playoff series. [/QUOTE] Is assume you’re talking about 1984, when the Lakers never led by two games, and the Magic play you’re talking about happened in game 2 with the score tied. You might want to get your facts straight before you presume to accuse others of not having a clue. (For the record, in none of the three meetings between Magic and Bird in the finals did the Celtics come back from a 2-0 deficit.) None of this still answers the question of how the hell someone can conspire to lose by .01 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/27 "2008-08-18T16:35:39Z")
[QUOTE=Asimovian] Also, swimming ≠ horse racing… [/QUOTE] Well, horses can swim, but I don’t think even Secretariat would have been able to win a swimming race by as large a margin as 31 lengths, as he did on the track. 😉 I’ve seen and bet on many horse races, studied many horse racing photo finishes, and waited through innumerable stewards’ inquiries in thirty years or so of handicapping and betting horse races, and I’ve never seen a horse pulled up just shy of the wire (“at the last instance”) unless the horse was injured somehow. I don’t doubt that checking a horse during a race due to a fix happens occasionally, but I don’t believe it happens as often as the OP would like you to think, and certainly not at the major tracks whose reputation and revenue depend on running honest race meetings. Maybe at the county fair level of race meeting, but not at tracks like Aqueduct, Belmont, Santa Anita, Woodbine, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/28 "2008-08-18T16:42:05Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] He came within a 100th of a second of _dead-heating_ with him. Let’s have it right. [/QUOTE] No, he didn’t do that either. “Within” is not inclusive, regardless of hows sports commentators use it. He _came within_ 11 thousandths of a second of dead-heating. He _was_ 1/100th of a second from dead-heating. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/29 "2008-08-18T16:45:51Z")
So where do the Jews fit in here? Surely they played a role. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/30 "2008-08-18T16:52:14Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] No, he didn’t do that either. “Within” is not inclusive, regardless of hows sports commentators use it. He _came within_ 11 thousandths of a second of dead-heating. He _was_ 1/100th of a second from dead-heating. [/QUOTE] Why don’t we just say he came within a cunt hair and leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/31 "2008-08-18T16:53:16Z")
[QUOTE=woodstockbirdybird] So where do the Jews fit in here? Surely they played a role. [/QUOTE] Duh - Jews own the Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/32 "2008-08-18T16:53:28Z")
**Spartydog** , are you being serious or are you whooshing us? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/33 "2008-08-18T16:54:13Z")
Did you ever notice how many swimmers wear skull caps? It’s not a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/34 "2008-08-18T17:07:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you have a clue? Do you know anything about the series? Let me set the scene: Teh ironies! It burnz! Dear dumbfuck: Go back and read what you wrote. Then take 5 deep breaths. Then read it again. You are embarassing yourself. Warm regards, Don’t Call Me Shirley ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/35 "2008-08-18T17:14:07Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Why don’t we just say he came within a cunt hair and leave it at that. [/QUOTE] Well see, even then it’s not that simple; the Brazilian cunt hair judge is most certainly going to be a lot tighter than, say, the Bulgarian cunt hair judge. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/36 "2008-08-18T17:21:06Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] **Spartydog** , are you being serious or are you whooshing us? [/QUOTE] If he’s being serious, then someone let the stupid out again, and we all know how tough it is to get it contained again once the stupid is loose. For reference, see: 9/11 TWA Flight 800 Moon Landing Bigfoot _et al_ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/37 "2008-08-18T17:28:22Z")
[QUOTE=woodstockbirdybird] So where do the Jews fit in here? Surely they played a role. [/QUOTE] One of them walked on water. He probably pulled Phelps toward the wall at the last second. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/38 "2008-08-18T17:31:29Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] One of them walked on water. He probably pulled Phelps toward the wall at the last second. [/QUOTE] Nah. Too likely to be noticed. He moved the wall towards Phelps at the last tenth second. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/39 "2008-08-18T17:41:16Z")
[QUOTE=Spartydog] OK, so you guys have had a few sips of the Kool Aid. Enjoy the Olympics! [/QUOTE] I got in line to sip the Kool-Aid, but you bogarted the whole pitcher! Woe is me! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267/40 "2008-08-18T17:49:09Z")
Dara Torres lost a swim by .01 . How does that fit into the conspiracy of it all. Whatever the timer says is the winner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-phelps-omega-nbc-and-the-olympics/460267.md?page=3)