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Post by jhar26 on Feb 11, 2014 11:05:47 GMT -5
So, what (if anything) have you guys been watching so far?  |
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 11, 2014 11:11:15 GMT -5
Nice for that Boer girl that she finally has got her hands on a medal after all those fourth places. |
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Post by arjan on Feb 11, 2014 15:34:34 GMT -5
I've been watching all the speed skating of course So far 4 days has brought the Netherlands 3 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze Also I've seen some short track skating on which the dutch had some good athletes but the results are not that good yet... |
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Post by arjan on Feb 11, 2014 15:38:18 GMT -5
Maybe the medal for Margot Boer is the nicest one... she was 4th so many times (previous olympics, world champions) and finally made it to the podium.
The other dutch weren't that good but no one expected it from them really... one of the best other dutch females on the 500m didn't qualify in the trials last december... but she wouldn't have gotten a medal anyway.
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 12, 2014 7:52:03 GMT -5
I've only seen a bit of the speed skating and the alpine skiing so far. Both fascinating sports that I know very little about.
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Post by arjan on Feb 12, 2014 7:58:37 GMT -5
Just watched a Curling match UK - Canada (females) 6-9. Fascinating though I don't understand a thing about their tactics. (I mean in general of the game, not of this particular match  ) |
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Post by arjan on Feb 12, 2014 8:02:58 GMT -5
Sven Kramer will not skate the 1500m next Saterday. He wants to stay focussed for the 10km tuesday.
He's replaced by Jan Blokhuijsen, the european champion. I guess he's even more a danger to Swings than Kramer was...
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Post by erik on Feb 12, 2014 9:40:56 GMT -5
The fun thing was to see Erin Hamlin win a bronze in the women's Luge event. It is the first time in the 50 years of the Luge in the Olympics (dating back to 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria) that any American, women or otherwise, has ever medalled in this seemingly suicidal event.
The big disappointment for us imperialist Yanks is seeing Shawn White, alias the Flying Tomato, get "squashed" (pardon the pun) in the half-pipe snowboarding competition by finishing 11th.
But, and unless I missed any of it, I am kind of looking out for the cross-country skiing events, the winter equivalent of the Marathon.
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Post by arjan on Feb 12, 2014 9:47:49 GMT -5
But, and unless I missed any of it, I am kind of looking out for the cross-country skiing events, the winter equivalent of the Marathon. This starts tomorrow with the 10km females and friday 15km males, next week the mass start distances. |
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 13, 2014 7:16:21 GMT -5
Short track is spectacular, but it's such a lottery. Hard to take it seriously for me.
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Post by arjan on Feb 13, 2014 7:40:30 GMT -5
It's tricky, but it's part of the game.
What bothers me more is the so-called 'free style' events where a jury decides how well you do your free style. Half-pipe, slope, what else...
Don't like most jury sports anyway. Of course for some it would be difficutl without a jury, such as figure skating, but why a jury in for example ski jumping? Just let the one who goes futhest win...
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 13, 2014 8:20:59 GMT -5
It's tricky, but it's part of the game. What bothers me more is the so-called 'free style' events where a jury decides how well you do your free style. Half-pipe, slope, what else... Don't like most jury sports anyway. Of course for some it would be difficutl without a jury, such as figure skating, but why a jury in for example ski jumping? Just let the one who goes futhest win... I think some of these 'new' sports are just weird. More a freak show than anything else really. Jury sports - well, I (sorta) like gymnastics and to a (much) lesser degree figure skating. And I like boxing. But jury sports leave much room for corruption of course and boxing is a victim of that almost on a daily basis. Gymnastics - in the days of Korbut and Comaneci I could fairly objectvely give points myself and I rarely got it wrong. But today the rules are so complicated that I can't make heads or tails of it anymore. |
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Post by profblues on Feb 13, 2014 10:24:45 GMT -5
the photos circulating of the Lebanese skier that got her in trouble back home that have been circulating are pretty hot other than seeing reports about all the drama preceding the Olympics and all the non-sports related stuff...there isn't much of interest for me about these games...but I was never really a Winter Olympics guy to begin with. Lindsey Vonn in a swimsuit might help. |
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 13, 2014 10:31:26 GMT -5
Lindsey Vonn in a swimsuit might help. Julia Mancuso is just as hot imo. |
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Post by erik on Feb 13, 2014 10:34:42 GMT -5
Quote by arjan:
Quote by jhar26:
This is what happens when the so-called "extreme" sports coming out of here in America make it onto the international scene; then everyone, rightly or wrongly, wants to be a part of it--freak show or not.
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 14, 2014 9:53:14 GMT -5
This is what happens when the so-called "extreme" sports coming out of here in America make it onto the international scene; then everyone, rightly or wrongly, wants to be a part of it--freak show or not. I've never really understood why some of these 'extreme' or 'fashion sports' are part of the olympics (be-it winter or summer) while sports with real tradition like rugby, golf or baseball are not. I don't question the skill involved in those 'extreme' or 'fashion' sports, but there's also skill involved in jumping with a motorcycle over twenty trucks or other such nonsense. Besides, twenty years from now those fashion sports may be out of fashion while te traditional sports will still be around 100 years from now just as they were 100 years ago. |
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Post by erik on Feb 14, 2014 10:16:44 GMT -5
Quote by jhar26:
To be totally honest, I am not sure whether there is a place for these extreme winter events either, but a lot of athletes from other countries have clearly gotten into it: people from Australia, Sweden, Canada, etc. It really started as an American thing, rightly or wrongly, so I suppose we could be accused of chauvinism and flaunting, and perhaps showing that life is lived to its fullest when it's lived to the extreme (it depends on where you draw the line [IMHO]). Of course, I am an American, but I don't know what we have to prove as a nation if these events are in the Winter Olympics just because of us.
I think it's okay, but I do prefer traditional winter events, like the cross-country and downhill skiing events, the luge/bobsled/skeleton events, and the speed skating.
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 15, 2014 10:47:55 GMT -5
That 1500m. Beaten by 3/1000 of a second. How much is that? If Verweij's shoes were one size bigger he wins. I can understand that they go by 1/100 of a second, but 1/1000 is completely absurd imo.
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Post by arjan on Feb 15, 2014 11:11:07 GMT -5
I think the 1/1000 are becoming more and more important. Specially on 500m but also 1000m en obviously 1500m I would expect to only have times in 1/1000 seconds just like they do in some other sports, like short track... 3/1000s of a second is about 4 centimeters apparently.
I expected a bit more from Swings really, 10th place is ok but not special. He's been better I suppose.
Anyway a great race today, lot of excitement.
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 16, 2014 11:18:45 GMT -5
Arjan, what do you guys have in the water there in Holland?  17 medals so far for a country the size of a pstage stamp. Today number one, two, three and four in the 1500m for women in the speed skating! Simply incredible!!! |
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Post by arjan on Feb 16, 2014 14:09:56 GMT -5
Don't know, but I also wonder what's wrong with the competiors... the entire year it's been quite exciting with the US females (Bowe and Richardson), the russian males ans females, even at times a german or norwegian and some belgian dude Seems like most athletes are not in their best shape and the Dutch are... |
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Post by profblues on Feb 16, 2014 14:15:49 GMT -5
You're surprised? have you never read the story of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates? |
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Post by arjan on Feb 18, 2014 12:26:13 GMT -5
So, Norway and Russia gave up even before the race.... no Bøkko, Pedersen or Skobrev at the 10k today.
Easy victory for the Dutch (pity about Swings), however a very exciting competition between Bergsma and Kramer, this is what makes this distance so great. Bergsma won, Kramer couldn't keep up with Bergsma's laptimes...
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Post by jhar26 on Feb 18, 2014 15:17:55 GMT -5
So, Norway and Russia gave up even before the race.... no Bøkko, Pedersen or Skobrev at the 10k today. Easy victory for the Dutch (pity about Swings), however a very exciting competition between Bergsma and Kramer, this is what makes this distance so great. Bergsma won, Kramer couldn't keep up with Bergsma's laptimes... Halfway Kramer was in front by almost four seconds. He just couldn't keep it going. Bergsma's last quarter of the race was incredible though. I know nothing about speed skating, but even I could see that. So, yet another 1,2,3 for Holland. |
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Post by arjan on Feb 18, 2014 15:54:20 GMT -5
Yeah, this was the 1,2,3 everyone expected, no one could predict the previous ones Only the order of 1 and 2 was unsure. Though with Bob de Jong's race, I suppose Bøkko and Skobrev will be sorry they didn't compete, they could have beaten him today... Swings also tried to keep up with Bergsma and when he couldn't he still was ahead of de Jong but also Bart couldn't keep the lap times steady and lost it... where his coach, Bart Veldkamp, also always was very good in skating very constant laptimes. But maybe in 4 years time... anyway Bob de Jong is 37 now, doubt he will continue until Seoul. |
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17 medals so far for a country the size of a pstage stamp. Today number one, two, three and four in the 1500m for women in the speed skating! Simply incredible!!!