USA at the Olympics

Well the USA Basketball team of hotshots and individual (NOT Team) "superstars" who get paid millions to play the game just got their asses handed to them by Puerto Rico by 19 points...good thing too...maybe this will teach these kids a little something.

Here's a great article about the "Dream Team"...

Linky Linky ( http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/040804)

As a 19 year old(ala right in the heart of the key demo), I HATE THE OLYMPICS, it is all about who bribes whom the best, and it serves as a test bed for new drugs and every participant is a f@#$ing pro, sorry, any credibility the olympics may have had for my parents is lost on me, it is a celebration of greed, these people make money off of money hungery NBA guys and bulimic 16 year old gymnists, and if you can't beat your competition, just hire a hit man with a crow bar to the knee.

That said, give me one good reason to turn away from my NFL countdown to give a rats ass about the Olympic "Games", please.

the olympics are popular with the locals...
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040815/capt.olyvbb13608151659.greece_olympics_beach_volle yball_olyvbb136.jpg

:lol: very popular:lol:

Originally posted by Splinemodel
you 19 year olds are very cynical.

Yes, you will grow out of it, and will stop devoting so much mental effort in badmouthing things that really aren't conspiracies. I am not saying it is a conspiracy, but I have heard for the past few weeks that this thing was so big, and look at the fans filling the statium, picture above, and all of the news reports, money this and drugs that, I am just saying what I am seeing.

Originally posted by a_greer
I am not saying it is a conspiracy, but I have heard for the past few weeks that this thing was so big, and look at the fans filling the statium, picture above, and all of the news reports, money this and drugs that, I am just saying what I am seeing.

We'll have to see about the attendance situation. From what I've heard on T.V., Sunday was a Greek Orthodox holiday. Plus, a lot of Greeks take the month of August off.

But the images of all the empty seats are depressing.

Originally posted by a_greer
I am not saying it is a conspiracy, but I have heard for the past few weeks that this thing was so big, and look at the fans filling the statium, picture above, and all of the news reports, money this and drugs that, I am just saying what I am seeing.

wow. you're sounding like a raving fool.

that picture is likely from some qualifying soccer match between two unpopular nations or something.

the rest of your dribble is just that.

enjoy the NFL...cuz that's a quality sport:rolleyes:

Back on topic...

I watched some more, US gymnastics, both were supposed to be great, but both doing poorly in prelims
besides phelps we have little to show in the pool mens or womens.
looking good on the 8 man rowing, both men and women.
and beach vollyball looks like a gold.
But this might one of the all time olympic low gold takes by America.
If only we had gotten 20 instead of 21 B-2 bombers, we could invest part of that extra 2.2 billion into our olympic effort.(the rest could save social security, or at least help) :D
I don't think we are going to improove in track and field those usally go to africa. I hope this poor performance shakes things up for a better team in 2008.

I think he means that african nations do extremely well in the middle to long distance running events. Given that they have a genetic disposition for the perfect runner's build, and that they are engaged in high-altitude training for most of their lives, there are lots of amazing african runners.

US is up to 18 total medals.

6 GOLD
6 SILVER
6 BRONZE

Originally posted by xterra48
but we are still third in the metal rankings! i thought that we are king of the world, or at least we act like that in forgin policy

Well, we do generate more GNP than all other nations combined, so yes, that is an impressive stat. Moving on, there are lots more olympics to come, and the finesse stuff is coming to an end. In other words, the part we're bad at is coming to an end.

Originally posted by bunge
You're obviously not looking very hard.

Holy f*ck, my thoughts exactly. LOL! The Olympic commitee is probably the most pompous, arrogant, cheating, stealing, bribing bunch of bastards in the world. They easily make Enron look like a non-profit charity.

It's great though, because every Olympics seems to forget all the bribing and table tilting from the previous games. Ignorance is bliss.

All that aside though, I just love watching the womens beach volleyball players running around in those shorty shorts. I swear to God, an American chick made this AMAZING play, after that, she had these SUPER erect nipples. OMG that was great T.V.

Tyler Hamilton won the Gold for the Time Trial. A good end to a bad year for him.

I keep hearing about this country called "Chinese Tipai" where the fuck did that place come from:?:

Good for them!:D

Originally posted by iKwak
As always, China and US is the top.
Good for the two superpowers. :)

If by "always" you mean "in the last week," then maybe you're on to something. China has effectively replaced USSR as the major olympic competitor for the USA, but it's a bit strange, since the two nations excel in totally different spheres.

Those 40 medals are quite a ridiculous number once you compare it to the EU's 120 though. Just kidding.

I know you're just teasing but it is impossible to compare due to too many differences.

Population is vastly in the EU's favor.

EU has more state funding of youth and Olympic COmmittee level programs.

I would imagine that the vast majority of the best male athletes in Europe are going into soccer/football which isn't played fully (with the very best) at the Olympic level. Likewise 95% of the best male US athletes are playing Hockey, (American) Football, Baseball (no MLB players) and Basketball. Only Basketball is a real summer Olympic sport and we can't even get our best freaking ballers to go to the Olympics anymore.

EU people get to qualify on a per country basis so they get a lot more athletes at the games. A quick check shows France with 342 athletes and 19 medals and the UK with 278 athletes and 17 medals. That's as many athletes just between those two countries as the US has without counting all of the other EU countries. 620 athletes and 36 medals together. Compare that to 614 athletes and 43 medals.

Plus those Brits suck at real sports. They only do well in rowing, sailing and junk like that.;)

Undoubtedly rotting teeth would bump up the British medal count. But the Americans can easily counter with golds in the team and individual Trolling events.

Naw. Haven't you heard? It's the age of the global economy and all the benefits that that brings. We're still number one but the Brits are getting pretty fat these days too.

Olympics are nice, but there are so many tournaments going on in sports...it's hard to keep an interest in them all...
Netherlands not doing too bad for a small country vs number of medals ;)
They should cut back on the number of sports, back to basics...

Anyone have any thoughts on the gymnastics controversies? Quick summary:
1. Paul Hamm wins first-ever men's all-around gold for the US, after falling on his vault, by finishing with two stupendous routines. Two Koreans, who were 1-2 going into the final event, turn in lackluster final performances and finish 2-3.
2. Two days later, the Koreans file a protest. After reviewing the tapes, they find that the #3 finisher should have gotten an extra 0.1 points on his second routine (before he was even in medal contention). Korea claims that judging is biased in favor of the US.
3. Several days later, the US announces that, having reviewed the same tapes, they found that the Korean should have lost 0.2 points for several hesitations that the judges failed to penalize him for. US does not file a counter-protest.
4. Yesterday, the women's all-around silver medalist, Russian Svetlana Khorkina, announced that she was robbed of the gold by US-biased judges. No official protest filed, yet.
5. Today, the Bulgarians file a protest that one of their gymnasts was short-changed in the men's event finals.

My opinion? Bunch of frikin' crybabies. The rules are clear, and are just like baseball: protest before the next play/apparatus begins, or forever hold your peace. None of this "let's review all the tapes three days later and find anything that could possibly be rescored". It would be like the Red Sox filling a protest today, claiming that the fourth pitch to Gary Carter in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series should have been called a strike, and demanding they be awarded the championship. Shit happens, and it happens to everyone. The US men got screwed in the team all-around when the judges decided at the last moment that two of their routines would be worth several tenths less than they expected. The men changed their routines, and having never practiced them, screwed up - costing the US men the all-around gold. Too bad. Oh wait, but the judges are all US-biased, I forgot. That must explain why a US man HAS NEVER WON BEFORE, EVER. Stupid, stupid people. I totally enjoyed watching the events, too, but all this bickering really turns me off.

Maybe it would be better to recored everything and score it off the tape?

Towe- l I agree the rules are there for a reason protest while folowing the rules or dont at all.

I am disappointed in several sports where the judges made foul calls. Don't know how the U.S. won those Gold when the other country deserved it. It happeneded last Olympics game too.

Which events are those?

Obviously Hamm deserved the Gold in the all-around since the .1 that the Korean lost due to a starting error was less than the .2 which he should have had deducted for holding four positions instead of the maximum of three.

Olympic judging has always had some questionable moments including many that have gone against the US. 72 basketball was one of the most ridiculous travesties of officiating ever. Roy Jones Jr's loss in 88 was such a joke that they had to change the freaking scoring system in boxing. I can't think of anything in major professional US sports that compares to some of the out and out fixes and unabashed biases of international Olympic judging. It's a joke.

Alexei Nemov is in the Summer Olympics?

Originally posted by ColanderOfDeath
Which events are those?

Obviously Hamm deserved the Gold in the all-around since the .1 that the Korean lost due to a starting error was less than the .2 which he should have had deducted for holding four positions instead of the maximum of three.



I think that the fact that Hamm clipped the judges table is reason enough not to win the Gold. How can you make a mistake like that and be called the "best in the world". You can't.

If anyone saw the high bar event, it is plain as day that the medals Hamm won were a sham.

Unfortunately Hamm will bear the brunt of this even though this is no fault of his.

Not on the internet.

I watched the US beat Brazil in women's soccer today.

A Brazilian player tripped on the grass and fell over. They called a foul on the US. How the hell is that a sport?

And yet they still won. Along with softball.

Originally posted by groverat
I watched the US beat Brazil in women's soccer today.

A Brazilian player tripped on the grass and fell over. They called a foul on the US. How the hell is that a sport?

Heh heh. It's nothing like Maradona's "Hand of God" play in 86.

if the u.s. would have sent the pistons no international team would have scored 50 points.
the pistons sent a pretty large message to the NBA last year, i think team play and fundamentals will be returning.
streetballers (of whom iverson is king) are on the way out, foreign players are becoming more dominant.

Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar
if the u.s. would have sent the pistons no international team would have scored 50 points.
the pistons sent a pretty large message to the NBA last year, i think team play and fundamentals will be returning.
streetballers (of whom iverson is king) are on the way out, foreign players are becoming more dominant.

Actually, I think the US should send the NCAA champions, not the pros. And they still wouldn't be beat.

Originally posted by Towel
Was I seeing things, or did the Greeks build the world's largest joint at olympic stadium? No wonder the Games went so happily. :smokey:
The games far exceeded my expectations. In fact, it was probably the best I can remember as far as atmosphere goes. Beijing 2008 has a huge task ahead of it if it ants to live up to Athens 2004. I don't think it can be done...if the cheesy teaser we got in the closing ceremonies is any indication, I tihnk I'm going to be very disappointed.

I don't want to see pop looking girls who can't dance in sync playing the erhu, nor do I want to see a generic wushu, sword dance or ribbon dance demonstration...and find a little girl who can lip sync her pre-recording in tune...

I'm half expecting multicolored dancing terra cotta soldiers.

Originally posted by rogue master
They mentioned during the closing ceremonies that China is in a much better position now for 2008 than Greece was earlier this year.
Preparedness and presentation are two different things altogether.

Lillehammer was a great example of a wonderfully presented games despite new 2-year stagger which left them no time to prepare. Atlanta was remarkably prepared, but also remarkably tacky.