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Post by Jep Gambardella on Aug 9, 2024 14:57:06 GMT
Has this always been the case or is this new: why aren't there racers in lane one of the running events? I could have sworn that it used to be lanes 1-8, not 2-9. I don't follow Track-and-Field other than every four years at the Olympics, but yes, I am pretty sure that it used to be 1-8.
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Post by twothousandonemark on Aug 9, 2024 15:34:23 GMT
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Aug 9, 2024 19:04:42 GMT
Has this always been the case or is this new: why aren't there racers in lane one of the running events? I could have sworn that it used to be lanes 1-8, not 2-9. I don't follow Track-and-Field other than every four years at the Olympics, but yes, I am pretty sure that it used to be 1-8. They should put an average person in that lane for contrast. The competitors are crossing the finish line as the regular Joe is barely out of the blocks, everyone gets a good laugh.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Aug 9, 2024 20:39:42 GMT
Spain takes the Gold in Men's Football after beating France in a crazy 5-3 game. France went ahead, then Spain scored three times in ten minutes still in the first half, then France made it 2-3 at the 79th minute and 3-3 from a penalty in injury time. Into extra time we go, and Spain scores twice.
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Post by Feologild Oakes on Aug 10, 2024 14:19:59 GMT
US on its way to do a disaster of an Olympic
They may not get the most gold medals, for the first time since 2008
Total medals means nothing, its gold that matters
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Post by Pangolin on Aug 11, 2024 9:09:01 GMT
US on its way to do a disaster of an Olympic They may not get the most gold medals, for the first time since 2008 Total medals means nothing, its gold that matters US media is ridiculously ranking after the total amount of all medals, not the most gold medals.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Aug 11, 2024 14:31:08 GMT
US on its way to do a disaster of an Olympic They may not get the most gold medals, for the first time since 2008 Total medals means nothing, its gold that matters US media is ridiculously ranking after the total amount of all medals, not the most gold medals. They always do it that way.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Aug 11, 2024 19:05:24 GMT
Going away for a bit but wanted to comment on the Olympics before it become s dead topic by the time I get back.
The US ended up tied for the most golds and blew away the field for overall medals. Not bad considering the amount of times they spit the bit on the track and in the pool, it was looking ugly at times. I've never put much thought into it because the US is so dominant across the board, but while golds are obviously the most coveted, would you really have said China 'won' these Olympics if they finished one gold ahead of the US, but 30 behind in overall medals? If you piled up only silver and bronze while another team was dominating the gold, that would be one thing. But if you're neck and neck in golds, and lead by a mile in total medals, aren't you still the better sporting nation, particularly with your medals coming is such a broad range of events instead of bunched up largely in two events? Luckily it isn't a debate I need to know the answer to at the moment.
Both US Olympic basketball teams came down to the wire, but ultimately won gold. The men's final was absolutely amazing. I will never say a bad thing about Lebron, Curry, KD, AD, Embiid, or N=Booker again. At least not until the next time they play the Celtics. Not that he needed it, but Curry cemented his legacy as the greatest shooter of all time in this game. Funny how a tournament featuring US superstars figuring out how to work together as role players comes down to a dude playing hero ball to ice it. Whatever it takes, baby.
One thing that bugged me was the men's 4x100 relay. The US team screwed the pooch and got DQ'd yet again, they really need to figure out how to hand off a baton. I was ripping them for embarrassing themselves over and over again (different guys of course, but the same program and the same event for like four of the last five Olympics has gone awry in a similar fashion. But I quickly found myself regaining respect for them as the post-race interview played out. The guy kept hounding them about what went wrong (and the analyst made it clear on the replay, Bednarek left his mark too early and didn't give Coleman time to catch up to him in the relay box). "We gave it our best, but we didn't get it done," Coleman kept reiterating, but that wasn't good enough for the reporter, who kept insisting, "But why though? Why didn't you get it done? What happened?"
Now again, these guys fucked up. They know it, we know it, any and all questioning or criticism is fair, considering this program's recent history. But at some point you have to let the question go. They embarrassed themselves for sure, but do you think Coleman saying, "Well if this idiot hadn't taken off so early, there wouldn't have been a problem," would've made things better? Shit happens sometimes.
With all the winning the US athletes did these games, one of my favorite moments actually occurred during a loss. US heptathlete Anna Hall needed to win her final even to have any chance of making the podium. But it's complicated, because other runners could score enough points depending on where they finished to put them ahead of her regardless of how she finished the race. So she runs her ass off and wins the race, and is laying on the track completely gassed, waiting for the results to be tallied. She finished fifth. The camera lingered on her as she walked over to her family in the stands, all of them congratulating her and telling them how proud they are, etc.
(I'm about to get goepolitical, sorry.) Contrast that with a story I read last week about the men's doubles badminton final that Chinese television cutoff and did not show in completion to their audience because they lost. Apparently your efforts only have value in China if you win. Hey, fans leave ugly losses early, we turn the channel if things aren't going well, and so on. But there's a difference between "I don't want to watch this," and "Nobody should be allowed to see this." This would be like the owners kicking out the fans and the press from a playoff game because things weren't going well. It's a slap in the face to all the competitors as well as the friends and family and oh yeah, the fans.
But then I remember, this is communist China. It isn't about sports. They didn't punish these guys for losing. It's not like they were trying to fool their audience; if they're shown the wins and not shown this final, they'll be able to figure out what happened. No, it was to reinforce the shame of not completing your task. Under a communist regime, you only have the value assigned to you by the state. If you do not fulfill your duties, there was no reason for you to be here in the first place. Despicable.
Anyway, the games were a smashing success by any measure. The venues were incredible, the athletes gave it their all, it was all any fan could ask for. LA has a lot to live up to in 2028. Thank you to Paris as an amazing host city, and congratulations to all competitors for doing the best they could, even if their home countries won't always recognize them.
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Post by pennypacker on Aug 11, 2024 19:44:06 GMT
Always a bummer to see the Olympics end. Such a great respit.
Gonna be a loong two years until Milan.
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Post by tristramshandy on Aug 11, 2024 22:00:33 GMT
US on its way to do a disaster of an Olympic They may not get the most gold medals, for the first time since 2008 Total medals means nothing, its gold that matters US media is ridiculously ranking after the total amount of all medals, not the most gold medals. What's the purpose of having silver and bronze if you don't count them? Might as well not give out anything then.
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Post by pennypacker on Aug 11, 2024 22:31:22 GMT
As far as closing ceremonies go, this was pretty good.
LA will be interesting. Having to balance the Hollywood/Celebrity of it all, while being a massive party in…LA.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Aug 12, 2024 0:29:23 GMT
US media is ridiculously ranking after the total amount of all medals, not the most gold medals. What's the purpose of having silver and bronze if you don't count them? Might as well not give out anything then. The notion that the total medal count shouldn't count for anything is silly and absurd.
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Post by Jep Gambardella on Aug 12, 2024 14:09:00 GMT
What's the purpose of having silver and bronze if you don't count them? Might as well not give out anything then. The notion that the total medal count shouldn't count for anything is silly and absurd. Neither of the two methods is ideal. If you count by total medals, you are effectively saying that a bronze medal has the same value as a gold medal, which is patently not true. If you count by gold first, then silver, then bronze, the implication is that one gold medal is worth more than an infinite number of silver and bronze medals, which is not right either. Both ways of counting allow for distortions. 10 Gold, 10 Silver and 10 Bronze is not a better performance than 9 Gold, 30 Silver and 50 Bronze. On the other hand, 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 28 Bronze is not a better performance than 10 Gold and 15 Silver. The fairest way to count would be to give different weights for Gold, Silver and Bronze. For example, Gold is worth three points, silver two and bronze one.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Aug 12, 2024 14:32:08 GMT
The notion that the total medal count shouldn't count for anything is silly and absurd. Neither of the two methods is ideal. If you count by total medals, you are effectively saying that a bronze medal has the same value as a gold medal, which is patently not true. If you count by gold first, then silver, then bronze, the implication is that one gold medal is worth more than an infinite number of silver and bronze medals, which is not right either. Both ways of counting allow for distortions. 10 Gold, 10 Silver and 10 Bronze is not a better performance than 9 Gold, 30 Silver and 50 Bronze. On the other hand, 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 28 Bronze is not a better performance than 10 Gold and 15 Silver. The fairest way to count would be to give different weights for Gold, Silver and Bronze. For example, Gold is worth three points, silver two and bronze one. Since there's no official 'winner' of the Olympics the whole thing is moot. There's a count for most gold medals, a count for most silver medals, a count for most bronze medals, and a count for most overall medals. Anyone can look at that count and take from it what they want.
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Post by sdm3 on Aug 14, 2024 7:21:13 GMT
Not that he needed it, but Curry cemented his legacy as the greatest hooter of all time in this game.
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Post by Rufus-T on Aug 15, 2024 19:47:11 GMT
The notion that the total medal count shouldn't count for anything is silly and absurd. Neither of the two methods is ideal. If you count by total medals, you are effectively saying that a bronze medal has the same value as a gold medal, which is patently not true. If you count by gold first, then silver, then bronze, the implication is that one gold medal is worth more than an infinite number of silver and bronze medals, which is not right either. Both ways of counting allow for distortions. 10 Gold, 10 Silver and 10 Bronze is not a better performance than 9 Gold, 30 Silver and 50 Bronze. On the other hand, 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 28 Bronze is not a better performance than 10 Gold and 15 Silver. The fairest way to count would be to give different weights for Gold, Silver and Bronze. For example, Gold is worth three points, silver two and bronze one. Nah. One gold is infinite at infinite times better than silver & bronze. Gold indicates winning. Not the others. I would count the gold, with tie breaker being silver follows by bronze.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on Aug 19, 2024 15:00:44 GMT
Not that he needed it, but Curry cemented his legacy as the greatest hooter of all time in this game. I'm glad you didn't post a different kind of hooter and get banned.
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