Winter Olympics Games

[alohabear]

Well on Friday it starts , What sports (http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/OlympicGames/home/index.html) (if any) are you going to watch?

I myself loved Luge, Bobsled, and Skeleton, also the Snowboarding and Speed skating.

[pzarquon]

I think this (http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/OlympicGames/sport_ed_atleti/sport_ed_atleti.html) is the list of sports: Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-country Skiing, Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Luge, Nordic Combined, Short Track, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Snowboard, Speed Skating.

Figure skating is where all the melodrama will be (Kwan v. Cohen! Russian Sweep!). Luge and Skeleton are just something else to watch (insanity must be a prerequisite to compete!) Hockey is probably the closest thing to a "conventional sport" folks will have. And I'm guessing my wife will be tuning in to Short Track for this dude (http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/5056883/detail.html). :p

I'm more appreciative of the skill/endurance sports than the artistic ones, but also know those are generally less fun to watch for most.

[Linkmeister]

Alpine skiing is the most scenic. :D

[speedtek]

BOBSLEIGH!!!! YA' MON!

I really wish they would show more!

[alohabear]

I saw last night that thier is no women ski jumping (http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/OlympicGames/sport_ed_atleti/salto.html) event yet and they were showing a group of young ladies who really could fly. It's a shame this is still a male only sport. :(

[Miulang]

My heart skips a beat whenever I think about that cutie Apolo Anton Ohno (he's from Seattle!) on his skates flying around the ice track. :p I bet he wins a few more medals this Olympics.

Miulang

[Tiabla]

I really like the Winter Olympics. My favorites are figure skating, biathlon, and downhill skiing. I also love Olympic hockey, because the larger rink and different rules (especially the no-touch icing rule) lead to longer periods of play and more action.

I was lucky enough to go to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and I had a blast. I went to some hockey games and a medals ceremony. It's a miracle I remember anything because the party atmosphere was really crazy!

Funny story: I had been unemployed for 5 months prior to the 2002 Olympics, and several weeks prior to the start of the games I bought hockey tickets (not cheap) and made arrangements to stay with a friend in SLC, figuring there was no way I'd get a job in the next two weeks after months of fruitless searching.

Sure enough, a week before I was to leave for SLC, I had a series of interviews with a company that I wasn't too excited about, and they made me an offer. The catch? They wanted me to start when I was scheduled to be at the Olympics! I made up some excuse about having to travel to visit my grandparents in Wyoming and they - grudgingly - let me start a week later. I was terrified because I'd never been one to make up excuses and "play hooky" for any reason, but I figured, hey, it was only a week's delay and they'd never find out anyway.

Imagine my surprise when one night in SLC I took a light rail to a hockey game in Provo and at one of the stops, MY NEW BOSS got on the light rail! I covered my face with my parka and hoped she didn't see me. Thankfully she didn't, and I was free to start work the following Monday, as she regaled us all with tales of the Olympics.

Turns out I should have blown off the job completely, as it was, by far, the worst job I've ever had. But that's a whole other story!

[scrivener]

I am a sucker for the Games.

I agree with Pz, and have a slight disdain for sports where the winners and losers are determined by judges, but I have to say that although I am no fan of figure skating, Michelle Kwan is the first skater who ever brought tears to my eyes. I simply cannot believe the grace and beauty she communicates when she glides over the ice.

However, I watch it all. If it's the Olympics, and it's on TV, I am watching it. It seems corny, but I love the the Olympic ideal, that on the playing fields, we can forget about political and religious differences and meet each other as friends.

[Linkmeister]

Rather than post the links, I'll just send you over to my place (http://www.linkmeister.com/blog/archives/001765.html), where I put up some to the NBC main site and its Olympic blog.

[Palolo Joe]

Anyone got Oceanic's digital cable? There's supposed to be a station that lets you watch four different Olympic feeds at the same time. Perfect if you get ADD...

[shaveice]

i agree that watching ohno in the short track will be very interesting. don't know how much of it is made up by the press, but they're playing up the idea that there's a bitter/hostile rivalry between ohno and the s. koreans over ohno getting the gold when a s. korean was disqualified at the 02 olympics.

whether it's true or not, i'll be very interested in seeing how he does.

also of interest to me will be the downhill. when i lived in japan, i lived smack dab in the middle of a skiers paradise (i could easily get to around 20 different skiing places within a 2 hour radius) and grew to love downhill skiing...

[Linkmeister]

Anyone got Oceanic's digital cable? There's supposed to be a station that lets you watch four different Olympic feeds at the same time. Perfect if you get ADD...

That would be Digital 200. You get four feeds, alright, but they're actually MSNBC, NBC, CNBC, and USA. If they're all showing the Olympics you'll see four Olympic feeds, but if not, then you'll see whatever is normally programmed on the ones that don't have the Olympics on at the moment.

Digital 201 is an Olympic schedule sorted by those digital channels, which is kinda useful. It's white-on-blue text and it doesn't scroll very well, but nonetheless...

[Miulang]

Michelle's pulled out of the Games, based on a recommendation the doctors made re her groin injury. She was all class when she made the announcement this morning, though. I'm sure when she's all healed up, she'll turn pro and will make uckapila money with Stars on Ice or one of those ice shows. At 25, she wasn't expected to do much at the Olympics anyway, since all of the other skaters are way younger than she is. What a depressing thought...washed up at age 25! :(

Apolo's first stint on the ice is this evening. I can hardly wait. I think the press is having a field day re the supposed hatred between Apolo and the South Korean skaters. He's a pretty laid back dude, so I'm sure he's only worried about doing his best tonight.

Miulang

[Linkmeister]

I have to disagree with your thought that she wasn't expected to do much. Everything I've read suggested she was a serious medal contender.

Her disappointment has to be huge. Three Games: a silver and a bronze and a washout due to injury.

[shaveice]

although the short track will be televised this evening, the event's already over and if you don't mind a spoiler, you can see what happened here:

http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/OlympicGames/news/news_eng160795.html

[shaveice]

hendrick vs davis

in case you have an interest in this showdown, the event is scheduled for tuesday (tomorrow).

i think it's gonna be really intersting.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060220/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_spe_hedrick_vs_davis_tr2;_ylt=AnSndvBB6pT5y9KF 20vyqFOQFs0F;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNh dA--

(on another note, pair figure skating yesterday was pretty impressive. what made it even more interesting is the number of falls. in the case of the italian pair, if looks could kill, the guy would have been dead 20x over! man, she was pissed at the guy for dropping her! note: they were in first place but after the fall, dropped to 6th!)

[tutusue]

[...](on another note, pair figure skating yesterday was pretty impressive. what made it even more interesting is the number of falls. in the case of the italian pair, if looks could kill, the guy would have been dead 20x over! man, she was pissed at the guy for dropping her! note: they were in first place but after the fall, dropped to 6th!)
I think one of the commentators mentioned that stink eye (face to face with direct eye to eye contact) lasted something like 30 seconds before they turned to the crowd for the normal end of routine accolades.

On another figure skating note...I've watched bits and pieces of the skating and was thinking, like I was while watching 'Dancing with the Stars, how much the costumes had changed over the years and how beautiful and sensual they were, esp. when they were designed for the movement of the routine. Then I heard on the news that, over all, the costumes are drawing a lot of ridicule and negative feedback; IOW, over the top. A comparison was made to Peggy Fleming's costumes of over 30 years ago and that those costumes seemed to represent figure skating much better.

Oh well...I'm not the flashy type nor fashion conscious but I do think, under the circumstances, the skating costumes for both male and female are extremely creative and have added greatly to the entire visual effect. But, that's just me! YMMV... ;)

[Miulang]

I think one of the commentators mentioned that stink eye (face to face with direct eye to eye contact) lasted something like 30 seconds before they turned to the crowd for the normal end of routine accolades.

On another figure skating note...I've watched bits and pieces of the skating and was thinking, like I was while watching 'Dancing with the Stars, how much the costumes had changed over the years and how beautiful and sensual they were, esp. when they were designed for the movement of the routine. Then I heard on the news that, over all, the costumes are drawing a lot of ridicule and negative feedback; IOW, over the top. A comparison was made to Peggy Fleming's costumes of over 30 years ago and that those costumes seemed to represent figure skating much better.

Oh well...I'm not the flashy type nor fashion conscious but I do think, under the circumstances, the skating costumes for both male and female are extremely creative and have added greatly to the entire visual effect. But, that's just me! YMMV... ;)
Well, there's a BIIIIIG difference between the costumes being worn by the women ice dancers v. the women figure skaters. The women ice dancers are wearing some pretty risque clothes (bare skin). But then again, they tend to be older than the figure skaters who usually are no more than about 20 years old. I was reading a commentary today that said the ice dancers are all wearing costumes in safety cone orange this year...supposedly to better attract the attention of the judges. The figure skaters will be more conservatively attired when they skate this week.

And the Shani v. Chad huhu is just a reflection of the state of affairs of race relations in this country right now...sad. :(

Miulang

[tutusue]

Well, there's a BIIIIIG difference between the costumes being worn by the women ice dancers v. the women figure skaters. The women ice dancers are wearing some pretty risque clothes (bare skin). But then again, they tend to be older than the figure skaters who usually are no more than about 20 years old. I was reading a commentary today that said the ice dancers are all wearing costumes in safety cone orange this year...supposedly to better attract the attention of the judges. The figure skaters will be more conservatively attired when they skate this week.

And the Shani v. Chad huhu is just a reflection of the state of affairs of race relations in this country right now...sad. :(

Miulang
Aha! Thanks for the clarification, Miulang. My brain was thinking ice dancers while my fingers were typing figure skaters! Regardless, Peggy Fleming's costumes were held up as the good example against the ice dancers costumes as the bad example.

I saw an interview a few days ago with Shani. It was the first I'd heard of him and so I was taken aback by his negative attitude and aloofness. I forgot who did the interview (one of the NBC news team) but s/he was also caught off guard. Shortly thereafter I heard there was a Shani/Chad feud. I haven't been able to watch much TV so am not aware of the details.

[pzarquon]

I think one of the commentators mentioned that stink eye (face to face with direct eye to eye contact) lasted something like 30 seconds before they turned to the crowd for the normal end of routine accolades.While we love the Olympics, winter and summer, we haven't been able to devote as much time to watching them this year as we have in the past. (Though we did enjoy the surprise Italian gold in the 4x10 relay.) So it's only in quick evening news recaps or online discussions like this where I'm getting the highlights.

I missed the above "staredown," but here's a good write-up (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/sports/olympics/21stare.html) in the Times. If looks could kill, indeed.

The Shani-Davis thing is ridiculous and sad (and I personally think Davis is ruining an incredible opportunity, if he believes what he says he does about what his success could mean to kids). We're falling short against other nations and we waste calories bickering with each other (or, more directly, obsessing over athletes bickering over each other).

But, it's not a big deal, it's not a worrisome symptom that mankind is doomed or that the Bush administration is failing or proof that we all just can't get along... it's just athletes puffing up and pounding their chests and, to most everyone else, looking pretty silly. For those who need a soap-opera subplot to keep tuning in, though, I guess it works.

[Linkmeister]

Regarding "falling short," Salt Lake's 34 medals was an aberration. The US had never won more than 13 before in a Winter Games. Last I looked (before today's results) we had 15 so far, with nearly a full week to go.

[shaveice]

man, it was so funny. after all the buildup, neither davis nor hedrick walks away with the gold!

i think the women's free skating will be tomorrow and it looks pretty exciting.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/torino2006

cohen was pretty impressive last night; the big question is whether she'll fall (as she has in the past) when it comes down to the wire....