Rio Olympics 2016

[The Hitch]

Truly astonished by the hype for the football. Had to watch a highlights vid and the commentator (its the bbc) said at the end.
"you could not have written it, because even if you had, no one would have believed you".

I think this in a nutshell shows what a joke sport has become. Reporters are braindead cheerleaders. Their only job is to insanely hype up every minor thing with absolutely ludicrous and illogical comments like this.

It was a 1-1 draw that went to penalties. Pretty standard procedure in a sport where 1 in 4 games end in a tie and even more in a knockout system where everyone plays scared. In fact most teams that end up in competition finals have to go through penalties at least once and all go through extra time. this is the stuff that "no one would have believed if you had written it". Have these people ever read a book. Clearly you can't have to have a low iq to get this role at the beep and probably no wider cultural influence so that point makes sense.

the other thing, is I don't get the big deal. Did Germany play any of their good players. THe olympic games are an u23 tournament. Some top nations don't even bother entering. The final has been hyped (largely I guess because they wanted to sell a Brazilian truimph) as if it were Brazil winning the world cup at home. They didn't. They had that chance 2 years ago and blew it. the olympic football has never been important, 90% of good players are a million miles away playing domestic leagues which they consider to have a higher value, I'm glad the olympics is only 2 weeks every 4 years.

 

[Gigs_98]

Truly astonished by the hype for the football. Had to watch a highlights vid and the commentator (its the bbc) said at the end.
"you could not have written it, because even if you had, no one would have believed you".

I think this in a nutshell shows what a joke sport has become. Reporters are braindead cheerleaders. Their only job is to insanely hype up every minor thing with absolutely ludicrous and illogical comments like this.

It was a 1-1 draw that went to penalties. Pretty standard procedure in a sport where 1 in 4 games end in a tie and even more in a knockout system where everyone plays scared. In fact most teams that end up in competition finals have to go through penalties at least once and all go through extra time. this is the stuff that "no one would have believed if you had written it". Have these people ever read a book. Clearly you can't have to have a low iq to get this role at the beep and probably no wider cultural influence so that point makes sense.

the other thing, is I don't get the big deal. Did Germany play any of their good players. THe olympic games are an u23 tournament. Some top nations don't even bother entering. The final has been hyped (largely I guess because they wanted to sell a Brazilian truimph) as if it were Brazil winning the world cup at home. They didn't. They had that chance 2 years ago and blew it. the olympic football has never been important, 90% of good players are a million miles away playing domestic leagues which they consider to have a higher value, I'm glad the olympics is only 2 weeks every 4 years.

This.
Watching the game I almost forgot how completely irrelevant football is at the Olympics and that it actually should be as important as the U23 world championship. Men's football should either not be part of the Olympics anymore or they make a new system which makes the best players participate again.

 

[gooner]

As far as I'm aware, Germany had none of their players from the Euros.

Only a handful take it serious. Brazil took it serious for the very fact it's the one competition that they haven't won before. Argentina did so as well in '04 when they won it. Bring their best players and get a gold on the medal table. The European countries don't have a care in the world for it and the qualifying is done from the teams that reach the semis in the U-21 European Championships. Sometimes you might get a play-off match in that tournament as has happened in the past when England get to at least the semis. That's game isn't even a talking point in the media when that competition is on which says it all.

The women's tournament is a bit different as their best teams go. I watched the final of the mens and that was it. No real interest in anything that went on before it.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re:

Funny thing about these gorgeous male elite athletes at the Olympics...

Kayakers and canoeists - all arms, no legs.

Cyclists - all legs and no arms!

Put these two body types together and you'll get yourself the perfect male specimen.

(Just kidding, of course. Any discussion of this will have to take place in the Clinic.)

Uhm... you know that's not allowed, right? Seriously! Don't do it!

 

[fatandfast]

Feel a little embarrassed about my initial opinions. Rio pulled it off. Brazil's biggest threat was some drunk US swimmers..
The closing ceremonies, more specific the dancers were off the hook outstanding. Bodies of beauty and grace.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

Feel a little embarrassed about my initial opinions. Rio pulled it off. Brazil's biggest threat was some drunk US swimmers..
The closing ceremonies, more specific the dancers were off the hook outstanding. Bodies of beauty and grace.

Apart from the pool failure(s), it was a success on the whole (sporting wise). The crowds were poor, but that's more than understandable with the tickets so expensive. It will be a massive loss to the country and probably cripple it for a while, but it was definitely a very good effort.

 

[Billie]

USA today published an interesting piece on the Lochte incident. They had a reporter go to the gas station and also talked to the witness who stepped in and translated.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...pics-authorities/89082232/?platform=hootsuite

From it you can conclude that Lochte's original account of what happened is much closer to the truth that whatever Brazil authorities have been making up the last week.

It also has extra video images that shown their act of 'vandalism'. They basically tore down a loose hanging advertising poster from a wall. It also confirms they didn't trash the bathroom in fact none of them even went anywhere close to the bathroom.

The witness also had an interesting quote that the police chief told him that a drama might've ensued had he not stepped in.

“It was also so fast, and what I wanted was to resolve the situation,” says Deluz, who days later talked to police. “If it hadn't been for wanting to resolve that, if I hadn't involved myself, I thought – the police chief told me, ‘Man, if you hadn't gone there in that moment, a tragedy could have occurred.’ ”

A Brazilian judge also says that the actions by the security guards can be interpreted as robbery.

"If they only asked for the amount of the damage, it may not be a robbery," Damasceno said in a message to USA TODAY Sports. "But if the amount taken is higher than the value of the damages, with the use of a weapon by the 'security,' this is robbery."

Damasceno added that even if someone has the right to receive compensation, that does not mean they can determine the amount on their own and take actions such as drawing guns to collect. Brazilian law rarely allows for a person to obtain such a payment through the use of their own force – such disputes should be mediated by the state, he said.

Lochte might have lied and overexaggerated his story but same can surely be said about Brazil authorities

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

Funny thing about these gorgeous male elite athletes at the Olympics...

Kayakers and canoeists - all arms, no legs.

Cyclists - all legs and no arms!

Put these two body types together and you'll get yourself the perfect male specimen.

(Just kidding, of course. Any discussion of this will have to take place in the Clinic.)

Uhm... you know that's not allowed, right? Seriously! Don't do it!

Not sure I understand, but I'm very aware, which is why I had directed any discussion of the aforementioned to the Clinic. But thank you for the heads-up, anyway.

Lochte getting dropped like a hot potato by his sponsors, no real surprise there. Maybe he'll finally grow up now, now that his allowance has been cut off.

 

[El Pistolero]

http://www.decathlon2000.com/3927/

What a great guy.

 

[sienna]

I give this Olympics 4/10 - where Sydney was 9 and London was 8.

 

[sienna]

Re: Re:

Funny thing about these gorgeous male elite athletes at the Olympics...

Kayakers and canoeists - all arms, no legs.

Cyclists - all legs and no arms!

Put these two body types together and you'll get yourself the perfect male specimen.

(Just kidding, of course. Any discussion of this will have to take place in the Clinic.)

Uhm... you know that's not allowed, right? Seriously! Don't do it!

What, cutting people in half?

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

Funny thing about these gorgeous male elite athletes at the Olympics...

Kayakers and canoeists - all arms, no legs.

Cyclists - all legs and no arms!

Put these two body types together and you'll get yourself the perfect male specimen.

(Just kidding, of course. Any discussion of this will have to take place in the Clinic.)

Uhm... you know that's not allowed, right? Seriously! Don't do it!

Not sure I understand, but I'm very aware, which is why I had directed any discussion of the aforementioned to the Clinic. But thank you for the heads-up, anyway.

You can't just take a bunch of people, cut them in half and randomly sew the halves together as best fits your purpose!

 

[blutto]

Re:

USA today published an interesting piece on the Lochte incident. They had a reporter go to the gas station and also talked to the witness who stepped in and translated.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...pics-authorities/89082232/?platform=hootsuite

From it you can conclude that Lochte's original account of what happened is much closer to the truth that whatever Brazil authorities have been making up the last week.

It also has extra video images that shown their act of 'vandalism'. They basically tore down a loose hanging advertising poster from a wall. It also confirms they didn't trash the bathroom in fact none of them even went anywhere close to the bathroom.

The witness also had an interesting quote that the police chief told him that a drama might've ensued had he not stepped in.

“It was also so fast, and what I wanted was to resolve the situation,” says Deluz, who days later talked to police. “If it hadn't been for wanting to resolve that, if I hadn't involved myself, I thought – the police chief told me, ‘Man, if you hadn't gone there in that moment, a tragedy could have occurred.’ ”

A Brazilian judge also says that the actions by the security guards can be interpreted as robbery.

"If they only asked for the amount of the damage, it may not be a robbery," Damasceno said in a message to USA TODAY Sports. "But if the amount taken is higher than the value of the damages, with the use of a weapon by the 'security,' this is robbery."

Damasceno added that even if someone has the right to receive compensation, that does not mean they can determine the amount on their own and take actions such as drawing guns to collect. Brazilian law rarely allows for a person to obtain such a payment through the use of their own force – such disputes should be mediated by the state, he said.

Lochte might have lied and overexaggerated his story but same can surely be said about Brazil authorities

....so what ?....sounds very much a variation of the "but Billy hit me first" scenario....that might have worked when you were five years old but not now....sorry but you are grasping at very weak straws....

Cheers

 

[blutto]

Re: Re:

Funny thing about these gorgeous male elite athletes at the Olympics...

Kayakers and canoeists - all arms, no legs.

Cyclists - all legs and no arms!

Put these two body types together and you'll get yourself the perfect male specimen.

(Just kidding, of course. Any discussion of this will have to take place in the Clinic.)

Uhm... you know that's not allowed, right? Seriously! Don't do it!

Not sure I understand, but I'm very aware, which is why I had directed any discussion of the aforementioned to the Clinic. But thank you for the heads-up, anyway.

You can't just take a bunch of people, cut them in half and randomly sew the halves together as best fits your purpose!

....I don't know, medicine, and sports medicine in particular, has come a long way in the last little while....why just last week I got a new brain and I feel great....

Cheers

 

[sienna]

Re: Re:

Funny thing about these gorgeous male elite athletes at the Olympics...

Kayakers and canoeists - all arms, no legs.

Cyclists - all legs and no arms!

Put these two body types together and you'll get yourself the perfect male specimen.

(Just kidding, of course. Any discussion of this will have to take place in the Clinic.)

Uhm... you know that's not allowed, right? Seriously! Don't do it!

Not sure I understand, but I'm very aware, which is why I had directed any discussion of the aforementioned to the Clinic. But thank you for the heads-up, anyway.

You can't just take a bunch of people, cut them in half and randomly sew the halves together as best fits your purpose!

....I don't know, medicine, and sports medicine in particular, has come a long way in the last little while....why just last week I got a new brain and I feel great....

Cheers

There's always the problem of rejection.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I give this Olympics 4/10 - where Sydney was 9 and London was 8.

Agree on Sydney, those were one of the best Olympiads ever. A lot of positive atmosphere everywhere. These were better than a 4, but I have a lot of complaints too. London wasn't an 8 to me, that's a bit too high.

Montreal was a very good Olympics in my memory, very competitive. Atlanta one of the worst, if mostly because of the bombing, similar to Munich, which was a tragedy as much as anything.

As to the winter. To me Lillyhammer was the best by far, followed by Insbruck, then Lake Placid. Calgary was good. Vancouver was not nearly so with riots and all, nor was Salt Lake or Nagano (no snow!). Sochi was maybe the worst.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Re:

Lochte might have lied and over exaggerated his story but same can surely be said about Brazil authorities

While that is likely true, and he did make a statement that in retrospect I found to be likely truthful and the right thing to do, the fact still remains they were drunk, and judging by their actions after, acted like cliched spoiled American tourists. A behavior that annoys the crap out of everyone, including the majority of American citizens.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Re: Re:

....I don't know, medicine, and sports medicine in particular, has come a long way in the last little while....why just last week I got a new brain and I feel great....

Cheers

Brain transplants is where it's at, man! (Just kidding, of course. But this was actually done on a soap opera spoof movie called "Soap Dish".)

On a different note - have to agree with all who said that the Sydney Games were awesome (also personally loved the Sarajevo winter Olympics due to their simplicity), but then I was much younger back then, and with youth comes a very different type of perspective.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

As far as I'm aware, Germany had none of their players from the Euros.

Only a handful take it serious. Brazil took it serious for the very fact it's the one competition that they haven't won before. Argentina did so as well in '04 when they won it. Bring their best players and get a gold on the medal table. The European countries don't have a care in the world for it and the qualifying is done from the teams that reach the semis in the U-21 European Championships. Sometimes you might get a play-off match in that tournament as has happened in the past when England get to at least the semis. That's game isn't even a talking point in the media when that competition is on which says it all.

The women's tournament is a bit different as their best teams go. I watched the final of the mens and that was it. No real interest in anything that went on before it.

yeah cause ya know those Brazilians are just sub par and all. Dude the arrogance of your post is a bit over the top.

 

[Pricey_sky]

As far as I'm aware, Germany had none of their players from the Euros.

Only a handful take it serious. Brazil took it serious for the very fact it's the one competition that they haven't won before. Argentina did so as well in '04 when they won it. Bring their best players and get a gold on the medal table. The European countries don't have a care in the world for it and the qualifying is done from the teams that reach the semis in the U-21 European Championships. Sometimes you might get a play-off match in that tournament as has happened in the past when England get to at least the semis. That's game isn't even a talking point in the media when that competition is on which says it all.

The women's tournament is a bit different as their best teams go. I watched the final of the mens and that was it. No real interest in anything that went on before it.

yeah cause ya know those Brazilians are just sub par and all. Dude the arrogance of your post is a bit over the top.

I do agree with the point of Gooners post, the mens Olympic football tournament is never really a big deal to the majority of the footballing public, granted Brazil in their home games really wanted to win it for the first time, and they deserved to win as they were the best team.

 

[gooner]

As far as I'm aware, Germany had none of their players from the Euros.

Only a handful take it serious. Brazil took it serious for the very fact it's the one competition that they haven't won before. Argentina did so as well in '04 when they won it. Bring their best players and get a gold on the medal table. The European countries don't have a care in the world for it and the qualifying is done from the teams that reach the semis in the U-21 European Championships. Sometimes you might get a play-off match in that tournament as has happened in the past when England get to at least the semis. That's game isn't even a talking point in the media when that competition is on which says it all.

The women's tournament is a bit different as their best teams go. I watched the final of the mens and that was it. No real interest in anything that went on before it.

yeah cause ya know those Brazilians are just sub par and all. Dude the arrogance of your post is a bit over the top.

I don't see how any of that is arrogant. The Brazillians have always wanted to win this for some time to complete the honours they have won in the game. Even more so as they were hosting it.

It's a fact that football fans in Europe were more interested in the start of domestic club football. I don't think there is much prestige in winning this competition when many don't care for it.

Germany's best player in the tournament for instance was Serge Gnabry who can't make the bench at Arsenal. He barely kicked a ball on-loan at West Brom last season. No Draxler, Sane, Can, Kimmich, Weigl, who were all eligible being U-23. Yet this was a side that pushed Brazil to pens. Outside of the Cameroon v Spain final in the 2000 Olympics, I can't think of another game that stands out in football in the Olympics. It gets little attention in the European media.

 

[blutto]

....like a gift that never stops giving looks like the Lochle, errr, Rio Games afterglow is gonna be lighting up the universe for a while longer...

Brazilian police recommended on Thursday that prosecutors present charges against U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte for a false crime report, Reuters reports

http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/17392115/brazil-police-recommend-us-swimmer-ryan-lochte-charged

....but all is not bad for Mr Lochte, his career as a reality TV star may be moving along nicely....

U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte might participate in the next edition of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," sources told ESPN.com.

ABC spokesman George Zaralidis said in a statement that "we do not comment on casting rumors." Representatives for the 32-year-old Lochte aren't saying anything, either.

http://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/_/id/17384513/ryan-lochte-possibility-next-season-dancing-stars

Cheers

 

[RedheadDane]

(Just dragging this one up again, let's go back to talk about the actual competitions, eh?)

Blind Football. Now, there's a nice sport.
That little detail of being unable to see sure doesn't seem to stop them.

 

[gooner]

Couldn't find a swimming thread but I have to point out this performance from Ledecky following on from her performance in the Olympics. She will be the stand out athlete in Tokyo 2020 with Bolt and Phelps not around for it.

https://swimswam.com/watch-katie-ledecky-break-ncaa-records-in-1000-1650-free/