Official 2008 Beijing Olympics Thread

[Bloodhound]

How heartbreaking was it to see poor Lolo Jones in the women's 100 meter hurdles last night? Oh, how sad! As we all know now, she was in the lead and hit the second to the last hurdle, causing her to stumble and lose her momentum. In that fraction of a second, she went from being #1 to ending up 7th. She immediately crumpled to the track and stayed prone for what seemed like an eternity. Dawn Harper of the US won, in her very first Olympics.

Afterward, Lolo was gracious as ever talking with reporters, saying that she made a mistake, and to be Olympic champion, you can't make mistakes. But they showed her afterward, leaning against the wall by the entry tunnel, no longer able to control her emotions.

Yes it was very sad...she didnt get a good start an was trying to make up for it between the hurdles and it threw off her timing...IMO ...Im glad the newbie was there to win the gold for USA

 

[missypie]

The gymnastics commentators have been trying to get the causal viewer used to the new scoring system, but I wonder how far they will go - if they REALLY explain the start values before each routine, it will take away a lot of the suspense for the viewer. For example, with the difference between Nastia's and Shawn's start values, once Shawn nailed her routine, Nastia couldn't catch her, even with a perfect routine. But I think it would anger the viewers if Tim Dagget announced in advance "There's no way she can win."

 

[missypie]

Does anyone know when NBC is showing Tae Kwon Do? The Lopez sibs from USA are expected to do well, and we want to see them. We are a TKD family - DH is a brown belt, DS is a red belt, DD is a green belt.

Since you follow the sport...the Lopez family has received lots of local press. I read on some thread that the female Lopez "doesn't deserve to be on the team." Do you agree and what's the story?

 

[MontanaZoo]

How heartbreaking was it to see poor Lolo Jones in the women's 100 meter hurdles last night? Oh, how sad! As we all know now, she was in the lead and hit the second to the last hurdle, causing her to stumble and lose her momentum. In that fraction of a second, she went from being #1 to ending up 7th. She immediately crumpled to the track and stayed prone for what seemed like an eternity. Dawn Harper of the US won, in her very first Olympics.

Afterward, Lolo was gracious as ever talking with reporters, saying that she made a mistake, and to be Olympic champion, you can't make mistakes. But they showed her afterward, leaning against the wall by the entry tunnel, no longer able to control her emotions.

I felt incredibly bad for her. It's such a small window of opportunity for them to be able to achieve their dreams and when it doesn't work out, so brutal. Was glad to see the USA won though and you saw how excited she was.

 

[MontanaZoo]

The gymnastics commentators have been trying to get the causal viewer used to the new scoring system, but I wonder how far they will go - if they REALLY explain the start values before each routine, it will take away a lot of the suspense for the viewer. For example, with the difference between Nastia's and Shawn's start values, once Shawn nailed her routine, Nastia couldn't catch her, even with a perfect routine. But I think it would anger the viewers if Tim Dagget announced in advance "There's no way she can win."

I'm with Bela and would rather see them go back to the old system even though it was flawed too. I miss the perfect 10.

 

[Bloodhound]

I felt incredibly bad for her. It's such a small window of opportunity for them to be able to achieve their dreams and when it doesn't work out, so brutal. Was glad to see the USA won though and you saw how excited she was.

Yes and she didnt know who won at first...and it was her!!!!

 

[MontanaZoo]

Yes and she didnt know who won at first...and it was her!!!!

And the Aussie that came in second couldn't believe it either! They were both really cute with their reactions.

 

[Bloodhound]

You guys west coast people are really going to want to watch this Vollyball macth between USA an Serbia,,,its a roller coaster.....they are still playing.



woow ..... what a rally....

 

[MontanaZoo]

You guys west coast people are really going to want to watch this Vollyball macth between USA an Serbia,,,its a roller coaster.....they are still playing.



woow ..... what a rally....

Whoohoo!

 

[Bloodhound]

And the Aussie that came in second couldn't believe it either! They were both really cute with their reactions.

yes...its like they could NOT believe they had actually won

 

[MontanaZoo]

Wow watching volleyball now (it's back on NBC for us - USA went from men's bball to a dumb movie). Very exciting game..

 

[MontanaZoo]

We're getting pounded right now. The Serbians are great!

 

[Bloodhound]

Feeling bad for the announcers with these Serbian names.

this game is worth recording...the end is near...very emotional game.

 

[Bloodhound]

Ok ...so Im not going to get anything done today..:lamo:..now we have mens beach volleyball Brazil vs Brasil for a change to play for the Gold.....Come on Marcio....stuff it in Ricardos face....I want to see Ricardo blow a fuse....lol

 

[MontanaZoo]

Ok ...so Im not going to get anything done today....now we have mens beach volleyball Brazil vs Brasil for a change to play for the Gold.....Come on Marcio....stuff it in Ricarods face....I want to see Ricardo blow a fuse....lol

Oh wow, that'll be a good game.

 

[Bloodhound]

womans table tennis USA vs Hungry....speecking of which Im starving....its lunch time see you all tonight

 

[LoveKermit]

With volleyball--a side-out is anytime the serving team loses their serve, whether it's on a rally or if a serve goes out of bounds. The non-serving team is always striving for a side-out to get their serve back.

The end of the men's game was awesome. I couldn't watch. I kept flipping back and forth. That's all I'll say.

With track--I thought Lolo was very gracious. She hit the hurdle with her lead foot. She must have taken her eye off it because at that level it's rare. It's more common to hit with the back foot. Had she done that, her rhythm might not have changed and she probably would have medaled (not gold though). She also probably would have hit the last hurdle. It seems that once you hit one, you hit them all.

Was the Australian the squeaker? One of the 100M female hurdlers was squeaking at each hurdle. Equate it to Monica Seles's grunting in tennis.

Finally (for now), I was disappointed in Sanya Richards's comments when compared to Jones. I don't believe for one second she had a cramp. They replayed the race from where she said it occurred. Her face doesn't flinch or anything. And when she finished, she just stood there. Most people would have to 1.) massage it, 2.) keep walking/stretching to work it out, 3.) say "Ow!" and wince in pain. She did none of these. I think she made up an excuse. That's poor sportsmanship.

 

[MontanaZoo]

Finally (for now), I was disappointed in Sanya Richards's comments when compared to Jones. I don't believe for one second she had a cramp. They replayed the race from where she said it occurred. Her face doesn't flinch or anything. And when she finished, she just stood there. Most people would have to 1.) massage it, 2.) keep walking/stretching to work it out, 3.) say "Ow!" and wince in pain. She did none of these. I think she made up an excuse. That's poor sportsmanship.

I agree with you, I think she was making excuses and didn't just want to say she ran the race wrong and ran out of gas when she needed it.

 

[phorsenuf]

Does anyone know when NBC is showing Tae Kwon Do? The Lopez sibs from USA are expected to do well, and we want to see them. We are a TKD family - DH is a brown belt, DS is a red belt, DD is a green belt.

We want to watch it here too (Ty is a brown belt). It may not be on TV and only an online thing though. I think TKD starts today.

 

[Bloodhound]

I love all the Volleyball