Official 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games thread!

[BKMETV]

Can someone help me with what is probably a stupid question... when are they airing the opening ceremonies? I'm looking at my guide on the tv and it says on Thursday the 6th at 8pm it is coverage of the games (skating and snowboarding) and not opening ceremonies. I'm confused. I'm on the west coast.

There are some skating and boarding events on Thursday.

Opening Ceremonies are on live Friday at 11:00 am EST here (so 2:00 for you)...but I don't think NBC is airing them until Prime time much like they did in Vancouver...very little will be live.

 

[declansdad]

Competition starts tomorrow.

 

[Bay Hill]

Keith Olbermann did a 6 minute expose on the XXII Olympic Winter Games called "Put It In The Bin Provided"...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWkX30rUrsg

 

[JanaDee]

Keith Olbermann did a 6 minute expose on the XXII Olympic Winter Games called "Put It In The Bin Provided"...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWkX30rUrsg

That would be funny if it weren't true.

 

[ashley0139]

There are some skating and boarding events on Thursday.

Opening Ceremonies are on live Friday at 11:00 am EST here (so 2:00 for you)...but I don't think NBC is airing them until Prime time much like they did in Vancouver...very little will be live.

That would be 8:00am for me, but thanks.

I didn't realize the opening ceremonies weren't until Friday. I thought they were Thursday.

 

[SkaGoat]

Opening Ceremonies are on live Friday at 11:00 am EST here (so 2:00 for you)...but I don't think NBC is airing them until Prime time much like they did in Vancouver...very little will be live.

IOC should not let NBC have the Olympics if they continue to not show live events, and the taped Prime Time show. Here in Canada CBC(in conjunction with other Canadian networks) will have lots of live programming, and will air taped events later in the day (when its the middle of night in Sochi).

In Vancouver you could watch live events on 6 or 7 different channels, if there was an event on one channel you weren't interested in you could flip to another channel and it'd be a completely different, live event being broadcast.

Nothing beats watching any sporting event live.

 

[Deffenm]

We love the olympics here as well. We are planning a little celebration Friday night to watch the opening ceremonies. Thanks to Disney's movie Cloud 9 my daughter is in love with snowboarding now so she wants to watch all of those events. She practices every day riding the cheap snowboard we got from Target. Our backyard slopes down slightly so they setup bales of hay with wood for them to start from and then slide down the backyard. It appears I have a young olympian in training. Too bad we live in the midwest, no mountains in site.

 

[declansdad]

IOC should not let NBC have the Olympics if they continue to not show live events, and the taped Prime Time show. Here in Canada CBC(in conjunction with other Canadian networks) will have lots of live programming, and will air taped events later in the day (when its the middle of night in Sochi).

In Vancouver you could watch live events on 6 or 7 different channels, if there was an event on one channel you weren't interested in you could flip to another channel and it'd be a completely different, live event being broadcast.

Nothing beats watching any sporting event live.

Money talks.

 

[Wendy31]

We love the Olympics - winter & summer!

My question regarding Sochi --

I normally never pay much (or any) attention to the host city until the Olympics actually start.

However, this time, I've been reading articles & looking at pictures of Sochi's preparations & the rooms they've set up for the journalists & the athletes.

Is it always like this?

Issues of poor plumbing aside, to me, the rooms for the athletes look a little stark & barren. The beds don't look comfortable at all. The rooms just aren't very welcoming & inviting.

I also saw pictures that the contractor-guy posted on his blog before he took them down. Those rooms looked even worse.

However, again, I've never really paid any attention to the lodgings for the Olympians, journalists, & workers/contractors.

How do the Sochi lodgings compare to other host cities' lodgings?

 

[Bay Hill]

That would be funny if it weren't true.

Wait until you see the empty seats at the venues when the Games start.

The International press will question.

 

[SkaGoat]

How do the Sochi lodgings compare to other host cities' lodgings?

I think a lot of the issues are with press lodgings (which is why you're hearing so much about it). But I think the host city being tight against the deadline is normal. Just read an article saying the Canadian team is very happy with their lodging, but that could be them turning Lemons into Lemonade.

"The Canadians will take up three buildings in the coastal region and all are within about a five minute walk to the venues. Podborski said Canada got to choose buildings that were among the closest to the venues because they had the most gold medals (14) at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver."

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Reporter hacked almost immediately

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/reporter-hacked-sochi-richard-engel_n_4731846.html

 

[pryncess527]

I think a lot of the issues are with press lodgings (which is why you're hearing so much about it). But I think the host city being tight against the deadline is normal. Just read an article saying the Canadian team is very happy with their lodging, but that could be them turning Lemons into Lemonade.

"The Canadians will take up three buildings in the coastal region and all are within about a five minute walk to the venues. Podborski said Canada got to choose buildings that were among the closest to the venues because they had the most gold medals (14) at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver."

I also heard on NPR that the American team is happy with their lodging -- they said they were all in several buildings together and that it really created a nice environment.

 

[Jennasis]

While many of the lodging issues are ridiculous, I wanted to address the "no flushing of toilet paper" issue that's going around. It sucks...but not every country has the sewer system like we have. When I visited Athens, you couldn't flush toilet paper anywhere because their aquaducts couldn't handle it. It stunk...literally.

 

[BKMETV]

That would be 8:00am for me, but thanks.

I didn't realize the opening ceremonies weren't until Friday. I thought they were Thursday.

AGH!!...never do math before you've had your morning coffee!!

IOC should not let NBC have the Olympics if they continue to not show live events, and the taped Prime Time show. Here in Canada CBC(in conjunction with other Canadian networks) will have lots of live programming, and will air taped events later in the day (when its the middle of night in Sochi).

In Vancouver you could watch live events on 6 or 7 different channels, if there was an event on one channel you weren't interested in you could flip to another channel and it'd be a completely different, live event being broadcast.

Nothing beats watching any sporting event live.

Loved having so many choices...Olympic overload.

 

[Geoff_M]

Funny compilation of recent tweets from Sochi press: LINK

Great one with photo to prove they have the goods:
"To anyone in Sochi: I am now in possession of three light bulbs. Will trade for a door handle. This offer is real"

Also, check out the funny "lost in translation" menu item in that link!

The good news for the media is that the Main Press Center is done and people report it's great. Here's a blog from one of the photographers there with lots of photos of the bad (hotel) and good (press center): LINK

 

[Wendy31]

I think a lot of the issues are with press lodgings (which is why you're hearing so much about it). But I think the host city being tight against the deadline is normal. Just read an article saying the Canadian team is very happy with their lodging, but that could be them turning Lemons into Lemonade.

"The Canadians will take up three buildings in the coastal region and all are within about a five minute walk to the venues. Podborski said Canada got to choose buildings that were among the closest to the venues because they had the most gold medals (14) at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver."

It seems like they're way past any deadline!

But, in particular, I was looking at the picture of one of the Canadian's men's hockey team room. I've also seen a video of the room which shows the other side of the room. And, in the video, the guy interviewed said the room's not painted.

To me, the room looks Spartan & very bare - not very welcoming & inviting. Also, the beds don't look comfortable.

I wouldn't expect 5-star amenities & plush bedding or anything, but I would think that the athletes, who are expected to perform at the top of their game, would need comfortable beds.

But, again, I've never seen any of the athletes' lodging from previous host cities.

I know the media loves to jump on a story & make mountains out of molehills, but, plumbing problems & things not being ready aside, how do these athletes' rooms in Sochi compare to previous host cities' lodging for the athletes?

And, as an aside, it's funny to me to see palm trees at a winter Olympics!

Edited to add -

Here's the link (ABC news) that has the video that shows the room & also talks about why Shaun White withdrew:

http://http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/02/sochi-visitors-report-hotel-horrors-dangerous-conditions/

 

[SkaGoat]

It seems like they're way past any deadline!

But, in particular, I was looking at the picture of one of the Canadian's men's hockey team room. I've also seen a video of the room which shows the other side of the room. And, in the video, the guy interviewed said the room's not painted.

To me, the room looks Spartan & very bare - not very welcoming & inviting. Also, the beds don't look comfortable.

I wouldn't expect 5-star amenities & plush bedding or anything, but I would think that the athletes, who are expected to perform at the top of their game, would need comfortable beds.

But, again, I've never seen any of the athletes' lodging from previous host cities.

I know the media loves to jump on a story & make mountains out of molehills, but, plumbing problems & things not being ready aside, how do these athletes' rooms in Sochi compare to previous host cities' lodging for the athletes?

And, as an aside, it's funny to me to see palm trees at a winter Olympics!

Edited to add -

Here's the link (ABC news) that has the video that shows the room & also talks about why Shaun White withdrew:

http://http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/02/sochi-visitors-report-hotel-horrors-dangerous-conditions/

They look fine in the photos, and the brass for the Canadian Olympic team seem fine with them, you gotta remember, most of these athletes come from very modest means, so this is probably what they expected to be living in.


Some athlete White is.... he withdrew because the course was too hard??


I like what the Canadians had to say about him!

"Nineteen-year-old Max Parrot of Montreal, a 2014 X Games slopestyle champion, wrote on Twitter: “Shaun knows he won’t be able to win the slopes, that’s why he pulled out. He’s scared!” His 21-year-old Canadian teammate Sebastien Toutant, who won X Games slopestyle gold in 2011 and 2013, wrote: “Mr. White… It’s easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can’t win…”"

I'm sure they'll get the course fixed up to make it more suitable for safe competition

 

[Bay Hill]

The WSJ projected medal count...http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303553204579347083918487674?mod=trending_now_2

 

[Jennasis]

They look fine in the photos, and the brass for the Canadian Olympic team seem fine with them, you gotta remember, most of these athletes come from very modest means, so this is probably what they expected to be living in.


Some athlete White is.... he withdrew because the course was too hard??


I like what the Canadians had to say about him!

"Nineteen-year-old Max Parrot of Montreal, a 2014 X Games slopestyle champion, wrote on Twitter: “Shaun knows he won’t be able to win the slopes, that’s why he pulled out. He’s scared!” His 21-year-old Canadian teammate Sebastien Toutant, who won X Games slopestyle gold in 2011 and 2013, wrote: “Mr. White… It’s easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can’t win…”"

I'm sure they'll get the course fixed up to make it more suitable for safe competition

What a display of poor sportsmanship by young Mr. Parrot. Smack talk totally opposite of what the Olympic Games are about.