XXI Olympic Winter Olympics Games Thread

[Belle Ella]

Oof, that is lame.

That could be said again ... and again ... and again!!

Stooooopid NBC.

Here it is, 8 o'clock and I finally get to watch something. Tood bad I (a)already know what I'll be seeing and (b) I have to go to sleep soon if I have any intention of being at work by 5AM.

 

[Jennasis]

And Men's Snowboard Cross......

GOOOOOOOOO SETH WESTCOTT!!! Yes!!!!!!!! What a race!! Back to back Olympic gold. That man just owned the course with an amazing come from behind charge.

Wow. THAT'S an Olympic sport,

 

[Belle Ella]

And Men's Snowboard Cross......

GOOOOOOOOO SETH WESTCOTT!!! Yes!!!!!!!! What a race!! Back to back Olympic gold. That man just owned the course with an amazing come from behind charge.

Wow. THAT'S an Olympic sport,

I was on the edge of my seat earlier today with the live blog results. Very, very happy when the results came out.

 

[Jennasis]

The US leads the medal count so far.

 

[Jennasis]

Is there something wrong with the ice???

Russians down, Germans down...toe-pick!

BEautiful performance by Chinese pair Tong and Pang! Just waiting for Shen and Zhou (prayer for them)...

Beautiful. A few small mistakes. But beautiful. And the score...

 

[Jennasis]

Yes!!! That's just so wonderful for Shen and Zhou. The gold medal that elluded them for 18 years, finally captured.

 

[can84]

Yes!!! That's just so wonderful for Shen and Zhou. The gold medal that elluded them for 18 years, finally captured.

 

[CourtasanSatine]

When is men's halfpipe again?

 

[jen0610]

Did any one else catch the piece on the issue they had with, not one but all three of the high-tech Zambonies at the speedskating venue. Man did that ice look horrid. Dan Jansen was one of the commentators talking about how bad it was. Once they got it fixed, they had thrown the racers prep routines so outta wack that even though Shani Davis moved on, he withdrew from this race to stay focus on his other race.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-fea...0.html#ice+machines+force+speed+skating+delay

DH and I must be freaks, because we are so looking forward to curling starting. It is just one of those olympic sports that we have to watch.

 

[Bay Hill]

>>Did any one else catch the piece on the issue they had with, not one but all three of the high-tech Zambonies at the speedskating venue. Man did that ice look horrid. Dan Jansen was one of the commentators talking about how bad it was.<<

VANOC signed a deal with Olympia instead of Zamboni...
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Ice-scream-Men-s-speedskating-delayed-by-broken;_ylt=AoT0vecnvKAItdHeC2r3tkB9sbV_?urn=oly,219831

Meanwhile the main events start today. USA/SUI in men's hockey, USA/RUS in women's hockey, CAN/NOR in men's hockey, and USA/GER in men's curling.

 

[Deb in IA]

Men's super combined postponed today due to heavy snow.


Looking forward today to the start of the men's figure skating competition, with Evan Lysacek, Yevgeny Plushenko, Johnny Weir, and Jeremy Abbott.

Men's hockey, women's snowboard cross, and speed skating all look good tonight as well.

 

[crashbb]

Men's super combined postponed today due to heavy snow.

That's a first for these games! Things were being canceled for lack of snow.

 

[legalsea]

General Question:

The other day I heard one of the lugers talk about how he and others were ‘professionals’, etc. That got me to thinking.

I know that for some events like basketball (summer Olympics) and hockey (winter) they have given up on having amateurs and so allow true professionals to play.

My question: is this now a general thing? Is the Olympics (summer or winter) still limited to amateurs in most sports, or are they all professionals?

 

[OK!]

It's almost curlin' time!

 

[suejai]

General Question:

The other day I heard one of the lugers talk about how he and others were ‘professionals’, etc. That got me to thinking.

I know that for some events like basketball (summer Olympics) and hockey (winter) they have given up on having amateurs and so allow true professionals to play.

My question: is this now a general thing? Is the Olympics (summer or winter) still limited to amateurs in most sports, or are they all professionals?

I've been wondering the same thing. How did they get around the rules to include NHL and NBA athletes in the Olympics?

 

[Jennasis]

I've been wondering the same thing. How did they get around the rules to include NHL and NBA athletes in the Olympics?

I think the rules were changed.

 

[Bay Hill]

Elfi is not covering figure skating for NBC, she is now covering curling.

On the Team 990 in Montreal this morning...9-0 Canada over Norway.

 

[legalsea]

I've been wondering the same thing. How did they get around the rules to include NHL and NBA athletes in the Olympics?

I believe I have found the answer.

I remember when the rules were changed, for the summer games, allowing NBA professionals to play basketball. That first USA team (1992 Barcelona) had Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, plus others.

How proud we were to watch The Dream Team beat Croatia, Lithuania and Puerto Rico! Even mighty Angola could not withstand the onslaught!

(note: I am being sarcastic. I recall not watching any of the basketball games because I thought it was silly. Rather like watching the Harlem Globetrotters beat up on the Washington Generals game after game).

Anyway, it appears that by the 1996 games the amateur status requirement of all athletes was dropped for all fields, except for boxing.

I hope the above is accurate: I did not rely on Wikipedia for any of my information, so it should be close (Sports Illustrated was useful).

 

[Belle Ella]

My life is complete - hockey is now on!

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Is snowboard cross like a race? Just a little confused.