Winter Olympics 2010--Anyone Watching?

[jomar]

I think his name is spelled Apolo. And I think it was the soul patch that saved him...

http://www.nbcolympics.com/mm/photo/sports/general/25/79/70/257970_m03.jpg

I'm quite sure he's made some sort of supernatural deal with that bit of beard there.

I thought so too, but went with it...

Yeah, he must have, isn't that look over now?

That's short track. One minute a loser, the next a medal. One minute a medal, the next a casualty. That #2 Korean skater most likely caught Hell from the coach.

I like the crashes in short track. Everything's cooking along fine then BAM!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Like NASCAR without the flames.

 

[Weird Harold]

Like NASCAR without the flames.

and without the potholes.

 

[3113]

isn't that look over now?

Depends on how popular he becomes. We could be looking at a comeback.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Depends on how popular he becomes. We could be looking at a comeback.

Well, I'm not shaving my chin in order to make a reverse statement!

 

[jomar]

Depends on how popular he becomes. We could be looking at a comeback.

Ack!

Is it just me getting older and forgetting or are the female partners figure skaters looking more like the underage summer O gymnasts? The ones I've seen are so tiny and petite it makes me wonder if all the throws and tosses they do now sort of demand a flingable partner more than ever.

 

[3113]

Is it just me getting older and forgetting or are the female partners figure skaters looking more like the underage summer O gymnasts? The ones I've seen are so tiny and petite it makes me wonder if all the throws and tosses they do now sort of demand a flingable partner more than ever.

Nope. you're right. I noticed that right away. The girls, for sure, are getting more petite. There was a period there where women skaters looked quite solid with muscle, but these girls are like wisps. I don't think any of them weigh more than 90lbs.

And I think the men are getting larger though it's hard to say. Maybe they look bigger because the girls are smaller?

Anything, I guess, to make it easier for the gent to lift, toss and twirl his partner. He bulks up and the partner slims down.

 

[jomar]

Nope. you're right. I noticed that right away. The girls, for sure, are getting more petite. There was a period there where women skaters looked quite solid with muscle, but these girls are like wisps. I don't think any of them weigh more than 90lbs.

And I think the men are getting larger though it's hard to say. Maybe they look bigger because the girls are smaller?

Anything, I guess, to make it easier for the gent to lift, toss and twirl his partner. He bulks up and the partner slims down.

Glad it's not just me!

Bode got bronze...third place redemption. I got nervous just watching them! I've never raced but I've been down a run and a mogul field or two. It's scary hard!

Snowboard cross was fun. I tried snowboarding about five years ago and it kicked my ass until I got the hang of it. I have never been so sore...

 

[3113]

Okay, I knew some of the outfits the atheletes were going to be wearing were designed to be like superhero coscumes but the men's ski outfits with the stars and stripes on arms and legs were almost Captain America-ish. This, is the outfit for bobsled and freestyle skiing:

http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/03USA_Bobsled&Freestyle.jpg

Not quite the same as the ones worn tonight, but close enough with the stars on one arm, stripes on the other and down the leg.

Go Captain America!

 

[OneLustyWench]

Glad it's not just me!

Bode got bronze...third place redemption. I got nervous just watching them! I've never raced but I've been down a run and a mogul field or two. It's scary hard!

Snowboard cross was fun. I tried snowboarding about five years ago and it kicked my ass until I got the hang of it. I have never been so sore...

With everyone going for the bigger jumps, the broader throws, the ladies are more petite and the guys are more bulked up to make those throws. You see more and more partnerships where she is petite and he is tall. Makes it easier to get the lift you need for the throws but also makes being in synch harder.

A lot of these ice dancing routines are nice, but no zing, no bam, no wow factor.

The snow boarding cross was interesting. Looking for the thrills, the chills, the wipeouts.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Back in the day they used to refer to that sort of pair as a 'one and a half'. But given the required moves it takes to win, this kind of disparity is only logical.

 

[3113]

Okay. What was with that wacky purple outfit worn by Caydee Denney in freestyle skating pairs?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I hate to admit this but my favorite part of the Winter Olympics is the GE commercial. Ah, Beethoven!

 

[3113]

We're talking about wispy girls, and I'm watching one of the Russian pairs--damn! 17-year-old girl (Vera) looks like a toothpick! Her legs are so thin she looks like she has mallets on her feet instead of ice skates. How the fuck is she even lifting them up into those arabesques? I keep thinking her limbs are going to snap. And I think her partner thinks that too as however much he's lifting and tossing her, he always seems to be holding and handling her as if she's ulta delicate.

 

[sr71plt]

Ack!

Is it just me getting older and forgetting or are the female partners figure skaters looking more like the underage summer O gymnasts? The ones I've seen are so tiny and petite it makes me wonder if all the throws and tosses they do now sort of demand a flingable partner more than ever.

I think you are dating yourself. No female pair skater--and I mean no female pair skater--was as tiny or out of proportion to her partner as Ekaterina Gordeeva was.

Speaking of pair skating, though, my Olympics is already satisfied, with the win by the Chinese pair that has been the best of the best for a decade and that came out of retirement to compete.

 

[3113]

Speaking of pair skating, though, my Olympics is already satisfied, with the win by the Chinese pair that has been the best of the best for a decade and that came out of retirement to compete.

Yes, the Chinese win of gold--and silver for that matter--was well deserved. Their coach who was, himself, in pairs skating back in the day and had an embarrassing time of it, has found his glory and redemption as well. We couldn't write a story like this.

And getting around to boasting about gold medal wins...Snowboard cross was AWESOME! And what a win for USA's own Seth Wescott! He was behind at the start, and he made a jump that got him ahead, came in on the inside--zoooooooom! Right to the finish line! I am one happy snowboarder fan

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0215/oly_g_swestts3_300.jpg

Another one with a soul patch there! I think they're gonna be back in vogue....And here's this utterly fantastic image of the race (man, talk about capturing the moment):

http://www.latimes.com/includes/soundslides/olympics_big_picture/olympics28.jpg

 

[Tarakin]

Great snowboard picture, 3113! Fantastic! And it was a fantastic competition with many surprise especially in the first round!

Okay, national informations again:
Bronze for Germany, figure skating pairs: Aliona Savchenko /Robin Szolkowy.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41080000/jpg/_41080552_savchenko.jpg

I should be happy, but I'm not. Their coach, Ingo Steuer, has worked for the Stasi, the communist internal spies of Eastern Germany before the reunification, and he has ruined many lifes doing this, especially those of competing figure skater (he was still active those days). He never regretted anything before this games, and his final apology just before this games didn't sound convincing for me. In Turin our national team tried to ban him from the games, but courts did lift his banishment, and he still isn't paid by Germany like every other coach is. His athletes are paying him themselves. Oh, did I mention he has a very intimate relationsship with his star who pays him, Aliona Savchenko? There are also some nasty rumors he isn't too kind to her when she doesn't get gold. Why did the third pair of China not perform better? National bragging only goes so far...

1 Swiss 3 0 0 3
2 USA 2 2 4 8
3 South Korea 2 1 0 3
4 France 2 0 2 4
5 Germany 1 3 1 5
6 Canada 1 2 1 4
7 China 1 1 0 2
8 Czech Republic 1 0 1 2
9 Netherland 1 0 0 1
10 Sweden 1 0 0 1
11 Slowakia 1 0 0 1
12 Norway 0 2 1 3

 

[jomar]

Okay, I knew some of the outfits the atheletes were going to be wearing were designed to be like superhero coscumes but the men's ski outfits with the stars and stripes on arms and legs were almost Captain America-ish. This, is the outfit for bobsled and freestyle skiing:

http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/03USA_Bobsled&Freestyle.jpg

Not quite the same as the ones worn tonight, but close enough with the stars on one arm, stripes on the other and down the leg.

Go Captain America!

Oh, I thought they were just wearing their jammies.

I think you are dating yourself. No female pair skater--and I mean no female pair skater--was as tiny or out of proportion to her partner as Ekaterina Gordeeva was.

Speaking of pair skating, though, my Olympics is already satisfied, with the win by the Chinese pair that has been the best of the best for a decade and that came out of retirement to compete.

Who?

 

[Weird Harold]

Who?

http://figureskating.about.com/od/famousskaters/ig/Famous-Figure-Skaters/Gordeeva-and-Grinkov.htm

 

[3113]

Why did the third pair of China not perform better? National bragging only goes so far...

The third pair (you mean the first Chinese pair on the ice in freestyle, right?) just wasn't as good--and hey, even excellent skaters have off times. We go back to Apolo and his soul patch there. Luck does enter into this as well as skill. If someone falls, you could find yourself a winner even if you aren't really as good as that person who fell. But the second pair (the "Impossible Dream" pair) did an amazing job. Only small mistakes. They were't as graceful as the Germans, nor as unified as their older counterparts, but they were spot on and deserved that medal. I think they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in future Olympics.

And China does have a right to be proud. Russia has been on the Winter Olympic Skating Pair podium since 1960! An unbroken winning streak till this time around. The Chinese coach made it his life's mission to show that China could get a gold medal in this and they did. Gold and Silver.

I think that's what I appreciate most about the Olympics when they're at their best. As much as you cheer on your country, thanks to those athletes you also begin to put human faces on other countries, and you don't begrudge them their well-earned wins or their pride in those wins.

 

[sr71plt]

Who?

Who what? If you don't know who Ekaterina Gordeeva is, you're not all that much conversant with figure skating.

 

[sr71plt]

Why did the third pair of China not perform better? National bragging only goes so far...

Excuse me? What other country set three of its pairs in the top five positions? (How many other even had three teams in the the competition?)

And the third Chinese team has shone in the past. They just had a bad night. (Which goes for the three Russian pairs--and the German pair, whose skating achievements, I don't think, should be obliterated by a diatribe about their coach). How many German pairs were in the competition again? And where did they rank?

 

[jomar]

http://figureskating.about.com/od/famousskaters/ig/Famous-Figure-Skaters/Gordeeva-and-Grinkov.htm

Shhh

thanks, though

Who what? If you don't know who Ekaterina Gordeeva is, you're not all that much conversant with figure skating.

I guess if I have to explain the joke it's not that funny...

 

[Handley_Page]

I'm looking forward to the downhill tonight

revision:
I WAS looking forward to it, but the weather god has turned his face away.
Fun watching the skaters fall off, though.

 

[WRJames]

I had to stop watching to go out and shovel snow. Doesn't seem fair.