Winter Olympics Thread: Vancouver 2010

[colchar]

Canadian women's hockey team 18, Slovakia 0.

In a qualifying event the Slovakian team beat Bulgaria 82-0. Seriously, I'm not even shitting you here.

[Miles]

Judged events are a joke. In ski-jumping, the third place finisher actually had a longer jump than the second place finisher. Ridiculous. As far as I am concerned, distance is all that should matter. I don't care if you are flailing your arms the whole way, if you jump furthest you should win.

I think judged events due suffer more than objective events, but I disagree that distance is all that should matter. It takes more athletic ability to perform an acrobatic maneuver and stick a landing than it does to just jump the furthest. There's actually a really nice balance between speed, technique, distance, in the freestyle moguls. It's a shame that there is no way to perform objective analysis, but that's why they throw out the highest and lowest scores, and use time to factor the score.

There are lots of problems with judged olympic events, but I don't think it takes it away from the excitement.

[colchar]

Judged events are a joke. In ski-jumping, the third place finisher actually had a longer jump than the second place finisher. Ridiculous. As far as I am concerned, distance is all that should matter. I don't care if you are flailing your arms the whole way, if you jump furthest you should win.

I think judged events due suffer more than objective events, but I disagree that distance is all that should matter. It takes more athletic ability to perform an acrobatic maneuver and stick a landing than it does to just jump the furthest. There's actually a really nice balance between speed, technique, distance, in the freestyle moguls. It's a shame that there is no way to perform objective analysis, but that's why they throw out the highest and lowest scores, and use time to factor the score.

There are lots of problems with judged olympic events, but I don't think it takes it away from the excitement.

It might not take away from the excitement (except in figure skating which can be so corrupt as to make boxing look clean) but I do think that it takes away from the validity of the final results.

[wilson]

Pairs figure skating will be heavily featured tonight...ick. I'll be very happy to take in interludes of the NBA All-Star game in between the men's luge final and freestyle skiing.

[wilson]

This freestyle moguls business is definitely badass. I like how it has scoring components for both speed and tricks.

[ArkieDukie]

Did anyone watch the young Russian team that skated after the coverage of freestyle moguls, before coverage of Americans Evora/Ladwig? If the female half of that duo doesn't have a major eating disorder I'll eat my hat. She was frighteningly skinny.

[wilson]

This freestyle moguls business is definitely badass. I like how it has scoring components for both speed and tricks.

Johnny Moseley, with whom I first became familiar via ESPN's Winter X Games, is a pretty good TV guy...he's doing a really good job of picking out important developments in realtime, and then explaining them to the layperson after the fact.

[ArkieDukie]

This freestyle moguls business is definitely badass. I like how it has scoring components for both speed and tricks.

Johnny Moseley, with whom I first became familiar via ESPN's Winter X Games, is a pretty good TV guy...he's doing a really good job of picking out important developments in realtime, and then explaining them to the layperson after the fact.

ITA - I was thinking earlier that commentators for other sports could take lessons from him.

[wilson]

Freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau has finally won a gold medal for the Canucks on their own soil. Congrats, eh, to the denizens of the Great White North.

[wilson]

Freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau has finally won a gold medal for the Canucks on their own soil. Congrats, eh, to the denizens of the Great White North.

Even better, he beat out Australian spammer-millionaire Dale Begg-Smith for the medal.

[colchar]

Freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau has finally won a gold medal for the Canucks on their own soil. Congrats, eh, to the denizens of the Great White North.

Even better, he beat out Australian spammer-millionaire Dale Begg-Smith for the medal.

Who was born and raised in Canada, only a few miles from where the competition was held.

[Lavabe]

See... if the NBA slam-dunk competition occurred right now opposite pairs skating 1st round, I'd watch it.

[wilson]

See... if the NBA slam-dunk competition occurred right now opposite pairs skating 1st round, I'd watch it.

But the dunk contest is a judged sport too... ;)

[Lavabe]

See... if the NBA slam-dunk competition occurred right now opposite pairs skating 1st round, I'd watch it.

But the dunk contest is a judged sport too... ;)

Da-- you, wilson!! ;)

[CathyCA]

OMG--the Germans submitted CLOWNS for the figure skating short program.

OMG! What were they thinking?

This program had better be good.

[Lavabe]

The German pair is skating to SEND IN THE CLOWNS. I score them very high in make-up and costuming.

All I can think of is SPROCKETS.

[wilson]

OMG--the Germans submitted CLOWNS for the figure skating short program.

OMG! What were they thinking?

This program had better be good.

The German pair is skating to SEND IN THE CLOWNS. I score them very high in make-up and costuming.

All I can think of is SPROCKETS.

Wow. How did multiple people, at any moment in time, think that was a good idea?

[Lavabe]

OMG--the Germans submitted CLOWNS for the figure skating short program.

OMG! What were they thinking?

This program had better be good.

The German pair is skating to SEND IN THE CLOWNS. I score them very high in make-up and costuming.

All I can think of is SPROCKETS.

Wow. How did multiple people, at any moment in time, think that was a good idea?

Shockingly, they are in 2nd place after the first round performance.

[CathyCA]

OMG--the Germans submitted CLOWNS for the figure skating short program.

OMG! What were they thinking?

This program had better be good.

The German pair is skating to SEND IN THE CLOWNS. I score them very high in make-up and costuming.

All I can think of is SPROCKETS.

Wow. How did multiple people, at any moment in time, think that was a good idea?

Shockingly, they are in 2nd place after the first round performance.

They skated very well, despite the bizarre costuming and makeup, which did NOTHING to enhance their routine.

[Miles]

The German pair is skating to SEND IN THE CLOWNS. I score them very high in make-up and costuming.

All I can think of is SPROCKETS.

Do you want to touch my monkey?