Sochi Olympics

[Thumper]

I'm not a big fan of figure skating in general nor Russian figure skating in particular. But I really felt for Plushenko last night. Maybe the old sore man in me had sympathy for how hard he has worked most of his life and, the sacrifices he made, and the damage he's done to his body. Then just a few minutes later, I saw the worst fall ever in singles skating. I thought Abbott broke a rib or separated a shoulder. I didn't think he was going to get up. But he did, the crowd got behind him, and he finished his entire routine. That was moving.

Those guys on slope style skiing are insane. That was some of the most exciting stuff I've seen yet.

Maybe it's 55" HDTV's, and dozens of HD cameras capturing the action, but it seems now you can get so much better sense of the speed, and the risk. The old B&W* 13"ers just didn't convey it that way.



* Rommie, that stands for "Black and White TV." We didn't always have color televisions.

[Rommie]

Haven't been able to watch these past couple days, hoping to find a site with the old events archived somewhere that I want to watch from the past few days (I'm guessing that CBC one will once I change my IP address).

Rather funny because I've been in talks in the afternoons these past few days, and my adviser who's the head of the dept has his phone set so it's beeped in the late afternoon when the latest speedskating results are in. Then we pause everything while he says "a gold and a bronze this time!" or whatever.

Really fun to be in a country where people are really into a sport you don't know much about.

[brite]

Rommie... think Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Brink ... ver_Skates

[The Supreme Canuck]

Really fun to be in a country where people are really into a sport you don't know much about.

Heh, you should try to get tickets for the final of one of the big Canadian curling championships - the Scotties and the Brier - in that case. It gets... rowdy.

[Parrothead]

I was just wondering (again) does nbc actually carry any live programming from Sochi? All I seem to see they carry is tape delay coverage, on network tv.

Had a good day, I watched Finland vs Russia men's hockey at 7:30 am, caught some of the women's short program at 10 am, Canada vs Latvia hockey at noon, also switched to women's bobsleigh during the intermissions. Later watched the men's GS that I taped during the overnight hours.

Looking forward to Canada vs US women's hockey tomorrow morning (7am).
Men's hockey semi-finals on Friday ought to be good. Gold medal game 7am Sunday.

Both men and women in curling finals!

Go Canada!

[gethen]

I'm ready to quit watching figure skating entirely. All the hullabaloo about the judging in the ice dancing competition has ruined it for me. Face it folks, competitive ice skating, like gymnastics and certain other "sports" is, and always has been, subjectively judged. Sure, there are certain requirements, but it will always come down to what a given panel of judges happens to like.

IMHO, gymnastics is the same. My daughter used to compete in gymnastics and scores would vary wildly for the same routine, performed equally well, depending on where the competition took place. One year at regional competition, we all knew after the first few girls' routines that if a girl wasn't a graceful dancer, she was not going to score well, regardless of her ability to perform difficult gymnastic moves. The next year at the same regional competition, any girl who couldn't throw a good front tuck might as well have stayed home, even if she danced exquisitely.

The American and Canadian ice dancing pairs were both nearly flawless, both beautiful to watch. Of course the judges have preferences for certain styles and will score accordingly. The media's milking of this "controversy" has ruined it for me.

[Rommie]

There's a controversy? Shows what I know. (I guess the fact that those are really the only medals the US was up for in ice skating might have something to do with it.)

[gethen]

The "controversy" was just some people complaining that the Canadian team was robbed when the U.S. took the gold. The media has really played it up. It seems that the Canadian team won in Vancouver and usually outscored the American team during that time period. The last year of two it's been the U.S. team scoring better, as they did at the Olympics. As I said, that's the nature of judging in figure skating and gymnastics. There is no final objective way to judge if both teams are equally proficient.

[Parrothead]

The Ice dance pairs (Canada and US) shared a coach, as well. They all trained together, too. Yeah, there was speculation of the coach playing favourites, plus rumours of judging shenanigans, what else is new. Virtue and Moir did wonder about the coach a bit, after the medal ceremony, but in the end, basically said it was the US team's turn. Virtue and Moir (IIRC) were coming back from injuries in a past season and were just returning to form in the run-up to the Olympics. The US dance pair has out-scored them all season. They do skate different styles and the US team's was more to the judges' liking.

One thing that should return to figure skating judging, is showing how the judges scored. It may add fuel to any controversial decions, but under the current way, skaters just get the marks, not knowing how individual judges scored things.

The women's long program is underway. Bad luck for Kaetlyn (sp) in her short program. Canada vs Sweden in women's curling (Gold medal game) is also on. Looking forward to the start of the women's hockey gold medal game at noon. Taped ski-cross during the overnight hours. I gotta give the edge to the US men's hockey team in tomorrow's SF against Canada. The US team is playing more like a team. I'm happy to see Kessel and JVR still connecting, they were on a roll, just going into the break. I really hope it continues after the Games and they are back in Leafs uniforms.

[Cyborg Girl]

Got to see some of it today. Women's ice hockey, USA vs. Canada...

I found myself rooting for the Canadians simply because Team USA was playing so damn dirty. I saw Canadian players getting knocked over three times, American players zero. One of the American players interviewed said that "getting physical" helped "get [Canada] off their game."

Wankers.

[The Supreme Canuck]

That's one of the reasons that I dislike hockey. There's a disturbing pro-violence streak running through the game and many fans.

[brite]

That's one of the reasons that I dislike hockey. There's a disturbing pro-violence streak running through the game and many fans.

It's one of the things I like about hockey... they've managed to tame it over the years....

[geonuc]

Got to see some of it today. Women's ice hockey, USA vs. Canada...

I found myself rooting for the Canadians simply because Team USA was playing so damn dirty. I saw Canadian players getting knocked over three times, American players zero. One of the American players interviewed said that "getting physical" helped "get [Canada] off their game."

Wankers.

I watched the entire game and came away with a different impression. If you didn't see any take-downs of US players by the Canadians, then you weren't watching closely. To call the US women wankers is way off base.

On the whole, a great game to watch. While the female skaters do not perform on the level of the male (NHL) Olympians, the skill demonstrated by the US and Canadian teams was well above that required to hold this non-hockey fan's attention throughout. Plus, the women exhibit far, far less thuggery, which completely turns me off the NHL.

[Rommie]

Got to see some of it today. Women's ice hockey, USA vs. Canada...

I found myself rooting for the Canadians simply because Team USA was playing so damn dirty. I saw Canadian players getting knocked over three times, American players zero. One of the American players interviewed said that "getting physical" helped "get [Canada] off their game."

Wankers.

I watched the entire game and came away with a different impression. If you didn't see any take-downs of US players by the Canadians, then you weren't watching closely. To call the US women wankers is way off base.

On the whole, a great game to watch. While the female skaters do not perform on the level of the male (NHL) Olympians, the skill demonstrated by the US and Canadian teams was well above that required to hold this non-hockey fan's attention throughout. Plus, the women exhibit far, far less thuggery, which completely turns me off the NHL.

Just saw the highlight reel, but I also agree. Calling them wankers for just playing the sport as it should be played and playing it well is not really acceptable IMO, it's the same as calling an assertive, aggressive woman a bitch. I'll take a good bet that if you watched the men's hockey game where such behavior will be far more prevalent you won't be calling them wankers, you'd just change the channel if you don't like it.

[geonuc]

I'll add this, because this was one of the few hockey games that had me riveted: the Canadians deserve the gold because they won fair and square. But with a more critical eye, I'd say the US women outskated the Canadians for most of the match and that their two goals were 'cleaner' than the Canadian's three.

The US scored a good full-strength goal to take the lead, then they capitalized on a power play to go up by two. Power plays, of course, are part of hockey and penalty-killing is something teams practice a lot. The Canadians let one in.

The Canadians, on the other hand, scored a fluke goal off a defender. That, too, is part of hockey but I still consider it a fluke because the defender really didn't make a mistake. Then the Canadians pulled their goalie and scored with 6 on 5. A good goal; the US goalie did well but made a mistake in the end and let the shot in. In between those two goals, the US almost scored an empty net goal which would have been a shame because there was some unintentional referee interference. A goal there by the US would have made the rest of the game anti-climactic.

So, on to OT. Here, I thought the US lost their intensity a bit but in the end, it was decided by something I don't think should be allowed: 5 on 3 play in sudden death OT. Now we have arguments about whether this penalty or that one should have been called, or been a penalty shot, and whatever. In terms of hockey, 5 on 3 just doesn't do it for me. A better way to penalize a second infraction would be to extend the 5 on 4 power play another two minutes. Then, the defenders have a chance. With 5 on 3, once that was called the game was over in my view. I don't like that third Canadian goal.

See, I watched an entire hockey game!

[Thumper]

Got to see some of it today. Women's ice hockey, USA vs. Canada...

I found myself rooting for the Canadians simply because Team USA was playing so damn dirty. I saw Canadian players getting knocked over three times, American players zero. One of the American players interviewed said that "getting physical" helped "get [Canada] off their game."

Wankers.

Ummm, hockey is a contact sport. It's one of the reasons we wear pads and helmets. The body check and hip check are legitimate, legal moves. Maybe you should go back to ice dancing.

[Cyborg Girl]

@rommie, @geonuc: what I saw was one team playing a much more "physical" game than the other, to the point of what I would consider unfair play. I don't believe that's how the game "should" be played.

If I saw a men's team playing in a way I considered unfair, well, I'd like to think I'd also call them wankers...

As for sports where such stuff is mandatory, I'm not a fan. I don't like to see people getting knocked about, in general.

Sorry about the wankers comment though, I suppose that was uncalled for (and probably sexist).

[Thumper]

There are some "non checking" leagues, but that's not hockey in the big leagues. Just because one team is playing more physical than the other doesn't make it wrong. Any more than one team skating faster than the other or being much better puck handlers. Physical contact is governed by the rules. There are a multitude of penalties that can be called when a player steps outside the rules.

[Thumper]

Funniest thing I heard regarding the game: American Universities have got to stop giving scholarships to Canadian women hockey players.
-From my Uncle.

Spooner is a grad from Ohio State. Saw a graphic early in pool play, they probably reshowed it yesterday: I think 10-11 of Team Canada graduated or were going to universities in the US. We're training our enemies.

[The Supreme Canuck]

I actually just watched the men's Canada-US match. (Shock! Horror! But I can stomach Olympic hockey much more than NHL.)

Guess what? They're wankers. Not for checking and other legal physical moves. That doesn't bother me. But when the whistle has been blown, play has stopped, and you're still shoving and whacking the other team's players for getting too close to you as they skate back to their bench? You're a wanker.

The general impression I got was of barely-in-control testosterone junkies always on the edge of throwing down gloves. Which they don't do in the Olympics, of course. If this were the NHL, though? Well. That's one reason I like the Olympics better.

[code monkey]

Sorry about the wankers comment though, I suppose that was uncalled for (and probably sexist).

only if you wouldn't call males doing the same thing the same name.

[Parrothead]

I was shocked, shocked I tell you. NBC (network tv) actually carried live Olympics coverage! They actually aired the women's Gold medal hockey game live. The game was good, so was the men's SF. The women's game what a finish. The intense rivalry between the two continues. They played something like 8 games against each other, in the run-up to the games, so yes, it will be physical. The teams know the way each play.

The canadian women's team, they came together well, as Kevin Dineen came in as coach only some months ago. Agreed, it would have been a travesty, if that puck had gone into the empty net, rather than off the post. Contact by the official may have been unintentional, but should not have been in that position.

The men's team, I still have issues with lack of offence by the forward lines. The game against the US was the best the men have played. He may not have any goals, so far, but Crosby did a great job forechecking against the US. Actually, the team did a great job at it. This definately helped keep Kessel and other quick players off their games.

The US men will face Finland for Bronze in an hour or so. It'll be an early morning to watch Canada vs Sweden tomorrow.

I gotta think the russian coach is toast, brutal way to coach. The players could have tried better too. Russia always seto try to play as individuals, not as a team at these tourneys.

Will games be physical, yes. Less so, in international hockey, due to the bigger ice surface. NHL sized rinks, well less room. No out of bounds in hockey.

[geonuc]

I caught a piece of the biathlon last night (at a bar) as it was broadcast by NBC and had cause to compare NBC's performance unfavorably with a previous biathlon broadcast. I don't recall which network did the previous one.

The issue? When the competitors are shooting, they show a graphic that scores hits and misses. With the previous broadcast, it was quite clear when a shooter missed and how many he had missed in total so far. With NBC's graphic last night, I had trouble doing so. They also didn't show the closeup shot of the bullets hitting the target, which I find needful to completely enjoy the event. The other network did that.

[cid]

I remember catching a minute or two of some biathlon and sure enough, a day or two later someone was pontificating about how shooting isn't a sport, yadayadayada...

The funny one was on Fallon:

PRO -- you tell your parents you're a biathlerte.

CON -- they say "That's all right, we always knew..."