2018 Olympics - South Korea

Combustible Lemur · Post by **Combustible Lemur** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:35 am

We're watching via apps. It's great.

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Kurth · Post by **Kurth** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 3:41 am

Moliere wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2018 5:51 pm Given the lack of posts in this thread since the games started it seems I'm not the only one who doesn't care about watching these nationalist propaganda events.

“Nationalist propaganda events”?

I dare you to watch Shaun White and Chloe Kim and tell me we, as Americans, should not feel a bit of pride that these athletes are representing our country in the Olympics.

And those are just a couple of the high profile winners. Personally, I feel like some of the stories about the Olympic athletes that pour their blood, sweat and tears into their sport and don’t actually medal are even more inspirational.

“Propaganda”? Fuck that.

Edited to add that nationality really plays a relatively small role in it, too. I get just as excited when a non-American with an awesome story triumphs at the games. It’s first and foremost about recognizing talent and dedication and grit and perseverance and a handful of other core traits that are (or should be) truly and universally cherished and admired.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:26 am

I’m also watching daily. Love the Olympics.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:22 am

I'm watching, but disappointed that NBC isn't showing me sports, just skills competitions. Apparently they wait until after I'm asleep to show actual sports...I can't stay up until midnight anymore.

Redfive · Post by **Redfive** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:58 am

Kurth wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2018 3:41 am
Moliere wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2018 5:51 pm Given the lack of posts in this thread since the games started it seems I'm not the only one who doesn't care about watching these nationalist propaganda events.
“Nationalist propaganda events”?

I dare you to watch Shaun White and Chloe Kim and tell me we, as Americans, should not feel a bit of pride that these athletes are representing our country in the Olympics.

And those are just a couple of the high profile winners. Personally, I feel like some of the stories about the Olympic athletes that pour their blood, sweat and tears into their sport and don’t actually medal are even more inspirational.

“Propaganda”? Fuck that.

Edited to add that nationality really plays a relatively small role in it, too. I get just as excited when a non-American with an awesome story triumphs at the games. It’s first and foremost about recognizing talent and dedication and grit and perseverance and a handful of other core traits that are (or should be) truly and universally cherished and admired.

The Shaun White competition was awesome. Too bad that crazy good Japanese kid took such a hard fall--he was getting such ridiculous air on his jumps.

Really wish White wouldn't have stepped all over the flag and dragged it on the ground when he won though.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:17 am

There were some interesting takes in Ireland about "their" athletes, who are almost exclusively from other countries. Particularly about O'Connor "having a blast" and not caring about his results on the taxpayers dime. And none of the others really having a chance at any hardware.

Still, you can't field athletes if no one cares about the sport and you get people to care about the sport by getting them to watch. Bringing in ringers gets people to watch. It's a fun discussion to watch from the outside, at any rate.

I've only watched the men's biathlon (loved seeing that Czech guy medal) and some figure skating, which was completely baffling and stupid.

The men's ice dance I think it was, where the Canadian and Kindarussian both fell twice and finished 1st and 2nd while 3rd place finisher was flawless. Granted maybe not as tough a program but I thought falls were the kiss of death. Not anymore. And they have all this real-time scoring that is always wrong and all this SABREmetric commentary. I've seen databases with more soul.

I used to love the winter games, not sure why this one isn't doing it for me. Maybe hockey will get me back on track. With the NHL players out, it could be a lot of fun.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:12 pm

There was a Canadian snowboarder, McMorris, I think, who had had a pretty severe accident and who didn't think he'd ever snowboard again. But he did his rehab and got to the Olympics and ended up getting Bronze. That's a pretty amazing story.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/02/11 ... _23358431/

https://olympics.cbc.ca/video/athlete-s ... -mcmorris/

Watching his run, and at the end, the commentator was saying, "Can we maybe get an APB on McMorris? Because I think he's just murdered the slopes!" Or something to that effect

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 3:37 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:17 am
The men's ice dance I think it was, where the Canadian and Kindarussian both fell twice and finished 1st and 2nd while 3rd place finisher was flawless. Granted maybe not as tough a program but I thought falls were the kiss of death. Not anymore. And they have all this real-time scoring that is always wrong and all this SABREmetric commentary. I've seen databases with more soul.

This is why I don't consider such events sports (but this comes up every 2 years). Performance art, sure, but not sports. We don't give medals to ballet dancers and acrobats, do we?

morlac · Post by **morlac** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:31 pm

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:26 am I’m also watching daily. Love the Olympics.

Same. Winter are my favorite and I'll watch any of it; from Figure Skating to Curling. I find it all captivating for different reasons. Figure Skating is like a bunch of short Broadway plays. I don't get the scoring but don't care either, I watch it for the artistry and skill. Curling is cool and looks like something I could be bad at and not kill myself while drinking beer! And then of course Luges/bobsleds and anything on snow rock.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:25 pm

morlac wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2018 4:31 pm Curling is cool and looks like something I could be bad at and not kill myself while drinking beer! And then of course Luges/bobsleds and anything on snow rock.

Two of these came up at my friend's funeral service this past weekend. He arranged for three of us to go luging once in Muskegeon, and getting curling instruction/short match at a curling club in NW suburban Chicago. Drinking is an integral part of curling, the club had a very ornate bar as part of the facility. The technique of throwing the stone is quite difficult as it's not a natural motion. For luge, schlepping 40+ lb sleds up many flights of stairs was exhausting. We had 2 hours, were done after 1 hour and on my 6th and final run I could not even lift my head to see where I was going.

I wish NBC was showing these sports in prime time.

morlac · Post by **morlac** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:07 pm

That sounds awesome Jeff.

I found this:

http://atlantacurlingclub.com/

But alas no Bar at the ice arena. They do appear to meet off ice for beer festivities quite a bit so I might check it out. Its only about 10 mins. from the house. I struck out on any local southern luging action involving ice that didin't involve liquor being poured down it. Probably best.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:52 pm

While I did watch some of the mens halfpipe last night I do have a problem with any event that selects it's winner by judge scores. I don't like the ice skating stuff because of the judging and I feel that while I can appreciate the athleticism involved in the sports the scoring is pretty arbitrary.

I like the speed skating, the ski racing and some other sports though.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 9:15 pm

Can't wait to see Mikaela Schiffrin ski. Love this commercial, and it's based in reality (the autograph at the beginning is a true story).

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:21 am

morlac wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2018 8:07 pm That sounds awesome Jeff.

I found this:

http://atlantacurlingclub.com/

But alas no Bar at the ice arena. They do appear to meet off ice for beer festivities quite a bit so I might check it out. Its only about 10 mins. from the house. I struck out on any local southern luging action involving ice that didin't involve liquor being poured down it. Probably best.

That's what I'm going to miss most about that friend...while we often say, "that looks like something cool to try," few of us get past the inertia to make it so. He did.

Apparently there are only a couple of public luge tracks in the country, Muskegeon and Lake Placid are two that I recall.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:52 pm

Austrian snowboarder breaks neck in terrifying Olympics crash

An Austrian snowboarder broke his neck in a crash Thursday, but doctors have ruled out serious permanent damage, the Austrian Olympic committee said in a statement.

Markus Schairer fractured his fifth cervical vertebrae during a quarterfinal race in snowboard cross at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, sailing through the air and landing gruesomely on his upper back and neck on the course's final jump. The impact caused the 30-year-old's goggles to pop off and left him lying on the ground while his competitors crossed the finish line.

Schairer somehow returned to his feet and finished the race under his own power.

Finishes the race with a broken neck?!

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 1:59 pm

I feel like if you finish a race with a broken neck that you should get a bonus gold medal.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Thu Feb 15, 2018 2:01 pm

I don't know what's in the water over there, but damn!

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sun Feb 18, 2018 10:57 pm

I've found this pretty funny. While one of the Curling runs was in progress yesterday, they happened to play a bit from a radio interview they did with Mr T recently where he professed his love of Curling. I found it a funny contrast to how he's been portrayed as a tough guy suddenly being very nuanced.

"I like how they release the stone. Wow! They make it look so effortless, and then how the sweepers move down the line and not touch the stones — wow! That takes practice," he said.

Mr. T swept aside any suggestions that a renowned tough guy like him would be out of place at a curling rink, watching a sport seemingly unable to break away from the image of polite Canadians gliding smoothly along the ice.

"That's controlled mayhem," he said. "I like the finesse, and the cool, and the calmness of everything. I like the strategy."

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as- ... -1.4539621

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:47 am

Amazing grace in victory.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:56 am

Backstory for those that don't watch the Olympics?

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:03 am

Moliere wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:56 am Backstory for those that don't watch the Olympics?

Sorry.

https://sports.yahoo.com/gold-medalist- ... 04941.html

For all intents and purposes, the moment belonged to Nao Kodaira.

The Japanese speedskater had just won a gold medal by setting an Olympic record in the 500m women’s speedskating event on Sunday. Her time of 36.94 seconds had bested a good field including South Korea’s Lee Sang-wha, the two-time defending Olympic champion who earned silver with a time of 37.33 seconds in front of a home crowd wildly cheering her on.

But while no one would have blamed Kodaira for fully enjoying the moment of winning her first Olympic gold medal — and Japan’s second of the 2018 Olympics — she instead turned her immediate attention to making sure Lee was OK.

Overcome by the moment, Lee looked inconsolable as she circled the track after the race.

She wasn’t alone with her emotions for long, however, as Kodaira immediately embraced her.

It was a true Olympic moment and no small thing given that Japan and South Korea have had a complicated relationship over the years.

The progression of pictures is inspiring.

Vorret · Post by **Vorret** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:12 am

somehow Canada finished tied with Germany in 2 man bobsleigh for Gold. Tied... that's simply amazing.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 10:45 pm

Skiing remains most awesome for Agony of Defeat moments.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:15 am

Sorry, Canada. But that game winner is going to be replayed A LOT on this side of the border.

http://stream.nbcolympics.com/hockey-wo ... medal-game

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:16 am

Wow, what a game!

Kurth · Post by **Kurth** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:16 am

U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey takes gold in overtime shootout. That was tremendous!

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:22 am

Why do they persist on inflicting on us the shootout? Ugh.

Much rather lose in overtime than this crap, whoever wins.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:26 am

It was pointed out on the US broadcast that these two teams should just play a best of seven. There's never a bad game between them.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:44 am

The Meal wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:15 am Sorry, Canada. But that game winner is going to be replayed A LOT on this side of the border.

http://stream.nbcolympics.com/hockey-wo ... medal-game

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How about 'no'?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 2:10 pm

This morning when I turned on the TV, there was some ice sweeping on...first time I've seen it all Olympics. I figured we were just sucking badly so it got put on the 4 am broadcast, which was disappointing since I've learned how it works and enjoy seeing it every 4 years.

Turns out it was a play-in game against Canada for the chance to win the gold, and while I didn't get to see the punchline, I found out we won! So I expect this will be another blow to our neighbors to the north.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 2:30 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:44 am
The Meal wrote: ↑Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:15 am Sorry, Canada. But that game winner is going to be replayed A LOT on this side of the border.

http://stream.nbcolympics.com/hockey-wo ... medal-game

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How about 'no'?

It's funny I would link it, as I couldn't watch it from there either (for the same reason).

How 'bout twitter?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 2:32 pm

Thank you.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 10:52 am

Our biggest medal total of any Olympics. This is great.

No gold in hockey or curling. This is horrible. I'm not sure what to make of how I feel.

It's great we're diversifying but damnit.

Vorret · Post by **Vorret** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:33 am

We would have had gold in hockey with our A team. Right now it's our ... what, K+ team? None of those guys are even good enough to be in the NHL , should have sent younger guys instead.

I'm salty.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:10 pm

Vorret wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:33 am We would have had gold in hockey with our A team. Right now it's our ... what, K+ team? None of those guys are even good enough to be in the NHL , should have sent younger guys instead.

I'm salty.

I'm not so sure Canada would have been assured the gold medal with NHLers.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:29 pm

I don't know what team but some guy in the curling event was disqualified for doping.

Curling ??!!?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:34 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2018 1:29 pm I don't know what team but some guy in the curling event was disqualified for doping.

Curling ??!!?

Surprising no one, it was the Russians:

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) officially ruled Krushelnitckii, who won a bronze medal in curling's mixed pairs, guilty of doping on Thursday.

Krushelnitckii and his wife, who is his curling partner, were disqualified from the mixed doubles curling event and will be stripped of their medal. She did not test positive. Norway, which finished fourth, is expected to be given the bronze medal.

According to the CAS statement, Krushelnitckii admitted to the anti-doping violation. No information was provided on whether the athlete from Russia -- officially competing as a member of the team of Olympic Athletes from Russia due to the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee -- had purposefully taken meldonium, a potential performance-enhancing drug that has been prohibited for athlete use since 2016.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 2:15 pm

Doping in a curling event? Doesn't it strike anyone as rather excessive? But leave it to the Russians. I'm sure they've made their nation proud.

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 2:19 pm

Interesting that he admitted to it. First thing I thought I had heard was he accused a 'disgruntled former teammate' for dosing him to get him disqualified or some such. And yeah, first thought as well was "Doping in a curling event?".

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Feb 23, 2018 2:39 pm

Independent

It increases blood flow, improves exercise capacity and is favoured by endurance athletes, and is more commonly known in Russia as Mildronate, made by Latvian pharmaceutical firm Grindeks and used by Eastern Europeans to treat heart conditions such as angina, chronic heart failure, cardiomyopathy and other cardiovascular disorders.

It is the same drug that Maria Sharapova tested positive for in 2016, for which she received and served a 15-month ban from tennis.
...
Its use, according to numerous studies, helps to widen arteries and increase blood flow, which is why it can be used to treat cardiovascular diseases. But it may also have performance-enhancing qualities as a result, with the World Anti-Doping Agency adding the substance to their watchlist in 2015 and banning its use from 1 January 2016 due to its ability to help adjust the body’s use of energy, thus having a greater effect with stamina and endurance.