Official 2008 Summer Olympic's Thread - Page 20

Dagrims · 08-24-2008, 12:23 PM

Interesting idea in theory, but it gets a bit disturbing around the 35-second mark:

Bolt's Slo Mo Run

MorseMoose · 08-24-2008, 12:26 PM

how much do you think the bouncing slows him down?

rudel.dietrich · 08-24-2008, 03:44 PM

Argentina defends its Olympic Gold and has to be the favourites for the next WC IMO

koohead · 08-24-2008, 11:07 PM

1988:
Setter: Jeff Stork
OH: Karch Kiraly
OH: Bob Ctvrtlik
MB: Craig Buck
MB: Doug Partie
Opp: Steve Timmons

Defensive Specialist: Eric Sato
Bench: Scott Fortune

2008:

Setter: Lloyd Ball
OH: Riley Salmon
OH: Reid Priddy
MB: David Lee
MB: Ryan Millar
Opp: Clay Stanley

Defensive Specialist: Rich Lambourne
Bench: Tom Hoff

Setter: As good as Ball is and as respectable as his game is internationally, Stork was the best setter US Volleyball has ever had. Soft hands, smarts for the game, and knew how to use all 5 of his hitters and keep the defense guessing. A weaker blocker than Ball, his leadership on the court was far superior and I would take Stork anyday.

Outside Hitter: Can you really argue against Kiraly and Ctvrtlik as server receivers? No way. In a day when there wasn't a libero, these two received the majority of serves for the US team and gave Stork a great ball to run the offense with. I'll admit...Reid Priddy is a much stronger hitter than Ctvrtlik ever was, but it was Kiraly's and Ctvrtliks all-around game that give them the edge. That said, i would take Priddy and his offensive ability in today's game knowing that I can cover up his passing skills with a libero. Kiraly can out hit both Salmon and Priddy, so no contest. I'll call this a push...slight edge to the 88 team for their overall game but in terms of what each pair of OH's brings to the team its even

Middle Blockers: Craig Buck was possibly the most dominating MB of his day. He was a force in the middle and took away the quick from the opponent. Buck was also very familiar with Stork and their timing was excellent on 1's and 2's of their own. Partie was a role player...a servicable blocker but not much in the area of an offensive weapon. Lee is a huge block in the middle for the 08 team. Gets so far over the net and penetrates and when paired with Stanley form a huge wall that takes away the opponents best OHs. Millar is a vet and like Partie plays a role but is nothing spectacular. Edge goes to Lee and the 08 squad because they are far more athletic then Buck and Partie and can move side to side quicker imho (critical for a MB).

Opp: this is tough...Timmons vs Stanley. Timmons from 10ft was scary. But Stanley and his 80mph serve is scarier. Stanley is a much better blocker than Timmons. Timmons had raw skill and ability but never seemed to take his game to the next level like Kiraly did. Stanley seems to have gotten there. I'll give the edge to Stanley and the 08 squad.

Def Specialist: Before there was a libero position there was Eric Sato. Jump serve before it was popular. Dug anything between the lines. able to set if Stork was out of the play. Sometimes I wonder if the libero position was invented because of him. had he played today and was on the court for more than a couple points, he would change games. Not even going to talk about Lambourne...no contest. Huge edge to the 88 team.

First guy off the bench: Tom Hoff is a vet middle blocker who comes in when the 08 team needs a bigger front line. Scott Fortune was an offensive weapon of the bench for the 88 team. Fortune because of what he brought to the table gets the edge because of the bigger impact and contribution that he made. Edge 88.

final score: 3.5 - 2.5 88 over 08. Would be interesting to see the 2 squads play. two very different styles and 2 different teams. same result 20 years apart.

bababui · 08-25-2008, 01:05 AM

Eff NBC for editing the gold medal volleyball match so they could show the meaningless closing ceremonies without having to interrupt local news.

Erik W. · 08-25-2008, 01:09 AM

I watched the VB match live last night. Yay CBC!

And yes, NBC's editing of... well, everything in the Olympics... was highly annoying. I was caught between my annoyance at that or my annoyance at CBC's highly nationalistic coverage.

bababui · 08-25-2008, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik W.

I watched the VB match live last night. Yay CBC!

And yes, NBC's editing of... well, everything in the Olympics... was highly annoying. I was caught between my annoyance at that or my annoyance at CBC's highly nationalistic coverage.

I dont mind nationalistic coverage as long as credit is given when due. I didnt watch much of the NBC network coverage, but the other networks (USA, MSNBC, etc) did a pretty good job. They have left me anxious for the London 12 games to begin.

mrskippy · 08-25-2008, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bababui

I didnt watch much of the NBC network coverage, but the other networks (USA, MSNBC, etc) did a pretty good job.

FWIW ... it was the same coverage on ALL the networks, as all of them are part of NBC Universal. By 2010, Universal Sports should be in full swing. That network is basically a network which carries Olympic-type sports.

In terms of camera coverage, the cameras don't belong to NBC, but to the IOC, which controls all aspects of the broadcasting. Pretty much the stuff that you could see online was raw. The stuff on USA and Universal HD during overnight was fully live. Pretty much any live coverage on NBC was unedited.

Given that the gold medal volleyball match was a good 16-18 hours or so old by the time it aired on NBC, I'm not surprised they edited it down.

As for the closing ceremonies being unimportant, I disagree. That signifies the symbolic shift into the next games.

mrskippy · 08-25-2008, 02:51 AM

We know that Vancouver gets the 2010 Winter Games, London gets the 2012 Summer Games, and (for now at least) Sochi, Russia gets the 2014 Winter Games (given that it is 15 min. from the Georgia border, these games could be moved). Who gets 2016:

Chicago - 20 years since USA hosted a Summer Games (and 14 since any Olympics)

Rio - South America has never hosted, but considered the weakest bid

Tokyo - Perhaps one of the strongest bid, since Japan hasn't had the summer games in awhile. I think being only eight years apart from Beijing could hurt.

Madrid - A potentially strong bid is hampered by London 2012. Doubtful the IOC would put games in Europe four years after London and two years after Sochi (which is close enough to Europe).

Apparently seven sports have applied for two new sports spots at the games:

baseball, softball, karate, squash, golf, roller sports and rugby sevens have all applied.

I think baseball deserves to remain, but MLB needs to be involved. Japan proved that USA is beatable at softball.

Golf seems plausible, given the increased number of international athletes there and that they can have a men's and women's competition.

We'll know next June!!!

Skipaway · 08-25-2008, 02:52 AM

Vancouver tickets on sale in less than two months!

Skipaway · 08-25-2008, 02:53 AM

And Sochi will be so cool since it's so close to Georgia! Maybe Russia can provide some more fireworks during the Olympics like they do this time!

mrskippy · 08-25-2008, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skipaway

And Sochi will be so cool since it's so close to Georgia! Maybe Russia can provide some more fireworks during the Olympics like they do this time!

If the Georgia situation is not resolved amicably, I think Sochi could lose the games. It's just too close. But, I also think the think will settle here very shortly, so Sochi should be safe.

FWIW, 2018 games bids should start in the next year (I think the bids are due sometime in 2009. Denver and Reno/Taho are amongst the potential bid cities for the United States, but any USOC bid hinges on the 2016 Summer Games bid).

mrskippy · 08-25-2008, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skipaway

Vancouver tickets on sale in less than two months!

Yup, yup. Might try to go to those.

I had so wanted San Francisco 2012 to happen. I was a volunteer in the bid process and would have been a volunteer at the games. If Reno-Tahoe indeed bids, I might volunteer there.

Dagrims · 08-25-2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bababui

I dont mind nationalistic coverage as long as credit is given when due. I didnt watch much of the NBC network coverage, but the other networks (USA, MSNBC, etc) did a pretty good job. They have left me anxious for the London 12 games to begin.

I really enjoyed watching the coverage of the Olympics on two high-def channels that my cable company added specifically for the games: Korean channel and Mandarin channel. I couldn't understand any of the commentary but 99% of the time it wasn't needed. Those channels obviously focused on their country's athletes, but I got to watch extensive live coverage of a number of less popular (ratings-wise) sports: table tennis (team and individual), fencing, weightlifting, and water polo.

mrskippy · 08-25-2008, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dagrims

I really enjoyed watching the coverage of the Olympics on two high-def channels that my cable company added specifically for the games: Korean channel and Mandarin channel. I couldn't understand any of the commentary but 99% of the time it wasn't needed. Those channels obviously focused on their country's athletes, but I got to watch extensive live coverage of a number of less popular (ratings-wise) sports: table tennis (team and individual), fencing, weightlifting, and water polo.

I wish my cable company did that. However, I did get to watch the gold medal soccer game on Telemundo. They had it live, even though it was not HD. If I were a member of the local Spanish-speaking population I would complain that there are no Spanish-speaking HD channels. Honestly, the whole commentator thing is not a huge deal, though I do like learning about the athletes. The only drawback online was that it was a bit too raw at points, since it was camera only and it did not seem like they were blending in NBC's cameras (NBC has its own cameras that they can capture the US athletes with, editing it into the IOC feeds you're getting online). Great way to watch the less popular sports. I only hope that by 2010 (and for sure by 2012) that the Internet feeds will be pushed to the television via STB.

bababui · 08-25-2008, 03:52 PM

The gold medal soccer game was also shown live on CNBC.

Erik W. · 08-25-2008, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bababui

The gold medal soccer game was also shown live on CNBC.

I watched it on CBC. I believe it was live, but I was so tired that I'm honestly not sure.

bababui · 08-25-2008, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik W.

I watched it on CBC. I believe it was live, but I was so tired that I'm honestly not sure.

It started at 9PM PDT. It was just about the only coverage we got to see live because of the idiotic East Coast bias NBC had. We didnt even get to see most of the USA basketball games live while they did back east.

Erik W. · 08-25-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bababui

It started at 9PM PDT

Yeah, so midnight here sounds about right.

ChronX · 09-12-2008, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik W.

An hour into track and field and I'm already sick to death of sprinters shutting it down after 70 meters.

ESPN - Physicist subtracts showboating, says Bolt could have run 9.55 in Beijing 100 - Trackandfield

08-24-2008, 12:23 PM	#381
Dagrims Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 3,827	Super-slow mo of Bolt's 100M run Interesting idea in theory, but it gets a bit disturbing around the 35-second mark: Bolt's Slo Mo Run __________________ "Read books, get brain."

08-24-2008, 11:07 PM	#384
koohead Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 3,211	which vball (indoor) gold medal team is better? (spoiler alert!!!) 1988: Setter: Jeff Stork OH: Karch Kiraly OH: Bob Ctvrtlik MB: Craig Buck MB: Doug Partie Opp: Steve Timmons Defensive Specialist: Eric Sato Bench: Scott Fortune 2008: Setter: Lloyd Ball OH: Riley Salmon OH: Reid Priddy MB: David Lee MB: Ryan Millar Opp: Clay Stanley Defensive Specialist: Rich Lambourne Bench: Tom Hoff Setter: As good as Ball is and as respectable as his game is internationally, Stork was the best setter US Volleyball has ever had. Soft hands, smarts for the game, and knew how to use all 5 of his hitters and keep the defense guessing. A weaker blocker than Ball, his leadership on the court was far superior and I would take Stork anyday. Outside Hitter: Can you really argue against Kiraly and Ctvrtlik as server receivers? No way. In a day when there wasn't a libero, these two received the majority of serves for the US team and gave Stork a great ball to run the offense with. I'll admit...Reid Priddy is a much stronger hitter than Ctvrtlik ever was, but it was Kiraly's and Ctvrtliks all-around game that give them the edge. That said, i would take Priddy and his offensive ability in today's game knowing that I can cover up his passing skills with a libero. Kiraly can out hit both Salmon and Priddy, so no contest. I'll call this a push...slight edge to the 88 team for their overall game but in terms of what each pair of OH's brings to the team its even Middle Blockers: Craig Buck was possibly the most dominating MB of his day. He was a force in the middle and took away the quick from the opponent. Buck was also very familiar with Stork and their timing was excellent on 1's and 2's of their own. Partie was a role player...a servicable blocker but not much in the area of an offensive weapon. Lee is a huge block in the middle for the 08 team. Gets so far over the net and penetrates and when paired with Stanley form a huge wall that takes away the opponents best OHs. Millar is a vet and like Partie plays a role but is nothing spectacular. Edge goes to Lee and the 08 squad because they are far more athletic then Buck and Partie and can move side to side quicker imho (critical for a MB). Opp: this is tough...Timmons vs Stanley. Timmons from 10ft was scary. But Stanley and his 80mph serve is scarier. Stanley is a much better blocker than Timmons. Timmons had raw skill and ability but never seemed to take his game to the next level like Kiraly did. Stanley seems to have gotten there. I'll give the edge to Stanley and the 08 squad. Def Specialist: Before there was a libero position there was Eric Sato. Jump serve before it was popular. Dug anything between the lines. able to set if Stork was out of the play. Sometimes I wonder if the libero position was invented because of him. had he played today and was on the court for more than a couple points, he would change games. Not even going to talk about Lambourne...no contest. Huge edge to the 88 team. First guy off the bench: Tom Hoff is a vet middle blocker who comes in when the 08 team needs a bigger front line. Scott Fortune was an offensive weapon of the bench for the 88 team. Fortune because of what he brought to the table gets the edge because of the bigger impact and contribution that he made. Edge 88. final score: 3.5 - 2.5 88 over 08. Would be interesting to see the 2 squads play. two very different styles and 2 different teams. same result 20 years apart. __________________ GM - New Jersey Bears of the NPBL;

08-25-2008, 01:09 AM	#386
Erik W. Global Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Rivière-du-Loup, Qc Posts: 4,615	I watched the VB match live last night. Yay CBC! And yes, NBC's editing of... well, everything in the Olympics... was highly annoying. I was caught between my annoyance at that or my annoyance at CBC's highly nationalistic coverage. __________________ Free agent baseball fan. Let's go (insert team name here)!

08-25-2008, 02:52 AM	#390
Skipaway Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Where you live Posts: 11,017	Vancouver tickets on sale in less than two months! __________________ Jonathan Haidt: Moral reasoning is really just a servant masquerading as a high priest.

08-25-2008, 02:53 AM	#391
Skipaway Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Where you live Posts: 11,017	And Sochi will be so cool since it's so close to Georgia! Maybe Russia can provide some more fireworks during the Olympics like they do this time! __________________ Jonathan Haidt: Moral reasoning is really just a servant masquerading as a high priest. Last edited by Skipaway; 08-25-2008 at 02:55 AM.

08-24-2008, 12:26 PM	#382
MorseMoose Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 6,023 Infractions: 1/1 (1)	how much do you think the bouncing slows him down?

08-24-2008, 03:44 PM	#383
rudel.dietrich Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Zürich, Switzerland Posts: 8,608	Argentina defends its Olympic Gold and has to be the favourites for the next WC IMO

08-25-2008, 02:51 AM	#389
mrskippy All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Northern California Posts: 1,011	We know that Vancouver gets the 2010 Winter Games, London gets the 2012 Summer Games, and (for now at least) Sochi, Russia gets the 2014 Winter Games (given that it is 15 min. from the Georgia border, these games could be moved). Who gets 2016: Chicago - 20 years since USA hosted a Summer Games (and 14 since any Olympics) Rio - South America has never hosted, but considered the weakest bid Tokyo - Perhaps one of the strongest bid, since Japan hasn't had the summer games in awhile. I think being only eight years apart from Beijing could hurt. Madrid - A potentially strong bid is hampered by London 2012. Doubtful the IOC would put games in Europe four years after London and two years after Sochi (which is close enough to Europe). Apparently seven sports have applied for two new sports spots at the games: baseball, softball, karate, squash, golf, roller sports and rugby sevens have all applied. I think baseball deserves to remain, but MLB needs to be involved. Japan proved that USA is beatable at softball. Golf seems plausible, given the increased number of international athletes there and that they can have a men's and women's competition. We'll know next June!!!