PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games

[rwsaunders]

You must have some amazing picnics if you think Ultimate and water polo belong in that group.

Todd...my middle kid is taking badminton in his last semester at college to fulfill and elective requirement and he is getting his arse kicked every week by his instructor, who is a graduate student who played for the Taiwanese National Team a few years back. We jokingly refer to badminton as a picnic sport too and Ultimate btw, is a dig deal with the local high schools in our region.

[thollandpe]

Todd...my middle kid is taking badminton in his last semester at college to fulfill and elective requirement and he is getting his arse kicked every week by his instructor, who is a graduate student who played for the Taiwanese National Team a few years back. We jokingly refer to badminton as a picnic sport too and Ultimate btw, is a dig deal with the local high schools in our region.

Well if you ever make it to the Amherst Invite, bring your bike!

[TMB]

So I dont like bobsled, its so cumbersome and inelegant when compared to the other sliding sports, which I also dont love. But the tie last night between Germany and Canada, produced a pretty amazing moment, never seen two teams so happy to share a win.

Once before, at Nagano, there was tie for the gold medal.

The two teams that tied? Germany and Canada.

[Corso]

Question to ski folks by a non-ski guy: Watching women’s downhill now: they mentioned the course was slightly different than the mens. Is this standard downhill stuff? And if so, why wouldn’t the mens and women’s be the same?

[j44ke]

Question to ski folks by a non-ski guy: Watching women’s downhill now: they mentioned the course was slightly different than the mens. Is this standard downhill stuff? And if so, why wouldn’t the mens and women’s be the same?

Women's downhill usually starts a little farther down the hill than the men's downhill. I don't know if the total length of the course or the altitude drop is controlled by regulation, but I think in the end it is probably for the same reason that many women's sports are shorter than the men's version.

[jumphigher]

An analogy would be, "I don't know why Froome is in the TdF this year. I'd like to see that talented amateur from the next town over tackle the race."

My first thought about this comment, is that it's not a good analogy at all. But after I thought about it for a couple of days, it does make sense to me. In fact maybe they should limit riders who win the Tour to just one win. Of course how you would enforce this I have no idea. And would riders also be limited in how many times they could win best climber, stages, etc?

I dont have the answer, but for me personally I liked the Olimpics better when it was only amateurs. Professionals coming back again and again is just vain and sad to me, and imo doesnt give some of the up-and-coming athletes their shot at greatness.

[72gmc]

Alert: Don’t look at fasterskier or deadspin or any other sports sites if you haven’t seen today’s updates yet. Just wait until the relays are posted at crosscountryski.us.

[j44ke]

Woohoo!

[72gmc]

I meant team sprints of course, but .... yeah. Woo to the hooo

[bironi]

I've always thought of curling as a game, not a sport. Not unlike bowling or billiards.

A discussion of what defines a sport should be a separate discussion. There is a macro-micro range of definition depending on the individual. Perhaps we can carry on this topic in a separate thread. I find the spectrum of perspective quite fascinating.

[robin3mj]

If you can drink beer while doing it, and potentially win, it’s a game.

[72gmc]

With Lindsey Vonn saying her body can’t take four more years of downhill, but clearly still loving the olympics, why not pick up a broom? Learn to curl, more beer in training, go to the games again.

[j44ke]

We have friends, who we haven’t seen since the kids were babies, visiting to do some college visits. The family all cross country skis, but the daughter is obsessed. I asked if they had been watching the Olympics, and she said no they don’t have cable so they can’t watch anything except figure skating. So I said would you like to watch the team sprint relays. Yes! So I found the on-demand taping on Eurosport, and she watched and broke down all the moves and tactics like a total pro. Really impressive and cool to see a kid so into something and smart about it.

[MarkC]

Ladies XC relay last night was a great watch. Not only because the USA emerged victorious. Just great racing.

I liked the pits with the uber serious wax guys handling the skis between laps then snapping them on the boots at the last second. The witchcraft and criticality of the wax in XC skiing is nuts.

[Corso]

I am watching on cable: 2 NBC network channels plus the Olympic Channel (came with package we have). I flip around depending whose covering what. Been watching since the opening. When I saw a medal presentation on the Oly channel, it suddenly hit me that NBC hasn’t really shown a full medal presentation, only a snippet of Vonn getting hers. Unless I’ve totally missed others.

The Oly coverage has been pretty complete, by showing interviews with winners from other countries ---not just americans, and not spending time on the adventures of their commentators. Where Jonny Weir ate breakfast has nothing to do with the current athletes competing.

To me, the Olympics are about everyone, not just the Americans. I guess NBC viewer research shows the opposite. Instead of covering the non-american winners, they seem to focus on the American’s excuses for not medaling.

[s_curran]

Havent got to watch the relay yet, but excited for tonights trainer session, as well as womens hockey.

Ladies XC relay last night was a great watch. Not only because the USA emerged victorious. Just great racing.

I liked the pits with the uber serious wax guys handling the skis between laps then snapping them on the boots at the last second. The witchcraft and criticality of the wax in XC skiing is nuts.

I was surprised with how much of a role it played in DH too, Vonn, "burnt" one of her skis? I dont know anything about this, but by the sounds of it, its not like they have a ton of equipment on hand? I actually watch a decent amount of the WC racing, but never dived into the equipment, or follow the characters or anything.

[sine]

edit

The witchcraft and criticality of the wax in XC skiing is nuts.

I spent hours waxing when I raced. I totally got it wrong (warm conditions and no experience with klister at races) at Provincials and had a miserable race.

XC skiing is an insanely difficult sport and biathlon even more so. I'm glad xc and the athletes are getting much deserved tv attention in the US. Hopefully it will inspire more young people to the sport.

[bironi]

Question to ski folks by a non-ski guy: Watching women’s downhill now: they mentioned the course was slightly different than the mens. Is this standard downhill stuff? And if so, why wouldn’t the mens and women’s be the same?

Here is a detailed answer.

https://deadspin.com/why-some-winter...str-1823153425

[Corso]

Here is a detailed answer.

https://deadspin.com/why-some-winter...str-1823153425

Thanks. Great detail, but the reasons make no sense at all.

I was very disappointed that the Gold medal finals of women’s hockey was played in a pretty empty rink. A big CONGRATS to the USA women, I’ve seen many of them play up close. These women play for the love of the sport, and an Olympic victory is their Stanley Cup.

But tonight I’m watching NBC interview Paul Wylie on his 1992 Silver Medal experience…They couldn’t get a single Womens’ hockey team player?

And they wonder why the ratings suck.

[72gmc]

I tuned in for the free skate with my girls, and it was worth it. My household says they got the Russians in the wrong order.