Winter Olympic Discussion

[Moke]

Steve P your idea about boat racing would never ever go. Different heights/weights of skiiers make the specs for skiis with lots of variation in stiffness and preformance. Sponsors spend big money on their ski advertising/R&D. The ski industry would never allow it with all the money/jobs on the line. That would like trying one bike say Colnago for the Tour. The Treck, Spec, Giant and Pinarillo folks probably wouldn't like it that way either.

[72gmc]

Stevep, I like your thought. I've long thought the same should be true in Olympic swimming. Mecha-suits for all or none.

Did y'all notice the XC family shout-out in Ezra's most recent update @ teachingcancertocry.com? I've become a Sophie Caldwell fan thanks to Caleb but I'd not made the connection to Ezra. Pretty cool.

[j44ke]

Maybe it's the time he spent covering the tour, but I, too, don't mind Trautwig. Maybe the time he spent next to Phil and Paul is the reason he calls some things completely opposite to how they actually are.

Separately, is curling the type of sport where men and women could compete equally against each other> Not really a curling fan at all (like most of these winter sports, truth be told), but the thought has occurred to me and I'd like to hear from someone who actually knows a thing or two about it...

Yes, I think so. I spent a long winter in Wisconsin curling when I was in high school, and while I suppose strength (if we can accept the sweeping generalization that on average men tend towards greater upper body strength) comes in handy just because the stones are heavy, it isn't a requirement for success. The stone conserves a tremendous amount of momentum, far more than is needed for even the most aggressive strike. A gentle shove will get it all the way down to the other end. You'll see curlers go through their delivery motion and then simply let the stone go with a slight turn of the wrist to put a clockwise or anti-clockwise movement on the stone. Strategy and the ability to envision future outcomes vis-a-vis physics and geometry are really much more central to success. In fact, I remember mixed gender teams in the league curling that often followed our demented efforts on the ice after school. I do remember that among us novices, the girls were almost always better at curling, primarily because they weren't trying to prove their machismo and smash everything to pieces at the other end of the ice.

[SteveP]

Steve P your idea about boat racing would never ever go. Different heights/weights of skiiers make the specs for skiis with lots of variation in stiffness and preformance. Sponsors spend big money on their ski advertising/R&D. The ski industry would never allow it with all the money/jobs on the line. That would like trying one bike say Colnago for the Tour. The Treck, Spec, Giant and Pinarillo folks probably wouldn't like it that way either.

point is. they could use their own skis. the preparation would be identical.
not super simple but im guessing it would be doable.
anyway, its prob a pipedream... but it would shut these guys up about missing the wax bs.

[joosttx]

point is. they could use their own skis. the preparation would be identical.
not super simple but im guessing it would be doable.
anyway, its prob a pipedream... but it would shut these guys up about missing the wax bs.

I am against this. I have always like the tech part, tech games-manship and drama associated with technological/equipment advancement to a certain degree. I would if the Norwegians just use a little NFS that their issued would be quelled.

[TMB]

Maybe it's the time he spent covering the tour, but I, too, don't mind Trautwig. Maybe the time he spent next to Phil and Paul is the reason he calls some things completely opposite to how they actually are.

Separately, is curling the type of sport where men and women could compete equally against each other> Not really a curling fan at all (like most of these winter sports, truth be told), but the thought has occurred to me and I'd like to hear from someone who actually knows a thing or two about it...

There is a whole series of Mixed events. Two men, two women on the team.

So, to an extent yes. Women's team against men's team? No. The difference in physical strength in both peel shots and brushing would render it a lopsided competition.

[e-RICHIE]

point is. they could use their own skis. the preparation would be identical.
not super simple but im guessing it would be doable.
anyway, its prob a pipedream... but it would shut these guys up about missing the wax bs.

How different is the wax bs from getting the right PSI in your 'cross tubulars? Many
sports have a cut guy in the corner who is part of the success or the failure atmo.

[SteveP]

How different is the wax bs from getting the right PSI in your 'cross tubulars? Many
sports have a cut guy in the corner who is part of the success or the failure atmo.

dont thk so r.
the wax thing is super technical and warmer, old snow makes it very troublesome.
sven nijs w/ 2 lb psi too much would still win

a norwegian world champ w/ a little miss on the wax would finish 8th.

[SteveP]

How different is the wax bs from getting the right PSI in your 'cross tubulars? Many
sports have a cut guy in the corner who is part of the success or the failure atmo.

dont thk so r.
the wax thing is super technical and warmer, old snow makes it very troublesome.
sven nijs w/ 2 lb psi too much would still win

a norwegian world champ w/ a little miss on the wax would finish 8th.

[e-RICHIE]

dont thk so r.
the wax thing is super technical and warmer, old snow makes it very troublesome.
sven nijs w/ 2 lb psi too much would still win

a norwegian world champ w/ a little miss on the wax would finish 8th.

Well then maybe the answer or the change you want is pits in xc ski
events so that racers could make a switch just like Sven can atmo.

[maunahaole]

Christin Cooper's post race interview of Bode Miller was despicable. I don't know if it was her or the producers, but that line of questioning was really beyond good taste and respect. I had listened to her commentary for World Cup and thought that she was a good and knowledgable broadcaster. She took herself down a couple notches with that.

[e-RICHIE]

Christin Cooper's post race interview of Bode Miller was despicable. I don't know if it was her or the producers, but that line of questioning was really beyond good taste and respect. I had listened to her commentary for World Cup and thought that she was a good and knowledgable broadcaster. She took herself down a couple notches with that.

If Bode let it go, maybe others should too atmo. Anyway, it was taped,
so the guy you wanna hang is the producer who ran it in prime time.

[maunahaole]

There's a little blurb on deadspin about that. I think that Bode is being overly gracious about the whole thing and that speaks a lot about him. Bode is certainly an imperfect person, but he is full on a champion.

[ron l edmiston]

-- the greatest olympic medal is gus kenworthy's gold medal in-lieu-of his silver, in ronnie's eyes, for the 4 puppies and mother he is waiting to take home to colorado..

ronnie with a respectful smile

[Hindmost]

dont thk so r.
the wax thing is super technical and warmer, old snow makes it very troublesome.
sven nijs w/ 2 lb psi too much would still win

a norwegian world champ w/ a little miss on the wax would finish 8th.

The wax used and the method of ski prep has been integral to the sport since day one. Dare I say what the old-time term for ski wax was?

[SteveP]

anyone remember bill koch ( usa ) winning an olympic medal on waxless skis cause nobody could hit the wax on the day of the race and his skis worked better than anyone else? dont get me wrong.. he was good but not that good.

i thk it was olympic silver but it may have been a world cup or something.
some big race and all the scandinavians were filled with hate.

notable w/ koch.. he was also one of the first athletes to skate rather than than classical.
much faster. just remembered that.

[Corso]

Bode interview: In the days before social media, the network would have given her a big raise for creating a “Thrill of victory, human factor” moment. By the time people wrote letters to complain, the Olympics would be over and Bode would be filming deodorant commercials.

XC events: If wax is so important, they should ALL (except for the Jamaicans) be prepared for whatever the day brings. No excuses.

I use waxless because I’m lazy. And slow. But I still use waxless wax on my waxless skis. Go figure.

[s_curran]

With all this comparing XC skiing to cross, will cross ever be an olympic (winter) sport? I'm a newcomer to the sport, so I don't know the history. Do people want it to be? I know the domination from Belgium would make it relatively boring to most at the moment, but just wondering. Seems like a team event would be kind of cool to watch.

Also, rented some XC skis today and had a lot of fun, over to the XC ski thread I go...

[TMB]

With all this comparing XC skiing to cross, will cross ever be an olympic (winter) sport? I'm a newcomer to the sport, so I don't know the history. Do people want it to be? I know the domination from Belgium would make it relatively boring to most at the moment, but just wondering. Seems like a team event would be kind of cool to watch.

Also, rented some XC skis today and had a lot of fun, over to the XC ski thread I go...

Will it be?

No.

Should it be?

No

The only places it would even be an issue is if they keep holding the stupid WINTER Olympics in sub tropical locations. If they actually held the WINTER Olympics in Winter locales like Innsbruk or Lillehammer no one would even be thinking of CX, because they would be looking at winter.

The last two sets of games in Vancouver and Sochi are just stupid locations for WINTER games. Too humid, too unpredictable and in the case of Sochi, too damned hot. I went to the games in Vancouver and enjoyed it, but really not the right place. CBC had a feature the other day, touring around Sochi. The most popular activity right now for athletes between events? going to the beach to sunbathe and swim in the Black Sea.

[e-RICHIE]

Assembling Ikea furniture with a 4mm Allen Key should be an Olympic sport
lonnnnnnng before cyclocross is even mentioned as a possible addition atmo.