Let the games begin - 2012 Olympics

[Heyesey]

Baseball was eliminated because baseball players refuse to turn up for the Olympics, and would rather stay with their regular league team.

[AZRIEL]

[ejls]

Favorites Spain knocked out of Olympic men’s soccer tournament, unable to score a single goal. Three days after Japan's 1-0 win over Spain in the first round of Olympic men's soccer Group D was hailed as the "Miracle of Glasgow" Honduras repeated that result for itself, beating Spain 1-0 to eliminate one of the clear favorites from the tournament. With one group match left to play against Morocco, Spain's shocking inability to score a single goal in its first two matches -- making it the only team in the competition to do so -- will prevent any chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympi...6314--oly.html



Russia's Maria Sharapova celebrated after winning her women's singles tennis match against Israel's Shara Peer at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.



Kimberly Rhode became the first American to medal in five straight Olympics, setting records in women's skeet gold. Kimberly Rhode's years-long journey to the Olympic skeet shooting final at the Royal Artillery Barracks included a stolen championship shot gun, her husband's missing passport and a "hell on wheels" toy poodle that devoured her plane ticket to London.
The journey was worth it: Rhode, 33, became the first American athlete to win an individual medal in five straight Olympics, winning gold and setting an Olympic record for the highest score in the Olympic Finals with a 99-out-of-100. The previous mark was 93.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympi...6141--oly.html

[ejls]

Events like the Olympics are filled with inspirational moments like 39-year-old Jordan Jovtchev of Bulgaria.



Performing on the still rings at the Olympics is difficult enough. It requires a combination of strength, technique and flexibility as gymnasts must swing around, then hold strength poses for at least two seconds before coming up with a turning, twisting dismount.


Can you imagine how difficult it is to make it into the top eight of still rings performers? Can you imagine how much more difficult that is to do the day after carrying your country's flag and standing through the hours of the Opening Ceremony? Now, can you imagine doing that at the age of 39, after a gymnastics career that spanned two decades?

Welcome to Jordan Jovtchev's world. The Bulgarian gymnast is competing in his sixth Olympics, and will attempt to win his fifth Olympic medal during the rings event final on Aug. 6. He earned a berth in the finals with a top-eight finish at the preliminary round of gymnastics on Saturday. He'll turn 40 in February.


In a sport of young sprites throwing Amanars and double-twisting, double backs that make joints shudder, Jovtchev is representing for the gray-haired set. Cheer for him because the next time you don't want to get on the treadmill, you'll remember the 39-year-old who kept pace with the youngsters.

[ejls]

Women's Synchro 3M Springboard Diving -

Gold - China
Silver - USA
Bronze - Canada

[Heyesey]

Great Britain makes its mark on the medals board, on day two.

Lizzie Armitstead took silver in the women's cycling road race, as part of a 3-woman breakaway that held off the peloton and guaranteed themselves all three medals. Later, Becky Adlington, defending 400m freestyle champion, took bronze in the event which is not her strongest; that bodes well for the 800m freestyle to come.

[AZRIEL]

three ring circus.jpg

[ejls]

I'm impressed with the decisions made by the Olympic committee. They are not standing for actions that go against what they stand for.

Swiss soccer player banned from Olympics for racist tweet

By Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY





Less than a week into the 2012 London Olympics and already two athletes have been expelled for racially charged messages. Monday, the Swiss Olympic Committee bounced soccer player Michel Morganella, 23, after his offensive comment following Switzerland's 2-1 loss to South Korea a day earlier.


Translated from French, Morganella's tweet said he wanted to beat up South Koreans, that they should "burn" and that they were a "bunch of mongoloids."
Last week, Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou, a right-wing political supporter, was expelled by Greek athletic officials after she mocked African immigrants.
Offensive remarks are in breach of the International Olympic Committee's code of ethics.


In Morganella's case, he "discriminated against, insulted and violated the dignity" of the South Korean team, as well as the nation's citizens, Swiss committee chief Gian Gilli said Monday in a statement at a news conference.


Gilli said Morganella willingly accepted the punishment. His Twitter account has already been deleted.


"Michel indeed does realize that his behavior was wrong," Gilli added. "We hope that he will draw the necessary lessons for his still-young football career.''


Morganella attempted to apologize on Twitter in French and English, trying to explain that he made his comments in the heat of defeat.


Luis Milla, Spain's soccer coach, said athletes are entitled to their opinions, but "people in the sports world when they tweet, they have to be respectful.''
Two American divers, David Boudia and Nick McCrory, said they are mindful of the potential dangers.


"Everyone sees it — it's not like you can say something and delete it right away,'' Boudia said. "It's going to be found. You just have to be careful of what you want to say and how your message is going to come across. Ten years down the road, they're going to look back at that."


Said McCrory: "If you wouldn't say it in an interview, you probably shouldn't tweet it. That's my rule of my thumb. Social media guidelines are the same as social guidelines. There are things you do and don't say."


Fans are becoming exceedingly wary, too. Sam Quinton, 21, of Woodford, England, said he recently deleted his Twitter account. But he said, "Twitter is something (many athletes) use every day. Suddenly, when they're being looked at by so many people, their opinions get scrutinized even more.''

[ejls]

I'm kind of partial - she's a hometown girl. Abby admitted in an interview that she thought about retaliating, but didn't want to risk being banned.

Player who punched USA's Abby Wambach suspended

By Robert Klemko, USA TODAY

MANCHESTER, England – Abby Wambach got her wish, though it won't fix the shiner she received on Saturday at the London Games.


The Colombian soccer player who punched her during their group play match has been suspended two games by FIFA, according to FIFA spokesman Alex Stone.
Colombia's Lady Andrade took down Wambach with a punch from behind during a 3-0 U.S. victory in Glasgow, Scotland, prompting Wambach to call for the player to be removed from the Olympics.


Wambach called the play "unsportsmanlike" and "dangerous," but promised she would "never think about that girl again." The team did not make a formal complaint for Andrade's actions, and declined to comment on the reported suspension. Andrade denied that the punch was intentional.


The Colombians, losers of their first two group play matches, will play France on Tuesday in Newcastle, England. Though not yet mathematically eliminated from contention, Colombia is a long shot to beat the French. If the Colombians are eliminated, she would finish her suspension outside of the Games.


The Americans, who are 2-0 in group play, meet North Korea in Manchester having already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals.

[ELaken-Palmer]

I have a newfound love for Australia!

[Heyesey]

Originally Posted by ejls

I'm impressed with the decisions made by the Olympic committee. They are not standing for actions that go against what they stand for.

It's worth pointing out that in both cases, the athletes weren't actually banned by the IOC; their own country pulled them out.

The IOC probably will get round to banning them once their cases are heard, but since they won't be appearing in London anyway there's now no rush to hear those cases. So it's not a case of the IOC not deserving credit, but we definitely should be applauding the Swiss and Greek committees for taking unilateral action.

[Wraith666]

Hi all,
I haven't heard the ruling why in Woman's Fencing the match was over, a second was added back on and the Asian female lost when the German lady made a kill shot. I've never heard of such a thing...and was there a German judge on the panel.
Sorry for not having more info but I can't believe this one.

[ejls]

Originally Posted by Wraith666

Hi all,
I haven't heard the ruling why in Woman's Fencing the match was over, a second was added back on and the Asian female lost when the German lady made a kill shot. I've never heard of such a thing...and was there a German judge on the panel.
Sorry for not having more info but I can't believe this one.

FENCING DRAMA

By The Associated Press

Big drama at the women's epee semi finals in the fencing.


The South Korean team staged an official protest after Shin A-lam lost in the semifinals, claiming the match was already over when opponent Britta Heidemann of Germany scored the winning point.


Shin and Heidemann were tied at 5-5 when the German seemed to score in the final second.


A jury spokesman said it would "take a while to come to a decision in this delicate situation."


In the meantime, Shin was not allowed to leave the strip and sat, in tears, waiting for a decision.


Tense situation. Extraordinary!

[Wraith666]

Thanks Ejls. The Korean woman had to sit in the middle of the fencing area, beccause if she'd have left she would have defaulted her protest. She sat and cried for an hour in the middle of everyone until the decision was handed down.
I would have thought, with atomic clocks, Longines, and all the technology that adding a second could not possibly occur.

Thank goodness there's no chemical enhancements being questioned in the games...LMAO

[Heyesey]

Originally Posted by Wraith666

Thanks Ejls. The Korean woman had to sit in the middle of the fencing area, beccause if she'd have left she would have defaulted her protest. She sat and cried for an hour in the middle of everyone until the decision was handed down.
I would have thought, with atomic clocks, Longines, and all the technology that adding a second could not possibly occur.

It wasn't exactly a timekeeping error ... the Korean was adjudged guilty of some technical infringement or other in the last second of extra time, so one second was put back on the clock.

The protest was because, in the coach's opinion at least, the strike by the German girl that won her the match, was more than one second after the referee had restarted the fight - but less than one second after the timekeeper pressed the clock button. Those two events are supposed to be simultaneous, but he argued they were not.

On video, it looks like he was right, too; but the protest was denied.

[Wraith666]

Originally Posted by Heyesey

It wasn't exactly a timekeeping error ... the Korean was adjudged guilty of some technical infringement or other in the last second of extra time, so one second was put back on the clock.

The protest was because, in the coach's opinion at least, the strike by the German girl that won her the match, was more than one second after the referee had restarted the fight - but less than one second after the timekeeper pressed the clock button. Those two events are supposed to be simultaneous, but he argued they were not.

On video, it looks like he was right, too; but the protest was denied.

Thank you Heyesey. That was the detailed part I was missing. Didn't really care either way who won. Just felt bad for her. Thx again.

[Rinnie]

Wow, there's a lot more drama going on in the Olympics that realized. lol. I haven't been following them too closely... just beach volleyball for the US. :D Fuck yes.

[cijababe]

The synchronised diving is incredible - I watched the Chinese divers in slowmo. Utterly perfect!

[meforyou]

I can happily say that I've not seen a single moment of the olympics. The cricket's been on.

[bigbird]

Loving the Olympics - so proud watching the sailing coming from the place I grew up - and the men's team gymnastics commentary had the hairs on my arms raised - real goose bump "history" moment

[cijababe]

Ooooh BB - I would so love to be in Weymouth - we go on hols there, love it

So do you have the West Country accent? (please please please)

[Business Dad]

The chineese are at again this time a girl swimmer swam faster than the men in the same event

[ejls]

Medal counts

China - 17
US - 17
Japan - 11
Italy - 8
South Korea - 6
Russia - 5
North Korea - 4
Australia - 4
Romania, Brasil, Hungary, Ukraine, Great Britain - 3
Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Columbia - 2
and 22 countries with 1

[N.E. Woman]

Ejls, I want to thank you for your unofficial commentating on the Olympics. I haven't been able to watch/ hear a lot, (except for the medals count my news station gives).


Also about the athletes that twitter racial slurs, good for whomever is turning them in and for the people who are giving out the punishments.

[Heyesey]

Originally Posted by Business Dad

The chineese are at again this time a girl swimmer swam faster than the men in the same event

No, no female swimmer has done that yet. You're talking bollocks.

[AZRIEL]

FOREVER.jpg

[Heyesey]

Michael Phelps just barely fails to defend his 200m butterfly title, but the silver is good enough to make him the most highly decorated Olympian of all time, with 18 medals.

He later adds a 19th with gold in the 200m medley relay; his team-mates sent him into the last leg with a lead of three whole seconds, which was never in the slightest doubt of collapsing. The French took half a second out of it but could get no closer.

[thinskin]

I'll interrupt my holiday to salute Michael Phelps who, after very narrowly losing his 200m butterfly title, showed himself to be the ultimate Olympian by being as gracious in defeat as he was in victory after the 4 x 200m freestyle race.

Watch the 200m breaststroke final tomorrow (19.30 GMT) for a very realistic chance of a UK gold. My old event btw!

Thinskin

[shootersa]

You just gotta love beach Volley Ball. Shooter does.

[ejls]

Phelps is the most decorated Olympian ever -
http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/sw...e-relay-073112

For only the second time in history, the American women have scored the team Olympic gold. -
http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/gy...snhp&GT1=39002


Chinese women guaranteed gold in table tennis -
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/chinese...6910--oly.html

Spain protests 8-7 water polo loss to Croatia because of disallowed tying goal -
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympi...4631--oly.html

[m21]

How can anybody not enjoy the Olympics when you get events like this
http://www.flabber.nl/linkdump/video...r-horden-11946

[ejls]

British Cycling Squad Reveals Secret Weapon
For British cyclists in the Olympics, the secret is in the pants.
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/lond...-secret-weapon

[69magpie]

Originally Posted by m21

How can anybody not enjoy the Olympics when you get events like this
http://www.flabber.nl/linkdump/video...r-horden-11946

I hate to disappoint all you perverts out there in voyeurland but that gorgeous aussie isn't in these olympics, she didn't make the cut.

Does everyone now hate us aussies.

[ejls]

Originally Posted by 69magpie

I hate to disappoint all you perverts out there in voyeurland but that gorgeous aussie isn't in the olympics, she didn't make the cut.

Does everyone now hate us aussies.

Not me. But then I thought she was prancing around for the attention anyway.

[gngbngprncss]

After seeing Michael Phelps win his 16th gold medal, 19th medal over all, I wanted to get started making babies so that I could throw them in the water. I want to breed fish too dammit! No, but seriously, I felt so happy for him. Also, the "Fab 5" made me cry when they were getting their medals. USA is really making me proud, yet sad that I haven't accomplished nearly half as much as ALL of these olympians. I hope nothing but the best for each and every single olympian.

[Heyesey]

Ridiculous goings-on in the badminton, where four pairs in the women's doubles event have been thrown out of the tournament for not trying to win.

There are four groups of four, and the top two in each progress to the quarter-finals; in Group A and Group C, we had teams playing each other in the third round who had already qualified, and in both cases they were trying to lose their last game so as to finish second and get an easier draw in the quarter-final. The end result is, none of them will be in the quarter-final at all; justice served, thankfully.


Meanwhile, Team GB have a gold medal, and another bronze, from the rowing, with strong chances in the cycle time trials this afternoon.

[deviousdave]

Umpire in the Wiff Waff needs bitch slapping. She is ruining this game.

[richief]

Aaarghh, I am so hacked off with this crap, it becomes the main news item pushing back what could be rebel war crimes in Syria to item 4, behind some twat on a bike and a couple of girls in a boat, then some badminton payers trying to lose getting expelled. What a fucking world we live in.

[ELaken-Palmer]

Originally Posted by ejls

Not me. But then I thought she was prancing around for the attention anyway.

Michelle WON her event in the JUNIOR Olympics, in Spain, this summer. That was her warm-up before the race.

_________

[AZRIEL]

[ejls]

Britain wins Olympic gold in women's pair rowing.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/britain...7324--oly.html

Venus Williams loses in 3rd round of Olympic tennis.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/serena-...1532--oly.html

Bradley Wiggins wins Olympics gold in cycling time trial.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18905559

Badminton - 8 player disqualified for throwing matches.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oly...-expelled.html

Water polo bathing suit malfunction.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympi...7892--oly.html

[69magpie]

Originally Posted by ejls

Water polo bathing suit malfunction.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympi...7892--oly.html

Requestiong one of XN's sock photoshoppers to put the boob back into this pic..

[ejls]

Originally Posted by 69magpie

Requestiong one of XN's sock photoshoppers to put the boob back into this pic..

It's all about modesty, Magpie.

[ejls]

Tunisian men’s basketball coach slaps player in the face during huddle before playing Team USA.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympi...9876--oly.html

[ejls]

Uchimura gets Olympic gold to go with world titles
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/au...to-go-with-04/

[69magpie]

Originally Posted by ejls

It's all about modesty, Magpie.

If that's the case then the girl next to her should pull her bathers out of her crack..

[ejls]

Olympic Track And Field: New Sprinting Rule Will Disqualify Runners For False-Starts
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...ummer-olympics

[Wraith666]

I know Phelps is the most decorated Olympian but I saw a recent interview the other day and he's acting like a 'little bitch'. I think his ego got to his brain. Just my opinion.

And did anyone catch how hot the 24 yr old Romanian gymnast was last night? Wow. Again, just my opinion. Lol

[Wraith666]

[m21]

Originally Posted by ejls

Olympic Track And Field: New Sprinting Rule Will Disqualify Runners For False-Starts
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...ummer-olympics

It's not a new rule, It's been in place ages now.
Bolt was disqualified under that rule last year.