2008 Olympics

Poop. Andy Murray has crashed out.....

What, the Cincinnati Masters was not enough for you

YAY!  India just won its first individual gold medal ever!  Well done!

YAY!  India just won its first individual gold medal ever!  Well done!

Nice!

I'm so proud of them!  My DH tried to represent India a few Olympics back but wasn't able to...he will be very pleased. 

[MOD NOTE]

All discussion of the television presenter Adrian Chiles has been removed.  Anyone wishing to discuss Adrian Chiles in any form for any reason should do so by PM.

Frankly I do not have the  time or the inclination to keep dealing with this.

Saying that there is gossip on the internet is not presenting anything as fact but I truly cannot maintain my interest in this for another minute.  If saying that gossip exists on the internet was libel then a LOT of websites and media would be being sued on a daily basis. 

This discussion is over.  Anyone wishing to discuss libel should do so by PM or they should join a forum set up for that purpose since it seems to be a particular interest of some forum members.

What, the Cincinnati Masters was not enough for you

Oh no, I don't like him at all, but I want GB to get some gold, baby!!!!   

I'm so proud of them!  My DH tried to represent India a few Olympics back but wasn't able to...he will be very pleased. 

You mean there's YOGA in the Olympics???!!!!!? Tri-age gets my perfect score 

Yea for India! (puts on some Bollywood tunes to celebrate...)

You mean there's YOGA in the Olympics???!!!!!? Tri-age gets my perfect score 

Yea for India! (puts on some Bollywood tunes to celebrate...)

Awwwww you are so sweet 

NBC and CBC are annoying me. I feel like I'm watching the same events over and over because I'll watch it when it's live at 1AM or whatever, and then NBC will put it on again at primetime...and then if it's a popular sport (like gymnastics), they'll show it *again*.  I watched the women's qualifying rounds at least four times.

Oh no, I don't like him at all, but I want GB to get some gold, baby!!!!   

OK, you are forgiven

(Honestly, I didn't know there was a Cincinnati Masters, nor do I like Mr Smiley)

NBC and CBC are annoying me. I feel like I'm watching the same events over and over because I'll watch it when it's live at 1AM or whatever, and then NBC will put it on again at primetime...and then if it's a popular sport (like gymnastics), they'll show it *again*.  I watched the women's qualifying rounds at least four times.

I hear you on that one - it just seems like I'm watching the same thing over and over again! I found it quite annoying that when they showed the primetime gymnastics last night, they only showed China and the US, as if there were no other teams in the competition  (because apparently the Chinese gymnasts are the only ones that could possibly come close to beating the US  )! When I was watching it, I was just thinking, 'What if some unknown gymnast or team suddenly does really well and wins the gold? No one in the US would even know they existed because NBC didn't broadcast anyone else!'

I understand the notion of showing the US team's performance, because we are in the US, but it would have been nice to have seen some more performances of other gymnasts. I watched the BBC coverage of the Men's Qualifiers online (ended up just going without sound) and in the space of an hour they showed a large selection of different gymnasts... not just the 2 Brits (although they only showed their Pommel routines), but all the other big contenders too.

Some of the male gymnasts I like to watch are people like Fabian Hambuechen (Germany), Marian Dragulescu (Romania) and Hiroyuki Tomita (Japan) and in the women's competition: Anna Pavlova (Russia), Vanessa Ferrari (Italy) and Beth Tweddle (Britain) (my other favourites aren't competing this year). All three men were in the Top 5 in the world and all three women were in the Top 10 in the world in the most recent rankings I could find online (2006).

But I wonder how many average Americans sitting down to watch the gymnastics even know that these great athletes even exist?

But I wonder how many average Americans sitting down to watch the gymnastics even know that these great athletes even exist?

That depends on if the average American actually follows gymnastics, or if they're just a "I'll watch the Olympics" kind of gymnastics fan.  I follow gymnastics year-round, so I agree.  I'd love to see the other gymnasts!  Fortunately, I'm up at my friends house in Manitoba, and the CBC was really good about showing most of the gymnasts when it was live at 1 in the morning.  On the primetime repeats, I saw US, China, Canada, and GB on CBC.  Oh, and did you see the 33-yr-old from Germany?  She competed back in 1992 on the Russian team (when they unified to play as the "cix") when they won....before some of the girls she's competing against were born! 

I'm also a little annoyed that we don't get the medal ceremonies on NBC unless the US is winning gold.  C'mon, I want to see ALL the ceremonies! 

Total bliss - watched cross country (eventing) with a glass of wine for the better part of the last couple of hours. Thank god for living in a horsey country!!!

That depends on if the average American actually follows gymnastics, or if they're just a "I'll watch the Olympics" kind of gymnastics fan.

Yeah, you're right on that one, although it still seems very one-sided to me. It would be like only broadcasting the tennis matches in which US players are competing and never even mentioning Federer, Nadal or Djokivic - the top 3 players in the world. Back in 2006, Tomita and Ferrari were the number one gymnasts in the world, but I haven't heard anything about them in the US Olympic coverage, despite the fact that they were both competing at the same time as the US teams this weekend.

I follow gymnastics year-round, so I agree.  I'd love to see the other gymnasts!  Fortunately, I'm up at my friends house in Manitoba, and the CBC was really good about showing most of the gymnasts when it was live at 1 in the morning.  On the primetime repeats, I saw US, China, Canada, and GB on CBC.

Maybe I'm just getting annoyed because the gymnastics is the main sport I follow at the Olympics and it's frustrating that I can't see the gymnasts I want to see on TV (I had similar issues with Wimbledon too - not being able to watch all of the matches I wanted to on TV, which I knew were being shown on the BBC at home). It's also a personal thing too because my brother knows Louis Smith, Imogen Cairns and Beth Tweddle and has also had tea with Marian Dragalescu (his old coach used to coach the Romanian Team so he has spent some time in Romania in the past) - and I want to be able to see how they are all doing in the Olympics .

Oh, and did you see the 33-yr-old from Germany?  She competed back in 1992 on the Russian team (when they unified to play as the "cix") when they won....before some of the girls she's competing against were born!

Yeah, I saw it briefly on TV (I've been sick in bed all weekend so I'm not following the schedule as closely as normal) - it's crazy .

I'm also a little annoyed that we don't get the medal ceremonies on NBC unless the US is winning gold.  C'mon, I want to see ALL the ceremonies! 

Yeah, me too .

This swimming relay was just incredible. My daughter and I were screaming so loud last night, I'm hoarse this morning:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/08/10/phelps.usa.relay.ap/index.html?cnn=yes