Re: The Olympics Thread

[JGK]

Australia getting pummelled in the basketball by the Croats (who are very strong). For some reason, our best player and the No 1 NBA draft pick in 2006 has been benched!!!

[Gary 111]

They really should be in - don't care about the rules. Sport is all about seeing the worlds best athletes and sportmen competing and providing entertainment. Barely any of the current things at the Olympics would be as enthralling or as entertaining as those two sports. Plus they would be very competitive:

Rugby 7's: Obviously the All Blakcs and Fiji are the daddies, but plenty of other teams have good teams - when I went to watch a tournament at Twickenham the Portuguese thrashed Australia! So you could have NZ, Fiji, Portugal, Aus, SA, UK, France, Argentina, Kenya, Samoa, Ireland, Spain, Canada, US, Moldova, Russia, Tonga, Japan, Georgia, Romania etc. Easily get 20 or so decent teams and make a good contest.

Cricket 20:20 - The best teams would obviously be UK, Australia, India, Pakistan, SA, Sri Lanka & NZ, but the format means its more unpredictable and exciting, so other teams like Zim, Bangladesh, Jamaica, Antigua, T & T, Guyana, Barbados, Ireland, Holland, Canada, Namibia, Kenya, St Kitts, Grenada would all be able to get a few decent players together - easily get 20 or so teams.

Both sports would have a good global spread (if largely Commonwealth based)

[eowyn]

Just to confirm from the last IOC session that decided that London would be be the 2012 venue and what sports would be included:-

8 July 2005
The existing 28 sports in the Summer Olympics programme came under scrutiny, three years after a similar attempt failed to gain support from IOC members during the 114th IOC Session in Mexico City. Prior to the votes, baseball, softball, modern pentathlon, taekwondo and fencing were considered as most likely to be dropped. Five other sports were vying to get in — golf, roller sports, squash, rugby sevens and karate. Jacques Rogge, president of the IOC, has been supportive of this move, while the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) has been opposing it.

In the morning IOC members voted to remove baseball and softball from the games (voting was by simple majority), while modern pentathlon gained a surprise reprieve. Some nations expressed dismay with the result, in particular the United States where both sports originated from, and Japan, where both have a strong following.

In the afternoon, a secret vote by IOC members gave squash and karate over 51% of votes, but the addition of a sport requires an amendment to the Olympic Charter, and such an amendment requires a two-thirds majority. Since neither sport achieved that proportion of the votes, no new sports were added and the Olympic Games therefore now consists of 26 sports.

So for new sports to be included they must be voted for at the next meeing in 2009 when the venue for 2016 is decided.

[PearlJ]

It's too bad India don't have the IOC under their thumb as much as the ICC. Then cricket would be a shoe-in.

[JGK]

Feel a bit sorry for the softball girls - the Olympics is the pinnacle of their sport.

[JGK]

It's too bad India don't have the IOC under their thumb as much as the ICC. Then cricket would be a shoe-in.

Wait until Delhi gets the 2020 games - would be a perfect time to introduce T20 to the Olympics.

[JGK]

Dream Team about to play Yao Ming and China.

[Henry]

It's funny watching all of the Olympics from a Japanese perspective. Even though I can barely understand a word, the commentary is much better than Channel Seven's.........

[JKLever]

Is the Aussie coverage a bit like the US? Please tell me it isn't!!

[eowyn]

Hmm, this is link to the names of the IOC members. Looking at it I think you might be hard pushed to get them to change anything in a rush....

http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/ioc/members/index_uk.asp

[JGK]

Is the Aussie coverage a bit like the US? Please tell me it isn't!!

I don't know - I've never watched the Olympics in the US. If you mean is it all about seeing the Aussies and no one else then not exactly. We actually have two broadcasters and the second broadcaster has a pretty wide range (hence the Austrian beach volley ball team).

The main broadcaster is really quite terrible though.

[eowyn]

Is the Aussie coverage a bit like the US? Please tell me it isn't!!

I was in the US when the Seoul Olympics was on. It was impossible to find out how any other country was going on at all. Anything the US didn't win didn't exist.

[PearlJ]

BBC coverage is pretty good. You can just red button to watch whatever you want.

[JKLever]

Is the Aussie coverage a bit like the US? Please tell me it isn't!!

I don't know - I've never watched the Olympics in the US. If you mean is it all about seeing the Aussies and no one else then not exactly. We actually have two broadcasters and the second broadcaster has a pretty wide range (hence the Austrian beach volley ball team).

The main broadcaster is really quite terrible though.

Aye, that's what I meant.

I'd say the BBC's coverage is obviously UK-centric but it does acknowledge that other athletes exist!

[Gary 111]

Yeah - interactive button is good. But makes you realise how shit some of the Olympic sports are!

Am watching the US vs China basketball at the moment. There's probably well over 1 billion other people watching this one too!

Is US 20 - 16 China after the 1st Quarter.

[PearlJ]

Weightlifting. Now there is a boring sport.

[eowyn]

Well, it is the British Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Lever They are allowed to say what the Brits are doing. I agree with Pearly though the red button is great, you can keep up with everything.

[JGK]

Are there any bigger qunts in the sporting world than the Us basketball team?

[Gary 111]

Are there any bigger qunts in the sporting world than the Us basketball team?

Not many.

[JKLever]

Are there any bigger qunts in the sporting world than the Us basketball team?

lmao @ Gary...

You're right though - they probably think they're the 'highlight' of everyones olympics.

[eowyn]

Are they wearing gold shoes?

[LeFromage]

Are there any bigger qunts in the sporting world than the Us basketball team?

Not many.

They look like binmen.

[Guest]

Jeez, I found that quite shocking!

[Gary 111]

Are there any bigger qunts in the sporting world than the Us basketball team?

The US 4 x 100m Sprint team would have to be up there too.

I really hope they drop the baton.

[Gary 111]

One of the US Basketball team is called Carlos Boozer - what a name!

US are slam dunking the funk out of China 74-48 up after 3 Quarters.

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