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Ah! I wish I had more time to watch more tv…sigh…I usually want to watch…but then get caught up in everyday work. Does anyone here tape them? The shows I do get to watch are usually taped…so I can fast forward commercials, and squeeze watching it into my hectic schedule. 🙄 If anyone here does tape them, I’d love to borrow it. 🙂
purplecat wrote:Ah! I wish I had more time to watch more tv…sigh…I usually want to watch…but then get caught up in everyday work. Does anyone here tape them? The shows I do get to watch are usually taped…so I can fast forward commercials, and squeeze watching it into my hectic schedule. 🙄 If anyone here does tape them, I’d love to borrow it. 🙂
youtube has a bunch of the coverage on there
I watched the opening ceremony, and I thought it was fantastic! Well, actually, once the Parade of Nations started, I switched to the Puppy Games. 😳 I’m a little angry about the switching of the girls though.
For anyone missing some of the coverage, sometimes http://www.nbcolympics.com/ plays live video coverage of sporting events not televised on the main stations. For instance, they played live coverage of archery, badmintion, wrestling, and a few others last night (err, or two nights ago). They also sometimes play repeats of some of the more popular events like gymnastics.
I like the summer games better than the winter ones, they are more varied and interesting to me. Michael Phelps has been a phenomenon to watch, heading for 13 gold medals by Sunday! Yeah, the 400xm race with the French team trashtalking about “smashing those Americans” just minutes before and then coming in 2nd behind Phelps and his world records was pretty amazing. I like it when some little nation wins too, like Boukpeti from Togo winning the bronze for kayaking, the first black man ever to win that medal and so excited he broke his paddle in half and didn’t even seem to notice! Another hero story is about a member of the USA swim team, I don’t remember his name, but he elected to finish the Olympic competitions, then go home and have his testicular cancer surgery, rather than let his team down. A lot of the Olympic competitors seem to come from priviledged backgrounds, but then some of the stories, epecially from the beach volleyball folks are not. It’s not clear to me why the professioanal basketball players are in the Olympics when I thought this was supposed to be for amateurs. Did I miss some change in the rules? Also, I have some problems with athletes changing citizenship in order to compete in the games. Apparently, the USA allows this too. Are we buying and selling players too with bribes in the form of citizenship and “bonuses”? What gives with this? I know I’m a Naive Nellie, but this doesn’t seem right. I’m sure there is a lot more I’m missing in my ignorance too.
In the meantime, the swimming is almost over and the track and field begin next week and I like that too.(I met my first husband on the track! He and his twin ran mile and 1/2 mile and they were college champions, went to the state meet. We went to the very first Russian-American track meet in 1962. Very exciting!!!) That’s like a whole different Olympics!
So, yes, I’m following the games! Taped during the day, rush home to watch at night! OPening ceremonies were spectacular, I don’t think any country will ever be able to come close to that! That little boy could have been adopted by 60 million people on the spot! Walking beside the 71/2 ft basketball player and never seeming to tire. What a cutie!
I love the Olympics!drgnlvr wrote:It’s not clear to me why the professioanal basketball players are in the Olympics when I thought this was supposed to be for amateurs. Did I miss some change in the rules?
Yeah, from like 20 years ago! 😀 Professional athletes were first allowed to compete in 1988, though it was only for selected sports, and the rest followed in 1992. My husband complained about this the other night, so I had to look it up for him. 🙂
According to John Lucas, a former Olympic athlete, author of 5 books on Olympic history, and the official lecturer of the Olympics Committee (as of 1996 anyway, when this was said): “Prior to 1952, there was only one kind of athlete allowed in the Olympic Games– Winter and Summer. Then the Soviet Union and its 14 Communist allies entered the games. All their athletes were fully supported by their governments. None ever held a job. They trained 8 hours a day, 365 days a year. They won most of the gold, silver and bronze during the 1970s and 1980s. None of these athletes were amateur, and yet they were allowed to compete in the Olympics (which made athletes sign pledges that they were amateurs) because the communist athletes were not definable, they were not “pros” like Michael Jordan. It was unfair. So in 1986, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) changed its rule book (Olympic Charter) to allow “all the world’s great male and female athletes to participate.”
Good! At least I wasn’t the only one 20 years behind the times! 😆 Thank you for the clarification! My office partner was complaining about that yesterday too, so we aren’t the only ones!!! It’s a good thing we have you to look important things up for us!!!Now at least I can be one step ahead of him!! He is usually one step ahead of me in stuff like that! So, double thanks!!!
Hehe, no prob. It’s always nice knowing something before a co-worker. 🙂
Personally, I just thought it was interesting to know the history behind it. I can’t say I ever thought about the inclusion of professionals, since I don’t recall watching any Olympic events prior to ’92. Meanwhile, my husband probably hasn’t watching any since then. 😆
Bush looks like he is enjoying the view.
My favorite human interest story so far is the 33 year old woman competing for Germany in gymastics. She won a gold for Russia in the 92 Olympics – the year some of her competitors were born! She’s from Uzbekistan (sp?) and when her son was 8 he was diagnosed with leukemia. Her country didn’t have oncology hospitals so she called a friend who is a German coach. The coach told her if she could get her son to Germany they would take care of him. So the family moved to Germany and the gymastic world raised the money for his chemo. Her son is in remission and to thank Germany she now competes for them. Evidently a bunch of people from different countries all contributed to his treatment.
China’s Gold Medals Found to Have High Lead Content
China’s impressive haul of gold medals at the Beijing Olympics was tarnished somewhat today when it was revealed that “abnormally high levels of lead” were found in the first-place medallions.
The medals, which were supposed to be made entirely of gold, were instead found to be composed of 99% lead alloy and coated with a gold-colored lead-based paint.
The shocking revelations roiled the Olympic complex today and sent officials looking for answers from the Chinese manufacturer of the medals, the Wuhan One Hundred Percent Gold Medal Corporation.
“We are trying to determine how exactly so much lead got into those gold medals,” said a spokesman for Wuhan, China’s largest exporter of gold medals. “Until we do, we are urging all first-place athletes not to lick, taste or suck on their medals.”
The news about the potentially toxic gold medals spread panic among Olympic champions, especially U.S. swimming phenom Michael Phelps.
“I am very, very concerned about my extensive contact with gold medals,” Mr. Phelps told reporters. “But what am I supposed to do? Stop being so awesome?”
In other Olympic news, China’s hopes for winning more medals in women’s gymnastics were dashed when one of their leading gymnasts vanished down a bathtub drain on Tuesday.
Immediately after Jiang Qimin’s disappearance, Beijing authorities launched a search for the acclaimed seven-pound athlete.
Jiang had been the subject of speculation earlier this week as many foreign observers doubted China’s claims that the two-foot-tall gymnast was sixteen years old.
In an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas on Monday, Jiang sparked controversy with this response to a question about her age: “I want my sippy cup.”
Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com. He hosts “Countdown to the Election, with special guests Joy Behar (The View) and Jeffrey Toobin (CNN, bestselling author of “The Nine”) at the 92nd Street Y in NYC on October 22 at 8 PM. Student tickets half-price. For tickets go to 92y.org.
“What am I supposed to do, stop being so awesome?”
Is this serious? Or is the whole thing a joke *doesn’t watch Olympics or TV*
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