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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2010 23:34:21 GMT
Hockey on at the moment in France. Switzerland vs. Norway.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Feb 21, 2010 14:00:58 GMT
Good question cristina! I hate the term "ladies"...
I guess there were some crashes in the bobsled as well as the super G...
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Post by happytraveller on Feb 23, 2010 16:45:52 GMT
I am wondering... is ski jumping the only sport in the winter olympics that's men only ?? And why ?
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Post by imec on Feb 23, 2010 17:08:00 GMT
It's a very good question HT - the issue has been a controversial one of late. It seems the IOC is still very much an "old boys club". A site dedicated to the issue... www.wsj2010.com/
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Post by Kimby on Feb 23, 2010 19:34:33 GMT
I'm a bit puzzled when I read or hear that Canada is being criticized for the Olympics, or that NBC is being criticized for its coverage.
Everyone mentions the erectile dysfunction and nobody remembers the amazing digital wizardry that took place before it for several hours without a hitch. Of course nothing can compare to Beijing's opening ceremony, but they didn't try to top that one, but to do something different. If they had just gone ahead and raised the cauldron as soon as the trap door malfunction happened, most viewers would have been none the wiser. It was the awkward delay that called attention to it. And the athlete who stood there with a torch and nothing to light with it.
As far as coverage, I'm enjoying this Olympics about as much as any I've watched (which is most of them for the past 30 years). The editing may bother some, but I generally like what they choose to show and don't miss the stuff they don't show. I'm happy to see delayed replays of events that I would certainly have missed in real time. The interviews and special interest stories have mostly held my interest, and best of all, they've retired Dick Button from live commentary while skaters are performing. He was so quick to pounce on any negative in the performance that it ruined it for me, whereas Scotty Hamilton is so excited for each skater's triumphs. (The new scoring makes for less commentary anyway, since the commentators can't be sure what the judges will deduct or award points for so are more reticent in their commentary, which I appreciate.)
And don't blame Vancouver for the snow, which I am sure is not typical. Blame global climate change. They worked miracles to have ANY snow for the bump skiers. And racers prefer ice - they actually shovel snow off the runs if it snows too much.
I do long for a bit more coverage of all the non-famous athletes who trekked from far away to perform as best they could, even though it was far less polished than those who compete at the top levels. I saw glimpses when they showed some of the many costumes from the Folk Dance original dance segment of the Ice Dancing...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2010 19:42:17 GMT
And that is the biggest gripe the rest of the world has always had with 'American' Olympic coverage, which is very star oriented (especially American stars, of course, but that is normal for any country). When other countries have been in control of the Olympic cameras, there has been more variety, because there is not 'excessive' interest in what everybody knows is the global Olympic powerhouse.
The Olympics are not only about the winners and the favorites. We want to see some of the others, too, and not just when they fall down.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Feb 24, 2010 9:44:40 GMT
I don't know if climate change has anything to do with it... they certainly don't believe in climate change in Alberta! Vancouver is always warm.. it was a funny decision to have the winter olympics there.
I have mainly been watching CTV for my olympic coverage so I'm not sure how this compares to other countries. It doesn't seem to be too Canadian-centric but I wish there were more interviews with athletes from other countries, and a bit more coverage on some of the less popular events.
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Post by happytraveller on Feb 24, 2010 10:48:24 GMT
It's a very good question HT - the issue has been a controversial one of late. It seems the IOC is still very much an "old boys club". A site dedicated to the issue... www.wsj2010.com/Thanks for that Imec !
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Post by Kimby on Feb 25, 2010 16:51:11 GMT
I don't know if climate change has anything to do with it... they certainly don't believe in climate change in Alberta! Vancouver is always warm.. it was a funny decision to have the winter olympics there. How far is Whistler/Blackcomb from Vancouver? If that ski area got consistently bad snow, it wouldn't be one of the most highly regarded ski areas in North America, which it is. Many of the sports use refrigerated ice or indoor venues: bobsled, luge, skeleton, speed skating, figure skating, hockey, curling... It seems perhaps the moguls skiing and cross-country skiing/biathalon suffered the most from lack of snow, and maybe should have been moved closer to Whistler. But Vancouver itself makes a splendid Olympics city with good transportations and accomodations, and a gorgeous setting. I'm not complaining.
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Post by imec on Feb 25, 2010 17:51:49 GMT
My 2 cents...
Have not watched any of the U.S. network coverage but I have been extremely pleased with the Canadian network (CTV) coverage. Having said that, I am not an avid TV viewer and only rarely watch sports so I'm by no means an expert.
With regard to the erectile dysfunction... Many of you know of my passion for popular music and the long list of live shows I have seen. Many of these shows involve elaborate stages and effects which have to be set up in a matter of hours over and over again. I have witnessed VERY FEW malfunctions of the years and NEVER a major malfunction. And remember, only a week or so prior to the opening ceremonies, an elaborate stage and effects set up took place in a matter of minutes during the half time show at the Superbowl. In this context, and given the months of planning and opportunity for testing of the Cauldron, I find the malfunction wholly unacceptable.
As for the weather... First, let's not confuse weather with climate. As kimby has pointed out, Whistler (which although only about 80 miles from Vancouver, is in fact worlds apart due to the elevation cange and the proximity to the ocean) would not be the popular ski resort it is without generally consistently favorable weather conditions - skiing even continues into May in Whistler in some years. The weather over time here (climate) is favorable for skiing - the actual conditions this year (the weather) may not have been ideal. The decision to hold the Olympics here based on the climate was a good bet - no-one can reliably predict weather in a specific year (not even the farmers and their almanac).
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Post by Kimby on Feb 25, 2010 18:07:12 GMT
You can almost predict that once a location is selected for the Winter Olympics, they will suddenly experience a non-typical absence of snow. ;-)
Keep an eye on Socci, Russia.
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Post by happytraveller on Mar 1, 2010 6:36:19 GMT
And now... it's all over again. We can now go back to the daily tv-shows
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2010 7:35:30 GMT
There is an ultra popular soap opera in France that has been on hold for two weeks -- a lot of the elderly fans are going to be so happy to see it again this evening. I hope they haven't forgotten the plot threads.
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Post by bjd on Mar 1, 2010 11:10:28 GMT
I watched the first half of the Canada-US hockey game last night but got bored and went to read. I shall probably be stripped of my Canadian citizenship.
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Post by hal2000 on Mar 1, 2010 19:13:05 GMT
Final standings
Country/Gold/Silver/Bronze/Total United States 9 15 13 37 Germany 10 13 7 30 Canada 14 7 5 26 Norway 9 8 6 23 Austria 4 6 6 16 Russia 3 5 7 15 South Korea 6 6 2 14 Sweden 5 2 4 11 China 5 2 4 11 France 2 3 6 11 Switzerland 6 0 3 9 Netherlands 4 1 3 8 Czech Republic 2 0 4 6 Poland 1 3 2 6 Italy 1 1 3 5 Japan 0 3 2 5 Finland 0 1 4 5 Australia 2 1 0 3 Slovakia 1 1 1 3 Belarus 1 1 1 3 Slovenia 0 2 1 3 Croatia 0 2 1 3 Latvia 0 2 0 2 Great Britain 1 0 0 1 Kazakhstan 0 1 0 1 Estonia 0 1 0 1
Canada wins as the country with the most gold medals.
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Post by existentialcrisis on Mar 1, 2010 23:24:49 GMT
I was only able to watch the 3rd period and overtime of the game. Stressful. If Canada didn't win that game, it would have really dampened the Olympics for us. Also, that gold medal gave us a new world record, having won the most gold medals at a winter Olympics ever. Pretty cool, considering we had never won a gold medal at any Olympics on our own soil. Oh, and the winning goal being scored by a Nova Scotian was pretty cool. The Olympics made me happy this year ... strange, because I never thought I would get so sucked in by it all.
As for the climate discussion, I've been spending too much time in Alberta and I am starting to repeat the sorts of things that Albertans say. I think Calgary was very jealous of Vancouver, and the two cities hardly have anything good to say about the other as it is. Whistler is a fine location for the events... they may have had to move some of the events to Whistler at the last minute, but I can't remember exactly what happened.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2010 6:20:49 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2010 14:23:12 GMT
Well done Canada! We got the most gold medals and the winning shot for Hockey was scored by a local lad!
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