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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 15, 2024 2:19:12 GMT
There goes the planet...
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 15, 2024 6:54:26 GMT
No, but when the blind lead the blind they all fall in the canal...
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 17, 2024 15:40:45 GMT
Moving ahead to Los Angeles 2028, here are the new sports that will be played:
flag football squash baseball softball cricket (first time since 1900) lacrosse (first time since 1908)
These "optional" sports that can be proposed by the organising city.
Paris proposed 4 new sports:
breaking sport climbing skateboarding surfing
Breaking was the only totally new event. The other three also appeared at Tokyo 2020 (2021).
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Post by bjd on Aug 17, 2024 16:48:02 GMT
I thought baseball and softball are the same. Who on earth plays lacrosse?
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Post by htmb on Aug 17, 2024 16:52:33 GMT
Baseball and softball are similar, but not the same. Lacrosse has become a popular sport in the US, especially in the Northeast.
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Post by patricklondon on Aug 17, 2024 16:56:30 GMT
Who on earth plays lacrosse? From the distant recesses of my memory - Quebeckers and Manchester Grammar School...
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 17, 2024 18:37:45 GMT
I was wondering why London 2012 had not introduced cricket as an Olympic sport (other than of course the fact that they would have lost to the Asian/Oceanian Hemisphere).
What they did add were women's boxing in 3 weight classes, freestyle skiing and mixed tennis doubles.
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Post by mickthecactus on Aug 17, 2024 18:39:57 GMT
Paris should have bearing in mind France hold the silver medal from last time.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 17, 2024 18:41:21 GMT
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Post by Kimby on Aug 17, 2024 20:52:42 GMT
The controversy about the bronze medal in women's gymnastics is heartbreaking.
Both for the Romanian gymnast who won then lost and now seems to have won again, and for Jordan Chiles who actually had the winning performance but for a judging error, then got the medal when her coach appealed the error and was proven right, but then had the medal taken away because they said her coach’s appeal came in 4 seconds past the 1 minute time limit for appeals.
Except it wasn’t late, as provable by time-stamped videos submitted by Chile’s team that proved they had appealed within the 1-minute time frame. But the 2nd appeal was turned away.
Who deserves the medal? Can’t they just give both of them a medal?
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 18, 2024 16:25:47 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 23, 2024 17:31:04 GMT
I almost bought a paralympic ticket today, but I became annoyed when the website said that the ticket had to be on my phone and exclusively on their app. So I will just watch things on television.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 24, 2024 17:59:42 GMT
It's funny how these people understood the performance much better than in a lot of "developed" countries.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Aug 28, 2024 18:34:40 GMT
The Paralympics opening ceremony is underway. At least the weather is nice this time.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 29, 2024 6:34:16 GMT
The Olympic balloon was as impressive as ever. It's going to be hard for Los Angeles to beat the concept, but they are probably already in talks with Space X and Virgin Galactic.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 29, 2024 12:10:45 GMT
One thing that is refreshing about the Paralympics is that the athletes don't have to be politically correct all the time, since they've already been dealt a raw deal in life.
Wheelchair rugby is probably the most violent paralympic sport, and yesterday one of the athletes was being interviewed about what attracts him to the sport. He replied "you get to beat the shit out of a bunch of cripples!"
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 30, 2024 18:58:50 GMT
I found the performance by Luc Bruyère (Lucky Love) the most moving moment of the opening ceremony of the Paralympics because at last there was a song directly addressing the subject of handicaps.
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Post by kerouac2 on Aug 31, 2024 15:08:41 GMT
I'm sorry, but wheelchair tennis is not a very exciting televisual sport.
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Post by tod2 on Sept 2, 2024 14:57:30 GMT
I can't watch any of the games. I admire the participants spirit and enormous courage and think "Would I do this if I was crippled in any way?" My answer in my head is definitely NO. I don't have a reason which makes my denial worse. Am I thinking "I wish that guy had legs because he would be even more fantastic with his ability un-hindered". How the heck can I stop this feeling of sorrow when I see people in wheelchairs trying their best to achieve a medal or prize, or just showing they can do something different.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 2, 2024 15:06:09 GMT
I watched the triathlon this morning, very impressive. I like the way that each bicycle has a sensor fitted on the back to ensure that cyclists don't end up coasting in the slipstream of the bike in front. If they get to within 10m a red light flashes, the pursuing cyclist has so many seconds to either overtake or move to the side.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 2, 2024 15:36:29 GMT
Yes, the triathlon was excellent. Also, the swimming events for the mentally handicapped brought tears to my eyes -- either they were so proud or so crushed depending on how they did.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Sept 2, 2024 15:40:44 GMT
I do think that, aside from the first opening ceremony (which was of course hampered by the weather) this has been the most enjoyable Olympics for me as a viewer...
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 7, 2024 21:45:08 GMT
I can hear fireworks at the Stade de France although I am too far away to see them from my flat. I don't know if they are rehearsing for the Paralympic closing ceremony tomorrow or if there was a reason for fireworks tonight.
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