2008 Olympics!

[BigFoot]

I quite like LA Times' medals per capita article. Here are the current standings:

The top 10:
(country, medal tally, MPC)

1. Slovenia (4) - one medal per every 501,927
2. Armenia (5) - 593,717
3. Jamaica (4) - 701,083
4. Australia (29) - 710,374
5. New Zealand (5) - 834,692
6. Belarus (10) - 968,576
7. Trinidad & Tobago (1) - 1,047,366
8. Norway (4) - 1,161,114
9. Estonia (1) - 1,307,605
10. Slovakia (4) - 1,311,187

Selected Others:

11. Denmark (4) - one medal per every 1,371,180
25. Great Britain (25) - 2,437,756
26. France (25) - 2,562,311
35. Germany (21) - 3,922,359
39. Singapore (1) - 4,608,167
40. United States (65) - 4,674,225
41. Canada (7) - 4,744,670
44. Japan (20) - 6,364,420
46. Spain (6) - 6,748,508
56. China (61) - 21,804,010

 

[Roger Wilco]

I quite like LA Times' medals per capita article.

I wonder why...

 

[Deckerd]

Someone should do a table linked to the number of athletes per country.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Someone should do a table linked to the number of athletes per country.

I'd guess Togo wins there - 1 for 3 will be tough to beat by any nation.

 

[BigFoot]

I quite like LA Times' medals per capita article.

I wonder why...

We are a pretty small country, hehe.

 

[Shaytan]

Who thought it would be a good idea to run people through a steeplechase? Jumping over a big pool of water in the middle of a track just seems really strange. Kind of a WTF event.

I don't know but Mahiédine Mékhissi-Benabbad's silver medal is a very very good surprise

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I'm getting really bored by gymnastics and track and field, I wish someone would show baseball, beach volleyball or soccer.

Same here. I'm mostly interested in beach volleyball at this point.

Egad. Take back those words. You'll regret them. I am so sick of beach volleyball and baseball - they're on here all the time. And the beach volleyball seems to be nonstop on NBC, every time I flip past. Or it's coming up next.

Really? Must be a local thing because I'm lucky if I catch a whole game of beach volleyball here. I get lots and lots of tennis, rowing, and basketball.

 

[cultcross]

It's strange what different regions decide to focus on. the BBC have always focused very heavily on track & field in their coverage which is odd given that we have a real tendency to do shockingly in it. Unless a Brit starts doing unusually well in them, the other events tend to fall by the wayside once track and field begins.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I watch the Olympics mostly on Eurosport, which is very enjoyable in that regard since because of their internationality they choose to air the events that are interesting and/or prestigious/important; and not according to nationalistic aspects.

 

[cultcross]

I watch the Olympics mostly on Eurosport, which is very enjoyable in that regard since because of their internationality they choose to air the events that are interesting and/or prestigious/important; and not according to nationalistic aspects.

Unfortunately, I've grown up with the BBC presenting team and it just wouldn't be the Olympics without the familiar voices

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

If the U.S. women's soccer team could encapsulate its entire Olympic tournament with one word, it'd be the "comeback." After stumbling in the 16th minute when Japan scored first, the U.S. embraced a short-term memory and quickly shook off the goal, charging ahead to a 4-2 victory in front of a 50,137-strong crowd

The U.S. patiently probed the Japanese defense, up until the 41st and 44th minute, when forward Angela Hucles and defender Lori Chalupny netted what became a domino effect of goals. In the second half, the U.S. settled for gyroball-like "shot-crosses," as Heather O'Reilly's floater in the 70th minute and Hucles' second goal from Japan's end line left the Japanese defense undone.

Chinese hurdle star Liu Xiang out of Olympics with injury

Liu, lining up for his first sprint, pulled up limping badly after a false start in what was to be his initial heat. He pulled off his race number in disgust and walked off the track. He was last seen icing his Achilles under the Bird's Nest Stadium. Liu's health had been the subject of some scrutiny for months. He pulled out of two widely heralded races in the U.S., including the Prefontaine Classic. He had been training in seclusion in China for weeks.

American Angelo Taylor has won the men's Olympic 400-metre hurdles, finishing in 47.25 seconds to lead a U.S. sweep in the event. Kerron Clement finished second and Bershawn Jackson finished third Monday in the best moment at track and field for an American team that had been struggling.
It was the first sweep in the event since the United States did it in 1960.

With a victory in the 3-meter springboard, Guo Jingjing also became the most decorated female diver in Olympic history

Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia put in yet another masterful display of high-class pole vaulting here on Monday to better her own world record on the way to defending Olympic gold.

Thrilling 800m ends Kenya's female gold medal drought

 

[Nobody]

Dominique Moceanu is being interviewed on MSNBC right now, she looks and sounds normal. She's also still hot. They had Kerri Strugg on earlier, and I swear she hasn't changed.


-nobody

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Dominique Moceanu is being interviewed on MSNBC right now, she looks and sounds normal. She's also still hot. They had Kerri Strugg on earlier, and I swear she hasn't changed.


-nobody

Damn, I'm sorry I missed out on that.

 

[Cali]

I watch the Olympics mostly on Eurosport, which is very enjoyable in that regard since because of their internationality they choose to air the events that are interesting and/or prestigious/important; and not according to nationalistic aspects.

Unfortunately, I've grown up with the BBC presenting team and it just wouldn't be the Olympics without the familiar voices

I have loved the rowing commentators this year, especially on the men's four. I thought he was going to explode with excitement any second!

 

[Nobody]

Dominique Moceanu is being interviewed on MSNBC right now, she looks and sounds normal. She's also still hot. They had Kerri Strugg on earlier, and I swear she hasn't changed.


-nobody

Damn, I'm sorry I missed out on that.

Shannon Miller will be on tomorrow at some point during their wrap-up (5-7pm, MSNBC). Let us relive our youth, even though we may be risking the memories.

volleyball edit: I'd much prefer having ad bugs then constant interruption during the action.

edit 2: Playing the Michael Scott why I love beach volleyball commercial during the break was great though. I want more Office now please. (and please let Pam and Jim get married).

-nobody

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Hopefully the interviews will show up on YouTube.

May-Walsh dominated again! I can't wait for the final on Wednesday.

 

[Nobody]

You can't tie in gymnastics at the Olympics? But you can at every other gymnastic event? What kind of fucked up rule is that? I mean, it was in place going in, so it's fair in that the athletes knew of it -- but I don't understand the rationale in implementing the rule in the first place.


-nobody

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Yeah, I'm really puzzled by this whole tiebreaker business. First, the need for such a tiebreaker and the process of the tiebreaker itself is bizarre.

That being said, I think Nastia had the much better performance overall. And her landing was perfect as oppose to the Gold medal winner (forgive me, I can't remember her name), who took a step to the side.

 

[Tim]

^ I didn't even bother to watch any of that. With the rules so convoluted and arbitrary (and somehow yielding more Chinese gold), I really wasn't enjoying it any more.

I'm sorry I missed the US-China baseball game though. Three ejections for the Chinese in a 9-1 pounding? And beaning a batsman in the head? Not cool.

 

[Nobody]

At the very least, I thought they were equal. Nastia's was more fun to watch, but I'm not sure on how to judge them, so I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the judges that they were tied. I'd figure that's where it ends. Every olympics I'm more and more confused by the gymnastic judging process.

The baseball game was insane -- I don't think I've ever seen a game that wild, at least in quite sometime!


-nobody