Olympic fever

[cutout]

Has anyone been watching the men's football/soccer? I can't seem to get a handle on the timezone/schedule issues -

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/FB.shtml

Is that EST? I am temporarily in Portugal, making things more complicated and I can't tell if the website is detecting my ISP and adjusting the time accordingly. Or is the website hosted in China, making it 5 hrs ahead?

[Gilly]

It's too bad that softball is going to go since the Olympics are really the only time it gets to be on the main stage. But baseball doesn't really work because all of the worlds best players are in the middle of their seasons and it's impossible to put those seasons on hold for a couple weeks because of pitching schedules and pitch counts.

[jbissell]

It's too bad that softball is going to go since the Olympics are really the only time it gets to be on the main stage. But baseball doesn't really work because all of the worlds best players are in the middle of their seasons and it's impossible to put those seasons on hold for a couple weeks because of pitching schedules and pitch counts.

How do you feel about the World Baseball Classic?

[Martin]

Is that EST? I am temporarily in Portugal, making things more complicated and I can't tell if the website is detecting my ISP and adjusting the time accordingly. Or is the website hosted in China, making it 5 hrs ahead?

I have a hard time understanding when things air too - for us in Europe things start around 3-4 am and keep going until like 2-3 pm. That's all I got.

[Gilly]

It's too bad that softball is going to go since the Olympics are really the only time it gets to be on the main stage. But baseball doesn't really work because all of the worlds best players are in the middle of their seasons and it's impossible to put those seasons on hold for a couple weeks because of pitching schedules and pitch counts.

How do you feel about the World Baseball Classic?

I like the WBC for the most part. At least it's before the season but it still messes pitchers up because the arm is so fragile and anything that takes the pitcher off their normal schedule can hurt them. A lot of people say it's a mental thing that by protecting pitchers so much you make them think they are going to get hurt and they also argue that pitchers never used to get hurt so often which is a bad argument, they actually did, we just only remember the iron men.

[emdasher]

Number 1 Olympic sport:

[chrisfoll577]

I'm a pretty big sports fan, and I love the drama and agony of competition and the idea of athletes from around the world competing at the highest level. But between the human interest stories and some events that just don't translate to TV, I get a feeling that the Olympics Games are presented on NBC as sports for people who don't like sports.

I do however love the streaming events on NBC's website.  It's sports the way I wish all sports were presented: No commentary and just the sounds of the game.  There are some events like Field Hockey, Weightlifting and even Archery that are really compelling but don't make it onto TV.

Oh yeah, and even though I love the game, I'm not really sad to see baseball go after this year.  Baseball's reach is basically limited to America and the nations in its sphere of influence in the 20th century (Cuba, Korea, Japan etc.) much like Cricket is limited to former British colonies.  I wish the IOC would dispose of more sports this way.

[moderate rock]

I don't think I like the fact that the olympics are allowing more and more pro athletes in.

[Gilly]

I don't think I like the fact that the olympics are allowing more and more pro athletes in.

Why? I'm all for having the best of the best. What's the big deal if they are getting paid to do what they're good at?

[yesno]

I don't think I like the fact that the olympics are allowing more and more pro athletes in.

I'm not sure I agree with that.  Policing the boundary between amateur and professional is impossible, and potentially unfair to athletes that are may be given a choice between making a living and pursuing their sport at the highest level.  Not all "pro" athletes are rich.  I think the ideal of the amateur is kind of aristocratic-- who but the idle rich could afford to achieve at the highest level of any sport?  

Furthermore, people who are considered "amateurs" but have their every need taken care of by someone else are really professionals by any reasonable definition, even if it's not the one that prevaricating sports committees use.  If a coal miner lived in a coal mining camp and was given food and barracks to live in, would that person just be an "amateur" coal miner?

[Gilly]

I am now in full mode Olympic fever after that swimming relay. Wow!

[erika]

Michael Phelps is a fucking superstar. My god. Did anyone else see that?? He just won by a full body length.

He makes that shit look easy. PRIDE OF BALTIMORE.

[ben]

holy hell. the men's gymnastic team has been showing up tonight! 

[Clint]

Michael Phelps is a fucking superstar. My god. Did anyone else see that?? He just won by a full body length.

He makes that shit look easy. PRIDE OF BALTIMORE.

More credit needs to be give to the last guy in the relay. He won it for them.

[erika]

Hey he gets credit too. But I just watched Phelps do that race and was amazed more than usual. I mean, he is so graceful.