2016 Olympics

[Graham_Clayton]

Three countries (Fiji, Singapore and Puerto Rico) have won their first-ever gold medal at these games.

[HedleyLamarr]

8 hours ago, BlackBolt3 said:

Yeah, even if he doesn't do as many events as he typically does, I can see him in more of a closer type role for relays. If times around the world don't go down by too much for about 2 years, I'll expect a comeback.

I think he's done.

 

His main reason why he came back from semi-retirement was that he felt he didn't really "give his all" at the London Games, and he didn't want to end his Olympic career by half-assing it.  He should feel more satisfied by his efforts at the Rio Games.

 

Plus, he's getting married soon and already has a child that I'm sure he'd like to spend quality time with.  He can kinda get away with missing an infant's time because an infant doesn't really have many interests a parent is missing out on.  That'll be different four years from now, once the kid is 5 years old....

[waltere]

54 minutes ago, Graham_Clayton said:

Three countries (Fiji, Singapore and Puerto Rico) have won their first-ever gold medal at these games.

 

Its actually five, so far; Vietnam and Kosovo in addition to the three you mentioned.

[Nyk33]

The US only managed to beat France (without Tony Parker) by three.

 

That's not good.

[DEAD!]

Wow. This is most remarkable eight-year run for any sprinter ... hard to believe that it was somewhat uneventful when he first broke the world record.

 

[Cujo]

Amazing how Bolt gets the full five-star treatment from the American media. It seriously feels as if they embrace him as if he were one of us. If he were Russian or Middle Eastern, I doubt NBC would strap on kneepads for his coronation as T&F GOAT.

[MJWalker45]

7 hours ago, Cujo said:

Amazing how Bolt gets the full five-star treatment from the American media. It seriously feels as if they embrace him as if he were one of us. If he were Russian or Middle Eastern, I doubt NBC would strap on kneepads for his coronation as T&F GOAT.

It's probably because he comes from an English speaking country and he's in the most anticipated event of the games. He's also been given a lot of exposure by Puma that Nike or adidas probably wouldn't give.

[jr79]

8 hours ago, Cujo said:

Amazing how Bolt gets the full five-star treatment from the American media. It seriously feels as if they embrace him as if he were one of us. If he were Russian or Middle Eastern, I doubt NBC would strap on kneepads for his coronation as T&F GOAT.

 

It helps that Justin Gatlin's clouded past makes him the villain in the story. 

[kroywen]

Yeah, his only prominent American rival is someone who's tainted, so NBC (and others) aren't going to try and make Bolt the villain in this story.

 

It also helps that he's probably the only worldwide household name who's not an American, and made his/her name in the Olympics (i.e. not in tennis, golf, basketball, etc.). Probably the only other Olympian who has equal name recognition worldwide right now is Phelps. Even the most US-centric outlets (NBC being the epitome of that) can't possibly ignore Bolt, given his worldwide fame.

[Sport]

I had some reservations about Golf in the Olympics coming into these games for a few reasons. For one, some of the best names didn't come, but most especially because they had to blow millions to build a new course because Rio didn't previously have a championship caliber golf course. Also, Golf is one of those sports where in a small sample anyone of professional caliber can show up with their A game and win, which means that there was a good chance that some rando, and not the World's best would take gold. I guess that could be good for the sport, but it wouldn't present the Gold to the truly best. But my concerns were unfettered. I thought the Men's Olympic golf tournament was just fantastic and it was a lot of fun to see the players grow more and more prideful as the tournament went on and Rose and Stenson are two of the World's best so I have no problem with their place on the podium. I hope for two things in Tokyo: 1. there has to be a team event. It just makes too much sense. It'd be the Ryder Cup on steroids. 2. I hope seeing this more of the World's best decide to participate in 2020 because it was really awesome. I'm looking forward to the Women's tournament on Wednesday. 

 

I was the happiest for Matt Kuchar who was only on the team because a couple Americans decided not to play, and then was beaming when he accepted the Bronze medal, almost in disbelief that he was able to earn something that he never expected to be possible. Rose and Stenson had to have felt the same - it was strange seeing the three medalists return to the 18th green in their country's official podium sweats. They're golfers, they leave, change into less formal clothing to accept their medals - it was goofy. Kuchar looked especially uncomfortable in the nike sweatsuit and volt green sneakers. 

[Cujo]

 

[dfwabel]

9 hours ago, McCarthy said:

I had some reservations about Golf in the Olympics coming into these games for a few reasons. For one, some of the best names didn't come, but most especially because they had to blow millions to build a new course because Rio didn't previously have a championship caliber golf course. Also, Golf is one of those sports where in a small sample anyone of professional caliber can show up with their A game and win, which means that there was a good chance that some rando, and not the World's best would take gold. I guess that could be good for the sport, but it wouldn't present the Gold to the truly best. But my concerns were unfettered. I thought the Men's Olympic golf tournament was just fantastic and it was a lot of fun to see the players grow more and more prideful as the tournament went on and Rose and Stenson are two of the World's best so I have no problem with their place on the podium. I hope for two things in Tokyo: 1. there has to be a team event. It just makes too much sense. It'd be the Ryder Cup on steroids. 2. I hope seeing this more of the World's best decide to participate in 2020 because it was really awesome. I'm looking forward to the Women's tournament on Wednesday. 

 

I was the happiest for Matt Kuchar who was only on the team because a couple Americans decided not to play, and then was beaming when he accepted the Bronze medal, almost in disbelief that he was able to earn something that he never expected to be possible. Rose and Stenson had to have felt the same - it was strange seeing the three medalists return to the 18th green in their country's official podium sweats. They're golfers, they leave, change into less formal clothing to accept their medals - it was goofy. Kuchar looked especially uncomfortable in the nike sweatsuit and volt green sneakers. 

Golf Magazine contribitor, John Sens worded it well.

Quote

Think back on some of the most riveting golf events of your lifetime. Did this competition rank anywhere near your top 10? Your top 20? Your top 50? No disrespect to the deserving champion (his genuinely impassioned reaction to his win was the highlight of the four days for me) or to any of those who competed, but the lack of electricity was palpable in the crowd. The Olympics is supposed to reside somewhere near the summit of a sport. This event never got much higher than base camp.

 

[Sport]

And to John Sens I say so f****** what? For many sports the Olympics are the peak of that sport, but for the ones that are established outside the Olympics it's not as big of a deal as other championships held in that sport and that's just fine. Almost none of the world's best basketball players would choose a gold medal over an NBA championship nor would a tennis player take a gold medal over a Wimbledon title. This is the first Olympic Golf tournament in 112 years. How could it live up to the prestigious tournaments that have generations of history? That's a ridiculous standard to hold this first tournament to. 

 

The other part of lacking that energy and juice was that it was held in a place that doesn't really have much of an interest in the sport and they still had a good turnout. That was basically Brazil's first time hosting a world class tournament, which is why they were constantly being told to turn off their phones and cameras and to be quiet. They were new, and you know what, that's great for the sport! In subsequent Olympics in Tokyo and then any of the 2024 candidates it'll get bigger and more prestigious and will be held in places that have more of an appreciation for the sport. 

 

edit: and I listened to today's new Shackhouse podcast episode and Geoff Shackleford who was there said the atmosphere was great and the men's tournaments was a huge success that brought some of the organizers from USGA and PGA to tears so whatever, John Sens/dfwabel. 

[2001mark]

I didn't watch much men's golf, not least with 4-6 available channels showing other Olympic sports I can rarely enjoy.  With its pretty run of the mill leaderboard, I simply felt like I could watch golf any other week of the year.  A team event like best ball or alternate would be great & maybe invite some lesser knowns for more drama.

With the next big golf events right around the corner, FedEx & Rider Cups, this Olympic event didn't feel very special.  

My Olympic viewing habits for golf are same for tennis.  I can't really get excited for the same slew of tennis players battling it out as the rest of the year.  At least with basketball & hockey, the pros are playing on and against unique teams.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Where do we post about basketball? Latest I've seen is US is likely to play Argentina in the quarterfinals.

 

I hope this booger eater shows up; Durant's been super lazy during the Olympics and it'd be nice to see him give a damn.

[Sport]

12 hours ago, 2001mark said:

I didn't watch much men's golf, not least with 4-6 available channels showing other Olympic sports I can rarely enjoy.  With its pretty run of the mill leaderboard, I simply felt like I could watch golf any other week of the year.  A team event like best ball or alternate would be great & maybe invite some lesser knowns for more drama.

With the next big golf events right around the corner, FedEx & Rider Cups, this Olympic event didn't feel very special.  

My Olympic viewing habits for golf are same for tennis.  I can't really get excited for the same slew of tennis players battling it out as the rest of the year.  At least with basketball & hockey, the pros are playing on and against unique teams.

This is true. Every PGA event is an international individual tournament, which is why I was disappointed to find out there wasn't a team event. That's the way you set the Olympics apart from other golf tournaments.

 

Here's how I'd do it: Monday and Tuesday is the team event, Ryder Cup style. Wednesday-Saturday is the individual tournament. Then repeat the following week for the Women's tournaments. 

[kroywen]

14 hours ago, McCarthy said:

And to John Sens I say so f****** what? For many sports the Olympics are the peak of that sport, but for the ones that are established outside the Olympics it's not as big of a deal as other championships held in that sport and that's just fine. Almost none of the world's best basketball players would choose a gold medal over an NBA championship nor would a tennis player take a gold medal over a Wimbledon title. This is the first Olympic Golf tournament in 112 years. How could it live up to the prestigious tournaments that have generations of history? That's a ridiculous standard to hold this first tournament to. 

 

The other part of lacking that energy and juice was that it was held in a place that doesn't really have much of an interest in the sport and they still had a good turnout. That was basically Brazil's first time hosting a world class tournament, which is why they were constantly being told to turn off their phones and cameras and to be quiet. They were new, and you know what, that's great for the sport! In subsequent Olympics in Tokyo and then any of the 2024 candidates it'll get bigger and more prestigious and will be held in places that have more of an appreciation for the sport. 

Agreed entirely. There are a significant number of sports where the Olympics aren't the most prestigious competition:

• Soccer
• Basketball
• Tennis
• Boxing
• Baseball (upon its 2020 return)
• Ice hockey
• Cycling

And you can even make an argument for including some of the recent X-Games additions to the Winter Olympics (some of the freestyle skiing events, and snowboarding) on that list. There's no requirement that the Olympics be the pinnacle of every single sport featured in it. As long as the competitors care about the competition, it's worthwhile.

 

And I wouldn't at all be surprised to see a gold medal i golf be the feather in a golfer's cap someday, much as a gold medal in tennis is today. No, a gold of tennis gold medal will never be (and should never be) as prestigious as a major championship or a Grand Slam event win, but it is a noteworthy accomplishment nonetheless. It would certainly garner more attention than, say, a Masters event victory in tennis or a WGC victory in golf.

[2001mark]

3 hours ago, McCarthy said:

This is true. Every PGA event is an international individual tournament, which is why I was disappointed to find out there wasn't a team event. That's the way you set the Olympics apart from other golf tournaments.

 

Here's how I'd do it: Monday and Tuesday is the team event, Ryder Cup style. Wednesday-Saturday is the individual tournament. Then repeat the following week for the Women's tournaments. 

I would also try a mixed (gender) team event.

 

I'm okay with Olympic soccer, having teams from all over the world is rare.

[Cosmic]

It helps a lot that the Olympics and the World Cup line up with each other.  I don't know if it was an accident or planned that way, but I think there's room for both; they'll always be two years apart from each other.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

5 hours ago, Cosmic said:

It helps a lot that the Olympics and the World Cup line up with each other.  I don't know if it was an accident or planned that way, but I think there's room for both; they'll always be two years apart from each other.

 

And the U-23 aspect keeps the two from being redundant to each other. It's a pretty good setup, all things considered. Have the Olympics always been U-23?