Author Topic: Olympics Coverage and Articles  (Read 12390 times)

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Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #100 on: February 14, 2014, 11:13:48 pm »


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Happy Valentine's Day significant others of @SochiNYT staff! Happy to say the #sochistrays in photo are being adopted
6:02 AM - 14 Feb 2014

�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #101 on: February 14, 2014, 11:15:20 pm »
http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/lizzy-yarnold-gbr-wins-skeleton-gold-noelle-pikus-pace-usa-gets-silver-021414?related=3d4ce5a0-6a38-4182-84b5-c04180f4883c


UK's Yarnold wins women's skeleton, USA's Pikus-Pace gets silver
AP

FEB 14, 2014 12:39p ET

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia -- Britain's Lizzy Yarnold won the season's first race on a technicality.

The season's last race, there was no argument.

Yarnold won the Olympic women's skeleton gold medal Friday night, a victory that puts the 25-year-old unquestionably atop her sport, probably for years to come. Her four-run time was 0.97 seconds faster than silver medalist Noelle Pikus-Pace of Eagle Mountain, Utah, who entered retirement by exorcising the memory of letting a medal slip away in Vancouver four years ago.

"It won't sink in for a few more days, but I'm over the moon," Yarnold said, as a full moon illuminated part of the Russian night sky. "I'm so proud. I put in all the work for five years and it all worked out."

Yarnold, who also won the World Cup overall title this season, claimed Britain's first gold at the Sochi Games. Her time was 3 minutes, 52.89 seconds, and the final trip down the track was a mere formality, given that she already had a 0.78-second edge over Pikus-Pace and only needed to avoid a giant mistake.

It didn't happen. The fourth run was like all the others -- flawless.

She grabbed a British flag, hopped near the finish line, embraced teammate Shelley Rudman and seemed to just never stop smiling.

"Lizzy's been a beautiful bubble of confidence in every one of her races," said Amy Williams, the 2010 skeleton gold medalist from Britain. "I'm so proud of her that we kept the medal in Great Britain and wrote ourselves into the history books."

Pikus-Pace insisted that this time, she'll retire happy. Simply being in the Olympic race was victory enough; Pikus-Pace revealed afterward that she was dealing with concussion-like symptoms for several days before the race and minimized her training time on the advice of doctors.
 

"I felt fine and safe sliding but my vision has been going in and out of being able to focus, which slows my reaction time," Pikus-Pace said. "It has been an extremely difficult week but my family, coaches, and prayers of many allowed me to come out and compete the best I can given the situation."

Elena Nikitina of Russia won the bronze, another 0.44 seconds off the pace and just 0.04 seconds ahead of Katie Uhlaender of Breckenridge, Colo., who took fourth for her top Olympic finish.

And afterward, Uhlaender wasn't lamenting coming so close. Instead, she picked up Pikus-Pace's daughter Lacee, gave her an embrace and sang her teammate's praises.

"I couldn't be more proud of her," Uhlaender said. "This is a great last race for us both. Noelle finished fourth last time and now she's on the podium and I couldn't be happier for her."

The Lizzy-vs.-Noelle rivalry was back and forth all season, starting with the World Cup opener in Calgary, where Pikus-Pace crossed the line first and was originally announced as the winner. But Yarnold was awarded the victory after race officials said the American used too much tape on the handle of her sled.

That decision played a huge role in deciding the World Cup title. From there, Pikus-Pace set her sights on closing out her sliding career with an Olympic medal -- which is really the only thing that lured her from retirement two years ago, especially since a trip to the podium in Vancouver was lost when she made a mistake in Curve 2 of her final run at the 2010 Olympics.

"This is a dream come true for myself and my family," Pikus-Pace said. "Absolutely unbelievable. I stood up there at the start knowing this was my race and I knew I was just going to go for it."

When she crossed the line Friday night, knowing hardware was hers, she flashed a megawatt smile. Retirement, she said, would be about spending time with her family. She couldn't wait to get started, hopping over the track wall to join her husband and children for hugs and kisses -- her first, ever, as an Olympic medalist.

Then she waved to fans.

Waving goodbye, essentially.

Yarnold, she's basically just saying hello.

She announced herself as the next big thing in skeleton two winters ago, winning two of her first four World Cup races. A year ago, she vaulted to No. 4 in the World Cup rankings, and inconsistency kept her from rising even higher.

This season, she figured it all out. World Cup champion. Olympic champion. And her top rival is retiring.

Yarnold covered her face, almost in disbelief, on the flower podium afterward. Pikus-Pace wept softly through her smile and was the last to leave the stand, seeming almost unsure where to go next.

Then she figured it out. She's going home.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #102 on: February 15, 2014, 12:01:06 am »
super wins gold for Belarus in women's aerials
AP

FEB 14, 2014 1:45p ET

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images Europe

Alla Tsuper of Belarus celebrates after her run in the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Aerials Finals on day seven of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on February 14 in Sochi, Russia.
 

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia -- Lydia Lassila already has a gold medal sitting back home in Australia.

At these Olympics, she was looking for something better.

So, she raised her hand and took off down the biggest ramp on the aerials course Friday night for a jump that would cement her as the sport's foremost trailblazer regardless of whether it earned another gold or not.

She bounded off the ramp, flew six stories high and packed four twists inside of three flips. In a training run a day earlier, she had become the first woman to land that jump on snow. In the final, she bowed backward on the landing and her hands spiked against the landing hill.

The 32-year-old mom from Melbourne settled for a bronze medal but did her sport a favor -- make that two favors.

She raised the bar for the next generation of jumpers, while clearing the way for another of the grand veterans of the game, Alla Tsuper of Belarus, to win the gold medal in her fifth and final try at the Games.

"I'm really happy with the bronze," Lassila said. "I came into these Olympics wanting to get the most out of myself and wanting to push the sport. I wanted to lift barriers and inspire women to do harder tricks."

Xu Mengtao also bobbled backward during her landing and settled for silver, giving the Chinese women their world-leading fifth Olympic medal in this daredevil sport. None of them are gold, however.

The 34-year-old Tsuper was the only skier of the four in the super final to land her jump cleanly. She scored a 98.01. At the last Olympics, she competed for Ukraine and finished eighth after winning the qualifying round -- another disappointment for a woman who had been favored to medal in the three Olympics before that but had always come up empty.

"In Vancouver, when I made it to the final but I didn't medal, I thought that was it," she said. "I took a break for two years, had a daughter and was offered to try again."

The victory gave her new country, Belarus, its third gold medal of the Olympics, leaving it one behind the United States, Norway and Canada, and one ahead of the host country, which has about 15 times the population.

"I don't think it will be our last medal of the Olympics," Tsuper said. "Our guys are still going to perform here."

It was an American, the late Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, who became the most notable boundary pusher on the men's side of this sport, consistently throwing caution to the wind and throwing his Hurricane jump -- five twists inside of three somersaults -- before finally being rewarded for with a silver medal in 2010.

The women's side has been looking for that sort of push for a while. Li Nina won silver four years ago with a four-twisting double flip and attempted the same jump in the final Friday. Going first, she wiped out wildly and scored a 46.02.

That gave Lassila a better chance of winning the gold even without trying her most difficult jump. But that decision had already been made.

"It was all or nothing for us," she said.

The jump looked good in the air, the green stripes sewed onto the inside of her arms and the outside of her pant legs lining up in almost perfect symmetry -- an easy way for the judges to see that she's "penciling" the jump.

But in aerials, the jump counts for 50 percent, while the take-off counts for 20 and the landing is the rest. Lasilla wiped out and scored 72.12.

"It's a tough call," said American Emily Cook, who competed in her third and final Olympics and finished eighth. "The winner's the one who puts down the best jump. But she's amazing. She's transforming the sport, which is incredible."

American Ashley Caldwell, who finished 10th after leading the way in qualifying, agreed.

"That's who I'm inspired by," Caldwell said. "She's trying to push the sport so that girls are jumping like the boys, and she's doing it, and it's really impressive."

Asked if she wanted to be remembered more for the time she won the Olympics or the time she finished third but also gave her sport a little nudge, Lasilla didn't hesitate.

"I really hope it's for the trick I did today and what I tried to do today," she said. "I hope I left my mark on the sport and inspired some other athletes."

�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #103 on: February 15, 2014, 12:35:18 am »
My daughter was very touched and moved by the pullout of Evgeni Plushenko, who she recognizes as a great champion.

In dropping out he decided to walk, vs. risk becoming paralized or an invalid.

I think I come down with my daughter, and not the puffed up bad-mouth Russian politico.
"God must love the common man, he made so many of them.�  Abe Lincoln

Offline Chieftain

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #104 on: February 15, 2014, 02:55:47 pm »
It takes the Russians to make the Obama Administration look good by comparison.  I think Barry is rejoicing that there is so much attention on the conditions in Sochi, urine colored water and Bob Costas' pink eye; but once the fiasco in Sochi is over attention is going to swing back to what's going on here at home.

And for the record, I have not watched one moment of Olympic coverage yet.

 :smokin:

Offline EC

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #105 on: February 15, 2014, 03:01:34 pm »
And for the record, I have not watched one moment of Olympic coverage yet.

 :smokin:

Always feel slightly guilty about that. Here are people who have trained for years for their moment in the sun - and I can't be bothered to watch.
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Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #106 on: February 15, 2014, 04:25:05 pm »
The snow conditions are the worst I've ever seen.  Romney was interview on Kelly File the other night.  We spent three billion on Salt Lake Olympics.. which were great success...the Chinese spent 50 billion on their summer games and this cost 50 billion... :thud: :thud:
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline SouthTexas

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #107 on: February 15, 2014, 04:35:48 pm »
It takes the Russians to make the Obama Administration look good by comparison.  I think Barry is rejoicing that there is so much attention on the conditions in Sochi, urine colored water and Bob Costas' pink eye; but once the fiasco in Sochi is over attention is going to swing back to what's going on here at home.

And for the record, I have not watched one moment of Olympic coverage yet.

 :smokin:

 DrewMTips @DrewMTips
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Maybe Obama should consult with T.J. Oshie on how to deal with the Russians. T.J. has a much better record against them.

 http://twitchy.com/2014/02/15/only-a-matter-of-time-is-this-how-obama-will-celebrate-the-team-usa-hockey-victory-pic/

Scroll down for the winning shot!

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #108 on: February 15, 2014, 06:20:57 pm »
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/as-medals-slip-away-americans-are-getting-steamed-at-sochi-games/2014/02/14/7e4f782a-95a1-11e3-9616-d367fa6ea99b_story.html

As medals slip away, Americans are getting steamed at Sochi Games
By Sally Jenkins February 14, 2014, 2:54 PM E-mail the writer

Photos: View Photo Gallery: Bode Miller back in action, men’s Alpine skiing super combined, men’s hockey and more on Friday at the Winter Olympics.

SOCHI, Russia — COLUMN | The snow in the Caucasus Mountains is dissolving, the white patches shrinking, and many athletes on Team USA seem to be melting down with them. Some Americans are drained, and others are dragging. When they ski or they skate, they think they went fast, but then they look up at the clock and are stunned to find they were a second slow, and finish eighth. Team USA’s self-esteem is leaking away, and it’s triggering anxious super-secret coaching meetings and conspiracy theories. What’s in the Russian water table — and why are those Swiss timers so suspiciously slow?

It must be a plot — some foreign machination, causing this massive slippage. Four years ago in Vancouver, the Americans won more medals than anyone, with 37, but halfway through Sochi, the 13 medals they have won somehow don’t feel quite as memorable as the ones they let get away. They can’t win so much as a foiled chocolate in speedskating, where they’ve yet to finish any better than seventh. U.S. speedskating coach Ryan Shimabukuro said: “The fact that we’re that far out, something’s up.”

“It’s a mystery to me,” skater Brian Hansen said. “I think it’s a mystery to a lot of people.”

A mystery! At least that’s something for the American television audience to grab on to, because there is precious little suspense otherwise, save for the matter of when Bob Costas will return from his eye infection, and that’s a dodgy matter too. Who or what is poisoning us?

What accounts for this? Ted Ligety was the gold medal favorite in Friday’s super combined, yet he finished 12th, while Bode Miller was sixth, both of them shooting up huge rooster-tails of snow, futilely.

The results are . . . odd. What is this weird eighth-place niche the Americans keep falling into? Julia Mancuso, eighth. Miller, eighth. Two-time gold medalist speedskater Shani Davis, eighth in the men’s 1,000 meters, while Dutchman Stefan Groothuis was taken aback to win. (“It’s great, but it’s also very strange,” Groothuis said.) Women’s speedskater Heather Richardson, world champion in the 500 meters? Eighth again. Silver medalist Olga Fatkulina was so stunned by the result that she put on someone else’s warmups. (“I’m wearing somebody else’s tracksuit trousers, and I have to give them back,” she said. “I don’t know whose they are.”)

Let’s play detective and go over the likely suspects. Four potential culprits come to mind immediately:

1. Vodka: The little shooters are ubiquitous in the restaurants, in flavors from cranberry to horseradish.

2. Embarrassment: The shoulder-curling humiliation of those snowflaky Ralph Lauren sweaters the Americans had to wear in the Opening Ceremonies.

3. Toxins: Leached into the Americans either environmentally or intentionally; and, of course . . .

4. Sex in the Athletes’ Village.

“We could make a list of everything that’s wrong, it could be the suits, could be the food, we don’t know,” speedskater Joey Mantia said.

The food! Maybe it was the food. Too many dumplings? Too much shashlik, those tasty Russian kebab skewers, too many khinkali dumplings, or khachapuri, the Danish-shaped cheese tarts.

Could it be? But no. When snowboarder Hannah Teter was asked what she has been snacking on, she delivered a grocery list straight from an organic health food store. “I’ve got kale chips, sprouted nuts, electrolyte drinks — all the healthy stuff, all the super-food,” she said.

If it wasn’t the food, maybe it was the clothes. The growing collective neurosis over the lack of medals coalesced around the speedskaters’ racing skins, those high-tech Under Armour-Lockheed dimpled racing unis. They came under intense examination Friday, when coaches and team members began to obsess on whether air vents on the back were design flaws that might be slowing them down. The Case of the Fractional Aerodynamic Hoodie. A seamstress was called in.

But the suits were not why American champions were slower by a second — unless they were catching their skate blades on the hems and tripping.

“Shani has won in the same suit,” Mantia said. “All speed suits feel like crap.”

Nevertheless at Friday’s training sessions, there were emergency conferences and whispers of more alterations.

“There is a meeting later today about some stuff I have no idea about,” Davis said.
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But what if there was no culprit, nothing to blame except themselves, and the weather? What if the Americans trained for a Winter Olympics at altitude on hard-packed snow and ice, and arrived in Sochi to find they should have trained for an Early March First Buds of Spring Olympics at sea level?

As the temperatures hovered between 60 and 65 degrees, Sochi became a giant tanning parlor and everyone was breaking out their Maui Jims. The balmy air grew heavier down on the coastal plain where the speedskaters competed, while up in the peaks, the snowcaps liquefied. The surface of the Alpine courses looked as if they’d been poured out of a Slush Puppie machine. Miller, the famous snow chemist, described it as grainy “crystals, mushy stuff.”

The Americans weren’t the only ones who gave marginally slower performances in the warmth, or who were frustrated by sloggy conditions. “I’m a big guy and I just sink in this slush,” British cross-country skier Andrew Young said. A German official grabbed scissors and cut the sleeves off some of the cross-country uniforms, but it didn’t help former World Cup champion Axel Teichmann, who finished eighth in the men’s 15K.

“I became a winter athlete to do my sport in winter, not in summer,” he seethed.

Maybe it was the sheer beachiness of the whole affair that compromised the Americans.

“It’s easy to lose a sense of time and structure in the Olympic Village,” figure skater Jeremy Abbott said. “It feels like summer camp. Like Neverland.”

Maybe things were just too dreamy. “Wishing in skiing does not get you far,” Miller observed. Maybe while the Americans were puzzling over their suits and their food and the temps, others have just reached out and grabbed the medals. Like Iouri Podladtchikov, nicknamed I-Pod, who made this immortal play on the Olympic slogan after beating out Shaun White in the halfpipe, “It’s hot, cool, and it’s [expletive] mine.”
« Last Edit: February 15, 2014, 06:22:19 pm by Rapunzel »
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #109 on: February 15, 2014, 06:21:24 pm »
I think it is sort of indicative of what is happening to our country as a whole........
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #110 on: February 15, 2014, 11:07:47 pm »
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/15/oshie-leads-team-usa-to-epic-3-2-victory-over-russia-but-its-what-he-said-after-that-you-will-want-to-see/

Oshie Leads Team USA to Epic 3-2 Victory Over Russia — But It’s What He Said After That You Will Want to See
Feb. 15, 2014 2:43pm Oliver Darcy   


SOCHI, Russia (AP) — T.J. Oshie scored four times in the shootout and got the winner in the eighth round, leading the United States past Russia 3-2 Saturday in the thrilling revival of an Olympic hockey rivalry.
Cam Fowler and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Americans in the marquee game of the preliminary round. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves and stopped five attempts in the shootout.

International rules allow the same player to take multiple shots after the first three rounds of a shootout, and U.S. coach Dan Bylsma leaned on Oshie. The St. Louis forward went 4 for 6 against Sergei Bobrovsky.

TJ Oshie (@OSH74) when called a hero after the game: "No. The real heroes wear camo. I'm not one of them."


Captain Pavel Datsyuk scored two goals in regulation and another in the shootout. The fast-paced game was played in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an energized crowd.


�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline happyg

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #111 on: February 15, 2014, 11:21:38 pm »
TJ Oshie (@OSH74) when called a hero after the game: "No. The real heroes wear camo. I'm not one of them."


Good for him. However, saying that makes him a different kind of hero in my book.

Offline happyg

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #112 on: February 15, 2014, 11:51:25 pm »

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #113 on: February 16, 2014, 12:02:31 am »
 :silly: :silly: :silly: funny......
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #114 on: February 16, 2014, 03:15:45 am »
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/15/team-usa-not-happy-with-controversial-under-armour-suits-and-theyre-finally-doing-something-about-it/

Team USA Not Happy With Controversial Under Armour Suits — and They’re Finally Doing Something About It
Feb. 15, 2014 1:25pm Oliver Darcy   

The U.S. speedskating team will abandon their newly designed, controversial Under Armour suits and revert to older ones following a series of poor results at the Olympics, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

The move reportedly comes after several athletes placed blame on the suits for hindering their performance.


Under Armour, which has now promised to “move heaven and Earth to make them better,” had designed the suits in conjunction with Lockheed Martin and bragged about them being “the fastest speedskating suit in the world.”

    “…move heaven and Earth to make them better.”

Share:

But, according to the Wall Street Journal, the suits have faced criticism, particularly for a vent on the back. The vent, intended to let heat escape, may have been letting air in, compromising the performances of athletes.

The Wall Street Journal has more:

   
Quote
U.S. Speedskating executive director Ted Morris said Friday that the team members were locked in a debate over which suit to wear going forward. He said the team’s members were split evenly and no final decision had been reached. “The general feeling from the athletes, it’s pretty darn close to 50-50,” Morris said at the time.

    Haley said the team ultimately decided to change the suits largely at the insistence of a minority of skaters on the team who are considered medal contenders.

    The uniform swap puts Under Armour in a tough spot. If the U.S. team wins medals in the old suits, “it will be embarrassing for Under Armour,” said Matt Powell, an industry analyst for SportsOneSource. Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc. is primarily known for its performance apparel. Shares of the company closed at $106 late Friday, down 2.38%.

    Haley, the Under Armour executive, contested the notion that changing to the previous suits would harm the company’s reputation. “They’re all Under Armour suits,” he said. “We just want the skaters to win.”

Nevertheless, the results for the team at the Sochi Olympics have been disappointing.

“Coming off one of the stronger fall seasons, of course we were expecting to take home a bunch of medals, lots of hardware,” Kip Carpenter, a coach with the U.S. team, told the Wall Street Journal.

(H/T: The Verge)
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #115 on: February 16, 2014, 03:40:40 am »
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/02/15/Olympic-Fail

Why the Sochi Olympics Are an Epic Fail

by Ben Shapiro 15 Feb 2014, 5:29 PM PDT

The Winter Olympics have not lived up to the hype. NBC’s primetime numbers are down dramatically from the Olympics coverage four years ago. That was down 29% from the first Wednesday broadcast in Vancouver. The average of 20.8 million viewers represented a drop of more than 8 million viewers.

Why have this year’s Winter Olympics been such a bomb? There are multiple reasons: lack of any big name stars chasing any big name records (there is no Michael Phelps), lack of live events in the age of the internet (Vancouver is in North America), mediocre coverage starring a red-eyed Bob Costas.

But there’s something else, too: a lack of geopolitical drama.

In the past, classic Olympic Games have acted as a sort of cathartic battle of nations, in which geopolitical foes duke it out on the playing fields, ice, or slopes. The Lake Placid Olympic Games, for example, married great hockey with high political drama: coming in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and at the low ebb of American power, the Miracle on Ice inspired a nation as a group of college boys took on the mighty Soviet hockey machine. Geopolitical drama lessened but did not die after the Cold War; in 2008, the specter of thousands of seeming automatons banging drums at the opening of the Beijing Games frightened and enthralled the world, reminding us that China was a nation on the rise, a competitor for global dominance.

This year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi could have provided similar drama. After all, it pits the United States against its chief geopolitical foe, the host country, Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Putin himself is a character out of fiction, an uber-macho former Soviet thug running a massive, expansionist kleptocracy. The man stages photographs riding horses barechested and hunting tigers. His enemies find themselves on the wrong end of radioactive poisoning.

And he isn’t a cartoon villain. In the last few years, Russia has flexed its muscle across the globe. Russia’s continued interference in Ukraine has crippled that country; Russia’s Georgian intervention split that country into chunks. For the last few decade, Russia has been aiding Iranian nuclear development.

And just months ago, Russia humiliated President Obama on the world stage with regard to Syria. After waiting for President Obama to twist in the wind regarding his blustery “red-line” statement on Syrian chemical weapons use, Putin stepped in with a supposed disarmament deal. That deal, unsurprisingly, has been a chimera: Syria has continued to massacre its opposition, Bashar Assad has remained in power, his negotiators have insisted that he will not relinquish his scepter, and Syria has not disarmed itself. Russia sits by, grinning. President Obama and his administration wring their hands and whistle past the grave, suggesting that Russia must have an interest in a peaceful Syria.

The Russians are open about all of this. They don’t mind the world thinking of them as imperialistic. On the contrary: they seek that image. Why else would the opening ceremonies at Sochi have featured a stories-high hammer and sickle, marking homage to the brutal and genocidal Soviet regime?

Given this juicy narrative pitting a corrupt dictator with dictatorial power and world ambition against the flailing United States, what did the media choose to highlight?

Gay rights.

The media have centered the Sochi Olympics drama entirely on the question of whether gays and lesbians in Russia can kiss in public – even as Russia continues to fund nuclear development for a country that hangs gays. The truth is that while Russian treatment of gays and lesbians is abysmal, it ranks somewhere near the middle of the pack in terms of global treatment: homosexuality is fully legal in Russia, and less than a dozen people have been arrested under the infamous anti-gay propaganda law. This isn’t quite Kristallnacht.

Now, this isn’t an argument that gays in Russia don’t face discriminatory attacks. The official Russian statistics on anti-gay attacks are almost meaningless, with even Russia’s RT.com explaining, “assaults are rarely reported, and almost never recorded as hate crime incidents.” And there have been some incredibly disturbing and horrifically evil attacks on gays.

But anti-homosexual laws are part of a broader problem in Russia: a problem of oppression and corruption, of lost power and attempts to reclaim it. So why not focus on the real problem of Russia? Why not draw a moral narrative pitting American freedom against Russian repression and expansionism?

There’s a rationale for that failure of narrative: were the press to point out Russia is a threat to US interests, the press would have to acknowledge that President Obama is weak. The press would have to openly recognize that Obama has been bested by a two-bit KGB bully. Obama, in other words, would have to lose.

Instead, the media turned to portrayals of Russia as a laughing stock, unable to build hotels with working doorknobs and struggling to rid the neighborhood of stray dogs while quixotically hunting gays. Journalists who have said nothing about Russia’s support for the slaughter of 100,000 in Syria complained about their toilets not flushing in Sochi and the plight of gays in a city with two gay bars.

This isn’t high drama. This is low comedy. And low comedy doesn’t draw ratings.

Simply put, the Olympics is now boring. Sports thrives on competition. Given the narrative put forward by the media, few Americans truly care whether we beat the Russians. And as it turns out, few Americans are obsessed enough with luge to tune in without any added drama.

A good story makes for a good Olympics. In order to protect President Obama, the media provided a mediocre story. No wonder the Olympics is such a drag.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2014, 03:42:53 am by Rapunzel »
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #116 on: February 16, 2014, 03:48:18 am »
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/02/15/NBC-Brought-Own-Starbucks-Shop-to-Sochi

NBC Brought Own Starbucks Shop to Sochi

by Mary Chastain 15 Feb 2014, 4:24 PM PDT

There is a Starbucks in Sochi, Russia during the 2014 Winter Olympics even though they are not an official sponsor of the games. The nearest one is in the small town Rostov-on-Don.

But NBC employees enjoy this small luxury most Americans take for granted. They flew in their own Starbucks and set up shop in their corner of the Olympics broadcasting center. It is open 24 hours for the 2,500 people NBC flew to Sochi. NBC said they are not violating the non-sponsor rules because it is behind closed doors and not open to the public.

   
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Bringing in the joe is a delicate exercise. NBC flies in a rotating crew of some 15 baristas from Starbucks coffee shops in Russia, sets them up with accommodations in Sochi, and pays their regular wages. As with past Games, Starbucks has gladly cooperated with the effort.

    All told, the barista battalion is larger than the Sochi Olympic teams of some 57 countries.

    One barista working at the covert facility next to the NBC cafeteria on Friday night said she had come from Moscow; another one arrived from St. Petersburg.

    NBC has set up its own personal Starbucks at every Olympics since the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, according to Mr. Fritsche. But Sochi is only the second time NBC has brought Starbucks to a city that doesn't have one. Turin, the coffee-rich site of the 2006 Winter Games, was the other.

Rachel Rominger, an International Olympic Committee representative, said no rules are violated since NBC is bringing in the coffee for their personal use. The main sponsors, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, are not concerned with Starbucks. Coke does not own a hot drink business in Russia and people are left with McDonald’s McCafé drinks. The coffee is very popular, which probably explains why it does not bother them that NBC brought in their own Starbucks.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review sports columnist Dejan Kovacevic is addicted to Starbucks and once had a connection to the NBC shop. But now the person is on the other side of the park and he carries his empty Starbucks cup with him.

    "It's a status symbol," he explains. "It shows I'm not some kind of lowlife."
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline happyg

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #117 on: February 16, 2014, 04:05:05 am »
Coffee is the best thing McDonald's has on its menu. I don't like Starbuck's because it tastes like burned coffee beans. I reckon most people throw different flavorings in it, so it's not really coffee.  It was tacky of NBC to do that, but then, what else can we expect from those dolts?

Online mountaineer

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #118 on: February 16, 2014, 12:29:00 pm »
Coffee is the best thing McDonald's has on its menu. I don't like Starbuck's because it tastes like burned coffee beans. I reckon most people throw different flavorings in it, so it's not really coffee.  It was tacky of NBC to do that, but then, what else can we expect from those dolts?
It's kind of funny, in a pathetic sort of way, that the NBCers seem to consider Starbucks the high-status pinnacle of coffee. I agree with you, it tastes scorched.

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #119 on: February 16, 2014, 05:29:32 pm »
http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/02/16/us-hockey-player-tj-oshie-being-called-hero-%E2%80%98-real-heroes-wear-camo-i%E2%80%99m-not-one-them%E2%80%99
U.S. Hockey Player T.J. Oshie On Being Called A Hero: ‘The Real Heroes Wear Camo. I’m Not One Of Them



U.S. Hockey Player T.J. Oshie On Being Called A Hero: ‘The Real Heroes Wear Camo. I’m Not One Of Them’

 

St. Louis Blues forward T.J. Oshie became an instant star on Saturday morning, as his incredible effort in a shootout lead the United States men’s hockey team to a big win over Russia in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

After the game, Oshie was asked what it felt like to become a U.S. hero, but he was quick to let everyone know that he does not believe he has earned that label.

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    TJ Oshie (@OSH74) when called a hero after the game: "No. The real heroes wear camo. I'm not one of them."

    — Shawn Hutcheon (@ShawnHutcheon) February 15, 2014
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Online mountaineer

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #120 on: February 16, 2014, 07:39:28 pm »
I understand Meredith Viereia (sp?), filling in for Shortcake PinkEye as NBC's host, seemingly praised Oshie's remarks by saying that he should be Hillary's running mate, or words to that effect.
  :chairbang:

Offline Chieftain

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #121 on: February 16, 2014, 07:58:05 pm »
A Google search using the parameters "Bob Costas, pink eye" reveals literally thousands of highly amusing and very rude photoshopped images of Our Bob.....too many for me to even decide on a good selection......

 :beer:

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #122 on: February 16, 2014, 08:05:51 pm »
I understand Meredith Viereia (sp?), filling in for Shortcake PinkEye as NBC's host, seemingly praised Oshie's remarks by saying that he should be Hillary's running mate, or words to that effect.
  :chairbang:

I would enjoy the coverage more without people like Viera and Costas on my screen.

BTW I have never seen such pathetic winter skiing conditions at what is a major event as these skiers are subjected to this year. The only time I can ever remember skiing in something this bad was during a drought period we spent a week at Tahoe skiing all the runs there and Heavenly Valley was so bad I actually broke a pole coming off a lift in the hardpack.  What they are going through in Sochi is awful.  Didn't Russia have any mountains further north?
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776

Offline happyg

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #123 on: February 16, 2014, 08:16:17 pm »
Are you watching it now? I just saw a female snowboarder crash. She appears to be unconscious, but I noticed she was breathing. I don't know who she is.

Offline Rapunzel

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Re: Olympics Coverage and Articles
« Reply #124 on: February 16, 2014, 08:20:37 pm »
Are you watching it now? I just saw a female snowboarder crash. She appears to be unconscious, but I noticed she was breathing. I don't know who she is.

It isn't on here, another hour before our coverage starts. I'll watch it - thanks. 

What the women were experiencing last night is the sort of conditions that caused me to screw up my knee up at Mammoth Mountain spring skiing - hardpack up at the top and then the slushy corn snow at the bottom, it transitions quickly and in my case I lost it, did a spiral turn and my left ski didn't come off, the slush grabbed hold and tore my knee.
�The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves.� G Washington July 2, 1776