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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 8:41 am
I was enraged at NBC (no surprise, they suck at Olympic coverage) for starting the opening ceremonies at 9 eastern (after featuring the idiotic and apparently sedated Bode Miller during the first hour). Since I've NEVER been a fan of Fellini, I was confounded by what the choreographer of the opening ceremonies was trying to say to us. The thronging hoards that created the downhill skiier was very cool, but given the American disco theme that greeted the parade of nations, Colossus and I only made it to Lithuania before crashing (Colossus has been pretty ill and needed to go to bed). What I missed, though, that I would have given my left nut to see/hear, is Pavarotti singing "Nessun Dorma." My God. If I never heard another person sing anything else in my life, Pavarotti and Nessun Dorma would make it all otay. I pretty much hated what I saw of the opening ceremonies, and NBC's coverage just made it that much worse. I wish they'd shown highlights of Katie Couric getting pounded with bird poop rather than interview Bode Miller and show 4 hours of commercials. Marysafan, I totally agree with your post particularly about the Canadian uniforms. I always look forward to seeing what they are wearing, then they show up wearing dog-flaps on their ears. I'm glad they were appropriately covered for cold weather, but the head gear for pretty much all the teams was seriously at issue. Elmer Fudd-ish. Maris, I thought the American lady skaters at the U.S. championships were for the most part less than world-class, so I agreed with appointing Kwan. Also she is the reason we got 3 spots instead of 2 because of her World's performance last year, so that probably played into it. She has/had more of a chance of medalling than anyone else (including Sasha Cohen, who is widely despised but artistic), so probably all the more reason to give her the last chance to medal. If she pulls out I'm sure it will be for cause and I sure won't fault the committee for giving her the last grasp for the ring. She has been a marvelous ambassador for American amateur skating.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 9:51 am
GAL, you and Colossus did better than I did. After watching the first hour of Bode, I only managed thru the "A's". Finally heard this morning that they did honor Alberto Tombo by having him carry the Olympic torch and run it up the stage steps to hand it off to a succession of Italian medal winners. Alas, they chose Stefania Belmondo for the actual honor...

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Marysafan
Member
08-07-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 11:54 am
I've been reading many articles of praise for last night's opening ceremonies. I would also like to add my appreciation for the "moving skier", the tribute to the Birth of Venus, and the "Dove". NBC's coverage however isn't earning many high marks. Bob Costas has been criticized for his robot like delivery of events "as if he was reading it off a tele-prompter back in the studio"...and Brian Williams numerous references to "the world situation" including pointing out that Italy is a coalition partner in Iraq...when this is clearly a time to put governments aside and bring the world together. My take is if North and South Korea can march side by side...can't NBC shut up about a war for and a couple of hours? Personally, I thought Brian Williams was a "wet blanket" comparable to Bryant Gumbel's surliness from Seoul. Just what we need...some self-important news guy bringing the place down. Let's hope NBC gets the message that they are missing the mark. On second thought...I would like to scrub the idea of a Bode Miller drinking game. We'd all be dead by now.
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Mak1
Member
08-12-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 12:04 pm
SPOILER.....
Spoiler Click below to view spoiler | congratulations to Jennifer Heil for winning the gold in moguls for Canada! | Added Spoiler box. <55>
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Jimmer
Member
08-30-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 12:21 pm
Oh that is fantastic!!!! I was watching and it was great!
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 12:44 pm
*****SPOILER DON'T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ******
Spoiler Click below to view spoiler | Hedrick, the American speed-skater from Texas, took his first gold (in the 5,000 meter) in his bid to tie Eric Heiden's record of 5 speed-skating golds in one olympics. | Added Spoiler box. <55>
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Jimmer
Member
08-30-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 12:49 pm
That's great news! Just a suggestion, but one trick that is available to us for hiding spoilers is the \spoiler tag. Basically, all you have to do is put \spoiler{Anything in here is hidden} So it looks like this:
Spoiler Click below to view spoiler | Anything in here is hidden |
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Jimmer
Member
08-30-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 12:58 pm
I'm just watching the Canadian Women play the Italian Woman's Hockey Team. The Canadians and the Americans are clearly the class of the field. It's pretty obvious that the Italians are extremely out-matched. Do you think the Canadians should hold back? It seems a little tacky to run up the score but then I think overall goals count as well if there are ties in standings. What do you think?
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 1:03 pm
Dang, I forgot about that Jimmer. Thanks, I will use it in the future. On a side note, Colossus refuses to recognize any Texan who thinks he can challenge Heiden's record. Colossus is from Milwaukee, and he spent a few seasons on the outdoor ice rink with Eric Heiden and his sister, watching them circle the track five times before anyone else (including himself) got around once. Even if Hedrick wins five golds, Colossus won't recognize his greatness because Heiden won his on outdoor tracks (like a real Milwaukeean) instead of on the indoor, pussified rinks they're racing on now. Heh. Northerners. PS Jimmer nope - if overall scoring matters for getting to the medal round, Canada and whomever else should rack up their score however they can. They're not doing it to humiliate their opponent, it's for future purposes.
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 1:04 pm
I agree about the dilemma, Jimmer. I think we should take our 20 goals in the first period, and then use the rest of the time to maybe practice defensive plays, and not worry about too much offensively. Sort of throw the puck away, let the Italians come back into our end, and continue practicing defensive execution.
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 1:13 pm
I don't think the Italian women have ever been on SKATES. Watch....they fall A LOT.
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Jefe
Member
09-11-2003
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 1:14 pm
My god the Italian girls are so small.
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Jan
Moderator
08-01-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 1:24 pm
Apparently only 250 women in all of Italy play hockey (vs 60,000 in Canada!). They are only in the Olympics because they are the host. The Coach of the italian team has been quoted as saying that, if his team can stay within 20 goals of Canada, he will consider it a success - so I guess he understands that Canada has to rack up the goals. It counts for who is home team or something like that in the finals.
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Marysafan
Member
08-07-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 1:42 pm
I think it would be a great idea if we could have a separate thread for *spoiler* like we do with other shows. I am 100% with Colossus! It's really hard for me to put an inline skater from Texas who just took up ice skating 3 years ago, with the great northern god Eric Heiden. (I still have the copy of the Sports Illustrated with Eric on the cover. Hubby thinks I'm a memorabilia nut...but he has no idea how much I fantasized about those awesome thighs!)
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Mak1
Member
08-12-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 1:44 pm
Thank you <55>. Sorry, I was so excited I forgot all about the Spoiler box!
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 2:56 pm
I always enjoy seeing how different cities/countries present their cultures to the world during the Opening Ceremonies. It's one of the things that makes the Olympics so special. I just love all the theatrical flourishes and sometimes mystifying performances. And then there's those Olympic rituals - the Parade of Nations, carrying in the flag, lighting the torch...to me, they're quite moving. I really loved the Renaissance section of yesterday's program. It was beautiful. And the Ferrari was so much cooler than that mortifying pickup truck hoedown featured during the Atlanta Games. I'm not a fan of Pavarotti but can understand why they featured him. I didn't understand the song selection for the part where the athletes march into the stadium but I'm sure there was some reason... Okay yes, the many commercial breaks and intrusive yapping by the anchors are annoying. And it'd be nice if there was a better balance in the coverage of American athletes versus those from other nations. I mean, one of the main points of the Olympics is it's international. I also get impatient when there's too many of those syrupy, pre-fab background pieces taking valuable air time away from actual competitions. And I understand there's reason to be cynical about the goings on, what with bribes in the selection process, scandals and whatnot. But I still love to watch the show!
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 3:08 pm
woohooo I love those spoiler boxes..LOL
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Lumbele
Member
07-12-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 3:09 pm
Well, it's a good thing Canadians are realistic enough not to expect too much from the skaters, other than the men's.
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Karen
Member
09-07-2004
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 3:10 pm
Canadian Women's Hockey just CLOBBERED the Italian women, 16-0. Wow!
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Marysafan
Member
08-07-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 3:32 pm
Yeah...can't wait to see what the Canadian men are going to do when they face the Italian men in the first round next week.
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Lumbele
Member
07-12-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 3:51 pm
Unfortunately they can't afford to be polite guests, Mary, because every goal may count when they face your team in the final.
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Marysafan
Member
08-07-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 3:54 pm
Lumbele, I totally understand that. I'm just saying that I'm not looking forward to a repeat. I understand the whole reasoning behind giving the home team a free pass...but it doesn't make for good viewing.
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 4:01 pm
Marysafan, Colossus says each of Heiden's thighs were bigger than most men's waistlines, and if he wanted to earn a living cracking two coconuts at a time between them he'd have been equally successful. Plus he's a brainiac. Sigh.
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Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 5:05 pm
I'm not going to give away any standings, but, I was was watching the pairs figure skating this afternoon, and realized it is going to take me some time to get used to the new scoring. I find that I miss seeing all the judges score out of 6 come up. Now its just two numbers and they add them together. I liked a couple of the women are wearing a one piece outfit instead of the tradtional skirt--which I thought was required--and it was a nice change.
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Ketchuplover
Member
08-30-2000
| Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 5:32 pm
Is there a couch potato Olympics?
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