Thread is for those following the USA teams competing.
I’m catching the rerun of USA v Puerto Rico hoops and I’m so totally disgusted and disheartened. PR schooled the NBA’ers, OMG. 
Why I’m still watching at 3:30am is because I’m a masochist.
I’m waiting for the Tae Kwon Do event on the 26th. Steve Lopez has a good shot to medal again this year.
What happened to the Dream Team??? Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson were no match for PR?
[quote=“ac_dropout”]I’m waiting for the Tae Kwon Do event on the 26th. Steve Lopez has a good shot to medal again this year.
What happened to the Dream Team??? Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson were no match for PR?[/quote]
You are such a PRC Commie &^%&^%$ AC. You rub it in about the USA loss to Puerto Rico and you cheer for someone else in the one sport where Taiwan has a chance to win Olympic gold. What a jerk!
“x” marks the click, Hobart.
I’m surprised the drama of Michael Phelps ended so soon. But maybe it’s better the hype gives way to reality. American sports has just way too much hype for its own good, even though it is quite good for so long. The doping thing blech :stinkyface:
Man, just not enough coverage… :fume:
Hobart,
The thread is about USA squad.
ROC TKD is only strong on the women side for gold. The men side is dominated by SK, Iran, and USA right now.
I don’t follow B-ball, so I’m just shock to hear the USA got defeated by PR. Which technically is part of the USA…so its all good.
[quote=“lsieh”]Thread is for those following the USA teams competing.
I’m catching the rerun of USA v Puerto Rico hoops and I’m so totally disgusted and disheartened. PR schooled the NBA’ers, OMG. 
Why I’m still watching at 3:30am is because I’m a masochist.[/quote]
When I heard that the USA lost to Puerto Rico, I was quite glad. I mean, Puerto Rico deserves something; they are a part of the USA and governed by our laws, but they have no vote and therefore no say in those laws. If they can’t vote, then they might as well get something and beating the USA team in b-ball is at least something.
Then again, think about the state of basketball right now. I admit I do not follow it (I have always thought the NBA to be extremely annoying and flashy) but I do have some knowledge of the game. For one, in the USA it has stopped being a team sport and is now a sport of individuals playing for the same team although not necessarily together. Sure these guys pass balls to one another, but it is almost always the big name of the team who goes for the shot.
Eh, fine, maybe I don’t know that much about basketball, but I still think it serves us right that Puerto Rico beat us.
As for Michael Phelps, there was way too much hype. The kid is 19 years old. He brought a lot of the hype on himself, of course, by saying he wants 8 golds, but come on people, the 200m freestyle is NOT his event. One can only be spread so thin.
Oh, off topic, but what do you think will happen at the 2008 games? Will Taiwan march under its own flag or will it join with China? Aren’t the two Koreas marching under one flag this time?
The NBA game and the International game are two different beasts. The NBA style stresses flash, power and a lot of offensive activity around the basket. The game is biased to that end through making zone defense illegal, calling very minor fouls in favor of those who drive down the lane and the existence of the “continuation rule” (after being fouled, an offensive player gets 1 more step to complete the shot). Outside shooting is not rewarded or revered. The International game is completely opposite. It’s a team oriented game where a single opposing player will be shut down instantly. Team US can’t pass and can’t shoot. When the big stars decided not to show, the US Olympic committee decided to bring in up and coming stars like Labron James and Carmello Anthony. Excellent individual players, to be sure, but not seasoned team players. USOC would have been better off grabbing experienced journeymen from the NBA. Prima dona attitudes like the NBA superstars have will get them a quick trip home.
I enjoy watching the NBA immensely, but they aren’t cut out for the Intenational game. This is especially true since the rest of the world has really stepped up the level of competition. I compare it to sending the New York Yankess to the Olympics to compete in cricket. That’s how different I see the two styles of play.
Later.
NP: Women’s Team Finals, Gymnastics, '04 Olympics
Agree 100% on the US hoops team analysis. Too much And1, not enough fundamentals. And I hate watching NBA hoops. I much prefer the college and WNBA games. At least they beat the Greeks, barely. Can you believe it, Lamar Odom of all people, D’ed up the last shot perfectly and saves the US team.
Same goes for Michael Phelps. His effort saved the 4x100 relay. Heroic efforts are great to watch and make good stories but so far the teams are not doing well. But congrats on the 200 relay. That was well done!
Ok, not a US note, but Yao Ming gets some props… wheeee 
!
anyone see the men’s gynamstics all-around? wow. american in the lead, falls on his ass and slides across a judge’s table on the 3rd to last event. ouch. drops him down to 12th. 2nd to last event he gets a huge score and people ahead of him start to drop off 1 by 1. little error here, low scoring conservative program here. last event, he’s up last. 2 koreans ahead of him and he needs a 9.825 to tie for gold. i don’t think there were more than 2 or 3 scores over 9.8 given in the entire individual competition all night. he scores a 9.837 and ends up with the gold.
man, hamm is going to enter the korean lexicon alongside apollo as reasons to hate the us. the koreans who ended up with silver and bronze looked so pissed. 
you know, when i saw the ads, i thought phelps would be some pompus ass. but after hearing him in interviews, he seems like a nice sincere guy. he seemed genuinely happy just to race thorpe even though it was obvious he wasn’t going to win it. he’s having one of the best olympics by any athlete ever, but because of the unrealistic expectations that were set, even 6 golds and 2 bronzes would be considered a failure. i think that’s a real shame.
my favorite part so far is how all the swimmers take off their wreaths out of respect for the us flag. i think that’s a classy move. let’s hope all those superstar track pretty boys don’t pull any more of their touchdown celebrations on the medal stand later on.
[quote=“Flipper”]you know, when I saw the ads, I thought phelps would be some pompus ass. but after hearing him in interviews, he seems like a nice sincere guy. he seemed genuinely happy just to race thorpe even though it was obvious he wasn’t going to win it. he’s having one of the best olympics by any athlete ever, but because of the unrealistic expectations that were set, even 6 golds and 2 bronzes would be considered a failure. I think that’s a real shame.
my favorite part so far is how all the swimmers take off their wreaths out of respect for the us flag. I think that’s a classy move. let’s hope all those superstar track pretty boys don’t pull any more of their touchdown celebrations on the medal stand later on.[/quote]
not that i know the guy, and i agree that phelps seems like a nice one, maybe he seems nice because he always has this look on his face like “uhm… where am i?”
and as for taking the wreaths off their heads, i sort of think that is disrespectful… if they were hats that actually covered their heads entirely, then i would understand taking them off… but their heads are not completely covered… and besides, the laurels are put on their heads to signify them as the victors… also, it is a tradition that they did in the original olympics… isn;t it a bit disrespectful to take the wreaths off, then? i dont know… maybe i am a bit too cynical for my own good… i wonder if the greeks have said anything about it…
are there rules written down for the proper way to show respect to the national anthem? if so, i would be very interested to see them…
i’m not sure what would be disrespectful in taking your wreath off. if anything, allowing women to compete is more disrespectful of ancient olympic traditions than what you do with your wreath.
besides, i understand the proper protocol is to take off all headgear when the flag is raised and during the playing of the national anthem unless one is in uniform. i don’t think there’s an exception for patial headgear like visors or wreathes.
and they’re placing the wreath over their hearts which could be construed as a respectful thing to do. 
[quote=“Flipper”]anyone see the men’s gynamstics all-around? wow. American in the lead, falls on his ass and slides across a judge’s table on the 3rd to last event. ouch. drops him down to 12th. 2nd to last event he gets a huge score and people ahead of him start to drop off 1 by 1. little error here, low scoring conservative program here. last event, he’s up last. 2 Koreans ahead of him and he needs a 9.825 to tie for gold. I don’t think there were more than 2 or 3 scores over 9.8 given in the entire individual competition all night. he scores a 9.837 and ends up with the gold.
man, hamm is going to enter the Korean lexicon alongside apollo as reasons to hate the us. the Koreans who ended up with silver and bronze looked so pissed. [/quote]
This was exciting, but it has got to be the lamest excuse for a gymnastic meet I’ve ever seen. Nobody who not just falls, but lands on his ass out of bounds and on the judges table should be winning the gold. I chalk it up to the lack of serious contenders for the gold, a growing problem for the sport ever since the Soviet team disbanded.
eh, i think that it is good that the soviet team isn’t there anymore… this is not because they would win everything, but rather because the boys would probably have not had a choice whether or not they wanted to be a gymnast; they would have just been torn from their families and trained.
you can’t blame all the guys in the former soviet union that they would rather not have the voice of a 7 year old boy, even if it comes with an extremely jacked/flexible body.
YAY PUBERTY!!! LET THOSE VOICES DROP!!! :bravo:
They have the option of joining as a state if they want, thereby giving themselves full voting rights in the federal government.
They have the option of leaving completely and becoming self-governing.
They have the option of remaining as they are and continuing to receive welfare benefits disproportionate to all other states.
They held a referendum a couple of years, for at least the second time, to decide, and the decision was to sit tight and continue to suck money without bothering with the rest. As such, I don’t comprehend why you wish to whine about their status. They chose it themselves.
another reason to like phelps. after he beat crocker today in the butterfly, he gave up his spot so crocker could swim in the medly relay(he was awarded the spot for winning the butterfly). i think part of the reason he did it was because crocker was undoubtedly the reason the americans did so poorly in the previous 4x100 relay. crocker had the wrost time of anyone because he was sick. now there’s a chance for him to redeem himself. classy move on phelps’ part.