107 replies to this topic

[Maalox]

Not to get Sausage in Section 17 in here, but the BBC's coverage has been very, very good.

I hate you and I want you to die, you tea-swilling Cheddar monkey.

(He said jealously.)

[Maalox]

No alpine skiing today: both the Gentlemen's Super-Combined and the Ladies Downhill training postponed.

Good news is, they got snow at Whistler and expect the racing conditions over the next several days to be excellent.

[JimD]

With any luck, this will push an event or two to a day when there is no figure skating to dominate NBC's attention.

[barbed wire Bob]

The BBC is a public broadcast and as such has different responsibilities but still, for a country that has won 8 gold medals in the Winter Olympics it kicks ass.

I doubt it has anything to do with the BBC being owned by the goverment. Instead, European tv is so much better because they focus on the sporting events and not fluff because that is what their audience wants and expects. IMO, NBC works under the assumption that outside of figure skating, skiing and snowboarding, Americans don't know and don't care about any of the sports at the winter olympics which is why see so much fluff polar bears and other crap.

I envy you sir. I wish I could get the BBC or Eurosport.

[dcmissle]

I'm liking his redemption story more and more --

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP)—Bode Miller is using the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan fiasco to illustrate his point that medals aren’t everything.

Asked to discuss his own Olympic legacy after winning a U.S.-record third career Alpine medal Monday, Miller made an off-the-cuff reference to the infamous episode in 1994, when Harding’s husband helped plan an assault on figure skating rival Kerrigan at the U.S. national championships ahead of the Lillehammer Games.

“You don’t want to go the Tonya Harding route of winning medals,” Miller said. “If you wanted just strictly to win medals, you could go through a whole long start list of racers and just go to their house in the offseason—break a leg here, pull out a shoulder socket there—and you’d probably have a whole bunch of medals.”

[Maalox]

That was funny. He's handling the media with so much more maturity and good humor than he did in Torino. He's locked in mentally and skied so well yesterday. If he skis that way in every event, he'll finish at least four races and he'll win his share of medals.

It's weird that he had the meltdown in Torino because the core of his attitude there was, as it is now and has always been, to ski your best and let the chips fall where they may. But around that solid core, he was freaking out and rebelling against himself. And that was at a time when he was so fast and so flexible, all had to do was finish the race to dominate people. Now his head's in the right place, but physically, while he is still great, he has to ski pretty much perfectly to beat the younger skiers.

Youth is wasted on the young.

[DukeSox]

This is just so awesome: http://www.thesun.co...cond-crash.html

four years of training...fuck.

[mabrowndog]

This is just so awesome: http://www.thesun.co...cond-crash.html

four years of training...fuck.

And here's the video -- better watch it before the IOC's watchdogs get it yanked.

She takes 3 steps out of the gate before keeling over. THREE.

[barbed wire Bob]

And here's the video -- better watch it before the IOC's watchdogs get it yanked.

She takes 3 steps out of the gate before keeling over. THREE.

A complete WTF moment. I think she caught an edge but, at the time, it looked like she lost all muscle coordination and just let gravity take over.

[luckysox]

Let me just say that the women's downhill course, prior to them shaving down that jump toward the end of the course, was just BRUTAL. I cannot believe that none of those 6 skiers who went down were not seriously injured.

I didn't think the Olympics were supposed to include a deathwatch. But these seem to, and that's not at all to make light of the luger who was killed in training. That is, actually my point.

That said, I was watching the men last night and we were just waiting for a crash...i's like waiting for a fight in hockey, except no one usually has a chance to die in a hockey fight. When the skiers go out cold, I get pretty hard on myself after initially being perversely excited about the crash.

[DukeSox]

WHERE CAN I WATCH THIS SUPER-G LIVE???

eh, Vonn in 2nd. Mancuso back to 7th.

Vonn now 3, Man 8th.

Edited by DukeSox, 20 February 2010 - 02:04 PM.

[DukeSox]

Very happy for Bode. Great great job.

[Maalox]

Boy, this ski cross doesn't do Jack Diddley for me.

[Maalox]

GET THAT BOY A DRINK!

[Maalox]

Very happy for Bode. Great great job.

EAT OUR FUCK, SMOKESUCKERS!

[Seven Costanza]

My prediction regarding Bode's performance this Olympics was very, very wrong.

[dolomite133]

My prediction regarding Bode's performance this Olympics was very, very wrong.

My prediction holds up (more or less): "I think Bode will get some redemption in this, his last Olympic games. If for no other reason than he is four years older, and probably won't party *quite* as much. Not sure he'll win gold, but I wouldn't put it out of the question." ... I was kind of right, in a cautiously optimistic sort of way.

[Maalox]

Miller is so good.

Kostelic is so good.

This kid is not Pirmin Zurbriggen's son.

[Maalox]

Horrible run by DeFago. He leans to far back to run on skis that short.

Miller never has this problem because he learned to ski on ice. It teaches you to stay forward.

[Seven Costanza]

Surprisingly, Ligety posted the fastest slalom run. It looked like Kostelic had a much smoother run.

[Maalox]

Svindal looked great, then made that mistake and started trying to be too fine.

[JimD]

Miller looked absolutely gassed at the end of the slalom run - I wonder how much he'll have for the Giant Slalom tomorrow.

EDIT: Schedule I was looking at was wrong - this event is Tuesday.

Edited by JimD, 22 February 2010 - 03:47 PM.

[GoJeff!]

Is there any way to get an internet feed of for the upcoming slaloms or GSes? I don't even care if it is live. I can't stand watching the NBC coverage and knowing "this must be a fall--otherwise they would not be showing her".

Also-what was this crap yesterday that Vonn is using "Bode's skis?" I can see her using men's skis. If she is on Bode's skis she's about 50 pounds of muscle shy of bending them.

[Maalox]

Surprisingly, Ligety posted the fastest slalom run. It looked like Kostelic had a much smoother run.

Kostelic is so smooth it's frightening. He's not even working.

[JimD]

Miller didn't look good at all yesterday. Also disappointing that he blew off the press afterwards - you know some of them were just waiting for the 'Old Bode' to show up, and he gift-wrapped an opportunity to bash him anew.

[Sausage in Section 17]

Women's GS live here (in Italian I think): http://www.fromsport...deo-185683.html

[Sausage in Section 17]

Trouble for US women.

Vonn was killing it (.35 ahead half way down), but then DQ'd. Then Mancuso, who was next, started her run but was waved off like 3 gates down because they hadn't cleared Vonn off the course yet. It'll be tough for Mancuso to have to start over.

Edited by Sausage in Section 17, 24 February 2010 - 01:26 PM.

[mabrowndog]

Following up on SiS17's post:

[johnmd20]

Following up on SiS17's post:

She is being held to together with duct tape, elmers glue, and Popsicle sticks. No matter what happens, she's had a fantastic olympics even if she has raced her last race.

[shawnrbu]

.

Edited by shawnrbu, 25 February 2010 - 04:08 PM.

[shawnrbu]

Mancuso finishes in 8th in the Giant Slalom. She was 0.55 back of 1st. She trailed by 1.30 after her 1st run. The run that was flagged off saw her about .3 behind at about the halfway mark. A strong chance she would have won Gold if that run doesn't get stopped.

[Adirondack jack]

Mancuso's tear-filled reaction after her run yesterday was priceless.

I do not know the first thing about downhill racing or the etiquette involved. Should Vonn have gotten herself and her broken pinky off the course knowing that a fellow competitor (and team-mate) was on the course?

[riboflav]

Mancuso's tear-filled reaction after her run yesterday was priceless.

I do not know the first thing about downhill racing or the etiquette involved. Should Vonn have gotten herself and her broken pinky off the course knowing that a fellow competitor (and team-mate) was on the course?

All I know is Vonn is all drama. She brings up her injuries any chance she gets. Her fellow competitors have commented on this several times. I've grown tired of her.

[Maalox]

Mancuso's tear-filled reaction after her run yesterday was priceless.

I do not know the first thing about downhill racing or the etiquette involved. Should Vonn have gotten herself and her broken pinky off the course knowing that a fellow competitor (and team-mate) was on the course?

1. I don't imagine the thought of who was following her entered Vonn's mind until Mancuso skied up to her.

2. I think it's pretty clear there is some kind of tension, perhaps jealousy, between them. I doubt there's a feud, though. Mostly Mancuso is just pissed about having to re-do what looked like a very good one with a lousy one (for her) under conditions she specifically trialed out of.

3. Mancuso has a point about too much attention being focused on Vonn. On the other hand, Mancuso has courted attention far more actively during her career than Vonn has. And Mancuso did not complain in Turin about all the attention being focused on Bode Miller. Mancuso is no fool. She knows how much endorsement money she would get from winning another gold medal, and this was her event. And she's what you might call a "big game" skier - she turns it up a notch during the Olympics. I think she had a great shot at a medal in GS and she should be pissed at everyone who prevented her getting it.

[Maalox]

All I know is Vonn is all drama. She brings up her injuries any chance she gets. Her fellow competitors have commented on this several times. I've grown tired of her.

Fucking stupid opinion. Skiers get hurt a lot. They are in pain contantly and they talk about their injuries constantly. The fact that you haven't been listening doesn't make the one person you have listened to -and listened to solely because you submitted to the very cult of publicity you decry- a bad person.

[NYCSox]

Can someone explain why Vonn should get blamed here? Isn't it the fault of the starter for letting Mancuso go before Vonn was off the course?

[Adirondack jack]

All I know is Vonn is all drama. She brings up her injuries any chance she gets. Her fellow competitors have commented on this several times. I've grown tired of her.

I haven't followed these events that closely, but from what I've watched I wouldn't disagree.

Mancuso came off even worse, at least yesterday, with that post race childish meltdown. Really Mancuso should have looked at that second run as an advantage, given the conditions, it must have been really helpful to have just navigated most of the course, plus she knew that her pace in the first attempt was a few hundred of a second of the lead.

My amateur eyes thought Vonn let down a fellow competitor and teamate by not getting herself off the course.

[shawnrbu]

Vonn had barely 45 seconds to do all that. It's not her fault.

[Average Reds]

Can someone explain why Vonn should get blamed here? Isn't it the fault of the starter for letting Mancuso go before Vonn was off the course?

Vonn is blameless here. As is the starter.

The entire thing was a cluster-fuck yesterday. Conditions were shitty, which delayed the start of the race to the point where they had to do compress the starts and send skiers out every minute or so. One of the risks when you do this is that a skier falls and can't get off the course.

I don't fault Vonn or Mancuso. Shit happens.

[Maalox]

Can someone explain why Vonn should get blamed here? Isn't it the fault of the starter for letting Mancuso go before Vonn was off the course?

Because she's been getting too much attention. And she's blonde. These crimes must be redressed.

Vonn is blameless here. As is the starter.

The entire thing was a cluster-fuck yesterday. Conditions were shitty, which delayed the start of the race to the point where they had to do compress the starts and send skiers out every minute or so. One of the risks when you do this is that a skier falls and can't get off the course.

I don't fault Vonn or Mancuso. Shit happens.

Yep. And because of the shitty visibility she almost certainly saw the yellow flag much much later than she would have on a clear day. Just a bad set of circumstances all around. I don't even blame Mancuso for her tantrum - which significantly did not come after the waveoff but after her repeat first run. She was probably just exhausted. Controlling your emotions is essentially a form a forcing stress on yourself which requires a lot more energy than the release of emotion does, and sometimes they just don't have the energy left.

Shit does indeed happen. And there is a big difference between a rivalry, which naturally gets tense sometimes, and a feud.

[NYCSox]

Vonn is blameless here. As is the starter.

The entire thing was a cluster-fuck yesterday. Conditions were shitty, which delayed the start of the race to the point where they had to do compress the starts and send skiers out every minute or so. One of the risks when you do this is that a skier falls and can't get off the course.

I don't fault Vonn or Mancuso. Shit happens.

That just seems like an unacceptable risk in an Olympic event. Skiers fall all the time.

[NYCSox]

Because she's been getting too much attention. And she's blonde. These crimes must be redressed.

And has a nice ass. Poor girl had no chance.

[Average Reds]

That just seems like an unacceptable risk in an Olympic event. Skiers fall all the time.

I don't disagree with you, but the correctness of your opinion doesn't change the reality of how Alpine skiing events are run in the Olympics. And to be clear, the point I was trying to make was that the starter didn't "let Mancuso out of the gate early" - the race had been set up that way and they did it for every skier.

In the end, the conditions deteriorated so badly that they ended up scrubbing the second run anyway, which only increased Mancuso's frustration. She just got hosed all the way around.

[Sausage in Section 17]

It certainly has nothing to do with Vonn, and while it is true that circumstances such as these do arise in Olympic/World Cup events, it really is a damn shame for Mancuso. I don't fault her for a minute for feeling the way she did. It is a certainty in these races (especially in warmer conditions like yesterday) that the course deteriorates and makes it harder for the later skiers to post times comparable to the earlier folks. This is why the top ranked skiers get to run first. It was a virtual guarantee that she would have been about a half second faster (minimum) had she been able to complete her initial run. Combined with her good second run, this puts her in the medals.

They train 4 years for these runs. It is sort of incomprehensible that something so unique and important can be compromised by an officials error/lack of preparation or whatever you want to call it. Giant Slalom is Mancuso's specialty, she was the defending Olympic champion, and unfortunately she didn't really get to compete on the playing field she had earned a place on.

[drleather2001]

I don't blame Mancuso, because like Maalox says, she must be banged up, emotionally frazzled, and exhausted to boot. Shit, when I come down off climbing Mt. Washington if I couldn't find my car keys I'd probably be reduced to tears.

But her comments do come off as jealousy, and it's unfortunate that she made them. Let's not forget that Mancuso has pulled some of the same attention whoring that she accuses Vonn of (And while she may not be as attractive as Vonn, she does have a nice ass).

[Maalox]

I think Mancuso is better looking actually. She won't be in five years, because her face will age a lot, but she is now. And I'll bet she's up for anything.

[drleather2001]

I dunno. She's got a kind of stern, mannish, face. (She looks a bit like Jeff Bridges).

Vonn's face isn't incredible, but it's rounder, and hence more feminine.

But it's closer than one would think, given the coverage.

EDIT: I bet they both look pretty beat up in 5 years. They'll have sun damage and look like vikings.

Edited by drleather2001, 26 February 2010 - 07:46 PM.

[dolomite133]

My opinion on all of this: That's ski racing. As previously said, shit happens. I don't fault Vonn for not clearing the course faster. She went down, which happens, and the next racer shouldn't have been sent own mid-run. That's something that happens at high school races, it shouldn't happen at the Olympic level.

EDIT: I bet they both look pretty beat up in 5 years. They'll have sun damage and look like vikings.

Exactly!

[barbed wire Bob]

I dunno. She's got a kind of stern, mannish, face. (She looks a bit like Jeff Bridges).

Vonn's face isn't incredible, but it's rounder, and hence more feminine.

But it's closer than one would think, given the coverage.

EDIT: I bet they both look pretty beat up in 5 years. They'll have sun damage and look like vikings.

Not a pretty sight

[Sprowl]

The casualty rate at the Men's Slalom is astonishing -- the Whistler course is taking plenty of casualties. No injuries so far, but plenty of tumbles, missed gates, and heavy fog.

The gates are coming at them like a bamboo forest.

Just in case NBC is doing another retrospective broadcast, I'll spoil this:

Bode Miller is one of the casualties: he won't be getting another medal to add to his collection.