Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Beijing ready for Olympic opening (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7548539.stm)

The Chinese capital, Beijing, is preparing to open the 2008 Olympic Games with a lavish ceremony.

The event will involve about 10,000 performers, and will be watched on TV by an estimated four billion people.

The lead-up to the Games has been overshadowed by issues such as China's human rights record, internet access, and air pollution in Beijing.

US President George W Bush expressed "deep concerns" over human rights before flying to Beijing.

Mr Bush, who was in Thailand on the eve of the opening ceremony, voiced "firm opposition" to China's detention of dissidents - while stressing that he wanted the focus during the Games to be on sport.

China rejected the US president's criticisms as "interference" in its internal affairs, and insisted it "put its people first".

Meanwhile, 40 Olympian athletes wrote to President Hu Jintao expressing their concerns over Beijing's handling of anti-Chinese unrest in Tibet.

Most expensive, most politicised

The 2008 Olympics have been described as the most politicised Games since the boycott era of the early 1980s, says the BBC's sports news reporter Alex Capstick in Beijing.
   
But after a succession of controversial issues in the build-up to the Games, the focus is now shifting to the opening ceremony.

Having taken seven years of planning, and a record-breaking $40bn in costs, nothing has been left to chance in China's bid to show the world what it can do, our correspondent adds.

An estimated global audience of four billion people will watch the opening ceremony.

It will be staged at Beijing's national stadium - known as the Bird's Nest because of its steel latticed construction - and some 10,000 performers will take part.

Jacques Rogge, the head of the International Olympic Committee, who has repeatedly defended the decision to let China host the Olympics, said he hoped the Games would help the world to understand China, and China to understand the world.

Mr Rogge also praised China's "extraordinary" efforts to cut pollution ahead of the Games, saying there was no danger to athletes' health.

Press freedom

A day before the Games, a BBC reading suggested Beijing's air quality was far below World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

It put levels of particulate matter (PM10) at 191 micrograms per cubic metre. This exceeds the WHO target for developing countries of 150 micrograms/cubic metre.

Mr Rogge said if the pollution was bad, events which lasted more than an hour could be shifted or postponed.

There were celebrations on Thursday as the Olympic torch made its final stops on a journey that has seen it pass through six continents in six months.

Patriotic crowds lining a mist-shrouded Great Wall cheered as the torch - which has been a magnet for protesters critical of China's rights record on its six-continent tour - passed by.

Human-rights group have condemned curbs on journalists covering the Games.

In a statement issued on Friday, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said: "As the 2008 Olympic Games open in Beijing, foreign journalists in China face a host of severe restrictions, ranging from harassment to a censored internet."

---

8 minutes past 8PM on the 8th day of the 8th month of the year 2008. Pretty clever.  ;)

I'm not going to watch it much. I'll probably follow basketball - Go Spain - and Tennis, of course.

I do hope though Spain beats the number of Gold medals we collected in Barcelona'92. If we do, that's great and if we don't, better luck next time in London.

The olympics meant much more to me when I was younger, maybe because I was indeed younger - and those things have a bigger impact when you are a kid -  or because the spirit of the olympics has faded away with every sport being so professionalised.

this shit i'm watching right now is magnificent :D

i'll watch probably a few hours per day, can't help it and i'm not in school nor working so..  :smoking:

For a third world country... they put out an amazing show.

might be a thrid world country.. but they are rich.. most of the people are very poor though, let's not get political

I'm glad it looks like my Prime Minister won't be attending :)

I just hope the USA men's basketball team get's their ass kicked big time!

haha i doubt it...the only time any other country was able to beat the U.S team is when we dont send our best players....anytime we do we destroy every country out there....

Only reason we lost last time is we sent a second rate coach in Larry Brown to Handle the squad.  Now you got Coach K, the best in Mens College Basketball, Well respected that people WANT to play for him, Kobe wanted to get him to coach the lakers before Phil Jackson returned. The team is young, and they don't have the attitude they are unstoppable, they know anyting less then gold is unacceptable. Not to mention last time Larry Brown didnt like using the young guys so he rested Carmelo for most of the Medal games, after he was the highest scorer in the first rounds.  Coach K wont be doing that. Larry Brown was the reason we didnt get gold in 2004 Athens.

i want the team that plays the most fun basket to win, most likely to be USA, another big reason it was a fiasco last olymipcs was because of the work with the team before the olympics, just a bunch of players, this team it's a team that has worked together for 3 years pretty much

Well, that's just typical. This is a thread about the Olympics - an event where many nations come together to compete and share culture ....and break down barriers............and yet somehow this thread has turned into a discussion about exclusive American domination.....Good one!  ::)  :hihi:




If you're going to be like that all I can say is:

GO THE AUSSIE SWIMMING TEAM OI OI OI!

don't fucking make this thread to be something it aint :rant:


ok, then say no more now : ok:

Jesus christ, Stolat. You must be the most annoying fucking TROLL I've ever seen. Just leave. For good. Please.



...Anyways, I was just watching judo - it was surprisingly entertaining, even though I don't know all the rules. Have to watch this stuff during the weekend, because the olympics air during working hours over here, so I'll miss pretty much everything from Monday to Friday :-\

Um, I'm teasing......get it? CJ did...

You have to read the second bit too, before posting.


Aussie, Aussie, Aussie Oi Oi Oi........mmmm takes me right back to the concerts last year...... :hihi:

Sure you are, that's what trolls do. And you have been very constant in your style - it's actually quite recognizable.

yeah Larry Brown had ALOT to do with it...but that squad was WEAK!! wasnt Marbury on that team? lol

GO USA  :beer:

ANyone catch the Russian Beach volleyball team?

I love Beach Volleyball!

I think the gold medalist fencing chick is pretty damn cute.  Nice stuff.   :yes:
Torres was great tonight even though the relay team got a silver medal.  They mentioned she may have set a record with her leg of the race.  41 years old and a mom, how cool is that?   :beer:

Yeah Torres was great and nearly caught the first place team at the end there. Agreed the fencing chick is pretty darn cute.

misty may-something was fricking hot on the beachvolley :drool: a bigger set of boobs on her and i'm all set



sweden has gotten their first medal too :D

coach K should give boozer more time damn it

It had all to do with Larry Brown, I am from Michigan USA, and a Huge Detroit Pistons Fan, and we Had Larry Brown as a Coach, we are looking to repeat as NBA Champions in Game 7 and Larry Brown is going against his best friend Greg Popovich and he says something along the lines of "I wouldnt be made if reg won, hes my friend and I only want the best for him"  I dont care if hes your brother, you are 1 game away from winning it all go for the jugular. Dont play it nice. He is a Tool. He also Drafted Darko for us and wasted a second overal pick in which we could of gotten, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and much more.

true but he also delivered a NBA championship to you guys...something the city of Detroit was NOWHERE near for 15 years prior..you have to give him credit for that....but it didnt have all to do with Larry Brown...You are telling me that team in 2004 was made up of the best players in the NBA?

I'm still waiting to be really wowed.  So far the fencing USA gold medalist is in the lead. 
May's not bad.  She's a little bit thick in the middle...but those skimpy beach volleyball shorts kick ass!!!!!!! :yes: 

no way man, not if you're talking about Mariel Zagunis

misty may is so much hotter :yes: :hihi:

I loved the Swimming Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay's Final!! I though France would win but USA got it on the very end! It was amazing!!!

Thats what the french get for talking so much trash. Saying you are gonna smash a team with probably the best swimmer in the world not such a good idea.

Yeah I was talkin' 'bout Zagunis...but she is eclipsed by Nastia Leukin.  How can you not dig a chick with Nasty built into her name?   :hihi:  Yes, quite the large forehead, but she's hot and has amazing poise.   :yes:

the chinese girls in the gymnastics don't even look like they're 10 let-a-lone 16. they're just lil sticks :-\

i happened to catch a little bit of it last night...

\m/

man we're talking the beatiful women participating and u bring up children.. that sick man :no:








 :hihi: just kiddin' yeah i know what u mean, i bet china has cheated with  the ages on some in their gymnastics and diving or whatever it's called :P

^ before we throw stones at the Chinese government for the obviously underaged gymnasts, let's consider the deceit began in some faraway local province.  The families of the gymnasts know it's a lie, but beyond that, how can we prove it?  Bela Karolyi is right.  The age minimum should be eliminated.  It's not enforceable. 

I must say I've been pleasantly surprised with the Olympics coverage.  Costas, Collinsworth, and Karolyi have all been great.  Even the gymnastics commentators have explained the shit well to someone like me who doesn't know a damn thing about gymnastics!   :yes:

What do you guys think about all the fake stuff: Fake fireworks display on TV, The Chinese girl miming to somebody else's voice... I think the Chinese are missing the point of the Olympics and focussing too much on the 'visual' aspect of things...

Fuck everything else, it's all about the Brazilian Synchronized Swimming Team.

(http://www.faqgo.com/images//2008/08/bia-and-branca-feres-2.jpg)

damn anyone see that kid fall just now on the high bar?

Homeboy took a nasty beef.

How about the one that one guy had on the rings when he lost his grip right before the dismount. That looked PAINFUL.

i missed that one

Can't forget about this horrible accident

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJiPokcHvuw

damn were losing the medal count. we should have a couple more golds on the way too, basketball,womens volleyball, and michael phelps should bring in 2 more gold medals

The reason China is up is because as the host country, they are automatically entered in every event.

But yeah, we need to step it up a notch.

Micheal Phelps eats to 8 to 12,000 calories in just one day, each day. Hope he can get all the medals and USA all the way

Three more. He still has 3 events to swim in.

China is destroying us in the Gold Medals 21-10!

forget overall medal count, that is crazy!

The sports I am following the most are Boxing and Basketball. I love watching Boxing and this olympic stuff is great. A lot of questionable scoring though.

Teddy Atlas is the greatest commentator of any sport and I love hearing his boxing expertise on these broadcasts.

Another one I was really into was the Women's weightlifting. That was awesome also!

After he retires from swimming, Michael Phelps might want to try his hand at competitive eating. The Olympic star recently said he consumes 12,000 calories per day, or 9,500 more than the FDA recommends for an active, young male.

Phelps has to keep his intake up in order to compensate for all the calories he burns during the 30-hours per week he spends in training. He told NBC that an average day might have the following menu:

Breakfast: 3 fried egg sandwiches, 2 cups coffee, 5-egg omlette, bowl of grits, 3 pieces of french toast, 3 chocolate chip pancakes

Lunch: 1 pound pasta, 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, energy drink (1,000 calorie)

Dinner: 1 pound pasta, 1 large pizza, energy drink (1,000 calorie)

Three years ago, Phelps told an interviewer:

    I eat pretty much whatever I want. I don't have a strict diet. It's all about cramming in as many calories into my system as I possibly can. To be honest with you, I have a tough time keeping weight on.

The guy can eat as much as he wants because he just burns it right off when he swims again

Yeah i remember seeing that. Its crazy how much he has to eat but i guess when your schedule is eat sleep and swim you have to. He'll stop after the olympics though. He said he doesn't plan to train again until feburary.

SPOILERS::::::::::::::





Our Redeem team are looking spectacular. Im becoming a Lebron James fan more and more.  This guy is going to end up being better than Micheal Jordan. What he is able to do at 23 is out of this universe. He isnt even anywhere near his prime yet.

Right now I just watched us win the bronze medal in Greco Roman Wrestling. It is also very entertaining to watch.

on Directv, channels 750 down to about 754 or so are showing nothing but olympics. I've been sitting up super late watching everything live.

i need to hit the pool from now on when i go to the gym.   :hihi:

The Chinese men are insane at diving.

The Associated Press is reporting that at least one of the Chinese Gymnast's is under the age of 16 (no surprise though). Hopefully the olympic committee recognizes this and revokes their gold.

The Chinese are cheating the Olympics. First with the singer, the fireworks, and now the competitions

Please tell me this is really the Brazilian synchro team!!!  Even if it isn't...lie!   ;D

I wish the basketball games weren't on at such ridiculous times. All of our games seem to be at 7am CST.

Oh my God!!!!!!!!!  It's true!  These are really Brazilian synchronized swimmers...dear lord!

http://machochip.com/Bia%20And%20Branca%20Feres%2011-thumb.png

These are the hottest twins I have ever seen!  Bar-none!!!   :drool:  :drool:  :drool:   :drool:  :drool:  :drool:

Would I EVER lie about hawt babes!?

NEVER!

The Paraguayan girl from the Parade of Nations was beautiful too!

Thank you Archie Bunker for the Brazilian babes.  You can have the Paraguayan, I get the Brazilians!

Phelps is a machine...amazing.

Nastia Leukin rocks.

I'm ready for some running events outside.  :peace:

hell yeah, i think we just got our first gold medal for womens swimming  : ok:

Finders keepers homeskillet!  ;D

Just kidding, Dodger fans always find a way to share babes.  : ok:

Oh wait, you're married!

Archie Bunker's Chair WINS.

(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n17/GarryCarlson/Proceed.jpg)

thats right, dont mess with Nastia and Shawn  :smoking:  :beer:

Phelps got his sixth medal. :D Two more to go

Yep and no.7 should be his toughest. Crockery could beat him he usually swims this race faster then Phelps. If Phelps pulls this one off nothing should stop him from the record.

When he gets all 8 he sets a record. Still, if he doesnt get 8 medals he is still a olympics legend

Oh definitely, i mean he has already won more gold medals then anyone in history and more medals then any us olympian.

All he has to do now is break that last record

Yeah i think thats the only race he's in that he or the team doesn't have a world record in.

Nastia's 18 and she can mess with me anytime, anywhere!   :hihi:  Seriously, she is graceful as hell and one focused chick.  Shawn's just a kid.  I am very happy they got gold and silver.  Classic stuff last night approaching 1:00!  I'm glad I stayed up!

Wow what a race for Phelps that just was winning by one onehundreth of a second. I don't see anything stopping him from the 8 gold medals now. We are huge favorites in the relay tomorrow night.

Seriously, this is the best Olympics I have ever seen!  Phelps winning by .01 second!?!  r u kidding me????  Unbelievable.
One more to go for 8 golds.   :yes:

I love this stuff.

I know watching the replay in slow motion. I have no idea how he touched that wall first but he found a way.

i missed that swim. anyone know if theres a video of it up on utube?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbV6hXVcV9A

awesome. thanks for posting

No problem  :)

Good job Phelps. The man is going to break yet another record in the Olympics.

guess its not live on nbc after all. they just showed that race right now

Damn i got done watching the race amazing winning by a hundreth of a second

It was a replay from earlier.

Who saw the 3 way between Costas, Phelps, and Spitz?

Good stuff peoples.

I saw it that was a very cool interview.

didnt see it. i was outside hoping this one guy would get tasered by the cop but it never happened  :rant:

New Olympic sport!

Last person to fall wins the gold!

I nominate this guy for the 2012 Olympics in London.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bVa6jn4rpE&feature=related

Ara Abrahamian is a fuckin hero


and Bolts 100 meter was insane :drool:

nice hero u got there

Wrestler stripped of medal
Sweden's Ara Abrahamian is disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal for Thursday's tantrum.

protesting against corruption is heroic :smoking:

ditto and this is coming from non american non chinese.

I love good games and fair play.

^ how about the Chinese girl gymnasts who the Chinese say are 16 but look to be 10-12? How fair is that? Apparently there is proof that DOB have been changed recently to make the young girls eligible for competition.

8 golds would be extremely impressive.

It would and its quite likely to happen. We have NEVER lost this last event.

Micheals toughest challenge was last night so this will be a piece of cake

I"m glad that the track and field stuff is underway.

Who caught the speedwalking event last night?

I can't believe that's an Olympic Sport.

Or Dressage for that matter.

Didnt see the speedwalking how was it :rofl:

It was a total ROFLCOPTER.

They had misting stations to keep the walkers cool, and yellow and red cards!

The judges would run up to players who committed fouls and wave the cards in their faces.

They even had stations where they had Gatorade and water, just like you would see during a marathon.

It shouldnt be an olympic event how dumb

Phelps stands alone as the greatest ever!

Greatest olympic swimmer of all time

Phelps is the man!

Phelps did it everyone he got his eighth gold medal woohoo. Just got done watching the relay race incredible. 16 gold medals total and now he has a world record :drool:

Only thing else he could do is get another world record to break the tie of 26 with Spitz and get the record for most individual golds in London in 2012 and i hear he's gonna start doing sprints. So 6 or more individual golds in 4 years is possible.

I can see him doing that. Now i dont have to watch the olympics no more this year  :hihi: jk

Haha nbc is actually worried their ratings will fall now that Phelps' olympics are over.

So true nothing else can match up to this

I agree but there is still interesting stuff left. More gymnastics tomorrow diving and track and field and volleyball as well as our basketball teams.

Ill be watching the basketball and track and field

Me too i wish our men's basketball games were on at better times though. I mean who's around to watch a basketball at 7am on a weekday? They should replay them for those not up at the crack of dawn.

Who is the name of the Jamaican guy that beat the record with 9.6 seconds he is one fast fucker

Umm i can't think of his first name but his last name is Bolt which is fitting.

Very fitting watching the guy its something to see

Yeah its incredible anyone can run so fast.

ricky rubio from spain might be a superstar in NBA in 5 years

Based on his personality, his first name should be Dick. 

He has the same personality as American wide receivers.  This a-hole could have set an Olympic record never seen before yet he decide to celebrate b4 he even crossed the finish line!  If only Don Beebe could have ran him down and tackled his ass a-la Leon Lett!  :hihi: 

btw, someone mentioned the 3-way interview with Costas, Spitz, and Phelps after the 7th medal...awesome, awesome, awesome!  The Olympics should be ashamed they didn't invite Spitz to Beijing.  How fucking cool of Spitz not to mention that during the interview with Phelps.  He's class.   :yes:

Usain Bolt


"I wasn't bragging. When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy." -- Usain Bolt in response to claims that he boasted at the final 20m at the Beijing Summer Olympics on 16th August, 2008.




Look for him in the 200m on Monday.




/jarmo

This coming from a guy who posed with some trademark super-hero pose b4 the race even went down.  I get it, he's confident. 

I guess his demeanor is part of the reason I love the female athletes that much more.....humility.  Give me May-Trainer and Walsh any day.   :yes:

His answer should have been:  FUCK YEAH I WAS BRAGGING!!!!  :headbanger:  Didn't you see how far ahead of those other guys I was??  Those guys are the best in the world and I just made them look like they were running in slow motion!!!  I walked the last 20m and still annihilated the old record time!!!  TAKE THAT MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

The guy made it look so easy which it isnt to run that fast of a sprint

I respect the accomplishment, I just think he could have handled it a different way....less Chad Johnson-ish, more Marvin Harrison-ish.   ;)

The slowing down was one thing, but the pose before the race was the bigger deal to me.  Just sayin'  ;D
I would loooove to see what he could do on a football field.   :yes:  Make this man a Minnesota Viking!!!  :beer:

o yeah i respect it also he shouldnt of show boated

Shawn Johnson is the cutest gymnast ever.  I thought she was going to get gold on floor exercises.  The hot Romanian did instead. 

Sacrmone got fucked on the vault.  She should have gotten bronze. 

I thought Shawn had the gold too but the romanian just beat her out. It was so close!

Is it bad if want to wrap Shawn's muscular legs around me?   :-X

Well i suppose that depends on how you feel about her only being 16.  :rofl:

(http://www.still428.com/funny/haveseat.jpg)

I did watch the olympics a bit this weekend...

USA killed us in basketball. I knew this redeem team was more serious that the one 4 years ago, but I sure didnt expect a 37 point difference against the current world champs (Spain). USA did everything right, even the 3 point percentage was close to 50%. I was impressed by all aspects of their game, however, their defense intensity was mind blowing. Even with two minutes left and a 33 point gap, their defense was the best I've seen all Championship long.

I also caught the swiming highlights. Amazing effort by Phelps. He finally made it! I just wish I could eat half as much as he does and still not gain a pound.

Bolt's run was also incredible. He could've stopped the clock at 9.59. He let go in the last 20 meters so he gets a chance to beat his own record soon.

And what can I say about Rafael Nadal... He's now won the Gold medal in tennis, Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year....and, if you take a look at http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/home/ he's now - officially - world's best tennis player!

I missed the race but


several months ish ago  saw a  documentary on him in which he told as how he got all nervous and sleepless before big world meetings. as a result he couldn?t win despite the world record he already hold and his ultimate ideal physiques other sprinters could only dream.
The race is not to the swift.

This time he concentrated on winning.

My take is that he was overjoyed that he finally overcame his weakness in the biggest event

Frank Costanza!!!   :rofl:   :rofl:   :rofl:, thanks for the laugh man!  Oh, Smoking Guns, that was funny.  :)

Seriously, I'm more of a Nastia man.  She's just so damn elegant.   :yes:...although the Romanian was damn cute.

Bela was right, Sacramoni or however ya spell her name was robbed.  Yes, I know, I don't understand gymnastics scoring, but Bela does.

I will say this about Shawn, she seems like a really nice girl.  Nastia comes off as being a bit colder...she has that un-gettable air about her that makes her even hotter!  :hihi:  It's like when George Costanza was crazy about that chick who hated him. "She hates me so much, she's irresistable!"   :hihi:

Michael Phelps pisses me off.

When he says "Yeah with these 7 golds i proved you can achieve all you want if you really put your mind to it, work hard  and try!" it translates as
I am a cocksucker and love myself from it. However, I am so fucking arrogant that I haven't realiezed  you know it too!"


I have a feeling there's a swimmer or 2 in the pool who have worked just as hard as he has, and who want to win just as much as he does, but just aren't born swimmer manfishes  to a degree he is. And yet, this guy gives press statements that suggest he was there doctoring his own fucking genepool some 9 months before borning.
BUT HAY MAYBE THATS POSSIBLE TOO! MAYBE YOU CAN PICK YOUR OWN GENES AND WHATNOT IF YOU REALLY OUT YOUR MIND TO IT
..All American cunt!! :)

It's like someone complrmenting " why, what a beautiful pair of blue eyes you have" and you replying "Th????-???nks,  I did fucking amazing job with them even if i say so myself. Apparently I have more !!!WILL!!! than you, because you don't have such a lovely pair"

P.S Tarzan is much better swimmer than he could ever be.

Michael Phelps is far from the first athlete to use that statement to describe his accomplishments.  I think 90% of the Olympians would say they worked hard.  Not sure what's so wrong with that.  Would you rather him have said, "It comes naturally to me.  I really didn't train that hard at all, apparently I'm just THAT much better than everyone else".  Not sure what you were looking for him to say.

After winning his 8th gold medal, the first thing Phelps said to his teammates was that he couldn't have accomplished this without them and thanked them.

"Awwww, you ppl helped ME win another medal, th????-???nks, hope they give you guys something too sometime or whatever. "

My newly born hatered of him seems to be growing!

Yeah it seems he can't say anything to win you over.  Lost cause.  That's one gold medal he won't be receiving.  I don't get it, but whatever.  People are prone to hate winners, or successful people I guess.  There are plenty of more arrogant athletes than Michael Phelps, I promise you that.

He's only athelete i can think of right now, whom I hate so! So clearly he is doing something wrong here. :yes:
He really needs to clean up his act if he wants this hate-business to end anytime  soon.

...Hmmm I dont like your tone either actually. Watch out or I might have to start hating you aswell!

Maybe you need to shut the fuck up?




/jarmo

Such rudeness!!
You stay out of this boi or you end up on my list between  Phelps and Faldor.

Seriously.




/jarmo

Are you serious?

See, now this all is going off topic because of Youuu. I dissed a swimmer whose press conference I thought was annoying. Why is this such a capital sin, whyy?

You're so funny:






/jarmo

Thanks :)

Even though you might find it very funny I must admit that this stuff is very subjective. Believe it or not, there might be people in here who dont think that comment was fun at all!
However, regardless of how fun or anti-fun anyone sees that statement, I'm almost certain no1 here takes it very seriously or believes who ever wrote it is doing anything but either tying to be funny or entertaining himself.

Context!!!

Maybe you should hate Evil? instead.

Talk about hyping himself up and then falling flat on his face.





/jarmo

(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n17/GarryCarlson/michaelphelpssupersaiyan.gif)

How did you do that?  :o

I didn't know Phelps was a super saiyan!  finally phelps is distantly connected to GNR.

I see phelps was using kamehameha  :hihi:

I don't mind you hating me, I just wish it was because I won 8 gold medals and not because I stuck up for someone who did.  I guess I'll have to deal with that though.  Maybe in 2012 I'll get my shot.  Now I just have to start training.

Faldor's right.  I don't understand your "hatred" of Phelps.  wtf?  Seriously, what the hell could he have said or done to give you a different reaction?

I am more mystified by the number of lady fans he's got out there.  It's a good mystified, because it tells guys around the world who aren't very good-looking, looks aren't everything!   :hihi: 

Give the man some credit.  He worked his ass off.  He won 8 gold medals.  That is just pretty fucking amazing.   :yes:

Well this thread went down hill. Seriously wtf? I see nothing wrong with anything Phelps said. He was very appreciative of the help from his team. They really like him and get along. The guy works very hard to have been able to do what he did and was very gracious with it all give the guy a break.

Not to add any fuel to the fire, and I especially don't want to join the anti-Phelps revolution LeftToDecay has started, but I saw this online and it fits in.  Before that though I must preface I see absolutely nothing wrong with anything Phelps has said or any of his actions at the Olympics.  The man is the best swimmer ever, hands down.  If he gave a big FU to the rest of the swimming world I'd have trouble disagreeing with him, but he's been nothing but classy IMO.  Anyway, this is for LeftToDecay.  I'm sure he'll love this.  I hope you still hate me, don't consider this a peace offering.

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2008/08/19/just-asking-is-michael-phelps-a-douche/

Chad Johnson could out swim Michael Phelps, or so he says.

Ooh don't worry, it takes more than an innocent link to get off from my list!

I most likeky have no other option than starting to hate the witer of that article too though.
I stongly dislike his/her way of making it look like Pheleps was just harmless fashion issue you can write light heared and " fun" articles about. People like this play it directly in Phelps' pocket.
Which must be why you pisted the link in 1st place right? Nice try.
If Cthulhu wakes up and begins to roam earth, consuming souls and igniting infinite suffering, you don't make light heared and " fun" page of him either, even if he does have a mullet. Which he prolly don't because of the whole tentacle head thing but it is possible.

I could care less what athletes do on their own time.

Cut the guy some slack, he's from Baltimore!

That cutie pie Shawn Johnson won the gold medal on the beam!

The Pole was going "awwww" the whole time.  I had just gotten to my cousins house from the Dodger game (they lost) and I was so depressed.  Shawn does her thing and I instantaneously go  ;D!

Shawn and Nastia bring home 9 medals for the U.S.  They are fantastic!

Did anyone watch the 100 M hurdle race?  Poor LOLO, she clipped the 9th hurdle and went from first to seventh.

Ouch.

Yeah i saw that horrible break for Lolo but just the way things happens sometimes.

Holy shit that was an amazing race.... and to a -0.9m/s wind.

The Jamaicans are dominating the short distances completely both in men and in women. I don't know which run from Bolt was better, but surely the 200m record was harder to beat. I thought it would take at least 10 more years 'till someone broke it.

Bolt is unbelievable....the guys just not human! Incredible athlete that probably won't be rivaled for many years.

Everyone knows that Chad is an overrated ignorant prick.

i haven't watched nearly as much as i planned to do, probably since it starts 3 in the morning and ends 6 in the evening.. 2012 will be much better time schedule but i guess i have to get a job by then :hihi:

The U.S. sweeps beach volleyball!

Yep! and we have a shot at doing it in the indoor as well. Did you see that game last night against the russians? Now that was tense.

Wow - I can't believe that anyone would dislike Michael Phelps.  He was amazing and very down to earth if you ask me.  Now, that Bernard dude from France got what he deserved.  : ok:

Will Nastia end up with another gold?  Are the Chinese girls too young??

The Chinese girls are definitely too young.  That one girl looks like she's 12 at the most.  I was actually surprised to hear they found documents saying she was 14.  I don't even believe she's that old.  Apparently they're not investigating anymore though, so it's a moot point.

How about the US relay teams unable to pass the baton?  That's been a recurring problem in the Olympics.  You think they'd clean that up one of these years.

I agree.  When I first saw them, I thought they were 10-12 years old.


No kidding!  They were leading too...  Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes.  It was great to see the sweep in the 400-meter dash after that though.

By be "more Marvin Harrison-ish" did you mean shoot someone outside of a restaurant?

Boys 400 relay is on. go Jamaica! :D

broke a pretty nice record there :D

Bolt's got three gold medals and world records.  :D What a man! and  phelps.
and strangely uk is getting lots of medals.

Love Beijing 2008.


One of them looked like a toddler to me. I hope they are not really 16 for their sakes....

anyhoo who knows. There's been always some athletes doping and shit.
  in any case that never makes other Olympians plays unfair.

 

I am in love with Shawn Johnson, she is awesome.

Phelps does come off as a goof and arrogant.  But he did great and deserves everything he gets.  He just won't be marketable like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Bo Jackson etc. were.  They all have/had charm and charisma.  Phelps lacks that.  But what he did WAS AMAZING!

Marvin didn't shoot anybody.  Harrison kicks ass.  He doesn't show-boat, and he's a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer.  :peace:

(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d161/TheStonedMaids/untitled-1.jpg)

SportsNet.ca

?Angel Valodia Matos (L) of Cuba kicks referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden after he lost his bronze medal contest in the men?s +80 kg taekwondo competition against Aman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan during the 2008 Beijing Olympic in Beijing on August 23, 2008.?

Just found this photo on an MMA website, seems some people don't take to nicely to losing.

I haven't seen much this week, really enjoyed Tennis and Judo the first week though.

Just read about that on a news website, hes looking at a lifetime ban. Maybe he will move to MMA......

Did anyone else hear about Jimmy Page closing the ceremony?

That would be so cool.

Yeah he will be performing.

Beijing primed for Olympic finale (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/7578133.stm)

The Beijing Games draw to a close on Sunday after what many have described as one of the best Olympics ever held.

China, having beaten the United States to top the medals table, will hand the Olympic flag to the 2012 hosts London at a closing ceremony from 1300 BST.

Great Britain surpassed all targets by winning 19 golds at the 2008 Games - their best haul for a century.

Kenya's Sammy Wanjiru won the men's marathon on the final day, with basketball and boxing finals to come.

Six boxing titles are being decided while the men's basketball final, featuring the United States and Spain, starts at 0730 BST.

Later, the spectacular farewell in front of a packed house of more than 90,000 at the Bird's Nest stadium is set to last three hours and will include fireworks displays at 18 locations across Beijing.

The organisers have promised a more light-hearted show than the opening ceremony, which focused heavily on Chinese history.

Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy, who claimed three gold medals at the Games, will carry the flag for Team GB at the closing ceremony.

The ceremony will also see London mayor Boris Johnson receive the Olympic flag to signal the countdown to the 2012 Games.

Team GB have been congratulated for their efforts in a message from The Queen.
   
"As a nation we now look forward to holding the Olympic Games in London in 2012," she said.

"The golden triumphs of the present British team can only serve as further inspiration to those who will be working hard over the next four years to make the London Games a shining example of Olympic success."

China staged the Olympics against a background dominated by fears of pollution, worries over security and protests about its human rights record.

But the sporting action has been enthralling, with highlights including Michael Phelps swimming to a record eight gold medals and Jamaican Usain Bolt breaking three world records as he bagged a sprint title treble.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who spoke on Sunday of his hope that a UK football team could compete in the next Olympics, will attend the closing event.

The London Olympics will also have a eight-minute slot that will feature a version of Led Zeppelin classic Whole Lotta Love performed by the group's guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Leona Lewis.

Footballer David Beckham will be involved as will the Royal Ballet and the London Symphony Orchestra.

The closing show will also feature a duet by Chinese folk singer Song Zuying and Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, along with a performance by a 350-strong kung-fu group.

There promises to be another spectacular show earlier in the day when the US basketball team, aka the 'Redeem Team', look to reclaim their crown against world champions Spain.

There are also six boxing gold medals to be decided, with Ireland's Kenny Egan going in the light-heavyweight final.

Other finals are taking place in the men's water polo (0840), men's volleyball (0500), and men's handball (0845).

In the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around event, Russia defended their title to take gold, while China claimed silver and Belarus bronze.

In total, there will be 12 gold medals won on the final day of action before the Games are handed on to London.

In addition to his lifetime ban, this fucker should have been arrested, tried for assault, and sent to a Chinese prison.....and I mean that.  This is absolutely ridiculous.

Well you can say alot about the chinese but they do know how to put on a great show, the closing ceremony is just amazing.

Yes kicking the referee was completely inexcusable, no matter how high his emotions were running at the time. Sending him to a Chinese prison might be a little harsh though!  :hihi:

The ban worked for me.


If he does move on to mixed martial arts then I hope he trains for a few years in other disciplines. As I hope you know, that sport requires a minimum of striking and grappling know how just for someone to have even the slightest chance. And unfortunately for taekwondo practicioners, their sport is hardly a prime starting point for MMA competition. They flail around like chickens, don't you see them? Lead with the chin, barely using their arms or fists. I know that it is part of the sport that they don't jab and punch, but that is my point. They can train for years, become black belts, and they still don't have a proper guard! I think it would be a major learning curve for someone with a taekwondo background to transition to more practical martial arts like kenpo, let alone MMA.

Yea chinese prison wouldn't want him.

for the first time I watched an Olympic closing ceremony. It was very enjoyable. 
Guess they produced lots of co2 in 2 hours.

poor sportsmanship someone shouldnt do that just because they lost in a competiton and hurt someone

so it's all over now.. what will u guys remember the best? for me it will deffinetly be usain bolt and ara abrahamian

I will remember the most of is Micheal Phelps getting his eight medals

okay, for me, after the women's beach volleyball bikinis... :hihi:...on the positive side:  Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, America's female gymnasts, ALL rhythmic gymnasts are very hot!, Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Trainer's wonderful personalities and grace, and last but not least-I think we should all adopt the tradition of the bow.  I loved that!  I'm all about the bow.   :yes:  ...and I loved the coverage of the C's: Costas, Collinsworth, and Carillo.  Throw Bela Karolyi in the too, because he was great too.   :peace:

the negatives:  just about every male sprinter is a fucking dick.  sorry to say it, but goddamn!  Even my country (the American sprinters) were a bunch of asses, Bolt's donation still doesn't excuse his showboating before the completion of his 100 meters, the tae-kwan-do kicker should be in a Chinese prison, the horrible deaths of the Americans visiting that shrine, and the judges who screwed Sacramone on her vault and let Chung Fei get a medal (ridiculous).

Overall, the best Games I've ever watched.   :peace: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gt4XtSEGTI

 :rofl:

For me its gotta be Phelps and the whole story surrounding the men's volleyball team. They played inspired and won that gold medal for their coach.

This was the greatest Olympics I have ever seen.  I am blown away by how the Chinese came together and put on the the greatest shows the Olympics have ever seen.  London will blow compared to this.  I love Jimmy Page, but him and Leona was an embarrassment to what the Chinese did.  Period.  How the opening and closing ceremonies could ever be topped is beyond me. 

I love how Nastia and Shawn competed.  I would marry Shawn Johnson.  She is so freaking hot and cool.

The mens Bball team came together and put their egos aside and loved how they all put their medals on Coach K.

Bolt is beyond a badass, I want him as a receiver on my football team.

Phelps, Bolt and India winning it's first gold medal.  :-[
Definitely, the greatest Olympics ever hosted. Got to hand it to the Chinese.

One of the best and most controversial olympic games

terrible lip syncing going on right now

Hot and cool?  Sounds like a McDLT, keepin' the hot side hot and the cool side cool.  You can marry Johnson, I'll take Nastia.  She's so damn elegant. 

Agreed, greatest Olympics I've ever seen.  The opening and closing ceremonies were jaw-droppingly amazing!!!  I absolutely loved it!  Costas, Collinsowrth, Carillo, and Karolyi kicked major ass covering it as well.  London' got a very, very tough act to follow!

London could beat it "less is more" stylish.. like reuniting led zeppelin ;) wake up lennon and freddie from the dead and reunite beatles and queen and it'll be so beaten :hihi:



u can't go bigger then china so less is more is the way to go

London is Fucked.  They can't hang with that.  What China did may never be topped.

Am I the only one that thinks Michael Phelps looks like an ape?

no, you are not

A mix between ape and Spock from Star Trek.