Rio Olympics 2016

[rmw10]

Michael Phelps is not the dude you want to piss off.  Le Clos didn't even get on the podium after all of that.

[allblackraven]

And another for Phelps. Dude is unbelievable. Can he line up somewhere on our offense?

[Steve0x]

Watched it online,, Im watching my birds now

 

[Inqui]

3 minutes ago, allblackraven said:

And another for Phelps. Dude is unbelievable. Can he line up somewhere on our offense?

We'll make him a pass rusher. He's probably got one hell of a swim move.

 

 

OK, I'll see myself out.

[rmw10]

If Michael Phelps was a country, he's be tied for 39th in all time gold medals. Michael Phelps has bested 80% of the world on his own. 

[allblackraven]

1 minute ago, Inqui said:

We'll make him a pass rusher. He's probably got one hell of a swim move.

 

 

OK, I'll see myself out.

Somehow, I knew this was coming as soon as I posted....

He'd be a prototype lanky pass rusher

[Steve0x]

 Michael Phelps should get a Job for Ravens. Director of player relations  

[Cville-Raven]

lol apparently someone did the O chant during the national anthem at Phelps award ceremony

[ALPHA]

Is anyone watching the rugby? we actually won a game.

[Steve0x]

1 hour ago, ALPHA said:

Is anyone watching the rugby? we actually won a game.

When ? Watched it earlier today they lost 

[ALPHA]

3 minutes ago, Steve0x said:

When ? Watched it earlier today they lost 

We beat Brazil, although I'm guessing they only qualified because they're the host nation.

 

Off topic but if there 8 short sprint events then Usain Bolt would have 20+ gold medals too.

[Inqui]

4 hours ago, ALPHA said:

Is anyone watching the rugby? we actually won a game.

Like I said a page or two back, don't sleep on the side you guys have. Fiji are probably the best side in the world right now, but an upset isn't out of the question. I'd say the US is in that second tier with Australia and Great Britain - and once you get to the quarter-finals it's one of those sports where anything can happen.

I agree about Bolt btw. He and Phelps are both remarkable talents (though the cynic in me says they're both also roided to the hilt and the WADA is turning a blind eye) and would probably win as many golds as you can put in front of them.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Inqui

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

4 hours ago, Cville-Raven said:

lol apparently someone did the O chant during the national anthem at Phelps award ceremony

I did that when I first moved to the Bay Area at an Oakland A's game. Lol, stupid me.

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

Also, Phelps is not human. Thanks for being one of the few good things about my city?

6 minutes ago, Inqui said:

Like I said a page or two back, don't sleep on the side you guys have. Fiji are probably the best side in the world right now, but an upset isn't out of the question. I'd say the US is in that second tier with Australia and Great Britain - and once you get to the quarter-finals it's one of those sports where anything can happen.

I agree about Bolt btw. He and Phelps are both remarkable talents (though the cynic in me says they're both also roided to the hilt and the WADA is turning a blind eye) and would probably win as many golds as you can put in front of them.

Roided? No. I don't think either are. Phelps has the body he should for a swimmer but freakishly strong legs lol. He spends the majority of his day in the pool anyway, taking steroids would be a waste of time. He's probably at his peak, and would eventually obtain it anyway without steroids since he's doing one of the most taxing sports in existence. Plus he smokes dope. That'd cause some weird effects. 

 

Bolt could be doping but I'm doubtful of such a thing. Though it's certainly a possibility

[Pats]

On 09/08/2016 at 11:34 AM, Inqui said:

The Australian team has a pretty good future ahead - Mills, Bogut, Simmons, Exum off the top of my head. Andrej Lemanis is a good coach and they've got a good professional league that (mostly) uses the same rules as FIBA. They could be the next big hiccup for the US in the way Spain were a few years ago. There are a lot of good European leagues too, but everything's so fractured (similar populations, but there are 50-odd national teams where all the best US players play for the same team).

It's just a shame the government stopped funding BBNZ a few years ago.

Japan beat NZ in a 7s game, massive upset,hope they make quarters. USA will probably make quarters too.

[Inqui]

3 hours ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

Also, Phelps is not human. Thanks for being one of the few good things about my city?

Roided? No. I don't think either are. Phelps has the body he should for a swimmer but freakishly strong legs lol. He spends the majority of his day in the pool anyway, taking steroids would be a waste of time. He's probably at his peak, and would eventually obtain it anyway without steroids since he's doing one of the most taxing sports in existence. Plus he smokes dope. That'd cause some weird effects. 

 

Bolt could be doping but I'm doubtful of such a thing. Though it's certainly a possibility

It was mostly a throwaway comment so I don't want to get too bogged down by the whole thing, but six of the top 10 100m Olympic times are held by people who've been caught doping. I just find it a little hard to believe that the whole field is clean, and the IAAF would have too much to lose if it came down hard and pinged everyone who was doping. But that doesn't mean Bolt isn't a phenomenal talent because he clearly still is, in the same way I still think Lance Armstrong was a godlike cyclist. I've also said I think PEDs are rife in the NFL but the league would have too much to lose by properly clamping down on it. But that's all just speculation on my part, and like I said I'll admit it's just coming from the most cynical side of me.

1 hour ago, Pats said:

Japan beat NZ in a 7s game, massive upset,hope they make quarters. USA will probably make quarters too.

Yeah, that was insane. NZ just aren't the powerhouse we once were, but it also shows how well the rest of the world has been developing in the past five or six years and it goes to show that sevens is just one of those games where anything can happen. I was at Twickenham a few months ago when Scotland (of all teams) won the tournament. In a way, you could argue that unpredictability makes it one of the best events in the Games. SA and Fiji are the clear favourites, but it only takes a few minutes to bundle either side out. And then sides like NZ, Australia, Great Britain, the US and Kenya all have the quality that it's not the wildest surprise in the world if they do go all the way and win. Iirc they've all won events on the circuit in the past year or two.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Inqui

[BmoreBird22]

12 hours ago, Inqui said:

Because like I said in the sentence before the one you quoted, the Olympics should be the absolute pinnacle of what you can achieve in any given sport. When Michael Phelps or Valerie Adams retire, if you ask them what they achieved in their careers they'll start with the number of gold medals they won. Same with rowers, archers, sprinters, track cyclists - you name it. The one thing they build towards is the Olympic gold.

With tennis, soccer and golf that isn't even close to the case. Djokovic is out, but even if he'd won the Olympic gold wouldn't even be his biggest achievement this year. And there's a laundry list of golfers who didn't go to Rio citing Zika (despite some of them living in South Florida), which to me is fairly telling of how they rank it against the other events on the golfing calendar.

Okay, we were on two different pages with the separate discussions going on. Okay, I got it now.

With soccer, though, this is one of the two times (World Cup being the other) that I watch soccer. Not sure why soccer players wouldn't value it highly.

And I don't mean that to be like because I value it highly, others should. I know many, many people who only watch the WC and the Olympics for soccer. It's one of the few times that most of the world will pay attention and root for their teams, at least it is in America.

Edited August 10, 2016 by BmoreBird22

[Pats]

3 hours ago, Inqui said:

It was mostly a throwaway comment so I don't want to get too bogged down by the whole thing, but six of the top 10 100m Olympic times are held by people who've been caught doping. I just find it a little hard to believe that the whole field is clean, and the IAAF would have too much to lose if it came down hard and pinged everyone who was doping. But that doesn't mean Bolt isn't a phenomenal talent because he clearly still is, in the same way I still think Lance Armstrong was a godlike cyclist. I've also said I think PEDs are rife in the NFL but the league would have too much to lose by properly clamping down on it. But that's all just speculation on my part, and like I said I'll admit it's just coming from the most cynical side of me.

Yeah, that was insane. NZ just aren't the powerhouse we once were, but it also shows how well the rest of the world has been developing in the past five or six years and it goes to show that sevens is just one of those games where anything can happen. I was at Twickenham a few months ago when Scotland (of all teams) won the tournament. In a way, you could argue that unpredictability makes it one of the best events in the Games. SA and Fiji are the clear favourites, but it only takes a few minutes to bundle either side out. And then sides like NZ, Australia, Great Britain, the US and Kenya all have the quality that it's not the wildest surprise in the world if they do go all the way and win. Iirc they've all won events on the circuit in the past year or two.

I think 7's is just any given sunday for its tourney winners, looks like maybe we squeak into quarters with nz, gbr, SA, japan, fiji, argentina and france joining us. I think there should be a few sports removed from the olympics purely due to lack of enthusiasm by participants. Golf because I don't think it fits and most great players didn't show up because they don't value it over the pga calender. Men's soccer because it's basically under 20's playing and it doesn't have good value. And tennis as well because it's like golf pretty much.

[Steve0x]

Watching Swimming now,,Phelps is scheduled to swim

[Steve0x]

HE DID IT AGAIN!!

[52520Andrew]

On 8/9/2016 at 6:20 AM, Inqui said:

If you were to make a case to drop basketball altogether, that would honestly be it. Guys like Tracey McGrady, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Ben Wallace and Karl Malone had pulled out of the squad that year for various reasons. I know for the most part the reasons given were security fears and personal reasons, but I think for the most part an Olympic gold had stopped being the Holy Grail for these guys (becoming more of a bonus) and they decided it was better to rest up for the next NBA season. They lost, the gold became the Holy Grail again in 2008 and the cycle reset itself.

I agree with you about the best players in the world making the spectacle what it is, but the point is that the Games is at the whim of those best players. I think an Olympic event should be the best thing an athlete can achieve in that sport, and with basketball I feel like that's debatable. But that's why I think football (soccer), tennis and golf have no business being there. Even rugby sevens I'm a little up in the air on as a few of NZ's best players decided to stay home and focus on playing for their franchise. But maybe I'm too much of a traditionalist there, haha.

I'm not even disagreeing with you per se, just that Olympic basketball (like every other event) should be the pinnacle of basketball or not be in the Games at all.

Lots of guys aren't playing this year either and we still are pretty much guarenteeing that the US mens basketball will win gold. 

I see the olympics being about who is the best in the world. If the best aren't playing, it takes away from the action.

As for basketball, it has grown too popular to just take out of the olympics and I'd rather see the best of the best going at it as opposed to a bunch of under 20 year olds I have never heard of. If the best players do not care to participate in the olympics, that is their decision to make, punishing the fans by not allowing the best go at it if they wish or taking the sport out all together doesn't seem like a good solution to me.

Also there are people out there that want that gold. To use cycling as an example, the Tour de France is the pinnacle of the sport but there were riders who focused on the olympics first and did not go for the GC in the race. Or we can mention Andy Murray winning gold in tennis in London which was a huge moment for him. Just because a gold medal isn't the best thing you can achieve in a sport doesn't mean there aren't people who want it.

[Steve0x]

18 hours ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

I did that when I first moved to the Bay Area at an Oakland A's game. Lol, stupid me.

So did i when O's played the Marlins last year in Miami. Also i did it at Super Bowl 

 

Edited August 11, 2016 by Steve0x

[rmw10]

And Ledecky is just insane. Trailed by almost a second in the relay, and then won by almost 2. 

[Pats]

To be fair she is a beast and we had 3 rookies in our team so i expected ledecky to win it for you guys. We should have had out veteran finish it off but i'm happy with silver.

[Steve0x]

I have a better idea how to improve the U.S Olympic athlete performance.  Yes were doing good but we can be better. 4 Years from now why don't USOC create US summer olympic games. Held in Lincoln Nebraska 2 weeks prior to the Olympics for 10 days. All 50 states compete and its televised by ESPN. They don't get a medal but a gold cup it they win an event. Winners automatically go to the olympic games. Team sports isn't included in US summer olympic games. Events like Swimming,Diving,Track & field,Fencing,Kayaking,Shooting,Boxing,Judo,Archery,Gymnastics,Weightlifting,Cycling and Wrestling. Every 4 years its held in another state. I like this idea. 

[Inqui]

12 hours ago, 52520Andrew said:

Lots of guys aren't playing this year either and we still are pretty much guarenteeing that the US mens basketball will win gold. 

I see the olympics being about who is the best in the world. If the best aren't playing, it takes away from the action.

As for basketball, it has grown too popular to just take out of the olympics and I'd rather see the best of the best going at it as opposed to a bunch of under 20 year olds I have never heard of. If the best players do not care to participate in the olympics, that is their decision to make, punishing the fans by not allowing the best go at it if they wish or taking the sport out all together doesn't seem like a good solution to me.

Also there are people out there that want that gold. To use cycling as an example, the Tour de France is the pinnacle of the sport but there were riders who focused on the olympics first and did not go for the GC in the race. Or we can mention Andy Murray winning gold in tennis in London which was a huge moment for him. Just because a gold medal isn't the best thing you can achieve in a sport doesn't mean there aren't people who want it.

I guess this is our difference in philosophy, because I see it the opposite way: Just because people want to win it doesn't mean it should be an Olympic event. If it's not the best thing you can do in that sport then it's more of a nice-to-have and I think it reduces the prestige of the Games, but I guess that's a personal preference thing. I can't be bothered quoting @BmoreBird22's post as well, but I'd say something similar. For all the arguments made about who the greatest soccer player of the generation is, I don't think I've ever seen anyone reference the fact that Messi has an Olympic gold and Ronaldo doesn't. Track cycling's a little different, because winning an Olympic sprint is obviously a lot more prestigious than any given Tour de France stage. When they train, the Olympics is the one thing they're trying to peak towards. If they were told to either quit their Tour de France team or back out of the Olympics, 9/10 they'd give France a miss. I'd be opposed to adding any long-haul cycle race over the full two weeks for that reason.

I agree with the rest re: basketball, though I'm just a little more on the fence about dropping it. I've defended its presence in the past and like I say I love watching a genuine top-shelf US side come together. Like you say, an NCAA all-stars side would dilute the field too much, and making it fully amateur all across the board would make it a pretty depressing event.

21 hours ago, Pats said:

I think 7's is just any given sunday for its tourney winners, looks like maybe we squeak into quarters with nz, gbr, SA, japan, fiji, argentina and france joining us. I think there should be a few sports removed from the olympics purely due to lack of enthusiasm by participants. Golf because I don't think it fits and most great players didn't show up because they don't value it over the pga calender. Men's soccer because it's basically under 20's playing and it doesn't have good value. And tennis as well because it's like golf pretty much.

Suffice it to say, I agree with all of this. Looks like Fiji are on track to win their first medal (ever). I suspect even a bronze would have them pretty excited, but it'd be nice to see them win gold now that we're not. Be really interesting to follow though. I think the NZRU missed a trick by not really prioritising the sevens team though. If even two of Beauden Barrett, Ben Smith and Ardie Savea chose the sevens over chasing an All Blacks jersey (in a World Cup rebuilding year no less) then the side would have been much more competitive. I'm also not sure why Gordon Tietjens has gone away from having a couple of speed demons on the squad in the past couple of years either. Agree about those three sports as well.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Inqui

[Inqui]

Yay, first gold at Rio.  

I imagine that's it for Bond and Murray - been watching them dominate the field since I was in high school so it'll be a little surreal to (presumably) watch Tokyo in four years' time without them.

[ravensdan]

12 hours ago, Steve0x said:

I have a better idea how to improve the U.S Olympic athlete performance.  Yes were doing good but we can be better. 4 Years from now why don't USOC create US summer olympic games. Held in Lincoln Nebraska 2 weeks prior to the Olympics for 10 days. All 50 states compete and its televised by ESPN. They don't get a medal but a gold cup it they win an event. Winners automatically go to the olympic games. Team sports isn't included in US summer olympic games. Events like Swimming,Diving,Track & field,Fencing,Kayaking,Shooting,Boxing,Judo,Archery,Gymnastics,Weightlifting,Cycling and Wrestling. Every 4 years its held in another state. I like this idea. 

There are already Olympic team trials which are highly contested. They don't just randomly pick people to compete. 

[Pats]

11 hours ago, Inqui said:

I guess this is our difference in philosophy, because I see it the opposite way: Just because people want to win it doesn't mean it should be an Olympic event. If it's not the best thing you can do in that sport then it's more of a nice-to-have and I think it reduces the prestige of the Games, but I guess that's a personal preference thing. I can't be bothered quoting @BmoreBird22's post as well, but I'd say something similar. For all the arguments made about who the greatest soccer player of the generation is, I don't think I've ever seen anyone reference the fact that Messi has an Olympic gold and Ronaldo doesn't. Track cycling's a little different, because winning an Olympic sprint is obviously a lot more prestigious than any given Tour de France stage. When they train, the Olympics is the one thing they're trying to peak towards. If they were told to either quit their Tour de France team or back out of the Olympics, 9/10 they'd give France a miss. I'd be opposed to adding any long-haul cycle race over the full two weeks for that reason.

I agree with the rest re: basketball, though I'm just a little more on the fence about dropping it. I've defended its presence in the past and like I say I love watching a genuine top-shelf US side come together. Like you say, an NCAA all-stars side would dilute the field too much, and making it fully amateur all across the board would make it a pretty depressing event.

Suffice it to say, I agree with all of this. Looks like Fiji are on track to win their first medal (ever). I suspect even a bronze would have them pretty excited, but it'd be nice to see them win gold now that we're not. Be really interesting to follow though. I think the NZRU missed a trick by not really prioritising the sevens team though. If even two of Beauden Barrett, Ben Smith and Ardie Savea chose the sevens over chasing an All Blacks jersey (in a World Cup rebuilding year no less) then the side would have been much more competitive. I'm also not sure why Gordon Tietjens has gone away from having a couple of speed demons on the squad in the past couple of years either. Agree about those three sports as well.

Well in theory that sounds good but I think the 7's players they nurture are much more impactful than just using rugby 15's players. In any case i'm sad japan ended the tournament without a medal.

[52520Andrew]

10 hours ago, Inqui said:

I guess this is our difference in philosophy, because I see it the opposite way: Just because people want to win it doesn't mean it should be an Olympic event. If it's not the best thing you can do in that sport then it's more of a nice-to-have and I think it reduces the prestige of the Games, but I guess that's a personal preference thing. I can't be bothered quoting @BmoreBird22's post as well, but I'd say something similar. For all the arguments made about who the greatest soccer player of the generation is, I don't think I've ever seen anyone reference the fact that Messi has an Olympic gold and Ronaldo doesn't. Track cycling's a little different, because winning an Olympic sprint is obviously a lot more prestigious than any given Tour de France stage. When they train, the Olympics is the one thing they're trying to peak towards. If they were told to either quit their Tour de France team or back out of the Olympics, 9/10 they'd give France a miss. I'd be opposed to adding any long-haul cycle race over the full two weeks for that reason.

I agree with the rest re: basketball, though I'm just a little more on the fence about dropping it. I've defended its presence in the past and like I say I love watching a genuine top-shelf US side come together. Like you say, an NCAA all-stars side would dilute the field too much, and making it fully amateur all across the board would make it a pretty depressing event.

Yeah looks like we see things a bit differently, I just think the olympics are better when the top players come in and even in a year like this year, we still have some pretty big stars on the team.

Depends on the Tour de France stage, winning on Mont Ventoux or Alpe D'Huez is always a huge achievement although a lot depends on the circumstances for the stage as well obviously. Still, comparing a 3 week grand tour to a 1 day race probably isn't the best idea as different riders specialize in both. I'd say that riding in the Tour and finishing it is a bigger accomplishment than the olympics though. Comparing it to Paris Roubaix or the World Championships probably is a bit better. This year was a bit of an exception as the course this year had more climbs and pandered more to the guys that generally go for the GC in races like the Tour de France while the World Championships this year are pretty flat and the sprinters are likely to be the ones contesting it in the end. Really would like to see more of the same from future Olympics road races as this edition was really good and could help launch the Olympics to being the biggest one day race although it doesn't have as much history with the pros as the World Championships and Paris Roubaix especially. Also would not be for having a 2 week olympic race, we already have the Tour which is longer and tougher(along with the Giro and Vuelta).

Agreed on the rest with Basketball, would love to see other countries get better so maybe one day it ends up like Ice Hockey in the Winter Olympics. Still remember that 2010 final.