Olympics 2012

[branchop 319]

I am an Olympics junkie. I have been dying to snark and comment on stuff, so I thought who better than my chitchat friends to share with! If I'm alone, so be it, but I hope you all will join in.

 

Full disclosure: All I get is American TV. I am interested in how my international friends get coverage as well.

 

A few observations:

 

1) The men are particularly yummy this year. The women are most certainly not.

 

2) The Gymnastics calling pair - Tim Daggert and Elfie Schlegel. Have they always been so bitchy with one another? I don't think they like one another, but it seems they have been calling the sports since he got off the mat in '84.

 

3) The gymnasts talk a good "team" talk, but it seems that Gabby Douglas is the fifth wheel. She also seems to be a couple of tacos shy of a combo platter. But man, can that girl go! She is obviously the star of that team.

 

4) The Women's Beach Volleyball team glossed over the fact that they totally screwed another athlete. May decided to come back at the last minute after Welch already teamed up with another player to come to the Olympics. There is no good way to play that.

 

5) The woman who won the skeet shooting is amazing!

 

6) Dear NBC - I for one do not want to watch 4 hours of cycling on a Saturday morning. You had the awesome skeet shooting on a cable channel - WRONG WRONG WRONG! This weekend, if memory serves, NBC will show 4 hours of marathon running. Again, bad choice.

 

7) Can't blame the badminton teams for playing strategy. Unfortunately, they are so bad at it you could tell. Need to watch some football, basketball and baseball teams do this with finesse at the end of the season (just to get a better draft pick).

 

8) Missy Franklin is a going to be a beast in 2016. I think Phelps has the right idea to go out ahead. He still has it! Lockte is fun, but I think the stress is getting to him.

 

9) Great Britain's Men's gymnastic team was great! I hope they get some individual medals. I like them more than the Americans.

[fykeylicious 1,099]

I agree NBC's coverage has SUCKED. Way to announce the women gymnastics team took the gold but yet not show the actual event until last night.

 

Also, Matt Lauer and whoever else's commentary during the opening ceremony was awful. Meredith Viera wasn't too bad, but Lauer and the other dude were an embarrassment.

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

, but Lauer and the other dude were an embarrassment.

Bob Costas.

 

I am furious that NBC removed the part of the OPening Ceremony memorializing those killed 7/7 by terrorist in the UK. I watched it online the next morning and sent my "you assholes" email to NBC

 

I know I'm not the only one drooling over the divers, esp Tom Daley. I looked at my husband on Monday night and said "he's legal now, right?"

 

During the Parade of Nations, my high school friends and I were facebooking commentary on the uniforms. (25 years later and we're still catty bitches )

 

My husband commented (during same Parade) that Olympians are not unattractive people. No, no they are not. And that includes the women

 

I am loving the online coverage NBC provides - I watched diving this morning from work, have watched a couple of the women's USA soccer games. You can access BBC and CTV (Canada) online too but need to use proxy servers and a) that's a little beyond my capability to figure out and I don't want to do it from work.....

[princess 1,712]

The coverage is great when you have TiVo and can fast foward thru the BS and watch what you want

[theempress 80]

My thoughts?

 

1) More weightlifting in prime-time; those lifters are amazing!

 

2) More men's water polo, period. :4biggrin:

 

3) Am I the only person who is fixated on the receding hairlines on the female gymnasts? I guess this is the result of wearing those super-tight ponytails.

 

4) The female gymnasts show amazing poise and maturity.

 

5) Michael Phelps has grown into his face. He also has matured a lot, and it shows, which brings me to:

 

6) This is Phelps's fourth Olympics. So, all you media critics, shut up already about how Phelps is a disappointment for not winning every single gold medal. And:

 

7) The marketing decision to make Ryan Lochte the golden boy of the Olympics instead of Phelps = major fail. Lochte needs to go away, already; he comes off as a world-class jerk.

 

8) The ads featuring Ryan Hall listening to "The Odyssey" and "Moby Dick" on his training runs are awesome. :2cool:

[princess 1,712]

GOLD RUSH

America's Fab Five – McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross, Alexandra Raisman, Gabrielle Douglas and Jordyn Wieber – take the traditional chomp on their gold medals after wowing London with a first-place finish in the women's gymnastics team final at the Olympics on Tuesday.

 

GOLD STAR

After making Olympic history, Michael Phelps shows off the latest addition to his medal collection in London, where he and teammates Ryan Lochte, Ricky Berens and Conor Dwyer (not pictured) took the top spot in Tuesday's 4x200 freestyle relay.

 

SPECTATOR SPORT

Prince William and Duchess Kate watch with anticipation as cousin Zara Phillips wins a silver medal at the Olympics equestrian show jumping event Tuesday in London.

 

 

 

And because I liked looking at the swimmers too

 

US

 

Australia

[tyler 408]

Not to begrudge any one their gold medal, but how is it that Malroney gets a Gold Medal when she performed one -- count it - one vault?

 

As for the hairlines, I too got a little fixated on the why.

 

As for male swimmers, divers and water polo players -- they are kind of like porn -- you like looking at it in small doses until it makes you feel kind of dirty.

 

As for the Chinese female swimmer, Ye, i don't care what anybody says, "she" is doped up. Swimming faster than our male gold medalist? No fucking way.

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

Lainey had an hysterical post yesterday about the Royals and how flirty they were with each other (photos included) and how the Olympics must make them as horny as the rest of us ;-)

[princess 1,712]

As for male swimmers, divers and water polo players -- they are kind of like porn -- you like looking at it in small doses until it makes you feel kind of dirty.

Ha ha ha!!

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

As for male swimmers, divers and water polo players -- they are kind of like porn -- you like looking at it in small doses until it makes you feel kind of dirty.

Ha ha ha!!

 

I don't feel dirty at all (except when I think about how young Tom Daley is)

 

I watched the 3M springboard finals today online while at work. Perhaps not the best idea ;-) (tried to watch men's gymnastics but the feed was wonky - kept going out - that was very annoying!)

 

Princess - we have dvr but I can't use it for the Olympics - I can't avoid spoilers that long and if I miss an event I want to see, chances are good I can watch a video replay online....

[annabeast 24]

I'm a bit annoyed at the coverage of Jordyn Wieber. She is NOT the team captain, so I wish the press would quit saying she is leading the team to victory. Aly Raisman is the team captain, and showed enormous poise and grace (and her parents rock). Did y'all see the clip of her encouraging Gabby? The way she turned her body toward Gabby and looked her right in the eye when she realized that Gabby needed to talk to her. Loved her.

[tyler 408]

Did y'all see the clip of her encouraging Gabby? The way she turned her body toward Gabby and looked her right in the eye when she realized that Gabby needed to talk to her. Loved her.

 

Perfect moment.

 

Just do it "normal."

Edited August 1, 2012 by tyler

[princess 1,712]

Winning a gold medal brings a $9,000 tax bill

Yahoo News

 

When Olympic medalists return to the United States, they're in high demand. Everyone, from Michael Phelps to a bronze medalist in judo will be sitting for television interviews, talking to newspapers, going to assemblies at local schools and celebrating with friends, family and young athletes. They'll also draw some unwanted interest from everyone's favorite bureaucrats: the IRS.

 

Medalists will have to pay hefty taxes for standing on the podium in London. It's not the value of the medal itself that will require a separate line on this years tax returns, it's the tax on the prize money that comes with a gold, silver or bronze.

 

The United States Olympic Committee rewards Olympic medalists with honorariums. A gold medal brings $25,000. Silver medals get you $15,000. And a bronze is worth $10,000.

 

The Weekly Standard, a conservative news magazine, ran the numbers and tabulated that the tax bill on a gold is $8,986, silver is $5,385 and bronze is $3,500.

 

They note that Missy Franklin, an amateur who has yet to cash in on her fame with endorsements, already owes $14,000 in taxes from her gold and silver medal. By the time the Games are finished, Franklin's tax bill could reach $30,000.

 

Come on, government. I know you're as inflexible as the IOC and couldn't decide on pizza toppings unless a bipartisan commission deliberated for 13 days, but you can't make an exception to athletes representing our country in the biggest event in the world? It's not unheard of: Military members are exempt from taxes when they're deployed in a combat zone.

 

UPDATE: Florida senator Marco Rubio ® reacted to the story on Wednesday, proposing a bill that would leave athletes exempt from the federal tax. ""Our tax code is a complicated and burdensome mess that too often punishes success, and the tax imposed on Olympic medal winners is a classic example of this madness," he told reporters.

[tyler 408]

Winning a gold medal brings a $9,000 tax bill

Yahoo News

 

Wow, Princess what a buzz kill. :4biggrin:

[princess 1,712]

UPDATE: Florida senator Marco Rubio ® reacted to the story on Wednesday, proposing a bill that would leave athletes exempt from the federal tax. ""Our tax code is a complicated and burdensome mess that too often punishes success, and the tax imposed on Olympic medal winners is a classic example of this madness," he told reporters.

With the amount of money these family spend on private trainers, moving to different towns to secure the best training for their kid, flying all over the world for competitions just to even get a chance of making it the Olympics, I am shocked they don't get a tax break against the honorarium they receive as winners..... I'm assuming most of the expenses they incur over the years can't be deducted....

[Wordsworth 703]

I am actually going to the Olympics tomorrow! :4biggrin: Flying down to London to take in some of the tennis on centre court at Wimbly. I'm very excited!

 

The BBC are doing a great job with tv coverage - as well as their main two channels they've a whole bunch of extra ones on the red button (interactive on digital) which means you can watch uninterrupted coverage of all the sports you choose.

 

The atmosphere at Horseguards Parade for the beach volleyball looks great, and because it's usually one of the last sports live at night we find ourselves watching it instead of sleeping.

 

Glad Team GB picked up two golds, a bronze and a silver today.

[princess 1,712]

I am actually going to the Olympics tomorrow! :4biggrin: Flying down to London to take in some of the tennis on centre court at Wimbly. I'm very excited!

Have a great time and let us know how it went!!

 

I had some friends go to the Vancouver winter games 2 years ago and they said they had the best time, they'll never forget it. They didn't even care they had nose bleed seats!!

[schumibabe 0]

So this is my ex-boss's (before I moved from the UK to Vancouver) nephew, Tom James, who's a member of the GB rowing fours, who won their semi-final this morning.

 

 

Unfortunately, it wasn't until after I left the job that I found out about the hot nephew who won a gold medal in Beijing!!

 

The Vancouver games really were fantastic. I didn't go to any events but downtown was amazing. They were projecting some of the competitions onto the buildings and it was packed every night until the early morning.

 

I'm enjoying the London games but I'm starting to get really homesick!!

[Gracenote 259]

I tried so hard not to notice that one of the gymnasts was wearing a sanitary pad. (female gymnast) If she did such an amazing job on her period I am in awe. They are just babies, they wouldn't want to dose them with hormones to manage that. All the gymnasts are amazing, I love to watch regardless of country.

 

I'm getting a little tired of swimming. I like it fine but there is so much of it. I'm, ready for some track and field to start. The high diving is scarey!

 

They need to show more judo; we never got that here but I watched it online.

 

Overall I have really enjoyed it so far.

[tyler 408]

I tried so hard not to notice that one of the gymnasts was wearing a sanitary pad. (female gymnast) If she did such an amazing job on her period I am in awe. They are just babies, they wouldn't want to dose them with hormones to manage that. All the gymnasts are amazing, I love to watch regardless of country.

 

I'm getting a little tired of swimming. I like it fine but there is so much of it. I'm, ready for some track and field to start. The high diving is scarey!

 

They need to show more judo; we never got that here but I watched it online.

 

Overall I have really enjoyed it so far.

 

Is that what that was? -- I thought it was the chalk they used on their hands. You would think that they would use tampons to avoid that kind of thing.

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

You would think that they would use tampons to avoid that kind of thing.

Isn't that why they have gymnasts and swimmers in tampon commercials? Like, ideally made for that population?

[fykeylicious 1,099]

I tried so hard not to notice that one of the gymnasts was wearing a sanitary pad. (female gymnast) If she did such an amazing job on her period I am in awe. They are just babies, they wouldn't want to dose them with hormones to manage that. All the gymnasts are amazing, I love to watch regardless of country.

 

I'm getting a little tired of swimming. I like it fine but there is so much of it. I'm, ready for some track and field to start. The high diving is scarey!

 

They need to show more judo; we never got that here but I watched it online.

 

Overall I have really enjoyed it so far.

 

Is that what that was? -- I thought it was the chalk they used on their hands. You would think that they would use tampons to avoid that kind of thing.

 

same

[Gracenote 259]

I tried so hard not to notice that one of the gymnasts was wearing a sanitary pad. (female gymnast) If she did such an amazing job on her period I am in awe. They are just babies, they wouldn't want to dose them with hormones to manage that. All the gymnasts are amazing, I love to watch regardless of country.

 

I'm getting a little tired of swimming. I like it fine but there is so much of it. I'm, ready for some track and field to start. The high diving is scarey!

 

They need to show more judo; we never got that here but I watched it online.

 

Overall I have really enjoyed it so far.

 

Is that what that was? -- I thought it was the chalk they used on their hands. You would think that they would use tampons to avoid that kind of thing.

 

same

 

Are you old enough to remember Cathy Rigby and her Stayfree maxi pad commercials LOL?

 

It was chalk once (so that is chalk and not resin? I wondered about that.) but there was something there every day, maybe the lining of her suit was just badly done. It seems like they would not let her go out if it was so noticeable or maybe they are just comfortable enough with their bodies to say "Hey, I got my period. Deal with it."

 

She was amazing last night; she stuck landings and flew through the air like a bird. I felt sorry for the Russian but she did get silver and the other got bronze.

 

I only learned yesterday that they get money when they win a medal. I had no idea. 25k for gold and so on.

[fykeylicious 1,099]

I was also thinking that she might have worn a liner to prevent camel toe...I have a great fear of camel toe, and she might be like me in that department.

 

If she did have her period, she ought to get a second medal. It's all I can do to walk on the treadmill when I have mine

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

1) Who thinks 85lb gymnasts have enough body fat to menstruate?

 

2) Not only do the Olympians earn money for medals, they have to PAY TAXES on it!

 

I missed the individual finals - have seen some videos of course. Is it Gabby you think looked like she had a pad? Or another gymnast? 'Cause now I need to look for video

 

Watching soccer today - I never thought I'd have to cringe watching soccer the way I do gymnastics or figure skating (falling! Injury!)