2012 London Olympics Thread

[hotreds]

The "hand ball" rule HAS to be clarified! If someone shoots a ball at you at close to 100mph and it hits your hand- I can't see how that can be called a foul. Only a deliberate handling of the ball should be a foul. I love the USA women's team, but I sure have a problem with the penalty that was called for them.

[Rushman2112]

I didn't see the game to be fair, but where was the ref from? What often happens at the World Cup for instance is FIFA feels that it has to give refs from second rate footballing nations the chance to ref a big game, and invariably they have a poor game. They are not used to the pace of the game and the way it is played. They should stick to refs from the EPL, La Liga and Serie A who are used to big games and the pressure, not some muppet like Larrionda who cannot see when a ball is a yard over the goal line, or the Tunisian idiot who allowed Maradonna to punch the ball into the net.

[Anthony_MQ]

The "hand ball" rule HAS to be clarified! If someone shoots a ball at you at close to 100mph and it hits your hand- I can't see how that can be called a foul. Only a deliberate handling of the ball should be a foul. I love the USA women's team, but I sure have a problem with the penalty that was called for them.

This is precisely the issue. It's very difficult to devise a rule that makes the ref do sophisticated mathematical calculations on the spot. I have been playing and watching football for 30 years now--watching way to much than i care to admit ;) I even served as a referee from to time to time. In my "expert" opinion, the official in this case simply made the wrong decision. Perhaps even twice in a row, betraying very little sense of the spirit of the rules and the context of the game: very close in extra time--this is where you err on the side of caution and not award massive gifts that place your little authoritarian influence way above that of the players on the pitch.


P.S. Hotreds, you are clearly a man of great honour to be able to perceive the situation as you have. Hats off.

[Anthony_MQ]

Wow. That 200m race was something truly special.

[Penguinetti]

Who ended up winning the 200m?

[Anthony_MQ]

Who ended up winning the 200m?

*** SPOILER ALERT ***
(don't scroll down if you haven't watched yet)

Spoiler:

Usain Bolt

[Penguinetti]

Damn. I was hoping for Gatlin. He was on fire during the semis.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Who ended up winning the 200m?

Penguinetti:
Usain Bolt (without a doubt), in 19:32 for the Gold and his countryman Yohan Blake getting the silver in 19.44, and Warren Weir taking the bronze in 19.84 for a
Jamaican sweep.

Read More: http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/tr...-result-080912

"The only thing that matters is Going for the Gold!!!". CBJ

[Mr Whiskers]

the little rum bars in Negril were rockin today

[cluelessdude]

Congratulations Bill, you guys are a sprint powerhouse.

Just watched a replay of men's 800m final with a Kenyan setting a new WR. Very impressive!

[ouch]

Not only are the Jamaican sprinters great, they all seem to be having a lot of fun doing it.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Yeah, I like that they're colorful characters.

Even heptathlon winner Jessica Ennis is half Jamaican.

Gotta find a Jamaican woman...

Here's another colorful character:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/tra...off-shirt.html

German guy wins the discus event, rips off his shirt, runs down the track draped in the German flag, screams like a maniac, starts jumping hurdles.

[StillShaving]

No comment on women's gold metal soccer match between Japan and USA? I saw the highlights and it looked like USA could have been called for a handball on one kick but was not. To my untrained eye it looked like the USA player was trying to gain an advantage versus some incidental contact. A good game nonetheless.

And the google doodles are getting better:
Soccer
Slalom Canoe
Basketball

[ingrownhair]

The 800m final last night was incredible! To lead from the get-go and put that kind of distance on the field with that kick in the back stretch of the second lap...wow.

[cluelessdude]

The 800m final last night was incredible! To lead from the get-go and put that kind of distance on the field with that kick in the back stretch of the second lap...wow.

Yup and to top it off I heard Nairobi, Kenya is placing a bid for the Olympics.

[rajagra]

Phelps leaves gold in pool.

[cluelessdude]

Just watched a small clip of Great Britain 10m platform diver Tom Daley. Very inspirational and touching. His father was battling with illness and wanted to make it to watch his son compete in these Olympics but unfortunately he didn't do so. I will be cheering for Tom Daley tonight!

[ouch]

My program guide said that NBC was airing the gold medal diving match. I tuned in, and lo and behold, it was the Brazil-Mexico soccer match. That's some mighty fine writing on behalf of NBC.

[cluelessdude]

The diving will be 3:30 PM Eastern Time...so check then to see if NBC shows a live event .

Oh and the 4x100 Men's Relay final is tonight. Canada made it to the final...ugh long gone are the days of 1996 where we ruled the sprint. It will be unbelievable if we just even somehow get a bronze today.

If anyone is interested please watch these videos of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in anticipation of tonight's final. Ignore the crap video quality and useless music. Man what a call from Don Wittman, Canadian commentating legend (RIP): "and Donovan Bailey is pouring it on...oh if you're Canadian you have to love Saturday nights in Georgia!"

http://youtu.be/JSyzEkg7vdk

Oh and his call for Bailey's 100M WR was great as well:

http://youtu.be/_Z64K8kznYs

[noahpictures]

Congrats to the U.S. women’s soccer team for winning gold and being the best in the world!