I dont know if someone has already touched on this, but the "Michael Phelps greatest Olympian" crap is wearing thin on me. Yes he has more medals than anyone else in Olympic history, but keep in mind that Swimming has the most events that any one athlete could potentially medal in.
A Tri-Athlete can only medal a maximum of once per olympics, same goes for many other athletes. How is it fair that Phelps is crowned the greatest olympian when he gets far more chances to compete for medals than any other athletes. I'm sure that Usain Bolt would have far more medals if he could compete in the 100m back-pedal, or 100m side shuffle as well.
How about we crown him as "The Greatest Swimmer" instead.
I applaud all the efforts of the Canadian athletes, lose or lose. I have absolutely no expectations for any medals in the Summer Olympics so when we win a bronze in synchronized triple midget trampoline tossing, I think it's great.
All of our funding should go to the Winter games, where we should be cleaning up.
One sport they should consider removing from the Olympic events is Beach Volleyball. I am sure there will be alot of people disagreeing but beach volleyball is really focus on women as icandy for the Olympics. In the last Olympics, they had dancing girls inbetween sets? Hey don't get me wrong, I like eye-candy as much as Clinton, Kennedys and or Joe Sixpack. However, I prefer 6 on 6 hardcourt volleyball where the action is non stop and players get brusied up while digging for loose balls. The sweat from players is a result of hardwork and not from the sun and heat and when players brush their legs, they are checking for scrapes and not wiping away sand. I play beach volleyball in a semi-competitive league and anyway you look at it, it is still very leisure-esque even at the top levels. I hear the next Olympic demonstration sport is Pole dancing on sand...or should I say Pole gymnastic.
I'm sorry but this is really ridiculous. I'm sure because you play in a semi competitive beach league that your fitness level is that of an olympians and therefore you can equate your experience with theirs. Beach volleyball at the top level is incredibly physically demanding and requires A LOT of athleticism. Is getting "bruised" the criteria for being an olympic athlete? I don't see too many swimmers with bruises.
So what if they have dancing girls in between sets, the olympics are supposed to be fun, and sure if its cheesy but who cares, does that diminish the "spirit of the games" somehow? Does everything have to be somber and serious? Did you watch how many dancers performed in the opening ceremonies, does that touch a chord with you too?
In fact the beach volleyball has been one of the hottest tickets around this Olympics, I think Paul McCartney attended some beach volleyball as well.
Why pick a bone with beach volleyball? Why not archery, or ping pong, or shooting or speed walking? All of those seem to require a lot less athleticism than beach volleyball in my opinion.
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Originally Posted by Fire
I agree. Beach volleyball are for players that can't cut it in real volleyball.
In fact it's quite the opposite as most indoor volleyball players would have a tough time cutting it in beach. I could play an entire set of indoor volleyball and touch the ball maybe three times. Middles get subbed out when they're back row and a pass specialist called a 'libero' comes in and plays their position back court. What i'm leading to is that indoor there are position players, setter, power, middle, libero, and a middle would be a terrible setter and vice versa. However in beach volleyball you have to be everything, a good passer, setter, hitter, blocker, and have great D. Indoor you can hit the ball as hard as you can but in beach you need to have precise shot placement, where a well placed roll shot is more effective than slamming the ball as hard as you can, and is harder to do. Also a lot of beach volleyball players come from national indoor programs.
I'm sorry but this is really ridiculous. I'm sure because you play in a semi competitive beach league that your fitness level is that of an olympians and therefore you can equate your experience with theirs. Beach volleyball at the top level is incredibly physically demanding and requires A LOT of athleticism. Is getting "bruised" the criteria for being an olympic athlete? I don't see too many swimmers with bruises.
So what if they have dancing girls in between sets, the olympics are supposed to be fun, and sure if its cheesy but who cares, does that diminish the "spirit of the games" somehow? Does everything have to be somber and serious? Did you watch how many dancers performed in the opening ceremonies, does that touch a chord with you too?
In fact the beach volleyball has been one of the hottest tickets around this Olympics, I think Paul McCartney attended some beach volleyball as well.
Why pick a bone with beach volleyball? Why not archery, or ping pong, or shooting or speed walking? All of those seem to require a lot less athleticism than beach volleyball in my opinion.
In fact it's quite the opposite as most indoor volleyball players would have a tough time cutting it in beach. I could play an entire set of indoor volleyball and touch the ball maybe three times. Middles get subbed out when they're back row and a pass specialist called a 'libero' comes in and plays their position back court. What i'm leading to is that indoor there are position players, setter, power, middle, libero, and a middle would be a terrible setter and vice versa. However in beach volleyball you have to be everything, a good passer, setter, hitter, blocker, and have great D. Indoor you can hit the ball as hard as you can but in beach you need to have precise shot placement, where a well placed roll shot is more effective than slamming the ball as hard as you can, and is harder to do. Also a lot of beach volleyball players come from national indoor programs.
Sorry, having played both sports (amature) and watching the performances of others at high level matches, there is no comparison. Beach volleyball does not come even close to the level of competition as hardcourt volleyball.
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Not sure if this has been discussed, but 8 badminton players were kicked out of the Olympics for trying to lose their matches. Good on them. CTV has the last few minutes of the match, and you can hear an official telling both teams that they are at the Olympics to play hard, and that both teams will be disqualified.
I dont know if someone has already touched on this, but the "Michael Phelps greatest Olympian" crap is wearing thin on me. Yes he has more medals than anyone else in Olympic history, but keep in mind that Swimming has the most events that any one athlete could potentially medal in.
A Tri-Athlete can only medal a maximum of once per olympics, same goes for many other athletes. How is it fair that Phelps is crowned the greatest olympian when he gets far more chances to compete for medals than any other athletes. I'm sure that Usain Bolt would have far more medals if he could compete in the 100m back-pedal, or 100m side shuffle as well.
How about we crown him as "The Greatest Swimmer" instead.
I am not sure why this should bother anybody. What he has accomplished is truly remarkable and has put up totals as an individual that make many countries envious. Hyperbole in sports journalism is far from a new thing assuming you feel he is undeserving of an unofficial title.
Putting that aside, you also seem to discount the fact that 4 different disciplines over multiple distances is an extremely difficult thing to do. It could be argued that he could even have more medals if the events were spread out longer but the already demanding workload would be pretty much impossible.
As far as the Bolt comparison, it could be argued that he could compete in more events if he wanted to/had the ability. Why not the 100, 200, 400, and even 800? Add the relays 4x100 and 4x400? Heck why not the 110 and 400 hurdles? It is just a little jump while running - not much different than a back peddle or side shuffle, right?
The guy is amazing to be able to compete at a top level in multi-disciplines for 8 years.
I am not sure why this should bother anybody. What he has accomplished is truly remarkable and has put up totals as an individual that make many countries envious. Hyperbole in sports journalism is far from a new thing assuming you feel he is undeserving of an unofficial title.
Putting that aside, you also seem to discount the fact that 4 different disciplines over multiple distances is an extremely difficult thing to do. It could be argued that he could even have more medals if the events were spread out longer but the already demanding workload would be pretty much impossible.
As far as the Bolt comparison, it could be argued that he could compete in more events if he wanted to/had the ability. Why not the 100, 200, 400, and even 800? Add the relays 4x100 and 4x400? Heck why not the 110 and 400 hurdles? It is just a little jump while running - not much different than a back peddle or side shuffle, right?
The guy is amazing to be able to compete at a top level in multi-disciplines for 8 years.
Why not make swimming a straight 100m race (along with the other distances)? If a guy wants to use another stroke and thinks he can win with his butterfly (as an example) then so be it. I'm sure that the option is there for competitors to run the 100m backwards if they decide to.
Otherwise there are a few other races that should be added in the interest of fairness. A 100m crab-walk. I would tune in for that. In swimming why is there no race for the doggy paddle? It seems silly to have breast stroke and butterfly and eliminate the doggy paddle.
Sorry, having played both sports (amature) and watching the performances of others at high level matches, there is no comparison. Beach volleyball does not come even close to the level of competition as hardcourt volleyball.
I'd have to disagree, having a sister who played both high level indoor and beach volleyball. Both have very high level of competition but in my mind the two games aren't really comparable. In indoor my sister was no where near good enough to get a scholarship yet at the same time her and her beach partner were able to beat the girls they trained with, both of whom had indoor scholarships (one to a Pac-12 school and another to a Canadian University) on a regular basis.
At the end of the day its very similar to decathalets vs track specialists. Indoor players (like track specialists) tend to be amazing at a few aspects of the game, and with 6 players on the court that's fine. Beach players (like decathletes) aren't extremely good at one specific aspect of the game, but with only 2 players on the court they have to be decent at everything.
Last edited by wpgflamesfan; 08-01-2012 at 12:04 PM.
Sorry, having played both sports (amature) and watching the performances of others at high level matches, there is no comparison. Beach volleyball does not come even close to the level of competition as hardcourt volleyball.
Just my 2 cents.
I have played both beach and court competitively and it really is an apple to oranges comparison.
Court volleyball is a very team based game. Every team member has a role and the team that generally works the best as a unit, wins. It's faster and more chaotic than beach. In my humble opinion though, I find watching the women's much more enjoyable in terms of skill and passing. In the men's, most of the guys are tall and powerful enough, that the passes will just need to be in the general area, and they can hit it. The real skill for men's is the blocking and defence since there is so much power.
For the women, I find because they don't have as much height and power, there is more emphasis on the passing and finesse game to set up perfect hits. Therefore, I just find it has better flow and longer rallies.
For beach, I don't think you give it enough credit how difficult it is to play. For one, the sand really does restrict your movement and your vertical jump. In court, you have your teammates to bail you out if you make a mistake. In beach, it's really about the connection between you and your partner. There is also the mental aspect similar to poker, where you play your opponent rather than the ball. Whether that's focusing your hits on the "weaker" partner or hitting and setting up plays against your opponents defensive shortcomings, there is a lot more strategy and gamesmanship in Beach volleyball.
Like mentioned already, most beach volleyball players come from Court first, and specialize into Beach.
anyways, long story short, both court and beach are very exciting to play or watch, and I don't think you can make an argument that one is inferior to the other
Lchoy
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. In swimming why is there no race for the doggy paddle? It seems silly to have breast stroke and butterfly and eliminate the doggy paddle.
There is, the event is called 'Freestyle' meaning you can swim whatever method you want to (butterfly, breast stroke, doggy paddle, etc.). Most swimmers use front crawl as it is the fastest.
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Not sure if this has been posted or not, Michel Morganella a Swiss Soccer player becomes the second idiot athlete expelled for a racist tweet. He said he wanted to "beat up South Koreans", that they should "burn", and were a bunch of "bunch of mongoloids."
There is, the event is called 'Freestyle' meaning you can swim whatever method you want to (butterfly, breast stroke, doggy paddle, etc.). Most swimmers use front crawl as it is the fastest.
I actually didn't know they could do whatever they wanted there. I thought they had to do front crawl. In any event though, one race per distance is enough and let the swimmer choose their stroke.
The case was heard Wednesday morning, and in very short order, the Olympics were finished for world champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China, and their South Korean opponents, Jung Kyun-eun and Kim Ha-na — both sides were trying to lose that contest — as well as South Korea’s Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung and Indonesia’s Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii, who responded in kind in the next match.
Basically, it was all about the world champs not wanting to finish at the top of their group so that they could avoid meeting their No. 2-ranked Chinese compatriots until the final.
The Koreans, who were already through to the next round, had their own reasons for trying to lose, and the second Korean team took up the cause against Indonesia, which then began tanking, as well.
The non-action was so flagrant, it was almost funny. But not to the crowd, not to the badminton federation and not to either the London organizing committee or the IOC. The phrase “spirit of Olympism” was tossed about a good deal, and it was pointed out by everyone from LOCOG chief Sebastien Coe to former Olympic doubles silver medallist Gail Emms from Great Britain that the minimum requirement of an Olympic competitor is his or her maximum effort.
Breaking: CBC wins the rights for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.
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I actually didn't know they could do whatever they wanted there. I thought they had to do front crawl. In any event though, one race per distance is enough and let the swimmer choose their stroke.
I assume the reason for the 4 different main styles is that is was the only way to keep the other strokes relevant (although who knows why those were chosen), there is no way that someone would choose to use breaststroke against any other style.
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Put me in the camp that isn't sold on Phelps being the greatest olympian of all time. Certainly he's in the conversation, probably is the favorite. But there's something that's going to be a real problem... evaluating how his record performances stand the test of time.
It's really hard to evaluate those records, simply because swimming records have dropped so much in every discipline over the years leading up to 2008. At the 2008 Olympics, where everyone had those LZR suits, Olympic records were set in almost every event. Since the LZR suits were banned in 2009, only five new WRs have been set. How then do you evaluate Phelps' career best performances compared to athletes who follow? You can't just choose to disregard them completely, yet he certainly did have an advantage that future athletes won't have. If he threw down a new world record in any of his solo events this Olympics, it would be a massive statement, but I think I've read that he's set only one personal best (in a race that he lost to Lochte) since the LZR era, so it's pretty unlikely.
