ESPN writer trashes Canada

[Diet Water]

Funny, because it's true.

• Vancouver's opening ceremonies were so boring that I wanted to jam my official Olympic drumstick into my brain and stir. Of course, Vancouver had to follow the greatest spectacle in theatrical history -- the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games in Beijing in 2008 -- but, wow, most of it was duller than a Mennonite knitting workshop. Although I liked the Coca-Cola polar bear.

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

British media better hope that everything at the London games goes perfectly or they may be eating a bit of crow in a couple years.

As long as none of the athletes die, they should be okay.

Whether people want to admit it or not, the death of the luger will reflect poorly on everybody involved. Including the host country.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Diet Water

Funny, because it's true.






As long as none of the athletes die, they should be okay.

Whether people want to admit it or not, the death of the luger will reflect poorly on everybody involved. Including the host country.

Here's an example of the blame game in the New York Daily News today, how an athlete from a small country is treated differently than a death might have been had it been a USA athlete.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/wi...lide_home.html

If I understand it right, he died at 86 MPH or 144.3 kmh after 25 previous personal runs and 5000 other runs on the same course over the previous three years. After shortening the track, the common speed through the Olympic competition, which I assume would include that particular corner at the bottom, was more than 90 mph, even after the changes.

There's a reason guys like you and I aren't given sleds and permission to go have fun on any World Cup track, including Calgary's . . . . we'd frakkin' kill ourselves.

In that vein, maybe we really are talking about the experience level of this athlete and a fluke circumstance.

On the other hand, it does look like the height of optimistic arrogance on the part of organizors not to pad those concrete pillars.

I'd feel a lot more comfortable blaming the athlete if he'd had a little more cushion to run into after he'd left the track . . . . . and I'm not uncomfortable blaming the athlete and not the course when everyone seems to be going faster than the speed he died at.

Cowperson

[Smell My Finger]

Originally Posted by Locke

Lets be honest, no one goes ATM unless they're paying for it....

the gold medal of this thread

[loob job]

This espn guy is no different than the people complaining about the way ctv and sportsnet are covering the games in another thread.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Here's an example of the blame game in the New York Daily News today, how an athlete from a small country is treated differently than a death might have been had it been a USA athlete.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/wi...lide_home.html

If I understand it right, he died at 86 MPH or 144.3 kmh after 25 previous personal runs and 5000 other runs on the same course over the previous three years. After shortening the track, the common speed through the Olympic competition, which I assume would include that particular corner at the bottom, was more than 90 mph, even after the changes.

There's a reason guys like you and I aren't given sleds and permission to go have fun on any World Cup track, including Calgary's . . . . we'd frakkin' kill ourselves.

In that vein, maybe we really are talking about the experience level of this athlete and a fluke circumstance.

On the other hand, it does look like the height of optimistic arrogance on the part of organizors not to pad those concrete pillars.

I'd feel a lot more comfortable blaming the athlete if he'd had a little more cushion to run into after he'd left the track . . . . . and I'm not uncomfortable blaming the athlete and not the course when everyone seems to be going faster than the speed he died at.

Cowperson

My problem with the whole "Why are they letting less experienced/elite lugers down this very quick track?" argument is they knew 6 years before Nodar Kumaritashvili went down this track that people of his calibre would be competing. It's not like he's some rookie trying out luge for the first time. He was ranked 44th in the world! If a track is only safe for the top 10 lugers in the world (the best in the world even crashed on it) is it a good design for a competition where they full well know they will be having guys in the top 50? (As do most world cup events)

[FlamingLonghorn]

Originally Posted by redforever

Well, I have relatives in the LA area, Houston area, and Maryland area. I have never seen any reference to metric in any of those areas. They did tell me that in math and physics in highschool, they did use it, but that was it. I did take public transportation in Houston, although that was 5 years ago, never saw any reference to metric at all. I took public transportation every day in SF for 10 days this past year, never saw one reference to metric there either.

You would be correct in that we don't use it on our roads. That does not equate into not knowing it. It is taught beginning in grade school. You guys don't seem to use it when discussing height and weight so does that mean you don't know it as well as countries who do?

[John Wayne]

I thought his write ups were funny, I really like the yay and I use it a lot with my wife. I always tell her I am yay ........ for her

Anyways, lets relax, what he wrote is nothing but tounge (sp) in cheek fun, I just wish I was the pool guy if his wife was that hot. Then I can tell my wife that her %^% was yay big.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

On the other hand, it does look like the height of optimistic arrogance on the part of organizors not to pad those concrete pillars.


Cowperson

This is where I'm at. It's like leaving the snow fences off of a downhill course because the skiiers are too good to make a mistake and crash.

Although I don't think padding would have been good enough. The solution (walls) they were able to implement in one day would have been nice at the start of the competition though.

[InstantDeath]

[Phil Ivey]

Yawn, another lame article.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

My problem with the whole "Why are they letting less experienced/elite lugers down this very quick track?" argument is they knew 6 years before Nodar Kumaritashvili went down this track that people of his calibre would be competing. It's not like he's some rookie trying out luge for the first time. He was ranked 44th in the world! If a track is only safe for the top 10 lugers in the world (the best in the world even crashed on it) is it a good design for a competition where they full well know they will be having guys in the top 50? (As do most world cup events)

He made it down that same track 25 previous times...why was this one different if it was either the tracks fault or the organizers fault?

To me that question needs answering before anything else.

Its looking more and more like it was nothing much more than a freak accident with series of events coming together to form a perfect storm that unfortunately ended in tragedy.