Colbert gets his rocks off

[JC]

I remember doing a story in 2002 about how many athletes were skipping the Olympics because their sponsors would rather have them compete in the X-Games.

still waiting, or are you full of **** like usual?
which sport and which athletes?

 

[deskslave]

I actually prefer the Winter Games because there are fewer sports and you feel like you have a better grasp on the sports, all 10 of them, than you do the summer games. Throw in the scenery, Vancouver will be spectacular, but I figure rainy downtown V-town won't get as much screen time as Whistler, and it should be a good show.

Plus it has the biathlon. Skiing and guns. What's not to love?

Of course, one also has to expect the quadrennial deluge of 'humorous' columns about the baffling nature of curling. No one has an excuse to be baffled by curling anymore. It's the Internet age. If it was really that important, you'd have learned the rules by now.

 

[ringer]

The Winter Games totally whored itself out with all the new pothead, XGame sports

I know what you're saying about the new events, but don't sweat the potheads.

Figure skaters are far more messed up than snowboarders: Christopher Bowman died of a drug OD, Nicole Bobek was arrested for alleged meth distribution, many Europeans have ended up alcoholic (i.e. Oksana Baiul) and a 2007 World Champion in ice dancing is in prison for a fatal drunk driving accident. Quite a rap sheet.

 

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Figure skaters are far more messed up than snowboarders: Christopher Bowman died of a drug OD, Nicole Bobek was arrested for alleged meth distribution, many Europeans have ended up alcoholic (i.e. Oksana Baiul) and a 2007 World Champion in ice dancing is in prison for a fatal drunk driving accident. Quite a rap sheet.

And does the name Tonya Harding ring a bell?

 

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

With the exception of figure skating, I love, love, love the Winter Olympics. Ski jumping, luge, short-track speedskating, downhill -- those guys are freaking crazy.

I do, too, for all those reasons, plus my personal favorite — skeleton, the head-first luge. Nothing like seeing somebody barrell down a mountain at 75 mph or so head-first.

And I'm with you. Figure skating is one event I make it a point NOT to watch. Like gymnastics in the summer games, I'm not crazy about any sport you need a panel of "judges" to use subjective criteria to determine who wins. For that matter, I'm a little disappointed they're using "style" points in addition to distances in ski jumping these days.

 

[AD]

if i remember right, american idol crushed the torino olympics....

 

[Del_B_Vista]

I'm sure somebody will go and do the math, but I have a gut feeling that the Winter Olympics have more "sports" that fall outside my definition of sports [a) have a defense, b) have a definitive measurement for winning like time, distance, accuracy] than the Summer Games. If a "sport" is judged (judged, not officiated), like figure skating, gymnastics and even ski jumping, I'm less a fan of it. And that's what hurts most of the "pothead" X Games sports, not what the athletes wear or listen to.

 

[Pilot]

I'm going to watch every moment I can.

 

[RickStain]

The only problem I have with the Winter Olympics is that there are 15 variations on every event and it's too easy for an athlete to compete in all of them.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

The only problem I have with the Winter Olympics is that there are 15 variations on every event and it's too easy for an athlete to compete in all of them.

Ever heard of Michael Phelps?

 

[RickStain]

The only problem I have with the Winter Olympics is that there are 15 variations on every event and it's too easy for an athlete to compete in all of them.

Ever heard of Michael Phelps?

Yes. The ratio of repeated events is still much higher in the Winter Olympics.

 

[Ashy Larry]

The only problem I have with the Winter Olympics is that there are 15 variations on every event and it's too easy for an athlete to compete in all of them.

Ever heard of Michael Phelps?

Yes. The ratio of repeated events is still much higher in the Winter Olympics.

I hear ya...Like in Lake Placid when Mike Eruzione scored vs. Russia, and the next day he fell in the pairs ice dancing...it sucked.

 

[JR]

The only problem I have with the Winter Olympics is that there are 15 variations on every event and it's too easy for an athlete to compete in all of them.

Ever heard of Michael Phelps?

Yes. The ratio of repeated events is still much higher in the Winter Olympics.

Examples?

I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Last time I checked not too many hockey players were on the curling team or any curlers on the bobsled, luge, figure skating or ski jumping teams.

As a matter of fact, here's a complete schedule of all the events. I can't find one where any athlete would participate in more than one discipline

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-schedule-results/

You might want to rethink that statement.

 

[RickStain]

I think this graphic makes it a little easier to see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Winter_Olympics#Calendar

Out of 86 gold medals up for grabs:

10 are in Alpine skiing
10 are in the biathalon
12 are in cross-country skiing
20 are in speed skating (short track and regular)

That's one short of half the medals taken up by four disciplines.

Contrast with the summer olympics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics#Calendar

Swimming and the vague "athletics" are the only two categories to take up more than 10% of the available golds, and they combine for less than 1/4th.


I find the swimming a bit boring (outside of rare moments like Phelps) for the same reason in the summers. You tune into the Olympics to see an athlete compete as the culmination of a lifetime of work, often with just one shot to shine. It takes a lot of the drama out of it when you know the guy gets six more chances in the next week.

 

[Pilot]

Good point. That's why I don't watch Usain Bolt.

I wish they just had the events of "run" "swim" and "throw" to go along with "ski" and "skate" (skate-skiing will be allowed, too)

 

[Ashy Larry]

I think this graphic makes it a little easier to see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Winter_Olympics#Calendar

Out of 86 gold medals up for grabs:

10 are in Alpine skiing
10 are in the biathalon
12 are in cross-country skiing
20 are in speed skating (short track and regular)

That's one short of half the medals taken up by four disciplines.

Contrast with the summer olympics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics#Calendar

Swimming and the vague "athletics" are the only two categories to take up more than 10% of the available golds, and they combine for less than 1/4th.


I find the swimming a bit boring (outside of rare moments like Phelps) for the same reason in the summers. You tune into the Olympics to see an athlete compete as the culmination of a lifetime of work, often with just one shot to shine. It takes a lot of the drama out of it when you know the guy gets six more chances in the next week.

fine, but it's the WINTER. The season is short, and there are only so many sports you can do. They could just as easily move the swimming events to the winter games because they're indoors.

 

[JR]

I'm just waiting for the Gold Medal hockey game on Feb 28. I'm hoping it's Canada/USA but I bet it's Canada/Russia.

 

[farmerjerome]

I'll watch as much as possible. Probably a lot of speedskating, and a lot of snowboarding trickery where someone could crack their skulls.

 

[cjericho]

I think this graphic makes it a little easier to see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Winter_Olympics#Calendar

Out of 86 gold medals up for grabs:

10 are in Alpine skiing
10 are in the biathalon
12 are in cross-country skiing
20 are in speed skating (short track and regular)

That's one short of half the medals taken up by four disciplines.

Contrast with the summer olympics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics#Calendar

Swimming and the vague "athletics" are the only two categories to take up more than 10% of the available golds, and they combine for less than 1/4th.


I find the swimming a bit boring (outside of rare moments like Phelps) for the same reason in the summers. You tune into the Olympics to see an athlete compete as the culmination of a lifetime of work, often with just one shot to shine. It takes a lot of the drama out of it when you know the guy gets six more chances in the next week.

fine, but it's the WINTER. The season is short, and there are only so many sports you can do. They could just as easily move the swimming events to the winter games because they're indoors.

that's not a bad idea. i've always thought there were more events i like to watch in the summer. now that there's beach volleyball they can also move the traditional volleyball to the winter. the summer has more events that take a long time, basketball, boxing, wrestling all take 2 weeks. other than hockey, the rest of the winter events could be 4 days or less.

 

[MacDaddy]

Figure skaters are far more messed up than snowboarders: Christopher Bowman died of a drug OD, Nicole Bobek was arrested for alleged meth distribution, many Europeans have ended up alcoholic (i.e. Oksana Baiul) and a 2007 World Champion in ice dancing is in prison for a fatal drunk driving accident. Quite a rap sheet.

And does the name Tonya Harding ring a bell?

Like a bell that had a hubcap thrown at it.