London 2012 Olympics

I agree with LC's critique of the ref, though -- she just defensed a USA cross and started a fast break for Canada!

Wambach off the crossbar. Close.

Canada grabbing Morgan's jersey in the box -- should have been a penalty kick.

JUSTICE!!!! Morgan hits game-winner in final minute of stoppage time!

Canada did play an excellent match, Sinclair in particular (obviously).
 
That's it there. No words. Score should have been different. I hope the referee is complained against. Congratulations to the USA, but I wonder how that would have turned out with a competent referee.
 
OK, one team is awarded a free kick thanks to a phantom call on a poorly defined rule that usually isn't called. This leads to an easy goal.
The other does not get a free kick despite a blatant handball in the penalty area. This takes away a similarly easy goal.
Never mind the dives and the whining and the accusations of homerism.
The fact the rules are constructed in such a way that the game can turn more easily on a split-second missed call than on 120 minutes of outstanding effort — that is why I have never been able to love this game.
 
I actually watched extra-time in that match since it was at 3-3 and between two rivals it seemed pretty tasty. The quality of football was pretty good (better than Scotland's main team!) and both sets of players were totally committed. Desiree Scott even got up and played on after a real bruiser of a tackle! There didn't seem to be nearly as much diving (or any at all) in the 30 minutes I watched. Is this usual in women's football?

(After having a look at LooseCannon's post I might have to think perhaps not, but it would be nice to get a neutral perspective. Maybe be should call him BadLoserCannon? :D)

Best name of the Olympics goes to the USA goalkeeper: Hope Solo.:jedi:
 
Let's see if a have a opportunity to see that game later on.

But now: :cool: Go Argentina!

Great Basket so far.

And a strange Spain - Brazil:

26-17
18-21
22-19
16-31 (!!)

hum... :innocent: :huh:
 
Re: Football in the Olympics - i've decided my stance is either stop the World/Euro cup and just have it as part of the olympics with no restrictions, or remove it from olympics :p

I've mostly been following the Hockey, altho I did see the highlights of the USA/Canada womens football game tonight and tbh the thing that came to mind most about it was they just got on with it.. unlike men's football (premiership or otherwise) where if they take the slightest hit it's theatrics.

What made me gape in awe today was that Kate Walsh from the GBR womens hockey team broke her jaw a few games ago, and had to have surgery to put a metal plate in... yet was playing in today's game against the Netherlands. Now that's fcking dedication.
 
I find the women's footballers far tougher than the men.
There are plenty of examples of prima donna nonsense out there from the men.
Crimson, hockey is even better — and tougher — when it's played on ice.
 
For a reason rugby union was created my friends. They didn't call football (i mean the football association version) the football for pussies without a reason, lol. :p
 
mckindog said:
Crimson, hockey is even better — and tougher — when it's played on ice.
Click to expand...

Main reason I'm watching the hockey is because I used to play it myself, I haven't played for about 10 years but I have a medal (North England U14's, not Olympic ofc :P) for it.
I don't know much about Ice Hockey (wouldn't mind learning more but it's not exactly a common thing over here) but it's worth noting whilst the ball is of course not travelling as fast as a puck, only the keeper has protection... then again the skates are as much of a hazard as the puck. I've been on the receiving end of a hockey ball enough times myself to know the damage it can inflict. What makes me actually enjoy watching it though (possibly the only 'sport' I've ever enjoyed watching) is how incredibly fast it is. Pakistan vs South Africa, 4 goals scored in 2 minutes.

I certainly agree on the football, my mum mentioned seeing the women's football earlier today and that someone did the whole "Oh noes I've been tripped oowww it hurts" rolling around on the floor and got boo'ed for it, at which point it suddenly stopped. Something worth noting though is that - certainly for the GB athlete's - many of them are on approx say £12,000 a year sponsorship from the national lottery, whereas professional footballers earn over 10x that a week.

There's a fairly common phrase in England at least, "Football is a gentleman's game played by thugs, Rugby is a thugs game played by gentlemen".
 
No disrespect to the field hockey players; it's a good game.
But there are more collisions in the cold version.
Skates and an ice hockey stick are more built for making magic than cleats and those short clubs they use on the field.
And no team sport is as fast as ice hockey.
 
I dunno if it was mentioned, but rugby sevens and golf will be included in 2016 Olympics in Rio...
 
mckindog said:
No disrespect to the field hockey players; it's a good game.
But there are more collisions in the cold version.
Skates and an ice hockey stick are more built for making magic than cleats and those short clubs they use on the field.
And no team sport is as fast as ice hockey.
Click to expand...

TBH, Ice Hockey and Field Hockey are entirely different games. Team size is different, pitch is different layout/size, rules are different etc.

Oh, they don't use cleats any more - it's played on astroturf ;)
 
mckindog said:
Maybe by you rich Brits.., ;)
Click to expand...

*not sure how to respond to that* :P Judging on the equipment we had at school, proper 'field' hockey sticks were a fair bit bigger with a huge hook on the end, the type of stick used during the olympics are a fair bit smaller.

With the broken jaw, my main 'o.O' thing is not that she is back playing so soon in general, but that because of the type of game it is, she is risking the potential of taking ANOTHER hit to the jaw. I did find it damn impressive during the men's hockey yesterday when someone dived several feet across the pitch (damn that stuff hurts) to get the ball and managed to get back onto his feet and retain possession of it with an opponent on him the whole time.

I'd probably watch both Ice Hockey and Hockey (I am very anti-sport tbh so it's fairly big for me to say that!) if either of them were ever anywhere near british TV.
 
Poor Liu Xiang just pulled up in the 110m Hurdles again. I remember all the pressure on him in Beijing four years ago, the Chinese dictator king guy said that he has to win gold or he has failed. The poor guy knew that he wouldn't be able to compete but he turned up anyway just to try and perform in front of his fans. He was pulling up the in the warm up but he tried to start anyway. He false started then limped off leaving most of the stadium in tears (even some of the Chinese news reporters were crying). It's such a shame that it happened again today. He was carrying another achilles injury and when he reached the first hurdle he couldn't put the weight on his foot and fell over. There was also a shot of him being pushed down the tunnel in a wheelchair.

The athletics didn't get any easier to watch this morning because Goldie Sayers, who broke the British record three weeks ago, didn't make the final of the women's javelin. She somehow picked up an injury to the elbow of her throwing arm since breaking the British record and just couldn't throw the thing properly today. In her interview afterwards she held it together pretty well before bursting into tears right at the end. Those kind of interviews are really difficult to watch. :(
 
The bikes used in the Velodrome have been on sale for the last 2 years. Yet the French are still bleating on about them using "magic wheels". Telling the French that the wheels are more "round" than theirs didn't help. ;)

And I'm sick to death of this whole games getting hijacked by politicians making pathetic remarks to beat their opponent. Get a friggin' life.

Example 1: The opening ceremony was too left!
Example 2: Medal winners are generally privately educated.

SOD OFF. Really, just sod off.
 
First time Mexico gets to the final in football... Hope they can manage to defeat Brazil, then there is going to be a biiiiiiiig party around here.
 
OK, the Canada/US women's football match inspired me to crunch some numbers.
If you are interested in what's wrong with football, follow me to the football thread.
 
Albie said:
The bikes used in the Velodrome have been on sale for the last 2 years. Yet the French are still bleating on about them using "magic wheels". Telling the French that the wheels are more "round" than theirs didn't help. ;)

And I'm sick to death of this whole games getting hijacked by politicians making pathetic remarks to beat their opponent. Get a friggin' life.

Example 1: The opening ceremony was too left!
Example 2: Medal winners are generally privately educated.

SOD OFF. Really, just sod off.
Click to expand...
Chris Boardman said that the only thing about the wheels is that "they are round" and Chris Hoy pointed out last night that the wheels are made by a French company.

I saw part of the thing on Newsnight about privately educated athletes and former Etonians being more successful than working class athletes. It's a load of nonsense really. The reason that happens is that private schools encourage people to be good at what they enjoy so if a pupil likes rowing or cricket then they'll get the opportunity to do those sports. State schools, however, are all about churning out university students with record pass rates year upon year. If the scant sports equipment at state schools wasn't broken and outdated and the method of physical education wasn't so demeaning to people who suck at sport then perhaps we'd see a more even spread across the social spectrum. Instead of trying to use the Olympics as some sort of working class rallying cry people should be praising private schools at what they have helped their former pupils to achieve on the biggest stage of all. Ironically the highest paid sports starts in the country are footballers, most of whom probably haven't been near a private school. Example include David Beckham, Theo Walcott, Alex Ferguson, Gareth Bale, Micah Richards and Ashley Cole.


Laura Trott (my future wife) is quite incredible. She was born premature with a collapsed lung and her parents were told she should take up sport to help her breathing. She also still has a stomach problem which occasionally caused her to vomit after races (there's a clip of her vomiting into a bin at the last Commonwealth Games). Now at the age of twenty she's a double Olympic Gold medallist. Chris Hoy was at his first Olympics in 2000 at the age of 22 and he finished his Olympic career with his 6th gold last night, and Victoria Pendleton is one of the most successful British female Olympians after two golds and a silver. Who's to say that Laura can't go on and become the most most successful British Olympian EVER and outstrip Hoy, Redgrave, Wiggins and Ainslie with the career she has in front of her? She has already as many golds as Brazil and Japan this year, so the world is at her feet. Everything is all set for her to become a real superstar of British sport. And isn't she lovely as well? I don't think she's stopped smiling all week.
 
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