Miscellaneous Olympic Chatter

[4rkidz]

The difference being the British media are bitching just as much about the problems in the run-up to their own games unlike the Canadian media who were writing gushing articles like empty-headed cheerleaders about Vancouver and getting all offended when someone had the temerity to criticise them.

I totally agree.. the British media seems to hate to rave positively about anything.. I'm just pleased I don't have to be exposed to their crap continually.. give me a positive news spin anyday (in the land of standing ovations )...

[allezfred]

Kind of odd that someone who claims to be so fond of "a positive news spin" then was the same person who brought all those negative news stories to this thread.

[Domshabfan]

Libyan olympic committee present has been taken by gunmen in Libya.

"They told him he was needed and he had to go with them. He asked if he could take his phone and laptop with him and then the cars sped away with him," Jwan said, adding that Elalem's colleague was left in the car. It was not clear who the men were.

Ezz-Edine Journaz, a spokesman for the committee, told an independent Libyan television channel that the men had claimed to be from the army and had asked him to come with them "politely". He said the group of about eight or nine were armed.

[Garden Kitty]

Bonnie Ford, the sportswriter, weighs in with her travel concerns.

[Garden Kitty]

Athletes starting to arrive.

The first few buses had some problems as certain members of the US and Australian delegations spent 4 hours on the bus since the new busdrivers didn't know how to get from the airport to the Olympic Village or how to operate the GPS devices, but it's early and the kinks are still being worked out. On the plus side, some officials noted that the express lanes were working as the buses were moving quickly in the wrong directions while other traffic was gridlocked.

[allezfred]

Obviously the buses have no toilet facilities.

Kerron Clement ‏@KerronClement
Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please.

Obviously none of them have heard of Gerard Depardieu and his bottle trick.

Anyway Kerron seems to be much happier after arriving....

Kerron Clement ‏@KerronClement
Eating at the Olympic Village. Love the variety of food choices., african, caribbean, Halal cuisine, india and asian and of course McDonalds

So who was that saying that the only thing available was McDonalds?

[Buzz]

While mining the Internet for Olympic stuff, well, I stumbled upon this recent article about a Russian wrestler. Bilyal Makhov is described as a "man mountain" who was destined for the Beijing Olympics until he was poisoned. Doctors said the dosage he received would have killed an ordinary man. As a result of this incident and some injuries he missed most of 2008 season including the Olympics. Makhov will be in London competing for Russia and favorite to win gold in his weight class. Good luck to him!
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...bab4640559.a61

[Domshabfan]

The organisers of London games have decided to cull some half a million tickets since they remain unsold. The ticket has been mostly axed in Football, mostly for matches that are held outside of the capital city. LOCOg has also confirmed some more tickets will be available mostly in ceremonies and Volleyball.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012...otball-tickets

[Garden Kitty]

Sports Illustrated list of 50 people to follow on twitter for the Olympics

[4rkidz]

Sports Illustrated list of 50 people to follow on twitter for the Olympics

thanks for the link

[milanessa]

Looks like there might be massive wait times at customs and immigration.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireSto...4#.UAg0NfWQPaQ

[allezfred]

Inside the Olympic village

[Garden Kitty]

Gymnastics arena - think pink!

[kylet3]

Gymnastics arena - think pink!

Dear god... I really hope they get that cleaned up and ready to go... that looks not anywhere near being ready yet...

[ilovesalchows]

Women's teams flying coach while men's teams in business class.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2...s-coach-debate

And they probably can't even have the free cookies and cocktails!

[Garden Kitty]

USA Today article about the possibility/likelihood of ill advised tweets during the Olympics

[Garden Kitty]

I posted this pic in the Torch thread, , but if you look at the background of this site, they have twitter names for each of the Olympic sports. So if a particular sport appeals to you, you can follow that link for news reports from that sport.

[A.H.Black]

Still catching up on my "Countdown to London" show. There's a British reporter who gives periodic updates on the situation in London. She mentioned she rode a bicycle around during the Diamond Jubilee and thought it was great - even in the rain. She said she got home much faster than those who waited for public transportation.

Are many people taking up the idea?

I have also been following Phil Hersh on twitter. His reports have been pretty positive so far. He likes the javelin train. The only problem with it is the wait to get on it takes longer than the ride to Olympic park.

[skipaway]

Very interesting dilemma for Muslim atheletes

Olympic judo competitor Hemeed Al Drie plans to sin during the Games in London, he admits with a grin.

"God is merciful and compassionate, even when our sins are many," said Al Drie, kneeling on a mat while martial artists hurled each other to the floor around him.

Al Drie's sin isn't what you might expect. It's that he is planning to eat and drink while the sun is up during the Olympics, even thought the Games fall smack in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Observant Muslims are supposed to fast during Ramadan, abstaining from all food and drink, even water, during daylight hours, then eating and drinking after sundown. Fasting for the month is a major religious obligation, one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

To Fast during Ramadan?

[Fergus]

FABULOUS photo article by the NY Times about the Team USA athletes of the 1948 London Olympics.

Turns out London '48 was a rather historic Olympiad for the United States: Alice Coachman (high jump) became the first African-American woman gold medalist and Sammy Lee (diving) the first Asian-American gold medalist. And they both still look great!