[OT, Olympics] Russia pulling out?

[BenBrown]

It's notoriously hard to rate these things watching on TV. I don't think we would have heard howls of protest had Slutskaya been awarded the gold, except from die-hard homers who think that the olympics are just an excuse for the U.S. to get awards.

That being said.

Sarah Hughes skated like she had nothing to lose, which was the case.

Sasha Cohen, after her fall, when she too had nothing to lose, relaxed also, and, it seems to me, actually skated better in the latter part of her program than Hughes. Considering how much more the cameras had been on her all day, it's not surprising that she was nervous in her first big international competition.

Irina Slutskaya has in the past gotten better technical than artistic marks. It looks like she was trying to go for the artistic marks instead of playing to her strengths, which she really didn't need to do after her top two competitors fell and were marked down for this. It would not have taken very much to put her over the top, though.

 

[Psion]

Hmm... Did you watch the same program I did? Sarah Hughes skated smoothly and flawlessly, while Slutskaya really struggled to power her way through her program. Even after Slutskaya skated, you could see the disappointment in her face: she knew she didn't skate a gold medal winning performance. Frankly, I was surprised. From the short program, I'd have picked her to win, but her free skate simply wasn't to the same level of quality.

You watched the same program I watched!

Well, speaking as a supposedly biased American, I think that after the short program Slutskaya was my favorite... I never would have picked Hughes and I think that Kwan is WAY too doted over.

That said, I think the reason that Hughes did win is because she had less pressure on her, and as such didn't have the same case of nerves that Slutskaya and Kwan apparently had. She also seemed to show a bit more endurance and seemed to make less mistakes as the program wore on. Even the commentators who couldn't help but fawn over Kwan (hey! I'm a poet and didn't know it...) thought she delivered a sharp, artistic performance.

 

[Sammelsurum]

Disrespected their team?!! Dude they are like in the FINAL round before the medal. IF ANYONE is disrespected it was Sweden, not Russia.

What do you mean Sweden is disrespected?

 

[Mr. Grimm]

Sarah Hughes' performance was by far the best on the ice last night. Yes she lacks a certain artistry and technical skill -- and she was scored accordingly -- as compared to Kwan and Slutskaya, but she gave it her all. Kwan and Slutskaya (is that really her name?) gave good performances but both looked like they were going thru the motions. Slutskaya in particular, reknowned for her speed and power seemed to be overly cautious as if waying what she needed to do exactly in order to win the gold with as little risk to her program. And since both she and Kwan did the bare minimum necessary for what they wanted -- and fell or wobbled -- they lost. They lost to Hughes because her passion for the performance was obvious as was her seemingly boundless energy and response to the crowd ever-increasing vocal support. And as someone mentioned above, if this is to be considered a sport, then it has to be the performance rewarded appropriately, not the performer. Otherwise they may as well just mail in their resumes.

Personally I was routing for the young and very wobbly skater from Sweden (IIRC?) who only learned she was to perform at the Olympics less than a month ago and skated to the soundtrack of Anna and the King.

And for all those nudniks who believe skating is not a sport because it has to be judged, like the ski and snowboarding jumps, haven't you heard of umpires or referees? How many times a year do you scream over botched calls that "unfairly" decide a game?

 

[Desdichado]

You watched the same program I watched!

Well, speaking as a supposedly biased American, I think that after the short program Slutskaya was my favorite... I never would have picked Hughes and I think that Kwan is WAY too doted over.

That said, I think the reason that Hughes did win is because she had less pressure on her, and as such didn't have the same case of nerves that Slutskaya and Kwan apparently had. She also seemed to show a bit more endurance and seemed to make less mistakes as the program wore on. Even the commentators who couldn't help but fawn over Kwan (hey! I'm a poet and didn't know it...) thought she delivered a sharp, artistic performance.

I agree; Kwan's performances in both programs were not what I expected, and I'm frankly surprised that she medaled at all. Slutskaya skated brilliantly in the short program, but her free skate was slow, technically less proficient than I would have expected from her, and she seemed to be struggling. Sasha Cohen had an unfortunate fall in the free skate, but otherwise skated what I thought were two brilliant programs. Sarah Hughes also skated extremely well, and even if she isn't the most accomplished or talented of the skaters (which I don't know, maybe she is) she skated the best last night beyond doubt. Even she said she skated better than she had ever skated before.

So, to make a rambling paragraph more succint: I agree with kenjib that based on the actual performances, the gold went to the right person. I also agree with Psion: Kwan gets more attention than she deserves. Perhaps she deserved it at one point, but she simply did not skate well at this Olympics, especially if she is, as the commentators kept saying, "perhaps the greatest skater of her generation."

 

[Desdichado]

Slutskaya (is that really her name?)

LOL, I joked about this with my wife, too. Yes, that's her name, but it's pronounced slootskaya, not slut-skaya.

 

[Storm Raven]

And for all those nudniks who believe skating is not a sport because it has to be judged, like the ski and snowboarding jumps, haven't you heard of umpires or referees? How many times a year do you scream over botched calls that "unfairly" decide a game?

In order to avoid a huge thread, I will just reiterate that I (and others) have outlined the clear and important differences between a judged event and a refereed sport. The difference is that in one the official in question is expected to determine the outcome. In the other, he is expected not to. Granted sometimes a bad call contributes to one team's victory, but that is not what the referee is intended to be there for.

This is a major difference between things that many people consider to be sports, and things that those same people consider to be public exhibitions lacking what it takes to be called a sport.

 

[Jabba Von Hutt]

What a bunch of cr#p!

...

While Putin did not go into detail about the scandals, he criticized what he called the "excessive commercialization of the Olympic movement," U.S. media bias and the decision to use only referees from the National Hockey League at Olympic hockey matches.

"It's hard to imagine how the judging can be of good quality and objective, given the fact that NHL judges live and work in North America," he said.

...

...

The hockey claims resulted in a writer from [/B]Izvestia[/B] standing up and saying he was at the game and that he thought that Russian claim was garbage.

"You can't be Russian,'' said Leonid Tyagachev (President of the Russian Olympic Committee).

...

I must say that the NHL refs have yet to decide the outcome of any game so far in the Olympics. After years of watching the European officiating at International Hockey Events, I wish I could say the same of them but I can't. I am not saying that there was unfair biased in their officiating, but at times they certainly looked overwhelmed and out of place. What I really don't understand is the game that the Russians are complaining about was the Russian-Czech game. So if I got this right, the NHL would rather have the Czechs play the US and not the Russians, which will probably double the viewing audience in the US. I hope I haven't offended anyone but I laughed my butt off when I read this stuff.

Al

 

[Psion]

I also agree with Psion: Kwan gets more attention than she deserves. Perhaps she deserved it at one point, but she simply did not skate well at this Olympics, especially if she is, as the commentators kept saying, "perhaps the greatest skater of her generation."

Don't get me wrong. She obviously is a great skater. I just think the current bumper crop of skating commentators neglect a lot of other great skaters with their continuing accolades of Kwan.

At any rate, the point I guess I was trying to make is that last night's competition tells you who the great skaters were last night. I'd say that overall Kwan is probably a better skater than Hughes... she's more proficient and experienced, and she has won over a dozen national and world titles. But the gold goes to the one who held it together in the Olympics.

Of course now it seems as if some people are going to be making out Kwan to be skating's equivalent of Susan Lucci.

 

[NewbyDM]

2 things

1. i think its not a world olympics anymore.... americans should forget their nationalism and cheer for everyone. olympics are for everyone.... and it looks like its only for the most popular, because that generates the most $$$ for the sponsors

if you ask me, i would say that Salt Lake are the most ty olympics i ever saw.... (bribing, cheating etc... think about it)

2. It seems to me that this topic is kinda unrelated to DnD, i suggest we go back to the normal related stuff....


thnx
R