2012 Olympics

[cherryblossom]

She lifts things up and puts them down.

[Wez]

Oooo! I luvf thadt!

[Laertes607]

Today is the men's team final in gymnastics! I can't wait to see how Team USA does... they were so strong and consistant in the qualifying round. USA hasn't won team gold since the days of Peter Vidmar, Bart Connor, Mitch Gaylord and Tim Daggett - the Olympics that made every kid in my 4th grade class sign up for gymnastics! Between John Orozco and Danell Leyva, I'd be shocked if the US doesn't medal in the all-around. It's happening now... if you can't watch it, the NYT is live blogging it.

Too bad the came in 5th.

you really are a whore to the system . . . . I am not checking this thread until what i want to see is on the TV

the gymnast from the bronx screwed over the US by falling on every apparatus

[krakenblood]

with modern technology, it's unrealistic to expect people to wait until NBC airs the event you want to see to start talking about it. you don't want to know, stay away from this thread

[cherryblossom]

I was genuinely sorry at first for posting it and not realizing I'd be ruining it for anyone else but the more Laertes posts, the funnier I think it is. He's taking his toys and going home and when he gets there, HE'S TELLING!!!

[naked rev. trish]

won't be the first time......

[nyujoe]

A "whore to the system" ...what does that even mean?

[cherryblossom]

Who knows, but I got a good laugh out of the indignation that came along with the babble.

[VirginiaDave]

As luck would have it, he has plenty of toys and action figures and other items I am sure contribute to his involuntary celibacy.

[cherryblossom]

So if I get toys and action figures, maybe I won't mind my involuntary celibacy quite so much?

[VirginiaDave]

So if I get toys and action figures, maybe I won't mind my involuntary celibacy quite so much?

No no, your action figures and toys are in case of your celibacy.

[cherryblossom]

Oh, you're right. I think I have to stop sharing so much information here.

[Laertes607]

As luck would have it, he has plenty of toys and action figures and other items I am sure contribute to his involuntary celibacy.

YAWWWNNN, still trying to win friends on here by going after other people?

[Leon.Anus]

no kidding, he seems to have this real fixation on you this week...

[¡Ya Basta!]

Olympic Weightlifter Responds To Sexist Tweets: ‘We Don’t Lift Weights…For The Likes Of Men Like That’
By Annie-Rose Strasser
http://thinkprogress.org/media/2012/07/31/616831/sexist-tweets-zoe-smith/

Being able to lift 267 pounds is only one of the things that makes 18 year-old British Olympic weightlifter Zoe Smith tough. She can also swat down sexist Twitter trolls like they’re flies.

While Smith was preparing to set an Olympic record for Great Britain in the clean-and-jerk event, men (and some women) on Twitter were busy saying she wasn’t attractive enough, or that she was manly, or that there was something wrong with her body because she was so muscular.
So Smith took to her blog to respond:

[We] don’t lift weights in order to look hot, especially for the likes of men like that. What makes them think that we even WANT them to find us attractive? If you do, thanks very much, we’re flattered. But if you don’t, why do you really need to voice this opinion in the first place, and what makes you think we actually give a toss that you, personally, do not find us attractive? What do you want us to do? Shall we stop weightlifting, amend our diet in order to completely get rid of our ‘manly’ muscles, and become housewives in the sheer hope that one day you will look more favourably upon us and we might actually have a shot with you?! Cause you are clearly the kindest, most attractive type of man to grace the earth with your presence.

Oh but wait, you aren’t. This may be shocking to you, but we actually would rather be attractive to people who aren’t closed-minded and ignorant. Crazy, eh?! We, as any women with an ounce of self-confidence would, prefer our men to be confident enough in themselves to not feel emasculated by the fact that we aren’t weak and feeble.

Sexism seems to be almost as common as sweat at this year’s Olympics — which has a record number of women participating — from female boxers being asked to wear skirts to differentiate them from the men to women’s teams taking coach while men’s fly first class.

[VirginiaDave]

She isn't manly looking at all though.

[Laertes607]

no kidding, he seems to have this real fixation on you this week...

Ummm, not just this week. Most of the time.

[naked rev. trish]

again. Girls rule. Boys drool.

[VirginiaDave]

again. Girls rule. Boys drool.

Great. Now I don't have to watch the badminton finals.

[VirginiaDave]

The U.S. is going nuts with the medals today. Should be a good tv night even if you know the results.

[cherryblossom]

again. Girls rule. Boys drool.

Is this a gold = rule, bronze = drool situation? I think that's very unfair to the droolee. He just ranked third in the world. That's pretty impressive. Plus he's adorable.

[naked rev. trish]

rolls eyes.

it's better than gold=rule
tears=drool.

which was the reference last time.

though boys do rule in the pool.

[VirginiaDave]

Excellent article.

NBC Mistake

[Laertes607]

A "whore to the system" ...what does that even mean?

Uhhh, think Sarah Palin to the political system

[VirginiaDave]

USA USA! We are taking medals like we are the host country.

[¡Ya Basta!]

One word- SERENA!!!!!

maybe one more word- GABBY!!!!!

[BacciMia]

go gabby! she is phenomenal. a great rep for our country!

[VirginiaDave]

She is awesome. She is also a Virginia girl. Kudos to her family for the sacrifices they made in moving so she could get the best training. That is their gold too. Her mother's tears said it all.

[abayridgeguy]

Phelps signs off with gold as world records tumble in swimming finale
updated 4:32 PM EDT, Sat August 4, 2012


(CNN) -- Michael Phelps rounded off his record breaking career with his 18th Olympic gold medal as part of the winning U.S. 4x100m medley relay squad Saturday.
It was his fourth gold in London -- two individual, two team -- and extended his all-time Games record to 22 medals.
Phelps swam the third butterfly leg and helped overhaul surprise leaders Japan to give Nathan Adrian a small lead for the freestyle finish.
They won in three minutes 29.5 seconds from Japan with Australia in third place.

Team USA continues big wins in swimming

He had started his final Games with a disappointing fourth in the men's 400m individual medley behind teammate Ryan Lochtie and was pipped in his trademark 200m butterfly by South African Chad le Clos.
But ever resourceful, Phelps, who won eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008, ended the meet as the leading swimmer with four golds and two silvers.

Fellow American 17-year-old Missy Franklin ended as the top female swimmer in terms of medal tally in London as she joined Allison Schmitt, Rebecca Soni and Dana Vollmer to win their medley relay in a world record time of three minutes 52.05 seconds.
Franklin also broke the world record in winning the 200m backstroke, one of her four gold medals, backed up by a bronze.

The most emphatic victory on the final night of swimming finals came courtesy of China's Sun Yang in the men's 1500m, the longest race in the pool.
A shout from a spectator distracted Sun and he false started, but was quickly reinstated in the race.
Once underway, it was a procession as he added to gold in the 400m freestyle by smashing his own world record with a time of 14 minutes 31.02 seconds.
"I thought I was going to be disqualified," Sun told gathered reporters. "I didn't expect the false start and I was very worried about being disqualified."
Sun ended with two golds -- the first man from China to win an Olympic swimming title -- and a silver from the 200 free.

Canadian Ryan Cochrane was more than eight seconds back with Beijing champion Oussama Mellouli in third.

The other gold of the night went to Ranomi Kromowidjojo, who took the women's 50m free from Aliaksandra Herasimenia of Belarus and Dutch teammate Marleen Veldhuis.
It completed the 50-100 double for Kromowidjojo.



Phelps ends career with gold
Updated Aug 4, 2012 6:42 PM ET

The finale was a formality, more a coronation than a contest. Michael Phelps headed into retirement the only way imaginable: with another gold medal.

KEEPING TRACK?
Luckily for you, we are. Updated medal count.
Reclaiming the lead with the trademark butterfly stroke he first debuted in the Olympics as a 15-year-old in Sydney a dozen years ago, Phelps won the 18th gold of a mind-boggling career in the 4x100-meter medley relay Saturday.
''I've been able to do everything that I wanted,'' he said.
When it was done, Phelps hugged his teammates, Matt Grevers, Brendan Hansen and Nathan Adrian, before heading off the deck for the final time in his suit. He waved to the crowd and smiled, clearly at peace with his decision to call it a career.

And what a career it was!
Phelps retires with twice as many golds as any other Olympian, and his total of 22 medals is easily the best mark, too. He can be quite proud of his final Olympics as well, even though there were times he had trouble staying motivated after winning a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games four years ago.
The 27-year-old could surely swim on for another Olympics, maybe two, but there's really no point.
''I told myself I never want to swim when I'm 30,'' Phelps said. ''No offense to those people who are 30, but that was something I always said to myself, and that would be in three years. I just don't want to swim for those three years.''

He hugged his longtime coach, Bob Bowman, who whispered three words that said it all, ''I love you.'' Their partnership was formed 16 years ago, when Bowman took a gangly, hyperactive kid with an extraordinary gift and helped turn him into a swimmer the likes of which the world had never seen.
''Bob and I have somehow managed to do every single thing,'' Phelps said. ''If you can say that about your career, there's no need to move forward. Time for other things.''
Bouncing back from a disappointing first race in London, a fourth-place finish in the 400 individual medley, Phelps wound up with more medals than any other swimmer at the games: four golds and two silvers.

Sounds familiar.

''Honestly, the first race kind of took the pressure off,'' Bowman said. ''If it's not going to go too well, we should at least have fun while we're here. That helped us relax a little bit, then he started swimming well in the relays and he picked it up again.''
Grevers had the Americans in front on the opening backstroke leg, but Kosuke Kitajima put Japan slightly ahead going against Hansen in the breaststroke. Not to worry, not with Phelps going next.
He surged through the water in the fly, handing off a lead of about a quarter of a second to Adrian for the freesytle anchor. The Americans won going away in 3 minutes, 29.35 seconds, just off their own Olympic record from Beijing. Japan held on for silver in 3:31.26, with Australia taking the bronze in 3:31.68.

FLYING IN WATER

World's best hit the pool in the chase for gold. Check out all the action.
The U.S. men had never lost the medley relay at the Olympics, and they weren't about to now on the final night of swimming at the Olympic Aquatics Centre, on the final night for such a momentous athlete.
How momentous? The governing body of swimming, FINA, summoned Phelps back to the deck for one more award: a silver trophy commemorating his standing as the most decorated Olympian ever. A fitting gesture, though a more appropriate color would have been gold.
Then, as if 22 medal ceremonies over the last three Olympics weren't enough, Phelps made one more victory lap around the pool, even stopping off at the podium, climbing to the top step again and posing with his final award.
Phelps kept a journal during his final Olympics. He was asked what he would write in it on this day.

''I could probably sum it up in a couple words: I did it,'' he said. ''I haven't written too much this week. I'm kind of taking everything in.''
One of the moments he'll remember: All the swimmers from the other relay teams lining up to shake his hand behind the blocks once he was done.
''It's kind of cool,'' Phelps said. ''The best part of the Olympics is you have people coming from all over the world competing in the best sporting event ever. That's just something you don't see every day.''

We may never see the likes of Phelps again.


MUST BE IN THE WATER

North Baltimore pool churns out Olympic champs like Michael Phelps in obscurity.

Of course, he was peppered with questions about a possible comeback, in a year when Ian Thorpe and Janet Evans both failed in their attempts to make it back to the Olympics after long layoffs.
''I don't think so,'' Bowman said. ''We've had a great end to a great run and there's not much more he can do. I guess if he finds after a few years he's searching for something and thinks he can find it in swimming, he could look at it. But I don't think he will. I think he's ready to explore other things. He's done all he can do here.''

Phelps wasn't the only star of the night. Missy Franklin capped off a brilliant Olympic debut by helping the U.S. take gold in the women's 400 medley relay — with a world-record time, no less.

The 17-year-old Franklin, who will begin her senior year of high school when she gets back to Colorado, seems destined to be America's new star in the post-Phelps era after taking four golds and a bronze while swimming seven events — the same number as Phelps.

A definite bit of symmetry there, though Franklin doubts anyone can ever replace Phelps.

''I don't think his shoes will ever be filled. They're so huge,'' Franklin said. ''Hopefully I can make little paths next to him.''

And let's not forget Allison Schmitt, another swimmer with ties to Phelps. They trained together over the past year in Baltimore, becoming fast friends with all their goofy antics. But they sure took care of business in the pool, with Schmitt winning three golds, a silver and a bronze in London.

TWEET-NESS!

Looks like the tweeting is getting a little friendlier between the athletes. See their latest tweets.
Franklin grabbed the lead right away in the backstroke, Rebecca Soni stretched out the advantage in the breast, Dana Vollmer cruised through the fly and Schmitt finished it off in the free, pulling away for a time of 3:52.05, beating the mark of 3:52.19 set by China at the 2009 world championships.
It was the second world record of the night and ninth of the Olympic meet, proving that fast times are still possible even without banned high-tech bodysuits.

China's Sun Yang sprinted to the finish of the sport's most grueling race to crush the world record he already held in the 1,500 freestyle, putting his own stamp on the games with a stunning time of 14:31.02.
That beat his mark from last year's world championships by 3.12 seconds.
Sun captured his second gold of the meet, adding to a gold in the 200 free. He also tied for the silver in the 200 free, and was part of the bronze medal-winning team in the 4x200 free relay.
For a brief moment, it appeared Sun might not even get a chance to swim the race. Apparently hearing a noise in the crowd, he dived into the water before the starter's gun, while everyone else remained on the blocks. Yang glanced at the starter with a confused look, got back out of the pool and waited to see if he would be disqualified.
''I could not hear the judge because there was noise in the venue,'' Sun said through an interpreter. ''I thought I was going to be disqualified. I have done well because I was in very good shape. I really wanted this gold medal.''

USA! USA! USA!
As the United States battles for the crown of overall medal champion, see who's contributing to the effort. GALLERY: US gold-medal winners.
He and his relay mates unfurled a banner that said, ''Thank You London.''
The crowd said thank you right back, chanting ''Michael! Michael! Michael!''
Later, as Phelps was getting up to leave one news conference and hustle off to another one, the other three American swimmers were asked if they thought he would really stay retired.
Phelps wouldn't even let them answer, saying very emphatically, ''Yes! Yes!''
''I'm sure he's going to be around,'' Grevers said, ''but not in the pool where we like him best.''

[naked rev. trish]

ha.

I so wanted to smack it off her face but now to be amused....enjoy!





http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com/

[bigwillthechamp]

ha.

I so wanted to smack it off her face but now to be amused....enjoy!





http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com/

Now, now, let's not pick on the INCREDIBLY cute Olympian...

[¡Ya Basta!]

WOW! Mexico takes the gold in Men's Soccer for the first time!

Que viva!

[c'est Moi!]

For once those Mexicans weren't lazy. Now if only they can get back to cooking, cleaning and constructing.

[VirginiaDave]

WOW! Mexico takes the gold in Men's Soccer for the first time!

Que viva!

I was going to send my apologies after our ladies won the gold. I knew it must have made you sad. Nice to see the Mexicans can make you feel better.

[¡Ya Basta!]

WOW! Mexico takes the gold in Men's Soccer for the first time!

Que viva!

I was going to send my apologies after our ladies won the gold. I knew it must have made you sad. Nice to see the Mexicans can make you feel better.

Wrong again. I celebrated their victory as well (but not so loudly, since I live with a Japanese woman). Three cheers for Title IX!!!

[¡Ya Basta!]

I was hoping for a Spanish victory over Team NBA.... er, USA, whatever. I am not a big fan of professionals at the Olympics.

[VirginiaDave]

You do realize the Spanish team was full of pros too, right?

[bklyngirl]

Apparently McKayla has a sense of humor...



Her teammate Aly Raisman tweeted a picture of Maroney, Kyla Ross and herself standing outside a swimming pool and playfully sneering at the camera with the now-famous expression that launched a thousand Photoshops.

[¡Ya Basta!]

You do realize the Spanish team was full of pros too, right?

As well as other nations' teams.

[VirginiaDave]

You do realize the Spanish team was full of pros too, right?

As well as other nations' teams.

Which makes your reasoning for cheering against the U.S. team all the more stupid.