The 2012 London Olympics Sports Thread

[DGuller]

Just watched chick footie, US vs. Colombia, US won 3-0.  US women are looking sharp.

Next up: North Korea. 

Did you catch that Colombian chick socking Wambach in the eye?

[Admiral Yi]

Missed it.

[DGuller]

That was the best part.  Those chicks don't fuck around (though that Colombian chick may as well, since she ain't going to be playing no more in these Olympics).

[Liep]

Just watched it, she looks like a girl next door.  If you live a trailer park, that is.  Those suits they all wear also squash the fantasies quite effectively, if the abundant muscles on display didn't do that already.

Maybe I could've found a more flattering photo, but this'll serve more purposefully.

[Valdemar]

I think rowing, badminton, swimming and sailing is where we'll find our medals. And of course, Wozniacki as a dark horse in tennis.

And handball, Mens for DK and womens for NO

V

[Gups]

Went to the Olympic Park yesterday. Transport and security good. People very friendly. Food and beer an expected rip off.

Saw the women's handball Brazil v Montenegro and Sweden v Norway. It's a very exciting sport (although there isn't much tactical depth to it that I could work out) shame it's not more popular over here. The Scandi handball players were, almost without exception, very, very hot.

I think I grasped the rules pretty quickly but one thing I couldn't work out is whether there is anything to stop a team from time wasting. The defending team I think can't step past the dotted line and it looked as if the attacking team could just pass the ball between themselves for as long as they want. 

[Syt]

Yes, there's little against playing for time, except the audience booing against you. With better teams that doesn't happen too much, though, and it also requires a lot of discipline on the defense to create such a stalemate and not open any gaps. The field players can't enter the quasi-semicircle around the goal (that's why they jump into it for their goal attempts).

[Admiral Yi]

Watched a little bit of women's roundball, GB vs. Canada.  Everything looked like a reasonable approximation of the sport except the shooting.  You have to make the ball go through the hoop ladies, there are no points for hitting the iron.

But for a country with no real history of the sport and then pushed on to the world stage with a host country auto seed GB did well enough.

[Valdemar]

The dotted line is know as the three meter, it is the line where minor penalities like pushing or obstruction is taken from, but only when there is a penalty the defending teram has to stay on the solid line.

the defenders are free to roam as they will, but may not block the path of the attacker, say during a fast break, unless the defender was there first (a bit like basket i think?)

there is a penalty for playing for time. If the ref thinks the attackers are stalling and not truly trying to attack he will raise his arms, giving the attacker a short time to complete the attack, if they fail to do so he will call a turn over.

try catching mens game tonight, DEN vs. SPA around 19.30 UK time IIRC, then you'll see a faster and far more physical game, with more tackle and more direct gaming.

There IS a lot of tactics in how they play the ball around to break the defence, and for defence to make the attack make an attacking error, like running into the defence standing their ground, hitting with a knee as the jump, running in the goal field, things like that.

Oh and for beatiful trick shots watch the danish wing Anders Eggert, he is one of the best in the world at this, plays in Kiel IIRC in the german league, watch him take a penalty, lobbing the goalie, or making a twister that just rolls into the goal must be so frustraring for the goalie

V

[Gups]

Cheers guys, that make ssense. I also watched a few games on telly - is there some rule about the two refs having to look like twins? Every game I saw it was like two women who looked the same, two middle aged white blokes, two bald black guys!

Wnet with my 10 year old boy yesterday who now wants to play. Unfortunately a quick google shows there are no clubs anywhere in South London, so he'll have to stick to being an average football player unfortunately.

[Liep]

I've been preferring listening to the olympics on the radio over seeing it live. Mainly because of Erik Nielsen, a commentator who also made the Euro 12 much better. Hilarious.

Commentators on TV are just boring.

[Gups]

Watch the TV with the sound down and the radio on. That's what I do with the cricket, wher ethe TV commentary isn't bad but the radio is superb.

[Valdemar]

Cheers guys, that make ssense. I also watched a few games on telly - is there some rule about the two refs having to look like twins? Every game I saw it was like two women who looked the same, two middle aged white blokes, two bald black guys!

Wnet with my 10 year old boy yesterday who now wants to play. Unfortunately a quick google shows there are no clubs anywhere in South London, so he'll have to stick to being an average football player unfortunately.

Hehe, its an old sport, but the current form is only from 1948 or some such and for some reason centered on North eastern europe and Spain/France

When UK got the OL they got a free ride into the tournament, but didn't have a national team, so they went to DK to train and learn. When they got a team they tried on a few danish teams and even lost to school teams but that was a few years ago

I doubt there can be more than a handful of clubs in UK in total, even less with a proper youth section

Another handball note, the largest, and most ambitious Danish handball club just went bancrupt after the main owner lost all his moeny due to other financial issues (looks hard at Brøndby and Pandora) A third of the danish players getting ready for tonights game may need new employers... not the best prep for an important game...

V

[Syt]

German Bundesliga will gladly take them.

I liked going to the games in Kiel now and then. And there was a pretty strong grassroots level of play in my area as well.

[garbon]

This is kinda funny as it makes it look worse.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/tom-daley-gets-unnecessarily-censored