The Miscellaneous Sports Thread

[Maladict]

Heraldry suits hockey, as they're basically wearing full armour anyway.

[HVC]

Not really into the Winter Olympics this year. Which is odd, since it's the Olympics I like.

[Syt]

Heraldry suits hockey, as they're basically wearing full armour anyway.

Yeah, it's basically a tabard.

[Duque de Bragança]

Did I miss something in the olympic ice hockey tournament? I suppose NHL/LNH players can't play this time again?

[Syt]

Not really into the Winter Olympics this year. Which is odd, since it's the Olympics I like.

I watched the Biathlon 4x6km Mixed Relay - still one of the most fun sports to watch IMO. German TV interviewed German president Steinmeier who watched the event. I'd forgotten what it's like to listen to a lucid well-spoken politician (who also understands the sport well enough).

[Syt]

Did I miss something in the olympic ice hockey tournament? I suppose NHL/LNH players can't play this time again?

https://www.nhl.com/news/topic/olympics/2026-olympic-winter-games-milano-cortina-hockey-tournament-schedule

The men's hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will begin Wednesday with Team Slovakia playing Team Finland followed by Team Sweden against host Team Italy.

The tournament, the first with NHL players since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, will feature all 12 teams playing three preliminary games in their respective groups, then all 12 moving on to a single-elimination playoff that will conclude with the gold medal game Feb. 22.

Team USA, which is in Group C, will open against Team Latvia on Feb. 12, then play Team Denmark on Feb. 14 and Team Germany on Feb. 15.

Team Canada also plays its first game on Feb. 12 against Team Czechia, faces Team Switzerland the next day and concludes preliminary play against Team France on Feb. 15.

The games will be played at either the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena or the Rho Ice Hockey Arena in Milano.

Each NHL team has at least one player participating in the Olympics. The Florida Panthers have an NHL-high 10 players. The Vegas Golden Knights have nine and the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning each have eight.

[Duque de Bragança]

Danke.

Now, let's see if French TV can't broadcast a whole game in the first phase without switching to another sport and then another one, and so on.

[Syt]

German gold in ski jump for Philipp Raimund. Finding it a bit surprising that both he and Max Langenhan who won gold in luge yesterday were singing along to the national anthem during the medal ceremony. Nobody's commenting on it, so I assume it's just a thing now (was not happening 20 years ago IIRC).

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

The German hockey jersey for the tournament. I might be wrong, but I think it's the only German jersey that is using the Bundesschild.

It's on the German lugers' helmets as well.

[Valmy]

It really sucks not having BB around to talk Hockey with anymore. 

[Syt]

The German hockey jersey for the tournament. I might be wrong, but I think it's the only German jersey that is using the Bundesschild.

It's on the German lugers' helmets as well.

True. But I think it's often just a small emblem, not as prominently as on the hockey jerseys. And of course many athletes are enrolled in the sports program of the Bundeswehr. (Though several hockey ladies play - unsurprisingly - in North America ).

German TV showed bits of women's hockey. Caught some of Sweden v France and yesterday Germany v France. Those French ladies like to rought it up quite a bit. 

[Syt]

I wish there were more winter sports video games. I don't think Epyx' Winter Games (actually, their entire Games series - Summer Games I & II which could be combined into one big session, California Games, World Games ...) was ever surpassed in accessibility and multiplayer fun.

I did see a Biathlon game on Steam with very good reviews. It doesn't looks great, but it might scratch some of that itch. There are others (like Ski Jumping) but the reviews aren't as good. Austrian ORF used to have an annual "Ski Challenge", a pretty decent online game where players could race the world cup pistes and compete for high scores. It was fairly popular in Austria, but it was shut down because it was found to create "unfair competition" between the public broadcaster and private channels. It still exists as a popular mobile game, but it seems full of microtransactions.

[Syt]

German TV had some sections highlighting how the IOC starts moving towards letting Russia back into competition. How it's "unfair to the athletes who didn't choose where they were born" and how it's depriving the competition, and really sports should not be a stage for politics. Meanwhile, they completely ignore the Ukrainians in that regard (many training and athletic facilities have been destroyed at this point, not to mention many athletes killed/wounded in the war). And of course Mr Infantino from FIFA agrees.

Funnily, they mentioned that Ukrainians are big into biathlon - from talking to my Ukrainian colleague: can fully agree.

But it also has some fun stories. Like the guy who won gold in ski jump yesterday - he hadn't packed the right skis. So one of the crew had to drive 8 hours back to Thuringian and then again to Italy to get them. Or one of the athletes whose father said if he made it to the Olympics he'd cycle the 1000km to Milan (which he did). Stuff like that is cute. (Seeing Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam and her fiance Jake Paul preening around much less so )

[Syt]

Btw, I think luge is still one of the more insane sports. Squeezed into tight onesie, shoes three sizes too small, no neck support on the sled, going down a narrow ice canal at well over 100 kph with a couple of g squashing you in every turn. I'm mostly shocked there's so few accidents.

AMA with an athlete that came up while googling for the G forces: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/6zvo0w/i_go_90_mph_and_pull_5_gforces_while_wearing_a/

[Norgy]

I have to admit I have yet to watch anything but highlights from Olympics.

The Norwegian athletes generally do well in skiing, and we pretend the world cares. Personally, I am thinking back to 1994 when the winter Olympics were held here where I live. It is more than 30 years ago, and that makes me: