The 2012 London Olympics Sports Thread

[derspiess]

This soccer thing is cracking me the hell up, with Canuckleheads essentially complaining that they got away with breaking a rule for almost the entire game.

Shit, I remember being taught when I was 7 years old that the goalie can't hold on to the ball forever.

[PDH]

I know a guy who was speeding on I-80, he was going 80 mph.  He always goes about 80, and finally he got a ticket.  He was livid, as he and many others go that speed.  The funny thing is the speed limit is 75 mph, but that day the highway patrol officer just wanted to pick on him.

[PDH]

On second thought...

HA HA! Canada lost, and they were caught cheating!

[sbr]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/cheater-swimming-gold-medalist-admits-taking-illegal-kicks-162450535--oly.html

Gold-medal swimmer admits to cheating in 100 breaststroke

South African gold medalist Cameron van der Burgh admitted to taking extra underwater kicks during his world-record performance in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Olympics, an illegal move that would have earned him a disqualification if judges had caught him.

Swimmers are allowed one underwater dolphin kick during their underwater breaststroke pullouts. Replays show van der Burgh took three on the start.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald that he took extra kicks, but defends himself by insisting he's not the only one.
''If you're not doing it, you're falling behind," he said. "It's not obviously - shall we say - the moral thing to do, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my personal performance and four years of hard work for someone that is willing to do it and get away with it."

Allowing dolphin kicks during breaststroke is relatively new. The rules were changed, in part, because of four-time gold medalist Kosuke Kitajima, a Japanese breaststroke star who routinely added rogue kicks underwater. When swimmers push off a wall and tighten into a streamline, their legs can arch slightly and resemble a kick. Kitajima and others tried to make this natural movement into an advantage by adding some force behind it. It was illegal and the move angered rivals, like American Brendan Hansen. But the kick was tough to enforce, so FINA changed the rule to allow it.

But the old "give 'em an inch" rule came into play and now breaststrokers are trying to sneak in as many kicks as possible, hoping to do it without drawing the attention of officials.

''It's got to the sort of point where if you're not doing it you're falling behind or you're giving yourself a disadvantage so everyone's pushing the rules and pushing the boundaries, so if you're not doing it, you're not trying hard enough," the South African said.

Van der Burgh can get away with the kicks because there is no underwater video review of swimming races. After testing the technology at a meet in 2010 to great success, FINA, the international swimming body, has yet to incorporate it in international meets.

After these comments and the potential uproar they'll create, expect that to change by next year's world championships.

In theory, van der Burgh shouldn't be in danger of losing his gold medal. Swimming doesn't have replay review and the time for appeal has long passed. But the IOC has shown a willingness to impart its own interpretation of fair play so far in London, banning badminton players for tanking matches and attempting to expel a runner who jogged during a race in order to rest for another. Nothing is off the table.

That knee-jerk reaction should be resisted. Throwing in an extra butterfly kick doesn't put van der Burgh on a level with blood dopers and steroid users. It's the equivalent of taking some extra steps in basketball or flopping in soccer: athletes trying to get away with as much as possible under the rules.

His biggest crime was admitting the kicks. Who admits to cheating? What's the benefit? Deny, deny, deny, brother! It's easy:
Reporter: "We saw you took three kicks on your pullout. Did you?"
Van der burgh: "No, I only took one."
If you're morally loose enough to try to justify cheating by giving the "everybody else is doing it defense," lying to some journalist isn't going to be too difficult.

I am sure the resident Canucks will be outraged.

[Valdemar]

On the medal note, if you go by number of medals relative to population then NZ is leading, with Slovenia second and Denmark third.

What reasonable person does that?

Journalists from small nations

V

[Syt]

Journalists

He clearly specified reasonable persons.

[Valdemar]

My respect for the American side just cratered.

So basically Wambach hounded the referee and incited her to call a foul by counting in her vicinity? That's rather unsportsmanlike, how the ref calls his or her game is the ref's own business.

I think next time "Tank-ready" should ram her into the goal post. Bet she was itching to do just that during the whole game, that Canadian soccer player is one mean girl. 

But Canada was apparently repeatedly breaking a rule to gain an advantage, and she was just repeatedly pointing it out. Isn't lobbying the ref in such a situation common in every sport?

It is a good reason not to have rules that aren't commonly enforced.

Actually jockying the ref can get you a yellow for interfering/complaining IIRC

V

[Valdemar]

It is really funny to see two relatively novice soccer nations get upset and discuss the finer issues of football refereing


On that note, the 6 second rule does get called in other games too, but usually only if it is late in the game. Danish 101 game goalie Thomas Sørensen got a yellow in an internation match for taking too long to kick out with 3 min left on the clock. he obviously had been warned as the expert commentators seemd to have anticipated it.

Denmark won the match

V

[Eddie Teach]

It is really funny to see two relatively novice soccer nations get upset and discuss the finer issues of football refereing

Novice soccer nation? Olympic women's soccer has only been there since 1996 and we have won it 3 out of 4 times. It is a girls' sport after all. 

[Valdemar]

It is really funny to see two relatively novice soccer nations get upset and discuss the finer issues of football refereing

Novice soccer nation? Olympic women's soccer has only been there since 1996 and we have won it 3 out of 4 times. It is a girls' sport after all. 

The soccer rules are the same.. and in football tems both nations are novices

V

[Syt]

Too bad about the German weightlifter's accident. He's the guy who won in Beijing and emotionally showed the photo of his then recently deceased wife during the ceremony, dedicating the gold medal to her.

[Josephus]

What is most shameful about the whole episode is that the Yank who cause this disgrace of a call seems rather proud of herself.  Its disgraceful conduct.

Don't worry CC, they will get eaten alive by the little Jappo critters next game.

I'm going to be cheering for the Nips so hard, you're gonna mistake me for Lettow.

[Josephus]

It is really funny to see two relatively novice soccer nations get upset and discuss the finer issues of football refereing


On that note, the 6 second rule does get called in other games too, but usually only if it is late in the game. Danish 101 game goalie Thomas Sørensen got a yellow in an internation match for taking too long to kick out with 3 min left on the clock. he obviously had been warned as the expert commentators seemd to have anticipated it.

Denmark won the match

V

A yellow's not like a foul in the penalty box. A yellow is worth taking for the team if you have to. You can't score a goal from a yellow.

[Valdemar]

No but you can get banned from the upcoming match.. which isn't good for goalies

V

[DGuller]

If you're morally loose enough to try to justify cheating by giving the "everybody else is doing it defense," lying to some journalist isn't going to be too difficult.

I have never in my life understood this retarded logic.  What's so morally loose about breaking the rule that everyone is breaking?  If 5% of the people break the rule, the problem is with the rule-breakers.  If 95% of the people break the rule, the problem is with the rule.