olympic events schedule though not a tv schedule.
- dave 7-27-2012 10:33 pm

nbc personalized broadcast listings.
- dave 7-27-2012 10:35 pm


best thing thus far about the coverage is that the human interest puff pieces are nowhere to be seen though i could imagine if they are anywhere theyll be in prime time. which brings me to the worst in that all of prime time will be tape delayed and managed for maximum viewership. so now you have to avoid headlines on the internet which give away results for the most publicized events. but there are a lot of live events which owing to the time difference can begin at dawn and broadcast straight on through late afternoon.

pet peeves from the events. the womens volleyball team group hug after every point. i could understand if strategy is being relayed but it doesnt seem like that is necessarily the case. guess its good for team spirit but it annoys me just as much as basketball players high fiving each of their teammates after foul shots. that along with those fucking mouthguards should be banned. instead in 2013 the nba is adding small (for now) ads to their uniforms.

but i digress. number two on the peevish charts are fans at road racing events encroaching on the bicyclists in the road. i realize they are sitting there for hours and then the action whizzes by in an instant but how there arent more accidents is astonishing. the entire portion of the race i watched filled me with dismay and dread as i waited expectantly for some overeager fan unable to get out of the way turning a caravan of cyclists into a heap of mangled steel and blood and asphalt.
- dave 7-28-2012 9:52 pm


more peevishness.

* i didnt watch all of todays brasil soccer game but i did see nbc cut away from live action to air 2 1/2 minutes of commercials. im guessing they did this once each half. and honestly i can sympathize with nbc a little here since soccer requires 45 plus minutes of blissfully commercial free broadcasting. though id suggest the best alternative would be a small banner at the bottom of the screen twice each half for a minute. its quite possible that the olympics forbid this type of advertising. on a positive note, there are no in game sponsorships for statistics which are a particularly odious addition to the sports landscape.

* i could not bear to watch the mens volleyball after a few minutes because of the directing. i wouldnt describe it in detail but way too many close-ups between the short points of which there are many including constant cut aways to the coach who was doing nothing more interesting than looking at his clipboard. just another example of trying to create dynamism and tension when there is none. sometimes less is more producers of sports content.

*two notable ads, well maybe three.

first, an old jewish woman says "bitch" as in complain twice in what most be a local ad for presbyterian hospital. not earth shattering but surprising.

and second, an ad for androgel which i guess is for low testosterone (not that the ad would mention that) but certainly must be used for muscle building. though according to websites, get steroids via shots is the preferred message. either way seems like the nbc would steer clear of even the slightest mention of steroids considering the stain thats often associated with it.

third are the christian mingle ads. nothing wrong with them other than they are as bland as youd expect.
- dave 7-29-2012 6:04 pm


Thanks for the NBC schedule Dave. Love the commentary too.
- jim 7-29-2012 11:41 pm


not quite sure why air rifle is an olympic sport, maybe they needed a sport where the participants were pasty-faced geeks decked out for their local comic con. but what was most ridiculous about the event was that the guns are resting on platforms so the shooters dont even have to support their weight while shooting. meanwhile theres an american woman skeet shooter who hit 99 out of 100 discs yesterday. that was a feat worthy of praise. these guys, not so much.

now just watching a few minutes of womens water polo. for some reason i have more patience for some of the womens events. i cant quite put my finger on why. hmmm. i had to turn the mens water polo off yesterday because it seems half drowning your opponent and constantly grabbing at them underwater are the primary defensive options. its unclear to me how much is considered acceptable but there is a lot of whistle blowing and if cheating is central to winning im not that interested. still, the men came out in plush usa robes which sartorially has been the highlight of the games for me.

on the opposite end of the spectrum from the rifling non-athletes are the gymnasts. watched some of the womens preliminaries last night, and of course, i use the term women lightly as they are usually iron willed stunted pixies. i couldnt help but notice how they were able to focus on their event while all the other events were being performed simultaneously. i cant imagine sprinting down toward the pommel horse only to hear delirious applause for another event just as you are launching yourself for some impossibly twisted vault. makes tennis players and golfers who demand quiet seem like prima donnas.
- dave 7-30-2012 8:17 pm


"Recently, the International Olympic Committee revealed that eight sports, including women's softball, are under consideration for addition to the 2020 Olympic Games. There were originally 12 sports that were being considered, however, four sports—surfing, dancing, bowling, and net ball—didn't make the cut and are no longer under consideration for addition to the 2020 Olympic schedule.

The eight sports under consideration include wakeboarding, sport climbing, squash, roller sports (such as roller derby), karate, and the martial art of wushu. More sports are expected to be eliminated from this list in early 2013. The International Olympic Committee is expected to take a final vote at the International Olympic Committee session in Buenos Aires in late 2013. Only one sport is expected to be added to the 2020 Olympic Games."

baseball and softball were eliminated from the olympics this year. baseball was kind of pointless unless mlb decided to halt its season for a month every four years which its unlikely it ever would. fifa doesnt want the world cup challenged for soccer supremacy which is why olympic soccer has an under 23 years old rule (except for 3 players per team) and the nba would like to follow suit so they can create their own world basketball tournament, ya know because why should they let their athletes make money for someone else. oh, i forgot to mention that baseball and softball were championed by the us and required large capital investments for stadiums neither of which made them attractive to europeans who dominate the olympic committee. (actually, i dont have any evidence for that, i just assume its true.)

so the olympics should and do focus on more niche sports but cant they do better than wakeboarding? how about some shooting environment that employs some movement like the type we see in every police academy scene in movies or more like the final funhouse shoot'em up scene in the man with the golden gun? (ive been watching a lot of bond lately.) how about team paintball? or parkour? (has to be some creative thinkers out there to conceive some compelling events although i admit i was quite enjoying ping pong yesterday which you wouldnt necessarily consider as such.) its probably true there may be a faddish element but maybe they need to have more exhibition sports just to keep things interesting.

whoops, i confused wakeboarding with boogieboarding. looks like a fun event to watch though given the option i prefer sports that are not judged even if they are entertaining spectacles.
- dave 7-30-2012 8:53 pm


"christian mingle ads" -- Find God's Match for You(R) ... yeah, because G-d wrote our search algorithm ... in Cobal, G-d's programming language.
- mark 7-30-2012 9:02 pm


be fruitful and multiplier. (thats the best i could do with my limited arsenal of tech geek humor.)
- dave 7-30-2012 9:09 pm


Cobol's Old Testament. I think you need Lisp to implement rising from the dead.
- jim 7-30-2012 9:12 pm


so is lazarus the brand name for christian viagra?
- dave 7-30-2012 9:17 pm


Wakeboarding? Are there any other power sports in the Olympics? They aren't driving the boat, but there is a motorboat involved. I guess downhill is sort of a power sport, in that they don't make the skiers climb the hill.

Roller derby? Would watch.
- mark 7-30-2012 11:52 pm


world games is like an olympic proving ground for events that might be considered for the big show. heres a list of the events undertaken. im all in for boules though i like our freestyle off court style better.
- dave 7-31-2012 12:42 am


tried to hijack my tv, but can't access local channel. how to watch live online? according to mia farrow we are not one of the many countries who can watch on youtube. rats. guess i will go to radio shack tomorrow and see if i can get an antennae... i love to watch the gymnastics.
- linda 7-31-2012 3:51 am


hijack your tv? is that a 30rock drinking game? wordplay! thats two references noone will understand. mia farrow is right, unless you already are a satellite or cable subscriber then you cant stream legally.
- dave 7-31-2012 5:56 am


you know, paper clips and wire hangers. worked for my neighbor.
- linda 7-31-2012 5:21 pm


"The country of India is historically terrible at sports. Despite the second-largest pool of potential athletes in the world, they've won exactly one gold medal in the last 32 years (Millionaire playboy Abhinav Bindra won the10m Air Rifle event in Beijing.)

That dearth of hardware prompted a famous ESPN article, None in a Billion" about Indian athletic futility" and the Indian government-sponsored Olympic Gold Quest program, which works with various sports programs in the country to identify and nurture 21 athletes that have potential medal-winning talent.

That investment, it seems, is already paying off: Hyderabadi sharpshooter Gagan Narang claimed a bronze in London in the same event that Bindra won last Olympiad.

It's not quite gold, but India will take it. In fact, the whole country seems to be going a bit overboard: DNA India reports that famous cricketers and Bollywood stars have tripped over themselves to declare Gagan the Pride of India and the Deccan Chronicle notes that a leading electronics manufacturer is creating a special edition of its tablet PCs called the "Narang" in honor of the now-most-famous athlete in India."
- dave 7-31-2012 8:36 pm


I've played Pétanque, one of the "discipliines" of boules. Like curling and lawn bowling, one hand must be used to hold a beer.
- mark 8-01-2012 1:07 am


for balance i assume.
- dave 8-01-2012 2:12 am


i always enjoy an "nbc is manipulating their coverage in prime time to heighten the drama" article.
- dave 8-02-2012 4:34 pm


i feel like someone said this same thing a few days ago.

By the way, isn't it bizarre that tennis players and golfers require total silence at all times, but we're totally fine with loud music playing and fans clapping as gymnasts are desperately trying not to impale themselves on a balance beam or break their neck on a dismount?

- dave 8-02-2012 9:56 pm


"Cinderella story..."
- bill 8-02-2012 10:09 pm


Carl Spackler: So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one -- big hitter, the Lama -- long, into a ten-thousand foot crevice, right at the base of this glacier. And do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga...gunga -- gunga galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.
- dave 8-02-2012 10:13 pm


i didnt know "bitchface" was a thing but the entire night of the team event i was thinking something similar.
- dave 8-02-2012 10:26 pm


i'd pay big money to see skinny and jim b beach volleyball against the us team.
- linda 8-05-2012 4:59 am


women's team, that is.
- linda 8-05-2012 5:00 am


im sure there are easier and cheaper ways to embarrass them. is mud wrestling still a thing?
- dave 8-05-2012 5:40 am





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