All Things 2021 Tokyo Olympics Thread

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Call me old fashioned, but I'm a sucker for the Olympics. I love the storylines, the emotional stories of hardship many of the athletes have overcome, the random sports that get coverage, etc.

Two of the six U.S. female gymnasts have trained at gymnastics gyms that my daughter has trained at and she gets to watch them train up close and personal which is a lot of fun.

Go USA!!
 

What are the five new sports debuting at the 2021 Olympics?​

Looking at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, five new sports are on the schedule. Let’s take a look at the new sports you can watch during the 2021 Olympics.
1. Karate will debut at the 2021 Olympics
2. Surfing
3. Skateboarding
4. Sport Climbing
5. Baseball/Softball return

fansided.com

What are the five new sports debuting at the 2021 Olympics?

Five new Olympic sports are making their debut at Tokyo 2021 this summer: surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, karate, and men's baseball/women
fansided.com fansided.com

Go USA!!
 

The partial USA Men's Basketball team is now 0-2 in exhibition games. It doesn't mean much, but interesting nonetheless.

Go USA!!
 

I've been watching the trials on the Olympic Channel. I'm super pumped for track.
 



Here's a fascinating incentive to medal at the Olympics!

Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim of South Korea have withdrawn from The Open Championship this week to focus on the Olympics.

Why it matters: South Korean athletes who win an Olympic medal are able to forgo an 18-month military stint, which is mandatory for males between ages 18–28. Talk about stakes.

  • Sangmoon Bae, who was ranked 26th in the world in 2015 when he returned to South Korea to complete his military service, hasn't been the same player since.
  • K.J. Choi, once the only South Korean playing full time on the PGA Tour, completed his military requirements before turning pro.
The big picture: Military strength has long been a priority in South Korea, where the threat from North Korea is always looming.

Go USA!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Any specific athletes or storylines we should keep an eye out for?

Go USA!!
Click to expand...
I enjoyed the woman's 400m hurdles storyline. I am also interested in the sprinter breaking Usain's youth records
 






The Olympics are going to be horrible this year due to the Rona.

They're also diminishing in excitement. The IOC's corruption, the wasted money, the forced labor, it's all terrible.

Holding the games in July in Tokyo for TV's greed is also horrific. Try playing them in a few months.

The athletes don't come first in any of this. Money comes first for the IOC and TV. Prestige comes second for politicians. Athletes come last.

It's all garbage.
 

TruthSeeker said:
The Olympics are going to be horrible this year due to the Rona.

They're also diminishing in excitement. The IOC's corruption, the wasted money, the forced labor, it's all terrible.

Holding the games in July in Tokyo for TV's greed is also horrific. Try playing them in a few months.

The athletes don't come first in any of this. Money comes first for the IOC and TV. Prestige comes second for politicians. Athletes come last.

It's all garbage.
Click to expand...
I think it had less to do with that, than it did with the colossal capital investment that Japan had to sink for this.

They waived the white flag on the tourism bit, to at least just have the damn thing go through.

And likely that, despite all best efforts, Japanese citizens will die because of these games, due to delta brought in by athletes undetected (somehow). Doesn't matter. Can't cancel. That's the real tragedy.
 


The USWNT fell to Sweden, 3-0, in their Olympic opener early this morning (kickoff: 4:30am ET).
  • The Americans, ranked No. 1 in the world and favorites to win gold in Tokyo, were riding a 44-game unbeaten streak heading into the match.
  • The Swedes, who knocked the U.S. out of the 2016 Rio Games and are ranked No. 5 in the world, were in control from the start inside a near-empty Tokyo Stadium.
Go USA!!
 




BleedGopher said:

The USWNT fell to Sweden, 3-0, in their Olympic opener early this morning (kickoff: 4:30am ET).
  • The Americans, ranked No. 1 in the world and favorites to win gold in Tokyo, were riding a 44-game unbeaten streak heading into the match.
  • The Swedes, who knocked the U.S. out of the 2016 Rio Games and are ranked No. 5 in the world, were in control from the start inside a near-empty Tokyo Stadium.
Go USA!!
Click to expand...
The Swedes size up front was tough for the yanks. They kept pressing and pressing.

Also, the only blot on the USA's record during the long unbeaten streak was a tie with Sweden.

But, don't forget the USA lost to Norway 2-0 in their opener in 2008, and didn't lose again.
 

FWIW - the Strib sent Jim Souhan to Tokyo to cover the Olympics.

His first two columns have covered these topics:
He has a very small hotel room
Reporters are not allowed to go to restaurants
They have to stand in line for covid testing
and - he has a very small hotel room.

In other words - they send the guy to freakin' Tokyo - and he complains that he's not getting VIP treatment. Great work, Jim.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
FWIW - the Strib sent Jim Souhan to Tokyo to cover the Olympics.

His first two columns have covered these topics:
He has a very small hotel room
Reporters are not allowed to go to restaurants
They have to stand in line for covid testing
and - he has a very small hotel room.

In other words - they send the guy to freakin' Tokyo - and he complains that he's not getting VIP treatment. Great work, Jim.
Click to expand...
Even though he's in Japan, somehow he'll still figure out a way to dis Minnesota teams. Maybe we can get a petition going for him to not be allowed back into the States?

 

short ornery norwegian said:
FWIW - the Strib sent Jim Souhan to Tokyo to cover the Olympics.

His first two columns have covered these topics:
He has a very small hotel room
Reporters are not allowed to go to restaurants
They have to stand in line for covid testing
and - he has a very small hotel room.

In other words - they send the guy to freakin' Tokyo - and he complains that he's not getting VIP treatment. Great work, Jim.
Click to expand...
Someone as fit as Jim shouldn't need a large room....
 


Monica Abbott threw a 1-hitter vs Canada.

The one hit: Sara Groenewegen's double in the 6th. A great relay on the play kept the game 1-0.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Monica Abbott threw a 1-hitter vs Canada.

The one hit: Sara Groenewegen's double in the 6th. A great relay on the play kept the game 1-0.
Click to expand...

I watched some of that game (US vs Canada in Women's Softball). The US Pitcher (Abbott) has got a heck of an arm. the US definitely looks like the favorites in the Medal round.
 

Watched some handball today. It would be a fun game to try.
 



Men’s basketball loses to France. Will we even medal?
 

GopherVotary said:
Men’s basketball loses to France. Will we even medal?
Click to expand...

It would be funnier if they didn't. Even though a lot of players opted out....there's still zero reason why the USA team shouldn't just mop the floor with most everyone they see.
 

stocker08 said:
It would be funnier if they didn't. Even though a lot of players opted out....there's still zero reason why the USA team shouldn't just mop the floor with most everyone they see.
Click to expand...
Well, the US throws a team together at the last second and they have to play national teams that have practicing a lot longer. Plus, the level of play has gotten a lot better around the world. Look at the number of international players in the NBA. And, the international game is a little different than the American game.

The US can't just expect to roll out the ball and win automatically. Honestly, I would rather see a team of top college players who might be more excited about representing their country. If Suggs and Holmgren were playing, I would watch that before I would watch the NBA players walk through a game.
 

BleedGopher said:
That sport is a blast to watch.

I marvel at water polo players. Their conditioning must incredible.

Go USA!!
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Exactly what my dad and I were talking abut today. I'd have a heart attack after 20 seconds of that.

Also, I saw little of the Russian gymnast who is competing in spite of a tearing his Achilles in April. Let me repeat that. He tore his Achilles. IN APRIL! I tore mine when I was 25 playing basketball. It took almost a year before I was willing to even go shoot around.

www.reuters.com

Gymnastics-Dalaloyan reaches all-around final despite recent Achilles injury

Russian gymnast Artur Dalaloyan prevailed over a recent Achilles injury to clinch an unlikely spot in the all-around final at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, competing on the vault and floor despite having planned to sit out the events to spare his leg.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 

I was just watching rugby for quite possibly the first time and I've come to this conclusion:

Life is meaningless, rules do nothing but get in the way, and the only thing that makes sense is chaos.
 


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