(Rant) American coverage of the Olympics [Archive]

Platapus

02-13-10, 01:19 PM

Here I am near the nation's capitol with stupid FIOS. Over 900 fricking channels of crap and not one is covering the Olympics! :damn::damn::damn:

The closest we have is some Vancouver Olympic news station which is just talking about the Olympics and giving us the results. I don't care about the frickin results, I want to see the performances!!

I have such fond memories of watching the Olympics with my family I was growing up. What happened.

I bet when the Americans are doing their snowboarding crap we will get coverage. Grrrrrrr

The Olympics are supposed to be about international events, not just the few that are custom made for American's to get their medal count up.

Rant off, I am just pissed.

Anyone else getting a chance to see the Olympics broadcast live to where you are? :wah:

CaptainHaplo

02-13-10, 01:57 PM

Platypus - are you near Vancouver?

Where I am coverage starts at 2:30 eastern - with Speed Skating, Men's 5000m, Biathlon, Ski Jumping, Indivual K-95 (have no clue what that is), and the women's 7.5km sprint.

My lady is waiting on the figure skating, as she really likes the graceful performances. I recall those are usually later in the day or evening, though I don't know if that is live coverage. My son, daugher and I may watch the ski jumping, as I started teaching them how to ski last year.

*ok - to be honest - I started teaching them the skill I know - how to fall down a mountain covered in snow, repeatedly.....

Platapus

02-13-10, 02:13 PM

No I am in swampy North Virginia. I just found out that starting at 1400 we will have recorded coverage of some of what happened this morning. :-?

Better than nothing but not by much.

Platapus

02-13-10, 02:15 PM

*ok - to be honest - I started teaching them the skill I know - how to fall down a mountain covered in snow, repeatedly.....

I think that is what skiing is: A controlled (somewhat) fall down a mountain keeping your head up and your butt down. :D

krashkart

02-13-10, 03:18 PM

*ok - to be honest - I started teaching them the skill I know - how to fall down a mountain covered in snow, repeatedly.....

I have a friend who, years ago, fell down a very rocky slope holding a machete in each hand. :DL

If what you are seeing out there in Virginia is live via pre-recorded taping, Platapus, we've the same thing out here in the Midwest. Hang in there, bud. It is better than nothing... or at least, better than infomercials. :D

Highbury

02-13-10, 03:51 PM

I am in Vancouver (well Richmond actually, close to where the speed skating oval is) :D My wife is at home in San Diego though and coverage of the Opening Ceremony didn't start until 9PM PST. No idea why.

I did catch the late night repeat of the coverage on Seattle's NBC affiliate and I did think it was very well done. Anybody wants their home country to come off well in things like this, and I thought the NBC profile on the relationship between the US and Canada was quite good, as well as the feature on the Vancouver region itself.

It is just unfortunate that the weather is so bad for it right now. It is even raining at Whistler :( Oh well.. won't be the first rainy Winter Olympics, won't be the last.

XabbaRus

02-13-10, 04:06 PM

I'm watching the Ski jumping live. BBC is great.

Torplexed

02-13-10, 05:40 PM

Here I am near the nation's capitol with stupid FIOS. Over 900 fricking channels of crap and not one is covering the Olympics! :damn::damn::damn:

Things are not much better on the US West Coast. It annoyed me no end that I had to stay up until midnight to see an event that had ended three hours earlier and was only 200 miles away. Shame on NBC for that. Also, the sound kept dropping out, although that may have been the local cable company.

And unfortunately, the only Canadian channel we have is CBC, which apparently doesn't have the coverage rights. They did spend pretty much their entire newscast showing protests in downtown Vancouver, although they neglected to ever mention exactly what the protesters were unhappy about.

Oberon

02-13-10, 05:41 PM

...although they neglected to ever mention exactly what the protesters were unhappy about.

Probably lack of television coverage on the Winter Olympics :hmmm:

Letum

02-13-10, 05:44 PM

I'm watching the Ski jumping live. BBC is great.

This.
About half an hour ago anyway.
Cheers BeeB :up:

AVGWarhawk

02-13-10, 05:48 PM

I have FIOS and if I recall correctly 2 channels were hosting the Olympics :hmmm:

Highbury

02-13-10, 05:52 PM

Probably lack of television coverage on the Winter Olympics :hmmm:

nah.. there is great coverage IN Vancouver :O: 3 different CTV affiliate stations and whatever NBC decides to play.

It is just the usual stuff.. if the government ever puts money into anything that is not education, healthcare or some form of social assistance these people protest.

CaptainHaplo

02-14-10, 12:34 AM

nikimcbee

02-14-10, 01:37 AM

Things are not much better on the US West Coast. It annoyed me no end that I had to stay up until midnight to see an event that had ended three hours earlier and was only 200 miles away. Shame on NBC for that. Also, the sound kept dropping out, although that may have been the local cable company.

And unfortunately, the only Canadian channel we have is CBC, which apparently doesn't have the coverage rights. They did spend pretty much their entire newscast showing protests in downtown Vancouver, although they neglected to ever mention exactly what the protesters were unhappy about.

ditto, tape delay here. I haven't seen 1 thing regarding the olympics.

Torvald Von Mansee

02-14-10, 01:51 AM

Highbury

02-14-10, 01:54 AM

All I can say is Kim Jong (mentally) Ill probably had another stroke tonight. NK had a locked podium, all three medals, locked up in the last corner of the 1500m speed skating, and the guy in third tried to pass for silver, and took out his teammate. So a silver and a bronze lost.

Kim Jong-il was probably amused...

All 3 of those skaters were SOUTH Korean... not North...

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/afp-news/short-track-speed-skating--korea's-lee-wins-1-500m-short-track-gold_277216LP.html

I do have to say though, it was justice, since the koreans intentionally worked together to block the faster of the 2 Americans on the previous lap and corner.

The American NBC analyst said before the race that the Americans would do the same if running together late in the race. That is just the way the game is played in Short-Track.

The moguls at Cypress was a good show tonight. Really nice job by Hannah Kearney to pip the home favorite on the last run. Congrats to the US on their first (of many I'm sure) Gold of 2010!

CaptainHaplo

02-14-10, 10:12 AM

Highbury - thanks for the correction! I thought they were North Koreans - but either way it was a really bad decision to try for that pass. As for the moguls, I watched a part of it, but when those people are doing stuff I would break my neck trying before the first air, I have to shake my head and wander off. Did anyone unseat the German guy last night in the Luge? When they stopped covering that and flipped to other stuff he has a half second lead on the field and the track was slowing.

I have to say congrats to ALL the atheletes from everywhere regardless of whether they medal or not. And on the 1500m race, yea I suspect any team would work together to slow a competitor, but I would much prefer whoever it is not do so and just race clean. Thats the way it should be - and I would have called out the Americans if they had done it.

nikimcbee

02-21-10, 12:41 PM

wow, i've discovered cnbc.:haha: They are either showing all hockey:yeah::woot: or all curling:shifty::dead:. The only downside, you must suffer through msnbc ads:shifty:.

I refuse to watch the regular nbc channel. It's all about facetime for the reporter with a little sports intermingled. (or ice-skating:shifty:)

August

02-21-10, 06:04 PM

Curling is cool. I love sports that don't require a special physical ability.

nikimcbee

02-21-10, 06:37 PM

Curling is cool. I love sports that don't require a special physical ability.

The women's US curling team is hot:yeah::woot:

sharkbit

02-22-10, 09:33 AM

I refuse to watch the regular nbc channel. It's all about facetime for the reporter with a little sports intermingled. (or ice-skating:shifty:)

Prime time NBC coverage sucks!
Last night they started showing the 3rd run of the bobsled and Costas says that they're cutting to the final couple minutes of the US-Canada hockey game. MSNBC was playing the game already(I assume live) and I flip over to that real quick and the game is over and they're talking post game stuff already.
NBC just pulled that to make it more exciting.

The night before, Costas said there was an unspecified delay in the start of the short track speedskating final with Apolo Ohno. We all know the thing was taped, just play the damn thing. But no, they have to build it up to keep the viewers and play more of the same commercials.

I've joked to my wife that Costas probably isn't even in Vancouver-he's in New York and the whole show is taped(with the fake fireplace), just like the summer games a couple of years ago in China.:D

:)

Fincuan

02-22-10, 10:12 AM

You can view most if not all public European olympics coverage via internet on the European Broadcasting Union's site. Not sure it that works outside Europe, but hopefully it does.
http://www.eurovisionsports.tv/

There's quite a lot stuff from videos to live broadcasts. If you'd like to watch for example some of BBC's live coverage you select "TV Channels Live" >> "Channels 01-12" from the left-side menu and select one of BBC's channels.

Torvald Von Mansee

02-22-10, 01:22 PM

Curling is cool. I love sports that don't require a special physical ability.

I thought it very strange that it is still segregated by sex. Why?

EDIT: same deal on shooting at the summer games

OneToughHerring

02-22-10, 01:41 PM

I thought it very strange that it is still segregated by sex. Why?

EDIT: same deal on shooting at the summer games

I think if the women are good enough they can have a go against the men. I remember one chinese woman actually beating all the men in skeet shooting.

Torvald Von Mansee

02-22-10, 01:45 PM

The women's US curling team is hot:yeah::woot:

I find this a bit insane:

http://i4.bebo.com/035a/3/mediuml/2007/10/20/11/960612037a5871855847ml.jpg
That is the photo of Madeline Dupont, a member of the Danish curling team. She is SINGLE, and using the INTERNET to find dates!! She is neither ugly and/or fat and/or old, so why is she using the internet? *boggle*

Torvald Von Mansee

02-22-10, 01:46 PM

I think if the women are good enough they can have a go against the men. I remember one chinese woman actually beating all the men in skeet shooting.

Maybe segregating the sexes in some sports is a way to protect male egos?

August

02-22-10, 03:20 PM

I thought it very strange that it is still segregated by sex. Why?

EDIT: same deal on shooting at the summer games

I dunno. Are there any Olympic sports where women and men compete against each other?

Torvald Von Mansee

02-22-10, 04:03 PM

I dunno. Are there any Olympic sports where women and men compete against each other?

I don't think so.

You know, in sailing (a summer sport), a woman's lesser weight would actually be an advantage (in some ways, not so in others). However, a man's brawn would be better for things like changing rigging, etc.

Torvald Von Mansee

02-22-10, 04:06 PM

Hey!!! Speak of the devil!!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Candian-curling-fans-leave-Danish-player-in-tear?urn=oly,221320

Looks like I misspelled her name.

Platapus

02-22-10, 06:16 PM

That is the photo of Madeline Dupont, a member of the Danish curling team. She is SINGLE, and using the INTERNET to find dates!! She is neither ugly and/or fat and/or old, so why is she using the internet? *boggle*

Are you assuming that only ugly fat or old people use the internet for meeting people?

Thanks a lot! I met my lady on the internet. Since she was only 35 at the time, I am sure she will appreciate you calling her either fat or ugly.

People use the internet to be introduced to people they normally would not meet.

Platapus

02-22-10, 06:18 PM

Curling is cool. I love sports that don't require a special physical ability.

I think you are selling curling a bit short. It is a sport of finesse, where winning is measured in fractions of degrees and ounces of force. It is not a sport where one can brute strength your way through.

August

02-22-10, 06:34 PM

I think you are selling curling a bit short. It is a sport of finesse, where winning is measured in fractions of degrees and ounces of force. It is not a sport where one can brute strength your way through.

Never said it was though. What I meant was that old, fat, out of shape guys like me can curl just as well as the young and fit as long as we have the right "touch".

Gotland

02-23-10, 12:30 PM

To answer the OP's question:

Here where i live (Sweden) i feel is kinda the opposite.

The national channel (SVT, a public service channel) shows the olympics live through out the day (and night).

For me, who dislikes winter and being currently in one of the snowiest, longest, and coldest winters in Sweden for 20 years, and having virtually no interest in winter sports, i get a little bit tired of the Olympics.

SVT's regular shows and movies are cancelled alot in favor of olympics live coverage. But not only for the game itself, they show "experts" making analysis, afteranalysis, slowmotion inspection of footages, discussing "tragedies" of athletes hurt knees and cold infections and etc. I wish there was this much coverage and discussion during the Nobel Prizes.

The newspapers main articles also revolve around the Olympics.

Im a little tired of it, as you can see.
SVT should have a temporary seperate channel for the olympics, and keep the regular programming on the original channels. Because SVT1 and 2 have basically become "Olympics channel".

ReFaN

02-23-10, 12:52 PM

Highbury

02-23-10, 03:29 PM

I think you are selling curling a bit short. It is a sport of finesse, where winning is measured in fractions of degrees and ounces of force. It is not a sport where one can brute strength your way through.

It’s not just a rock. It’s forty-two pounds of polished granite, with a beveled underbelly and a handle a human can hold. In and of itself it looks like it has no practical purpose but it’s a... a repository.. of human possibility. And when it's handled just right, it exacts a kind of poetry. As close to poetry as I ever want to get. The way it moves. The way it can be moved, for ten years I've -- well, I've been around. I've drilled for oil on five continents. I’ve been in 93 countries and not once have I ever done anything that equals the grace of a well-thrown rock as it slides down a sheet. Seeing the sort of effort that a rink puts into guiding that stone. Not once, in everything I've done, have I ever felt the same wonder and humanity as when I'm playing the game of curling.

~ Men With Brooms :D

August

02-23-10, 04:03 PM

It’s not just a rock. It’s forty-two pounds of polished granite, with a beveled underbelly and a handle a human can hold. In and of itself it looks like it has no practical purpose but it’s a... a repository.. of human possibility. And when it's handled just right, it exacts a kind of poetry. As close to poetry as I ever want to get. The way it moves. The way it can be moved, for ten years I've -- well, I've been around. I've drilled for oil on five continents. I’ve been in 93 countries and not once have I ever done anything that equals the grace of a well-thrown rock as it slides down a sheet.

Ok, is it just me or does anyone else find this incredibly hot? :)

Highbury

02-23-10, 04:08 PM

I never thought of it that way.. considering the line in the movie was spoken by Paul Gross...
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:dD-yyG9XqLQAFM:http://anthonygeorge.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/paul-gross.jpg

:har: