The Rio Olympics are still a few months away.  But there's some news about it today.  So, time to start the thread:

 

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Russian track and field athletes banned from Rio Olympics by IAAF:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/06/17/iaaf-upholds-ban-russian-track-and-field-team-rio-olympics/85994148/

The opening ceremony for the Rio Olympics is tomorrow.  It seems like every Olympics has some stories of uncertainty and unpreparedness.  But the stories we've been getting from Rio have been pretty ominous.  Political upheaval in Brazil and security concerns, along with polluted water venues and the Zika virus have people wondering how this will turn out:

 

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/hq4v2g/the-nightly-show-with-larry-wilmore-the-rio-de-janeiro-hell-ympics

 

http://www.sbnation.com/2016/7/15/12122676/olympic-games-2016-rio-zika-security-budget-brazil

But assuming the Rio Olympics aren't a total disaster, here's the customary overview: http://www.si.com/olympics

 

The Opening and Closing ceremonies will take place at Rio's venerable Maracana Stadium - site of the 1950 & 2014 World Cup Finals:

 

Most of the other events will take place at the Olympic Park pictured below. The lagoon in the picture will also host many of the water events:

 

Couldn't find a digital version of this, so I scanned in SI's graphic describing the venues at the Olympic Park:

The new Metro Line 4 has cheesy-looking Chinese-built trains and not only curved station platforms, but even one with an S-curve.  They might even be sloped.  These stations would never, ever be built in the United States...obviously, they saved money by doing this rather than building them the "right" way. 

This all seems much less important now that the Cold War is over and people have more than 3 channels on their TVs.

This all seems much less important now that the Cold War is over and people have more than 3 channels on their TVs.

 

It's just not the same without the East German women's swim team. 

 

This all seems much less important now that the Cold War is over and people have more than 3 channels on their TVs.

 

It's just not the same without the East German women's swim team. 

 

 

Yeah, those dudes were hot.

This writer blames Bob Costas for the decline of the games:

http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/05/an-incomplete-list-of-why-nobody-really

^The Olympics are still a ratings powerhouse though in spite of laments about corruption, doping, bankruptcy, overweening politicization, etc.  Last night's opening ceremony didn't get the greatest reviews but I thought it was okay, with the usual showy, Orwellian-like choreography that's become its signature.  I generally just ignore the banter of commentators who aren't former athletes.

John Oliver's entertaining NSFW commentary on the Opening Ceremony and the Olympics:

 

i would like to nominate this sports announcer for head of the usoc! sure he may have lost his marbles on air, but he is right on point because this is exactly how everyone is feeling about nbc's olympics coverage and something needs to be done:

 

http://nypost.com/2016/08/10/tv-anchor-loses-his-mind-over-nbcs-olympics-stranglehold/

 

I haven't watched much of the coverage. Has there been any sign of Astrud Gilberto, the real Girl from Ipanema?? How dare they ignore her. Gisele Bundchen, indeed! :-P

^how wrong I was. The real Girl from Ipanema is Heloisa Pinheiro. I guess it would have seemed a little narcissistic for Astrud Gilberto to be singing about herself, at least in the 60's (in today's selfie culture perfectly acceptable :x). But if we're going to update her, why not my "good friend" Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, who I spotted in Soho two years ago. Why Gisele, why?? lol

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2016/08/12/the-ravens-stopped-their-preseason-game-to-watch-michael-phelps-win-the-200-im/

USA is leading the overall medal count after the first week: http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals

 

The highlights during first week of the Olympics were swimming and gymnastics:

 

- Michael Phelps got 4 golds (2 individual & 2 relay) and 1 silver.  Which brings his all-time medal count to a record 22 golds and 27 overall medals in four Olympics!

- Katie Ledecky got 4 golds and 1 silver.  Three of her golds were individual wins in the 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle.

- Simone Manuel won gold in the 100m freestyle (and is up for the 50m freestyle tonight) to become the first African-American swimmer to win gold.

- The U.S. women's team won the gymnastics all-around gold medal - led by Simone Biles who also won the individual all-around gold (and who some are calling the best gymnast ever).

Usain Bolt becomes the first person to win the 100-meter dash in three straight Olympics:

 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/usain-bolt-wins-gold-justin-gatlin-silver-100m-replay

^how wrong I was. The real Girl from Ipanema is Heloisa Pinheiro. I guess it would have seemed a little narcissistic for Astrud Gilberto to be singing about herself, at least in the 60's (in today's selfie culture perfectly acceptable :x). But if we're going to update her, why not my "good friend" Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, who I spotted in Soho two years ago. Why Gisele, why?? lol

 

 

 

 

yeah i don't think astrid gilberto was born when that song came out.

 

the today show, with its endlessly annoying lifestyle reports, naturally was all over this.

 

i happened to watch it, so if you want to see the real 'girl' here she is:

 

 

 

 

quite naturally she remains a big celebrity in brazil.

 

i have been to this cafe in rio where the song was written and there is no question how it all came about -- its in a great people watching spot on the way to the beach.

 

 

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did anybody see the 41y.o. 7-time uzbeki gymnast?

 

she is from bukhara, but trains in tashkent:

 

 

Hoping to beat Simone Biles, 41-year-old Uzbek gymnast attempts the ‘vault of death’

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/14/in-attempt-to-beat-simone-biles-41-year-old-uzbek-gymnast-attempted-the-vault-of-death/

^Astrud Gilberto is 76. She had to be around when the song came out.

^Astrud Gilberto is 76. She had to be around when the song came out.

 

yeah i was thinking of the gilberto's daughter, who is very active in music today. its not astrud's daughter though.

 

http://bebelgilberto.com

^Astrud Gilberto is 76. She had to be around when the song came out.

 

yeah i was thinking of the gilberto's daughter, who is very active in music today. its not astrud's daughter though.

 

http://bebelgilberto.com

I'm not that familiar with her. But since we're doing different versions of the song (okay, we really weren't) here's Brazilian singer Eliane Elias's. And a bonus of Baubles, Bangles and Beads. okay I'll stop.

 

 

bebel gilberto plays around nyc fairly often, look for her. i saw her at the beacon a while back.

Maybe my FB is just more social justice-y than most (probably is), but I have seen non-stop complaints about sexist media coverage of the Olympics.  Some gripes seem legit, but the majority of them seem so overblown and, simply put, stupid.  One that was really making the rounds was the Chicago Tribune (I think) tweeting about the wife of a Bears player who won a bronze in trap shooting, which I didn't even know was an Olympic sport.  All of the complaints were about the fact that the woman, named Corey Cogdell, was identified as the wife of Bears player rather than her name.  I'm sorry, but that is just idiotic.  The point of identifying Cogdell as the wife of a Bears player was to identify her connection to Chicago, and to make a connection between a local star with name recognition to this relatively unknown athlete who participates in a sport that very few people know or care about.  How many people do you think would click on a link to a story with a tweet that says "Corey Cogdell wins Bronze in Trap Shooting"? The fact that the Tribune pointed out that she was the wife of a local sports figure got her way more publicity and attention for achievement. 

 

Another one that has been making the rounds today is that there's a headline from a paper in a small town in Texas that used a headline about Phelps coming in second on the 100 fly final, while stating that Ledecky won gold and set a world record in the 800 free- an event that she was expected to completely dominate- in a smaller font under the larger headline.  Is this really proof of the media devaluing female achievements as it's so widely been claimed? I think it has way more to do with the fact that the greatest olympian of all time, an athlete with arguably one of the most internationally recognized names in the world is competing in his final olympics, and people can't get enough of him and his story lines.  Ledecky is an amazing athlete, but she is participating in her first games.  She doesn't have nearly the name recognition as Phelps, and with 23 gold medals, honestly Phelps deserves to get more attention than Ledecky.  She has received a ton of attention, and with her dominance in the sport, I'm sure she will be back for future olympics, and will almost certainly get more and more attention as she continues to build her medal count. 

 

I'm just sick of all these complaints from people simply looking to be offended.  It gets really, really old.

Katie Ledecky (or "The Ducky" as my nephew has been unintentionally calling her all week) is in her second olympics.  She won gold in the 800 freestyle in 2012.

I'm just sick of all these complaints from people simply looking to be offended.  It gets really, really old.

 

My women's studies teacher in college spent most of the semester talking about athletics, or rather complaining about the lack of attention to women's athletics.  This was 15 years ago, so obviously some women's sports have become more prominent, but there continues to be a denial by some that men compete at a much higher level in every sport in which both men and women do the same thing.  In some sports, an average man (serious amateur) can compete with elite women, like running and cycling.  In others, like tennis, the Williams sisters could mow down pretty much every amateur male tennis player in the world.

 

The U.S. women do so well in the Olympics because we have huge youth athletics programs + Title IX which gives scholarships to obscure sports like rowing.  I knew a girl in college who was approached by the rowing team and got a full scholarship for several years in exchange for getting up early and rowing 5 days a week and going to a few meets every year. 

 

 

 

 

USA has padded their lead in the overall medal count thru the second week: http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals

 

The second week highlights the track & field events:

 

- Usain Bolt completed his version of the "triple-double" by winning the 200m in his third straight Olympics, after winning the 100m in three straight Olympics.

- USA's Ashton Eaton won the decathlon in his second straight Olympics.

- Ryan Crouser led a 1-2 U.S. finish in the shot put.

- U.S. hurdlers won gold in the men's and women's 400m hurdles and the U.S. women swept all medals in the 100m hurdles.

 

More: http://www.sbnation.com/2016/8/18/12547498/2016-summer-olympics-track-and-field-results-usain-bolt-ashton-eaton-us-hurdlers-gold

^how wrong I was. The real Girl from Ipanema is Heloisa Pinheiro. I guess it would have seemed a little narcissistic for Astrud Gilberto to be singing about herself, at least in the 60's (in today's selfie culture perfectly acceptable :x). But if we're going to update her, why not my "good friend" Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, who I spotted in Soho two years ago. Why Gisele, why?? lol

 

 

 

Dude, you actually got that close to her? Wow!

 

I'm just sick of all these complaints from people simply looking to be offended.  It gets really, really old.

 

My women's studies teacher in college spent most of the semester talking about athletics, or rather complaining about the lack of attention to women's athletics.  This was 15 years ago, so obviously some women's sports have become more prominent, but there continues to be a denial by some that men compete at a much higher level in every sport in which both men and women do the same thing.  In some sports, an average man (serious amateur) can compete with elite women, like running and cycling.  In others, like tennis, the Williams sisters could mow down pretty much every amateur male tennis player in the world.

 

The U.S. women do so well in the Olympics because we have huge youth athletics programs + Title IX which gives scholarships to obscure sports like rowing.  I knew a girl in college who was approached by the rowing team and got a full scholarship for several years in exchange for getting up early and rowing 5 days a week and going to a few meets every year. 

 

 

 

 

 

I only caught the tail end of it so I'm unfamiliar but there was a woman runner in like the 800m that they went on and on about before the race about the sanctioning body trying to issue a ruling on gender. What is that all about?

 

I'm just sick of all these complaints from people simply looking to be offended.  It gets really, really old.

 

SJW's are using the Lochte story to show we are racist (compared to Gabby Douglas outage...have no idea what happened as I was on vacation) as well as showing "white male privilege" for rapists.

 

I only caught the tail end of it so I'm unfamiliar but there was a woman runner in like the 800m that they went on and on about before the race about the sanctioning body trying to issue a ruling on gender. What is that all about?

 

I believe her testosterone levels are above that of what is considered to be a female.  Something like that.  I remember it being an issue in 2012.

how about the dbag swimmer Lochte?  Think of the millions of dollars he's blown from this hold up story....

^how wrong I was. The real Girl from Ipanema is Heloisa Pinheiro. I guess it would have seemed a little narcissistic for Astrud Gilberto to be singing about herself, at least in the 60's (in today's selfie culture perfectly acceptable :x). But if we're going to update her, why not my "good friend" Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, who I spotted in Soho two years ago. Why Gisele, why?? lol

 

 

 

Dude, you actually got that close to her? Wow!

 

 

 

 

yeah, I happened to be walking by when this shoot was taking place. Apparently a lot of aspiring photogs had been tipped off about her appearance as it was a real circus atmosphere. Unlike most fashion shoots you encounter on the street this was very festive and inviting. I guess it's hard to control the masses--lol--

 

 

 

 

In others, like tennis, the Williams sisters could mow down pretty much every amateur male tennis player in the world.

 

Like that time the Williams sisters lost to an atheletically old, chainsmoking German player.

 

http://www.wearetennis.com/en_UK/2013/04/09/karsten-braasch-the-smoker-who-ridiculed-the-williams-sisters/1487

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

 

Usain Bolt completes a "triple-triple" to finish out his Olympic career by leading his Jamaican team to a 4x100m relay gold for the third straight Olympics.  Bolt is now a three time winner in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay:

 

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/bolt-gets-9th-olympic-gold-us-dqd-mens-4x100m-relay

The U.S. relay got DQ'd...AGAIN.  Please retire, Gatlin and Gay.

Kyle Snyder won an NCAA wrestling heavyweight title for Ohio State in March.  Yesterday, Kyle Snyder won gold in the men's wrestling freestyle 97 kg weight class on the final day of the Rio Olympics.  And at age 20, he became the youngest American wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2016/08/21/0821-Kyle-Snyder-Olympics.html

Final medal count:

 

 

Full listing at http://www.nbcolympics.com/medals

I understand if you took the USA women's medal count, alone, it would be the equivalent of the 2nd place country... For all the gripes and fears of viruses, danger and unsanitary conditions in Rio, these games turned out extremely well -- Ryan Locthe aside.  Personally, I was really into these Games and will miss them.

2036 Summer Olympics - Cleveland

100 years after the Great Lakes Exposition

Who's in?

^Olympics cost way too much.  Pass.

^Olympics cost way too much.  Pass.

 

If we get this bridge back it would be worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

I understand if you took the USA women's medal count, alone, it would be the equivalent of the 2nd place country... For all the gripes and fears of viruses, danger and unsanitary conditions in Rio, these games turned out extremely well -- Ryan Locthe aside.  Personally, I was really into these Games and will miss them.

 

Actually, it wasn't all roses.  I've been to Brasil numerous times, mostly Sao Paulo.  The living conditions as I stated before are well below the standard here in the states.  Crime was ridiculous, but to be expected.  The stadiums and turnout was worse than Athens.

 

The Brazilians didn't turn out for many events and the ride from venues was RIDICULOUS!  I went to quite a few volleyball games and when the Women's team was knocked out, the fans were stunned.  You would have thought that someone released carbon monoxide into the arena.  It was unreal.  It was shock...silence...then tears.

 

However, it was amazing to cheer on Kyrie.  We wore our Gold Cavs jerseys, thinking we would stand out and two other families (one for Burton) did the same thing. 

 

My nephews/nieces are spoiled, and I take credit for that.  So we went to some favelas so they could experience what "poor" people live like.  It was eye opening and extremely humbling.