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Thread: Summer Olympics in Rio

  1. #31
    Quote Originally Posted by justaute View Post
    FWIW...I played and coached vball at the U (under Coach L) way back when. Had a 35" vertical at 6'1". If I show up today at a stake center for pick-up, in most cases, I would be a super-star -- certainly was one in my younger days. Compare to the Olympians? I am nothing and was nothing. Just nothing. 35" vertical would be nothing to speak of among them. A Standing touch of 10'8" (with one step), even for a 6'1" guy, would be nothing compare to them. Though, I was pretty crafty for an under-sized player. Ball-control and arm-swing speed? I was quite good, but still won't be close.

    Just as a point of reference.
    Definitely. Volleyball is a third tier sport in the US, but even those guys must be in the 99th percentile for athleticism.

  2. #32
    Dear NBC, I turned on the tv tonight to watch the Olympics, not to watch 30 minutes of a dumb police/swimmer story.
    Last edited by sancho; 08-17-2016 at 09:32 PM.

  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    Definitely. Volleyball is a third tier sport in the US, but even those guys must be in the 99th percentile for athleticism.
    I used to play with a group of former pro beach guys and men and women who played at UCLA, Pepperdine, USC, etc. They could all still jump out of the gym. I was in my early 20s and they were mostly in their 30s-40s and beyond. I had a height advantage on most of them at the net, but it is still terrifying to see a 6'3" guy with a 35"+ vertical ripping 90mph kills down the line. One of the younger guys (Jr Olympian) had a legit 43" vertical. I am 6'6" and still looked at his armpit every time I went up against him at the net. And this was in a gym with a good floor. On sand I felt like I had the leaking ability of Rick Majerus.

    Good times. Some days I really miss SoCal.

  4. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    Dear NBC, I turned on the tv tonight to watch the Olympics, not to watch 30 minutes of a dumb police/swimmer story.
    My cousin is working the games for NBC. I told him I would pay him a thousand bucks if he would somehow lock all of the on-air talent in their hotel rooms for the duration of the games. (esp opening/closing ceremonies).

    He laughed. My bribe was too small apparently.

  5. #35
    Malleus Cougarorum Solon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    Dear NBC, I turned on the tv tonight to watch the Olympics, not to watch 30 minutes of a dumb police/swimmer story.
    This is turning into the strangest Olympics story I remember.

    There are always scandals & intrigues, sure, but they usually revolve around the competition and rarely involve law enforcement.

    I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm pretty sure that there is more yet to be revealed.
    σοφῷ ἀνδρὶ Ἑλλὰς πάντα.
    -- Flavius Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 1.35.2.

  6. #36
    My guess is Lochte didn't want to tell his mom the reason he got home so late was because he went to a brothel, so he made up the robbery story.

  7. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by Solon View Post
    This is turning into the strangest Olympics story I remember.
    It might be strange, but it's also uninteresting. Why does anyone care whether the B-side swimmer to Michael Phelps was robbed in Rio?

  8. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    It might be strange, but it's also uninteresting. Why does anyone care whether the B-side swimmer to Michael Phelps was robbed in Rio?

    Lochness monster is a known moron.

    I was there when the two swimmers were released from questioning. The station where they were held is down the street from our offices.

  9. #39
    Lyan Rochte. Way to represent your alma mater. Go Gators!

    At least now the state of Washington doesn't have too claim the single most embarrassing Olympian of the games...

  10. #40
    Malleus Cougarorum Solon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    It might be strange, but it's also uninteresting. Why does anyone care whether the B-side swimmer to Michael Phelps was robbed in Rio?
    It's very compelling in light of the threats of street crime that hung over the build-up to the Games. At this point, Rio is looking for "Legacy" to define its Olympic success (since it's obviously not a financially success to host the Games).

    Legacy matters to politicians, to the IOC, to future bidding cities, to academics, and ultimately to the citizens of Rio. If Lochte made it up (and the most recent story suggests that he was shaken down by a security guard after peeing on / behind a gas station - sort of a robbery, but not quite the same thing he reported), it's pretty embarrassing for the USOC (and there might be anti-US repercussions from the IOC on, say LA's bid for 2024). If Lochte really was robbed, then it's a further stain on a slipshod and ramshackle Olympic festival.

    just because you think it's uninteresting doesn't make it necessarily so.
    σοφῷ ἀνδρὶ Ἑλλὰς πάντα.
    -- Flavius Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 1.35.2.

  11. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Solon View Post
    just because you think it's uninteresting doesn't make it necessarily so.
    That's true. One of my few strengths is that I'm not usually very intrigued by scandal. Obviously, NBC thinks Lochte talk will interest viewers more than track and field events.

    In my mind, Rio's legacy is sure just because of what Phelps and Bolt have done.

  12. #42
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Summer Olympics in Rio

    Allison Felix's mom taught my daughter in elementary school and Allison went to high school a few blocks from us. The Felixes are a great family and it's great to see someone like Allison, who is just a fine person, become the most decorated American female Olympic athlete ever. Trivia note: She's only 5'6". If you saw her in real life you might wonder how someone that tiny could be such a powerful runner. She's awesome.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

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    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  13. #43
    Administrator U-Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    Allison Felix's mom taught my daughter in elementary school and Allison went to high school a few blocks from us. The Felixes are a great family and it's great to see someone like Allison, who is just a fine person, become the most decorated American female Olympic athlete ever. Trivia note: She's only 5'6". If you saw her in real life you might wonder how someone that tiny could be such a powerful runner. She's awesome.
    About 5'3" of her is legs. That's how.

  14. #44
    Five-O Diehard Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LA Ute View Post
    Allison Felix's mom taught my daughter in elementary school and Allison went to high school a few blocks from us. The Felixes are a great family and it's great to see someone like Allison, who is just a fine person, become the most decorated American female Olympic athlete ever. Trivia note: She's only 5'6". If you saw her in real life you might wonder how someone that tiny could be such a powerful runner. She's awesome.
    Allyson



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  15. #45
    The winter olympics is the world's largest collection of attractive athletes. All the sports are for rich people, and you have a disproportionate percentage of Sven's and whatever Scandinavian women are called.

    Hockey provides some balance with a bunch of toothless guys. And curling has otherwise normal joe's who happened to be weird enough to gravitate toward ice-shuffleboard.

  16. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    . . .and whatever Scandinavian women are called.
    Inga

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    “To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.

  17. #47
    Please to help me with my rucksack!

  18. #48
    Love this technology where they superimpose competitors in different races on top of each other. Especially cool in the ski and speed skating competitions.
    “Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman

    "You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb

    "Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.

  19. #49
    One of the best stories from these Olympics.

    https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/stat...46567192997889

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