London 2012. Let the Games Begin...

[Feanor]

I watched the opening ceremony live over the internet on a Canadian station, then on NBC with the gf. I noticed a few differences in the two telecasts. 1) NBC showed a ton more commercials, not surprisingly; 2) The NBC commentators would not shut the f*** up. I guess they assume Americans have an average IQ of 70 and need to be told what they are seeing every five seconds. I also liked how NBC had to tell us when a country was Muslim. I mean wtf is up with that? The Canadian crew was much less intrusive and annoying; 3) NBC completely left out an entire segment, and perhaps the most moving part of the ceremony. I guess that vanilla interview with Phelps was much more important since that is what was shown instead.

I would have watched it live online if I had remembered, but the coverage on NBC was poor. Hours late, full of ads and unnecessary babbling, and they edited out the 7/7 memorial bit in favor of a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps.

The online streaming coverage is great, though, if you have a cable subscription that includes CNBC and MSNBC.

[Naples39]

the Olympics are very much a second-rate soccer tournament. Nowhere near the quality of the World Cup, Euros or even the English Premier League.

Yep.

Even a second rate fan like me knows that .

At least that is how I see Olympic soccer.

Europeans don't go to watch Olympic soccer, which makes sense that they spend 9 months a year watching better soccer every week;

Average Olympic soccer attendance: Men’s (back to ’72) In Europe 18102 Outside Europe 34881; Women’s In Europe 10432 Outside Europe 30310

Regarding the coverage, I'm still getting my head around the options. There are two NBC apps, and a bunch of new channels created, on my comcast basic digital package anyway. There's even a channel solely dedicated to olympic soccer. I guess this is good, considering I've found the prime time coverage to be unbearable the last few Olympics. Between the ads, features, jumping back and forth between events...it takes 3 hours to see 15 minutes of an event, which is basically just a brief package of american appearances.

[Gurantsu]

I like having the ability to watch all of the events online whenever I want, but NBC's coverage itself is horrible. Commercials out the wazoo, and you're right, they do seem to talk down to their audience. It's almost like they are afraid to not have someone saying... anything. That skill has always been the hallmark of the best sports announcers, they know when to shut the hell up.

Oh well, at least it will get me ready for the cringe-fest of Buck and McCarver when the World Series rolls around.

[JRod]

Well if you don't pay for cable TV, which I don't. The NBC app is useless. I pay for comcast internet but no go through that.

Wish there was someway to watch the BBC coverage.

[fsquid]

www.my-expat-network.co.uk

[wco81]

Someone pointed out that as bad as the Olympic apps are, a few years ago, cable companies offered additional Olympics channels, like a package of 3 additional ones, for like $100. It was James Dolan's idea and the package was a huge flop.

So at least you kind of have the ability to see the events on demand.

Gotta get the AppleTV hooked up to see how the app. looks on the big screen.


As for soccer, something is fishy when Spain is 0-2 in the group.

Makes sense, after long season of domestic leagues, CL, the Euro and international qualifiers, now the Olympic Games when preseason for the leagues are starting up?

[10spro]

Makes sense, after long season of domestic leagues, CL, the Euro and international qualifiers, now the Olympic Games when preseason for the leagues are starting up?

A bit of that I guess but then again when you look at their lineup, winning an Olympic gold is not as pressing as the Euro finals. Mata could have scored four himself when he missed just by inches.

The TV ratings in Canada are pretty high for the events and more so for the BBC. And despite the infinite commercials, NBC's rate seems to have improved also from the last summer Olympics.

[RobVarak]

I generally find nothing less illuminating than athlete interviews, but man Ryan Lochte looked close to tears when he was grilled by Andrea Kramer last night. She wasn't exactly giving him the full Mike Wallace, but he looked like he was ready to fold like a cheap Chinese-made Ralph Lauren tent.

If I saw a horse with that body language before a race I'd be more likely to buy a racetrack hot dog than lay a nickle on it.

[pk500]

I generally find nothing less illuminating than athlete interviews, but man Ryan Lochte looked close to tears when he was grilled by Andrea Kramer last night. She wasn't exactly giving him the full Mike Wallace, but he looked like he was ready to fold like a cheap Chinese-made Ralph Lauren tent.

If I saw a horse with that body language before a race I'd be more likely to buy a racetrack hot dog than lay a nickle on it.

Is it just me, or does Lochte not seem to be the sharpest tool in the proverbial shed when interviewed? His reliance on speaking in cliches and single syllables was even more pronounced when he was interviewed along with the other members of the U.S. 4 x 100 relay team, as those three guys all were well-spoken.

[XXXIV]

And for yet another Olympiad living in the USA, the tape delay has been magic.

[F308GTB]

The boxing has been a farce

[Teal]

I generally find nothing less illuminating than athlete interviews, but man Ryan Lochte looked close to tears when he was grilled by Andrea Kramer last night. She wasn't exactly giving him the full Mike Wallace, but he looked like he was ready to fold like a cheap Chinese-made Ralph Lauren tent.

If I saw a horse with that body language before a race I'd be more likely to buy a racetrack hot dog than lay a nickle on it.

Is it just me, or does Lochte not seem to be the sharpest tool in the proverbial shed when interviewed? His reliance on speaking in cliches and single syllables was even more pronounced when he was interviewed along with the other members of the U.S. 4 x 100 relay team, as those three guys all were well-spoken.

Give the kid a break, he had a case of the munchies...

[pk500]

The boxing has been a farce

Absolutely. The horrendous decision in the bout yesterday between the Iranian and Japanese fighters, which thankfully the AIBA reversed, was a low point. But Terrell Gausha -- the U.S. team's second-best fighter behind Rau'shee Warren -- was screwed out of a decision today against Vijender, a former Olympic medalist from India.

Olympic boxing is infested with problems. A ridiculous scoring system that I'm sure some judges -- especially those from countries without a true boxing infrastructure - don't even understand, corrupt or incompetent referees are just the beginning.

I'm not one to rattle sabers surrounding international sport, but it also seems like most non-North American judges will go out of their way to screw American fighters. All five of the judges in the Gausha-Vijender fight came from countries with current or historical grudges against the U.S.: Belarus (former Soviet republic), France ('Nuff said), Turkey (98 percent Muslim nation), Algeria (99 percent Muslim nation), Lithuania (former Soviet republic).

The unethical and inept judging and officiating is a shame because some of the action in the ring has been really exciting. Some fine pro prospects for the future are exchanging blows in London.

Maybe women's competition will save boxing at these Olympics, offering a bit of fair play and purity in their Olympic debut. But I doubt it.

[RallyMonkey]

I generally find nothing less illuminating than athlete interviews, but man Ryan Lochte looked close to tears when he was grilled by Andrea Kramer last night. She wasn't exactly giving him the full Mike Wallace, but he looked like he was ready to fold like a cheap Chinese-made Ralph Lauren tent.

If I saw a horse with that body language before a race I'd be more likely to buy a racetrack hot dog than lay a nickle on it.

Is it just me, or does Lochte not seem to be the sharpest tool in the proverbial shed when interviewed? His reliance on speaking in cliches and single syllables was even more pronounced when he was interviewed along with the other members of the U.S. 4 x 100 relay team, as those three guys all were well-spoken.

I said the exact same thing to my wife during that interview. But clearly the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

http://usat.ly/N4Sg8P

[pk500]

Track and field starts today. Thank God. There's only so much swimming and gymnastics I can take.

[DivotMaker]

Track and field starts today. Thank God. There's only so much swimming and gymnastics I can take.

Ditto....

[10spro]

I don't mind the men's gymnastics though and yes look forward to the Bolt.

In tennis a couple of days ago Tsonga beat Raonic 25-23 in the final set as there's no tie breaker in the last deciding set. A brilliant game going on between Del Potro and R. Federer going also the distance now tied at 15 games each in the last set after 4 hours of battle.

[Naples39]

What else should you expect from the Brazilian volleyball team?

http://deadspin.com/5931494/this-is-the ... -ever-seen

[pk500]

OK, fellas: What is the "Super Bowl" of the Summer Olympics? What is the single most-watched race or event worldwide? Not sport, but event?

My vote goes to the men's 100-meter dash. There is universal interest and appeal to see the fastest human on the planet. Nearly everyone can relate to that.

What do you think?

[rhymes450]

In some ways, tennis might be a bit of a gatecrasher at the olympics, but that was drama of the highest order. Fed just about deserved to shade it on the basis of chances in the final set but Delpo just didn't deserve to lose that.

I like table tennis so I've vaguely followed the rise of Zhang Jike, the latest in the seemingly endless stream of brilliant Chinese players. He was taken the full distance in the round of 16 by my favourite current player, Samsonov, but he looks set to reign at the top of the sport for a few years to come. Incredible backhand, lightening hands and feet and incredibly agressive like all the top Chinese players.

On the subject of boxing, a sport I know virtually nothing about, I caught the final round of the Ogogo v Khrytov middleweight bout and the expert pundits on the channel I was watching were more than mildly surprised by the decision, so it looks as though the sport at this level may have a problem in terms of credibility, which is a shame. It must be brutally tough on guys to go through all the incredible hard work in training and then end up on the wrong end of unfair decisions in such an important event...only four years to go to the next opportunity...very bitter pill to swallow.

[wco81]

Well there seemed to be more interest when American sprinters dominated the event.

Still the "fastest human" does have some marquis value.

But do most people know the top sprinters aside from Bolt?

OTOH, it seems people know who are the members of Team USA.

[pk500]

The ethics surrounding officiating and judging of Olympic boxing have been suspect, at best, in London. But Rau'shee Warren -- the best fighter on the U.S. team -- just flat-out blew his fight today against a Frenchman. Warren won the first round and then just folded in the second and third rounds.

Warren needs to turn pro, where counter-punching can be a very effective strategy. Short, intense amateur bouts favor skilled pressure fighters.

Third consecutive winless exit in the Olympics for Warren. Disappointing.

And Errol Spence Jr. lost at welterweight, eliminating the U.S. team in the Round of 16. Worst Olympic boxing performance EVER by the United States, which failed to medal for the first time.

The USA Boxing hierarchy needs to be detonated and completely rebuilt. Embarrassing beyond belief.

[Feanor]

Getting the event replay of today's rowing to load on NBC's site is a real pain in the ass. But I need to watch those two NZ gold medals from this morning.

[Jimmydeicide]

What else should you expect from the Brazilian volleyball team?

http://deadspin.com/5931494/this-is-the ... -ever-seen

That was brilliant , who knew that was legal eh.

On a side note Tyler Clary got Gold in 200m medley. Very cool to watch as me and his Dad Used to go drinking together while our boys where on the ice practicing. Very cool to see that race unfold.

[Feanor]

Great basketball game going on between USA and Lithuania right now.