# Beijing 2008



## Sentient

Anybody else stoked about watching the Olympics over the next couple of weeks? I'm especially looking forward to all of the cycling events, while my wife enjoys all the swimming events. 

So who else grooves on any particular events?


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## darren

I can barely contain my apathy about the Olympic games.

Maybe i'm just cynical, but to me, the games have been tainted by politics, doping and drug scandals, and by allowing professional athletes (hockey, basketball) to compete in what is supposed to be amateur sport competition.


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## Sebastian

I plan to watch TEAM USA win the Gold in Basketball... great team.. they'll kick everyones ass !


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## xXxPriestessxXx

I guess I am showing how much of a "girl" I am but I really like gymnastics. It amazes me that anyone can make their bodies do those things.


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## progmetaldan

Looking forwards to some of the team sports, and watching Australia DOMINATE!!!


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## Azyiu

Can't wait to watch Team USA vs. China tomorrow. Go USA!


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## GH0STrider

Azyiu said:


> Can't wait to watch Team USA vs. China tomorrow. Go USA!


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## The Dark Wolf

I'm stoked as hell. Basically, I'm down with -
*
Combat Sports*
1. Greco and Freestyle Wrestling
2. Judo
3. Boxing
4. Probably some Tae Kwon Do

*Basketball*

And that's the main ones. I'll probably catch some track events, cycling, weightlifting, and the rest just a hodgepodge assortment.


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## buffa d

Did anyone notice that Russia and Georgia are at war right now?
Talk about olympic peace..


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## Zak1233

I cant fucking wait to watch Nadal win gold for tennis, looking foreword to all the usual stuff too, and what a amazing opening ceremoney! i highly doubt london will be able to top that in the 2012 olympics... infact i highly doubt that anyone will be able to top that for at least another 10 years ( its shit how its only every 4 years the olympics take place, but cos of the money etc no wonder they have to wait )


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## FortePenance

Football.

That's about it. Maybe watch hurdles to see if Liu Xiang wins it again but asides from that not really.


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## DelfinoPie

I enjoy watching the boxing the most out of all the events.

Although the rowing is quite fun to watch as well, especially when its really close between teams. It's 'edge of the seat' kind of stuff.


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## buffa d

Zak1233 said:


> I cant fucking wait to watch Nadal win gold for tennis, looking foreword to all the usual stuff too, and what a amazing opening ceremoney! i highly doubt london will be able to top that in the 2012 olympics... infact i highly doubt that anyone will be able to top that for at least another 10 years ( its shit how its only every 4 years the olympics take place, but cos of the money etc no wonder they have to wait )



Yeah, the ceremony was just simply amazing!
And you are right about Nadal. Federer has been pretty much impossible to beat for so long.
I really like watching the fast-paced running events. Football is a must.
Javelin throw is also cool.
Although I think I could watch just about anything that goes on in there.
Just today I watched swimming for a couple of hours


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## RondoAllaTurca

Hey, Phelps set a world record. We may not be too good with words or wars, but by god, we can swim.


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## D-EJ915

all the shit NBC cares about is swimming but that's one of the things I used to do so I'm alright with that.


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## All_¥our_Bass

I'm not really gonna be paying that much attention, because I perfer the sports in the winter olympics. But the opening ceremonies were TOTAL!! EPIC!! WIN!!


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## DelfinoPie

Wehay, gold for Great Britain in the women's road biking 

Although we lost out on the bronze for archery by like 2 points to France. China and Korea fucking own at archery


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## Azyiu

Team USA vs China was a very entertaining event. Good game, but I thought Yao didn?t get the ball enough.


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## Sebastian

Yeah ! 
USA won.. some great steals, dunks ... rebounds... that's the spirit !


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## playstopause

All_¥our_Bass;1167608 said:
 

> But the opening ceremonies were TOTAL!! EPIC!! WIN!!



 That was epic.

Me likes some olympic female voleyball


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## progmetaldan

RondoAllaTurca said:


> Hey, Phelps set a world record. We may not be too good with words or wars, but by god, we can swim.



Australia is still King in the water...


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## Popsyche

progmetaldan said:


> Australia is still King in the water...



Yeah they are! Right behind the USA and France! 

[action=Popsyche]just watched a kick-ass relay[/action]


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## The Dark Wolf

Grumble.

Why the fuck doesn't USA coverage include judo? Fuck... the gymnast are sexy n' shit,but c'mon, how does gymnastics?

Ghey.

Oh well... at least the US won in B- Ball.


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## Rick

Popsyche said:


> Yeah they are! Right behind the USA and France!
> 
> [action=Popsyche]just watched a kick-ass relay[/action]



*Rick saw that relay as well.*


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## thedownside

playstopause said:


> That was epic.
> 
> Me likes some olympic female voleyball



Beach VolleyBall


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## Scali

I'm watching in HD again, just like football and Tour de France earlier this year, very nice.
I'm certainly keeping an eye on the swimming events. We (NL) already won gold in the 4x100m freestyle for women. Van den Hoogenband will make an attempt at gold again on the 100m freestyle. And I'm also following Phelps, I'd like to see him pull off the 8x gold this time. 2 down, 6 to go 

I also like cycling, especially the time trial (Schumacher vs Cancellara?). NL also has some chances on medals on the track.

And well I follow other random things as and when...


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## FortePenance

thedownside said:


> Beach VolleyBall



God damn the Poland vs. China game was hot.


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## Kevan

Okay....I went to take a leak and what do ya know....another gold for Phelps.

That guy swims so fast he creates a boat-type wake. Crazy.
NBC has a cool feature called the "World Record Line". It's a little green line across the lanes during the swim events. 
In the 800m Relay, the WRL couldn't keep up with the USA swimmers. LOL

---------------------------

_Dear China,
Just because her last name is "Xvi", that doesn't mean she's 16.

Sincerely,
A Former Potential (Winter) Olympic Athlete._


Come on...someone get Chris Hansen on the phone.
There are a couple of those girls that were MAYBE 13.
Next month.

That's not me being sore about getting silver in the Women's Gymnastics Team competition.
That's called frickin' reality.


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## D-EJ915

those chinese girls are like 12 man  they were favoured a lot in the scoring as well.


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## xXxPriestessxXx

OUr gymnastics team did make quite a few mistakes but I felt there might have been a little home cooking. Plus there is no way most of those Chinese girls were 16.


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## D-EJ915

xXxPriestessxXx said:


> OUr gymnastics team did make quite a few mistakes but I felt there might have been a little home cooking. Plus there is no way most of those Chinese girls were 16.


yeah I feel bad for the one girl because you know she is feeling like she killed it for the US

and this Hungarian guy dislocated/broke his arm during weightlifting, that would suck so bad 







oh and

(01:29:38) NiTrO bOiE: whoa, volleyball... yes!
(01:29:54) NiTrO bOiE: venezvuala is wearing draws man
(01:29:57) NiTrO bOiE: not even shorts lol


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## xXxPriestessxXx

That girl that feel off the balance beam did something very similar at the U.S. trials in 2004 and she didn't make the team because of it. You could tell she was deeply upset. 


Oh and Hungarian man gets my sympathy. That really has to suck.


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## The Dark Wolf

The girl that fucked up is Alicia Sacramone, and she is fine as hell. With a booty like whoa.

I could console her.


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## xXxPriestessxXx

She looks manly to me.


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## The Dark Wolf

xXxPriestessxXx said:


> She looks manly to me.



 You were scoping her?


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## The Dark Wolf

And no man has an ass like that.


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## Luvuvibanez

Phelps just won his 10th gold. He' now the the Oplympian with the most golds.


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## xXxPriestessxXx

I wasn't scoping but it is hard not to notice how someone looks when the camera is all in there face.  That is what looks particularly manly about her to me as well. Of course it could have just been the way she was wearing her hair or something. I don't pay attention to her any other time so it is possible that she just came across that way tonight.


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## The Dark Wolf

Actually he's won 11 total. 

Phelps wins fifth gold in Beijing, record 11th - 2008 Olympics - SI.com


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## Luvuvibanez

The Dark Wolf said:


> Actually he's won 11 total.
> 
> Phelps wins fifth gold in Beijing, record 11th - 2008 Olympics - SI.com



I guess I lost count


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## The Dark Wolf

He's got enough to lose count on.  After 4 or 5, we should just give up.


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## xXxPriestessxXx

Phelps is a freakin machine. You know it has to suck for the other swimmers because they know going in that they have very slim chances of winning.


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## The Dark Wolf

xXxPriestessxXx said:


> Sacramone is a freakin babe. You know it has to suck for the other gymnasts because they know going in that they have very slim chances of looking hotter.


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## xXxPriestessxXx

Yeah that is exactly what I said. 

Too bad she completely blew it for us tonight.


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## The Dark Wolf

She fulfilled my expectations.


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## Zepp88

The Dark Wolf said:


> She fulfilled my expectations.



I have a reason to watch the olympics?


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## The Dark Wolf

Zepp88 said:


> I have a reason to watch the olympics?



I sure do.


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## Zepp88

The Dark Wolf said:


> I sure do.



Gahhhhh, workblocked, quick, host the pic on the forum!


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## xXxPriestessxXx

Boys.


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## The Dark Wolf

Zepp88 said:


> Gahhhhh, workblocked, quick, host the pic on the forum!



Gladly.


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## The Dark Wolf

There's a Romanian gymnast who is pretty darn sexy, too.

What is it about gymnasts? Besides the nice butts, great legs, petiteness, fitness, flexibility...

Whoa, I digress!


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## Zepp88

xXxPriestessxXx said:


> Boys.





The Dark Wolf said:


> Gladly.



 Lovely!


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## Kevan

Sacramone has bigger lats than Shannon Sharpe.
(and I'm not talkin' about the beloved laundry basket pilot from this forum)
What's nice about her is that she's got a nice rack which is not normally seen in gymnasts. 
Then again, she's old enough to vote (something the Chinese girls will have to wait 2 more Olympics to do).

I wouldn't say Sacramone "lost it for the US". Her mount onto the balance beam was pretty damn tough.
Way tougher than the 'bounce straight up' that the others were doing.


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## ohio_eric

Hot gymnasts who are legal FTW!!


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## Marko

The Dark Wolf said:


> Gladly.




wow!! and i've been watching tennis


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## Matt Crooks

There's video of the weightlifter now:

[liveleak]33a_1218642189[/liveleak]​
OUCH OUCH OUCH


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## D-EJ915

xXxPriestessxXx said:


> Boys.


girls...


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## Groff

Matt Crooks said:


> There's video of the weightlifter now:
> 
> [liveleak]33a_1218642189[/liveleak]​
> OUCH OUCH OUCH



I like how China found a way to censor live events too...


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## Zak1233

The Dark Wolf said:


> Gladly.




she was yum indeed! loved the womens finals today, such amazing skillszz

and whats the link to that weight lifting injury ??? i cant find it on liveseek :/


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## SevenDeadly

D-EJ915 said:


> girls...




we're a bunch of dirty old men


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## Zak1233

SevenDeadly said:


> we're a bunch of dirty old men



!!!!!!
she must feel like shit seeing that in a magazine


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## D-EJ915

holy shit!  I doubt that's real though



TheMissing said:


> I like how China found a way to censor live events too...


the best part is they replay it like 6 times from different angles


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## Zak1233

D-EJ915 said:


> the best part is they replay it like 6 times from different angles



 thats what i was thinking too, i love how the commentators are like GOD NOT AGAIN!!! haha


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## Azyiu

Hong Kong time tonight is also known as payback time for Team USA basketball... it is US of A vs. Greece! Go USA!


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## D-EJ915

the Chinese guy in the gymnastics is destroying, nobody is sticking landings though except artemev who did one...maybe somebody else did they didn't show any...


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## Luvuvibanez

I like this angle better


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## Zepp88

Frances golden girl


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## msherman

Alicia= Hotness!


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## Sentient

TheMissing said:


> I like how China found a way to censor live events too...



In that particular situation, I found their actions to be rather appropriate and respectful, given the circumstances at hand. What happened to that wrestler was a horrific thing to see. I've seen other scenes (like really bad crashes in motor sports) where safety crews will put up a tarp or screen, to prevent tv & photographers from capturing broken bodies being pulled from wreckage. I don't think of it as censorship, as much as it's respect for the victim & their families. 

I couldn't believe how many times they replayed it, though. I thought that was a little unnecessary. My heart went out for the dude.


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## The Dark Wolf

Chinese news service cited gymnast as 13 - 2008 Olympics - SI.com


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## Apex1rg7x

And Phelps wins another Gold!! Whats he up to 6 now? Geez hes a freaking machine. 

I also love me some girls gymnastics


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## B Lopez

D-EJ915 said:


> girls...



that look...


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## Zepp88

It's love at first sight.


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## The Dark Wolf

I used to date a chick that could been Shawn Johnson's sister.


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## Zepp88

The Dark Wolf said:


> I used to date a chick that could been Shawn Johnson's sister.


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## The Dark Wolf

That chick is like 4'9".  She's short as heck! I thought maybe that Nastia girl was tall, because she towers over the other girls.

 She's like 5'2" or so.


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## D-EJ915

I used to date shawn johnson


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## The Dark Wolf

Internet has the hots for Olympic gymnast Alicia Sacramone | Web Scout | Los Angeles Times



Appears I'm not the only one. #1 search on Google.


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## Sebastian

First Polish Gold 
Men's Shot Put - Tomasz Majewski 


Before he threw the ball.. he shouted "Fuck Now!".. and he won


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## Groff

Sebastian said:


> First Polish Gold
> Men's Shot Put - Tomasz Majewski
> 
> 
> Before he threw the ball.. he shouted "Fuck Now!".. and he won






Glad my native country won something.


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## D-EJ915

shotput is insane, I can throw it like 6 feet  congrats to poland!


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## Sebastian

Thanks
Well... Its probably the only gold well win in china 
Still 1 is better tahn 0


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## playstopause

Got my new LCD 1080p 40'' Samsung... Watching the Olympics is now


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## -K4G-

Holycrap Usain Bolt is fucking fast. And he's not trying.


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## Spoongirl

COME ON FERNANDO GONZALES IN THE TENNIS FINAL OMG GO GO GO GO!!! 

Gosh he's cute  and Nadal too  

GO FOR THE GOLD DAMMIT!!!!


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## Zak1233

fernando shouldnt have gotten past that round, blake should have won seeing as fernando cheated

CMON NADAL!!!


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## Spoongirl

Zak1233 said:


> fernando shouldnt have gotten past that round, blake should have won seeing as fernando cheated
> 
> CMON NADAL!!!



I don't know. I don't believe that's the reason why he beated Blake, cuz he missed several match points. They both made an awesome game though.


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## Rick

D-EJ915 said:


> I used to date shawn johnson


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## ZeroSignal

D-EJ915 said:


> I used to date shawn johnson



 Orly?


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## Rick

I believe they are 4 or 5 years apart so I don't believe it.


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## D-EJ915

obviously it was a joke


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## Rick

Oh really?


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## The Dark Wolf

I would date Shawn Johnson.

1 word - spinner.


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## playstopause

-K4G- said:


> Holycrap Usain Bolt is fucking fast. And he's not trying.



Epic win for him! That was spectacular!

8th gold medal for Phelps tonight?


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## ohio_eric

The Dark Wolf said:


> I would date Shawn Johnson.
> 
> 1 word - spinner.



Two words: statutory rape


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## D-EJ915

ohio_eric said:


> Two words: statutory rape


I think you mean to say *totally awesome*


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## ZeroSignal

D-EJ915 said:


> I think you mean to say *totally awesome*



Actually he meant:


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## Zak1233

would be pretty sweet if shawn johnson done a floor routine to that


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## Apex1rg7x

Well Michael Phelps did it. 8 gold medals is truly remarkable i dont care what anyone says. Arguably the greatest sports achievement of all time in my opinion, even more impressive than Lance's 7 tour de france titles. Congrats Michael that was amazing.

Oh and Usain Bolt is a freak of nature. He coasts across the line for the last 15 meters and still crushes his previous world record time. That was crazy.


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## D-EJ915

actually what I mean is 








>__>


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## D-EJ915

btw sacramone guys wow - Bodybuilding.com Forums


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## Zak1233

D-EJ915 said:


> btw sacramone guys wow - Bodybuilding.com Forums


that link is win


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## The Dark Wolf

Man, I told you guys. Sacramone is a fucking babe.


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## Zak1233

NADAL WON!! WOOOOOOOOOOO 

im pleased as you can tell


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## ZeroSignal

D-EJ915 said:


> actually what I mean is
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >__>



You're the one on the left, yeah?


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## ohio_eric

D-EJ915 said:


> btw sacramone guys wow - Bodybuilding.com Forums



Why is Jeff on a bodybuilding forum? Also, why is Jeff looking at girls that aren't anime?


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## Zak1233

ohio_eric said:


> Why is Jeff on a bodybuilding forum? Also, why is Jeff looking at girls that aren't anime?


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## Sentient

Apex1rg7x said:


> Arguably the greatest sports achievement of all time in my opinion, even more impressive than Lance's 7 tour de france titles.


Incredibly impressive, yes, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it surpassed Lance's 7 consecutive Tour de France victories. I would argue that a single 23 day TDF event and all it entails, is just not an equal comparison to the brief minute or two involved in a typical swimming event. Not to take anything away from Phelps at all, but it's just a bit like comparing apples to oranges.



Apex1rg7x said:


> Oh and Usain Bolt is a freak of nature. He coasts across the line for the last 15 meters and still crushes his previous world record time. That was crazy.


I agree that what Bolt did was just ungodly. Simply ran away from everyone else with ease, leaving the rest to run their hearts out for 2nd place. I don't know what that guy eats for breakfast, but I sure would like a bowl each day. He must be pouring rocket fuel on his cereal.


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## msherman

I always wondered why Synchronized Swimming was an Olympic Sport?
Maybe this has something to do with it.


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## playstopause

msherman said:


> I always wondered why Synchronized Swimming was an Olympic Sport?



Really? It's one of the toughest sport!


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## msherman




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## D-EJ915

that must be why


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## Zak1233

msherman said:


>



now i know where the phrase pussy magnet comes from


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## auxioluck

I'm sorry, I need to vent. Alicia Sacramone was screwed. That chinese girl landed ON HER KNEES and still beat Sacramone. HOW???? I can guarantee if Sacramone had landed on her knees, she would have been last place. Fucking bullshit. That is all.


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## -K4G-

Sacramone is yesterdays news.


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## Azyiu

auxioluck said:


> I'm sorry, I need to vent. Alicia Sacramone was screwed. That chinese girl landed ON HER KNEES and still beat Sacramone. HOW???? I can guarantee if Sacramone had landed on her knees, she would have been last place. Fucking bullshit. That is all.



I feel for you, but here are the answers.

A) Judging is subjective

B) That Chinese girl, and her name is Cheng Fei, by the way; earned slightly less in deductions thanks to her slightly more difficult program.

By the way, I don't care if I am the only one to say it here, but I personally don't think Sacramone is that hot.


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## The Dark Wolf

I understand, you need an eye exam, Paul. There there.


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## Azyiu

The Dark Wolf said:


> I understand, you need an eye exam, Paul. There there.



Or you need to check out some REAL hot Asian chicks instead.


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## Zepp88

This Olympics is fucking hot.


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## Azyiu

Zepp88 said:


> This Olympics is fucking hot.



IMHO, some of those Olympics medal presenter chicks are HOT!!!

And as far as the actual events is concerned, this is a good Olympics thus far. Many many records have been broken, nice!


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## D-EJ915

man that sucks for that lola or lolo girl in the 100m hurdles that hit a hurdle :/ man I fucking hated doing hurdles lol, that shit is hard


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## Sentient

D-EJ915 said:


> man that sucks for that lola or lolo girl in the 100m hurdles that hit a hurdle :/ man I fucking hated doing hurdles lol, that shit is hard



Yeah, that was a real heartbreaker. My heart went out to her when that happened. That will likely eat her up for the rest of her life.


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## Sebastian

TEAM USA won with Australia


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## playstopause

Sebastian said:


> TEAM USA won with Australia



Won what?


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## Sebastian

Basketball...  Im only interested in Basketball on the olympics


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## Sentient

Holy crap. Usain Bolt is just a running monster. 

200m in 19.3 seconds


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## Zak1233

yeh bolt is really something else  he must be so pleased


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## forelander

I just saw that race, the dude won by a long way too. I also love the fact that he broke a world record in the 100m while slowing down and enjoying his own awesomeness


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## NewArmyGuitar

Does anybody know anything about how diving is judged? I know that the lack of splash when they enter the water is important, but are the size and weight of the individual taken into account by the judges, or just the amount of splash? It seems like all things being equal, a smaller diver will always creates less splash.

I just watched the women's 10m platform, and the size difference between the Chinese divers and everyone else just got me wondering about this (and I'm not trying to pick on the Chinese, nor do I think they won unfairly because of their smaller stature). It just seems like a person who is 4'10 and probably 80-85lbs will almost always make less of a splash than someone who is 5'6 and probably 115-125lbs. Since diving obviously doesn't have weight classes, it made me wonder if it's even a consideration for the judges.


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## D-EJ915

the person who is most streamlined and straightest vertically when entering the water makes the smallest splash

if you think about things with extremely low drag like a javelin, it has a small horizontal cross section but an extreme vertical cross section...same kinda thing works for diving so heavy people are at a disadvantage, but moreso fat people than people who are heavy and tall


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## D-EJ915

I can't really say that gold-silver match for the mens beach volleyball was really good, I left for the first round and came back and watched the 2nd and 3rd rounds which were more interesting.


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## forelander

Holy shit, Jamaica just smashed the world record for the men's 4x100m, Bolt ran the 3rd leg, they beat the other teams by a long way too. America didn't have a team because they dropped the baton in the heats. Jamaican women were in front for the 4x100 but also dropped the baton in the final, which again America didn't have a team in due to baton dropping in the heats. That Bolt guy is the most amazing runner I've ever seen.


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## Sentient

NewArmyGuitar said:


> Does anybody know anything about how diving is judged?...



I was wondering about that, too. I enjoyed watching all of the women's diving events (Guo Jingjing was especially awesome), but after a while, I was watching them with the mute button on, just because that female commentator was driving me nuts with her incessant, critical babble.


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## Sebastian

again TEAM USA won ( basketball ) .. Argentina was good.. but not as good...


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## D-EJ915

D-EJ915 said:


> btw sacramone guys wow - Bodybuilding.com Forums


Alicia Sacramone facebook pics - Bodybuilding.com Forums

*cough* more


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## Zak1233

D-EJ915 said:


> Alicia Sacramone facebook pics - Bodybuilding.com Forums
> 
> *cough* more



man, you win lol


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## Sentient

And so it ends, and I must admit I am sad to see this one come to an end. A fantastic two weeks of events, and damn, what an AWESOME closing ceremony to match that phenomenal opening ceremony. Just unbelieveable stuff, the likes of which I've never seen before.

And holy fuck, I have GOT to get me one of those bikes...


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## playstopause

^
That was amazing. So was the "human flame" 

Yep, the chinese raised the bar considerably as far as organisation quality.
Good luck London!


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## Sentient

Yeah, I could just imagine the folks from London watching all of that while thinking, "How the hell are we supposed to top this?!"

On a sidenote, I thought it was pretty cool that they had Jimmy Page there, playing "Whole Lotta Love".


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## Zak1233

i gotta say i dont belive there will be another opening/closing ceremoney as good as chinas for a looongg time
and i am also sad to see the olympics come to an end


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## playstopause

Zak1233 said:


> ... and i am also sad to see the olympics come to an end



Yeah, it's like there's nothing left to watch on tv.


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## Zak1233

playstopause said:


> Yeah, it's like there's nothing left to watch on tv.



exactly!!


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## Drew

Zak1233 said:


> i gotta say i dont belive there will be another opening/closing ceremoney as good as chinas for a looongg time
> and i am also sad to see the olympics come to an end




They kept saying on the news how everyone in London must be basically shitting themselves wondering how they'll top this. 

I think they've got it wrong - they shouldn't even try. It's tough to beat a nation like China when it comes to sheer bombast, so I'd go in totally the opposite direction and make it the most intimate, personal, and understated opening ceremony they can. 

If you can't beat someone at their own game, then change the game to suit your strengths, you know?


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## Zak1233

Drew said:


> If you can't beat someone at their own game, then change the game to suit your strengths, you know?



thats a fair point actually, but i have fear thats its going to be reallyyy shit, like a live x-factor or american idol type thing of all these stupid pop stars singin a buncha stupid songs, but i could be wrong... i'm looking foreword to see what the stadium looks like. The birdsnest is one of the most beautiful structures i've ever seen


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## playstopause

... But, there is Vancouver 2010 coming up!!! 

How about a thousand beavers singing the Olympic anthem?


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## Zak1233

playstopause said:


> How about a thousand beavers singing the Olympic anthem?



i would love that tbh,it would be so br00t4lz


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## D-EJ915

shaved beavers?


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## playstopause

D-EJ915 said:


> shaved beavers?


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## Azyiu

Drew said:


> If you can't beat someone at their own game, then change the game to suit your strengths, you know?



Exactly, totally agreed! 

Besides, the Olympics is really about sports, sportsmanship, competition and friendship etc. So the opening / closing ceremony shouldn't be the focal point of the game. Perhaps less is more would be London's focus, we will see.


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## D-EJ915

London also has the sky, they could pimp that as well


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## noodles

Drew said:


> They kept saying on the news how everyone in London must be basically shitting themselves wondering how they'll top this.
> 
> I think they've got it wrong - they shouldn't even try. It's tough to beat a nation like China when it comes to sheer bombast, so I'd go in totally the opposite direction and make it the most intimate, personal, and understated opening ceremony they can.
> 
> If you can't beat someone at their own game, then change the game to suit your strengths, you know?



What China did so well is to combine both their cultural heritage and modern technology in a very exciting and unique way. If I could point out just one mistake, it would be Jimmy Page, since they didn't need a western rock star at all in their eastern presentation.

Sadly, I expect the UK to find a way to shove a Britney Spears into a dance number with the Rolling Stones, and then piss all over it with a light show and a bunch rehashed pop dancers. Here is their opportunity to blow the world away with a bunch of red coats marching to fife and drum, giving the world a unique look at the traditions of the monarchy, and lighting up the harbor with fireworks and a naval fleet of old. I fully expect them to not do anything like that.


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## Decreate

I seriously don't think it was China's choice to have Jimmy Page there. I think it was more of how UK wanted to present themselves in the ceremony.


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## Sentient

noodles said:


> If I could point out just one mistake, it would be Jimmy Page, since they didn't need a western rock star at all in their eastern presentation.


I wouldn't single out just Jimmy Page, since the whole London part of the presentation (including other performers) didn't necessarily represent the East. And I wouldn't think of it as a mistake on China's part, because as Decreate said, that was surely how London wanted to come across, for their part of the presentation.

Who knows, London may surprise you in 4 years. I think it's a bit early to already be throwing them under the bus, expecting them to do something bad. Life's too short to not have at least a little optimistic hope.


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## Decreate

True, 'coz I still remember when Beijing did their little presentation at the closing of the '04 Olympics, most of us here in HKG were a little skeptical of whether they were really gonna pull it off...but of course 4 years later they prooved to the world that they were more than capable.


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## Zak1233

london just dosnt have as much culture, history etc compared to china(which made is so much more exciting and interesting), which for me is going to make it pretty dull, i just expect a big pile of cheezyness for the 2012 opening ceremony...


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## Azyiu

Again, the opening ceremony for the 2012 London game does NOT necessarily have to compete with the Beijing game. Look at it this way. It was China's first ever Olympics, and the Chinese certainly wanted to have their 5,000-year history to be shown to the world. For the London game, as its name suggests already, it is ALL about the city of London. Besides, it will be the UK's third Olympics; and they should focus more on the game, the spirite of the game, the athletes than anything else.

IMHO, I thought that 8-minute presentation was pretty well done. That double-decker bus thingy was a nice touch as well. Instead of focusing on the entire 5,000 years of Chinese history in one presentation, the London representatives showed us a moment in the life of London. I thought that was a nice contrast to the Beijing game, and it is a well done idea as well!!! 

Some critize about picking Jimmy Page to be part of that presentation, and I argue isn't he part of the so-called "British invasion" back in the 60's? Isn't that enough street cred (so to speak) for him to represent the city of London?


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## Drew

Zak1233 said:


> london just dosnt have as much culture, history etc compared to china(which made is so much more exciting and interesting), which for me is going to make it pretty dull, i just expect a big pile of cheezyness for the 2012 opening ceremony...



Shakespeare says, "Fuck You!"


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## Drew

noodles said:


> Sadly, I expect the UK to find a way to shove a Britney Spears into a dance number with the Rolling Stones, and then piss all over it with a light show and a bunch rehashed pop dancers. Here is their opportunity to blow the world away with a bunch of red coats marching to fife and drum, giving the world a unique look at the traditions of the monarchy, and lighting up the harbor with fireworks and a naval fleet of old. I fully expect them to not do anything like that.



I'm seeing live string ensemble, darkened amphitheater, natural torches providing light until after the sun sets, and then a lone torchbearer in a almost blackened stadium. Maybe some whispy ballet shit, too. Very human, very personal, very intimate. 

The harbor is a fucking awesome idea, especially if the stadium is anywhere near the water.


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## DelfinoPie

Zak1233 said:


> london just dosnt have as much culture, history etc compared to china(which made is so much more exciting and interesting), which for me is going to make it pretty dull, i just expect a big pile of cheezyness for the 2012 opening ceremony...



You're kidding right? 

Plus, if you notice, the Chinese opening ceremony wasn't just about the culture and history of Beijing...it was about the WHOLE of China. I'm thinking what noodles said:



noodles said:


> ...a bunch of red coats marching to fife and drum, giving the world a unique look at the traditions of the monarchy, and lighting up the harbor with fireworks and a naval fleet of old...



This would be apt.

But also...



noodles said:


> I fully expect them to not do anything like that.



 Sadly, I agree.

Where most countries see it as an opportunity to show off what they're about and give a display of their history, we're more likely to show off what we've currently got...and this will most likely be in the form of some god awful indie band or manufactured icon of our time.


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## Kevan

Expect: MADONNA.


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## Zak1233

DelfinoPie said:


> You're kidding right?



nope, im not  im totally looking foreword to see a bunch of kings and queens dance around the stadium...  
UK's historys boring imo ( i think alot of folk around here dont know what imo means... :/ )
i find some stuff like the tudors interesting but i think the rest is pretty boring, which is why i said "london just dosnt have as much culture, history etc compared to china"
and its quite funny that whenever i share my views on a subject i immidietly get pounced on where as others are able to say stuff with out the lashing from others


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## DelfinoPie

Zak1233 said:


> nope, im not  im totally looking foreword to see a bunch of kings and queens dance around the stadium...
> UK's historys boring imo ( i think alot of folk around here dont know what imo means... :/ )
> i find some stuff like the tudors interesting but i think the rest is pretty boring, which is why i said "london just dosnt have as much culture, history etc compared to china"
> and its quite funny that whenever i share my views on a subject i immidietly get pounced on where as others are able to say stuff with out the lashing from others



I'm not lashing out at you for you sharing your views if you notice I fully agreed with you. It's just the fact that the statement that one place has less culture/history than another is pretty short-sighted. Everywhere has culture and rituals in abundance, but I think ones from other countries are so foriegn to us that they're more noticeable than our own.

I know exactly what "imo" means but it wasn't used in that post, I know perfectly well anyway that you thinking it would be dull is your opinion and that's fine.

You might find it boring because it's your own country (the UK in general here I mean) and I can see a lot of people agreeing. I'm not one of them, I think it would be awesome to show other countries of the world what we're about. I can imagine there were thousands if not millions of Chinese people who sat at home thinking "Fuck this is dull..." when looking at their opening ceremony because it's something they've seen/heard all about before and a lot of them are probably bored of it.

I don't think people are lashing at you, in this thread or others, they just might disagree with you. And is that a bad thing? If everyone agreed that would be boring


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## Zak1233

DelfinoPie said:


> I know exactly what "imo" means but it wasn't used in that post, I know perfectly well anyway that you thinking it would be dull is your opinion and that's fine.



lols cool, im glad you knew what i ment 
and i'm actually american but i've lived her for a loongggg time but to be honest im a sucker for oriental history etc i just find it way more interesting, so thats probobly why i think that way  and its nothing against UK history (my mums scottish so it aint like im all anti-uk or anything ) i just find it less interesting than chinese/japanese etc


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## -K4G-

anyone saw this?
Orchestra admits &#39;miming&#39; at Sydney Olympics in 2000 - Yahoo! News

What happened Aussie?


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## forelander

-K4G- said:


> anyone saw this?
> Orchestra admits 'miming' at Sydney Olympics in 2000 - Yahoo! News
> 
> What happened Aussie?



It was 8 years ago, who knows?


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