Olympics!!!

by **Q. Reese** » Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:21

The story of the day is the American president's speech about its nation and competitors' improving their game at every Olympics. He is especially proud of the Americans' lead in the medal count, "I check my Blackberry everyday!"

Here is the total medal count standings:

As of 1:01 a.m./7:01 a.m. CET (Friday):

United States 18
Germany 11
Norway 8
France and Canada tied at 7

These jumps in the medal count include many stories of accomplishments, not only for other nations but the Americans as well.

One being that of the 2010 world champion in men's figure skating taking gold over Russian one-time gold and silver medalist at the olympic games. Only less than a point separated these two in the final short program and free skate combined score totals. Japan holds its head up high as it takes its first medal, bronze, ever in a figure skating men's event.

If you think that was tight, the men's hockey event was even tighter! Canada posts a 3-2 win over the Swiss.

Sweden's female alpiine skier had a nasty fall yesterday that put her out of contention in the alpine event. However, things change for the better in the alpine and slalom combined. She takes bronze! America takes silver, and Germany takes gold!

Today also featured the American ladies on the snow catching some big air but often landing a bit short of expectations. Australia digs deep "down-under" to find gold in this event, breaking the American medal sweep in this event in Torino 2006.

Medal ceremonies of gold medals were awarded to the Americans in the following events today: men's snowboarding, men's 1500-meter speed skating, and men's free skating.

That will do it for this edition of Qlympics. For the very latest on Vancouver, please visit:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

by **AMAZING ZIZOU** » Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:23

Q. Reese wrote:
No. I would never wish that on my worst enemy (and you are not my worst enemy; neither do I view you as an enemy).

Writing it means you've already been thinking of it.

by **Amazing Matheja** » Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:33

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Biathlon) won a 10th Olympic medal...At 36 (today),he still wants to be there at Sotchi in 2012 to be able to beat Bjorn Dhaelie's record : 12 Olympics medals!

What Anja Paerson did is almost more legendary than what Maier did at Nagano!...Even if she didn't win the Gold,everybody thought she was on her way back home after her crash...And now everybody has to tip its hat to her!
As always,the judges gave weird scores in skating...To me,the Japanese Takahashi deserved the gold...Or plushenko...But the american skater (Lysacek) was sooo conservative,with no risks (no 4 axel - i don't how you say in english...) at all...

by **Q. Reese** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:04

In my opinion, Takaheishi did not deserve gold. He fell on one of his jumps, which was a triple in the free skate and his short program was not as nearly as good as Lysacek's (maybe only over Plushenko's performance). Lysacek did not not falter on any jumps at all, short program and free skate combined! That is something Takaheishi and Plushenko cannot say.

Plushenko lacked program components (sit spins, straight-line footwork, and artistry). Even for the fact that he did a quadruple jump (that is what is called), the grade of execution of it was horrible. Also, he lacked transitions before jumps. He literally, jumped and jumped, said "Hey to the judges and crowds," and hoped for a gold medal.

It does not work like that. You have to earn it.

What I did not like is the judging on Johnny Weir. He skated even cleaner than Takaheishi and was 6th in the short program and 5th in the free skate. I think he was judge for his out-right preference to be gay.

You do well with your English. Don't worry man. :tu

by **Sherlock 117** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:29

I agree with Q Amazing. The scores are no longer as mysterious as they once were, there are now breakdowns for scoring in different categories (jumps, footwork, spins, etc.). Most of the scores between Plushenko and Lysacek were actually similar, but it was on the technical scores, including jumps, that Lysacek won. He won because everything he did, including his jumps, were perfect. Plushenko's jumps were not, and the rest of his program isn't as good either.

I like how Lysacek talked about it afterwards, when he was asked to comment about the controversy. It is a 4:30 long performance. A quadruple jump should (and is) given more points, but it shouldn't necessarily be the difference between winning and not winning. A 4:30 skate shouldn't be judged entirely on someone's ability to perform one thing over 10 seconds, otherwise they should just give everyone 10 seconds to go and do their best jump. There are a lot of different areas on which skating is judged.

by **Amazing Matheja** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:16

Haha!Ok guys you just convinced me...
And i agree with Q on the Johnny Weir thing...His 6th rank is...weirD!

(he did finish 6th,didn't he?)
Actually i do agree with you about the fact that ice skating is not all about jumps...They're artists on ice,not "jumping beans" (is that the right word?Those beans that jumps?...

)
It's very true that Lysacek's runs were all perfect...So ok,he does deserve his Gold...But i prefer when they take risks+Artistics skills...Wich,i feel, is not the case with new rules : Just do a perfect and you'll have high score...(Basically...I don't know how to say it more clearly...)
I like Takahashi!I hope he'll win some!
I'm sad Bode didn't win his Gold (in Super G)...

by **Q. Reese** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:45

Well said Sherlock; and, on that note, here is the next edition of Qlympics. :lol:

A great comeback from the "Viking" of alpine skiing as he takes gold, despite a horrible accident that took the Norwegian man out of the competition for some time. Well, he won the event that featured the horrible accident and shown his come-back already by taking what was rightfully his, gold. Along side him stood the Americans, taking silver and bronze.

The male's figure skating showdown warmed the ice well for the compulsory dance routines for the pair skaters. The reigning Russian pairs rules the short program by taking a commanding first-place lead over its competitors. Canada and two American pair skaters take the other places of rank respectively. They later skate for gold in Vancouver. Meanwhile, the judges expect nothing slightly lower than perfection on ice.

Skeleton is only for the cold-blooded, one may think! Yet, as the event went on, the females kept the suspense on-going as team United States takes the lead in the event. However, as the last athlete to go, Great Britain takes gold!

Canadian's best man takes gold in the skeleton event on his last run, the fourth one! That makes it the fourth gold medal on home turf for Team Canada!

The "Vikings" continues to put down solid efforts at Vancouver, as it featured another big win. Females' cross country skiied out another win for Norway. Norway is a force to reckon with in this event. It is a two-time gold medalist (Torino and Vancouver combined) in the discipline.

The United States continues to perform well by continuing the lead in the total medal and most gold medal counts (as of 2:28 a.m. EST/ 8:28 a.m. CET, Saturday):

United States 20 (6 gold medals)
Germany 13 (4 gold medals)
Norway 10 (5 gold medals)
Canada 8 (4 gold medals)

Lastly, it is thought that the United States will make history at the Vancouver Olympics . . . winning the most medals ever to be had for its nation.

That will do it for this update. For the very latest on updates at Vancouver, please visit:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

Until next time . . . .

by **Amazing Matheja** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:56

Q...Your reports are cool...Ok...But i beg you to put the names! (trust me it's better with names...I work with a LOT OF sport journalist and they're all clear : WITH names...And then,if we're interested,we go look for more...This is just for some "help"... :tu

)

by **Q. Reese** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 09:05

Okay okay. I'll do it for you. I am flexible.

Thanks for the remarks. You do great news coverage too. :tu

by **Sherlock 117** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:06

Amazing Matheja wrote:Haha!Ok guys you just convinced me...
And i agree with Q on the Johnny Weir thing...His 6th rank is...weirD! (he did finish 6th,didn't he?)
Actually i do agree with you about the fact that ice skating is not all about jumps...They're artists on ice,not "jumping beans" (is that the right word?Those beans that jumps?... )
It's very true that Lysacek's runs were all perfect...So ok,he does deserve his Gold...But i prefer when they take risks+Artistics skills...Wich,i feel, is not the case with new rules : Just do a perfect and you'll have high score...(Basically...I don't know how to say it more clearly...)
I like Takahashi!I hope he'll win some!
I'm sad Bode didn't win his Gold (in Super G)...

Agreed man, Takahashi is pretty awesome. I think pretty soon you will have to perform a quadruple jump in order to win, but that time is not right now because it is so difficult. That won't happen until people can do it really well.

by **Q. Reese** » Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:06

Yea. Takahashi did well. Also too guys, a person can get almost the same base point value of a quad toe loop, axel, or lutz if they do a triple axel (with a +2-3 for grade of execution, GOE) with another triple combination jump (with the base value with a least +1-3 on the GOE).

That is what the technical coaches study for "quizzes and exams." :lol:

That is why you are seeing less and less quads. Also, as you saw in the olympics in Vancouver, the men who are doing quads are not clean with them. So, at the most, you are seeing solely base value jumps or that with a GOE of -1!!

It is too risky. Also, you see the similar combination sit-spins. The ISU judging system is a little more technical, but I am afraid that it made the skaters look more and more like robots (they do the same moves to get the points that every one knows they need to take the lead in the standings).

I see less and less quads being performed in the future of figure skating. Only the clean quads landed perfectly (no two-footed landing, unstable finish to the jumps) will be rewarded a high score by the judges.

It is like math (hence the ISU judging handbook). There is more than one way to get the answer, in this case first place. Quads are the longer way around to the solution of success and a high standing; but, if you solve it perfectly, you are so happy. :wink:

by **Sherlock 117** » Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:48

Hmmm, I guess that analogy to math is almost right. I'll forgive you this time

by **Q. Reese** » Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:39

Greetings to every one and welcome again to this edition of Qlympics!

Some biggest up-sets of the day:

The biggest upsets involve headlines that of the ladies' Alpine Skiing Super G and men's speed-skating events.

After seeing her team mates' mistake mid-way downhill, Vonn takes a more aggressive approach to skiing to take down Mancuso's lead score. Vonn is quite okay with Maze overcoming her for the first place standing. However, another surprise is to come . . . Austria's Fischbacher pulls out a shocker at Vancouver and takes gold!

Next, and perhaps the most shocking result of all, Netherland's Mark Tuitert speeds his way for an early time set for his nation. The last dominant skater to skate is American's Shani Davis. With the pressure on his back and signs of tiring out the last turn in the 1500-meters, Davis finishes with a silver medal. With no regrets, he politely interrupts the Danish media to congratulate Tuitert for a job well-done. There are a lot of happy people in Holland tonight.

Apollo Ohno finishes his night off as the most decorative American Winter Olympic champion of all-time, with his seventh medal received in the 1000-meters short-track race. Although he positions himself for a gold finish on the final lap, as he quotes, "[it was] one slip . . . just one slip" that cost him the gold medal. As Apollo knows more than any one else, anything can happen in this discipline. Yet, despite the South Koreans' Lee brothers taking gold and silver, Apollo recognizes his accomplishments and appears to want to do it again.

The Swiss does it again with its best ski jumper of all-time, Simon Ammann. Ammann did not peak at Torino at all, but it is way different in Vancouver. He sweeps the medal standing in all events . . . a bit of feeling of redemption from Torino?

Next edition's highlights . . . .

Bobsleigh's runs number one and two are completed today and the men's will go for gold, featuring Germany's Lange and Kuske in first place!

The same cannot be said for the compulsory ice dancing pairs, Russia's Domnina and Shabalin, who are currently in first place after the compulsory dance (Theme, "Tango"). The dance pairs will later have to skate with expertise for both forthcoming original and free skate dances.

The medal count* (as of 8:17 p.m. EST/2:17 a.m. CET, Sunday):

United States 23

Germany 14

Norway 11

South Korea 9^

*Overtakes Canada with great wins, including the speed-skating disciplines
^ Also of special notice is not only the fact that United States has a chance to break the record of its medal count at Vancouver, but Vancouver itself makes history for having the most individual nations medals than all Olympic venues in open-era.

That will do it for now. Thanks for reading this edition of Qlympics. For extended coverage of various events at the Olympics, please visit:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

by **Q. Reese** » Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:20

There is shorter media coverage at Vancouver today. This is due in large part because of we are reaching the end of the olympics day-by-day.

Shocking news . . .

Team United States defeats Team Canada in a ice hockey preliminary round. A convincing but nail-bitting score of 5-3 ensures an easier road to the gold medal final! Team United States has to play three more teams to get there, whereas Canada has to pull through four tougher teams to make it to the finals. The reactions of the Canadian fans are quite dismal; yet, they remain confident that Canada will bring home what is rightfully their own . . . gold!

Men's super combined alpine skiing event puts pressure on Aksel Svindal of Norway on his last and the final run of the event. A surprising fall on the cold powder cushions no pain for the Norwegian. He walks away with no medal, a crucial result that allows American Bode Miller to win gold in the event. Miller carries a pretty diversed set of medals in the alpine events with one gold, silver, and bronze.

A clear dominant compulsory dance from Russia's ice dancers Domnina and Shabalin does not hold after the original dance event. Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir takes the lead with a nearly satisfied Charlie White and Meryl Davis from United States at their heels in second place over-all. The Russians move from first to third place. Team United States' Belbin and Agosto chose to skate a more aggressive line to the ice dance routine, a decision that continues to leave a bad taste in the judges' mouth. They remain in fourth place in the over-all standing. Perhaps, they can still pull off a "Sarah Hughes" performance to win gold by posting an outstanding free skate in the third and final event?

Other medal wins . . .

Gold and silver come in two for German's bobsleigh teams Kevin Kuske and Andre Lange as well as Richard Adjei and Thomas Florschuetz. Great solid runs equated to such well-deserve standings.

The women's 12.5km Biathlon cycles many countries in the lead . . . so much so that NBC's commentators for the event were much in a whirl wind! Despite the drama of who is going to win the discipline, German's best, Magdalena Neuner, brings home gold.

The notorious total medal count . . . (as of of 3:15 a.m. EST/9:15 a.m. CET Monday):

United States 24
Germany 18
Norway 12
South Korea and Canada tied with 9

For the very latest on news at Vancouver, please visit:

www.vancouver2010.com

by **Amazing Matheja** » Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:09

Aksel-LUND Svindal...BODE Miller... :twisted:

So glad Bode won gold at last...He deserved it as,to me,he's one of the best of the last 10-15 years...Know that 4 months ago he was about to put an end to his career...He doesn't like the "competition spirit"...He then started to train (a bit) to "see how it goes"...Terrifying!Did you see him when he knew he was gold?...He was like "mmmhh?..." The guy is sooooooooo cool and without pressure at all!
Magdalena Neuner is a monster...First world championship : Victories,first Olympics : Victories...She's only 22,or 23...I say she will break some records the sooner!!

Olympics!!!

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