2016 Rio Olympics Thread

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:43 am

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:52 am

Kaka!

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:54 am

Ha.

The AP found another Olympic site thought to have been largely cleaned up in recent years, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lake, is among the Games' most polluted waters. Results ranged from 14 million adenoviruses per liter to 1.7 billion per liter.

By comparison, water quality experts who monitor beaches in Southern California become alarmed by viral counts spiking to 1,000 per liter.

Holy, uh, well...

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:56 am

You know who wouldn't have these water problems? Qatar. (and L.A. I guess)

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:58 am

Party time!

Dr. Alberto Chebabo, who heads Rio's Infectious Diseases Society, warned that all foreigners heading to Rio for the Olympics, whether athletes or tourists, should get vaccinated against hepatitis A. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends travelers to Brazil get vaccinated for typhoid.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:03 am

Are we near a point where the UN can consider the Olympic games a world threat and send in peace-keeping forces to keep them from happening?

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:08 am

tennbengal wrote:Are we near a point where the UN can consider the Olympic games a world threat and send in peace-keeping forces to keep them from happening?

Can't do it this time - Brazil has already spend $13 billion and no doubt that figure will soar.

And man, will they ever soar as it seems that getting the city ready will be a real last minute job.

(from a Reuters article in May)

Organizers still need to tender contracts for a beach volleyball stadium on the sands of Copacabana. As for the picturesque but polluted Guanabara bay where the sailing will be held; the city has admitted promises to get it clean will not be kept.

Companies have also not yet been selected to build other temporary venues for rugby and mountain biking. These structures can be put together relatively quickly, but experts say long-term planning is vital to ensure the venues are safe and of high quality.

Last year, John Coates, a senior IOC official, described Rio's preparations as the "worst I have experienced." Since then work has accelerated and the IOC has adopted a softer tone, but acknowledges the timeline remains tight.

One of the most crucial contracts yet to be tendered is for the supply of power to Olympic venues, a complex job that involves hundreds of kilometers of cable and thousands of distribution panels, sources involved in the projects say.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:38 am

These issues should have been solved for the World Cup but that also went over budget so infrastructure got put aside.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:19 am

degenerasian wrote:These issues should have been solved for the World Cup but that also went over budget so infrastructure got put aside.

Showing once again the reliability of the budgets associated with these dog and pony shows, and should put to rest once and for all the garbage that is spouted about the "legacies" of these events.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 10:07 am

Pruitt wrote:
degenerasian wrote:These issues should have been solved for the World Cup but that also went over budget so infrastructure got put aside.
Showing once again the reliability of the budgets associated with these dog and pony shows, and should put to rest once and for all the garbage that is spouted about the "legacies" of these events.

Depends on the place. London 2012 was underbudget and profited 100 million. Vancouver went a bit over and broke even. Beijing and Sochi were just showing off using money that would never go to citizens anyways so those don't count.

Atlanta and Salt Lake made money. I think Boston would in the end make money too but the people don't want it and the government can't guarantee a profit so it's better not to bid at this time.

Toronto I'm not sure.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 11:28 am

degenerasian wrote:
Pruitt wrote:
degenerasian wrote:These issues should have been solved for the World Cup but that also went over budget so infrastructure got put aside.
Showing once again the reliability of the budgets associated with these dog and pony shows, and should put to rest once and for all the garbage that is spouted about the "legacies" of these events.

Depends on the place. London 2012 was underbudget and profited 100 million. Vancouver went a bit over and broke even. Beijing and Sochi were just showing off using money that would never go to citizens anyways so those don't count.

Atlanta and Salt Lake made money. I think Boston would in the end make money too but the people don't want it and the government can't guarantee a profit so it's better not to bid at this time.

Toronto I'm not sure.

Estimates of the London Olympics profit are widely in dispute - seeing as they are based upon figures touted by the government that pushed for the games in the first place.

But such statements about the extra business and revenues secured by the Olympics are according to critics airy at best and directly misleading at worst.

”It's almost like a bit of creative accounting. There's no way of testing whether what they're saying is really true,” the BBC quoted the sports economist Stefan Szymanski after the release of the report.

BBC’s own economic editor, Stephanie Flanders, also points to the fact that a lot of the business activity that took place around the Olympics would have happened anyway.

And don't forget to add an extra $440 million to the debt as that is what the government is paying for the retrofitting of the Olympic Stadium. The stadium which has now cost about $1.2 billion.

And how on earth could Boston "make back" $20 billion? How can any city? How long do the tourists stay in town? How much money does a velodrome generate? How many t-shirts will be sold even a month after the games?

And also, aren't Olympics profits calculated exclusive of government expenditures (ie the bulk of the money)?

That's straight from the mouth of the head of the International Centre for Olympic Studies, Robert Barney [source: Berkes]. A city might see a surplus of cash post-closing ceremonies, but if you include all those (at every level) who help fund the Olympics in any given games, he says no city has profited in the long run from its hosting role in a purely bottom-line sense. Many cities like to boast of mega-profits, but they often gloss over all the money that the federal government, among other contributors, poured in. And that tends to add up to a lot.

The cost/benefit projections of Olympic hosts tend toward the creative. Many label the cost of construction as a beneficial “economic impact” that will multiply into future revenues.

A 2009 study by researchers at U.C. Berkeley and the Federal Reserve found that countries that lose a bid to host grow just as nicely as those that win. A 2010 study compared bid winners with losers and found “no long-term impacts of hosting” on economic growth or trade.

Not to mention the costs associated with maintaining stadiums that will forever be underused.

Sorry for the rant, but I would have thought we'd have all learned never to fully trust government statements concerning budgets, nor claims about the economic benefits of anything related to sports... not when the people touting those figures have a vested interest.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 11:35 am

Why 20 billion? Tokyo is trying to do the 2020 Games under 8 billion. They were going to do a 'bike-helmet' design Olympic stadium but have strapped it.

I think an American Olympics can get bigger tv and advertising dollars.

THE OLYMPICS ON FOX!

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 11:49 am

degenerasian wrote:Why 20 billion? Tokyo is trying to do the 2020 Games under 8 billion. They were going to do a 'bike-helmet' design Olympic stadium but have strapped it.

I quite figuratively pulled that figure out of my ass (thought I read it somewhere).

The official estimate was around $8.5 billion US, with opponents citing figures of up to $20 billion.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 7:10 am

Soccer Qualification starts tonight in KC
USA has the late game versus Canada

Group A
Canada, Cuba, Panama, USA
Group B
Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica

Top 2 in each bracket move on
Winners of the Semis go to Rio
Winner of the 3rd place game gets a play in game against Columbia for a spot.

USA Roster
GK (3) -- Charlie Horton (Leeds United FC/ENG); Ethan Horvath (Molde FK/NOR); Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg/GER)

DF (6) -- Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur FC/ENG); Eric Miller (Montreal Impact/CAN); Matt Miazga (NY Red Bulls/USA); Will Packwood (Unattached); Matt Polster (Chicago Fire/USA); Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids/USA)

MD (7) -- Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes/USA); Gboly Ariyibi (Chesterfield FC/ENG); Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake/USA); Emerson Hyndman (Fulham FC/ENG); Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes/USA); Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew/USA); Gedion Zelalem (Rangers FC/SCO)

FW (4) -- Alonso Hernandez (FC Juarez/MEX) Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart/GER); Jordan Morris (Stanford/USA); Maki Tall (FC Sion/SUI)

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:20 am

The semifinal games will be played in Salt Lake City. If anyone is coming out for the games, let me know.

I had to hold off on buying tickets because I was supposed to be in the middle of a trial, but that was just postponed, so now I have to see what I can find.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:42 am

Steve of phpBB wrote:The semifinal games will be played in Salt Lake City. If anyone is coming out for the games, let me know.

I had to hold off on buying tickets because I was supposed to be in the middle of a trial, but that was just postponed, so now I have to see what I can find.

May the U.S. not screw it up like 4 years ago (1-1-1 in group play for a 3rd place, no semifinal, and no Olympics) or 2004 when they went 3-0 in the group but caught Mexico in the semis (who finished 2nd in the group) and took a 4-0 drubbing (and a PK loss in the 3rd place match) for no Olympics.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 7:20 am

3-1 for the U.S. with 2 goals from Jordan Morris (Stanford). The 3rd goal was from Gil after earning a PK.
Panama v. Cuba went for a 1-1 draw.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:15 am

6-1 stomping of Cuba.
Mexico 2-0 also.
Canada should make the semis with a result against Cuba

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:27 am

USA v. Canada for a shot at the Olympics v. Columbia 7pm tonight

Post by **Sabo** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:01 am

wlu_lax6 wrote:USA v. Canada for a shot at the Olympics v. Columbia 7pm tonight

El Flaco wants to beat you up.

elflaco · Post by **elflaco** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:02 am

have i taught you nothing swamp?
ffs

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:03 am

I mean, it's WLu guys...

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:08 am

elflaco wrote:have i taught you nothing swamp?
ffs

No the winner gets to play against a bunch of New York undergrads and some outdoor apparel.

elflaco · Post by **elflaco** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:10 am

well in that case, carry on.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 11:04 am

wlu_lax6 wrote:USA v. Canada for a shot at the Olympics v. Columbia 7pm tonight

Trying to decide whether to go. It really sucks going to a soccer game in an empty stadium. I may go just for the Mexico-Honduras final. At least they will have fans there who will make some noise.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:56 am

State Sponsored Doping in Russia...

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:29 am

A_B wrote:State Sponsored Doping in Russia...

Reminded me of this classic cover from back in the day...

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:46 am

They actually suspended them, but it's "indefinitely" which means I bet the Russkies are in Rio.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:51 am

A_B wrote:They actually suspended them, but it's "indefinitely" which means I bet the Russkies are in Rio.

I would also bet on this outcome. There's just no way that Russia is the only country with these issues, and if you go too hard after them, there's a risk that Russia pulls back the curtain on other high profile offenders. There have been a lot of whispers about Jamaica, for example, and a scandal there would pretty much erase the last 10 years of sprinting results. I also have my doubts about the surge in Spanish sporting success over the last 10-15 years and suspect that Contador isn't the only high profile Spanish doper.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 8:43 am

It's not truly a 2016 story, but Pistorious had his verdict changed upon appeal. Unfortunately for him it was from manslaughter to murder.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 10:21 am

I can't read "Oscar Pistorius" without immediately hearing "God Save the Queen."

HaulCitgo · Post by **HaulCitgo** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 11:48 am

Yikes! No remand? God bless the USA.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:39 pm

Well, shitshow continues. Kinda odd that I bumped this today, but not Rio says athletes or their olympic committees will have to pay for AC if they want it.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:00 pm

A_B wrote:Well, shitshow continues. Kinda odd that I bumped this today, but not Rio says athletes or their olympic committees will have to pay for AC if they want it.

Merely a new sponsorship opportunity.

"Carrier the official air conditioning provider of the Canadian Olympic Team."

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:00 am

A_B wrote:State Sponsored Doping in Russia...

52-year-old former head of Anti Doping agency turns up dead!

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 9:14 am

In America, athletes take PEDs. In Russia, PEDs take you!

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:27 am

One of the other profs in the TV Production program that I teach in is an audio guy who will be working the Olympics.

He and his crew were in Rio a few months ago to do some preliminary work and he said that the water where the yachting and triathlon will take place is filthy. Apparently no work has been done to clean it up. He said that the triathletes are going to be in real trouble.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 11:06 am

CBC? They were down there last week and they could not stand the stench of the bay.

The World Cup and Olympic money was supposed to help clean that up. Instead the Olympics keep getting more expensive and the taxes keep going up. Brazillians pay for these events twice and get nothing out of it. Qu'elle disastre.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 11:18 am

This is really unfair now because the Russian women are the only ones who know they can go down there and not get pregnant

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 11:42 am

degenerasian wrote:CBC? They were down there last week and they could not stand the stench of the bay.

The World Cup and Olympic money was supposed to help clean that up. Instead the Olympics keep getting more expensive and the taxes keep going up. Brazillians pay for these events twice and get nothing out of it. Qu'elle disastre.

Freelancer who is - I think working for CBC in this case. He worked for NBC at Sochi and said that they ran the best show of any network he's ever worked for. He also works Super Bowls and other big events for the international feed.

He's worked a lot of Olympics and says that what's going on in Brazil makes the Greeks look organized.