Other Sports ***Winter Olympics Thread*** - Page 3

CanadaKC · 02-12-2010, 01:38 PM

As I live in Vancouver...and we are hosting the world..let me say good luck to all the American athletes....I'll be cheering for Americans' Vonn and that red-headed snowboard dude...but Hockey...gotta be Canada. Enjoy!

KC_Connection · 02-12-2010, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by memyselfI

I agree, they can't just wait to start the games. Too much money and logistics involved. But it will certainly be strange to see everyone jovial and celebrating the opening of the games knowing one of the participants died while participating.

They went on with the show in Munich in '72 while Israeli athletes were being held hostage....so I doubt this will stop much of anything.

Except maybe the Luge, though....they need to make that track safer it seems to me.

**007** · 02-12-2010, 05:06 PM

I love the Winter Olympics but the skating coverage makes me want to go to NBC and go on a rampage. More events and less fluff!!!!

Jerm · 02-12-2010, 05:09 PM

Holy shit that vid was crazy. Who the hell is gonna want to compete in Luge after that???

Nuts.
Posted via Mobile Device

**007** · 02-12-2010, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CanadaKC

dam..that's some awful looking video...

I was hoping these games would be awesome throughout..but they haven't even started and already I'm bummed...RIP

Link to the video?

ClevelandBronco · 02-12-2010, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

I love the Winter Olympics but the skating coverage makes me want to go to NBC and go on a rampage. More events and less fluff!!!!

With any luck we'll see a slew of skating fatalities.

**007** · 02-12-2010, 05:12 PM

never mind. Found the link. Holy crap!!!! They better be putting up some sort of wall in front of those.

**007** · 02-12-2010, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClevelandBronco

With any luck we'll see a slew of skating fatalities.

FINISH THEM!!!

I don't mind figure skating but the overwhelming coverage of it is just plain insane. Sure, show the competition but don't flood each and every night with it please.

CanadaKC · 02-12-2010, 05:32 PM

On a more inspirational note...no one really has no idea who will light the big flame tonight (Gretzky has been mentioned)...but my bet is on Betty Fox...the mother of the late Terry Fox. If that name doesn't sound familiar...Terry Fox was the young guy who 30 years ago tried to run across Canada on one good leg and the other a prostetic...to raise money for cancer research...only to succumb his cancer halfway through the journey. He's a huge hero to all Canadians...and Terry Fox runs have taken place all over the world since his first historic run.

chiefqueen · 02-12-2010, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

Link to the video?

Seeing the video may be hard. A friend of mine told me CNN will not show it.

CanadaKC · 02-12-2010, 05:52 PM

I saw it on www.ctvbc.com

JD10367 · 02-12-2010, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sedated

Anna Semenovich, Russian figure skater

look her up.

JD10367 · 02-12-2010, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Luge is a really stupid sport, and dude who died apparently wasn't very good at it, he crashed before.

They showed the video on the CBS Evening News just now. It was pretty horrific but, thankfully, the pole actually blocked the view of his body/torso hitting the pole. But you do see his legs, as his body goes from around 88MPH to 0. The lugers have no equipment whatsoever aside from their helmet: body in a giant Spandex suit going 90 vs. metal pole, metal pole will win that always.

Yeah, maybe that pole should've been padded. But chances are it wouldn't have mattered much.

On the news, they pointed out how every year they try to make the tracks faster and faster. And apparently that track he died on is literally the fastest luge on the planet, and there had already been concerns for safety. There's now talk of moving the starting point further down the track, which would decrease their overall speed.

WoodDraw · 02-12-2010, 06:20 PM

Wow, that video is awful. I'd read an article about it, but seeing it is 100x worse.

There had been a lot of talk about how dangerous that track is. In a training run, someone already broke the previous world speed record by 5 miles or something.

And that track design does look awful. Perhaps that's unavoidable, but couldn't they engineer around the killer turns to avoid having metal walls where people are most likely to crash?

KC_Connection · 02-12-2010, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JD10367

They showed the video on the CBS Evening News just now. It was pretty horrific but, thankfully, the pole actually blocked the view of his body/torso hitting the pole. But you do see his legs, as his body goes from around 88MPH to 0. The lugers have no equipment whatsoever aside from their helmet: body in a giant Spandex suit going 90 vs. metal pole, metal pole will win that always.

Yeah, maybe that pole should've been padded. But chances are it wouldn't have mattered much.

On the news, they pointed out how every year they try to make the tracks faster and faster. And apparently that track he died on is literally the fastest luge on the planet, and there had already been concerns for safety. There's now talk of moving the starting point further down the track, which would decrease their overall speed.

Judging by how fast he was going, I'm not sure padding would have helped much at all.

There are ways to slow the course (heat up the ice, start further down) which would make it safer without canceling the event tomorrow.

**alnorth** · 02-12-2010, 06:27 PM

Yeah, I'm not even close to a Luge expert, but reading some articles, apparently people have been complaining for a long time that the Whistler track in Canada is by far the most dangerous track in the world. You can apparently achieve rediculous speeds on the track that can send you dangerously high up the sides, but if your in a competition you cant really hold back or play it safe. If the track lets the best break 90 mph, then you have to try to match that speed to have any chance at a medal.

02-12-2010, 01:38 PM
CanadaKC Lord of the SB Rings Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada Casino cash: $6018668	*Winter Olympics Thread* As I live in Vancouver...and we are hosting the world..let me say good luck to all the American athletes....I'll be cheering for Americans' Vonn and that red-headed snowboard dude...but Hockey...gotta be Canada. Enjoy!
Posts: 1,515

02-12-2010, 05:06 PM	#32
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $12230126 VARSITY	I love the Winter Olympics but the skating coverage makes me want to go to NBC and go on a rampage. More events and less fluff!!!! __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
Posts: 65,732

02-12-2010, 05:09 PM	#33
Jerm Mahomes > God Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Clinton, MO Casino cash: $4458996	Holy shit that vid was crazy. Who the hell is gonna want to compete in Luge after that??? Nuts. Posted via Mobile Device
Posts: 10,212

02-12-2010, 05:12 PM	#36
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $12230126 VARSITY	never mind. Found the link. Holy crap!!!! They better be putting up some sort of wall in front of those. __________________ My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done. Such as, drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs.
Posts: 65,732

02-12-2010, 05:32 PM	#38
CanadaKC Lord of the SB Rings Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada Casino cash: $6018668	On a more inspirational note...no one really has no idea who will light the big flame tonight (Gretzky has been mentioned)...but my bet is on Betty Fox...the mother of the late Terry Fox. If that name doesn't sound familiar...Terry Fox was the young guy who 30 years ago tried to run across Canada on one good leg and the other a prostetic...to raise money for cancer research...only to succumb his cancer halfway through the journey. He's a huge hero to all Canadians...and Terry Fox runs have taken place all over the world since his first historic run.
Posts: 1,515

02-12-2010, 05:52 PM	#40
CanadaKC Lord of the SB Rings Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada Casino cash: $6018668	I saw it on www.ctvbc.com
Posts: 1,515

02-12-2010, 06:20 PM	#43
WoodDraw Veteran Join Date: Mar 2004 Casino cash: $10005059	Wow, that video is awful. I'd read an article about it, but seeing it is 100x worse. There had been a lot of talk about how dangerous that track is. In a training run, someone already broke the previous world speed record by 5 miles or something. And that track design does look awful. Perhaps that's unavoidable, but couldn't they engineer around the killer turns to avoid having metal walls where people are most likely to crash?
Posts: 3,785

02-12-2010, 06:27 PM	#45
alnorth . Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $57156239	Yeah, I'm not even close to a Luge expert, but reading some articles, apparently people have been complaining for a long time that the Whistler track in Canada is by far the most dangerous track in the world. You can apparently achieve rediculous speeds on the track that can send you dangerously high up the sides, but if your in a competition you cant really hold back or play it safe. If the track lets the best break 90 mph, then you have to try to match that speed to have any chance at a medal. __________________ how many emo kids does it take to change a lightbulb? HOW MANY?! none they just sit in the dark and cry
Posts: 36,130