mickyb Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 I remember the 'strike' by the US baseball players Micky. Salary caps were going to be bought in by the owners, now considering the players involved earned between 1 million and 15 million pounds a year it did stagger me that the whole league virtually closed down overnight. These guys must be on a million a game ! Glad I bought my number 8 kode Bryant vest in bangkok ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landv Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 What an amazing opening ceremony, absolutely loved it, I must admit it made me really homesick, I feel kind of left out.. I just want to be there and to be part of it :sad: I was a bit unsure of McCartney though, when he was trying jumping up and down, I thought.... oh god, would someone give him a chair :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieF8 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 Pierre de Coubertin was French, he was the founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games </SPAN>They ALWAYS speak French first, nothing to do with which Country it is in, in Beijing 2008 they spoke French, English then Chinese, because English is an official language of the UK, they speak French then English</SPAN> In Rio in 2016 they will speak French, then English then Portuguese</SPAN> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieF8 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 It says the police arrested over 100 protesters outside the stadium last night, i only caught a brief clip of it on tv, anyone know anything about it? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19023104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulv Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 The 'Modern' Olympic Games were revived by a Frenchman, Pierre De Coubertin - hence it being the official language of the Olympics. As for facebook being full of gripes about it - mine certainly wasn't. I guess it depends on the circles you are in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieF8 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 The 'Modern' Olympic Games were revived by a Frenchman, Pierre De Coubertin - hence it being the official language of the Olympics.As for facebook being full of gripes about it - mine certainly wasn't. I guess it depends on the circles you are in. There’s one idiot on my Facebook, from school, tried to explain to him what it was about but apparently I’m 'unpatriotic'.....time for a clear out I think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shell15 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Pierre de Coubertin was French, he was the founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games </SPAN>They ALWAYS speak French first, nothing to do with which Country it is in, in Beijing 2008 they spoke French, English then Chinese, because English is an official language of the UK, they speak French then English</SPAN> In Rio in 2016 they will speak French, then English then Portuguese</SPAN> Thanks for clearing that up Stevie, I still think they should have spoken english first though lol nothing against the french, my mum is one so its not an attack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supa Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Ceremony was mind-blowing - absolutely loved it. Only downside, Paul bloody McCartney. Somone stop him please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabo Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Lovin' it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieF8 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 Its been brilliant so far, almost too many things going on at once, been watching swimming, cycling, shooting, rowing & badminton already this morning First medals given out, they are really smart..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30085 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 (edited) I dont know which to watch! Swapping from male gymnastics qualifiers back to the swimming and now rowing qualifiers :jiggy: And, just had a quick look at the cycling - but havent a clue about the tactics - I understand that whoever goes across the line first wins - so I will look back at the road race in a couple of hours Edited July 28, 2012 by guest30085 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Longtime Lurker Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 And, just had a quick look at the cycling - but havent a clue about the tactics - I understand that whoever goes across the line first wins - so I will look back at the road race in a couple of hours I agree - haven't got a clue with the tactics and do not have the patience to sit and watch it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieF8 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 And, just had a quick look at the cycling - but havent a clue about the tactics - I understand that whoever goes across the line first wins - so I will look back at the road race in a couple of hours I agree - haven't got a clue with the tactics and do not have the patience to sit and watch it all! I didnt until I saw Wiggins win the TDF last week...... they said, the guy at the front uses the most energy, the ones following use about 30% less, riding in the slipstream, so the teams try to stay either in the peloton (main group, or smaller breakaway groups) and take it in turns going to the front At the moment Team GB are together, so they will swap about who is leading, so the one at the front can have a bit of a rest, then when they get back to London, they will just go for an all out sprint to see who can cross the line first.... :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northshorepom Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 (edited) And, just had a quick look at the cycling - but havent a clue about the tactics - I understand that whoever goes across the line first wins - so I will look back at the road race in a couple of hours I agree - haven't got a clue with the tactics and do not have the patience to sit and watch it all! It is a bit arcane, but I can try and explain Cycling is perhaps unique in that it is an individual sport and individuals are awarded medals, but at the same time it is a team sport. By and large it doesn't matter how good you are as an individual, if you are not a part of a reasonable strong team you stand little chance of a win This is primarily because of the slipstreaming effect - it takes about 15-20% less effort to ride behind someone at the same speed as them, as they are expending. So by taking turns at the front putting in hard effort for a few minutes and then peeling off and letting the next guy take a turn, as a group you can go a lot quicker, hope that makes sense? So it's not like marathon running, where it's just really about the individual who can go hardest for longest. If you try and make a sole escape all day in the Olympic road race, you basically have no chance, as the main field will use the drafting effect to chew you up The other thing that complicates it is that most cyclists are specialists to some extent. It takes a different type of physique to be fast up hills (tends to be the smaller, whippier riders), to be fast in absolute sprinting speed (tends to be the bigger, heavier, more powerful riders) and to be strong at making escapes (those with more stamina who can put in the hardest effort for longer, thereby enabling them to sometimes jump a gap to another group of riders). Some cyclists also specialise in disciplines which are irrelevant to the road race - time trialling (individual against the clock - there's a separate comp for this next week) and "General Classification" riders - the strongest overall, whose aim is to win the big stage races like the Tour de France. These guys usually aren't great sprinters, because they need to be good at other stuff as well (escapes, climbing, time trialling) which requires a different physique What that means is that whilst there are 140 odd riders in the race, there are only 10 or so with realistic medal chances, and these are either the really fast sprinters who will probably win if the race comes back to the end as one big bunch - in the last 500m, no one can touch them for speed - and the "escapers" who will try and break up the field and form a getaway group from which they have a better chance of winning the mini sprint if the escape group can hold out until the end Realistically there are only 5 bunch sprinters who can expect to be in with a good chance of winning if the race stays together - Mark Cavendish (GB), Andre Griepel (Germany), Tyler Farrar (US), Matt Goss (Aus) and Peter Sagan (Slovakia), and that's being generous. Griepel and especially Cavendish are head and shoulders above the others in terms of raw speed, but if they get the approach to the sprint wrong they can be beaten. So you will see the teams of those guys, especially GB and Germany, working to try and keep the bunch together. But they can only do this if they are a strong enough team - in the Olympics the maximum team size is 5 riders, when these guys are used to riding in teams of 9 in major races for their trade/sponsor teams. So the Slovakian team (think they only have 2 riders) can't control the race with such a small number However, there are a number of strong escapers from other nations, the sort of guys who specialise in one-day classic races. Belgium have two in Tom Boonen and Phillippe Gilbert, Denmark a couple, Spain a couple, France a couple, Australia probably 3, Italy 1 or 2. You'll see these teams trying to break the race up to give their guys a better chance. However, because a sole escape isn't going t o succeed, they try and break away in bunches and these will include riders from a number of countries, and whilst they are escaping they all work together as if they were one team - trying to keep away from the main field and share the workload, all of them hoping they'll be able to either win the last mini-sprint from this smaller group, or get away in another mini escape right at the end. HTH, a bit. One final thing, it's odd that the strongest riders of all - the "General Classification" riders, the likes of Cadel Evans of Australia and Bradley Wiggins of GB, don't really have much of a chance unless something very strange happens. They just don't have the sprinting speed. So you'll see these guys, the best in the world, working their arses off for their sprinters and doing the donkey work, with no real thought of going for a medal themselves at all Edited July 28, 2012 by northshorepom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 It's London-centric definitely...Atlanta 96 spread the events over an 80 mile diameter, there's no reason why they could have held some events in Birmingham or Manchester with our transport network, they need the investment and tourism money desperately, instead of a few photo opportunities and training bases. Still...I'll enjoy it all the same. No,i agree,things are London centric,but i suppose a lot of countries are capital centric to be fair,re the games i think theres footy on here and there,i think Londons done a good job up till now,i dont begrudge them the games,in fact i wouldnt want all the turmoil its caused re traffic etc,like you i'l enjoy it,not realy into anything other than footy,altho dont mind the boxing,but i'l watch some athletics etc this time round. By the by,i thought wembley or the new national stadium could have been built in the midlands/staffordshire tho,but thats another thread.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest63690 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 (edited) What an amazing opening ceremony. I loved the portrayal of the industrial revolution, and the tribute to the NHS. That will give those yanks that think we hate our NHS something to ponder on. The music, humour, poignancy, pathos....I could go on. Chuffed for Danny boyle and for GB as a whole. It had me in tears one minute and laughing the next. Beautiful sunny day today. Enjoyed watching the end of the road race on the big screen that had been erected in town. But what moved me most at the end was the cheer and clap everyone gave as the non brit crossed the line. I just love the British (and its not just cos I'm one of them! :wink:) Edited July 28, 2012 by Guest63690 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jove Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 (edited) Critics will say NHS stuff and choice of performers was an orgy of socialistic, multicultural, utopian propaganda. In a way they would probably be right. However, I really enjoyed the show and music, though I don't know how representative of Britain the show actually was. Seemed a shame that the thousands of years of history were not mentioned and concentrated really on the last 200 years. The show i.e. dizzy rascal, the music, performers etc probably summed up London 100% though. Was a vibrant and entertaining show. Edited July 28, 2012 by jove Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieF8 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 Loving the Games.... Pity about the Mens road race, thought GB would have done a bit better than they did....:sad: Just watched Italy win their first Gold medal in the Archery, brilliant Final, won on the last arrow, just on the line....fencing now...:biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jove Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 im looking forward to the sailing with all the great landmarks etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zk2102 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 So glad we're still in the UK to celebrate the Olympics. Have loved being part of the whole thing and really feel like we're involved with it all. Helps that we live in London. The Mens Road Race came through our town today and it all seemed so sureal to have such a major event taking place on our door step. Have attached some pics (sorry if it bores but thought some of you might enjoy them):SLEEP:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest63690 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 So glad we're still in the UK to celebrate the Olympics. Have loved being part of the whole thing and really feel like we're involved with it all. Helps that we live in London. The Mens Road Race came through our town today and it all seemed so sureal to have such a major event taking place on our door step. Have attached some pics (sorry if it bores but thought some of you might enjoy them):SLEEP:.[ATTACH=CONFIG]15815[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15816[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15817[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15818[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]15819[/ATTACH] Not boring at all. Great pics! I'm glad ur still in the UK for all the excitement and atmosphere. Its a once in a lifetime. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Have we won any medals yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Have we won any medals yet? http://www.london2012.com/medals/ Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 http://www.london2012.com/medals/ Cheers, Bobj. Cheers Bob, i thought the cycling road race was today and we were favourites, i must be wrong, i have been out golfing with my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieF8 Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 Cheers Bob, i thought the cycling road race was today and we were favourites, i must be wrong, i have been out golfing with my son. It was, and we was, but GB didn't win...Cavendish was 29th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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