OT: I've aboot had it with these Olympics
I've always loved the winter olympics because they weren't a stupidly hyped as the summer. But this Olympics, and the coverage, has sucked. Let me rephrase that; during the seven times I've tuned in to catch some of the games, either it hasn't been on, or they're showing an hour's worth of women's hockey or frickin cross country skiing.
Plus, it's all in tape delay out here, so one would think they'd choose something other than biathalon or Canadian rake throwing (actually, Canadian rake throwing would be pretty fun to watch).
February 17th, 2010 at 12:01 AM ^
I agree. NBC has really screwed the pooch with coverage so far.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:48 AM ^
It's NBC's primetime coverage of figure skating that is killing most of us, or so I would assume.
I love just about everything else, just not figure skating. The biggest problem with the winter Olympics is that there isn't as many events as the summer Olympics. Generally speaking, you have to live with what's on, and with many of the skiing events getting pushed back due to weather, we're getting even fewer options.
Also, does anyone love Biathlon as much as me?
February 17th, 2010 at 2:04 AM ^
But the endless stream of unnecessary features, montages and studio chatter are bad, too. I could understand that sort of filler if NBC carried more hours of coverage, but they have only two hours of afternoon coverage (when lots of things are actually happening) and four hours of prime time coverage (when things are still happening), so it seems to me they don't need the volume of filler they're using. I don't think it's unreasonable to believe they could find six hours of actual competition to show on the main channel.
And I do find biathlon oddly appealing. I got into it this afternoon when the race was close enough that the top two were shooting at the same time. It was surprisingly intense.
February 17th, 2010 at 7:44 AM ^
And we now head back to Jimmy Roberts, who will talk about more shit you don't care about instead of actually watching the events.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
the thought of driven Germans and Austrians on skis with guns, makes this jew a little uneasy.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:35 AM ^
Biathalon: Scandinavian Drive-By
February 19th, 2010 at 9:42 AM ^
had me spitting my coffee all over my computer screen.
On a day that I have been terribly missing my recently passed Father, I thank you both for the laugh.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:53 AM ^
This was the first time I have seen a full biathlon event. The thing that draws me to it is the sharp shooting. I was however not pleased with the commentating.
Things like this happened on many occasions:
announcer 1: The snow coming down is really going to make it difficult to hit the targets
announcer 2 (expert): Umm... no it will actually affect the skiing more...
February 17th, 2010 at 12:02 AM ^
Not sure if you know, but there is additional coverage on USA. Nice victory for USA hockey over Switzerland today!
February 17th, 2010 at 12:12 AM ^
I agree with Starko. Enjoy the sports, especially the hockey.
The coverage isn't as bad as people are making it out to be: USA, Universal Sports, NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC are all covering.
The Olympics really just boils down to personal preference- some people like it, some don't.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:29 AM ^
Uverse has even put a channel together so that you can watch four channels at once. The events that have been on the schedule so far have been mostly crap anyways.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:17 AM ^
USA Network was sweet today... I had to threaten a few people's first unborn children this afternoon but I made it all day without hearing anything about the game. I get home from work, crack a brew, and hit play and instead of hockey, I have 2 1/2 hours of curling on my DVR. FML.
[edit: Don't get me wrong, I love me some curling but that isn't what I planned my day around. Also +1 for saying 'aboot']
February 17th, 2010 at 12:21 AM ^
I about commented on the curling hate, but glad to see ya update that.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:02 AM ^
You aboot commented on the curling hate. Eh?
February 19th, 2010 at 9:53 AM ^
You three (pontoo, viso and barney) ignorant idiots have never talked to an actual Canadian have you? I can count on one hand that has had all its digits ripped off by a table saw how many of my fellow Canadians actually talk like that.
It would be more accurate to think that all Americans say ya'll or talk with a New England accent than it would to think that all Candians talk like that.
Maybe you shouldn't talk ABOUT thing you are clueless on! Se that....I am Canadian and I say ABOUT and have never uttered EH in my life.
It would be very easy for me (and it would be every bit as accurate as your comments) to say that all Americans are ignorant pricks. However, I have actually been to the USA and met many Americans so I know you that isn't the case.
Perhaps next time you decide to attempt a joke at the expense of an entire nation you should, I don't know, have a clue ABOUT what you are saying. Than you might actually appear funny instead of like an ignorant ass.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:00 AM ^
They're such a historically abused, minority class...who's thinking of the children?!?!?
February 19th, 2010 at 10:05 AM ^
What are you talking about? Did I even address you in this?
Does a nation, person, race etc have to be historically abused to make making rude and completely false statments about them wrong?
So if I make inappropriate jokes about white people it is ok because historically, they haven't been abuse?
Your rationale is beyond insane.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:14 AM ^
Lighten up, Francis.
Edit: And yes, we can't dance.
February 19th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^
So, I'm reading Brian's Sporting News Blog article, Curling at that...(yes, I have too much time on my hands..), when he has a response from a Canadian, first on the page-
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/56318/i_l…
"As a Canadian living in the United States, I feel obliged to point out that the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) ceased to exist on March 1, 2003, as it was replaced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This means, among other things, that the newly created ICE office in Des Moines, where I go to get my green card, is staffed by nice middle aged Iowans instead of surly Department of Justice employees.
Of course, your ignorance of this fact would be just the thing to prove to the ICE agents that you're American and not Canadian. Generally Canadians know a lot more about the structure of the U.S. than Americans do.
Go blue, eh?"
Doesn't he know he's making a rude comment about his own PEOPLE?? The humanity!
And no, I'm not freaking out because he basically called Americans stupid either. It's awfully rude, but probably not completely false, so maybe that's why I can take it.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:10 AM ^
i do agree with you, americans just abuse people from canada for the way they talk... my dads family would make fun of my accent everytime i would come to visit... they would constantly bust out the "eh" joke, and like you i never say it... its almost been 5 years since i moved back to michigan and my accent is slowly going away but i still have those key words, that make people ask if i'm from canada... and then the jokes start... i smile and nod but it does bug the hell out of me...
February 19th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
Ontario and having most of my relatives still living there; I see it more of an urban vs. rural thing as much as anything else nowadays.
There's a noticeable difference between Toronto and Trout Creek.
The smaller the Ontario town, the greater the Eh'.
The rest of Canada? I'm clueless.
February 19th, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
you can goto any of the small towns outside of windsor and you'll hear a thicker accent and a lot more "eh's"...
February 17th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
But after the 2.5 hours of curling, you had the USA hockey game on your DVR, right? At least on my program guide (DirecTV) there was one large block of time from noon (or was it 1?) until 6. Curling was first (for about 2 hours) then hockey after that. I think some people might have been messed up by the original hockey schedules that went out because the times were in Pacific time, but the schedule on NHL.com (http://www.nhl.com/ice/scheduleolympics.htm?season=20092010) has all of the game times in Eastern time. In other words, the USA schedule started at noon (or was it 1?) and the US hockey game didn't come on until it started a couple of hours later.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:03 AM ^
I love 'em. Today I was late for class because I was watching curling...
February 17th, 2010 at 12:09 AM ^
Yes this is true! I love the olympics so far, I just hate not being able to see things live so they can show it in primetime...
Its like every 4 years we get to watch curling, I'm glad it was on!
February 17th, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^
Absolutely. That 9th and 10th end against Germany today was intense. America got torched with that double take down. Argh, I'm still not over it.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^
I respectfully disagree.
USA! USA! USA!
Cowbells n such.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:06 AM ^
Yes its really terrible when Bode Miller wins a bronze medal and you hear about it all day... Personally I don't care to even watch him come in 3rd place. It's irrelevant 8 hours after the fact.
Advice, play the events live and then you can replay them in PRIMETIME. because it doesn't matter, everyone already knows who won the event anyways because this thing called "the internet" tells us.
Oh this is in Canada, only 3 hours difference from the east coast. I can't wait for when its back in Europe.
Good night NBC.
February 17th, 2010 at 7:45 AM ^
I have met Body when I was in high school. We are both similar ages and we competed on the same national competitions a few times. He was a complete douche back then. I just hope he has gotten his life back together. I love seeing America perform well.
February 17th, 2010 at 8:01 AM ^
Just curios how you accumulated all those negbangs?
February 17th, 2010 at 8:46 AM ^
He used the forbidden amalgam combining the word "Spartan" with a particular name commonly given to females.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:45 AM ^
I would think if you met Bode you would know how he spells his name. He may be a douche but he is also the best male skiier the USA has ever had. The best thing about him is that he never holds anything back and goes balls out every time.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:01 PM ^
That's like saying the best football player kicks ass in Spring ball, but chokes in the Ohio State game...
He's the Peyton Manning of skiing.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:09 AM ^
This could be the first Olympics of my entire life I haven't been glued to the TV. Some of my strongest childhood memories are of Olympics stuff. The first Dream Team, Johann Olav Koss, everything that was 1996, Nancy and Tonya happening in my backyard, etc. etc.
This incarnation of the Olympics seems to be completely devoid of anything I can get excited about. Not that NBC wants me to see it anyway...
February 17th, 2010 at 11:26 AM ^
just to get you to the accurate year you are talking about: 1994.
Lillehammer, baby. Best Olympics ever.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:11 PM ^
I know, I was talking about the games in Atlanta with the 1996 reference. Michael Johnson, Dream Team II, all that stuff.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:12 AM ^
Tonya Harding jokes.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^
And, our Comcast just sucks out here. It's NBC or CNBC.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:15 AM ^
Oh, the best part of this is that CBC doesn't even have broadcast rights this time around. It's on the CTV family of networks. We don't even get the Canadian live coverage as per usual here in the Detroit area.
CBC was so great. Unlike the NBC school of Olympic broadcasting, they'd show things live, and not just events the Canadians were expected to win.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:21 AM ^
Basically, the two largest sports networks here TSN, Rogers Sportsnet plus CTV cover the Olympics 24 hours a day here. I think I have 12 ongoing Olympic channels on my HD, it's pretty ridiculous. You should be able to get a CTV affiliate freely in the Detroit area, however based on over the air the Kitchener/London signal. Locally, at least, you can get this with an HD antenna; it's a strong signal so should work for you.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:27 AM ^
I suppose the web content is not available in the US. I've been watching everything on www.ctvolympics.ca and honestly it's been great! The player requires Silverlight 3 (boo), but otherwise I've been able to watch stuff both live and after the face (at my convenience). I even was able to watch most of the men's downhill race with no commentary!
I definitely preferred watching the CBC coverage of the summer games when I was still in MI, but CTV stuff online is damn good if it is an option. I'd guess the site won't work in the US, though... Maybe you could connect through a free Canadian proxy server?
February 17th, 2010 at 1:52 AM ^
How irritating. Moreover, I sent NBC a nasty email during the opening ceremonies to complain that Bob Costas and his co-host (I think it was Matt Lauer?) needed to STFU when people were singing, speaking, or some other musical event was happening. (I got no reply, of course.)
February 17th, 2010 at 7:31 AM ^
I love watching ALL the winter games, Women's biathalon, curling, you name it.
NBC has blown it by not carrying things live. THEY'RE IN FUCKING NORTH AMERICA! So time and cost are NOT that big a factor.
Also, having events spread out over like 5 different sub-networks (USA, MSNBC, etc) is fine for more coverage, but it's also a bit of a scheduling nightmare.
Also, too many commercials and figure skating.
1 channel, all olympic events, live (with some repeats in prime if you deem them popular enough) is that really too much to ask?
Oh, and the last reason I almost put my foot through the TV. . . . Costas, that pompass windbag decided it was more important to blab away aimlessly during the ceremony when the Canadians won their first home-field-Gold medal.
The beautiful Canadian anthem is playing, the Moguls winner is on the podium holding back tears as the flag are raised . . . and fucking diarrhea starts running from Costa's mouth!
Unbelievable.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:51 AM ^
CBC was great. While the US stations broadcast only Olympic sports that the US was expected to do great in CBC would show all sports, usually live, without all the fluff and personal stories that no one really cares about. Oh well too bad for us.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:38 PM ^
I seem to recall that CBC had some stories on the athletes - just not to the extent NBC does.
I grew up with the Olympics on ABC. They just haven't seemed the same since.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:14 AM ^
But yeah, I'm not a fan of replays. They need more live coverage dedicated to individual things.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:16 AM ^
and HOCKEY!!
the one major North American professional sport that these Olympics feature is not on TV!!!! arrrghgg
February 17th, 2010 at 12:19 AM ^
Why have the olympics sucked? Just because the coverage sucks doesn't mean the games have sucked. In fact, they've been pretty good.
Granted I'm an avid XC skier and exercise physiology major, I LOVE watching XC skiing. The course is beautiful and challenging (well for me at least). Also, XC skiers are undoubtedly the most aerobically gifted athletes in the games making them a physiologist's dream.
February 17th, 2010 at 1:07 AM ^
I get out myself probably a 5-10 times a year in similar terrain to that of Whistler, but it's just boring to watch an hour of it for me. And I've seen no curling.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:27 AM ^
Tonight's broadcast was almost entirely figure skating, punctuated with occasional snowboard cross tangents. If anything needs to be tape-delayed and compressed, it's figure skating -- there's an entire commercial break between a routine and the announcement of the score. I think the entire hour from 11:00 to midnight was figure skating. They'll chop down the event in which Bode Miller won bronze so that we see maybe a quarter of it, but they'll spend the majority of a four-hour prime time broadcast on live figure skating? I don't get it.
I love watching the Olympics, but I don't feel like I'm getting to see much of the Olympics thanks to NBC -- I'm just getting loads of figure skating and endless sappy athlete profiles. I REALLY hope CBC gets the broadcast rights again so I have a choice for the next Olympics.
(Edit: I don't have cable or satellite, so I'm stuck with the NBC broadcast. That's why I enjoyed having CBC as an option.)