Sochi

Okay, the Winter Olympics are about to start. I love both Olympic Games and I'm looking forward to this one. Hopefully the security issue won't be one. In Vancouver, Canada came away with top billing at 14 gold medals. Of course one of the two profile events, men's hockey. And what a great game it was too, regardless of winner.

How is your country going to do and how much do you care. Please don't make this into a political debate or argue about pros versus amateurs, leave that for another place and time

In 2010, Russia didn't do as well as they expected. Hope they have a good showing in front of the locals

USA will be tough to beat across the board, they field strong teams in every discipline.

S Korea and Netherlands will get their haul in short and long speed skating respectively

Except for a few events, China's team will be middle of the pack. Love their woman's curling team (coached by a Canuck)

What says you

Have they actually got the snow delivered there yet? Australia is usually at the Winter Olympics as part of the clown show at half-time, but now they have all these new-fangled snow-boards and stuff, we have a chance at winning something. Don't forget, of course, we do have a speed-skating GOLD MEDAL! Remember the great performance of Stephen Bradbury at Salt Lake City in 2002?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jagh3l5lMvY

New Zealand is a sporting, and we have heaps of mountains and snow, but we never really feature at the Winter Olympics.

I checked out some news sites and it seems that Sochi may give NZ its best chance for a medal since 1992. In that year Annelise Coberger won a silver. It is the only medal NZ has won at a Winter Olympics while we have collected 103 at Summer Olympics.

Apart from speed skating, curling is one sport I like watching on TV. I love watching the Chinese women's curling team. They have a true team approach to everything and never falter under pressure during competition.

PS New Zealand's hopes for a medal seem to rest on new events, notably snowboarding. Medals for these events are decided by judges, rather than time or distance, so winning a medal is seen as akin to winning a lottery    

The Winter Olympics is a hockey tournament.

I've heard there are a few other things but they don't matter.

ESPN has a nice little feature with pics.  Wish more countries would do this


http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/olympics/timeline/all

Reporters already trashing Sochi.

http://sports.yahoo.com/photos/quirks-of-sochi-construction-1391548019-slideshow/

What's the channel for women's nude figure skating?

CCTV 5+ will be carrying loads of stuff including the only sport that matters: HOCKEY 

If you don't think the winter Olympics are great (or you need an appetiser), you should check out BBC's Winter Olympics memorable Moments.

http://www.bt-chat.com/download.php?id=185654

Unlike most of these type of things, it doesn't have some gormless tosser trying to be witty between clips. It's just the moments with the original commentary or context.

I certainly didn't know about all of these, and it covers the spectrum of events.

Don't be put off by the domestic bias to start with which is the entire dance programme by Torvill and Dean. After that it's nearly all different countries. Just four Brit items (including T+D).

All of the rest are from other parts of the world.

The British coverage is so negative

I know that we don't compete in the Winter Olympics and we aren't friends with Russia but it does seem a bit overboard

I love the slalom and that crazy sport where they get on a little trolley and go head first down a long tunnel, I think at the last olympics we had a guy who got a medal in suicide trolley

That's bobsled

And how hard can it be if the Jamaicans can qualify. Like, how much snow falls on that Caribbean island?

CCTV 5+ will be carrying loads of stuff including the only sport that matters: HOCKEY 

There are 4 legitimate contenders for the gold: Canada (of course), the US, Russia and Sweden as the dark horse. It's hard to believe one of these teams won't win a medal of any kind in hockey.

As for the dames, only 2 teams of note, US and Canuckistan. We're on a roll but it'll be damn close and good. Last time they played, the girls broke out in an all out brawl. There's lots and lots of respect for each other. And even more hatred

That's bobsled

And how hard can it be if the Jamaicans can qualify. Like, how much snow falls on that Caribbean island?

The Jamaican Bobsled(Bobsleigh) team has become sacrosanct in Winter Olympics lore since 1988. Don't dis them.

Plus, the Sochi Olympics open on the birthday of Bob Marley. A good omen?

That's bobsled

And how hard can it be if the Jamaicans can qualify. Like, how much snow falls on that Caribbean island?

Nah, bobsled they are in a team and in a sled, there's one where it's just one person going head first

Quote from: Day Dreamer on February 06, 2014, 12:23:49 AM

That's bobsled

And how hard can it be if the Jamaicans can qualify. Like, how much snow falls on that Caribbean island?

Nah, bobsled they are in a team and in a sled, there's one where it's just one person going head first

The luge is when you go down the hill feet first on your 'sled', and is either singles or doubles, which perhaps is the most homo-erotic event in world athletics. I mean, there's a 2 man bobsled as well, but then you're sitting on a seat, rather than the other person's lap. The skeleton is where you go head first.