"The Games, which begin Friday, rank as the most expensive in Olympic history with an estimated cost of more than $50 billion and counting.
A recent study by a Russian watchdog group alleges that organizers paid far more than the going rate for numerous venues built in and around the Black Sea resort. One former official fled the country and has been accused of embezzlement.
"Athletes are not the only people who compete in Sochi," the Anti-Corruption Foundation report stated. "Officials and businessmen also took part in the Games and turned them into a source of income.""
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Do you still get excited about the Olympics? I appreciate the decision to stagger them every two years, alternating Summer and Winter. Which one is your favorite?
18 comments:
When it comes to compelling TV visuals, it's tough to beat speed skating.
Some events are ridiculous, though. The one where they stack the two guys on the ludge comes immediately to mind.
I say stack 'em at least three high or don't bother at all.
The Sick Man of Europe still has that cold.
ski high jump
It looks graceful.
Perhaps these embezzlers can come to America and work for Hillary and Obama?
No - I lost interest when they allowed them to be pros. It was not appealing to me see athletes like Carl Lewis, a multi-millionaire and phenomenal talent, go to the Olympics year after year. How would you like to be a younger, up and coming athlete and have to compete against Lewis and his big bucks training apparatus? For me, big money ruined it.
Summer Olympics are my favorite.
I don't much care for the staggering of the Olympic games, however. I liked having the added distraction during Presidential Election years.
The Games are corrupt of course. BUT! It is still a chance to see human beings pushing the edge of their capabilities, and thus satisfying on several levels.
Eric, do you mean long or short track speed skating? The short track stuff is insane, and I expect to see someone get beheaded in competition at some point.
There can be only one!
Favorite Olympics? Easy...for me it is the winter games. That is because it features sports I competed in in high school and college. I understand the Alpine ski racing events.
Unfortunately I no longer have a link via Universal Sports (NBC) to Eurovision for live event watching. So my interest is less now.
This year, I'd watch a US young lady named Mikaela Shriffin who will be an all around racer sooner than later...already a top Slalom skier. Ted Ligety will do well also as he has expanded his event range. Others to watch for podiums are Tina Maze (Slovenia) and Julia Mancuso (USA).
Russia is Chicago with a different alphabet. And Putin gets a taste of everything.
As for professionals in sports...only the US, and Canada, enforced the amateur crap while virtually every Europeans and Asian nation paid their athletes to be athletes...by one means or another. I am very familiar with this hypocrisy because in those days (late 50's & early 60's) I was a competitor myself...just never Olympic or FIS A level caliber. Still, to compete we had to not earn anything from our sport....or take anything from a ski manufacturer. Howard Head gave us skis to test, but we were not allowed to compete on them and had to give them back in short order. Europeans were all racing on custom built skis just for them.
Top level international sports has never been amateur except in the fantasy decades in the USA.
That money was stolen fare and square and they have the documents to prove it.
Heck, I didn't even know about short track. Insane, indeed.
But they should be allowed to wear body spikes and razors and stuff, to make it safer.
When I was growing up I loved the Olympics. It was like a bigger, badder Wide World of Sports ("Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat." splat.) Now a particular sport or competitor may be compelling but the Olympics, as an event, no longer holds any fascination. It's too big, too slick, too obviously political (the dancing National Healthcare segment at the London games), too produced. Just say no to giant puppets! Shudder.
I used to prefer the Summer, but now it's tie.
Yes, Armatel, the endless, stupid back stories we must suffer through.
I quit watching when the Jamaican bobsled team and that guy "George" the ski jumper from England showed up.
It just occurred to me that, lacking the live feed, I may not watch any of the the Sochi Olympics at all. The NBC manipulated views are boring and don't show the participant s trying and failing. That is bullshit.
Nope, fuck it Thursday, I will ignore it and check the FIS Internet feed after the vents. Kiss my ass NBC.
But they should be allowed to wear body spikes and razors and stuff, to make it safer.
That would be the most awesome sport ever, even better than Afghan Polo....
New Sport: Buzkashi
On ice
With chariots
With side-mounted rotating razors
And frickin' lasers
That's nice.
(To continuing the horrible 70s references.)
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