The XXII Olympic Winter Games (Sochi 2014)

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 6 Feb 2014 - 15:25

Fair Warning - While I would hope folks will use the spoiler tags when reporting results, EXPECT THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD and take caution when reading it going forward.

While the Opening Ceremonies are not until tomorrow, the Games of the XXII Winter Olympics are underway in Sochi, Russia with the following events kicking off on 6 February:

Men's Slopestyle Snowboarding
Women's Slopestyle Snowboarding
Women's Moguls (Freestyle Skiing)
Team Event Pair Short (Figure Skating)
Team Event Men's Short (Figure Skating)

Fortunately, since I live in Seattle I can watch the games live (well, via DVR) on CBC HD so I don't have to slog through NBC's usual dreary coverage as well as their penchant for delaying broadcasting of the major events until Prime Time on the US East Coast, 12 or more hours after they happened. Smile

by Awinnell Thu 6 Feb 2014 - 16:29

graft and corruption have already made these a games to remember !

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 6 Feb 2014 - 16:35

Awinnell wrote:graft and corruption have already made these a games to remember !

At $50 billion, they cost more than the previous 21 Winter Olympics combined.

Though they literally had to build everything, so... The rail and roads from the port to the mountain events alone were equal to what Vancouver spent in 2010 on everything ($8 billion).

by Awinnell Thu 6 Feb 2014 - 17:30

The XXII Olympic Winter Games (Sochi 2014) 2toile10

the now infamous 2 toilets

by **Kiskaloo** Fri 7 Feb 2014 - 16:59

IMO, Sochi was the best Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony ever and #3 on the all-time list (behind the Summer Games in Beijing 2008 and Sydney 2000) and the second best torch-lighting ceremony (behind Barcelona 1992) on account of them playing the end of Stravinsky's The Firebird.

by valera_firefox Tue 11 Feb 2014 - 3:43

I watched Opening Ceremony on TV. I liked it, but Russian internets now are full of jokes about red ring, sleeping Medvedev and double toilets Very Happy

It's Russia, what are you expected?
I really wish I were in Sochi now. I went there to my vacation few years ago, but little town developed to Olympics city, so I want to see it again. Very Happy

P.S. I really don't understand... WHY DID THEY CHOOSE SOCHI FOR WINTER(!) OLYMPICS? There are lots of cities in Russia with natural snow and cool temperature.

by Awinnell Tue 11 Feb 2014 - 6:30

valera_firefox wrote:
P.S. I really don't understand... WHY DID THEY CHOOSE SOCHI FOR WINTER(!) OLYMPICS? There are lots of cities in Russia with natural snow and cool temperature.

Because a certain Mr Putin Really likes the place !
Also if past Olympic selections are anything to go by, and I include the 2012 London games here, they had the best score on the IOC bribery scale !

by BleepinFireman Tue 11 Feb 2014 - 8:56

I loved watching the Olympics, and Sochi looks amazing. I hope I get to see more though

by **Kiskaloo** Tue 11 Feb 2014 - 10:36

valera_firefox wrote:P.S. I really don't understand... WHY DID THEY CHOOSE SOCHI FOR WINTER(!) OLYMPICS? There are lots of cities in Russia with natural snow and cool temperature.

As Awinnell noted, the main reason is that Vladimir Putin wanted it there. It's also why the 2014 Formula One Grand Prix of Russia will be held in Sochi on a track around the Olympic Park even though Moscow makes more sense.

And Sochi is in a similar latitude with similar temperatures to Vancouver, Canada, which hosted the 2010 Winter Games. Vancouver was actually 1°C warmer for the Opening Ceremonies than Sochi, but as I recall the weather was often rainy in Vancouver, whereas Sochi has been mostly sunny, which gibes the impression that Sochi is a fair bit warmer.

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 13 Feb 2014 - 14:18

The United States becomes the second country to sweep the podium at the XXII Olympics (after The Netherlands).

Spoiler:

by **boomer_gonz** Fri 14 Feb 2014 - 3:53

American Speed Skating ain't been the same since Apolo Anton Ohno retired last year.

by **Kiskaloo** Mon 17 Feb 2014 - 11:18

Spoiler:

by Awinnell Wed 19 Feb 2014 - 7:07

Sir David Attenborough does an alternative commentary for the women's curling !

by **Kiskaloo** Wed 19 Feb 2014 - 10:13

As the video is UK only, we'll assume it's great. Smile

I've heard a bit of the duo handling the Beeb's snowboarding commentary and they're a hoot.

by Awinnell Wed 19 Feb 2014 - 11:07

Kiskaloo wrote:As the video is UK only, we'll assume it's great.

I've heard a bit of the duo handling the Beeb's snowboarding commentary and they're a hoot.

sorry didn't realise ! this sort of thing annoys me no end, it was available earlier but the BBC decided to restrict it !

by Alfisti Thu 20 Feb 2014 - 6:03

I still don't understand curling... as far as I can tell it's lawn-bowls for people in cold places. Except that doing it bare foot with a beer in one hand sounds like a recipe for frostbite and broken ankles...

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 20 Feb 2014 - 10:12

Alfisti wrote:I still don't understand curling... as far as I can tell it's lawn-bowls for people in cold places. Except that doing it bare foot with a beer in one hand sounds like a recipe for frostbite and broken ankles...

What I do not understand is the scoring. One team does something at an end and gets a point, then the other team does what appears to me to be the same thing at another end and gets anywhere from two to four points. Puzzled

Am catching up on CBC's coverage of yesterday's events and they noted that 21 of the 22 medals The Netherlands have won are in long-track speed skating. And #22 is in short-track speed skating. Guh?

by **boomer_gonz** Thu 20 Feb 2014 - 13:30

And somebody hasn't called 'shenanigans' yet? Incoming!

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 20 Feb 2014 - 13:47

boomer_gonz wrote:And somebody hasn't called 'shenanigans' yet?

Evidently that is the only event they bothered to prepare for.

In other news, Gold Medal Woman's Hockey match is in progress between the US and Canada.

by **Kiskaloo** Thu 20 Feb 2014 - 14:53

Women's Hockey Gold Metal Match

Spoiler:

by **Kiskaloo** Sat 22 Feb 2014 - 13:29

Men's Hockey Bronze Medal Match Results

Spoiler:

And the Canada 3 Men's bobsled team just had a huge wipeout, but they are all okay. Good

by **boomer_gonz** Sat 22 Feb 2014 - 14:06

Kiskaloo wrote:And the Canada 3 Men's bobsled team just had a huge wipeout, but they are all okay.

I am a horrible person. sweat

by Awinnell Sat 22 Feb 2014 - 14:25

Kiskaloo wrote:

And the Canada 3 Men's bobsled team just had a huge wipeout, but they are all okay.

I think you mean 4 man bobsled team not 3 !

by **Kiskaloo** Sat 22 Feb 2014 - 15:16

Awinnell wrote:
Kiskaloo wrote:

And the Canada 3 Men's bobsled team just had a huge wipeout, but they are all okay.
I think you mean 4 man bobsled team not 3 !

It was a four-man team, but the bobsleigh itself was named Canada-3 as Canada has three sleighs in the four-man event (Canada-1, Canada-2 and Canada-3).

by Awinnell Sat 22 Feb 2014 - 17:34

Kiskaloo wrote:
Awinnell wrote:
Kiskaloo wrote:

And the Canada 3 Men's bobsled team just had a huge wipeout, but they are all okay.
I think you mean 4 man bobsled team not 3 !

It was a four-man team, but the bobsleigh itself was named Canada-3 as Canada has three sleighs in the four-man event (Canada-1, Canada-2 and Canada-3).

LOL! the Hyphen makes all the difference ,apologies if I am being, a) dumb, b) a Grammar Nazi !

by **Kiskaloo** Sat 22 Feb 2014 - 17:46

Awinnell wrote:LOL! the Hyphen makes all the difference ,apologies if I am being, a) dumb, b) a Grammar Nazi !

CBC's graphics didn't have the hyphen, so you're neither. Smile

by **Kiskaloo** Sun 23 Feb 2014 - 12:57

Watching the Closing Ceremonies and nice to see Putin has a sense of humor, after all. Wink

Another impressive visual display to end the XXII Winter Games. Still can't decide between Beijing or Sydney for best CC, however. Beijing was visually amazing, but Sydney closed a Games to "Waltzing Matilda" and you have to give extra credit for that. Good

Overall, a pretty good games, IMO. While God may be an Englishman, it's clear Hockey God is a Canadian. Wink

And now that marijuana is legal in Colorado and Washington States, maybe we can win some medals in Speed Skating at the XXIII Games in Pyeongchang. Razz

Seriously, congrats to The Netherlands for just dominating that sport - all 24of their medals came in that event.

Speaking of Putin, he should be happy with the Russians winning the medal haul - Gold and Overall - at home, doing orders of magnitude better than they had in Vancouver. The US comes in 4th in Gold and second overall, matching our performance in Vancouver in Gold and coming up one short in Bronze, but much poorer in Silver (and therefore, overall). Still, we had the honor of first Gold of the Games and the only real heartbreak for me was the Women's Gold Medal Hockey match.

The XXII Olympic Winter Games (Sochi 2014) 2014_WO

by Piero Sun 23 Feb 2014 - 14:39

In other news, pretty much the entire Canadian work force is going to be falling asleep at their desks tomorrow morning. Razz

I think my countrymen's love of hockey is pretty widely known, but just to give you an idea how big it is here: the IT department at my work sent out an eMail telling people not to stream the men's semi-final because so many people streamed the women's final that it caused a network slowdown.

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