Olympics YAY!

surfer03133 · #1 02-12-2010, 04:55 PM

The freaking Olympics started!!!! I love the games and can't wait for hockey to start! Who else will watch the games this year?

STL · #2 02-12-2010, 05:25 PM

I like to watch
bobsledding
speed skating
ski jumping
luge
short track speed skating
Curling

greyghost · #3 02-12-2010, 05:26 PM

bobsledding, some of those guys have to be nuts.

STL · #4 02-12-2010, 05:41 PM

Some guy died today in a practice run on the luge

Luge death of Nodar Kumaritashvili

Quote:

West Vancouver, Canada – The luge death of Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili in a crash during training Friday opens the Vancouver Organizing Committee to criticism that it has built a sliding track that is recklessly unsafe.

News reports indicate that Kumaritashvili crashed into both walls near the bottom of the track while traveling at 90 miles per hour before being thrown from the track entirely and hitting a metal pole. It was his second crash of the week, the Toronto Sun reports.

Even before Friday events, the track had gained a reputation as perhaps the most dangerous in the world. I pray a little in turns 11 and 12 and then breathe again after 13,

Turn 13 is so difficult that it has become known as “the 50-50” – with athletes giving themselves only a 50 percent chance of making it through the curve without crashing.

The Whistler track is the fastest in the world, with lugers hitting speeds of more than 93 miles per hour – six miles per hour faster than the previous world record. What’s more, it is also a technical track, meaning that sliders and bobsledders have to make key driving decisions to avoid crucial mistakes or even crashes.

“Once you hit top speed it gets really technical,” said US pilot Bree Schaaf at the same press conference. “That’s where it gets scary.”

Rzepka says only one other track in the world can compare to Whistler for sheer difficulty: the Altenberg track in Germany. It has gained its reputation because “even the best drivers crash there,” she said.

The same is becoming true at Whistler. Before Kumaritashvili’s accident Friday, the world’s No. 1-ranked luger, Armin Zoeggeler, also crashed.

But Altenberg is a World Cup track, meaning only the most experienced pilots and sliders attempt it. By contrast, the Olympic competition is open to far more athletes – many of whom are relative novices here only for the Olympic experience.

The Olympic news service lists no World Cup results for the 22-year-old Kumaritashvili.

Kumaritashvili’s death is the first death of an athlete during competition in the history of the Winter Olympics, according to historian David Wallechinsky. Two athletes have died during the Summer Games.

At a press conference following the crash, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge refused to talk about the specifics of the accident or how it might affect the entire sliding-sports competition at the Vancouver Games. He said he would wait for the results of an investigation.

But the men’s luge competition is scheduled to begin Saturday, giving the investigation a tremendous sense of urgency.

DisturbedESV · #5 02-12-2010, 08:07 PM

I almost feel guilty... the games are about 3 hours from me and I have no plans to visit... a bunch of my coworkers are making the trek.... wish I could afford to go visit Jesse!! haha

RE: The Luger
That's so sad!! I read there have been MANY accidents on the track this year... scary...

RangerJustin · #6 02-12-2010, 08:07 PM

Saw the video of that...craziness. It was the first thing I saw when I turned the tube on in my hotel. In Vegas so won't be watching too much of it this weekend.

surfer03133 · #7 02-21-2010, 07:01 PM

USA holds off Canada! 5-3 final. Freaking awesome game! Miller is a beast. USA! USA! USA!

XLT08 · #8 02-22-2010, 03:50 AM

Marty is washed up. They should of benched that loser. He was all over the place last night.

Nash is everything Eric Lindros could of been. That was a killer hit in the second period.

davidjsouth · #9 02-22-2010, 06:18 AM

B/c of my work/sleep schedule I did not make it through the whole game last night BUT WHAT AN UPSET! God save your queen Canada!