Not Watching the Olympics — #ThirdWorldGames

Oh, I'll tune in for gymnastics, swimming, and track and field, etc.

I'm just not watching the opening ceremonies. They're so politically correct it's like pulling teeth. And the show's not even live.

More, from Ed Driscoll, at Instapundit, "NEWS YOU CAN ABUSE: An Incomplete List of Why Nobody Really Gives a Shit About the Olympics Anymore."

#ThirdWorldGames

Heh, I gotta get #ThirdWorldGames trending.

Olympic beach water includes high levels of bacteria found in sewage, tests show. https://t.co/8Exi63ZQ9Z pic.twitter.com/UJs4YZujKg

— ABC News (@ABC) August 4, 2016

And tell me why again we're having a world-class athletic competition in that literal shit hole? #Rio2016 https://t.co/8qn7ccPbTU

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 4, 2016

Australian coach complains of 'soupy' pool water at #Olympics. https://t.co/MsTd4ZXmzc #Rio2016 #ThirdWorldGames

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 5, 2016

Aly Raisman

This young lady's looking good.

Practice makes perfect.

See @Aly_Raisman nail her landing at today’s podium training.

→ https://t.co/tLFht4oaW9 https://t.co/uQWW01Zoi8

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 4, 2016

Olympic Athletes Urged to Keep Their Mouths Shut in Rio (VIDEO)

Heh.

Watch, at Euronews:

Keep your mouths shut!

That is the advice from health experts to Olympic athletes preparing to compete in the polluted waters of Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay, where drug-resistant super bacteria have been found in abundance.

The opening ceremony for the games is just a week away.

"The idea is that athletes maintain minimum contact with the water. Unfortunately that is how it is," said doctor Daniel Becker, acknowledging that it is not always easy to remember to keep your mouth and eyes closed...

The Rise of a Judo Queen

At WSJ, "How an American Took Down Judo":

As Kayla Harrison, the only American to win a gold medal in judo, prepared for the Rio Olympics at her coach’s dojo in Wakefield, Mass., in March, she spent most of the morning wrestling on the mat. She practiced pins, chokes, armlocks and other submission moves. In judo, this is called “newaza,” or grappling techniques. Unlike the match-ending throws that lift competitors off their feet and slam them down, newaza isn’t flashy or explosive. In American judo, it’s a religion.

“All over the world, I’ve been to so many training camps and they’ll do three rounds of newaza randori, which is sparring, and then they’ll do 10 rounds of standing sparring,” Harrison said. “That’s where they’re weak, so that’s where we should get good. And we are.”

At the London Games four years ago, three American judokas reached the semifinals of their competitions. Marti Malloy won a bronze in the 125.5-pound division. Harrison, who weighs 165 pounds and competes in the 172-pound division, won gold and has since become the top-ranked judoka in the world for her weight class. She said this would be her last Olympic Games. If she decides to join the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts competition, she could earn millions. For now, she seems to be leaning toward a life in judo.

“Do I really want to start all over in another sport and have a completely new athletic career at the age of 26?” she said. “I don’t know. I want to stay involved in judo.”

Under current UFC weight classes, Harrison—5 feet 8 inches, broad-shouldered and all muscle—would have to lose 30 pounds. UFC competitors, like Bellator MMA, have higher weight classes.

“Obviously we’re aware of her,” said Dana White, president of the UFC, through a spokesman. “We’ll see what happens.”

Harrison could remain in judo—as a promoter. Until now, the sport’s governing body, USA Judo, has sold few tickets and sponsorships to its national tournament. But it recently signed an agreement for Harrison to run the national championships for five years starting in 2018.

To win gold in Rio, Harrison will need four or five consecutive wins—all in the same day (each fight lasts four minutes). Her event is scheduled for Aug. 11. She’s by no means a lock. Harrison lost early in last year’s world championships and won a bronze in 2014...

Keep reading.

Brazil Ramps Up Security Before Rio Olympics (VIDEO)

My wife was saying last night that she wouldn't go.

And you can see why!

Watch, at CBS News This Morning, "Rio police battle security crisis as Olympics loom."

That's an excellent report. Brazil's deploying twice as many police and security personnel than Britain did for the London games in 2012.

Greg Louganis and Janet Evans Will Be Featured on Wheaties Boxes Ahead of 2016 Olympics

It's weird how you arrive at things sometimes on the Internet.

The Angels game tonight's on Fox Sports 1 rather than Fox Sports West. Since I love my broadcasters, Victor Rojas and Mark Gubicza, on FSW, I googled around to see if there was a schedule of non-FSW games for the season. I started reading at the first click, however, at the Sporting News, "Angels broadcast thrives with Victor Rojas' attention to detail." And featured at that story was Janet Evans, who Rojas had up in the box to talk about the LA84 Foundation, a youth sports foundation to which Evans joined to promote the group's 2013 summer swim program.

So, not remembering what year Evans first won Olympic gold, I googled further, now to find out that Wheaties just announced that she'd be on the cereal boxes ahead of this summer's Olympics in Rio. What a trip. She's such an all American girl. Frankly, though, it's Louganis who I remember more from 1988, for his miraculous gold medal in Seoul, after hitting his head during the 3-meter springboard preliminaries.

In any case, see the Los Angeles Times, "Olympians Greg Louganis and Janet Evans finally make the Wheaties box."

Welcome four-time gold medalist and world record breaker @janetevans to the Orange Box Club. #WheatiesLegends pic.twitter.com/g6KsusTLy6

— Wheaties (@wheaties) April 5, 2016

Olympics 2024 in Los Angeles? What About Those Busted Sidewalks and Retiree Pension Costs?

At IBD, "Olympics? L.A. Already Faces Herculean Budget Woes."

No, it's not the best idea.

See the letters to the editor at the Los Angeles Times, "L.A. can't fill all its potholes, but it wants the Olympics. That's insane":

To the editor: I don't live in Los Angeles anymore, but I still have an affinity for the city where I grew up, so I have to ask: Did anyone see the irony or humor in the juxtaposition of the headlines on Sunday's front page? ("Inequity is 'baked in' when it comes to L.A. city services; where you live matters," Aug. 28)

According to one article, the city will be on the hook for billions if it is selected to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, but according to another piece, it can't consistently provide basic services. Graffiti removal can take days, depending on where you live. Potholes and trash may go unaddressed for weeks after a complaint.

This particular story does not even take into consideration the sidewalks, which are on a 30-year repair plan, and the water system, which breaks regularly. And all the billions to be spent on the Olympics are supposed to turn a profit of less than 3%. The mayor must have a very sharp pencil and a crystal ball. Good luck.

Steven L. Rice, Thousand Oaks

Rio Olympics Preparations 'the Worst'

Hmm...

At NYT, "Preparations for Rio Olympics ‘the Worst,’ Committee Official Says":

RIO DE JANEIRO — A top International Olympic Committee official on Tuesday called Rio de Janeiro’s preparations to host the 2016 Summer Olympics “the worst I have experienced,” adding to a growing chorus of doubts about the city’s ability to get ready for the Games without international help.

“We’ve become very concerned, to be quite frank,” the official, John D. Coates, who is vice president of the committee, told reporters in Melbourne. “They really are not ready in many, many ways.”

The remarks reflected similar criticism from the Olympic Committee’s president in mid-April, when the body announced that it was sending outside experts to Brazil to monitor progress and speed up work in Rio.

“This is unprecedented for the I.O.C. to be sending in people like this,” said Mr. Coates, who has made six visits to the city and called the situation in Rio worse than in Athens in 2004.

However, he ruled out moving the Olympics to another city.

“There can be no Plan B; we are going to Rio,” Mr. Coates said. “We’ve just got to make sure that we help the organizing committee deliver Games that will enable our athletes, the athletes of the world, to perform to the best of their ability.”

Keep reading.

Well, Third World Olympics: The racist imperialist advanced nations will no doubt bail 'em out.

Extreme Sports Boost USA at #Sochi

Must admit I was getting a kick out of the slopestyle.

At USA Today, "Extreme sports mark changing of U.S. Olympic guard":

SOCHI - For the U.S. team, the Sochi Games signified an end of an era. Goodbye, ice queens. Hello, flippie hippies. See you later, pucks and sticks. Nice to meet you, slopes and rails.

As 17 days of competition came to a close Sunday, this much was clear: The face of the Winter Olympics no longer wears skates. Twelve of the USA's 28 medals came from freestyle skiing and snowboarding, including six of nine gold.

The U.S. Olympic team had never won a medal on every day one was awarded in the Winter Games, and through 14 days in Sochi, the Americans were poised to do that. But the men's hockey team failed to show up in Saturday's bronze medal game, losing to Finland 5-0.

If only the kids in baggy pants with a language all their own had competed in the Games' final days, perhaps the USA could have gone out with more of a bang. Instead, Russia ended this cold war with a flourish — sweeping the podium in the men's 50-kilometer cross-country ski race Sunday and winning gold in four-man bobsled to secure the top spot with 33 overall medals and 13 golds.

For decades, figure skating was the marquee event of the Games. In Sochi, the U.S. men and women figure skaters had their worst collective finish since 1936. Speedskating has been the USA's most successful winter sport. But the short-track team left with one medal and the long-track team exited empty-handed, complaining about their suits.

In contrast, the Americans dominated the action sports events — slopestyle skiing and snowboarding and halfpipe skiing — that made their debut. When the next Winter Games is held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, Americans are again expected to be strong in the extreme sports. If more events are added to the program — perhaps big air and a team snowboard cross event — the U.S. medal haul likely will grow as well.

"When you look at the impact that adding the sports has had on the Winter Games, it's made the Games more popular from a broadcast standpoint and for the people who are here," U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said.

Keep reading.

U.S. Medal Haul Disappoints in #Sochi

At WSJ, "Medal Tally Lags Behind Winter Games High of 37 in 2010."

Man, these Sochi games were pretty much a downer all around. I didn't watch much after the first few days. Was busy with school, although I wasn't that pumped up to turn on NBC in the evenings. I wonder why?

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina Beaten by Cossacks in #Sochi

They're now former members of the band Pussy Riot, having been kicked out for gaining too much popularity and media exposure.

And they're not falling out of the limelight, it turns out. At the Washington Post, "Whip-wielding Russian Cossacks attack Pussy Riot members near Sochi Olympics."

More at the Other McCain, "Olympic Pussy Riot."

Vladimir Luxuria, Italian Transgender Communist, Arrested in Sochi for Flaunting 'Gay is OK' Banner

Like Marx said, destroy the family, bring down bourgeois capitalism.

According to Wikipedia:

Luxuria was a Communist Refoundation Party member of the Italian parliament, belonging to Romano Prodi's L'Unione coalition. She was the first openly transgender member of Parliament in Europe, and the world's second openly transgender MP after New Zealander Georgina Beyer. She lost her seat in the election of April, 2008.

Although Luxuria lives exclusively as a female, she has not undergone sex change surgery remaining physically and legally male. She has stated on occasion that she perceives herself as neither male nor female.

That gives you a little background on this disgusting trans-derp. They're always so flame-boyantly in-your-face about everthing, sheesh. Yet another depraved Communist homosexual.

See the Wall Street Journal, "Italian Gay-Rights Group Says Activist Was Detained, Released in Sochi: Former Parliament Member Vladimir Luxuria Was Protesting Russia Law Banning Gay 'Propaganda'":

An Italian gay-rights association said Sunday that Vladimir Luxuria, a former Italian member of parliament who is a transgendered gay-rights activist, was detained but later released by police in Sochi after unfurling a banner that said "gay is okay."

Flavio Romani of Arcigay-Associazione LGBT said that in a phone conversation on Sunday, Luxuria told him she was being held at a detention center in or near Sochi. Romani later said that Luxuria had been freed with no charges. Sochi police couldn't be reached for comment. Luxuria didn't respond to requests for comment.

Luxuria, who is transgendered, stood outside the main spectator entrance to the Olympics this weekend clad in a skirt with gay-pride rainbow colors waiving a rainbow umbrella and fan. Russians who were on their way to Saturday's U.S.-Russia hockey game stopped to take pictures with her. A few Olympic volunteers huddled nearby watching the scene, but didn't ask Luxuria to leave.

"I have come here with a rainbow flag because a man named Vladimir Putin is homophobic," she said.

When approached by The Wall Street Journal outside the Olympic Park on Saturday, Luxuria said she felt she might be arrested under a controversial law signed last year banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations." The law mandates fines for speaking in defense of gay rights or saying gay relationships are equal to heterosexual ones in front of minors. Critics say the bill is written so broadly that it could be used to crack down on nearly any public expressions of support for gay rights.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in January that gays should feel welcome at the Olympics so long as they "leave the children in peace."

More from the New York Times, "Transgender Former Member of Italian Parliament Detained in Sochi."

And from the excitable hate-addled extremist John Aravosis, at AmericaFlog, "Russians 'brutally' arrest former Italian member of parliament at Sochi Olympics."

Yes, "brutally." But don't those brutes like it that way?

Lindsey Jacobellis Back for More in Snowboard Cross at #Sochi Olympics

Well, as they say: If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.

At LAT, "She lost the gold by grabbing her board in 2006, didn't make the final in 2010 and is favored this time. She is glad she stuck with it."

I blogged about her in 2010, "Lindsey Jacobellis: Least Clutch Athlete Ever?"

Olympic Skier Jackie Chamoun Nude Pin-Up Controversy

I guess it's a big scandal back home in Lebanon. Lebanon? Not the most alpine country to come to mind, but who knows these days?

At Time, "Topless Photos of Lebanese Olympic Skier Cause a Scandal Back Home."

And London's Daily Mail, "Lebanese Olympic skier who posed topless for racy calendar shoot becomes a hate-figure in her home country after footage appears online."

Plus, a YouTube clip at Deadspin, "Lebanese Olympic Skier Under Fire For Topless Photoshoot." (Via Memeorandum.)

U.S. Lugers Annoyed by Group's Homo-Rights Video

You think?

At NYT, "American Lugers Annoyed by Group’s Gay Rights Video."

Watch it at Althouse, "Lugers don't like being appropriated by The Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion for use in a pro-gay video":

It's a slow-motion video of double-lugers rocking back and forth in an effective visual double-entendre and then the words: “The Games have always been a little gay. Let’s fight to keep it that way.”

We're all homosexuals now. Or, at least the left hopes so.

American Jamie Anderson Wins Gold in Women's Snowboard Slopestyle

At LAT, "Jamie Anderson completes gold-medal sweep for U.S. in slopestyle":

SOCHI, Russia — She is a new-age, yoga-loving, mantra-chanting snowboarder who came to the Olympics with a "medicine bundle" in her backpack and an 80-something "spirit grandma" originally from Bavaria along for the ride.

Jamie Anderson came to Russia armed with support and will leave with a precious object to put alongside her mantra beads and clear quartz power stone.

An Olympic gold medal.

Anderson completed a weekend sweep for the United States in the new slopestyle event, winning the women's competition Sunday with an all-out performance in the second run, scoring 95.25, a run marked by clean landings. Enni Rukajarvi from Finland took the silver (92.50) and Jenny Jones of Britain the bronze (87.25), the first Olympic medal for her country on snow.

Jones, at 33 the oldest competitor in the final, was once a maid at a ski chalet. Wimbledon champion Andy Murray even joked, via Twitter, after her second run: "Jenny Jones! Is it wrong to hope everyone left falls?"

With Anderson's victory coming a day after Sage Kotsenburg took gold on the men's side, clearly the United States has claimed ownership of the slopestyle podium.

It could not have been a better script for U.S. snowboarding.

"Am I dreaming? Are you people real?" said Bill Enos, the U.S. slopestyle coach.

He touched the arm of a reporter in the mixed zone, saying: "Yes, oh, everyone here is real."

Keep reading.

Previous Sage Kotsenburg coverage here.

After Initial Headaches, #Sochi Games Coming Together

Well, crowds are sparse, so hopefully more of the venues will fill up.

Other than that, perhaps it's getting better over there.

At LAT, "After a rocky few days, Sochi lurches toward functionality":

SOCHI, Russia — It was 2:30 a.m. and the stranger on the other side of the door wanted into my hotel room. "How many cards do you have?" he kept asking in broken English.

The lock rattled and eventfully broke. Still hazy from sleep, I did all I could to keep him from forcing the door open. Finally, he backed away as more footsteps hurried down the hall.

A new speaker identified himself as the hotel manager. He said the late-night intruder was a locksmith mistakenly sent to change the lock.

"I am sorry," the manager said.

More.

Empty Seats Plague #Sochi Olympics

Check out the picture for the men's slopestyle final. The bleachers are half-full, wtf? That was a cool event. Something else must be going on.

At WSJ, "2014 Sochi Olympics: So Far, Empty Seats Abound: It's Early, But Attendance Suggests Modest Ticket Demand":

SOCHI, Russia—Inhospitable hotels were the big headache of the 2014 Sochi Olympics preshow. After the first day of full competition, it looks like empty seats could become the problem child of the Games themselves.

A few events played to virtual sellout crowds and enthusiastic spectators: notably biathlon, the ski-and-shoot Russian favorite, and team figure skating, in which the home squad held a commanding lead.

But other venues in both the Olympic Park and the so-called "mountain cluster" high above Sochi were plagued by sometimes large swaths of empty seats. And there were a lot of echoes in the empty corners of the arenas for events such as women's hockey and speedskating. Even one of the Games' hippest events, the action-sports event known as slopestyle snowboarding, appeared to have hundreds of empty seats, even though organizers declared it a sellout in the 6,250-seat Rosa Khutor Exreme Park.

The women's hockey crowd of 4,136 for the U.S.-Finland game on Saturday was roughly 60% capacity, and 4,386 watched Canada beat Switzerland. Shayba Arena, the smaller of Sochi's two hockey venues, has a capacity of 7,000.

Some of the lackluster attendance has come during preliminary competitions, which many fans, sponsors and even members of national sporting federations prefer to skip. On the opening day of the 2012 London Olympics, televised images of empty seats at popular events such as gymnastics led thousands of ravenous British sports fans—frustrated for more than a year in their quest for tickets—to complain bitterly to London's Olympic organizers. Those officials later reclaimed some tickets that were going unused by sporting federations and sponsors and sold them to the public.

Sochi organizers said this week that about 80% of their ticket inventory had been sold by the end of January. The organizers wouldn't say how many total tickets they have on offer. But plenty are available.

Based on visits to all the major venues and dozens of interviews on Saturday, the problem in Sochi seems to be more a function of soft demand. The long-track speedskating venue, Adler Arena, offered one of Saturday's marquee events: the men's 5,000-meter race. Yet even at its peak, the crowd never seemed to fill more than three-quarters of the 8,000 seats. Organizers didn't release an attendance figure. In the past, speedskating has been one of the Games' toughest tickets because the venues tend to be small.

At the moguls venue in the mountains on Saturday night, officials put the crowd at about 3,000—well short of the listed capacity of 4,500. Russian fans who are attending are both enthusiastic and opportunistic.

Vartan Oksuzyan, an engineer at a primatology institute in nearby Adler, was at figure skating Saturday night with tickets he purchased in November. He was accompanied by his 18-year-old daughter, Susana, who had her cheeks painted with a Russian flag on the left and a white figure skate on the right. "We're cheering for everyone," he said—the Canadians because a cousin who lives there asked them to, and the Americans at the request of a former teacher of his who now lives in Minneapolis.

Well, maybe the terrorists are keeping people away.

More here.

American Figure Skater Ashley Wagner Facial Expression After Scores Revealed in Women's Short Program

I read her lips as well. She said: "That's bullshit."

At USA Today, "Ashley Wagner was thrilled after her Olympic debut ... until she got her score."

And London's Daily Mail, "Now Ashley is not impressed! Moment figure skater's smile turned to disgust as she got a disappointing score at the Sochi Olympics."

Here's a shot of @AshWagner2010 from her short program at the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/20tHRd1M7v

— U.S. Figure Skating (@USFigureSkating) February 8, 2014

Let's please give every gold medal to Ashley Wagner's reaction face. http://t.co/gpavI2Zz5H pic.twitter.com/QjDGcsClM5

— Bill Hanstock (@sundownmotel) February 9, 2014