Winter Olympics

Younger son has been asking me for weeks, "Are you taping the Olympics?" I tried to point out that with all the different stations and coverage, I won't be recording everything - I think our DVR would kill me in my sleep ;) But I did start looking through what's on in the next couple days to set the DVR for some of the things I know he'll want to see, like the freestyle skiing and snowboarding. :)
 
He finished off podium at Nationals & was given his Olympic spot by the committee.
ahhh... thank you... was counting syllables trying to figure if it was a Haiku code

Yeah that happens, in a lot of disciplines. That was how Gabby Douglas was on the team last time for gymnastics. Sometimes their overall record counts more than a single event's results. I confess I do not follow skating (or curling) except for the Olympics... and then I am a serious fan of all sports

However... still don't think that his selection process will be the topic of most of his hate mail
 
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I thought it had more to do with his comments about your VP.

Ding, Ding, Ding... I think we might have a winner.

I wish politics would stay out of it more. Of course it is the Olympics and as such it tends to be political in nature. I watch a skater because they are good, and it is a beautiful sport.

I root for all of the athletes to have an amazing games, these folks have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get to where they are, and it is fleeting.
 
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I thought it had more to do with his comments about your VP.

The post I responded to asked what was meant by selection and finish. That referred to his finishing off the podium at Nationals(finish) and being named to the team(selection) over those who finished ahead of him. No comment is possible on your thoughts.
 


I'd love the ability to be able to record and capture an isolated event and not have to select a 3 or 4-hour block of programming that might contain 18 and a half minutes, if I'm lucky, of the event I'm hoping to watch.

Same here - at least with DVR, we'll be able to do a lot of skipping around. I just have to remember to clear out recordings so we don't run out of space.
 
If so it won't be for the reason you think. It will be because that he was selected how he was. His finish makes him a controversial choice. Not his sexual orientation.

?
Really don't understand what you mean... He selected how he was? His finish?

He finished off podium at Nationals & was given his Olympic spot by the committee.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...ontroversy-ross-miner-adam-rippon/1011464001/
 
can't follow your link... takes me to click bait ads

no sure what the controversy is... the committee vote was 11-1 to place him on the team.... and seems that it was based off his strong record... so not sure why that is controversial. They (the committee) thought he has the best chance of doing well in the Olympics. That is why they are the committee... really doubt he is rich enough as a pro skater to bribe 11 officials into giving him the spot without any merit.
 
can't follow your link... takes me to click bait ads

no sure what the controversy is... the committee vote was 11-1 to place him on the team.... and seems that it was based off his strong record... so not sure why that is controversial. They (the committee) thought he has the best chance of doing well in the Olympics. That is why they are the committee... really doubt he is rich enough as a pro skater to bribe 11 officials into giving him the spot without any merit.

Here is the article since you are unable to read it:


U.S. Figure Skating committee picks Olympic stars but leaves heartbreak in its wake
Christine BrennanUpdated 6:06 p.m. ET Jan. 7, 2018
These are the women that will represent the U.S. in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February. USA TODAY Sports

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The 2018 U.S. national figure skating championships ended Sunday just as any self-respecting skating competition should, in a blaze of glorious controversy and life-altering drama as a committee overturned the results of the men’s event based on a series of criteria that allowed U.S. skating officials to pick and choose whoever they wanted to send to the Olympic Games next month in Pyeongchang.

Ah, figure skating. It never, ever, ever disappoints.

None of the back-room politics changes the figure skating medal chances for the United States: Nathan Chen, the run-away winner of the men’s event Saturday night, will be favored to win a medal, potentially gold. The U.S. women are expected to be shut out of the individual medals for the third Olympics in a row. A U.S. ice dance team will likely win the bronze, and the Americans will probably win a team bronze as well.

But as exuberance built for the big send-off of the newest crop of American Olympians, the arcane ways of the U.S. Figure Skating selection process brought real heartache to a highly regarded former skater turned respected coach, and shined a bright light on the capricious nature of selecting an Olympic team any which way officials want to.

In a particularly cruel twist of fate, Mark Mitchell, who was dropped from the 1992 Olympic team for a more decorated skater after finishing third at those nationals, watched as the skater he coaches, Ross Miner, was dealt a similar fate here.

More: Why Ashley Wagner did not make Olympic team

More: Nathan Chen is sure thing, but Miner, Rippon put committee in tough spot

Miner, a 26-year-old Bostonian who last finished in the top three of a nationals five years ago, was the only man to skate two clean programs here, including an exhilarating long program that found him in second place, behind only Chen, when all was said and done.

If he were a swimmer or a runner, he would have been headed to the Olympic Games. But because he is a figure skater, he (his fate, actually) was headed right to a committee meeting room, where, by an 11-1 vote, he was left off the U.S. Olympic team, replaced by 28-year-old Adam Rippon, who has been on a roll this season but bombed in his long program, finishing not third, but fourth overall.

If you’ve been paying attention to skating the last week, you know the word “criteria” has been mentioned more than the word “salchow.” A three-tiered system of ranking athletes on competitions past and present, the criteria make you think there’s some kind of real system behind what U.S. officials are doing, when the fact is they can do whatever the heck they want.

So they booted Miner off the team and moved Rippon into his spot, then added another insult to the poor guy, refusing to even give him the honor of being first alternate to the Olympic team. They moved 2014 Olympian Jason Brown, who bombed even worse than Rippon Saturday night, into that spot, dropping Miner to second alternate.

Mitchell, one of the classiest acts in a sport that tries one’s patience on a daily if not hourly basis, was understandably livid.

“I feel like if U.S. Figure Skating knew they weren’t going to send Ross, it’s really gutless of them to not tell him in advance,” he said in an interview Sunday morning. “You let him spend all this money and time and energy to try and achieve his dream. If you knew he couldn’t make it, why did we fly here, why did we pay for a hotel, why did we pay for training, if it was decided already?”

Mitchell wasn’t done, and who could blame him?

“How do I continue to teach kids day in and day out with hopes and dreams of making the Olympics? I would tell them work hard and do your job and it will pay off. My little kids all watched last night. Why would they come back to the rink?”

Good questions all, but questions that will remain unanswered as the American figure skating community quickly pivoted toward Pyeongchang, leaving Mitchell and Miner and all this controversy behind.
 
Here is the article since you are unable to read it:


U.S. Figure Skating committee picks Olympic stars but leaves heartbreak in its wake
Christine BrennanUpdated 6:06 p.m. ET Jan. 7, 2018
These are the women that will represent the U.S. in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February. USA TODAY Sports

.

Thank you for the post.

Still got to say... that vote was not close. 11 to 1. Those are a lot of folks who had no faith in Miner... and more faith in Rippon. That is the way it goes. Not the only sport to do this. Gabby Douglas was included on the last USA Gymnastic's team for the same reason. Sometimes the entirety of your career's successes is more important than a single day.
 
can't follow your link... takes me to click bait ads

no sure what the controversy is... the committee vote was 11-1 to place him on the team.... and seems that it was based off his strong record... so not sure why that is controversial. They (the committee) thought he has the best chance of doing well in the Olympics. That is why they are the committee... really doubt he is rich enough as a pro skater to bribe 11 officials into giving him the spot without any merit.

When a decision is subjective instead of objective there's always room for controversy.

Haven't really watched figure skating for a long time, but happened to see several competitions over the past month. One of the coolest moments was watching Ross Miner finish out his competitive career at Nationals on such a high with the audience giving him such an ovation. IDK if leaving him off the team was right or wrong, I can see room for both positions. I do know that it had to have been beyond disappointing not to have gotten the nod.
 
can't follow your link... takes me to click bait ads

no sure what the controversy is... the committee vote was 11-1 to place him on the team.... and seems that it was based off his strong record... so not sure why that is controversial. They (the committee) thought he has the best chance of doing well in the Olympics. That is why they are the committee... really doubt he is rich enough as a pro skater to bribe 11 officials into giving him the spot without any merit.
Thanks for the backstory on Adam Rippon.
I'm certain that's why the haters hate him :tilt:.
 
When a decision is subjective instead of objective there's always room for controversy.

Haven't really watched figure skating for a long time, but happened to see several competitions over the past month. One of the coolest moments was watching Ross Miner finish out his competitive career at Nationals on such a high with the audience giving him such an ovation. IDK if leaving him off the team was right or wrong, I can see room for both positions. I do know that it had to have been beyond disappointing not to have gotten the nod.

OMG I can't imagine. It would be devastating. Almost worse... being an alternate, then you have to (hope) not hope for a team mate to get sick or injured so you would get your chance to compete.
 
OMG I can't imagine. It would be devastating. Almost worse... being an alternate, then you have to (hope) not hope for a team mate to get sick or injured so you would get your chance to compete.
Don't the alternates also have to attend the Olympics? It must be heartbreaking to be there and not be able to compete.
 
Don't the alternates also have to attend the Olympics? It must be heartbreaking to be there and not be able to compete.
That is my understanding. They are part of the team officially, I want to say they can share in the medals if it is a team event... like I think that is what happened with the team gymnastics' alternate, but they are not allowed to compete in any of the individuals. LOL hard to keep up with all the regulations. But I think that it is kinda like everyone on the hockey team gets a medal if the team wins, even if they don't see any ice time during the games. Alternates have uniforms, march in the ceremonies etc.

Does figure skating have a team event like gymnastics? Or is it all individual events?
 
When a decision is subjective instead of objective there's always room for controversy.

Haven't really watched figure skating for a long time, but happened to see several competitions over the past month. One of the coolest moments was watching Ross Miner finish out his competitive career at Nationals on such a high with the audience giving him such an ovation. IDK if leaving him off the team was right or wrong, I can see room for both positions. I do know that it had to have been beyond disappointing not to have gotten the nod.
Maybe instead of a subjective committee vote, they could go to event scoring like World Cup Skiing, NASCAR Chase, Golf FedEx points, etc. I don't follow figure skating, but it seems like Rippon might still have got in, but perhaps with less controversy.
 

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