Bingo. At some point, people (are you listening, Olympic Powers-That-Be?) have to realize that all governments are NOT created equally!

I just have to say goooo Women's Volleyball! One of the members on the team (Jennifer Joines) is a member of Alpha Phi from U of the Pacific!!!!

They DID get away with it.

Those metals can be stripped at any time.

What stinks is if those medals "ARE" stripped, the new winners won't get to enjoy the medal ceremony they deserved. While I would be happy that they did get the medals, I hate that it is a delayed response to something that was known about before the wedding started! :mad:

So it seems the IOC is going to do an investigation and possibly strip He's medals.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...urn=oly,102564

What sucks is it isn't this girl's fault. It is the government's fault for forging her age. Even if it is proved she's underage, she's a hell of a gymnast and did help get her team gold.

I think this is the key part: "Assuming the IOC is committed to a real investigation and not some dog and pony show"

This is an article from July about the Chinese gymnasts' ages.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sp...=1&oref=slogin
"Zhang Hongliang, an official with the Chinese gymnastics federation, said Friday that perhaps Chinese reporters and provincial sports authorities made mistakes in listing He’s and Jiang’s birth dates differently from the dates given on their passports."

So if the IOC isn't doing a real investigation (i.e. they're only going through the charade of an investigation to try to quiet criticism of the IOC), I could see China claiming that the spreadsheets on the Chinese government website also had typos...even though it's clearly obvious to everyone around the world what the truth is. And with the Chinese government control of media and documents, who is going to be able to prove for sure that the government website didn't have typos? Unless, there is a whistle-blower from inside...but we all know that that's going to be highly unlikely.

I say both feelings are accurate.

Agreed.

This headline from yesterday made me particularly sick:

http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...834474,00.html

Basically: two Chinese women in their late 70s had their homes condemned to build parts of the Olympic complex. They were given substandard housing to make up for it, but promised better housing later. They never got it.

So they decided to file an application to publicly protest their treatment during the Olympics. China had promised it would allow its citizens to protest (in an organized fashion, in designated places, after having applied) during the Olympics.

The two women were denied because their protest application was "inappropriate" and now they are being sentenced to a year in labor camps.

Disgusting. DISGUSTING.

^^^That seriously makes me want to throw up. And by participating and oohing and aahing over all the razzle dazzle and not "seeing" things like this or taking a stand against it, like it or not, the entire world's stage is guilty by association.

Both. How ever I just do not see much, if anything, ever coming out of this.
IF there is a True investigation, it will not be done prior to the closing on Saturday. Thus metal counts stand in full publicity.
And changes in results afterward just will never have any kind of impact. And that is if the investigation does causes any kind of change.
And just who in their right mind is going to sign off on a investigation that will cause the lost of face to not only several layers and levels of public and private sectors but an entire country? A country where losing face is a matter of honor and death.
Thus I just do not see anything ever happening in public.

Actually, you'll notice in the article that the IOC is NOT performing an investigation...they're asking the FIG to conduct the investigation. Then they can say, we're not the bad guys (and taking kick-backs from the Chinese)...it's the FIG who did it. :rolleyes:

It's probably going to be a total bullshit investigation and likely nothing will happen, but it's better than nothing I guess.

I'm really not loving the NBC guy at the track and field events, the one who is asking the post-race questions. It's a bit too sensationalistic and a bit too disrepectful of the athletes for my taste. Not just the bit just now with Jeremy Wariner, but the whole past week. He's been my least favorite part of the whole games.

(I should say I am assuming it's been the same guy all week - I don't know for sure, I just know that the NBC guy at the track is the only one of all the post-event reporters that has rubbed me the wrong way. So if there have been multiple people, then all the track people are the ones that bug me.)

^^ No kidding. I was actually stunned at something he said to Tyson Gaye: (on dropping the baton) "Would you say this represents your whole year?" :eek:

Would you like to make a wager whether those medals are actually stripped?

I don't mean a "friendly" wager either - I'll send cash to escrow, I think Kevin would be a fine candidate.

The age of the girls in China will be impossible to prove/disprove. The government can fabricate any documents that they want and it's far easier to say other things were wrong but the 'official' documents are correct. It's he says/she says. Those medals won't be stripped.

Wow...they didn't even pretend to care...the "investigation" is already over:
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...yhoo&type=lgns

Looks like China feels that the only reason their "women" are having their ages questioned if because of the close rivalry with the US. What happen to good sportsmanship in the games?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olym...cs/7575929.stm

DaffyKD

IMHO i don't think that the rivalry has anything to do with the gymnasts age being questioned.. (For a country that can falsify documents and make webpages containing incriminating information disappear China has to come up with a better excuse than that) there's no doubt that those Chinese gymnasts are amazing but at the same time if I were on the U.S. women's team if i were to get beat I would prefer for it to happen legally (with all the participants being the right age)as opposed to by a nation that would do anything to win gold..
and for the "investigation" to already be over is pretty ridiculous... i don't know what's worse the world knowing that those Chinese women didn't truly deserve the medal or the fact that the Chinese are still trying to maintain a lie that has already caught up to them

That link doesn't work. It says the article is expired/unavailable.

Regarding the track stars after event interviews, I have been so impressed with their poise and attitude. I think they have all represented themselves and their country well. I was particularly impresses with Lolo Jones(?), who after hitting that hurdle, maintained her composure during the interview, was gracious, didn't make excuses, and congratulated the other runners. It wasn't until she left the track and was alone in the tunnel that she broke down (understandably so).:(

That moment was, to me, one of the most poignant moments in this Olympics.

^^I definitely agree the athletes themselves have handled the questions beautifully. I just think the actual questions have been out of line at times, that they've hit too hard in an effort to foster journalistic drama. But the athletes have been fabulous about it.

Yes, you're right, some of the interviewers have gone too far in trying to get some sensationalistic statement.

I was really irked when Chris Collinsworth asked Kobe Bryant if it was still "cool" to love his country!!!

I mean COME ON, it's the Olympics, the athletes are REPRESENTING their country!!! It's cool to represent your country on the biggest sports stage in the WORLD!!!

Try this one:
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...v=ap&type=lgns
Wonder if the Chinese blocked it.

On CBS radio this morning, I thought I heard a report that the investigaton was ongoing.
CNN's report:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

I'm disappointed that NBC chooses to hype up the losses and rub the athletes' noses in it instead of congratulating medalists on their wins (other than Michael Phelps). What makes them think that people at home want to hear them criticize these incredible athletes? From the sound of some commentators and sidelines reporters, especially in gymnastics, you'd think a silver medal was shameful. Most of the interviews are either boring or offensive, and therefore I'd prefer they just forget them and switch to covering other sports.

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008..._matos_600.jpg

:eek:

Link: To Full Article

I totally agree... I've seen reports that go along the lines of "this is the U.S.'s worst performance since 1948..." on NBC... I can't remember the sport they were talking about, but really? Unless those reporters can go up there and compete on the level those athletes did to get to the Olympics, then they should shut their trap.

wtf! that is crazy! That dude should be banned for sure!

on a totally non-related note, I don't trust that those Chinese girls are over 16 (at least with the exception of maybe half their team). All those documents being turned over are issued by the government.. the same government that has used underage gymnasts in the past.

I highly doubt anything will come of it though... from what I understand, the IOC didn't do anything to the Chinese for that 2000 incident.

It is funny though that they are backpeddling big time by taking down websites that listed those girls ages at 13-15... too bad they forgot about internet cache.

Castro will probably name Matos a hero.
This is awful

That son of a bytch. :eek:

"We didn't expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur," said WTF secretary general Yang Jin-suk. "I am at a loss for words."

My thought, exactly!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuYQiYhiwgI

(The video makes it look funnier than the photo does. Dude went straight Street Fighter on them.)

Wow. Dude has some serious anger management issues

One of the comments on the article was to the effect of "what he did wasn't that bad...he was in the heat of the moment and overreacted."

No isht?!?! I'm sure the testosterone and fighter's adrenaline didn't help whatever anger issues he may've already had.

Oh and I found myself taken over by the Olympics as I watched track and diving at the gym yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I now know that I need to be confined by an elliptical trainer to watch the Olympics.

Is it bad that i'm seriously cracking up @ the picture? The ref's face is priceless :D

That is some seriously anger management problems though. And I thought the wrestler who threw the bronze medal was bad.

Boo the video got taken down.

There were about 7 videos. I guess they shut them down as soon as the videos got reported.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FI_GDhNV2Q Hurry and watch before it gets taken!!!!!

omg!

that totally came out of nowhere!

everyone was standing around and all of a sudden, BAM! Right on the kisser!

Thanks for the link DST :)