Olympics - General thread

[RussellEbertHandball]

It's a great name for headlines too. Hooker loves a big pole. Hooker's sleepless nights. Amazing Hooker in Beijing. And Hollywood's favourite, Hooker with a heart of gold.*

Jarrod Bannister could give the javelin medals a shake too.

*Just saw another one - Hooker raises the bar.

You missed your calling as a sub editor Ford.

 

[Burningleviathan]

We snagged another gold medal in Kayak 500m

 

[Toots Hibbert]

 

[Portmanteau]

That's strange. The length of his pants seemed to have changed, mid-flight.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

He could have changed as he was out there for 4 hours and it became colder and he did his first vault at 5.60 in the shorts.

Or it could have been a photo from the qualifying round when he got 5.65 on his third vault which was enough to get 13 vaulters into the final. The more I think about it the more I reckon he wore shorts in the qualification heats.

 

[Toots Hibbert]

This has probably been posted elsewhere, it was sent to me yesterday.

Here are the top nine comments made by NBC sports commentators so far
during the 2008 Summer Olympics that they would like to take back:

1. Weightlifting commentator: 'This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.'

2. Dressage commentator: 'This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother.'

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'

4. Boxing Analyst: 'Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious.'

5. Softball announcer: 'If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.'

6. Basketball analyst: 'He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces.'

7. At the rowing medal ceremony: 'Ah, isn't that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging the cox of the British crew.'

8. Soccer commentator: 'Julian Dicks is everywhere. It's like they've got eleven Dicks on the field.'

9. Tennis commentator: 'One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them... Oh my God, what have I just said?'

 

[MP_]

so corny toots

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Those comments were made in 2004 or earlier or even not at the Olympics. US Gymnast Paul Hamm, the 2004 Olympic champion, was equal favourite with the Chinese guy to win the all-round title but he pulled out of the Olympics a few weeks before they started with an injury.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

I remember getting those in emails around 10 years ago, and they resurface now and again attributed to the latest known sportspeople.

The tennis one is actually a golf quote. But no golf in Olympics so they got as close as they could.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dubiousquotes/a/sports_bloopers.htm

 

[Toots Hibbert]

Ah so it's been posted elsewhere then.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

I reckon that

3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: 'I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.'

comes from an 18 year old Tony McGuinness in 1982 when he unexpectedly won the Magarey medal. I reckon it has been picked up and taken around the world. If it wasn't McGuiness it was Kim Hodgeman another Glenelg rover who won the Magarey medal in 1978. It was one of those 2 Glenelg rovers who I first heard it from. I'm 95% sure it was McGuiness as I recall talking about it with my footy mates at uni, but it could have been Hodgeman and we just recalled it as one of the great stuff ups.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Hodgeman was the first sportsperson I heard use that line.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Thanks Ford. Shows what happens to your memory after 3 decades of alcohol consumption.

I knew it was a Glenelg rover.