- For those wondering, that is (at least by Bing's Web Translator) "Congratulations, China" in Simplified Chinese.
Early Inside the Games...
- I'm going to be very interested, after an Opening Ceremony which even I would view as like a funeral, in what the Closing Ceremony will bring. Paris 2024's head has done the press conference which all future host cities do, saying their portion of the Closing will hearken on the city's traditions, etc. Can-can line or it didn't happen!
- The country of India, in at least a peripheral running for what became Melbourne 2032, is now considering a run all the way out to 2048!! (This because they believe it would take a quarter-century, between the 15 years to get infrastructure and that the bid would have to be in a decade before, to get the slot.) A year in which, if I survive that long and probably will not, I would be nearly 80 years old!!
- To state where sport may be by then, the Middle East (Qatar and Saudi Arabia, respectively) will host the Asian Games of 2030 and 2034.
- The 2022 Youth Olympic hosting by Dakar, Senegal will now happen in 2026. There will now be no 2022 Youth Olympic event. The 2026 Youth Games would be the fourth such summer event. I seriously have wondered, during these Games, how an African Olympics would look in this day and age!
Other stuff...
- Good News: Simone Biles, et. al. got home to a good reception.
- Bad News: There IS a tour planned for Biles and some of the other ladies...
- With a canoeing gold medal early on Day 15, China's gold lead is six and I just got banned off the Olympics subreddit for the balance of the Games for pissing off one too many fucking Red Hats with the truth!
- Night 14 of the Games, primetime NBC, drew the same 13.3 million viewers that Day 15 of the Sochi Olympics did. Another 42% loss from Rio.
- This was actually against the NFL preseason opener, which drew 7.3 million on FOX, the highest preseason viewership of any football game in four years! (Both numbers through Sports Media Watch) You can thank having the Cowboys in the game for that -- or whatever practice-squad or fifth-string candidates wearing Cowboys uniforms for that game...
- I'm including this here because this has been endemic with some of the discussions of some of the athletes of these Games: Basically the best women's soccer player in the small country of Malawi is so good, with respect to the other players in the country and in the league, she has actually been forced to go behind closed doors and disrobe to prove to officials she is actually a cis-female. FOUR TIMES. And at least one of them was enough for her to quit the sport a solid year. (MSN)
- And if you don't believe me... One of the gold medals at these Games which (I now must admit, before the day's events all played out...) all but clinched the gold medal total top of the table for China was the victory in the women's shot put by Gong Lijiao. Lijiao was repeatedly called a "manly woman" by her own state media conglomerate!!!, with at least one male media person in that conglomerate scoffing if she ever had a boyfriend!!!! (MSN)
National Dick-Waving Contest:
- USA got the gold lead down to two. China 38, USA 36, Japan 27, Illegal Russian Team and Great Britain 20 each, Australia 17, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands 10 each.
- USA dominating the total: 108 to China's 87, Illegal Russian Team 69, Great Britain 63, Japan 56.
- There are 14 medal events remaining on the last day of the Games. The USA is in four gold-medal finals (Women's Volleyball (50-50 with Brazil), Women's Basketball (Prohibitive Favorite over Japan), and two Boxing (Men's Lightweight, Men's Super Heavyweight, and God only knows with the level of judging that's been going on). As long as China does not win a gold in any of the cycling events, or the group Rhythmic Gymnastics and because of the tiebreaker, the USA only needs to win two to win the medal table.
- The basketball is at 7:30 PM Pacific tonight, The Volleyball is roughly at it's conclusion at 9:30 PM Pacfic. The boxing finals are at 10:15 and 11:15.
- The USA men's track team saved themselves from historic disgrace at the last possible moment -- they almost became the first team to win no gold medals for USA track (specifically track) in the nation's Olympic history before they won the 4x400 relay, the last event they could feasibly win.
- And to all the Reddit assholes: I was banned several hours previous to all your squawking. (Not that they'll see this!!)
- 65 nations now have gold medals.
- 93 nations now make up the full table. Both records.
Late Day 15 News:
- Megan Rapinoe had this question for Donald Trump after his oinking earlier this week: "You're cheering for people to do poorly?" Yes, when they do not suit his purposes.
- The German modern pentathlon coach and one of the women's pentathletes from the nation have been expelled from the Games for animal abuse -- punching one of the horses in the event after the horse blew their opportunity to win. In the modern pentathlon, the horses used for the equestrian portion of the competition are assigned by blind draw.
- And Bruce's daughter has a medal: Jessica Springsteen won silver with the USA equestrian team on Day 14. Lost a jump-off with Sweden for the gold.
- Sifan Hassan failed to complete the Golden Triple when she could only get bronze at 1500 meters in track, but did win the double of 5000 and 10000.
Late Inside the Games...
- As earlier noted, the IOC Session resumes this weekend, taking up topics which either were previously scheduled or came up during the Games.
- It appears the IOC will actually change it's by-laws to move the power to remove sports from the Games from the entire group itself to just the Executive Board. It appears boxing and weightlifting may be facing the chop.
- More Australian conduct problems: Five field hockey players were warned when they left the COVID bubble to get some beer from a convenience store. I think it's just time to bring the entire Aussie team home if they aren't competing today, people...
- There is a growing controversy with the shock Italian's men's 100m champion, Marcell Jacobs. Until this March, he had at least ties with a fitness expert who is being investigated for the distribution of anabolic steroids. He did cut off all contact about five months ago, but UH OH...
- At least one American inquest HAS already started into poor performance: The sailing program is under scrutiny.
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