Rio 2016

[Toepoke]

Mental game this. Nadal drops his serve at 4-4 in the decider then breaks back to 0!

Why is Del Potro ranked as low as 141? Missing out with injuries?

 

Edited August 13, 2016 by Toepoke

[Bannannan]

3 minutes ago, Toepoke said:

Mental game this. Nadal drops his serve at 4-4 in the decider then breaks back to 0!

Why is Del Potro ranked as low as 141? Missing out with injuries?

 

Terrible wrist injuries.3 ops at least.

[EddardStark]

what a match that was. Superb atmosphere. Fancy Murray to win in two sets against Del Potro.

[Toepoke]

24 minutes ago, Bannannan said:

Terrible wrist injuries.3 ops at least.

Cheers. Thought that had to be the case, he's far too good to be ranked so low.

At least Andy will have the backing of the home crowd!

[wheres the pies]

Final the morra evening about 7.30 uk time 

[Bannannan]

Just now, Toepoke said:

Cheers. Thought that had to be the case, he's far too good to be ranked so low.

At least Andy will have the backing of the home crowd!

Won US open 2009. Changed his racket and messed up his wrist.Money isnt everything got a lot of money to endorse,big mistake.

[aaid]

On 11 August 2016 at 10:05 PM, aaid said:

The UK Women's team pursuit just broke the world record - again - in the velodrome.  They've dominated that event for the last 8 years or so and don't get anything near the credit and recognition they deserve.

Two seconds off the world record in the final. What a ride by Katie Archibald. 

[Rossy]

37 minutes ago, EddardStark said:

what a match that was. Superb atmosphere. Fancy Murray to win in two sets against Del Potro.

Final is best of 5 sets is it not ?

[wheres the pies]

19 minutes ago, Rossy said:

Final is best of 5 sets is it not ?

yes final is 5 sets 

[buckielugger]

worth asking (probably been discussed before) why Scotland cannot enter a separate Olympic team?

I am sure it was said you need to be an independent nation before that can happen....and yet i can see Puerto Rico in the tennis, not independent, Palestine in the athletics, not independent (although should be), Hong Kong, not independent, multiple non-independent Caribbean & Pacific islands etc etc.

So clearly actual independence is NOT needed, just a separate sporting identity which in nearly all other major sports we already have. 

So can the Scottish Government please pursue this avenue before the next games come along?

[fringo]

30 minutes ago, buckielugger said:

worth asking (probably been discussed before) why Scotland cannot enter a separate Olympic team?

I am sure it was said you need to be an independent nation before that can happen....and yet i can see Puerto Rico in the tennis, not independent, Palestine in the athletics, not independent (although should be), Hong Kong, not independent, multiple non-independent Caribbean & Pacific islands etc etc.

So clearly actual independence is NOT needed, just a separate sporting identity which in nearly all other major sports we already have. 

So can the Scottish Government please pursue this avenue before the next games come along?

I did wonder about that question when I saw Puerto Rico tonight.

Does HK still compete with Olympians ? I heard them mentioned but wasn't really paying attention so I thought it was someone from HK competing for China.

I think Palestine is now a recognised state by some (including the IOC?).

What other Pacific & Caribbean islands are competing that aren't independent ?

Having said all that, there is now a refugee team competing under the Olympic flag, so the IOC must have variable rules.

Edited August 13, 2016 by fringo

[Toepoke]

We had our own team for the hockey in 1908 for some reason.

Tbh even if it were possible I couldn't see a separate Scottish team being all that popular with the athletes themselves. Most of them that I've heard being asked on the subject seemed dead against it. Not for nationalistic or political reasons but for funding and training resources.

 

[Eisegerwind]

1 hour ago, buckielugger said:

worth asking (probably been discussed before) why Scotland cannot enter a separate Olympic team?

I am sure it was said you need to be an independent nation before that can happen....and yet i can see Puerto Rico in the tennis, not independent, Palestine in the athletics, not independent (although should be), Hong Kong, not independent, multiple non-independent Caribbean & Pacific islands etc etc.

So clearly actual independence is NOT needed, just a separate sporting identity which in nearly all other major sports we already have. 

So can the Scottish Government please pursue this avenue before the next games come along?

We're not a proper country, so can the Scottish Government please pursue this before the next games come along.

[Toepoke]

Enjoying the athletics after a wee nap there. Mo Farah takes a tumble but gets up to grab the gold Chariots of Fire style. Long jump final was a right ding dong. Jess Ennis up against it in the 800m though...

[Dave78]

A Scottish olympic team will never happen until we're independent.

I mind there was a push for it a good few years ago, organised by some Tambers i think. A poll was funded that showed majority support for it.

I wrote to my local MSP (Labour) who was the Sports Minister at the time. She poo-pooed it of course.

[ErsatzThistle]

5 hours ago, Toepoke said:

We had our own team for the hockey in 1908 for some reason.

Tbh even if it were possible I couldn't see a separate Scottish team being all that popular with the athletes themselves. Most of them that I've heard being asked on the subject seemed dead against it. Not for nationalistic or political reasons but for funding and training resources.

 

By the looks of it, they probably had English, Welsh, Irish and Scots teams because otherwise it would just have been GB, France and Germany - having just three teams in competition is hardly worthwhile ?

There will probably still be a few sad pathetic people after our independence is achieved still wanting to compete as Team GB "For old times sake" or "it just won't be the same". Boo hoo, my heart bleeds ..... not. One doesn't see the Irish degrading themselves by wanting to compete under a foreign flag once again.

6 hours ago, fringo said:

I did wonder about that question when I saw Puerto Rico tonight.

Does HK still compete with Olympians ? I heard them mentioned but wasn't really paying attention so I thought it was someone from HK competing for China.

I think Palestine is now a recognised state by some (including the IOC?).

What other Pacific & Caribbean islands are competing that aren't independent ?

Having said all that, there is now a refugee team competing under the Olympic flag, so the IOC must have variable rules.

On the whole debate about there being a Scots Olympic team whilst still being in the union, there are historical precedents that work in our favour.

With the exception of the 1980 games, Bermuda has had a team at every Olympics since 1936. Today it is still a British colony. Sadly, Bermudian's rejected the chance to make their island independent of colonial rule in 1995  The Cayman Islands remain a colony too and they send athletes to the Olympics. 

Between 1947 and 1956 France administered a territory of Germany called the Saar. They took part in the 1952 games before ultimately uniting with Germany.

In the pre-WW1 games when the Austro-Hungarian Empire still existed - Austria, Bohemia and Hungary each entered separate teams.

Iceland competed as a separate team in 1912 and 1936. Iceland became semi-independent in 1918 and finally broke with Denmark in 1944.

Hong Kong has had athletes at every games since 1952 with exception of 1980. 

All the following sent teams to the Olympics whilst still officially being British colonies or protectorates:

Australia were represented at the 1896 games. After state approval in referendums, the British colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.

India (pre-partition obviously) - six Olympic games prior to independence in 1947.

Malta - four games prior to their 1964 independence.

Southern Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - three games prior to the white minority government's extremely ill-advised UDI in 1965. The modern nation of Zimbabwe became independent from the temporary British administration in 1980.

Singapore - four games from 1948 prior to their independence from Britain in 1963. 

British Honduras/Belize - three games prior to independence in 1981.

Trinidad & Tobago - three games before independence in 1962.

British Guiana/Guyana - five games prior to independence in 1966.

The Bahamas - six games prior to their independence in 1973.

The Gold Coast/Ghana - took part in the 1952 games, in 1957 they had the honour of being the first black majority ruled African nation to became an independent nation.

Jamaica - three games prior to their 1962 independence. 

Nigeria - three games prior to their independence in 1960. They gained independence just a couple of months after the 1960 games.

Fiji - three Olympic games prior to their independence in 1970.

Uganda - two Olympic games prior to their independence in 1962.

North Borneo - competed at the 1956 games. Became part of Malaysia in 1963.

Kenya - two games prior to their independence in 1963.

Now that's what I call precedents !

Independence is such a beautiful word don't you think guys ? 

If it were upto me then England, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall (I regard Cornwall as a nation) and the Isle of Man would have their own teams.

The Channel Islands should have the option to compete as one or else Jersey and Guernsey could have their own separate teams.

Northern Ireland should have the option of their own team or else take part in an "All-Ireland" team with a "neutral" flag and anthem.

Quote

on a side topic, has the Olympics got way too overgrown? i would exclude all sports that are only team events (football rugby hockey basketball etc etc) and things like team gold in gymnastics when its just a collection of points of individual perfornances....i would though add in other sports such as darts snooker and chess and maybe poker. also why isnt the fencing proper sword fighting like in robin hood or the musketeers for example?

Is this a wind-up or a serious post ? I'm not sure !

Darts, snooker and poker as Olympic sports WTF 

By proper fighting do you mean "why don't they try and kill one another ?" - I guess it would generate plenty of interest at least.

Edited August 14, 2016 by ErsatzThistle

[dan cake]

we done mo farah 

what a legend

 

[wheres the pies]

does anyone know how much funding team GB gets a year l know its astronomical amounts ?

[vanderark14]

Im going to find another channel through Kodi to watch the Olympics because the BBC are ruining it.

in case anyone didn't know, Jessica Ennis hill had a baby and after having such a terrible disease has turned her life around and become world champion and Olympic silver medalist. 

[fringo]

8 hours ago, ErsatzThistle said:

By the looks of it, they probably had English, Welsh, Irish and Scots teams because otherwise it would just have been GB, France and Germany - having just three teams in competition is hardly worthwhile ?

There will probably still be a few sad pathetic people after our independence is achieved still wanting to compete as Team GB "For old times sake" or "it just won't be the same". Boo hoo, my heart bleeds ..... not. One doesn't see the Irish degrading themselves by wanting to compete under a foreign flag once again.

On the whole debate about there being a Scots Olympic team whilst still being in the union, there are historical precedents that work in our favour.

With the exception of the 1980 games, Bermuda has had a team at every Olympics since 1936. Today it is still a British colony. Sadly, Bermudian's rejected the chance to make their island independent of colonial rule in 1995  The Cayman Islands remain a colony too and they send athletes to the Olympics. 

Between 1947 and 1956 France administered a territory of Germany called the Saar. They took part in the 1952 games before ultimately uniting with Germany.

In the pre-WW1 games when the Austro-Hungarian Empire still existed - Austria, Bohemia and Hungary each entered separate teams.

Iceland competed as a separate team in 1912 and 1936. Iceland became semi-independent in 1918 and finally broke with Denmark in 1944.

Hong Kong has had athletes at every games since 1952 with exception of 1980. 

All the following sent teams to the Olympics whilst still officially being British colonies or protectorates:

Australia were represented at the 1896 games. After state approval in referendums, the British colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.

India (pre-partition obviously) - six Olympic games prior to independence in 1947.

Malta - four games prior to their 1964 independence.

Southern Rhodesia/Zimbabwe - three games prior to the white minority government's extremely ill-advised UDI in 1965. The modern nation of Zimbabwe became independent from the temporary British administration in 1980.

Singapore - four games from 1948 prior to their independence from Britain in 1963. 

British Honduras/Belize - three games prior to independence in 1981.

Trinidad & Tobago - three games before independence in 1962.

British Guiana/Guyana - five games prior to independence in 1966.

The Bahamas - six games prior to their independence in 1973.

The Gold Coast/Ghana - took part in the 1952 games, in 1957 they had the honour of being the first black majority ruled African nation to became an independent nation.

Jamaica - three games prior to their 1962 independence. 

Nigeria - three games prior to their independence in 1960. They gained independence just a couple of months after the 1960 games.

Fiji - three Olympic games prior to their independence in 1970.

Uganda - two Olympic games prior to their independence in 1962.

North Borneo - competed at the 1956 games. Became part of Malaysia in 1963.

Kenya - two games prior to their independence in 1963.

Now that's what I call precedents !

Independence is such a beautiful word don't you think guys ? 

If it were upto me then England, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall (I regard Cornwall as a nation) and the Isle of Man would have their own teams.

The Channel Islands should have the option to compete as one or else Jersey and Guernsey could have their own separate teams.

Northern Ireland should have the option of their own team or else take part in an "All-Ireland" team with a "neutral" flag and anthem.

Is this a wind-up or a serious post ? I'm not sure !

Darts, snooker and poker as Olympic sports WTF 

By proper fighting do you mean "why don't they try and kill one another ?" - I guess it would generate plenty of interest at least.

That's what I call a detailed reply ! 

I hadn't noticed teams like Bermuda and Cayman Islands competing so that does answer the question for me. I assumed HK would now be part of the China team but hadn't noticed either.

[buckielugger]

cook islands are another one....they come under new zealand....

 

and yes serious suggestion for darts and snooker to be included. i see no difference at all between archery and darts other than size....and also darts has many many more players worldwide than archery could ever dream of. snooker is also now a growing sport particularly in asia.

 

[ErsatzThistle]

Quote

 

cook islands are another one....they come under new zealand....

 

and yes serious suggestion for darts and snooker to be included. i see no difference at all between archery and darts other than size....and also darts has many many more players worldwide than archery could ever dream of. snooker is also now a growing sport particularly in asia.

 

Surely then it's only fair that dominoes, skittles, table football, the Friday night quiz, bingo and shove ha'penny become Olympic sports too ?

I would like to put my name down as willing to represent Scotland at dominoes just in case.

Edited August 14, 2016 by ErsatzThistle

[weekevie04]

Also - Guam, Marshall Islands, US Virgin Islands who are all US commonwealth overseas territories.

Does anyone know the actual criteria for entering? For Eurovision if I recall, you need an actual independent state broadcaster which Scotland does not have.

No idea about the funding, or money available, and of course can you imagine the media backlash if Scotland did attempt to put a team in for Tokyo with the the hardcore Britnats.

I don't see why we couldn't. Even if the 'stars' would stay with GB, it could give some of the younger and overlooked by team GB athletes a chance to compete as well.

Heard a 'proud Scot' that I know lightly ribbing an Irish pal of ours about their 1 silver medal. I'd take a silver medal for Scotland over all these GB medals.

The BBC are almost ruining what has been excellent coverage - the actual sports on offer - but their constant sycophantry for anything British, the houlier/better than thou especially mother Russia is frustrating, the Swimming guy is the worst ''Britain can win a medal. We should'' roll on the end result ''Johnny Plucky Blighty came in 7th, but was .8 seconds away from the gold''. Darren Campbell was quite refreshing listening on 5 live earlier when discussing the Heptathon - and gave Katarina Johnson-Thompson an honest appraisal of her performance e.g she needs to improve her javelin/throwing, and why not focus on long jump/triple jump. Whilst the BBC have her winning the gold in Tokyo. 

Of course they want to be supportive, and good luck to the athletes, but it's tiring listening to same old cliches. ''We're a small country'' as well - eh not really, 70 odd million is more than Canada, Australia, and most of the EU nations.

 

 

[Rossy]

9 minutes ago, weekevie04 said:

 

The BBC are almost ruining what has been excellent coverage -

 

 

I've felt that as well, but I've tried to rationalise it. 

Firstly, it's their 'big' thing. They don't get much sport these days and when they do they throw everything at it.....combine that with an almost cringing desperation to be 'uber British' and for many it starts to grate.

Secondly, and combined with that, for the very first time at an Olympics I simply feel absolutely no empathy with the concept of a 'British' team. 

In 2012  I was cheering on Farah and the likes, but in the last 4 years I've had the concept of 'Britishness' shoved down my throat so often by the likes of the BBC that I now turn channel when the jingoism gets ramped up. 

I don't wish any British sportsman ill, it's just that 'Team GB' is not my team. 

[ErsatzThistle]

8 minutes ago, weekevie04 said:

Also - Guam, Marshall Islands, US Virgin Islands who are all US commonwealth overseas territories.

Does anyone know the actual criteria for entering? For Eurovision if I recall, you need an actual independent state broadcaster which Scotland does not have.

No idea about the funding, or money available, and of course can you imagine the media backlash if Scotland did attempt to put a team in for Tokyo with the the hardcore Britnats.

I don't see why we couldn't. Even if the 'stars' would stay with GB, it could give some of the younger and overlooked by team GB athletes a chance to compete as well.

Heard a 'proud Scot' that I know lightly ribbing an Irish pal of ours about their 1 silver medal. I'd take a silver medal for Scotland over all these GB medals.

On the point about the BritNats, aye you could imagine Davidson, Dugdale, Murray, Mundell and Rennie spewing fire at the very suggestion of a Scottish Olympic team. 

Personally I simply cannot support "Team GB" at anything. It's not my nation. I have not the slightest loyalty to Britain at all. Scotland is my nation, and we don't have our own team ........... yet.

If I had been within earshot of that guy you were talking about I would make this point to him - Ireland doesn't need to bother about gold and silver medals. They went one better and beat the Empire itself.