[Super Bowl LVI - Live Chat Thread]

1 minute ago, mojoween said:

I remember this version of Matthew Stafford.

To be fair, that interception was really the receiver's fault.

[Super Bowl LVI - Live Chat Thread]

Now keep that weird non-player off the damn field.

[Super Bowl LVI - Live Chat Thread]

HOLY SHIT.

[Super Bowl LVI - Live Chat Thread]

1 minute ago, Magog said:

😫

Who gives a damn about that. LeBron is in the stadium.

I'd rather look at Bennifer.  Actually, I'd rather look at the sun until I go blind.

[Figure Skating]

4 hours ago, Jillibean said:

That seems to be the narrative they're going with--even Scott Moir said it on On Edge--but I honestly don't think so. That Moulin Rouge free dance was a juggernaut. It was such an enormous crowd favorite, and went viral right after the team event. I know things like that shouldn't come into play, but awarding it to the sweet, quieter, lyrical program when Tessa was flipping her crotch directly into Scott's face and then dying in his arms and the audience was going nuts, IMO, would have been a very, very tough sell. I think V/M were getting the gold regardless of any wardrobe issues. But hey, if the dress isn't what stopped them from medaling, what exactly is the redemption story?

Again, P/C beat V/M in the free dance.  The wardrobe malfunction in the short dance was good for at least two points in the technical score, and P/C actually beat V/M in the PCS; it 100% cost them the gold.

And that Moulin Rouge program is my least favorite V/M program ever.  Technically fantastic, of course, but it was so incredibly overwrought that I spent the whole dance hoping Scott Moir would be so distracted by his own overacting that he'd skate into the boards.

[Figure Skating]

From the very bottom of my heart, I want to thank the person who made the decision to put Guillaume Cizeron in leather (or "leather") pants for this rhythm dance. That. ASS. *fans self

Papadakis and Cizeron should be about ten points ahead of everyone. They are just in a class of their own with their speed and edges and general effortlessness, and I feel like they're the only ones who really understood the "street dancing" assignment.

(And to the person who asked above, they absolutely would've won gold in 2018 if not for the wardrobe malfunction; they actually won the free dance over V/M and their bodice-ripping bullshit. I cannot accurately express the depth of my loathing for how forced V/M's vibe became over the years; they became more desperate over-actors than Leonardo DiCaprio bucking for an Oscar.)

Sinitsina and Katsalapov were overscored if for no other reason than they just did their normal thing to the Backstreet Boys – no street dancing to be seen. They do absolutely nothing for me. And, of course, like all Russian athletes here, they're doping, so there's that. And Nikita is an asshole. Whatever, Skating While Russian lives on.

Hubbell and Donohue did pretty well with the assignment, and I think they should be in second. That's one of the best performances I've seen them give, and I'm not particularly a fan of them (mostly him; he seems like such a dick).

I'm so bummed that Madison C. briefly lost her edge. I just love her and Evan's style; they really do have a unique approach to their performances, and it makes them stand out so wonderfully. And they are the absolute cutest! However, barring a fall/major mistake by any of the top three teams, I think they're destined to finish fourth.🥺

I would like to give the person who chose Gilles and Poirier's costumes a major ass-whooping. You will not find a person who loves color more than I do, but those jumpsuits were an abomination before all that is good.

[Figure Skating]

2 hours ago, ShellsandCheese said:

Yeah. No need for a lifetime ban for a 15 year old with one bad test.

"One bad test"?  No, this wasn't a one-time situation; she's been doping for however long Eteri has been forcing this shit into her body, and it's just one more piece of evidence that Russia is systematically doping its elite athletes.  I'm not saying a lifetime ban is appropriate for her specifically (although I agree that a two-year suspension is effectively a lifetime ban in that horrible, abusive system); rather, Russia and every single one of its athletes should be kicked out of the Olympics for at least four years.

And I'm sorry, but swapping Kamila out for Anna or Sasha in the team event just replaces one doper with another – different players, same result, and it does affect the other teams.  The entire Russian team is on something, and it's incredibly naive for anyone (not directing that at you, just to be clear) to assume any of them is clean.  I can't imagine what is being pumped into Nikita to try to get his back through his two ice dance routines.

As far as why the positive test finally came to light so long after the sample was taken, it's my understanding that figure skaters are, indeed, low on the totem pole since there isn't an obvious history of doping the way there is in track and field or cycling.  However, once Russia won the team even, all of the athletes on the winning team had their samples bumped to the front of the line because they were now Olympic medalists (meaning it's extra important that these athletes are clean).  It's not the Swedish WADA lab's fault, really; this just seems to be the protocol.

[Figure Skating]

Because I have the Spectrum app for my "normal" TV, my recordings of the Olympics are all fucked up.  Was the Craig Melvin interview with Nathan Chen worth watching tonight?  My recording just randomly ended right before the end of the mixed aerials, so I missed that interview and haven't been able to find it online anywhere.  If it's anywhere online, I would love to be pointed in the right direction.

In case you didn't know, Spectrum...SUUUUUUUUUUCKS, you guys.

[Hotties of the 2022 Winter Olympics]

17 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

Nikolai Sorensen of Canada

 

I'll take one in every color, please and thank you.

Evan Bates is my Beijing Olympics husband, but we do have an open marriage.  I mean, there's Nikolai Sorensen, Thomas Krol, Johannes Strolz, etc., and I have too much love to give.  Evan understands, of course.  Plus, he has Madison.  I understand.  I guess.  Whatever.

[Figure Skating]

49 minutes ago, Hana Chan said:

I much prefer the style of skaters like Yuzuru, Plushenko and Yuma.

One of these things is not like the others.

[Figure Skating]

I am...SOOOOOOO relieved!  Nathan really left it out there, and I couldn't be more thrilled for him!  I actually love his long program because it feels like him and allows him to have fun with it at the end.  I wish Jason had finished fourth or fifth, but I'm THRILLED he finished in the top six and think the medalists are exactly right.

I'm going to go throw up now.

[The Annual Academy Awards - General Discussion]

2 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I do love her and am sure she gave a great performance (I have not seen this one yet)

I love her, too, and she really, really didn't.  Denzel wasn't great either, but he had some better moments than she.  Stephen Root was terrible as well, but everyone else was terrific (Corey Hawkins was my favorite).  The film is exquisitely designed, shot, and conceived – like no other film I've ever seen; it was worth watching just for the visuals alone.

[Alpine Skiing]

The way the announcers were talking about Shiffrin when she was DQ'd in the slalom, you'd think she'd flown off the course and been decapitated by a piece of rebar in front of the entire world. Like they just witnessed some sort of unfathomable tragedy and were leading all of us in mourning. She just missed a gate – that's a shame, but it's not the end of the world. She's still an Olympic gold medalist and has more chances for hardware during these Games, and we don't need to see her sitting on the sideline crying for twenty minutes when there are presumably other women racing. A little perspective please. I hate NBC.

It does seem like the shitty quality of the manmade snow has been messing with a number of skiers, though.

[Freestyle Skiing]

I fast-forwarded through everything related to Eileen Gu Monday night, and I wish NBC would ignore her completely. She was born in the US, educated here, and trained here and chose to represent her mother's home country of China. All that's well and good and happens often, but it usually happens when an athlete thinks he/she won't make the American (or whatever home country's) team (that's actually the case for Gus Kenworthy who was at least born in the UK and who wouldn't have made the US team this year); that's not the case with Gu, who would've made the American team without question and been the gold-medal favorite regardless of which country she represented. She said she made the switch to inspire even one girl to pursue skiing/sports, and that's utter bullshit: she switched so that she could make a shit-ton of money in endorsements, and she has indeed made a shit-ton of money in endorsements and is the face of the Olympics in China and a key cog in the propaganda machine. This young woman was raised in the Sea Cliff neighborhood of San Francisco (one of the richest neighborhoods in that city), learned to ski at Lake Tahoe, went to one of the most prestigious private schools in SF, and will go to Stanford next year; she is already incredibly privileged. If she were honest about the fact that she (and I'm sure her mom was hugely influential in this decision, too) is going after the money, I'd be less bothered, but she isn't being honest about that. Moreover, she has made public statements about BLM and anti-Asian violence here, which she can do since, for all our many problems, we still have freedom of speech in this country, but has said absolutely nothing about the Uyghur genocide in China or the crackdown on Hong Kong. She says she wants to use sport "as a force for unity," which is hypocritical bullshit when she can't and won't say anything about China's many human rights violations (lest she be given the Peng Shuai treatment) and actually be some kind of force for unity. She sold out for the money, and I find her prevaricating about it gross.

[Figure Skating]

10 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

I don't mind Johnny and Tara one bit and neither do the CASUAL VIEWERS. They at least shut up during the ice dancing performances and they don't prattle on about the costumes like Peggy Fleming did.

The reason they're quieter during the ice dance routines is that it's not Blabbermouth Tara commentating: it's Tanith, who is quiet during routines, which I think rubs off (positively) on Johnny as he's so much quieter during those routines as a result.  Tara is a bad influence; she needs a muzzle.

And I'm not just saying that because I will forever resent her '98 gold. #prettylittlelies

[Short Track Speed Skating]

The South Korean who was disqualified in the first of the men's 1,000m semifinals should file a protest.  He made a perfect pass, and that DQ would never have happened if this event weren't being held in China.

[NFL Thread]

19 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Yesterday’s anniversary was Peyton getting ballsmacked by the Seahawks, which I still am mad about.

That was a glorious day.

[Figure Skating]

6 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

IOC worked closely with the Japanese government for its covid policy during the games. The only other games that happened during the pandemic. 

These Games are just another example of how the IOC is among the most corrupt entities in the world, which is what I meant when I said the IOC was in no position to tell any government what to do (I mean, at this point, Thomas Bach's basically a slave puppet for the Chinese propaganda machine: Peng Shuai is FINE, the human rights abuses are FINE, pay no attention to all the kickbacks!!).  The Chinese government has exactly no interest in working with the IOC on its COVID protocols since it's in the power position and has no incentive to change anything.  Now, do I think these protocols are actually for the good of public health?  Hell to the no.  It's theatre; it's a propaganda tool to control the Chinese people further; and, I'm positive, it's a potential conduit for state-sponsored cheating (2014 redux): conjure a positive COVID test for any athlete who has ever said anything non-positive about China (if I were competing, I'd bring a burner phone to China so that the government couldn't hack my regular phone) or who might be a medal rival to a Chinese athlete.

I'm an Olympics fanatic, but I just can't get excited about these Games.  I know I'll still watch most events, but...I just find myself depressed by these Games because of all the chicanery.

[Figure Skating]

3 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

I'm surprised the pairs event is last, it's usually the ladies.

China has a really good shot at pair's gold (their only real shot at any figure skating medal, actually), so I'm positive that China pushed for this change.

11 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Yes there should be which is why the IOC should have stepped in and made China adopt a better policy..

The IOC is in absolutely no position to step in and tell the Chinese government (or any other country's government, for that matter) how to manage its COVID protocols/policy.

[Encanto (2021)]

I've watched this three times already; I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.  Gorgeous animation, amazing songs (MUCH better than Moana's songs – outside of "How Far I'll Go," they're not interesting or memorable to me), interesting and entertaining characters, and a powerful story – I did not expect to cry, but dammit, Disney, you got me!

I will say that my only real criticism is how easily Mirabel and Isa hugged and made up.  Isa was so shitty to Mirabel for so many years, and Mirabel had become so resentful of that treatment, but one song and everything's fine?  That was too easy, and Isa never apologized to Mirabel for her terrible treatment of her.  At least with Abuela, there was an actual apology and a reckoning with her past behavior.  That's nowhere near enough of an issue to blight my enjoyment of the film, but it was noticeable.

[NFL Thread]

1 hour ago, roamyn said:

Yes, he left Bridget pregnant, but they have a good relationship now.

This particular narrative needs to stop.  He and Moynahan had broken up before she found out she was pregnant; he did not leave her pregnant.

Anyway, I do think Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington deserve a ton of criticism for the way they broke the news.  This should've been Brady's announcement to make.  He's the GOAT and earned the right to announce his retirement on his own terms, which was also clearly intentionally timed not to overshadow the conference championships and to give the news enough time before the Super Bowl to die down (hopefully).  Schefter and Darlington couldn't just wait a few days and let him announce the news himself; they just had to be first.  It's gross and shitty, and, no matter how they're trying to spin it, this is not "news" that just needed to be reported ASAP.  Hell, everyone knew Rapistberger was going to retire, but he was allowed to break the news publicly and make it official himself.

I'm glad Brady is going out on top and, unlike a few other athletes, didn't feel the need to engage in some sort of "this is my final season" fanfare victory lap.  He's just walking away.  I respect that; it's very GOAT-like behavior, actually.

Enjoy the next phase, Tommy, now stop with the crazy smoothies and go eat some damn pizza.

[NFL Thread]

6 minutes ago, emma675 said:

I have a weird crush on Sean McVay (I know, I don't get it either)

Oh, I totally get it.  I mean, Joey Bear is my love, and I'm fully devoted to him until the end of time, but a guy can look, you know?

I was praying for the Rams to win for multiple reasons:

1. Fuck that racist, homophobic Nick Bosa.  I hope he never, ever gets a SB ring.

2. I cannot handle another Bengals SB defeat at the hands of the 49ers.  I was nine when Joe Montana (whom I will loathe until the day I die) broke my young heart with that last-minute TD drive in SB XXIII, and I cannot have that happen again.

3. 49ers' fans – as @emmawoodhouse said, they're insufferable.

4. I love the Rams!  I'm an Angeleno (for the last 21 years) who actually does love and root for the Rams!

5. Matthew Stafford – it's so wonderful to see him get a chance to win the SB.

6. With this particular matchup, I'll be thrilled for whichever team wins.  I mean, make no mistake, I'm rooting hard for the Bengals, but I will be so happy for the Rams if they win.  Had the 49ers won today and then won the SB, I'd be depressed for days.  This means I can just relax end enjoy the game; hopefully, it'll be a great one!

[NFL Thread]

My feelings during the Bengals-Chiefs game, as exemplified by gifs:

I'm so in love with my Joey Bear.

I'm going to go throw up now.

[NFL Thread]

What a bananas game!  I feel for Bills’ fans, but I’m deeeeelighted that fucktard Cole Beasley has joined his fellow fucktard Aaron Rodgers in the offseason.  No ring for you, boo.

[NFL Thread]

HAHAHAHAHA!!  I’m sorry for the rest of the Packers, but suck it, Aaron!!!