Muffyn

Catching up on coverage from earlier. Somebody please explain the point of steeplechase to me. I get jumping the barriers. It's the puddle that I don't understand. Are they trying to prove who runs best with wet shoes?

I have a new theory about Shut UP! Al. He has problems with object permanence. He can't see them so they cease existing.

After they showed all of two throws, they then commented on how dramatic the event was. Glad to hear they enjoyed it. We saw more celebration than competition.

Okay, now I'm all choked up: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-08-11/dressage-rider-pulled-out-of-olympics-to-protect-my-buddy-my-friend-the-horse-that-has-given-everything

Shout out to the British swimmer, James Guy, who poked his head in front of the Phelps' cam when they were in the ready room for the 100 M butterfly semi. That's the way to make sure people see you!

I cannot forgive NBC for putting me in a position in which I watch Ryan Seacrest. Why? WHHHHHHHYYYYYYYY? I was talking Olympics with a friend today who is not on this board. She described the coverage as America and people who fall. Sounds like what many of us have said.

Having been competitive way back in the day, the style of breaststroke has changed considerably. During my time, we could be disqualified for putting our heads under water. We did typically try to stay low. We had flip turns back then. I was forced to compete in the IM and I can say the butterfly almost killed me. Women were swimming butterfly competitively. Because of the flip turns, we started with backstroke and ended with freestyle. I am not sure if we did breaststroke second or third. I would do well in back and free, see breast as a bit of a rest and flail like a penguin being attacked by a seal during butterfly. I am always impressed when people swim it well. We were also taught sidestroke but only to rest or warm up. It was also considered a safety stroke if you had a cramp and couldn't continue during training. You could side stroke your way out of the pool. On topic, Phelps is in a no win situation. Like many of you, I am tired of the all Phelps, all the time coverage. If he gets hemorrhoids, we're going to get close ups. He seems liked by his teammates. But he also seems like someone who doesn't come to the spotlight naturally. He has been prepped for media. There is so damn much of it he is never given a chance to be off screen. With that kind of coverage, it is easy to seem like a jerk. All it takes is some time with you being tired or looking annoyed or . . . He has looked for the spotlight because that brings endorsements so he is a monster of his own (and his mom's) creation to some extent. At least he does have the skill to back it up. However, I do look forward to the days after his career when we can focus on some other swimmers.

Are you saying the gymnastics announcers were able to say more than "Gymnastics 101: fly high and stick the landing"? If I took a dink every time I heard that I would be dead from alcohol poisoning.

With how much they focus on Phelps, some random in the crowd scratching his nose would be news if they can get him in frame with Phelps.

In defense of Phelps' face, he has a marfanoid body type with a narrow jaw that gives him a strange jaw line and teeth placement. Given how large a person he is, it is that much more disconcerting. This same body type gives him extra long arms and long fingers. Given his success as a swimmer, it seems he got the body without the associated problems that can be life-limiting. He looks a lot like my brother. We're a funny looking family. Michael would fit in with no problems. Le Clos boxing in front of Phelps seemed like much ado about nothing to me. I swam competitively when I was young. Everyone has their thing. Phelps goes into personal lock down with his hood up, sitting in the back and wearing headphones. Le Clos and others bounce around. A lot of swimmers do stretches. The staring at the pool was odd but Phelps probably didn't really notice. Everyone has to take care of their own mental game.

I'm catching the late night coverage now. SMH. NBC is barely showing anything from the other teams. They don't even show full routines. Team USA is acting like jackasses with their screaming. As another armchair coach, the US team seems easily distracted by noise in the arena, especially early on. The cheering for Brazil was loud during team USA's floor exercise. However, they should be able to deal with that. Gymnastics always has multiple routines going concurrently. The crowd is not going to all be watching and rooting for the US. And it's not like they needed to hear music like the women. At the same time, I can appreciate that these athletes are among the top in the world. They have incredible, hard-earned talent. They need a much better mental game.

A friend lives in Rio. He was at the opening ceremonies; said a lot of it did not read well in the stadium. He had to watch it on TV later to see what they missed. He has spare tickets for the women's gymnastics final. I was tempted to get on a flight to Rio! He said tickets have been very easy to get to most events. My jealousy is palpable.

Rafaela Silva jumping into the crowd had me in tears. Dammit! Don't make me start caring. It really diminishes my snark abilities. The announcers did actually share some info on how the matches are scored and what the contestants were trying to do, so big improvement from the other day.

Al, under pressure, says he regrets tweet about Simone Biles' parents: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/olympics/nbc-announcer-says-he-regrets-tweet-about-biles-parents/ar-BBvombt?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp So he regrets that people were upset but he hasn't really apologized. So, he is not a good announcer, often belittles the sport he is announcing and is a dick to the viewers. Why does Al have a job?

I have now learned more from @Ceindreadh's post than I did from watching the match. Maybe you can announce the matches?

Damn. That was such a dramatic finish. If NBC has any sense, they'll replay that in primetime.

Al: Asks a question Tim: Blather, blather, blather, blather, totally irrelevant blather . . . Finally comes up for air. Nastia: "To answer your question, Al" - concise and specific answer So Tim actually trumped Al in the shut up count. Way to win, Tim!

I watched the early men's match and I can say I don't understand this sport at all. The announcers did not help in the least. So yay Russian guy. Way to adjust your jacket and somehow win.

The men's team matches were really exciting. I love the Olympics. I get to annoy all my friends by talking about archery.

I just started watching the men's gymnastics. They announced Al Trautwig as one of the announcers. I immediately said "Shut .up, Al!" It's times like this when I know I've found my people.

I will have to look for what Nadiya used. Modelling chocolate can be made at home from a mixture of chocolate and corn syrup. The ratio varies based on the type of chocolate.

This episode proved that the ladies can bring the drama without Bethenny. We had spastic dancing Ramona, slurring Dorinda, cocktail spilling Jules and haughty Luann all OTT at a party full of odd characters. Good times. Oh, and Carole was there too. Yep, she continues to exist.

Vicki needs a permanent set of pearls around her neck so she can clutch them as needed. Then she can go back to telling people her boobs want to come out to play, screeching "WOOHOO!" and downing more cocktails than a frat party.

This theory has been stated for years and largely proven to be false. It's not a biologic imperative. There are issues regarding socialization. Since we didn't get a Skinny Girl promotional video, we had one for a yacht. No wonder Lu was waxing poetic about how great the rooms were and why all of the bedding looked like easy to wash polyester. So luxurious! Okay, so Tom and Sonja may well have hooked up anywhere from one to 100 times over the course of the last ten years. Fine. Either of them may have been too drunk to remember a hook up or twelve too. At first Sonja seemed okay with the fact that her hookup and probable drinking buddy was settling down with her friend. I'm sure there is plenty of her feeling like why her and not me, but that is to be expected. She probably didn't see him as marriage material until Lu landed him. I agree that with Sonja's track record of exaggerations, it could be anything, but Tom was not the great love that got away. Then again, she could have had sex with him, P. Diddy, a Nigerian soccer team, some sheiks, and the Monaco rowing club. They would all fit into the Sexy J visions of her past.

I wasn't suggesting that you did. I was further clarifying my point. So no offense meant but some taken nonetheless. FYI the term pansexual is not new. It has been used in the LGBTQ community for at least 25 years.