baron-pierreIV

The problem is the Paras are piggybacking on the regular O's; but at the same time, they are also expanding - so that is DOUBLE dependency on the regular O's which is already having its own problems of staying afloat! The Paras should combine with the DeafO's and the Special O's -- and they will find medium-sized cities to host them. What's the point of having the Paras as a parasite to the main Os' if the O;s are on the brink of extinction??

Well, the six leading FS nations are proportionately represented in all the 6 Grand Prix events; and each country makes sure to place their best in the hometown hosting. But the Russians are traditionally strong in Pairs, Ladies, and now Ice Dance. Actually, I found the Long Program of Bobrova/Soloviev a lot more exciting than the Shibutanis; except that the Shibs were better technically, to the point of being cold. But I'm glad the US took at least 2 golds; won by children of immigrants*! That should be shoved in Donald Trump's and his supporters' faces!! *I think half the US Figure Skating Olympic Team this year, might be from non-native, non-white stock.

Some of the craziest proposals including Calgary changing its name. So if what is Calgary today is picked as (unlikely) as amazon's HQ2, and is picked as the 2026 WOG host, then it might be Calmazon 2026 or Amalgary 2026! LOL!! http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-headquarters-city-proposals-hq2-2017-10

JMark, stop making excuses for the Paralympics. Nobody really wants them. I mean it makes people look and "feel good" to care for the handicapped, etc., etc., but for something that shouldn't grow bigger because it's a self-death-wish-fulfilling m.o., and then the Paras also want to keep getting bigger and bigger, the IOC should think of casting off the Paras -- and just have them fend on their own, if the regular OGs are to survive themselves. I mean, there's a great amount of hypocrisy involved in propping up the Paras, in order to appear to have a "conscience" but it doesn't fool me one bit.

Since we won't be guessing Olympic cites, nor expos cites, for long; , then how about this one? Guessing and discussing which US city Jeff Bezos will pick as his company's 2nd headquarters?? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/technology/amazon-headquarters-north-america.html I think for my money, it's going to be down to: Austin, Atlanta, maybe Nashville or Knoxville.

No; the IOC diesn't have to do it. But by their adding another set of Games onto their already ambitious programme, they are making it more difficult to find wannabee host cities.

Not in the case of the upcoming PyeongChang 2018 WOGs. it depends on the culture of the host country. Sure, liberal, sociliastic western democracies will always support them over the 50% mark -- but look, So. Korea isn't doing so right now. It got messed up too when Rio hosted. I think it should be an optional thing. I think the IOC would have more takers if the Paras weren't part of the equation.

Question to the crowd: does attaching the Paralympics to the regular Games help or hinder the OGs as we see them today? I think they are an extra burden to host cities. If the IOC is to streamline itself, it should just cut away from the Paralympics. Thoughts?

Well, it's probably Germany for 2032 and Shanghai or Durban for 2036.

Olympic mascots have been so weird that there haven't been any copyright issues on "mascots" so far.

But that one will be 70 years old by 2026, and is on the opposite side of northern Italy. Milano and Torino are on the western side of north Italy. Cortina is NE, closer to the Austrian border and Venice.

Yeah, but the luge/bobsleigh track of Torino 2006 already closed down. So; not unless they can just re-open that venue for a Milano run. Zaragosa, Spain, hello?? Oh wait, they have to settle the Catalan question first.

In hindsight, this is all Larry Probst and Scott Blackmun's fault. It didn't have to be this complicated -- both for the USOC and for the IOC. It was a fact that the WOG s return to the US every 20 years (1960, 1980 and 2002). Had the USOC stuck with that timetable, and positioned Salt Lake (or Reno-Tahoe or Denver) for 2022 (and not get side-tracked by trying to grab a SOG so quickly again), then: - there wouldn't have been two WOGs in a row in Asia; - LA would still have gotten 2028; and - Beijing, Almaty, Calgary, etc., would then be lined up for 2026, 2030. It's really the uninspired thinking of the USOC, I believe, that partially led to this sad state of affairs. So dumb!!

Should the IOC announce to the world they are worried? For insiders, I think that's rather obvious. Of course, the IOC will obviously "bribe" the wannabee cities now -- like they did with LA, from the $925 mil to probably an outright $1.5 billion! With that they could get their next 2 WOG hosts in No. America.

The problem is (as in the Summer Games), they keep adding on MORE and MORE events (like those very cinematic X-country and BMX races) -- except they cut a very large footprint on the landscape and just makes it seem that they're padding the programme. Why not just stick to basic sports and, like before, just feature, "demonstration" sports, tweaked a la the CWG formula? The programme for BOTH Olympic Games are sooooooooo BLOATED and the IOC can't see that. It will be their downfall. And the more events you add, the greater the chances of the Russians competing and JUST MUCKING up the whole works since they are no longer the dominant force in the sports world -- but will do anything and everything just to muck up the old order.