BTHarner

The uneducated public is always quick to blame the IOC for all the ills associated with the games, but the greedy IFs are equally to blame. They're a bunch of spoiled brats who have ridden the gravy train for decades and can't take no for an answer without throwing a tantrum. I hope the IOC is able to organize the 2020 boxing competition without AIBA, it might set a precedent that could be repeated down the road.

Sounds like the IFs are less than enamored with the plans for the look. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2019/05/07/olympic-sports-slam-tokyo-organizers-over-cuts-at-venues/39455687/

Make sure you know your limits when it comes to how much you want to see each day. Trying to attend multiple sessions day after day with any amount of travel involved will wear you down

Too bad they didn't offer this in 2015, I would have paid the money for it. https://www.panamsports.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ENG-2-Pass-Lima-2019-compressed.pdf

Seoul was one of those that was up on the Olympic Channel then taken down after a few months. I have never seen LA 84 on Olympic Channel.

I've been emailing the Olympic Channel every few months to get an explanation as to why certain OC videos were taken down and while others have remained. I finally got an explanation. Their reply: With regard to Opening Ceremonies, we are not the media rights owner for all of the years. As such, we are unfortunately not able to post all Opening Ceremony videos that may exist. Hope this helps. Sincerely, Olympic Channel I am guessing that they got permission to post some of them for a certain period of time, and then have to remove them. I think this also eliminates any hope of seeing any new ones posted anytime soon (The last one added, Innsbruck 1976 was many, many months ago).

That was anything but boring. Excellent analysis, which far too many people fail to do before making up their mind on an issue. They see a headline that Sochi spent $50 billion and they feel no need to read any further. The idiots in Calgary who voted no due to cost were too myopic to realize that those facilities from 1988 are still going to need government funds for upkeep so that they can continue to hold World Cup events. The displacement argument makes me laugh. When I go someplace to attend a sporting event it is with the sole intention of doing so. When I go to a Nationals game in Washington I am not taking my money from any other part of DC, as I have no reason to go there except to see the game, Do the Games cause the locals and their money to flee for a couple of weeks. Sure, but the average visitor probably spends more than the average local in those two weeks. Your best point is that many blame the IOC for the rising costs of the Games, but it is my belief that the IFs drive up the costs. The IOC would probably be content with the LA model for venues, but the IFs seem to want the enhanced facilities and this, as well as their insistence of wanting every possible event on the program, has stretched the summer games to a breaking point (as well as ridiculously bloating the winter games).

Just speaking for myself, but it just came to the point where it wasn't worth my time to spend more than a few minutes on the boards. This bidding process has become a joke, which is no surprise since the IOC, led by the delusional buffoon Bach, has itself become a laughingstock and has played right into the hand of voters who are too lazy to do any research of their own and rely on the same tired old rhetoric and misrepresentation of facts as presented by anti-Olympic zealots. Games-time itself is still a lot of fun, but the time in between has become depressing.

Cameroon defeats Mali and qualifies for its second consecutive WWC>

With this being the second WWC with 24 teams, I was expecting virtually the same field of teams that we had in 2015 (I wasn't expecting 4 teams from CONCACAF since they didn't have the extra spot given to the host. We will have between 16-18 teams returning, but four first-timers (Chile, Scotland, Jamaica, and South Africa) certainly exceeded my expectations (even more so should Mali beat Cameroon). For the record, the draw is a week from Saturday (8 December) at 1800 local time. Bring it on, the WWC is a beacon of refreshment in the increasingly crass world of sport. It can't get here soon enough.

I expressed my lack of enthusiasm for the YOGs after the games in 2014 and nothing has changed my mind in the last four years. They still seem like a waste of resources that could be better spent combatting the ills facing the traditional Games.

I got a lot of enjoyment out of that site, you should be very proud of your work. Thanks a zillon, albeit over a decade late.

I remember watching the video of those ceremonies on a Pan Am Games Fan website, which I believe disappeared sometime after the 2003 Games. A shame as it was one of the very few fan websites ever dedicated to the Pan Am Games

Thank you so much.

Norway, Germany, and Sweden maintain their perfect Finals participation, Scotland will make their debut. The Netherlands (the Euro 2017 champs), Denmark, Belgium, and Switzerland will contest the playoffs for the final spot, with the draw to determine the matchups taking place on Friday.