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38 minutes ago, Rob. said:

The IOC is good at this.

Surfing introduced the Games AFTER Rio

Rugby introduced the Games AFTER London

:rolleyes:

Don't forget golf in the first Games after London.  Probably would have gotten a lot more players there following the Open Championship and wouldn't have had so many issues scheduling the PGA Championship.  Oops

16 minutes ago, RuFF said:

Speaking of added sports... everybody's favorite columnist Alan Abrahamson made an assertion about why the Olympiads newest sport, golf, will not have its top stars present at the Games this year. 

"As for bugs: now that Zika is in Florida, it might even be asked if there is quite another reason so many of the top male golfers aren’t here. Like: drug testing, maybe?"

I hope that's satire, but if it's not, he's an idiot.  That golfers said no to the Olympics (and anyone who has been paying attention knows it's the men's golfers.. the women's golfers are all, for the most part, in Rio) has little to do with Zika or the conditions in Rio and certainly not because of drug testing.  It's been fairly well-documented what the issues are with men's golf.  Anyone who can read between the lines knows this.  Surely Abrahamson is aware.  But if he's not, then yea, he's an idiot.

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Actually, here's a much more interesting piece of why Golf shouldn't have been part of the Olympics in the place. And it has nothing to do with doping:

 
CHRISTINE BRENNAN

Brennan: Why golf should never be in the Olympics

 
Christine Brennan | USA TODAY SportsJun 30, 2016

One by one, the top male golfers in the world are withdrawing from the upcoming Rio Olympics. Jason Day pulled out this week. Rory McIlroy withdrew last week. Is Jordan Spieth next?

They blame the Zika virus, which is a reasonable excuse. Except for this: Have you heard any swimmers say they aren’t going to Rio because of Zika? Soccer players? Rowers?
636028228490451085-AP-Olympic-Games-Rio-

David J. Phillip, AP

The Olympic Golf Course will not be graced by many of the world's top golfers in August.

Of course not.

The reason is simple: for them, and the vast majority of athletes who will qualify for August’s Rio Games, an Olympic gold medal is the end all and be all in their sport. There is nothing greater for a runner or gymnast or fencer than reaching the Games after putting in four years (or more) of excruciating effort, clinging to a lifelong dream of perhaps winning a medal, maybe even gold.

For most professional golfers, however, Rio is either a nuisance or a lark. They would much rather win the Masters or the U.S. or British Opens. An Olympic gold medal? Perhaps that ranks right up there with the John Deere Classic, perhaps not.

 
While these young multi-millionaires have every right to blame Zika, we have every right to wonder if that’s not just a convenient excuse to get out of making a trip to South America in the midst of their professional season.

It’s an excuse that is helping to expose the tremendous mistake the International Olympic Committee made seven years ago by bringing back golf to the Olympics, allowing a sport already overflowing with international events to take a precious Olympic berth that originally had belonged to softball.

Remember softball? What its leaders and athletes wouldn’t give to be preparing for the Rio Olympics right now. Eight nations fielding teams of athletes, all of them women, all of them of child-bearing age, just like Day and McIlroy. Do you think they would be complaining about Zika? Or security or crime, other issues that are hinted at by the pro golfers?

It would have meant the world to those softball players. But the IOC didn’t want softball back. It wanted golf. Actually, it wanted Tiger Woods, which sounded good in 2009. By 2016, not so much.

 

Interestingly, because countries are limited to two male and two female players for the separate Olympic four-round tournaments (or up to a maximum of four if those nation’s golfers are all in the top 15 of the world rankings), only 18 male players from the world top 50 as of earlier this week will be in Rio.

On the women’s side, only one player has withdrawn: South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace, ranked 38th in the world, citing Zika. Why aren’t the women bailing like the men? Because the Olympics is a much bigger deal to them. In this way, the LPGA is more like the NHL, which stops its season every four years to allow its stars to participate in the Winter Olympics. The women golfers are much more excited to be on the Olympic stage than their male counterparts, hence the lack of withdrawals, at least so far.

The embarrassing drumbeat of withdrawals by some of the best male golfers in the world should be a lesson for the IOC. We’re stuck with golf for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but, next year, the IOC will vote to decide if golf stays longer than that.

If the IOC has any sense at all — and that’s eminently debatable — it should send golf right back out of the Olympics. As we are learning, golf doesn't need the Olympics, and vice versa.

 
McElroy indicated as much in a recent interview on the Golf Channel:

“To call yourself an Olympian ... it does an injustice to the people who have trained for four years for this event. Golfers are going to go down there for a week, pitch up and enjoy the whole thing. People have had to sell their cars and sell their homes just to afford to train to compete at the Olympics."

After each race at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha this week, a wonderful ritual occurs. The swimmer who has just qualified for Rio rises on elevated flooring from a lower level to the pool deck as red, white and blue lighting and patriotic music floods the packed arena. Their joy is palpable. The dream of a lifetime has been achieved. They are going to Rio.

Keep tweeting and making excuses, golfers. The contrast couldn't be more remarkable.

Follow columnist Christine Brennan on Twitter @cbrennansports.

Image of the Going for Gold logo that links to the Going for Gold Podcast on iTunes
 
 
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Copyright Gannett 2016
 
 
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Oh Christine.. if you're going to bring up Rory McIlroy, at least learn how to spell his name!

I never bought the "it has to be the end all be all of the sport or it doesn't belong in the Olympics" argument.  Doesn't seem to have affected tennis too badly.  Basketball lost some big names, but it's a team sport, so it's not as big a deal.

The issue with golf is the schedule.  The folks that run golf had 7 years how to figure out the schedule to make it easier to get the top golfers to Olympics.  That's what the problem is and why a lot of golfers who were seemingly gung ho about participating are no longer interested.  So yes, golf never should have been put in the Olympics, but blame the folks in charge of the sport for not making this work.  This is on them more than anyone.

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25 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

So we're expecting kendo on the program for Paris?

How about Turkish oil wrestling?  I'd like to see that on the program.  

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33 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

 

5 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

I think LA 2028 will have to settle for boules

How about naked boules?

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Golf will likely be dropped after the Tokyo Olympics. The golfers skipping out on Rio has nothing to do with Zika. It has to do with the fact they just completed the Grand Slam and want a rest not to mention there's no prize money involved. If the IOC was smart they'd axe golf after Rio. Tokyo has more than enough sports anyway.

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2 hours ago, JesseSaenz said:

Skateboarding and Surfing amongst the 5 sports added for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Skateboarding in Venice Beach? Surfing in Santa Monica or Malibu??? Damn, that would be so cool.


 

IOC approves five sports for Tokyo, including baseball/softball

USA TODAY Sports4:17 p.m. EDT August 3, 2016

 

 
 
 

 

Jesse, those are one-off's -- only OK'ed for Tokyo.  Doesn't mean they will be kept for 2024 (where other sports might rotate in).  

Edited by baron-pierreIV
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23 hours ago, FYI said:

^Umm, no. John Kerry is leading the U.S. Delegation at the Opening Ceremonies in a couple of days in Rio de Janiero. 

Ah ok. You can understand my confusion about a post discussing the Rio US delegation in a topic about the LA bid for the 2024 Olympics.

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8 hours ago, stryker said:

Golf will likely be dropped after the Tokyo Olympics. The golfers skipping out on Rio has nothing to do with Zika. It has to do with the fact they just completed the Grand Slam and want a rest not to mention there's no prize money involved. If the IOC was smart they'd axe golf after Rio. Tokyo has more than enough sports anyway.

Depends on if the US wins the right to host in 2024 I'm sure they will have no issues with hosting the event, and perhaps bigname American golfers would have a better chance showing up here just for the chance to win on home soil.

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8 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

 

Jesse, those are one-off's -- only OK'ed for Tokyo.  Doesn't mean they will be kept for 2024 (where other sports might rotate in).  

They may be one-offs, but if the US wins the right to host in 2024 you can sure bet they'll want baseball/softball at their games. I can even see them wanting surfing and skateboarding as well. This could give them a slight edge over Paris that the city is large enough and has enough facilities to accommodate a large selection of events for the Olympics. I don't see Paris taking that same opportunity and would rather remain conservative on the amount of new sports they'll want for their games.

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10 hours ago, Quaker2001 said:

Oh Christine.. if you're going to bring up Rory McIlroy, at least learn how to spell his name!

I never bought the "it has to be the end all be all of the sport or it doesn't belong in the Olympics" argument.  Doesn't seem to have affected tennis too badly.  Basketball lost some big names, but it's a team sport, so it's not as big a deal.

The issue with golf is the schedule.  The folks that run golf had 7 years how to figure out the schedule to make it easier to get the top golfers to Olympics.  That's what the problem is and why a lot of golfers who were seemingly gung ho about participating are no longer interested.  So yes, golf never should have been put in the Olympics, but blame the folks in charge of the sport for not making this work.  This is on them more than anyone.

I don't know, I feel like a green jacket beats a gold Olympic medal in many of their eyes, that and what someone else said the fact that they get paid when they win a major.

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6 hours ago, GoNutz said:

I don't know, I feel like a green jacket beats a gold Olympic medal in many of their eyes, that and what someone else said the fact that they get paid when they win a major.

That's not a feeling, that's pretty much a fact.  But again, other sports don't seem to be as affected by that.  And why?  Because golf (unlike tennis) had to adjust their schedule to accommodate the Olympics and did a terrible job of making the Olympics an event they want to play in.  That's on them as much as it is the collective mentality of the players.

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1 hour ago, RuFF said:

A key is that surfing, rock climbing and skate boarding connect strongly to a certain age demographic, one the IOC wants. To connect with. I can see all of these sports, even Karate, remaining as Olympic Sports and just as LatinXTC has said, LA is strongly suited to introduce them. Of course, when I had this discussion before.... 

Except that Tokyo is now introducing them.  And the IOC won't see them as a part of the Olympics until 3 years after they have chosen the host for the 2024.  Now if LA is chosen as the 2024 host, would surfing and skateboarding be absolutely ideal additions to their Olympic program?  Without question.  But they have to win the vote first and their plan needs to be based around what's already in the Olympics, not hypothetically what they might add.  That's only a small part of this.  As if other cities wouldn't have their own sports they could propose that serve the same means.  LA has not cornered the market on connecting with a younger demographic.  That Tokyo is introducing some of the same sports (and remember, that comes from their organizing committee more than the IOC) that LA might propose is not necessarily to LA's advantage when the vote goes down.

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Let's just assume surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, and karate remain on the table for a Los Angeles Olympics? Thoughts on potential venues? Santa Monica Beach for surfing, L.A. Convention center for sport climbing and karate. Not sure about  skateboarding.

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1 hour ago, stryker said:

Let's just assume surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, and karate remain on the table for a Los Angeles Olympics? Thoughts on potential venues? Santa Monica Beach for surfing, L.A. Convention center for sport climbing and karate. Not sure about  skateboarding.

Venice Beach seems like an absolute no brainer for Skateboarding.

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13 hours ago, Jesse Saenz said:

Venice Beach seems like an absolute no brainer for Skateboarding.

Where was skateboarding held when the X-Games were in LA?  That might give some insight where a potential Olympic venue could pop up.  I know Venice Beach has a skate park, but if we're talking about an Olympics, it needs to be a venue capable of handling a large number of spectators and all the support facilities needed for a world-class competition.

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4 hours ago, Quaker2001 said:

Where was skateboarding held when the X-Games were in LA?  That might give some insight where a potential Olympic venue could pop up.  I know Venice Beach has a skate park, but if we're talking about an Olympics, it needs to be a venue capable of handling a large number of spectators and all the support facilities needed for a world-class competition.

I remember seeing the X Games skating competition at the LA Coliseum a few years back.

 

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13 minutes ago, RuFF said:

Sure, this is an article related to the Paris bid but is this a smart idea? Touting experience fighting terror as a reason to host the games. Granted, LA and the United States have their fair share of terror, what do you guys think? 

http://gamesbids.com/eng/featured/french-president-hollande-says-experience-fighting-terror-an-advantage-to-paris-2024-olympic-bid/

You do know there's a Paris 2024 thread right?

I don't think he's using that as a reason to host the Games, he's saying Paris has experience in fighting terror (which by implication of course also means more experience of terrorism), so its security services are ready.

The other thing I'm always wary of with articles like this is it's never clear whether the person said these words as part of a planned pitch or whether the quotes come in answer to an awkward question from a journalist (in which case you can hardly say he's "touting" anything).

Edited by Rob.
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27 minutes ago, RuFF said:

Sure, this is an article related to the Paris bid but is this a smart idea? Touting experience fighting terror as a reason to host the games. Granted, LA and the United States have their fair share of terror, what do you guys think? 

http://gamesbids.com/eng/featured/french-president-hollande-says-experience-fighting-terror-an-advantage-to-paris-2024-olympic-bid/

“Because of all of these [attacks] we have learned how to best protect ourselves, especially during major events like the European Football Championships.

“We have gained a lot of experience that a lot of other cities haven’t had.  A piece of advice for other cities that want to start a bid, they have to ensure the highest level of safety.”

 François Hollande

I am not sure how to feel about this. Technically, America also "learned" a lot after 9/11 and the Boston Bomber, but I am not sure highlighting recent terror attacks was a good idea. Too soon. Some victims were just recently buried for god sake. 

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