Olympics....

[Sandman]

You know what screws it up? Exclusive network contracts. The Olympics are too big for one network, IMHO.

I wish the IOC would contract individual sports rather than all of it to just one source.

[gofaster]

Originally posted by Monk
Isn't it a regulation that they have to wear bikinis?

They have the option to wear one-pieces, but really, bikinis are more practical.  Sand tends to work its way down into the belly section and below in a one-piece.  That and its 100+ degrees F in the beach stadium during the day.  I believe the SUI v BRA men's match was played in 120 degree sand temps.

The regs state that the bikini hip band must be no more than 2" wide and then it goes on to dictate cut and fit.  

The whole bikini thing is in response from German and Japan tournament promoters who complained that the loose t-shirts and baggy shorts some women were wearing made them look disshelved and heavy (which is true).  Even the shorts the men are wearing in the Olympics have a shorter cut than the baggies the US and Aussies usually wear on their domestic tours.

The "cheeky" cut on the women's suits is courtesy of Brazil, a big-time FIVB supporter.

[gofaster]

Originally posted by Sandman
You know what screws it up? Exclusive network contracts. The Olympics are too big for one network, IMHO.

I wish the IOC would contract individual sports rather than all of it to just one source.

I'd do PPV for it.  Boxing (non-Olympic) is done that way.  I would imagine select sports would be lucrative ventures for the IOC and FIVB.

[Dago]

I like watching the Olympics, and I think the coverage has been improved 100% over coverage at the last few Olympics.  In many of the past Olympics here in the USA, all you could see were occasional matches the USA was playing in while ignoring any competition among other countries teams.  Most of the time they were continually showing USA atheletes profiles, human interest types stories while ignoring the competitions.

This Olympics we are seeing a lot more of the games, and with multi-channel viewing, I am able to watch a lot more of the competitions between other countries and other sports not normally shown.

The coverage still could be better, but it has come a long way.

There has been plenty of the beack volleyball coverage, but hey, sexy sells.     It is still TV, and run by dorks.


dago

[gofaster]

I agree.  Thanks to Telemundo and Bravo, I've been able to catch some matches between countries other than the US.  It gives a nice "international" feel to the NBC broadcast when I've seen a country's team play before and have a better idea of the bigger picture of the tournament.