http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/18/sports....html?_r=0

Pretty significant step in the anti-doping movement. Of course with all the bad publicity already facing Rio, maybe the IAAF is doing the Russian track and field federation a favor.

I spoke with Victor Lopez when he received his recognition for lifetime service from the Assoc of Rice Alumni last month. Victor is the chairman of a technical committee for I.A.A.F. and he told me that he was the chair of the committee that was meeting this week in France. He said the only item on the agenda was Russian eligibility and that there were some really strong items to be considered (i.e. permanent ban of the Russian Federation from all future Olympic Games and World Championships). This ruling is the result of that meeting. He noted that he was under extreme pressure in the situation, which I can certainly underatnd.

Interestingly, news sites around the world are all over this, but as of 12:24pm, not a word of it on espn.com or si.com. Sports "journalism"? Sure.

As slam-dunk an action it was from an ethical standpoint, it still took a lot of courage from a lot of people to stand up for this, given the levels of corruption in international sports. And given the Russians were involved, who knows what kinds of threats were made.

(06-17-2016 11:33 AM)billstudabaker Wrote:  Interestingly, news sites around the world are all over this, but as of 12:24pm, not a word of it on espn.com or si.com. Sports "journalism"? Sure.

I see that ESPN has a link to an Associated Press story (story time,12:13 p.m. Eastern time; my viewing 12:35): http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/1...de-janeiro

SI has a long story (with no posting time indicated), but it's linked via the "Olympics" heading far down on its webpage: http://www.si.com/olympics/2016/06/17/russia-track-and-field-doping-ban-2016-olympics-iaaf-decision

(06-17-2016 11:06 AM)Houston Owl Wrote:  He noted that he was under extreme pressure in the situation, which I can certainly underatnd.

(06-17-2016 11:33 AM)billstudabaker Wrote:  And given the Russians were involved, who knows what kinds of threats were made.

I hope the committee members were distributed Polonium detectors on the arrival.

It's a first step, but I won't be satisfied until Kenya and Jamaica get banned. After that, the IAAF should implement lifetime bans even for first offenses. The USA does not have clean hands - their relay coach is a multiple time cheater (Dennis Mitchell). Talk about sending the wrong message.

(06-17-2016 12:41 PM)I45owl Wrote:  

(06-17-2016 11:06 AM)Houston Owl Wrote:  He noted that he was under extreme pressure in the situation, which I can certainly underatnd.

(06-17-2016 11:33 AM)billstudabaker Wrote:  And given the Russians were involved, who knows what kinds of threats were made.

I hope the committee members were distributed Polonium detectors on the arrival.

Beat me to it!

A permanent ban of the Soviet Union and the satellite countries would not have been considered in the old Cold War days even though their training methods were suspect. A lot of publicity for the Olympics came from the free v commie narrative. The Olympics suffered from the boycotted 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles games. Maybe now it is more important to have fair competition.

(06-17-2016 11:06 AM)Houston Owl Wrote:  I spoke with Victor Lopez when he received his recognition for lifetime service from the Assoc of Rice Alumni last month. Victor is the chairman of a technical committee for I.A.A.F. and he told me that he was the chair of the committee that was meeting this week in France. He said the only item on the agenda was Russian eligibility and that there were some really strong items to be considered (i.e. permanent ban of the Russian Federation from all future Olympic Games and World Championships). This ruling is the result of that meeting. He noted that he was under extreme pressure in the situation, which I can certainly underatnd.

The New York Times is reporting the ban may now include all Russian athletes in all sports. Like WRC mentioned earlier, I find it hard to believe that Russia is the only country cheating. Maybe they're just more blatant than the others. Russia may have won the 2014 Olympic medal total but they were a distant 3rd to the USA and China at the last summer games in 2012.

We're a little less than 3 weeks away from the Opening Ceremonies and the Rio Games continue to look like they will be a complete mess.

(07-17-2016 12:28 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  The New York Times is reporting the ban may now include all Russian athletes in all sports. Like WRC mentioned earlier, I find it hard to believe that Russia is the only country cheating. Maybe they're just more blatant than the others. Russia may have won the 2014 Olympic medal total but they were a distant 3rd to the USA and China at the last summer games in 2012.

We're a little less than 3 weeks away from the Opening Ceremonies and the Rio Games continue to look like they will be a complete mess.

Again, this is why they should have one or two permanent Olympic sites (for each season of games) on each continent, and just leave it at that. That way, there is permanent infrastructure and, if need be due to political or economic instability, can switch to another city within six months.

(07-17-2016 05:36 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  Again, this is why they should have one or two permanent Olympic sites (for each season of games) on each continent, and just leave it at that. That way, there is permanent infrastructure and, if need be due to political or economic instability, can switch to another city within six months.

Omaha!

NBC has crushed any enthusiasm I had for the Olympics with the 3 hour tape delay to the West Coast. Admittedly, their streaming of the events live has helped somewhat, but they fully admit that they consider their Olympic coverage more variety show than sporting event.

I'll probably watch a few scattered events here and there on the streaming product, but I have no interest in the way NBC forces us to consume the product in the PDT.

They did the same thing to Wimbledon for years - which I do care about - but merciful finally lost the U.S. TV rights.

I'm totally ambivalent about this Olympics. Lots of turn-offs.
It seems that holding the Games seems genuinely unpopular with a large portion of Rio citizens.
Water quality/sanitation issues.
Zika
Ongoing doping questions.
Absence of numerous top athletes from several countries because of the above... and other... issues.
Probably won't watch much.

I plan on watching everyday.

(06-17-2016 01:08 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  It's a first step, but I won't be satisfied until Kenya and Jamaica get banned. After that, the IAAF should implement lifetime bans even for first offenses. The USA does not have clean hands - their relay coach is a multiple time cheater (Dennis Mitchell). Talk about sending the wrong message.

Too bad the old SWC didn't police our own. The NCAA had to step in and of course the SMU football ban started the conference death spiral. Maybe this is the end for the Olympic movement. I'd rather watch the World University Games, only college students rather than more highly paid mercenaries. Still remember my trip to Daegu in 2003 where I watched a basketball doubleheader, the China-Mexico mismatch and a competitive Australia-Lithuania game.