2026 olympics...

[aleshanee]

is anyone else watching?.. .... the u.s. womens hockey team beat canada 5 to 0 this morning... .. it was an awesome game......
team ski jump and womens short track speed skating is happening right now.... ..

 

[Ransom]

. the u.s. womens hockey team beat canada 5 to 0 this morning... .. it was an awesome game......

Sounds more like a violation of international law.

 

[aleshanee]

Sounds more like a violation of international law.

what happened after speed skating was definitely a violation.. ..... of something... ..4 hours of curling... non stop... ..... it was close to the top of the list when i wrote my thread about the top 10 dumbest olympic sports back in 2016.....

but then i guess i should go easy on curling.... ... afterall... with all the attention being paid to making sports more inclusive and all... they needed something fat and out of shape people with no skills could do for the winter games.. ... the summer games is still trying to get bowling.... might as well let them have it. .....

but nobody says i have to watch either one.... ....... so i don;t...

 

[Dr. Duck]

but then i guess i should go easy on curling.... ... afterall... with all the attention being paid to making sports more inclusive and all... they needed something fat and out of shape people with no skills could do for the winter games.. ... the summer games is still trying to get bowling.... might as well let them have it.

I used to think the same way, but a few years ago, some friends went curling for the first time and the said their arms and hamstrings were killing them for days. They were shocked because they were in decent shape and thought there was nothing to it.

 

[illinoisguy]

Are Olympic gold medals transferable? I'm wondering if Trump is going to demand that American athletes give him their gold medals, just like he asked that nice Venezuelan lady to give him her Nobel Peace Prize. And now he's demanding that Canada gift us the new bridge in Detroit, for which Canada paid 100% of the cost - yeah, that really makes good sense.

 

[Ransom]

but then i guess i should go easy on curling.... ... afterall... with all the attention being paid to making sports more inclusive and all... they needed something fat and out of shape people with no skills could do for the winter games..

Curling is kind of the winter equivalent of golf. It's a competitive sport where you don't necessarily have to be in the prime of life to be competitive. It prioritizes strategy and precision over raw muscle. On average, curlers are probably about 10 years older than other winter Olympians. Experience goes a long way.

Also, like golf, curling is one of those sports where the bar is between the playing surface and the street.

 

[Ransom]

I used to think the same way, but a few years ago, some friends went curling for the first time and the said their arms and hamstrings were killing them for days. They were shocked because they were in decent shape and thought there was nothing to it.

Yeah, it looks a whole lot easier than it actually is. I curled a couple of times for fun when I was in my 20s. Now in my 50s, I wouldn't even try it. Probably couldn't get up off the ice. By the end of that first match I was doing passably, but it took quite a few ends just to figure out how to aim the stone, and not either leave it halfway down the rink or blow it through the back wall.

 

[aleshanee]

Curling is kind of the winter equivalent of golf. It's a competitive sport where you don't necessarily have to be in the prime of life to be competitive. It prioritizes strategy and precision over raw muscle. On average, curlers are probably about 10 years older than other winter Olympians. Experience goes a long way.

Also, like golf, curling is one of those sports where the bar is between the playing surface and the street.

funny you should mention golf...... like curling it also originated in scotland.... . and they are the 2 sports my dad said are the only things that could make him ashamed of his scottish heritage..... ....thankfully the caber toss... hammer throw... and putting the stone - (shot put in it;s modern form).... also originated in scotland... 2 of those are olympic sports but they haven;t come up with a modern equivalent of the caber toss... .fear of causing too many hernias maybe?.....

 

[Dr. Duck]

funny you should mention golf...... like curling it also originated in scotland.... . and they are the 2 sports my dad said are the only things that could make him ashamed of his scottish heritage

What’s he got against golf?

 

[Ransom]

What’s he got against golf?

*shrug* I don't enjoy watching either golf or curling. I wouldn't mind curling as a pastime, if I were still in any shape for it, but I've got no interest in golf either way.

 

[Dr. Duck]

*shrug* I don't enjoy watching either golf or curling. I wouldn't mind curling as a pastime, if I were still in any shape for it, but I've got no interest in golf either way.

I used to be an avid golfer, but rarely play now. Most guys I used to play with got busy with life (work, chores, kids, etc). It’s also gotten ridiculously expensive to play. I occasionally go to a driving range to hit balls. I might play a round a year. I still enjoy watching it on TV and some years I’ll attend a PGA event in Florida.

 

[aleshanee]

What’s he got against golf?

just about everything...... starting with the politics of golf here in hawaii - - from land disputes - water rights - to the demographics and attitudes of the golfers who don;t have to quit - because the game becomes too expensive - and who in fact purposefully drive up the price of a game to keep people of lesser incomes off the course..... ....not that he would play himself even if the game was free - coz i know he wouldn;t ..... i wouldn;t either... ...it;s just not my cup of tea.... ..or coffee.... ... ............. ..... plus i also saw an article once when i was in highschool that said the word GOLF was an acronym that pubs in old scotland used to post on their doors..... it stood for Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden..... someone else told me that was a myth.... .... but it doesn;t matter.... i wasn;t looking to push my way in to either the pub or the game...... .

 

[Ransom]

plus i also saw an article once when i was in highschool that said the word GOLF was an acronym that pubs in old scotland used to post on their doors..... it stood for Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden..... someone else told me that was a myth.... .... but it doesn;t matter.... i wasn;t looking to push my in to either the pub or the game...... .

Yeah, that's a myth. Modern golf was invented in Scotland in the 15th century, derived from a Dutch street game named colf (Dutch for "club"), where players used a stick to move a ball as close as possible to a target. Interestingly, in Scotland colf evolved into a game played in wide-open spaces, whereas in the Netherlands, modern colf is played indoors.

In the 16th century, Mary, Queen of Scots (James I's mother) was an avid golfer. The word "caddie" comes from Scots, and may well have been coined by Mary.

 

[Dr. Duck]

just about everything...... starting with the politics of golf here in hawaii - - from land disputes - water rights - to the demographics and attitudes of the golfers who don;t have to quit - because the game becomes too expensive - and who in fact purposefully drive up the price of a game to keep people of lesser incomes off the course..... ....not that he would play himself even if the game was free - coz i know he wouldn;t ..... i wouldn;t either... ...it;s just not my cup of tea.... ..or coffee.... ... ............. ..... plus i also saw an article once when i was in highschool that said the word GOLF was an acronym that pubs in old scotland used to post on their doors..... it stood for Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden..... someone else told me that was a myth.... .... but it doesn;t matter.... i wasn;t looking to push my way in to either the pub or the game...... .

I remember seeing a video about Hawaiian land disputes, golf courses and watering rights or something along those lines. Sad to say, but the economics of golf have become an issue everywhere, even in Florida, where golf courses are a dime a dozen (or were so, not that long ago). I can understand why he feels that way. I rarely play anymore, mostly because I go fishing in my free time. In the summertime, the rates are 50% cheaper and I might go once or twice, but that’s about it. I enjoy walking and being in nature, so hitting the golf ball is just an added bonus.

 

[aleshanee]

Yeah, that's a myth. Modern golf was invented in Scotland in the 15th century, derived from a Dutch street game named colf (Dutch for "club"), where players used a stick to move a ball as close as possible to a target. Interestingly, in Scotland colf evolved into a game played in wide-open spaces, whereas in the Netherlands, modern colf is played indoors.

In the 16th century, Mary, Queen of Scots (James I's mother) was an avid golfer. The word "caddie" comes from Scots, and may well have been coined by Mary.

i had heard the word "caddie" came from the word cadet..... . mostly because as that time.. in order to have some spare cash... military officer cadets were volunteering for all kinds of odd jobs... and one of those included carrying golf clubs for golfers....... ..but i didn;t know it might have been coined by mary queen of scots... or that the word golf had origins in a dutch word for club..... that;s very interesting.... .. and like most answers to questions opens the door to even more questions.... ... .... .

 

[aleshanee]

I remember seeing a video about Hawaiian land disputes, golf courses and watering rights or something along those lines. Sad to say, but the economics of golf have become an issue everywhere, even in Florida, where golf courses are a dime a dozen (or were so, not that long ago). I can understand why he feels that way. I rarely play anymore, mostly because I go fishing in my free time. In the summertime, the rates are 50% cheaper and I might go once or twice, but that’s about it. I enjoy walking and being in nature, so hitting the golf ball is just an added bonus.

oahu has golf courses all over it..... the japanese are very big into golf... and many of them plan entire vacations on coming here to play on hawaii golf courses..... .....in fact.... i know an interesting and quite disturbing story about a japanese tourist whose wife got critically injured and was close to death.. but instead of leaving his golf game and accompanying her to the emergency room - he wanted to send her off alone in the ambulance and continue on with his game......

what;s worse is he;s the one who injured her..... she was hit in the head by his club as he teed off.... she walked behind him just as he made his swing and his club came down on her head and split it open..... she fell into an immediate seizure and then stopped breathing... turned blue.... had brain matter clearly visible in the open gash on her head.....

but he didn;t seem to care much at all.... . ....one of the paramedics had to literally grab him and bodily carry him to the ambulance and throw him in the passenger seat right before they left..... he was not happy about that...... ... . i don;t know what else happened after they turned her over to the ER staff but i do know she survived...... ..... had it been me - recovery would have been immediately followed by filling for divorce... .... but the japanese are not like that even today... ..... especially not back then... early 1990s....

 

[Ransom]

i had heard the word "caddie" came from the word cadet..... . mostly because as that time.. in order to have some spare cash... military officer cadets were volunteering for all kinds of odd jobs... and one of those included carrying golf clubs for golfers....... ..but i didn;t know it might have been coined by mary queen of scots...

In the golf sense, yes, apparently Mary was the originator. But your etymology is correct. Caddie comes from the French cadet, which had the same meaning as today: a student military officer. It came to be used of odd-jobbers. I assume that lugging golfers' clubs (though probably not the Queen's in particular) was one of those jobs they could pick up.

 

[Ransom]

While we're talking about women in sport, Elizabeth I inherited an enthusiasm for tennis, both as a spectator and player, from her father. In the 16th century, though, it was an indoor game--today called "real tennis" to distinguish the original form from its modern outdoor successor, "lawn tennis."

Henry V was also a tennis enthusiast. The scene in the Shakespeare play where the Dauphin of France sends him a box of tennis balls as an insult to remind him of his frivolous youth wasn't an anachronism, though it probably didn't actually happen that way. (Though when Harry responds, "When we have match'd our rackets to these balls, / We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set," that was an anachronism--they didn't use rackets in his day.)

 

[aleshanee]

While we're talking about women in sport, Elizabeth I inherited an enthusiasm for tennis, both as a spectator and player, from her father. In the 16th century, though, it was an indoor game--today called "real tennis" to distinguish the original form from its modern outdoor successor, "lawn tennis."

Henry V was also a tennis enthusiast. The scene in the Shakespeare play where the Dauphin of France sends him a box of tennis balls as an insult to remind him of his frivolous youth wasn't an anachronism, though it probably didn't actually happen that way. (Though when Harry responds, "When we have match'd our rackets to these balls, / We will, in France, by God's grace, play a set," that was an anachronism--they didn't use rackets in his day.)

tennis is a sport that requires high cardiovascular fitness... at least in the way it is played today... ....

i assume this henry V is the same one who gave the famous speech at agincourt?.... i didn;t know he was also a tennis enthusiast..... pretty cool...... .

his victory at agincourt is loosely related to a longbow i restored...... it came from the london archery club and was made in 1860.... at that time archery had made a major comeback in england and henry v and agincourt was mentioned often.... with the battle of agincourt serving as inspiration for the archery revival..... . ...

but this particular bow was in pretty bad shape and was missing it;s horn string nocks... ... it still had remnants of the red velvet cover that used to wrap the handle cushion... .. the official stamp identifying it as certified for london archery club competitions is pressed into the wood and was still clearly visible....... .. unfortunately the velvet on the handle couldn;t be saved - it turned into dust on the lightest touch.... . so after i sanded the bow and refinished it with multiple treatments of true-oil... i wrapped the handle in the same kind of material henry the fifths archers would have wrapped theirs in..... hemp cord...... ...also made a string for it out of natural linen..... had to make horn nocks for it from scratch... still planning on making better looking ones in the future......

when i tested the finished bow the wood still had some spring to it.... ...but the bow is rated at 30 pounds draw weight at 28 inches.. no way i was going to let somebody test it to that draw length.... . but since my draw length is a few inches shorter than that i tested it with a few arrows and gradually got it back to my draw distance. ...it shot very well.... .but being over 150 years old at that time i didn;t want to take any chances.... so i took the string down and put it in a place of honor on my bow rack.... and there it has been ever since..... ..

there was a time when that very same type of bow would have been used in olympic archery.... . but olympic bows are very different today.....modern materials with aiming and balancing gadgets attached all over them....even the arrows are all synthetic including the fletches........ even though they are classified as a traditonal bow they don;t even look like a bow.... ....it;s one of the reasons i never could get all that interested in olympic archery.... .... it;s just not the same......

 

[Ransom]

i assume this henry V is the same one who gave the famous speech at agincourt?....

The same. Although that famous St. Crispin's Day "band of brothers" speech is fictitious. Henry did give a speech before the battle, of which no firm record remains. Basically, he encouraged his men to confess their sins and trust that God was on their side, and to be courageous, because their cause was legitimate. Nothing too unusual for the occasion. Shakespeare was the real orator, obviously.