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August 26, 2004
Net Sports
Last night I watched my first Olympics broadcast of the Athens Games. I can't tell you how much it makes me yearn for Australian broadcasts. The Outdoor Life Network got it right when they broadcast the Tour de France. Stick to the action, don't put commentators on camera, switch cameras to different parts of the race, let color give historical context, not personal drama stories. NBC is so schmaltzy it's disgusting. I do not, repeat, do not want to have the camera zoomed in on an empty pair of wrestling shoes.
Since my family was at the previous two games, Athens is a letdown in every dimension. I haven't even paid much attention. So it was something of a pleasure to hear the Olympic theme and actually perk up. There was only one good aspect of the coverage last night, and that was Men's Volleyball. (As soon as I saw Marion Jones' baby drooling, I shut the tube off and cranked up the XBox.)
The sport has truly advanced since I last watched. What really shows up is how much more they use the spaces outside of which a normal volleyball game might be played. If there is one metric one could use besides the obvious speed involved, it's how far back players are to serve. The same goes for table tennis. Something that's also interesting is to see how players get wide of the playing fields up close to the net.
It took me a while to get used to the rally scoring, but it kept the action nice. Interestingly, recieving a serve was a better scoring position. But Lloy Ball proved that there's still a place for service aces. Sweet. I'll follow these guys on the court. That was pure drama.
Posted by mbowen at August 26, 2004 01:41 PM
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� Net Sports from Booker Rising
He ain't feelin' NBC's schmaltzy coverage of the Olympics. "The Outdoor Life Network got it right when they broadcast the Tour de France. Stick to the action, don't put commentators on camera, switch cameras to different parts of the race, let color ... [Read More]
Tracked on August 29, 2004 01:39 AM
Comments
I get the CBC broadcasts (Canada) here in SE Michigan and they are much better than NBC's hollywoodin'.
Posted by: S-Train at August 27, 2004 11:51 PM
One of my fondest memories of my dad is being at the Montreal Olympics (1976) with him. Mostly we were track-and-fielding but we also had random tickets to other events. Dad like to try out sports he knew nothing about. It was the men's volleyball quarterfinals, Japan v. Cuba. We were seated near a bunch of Cubans, ex-pats I suppose, and some Cuban athletes below us.
So here is Dad, this anti-communist Republican, bellowing
"CuBA! CuBA CuBA!" at each point. There was some Fidelista anthem at random times, too.
I kind of got the hang of the game about half-way through. Man, I didn't know that the sport could be that athletic!
I've been missing Dad a lot since the Games started--he enjoyed them so much. Watching my sister march in the Opening Ceremonies, he said, was more exciting than her birth. Go Dad.
Posted by: liz at August 28, 2004 11:02 PM