Aussies No#2 On Medal Tally! :) :)

[Tony]

the Aussies should be up there in the baseball world. I am sure a lot of those guys have cricket expeirnce that halps them out

[MorphRC]

[quote name='cappie' date='Aug 25 2004, 07:18 PM'] By population Australia with its realtively small population it streets ahead of all the big bully boys communist or capitalist!!!!!!!!!!! [/quote]
Padre, did you see monday nights roy and HG, by population %, if australia had the population of america we would have 164 Gold

Gotta love roy!

[MorphRC]

[quote name='Tony' date='Aug 25 2004, 07:27 PM'] the Aussies should be up there in the baseball world. I am sure a lot of those guys have cricket expeirnce that halps them out [/quote]
I dont know, I havent heard of that. Perhaps.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='cappie' date='Aug 24 2004, 05:05 PM'] I watched the Australians defeat Japan in the baseball. Call me ignorant but Cricket is positively riverting, baseball comes right up there with grass growing or paint drying. (my brother plays baseball in Sydney) [/quote]
This is why the sale of beer at ball games is so important...

[IcePrincessKRS]

[quote name='MorphRC' date='Aug 25 2004, 04:13 AM'] USA is #1 or has China taken over again? [/quote]
USA is still #1.

[BullnaChinaShop]

[quote name='cappie' date='Aug 24 2004, 05:05 PM'] I watched the Australians defeat Japan in the baseball. Call me ignorant but Cricket is positively riverting, baseball comes right up there with grass growing or paint drying. (my brother plays baseball in Sydney) [/quote]
Neither Lauren nor I much like baseball. We used to joke that it was more interesting to watch a light breeze blow than watch baseball.

[shelly_freak]

USA all the way!

[cappie]

I saw it but don't understand it

[color=blue]Aussies win silver medal in baseball[/color]

Sublime Cuban pitching and an atrocious fourth inning umpiring decision combined to sink the Australian baseball team's gold medal aspirations last night.

Their argument, however, was justified. After right-fielder Tom Bryce clubbed a towering shot to deep centrefield in the fourth, Cuban outfielder Carlos Tabares fumbled the ball against the wall - not once, but twice - before eventually gloving the chance.

Baseball rules state that any ball touching the wall is in play. And with Glenn Williams on second and Andrew Utting on first, the officiating gaffe almost certainly cost Australia two runs, and led directly to the ejection of Deeble and Elliott with Cuba holding a 2-0 lead.

A bemused Deeble attempted to dispute the decision with Puerto Rican home plate umpire Willie Rodriguez who, he was informed, didn't speak English. So when asked why Rodriguez tossed him from the game, American second base umpire Gustavo Rodriguez apparently told Deeble: "You did something with your eyes."

That absurd scenario highlighted a trying night for the Australians, who nonetheless secured the nation's first ever Olympic baseball medal - an astonishing feat, considering the absence of a professional national league.

On several occasions, the Australians had prime run-scoring opportunities but were unable to convert. Brendan Kingman was struck out looking with the bases loaded in the fifth. And following back-to-back singles to Gavin Fingleson and Brett Ronenberg in the ninth, Nilsson's blast to deep centre field fell millimetres short of clearing the wall, all but ensuring defeat.

The Cubans were led by Frederich Cepeda's two-run home run off starting pitcher John Stephens and, later two-run hits from Eriel Sanchez and Eduardo Paret. Additionally, relief pitcher Adiel Palma - the starting pitcher against Canada the previous evening - proved devastating throughout the middle innings.

Palma was the winning pitcher in Australia's opening round 4-1 loss to the Cubans.

The gold medal will no doubt prove uplifting for the baseball-crazed residents of Havana, still battling the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Charley a fortnight ago. For the Australians, a silver medal still defied the expectations of most baseball insiders, while providing many younger minor league players with a possible platform to ascend to the majors.

[cappie]

Updated Thu 26 Aug 07:10
Medals
G S B T
1. United States 25 29 22 76
2. China 24 16 12 52
3. Australia 16 11 15 42
4. Japan 15 9 10 34
5. Russia 14 19 21 54

[MorphRC]

[quote name='cappie' date='Aug 26 2004, 08:50 AM'] Updated Thu 26 Aug 07:10
Medals
G S B T
1. United States 25 29 22 76
2. China 24 16 12 52
3. Australia 16 11 15 42
4. Japan 15 9 10 34
5. Russia 14 19 21 54 [/quote]
Go Aussies, I think this is our best turn out in an olympics.

[cappie]

[color=green]POLITICS!!!!!!![/color]

US Olympic Committee wants Bush ad pulled
August 27, 2004

The US Olympic Committee has asked US President George W Bush's re-election campaign to pull a television ad that mentions the Olympics.

The USOC is awaiting a response from the re-election campaign, committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said today.

The ad shows a swimmer and the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan. An announcer says: "In 1972, there were 40 democracies in the world. Today, 120.

"Freedom is spreading throughout the world like a sunrise. And this Olympics there will be two more free nations. And two fewer terrorist regimes," it adds.

Some of the players on the Iraqi Olympic soccer team have complained about the ad appearing as part of a political campaign.

Last week, campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said there were no plans to pull the ad.

"We are on firm legal ground to mention the Olympics and make a factual point in a political advertisement," Stanzel said.

The International Olympic Committee and the USOC have the authority to regulate the use of anything involving the Olympics.


An act of Congress, last revised in 1999, grants the USOC exclusive rights to such terms as "Olympic," derivatives such as "Olympiad" and the five interlocking rings.

It also specifically says the organization "shall be nonpolitical and may not promote the candidacy of an individual seeking public office."

[MorphRC]

That guy is really bugging me now...thats really low.

But im not surprised, politicians wouldnt pass up this type of oppourtunity.

[cappie]

[b]Australia bags two silvers in kayaking[/b]

Australia's Nathan Baggaley won an individual silver medal in the K1 500 and later joined with Clint Robinson for the same result in the K2 500 at the Olympic kayaking today.

In the K2 500 the Australian duo flew home in the final metres to grab silver but were well behind gold medallists Ronald Rauhe and Tim Wieskoetter of Germany.

The Australians edged past bronze medallists Raman Piatrushenka and Vadzim Makhneu of Belarus and several other boats as they came from fifth to grab the silver.

Earlier Baggaley was over the moon after winning the silver medal in the K1 500.

Double world champion Baggaley fired from the start and took an early lead but faded in the closing metres as Canada's Adam van Koeverden moved up through the field in the second half of the race to win the gold.

The 28-year-old Byron Bay surf lifesaver said he gave it everything he had.

"I came here hoping for a gold and really believed I could get a gold," he said.

"I didn't get it, I got close and I did everything I could - I couldn't have done any more and I'm happy with the silver."(GREAT TO BE HUMBLE)!!!!!!


[b] Aussies win first men's hockey gold[/b]

After 58 years of heartbreak, a golden goal by star striker Jamie Dwyer gave the Australian men's hockey team their first Olympic gold medal, a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands also giving the team a record-breaking 17th gold medal.

Dwyer smashed a penalty corner under the Dutch goalkeeper at the end of the first period of extra time, sparking massive celebrations by the Australian who had carried the heavy weight of the team's history into this tournament.

"It doesn't get any better than this," said Dwyer, who just 12 months ago suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the game for eight months.

In their fourth Olympic final, the Kookaburras controlled the game for long stretches.

However, they had to show great nerve and composure to come back from one goal down.

"This is sweet revenge," said midfielder Matthew Wells, one of the four survivors of the Australian team that had been beaten by the Netherlands on penalty strokes in the semi-finals in Sydney.