five-ring circus
columns
- The Olympics Sap-o-Meter
The Sap-o-Meter bids a tearful farewell. Plus: the Sappiest Word of the 2008 Olympic Games.
Josh Levin
posted Aug. 25, 2008 - Bad Interpretive Dancing To Be Added to 2012 Olympics Lineup
The latest from the SlateOlympics Twitter feed.posted Aug. 25, 2008 - The 2008 Olympics
A roundup of Slate's coverage of China and the Beijing Games.posted Aug. 24, 2008 - Dunks, Mom, and Apple Pie
The marketing genius of USA Basketball's "Redeem Team."
Tommy Craggs
posted Aug. 22, 2008 - The Olympics Sap-o-Meter
After a week of Olympic-sized schmaltz, the Sap-o-Meter battles adversity.
Josh Levin
posted Aug. 22, 2008 - Search for more five-ring circus articles
- Subscribe to the five-ring circus RSS feed
- View our complete five-ring circus archive
How To Watch the Winter Olympics
to: Troy Patterson and Seth Stevenson
Why I Hated Snowboard Cross
Posted Friday, Feb. 17, 2006, at 3:33 PM ETCan I step in for a moment to register a dissenting opinion? Snowboard cross may be the next great Olympic sport, but NBC did a terrible job presenting it to novice viewers. (Also, shouldn't it have a nickname, like motocross? Maybe sno-bo-cross? Snowboard cross sounds strangely formal.)
I found last night's coverage utterly perplexing. Sure, it was fun to watch four guys, looking cool, hurtling down the mountain. But NBC clearly hasn't figured out how to film this event yet—the cameras kept missing big moments, and the replays were rarely useful. Plus, I was lost when it came to the basic fundamentals of the sport. Here are some of the questions I had for the NBC commentator dudes. What kind of contact is "incidental"? If you're allowed to run your competitors off the course, why don't the racers spend more time doing so? If you're not, why don't the competitors race one at a time, against a clock? And what, exactly, is a speed check? The commentator dudes had no answers for me. They just said "Whoa!" from time to time. And occasionally, "Look at that speed check!" I would have loved to look at it, if I'd known what to look for.
Also, I didn't buy that business about Seth Westcott's hand-built mountainside retreat in Maine. Did you guys see a mountainside retreat? All I saw was a big pile of logs he kept aimlessly sawing at.
I'm with you on the weapons, though. With guns, it could be a kind of biathlon nouveau.
Confusedly,
Julia
to: Troy Patterson and Seth Stevenson
Why I Hated Snowboard Cross
Posted Friday, Feb. 17, 2006, at 3:33 PM ETfeedback | about us | help | advertise | newsletters | mobile
User Agreement and Privacy Policy | All rights reserved
- Today's Headlines
- Historical Archives: To Be Sold - Carved Wooden Heads
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400 - » More from the Onion
Over the LineHarold Ford Jr. | I know what it's like to be smeared by your opponent.
: The Positive in Negative Ads
- Robinson: A Little Worried About the Meltdown
- Khaled Hosseini: Sen. McCain, Am I a Pariah?
- Ombudsman: A Puff Piece About the Obamas?
- King: The Anatomy of an Assault
- Today's Headlines
- Can Pakistan Stay Afloat?
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:20:52 GMT - Florida: Will Palin Cost the GOP Jewish Voters?
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:07:56 GMT - Review: le Carre Novel Is Missing the Old Sparkle
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:41:29 GMT - » More from Newsweek
- Today's Headlines
- An Obama-Palin Ticket
Thu, 9 October 2008 18:16:56 GMT - Love the Player, Hate the GM
Thu, 9 October 2008 21:10:07 GMT - Schooling McCain on the Man Code
Thu, 9 October 2008 20:03:04 GMT - » More from The Root

five-ring circus













