Bmwolf21 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 LINK BEIJING (AP) -- Losing for the first time since 2000, the U.S. softball team was denied its fourth straight gold medal, falling 3-1 to Japan on Thursday as the sport bowed out of the Olympics for at least eight years -- and maybe for good. Yukiko Ueno, Japan's remarkably resilient right-hander, shut down the Americans and handed them their first loss since Sept. 21, 2000, at the Sydney Games. The U.S. had won 22 straight since then, with most of the victories coming by outrageously lopsided scores. Another gold was as good as around the Americans' necks. Instead, they walked off Fengtai Field with their heads bowed in disbelief. The U.S. team never led and made two uncharacteristic errors in the seventh inning to help the Japanese add an important insurance run -- one they didn't even need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Nice run though. I'm sure they're disappointed, but they accomplished quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 They threw the game hoping that the IOC will not drop softball from the next Olympics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I wouldnt call it a "choke" by any means. Got beat by a better team today. ( see NYG Vs pats* SB ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I wouldnt call it a "choke" by any means. Got beat by a better team today. ( see NYG Vs pats* SB ) Yes... "Japanese pitcher hurls gem in biggest game of her life" would seem more appropriate than "USA chokes." As hard as it is to believe for us Americans, we are not predisposed by our DNA to win every single athletic event in the world. That's why the Olympics is so funny...Every four years, we tune in to sports we otherwise couldn't care less about in order to boost our collective national ego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 I wouldnt call it a "choke" by any means. Got beat by a better team today. ( see NYG Vs pats* SB ) How is it not a choke for a team that won 22 straight, outscored opponents 51-1 in the last Olympics and beat Japan 4-1 and 7-0 in their last two meetings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 the more i watch the olympics the more i realize why some people in other countries dont like the US. the same reasons we hate the Patriots. while we (americans) sit here like the Pat Fans and assume that everyone loves watching us win and look up to us as the example of how to do it. meanwhile, the rest of the countries are just trying to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 How is it not a choke for a team that won 22 straight, outscored opponents 51-1 in the last Olympics and beat Japan 4-1 and 7-0 in their last two meetings? The nature of the sport alone sees pitchers throwing no-hitters ALL THE TIME. It happens in NCAA, it happens in the Olympics. It's very hard to hit a good pitcher. If that pitcher is "on" that day, there's not a lot the hitters can do. The Japanese girls are the best players in their country, too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Yes... "Japanese pitcher hurls gem in biggest game of her life" would seem more appropriate than "USA chokes." As hard as it is to believe for us Americans, we are not predisposed by our DNA to win every single athletic event in the world. That's why the Olympics is so funny...Every four years, we tune in to sports we otherwise couldn't care less about in order to boost our collective national ego. Nailed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 The nature of the sport alone sees pitchers throwing no-hitters ALL THE TIME. It happens in NCAA, it happens in the Olympics. It's very hard to hit a good pitcher. If that pitcher is "on" that day, there's not a lot the hitters can do. The Japanese girls are the best players in their country, too... Thanks for the lesson, but I've been around enough NCAA-level softball to know that. The US took a 0.00 ERA into the GM game and gave up three runs on five hits, and made two uncharacteristic errors. They also couldn't manage a run after loading the bases with one out in the sixth. Those Japanese players who are the best in their country lost twice to the US in this Olympics. If it truly was just a pitchers' duel where Yukiko Ueno was simply better on this night than Cat was, then I'd agree that it was "Japanese Pitcher hurls gem in biggest game of her career." But the US made too many mistakes and gave Japan too many openings to win a game in which they were a good, but should have been an inferior team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 On a side note, I am disgusted that softball and baseball are gone from the next two Olympics but crap like "rhythmic gymnastics" is still in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rastabillz Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 On a side note, I am disgusted that softball and baseball are gone from the next two Olympics but crap like "rhythmic gymnastics" is still in there. and badmitten and... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 and badmitten and... BMX and... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 and badmitten and... BMX and... Amen on all counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 why is bowling not an olympic sport? Golf? Darts? Pool? Horseshoes? I am being serious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 On a side note, I am disgusted that softball and baseball are gone from the next two Olympics but crap like "rhythmic gymnastics" is still in there. I'm not disagreeing with you...But we do have a relatively biased view of the sport...Perhaps they are removing them because only about 8 countries in the entire world play competitive baseball and softball, and they are in SE Asia, the Carribean, and the US? The majority of the baseball programs in the Olympics are barely the equivalent of rookie ball or low-single A level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWVaBeach Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 How is it not a choke for a team that won 22 straight, outscored opponents 51-1 in the last Olympics and beat Japan 4-1 and 7-0 in their last two meetings? Well then we won the series 2 games to 1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 why is bowling not an olympic sport? Golf? Darts? Pool? Horseshoes? I am being serious I've asked this exact question. Bowling should be. If curling is, why isn't bowling. Curling is one of the few Olympic sports where I feel like I could do well in with only a few years of practice. Therefore, it should be an olympic sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 On a side note, I am disgusted that softball and baseball are gone from the next two Olympics but crap like "rhythmic gymnastics" is still in there. Get rid of "speed walking" while you are at it. Nothing is gayer than a bunch of dudes walking fast like they all have to take a dump and theres only 1 open shitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRalph Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Get rid of "speed walking" while you are at it. Nothing is gayer than a bunch of dudes walking fast like they all have to take a dump and theres only 1 open shitter. I never understood how one even gets started in this event. How do you determine that you possibly have world-class skill at walking?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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