OlympicsFan

6 out of 10 votes so far are troll votes ... My money is on Spain.

I'm officially out, predicting doubles is just annoying, i don't care about doubles and won't be bothered to look at recent results to know which would be the most likely outcome.

It's ok, most german fans understand this decision, while most non-german fans who only kow him from premier league can't understand it. It helps if you actually watched his matches in the national team, it's not that he wasn't good, he was just shockingly bad every single time he played. In 12 matches for the national team he didn't score a single goal and only had 1 assist (against Azerbaijan), there is no way he would have helped this team at the world cup. Brandt also won't do much, but at least he will stay quiet. Sane would have only been a back-up, so don't know why anyone would have thought that he would be the best german player at the world cup ... The front 4 will be Müller, Özil, Reus and Werner. If Reus is injured, he will be replaced by Draxler. Germany has enough speed with Werner and Reus, much more than this team had 2 or 4 years ago. Reus has been world-class whenever he played, now he seems to be fit, so clearly no reason to select Sane over him. Sane is a one-dimensional player, who never scores in the national team and loses the ball all the time, he would have given this team absolutely nothing. I would have clearly preferred Gnabry, who has been sensational this season. At the moment i would even prefer Havertz over Sane in the national team.

Of course that's surprising, i think he would have been a better fit than Brandt, but Sane has always been shit for the national team, he wouldn't have really helped anyway. Personally i think that Gnabry would have done the best job out of those three, but sadly he's injured.

[hide] Men's Singles Quarterfinals Date & Time (GMT +2) Athlete 1 T1 T2 Athlete 2 May 6th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [1] Rafael Nadal 3 1 Diego Schwartzman [11] May 6th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [3] Marin Cilic 1 3 Juan Martin del Potro [5] May 5th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) Marco Cecchinato 0 3 Novak Djokovic [20] May 5th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [7] Dominic Thiem 3 1 Alexander Zverev [2] Women's Singles Quarterfinals Date & Time (GMT +2) Athlete 1 T1 T2 Athlete 2 May 6th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [1] Simona Halep 2 0 Angelique Kerber [12] May 6th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [3] Garbine Muguruza 2 1 Maria Sharapova [28] May 5th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) Yulia Putintseva 0 2 Madison Keys [13] May 5th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [10] Sloane Stephens 2 1 Daria Kasatkina [14] Mixed Doubles Semifinals Date & Time (GMT +2) Team 1 T1 T2 Team 2 May 5th or 6th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [1] Gabriela Dabrowski [1] Mate Pavic 2 0 Katarina Srebotnik Santiago Gonzalez May 5th or 6th 2018, h. TBD (11:00) [8] Anna-Lena Groenefeld [8] Robert Farah 1 2 Latisha Chan [2] Ivan Dodig [2] [/hide]

Benzema has never done much in the national team, Griezmann is better anyway and they have Mbappe for example. If you can afford to leave Coman and Lacazette at home, you are in a really comfortable situation. If we look at the players that were left out of the french squad, we have to conclude that France has a much better squad than Germany.

When was the last time Brazil was tested? France was good at the last two tournaments and i think they only got better, it's close between those nations. Brazil probably has a better coach, but France has the better squad, i wouldn't interpret too much into qualification and friendly matches. I would rank both of them behind Spain and ahead of Germany.

My bracket would be: Pele vs. Cafu/Klose Ronaldo vs. Zidane Beckenbauer vs. Matthäus Maradona vs. Müller Pele vs. Ronaldo/Zidane Beckenbauer vs. Maradona Pele vs. Beckenbauer Pele

For me there are only 4 nations with a realistic chance of winning the world cup: Spain, France, Brazil and Germany I think Spain and France are the top 2 favorites, in my opinion they have the best squads, followed by Brazil and Germany. My quarterfinal predictions are: France vs. Portugal Brazil vs. Belgium Spain vs. Argentina Germany vs. Poland/Colombia/England The semifinals should be: France vs. Brazil Germany vs. Spain Then the final should be Spain vs. France/Brazil

True, but we shouldn't forget that they were missing Hayward, Kyrie and Theis (a quiet important role player too). With those 3 i think they would have easily beat Cleveland. In any case i don't see any of those teams seriously challenging Golden State (don't see Houston beating them without CP3). I think this will be the last Cleveland - Golden State final, Boston will only get better and if LeBron leaves Cleveland, they will be done anyway. Maybe in 2 or 3 more years Philadelphia will be in contention too.

Funny that you call Akira Sone a teenage wonder ... what would you call Uta Abe then? Baby wonder ... ? (Just a joke, she is only 5 days younger than Sone) Dario Bilodid is another 3 months younger than those two, amazing times for judo, three 17 year olds on top of the world. I never had the feeling that judo was a sport for teenagers to dominate, but maybe those 3 are just generational talents all showing up at the same time, which means that we should consider ourselves lucky to witness something like that with our own eyes, although i hope that we won't see multiple weight categories on the women's side with a Riner-like dominance for years.

[hide] Men's Singles First Round First Round Winner Second Round Winner Third Round Winner Fourth Round Winner Rafael Nadal (1) Rafael Nadal (1) Rafael Nadal (1) Rafael Nadal (1) Rafael Nadal (1) Simone Bolelli (LL) Joao Sousa Joao Sousa Guido Pella Malek Jaziri Mikhail Youzhny Richard Gasquet (27) Mikhail Youzhny Andreas Seppi Richard Gasquet (27) Richard Gasquet (27) Denis Shapovalov (24) Denis Shapovalov (24) Denis Shapovalov (24) Denis Shapovalov (24) John Millman Ryan Harrison Ryan Harrison Maximilian Marterer Yuki Bhambri Yuki Bhambri Jack Sock (14) Ruben Bemelmans (LL) Jurgen Zopp (LL) Jack Sock (14) Jack Sock (14) Diego Schwartzman (11) Diego Schwartzman (11) Diego Schwartzman (11) Diego Schwartzman (11) Diego Schwartzman (11) Calvin Hemery (WC) Mirza Basic Adam Pavlasek (Q) Adam Pavlasek (Q) Matthew Ebden Thomas Fabbiano Borna Coric Thomas Fabbiano Borna Coric Borna Coric Philipp Kohlschreiber (22) Feliciano Lopez (28) Feliciano Lopez (28) Feliciano Lopez (28) Kevin Anderson (6) Sergiy Stakhovsky (LL) Mischa Zverev Florian Mayer Florian Mayer Aljaz Bedene Pablo Cuevas Kevin Anderson (6) Pablo Cuevas Paolo Lorenzi Kevin Anderson (6) Kevin Anderson (6) Marin Cilic (3) Marin Cilic (3) Marin Cilic (3) Marin Cilic (3) Marin Cilic (3) James Duckworth Hubert Hurkacz (Q) Tennys Sandgren Tennys Sandgren Evgeny Donskoy Evgeny Donskoy Adrian Mannarino (25) Jan-Lennard Struff Steve Johnson Adrian Mannarino (25) Adrian Mannarino (25) Fabio Fognini (18) Fabio Fognini (18) Fabio Fognini (18) Kyle Edmund (16) Pablo Andujar Dudi Sela Dudi Sela Elias Ymer (Q) Vasek Pospisil Vasek Pospisil Kyle Edmund (16) Marton Fucsovics Alex de Minaur (WC) Kyle Edmund (16) Kyle Edmund (16) John Isner (9) John Isner (9) John Isner (9) John Isner (9) Juan Martin del Potro (5) Noah Rubin (WC) Horacio Zeballos Horacio Zeballos Yuichi Sugita Peter Polansky (LL) Pierre-Hugues Herbert Tomas Berdych (17) Pierre-Hugues Herbert Jeremy Chardy Tomas Berdych (17) Tomas Berdych (17) Albert Ramos-Vinolas (31) Albert Ramos-Vinolas (31) Albert Ramos-Vinolas (31) Juan Martin del Potro (5) Mikhail Kukushkin Jordan Thompson Casper Ruud (Q) Casper Ruud (Q) Leonardo Mayer Leonardo Mayer Juan Martin del Potro (5) Julien Benneteau Nicolas Mahut Juan Martin del Potro (5) Juan Martin del Potro (5) David Goffin (8) David Goffin (8) David Goffin (8) David Goffin (8) David Goffin (8) Robin Haase Ivo Karlovic Ivo Karlovic Corentin Moutet (WC) Martin Klizan (Q) Martin Klizan (Q) Gael Monfils (32) Laslo Djere Elliot Benchetrit (WC) Gael Monfils (32) Gael Monfils (32) Nick Kyrgios (21) Bernard Tomic (Q) Bernard Tomic (Q) Pablo Carreno Busta (10) Bernard Tomic (Q) Marco Cecchinato Marius Copil Marius Copil Federico Delbonis Federico Delbonis Pablo Carreno Busta (10) Thomaz Bellucci (Q) Jozef Kovalik (Q) Pablo Carreno Busta (10) Pablo Carreno Busta (10) Roberto Bautista Agut (13) Roberto Bautista Agut (13) Roberto Bautista Agut (13) Novak Djokovic (20) Novak Djokovic (20) Denis Istomin Marcos Baghdatis Santiago Giraldo (Q) Santiago Giraldo (Q) Jaume Munar (Q) David Ferrer Novak Djokovic (20) David Ferrer Rogerio Dutra Silva (Q) Novak Djokovic (20) Novak Djokovic (20) Fernando Verdasco (30) Fernando Verdasco (30) Fernando Verdasco (30) Fernando Verdasco (30) Yoshihito Nishioka Guido Andreozzi (Q) Taylor Fritz Taylor Fritz Nicolas Jarry Jared Donaldson Grigor Dimitrov (4) Jared Donaldson Viktor Troicki Grigor Dimitrov (4) Grigor Dimitrov (4) Dominic Thiem (7) Dominic Thiem (7) Dominic Thiem (7) Dominic Thiem (7) Dominic Thiem (7) Ilya Ivashka (Q) Stefanos Tsitsipas Stefanos Tsitsipas Carlos Taberner (Q) Oscar Otte (LL) Matteo Berrettini Gilles Muller (29) Matteo Berrettini Ernests Gulbis (Q) Gilles Muller (29) Gilles Muller (29) Kei Nishikori (19) Kei Nishikori (19) Kei Nishikori (19) Kei Nishikori (19) Maxime Janvier (WC) Benoit Paire Benoit Paire Roberto Carballes Baena Nikoloz Basilashvili Gilles Simon Sam Querrey (12) Gilles Simon Frances Tiafoe Sam Querrey (12) Sam Querrey (12) Lucas Pouille (15) Lucas Pouille (15) Lucas Pouille (15) Stan Wawrinka (23) Stan Wawrinka (23) Daniil Medvedev Peter Gojowczyk Peter Gojowczyk Cameron Norrie Karen Khachanov Karen Khachanov Stan Wawrinka (23) Andreas Haider-Maurer Guillermo Garcia-Lopez Stan Wawrinka (23) Stan Wawrinka (23) Damir Dzumhur (26) Damir Dzumhur (26) Damir Dzumhur (26) Alexander Zverev (2) Denis Kudla (Q) Gregoire Barrere (WC) Radu Albot Radu Albot Jiri Vesely Jiri Vesely Alexander Zverev (2) Dusan Lajovic Ricardas Berankis Alexander Zverev (2) Alexander Zverev (2) Women's Singles First Round First Round Winner Second Round Winner Third Round Winner Fourth Round Winner Simona Halep (1) Simona Halep (1) Simona Halep (1) Simona Halep (1) Simona Halep (1) Alison Riske Myrtille Georges (WC) Myrtille Georges (WC) Taylor Townsend (WC) Bethanie Mattek-Sands Johanna Larsson Kristina Mladenovic (29) Johanna Larsson Andrea Petkovic Kristina Mladenovic (29) Kristina Mladenovic (29) Daria Gavrilova (24) Daria Gavrilova (24) Daria Gavrilova (24) Daria Gavrilova (24) Sorana Cirstea Bernarda Pera Elena Vesnina Elena Vesnina Heather Watson Oceane Dodin Elise Mertens (16) Oceane Dodin Varvara Lepchenko Elise Mertens (16) Elise Mertens (16) Angelique Kerber (12) Angelique Kerber (12) Angelique Kerber (12) Kiki Bertens (18) Caroline Garcia (7) Mona Barthel Ana Bogdan Marketa Vondrousova Marketa Vondrousova Aliaksandra Sasnovich Denisa Allertova Kiki Bertens (18) Denisa Allertova Aryna Sabalenka Kiki Bertens (18) Kiki Bertens (18) Shuai Zhang (27) Shuai Zhang (27) Irina-Camelia Begu Caroline Garcia (7) Kristina Kucova Irina-Camelia Begu Irina-Camelia Begu Anna K. Schmieldova Shuai Peng Aleksandra Krunic Caroline Garcia (7) Aleksandra Krunic Yingying Duan Caroline Garcia (7) Caroline Garcia (7) Garbine Muguruza (3) Garbine Muguruza (3) Garbine Muguruza (3) Garbine Muguruza (3) Garbine Muguruza (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova Fiona Ferro (WC) Carina Witthoeft Carina Witthoeft Samantha Stosur Samantha Stosur An. Pavlyuchenkova (30) Yanina Wickmayer Polona Hercog An. Pavlyuchenkova (30) An. Pavlyuchenkova (30) Magdalena Rybarikova (19) Magdalena Rybarikova (19) Magdalena Rybarikova (19) Coco Vandeweghe (15) Luksika Kumkhum Belinda Bencic Belinda Bencic Deborah Chiesa (Q) Lesia Tsurenko Lesia Tsurenko Coco Vandeweghe (15) Stefanie Voegele Laura Siegemund Coco Vandeweghe (15) Coco Vandeweghe (15) Julia Goerges (11) Dominika Cibulkova Dominika Cibulkova Serena Williams Serena Williams Dominika Cibulkova Alison van Uytvanck Alison van Uytvanck Isabelle Wallace (WC) Kristyna Pliskova Serena Williams Serena Williams Serena Williams Natalia Vikhlyantseva Ashleigh Barty (17) Ashleigh Barty (17) Maria Sharapova (28) Maria Sharapova (28) Maria Sharapova (28) Karolina Pliskova (6) Richel Hogenkamp (Q) Kateryna Bondarenko Kateryna Bondarenko Donna Vekic Lucie Safarova Lucie Safarova Karolina Pliskova (6) Jessika Ponchet (WC) Barbora Krejcikova (Q) Karolina Pliskova (6) Karolina Pliskova (6) Jelena Ostapenko (5) Jelena Ostapenko (5) Jelena Ostapenko (5) Jelena Ostapenko (5) Jelena Ostapenko (5) Kateryna Kozlova Katerina Siniakova Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka Saisai Zheng Ekaterina Makarova Barbora Strycova (26) Ekaterina Makarova Kurumi Nara Barbora Strycova (26) Barbora Strycova (26) Johanna Konta (22) Yulia Putintseva Yulia Putintseva Venus Williams (9) Yulia Putintseva Jennifer Brady Jennifer Brady Amandine Hesse (WC) Petra Martic Petra Martic Venus Williams (9) Yafan Wang Qiang Wang Venus Williams (9) Venus Williams (9) Madison Keys (13) Madison Keys (13) Madison Keys (13) Naomi Osaka (21) Elina Svitolina (4) Sachia Vickery Caroline Dolehide (Q) Caroline Dolehide (Q) Viktorija Golubic (Q) Magda Linette Zarina Diyas Naomi Osaka (21) Zarina Diyas Sofia Kenin Naomi Osaka (21) Naomi Osaka (21) Mihaela Buzarnescu (31) Mihaela Buzarnescu (31) Mihaela Buzarnescu (31) Elina Svitolina (4) Vania King Rebecca Peterson (Q) Su-Wei Hsieh Su-Wei Hsieh Francesca Schiavone (Q) Francesca Schiavone (Q) Elina Svitolina (4) Viktoria Kuzmova Ajla Tomljanovic Elina Svitolina (4) Elina Svitolina (4) Petra Kvitova (8) Petra Kvitova (8) Petra Kvitova (8) Petra Kvitova (8) Petra Kvitova (8) Veronica Cepede Ryog Lara Arruabarrena Timea Babos Timea Babos Alexandra Dulgheru (Q) Christina McHale Anett Kontaveit (25) Christina McHale Madison Brengle Anett Kontaveit (25) Anett Kontaveit (25) Anastasija Sevastova (20) Anastasija Sevastova (20) Anastasija Sevastova (20) Anastasija Sevastova (20) Mariana Duque-Marino (Q) Camila Giorgi Camila Giorgi Grace Min (Q) Magdalena Frech (Q) Ekaterina Alexandrova Sloane Stephens (10) Ekaterina Alexandrova Arantxa Rus (LL) Sloane Stephens (10) Sloane Stephens (10) Daria Kasatkina (14) Daria Kasatkina (14) Daria Kasatkina (14) Daria Kasatkina (14) Caroline Wozniacki (2) Kaia Kanepi Tatjana Maria Kirsten Flipkens Kirsten Flipkens Mandy Minella Maria Sakkari Carla Suarez Navarro (23) Maria Sakkari Ana Konjuh Carla Suarez Navarro (23) Carla Suarez Navarro (23) Alize Cornet (32) Alize Cornet (32) Alize Cornet (32) Caroline Wozniacki (2) Sara Errani Chloe Paquet (WC) Pauline Parmentier (WC) Pauline Parmentier (WC) Dalila Jakupovic (LL) Georgina Garcia Perez (Q) Caroline Wozniacki (2) Georgina Garcia Perez (Q) Danielle Collins Caroline Wozniacki (2) Caroline Wozniacki (2) [/hide]

Interesting documentary about the current situation in Venezuela: This channel also has some other very good documentaries, for example this one (already more than 3,5 million views in just over 2 months):

I am slowly starting to get more excited about the world cup, although i don't see any way that this world cup will come close to the last world cup in terms of excitement, especially with the Netherlands, the US and Italy missing. Here are some nice videos for everyone who maybe isn't in the right mood for the world cup so far:

How so ... ? Di Maria played 1624 minutes in 22 games at world championships/confederations cup. Marco Reus played 125 minutes in 2 games at world/european championships, Ilkay Gündogan played 0 minutes in 0 games at world/european championships. Look at the following statistics (red = absent due to injury): https://www.transfermarkt.de/angel-di-maria/nationalmannschaft/spieler/45320/verein_id/3437 https://www.transfermarkt.de/marco-reus/nationalmannschaft/spieler/35207/verein_id/3262 https://www.transfermarkt.de/ilkay-gundogan/nationalmannschaft/spieler/53622/verein_id/3262 This is also the reason why Germany for me is the favorite for the world cup. Schweinsteiger, Mertesacker, Klose and Podolski are gone, but Podolski and Mertesacker didn't play an important role at the last world cup and Schweinsteiger/Klose can be replaced by Gündogan/Werner + Germany now also has players like Sane, Kimmich or Goretzka.

Hi, i think before the Rio olympics we had a thread where everyone could predict the number of athletes his/her nation would qualify for the olympics. I think it would be nice to have that again and if no one else already planned to do it, i would like to open a thread like that. Of course we aren't in a hurry, considering that it will be a couple more months before the first qualification events will take place, i just wanted to see if there is any interest in a thread like that?

92.70 m for Vetter in Leiria in pouring rain ...

Second world cup win for Dreßen and still no victory for Svindal at his home world cup! Dreßen is now 3rd in the downhill world cup, only the 2nd time in world cup history that a german is top 3 in this discipline (the other time was in 1967)! The last time that a german was in top 3 in downhill/super-g was Markus Wasmeier in 1988. I think this is the first time ever that a german won 2 downhill races in one season ...

Does anyone know when the next event will start (i think it's men's 1000 m)? Thanks!

That's true, i realized it too when having a closer look at the results. I think in men's 1500 m two german guys were ahead of the best dutch guy, that also doesn't happen very often. No reason to worry though, i think you have some great talentes already in that event, isn't Roest very young too? In men's 500/1000 m you have Dai Dai Ntab as well. On the men's side the biggest talents currently seem to come from South Korea and Norway (Johansson).

1) If the number of people practicing hig level sport and the overall budget remained the same, than it wouldn't be logical that the number of italian medals stays at the same level over the years. GB, Japan, China and some eastern european countries invested more and more money over the last decade or so and globally the number of people who were able to practice certain sports constantly increased, so with the same money you should get less medals nowadays, of course this doesn't take the new events into consideration. 2) Makes sense, i didn't know that Italy was so good in karate and to be honest i don't care about those new sports. I think Italy should win 2 more medals in fencing, 1-2 more medals in shooting/archery and at least 1 more medal in swimming (although i don't see Quadarella winning a medal at the olympics), so this should easily be enough for at least 30 medals, although i am not sure whether 10-12 golds are a lock (Again: I don't know how good Italy is in karate, are there any safe italian golds in karate?).

I wouldn't interpret too much into it. Lea-Sophie Scholz broke the german junior record and at the world cup final a couple of days ago the german junior records in men's 500/1000/1500 m were broken on this track as well. I doubt that Scholz is better than Pechstein, Friesinger and so on were at the same age. Results at junior level are basically the same as at senior level, so no hope that the dutch dominance will end any time soon, sadly.

1) I don't really get it ... With sports that already had top tier championships, you took the results from there and for every other sports you just predicted the results? I think there will be 324 events in Tokyo, so we should have more than 700 medals (thanks to judo and so on) in total. Why didn't you for example take the best non-chinese athlete in table tennis as bronze medal winner? 3) So you made predictions for hockey and shooting, but not for equestrian or football? Why?