phelps

and after that, did they play this song in the arena?

yeah, I saw the match on the Czech TV (delayed replay, not live, of course) and it was really funny, to say the least... I must admit I've never seen anything like that (never read about the VHL episode earlier this year)...and I also never thought it was possible... so, it's never too late to learn something new... p.s. by the way, I also found this: "According to the official IIHF rule guidebook, here is how referees are instructed to handle two (or more) penalty shots awarded on the same play: “If the referee signals a penalty shot, and before the play is whistled because of a goal or to call the penalty shot another foul is assessed to the same team, the additional penalty will be assessed regardless if the skater scores on either the play or the subsequent penalty shot.” — IIHF Rule 1164 (iv) [IIHF.com] “Should two penalty shots be awarded to the same team at the same stoppage of play (for two separate fouls), only one goal can be scored. Should the first penalty shot result in a goal, the second penalty shot is automatically cancelled, but the appropriate penalty is assessed for the second infraction. If the first shot is unsuccessful, the second shot is taken. The order of the penalty shots will be decided by the order of the infractions during game action.” — IIHF Rule 1169 (vi) [IIHF.com] Essentially, because Lehmann was fouled by Samorukov but still maintained possession of the puck, play was allowed to continue. Samorukov taking Lehmann down a second time, on the same play, warranted a second penalty shot — but Switzerland would only have one goal count, regardless. It didn’t really matter, because Switzerland didn’t score on either penalty shot." p.s. @Dmitry thanks for the info about the previous "double penalty shot" episode... p.p.s. personally, I think it's a very weird rule...imho, they should go with a penalty shot for the first infraction and then 2-min penalties for every subsequent foul... 2 shots (of which only 1 would count anyway) are just senseless to me...

St.Petersburg hosted this week the 2018 FIDE Chess Rapid & Blitz World Championships The titles went to Daniil Dubov in the men's Rapid class, Ju Wenjun in the women's Rapid class; Magnus Carlsen in the men's Blitz class and Kateryna Lagno in the women's Blitz class... here you can find all details and results of both competitions: Chess Rapid* World Championships Chess Blitz** World Championships * = time control of 15 minutes + 10-second increment per move (from move #1) per player ** = time control of 3 minutes + 2-second increment per move (from move #1) per player

Dominik Fischnaller, Andrea Voetter and Ludwig Rieder/Patrick Rastner are the Italian champions in their respective category for the 2018/2019 season... Dominik won a close race with a 0.1 sec margin over his cousin Kevin in the men's single; Andrea won the women's single with a wider margin (over 2/10 of a second) over the young Verena Hofer (Nina Zoeggeler ended up in 5th place); Rieder & Rastner won the doubles' competition, which turned out to be the most exciting of the entire day, with only 17/1000 of a second advantage over the youth world champions, Ivan Nagler/Fabian Malleier (and also Emanuel Rieder/Simon Kainzwaldner, who ended up in 3rd place, were very close, just 61/1000 of a second outside the winning time)... p.s. the races were held in Oberhof (GER) as in Italy we're still without a track (even a modest one, good just for a few national races)...

facial trauma, broken nose and a broken tooth for Klemen Kosi after his nasty fall in Bormio earlier this morning... most likely he won't start tomorrow in the scheduled Super-G...

another tactical battle (euphemism...big euphemism...actually, another boring slow pace match) in Davos...Kuopio upset Metallurg 1-0 after OT and win the Torriani group, so they have a rest day tomorrow and will be back in 2 days already at the semifinal stage... this year we're definitely not seeing our usual Spengler Cup, with high scoring games and the most classic athmosphere of an exhibition tournament (this said by a big fan of close and low scoring games...but at least once a year it would be good to enjoy something different)...

quick info... all games from the World Juniors are available on-demand in full lenght on the TSN (Canadian TV) website (max picture quality 576p/Mbps only, unfortunately)... at least here in Italy it's all available, no geo-blocking (delayed games only, no live pictures, of course) and full Chromecast support...here: TSN On-Demand p.s. also the Spengler Cup games are available on-demand (meanwhile no NBA basketball, EPL soccer nor NCAA football)...

talking of weird and redundant formats... p.s. by the way, thanks a lot...I should have checked it out personally...but, as I always write, I'm too lazy...and in these days my laziness it's even more extreme...

nice game between CZE and SUI, with the Swiss that take only 1 point away, but with a lot of regrets, as they were definitely the most dangerous team through the 60-min regulation... only a great game by the Czech goalie Dostal denied them the 3 points in the standings, meanwhile the Swiss netminder Hollenstein was the weak side for his team (I'm not saying he's responsible for the 2 Czech goals, but for sure he wasn't perfect...and not only in those 2 situations)... Slovakia...almost, but not quite... still, they got close to another upset of the mighty US team... quite surprised by the Swedish victory over Finland (I really thought that FIN this time has the best team of the tournament)... no comment on the Canadian mercyless destruction of Denmark (but I think the Europeans have the most responsibility for that to happen, even if I didn't watch the game)...

I agree...wasting 1 round to eliminate just 2 athletes out of 10 doesn't make a lot of sense, but after watching at least 2 consecutive Games where in women's waterpolo they didn't eliminate a single team in the group stage (all 8 teams advancing to quarterfinals) or Eights crews in Rowing with heats and repechage (2 rounds!) used to eliminate just 1 single boat, nothing's gonna surprise me anymore in terms of weird and senseless competition formats (and it's gonna happen also in Tokyo, with the Baseball tournament -the craziest and most unfair format I haver seen at the Olympics)... p.s. keeping the score of both rounds would be a good idea...and I also would ask the athletes to perform 2 different Kata in round #1 and round #2 (not daring to ask for a 3rd different Kata in the finals yet, though)...

naaa... it's only because you like the wrong sports... if you were a (Ice) Hockey (and/or American Football) fan, from today to new year's day you'd have the busiest week of the year... p.s. watching tv series is still a very good plan B, however...

today is December 26th...which means that the Spengler Cup and the Junior Worlds begin their respective journey... I'm speaking of Hockey, of course... so, my daily schedule is filled with the first 2 games of the Spengler Cup ( Ocelari Trinec vs Metallurg Magnitogorsk and HC Davos vs Team Canada) on the Swiss public TV RSI-La2 HD and the World Junior Champs opener ( Czech Republic vs Switzerland) on the Czech public TV CT Sport HD... in between, I also watched some Italian Serie A soccer (Atalanta vs Juventus) on a Sky Italia TV channel...

and now the host team, HC Davos is on the ice facing their traditional rivals, Team Canada... it's quite an entertaining match so far, with the Canadians leading 2-0 after about 25 mins of play (thanks to a goal that should have never been allowed, but the refs finally awarded after the video replay, despite the evidence of the pictures )...

today the Spengler Cup 2019 started in Davos... the opening match between Ocelari Trinec and Metallurg Magnitogorsk was a really close one, it looked more like a true championship match rather than the exhibition that the Spengler Cup actually is... finally, the Russians did take the victory home after the penalty shootout, since regulation and OT ended with a 1-1 tie... to be noticed, Trinec's backup goalie Peter Kvaca didn't play a single second in regulation and OT, but was chosen to play the PS...unfortunately, he got an apparently really bad (surely very painful) injury on the second Metallurg penalty...it definitely wasn't his day...

c'mon, man! example #1 is not even a penalty! never!!! example #2 to me is also a no penalty, but I could accept a 2-min minor if the charging player comes really from behind (not from the front or the side of the opponent getting hit)... example #3...2-min minor, not more than that (5-min major -and no game misconduct...I'll never understand why a 5-min penalty must go together with a game-penalty - only if the hit comes from the blind side, which is not the case of that example)...the match penalty must be given only if the hit comes from behind and smashes a player with his face against the boards (because that's really dangerous)... basically, with rules like this one, someone like the great Scott Stevens would have never had a chance to start a hockey career, instead of being one of the best defencemen ever (and one of the dirtiest players ever, I must admit)... bye-bye ice hockey...welcome "field hockey on the ice" (or women's hockey played by men, if you prefer)...

good questions...but, at least for now, still without an answer... I think they will let us know those details in the next months, after looking carefully at the outcome of the new system in the first K1PL and Serie A events of the 2019... p.s. if I have to guess, in Tokyo they could go for a preliminary round with 2 groups of 5 and the top 4 advancing to the main round...then 2 groups of 4 with the groups' winners making the Gold medal match and the 2nd and 3rd of each group making the Bronze medal bouts (crossover between the 2 groups of course), so to have at least 2 kata before the finals (only 1 would be really a shame)... but it's only my personal guess...

I hope so... but I don't know if they were really thinking about that or something else with more "glamour" (it's Rome, it's Piazza di Siena, after all)... on the other hand, as I wrote, I'm pretty sure that they will bid to host the NC finals, even if it could be elsewhere...

New rules for Karate towards the Olympic debut in Tokyo... https://totallympics.com/index.php?/topic/791-karate-2018-discussion-thread/&do=findComment&comment=186422 2019 K-1 Premier League and Serie A Calendar of events: https://totallympics.com/index.php?/topic/791-karate-2018-discussion-thread/&do=findComment&comment=186423

and after the news related to the new competition formats, here we have also the calendar of the main 2019 events, the Karate 1 Premier League and the second-tier league, Serie A: 2019 Karate 1 Premier League Calendar January 25-27: Karate 1 Premier League Paris (France) February 15-17: Karate 1 Premier League Dubai (UAE) April 19-21: Karate 1 Premier League Rabat (Morocco) June 7-9: Karate 1 Premier League Shanghai (China) September 6-8: Karate 1 Premier League Tokyo (Japan) October 4-6: Karate 1 Premier League Moscow (Russia) November 29-December 1: Karate 1 Premier League Madrid (Spain) 2019 Karate 1 Serie A Calendar March 1-3: Karate 1 Serie A Salzburg (Austria) May 17-19: Karate 1 Serie A Istanbul (Turkey) June 21-23: Karate 1 Serie A Montreal (Canada) September 20-22: Karate 1 Serie A Santiago (Chile)

2018 season has just gone, but 2019 is already knocking at the door... ready for a "new" Karate? well, even if the Olympic qualification pathway is already underway, the upcoming year will give us a completely new, revolutionary world of Karate competitions... 2 are the major changes that will surely impact big time the future of the sport: first, the women's Kumite bouts from now will last 3 minutes like the men's (alleluja! it was time! ); second, Kata competitions will have a totally new electronic scoring system, clearly inspired by figure skating, gymnastics and that kind of disciplines...system based only on the individual performance and not anymore on direct match-ups between the participating athletes... not sure what to think about it...if we get a bit less unfair judging, it's more than welcome, but I don't trust sports judges in any case (it doesn't matter if they are 5 with blue and red flags in their hands or if they are 14, writing their opinion with a small number on a PC )...so, let's wait and see what's coming with this new thing... p.s. and the competition format will also change accordingly to the new system, of course... more details in the WKF press release, which I'm posting just below these lines... 'WKF competition rules amended ahead of crucial year for Karate As Karate is getting closer and closer to making its anticipated debut in the sports programme of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the competition rules for both Kata and Kumite will see significant amendments being introduced next season. The duration of bouts in female Kumite and a modernised judging system for Kata will be among the main updates to be applied by the World Karate Federation. The new year will not only bring an event-filled season of first-class Karate; Starting January 1st, the regulations of top Karate competitions will be updated to further strengthen the appeal and relevance of Karate's main events in the build-up of the introduction of the sport in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Following a long-time request from competitors and major stakeholders alike, the duration of Kumite bouts will be adjusted so both Male and Female encounters will have the same length. Therefore, from January 1st, both Male and Female Kumite bouts will last three (3) minutes, thus increasing the duration of clashes of Female Kumite from two to three minutes. ELECTRONIC JUDGING SYSTEM INTRODUCED IN KATA Aiming to streamline Kata competitions, the WKF will introduce a modernised judging system for the category of choreographed movements. Accordingly, the decision-taking protocol by flags will now be replaced by a point-allocation system. With the new procedure, technical and athletic performances will be examined. A panel formed by seven judges will evaluate the performances, and scores will be given according to the technical and athletic presentation of the Katas. The system will automatically eliminate the two highest and two lowest scores for both criteria; the total amount of points will be calculated following a breakdown of 70% for technical performance and 30% for athletic performance. The evaluation for technical performance includes aspects such as stances, transitional movements, timing, “Kime” and conformance, while the athletic performance will be reviewed according to strength, speed and balance. All the competitors participating in a Kata event will be divided into pools of eight karatekas, with the four competitors getting the highest scores moving into the next round. Athletes with lesser points will be eliminated until only two groups of eight competitors remain. At this stage, the top three competitors from both pools will qualify for the final bouts, with the second and third-ranked karatekas from each group competing for bronze and the two top athletes clashing for gold. In the event that competitors obtain the same number of points, the tie should be resolved by executing an additional kata to determine which competitor goes into the next round. The amended judging system will be applied to both individual and team Kata competitions. In the case of the team kata events, the duration of the medal bouts will also be modified. The time limit of katas in the team categories for medal bouts will be reduced to five minutes thus aiming to further increase the dynamism and excitement of the tremendously popular category of choreographed movements by teams.'

the same here in Italy... Christmas is pretty much a Family festivity with religious and goodwill Spirit all around... New Year's Eve is definitely a friends and fun festivity...no difference if you stay at home or if you go out for dinner and the following activities (open air concerts and fireworks in the main square of each city rather than to the "Eighties' fashion" trip to a discoteque)... p.s my Christmas lunch "entry" dish http://www.vissanasalumi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/img.jpg tortellini (stuffed with ham) with Pachino tomatoes sausage https://ips.plug.it/cips/buonissimo.org/cms/2012/02/tortellini-al-sugo.jpg?w=713&a=c&h=407 some fruit (fresh mango and mixed dried fruit) https://www.greenme.it/immagini/mangiare/alimentazione-salute/mango.jpg http://www.teatronaturale.it/media/img/cibo/2017/mix_frutta_secca.jpg and finally, Panettone and Spumante (the Italian kind of Champagne, but better, imho ) http://www.marraweb.it/mw/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/panettone_tradizionale.jpg http://cantinedelcerro.it/web/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/spumante.jpg p.p.s. now I just can't get through my house's doors anymore...

well, I think it's too difficult to answer those questions...there's really too much to choose from (maybe Ledecka as the sportswoman of the year is a slightly easier choice than the other categories)... but the last one...well, this is the best category ever proposed... so, I try to choose a name at least for this one... and actually, also here we have a lot of people where to choose from...but I'd go with that former Argentinian boxer with diabetis who died because he took part into a croissant eating contest... I just can't imagine anybody more idiot than that...

p.s. how do you come to know how's my typical Christmas day?