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Post by Sbilo on May 17, 2012 1:31:47 GMT -5
Just for fun, which teams do you think will medal in the Women and Men's Indoor volleyball competition in London?
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Post by itsallrelative on May 17, 2012 7:55:37 GMT -5
I'm hoping USA and Brazil medal in both.Add Russia for the men, and Italy for the women to round out the podium.
Still really early---we will have a much clearer view of the men's side after World League and the women's after the Grand Prix.
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Post by Gorflorg Orshforg on May 17, 2012 11:54:22 GMT -5
Russia will win Gold. Brazil probably takes Silver, but the Bronze contenders all have a shot at them. Bronze will be Argentina, Poland or Team USA. I'd bet on Poland, then USA, and then Argentina. Any one of those teams could get hot and take out Brazil. But not Russia. No one else really has a shot. Cuba is a junior national team. There's Italy of course, they've got the talent, as does Bulgaria and maybe Serbia, although Serbia is probably done without Ivan, but I can't see them taking out two of the top five teams and earning a medal.
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Post by c4ndlelight on May 17, 2012 12:27:06 GMT -5
The groups will be heavily disproportionate (as UK is seeded 1) so that will create some interesting options for the Final 8 matchups and bracket.
Women 1. USA 2. Brazil 3. Turkey (or China)
Men 1. Russia 2. Brazil 3. USA (homer pick)
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Post by klazk on May 17, 2012 16:09:05 GMT -5
The groups will be heavily disproportionate (as UK is seeded 1) so that will create some interesting options for the Final 8 matchups and bracket. I hate that rule. I'm glad they changed it for beach (this year UK teams will be #6 seed for beach). I'm not familiar with tournament layout for indoor, but I'm assuming if everything ended up going according to seeding that the two highest ranked teams coming in to the Olympics would play in the semis instead of the finals? It just seems ridiculous that you would rather be the 3rd seeded team (excluding the host country) as opposed to first or second.
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Post by c4ndlelight on May 17, 2012 18:01:14 GMT -5
The groups will be heavily disproportionate (as UK is seeded 1) so that will create some interesting options for the Final 8 matchups and bracket. I hate that rule. I'm glad they changed it for beach (this year UK teams will be #6 seed for beach). I'm not familiar with tournament layout for indoor, but I'm assuming if everything ended up going according to seeding that the two highest ranked teams coming in to the Olympics would play in the semis instead of the finals? It just seems ridiculous that you would rather be the 3rd seeded team (excluding the host country) as opposed to first or second. Actually not. Assuming the Top 2 ranked teams finish 1/2 in the group, they'll be in opposite sides of the bracket. If Serbia, Russia, Japan and Korea qualify, the groups will look like this: Group AItaly Japan Russia Dominican Republic UK Algeria Group BUSA Brazil China Serbia Turkey Korea Serbia's declining form is the only thing that keeps Group B from being absolutely hellacious. Also, Group A teams get 2 days to rest their starters in pool, while Group B gets 1 or 0 (depending on how much you fear Y.K. Kim), which could have an impact on fatigue in the medal rounds. But Group A could get snakebitten in the end because they'll have really tough quarters match-ups regardless, while the top finishers in B can get to the medal rounds by taking on DR or first-time-playing-an-important-match-outside-of-Asia-in-a-decade Japan.
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Post by vball20 on May 18, 2012 8:18:06 GMT -5
first-time-playing-an-important-match-outside-of-Asia-in-a-decade Japan. LOL
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Post by Reach on May 18, 2012 9:13:17 GMT -5
The seeding is so screwed up. Brazil and USA should be in different pools.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2012 23:40:42 GMT -5
Isn't it enough that the UK is even allowed in??? Then they get the top seed? Mess.
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Post by vball20 on May 19, 2012 22:39:21 GMT -5
Serbia probably will not qualify for Olympics and they were just swept by Thailand. USA, Brazil, China and Russia probably will be in group B. wow!!
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Post by Reach on May 23, 2012 10:57:27 GMT -5
Yes, put all the medal contenders in one pool, smart!
I hope TEAM USA comes out and plays well & consistent. This tournament could be over very quickly for anyone in pool B.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2012 2:55:34 GMT -5
Yes, put all the medal contenders in one pool, smart! I hope TEAM USA comes out and plays well & consistent. This tournament could be over very quickly for anyone in pool B. Such a travesty. Seriously though.
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Post by mikegarrison on May 24, 2012 10:29:17 GMT -5
Isn't it enough that the UK is even allowed in??? Then they get the top seed? Mess. I'm pretty sure the IOC's worst nightmare is where they announce they are going to accept bids for the next hosts of the Olympics and all they hear is the sound of crickets.
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Post by OOTCDUDE on May 24, 2012 16:09:51 GMT -5
The IOC just announced that the 3 cities in the runing for the 2020 Summer Games are Japan, Istanbul, and Madrid!
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Post by Gorflorg Orshforg on May 24, 2012 18:23:45 GMT -5
Tokyo would have some sick crowds for volleyball.
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