Had a night alone last night, so after going on my 7-mile run through beautiful - but bug-infested (I swear I ate a half pound of them, and a quarter pound ended up in my eyes) Lincoln Park - I settled in for laundry and Olympics.
Some people would suspect that laundry was more exciting than the Olympics, but not so.
Phelps' relay was so dominant, the only drama was whether it would be a world record. And with so many records being broken, even that drama was minimal. Still, it was fun to watch that race and other swim races.
But I also liked watching the gymnasts. No way some of those Chinese girls are 16. I was surprised how open the television commentator - Al Trautwig (used to love him on Hockey Night telecasts on USA Network) - was about implying the girls were below the legal age.
Anyway, you knew there was going to be a Uggla moment, with someone falling. And sure enough, the U.S. girl tumbled off the beam. Man, that's gotta be rough to deal with when you're that young.
Anyway, it was fairly compelling television. And it helped that the Cubs weren't on and the Sox were blowing out the Royals.
Did you guys watch?
A few points on the 08' Olympics...
1. The Michael Phelps love affair is getting disgusting. 5 minutes does not go by without a mention or picture. Keep hoping for a shark sighting to spice it up. Seems as tho' the other swimmers aren't even trying.
2. When Alicia Sacramone fell off the beam, the NBC camera stalked her in preparation for the tears of despair knowing 16 years of non-stop training just fell 4 feet to their doom. In her defense, she did not go Nancy Kerrigan ("Why, why!") ballistic and finished. Is a silver medal that big a slap in the face?
3. South Korea is third in total medals. Has Russia un-officially mailed in this Olympics? They must be more concerned with other matters.
I watched the equally rare - Sox Blowout! Was so satisfying!!! (did you see the Boston/Texas highlights??? They scored more than the Bears!) I have been following the Olympics, but can't stay up to watch them. They played Mark Spitz!
7 miles!!!! Wow Roman, you are are real soldier! (pun intended) I am so jealous!
Trying to watch...not only are we on the standard delay, but we also get a West Coast delay. I dont see the good good stuff until like 10:30-11 at night. That sucks.
Lots of good story lines..not the least of which, you spent a night alone. Thats news.
Yeah I watched...the best part was when karolyi slipped the comment in towards the end of the broadcast about the girls age...Costas, of course, asked him to elaborate on it. Glorious.
Im diggin the olympics its just tough to filter through all the NBC "stuff" and commercials every 45 seconds.
That picture of the Spanish team slanting their eyes was too stupid to be offensive. The hilarious thing is that they couldn't even beat the Chinese in regulation. They had to sneak it through in overtime. Familiar territory Gasol?
I've been watching sporadically, and the athletes are impressive.
But I fail to see why the I.O.C. chose to showcase one of the most oppressive and environmentally incorrect countries in the entire world.
Imagine a city in the United States, (or any other democracy for that matter) putting a censurship lid on communication, mandating that almost no one drive their cars, and that businesses close down for a month.
This can only happen in a dictatorial, Communist society that has no business hosting an event which celebrates individual accomplishment.
We should not be aiding and abeting their subversion of human rights.
Thanks to DVR tech I've got a week to catch up. So far I've watched the lighting of the torch at the bird's nest.
I don't know if Phelps' feats are "natural", but they say the cream always rises to the top & it takes a rare combination of brains & brawn to do that in the Olympics.
We just came out of a decade of MLB were records fell left & right. We know now that wasn't "natural." I am equally suspect of records falling in the Olympics.
It's like a dominoe. The MLB roids scandal damaged the credibility of all sporting events. There will always be doubt now.
I do love the GE making things better in China commercials that its wholey owned subsidiary NBC runs without shame.
Heard a funny Fact...
Phelps now has more Gold Medals now total, than India does in its entire history!!!
Phelps now has more Gold Medals now total, than India does in its entire history!!!
... and more than Mexico too!
That's 112 years.
I could be wrong, but I don't believe bugs would fall under the vegan umbrella. What did you have for dessert?
Mark...its a good question...and it seems there isnt a clearly defined asnwer.
Aiding and Abedding is a big strong....
I wonder if we chose to back out, would any light whatsoever be cast into that dark corner of the planet?
I wonder if there is a trojan horse effect??
touching on the point keylan made about the spanish basketball team...it was stupid...the players response to it sounding surprised that people got offended by it is kind of stupid too.
Recent history shows us that there seems to be a trend with regards to Spain, its sports, and racism...Lewis Hamilton goes to Spain for a race and is subjected to fans dressed in black face and spewing ignorance, Spains soccer coach refers to Theirry Henry as a ______ black, and then when the English Natl soccer team shows up...they get "monkey" calls from fans...
oh yeah...and Spain is trying to get the olympic games.
Yet when Spanish nationals are interviewed...they are quick to say its not racism...if it was a woman they would poke fun at her, if it was a fat guy...they would poke fun at him...
thats the crappiest explanation or justification ive ever heard.
I'd bet that Phelps has more golds than a combined 150 countries in the entire history of the Olympics--and I think that's conservative! Michael Phelps is a story that becomes more incredible the closer you get to it. For example, if you're a swimming coach, you'd know how gruelling a typical Olympic day is for him--how ridiculous it is to break a world record less than an hour after doing something similar in a qualifying race.
At any rate, I also resort to my trusty DVR since I live on the West Coast. Nevertheless, I love the Olympics and I'll watch archery, badminton, greco-roman, heck, I'd watch tiddly-winks! I'm not necessarily enthralled with what I'm watching and won't necessarily watch it for very long--I just like learning new things and becoming more wordly (in the positive sense). Ever at the backdrop is the ideal of the Olympics which I think is important for all of us to consider. Politically, Beijing is particularly important as it brings a fifth of the world's population closer to the rest of us--I don't think we want China as a bitter and conspiring enemy. Incidentally, I thought the Opening Ceremonies set the bar for generations of Olympics to come.
Yes, I am definitely "into" the Olympics.
Only 7 miles. Was that your warm up?
Olympics have been groovy. Just wish NBC didn't make it a commercialapoosa event. And what the hell is Cris Collinsworth doing interviewing swimmers? Stick to football.
You know what's funny? Even the female gymnasts are taller than Costas! (Even the Chinese ones who are less than 16 years old!!)
Spain sounds like New Jersey!!
Aside from Cris Collinsworth gushing over Michael Phelps's mom, the most annoying part of the broadcasts have been when Costas says, "While we don't advocate a medal count...." and then goes on to give us the medal count. I also think it's funny when Bela Karolyi refers to the Chinese gymnasts as "half-people." He, btw, is by far the best part of the broadcasts.
'culze:
I honestly don't know what would happen if we backed out.
Looking back on our boycott of the Russian Olympics back in '80, I'm not so sure that it had much of an effect.
Even though the gesture was laudible, Russia was already reeling from it's war with Afghanistan, and our boycott was a mere footnote.
My take is that these games are a global event, and if one country decides not to participate, it might make a difference if that country is big enough.
Then again ... it might not.
China is already kicking a$$ in the Gold Dept. Without America and our 11 golds, they'd be running away with it. (if they aren't already)
With Chicago trying to snag the 2016 games, I'm thinking that a powerhouse like China would just pay us back by boycotting our Olympic venue.
As much as I hate their toltarian Communist regime, and wish to make a statement, I don't know if that statement would resonate on a lasting basis with the rest of the world.
NOT ANOTER ONE???
Spanish Basketball Teams' "Slit-Eyed" Gestures In Olympics ...Related: Spanish Tennis Team Also Strikes "Slit-Eyed" Pose (PHOTO) · Olympics. It's tough to know what Spain's basketball teams were thinking when they ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/11/spanish-basketball-teams_n_118262.html - Similar pages
NOT ANOTER ONE???
Beijing Olympics: Second Spanish team photographed making 'slit-eyed' gesture
A second group of Spanish Olympic athletes has been photographed making “slit-eyed” gestures, threatening to overshadow the Beijing Games with a row over racial stereotyping.
From the opening bell these have been some great Olympics. Never in all my days did I ever think I had the patience to sit through an opening ceremony, but I did exactly that. Doctored, but awesome!
Michael Phelps; I would love to ask this man if he ever thought about swimming the first 50 in his 100 ind. butterfly faster, if that's just his strategy, or if he feels he can cruise, and then finish on anyone. Awesome accomplishment to this point.
Usain Bolt; Scary! 6'5", in the 100 meter dash? What? No way! Yes way; in the most spectacular way. When this man "jogged" for a 9.2 in the prelims my jaw hit the floor. Scary!
Nastia Liukin: Another tall, lanky athlete in a shorter build sport, but what a flexible swan of a specimen. Would love to see figure skating and gymnastics get 2 sets of voting; live preliminary and slow-mo replay by a second set of INTERNATIONAL, UNBIASED, UNPAID, and RELIGIOUS JUDGES. The best gymnast won, thank goodness.
U.S.A. Mens Basketball Team; What a splendid mix this year. Gotta love it. Jerry C., you the Man! Dwyane Wade, YOU the Man!
Benjamin Boukpeti; My underdog athlete of the games, so far.
The Chinese Womens platform synchronized diving team; Along with Phelps and the Opening Ceremony, the most amazing display of jaw-dropping athletics I've seen.
U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
Im with you Anthony...i cant get enough. I even turned my car on in and lef the door open to...the garage so I could really get into the same mindset as the athletes.
In all seriousness though, Phelps touching out that guy at the end was as fast as lightning. They said that lightning flashes at 1/100th of a second.
UNREAL
Sat. was off the chain. African dude with the gold shoes.....sick.
More examples of "ugly americans"
ooops...wait...better make that "Latin Americans"
Beijing Olympics: Now Argentina's footballers photographed making 'slit-eyed' gesture
A photo showing four members of Argentina’s Olympic women’s football team making “slit-eyed” gestures has emerged on the internet, just days after two Spanish sports teams were criticised for pulling similar poses.
By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 1:18PM BST 19 Aug 2008
Argentina's women lost all their matches at the Beijing Olympics Photo: OLE
The image shows players Maria Potassa, Eva Gonzalez, Fabiana Vallejos and Andrea Ojeda smiling broadly as they pull back the skin on the side of their eyes, in a crude impersonation of Chinese people.
The photo was published - without provoking controversy - in the Argentine sports newspaper Ole on Aug 5, to accompany a preview of the team’s first match of the tournament against Canada.
It was taken more than a week before adverts featuring the Spanish men’s and women’s basketball teams in similar poses sparked international criticism.
Roman Modrowski:
"I swear I ate a half pound of them, and a quarter pound ended up in my eyes"
Is this some sort of ancient Chinese ritual?
I love the Olympics but the host of this current Olympic experience has been terrible. So sensitive but yet they have gone out there way to cheat. I don't like watching the sports that depend upon the scoring of judges such as sports like Boxing, Gymnastics and Diving.
I was watching Boxing the other night and one boxer must have hit a guy with at least 10 good shots but yet the guy who was getting hit was getting points.
Gymnastics has also been disgusting. Things from underage gymnasts to gymnasts falling and receiving medals.
The IOC must be real proud of choosing China as a host country? What a fraud