We are basically halfway through Rio 2016. Don't cry. I know it is sad that this journey is more than halfway complete, but we still have seven days to enjoy. Even without the swimming.
This weekend has been the transition. Swimming ended, track and field began. Rowing is complete (thank, God!), trampoline has started. Maybe that is not a good thing. Team sports are coming to the end of the group stages and knockout rounds are starting or have started. Medals are really starting to flow. Don't blink or you will find yourself watching the Men's Marathon (yes, I do that and i watched the Women's this morning) wondering how the closing ceremonies snuck up on you.
I must admit, I almost shed a tear this weekend. Every Olympics, I enjoy the swimming most. When swimming ends and track and field begins, I convince myself all is OK. I enjoy track. I do enjoy track, but the heats are brutal. Except the 100. The heats of the 100 are great, because countries that only enter 1 track and field athlete usually enter that athlete in the 100. These are athletes who have no chance to advance to the semis, much less medal. They are there simply to run. I enjoy watching these athletes. Other than them, heats are brutal.
I don't know why track heats are so brutal. Maybe it's because NBC forced them on us, on both NBC and NBCSN yesterday. I watched NBCSN yesterday morning, and some NBC yesterday afternoon. I saw Usain Bolt's 100 three times. Three. Three. He's good, but he only ran for a little over 10 seconds. I got the idea the first time. I don't need to see it again. I certainly don't need to hear Ato Bolton talk about it three times. That may be it. They don't just show the heats. They talk about them endlessly. A lot of talking, then 10 seconds of racing. I like the racing, not the talking.
The good thing is the knockout rounds for team sports. Except when we lose, like Women's Soccer. The action gets more exciting for the knockout rounds. It is also fun in my house, because the Wife gets completely stressed out watching Kerri Walsh-Jennings in an elimination game. It's fun to watch my normally even tempered, enjoy the stories more than the competition spouse turn into a ruthless, nervous fan, occasionally yelling mean things at people on the TV. Good times.
We're more than halfway there, but we have a long ways to go. If you are a triathlete, you know the transition is important. Don't get caught sleeping. Or violating Rule #1.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Kim Rhode. There aren't a lot of people who can say they have done something Michael Phelps has not at the Olympics, but one of them is Kim Rhode. Rhode became the first athlete to win medals at 6 straight Summer Olympics (yes, we have to specify Summer), by winning the bronze medal in skeet shooting. This bronze goes with her gold from London, silver from Beijing, gold from Athens, bronze from Sydney and gold from Atlanta. The time since London has not been easy for Rhode, who has had numerous health problems including gall bladder surgery over the past four years. Unlike Phelps, Rhode has said she is coming back for Tokyo in 2020 and hoping LA hosts the Olympics in 2024, so she can go for medal numbers 8 and 9.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports
and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
Two days, because I took yesterday off.
1. A three way tie for silver. Even when Phelps doesn't win, he does something historic.
2. Anthony Ervin makes my accomplishments as a Masters swimmer seem small. Very, very small. Very, very fun to watch him, though. And I like to think, as a fan, I am one of his "people."
3. We are a backstroking family, so we were very excited to see Ryan Murphy break the World Record in the 100 back. Except for the Wife, who was not amused that he broke Aaron Piersol's record. I'm not sure she has given up hope of being Aaron Piersol's girlfriend.
4. I got to see some track cycling this weekend. Someone needs to let me know how I can become the motorbike driver for the Keirin competition. I need to make this happen.
5. Maya DiRado may, in fact, be the perfect human.
6. I watched some equestrian. A French woman got thrown from her horse. This is terrible to say, but equestrian is more fun when at least one person falls off the horse. The actual competition was impressive and enjoyable, but a fall or two just makes it bettter. When the French woman fell, the commentator, in perfect Best in Show voice, said, "Oh my goodness, that is a shock."
7. I need to see some sailing.
8. The Synchronized Swimming suits are made with the same pattern as the Diving suits. Almost no butt coverage.
9. Jeff Henderson won the gold medal in the long jump. This was the 1000th US gold medal in the history of the Olympics. Jarrion Lawson was 4th based on his left hand brushing the sand on his last jump.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Ledecky wins. World Record. Yup. Slam Dunk.
2. Adrian goes double bronze. Ervin gets silver. Flo wins gold. Yup and WRONG! GOLD!!!!! for Ervin.
3. Phelps. Gold. No reason to believe he can't or won't do it. WRONG! Three way tie for Silver.
4. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. (We are just going to pretend Wednesday didn't happen.) Yup.
Predictions -
1. Usain Bolt - Gold. Like Phelps, when the GOAT is going, you ride him.
2. LaShawn Merritt - Silver in 400.
3. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again.
4. Emma Coburn - Bronze in women's 3000 Steeplechase
What to Watch for:
1. My love of the women. Really it is coming.
2. Does this Blog violate US Trademark laws?
3. You Are Beautiful, Part 2.
4. Open Water Swimming - Great competition. Bad Water.
5. Pole Vault
6. Lithuania - Croatia in basketball
I almost finished before Prime Time coverage started. Elimination race in track cycling cost me.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Friday, August 12, 2016
We're Winning the Olympics!
Yesterday, upon seeing the updated medal count, Eldest yelled, "Yaaa! We're winning the Olympics!"
I think he is smart enough to know that a country doesn't win the Olympics. I say I think, because in 1984, at the same age, I asked my mother if we won the Olympics. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, and sometimes it knocks someone on the head and makes them ask a silly question.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. That's why we do this, right? To win. Not to get political, but we don't need Donald Trump to make America great again, or to become winners. We need Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, Simone Manuel and Ryan Murphy. Really what we need is more people to name their daughter Simone. We may not want to limit that to daughters either. Apparently, if you are named Simone, you are destined to win. Yesterday, you won Olympic gold. Tomorrow, you win the world. Does anyone doubt that either Simone is a winner? Does anyone doubt that either Simone will make America great again? Does anyone else wish either Simone was running for President?
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. We have the most gold medals. We have the most silver medals. We are third in bronze medals. We have the most total medals. We won the first gold medal. Our women are killing it. Our Men's Indoor Volleyball team finally got the message and won. We win on sand, on land and in the water. We are even going to win on top of the water. With Simone Biles, you can say we won in the air. We win as teenagers, in our 20s, in our 30s and even in our 40s. We win so much, you would think Charlie Sheen is our head Olympics Coach.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. We get a daily dose of Rebecca Lowe. We get periodic stories from Kier Simmons. We get picturesque views of Rio. We are watching the greatest swimmer and most decorated Olympian ever. We will get to watch the greatest sprinter ever in track and field. You could make an argument that Simone is the greatest gymnast ever. The greatest tennis player ever kind of let us down, by getting knocked out early in both singles and doubles, but she is another greatest ever in this Olympics. We have two women's swimmers making a run at greatest woman swimmer ever, in Ledecky and Hosszu. Hosszu has pulled off one of the greatest individual performances ever. We get Kerri Walsh-Jennings doing unprecedented things. Kayla Harrison won back to back gold medals. And we can watch anything we want, because coverage is ridiculous. We, as spectators, are winning these Olympics.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. Could you ask for crazier stories? The diving pool is GREEN! The weather is terrible Wednesday, gorgeous Thursday, terrible Friday. The Russian team almost got banned as a whole! A 19 year old American swimmer became the face of the anti-doping campaign while a 24 year old Russian swimmer became the face of evil. A judo medalist got attacked on the beach. Brazilians scream "ZIKA!" at random events for reasons no one can explain. If you are looking for a distraction from life or from the presidential campaign or from the never-ending baseball season or from Rich Williams, you couldn't ask for anything better.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. It is hard not to. Every 4 years, the world gets together to compete. There is a lot not to like about the Olympic movement. Money is too important. Nationalism can sometimes go too far. Brazilians yell ZIKA! A terrible drug story lingers, just waiting to destroy a great achievement, as has happened several times. Economic disaster for the host country is a real possibility. Rules can be ridiculous. If you can get past all that and enjoy the competition, the athletes, the moments of great sportsmanship, you win. You win because of the athletes who have no chance of winning a medal, but earned the right to be there. You win because of the athletes who accomplish something they never thought possible. You win because of the athletes who fail to accomplish what they expected. In his epic speech after winning the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the Espy Awards in 1993, Jim Valvano said to laugh, think and cry every day. For the 17 days of these, and every, Olympics, that's not hard. Without even trying, you could laugh, cry and think several times a day.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Ryan Lochte. I said I would occasionally cover a well known story. Lochte finished 5th in the 200 IM last night. This is likely his last Olympic swim. In the post-race interview, he said he needed a mental and physical break, but won't rule out attempting to qualify for Tokyo in 2012. This morning, he said basically the same thing, but implied he would almost definitely make a run at Tokyo in 2020.
Lochte is the second most decorated male swimmer in Olympic history. He has won 12 Olympic medals, 6 of them gold. Those numbers tie him for 18th all time in gold medals won and 8th all time in total medals won. Last night, Rowdy Gaines said that, if not for Phelps, Lochte would be known as the greatest swimmer ever. I think some people would make a strong argument for Mark Spitz. But Lochte would at least be in the discussion. Regardless, Lochte has been a joy both in the water and out of the water, from his brief reality TV show, to his accomplishments, to his crazy shoes, to his interviews and that smile, to his dyed hair. He wins the Olympics every year, because he competes and he has fun. I doubt he will be able to do it again in 4 years, even if he tries. But I hope he tries. Lochte helps the rest of us win the Olympics, too.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. Too. Much. Rowing. Who decided that every rowing race needed to be shown this year?
2. The Dalhousser/Lucena v. Nicolai/Lupo beach volleyball match yesterday was a classic. The Americans won 24-22 in the third set, after 8 match points.
3. US Men's Volleyball team is taking the motto, "It's OK to lose, just don't lose to Brazil," literally. After a great win yesterday, hopefully, they will decide to beat some other teams as well.
4. Kayla Harrison - Repeat gold medalist. Sounds good to me. She has not lost her swagger entering the arena over the last 4 years either. I still don't understand judo, though.
5. Iris Wang was clutch in her opening Badminton match.
6. US Women's Field Hockey keeps rolling. 3-0 win over India.
7. Was there gymnastics yesterday?
8. I saw some air rifle shooting yesterday. I thought Judo was confusing.
9. Women's Water Polo. Still just good.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Phelps wins. Lochte bronze behind Hagino. Yup and WRONG! That was not the close race everyone was expecting, unless you were watching the race behind Phelps.
2. Murphy joins Piersol, Krayzelburg, Carey and Naber as a double backstroke winner. Yup.
3. Simone Manuel, silver. WRONG! GOLD!!!!!!!!!
4. US Men pull it together to beat Brazil in volleyball. Yup.
Predictions -
1. Ledecky wins. World Record.
2. Adrian goes double bronze. Ervin gets silver. Flo wins gold.
3. Phelps. Gold. No reason to believe he can't or won't do it.
4. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. (We are just going to pretend Wednesday didn't happen.)
What to Watch for:
1. My love of the women. Really it is coming.
2. Does this Blog violate US Trademark laws?
3. You Are Beautiful, Part 2.
4. Medal rounds for team sports are starting.
5. Lots of track cycling.
6. Usain Bolt.
7. Men's Skeet shooting.
I think he is smart enough to know that a country doesn't win the Olympics. I say I think, because in 1984, at the same age, I asked my mother if we won the Olympics. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree, and sometimes it knocks someone on the head and makes them ask a silly question.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. That's why we do this, right? To win. Not to get political, but we don't need Donald Trump to make America great again, or to become winners. We need Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, Simone Manuel and Ryan Murphy. Really what we need is more people to name their daughter Simone. We may not want to limit that to daughters either. Apparently, if you are named Simone, you are destined to win. Yesterday, you won Olympic gold. Tomorrow, you win the world. Does anyone doubt that either Simone is a winner? Does anyone doubt that either Simone will make America great again? Does anyone else wish either Simone was running for President?
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. We have the most gold medals. We have the most silver medals. We are third in bronze medals. We have the most total medals. We won the first gold medal. Our women are killing it. Our Men's Indoor Volleyball team finally got the message and won. We win on sand, on land and in the water. We are even going to win on top of the water. With Simone Biles, you can say we won in the air. We win as teenagers, in our 20s, in our 30s and even in our 40s. We win so much, you would think Charlie Sheen is our head Olympics Coach.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. We get a daily dose of Rebecca Lowe. We get periodic stories from Kier Simmons. We get picturesque views of Rio. We are watching the greatest swimmer and most decorated Olympian ever. We will get to watch the greatest sprinter ever in track and field. You could make an argument that Simone is the greatest gymnast ever. The greatest tennis player ever kind of let us down, by getting knocked out early in both singles and doubles, but she is another greatest ever in this Olympics. We have two women's swimmers making a run at greatest woman swimmer ever, in Ledecky and Hosszu. Hosszu has pulled off one of the greatest individual performances ever. We get Kerri Walsh-Jennings doing unprecedented things. Kayla Harrison won back to back gold medals. And we can watch anything we want, because coverage is ridiculous. We, as spectators, are winning these Olympics.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. Could you ask for crazier stories? The diving pool is GREEN! The weather is terrible Wednesday, gorgeous Thursday, terrible Friday. The Russian team almost got banned as a whole! A 19 year old American swimmer became the face of the anti-doping campaign while a 24 year old Russian swimmer became the face of evil. A judo medalist got attacked on the beach. Brazilians scream "ZIKA!" at random events for reasons no one can explain. If you are looking for a distraction from life or from the presidential campaign or from the never-ending baseball season or from Rich Williams, you couldn't ask for anything better.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics. It is hard not to. Every 4 years, the world gets together to compete. There is a lot not to like about the Olympic movement. Money is too important. Nationalism can sometimes go too far. Brazilians yell ZIKA! A terrible drug story lingers, just waiting to destroy a great achievement, as has happened several times. Economic disaster for the host country is a real possibility. Rules can be ridiculous. If you can get past all that and enjoy the competition, the athletes, the moments of great sportsmanship, you win. You win because of the athletes who have no chance of winning a medal, but earned the right to be there. You win because of the athletes who accomplish something they never thought possible. You win because of the athletes who fail to accomplish what they expected. In his epic speech after winning the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the Espy Awards in 1993, Jim Valvano said to laugh, think and cry every day. For the 17 days of these, and every, Olympics, that's not hard. Without even trying, you could laugh, cry and think several times a day.
We are, of course, winning the Olympics.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Ryan Lochte. I said I would occasionally cover a well known story. Lochte finished 5th in the 200 IM last night. This is likely his last Olympic swim. In the post-race interview, he said he needed a mental and physical break, but won't rule out attempting to qualify for Tokyo in 2012. This morning, he said basically the same thing, but implied he would almost definitely make a run at Tokyo in 2020.
Lochte is the second most decorated male swimmer in Olympic history. He has won 12 Olympic medals, 6 of them gold. Those numbers tie him for 18th all time in gold medals won and 8th all time in total medals won. Last night, Rowdy Gaines said that, if not for Phelps, Lochte would be known as the greatest swimmer ever. I think some people would make a strong argument for Mark Spitz. But Lochte would at least be in the discussion. Regardless, Lochte has been a joy both in the water and out of the water, from his brief reality TV show, to his accomplishments, to his crazy shoes, to his interviews and that smile, to his dyed hair. He wins the Olympics every year, because he competes and he has fun. I doubt he will be able to do it again in 4 years, even if he tries. But I hope he tries. Lochte helps the rest of us win the Olympics, too.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. Too. Much. Rowing. Who decided that every rowing race needed to be shown this year?
2. The Dalhousser/Lucena v. Nicolai/Lupo beach volleyball match yesterday was a classic. The Americans won 24-22 in the third set, after 8 match points.
3. US Men's Volleyball team is taking the motto, "It's OK to lose, just don't lose to Brazil," literally. After a great win yesterday, hopefully, they will decide to beat some other teams as well.
4. Kayla Harrison - Repeat gold medalist. Sounds good to me. She has not lost her swagger entering the arena over the last 4 years either. I still don't understand judo, though.
5. Iris Wang was clutch in her opening Badminton match.
6. US Women's Field Hockey keeps rolling. 3-0 win over India.
7. Was there gymnastics yesterday?
8. I saw some air rifle shooting yesterday. I thought Judo was confusing.
9. Women's Water Polo. Still just good.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Phelps wins. Lochte bronze behind Hagino. Yup and WRONG! That was not the close race everyone was expecting, unless you were watching the race behind Phelps.
2. Murphy joins Piersol, Krayzelburg, Carey and Naber as a double backstroke winner. Yup.
3. Simone Manuel, silver. WRONG! GOLD!!!!!!!!!
4. US Men pull it together to beat Brazil in volleyball. Yup.
Predictions -
1. Ledecky wins. World Record.
2. Adrian goes double bronze. Ervin gets silver. Flo wins gold.
3. Phelps. Gold. No reason to believe he can't or won't do it.
4. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. (We are just going to pretend Wednesday didn't happen.)
What to Watch for:
1. My love of the women. Really it is coming.
2. Does this Blog violate US Trademark laws?
3. You Are Beautiful, Part 2.
4. Medal rounds for team sports are starting.
5. Lots of track cycling.
6. Usain Bolt.
7. Men's Skeet shooting.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Late Nights
I am a boring person. I readily admit this and am generally OK with it. I don't go out much. I rarely drink. I don't like bars. I don't even really like parties anymore. I prefer quiet evenings, with just a few people. I go to bed early. My idea of an ideal night usually involves a television and lights out before 10 pm.
I wasn't always a boring person. I used to go out late. I never really liked bars, but otherwise, I liked to be the life of the party. Come to think of it, I was kind of obnoxious. OK, really obnoxious. I learned recently that the wife of a friend of mine, who I have only met a couple times over 15 years and probably haven't seen since the beginning of my transition from obnoxious, drunk jack-ass to boring old man told her husband, "Yeah, I don't think I like him." We found that funny. I think she would like me now, she didn't like the old me.
I am fully engaged in the Olympic movement, from selection of the host city to extinguishing the flame. However, I don't really think about each host city until the previous Olympics are over. For Brazil, I was most excited about the time difference. Just one hour difference between Rio and Washington, DC. Yes!! Live swimming will be on at a reasonable hour. No tape delayed extending of my bed time to 11:40 pm, just to watch that last relay. I was very excited. See, I told you I am boring. This is what excites me.
Then, the swimming started. What. The. Fuck? (Sorry about the F-bomb, but it seemed appropriate.) Why does the swimming start at 10 pm Rio time? My swimming career was long and uneventful. I never swam a national meet. I was never even remotely close to an international level swimmer. However, I think I have enough experience to say that 10 pm is not the time that swim meets start. I know the Olympics will change their schedule to accommodate NBC and the Eastern Time Zone (see, Beijing, 2008), but who is the moron that suggested starting the swimming at 9 pm Eastern Time? I need to get to bed before 11 and I need to see the relays. These two things do not go together.
This year there is an added twist. My boys actually want to watch. I look forward to planting myself in front of the TV, with all three boys, to watch the Olympic swimming. They cheer, they yell, they jump up and down, and when things don't go well, they slump onto the couch and sulk. It's AWESOME! Except, they are becoming zombies because the swimming starts after their normal bed time. Eldest didn't make it to the Men's 4 x 200 Free Relay on Tuesday Night. Youngest didn't make it to the first event last night. Middle will stay up until he dies, unless we make him go to bed, so this works out nicely for him. Except he is exhausted. Last night I had to cut him off before the Women's 4 x 200 Free Relay. We watched it on TiVO this morning.
Sports is the ultimate reality television. There is great reward to staying up late to watch. I have jumped up and down screaming, both silently and loudly, while watching many athletic competitions, Olympics and otherwise. I have been the one sulking on the couch after a particularly brutal loss. For the swimming events, I like to see them live, as they happen, and not have to worry that a random tweet, a news notification, or even the lack of a news notification will give away the result. I want to jump up as Ledecky hits the 150 wall in the 200 free, because I can't sit and watch, and hear my boys yelling "GO! GO! GO!!" through the final 50. Relays are even better. Klete Keller v. Ian Thorpe in 2004. Jason Lezak reeling in Alain Bernard in 2008, to keep alive the dream of 8 golds for Phelps. These are two of the most exciting moments of my life (WOW! I really am a boring person). It was totally worth it to stay up for both those events. I just wish I didn't have to. I really wish my boys didn't have to.
LA 2024. Maybe that will happen. Maybe then I can watch live swimming at a reasonable hour.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Kuwaiti Fehaid Aldeehani won the Men's Double Trap Shooting competition yesterday. Aldeehani is competing as an Independent athlete, because Kuwait has been banned from the Olympics. Kuwait has been banned because they passed legislation allowing interference in national sport federations. Aldeehani is the first independent athlete to win Olympic gold. During the medal ceremony, he stood under the Olympic flag and the Olympic anthem was played. *The linked article is for information purposes, not the underlying editorial commentary in the headline and story.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. How do you get green water during the Olympics? Of all the potential problems with Rio 2016, I'm sure no one thought, "You know, the diving pool could turn green." And how do you think the guy in charge of that water felt when he went to work and saw a green pool? You think you had a bad day, at least you didn't turn the diving pool green. At the Olympics. Then turn the water polo pool green. I have to imagine his supervisors spent hours trying to figure out if there was something worse the could do than just fire him. You know he is getting fired, but it just doesn't seem good enough. You turned the water green. At the Olympics. Is there a bigger fail in the world right now?
2. Rowing was cancelled yesterday. Now we get even more rowing.
3. I did a first yesterday and watched a good portion of a field hockey game. The US steamrolled Japan.
4. Daryl Homer won silver in the Men's Individual Sabre event.
5. Nathan Adrian always seems happy.
6. It is possible Maya DiRado is the perfect human. As if being brilliant and an Olympic medalist in both IMs isn't enough, she also swam in the 4 x 200 free relay. That gold gave her a complete set, gold, silver and bronze.
7. Kerri and April aren't supposed to lose sets. Forrer's neck injury in that match looked really painful.
8. Women's Indoor volleyball. Just good.
9. Women's Water Polo. Just good.
10. Women. Just good. But more on that later.
11. Kazakhstan? Really?
Predictions Sum Up -
1. US Men win basketball by, by, by 1000. 1000! WRONG! And oh so very wrong. Losing at halftime. Up by 5 with 4 minutes to play. Where have you gone Magic Johnson and the real Dream Team?
2. Women's Field Hockey continues the dream against Japan. Yup.
3. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. (This is going to be like "Ledecky wins gold." I'll just cut and paste it in every couple days.) WRONG! I was feeling good about my predictions yesterday. I so richly deserve the beating I took.
4. Kevin Cordes gets silver in 200 breast. Prenot bronze. WRONG! Prenot silver.
5. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free. WRONG! Bronze. And he seemed so happy about it.
6. US wins Women's 4 x 200 Relay. The legend of Ledecky grows even more. Yup.
7. In 8 years, I will write a Blog Post about the GOAT: Katie Ledecky. Pending
Predictions -
1. Phelps wins. Lochte bronze behind Hagino.
2. Murphy joins Piersol, Krayzelburg, Carey and Naber as a double backstroke winner.
3. Simone Manuel, silver.
4. US Men pull it together to beat Brazil in volleyball.
What to Watch for:
1. Track and field starting.
2. Katie Ledecky in the 800 free. We thought she looked good so far.
3. TRAMPOLINE! Except, no.
4. My love of the women.
5. Some more thought provoking stuff.
6. The return of the Wife from a week away. OK, that's good for me, but has very little impact on you.
7. And the weekend, so I can finally sit and watch, non-stop, for 14 hours straight.
I wasn't always a boring person. I used to go out late. I never really liked bars, but otherwise, I liked to be the life of the party. Come to think of it, I was kind of obnoxious. OK, really obnoxious. I learned recently that the wife of a friend of mine, who I have only met a couple times over 15 years and probably haven't seen since the beginning of my transition from obnoxious, drunk jack-ass to boring old man told her husband, "Yeah, I don't think I like him." We found that funny. I think she would like me now, she didn't like the old me.
I am fully engaged in the Olympic movement, from selection of the host city to extinguishing the flame. However, I don't really think about each host city until the previous Olympics are over. For Brazil, I was most excited about the time difference. Just one hour difference between Rio and Washington, DC. Yes!! Live swimming will be on at a reasonable hour. No tape delayed extending of my bed time to 11:40 pm, just to watch that last relay. I was very excited. See, I told you I am boring. This is what excites me.
Then, the swimming started. What. The. Fuck? (Sorry about the F-bomb, but it seemed appropriate.) Why does the swimming start at 10 pm Rio time? My swimming career was long and uneventful. I never swam a national meet. I was never even remotely close to an international level swimmer. However, I think I have enough experience to say that 10 pm is not the time that swim meets start. I know the Olympics will change their schedule to accommodate NBC and the Eastern Time Zone (see, Beijing, 2008), but who is the moron that suggested starting the swimming at 9 pm Eastern Time? I need to get to bed before 11 and I need to see the relays. These two things do not go together.
This year there is an added twist. My boys actually want to watch. I look forward to planting myself in front of the TV, with all three boys, to watch the Olympic swimming. They cheer, they yell, they jump up and down, and when things don't go well, they slump onto the couch and sulk. It's AWESOME! Except, they are becoming zombies because the swimming starts after their normal bed time. Eldest didn't make it to the Men's 4 x 200 Free Relay on Tuesday Night. Youngest didn't make it to the first event last night. Middle will stay up until he dies, unless we make him go to bed, so this works out nicely for him. Except he is exhausted. Last night I had to cut him off before the Women's 4 x 200 Free Relay. We watched it on TiVO this morning.
Sports is the ultimate reality television. There is great reward to staying up late to watch. I have jumped up and down screaming, both silently and loudly, while watching many athletic competitions, Olympics and otherwise. I have been the one sulking on the couch after a particularly brutal loss. For the swimming events, I like to see them live, as they happen, and not have to worry that a random tweet, a news notification, or even the lack of a news notification will give away the result. I want to jump up as Ledecky hits the 150 wall in the 200 free, because I can't sit and watch, and hear my boys yelling "GO! GO! GO!!" through the final 50. Relays are even better. Klete Keller v. Ian Thorpe in 2004. Jason Lezak reeling in Alain Bernard in 2008, to keep alive the dream of 8 golds for Phelps. These are two of the most exciting moments of my life (WOW! I really am a boring person). It was totally worth it to stay up for both those events. I just wish I didn't have to. I really wish my boys didn't have to.
LA 2024. Maybe that will happen. Maybe then I can watch live swimming at a reasonable hour.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Kuwaiti Fehaid Aldeehani won the Men's Double Trap Shooting competition yesterday. Aldeehani is competing as an Independent athlete, because Kuwait has been banned from the Olympics. Kuwait has been banned because they passed legislation allowing interference in national sport federations. Aldeehani is the first independent athlete to win Olympic gold. During the medal ceremony, he stood under the Olympic flag and the Olympic anthem was played. *The linked article is for information purposes, not the underlying editorial commentary in the headline and story.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. How do you get green water during the Olympics? Of all the potential problems with Rio 2016, I'm sure no one thought, "You know, the diving pool could turn green." And how do you think the guy in charge of that water felt when he went to work and saw a green pool? You think you had a bad day, at least you didn't turn the diving pool green. At the Olympics. Then turn the water polo pool green. I have to imagine his supervisors spent hours trying to figure out if there was something worse the could do than just fire him. You know he is getting fired, but it just doesn't seem good enough. You turned the water green. At the Olympics. Is there a bigger fail in the world right now?
2. Rowing was cancelled yesterday. Now we get even more rowing.
3. I did a first yesterday and watched a good portion of a field hockey game. The US steamrolled Japan.
4. Daryl Homer won silver in the Men's Individual Sabre event.
5. Nathan Adrian always seems happy.
6. It is possible Maya DiRado is the perfect human. As if being brilliant and an Olympic medalist in both IMs isn't enough, she also swam in the 4 x 200 free relay. That gold gave her a complete set, gold, silver and bronze.
7. Kerri and April aren't supposed to lose sets. Forrer's neck injury in that match looked really painful.
8. Women's Indoor volleyball. Just good.
9. Women's Water Polo. Just good.
10. Women. Just good. But more on that later.
11. Kazakhstan? Really?
Predictions Sum Up -
1. US Men win basketball by, by, by 1000. 1000! WRONG! And oh so very wrong. Losing at halftime. Up by 5 with 4 minutes to play. Where have you gone Magic Johnson and the real Dream Team?
2. Women's Field Hockey continues the dream against Japan. Yup.
3. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. (This is going to be like "Ledecky wins gold." I'll just cut and paste it in every couple days.) WRONG! I was feeling good about my predictions yesterday. I so richly deserve the beating I took.
4. Kevin Cordes gets silver in 200 breast. Prenot bronze. WRONG! Prenot silver.
5. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free. WRONG! Bronze. And he seemed so happy about it.
6. US wins Women's 4 x 200 Relay. The legend of Ledecky grows even more. Yup.
7. In 8 years, I will write a Blog Post about the GOAT: Katie Ledecky. Pending
Predictions -
1. Phelps wins. Lochte bronze behind Hagino.
2. Murphy joins Piersol, Krayzelburg, Carey and Naber as a double backstroke winner.
3. Simone Manuel, silver.
4. US Men pull it together to beat Brazil in volleyball.
What to Watch for:
1. Track and field starting.
2. Katie Ledecky in the 800 free. We thought she looked good so far.
3. TRAMPOLINE! Except, no.
4. My love of the women.
5. Some more thought provoking stuff.
6. The return of the Wife from a week away. OK, that's good for me, but has very little impact on you.
7. And the weekend, so I can finally sit and watch, non-stop, for 14 hours straight.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
GOAT
Once upon a time, being the goat wasn't a good thing. If I asked you whether you saw the goat in last night's 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay, you would have assumed someone had an early take off, or swam a particularly bad leg, costing his or her relay a medal. That is after you wondered why I asked such a stupid sounding question.
Some time over the last, I don't know, 5-15 years, the title, Greatest of All Time, which is a completely subjective and unofficial title, was reduced to GOAT. I don't remember the specifics of the first time I heard someone referred to as the GOAT, but I do remember being confused. Like the example above, I assumed the person referred to had done something bad. Eventually, I figured it out.
I may have been confused because GOAT is a terrible word. Sports has some great words and some bad words. Dormie is a great word. So is peleton. Twizzle is simply fantastic. GOAT, not so much.
I am not the czar of all sports, so I can't do anything about GOAT. Except, I can appreciate when I am watching the GOAT, or anyone in the discussion.
This year, we have several opportunities to watch someone in the discussion of GOAT. The most obvious is Michael Phelps. Everyone knows the numbers, so we won't dwell on them here. We will just appreciate him for what he is and how he does it. As much as the Michael Phelps Face meme provided us all with some enjoyment, whether it was used to complain about slow golf, stop your spouse from taking a bite of your food, getting the fake Slim Shady to sit back down, or one of the other thousands of jokes applied to that picture, think about why he looked so, so, so mean. Chad Le Clos seems like a reasonably fun person in sports. He is very good and he is brash. In some ways, he is like Lily King, who all fans of US swimming love because she is very good and brash. If Le Clos were American, everyone would love him. He's fun.
But you don't poke the GOAT. Of all the things people said about Michael Jordan that made him as great as he was, the most significant was that he would use anything to give him extra motivation. Anything, real or imagined. Michael Phelps has a ton of natural talent. He works really hard. So do a lot of other people. In a sport where medals are decided by hundredths of a second, when facing a guy who always seems to be on the right side of those hundredths, it is probably not a good idea to give him a little more motivation. Le Clos was obsessed. He play boxed in the waiting room. He talked trash. He stared Phelps down. He looked at him during the race, which is a 7 year old move, by the way. My 9 year old lost a race a week and a half ago because he was looking at the competition, rather than the wall. I yelled at him. Someone needs to yell at Chad Le Clos. He did everything he could to let Phelps know that Phelps was all he cared about.
Phelps already had that loss in 2012 to motivate him. Did Le Clos really think it was a good idea to pile on the motivation? Did he really think that constantly reminding Phelps that he was there was the best plan? There are people you taunt and people you don't. You need to know the difference. Phelps always ends up on the right side of these things, even when he isn't in the water (see, Lezak, Jason, 400 Free Relay, 2008.) You don't poke the GOAT.
Two more gold medals to an already ridiculous number. Three more possible gold medals. Claims that he broke a record more than 2000 years old. GOAT.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Zahra Nemati. Nemati is an Iranian archer. She grew up competing in Taekwondo and had dreams of competing in the Olympics. At the age of 18, she was hit by a car and her spine was shattered. Three years later, she started competing in archery. In 2012, she won gold at the Paralympic Games. This year, she is competing in Rio in the Olympics and the Paralympics. Not only that, she was the flag bearer. For Iran. Think about that.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. I watched a US competitor in kayak who was not doing his second run and had not already qualified for the semifinals. That was weird. We'll ignore that it was the finals.
2. Too. Much. Rowing.
3. I'm a little sick of the "information age". I don't need The Washington Post to send me a news alert email that the Women won the Gymnastics Team Competition. I'd like to find out in front of my television at home, not in front of my computer at work.
4. A Qatari team made up of a guy from Brazil and a guy from Senegal advanced out of the beach volleyball group. I'm sure those Qataris are proud.
5. I let the boys stay up to watch Ledecky in the 200 free. Good move.
6. We watched a little rugby yesterday. Eldest kept yelling at the TV, "I'm so confused!" I was fine until the end, when the clock ran out, but play continued, and then we lost. I don't get it and I'm not sure I want to.
7. Giving yourself, or your team, a nickname is not the best move. Yelling it as a cheer during competition is even worse.
8. If NBC is doing the gymnastics on tape delay, do they really need to spend so much time showing the girls sitting around doing nothing?
9. Some big names out of tennis already.
10. Not a good day to do the Cycling Time Trial. Weather was brutal.
11. Got to see some judo yesterday. Life is good.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Brady Ellison wins his Round of 64 Archery match. Yup. Then he defeated fellow American Jake Kaminski in the next round. That sucked.
2. Women win Gymnastics Team title by more than 10. WRONG! Only 8.
3. Women's Soccer wins 4-0. WRONG! And wow a bad performance by Hope Solo. Maybe those ZIKA! calls are getting to her.
4. Ledecky does what Ledecky does, but no World Record. Yup.
5. Phelps wins 200 Fly, then dunks Chad Le Clos, gives him a white wash and has Lily King run out on deck wagging her index finger at him. Yup. That was the most arrogant celebration I have ever seen from Phelps, so I was pretty close, even without Lily King. Phelps did the finger himself.
6. DiRado bronze in 200 IM. Yup.
7. US Men win 4 x 200 free relay. Yup.
Predictions -
1. US Men win basketball by, by, by 1000. 1000!
2. Women's Field Hockey continues the dream against Japan.
3. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. (This is going to be like "Ledecky wins gold." I'll just cut and paste it in every couple days.)
4. Kevin Cordes gets silver in 200 breast. Prenot bronze.
5. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free.
6. US wins Women's 4 x 200 Relay. The legend of Ledecky grows even more.
7. In 8 years, I will write a Blog Post about the GOAT: Katie Ledecky.
What to Watch for:
1. Kayla Harrison begins her quest for repeat gold in Judo. She was responsible for my love of judo.
2. Women's Water Polo v. Croatia tomorrow. Watch yet another US Women's team that crushes the competition,
3. 200 IM. Last ever Phelps-Lochte race?
4. Golf - if you build the Olympics and hold a golf tournament, but nobody cares, did it happen?
5. Badminton - the biggest scandal of London 2012 came from badminton. This is must see TV.
6. Track cycling - seriously, watch for 5 minutes. Crazy stuff.
Today was a little off, I know. We can't always be on our A Game. I'll be back.
Some time over the last, I don't know, 5-15 years, the title, Greatest of All Time, which is a completely subjective and unofficial title, was reduced to GOAT. I don't remember the specifics of the first time I heard someone referred to as the GOAT, but I do remember being confused. Like the example above, I assumed the person referred to had done something bad. Eventually, I figured it out.
I may have been confused because GOAT is a terrible word. Sports has some great words and some bad words. Dormie is a great word. So is peleton. Twizzle is simply fantastic. GOAT, not so much.
I am not the czar of all sports, so I can't do anything about GOAT. Except, I can appreciate when I am watching the GOAT, or anyone in the discussion.
This year, we have several opportunities to watch someone in the discussion of GOAT. The most obvious is Michael Phelps. Everyone knows the numbers, so we won't dwell on them here. We will just appreciate him for what he is and how he does it. As much as the Michael Phelps Face meme provided us all with some enjoyment, whether it was used to complain about slow golf, stop your spouse from taking a bite of your food, getting the fake Slim Shady to sit back down, or one of the other thousands of jokes applied to that picture, think about why he looked so, so, so mean. Chad Le Clos seems like a reasonably fun person in sports. He is very good and he is brash. In some ways, he is like Lily King, who all fans of US swimming love because she is very good and brash. If Le Clos were American, everyone would love him. He's fun.
But you don't poke the GOAT. Of all the things people said about Michael Jordan that made him as great as he was, the most significant was that he would use anything to give him extra motivation. Anything, real or imagined. Michael Phelps has a ton of natural talent. He works really hard. So do a lot of other people. In a sport where medals are decided by hundredths of a second, when facing a guy who always seems to be on the right side of those hundredths, it is probably not a good idea to give him a little more motivation. Le Clos was obsessed. He play boxed in the waiting room. He talked trash. He stared Phelps down. He looked at him during the race, which is a 7 year old move, by the way. My 9 year old lost a race a week and a half ago because he was looking at the competition, rather than the wall. I yelled at him. Someone needs to yell at Chad Le Clos. He did everything he could to let Phelps know that Phelps was all he cared about.
Phelps already had that loss in 2012 to motivate him. Did Le Clos really think it was a good idea to pile on the motivation? Did he really think that constantly reminding Phelps that he was there was the best plan? There are people you taunt and people you don't. You need to know the difference. Phelps always ends up on the right side of these things, even when he isn't in the water (see, Lezak, Jason, 400 Free Relay, 2008.) You don't poke the GOAT.
Two more gold medals to an already ridiculous number. Three more possible gold medals. Claims that he broke a record more than 2000 years old. GOAT.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Zahra Nemati. Nemati is an Iranian archer. She grew up competing in Taekwondo and had dreams of competing in the Olympics. At the age of 18, she was hit by a car and her spine was shattered. Three years later, she started competing in archery. In 2012, she won gold at the Paralympic Games. This year, she is competing in Rio in the Olympics and the Paralympics. Not only that, she was the flag bearer. For Iran. Think about that.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. I watched a US competitor in kayak who was not doing his second run and had not already qualified for the semifinals. That was weird. We'll ignore that it was the finals.
2. Too. Much. Rowing.
3. I'm a little sick of the "information age". I don't need The Washington Post to send me a news alert email that the Women won the Gymnastics Team Competition. I'd like to find out in front of my television at home, not in front of my computer at work.
4. A Qatari team made up of a guy from Brazil and a guy from Senegal advanced out of the beach volleyball group. I'm sure those Qataris are proud.
5. I let the boys stay up to watch Ledecky in the 200 free. Good move.
6. We watched a little rugby yesterday. Eldest kept yelling at the TV, "I'm so confused!" I was fine until the end, when the clock ran out, but play continued, and then we lost. I don't get it and I'm not sure I want to.
7. Giving yourself, or your team, a nickname is not the best move. Yelling it as a cheer during competition is even worse.
8. If NBC is doing the gymnastics on tape delay, do they really need to spend so much time showing the girls sitting around doing nothing?
9. Some big names out of tennis already.
10. Not a good day to do the Cycling Time Trial. Weather was brutal.
11. Got to see some judo yesterday. Life is good.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Brady Ellison wins his Round of 64 Archery match. Yup. Then he defeated fellow American Jake Kaminski in the next round. That sucked.
2. Women win Gymnastics Team title by more than 10. WRONG! Only 8.
3. Women's Soccer wins 4-0. WRONG! And wow a bad performance by Hope Solo. Maybe those ZIKA! calls are getting to her.
4. Ledecky does what Ledecky does, but no World Record. Yup.
5. Phelps wins 200 Fly, then dunks Chad Le Clos, gives him a white wash and has Lily King run out on deck wagging her index finger at him. Yup. That was the most arrogant celebration I have ever seen from Phelps, so I was pretty close, even without Lily King. Phelps did the finger himself.
6. DiRado bronze in 200 IM. Yup.
7. US Men win 4 x 200 free relay. Yup.
Predictions -
1. US Men win basketball by, by, by 1000. 1000!
2. Women's Field Hockey continues the dream against Japan.
3. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. (This is going to be like "Ledecky wins gold." I'll just cut and paste it in every couple days.)
4. Kevin Cordes gets silver in 200 breast. Prenot bronze.
5. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free.
6. US wins Women's 4 x 200 Relay. The legend of Ledecky grows even more.
7. In 8 years, I will write a Blog Post about the GOAT: Katie Ledecky.
What to Watch for:
1. Kayla Harrison begins her quest for repeat gold in Judo. She was responsible for my love of judo.
2. Women's Water Polo v. Croatia tomorrow. Watch yet another US Women's team that crushes the competition,
3. 200 IM. Last ever Phelps-Lochte race?
4. Golf - if you build the Olympics and hold a golf tournament, but nobody cares, did it happen?
5. Badminton - the biggest scandal of London 2012 came from badminton. This is must see TV.
6. Track cycling - seriously, watch for 5 minutes. Crazy stuff.
Today was a little off, I know. We can't always be on our A Game. I'll be back.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Mom with a Medal
Dana Vollmer became the first US Swimmer to win an individual medal after giving birth with her bronze in the 100 fly. However, she is not the first US athlete to win a medal after giving birth.
I am certain there have been plenty over the years. The Wife would probably appreciate if I found them all and made a list. That's not going to happen, for many reasons, including that she left me home alone for a week with 3 kids, a job and 271 days of Olympic coverage to watch and blog about. I will, however, list one. Kerri Walsh Jennings, who won gold in 2012 with 2 kids, and is going for a fourth gold medal, with a third kid this year. In one of NBC's personal interest stories some time in the past 48 hours (this is all blending together already), Kerri said she was put on this Earth to have babies and play volleyball. She seems to be pretty good at both.
Parents are always a story at the Olympics. Usually, however, the story is the parents of the athletes. Whether it is an advertising campaign about parents, Michael Phelps's mom or the crazy parents of Aly Raisman, parents are a key part of Olympics coverage. After the Men's 100 Back, the cameras went right to Ryan Murphy's parents. The Wife thought they were cute. I am pretty sure my celebration of Murphy's win was more animated. The cameras also went to Murphy's parents during his medal celebration. They looked happy and proud. I would have been crying more than Ryan Held.
Swimming is my favorite sport and the one I focus on the most during this first week of the Olympics. However, the parent story is not limited to swimming. The story about Simone Biles focused on her parents, who are really her grandparents. Her grandparents raised her and she calls them Mom and Dad, as she should. During the Men's Synchronized Diving, Steele Johnson's dad was almost as much a part of the show as his silver medal winning son. Extra props to Dad for having the last name Johnson and deciding to name his son Steele.
Olympic parents deserve some recognition and credit. I have three kids with little chance of becoming Olympians and I am always exhausted. The time, energy and money needed to get someone to that level is fairly significant. Middle, who wears a brief, or Speedo, style suit for swimming, wants a tech suit. For those of you not familiar with swimming equipment or Middle, you need to know that these suits can run in the 100s of dollars (for boys, much more for girls), and Middle's suit would cover less butt on the average female diver than we saw a couple nights ago. Needless to say, we have resisted the request.
This year, however, the "parent" stories are focused more on Olympic athletes who are parents than I have seen before. In case you didn't know, Michael Phelps has a baby boy. His name is Boomer. His middle name is Robert, named after his coach, Bob Bowman. I wish NBC would show him at the meets. Does anyone know if he goes to the swimming competition? It would be great if we could see a black and white picture of a shirtless Michael holding Boomer. Too bad we can't.
We kid because we love.
In all seriousness, Phelps is a big story. His family has always been a big story. Adding a son and a fiancé to the newly happy, post-rehab Phelps makes for a good story. So NBC will tell the story. And as long as they are talking one parent Olympian, they may as well talk a few more.
Dana Vollmer apparently gained 50 pounds when she was pregnant. (Editing note - I accidentally typed 509 pounds. I think Dana would have been a little upset by that.) Then she came back and won a bronze medal. She has a pretty good shot at a gold in the Medley Relay.
Kerri Walsh-Jennings has three kids. Three kids. My wife has three kids. The physical toll is incredible. I have to be honest, I'm not sure she was put on this Earth to have babies and play volleyball. Those seem mutually exclusive to me. Volleyball requires jumping and running on sand and diving, and if you are a woman, wearing an outfit only slightly larger than Middle's Speedo. Having babies means growing a person inside you, in a space not really big enough for it, and having your center of gravity change, sometimes dramatically, and going through a fairly intense physical experience of giving birth, and then being the primary source of food for another person. Well, I assume. I've never really done those things. However, from what I have seen, with the pregnancy/birth thing and beach volleyball, it doesn't look like one of hose helps the other. Maybe the skimpy outfit helps one get pregnant, but that's about it.
I enjoy the Olympics for many reasons. One of them is to learn a little about some of the greatest athletes on the planet. It is fun to learn that they are real people, just like me. If they can be that good and a parent, maybe I can beat my 16 year old self one day.
Parenting is hard. It is rewarding, but hard. This is why the Wife always cheers a little louder for those athletes who are doing it. She loves Kerri. She loves Dana. She loves Boomer Phelps. Parenting and being a great athlete is hard. Parenting and being any athlete is hard, whether you are just trying to be healthy, trying to beat your 16 year old self, winning Masters National Titles and breaking Masters National records, or going after Olympic Medals.
And part of the 271 days of programming is a little story about Olympic athletes with kids. It is worth watching just to see Phelps hold a doll with one hand and say he knows that's not the right way to hold his son.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Karch Kiraly. In case you didn't know who that grey-haired guy coaching the US Women's Indoor Volleyball Team is, I'm here to tell you. It's Karch Kiraly, the greatest volleyball player ever. After winning gold in Indoor Volleyball in 1984 and 1988, and in Beach Volleyball in 1996, Karch eventually found his way to coaching. He was an assistant for the silver medal winning Women's Team in 2012. He became Head Coach after the Olympics and led the Women to the World Championship in 2014. Now he's looking to win a gold medal as a coach (although the coach doesn't get a medal.)
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. The US Women's Volleyball team won a 5 set match against the Netherlands yesterday. This match did nothing to clear up the Indoor v. Beach debate from yesterday. I sit squarely on the fence.
2. The Men's Divers wear bathing suits that cover their butts. So this mystery has not been answered. David Boudia won a silver medal with his partner Steele Johnson to go along with the gold and bronze he won in London. He now has a full set.
3. In case you haven't checked out the US Women's Field Hockey Team, you may want to. They beat Australia yesterday to go to 2-0, after finishing last in the 2012 Olympics. More on our Women in a later blog.
4. A win for clean and brash swimmers - Lily King takes gold in the 100 breaststroke, after making her opinions about Yulia Efimova's presence in Rio fairly clear. "I'm not a fan." A simple quote to sum up her opinion. Katie Meili, who I love, went out like a bandit and held on for the bronze medal.
5. The Dynasty lives - Ryan Murphy takes gold in the 100 back. I woke up Eldest screaming during that race. David Plummer, who is of course a parent, wins the bronze.
6. A lot of rowing yesterday. Women's Eights continues a decade long run of brilliance.
7. Unfortunate time for some bad performances by the Men's gymnastics team.
8. Nico Hernandez won a Light Fly boxing match, in a big upset over Vasili Egorov. I know nothing about boxing, except I wouldn't be brave enough to call Nico a light fly to his face.
9. Why is it that every time I watch kayak, I am watching someone on their second run, and they have already advanced to the semifinals?
10. Loved the Lambeau Leap like celebration for Rafaela Silva's gold medal in Judo, Brazil's first gold of these games.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. US beats Spain in Men's Water Polo. WRONG! 10-9 loss.
2. Women's basketball beats Spain by more than 30. Yup. 103-63
3. Someone continues the Men's US 100 backstroke Gold Medal streak. (I will believe this until I see it not happen.) I am thinking Plummer. Murphy 4th. Yup...and WRONG! I have been a fan of Murphy for 2 years. I have no idea why I bailed on him with this prediction. Maybe it is the whole parent thing. Couldn't be happier, though.
4. Kathleen Baker makes it a 100 back sweep for the US (I'm feeling good about backstroke, but expecting to be crushed.) - WRONG! So close. But even closer to missing a medal. Baker won silver and finished .01 ahead of a tie for the bronze medal and .05 ahead of 5th.
5. Dwyer medals in the 200 Free. Yup. Bronze for Dwyer.
6. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. Yup. In dominant fashion.
Predictions -
1. Brady Ellison wins his Round of 64 Archery match.
2. Women win Gymnastics Team title by more than 10.
3. Women's Soccer wins 4-0.
4. Ledecky does what Ledecky does, but no World Record.
5. Phelps wins 200 Fly, then dunks Chad Le Clos, gives him a white wash and has Lily King run out on deck wagging her index finger at him.
6. DiRado bronze in 200 IM.
7. US Men win 4 x 200 free relay.
What to Watch for:
1. My post about my love of the Women.
2. The second edition of You Are Beautiful
3. Women's Soccer v. Columbia
4. Men's C-1 Final in Kayak
5. Men's Volleyball v. Italy
6. And a whole lotta other stuff.
Big Blog News - My Volleyball Insider has been working overtime and has been promoted to Information Specialist/Volleyball Insider. The Board has also voted to double his salary. His tidbits are sprinkled throughout the blog, and we have more from him coming.
I am certain there have been plenty over the years. The Wife would probably appreciate if I found them all and made a list. That's not going to happen, for many reasons, including that she left me home alone for a week with 3 kids, a job and 271 days of Olympic coverage to watch and blog about. I will, however, list one. Kerri Walsh Jennings, who won gold in 2012 with 2 kids, and is going for a fourth gold medal, with a third kid this year. In one of NBC's personal interest stories some time in the past 48 hours (this is all blending together already), Kerri said she was put on this Earth to have babies and play volleyball. She seems to be pretty good at both.
Parents are always a story at the Olympics. Usually, however, the story is the parents of the athletes. Whether it is an advertising campaign about parents, Michael Phelps's mom or the crazy parents of Aly Raisman, parents are a key part of Olympics coverage. After the Men's 100 Back, the cameras went right to Ryan Murphy's parents. The Wife thought they were cute. I am pretty sure my celebration of Murphy's win was more animated. The cameras also went to Murphy's parents during his medal celebration. They looked happy and proud. I would have been crying more than Ryan Held.
Swimming is my favorite sport and the one I focus on the most during this first week of the Olympics. However, the parent story is not limited to swimming. The story about Simone Biles focused on her parents, who are really her grandparents. Her grandparents raised her and she calls them Mom and Dad, as she should. During the Men's Synchronized Diving, Steele Johnson's dad was almost as much a part of the show as his silver medal winning son. Extra props to Dad for having the last name Johnson and deciding to name his son Steele.
Olympic parents deserve some recognition and credit. I have three kids with little chance of becoming Olympians and I am always exhausted. The time, energy and money needed to get someone to that level is fairly significant. Middle, who wears a brief, or Speedo, style suit for swimming, wants a tech suit. For those of you not familiar with swimming equipment or Middle, you need to know that these suits can run in the 100s of dollars (for boys, much more for girls), and Middle's suit would cover less butt on the average female diver than we saw a couple nights ago. Needless to say, we have resisted the request.
This year, however, the "parent" stories are focused more on Olympic athletes who are parents than I have seen before. In case you didn't know, Michael Phelps has a baby boy. His name is Boomer. His middle name is Robert, named after his coach, Bob Bowman. I wish NBC would show him at the meets. Does anyone know if he goes to the swimming competition? It would be great if we could see a black and white picture of a shirtless Michael holding Boomer. Too bad we can't.
We kid because we love.
In all seriousness, Phelps is a big story. His family has always been a big story. Adding a son and a fiancé to the newly happy, post-rehab Phelps makes for a good story. So NBC will tell the story. And as long as they are talking one parent Olympian, they may as well talk a few more.
Dana Vollmer apparently gained 50 pounds when she was pregnant. (Editing note - I accidentally typed 509 pounds. I think Dana would have been a little upset by that.) Then she came back and won a bronze medal. She has a pretty good shot at a gold in the Medley Relay.
Kerri Walsh-Jennings has three kids. Three kids. My wife has three kids. The physical toll is incredible. I have to be honest, I'm not sure she was put on this Earth to have babies and play volleyball. Those seem mutually exclusive to me. Volleyball requires jumping and running on sand and diving, and if you are a woman, wearing an outfit only slightly larger than Middle's Speedo. Having babies means growing a person inside you, in a space not really big enough for it, and having your center of gravity change, sometimes dramatically, and going through a fairly intense physical experience of giving birth, and then being the primary source of food for another person. Well, I assume. I've never really done those things. However, from what I have seen, with the pregnancy/birth thing and beach volleyball, it doesn't look like one of hose helps the other. Maybe the skimpy outfit helps one get pregnant, but that's about it.
I enjoy the Olympics for many reasons. One of them is to learn a little about some of the greatest athletes on the planet. It is fun to learn that they are real people, just like me. If they can be that good and a parent, maybe I can beat my 16 year old self one day.
Parenting is hard. It is rewarding, but hard. This is why the Wife always cheers a little louder for those athletes who are doing it. She loves Kerri. She loves Dana. She loves Boomer Phelps. Parenting and being a great athlete is hard. Parenting and being any athlete is hard, whether you are just trying to be healthy, trying to beat your 16 year old self, winning Masters National Titles and breaking Masters National records, or going after Olympic Medals.
And part of the 271 days of programming is a little story about Olympic athletes with kids. It is worth watching just to see Phelps hold a doll with one hand and say he knows that's not the right way to hold his son.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Karch Kiraly. In case you didn't know who that grey-haired guy coaching the US Women's Indoor Volleyball Team is, I'm here to tell you. It's Karch Kiraly, the greatest volleyball player ever. After winning gold in Indoor Volleyball in 1984 and 1988, and in Beach Volleyball in 1996, Karch eventually found his way to coaching. He was an assistant for the silver medal winning Women's Team in 2012. He became Head Coach after the Olympics and led the Women to the World Championship in 2014. Now he's looking to win a gold medal as a coach (although the coach doesn't get a medal.)
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
1. The US Women's Volleyball team won a 5 set match against the Netherlands yesterday. This match did nothing to clear up the Indoor v. Beach debate from yesterday. I sit squarely on the fence.
2. The Men's Divers wear bathing suits that cover their butts. So this mystery has not been answered. David Boudia won a silver medal with his partner Steele Johnson to go along with the gold and bronze he won in London. He now has a full set.
3. In case you haven't checked out the US Women's Field Hockey Team, you may want to. They beat Australia yesterday to go to 2-0, after finishing last in the 2012 Olympics. More on our Women in a later blog.
4. A win for clean and brash swimmers - Lily King takes gold in the 100 breaststroke, after making her opinions about Yulia Efimova's presence in Rio fairly clear. "I'm not a fan." A simple quote to sum up her opinion. Katie Meili, who I love, went out like a bandit and held on for the bronze medal.
5. The Dynasty lives - Ryan Murphy takes gold in the 100 back. I woke up Eldest screaming during that race. David Plummer, who is of course a parent, wins the bronze.
6. A lot of rowing yesterday. Women's Eights continues a decade long run of brilliance.
7. Unfortunate time for some bad performances by the Men's gymnastics team.
8. Nico Hernandez won a Light Fly boxing match, in a big upset over Vasili Egorov. I know nothing about boxing, except I wouldn't be brave enough to call Nico a light fly to his face.
9. Why is it that every time I watch kayak, I am watching someone on their second run, and they have already advanced to the semifinals?
10. Loved the Lambeau Leap like celebration for Rafaela Silva's gold medal in Judo, Brazil's first gold of these games.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. US beats Spain in Men's Water Polo. WRONG! 10-9 loss.
2. Women's basketball beats Spain by more than 30. Yup. 103-63
3. Someone continues the Men's US 100 backstroke Gold Medal streak. (I will believe this until I see it not happen.) I am thinking Plummer. Murphy 4th. Yup...and WRONG! I have been a fan of Murphy for 2 years. I have no idea why I bailed on him with this prediction. Maybe it is the whole parent thing. Couldn't be happier, though.
4. Kathleen Baker makes it a 100 back sweep for the US (I'm feeling good about backstroke, but expecting to be crushed.) - WRONG! So close. But even closer to missing a medal. Baker won silver and finished .01 ahead of a tie for the bronze medal and .05 ahead of 5th.
5. Dwyer medals in the 200 Free. Yup. Bronze for Dwyer.
6. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. Yup. In dominant fashion.
Predictions -
1. Brady Ellison wins his Round of 64 Archery match.
2. Women win Gymnastics Team title by more than 10.
3. Women's Soccer wins 4-0.
4. Ledecky does what Ledecky does, but no World Record.
5. Phelps wins 200 Fly, then dunks Chad Le Clos, gives him a white wash and has Lily King run out on deck wagging her index finger at him.
6. DiRado bronze in 200 IM.
7. US Men win 4 x 200 free relay.
What to Watch for:
1. My post about my love of the Women.
2. The second edition of You Are Beautiful
3. Women's Soccer v. Columbia
4. Men's C-1 Final in Kayak
5. Men's Volleyball v. Italy
6. And a whole lotta other stuff.
Big Blog News - My Volleyball Insider has been working overtime and has been promoted to Information Specialist/Volleyball Insider. The Board has also voted to double his salary. His tidbits are sprinkled throughout the blog, and we have more from him coming.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Just a few hours of Coverage
Sometime yesterday, squeezed in the middle of cleaning some of the house for my in-laws, saying good-bye to the Wife for almost a week, getting Youngest to a birthday party, watching rugby, archery, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, volleyball, and I think something else, making lunch for 4 and dinner for 6, getting Youngest home from a birthday party, doing some laundry and looking at the lawn while thinking, "I should mow that, but it ain't gonna happen for at least a week," I realized that I have failed you, my 5 loyal readers. (Random patting myself on the back side-note, I think I may have to increase that number to 8, maybe even 10, double my previous number of loyal readers. For that, all I can say is thank you. I am honored to have you.)
I have failed you, because I gave you some guidelines for watching the Olympics, but I gave you no real information. Today, we will begin with some real information, before reflecting on quite a lot over the last 36 hours.
First, and most important, the big number. NBC is showing 2,084 hours of Olympics programming on TV. If you had several DVR's, the time and no need at all for human interaction or sleep, and you started watching the Opening ceremonies at 7 pm on August 5, you could finish and still have a few hours to get ready for your Halloween party.
Next, the really big number. Including on-line content, NBC will be showing 6,755 hours of coverage. If you watched all that, with no sleep or human interaction (and ignoring what would definitely be some repeat coverage), you would finish in time to take a shower and go to work on May 13, 2017. Most importantly, you would have only 271 days until the 2018 Winter Olympics start. That's right, if you watched all of the on-line and TV coverage of Brazil 2016, when you finished, you would have less time to wait for Pyeongchang 2018, than you just spent watching the Olympics. That's the dream. I want to live a life where all I do is watch Olympics, until the next Olympics.
Sadly, I need sleep, and I have kids who need human interaction. So I can't live the dream.
Moving on from the numbers, we go to the easy stuff. All Olympics golf will be on The Golf Channel. That was kind of a no brainer. This is more evidence that golf shouldn't be in the Olympics, but we will save that for another day and a lot more space.
Tennis is on Bravo. I guess that is supposed to remind you to say "Bravo" after a particularly good match or shot. Today is a double service for you, valuable information and bad jokes.
NBC shows the marquee events, especially in prime time. That includes diving, for reasons I haven't understood for the last 17 Olympics. (I was there in spirit.) If you want to see gymnastics, swimming, track and field, Keri Walsh-Jennings and any other time a US athlete wins a gold medal, just watch prime time on NBC.
NBCSN is showing other generally higher ratings events. You will get a lot of US team sports, such as the Women's Field Hockey game, Women's basketball game and Men's Basketball game, all today (field hockey may be over). These will be mixed in with other sports, but generally, if you want US Team sports, NBCSN is the place to be. Kind of like lane 3.
USA is showing some random stuff. If you are tired of watching the Women's Road Cycling Race and Archery, and want to try something different, check out USA. Or MSNBC, or CNBC. You can get some good stuff, and these are particularly good places to check out something new or watch the best Water Polo teams, but if you are all about the red, white and blue, these aren't the places for you. (Little known fact about your favorite Olympics blogger, I am a fairly good poet.)
Those are the basics. If you do an internet search for Olympic viewing, you will get enough hits to give you reading material to fill that gap between finishing the coverage and starting to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics.
One other piece of advice. Don't let your spouse go away for a week in the middle of the Olympics. If you have 3 kids. That puts a big dent into available time to watch. Kids are so needy. If you don't have kids, I imagine sending your spouse away for a week makes things a lot better, and easier to follow Guideline #1.
Today's Olympic Story Line - The Refugee Team. I admit I am a couple days behind on this one, but I was moved. One of the loudest cheers during the Parade of Nations was for the Refugee Team, a team of 10 athletes who are competing under the Olympic Flag, because they have no nation and they are refugees. It is likely that you have already heard about the Refugee Team. I was most likely moved by Yusra Mardini, the Syrian swimmer, who helped swim a boat of refugees across the Mediterranean Sea after the motor failed, and we all know my feelings about swimming. However, this is also a time to see a lot of good from the Olympic movement. We have doping and scandals and political unrest in host countries and sewage filled waters and too much money. We also have 10 athletes without a home, getting the chance to live their dream and compete in the Olympics. Regardless of your political leanings, and I make a great effort to keep this non-political, this is a reminder that refugees are people. Real people who were forced from their homes, but still have hopes and dreams, and talents and abilities, just like the rest of us. None of them will win a medal, but they get to compete. And that is what it should really be about. Take a moment to read about these amazing athletes here. Really, take a couple minutes.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
There is a lot.
1. The Women's Cycling Race was almost identical to the Men's. Two women had a lead going over the last climb (three in the men's race). They looked like they would be the medal winners. Then one of them crashed, in one of the scariest, most painful looking cycling crashes I have ever seen (two cyclists crashed in the men's race.) The one survivor continued alone and looked like she was going to win (just like in the men's race.) Then a group of chasers (two in the men's race, three in the women's race) passed the leader with less than 1000 meters to go (less than 200 meters in the women's race.) Heartbreak for both Mara Abbott and Rafal Majka. At least Majka got the bronze. Abbott was passed by three riders with 200 meters to go and was shut out. I learned less than half the men's field finished the race. I realize you want to make the Olympics Road Race challenging, but things got a little out of hand with the number of crashes.
2. Michael Phelps and the Men's 400 free relay won gold. Really, nothing to say about Phelps except GOAT. His underwater kick off the turn in the second leg was the difference and shows one of many reasons he is the Greatest of All Time. Special nod to Ryan Held and Caeleb Dressel for great swims in their first Olympics finals and pure emotions on the medal stands. And Nathan Adrian for being Mr. Reliable in the anchor spot.
3. Katie Ledecky - I think this girl may have a future in swimming. Congratulations to Leah Smith for earning the bronze and getting almost no mention from anyone for her efforts.
4. The US Women's gymnastics team looks Katie Ledecky-esque.
5. The TV coverage needs to do a better job showing the distance between the shooter and the target in archery. It doesn't look as impressive until you realize they are 70 meters away and about 50% of the world's population couldn't even see the target, much less hit it with an arrow.
6. Do Women's divers gain an advantage by wearing a suit that only covers about 15% of their butt? I only ask because almost all of them do it. I noticed this first while watching some of the US Diving Olympic Trials. (Please note, I don't even like diving and I watched the US Diving Trials. Wow! I have a problem.) As a healthy, heterosexual male, I appreciate the effort, but it seems like it would be distracting to have that much butt hanging out of your suit. Someone, please educate me.
7. Kayak is more fun to watch than I remember.
8. I enjoyed the Opening Ceremonies, but I was frustrated by the commentators. Seriously people, a little follow-up would be nice. If you tell us that Afghanistan's top athlete isn't at the Olympics this year, tell us WHY!! Don't leave us hanging.
9. Brazil's Men's soccer team has scored 0 goals in two games. Maybe the fans are yelling ZIKA at the games to drown out the performance of their men's team.
10. Big debate among some of my friends. What do you like better, indoor or beach volleyball? Discuss among yourselves.
11. I was asked by a friend if he should expect any world records in swimming. I said a few, particularly from Ledecky. Adam Peaty, Katinka Hosszu, Ledecky, Sarah Sjostrom and the Australian Women's 400 Free Relay later, we have five. For those of you counting at home, that is five world records in eight events. I may have undersold it.
12. It seems unfair that Gabby Douglas was the third highest qualifier for the individual all around in gymnastics and can't compete in the finals. If we are that good, let us sweep the medals.
13. I watched a US table tennis match between a US athlete, of Asian descent, and a Spanish athlete, of Asian descent. This isn't doing much to refute stereotypes.
I am missing a ton, but too much already today. Seems a day off was a bad idea.
Predictions Sum Up -
Two days of predictions, plus the things I predicted before last night's finals:
1. Bob Costas does not get an eye infection. So far, so good.
2. NBC goes to commercial right before Latvia enters the stadium. WRONG! The Latvians were not shunned. Plus, NBC has improved the way they do it, so not that important anymore.
3. The opening ceremonies are praised, but not as much as Beijing. Seems to be true.
4. US Men's Water Polo loses to Croatia. Sadly, yes.
5. US is not leading the medal count after tomorrow. Wrong! Thanks, in part to Virginia from Virginia in shooting, the US was tied for the medal lead after Day 1.
1. Women beat France in soccer. Yup!
2. Silver for Women's 4 x 100 free relay. Yup!
3. Gold for Chase Kalisz in 400 IM. WRONG! And he seemed a little too disappointed. See Cody Miller for the proper reaction to winning an Olympic medal of any color.
4. Silver for Maya DiRado in 400 IM. Yup!
5. Silver for Conor Dwyer in 400 free. WRONG! And that was a crushing fall out of the medals.
1. Ledecky, Smith go 1-2 in Women's 400 Free. WRONG! Bronze for Leah Smith.
2. Silver for Vollmer in 100 Fly. WRONG! Bronze. Very impressive and the Wife loves when Mom's win medals.
3. Bronze for Kevin Cordes in 100 breast. WRONG! Cody Miller gets the medal for the US. Cordes gets 4th.
4. Gold for the US in Men's 400 Free Relay. Yup! I did predict that. I thought Anthony Ervin's swim in the prelims looked so good, I had faith we would take a close relay. Turned out to be not that close.
Predictions -
1. US beats Spain in Men's Water Polo.
2. Women's basketball beats Spain by more than 30.
3. Someone continues the Men's US 100 backstroke Gold Medal streak. (I will believe this until I see it not happen.) I am thinking Plummer. Murphy 4th.
4. Kathleen Baker makes it a 100 back sweep for the US (I'm feeling good about backstroke, but expecting to be crushed.)
5. Dwyer medals in the 200 Free.
6. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again.
What to Watch for:
1. US Women's Volleyball v. Netherlands. There will be a full volleyball post at some point in the future.
2. Trap Shooting at 3 pm on MSNBC. Another chance to watch something you have never watched before. And will never watch again.
3. Men's Synchronized Diving. How much of the Men's butts are hanging out of their suits? Does this negatively impact their performance?
4. Phelps and Ledecky swimming, but not in finals. Interesting finals looming tomorrow.
5. My Insiders are hard at work, so I should have some interesting things as this journey continues.
I have failed you, because I gave you some guidelines for watching the Olympics, but I gave you no real information. Today, we will begin with some real information, before reflecting on quite a lot over the last 36 hours.
First, and most important, the big number. NBC is showing 2,084 hours of Olympics programming on TV. If you had several DVR's, the time and no need at all for human interaction or sleep, and you started watching the Opening ceremonies at 7 pm on August 5, you could finish and still have a few hours to get ready for your Halloween party.
Next, the really big number. Including on-line content, NBC will be showing 6,755 hours of coverage. If you watched all that, with no sleep or human interaction (and ignoring what would definitely be some repeat coverage), you would finish in time to take a shower and go to work on May 13, 2017. Most importantly, you would have only 271 days until the 2018 Winter Olympics start. That's right, if you watched all of the on-line and TV coverage of Brazil 2016, when you finished, you would have less time to wait for Pyeongchang 2018, than you just spent watching the Olympics. That's the dream. I want to live a life where all I do is watch Olympics, until the next Olympics.
Sadly, I need sleep, and I have kids who need human interaction. So I can't live the dream.
Moving on from the numbers, we go to the easy stuff. All Olympics golf will be on The Golf Channel. That was kind of a no brainer. This is more evidence that golf shouldn't be in the Olympics, but we will save that for another day and a lot more space.
Tennis is on Bravo. I guess that is supposed to remind you to say "Bravo" after a particularly good match or shot. Today is a double service for you, valuable information and bad jokes.
NBC shows the marquee events, especially in prime time. That includes diving, for reasons I haven't understood for the last 17 Olympics. (I was there in spirit.) If you want to see gymnastics, swimming, track and field, Keri Walsh-Jennings and any other time a US athlete wins a gold medal, just watch prime time on NBC.
NBCSN is showing other generally higher ratings events. You will get a lot of US team sports, such as the Women's Field Hockey game, Women's basketball game and Men's Basketball game, all today (field hockey may be over). These will be mixed in with other sports, but generally, if you want US Team sports, NBCSN is the place to be. Kind of like lane 3.
USA is showing some random stuff. If you are tired of watching the Women's Road Cycling Race and Archery, and want to try something different, check out USA. Or MSNBC, or CNBC. You can get some good stuff, and these are particularly good places to check out something new or watch the best Water Polo teams, but if you are all about the red, white and blue, these aren't the places for you. (Little known fact about your favorite Olympics blogger, I am a fairly good poet.)
Those are the basics. If you do an internet search for Olympic viewing, you will get enough hits to give you reading material to fill that gap between finishing the coverage and starting to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics.
One other piece of advice. Don't let your spouse go away for a week in the middle of the Olympics. If you have 3 kids. That puts a big dent into available time to watch. Kids are so needy. If you don't have kids, I imagine sending your spouse away for a week makes things a lot better, and easier to follow Guideline #1.
Today's Olympic Story Line - The Refugee Team. I admit I am a couple days behind on this one, but I was moved. One of the loudest cheers during the Parade of Nations was for the Refugee Team, a team of 10 athletes who are competing under the Olympic Flag, because they have no nation and they are refugees. It is likely that you have already heard about the Refugee Team. I was most likely moved by Yusra Mardini, the Syrian swimmer, who helped swim a boat of refugees across the Mediterranean Sea after the motor failed, and we all know my feelings about swimming. However, this is also a time to see a lot of good from the Olympic movement. We have doping and scandals and political unrest in host countries and sewage filled waters and too much money. We also have 10 athletes without a home, getting the chance to live their dream and compete in the Olympics. Regardless of your political leanings, and I make a great effort to keep this non-political, this is a reminder that refugees are people. Real people who were forced from their homes, but still have hopes and dreams, and talents and abilities, just like the rest of us. None of them will win a medal, but they get to compete. And that is what it should really be about. Take a moment to read about these amazing athletes here. Really, take a couple minutes.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
There is a lot.
1. The Women's Cycling Race was almost identical to the Men's. Two women had a lead going over the last climb (three in the men's race). They looked like they would be the medal winners. Then one of them crashed, in one of the scariest, most painful looking cycling crashes I have ever seen (two cyclists crashed in the men's race.) The one survivor continued alone and looked like she was going to win (just like in the men's race.) Then a group of chasers (two in the men's race, three in the women's race) passed the leader with less than 1000 meters to go (less than 200 meters in the women's race.) Heartbreak for both Mara Abbott and Rafal Majka. At least Majka got the bronze. Abbott was passed by three riders with 200 meters to go and was shut out. I learned less than half the men's field finished the race. I realize you want to make the Olympics Road Race challenging, but things got a little out of hand with the number of crashes.
2. Michael Phelps and the Men's 400 free relay won gold. Really, nothing to say about Phelps except GOAT. His underwater kick off the turn in the second leg was the difference and shows one of many reasons he is the Greatest of All Time. Special nod to Ryan Held and Caeleb Dressel for great swims in their first Olympics finals and pure emotions on the medal stands. And Nathan Adrian for being Mr. Reliable in the anchor spot.
3. Katie Ledecky - I think this girl may have a future in swimming. Congratulations to Leah Smith for earning the bronze and getting almost no mention from anyone for her efforts.
4. The US Women's gymnastics team looks Katie Ledecky-esque.
5. The TV coverage needs to do a better job showing the distance between the shooter and the target in archery. It doesn't look as impressive until you realize they are 70 meters away and about 50% of the world's population couldn't even see the target, much less hit it with an arrow.
6. Do Women's divers gain an advantage by wearing a suit that only covers about 15% of their butt? I only ask because almost all of them do it. I noticed this first while watching some of the US Diving Olympic Trials. (Please note, I don't even like diving and I watched the US Diving Trials. Wow! I have a problem.) As a healthy, heterosexual male, I appreciate the effort, but it seems like it would be distracting to have that much butt hanging out of your suit. Someone, please educate me.
7. Kayak is more fun to watch than I remember.
8. I enjoyed the Opening Ceremonies, but I was frustrated by the commentators. Seriously people, a little follow-up would be nice. If you tell us that Afghanistan's top athlete isn't at the Olympics this year, tell us WHY!! Don't leave us hanging.
9. Brazil's Men's soccer team has scored 0 goals in two games. Maybe the fans are yelling ZIKA at the games to drown out the performance of their men's team.
10. Big debate among some of my friends. What do you like better, indoor or beach volleyball? Discuss among yourselves.
11. I was asked by a friend if he should expect any world records in swimming. I said a few, particularly from Ledecky. Adam Peaty, Katinka Hosszu, Ledecky, Sarah Sjostrom and the Australian Women's 400 Free Relay later, we have five. For those of you counting at home, that is five world records in eight events. I may have undersold it.
12. It seems unfair that Gabby Douglas was the third highest qualifier for the individual all around in gymnastics and can't compete in the finals. If we are that good, let us sweep the medals.
13. I watched a US table tennis match between a US athlete, of Asian descent, and a Spanish athlete, of Asian descent. This isn't doing much to refute stereotypes.
I am missing a ton, but too much already today. Seems a day off was a bad idea.
Predictions Sum Up -
Two days of predictions, plus the things I predicted before last night's finals:
1. Bob Costas does not get an eye infection. So far, so good.
2. NBC goes to commercial right before Latvia enters the stadium. WRONG! The Latvians were not shunned. Plus, NBC has improved the way they do it, so not that important anymore.
3. The opening ceremonies are praised, but not as much as Beijing. Seems to be true.
4. US Men's Water Polo loses to Croatia. Sadly, yes.
5. US is not leading the medal count after tomorrow. Wrong! Thanks, in part to Virginia from Virginia in shooting, the US was tied for the medal lead after Day 1.
1. Women beat France in soccer. Yup!
2. Silver for Women's 4 x 100 free relay. Yup!
3. Gold for Chase Kalisz in 400 IM. WRONG! And he seemed a little too disappointed. See Cody Miller for the proper reaction to winning an Olympic medal of any color.
4. Silver for Maya DiRado in 400 IM. Yup!
5. Silver for Conor Dwyer in 400 free. WRONG! And that was a crushing fall out of the medals.
1. Ledecky, Smith go 1-2 in Women's 400 Free. WRONG! Bronze for Leah Smith.
2. Silver for Vollmer in 100 Fly. WRONG! Bronze. Very impressive and the Wife loves when Mom's win medals.
3. Bronze for Kevin Cordes in 100 breast. WRONG! Cody Miller gets the medal for the US. Cordes gets 4th.
4. Gold for the US in Men's 400 Free Relay. Yup! I did predict that. I thought Anthony Ervin's swim in the prelims looked so good, I had faith we would take a close relay. Turned out to be not that close.
Predictions -
1. US beats Spain in Men's Water Polo.
2. Women's basketball beats Spain by more than 30.
3. Someone continues the Men's US 100 backstroke Gold Medal streak. (I will believe this until I see it not happen.) I am thinking Plummer. Murphy 4th.
4. Kathleen Baker makes it a 100 back sweep for the US (I'm feeling good about backstroke, but expecting to be crushed.)
5. Dwyer medals in the 200 Free.
6. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again.
What to Watch for:
1. US Women's Volleyball v. Netherlands. There will be a full volleyball post at some point in the future.
2. Trap Shooting at 3 pm on MSNBC. Another chance to watch something you have never watched before. And will never watch again.
3. Men's Synchronized Diving. How much of the Men's butts are hanging out of their suits? Does this negatively impact their performance?
4. Phelps and Ledecky swimming, but not in finals. Interesting finals looming tomorrow.
5. My Insiders are hard at work, so I should have some interesting things as this journey continues.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Full Day
I am sitting here watching the US Women play France in soccer. They just told us that we could be watching the US Women play Puerto Rico in volleyball on another network (we knew that, we have that game paused at the moment), or we could be watching the US Women playing Argentina in field hockey. A friend of mine just texted me that he has been watching archery on-line. He hooked his computer up to the television so he could watch on-line Olympic events on the big screen. It is a busy day indeed.
I started the day by violating a piece of my own advice. No. I didn't have sex. That's a hard line rule. I let my Olympic watching experience get delayed by a 5 hour swim meet that my own kids were swimming in. That really put me behind the 8 ball. How am I supposed to catch the men's cycling road race, the beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, water polo, shooting, archery, my first ever Olympic field hockey game, rowing, swimming an who knows what else, when I don't even find myself in front of a TV until 1:00 pm? Damn kids.
To make matters worse, I woke up at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep. By 5, I gave up and got up. Of course, there was nothing on TV. Where is an Olympics in Japan when you need one? Hopefully, I have the same sleeping problems in 4 years when the Games are in Tokyo, and I can take advantage of a ridiculous time change.
Random side note - the Brazilians continue to boo Hope Solo and have started the "Zika" yell again. I don't get it. They apparently want all of America to think they are anti-hope and pro-Zika. And Hope just had a great save, proving Brazilians are on the wrong side of both these subjects.
The swim meet went OK. Middle had one really good swim and one not so good swim. Eldest had two pretty mediocre swims. The whole family needs a much needed break from swim meets all the time to sit around, do nothing and watch an unreal amount of Olympic coverage. Which is what we have done since 1 pm today. Except the Wife, who went grocery shopping. All praise the Wife, without whom we would be eating Chick-Fil-A, McDonalds and Chipotle all week, while she goes away for 5 days. Who knows, if I have to cook, that may happen anyway.
Halftime of soccer, back to volleyball.
And we will jump right into the sections.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
Where to even begin?
1. The first medal of the Olympics was awarded to...the US. Virginia from Virginia won the 10 meter air rifle. Who knows what the 10 meter Air Rifle is? I don't, but I don't care. Virginia Thrasher, a rising sophomore at WVU, from Springfield, VA won the first gold medal of the 2-16 Olympics. For those of you keeping score at home, Springfield, VA is about 15 miles from where I am currently swimming. How cool is that?
2. Rowing started. We watched some single sculls and some 4 person. Mary Whipple, who I love, did commentary. Mary Whipple was a great coxswain, and is a two time Olympic Gold Medalist. But she sounds like a chipmunk. A little distracting.
3. I flipped to NBCSN for a minute and Table Tennis was on. I went back to Beach Volleyball and Eldest asked to watch more Table Tennis. I take back that "watch with the kids" advice. Send them away to watch The Legend of Kora on their Kindles while you watch Olympics in peace.
4. Katie Ledecky dropped a pretty ridiculous split in the 4 x 100 free relay. Keep in mind she is a distance swimmer, the best ever. The 100 free is a sprint. It is possible she is better than we thought. That is just plain scary.
5. The cycling road race was a bloodbath. I understand that they want it to be challenging, but I saw more crashes in one race today than in 3 weeks of Tour de France coverage. Yeah, I watch that, too. I have problems.
6. Despite the late start, we managed to catch cycling, volleyball (beach and indoor), water polo (another baffling sport), table tennis, rowing, swimming and soccer. I am hoping to catch some judo. And archer, but I may have missed my chance at that.
Sadly, the Wife is leaving us for a week, starting tomorrow morning. So we need to have a little family dinner now. No one is cooperating with my obsession today, except Eldest who is REALLY GETTING INTO THIS OLYMPICS THING! That is awesome. So, a couple predictions, and we will catch up tomorrow.
Predictions -
1. Women beat France in soccer.
2. Silver for Women's 4 x 100 free relay.
3. Gold for Chase Kalisz in 400 IM.
4. Silver for Maya DiRado in 400 IM.
5. Silver for Conor Dwyer in 400 free.
Eldest just said he loves binge-watching the Olympics. I'm so proud. And so leaving. Sorry so short. Full report tomorrow.
I started the day by violating a piece of my own advice. No. I didn't have sex. That's a hard line rule. I let my Olympic watching experience get delayed by a 5 hour swim meet that my own kids were swimming in. That really put me behind the 8 ball. How am I supposed to catch the men's cycling road race, the beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, water polo, shooting, archery, my first ever Olympic field hockey game, rowing, swimming an who knows what else, when I don't even find myself in front of a TV until 1:00 pm? Damn kids.
To make matters worse, I woke up at 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep. By 5, I gave up and got up. Of course, there was nothing on TV. Where is an Olympics in Japan when you need one? Hopefully, I have the same sleeping problems in 4 years when the Games are in Tokyo, and I can take advantage of a ridiculous time change.
Random side note - the Brazilians continue to boo Hope Solo and have started the "Zika" yell again. I don't get it. They apparently want all of America to think they are anti-hope and pro-Zika. And Hope just had a great save, proving Brazilians are on the wrong side of both these subjects.
The swim meet went OK. Middle had one really good swim and one not so good swim. Eldest had two pretty mediocre swims. The whole family needs a much needed break from swim meets all the time to sit around, do nothing and watch an unreal amount of Olympic coverage. Which is what we have done since 1 pm today. Except the Wife, who went grocery shopping. All praise the Wife, without whom we would be eating Chick-Fil-A, McDonalds and Chipotle all week, while she goes away for 5 days. Who knows, if I have to cook, that may happen anyway.
Halftime of soccer, back to volleyball.
And we will jump right into the sections.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
Where to even begin?
1. The first medal of the Olympics was awarded to...the US. Virginia from Virginia won the 10 meter air rifle. Who knows what the 10 meter Air Rifle is? I don't, but I don't care. Virginia Thrasher, a rising sophomore at WVU, from Springfield, VA won the first gold medal of the 2-16 Olympics. For those of you keeping score at home, Springfield, VA is about 15 miles from where I am currently swimming. How cool is that?
2. Rowing started. We watched some single sculls and some 4 person. Mary Whipple, who I love, did commentary. Mary Whipple was a great coxswain, and is a two time Olympic Gold Medalist. But she sounds like a chipmunk. A little distracting.
3. I flipped to NBCSN for a minute and Table Tennis was on. I went back to Beach Volleyball and Eldest asked to watch more Table Tennis. I take back that "watch with the kids" advice. Send them away to watch The Legend of Kora on their Kindles while you watch Olympics in peace.
4. Katie Ledecky dropped a pretty ridiculous split in the 4 x 100 free relay. Keep in mind she is a distance swimmer, the best ever. The 100 free is a sprint. It is possible she is better than we thought. That is just plain scary.
5. The cycling road race was a bloodbath. I understand that they want it to be challenging, but I saw more crashes in one race today than in 3 weeks of Tour de France coverage. Yeah, I watch that, too. I have problems.
6. Despite the late start, we managed to catch cycling, volleyball (beach and indoor), water polo (another baffling sport), table tennis, rowing, swimming and soccer. I am hoping to catch some judo. And archer, but I may have missed my chance at that.
Sadly, the Wife is leaving us for a week, starting tomorrow morning. So we need to have a little family dinner now. No one is cooperating with my obsession today, except Eldest who is REALLY GETTING INTO THIS OLYMPICS THING! That is awesome. So, a couple predictions, and we will catch up tomorrow.
Predictions -
1. Women beat France in soccer.
2. Silver for Women's 4 x 100 free relay.
3. Gold for Chase Kalisz in 400 IM.
4. Silver for Maya DiRado in 400 IM.
5. Silver for Conor Dwyer in 400 free.
Eldest just said he loves binge-watching the Olympics. I'm so proud. And so leaving. Sorry so short. Full report tomorrow.
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