In ancient Roman times, people went to stadiums to watch gladiators fight and kill each other. Or lions eat people. They called this fun. These were the civilized people of ancient times.
Today, we amuse ourselves in other ways. However, on occassion, we see something that bears a resemblance, as slight as it may be, to those ancient gladiator battles to the death. Yesterday was one of those times.
The US defeated Canada in the women's soccer semifinals yesterday, 4-3 in extra time. That's the short story. It tells you about as much as "the lion won" told the Ancient Romans. Of course, the outcome wasn't the point to the Romans, and it isn't the point to us. The point is how we got to that conclusion.
I won't go into the details of the game. If you saw it, you know what happened. If you didn't, there are tons of stories available to read about it, and you can watch a full replay here. What you will see is two gladiators fighting to the death. Two groups of women who refused to yield to their opponent. One Canadian who almost lifted an entire team to heights never before reached. One American who dealt a final, cruel blow to her opponent. All this in just two hours of soccer.
Canada's three goals were all scored by Christine Sinclair. Sinclair is now tied with Abby Wambach for the second most number of international goals, each with 143. American Mia Hamm has the record with 158. Sinclair was brilliant. She fought hard, put herself in the right positions and finished strong. She also looked intimidating and tenacious throughout the match. Sinclair is one of those people who you love when she is on your team and you hate when she is on the opposing team. Oh, how I hate her. But, as I write this, I don't hate her.
My Volleyball Insider is a better person and a better sports fan than I am. He appreciates excellence in all its forms. I want US domination. I only appreciate excellence after the fact. After the hurt of the loss has subsided, I can sometimes, sometimes, look back and appreciate what I saw. That is how I feel about Sinclair. She was fantastic. She made me hate her for all the right reasons. She deserved better than losing a game in which the other team only led for the final 30 seconds. But that is sports. Triumph and tragedy. At least no one got eaten by a lion.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Men's Triathlon. The men's triathlon was on live this morning. This is the fourth time the triathlon has been in the Olympics and two men have competed in all four Olympic triathlons, Canadian Simon Whitfield and American Hunter Kemper. Not surprisingly, they were the two oldest competitiors in the field. Whitfield has had the better Olympic career, winning gold in 2000 and silver in 2008. He was selected to carry Canada's flag in the Opening Ceremonies in 2012, a fitting honor to a 4 time Olympian. Sadly, Whitfield crashed out of today's race, an unfair end to a great Olympic career.
Kemper has not had the Olympic success as his fellow four-time Olympian. His best place prior to 2012 was 7th in 2008. Just making it in 2012 was an accomplishment. Kemper broke his elbow in 2011 and had to stop swimming for several months in early 2012. In the midst of this, his wife gave birth to their third son. Kemper finished today's race, but didn't place as well as he would have liked. He has also said Rio may be on the schedule, although that may be tough at the age of 40. A fifth Olympics for Kemper would be quite an accomplishment. I would say four already is, 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. Rosenthal/Gibb ruined my double US gold in beach volleyball prediction. Thanks, guys.
2. McKalay Maroney won silver in the individual vault competition. This was a GIANT upset as she was a HUGE favorite. Of course, it is hard to win when you land on your butt in the second vault (go to 1:24:19 here). I have never seen someone so disgusted at winning a silver medal. She went from shocked, to shell shocked to absolute bitch mode in about 6 seconds. It probably didn't help that the sobbing Romanian who won gold forced her into a hug. Then McKayla literally gave the Russian who won bronze the cold shoulder, refusing to hug her. Watch more of the video linked above for that. I didn't see the medal ceremony (also may be in the video), but heard she had not cheered up by then.
3. In case you didn't hear, the US women's soccer team beat Canada with a goal in the 122nd minute by Alex Morgan.
4. We are very bad at field hockey.
5. Gabby Douglas finished 8th out of 8 in the uneven bars final. I am not criticizing at all, but I wonder if she is enjoying being the all-around gold medalist instead of preparing for what's next. I hope so. She's earned it, and this is something you can only do once. Usually.
6. Flat water kayak looks pretty cool, especially the four man. Flat water canoe looks stupid, painful and awkward.
7. Jenn Suhr follows up her 2008 silver in the pole vault with a gold in 2012. I still love the diva, Isinbayeva.
8. How did the US have no one in the men's 400m final?
9. Nice, easy win for US Men's indoor volleyball over Tunisia. Now for the medal rounds.
Predictions Wrap Up -
1. Gibb/Rosenthal come through for me. - WRONG
2. US women advance in
soccer. - Correct
3. France destroys the World Cup redemption story by upsetting
Japan. - WRONG - 2-1 Japan.
4. US Men lose to Hungary in water polo. - Correct
5. NBC continues to show
entirely too much equestrian. (Seriously, what is up with that? Who is
watching this? Once the chances of a 57 year old falling off the horse and
stumbling around like a three year old in a life jacket who just randomly spun
in circles for five minutes went to 0, the appeal disappeared.) - Correct -Another 3 hours at least on NBC daytime coverage. Although that worked for me, as I was woefully behind and able to catch up by skipping the horse games.
6. An angry US Men's basketball team beats Argentina by 20 - Correct - 126-97
What to Watch For -
1. My list of sports that don't belong in the Olympics.
2. What will I talk about after the Olympics?
3. Women's beach volleyball: Misty/Kerri and Kessy/Ross in action. Don't sleep on Jen Kessy, she's going for the gold...and the pink.
4. Men's track cycling Keirin finals - Seriously, you have to watch this. It is a 1000 m race, but for the first 700 meters or so, there's a moped leading the cyclist (go to 1:59:45 in the video). I'm serious, they have some dude on a moped pacing the cyclists. That is my new dream job. The guy driving the moped in the Keirin race. That may be my ticket into the Olympics.
5. Shockingly, even more equestrian.
6. Almost as shocking, more sailing.
7. And even more shocking, more gymnastics.
8. Women's 100 m hurdles - Lolo goes for redemption.
9. Men's 1500 meter run
Predictions -
1. US women win both beach volleyball matches.
2. Lolo doesn't get redemption. Harper wins gold in 100 hurdles.
3. US Women win Water Polo semis v. Australia.
4. US Women's Indoor Volleyball wins quarterfinals making it 3 for 3 for US women in volleyball.
5. NBC tries to ram Synchro Swimming down our throats.
Fat Old Man Update -
Swam 2100 last night. I did not feel like a real swimmer. I am trying to determine what my goals are. Right now, I would go with feeling like a real swimmer instead of a slug with shoulders made out of stone.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Familial Obligations
For the second straight weekend, I slacked on posting. On Saturday, I put together a quick commentary on winning and losing and threw out a few predictions. Sunday I started a post, but didn't finish. I blame my family.
Saturday we went to visit the in-laws. I do not have a stereotypically bad relationship with my in-laws. Sure, there is occassionally some tension, as there is in any family dynamic. Generally speaking, though, I think we get along fine. My father in-law has had some health issues and it was important for the Wife to see him again and for him to get to see his grandsons. So even though this occured in the middle of the Olympics, I accepted my husband duty and separated myself from my television and my TiVO for the majority of the day.
Of course, I say this like it is an unusual sacrifice. Missing sports on TV for familial obligations has become the norm of my life. Not always (or even often) to see my in-laws, but to go to a soccer game or a baseball game, or a swim meet, or the grocery store, or Target, or the outlet mall, or a birthday party, or my parents' house, or a play date, or to the basement to play, or to the park, or for a bike ride, or...or...or...
Needless to say, the carefree days of being a single, young man are gone. Long gone are the Sunday afternoons when pre-game was on at noon, followed by a 1:00 game, followed by a 4:00 game, a quick dinner from Lost Dog and then the Sunday night game. I didn't even know it was a gorgeous, sunny, 68 degree day. I also didn't care. Long gone are the Saturdays spent deciding between 17 different college football games. Long gone are the days of waking up to the British Open and not moving until someone kissed the Claret Jug; or impatiently waiting for the Masters telecast to start on Sunday, and not moving until that Green Jacket was slipped onto someone's shoulders. There was a time when I saw most of DC United's games, in full. Not anymore. I used to be able to tell you everything that was happening in college and pro basketball, now I barely recognize the names past the first five picks in the NBA draft. (That might be because I can't pronounce half of them, but there are other things going on as well.) So, even when I need a 36 hour day to see everything I want to see on the Olympics, I still have obligations.
I have learned to accept my current life. As I have said before, I am hoping one day my boys will participate with me, and the only one in the house annoyed that the TV is on football for 9 hours on Sunday is my wife. That hasn't happened, yet, so I make do. I have become very good at the media blackout. And there is something to be said for skipping through commercials, and stupid interviews, and the diving commentator's comments. I enjoy 4 pm Cowboys games, so I can TiVO the game, let my kids watch iCarly or Ninjago in the afternoon, and watch the game in peace after they go to bed. I do the same thing with the Olympics. Sure, I don't watch all four quarters of the water polo game; I haven't seen as much judo as I should; and certain sports may pass by without my eyes so much as crossing their path, but I have been able to see most of what I want. I have experienced at least a little of almost everything on the Olympic slate. This is the price I pay for getting married and having unprotected sex.
This weekend, aside from the family visit, I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms, did some mopping and actually paid attention to my children. Watching the Olympics, trying to crank out a new post every day and maintaining some semblance of domestic tranquility requires sacrifices. This weekend's posts, partly on Saturday and completely on Sunday, were what I put on the Altar of the Sports Gods before letting the blade come crashing down.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Phelps. Yeah, I'm taking the easy way out on this one. I know you rely on me for more obscure stories, but every once in a while, even I have to jump on the big one. Take a moment and reflect on the greatest Olympic career ever. (Whether or not you think he was the greatest Olympian of all time, he had the greatest Olympic career.) Michael Phelps began his Olympic career as a baby faced 15 year old and finished 5th in the 200 fly. I don't think I could have completed a 200 fly when I was 15. And I was a swimmer. He then spent 4 years making himself the greatest swimmer in the world and took on 8 events in 2004. At the age of 19, he won 8 medals, 6 golds. We all know about the 8 for 8 in Beijing. He then spent the better part of 2 years as a slacker. He finally decided to get serious and took on the same schedule at the US Swimming Trials as in 2008. He qualified in everything, but dropped the 200 free after winning it. In seven events in 2012, he won 6 medals, 4 gold. Twenty-four Olympic events: 18 gold medals, two silver, two bronze. Twenty-four times he stood on the blocks to compete against the best in the world and in 22 of those, he stood on the podium, eighteen times on the top step. I don't think anyone, including me, understands how remarkable this truly is.
He is not the most interesting person. I saw an interview with him last night and it was kind of long and kind of boring. His mother is more interesting. His sisters are great. Missy Franklin is fantastic. But he is the greatest of all time. The Olympics will miss something without him in four years. The only question to ask now is: What will his mother do? She is going to lose a lot of TV face time now that he is retiring.
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) -
A lot to catch up on, as the whole weekend needs coverage (and I am sure I am missing something.):
1. Defending Men's beach volleyball gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser lost in their round of 16 match. Reports were that Rogers is hurt. I just think Dalhausser is a sweet, giant teddy bear at heart, and wanted someone else to get that gold medal experience.
2. US women's soccer team won their quarterfinal match 2-0 over New Zealand. Oddly, Hope Solo did nothing controversial.
3. Missy Franklin won the 200 backstroke with Elizabeth Beisel getting third. I love Missy Franklin, but I am having trouble with her love of Justin Beiber. It's a good thing I don't have daughters. My Delaware Insider on the other hand, well, I wonder how much Bieber Fever is in his house. (In case you didn't see it, gymnast Jordyn Weiber is also a huge Justin Beiber fan and wants to marry him so they can start a new craze - Weiber-Beiber-Fever.)
4. KATY LEDECKY! - the 15 year old from Bethesda, MD won the women's 800 meter freestyle. Youth dominates.
5. US dominance in the men's 400 medley relay continues. The US has never competed in this event in the Olympics and lost. Of course, Rowdy spent the entire relay talking like Australia was going to come roaring back from a two second deficit to pass the back half of the US relay, which only had the greatest swimmer ever (and 100 fly gold medalist) and the 100 free gold medalist. Who does he think we are? France?
6. The trampoline competition began. It is pretty impressive and interesting to watch for about two minutes. Then you remember this is trampoline. In the Olympics. And the overwhelming idiocy of the idea makes you turn it off.
7. Cullen Jones gets silver in the 50 free. The 50 free may as well be a game of Candyland - completely random and everyone has the same chance of winning.
8. The US has not won any medals in badminton.
9. American Jamie Gray won the women's 50 M Rifle gold. Apparently there is some strategy to this. I don't know what it is, but there is some time element to when you have to shoot and she was waiting for her closest competitor to shoot, presumably so she would know what she had to do. The other competitor waited too long, so Jamie picked up her rifle and blew one right through the bulls eye. Take that!
10. Did you hear Andy Murray won the gold in Men's Tennis? Just making sure because I don't think it was covered enough.
11. Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin, was all over the tennis coverage this weekend as his girlfriend, Maria Kirilenko won bronze in women's doubles tennis. Ovie is a superstar, but dude is way out his league here.
12. Serena Williams won tennis singles and then joined her sister, Venus, to win doubles tennis. They both have 4 gold medals (three in doubles and one in singles.) It is hard to believe these two come from the same gene pool. Venus is tall, lanky and graceful. She looks like a gazelle. Serena looks like a linebacker. With giant breasts.
13. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings are really, really good. But it was mean of them to make that hot, Italian girl cry.
14. Usain Bolt is really, really fast.
15. There are some hot Turkey volleyball players. Which is just funny to say. (More on this later.)
16. US Women's volleyball defeated Italy to advance to the semis.
17. Silver in men's 10,000 for Galen Rupp. Nice finish to move into second place. His training partner, British runner, Mo Farah, won and immediately ran off the track smacking himself on the head in disbelief. I don't have that kind of energy after sleeping for 8 hours. This guy was going crazy after running around a track 25 times.
18. Race walking might be even dumber than trampoline.
Predictions Wrap Up -
Fri:
1. Franklin-Biesel 1-2 in 200 backstroke - WRONG - Bronze for Biesel.
2. US wins 2 medals in men's 100 fly. Gold for Phelps. - WRONG - Tyler McGill finished out of the medals.
3. 15 year old Katy Ledecky wins a medal in the 800 free. I'll say bronze. - WRONG - GOOOOOOOLLLLLD!!!!!
4. US wins one medal in men's 50 free. Not sure who or what color. This is a crapshoot anyway. - Correct - Silver for Cullen Jones.
5. US wins 2 medals in men's discus. - WRONG - Discus hasn't happened, but I meant shot put. Bronze for Reese Hoffa.
6. US wins 1 medal in women's 10,000. - WRONG - 11th, 12th and 13th.
7. US wins gold in both beach volleyball competitions. (My Volleyball Insider will like the optimism, but may question the judgment.) -Pending.
Not a good day.
Sat:
1. US Women win 400 Medley Relay. - Correct - With a world record!
2. US Men win by more than US women win by. - WRONG - Women won by 1.97 seconds. Men by 1.91. But Rowdy tried to make the men's race sound close. (Let it go. LET IT GO! Serenity now.)
3. No US medals in women's 50 free or men's 1500 free. - Correct - Not a tough one.
4. Misty and Kerri and Rosenthal/Gibb keep my US double
gold beach volleyball prediction alive. At least for today. - Correct - And Misty and Kerri didn't even make the Wife stress out. (She gets very worried during their matches.)
5. US wins men's long jump. - WRONG - Bronze for Will Clay.
6. Jeter wins women's 100 gold - WRONG -Silver. By .03.
Better than Friday
Things to Watch For:
1. I finally finished watching the Opening Ceremonies. Comments on that.
2. Volleyball and Water Polo are entering the knock out rounds
3. More sailing. Starting on Sunday, July 9, there have been about 923 sailing races per day. The first medal was awarded yesterday. There are 11 medals to be won in sailing.
4. Gibb/Rosenthal in beach volleyball quarters. This is not about them. This is not about America. This is about my double gold prediction.
5. Women's soccer v. Canada.
6. More wit and wisdom from me. Just one more week until I get to take a break.
Predictions:
1. Gibb/Rosenthal come through for me.
2. US women advance in soccer.
3. France destroys the World Cup redemption story by upsetting Japan.
4. US Men lose to Hungary in water polo.
5. NBC continues to show entirely too much equestrian. (Seriously, what is up with that? Who is watching this? Once the chances of a 57 year old falling off the horse and stumbling around like a three year old in a life jacket who just randomly spun in circles for five minutes went to 0, the appeal disappeared.)
6. An angry US Men's basketball team beats Argentina by 20.
Fat Old Man Update:
1. Swam 2000 meters on Friday night. After eating a Chipotle dinner. That is a tough double.
2. Swam 1050 Sunday afternoon before thunderstorms cut me off.
Saturday we went to visit the in-laws. I do not have a stereotypically bad relationship with my in-laws. Sure, there is occassionally some tension, as there is in any family dynamic. Generally speaking, though, I think we get along fine. My father in-law has had some health issues and it was important for the Wife to see him again and for him to get to see his grandsons. So even though this occured in the middle of the Olympics, I accepted my husband duty and separated myself from my television and my TiVO for the majority of the day.
Of course, I say this like it is an unusual sacrifice. Missing sports on TV for familial obligations has become the norm of my life. Not always (or even often) to see my in-laws, but to go to a soccer game or a baseball game, or a swim meet, or the grocery store, or Target, or the outlet mall, or a birthday party, or my parents' house, or a play date, or to the basement to play, or to the park, or for a bike ride, or...or...or...
Needless to say, the carefree days of being a single, young man are gone. Long gone are the Sunday afternoons when pre-game was on at noon, followed by a 1:00 game, followed by a 4:00 game, a quick dinner from Lost Dog and then the Sunday night game. I didn't even know it was a gorgeous, sunny, 68 degree day. I also didn't care. Long gone are the Saturdays spent deciding between 17 different college football games. Long gone are the days of waking up to the British Open and not moving until someone kissed the Claret Jug; or impatiently waiting for the Masters telecast to start on Sunday, and not moving until that Green Jacket was slipped onto someone's shoulders. There was a time when I saw most of DC United's games, in full. Not anymore. I used to be able to tell you everything that was happening in college and pro basketball, now I barely recognize the names past the first five picks in the NBA draft. (That might be because I can't pronounce half of them, but there are other things going on as well.) So, even when I need a 36 hour day to see everything I want to see on the Olympics, I still have obligations.
I have learned to accept my current life. As I have said before, I am hoping one day my boys will participate with me, and the only one in the house annoyed that the TV is on football for 9 hours on Sunday is my wife. That hasn't happened, yet, so I make do. I have become very good at the media blackout. And there is something to be said for skipping through commercials, and stupid interviews, and the diving commentator's comments. I enjoy 4 pm Cowboys games, so I can TiVO the game, let my kids watch iCarly or Ninjago in the afternoon, and watch the game in peace after they go to bed. I do the same thing with the Olympics. Sure, I don't watch all four quarters of the water polo game; I haven't seen as much judo as I should; and certain sports may pass by without my eyes so much as crossing their path, but I have been able to see most of what I want. I have experienced at least a little of almost everything on the Olympic slate. This is the price I pay for getting married and having unprotected sex.
This weekend, aside from the family visit, I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms, did some mopping and actually paid attention to my children. Watching the Olympics, trying to crank out a new post every day and maintaining some semblance of domestic tranquility requires sacrifices. This weekend's posts, partly on Saturday and completely on Sunday, were what I put on the Altar of the Sports Gods before letting the blade come crashing down.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Phelps. Yeah, I'm taking the easy way out on this one. I know you rely on me for more obscure stories, but every once in a while, even I have to jump on the big one. Take a moment and reflect on the greatest Olympic career ever. (Whether or not you think he was the greatest Olympian of all time, he had the greatest Olympic career.) Michael Phelps began his Olympic career as a baby faced 15 year old and finished 5th in the 200 fly. I don't think I could have completed a 200 fly when I was 15. And I was a swimmer. He then spent 4 years making himself the greatest swimmer in the world and took on 8 events in 2004. At the age of 19, he won 8 medals, 6 golds. We all know about the 8 for 8 in Beijing. He then spent the better part of 2 years as a slacker. He finally decided to get serious and took on the same schedule at the US Swimming Trials as in 2008. He qualified in everything, but dropped the 200 free after winning it. In seven events in 2012, he won 6 medals, 4 gold. Twenty-four Olympic events: 18 gold medals, two silver, two bronze. Twenty-four times he stood on the blocks to compete against the best in the world and in 22 of those, he stood on the podium, eighteen times on the top step. I don't think anyone, including me, understands how remarkable this truly is.
He is not the most interesting person. I saw an interview with him last night and it was kind of long and kind of boring. His mother is more interesting. His sisters are great. Missy Franklin is fantastic. But he is the greatest of all time. The Olympics will miss something without him in four years. The only question to ask now is: What will his mother do? She is going to lose a lot of TV face time now that he is retiring.
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) -
A lot to catch up on, as the whole weekend needs coverage (and I am sure I am missing something.):
1. Defending Men's beach volleyball gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser lost in their round of 16 match. Reports were that Rogers is hurt. I just think Dalhausser is a sweet, giant teddy bear at heart, and wanted someone else to get that gold medal experience.
2. US women's soccer team won their quarterfinal match 2-0 over New Zealand. Oddly, Hope Solo did nothing controversial.
3. Missy Franklin won the 200 backstroke with Elizabeth Beisel getting third. I love Missy Franklin, but I am having trouble with her love of Justin Beiber. It's a good thing I don't have daughters. My Delaware Insider on the other hand, well, I wonder how much Bieber Fever is in his house. (In case you didn't see it, gymnast Jordyn Weiber is also a huge Justin Beiber fan and wants to marry him so they can start a new craze - Weiber-Beiber-Fever.)
4. KATY LEDECKY! - the 15 year old from Bethesda, MD won the women's 800 meter freestyle. Youth dominates.
5. US dominance in the men's 400 medley relay continues. The US has never competed in this event in the Olympics and lost. Of course, Rowdy spent the entire relay talking like Australia was going to come roaring back from a two second deficit to pass the back half of the US relay, which only had the greatest swimmer ever (and 100 fly gold medalist) and the 100 free gold medalist. Who does he think we are? France?
6. The trampoline competition began. It is pretty impressive and interesting to watch for about two minutes. Then you remember this is trampoline. In the Olympics. And the overwhelming idiocy of the idea makes you turn it off.
7. Cullen Jones gets silver in the 50 free. The 50 free may as well be a game of Candyland - completely random and everyone has the same chance of winning.
8. The US has not won any medals in badminton.
9. American Jamie Gray won the women's 50 M Rifle gold. Apparently there is some strategy to this. I don't know what it is, but there is some time element to when you have to shoot and she was waiting for her closest competitor to shoot, presumably so she would know what she had to do. The other competitor waited too long, so Jamie picked up her rifle and blew one right through the bulls eye. Take that!
10. Did you hear Andy Murray won the gold in Men's Tennis? Just making sure because I don't think it was covered enough.
11. Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin, was all over the tennis coverage this weekend as his girlfriend, Maria Kirilenko won bronze in women's doubles tennis. Ovie is a superstar, but dude is way out his league here.
12. Serena Williams won tennis singles and then joined her sister, Venus, to win doubles tennis. They both have 4 gold medals (three in doubles and one in singles.) It is hard to believe these two come from the same gene pool. Venus is tall, lanky and graceful. She looks like a gazelle. Serena looks like a linebacker. With giant breasts.
13. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings are really, really good. But it was mean of them to make that hot, Italian girl cry.
14. Usain Bolt is really, really fast.
15. There are some hot Turkey volleyball players. Which is just funny to say. (More on this later.)
16. US Women's volleyball defeated Italy to advance to the semis.
17. Silver in men's 10,000 for Galen Rupp. Nice finish to move into second place. His training partner, British runner, Mo Farah, won and immediately ran off the track smacking himself on the head in disbelief. I don't have that kind of energy after sleeping for 8 hours. This guy was going crazy after running around a track 25 times.
18. Race walking might be even dumber than trampoline.
Predictions Wrap Up -
Fri:
1. Franklin-Biesel 1-2 in 200 backstroke - WRONG - Bronze for Biesel.
2. US wins 2 medals in men's 100 fly. Gold for Phelps. - WRONG - Tyler McGill finished out of the medals.
3. 15 year old Katy Ledecky wins a medal in the 800 free. I'll say bronze. - WRONG - GOOOOOOOLLLLLD!!!!!
4. US wins one medal in men's 50 free. Not sure who or what color. This is a crapshoot anyway. - Correct - Silver for Cullen Jones.
5. US wins 2 medals in men's discus. - WRONG - Discus hasn't happened, but I meant shot put. Bronze for Reese Hoffa.
6. US wins 1 medal in women's 10,000. - WRONG - 11th, 12th and 13th.
7. US wins gold in both beach volleyball competitions. (My Volleyball Insider will like the optimism, but may question the judgment.) -Pending.
Not a good day.
Sat:
1. US Women win 400 Medley Relay. - Correct - With a world record!
2. US Men win by more than US women win by. - WRONG - Women won by 1.97 seconds. Men by 1.91. But Rowdy tried to make the men's race sound close. (Let it go. LET IT GO! Serenity now.)
3. No US medals in women's 50 free or men's 1500 free. - Correct - Not a tough one.
4. Misty and Kerri and Rosenthal/Gibb keep my US double
gold beach volleyball prediction alive. At least for today. - Correct - And Misty and Kerri didn't even make the Wife stress out. (She gets very worried during their matches.)
5. US wins men's long jump. - WRONG - Bronze for Will Clay.
6. Jeter wins women's 100 gold - WRONG -Silver. By .03.
Better than Friday
Things to Watch For:
1. I finally finished watching the Opening Ceremonies. Comments on that.
2. Volleyball and Water Polo are entering the knock out rounds
3. More sailing. Starting on Sunday, July 9, there have been about 923 sailing races per day. The first medal was awarded yesterday. There are 11 medals to be won in sailing.
4. Gibb/Rosenthal in beach volleyball quarters. This is not about them. This is not about America. This is about my double gold prediction.
5. Women's soccer v. Canada.
6. More wit and wisdom from me. Just one more week until I get to take a break.
Predictions:
1. Gibb/Rosenthal come through for me.
2. US women advance in soccer.
3. France destroys the World Cup redemption story by upsetting Japan.
4. US Men lose to Hungary in water polo.
5. NBC continues to show entirely too much equestrian. (Seriously, what is up with that? Who is watching this? Once the chances of a 57 year old falling off the horse and stumbling around like a three year old in a life jacket who just randomly spun in circles for five minutes went to 0, the appeal disappeared.)
6. An angry US Men's basketball team beats Argentina by 20.
Fat Old Man Update:
1. Swam 2000 meters on Friday night. After eating a Chipotle dinner. That is a tough double.
2. Swam 1050 Sunday afternoon before thunderstorms cut me off.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Winning and Losing
I just watched the Women's Triathlon. I know this goes against my "pretend I am writing at the end of the previous day" norm, but it is relevant. American Sarah Groff finished fourth. The run part of the triathlon began with about 20 women together in a pack. Various women slowly dropped out of that pack, including Groff, who fell out in 6th place. Usually, you see this, and you know that person is done. But something amazing happened. She came back. Andrea Hewitt of New Zealand fell out after Groff.. Then Groff passed Hewitt and fought back up to join the leading four. Hometown favorite Helen Jenkins eventually fell out of the now pack of five, leaving four women to sprint for three medals. Groff simply didn't have it in the last 400 meters and finished well off the podium. (First and second place was a dead sprint decided by a photo finish. The winner won by about an inch. That is incredible in a two hour race.) In her post race interview, Groff said fourth is the worst place.
In the words of the late, great Sam Kinison in Back to School, "Is she right?" In a way, yes. But really, no. As Rowdy Gaines so idiotically put it, a fraction of a second can be the difference between the bronze medal and going home with nothing. Nothing? Really, Rowdy? She competed. In the Olympics.
This past summer I watched my children compete in the second summer swim season I have witnessed as a parent. I have also been involved in several summer swim seasons as a coach, and twelve as a swimmer. The league my children swim for has 24 teams, probably averaging 125 swimmers, for about 3000 swimmers. The league I swam in, which is in the same geographic area of Northern Virginia has over 100 teams and over 15,000 swimmers. There are about 4 other summer swim leagues in Northern Virginia. In all of these leagues, we are talking about probably more than 20,000 swimmers. All of them would love to MAKE the Olympics. And if you asked every single one, "What would you prefer, to make the Olympics and finish fourth or to fail to qualify?" I would bet every single one would say make it and finish fourth. If for no other reason than the sex in the Village.
I mentioned yesterday that Ryan Lochte finished 2012 with five medals: two gold, two silver and one bronze. 2012 has probably been a disappointment for him. There are over 200 countries represented at the Olympics this year. In the current medal standings, Ryan Lochte, if he were his own country, would be tied for 17th. (Something tells me that country would have a female-male ratio of about 251-1.) Think about that. There are 180+ countries with fewer medals than Ryan Lochte. And Lochte had a disappointing week. Is it possible our priorities are a touch out of whack?
There are studies (I don't have time to look them up, but I have heard about them) that say that winners of the bronze medal are happier than winners of the silver medal. The bronze winner looks back at all the schlubs going home with "nothing" and thinks "I could be one of them." The silver winner looks forward at the one person who beat her and thinks "I could have been her." Plus, I think the US dominance (which is what the Olympics are really about) puts all of our priorities in the wrong place. We are all thinking "Why can't you be him?" Why did Phelps not medal in the 400 IM? Why did Lochte not medal in the 200 free? Why did no American medal in the women's 100 free? Well, there are other people there, and they are really good. They want to win, too.
Yesterday Jimmy Roberts did a piece on a rower. I have no idea what his name is and I don't remember what country he was from (yes, I get the irony here). The rower finished last, way behind the winners. He wasn't world class. But he was there. Competing. In the midst of all the swimming coverage of US medals, they showed a 13 year old swim the 50 free in about 39 seconds. In all those swim leagues I talked about, she would have struggled to score in any meets. But she beat her best time by 7 seconds. She looked as happy as the winner will look tonight. In many ways, she is probably happier. She has no pressure. She still has the joy of competing for the sake of competing. Not the burden of expectation. Phelps looks happier now than he did at any point in Beijing. Maybe losing the 400 IM was a good thing for his psyche. His legacy is already secure.
In my last pre-Olympics post I recommended that you enjoy the experience. Enjoy the effort. I sometimes forget to do that. Both as an Olympic spectator and as a spectator of other sports. The Olympics are good at reminding us that sports is about competing. It's about giving your best to accomplish that goal, and sometimes failing at that goal. It's about going up against the best and trying to be the best. Not the best in the world necessarily, but the best you can be. Whether you are in the Olympics, running a community road race, playing beach volleyball with a bunch of old people in Nags Head, NC or simply running down the street. In the words of the great Norman Dale, "If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we're gonna be winners."
I have family obligations, so we will have to cut some sections today. I will make it up tomorrow. But for the sake of honesty:
Predictions -
1. US Women win 400 Medley Relay.
2. US Men win by more than US women win by.
3. No US medals in women's 50 free or men's 1500 free.
4. Misty and Kerri and Rosenthal/Gibb keep my US double
gold beach volleyball prediction alive. At least for today.
5. US wins men's long jump.
6. Jeter wins women's 100 gold.
Enjoy the games. I have in-laws today.
In the words of the late, great Sam Kinison in Back to School, "Is she right?" In a way, yes. But really, no. As Rowdy Gaines so idiotically put it, a fraction of a second can be the difference between the bronze medal and going home with nothing. Nothing? Really, Rowdy? She competed. In the Olympics.
This past summer I watched my children compete in the second summer swim season I have witnessed as a parent. I have also been involved in several summer swim seasons as a coach, and twelve as a swimmer. The league my children swim for has 24 teams, probably averaging 125 swimmers, for about 3000 swimmers. The league I swam in, which is in the same geographic area of Northern Virginia has over 100 teams and over 15,000 swimmers. There are about 4 other summer swim leagues in Northern Virginia. In all of these leagues, we are talking about probably more than 20,000 swimmers. All of them would love to MAKE the Olympics. And if you asked every single one, "What would you prefer, to make the Olympics and finish fourth or to fail to qualify?" I would bet every single one would say make it and finish fourth. If for no other reason than the sex in the Village.
I mentioned yesterday that Ryan Lochte finished 2012 with five medals: two gold, two silver and one bronze. 2012 has probably been a disappointment for him. There are over 200 countries represented at the Olympics this year. In the current medal standings, Ryan Lochte, if he were his own country, would be tied for 17th. (Something tells me that country would have a female-male ratio of about 251-1.) Think about that. There are 180+ countries with fewer medals than Ryan Lochte. And Lochte had a disappointing week. Is it possible our priorities are a touch out of whack?
There are studies (I don't have time to look them up, but I have heard about them) that say that winners of the bronze medal are happier than winners of the silver medal. The bronze winner looks back at all the schlubs going home with "nothing" and thinks "I could be one of them." The silver winner looks forward at the one person who beat her and thinks "I could have been her." Plus, I think the US dominance (which is what the Olympics are really about) puts all of our priorities in the wrong place. We are all thinking "Why can't you be him?" Why did Phelps not medal in the 400 IM? Why did Lochte not medal in the 200 free? Why did no American medal in the women's 100 free? Well, there are other people there, and they are really good. They want to win, too.
Yesterday Jimmy Roberts did a piece on a rower. I have no idea what his name is and I don't remember what country he was from (yes, I get the irony here). The rower finished last, way behind the winners. He wasn't world class. But he was there. Competing. In the midst of all the swimming coverage of US medals, they showed a 13 year old swim the 50 free in about 39 seconds. In all those swim leagues I talked about, she would have struggled to score in any meets. But she beat her best time by 7 seconds. She looked as happy as the winner will look tonight. In many ways, she is probably happier. She has no pressure. She still has the joy of competing for the sake of competing. Not the burden of expectation. Phelps looks happier now than he did at any point in Beijing. Maybe losing the 400 IM was a good thing for his psyche. His legacy is already secure.
In my last pre-Olympics post I recommended that you enjoy the experience. Enjoy the effort. I sometimes forget to do that. Both as an Olympic spectator and as a spectator of other sports. The Olympics are good at reminding us that sports is about competing. It's about giving your best to accomplish that goal, and sometimes failing at that goal. It's about going up against the best and trying to be the best. Not the best in the world necessarily, but the best you can be. Whether you are in the Olympics, running a community road race, playing beach volleyball with a bunch of old people in Nags Head, NC or simply running down the street. In the words of the great Norman Dale, "If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we're gonna be winners."
I have family obligations, so we will have to cut some sections today. I will make it up tomorrow. But for the sake of honesty:
Predictions -
1. US Women win 400 Medley Relay.
2. US Men win by more than US women win by.
3. No US medals in women's 50 free or men's 1500 free.
4. Misty and Kerri and Rosenthal/Gibb keep my US double
gold beach volleyball prediction alive. At least for today.
5. US wins men's long jump.
6. Jeter wins women's 100 gold.
Enjoy the games. I have in-laws today.
Friday, August 3, 2012
BREAKING NEWS - I have changed my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport
The eight year old me chose my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport. The eight year old me saw a water park on steroids and imagined how much fun it would be to ride down that thing on a raft. Or without a raft. Truth is, I made a bad choice. Kayak, like badminton, is fun to watch for a while. Then the novelty wears off. Plus, kayak takes forever. One racer goes at a time. The average racer, from what I saw, took more than a minute, and there were over 30 competitiors. Take into account start time and random lollygagging between racers, and the qualifying heats lasted for hours. In the words of the Grail Knight in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "[I] chose pooorly."
So, I am giving myself a mulligan. A do-over for you non-golfers. It's my Blog, I can do what I want. Plus, when you see elements of the Perfect Storm developing again, you don't sit around because you have already seen rain today, you run to that storm and see what it brings you. This year, it brought us a derecho. Not as devastating as a hurricane, but still packs a mighty punch.
So, for this year, I am amending my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport to Judo. Nothing will ever match Nordic Combined in 2010 for the elements of the Perfect Storm, but judo has many elements: 1. US success is limited - i.e., never won a gold before; 2. It is an obscure sport; 3. It doesn't require a great time commitment (matches are 5 minutes); and 4. The US was on the brink of a breakthrough. It misses on the easy to understand thing, but it certainly was interesting to watch. At the end, there is a score, so you know who won. You just may not know how they got that score.
The emerging US success is Kayla Harrison. She is quite a story. To begin with, Kayla was sexually abused by her judo coach as a child. She told a friend about the abuse, who told her mom, who smashed the coach's car windows with a baseball bat. (GO MOM!!) Despite this early tragedy, Kayla continued with judo, and yesterday became the first American to win gold in judo. This is the tragic, but inspirational story. But we need to move past her history to her present, because the competition was awesome.
My introduction to judo was watching Travis Stevens heroically fail to win a medal in the Men's Half Middleweight (WHAT?) competition. I saw Stevens lose the semifinals in extra time and the bronze medal match. I watched about 15 minutes of judo and saw one point scored. As I have already written, I also saw a couple guys repeatedly grab each other, roll around on the floor, stop, start over, and never score. Stevens was exhausted and devastated. In many ways, he represented what the Olympics is. But this was baffling.
I still watched Kayla. Kayla walks onto the judo mat like she is prepared to destroy you. In the first match I saw, her quarterfinals, she won in 56 seconds. Think about that. Two days before, I watched two men's matches and approximately 15 minutes of Judo and saw one point. Kayla won, with 100 points, in 56 seconds. Now I was even more confused, but intrigued. In her semifinal match, she fell behind 10-0. I had seen one point scored. I had seen 100 points scored. And now I had seen 10 points scored. I figured a great story was killed right then, because I don't know how you get 10 points, but it has to be hard to beat. Kayla eventually got a point to make the score 10-1. Then, with about a minute and a half left, she got 100 points and the match was over. 101-10. Huh?
So I had to learn about judo. Judo translates to "gentle way". If you read the Wikipedia article, this MIGHT make sense, but if you watch a judo match it is baffling. Each little scuffle begins with the competitiors trying to grab each other. They reach for the other's robes and simultaneously try to slap the other's hands away. They look like two little kids trying to poke each other, and more importantly trying to stop the other from poking them. Once they get a grip, the goal is to throw the opponent to the ground on their back. There is nothing gentle about this. If they throw their opponent onto her back with the right amount of force and technique, they get 100 points and win the match. If they throw their opponent on her back without the right amount of force, they get 10 points. If they throw their opponent onto her side, they get 1 point. At least as far as I can tell and read. Also, if they get on the ground and strangle their opponent (I am not making any of this up) into submission or unconsciousness they win the match. If they can force their opponent to submit by hyperextending a joint (this is how Kayla won her quarterfinal), they win the match. There is also something about pinning an opponent for 25 seconds. Each competitor is allowed 2 medical visits (again, not making this up). This is...the Gentle Way.
I have found no rule, but it also appears that either for strategy or intimidation, the competitors don't straighten themselves up during the match, even though the first thing that happens is both robes are dishevelled and eventually hang loosely, untied by their belt. The men wear nothing underneath, so they look like they are about to go for a steam.
Kayla's gold medal match was against Gemma Gibbons of Great Britian. Gemma is surprisingly attractive for a judo competitor. She had the home crowd support, but no chance. Kayla walked with purposeful intent. She had a mission and no one, not the least Gemma Gibbons, was going to stop her. At the beginning of the match (which starts at about 1:59.00 here), Gemma looked a little scared. I would have been terrified going into a judo match against Kayla. About halfway through, Gemma started slapping away Kayla's hands in a way that looked like she was whining "Leave me alone!" Towards the end, though she gave it a good fight. The match as a whole was good. But you have to watch the not straightening up thing. Gemma's hair slowly disintegrates into a floppy mess until she looks like a homeless person. She makes no effort to do anything other than sweep a few strands out of her eyes. Kayla's hair was a little bit more tightly bound, so it didn't collapse quite as much.
Then I saw the late night interview with Kayla. This intimidating, focused, downright scary woman became this bubbly, smiley teeny-bopper. (She is 22, but she looked like a teeny-bopper.) I tell you, the woman who won that gold medal was not the woman who did that interview. She must send her unknown twin sister out to do interviews while she fights bears for raw meat in a cave to prepare for her next conquest.
Today's Olympic Story Line - is Kayla. My last comment was for fun, and I hope you realize that. Kayla is a tremendous story and one NBC should milk for all it is worth. Her ability to overcome tragedy should be an inspiration to anyone, and sad as it is, hopefully this can be a small source of comfort to victims of sexual abuse. Her focus is incredible and the fact that she is one person on the floor and another in the interview studio is a good demonstration of what it takes to be a world class athlete. I am glad I found Kayla. Just like I am glad I found Bill Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick and Brett Camerota.
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. Ryan Lochte finished his Olympics with 5 medals: 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. About 140 people in the history of the Olympics have won 5 or more medals in their careers. Lochte did it in a week. (He now has 11 career Olympic medals.) But 2012 was a disappointment for Lochte, who came in with a realistic chance at 6 golds. I think he has the mindset to understand that 2012 was a great accomplishment. But this had to be a little tough.
2. Michael Phelps proved he is the best swimmer ever. As someone said to me earlier today, Lochte is Alydar, Phelps is Affirmed.
3. US Men beat Brazil in Volleyball in remarkably dominant fashion. Let's hope this continues through the tournament. (My Volleyball Insider had a comment about this which I will save for another day, and another subject matter.)
4. Rebecca Soni is awesome.
5. Missy Franklin is still my hero.
6. Gabby Douglas is the pride of Virginia Beach. And America.
Predictions Wrap Up -
1. Lochte and Clary go 1-2 in 200 back. - WRONG - Lochte falls to bronze. But Clary takes gold.
2. Phelps and Lochte go 1-2 in 200 IM. - Correct
3. US women get 1, and only 1, medal in 100 free. I'll say silver. For Missy. - WRONG - but Missy gave it a good show. And will be back tonight (see below).
4. Judo Breakthrough - Gold for US, and I will change my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport. - Correct - See above.
5. US Men's basketball team beats Nigeria by more than 40. - Correct - It does seem wrong to take credit for predicting a 40 point win when they won by 83!
6. US Women defend their gold in Women's 8 rowing. Mary Whipple screams the National Anthem during the ceremony. - Correct - Yeah, baby! Those are my girls. Well, they were last night. And Mary was belting that anthem.
7. I will be back on my game tomorrow. - Correct - At least I feel like I am.
What to Watch For (I am reversing this and predictions, because predictions often come from what to watch for) -
1. Women's soccer v. NZ. Knock out rounds begin.
2. Still lots of sailing.
3. Trampoline begins. How many other backyard activities can we turn into Olympic sports?
4. Track and field begins.
5. Beach volleyball knock-out rounds begin.
6. Another weekend - how much stuff can we cram into two days?
7. Tennis - who knew it was in the Olympics? (More on this later.)
8. Track Cycling -you have to watch a little, it is crazy cool to watch.
Predictions -
1. Franklin-Biesel 1-2 in 200 backstroke
2. US wins 2 medals in men's 100 fly. Gold for Phelps.
3. 15 year old Katy Ledecky wins a medal in the 800 free. I'll say bronze.
4. US wins one medal in men's 50 free. Not sure who or what color. This is a crapshoot anyway.
5. US wins 2 medals in men's discus.
6. US wins 1 medal in women's 10,000.
7. US wins gold in both beach volleyball competitions. (My Volleyball Insider will like the optimism, but may question the judgment.)
Fat Old Man Update - 2000 meters in the water yesterday. Focus was on building endurance. At times, I feel like a real swimmer. These are rare and short lived, but they do happen.
So, I am giving myself a mulligan. A do-over for you non-golfers. It's my Blog, I can do what I want. Plus, when you see elements of the Perfect Storm developing again, you don't sit around because you have already seen rain today, you run to that storm and see what it brings you. This year, it brought us a derecho. Not as devastating as a hurricane, but still packs a mighty punch.
So, for this year, I am amending my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport to Judo. Nothing will ever match Nordic Combined in 2010 for the elements of the Perfect Storm, but judo has many elements: 1. US success is limited - i.e., never won a gold before; 2. It is an obscure sport; 3. It doesn't require a great time commitment (matches are 5 minutes); and 4. The US was on the brink of a breakthrough. It misses on the easy to understand thing, but it certainly was interesting to watch. At the end, there is a score, so you know who won. You just may not know how they got that score.
The emerging US success is Kayla Harrison. She is quite a story. To begin with, Kayla was sexually abused by her judo coach as a child. She told a friend about the abuse, who told her mom, who smashed the coach's car windows with a baseball bat. (GO MOM!!) Despite this early tragedy, Kayla continued with judo, and yesterday became the first American to win gold in judo. This is the tragic, but inspirational story. But we need to move past her history to her present, because the competition was awesome.
My introduction to judo was watching Travis Stevens heroically fail to win a medal in the Men's Half Middleweight (WHAT?) competition. I saw Stevens lose the semifinals in extra time and the bronze medal match. I watched about 15 minutes of judo and saw one point scored. As I have already written, I also saw a couple guys repeatedly grab each other, roll around on the floor, stop, start over, and never score. Stevens was exhausted and devastated. In many ways, he represented what the Olympics is. But this was baffling.
I still watched Kayla. Kayla walks onto the judo mat like she is prepared to destroy you. In the first match I saw, her quarterfinals, she won in 56 seconds. Think about that. Two days before, I watched two men's matches and approximately 15 minutes of Judo and saw one point. Kayla won, with 100 points, in 56 seconds. Now I was even more confused, but intrigued. In her semifinal match, she fell behind 10-0. I had seen one point scored. I had seen 100 points scored. And now I had seen 10 points scored. I figured a great story was killed right then, because I don't know how you get 10 points, but it has to be hard to beat. Kayla eventually got a point to make the score 10-1. Then, with about a minute and a half left, she got 100 points and the match was over. 101-10. Huh?
So I had to learn about judo. Judo translates to "gentle way". If you read the Wikipedia article, this MIGHT make sense, but if you watch a judo match it is baffling. Each little scuffle begins with the competitiors trying to grab each other. They reach for the other's robes and simultaneously try to slap the other's hands away. They look like two little kids trying to poke each other, and more importantly trying to stop the other from poking them. Once they get a grip, the goal is to throw the opponent to the ground on their back. There is nothing gentle about this. If they throw their opponent onto her back with the right amount of force and technique, they get 100 points and win the match. If they throw their opponent on her back without the right amount of force, they get 10 points. If they throw their opponent onto her side, they get 1 point. At least as far as I can tell and read. Also, if they get on the ground and strangle their opponent (I am not making any of this up) into submission or unconsciousness they win the match. If they can force their opponent to submit by hyperextending a joint (this is how Kayla won her quarterfinal), they win the match. There is also something about pinning an opponent for 25 seconds. Each competitor is allowed 2 medical visits (again, not making this up). This is...the Gentle Way.
I have found no rule, but it also appears that either for strategy or intimidation, the competitors don't straighten themselves up during the match, even though the first thing that happens is both robes are dishevelled and eventually hang loosely, untied by their belt. The men wear nothing underneath, so they look like they are about to go for a steam.
Kayla's gold medal match was against Gemma Gibbons of Great Britian. Gemma is surprisingly attractive for a judo competitor. She had the home crowd support, but no chance. Kayla walked with purposeful intent. She had a mission and no one, not the least Gemma Gibbons, was going to stop her. At the beginning of the match (which starts at about 1:59.00 here), Gemma looked a little scared. I would have been terrified going into a judo match against Kayla. About halfway through, Gemma started slapping away Kayla's hands in a way that looked like she was whining "Leave me alone!" Towards the end, though she gave it a good fight. The match as a whole was good. But you have to watch the not straightening up thing. Gemma's hair slowly disintegrates into a floppy mess until she looks like a homeless person. She makes no effort to do anything other than sweep a few strands out of her eyes. Kayla's hair was a little bit more tightly bound, so it didn't collapse quite as much.
Then I saw the late night interview with Kayla. This intimidating, focused, downright scary woman became this bubbly, smiley teeny-bopper. (She is 22, but she looked like a teeny-bopper.) I tell you, the woman who won that gold medal was not the woman who did that interview. She must send her unknown twin sister out to do interviews while she fights bears for raw meat in a cave to prepare for her next conquest.
Today's Olympic Story Line - is Kayla. My last comment was for fun, and I hope you realize that. Kayla is a tremendous story and one NBC should milk for all it is worth. Her ability to overcome tragedy should be an inspiration to anyone, and sad as it is, hopefully this can be a small source of comfort to victims of sexual abuse. Her focus is incredible and the fact that she is one person on the floor and another in the interview studio is a good demonstration of what it takes to be a world class athlete. I am glad I found Kayla. Just like I am glad I found Bill Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick and Brett Camerota.
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. Ryan Lochte finished his Olympics with 5 medals: 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. About 140 people in the history of the Olympics have won 5 or more medals in their careers. Lochte did it in a week. (He now has 11 career Olympic medals.) But 2012 was a disappointment for Lochte, who came in with a realistic chance at 6 golds. I think he has the mindset to understand that 2012 was a great accomplishment. But this had to be a little tough.
2. Michael Phelps proved he is the best swimmer ever. As someone said to me earlier today, Lochte is Alydar, Phelps is Affirmed.
3. US Men beat Brazil in Volleyball in remarkably dominant fashion. Let's hope this continues through the tournament. (My Volleyball Insider had a comment about this which I will save for another day, and another subject matter.)
4. Rebecca Soni is awesome.
5. Missy Franklin is still my hero.
6. Gabby Douglas is the pride of Virginia Beach. And America.
Predictions Wrap Up -
1. Lochte and Clary go 1-2 in 200 back. - WRONG - Lochte falls to bronze. But Clary takes gold.
2. Phelps and Lochte go 1-2 in 200 IM. - Correct
3. US women get 1, and only 1, medal in 100 free. I'll say silver. For Missy. - WRONG - but Missy gave it a good show. And will be back tonight (see below).
4. Judo Breakthrough - Gold for US, and I will change my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport. - Correct - See above.
5. US Men's basketball team beats Nigeria by more than 40. - Correct - It does seem wrong to take credit for predicting a 40 point win when they won by 83!
6. US Women defend their gold in Women's 8 rowing. Mary Whipple screams the National Anthem during the ceremony. - Correct - Yeah, baby! Those are my girls. Well, they were last night. And Mary was belting that anthem.
7. I will be back on my game tomorrow. - Correct - At least I feel like I am.
What to Watch For (I am reversing this and predictions, because predictions often come from what to watch for) -
1. Women's soccer v. NZ. Knock out rounds begin.
2. Still lots of sailing.
3. Trampoline begins. How many other backyard activities can we turn into Olympic sports?
4. Track and field begins.
5. Beach volleyball knock-out rounds begin.
6. Another weekend - how much stuff can we cram into two days?
7. Tennis - who knew it was in the Olympics? (More on this later.)
8. Track Cycling -you have to watch a little, it is crazy cool to watch.
Predictions -
1. Franklin-Biesel 1-2 in 200 backstroke
2. US wins 2 medals in men's 100 fly. Gold for Phelps.
3. 15 year old Katy Ledecky wins a medal in the 800 free. I'll say bronze.
4. US wins one medal in men's 50 free. Not sure who or what color. This is a crapshoot anyway.
5. US wins 2 medals in men's discus.
6. US wins 1 medal in women's 10,000.
7. US wins gold in both beach volleyball competitions. (My Volleyball Insider will like the optimism, but may question the judgment.)
Fat Old Man Update - 2000 meters in the water yesterday. Focus was on building endurance. At times, I feel like a real swimmer. These are rare and short lived, but they do happen.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Tape Delayed
I post my comments usually in the early afternoon each day. I write as if I was writing at the end of the previous day. It is possible my comments are 24 hours behind live action. One could claim that I have made my predictions after the events have occurred. For some events, that would be true. However, some time around 1 pm Eastern US time I begin my media blackout. I cut off ESPN and the NBC Olympics website until I get home and start watching hours of recorded action. I have to be very careful listening to the radio on my drive home. In general, I have been successful in not knowing what happened until I get a chance to see it on TV. There are exceptions (see below) and a couple of glorious success stories.
My greatest success was in 2004. The Australian men's 800 freestyle relay was heavily favored to win the gold medal. Athens is seven hours ahead of Eastern US time. The 800 freestyle relay was probably swum around 9 or 10 pm local time, so 2 or 3 pm where I was. I had to shut myself off from the world for 5-6 hours to prevent myself from knowing what happened. This included a CD in the car on the way home, because radio DJs were not helpful with "media blackout." I managed to pull it off by getting in front of the NBC telecast at 8 pm. At that point I was safe. Of course, they didn't show the relay until 11:45 pm. I stayed up and watched that relay, by myself, in the quiet of my basement. And as Klete Keller out-touched Ian Thorpe for the gold medal, I jumped and leaped and screamed like I had won an Olympic Gold Medal. It is a wonder I did not wake my wife or 4 month old baby.
Athens was tough to pull off. But it was doable. Beijing was not as hard. Part of this is because my favorite event is the swimming and NBC was able to muscle the Chinese into holding event finals in the morning local time, so they could be live in prime time in the US. I don't know what other sports did, but I know I saw Nastia Liukin win all around gold, Usain Bolt win the 100 and the 200, the US girls choke away the team gymnastics gold medal, both beach volleyball gold medal games, and several other events without knowing the results.
London has been a little more difficult. With so many different avenues for information, it is easy to accidentally learn something and difficult to shut yourself out. Two days ago, with Phelps looking to break the all time record for medals won and the US girls going for team gold, I received three messages from my NBC Olympics app and two email news updates from the Washington Post before I left work. I knew I had to be careful, so I managed to delete the emails (I am glad the world wasn't coming to an end, I never would have known) and ignore the messages. I also heard a little on the radio (the words "silver in the 200") and saw an NBC promo to link to the gymnastics medal ceremony. This led me to the (correct) conclusion that the Pixie Parade had won gold. I was in complete denial of the 200 butterfly silver medal for Phelps. That is still incomprehensible.
Today, it has become even more difficult. I just got an email from the Washington Post telling me what happened in the girl's gymnastics. I won't say anything, but the subject line of the email gave everything away. I had no chance to delete. Now I am being extra careful, because Lochte-Phelps Showdown # 2 is also today. It has probably already happened. I would prefer to see it without knowing the results.
NBC has been criticized for how they are showing the Olympics. I guess, specifically, they have been criticized for tape delaying the big events. I like it. I have a job, three sons, and a long commute. I am happy to go blackout in the afternoon, get home, get the boys to bed and sit back to enjoy the competition without knowing the ending. Well, except for the 200 fly and the men's 400 free relay. Those just hurt. Of course, you have to take that pain to get the absolute joy of Nathan Adrian winning the 100 free, Allison Schmitt winning the 200 free and the Grevers-Thoman 1-2 in the 100 back.
I don't really have a point. I would say this is not one of my better posts. (I have a great one, but I need more time.) Maybe I am just trying to explain why I seem to be 12 hours behind, and why my predictions, although made without knowledge of actual events, may be made after the events occurred. Maybe I am tired and doing this every day is getting to me. When I do a big volleyball post I will have a lot to give you, thanks to my Volleyball Insider. When I do my big Baltic States post, I will have a lot to give you, thanks to my Baltic States Insider. I have a couple other good ones in store for you. What? No one wants my Baltic States Post? Hmmm. Today is my version of Stephen Strasburg's 4 inning, 8 hit, 6 earned run outing v. the Phillies from a couple days ago. A bad day by a great performer. We are all entitled to one every once in a while. I hope Lochte and Phelps, and Rebecca Soni, and Lochte and Tyler Clary, and either Jessica Hardy or Missy Franklin, and our men's volleyball team don't join me.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Kristin Armstrong. Yesterday, Kristin Armstrong defended her gold medal in the women's cycling time trial. After winning gold in Beijing and winning the world championships in 2009, Kristin retired as a professional cyclist to start a family. She had a son in 2010, then started to ride again. In May she crashed and broke her collarbone. She recovered in time to get to London and become, at 38, the oldest gold medalist in a road cycling event. The cycling time trial was an awesome event. It started at Hampton Court Palace, the castle of Henry VIII. When the riders finished, the medalists went to a little stage with three chairs that can only be described as thrones and sat there like royalty before the medal ceremony. For the men's race, no one sat on the throne until he was basically assured of a medal. For the women's race, they had riders in the thrones if they were in medal position, even though faster riders were still on the course. So when people finished with a faster time, the previous riders had to leave, or move to a different throne, as their place changed. That was just funny.
Despite her name, Kristin is not related to Lance Armstrong. It is oddly coincidental, however, that the best female cyclist in the world is named Armstrong. And that Lance's first wife was named Kristin.
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. Saw another judo match this morning. It lasted 56 seconds. Kayla Harrison of the US won and is apparently a gold medal contender. I am more confused than ever. It is likely I will change my Obscure Summer Sport to Judo. I need to know more about this sport. Plus, we have an American who might win gold. And we have never won gold before. The Perfect Storm is rising again. Tune in tomorrow.
2. I saw three rowing finals. The US finished fourth by about a millisecond in two of them. Aye coramba!
3. I am beginning to think I am a US Beach Volleyball jinx. I predicted Rogers and Dalhausser would win efficiently, and they struggled to a 3 set win. I predicted Misty and Kerri would keep their set winning streak alive and they lost their first set (see Predictions Wrap Up below). I am now going to leave beach volleyball out of my predictions.
4. I watched some archery. The US men have the top ranked archer in the world, Brady Ellison. He is a Paul Walker look-alike. That's right, Lance Harbor went into archery after his devastating knee injury. My West Canaan Insider also told me he heard about the whipped cream bikini and dumped Darcy Sears. I was thinking as I watched that Paul Walker could play Brady Ellison in the made for TV docu-drama, The Brady Ellison Story, a Local Football Star Becomes Robin Hood. Then he lost in the round of 32 and I realized no one cares if you lose in the round of 32. Too bad. That was one bad made for TV movie opportunity missed.
5. Women's kayak finals were today. We didn't win a medal. Man, I chose poorly.
6. NATHAN ADRIAN! Well done. The US won their first gold in the men's 100 freestyle since Matt Biondi in 1988. Adrian had a great swim and came from behind in the last five meters to win by .01 seconds.
7. Allison Schmitt is the quiet assassin of these games. She has won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. She almost won the 400 freestyle before dominating the 200 freestyle and destroying Australia's anchor leg in the 800 freestyle relay. The bronze came in the 400 freestyle relay. For all the Missy Franklin, Ryan Lochte, and Michael Phelps talk, so far Allison Schmitt has had the best Olympics of any US swimmer.
Predictions Wrap Up (I realized this is more a Wrap Up than a Sum Up) -
1. Misty and Kerri keep their "Never lost a set" streak alive tonight - WRONG - But they won the match.
2. China wins gold in Men's Synchro Diving - Correct - And shocking.
3. US gets a medal in All Around Men's Gymnastics, but not gold - Correct -Bronze for Dannel Leyva.
4. Kitajima fails to threepeat in 200 breastroke - Correct - Didn't even medal.
5. US women win 800 free relay - Correct - In dominant fashion.
6. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free - WRONG -And I couldn't be happier about it.
7. US fails to medal in women's 200 fly - Correct.
8. US women beat China in Women's Volleyball - Correct.
9. Someone will violate my Rule #1 Advice for Watching the Olympics tonight - Pending - Come on people, fess up. Someone had sex last night.
Predictions -
1. Lochte and Clary go 1-2 in 200 back.
2. Phelps and Lochte go 1-2 in 200 IM.
3. US women get 1, and only 1, medal in 100 free. I'll say silver. For Missy.
4. Judo Breakthrough - Gold for US, and I will change my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport.
5. US Men's basketball team beats Nigeria by more than 40.
6. US Women defend their gold in Women's 8 rowing. Mary Whipple screams the National Anthem during the ceremony.
7. I will be back on my game tomorrow.
What to Watch For -
1. Phelps - Lochte Showdown #2.
2. Men's Volleyball v. Brazil. Remember, its OK to lose, just don't lose to Brazil. Heard this will be on NBC's Prime Time coverage tonight.
3. Women's All-Around. I'm sure you know what will happen, it is unavoidable.
4. Women's Eights in rowing. It has already happened, but should be cool to watch.
5. Track cycling - kind of bizarre, but really cool to watch.
6. Fat Old Man updates at some point.
7. Am I going to crash and burn before the Olympic flame is extinguished?
My greatest success was in 2004. The Australian men's 800 freestyle relay was heavily favored to win the gold medal. Athens is seven hours ahead of Eastern US time. The 800 freestyle relay was probably swum around 9 or 10 pm local time, so 2 or 3 pm where I was. I had to shut myself off from the world for 5-6 hours to prevent myself from knowing what happened. This included a CD in the car on the way home, because radio DJs were not helpful with "media blackout." I managed to pull it off by getting in front of the NBC telecast at 8 pm. At that point I was safe. Of course, they didn't show the relay until 11:45 pm. I stayed up and watched that relay, by myself, in the quiet of my basement. And as Klete Keller out-touched Ian Thorpe for the gold medal, I jumped and leaped and screamed like I had won an Olympic Gold Medal. It is a wonder I did not wake my wife or 4 month old baby.
Athens was tough to pull off. But it was doable. Beijing was not as hard. Part of this is because my favorite event is the swimming and NBC was able to muscle the Chinese into holding event finals in the morning local time, so they could be live in prime time in the US. I don't know what other sports did, but I know I saw Nastia Liukin win all around gold, Usain Bolt win the 100 and the 200, the US girls choke away the team gymnastics gold medal, both beach volleyball gold medal games, and several other events without knowing the results.
London has been a little more difficult. With so many different avenues for information, it is easy to accidentally learn something and difficult to shut yourself out. Two days ago, with Phelps looking to break the all time record for medals won and the US girls going for team gold, I received three messages from my NBC Olympics app and two email news updates from the Washington Post before I left work. I knew I had to be careful, so I managed to delete the emails (I am glad the world wasn't coming to an end, I never would have known) and ignore the messages. I also heard a little on the radio (the words "silver in the 200") and saw an NBC promo to link to the gymnastics medal ceremony. This led me to the (correct) conclusion that the Pixie Parade had won gold. I was in complete denial of the 200 butterfly silver medal for Phelps. That is still incomprehensible.
Today, it has become even more difficult. I just got an email from the Washington Post telling me what happened in the girl's gymnastics. I won't say anything, but the subject line of the email gave everything away. I had no chance to delete. Now I am being extra careful, because Lochte-Phelps Showdown # 2 is also today. It has probably already happened. I would prefer to see it without knowing the results.
NBC has been criticized for how they are showing the Olympics. I guess, specifically, they have been criticized for tape delaying the big events. I like it. I have a job, three sons, and a long commute. I am happy to go blackout in the afternoon, get home, get the boys to bed and sit back to enjoy the competition without knowing the ending. Well, except for the 200 fly and the men's 400 free relay. Those just hurt. Of course, you have to take that pain to get the absolute joy of Nathan Adrian winning the 100 free, Allison Schmitt winning the 200 free and the Grevers-Thoman 1-2 in the 100 back.
I don't really have a point. I would say this is not one of my better posts. (I have a great one, but I need more time.) Maybe I am just trying to explain why I seem to be 12 hours behind, and why my predictions, although made without knowledge of actual events, may be made after the events occurred. Maybe I am tired and doing this every day is getting to me. When I do a big volleyball post I will have a lot to give you, thanks to my Volleyball Insider. When I do my big Baltic States post, I will have a lot to give you, thanks to my Baltic States Insider. I have a couple other good ones in store for you. What? No one wants my Baltic States Post? Hmmm. Today is my version of Stephen Strasburg's 4 inning, 8 hit, 6 earned run outing v. the Phillies from a couple days ago. A bad day by a great performer. We are all entitled to one every once in a while. I hope Lochte and Phelps, and Rebecca Soni, and Lochte and Tyler Clary, and either Jessica Hardy or Missy Franklin, and our men's volleyball team don't join me.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Kristin Armstrong. Yesterday, Kristin Armstrong defended her gold medal in the women's cycling time trial. After winning gold in Beijing and winning the world championships in 2009, Kristin retired as a professional cyclist to start a family. She had a son in 2010, then started to ride again. In May she crashed and broke her collarbone. She recovered in time to get to London and become, at 38, the oldest gold medalist in a road cycling event. The cycling time trial was an awesome event. It started at Hampton Court Palace, the castle of Henry VIII. When the riders finished, the medalists went to a little stage with three chairs that can only be described as thrones and sat there like royalty before the medal ceremony. For the men's race, no one sat on the throne until he was basically assured of a medal. For the women's race, they had riders in the thrones if they were in medal position, even though faster riders were still on the course. So when people finished with a faster time, the previous riders had to leave, or move to a different throne, as their place changed. That was just funny.
Despite her name, Kristin is not related to Lance Armstrong. It is oddly coincidental, however, that the best female cyclist in the world is named Armstrong. And that Lance's first wife was named Kristin.
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. Saw another judo match this morning. It lasted 56 seconds. Kayla Harrison of the US won and is apparently a gold medal contender. I am more confused than ever. It is likely I will change my Obscure Summer Sport to Judo. I need to know more about this sport. Plus, we have an American who might win gold. And we have never won gold before. The Perfect Storm is rising again. Tune in tomorrow.
2. I saw three rowing finals. The US finished fourth by about a millisecond in two of them. Aye coramba!
3. I am beginning to think I am a US Beach Volleyball jinx. I predicted Rogers and Dalhausser would win efficiently, and they struggled to a 3 set win. I predicted Misty and Kerri would keep their set winning streak alive and they lost their first set (see Predictions Wrap Up below). I am now going to leave beach volleyball out of my predictions.
4. I watched some archery. The US men have the top ranked archer in the world, Brady Ellison. He is a Paul Walker look-alike. That's right, Lance Harbor went into archery after his devastating knee injury. My West Canaan Insider also told me he heard about the whipped cream bikini and dumped Darcy Sears. I was thinking as I watched that Paul Walker could play Brady Ellison in the made for TV docu-drama, The Brady Ellison Story, a Local Football Star Becomes Robin Hood. Then he lost in the round of 32 and I realized no one cares if you lose in the round of 32. Too bad. That was one bad made for TV movie opportunity missed.
5. Women's kayak finals were today. We didn't win a medal. Man, I chose poorly.
6. NATHAN ADRIAN! Well done. The US won their first gold in the men's 100 freestyle since Matt Biondi in 1988. Adrian had a great swim and came from behind in the last five meters to win by .01 seconds.
7. Allison Schmitt is the quiet assassin of these games. She has won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. She almost won the 400 freestyle before dominating the 200 freestyle and destroying Australia's anchor leg in the 800 freestyle relay. The bronze came in the 400 freestyle relay. For all the Missy Franklin, Ryan Lochte, and Michael Phelps talk, so far Allison Schmitt has had the best Olympics of any US swimmer.
Predictions Wrap Up (I realized this is more a Wrap Up than a Sum Up) -
1. Misty and Kerri keep their "Never lost a set" streak alive tonight - WRONG - But they won the match.
2. China wins gold in Men's Synchro Diving - Correct - And shocking.
3. US gets a medal in All Around Men's Gymnastics, but not gold - Correct -Bronze for Dannel Leyva.
4. Kitajima fails to threepeat in 200 breastroke - Correct - Didn't even medal.
5. US women win 800 free relay - Correct - In dominant fashion.
6. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free - WRONG -And I couldn't be happier about it.
7. US fails to medal in women's 200 fly - Correct.
8. US women beat China in Women's Volleyball - Correct.
9. Someone will violate my Rule #1 Advice for Watching the Olympics tonight - Pending - Come on people, fess up. Someone had sex last night.
Predictions -
1. Lochte and Clary go 1-2 in 200 back.
2. Phelps and Lochte go 1-2 in 200 IM.
3. US women get 1, and only 1, medal in 100 free. I'll say silver. For Missy.
4. Judo Breakthrough - Gold for US, and I will change my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport.
5. US Men's basketball team beats Nigeria by more than 40.
6. US Women defend their gold in Women's 8 rowing. Mary Whipple screams the National Anthem during the ceremony.
7. I will be back on my game tomorrow.
What to Watch For -
1. Phelps - Lochte Showdown #2.
2. Men's Volleyball v. Brazil. Remember, its OK to lose, just don't lose to Brazil. Heard this will be on NBC's Prime Time coverage tonight.
3. Women's All-Around. I'm sure you know what will happen, it is unavoidable.
4. Women's Eights in rowing. It has already happened, but should be cool to watch.
5. Track cycling - kind of bizarre, but really cool to watch.
6. Fat Old Man updates at some point.
7. Am I going to crash and burn before the Olympic flame is extinguished?
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Obscure Summer Olympic Sport
Before I go into my Obscure Summer Olympic Sport, I want to give a little history. This whole idea began with the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Winter Olympics are a gold mine of obscure sports. Well, at least for a lifelong resident of the mid-Atlantic region of the US. Curling, Biathlon, Nordic Combined, Luge, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, even Cross-Country Skiing, are all obscure here. I have grown to love the obscure Winter Olympic Sports. In 2010, I adopted Nordic Combined as my favorite Obscure Winter Olympic Sport.
Nordic Combined is a competition that combines the two Nordic sports of ski jumping and cross-country skiing. Odd how that works with the name, huh? Prior to 2010, the US had never won a Nordic Combined Olympic Medal. This goofy little sport fit perfectly for what I was looking for. It was obscure, it was relatively easy to understand (if you don't really care how ski jumping is scored), it didn't require a great time commitment (the jumping is done in tape delay relatively quickly, most of the skiing takes less than half an hour), and the US had not been very successful (if you count no medals ever not successful), BUT the US was on the verge of a breakthrough. I drank Nordic Combined like the elixir of life. I loved every minute of it. I was lifted by every triumph, and destroyed by every failure. Of course, when the US has never won a medal in a sport, are there really any failures?
Well, we did break through. With a vengeance. The US won gold and silver in the individual large hill, silver in the individual small hill and the team silver medal. So my choice was almost as good as the performances of Bill Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick and Brett Camerota.
Picking a Summer Sport has been more difficult. It's hard to find a sport that fits all the criteria above. Honestly, I think Nordic Combined in 2010 was the Perfect Storm, and those elements will never come together in such harmony again. Because of this, I almost bailed on choosing an Obscure Summer Olympic Sport. But I know at least one of you, and maybe up to three of you, are relying on me for this. So I chose Kayak.
I chose Kayak mainly because the Olympic course looks like a water slide on steroids, and I would love to go for a ride. Riding on a raft would probably be best, but I would like to try with nothing but a bathing suit. Kayak works because it is obscure as competitive sports go, it is certainly not overhyped by NBC, and we don't have a great history of success in Olympic Kayak (16 total medals, five gold, five silver and six bronze - good for 12th all time in combined Canoe and Kayak.) Plus, it looks cool, and very hard.
I am focusing on the individual slalom race. The slalom races have been in the Olympic program seven times: in 1972 and every year since 1992. Not sure what happened from '76-'88. The racers go down a course and have to go through a series of numbered gates. Some of these gates are down stream and some are upstream, meaning the racers have to turn around and fight the current to go through the gates. If you are lucky, someone will flip over and go through a gate upside down. Not only does that create visual hilarity, it also results in a whopping 50 second penalty. Unlike skiing, the racers are not allowed to touch the gates. And the gates hang from the sky, as if being held by angels.
The Men's final was today.We didn't win a medal. The women's final is tomorrow. We won't win a medal. But at least I learned a little something choosing my Obscure Summer Sport. And isn't that really the point. (No, US domination is the point, but I chose poorly and had to justify my choice in some way. Like I said above - Perfect Storm.)
Today's Olympic Story Line - I'm sure you have heard about this one - Badminton disqualifications. Eight Badminton players have been disqualified, not for cheating, but for intentionally trying to lose. The purpose was to set up an easier path in the knock-out rounds. Except for the Chinese. They were trying to avoid meeting another Chinese duo until the Finals. Watch the highlights. This is hysterical. They are blatant. Hitting serves directly into the net; watching the birdie fall to the ground easily in bounds; and obviously not trying. If you want to throw the game, you can do it without announcing to the world what you are doing.
Of course, this leads to another question - should they have been disqualified? This is a tough question. On one hand, no one wants people intentionally throwing a game. On the other hand, the Olympics is full of competitors not giving their best effort at the end of a qualifying, competition to save themselves for the medal competition. You see it frequently in swimming and even more so in track. I say the IOC did the right thing. Easing up because you think you have already qualified is one thing. Ryan Lochte basically stopped trying at the end of the preliminary heat of the 400 IM, but he didn't intentionally lose. If you go out there in Olympic competition and try to lose, you should be thrown out. If you are saving yourself for a later round, and because of this you happen to lose, well that's just the way things work.
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 saw a Judo match yesterday. An American was in the semifinals. He had his eye wrapped from a blood-producing injury and his judo uniform was all dishevelled. He and some other dude spent eight minutes grabbing each other, falling on the ground, rolling around, stopping and then repeating the process. Neither one scored a point and the match went to a judge's decision. The American lost. I have no idea how neither one scored a point or why the American lost. This sport makes no sense. My wife watched for about a minute, then looked at our three boys and said "Hey, that looks like what you guys do." The American then fought in the Bronze medal match. I saw these two people fall to the ground about 25 times in five minutes. The other guy got one point and won 1-0. I have no idea why one fall resulted in a point, and the other 24 didn't. Maybe I should make Judo my Obscure Sport in 2016 so I can figure out this bafflingly odd sport.
2. Women's Soccer won 1-0 over North Korea. Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach are simply awesome. I would risk my marriage for one night in the Olympic Village with either one. Alex is simply gorgeous. Abby makes me understand how ugly NBA players have women throwing themselves at them. (I am not saying Abby is ugly, she's just not Alex.) She is SO good and SO confident that she is damn sexy. This partly explains why the Olympic Village is one big sex party.
3. The US rules the world of skeet shooting. Vincent Hancock won the Men's gold medal. He also won in 2008, leading to my new favorite Olympic phrase: "Skeet Repeat."
4. The Pixie Parade (I refuse to call them the Fab Five or the Fantastic Five out of respect for the Beatles and Kung Fu Panda, respectively) won an expected gold medal in Women's Team Gymnastics. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is win with expectations. I am happy for the Pixie Parade, although I wish NBC would acknowledge that they were trying to win for themselves, their teammates and their country. Not for Jordyn Weiber. Jordyn didn't need her teammates to pick her up. Remember, two of them were the ones who put her down.
5. Phelps lost the 200 Fly. I am literally speechless. I hope you didn't take my advice on that parlay bet.
6. The US won the Men's 800 free relay. Rowdy Gaines needs to get fired. I will get all of this off my chest now and then leave it alone. Rowdy, a few things - 1. Water is see through. A freestyler can see the other swimmers even if he isn't breathing in their direction. 2. Lane lines reduce drafts and you can't get a draft off another swimmer in another lane. Even if you can, all that means is you are at least a half a body length behind. 3. Watch the race and comment on what is happening, not what you thought would happen. Stop pretending that what you thought would happen is what is actually happening. 4. If you miss something, admit it. Don't spend 20 seconds talking about how terrible Missy Franklin's backstroke start was then try to claim credit for correctly stating that she was taking the first 25 easy. That's not what you said. 5. Yannick Agnel is having a great Olympics, but he is NOT going to make up 2 seconds in the anchor leg of the 800 free relay on the best swimmer who ever lived, much less the 3+ he was behind. The relay was not dramatic. Stop pretending like France had any chance. This goes along with #3 above. (For the record, Agnel's split was less than a second faster than Phelps, which should surprise no one, except maybe Rowdy Gaines.)
7. Allison Schmitt's 200 freestyle was the most dominant performance I have seen in this year's Olympics. Shet took the "Get the lead early, extend it, extend it some more, then win by a lot" strategy. And she reminds me of Beaker.
8. Rogers and Dalhausser won in 3 sets. My Volleyball Insider told me this was a typical Rogers win. Just wear down the opponent. Sounds like Iceman from Top Gun: Goose: "Iceman. It's the way he flies, ice cold, no mistakes. He wears you down, you get bored--frustrated--do something stupid and he's got ya."
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Phelps wins 200 fly. US wins 800 Free Relay. There will be no better parlay bet in one swimming session than these two races. Phelps has looked mildly vulnerable, but he will become the first male swimmer to win the same event in three Olympics and break the record for most total medals won in an Olympic career. - WRONG - See above for specifics, but you make a parlay bet, you have to get them all right. Phelps is the all time record holder in Olympic medals, though.
2. There will be more doping rumblings after Shiwen Ye wins the 200 IM. - Pending
3. The US still wins nothing in Badmitton. - Pending
4. Rogers and Dalhausser win in efficient fashion. - WRONG -but they did win.
5. Djokovic beats Roddick in tennis. - Correct
6. Thunderstorms prevent me from swimming tonight. - WRONG -2000 meters.
7. US Women win Team Gymnastics Gold. Then Jordyn Weiber has someone take out Gabby Douglas's knee a la Tanya Harding. (I kid, I kid - but I would still sleep with one eye open if I were Douglas or Raisman) - Correct and Pending
Predictions -
1. Misty and Kerri keep their "Never lost a set" streak alive tonight
2. China wins gold in Men's Synchro Diving
3. US gets a medal in All Around Men's Gymnastics, but not gold
4. Kitajima fails to threepeat in 200 breastroke
5. US women win 800 free relay
6. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free
7. US fails to medal in women's 200 fly
8. US women beat China in Women's Volleyball
9. Someone will violate my Rule #1 Advice for Watching the Olympics tonight
What to Watch For -
1. Medal Rounds beginning soon in volleyball, soccer, water polo, etc.
2. Women's 800 freestyle relay - With Allison Schmitt winning gold and Missy Franklin missing bronze by .01, this should be about as close as the men's relay.
3. Misty and Kerri - My Volleyball Insider tells me Kerri has pink eye. What effect will that have?
4. Links to hot athletes in various stages of undress - My "Mostly Naked Content" Editor has told me I am slacking in this area. Will remedy that soon.
5. More bad betting advice - although probably not until football season.
6. A new section - My attempt to stop being a fat old man. I am hoping the possibility of public shame will keep me motivated.
Nordic Combined is a competition that combines the two Nordic sports of ski jumping and cross-country skiing. Odd how that works with the name, huh? Prior to 2010, the US had never won a Nordic Combined Olympic Medal. This goofy little sport fit perfectly for what I was looking for. It was obscure, it was relatively easy to understand (if you don't really care how ski jumping is scored), it didn't require a great time commitment (the jumping is done in tape delay relatively quickly, most of the skiing takes less than half an hour), and the US had not been very successful (if you count no medals ever not successful), BUT the US was on the verge of a breakthrough. I drank Nordic Combined like the elixir of life. I loved every minute of it. I was lifted by every triumph, and destroyed by every failure. Of course, when the US has never won a medal in a sport, are there really any failures?
Well, we did break through. With a vengeance. The US won gold and silver in the individual large hill, silver in the individual small hill and the team silver medal. So my choice was almost as good as the performances of Bill Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick and Brett Camerota.
Picking a Summer Sport has been more difficult. It's hard to find a sport that fits all the criteria above. Honestly, I think Nordic Combined in 2010 was the Perfect Storm, and those elements will never come together in such harmony again. Because of this, I almost bailed on choosing an Obscure Summer Olympic Sport. But I know at least one of you, and maybe up to three of you, are relying on me for this. So I chose Kayak.
I chose Kayak mainly because the Olympic course looks like a water slide on steroids, and I would love to go for a ride. Riding on a raft would probably be best, but I would like to try with nothing but a bathing suit. Kayak works because it is obscure as competitive sports go, it is certainly not overhyped by NBC, and we don't have a great history of success in Olympic Kayak (16 total medals, five gold, five silver and six bronze - good for 12th all time in combined Canoe and Kayak.) Plus, it looks cool, and very hard.
I am focusing on the individual slalom race. The slalom races have been in the Olympic program seven times: in 1972 and every year since 1992. Not sure what happened from '76-'88. The racers go down a course and have to go through a series of numbered gates. Some of these gates are down stream and some are upstream, meaning the racers have to turn around and fight the current to go through the gates. If you are lucky, someone will flip over and go through a gate upside down. Not only does that create visual hilarity, it also results in a whopping 50 second penalty. Unlike skiing, the racers are not allowed to touch the gates. And the gates hang from the sky, as if being held by angels.
The Men's final was today.We didn't win a medal. The women's final is tomorrow. We won't win a medal. But at least I learned a little something choosing my Obscure Summer Sport. And isn't that really the point. (No, US domination is the point, but I chose poorly and had to justify my choice in some way. Like I said above - Perfect Storm.)
Today's Olympic Story Line - I'm sure you have heard about this one - Badminton disqualifications. Eight Badminton players have been disqualified, not for cheating, but for intentionally trying to lose. The purpose was to set up an easier path in the knock-out rounds. Except for the Chinese. They were trying to avoid meeting another Chinese duo until the Finals. Watch the highlights. This is hysterical. They are blatant. Hitting serves directly into the net; watching the birdie fall to the ground easily in bounds; and obviously not trying. If you want to throw the game, you can do it without announcing to the world what you are doing.
Of course, this leads to another question - should they have been disqualified? This is a tough question. On one hand, no one wants people intentionally throwing a game. On the other hand, the Olympics is full of competitors not giving their best effort at the end of a qualifying, competition to save themselves for the medal competition. You see it frequently in swimming and even more so in track. I say the IOC did the right thing. Easing up because you think you have already qualified is one thing. Ryan Lochte basically stopped trying at the end of the preliminary heat of the 400 IM, but he didn't intentionally lose. If you go out there in Olympic competition and try to lose, you should be thrown out. If you are saving yourself for a later round, and because of this you happen to lose, well that's just the way things work.
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 saw a Judo match yesterday. An American was in the semifinals. He had his eye wrapped from a blood-producing injury and his judo uniform was all dishevelled. He and some other dude spent eight minutes grabbing each other, falling on the ground, rolling around, stopping and then repeating the process. Neither one scored a point and the match went to a judge's decision. The American lost. I have no idea how neither one scored a point or why the American lost. This sport makes no sense. My wife watched for about a minute, then looked at our three boys and said "Hey, that looks like what you guys do." The American then fought in the Bronze medal match. I saw these two people fall to the ground about 25 times in five minutes. The other guy got one point and won 1-0. I have no idea why one fall resulted in a point, and the other 24 didn't. Maybe I should make Judo my Obscure Sport in 2016 so I can figure out this bafflingly odd sport.
2. Women's Soccer won 1-0 over North Korea. Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach are simply awesome. I would risk my marriage for one night in the Olympic Village with either one. Alex is simply gorgeous. Abby makes me understand how ugly NBA players have women throwing themselves at them. (I am not saying Abby is ugly, she's just not Alex.) She is SO good and SO confident that she is damn sexy. This partly explains why the Olympic Village is one big sex party.
3. The US rules the world of skeet shooting. Vincent Hancock won the Men's gold medal. He also won in 2008, leading to my new favorite Olympic phrase: "Skeet Repeat."
4. The Pixie Parade (I refuse to call them the Fab Five or the Fantastic Five out of respect for the Beatles and Kung Fu Panda, respectively) won an expected gold medal in Women's Team Gymnastics. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is win with expectations. I am happy for the Pixie Parade, although I wish NBC would acknowledge that they were trying to win for themselves, their teammates and their country. Not for Jordyn Weiber. Jordyn didn't need her teammates to pick her up. Remember, two of them were the ones who put her down.
5. Phelps lost the 200 Fly. I am literally speechless. I hope you didn't take my advice on that parlay bet.
6. The US won the Men's 800 free relay. Rowdy Gaines needs to get fired. I will get all of this off my chest now and then leave it alone. Rowdy, a few things - 1. Water is see through. A freestyler can see the other swimmers even if he isn't breathing in their direction. 2. Lane lines reduce drafts and you can't get a draft off another swimmer in another lane. Even if you can, all that means is you are at least a half a body length behind. 3. Watch the race and comment on what is happening, not what you thought would happen. Stop pretending that what you thought would happen is what is actually happening. 4. If you miss something, admit it. Don't spend 20 seconds talking about how terrible Missy Franklin's backstroke start was then try to claim credit for correctly stating that she was taking the first 25 easy. That's not what you said. 5. Yannick Agnel is having a great Olympics, but he is NOT going to make up 2 seconds in the anchor leg of the 800 free relay on the best swimmer who ever lived, much less the 3+ he was behind. The relay was not dramatic. Stop pretending like France had any chance. This goes along with #3 above. (For the record, Agnel's split was less than a second faster than Phelps, which should surprise no one, except maybe Rowdy Gaines.)
7. Allison Schmitt's 200 freestyle was the most dominant performance I have seen in this year's Olympics. Shet took the "Get the lead early, extend it, extend it some more, then win by a lot" strategy. And she reminds me of Beaker.
8. Rogers and Dalhausser won in 3 sets. My Volleyball Insider told me this was a typical Rogers win. Just wear down the opponent. Sounds like Iceman from Top Gun: Goose: "Iceman. It's the way he flies, ice cold, no mistakes. He wears you down, you get bored--frustrated--do something stupid and he's got ya."
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Phelps wins 200 fly. US wins 800 Free Relay. There will be no better parlay bet in one swimming session than these two races. Phelps has looked mildly vulnerable, but he will become the first male swimmer to win the same event in three Olympics and break the record for most total medals won in an Olympic career. - WRONG - See above for specifics, but you make a parlay bet, you have to get them all right. Phelps is the all time record holder in Olympic medals, though.
2. There will be more doping rumblings after Shiwen Ye wins the 200 IM. - Pending
3. The US still wins nothing in Badmitton. - Pending
4. Rogers and Dalhausser win in efficient fashion. - WRONG -but they did win.
5. Djokovic beats Roddick in tennis. - Correct
6. Thunderstorms prevent me from swimming tonight. - WRONG -2000 meters.
7. US Women win Team Gymnastics Gold. Then Jordyn Weiber has someone take out Gabby Douglas's knee a la Tanya Harding. (I kid, I kid - but I would still sleep with one eye open if I were Douglas or Raisman) - Correct and Pending
Predictions -
1. Misty and Kerri keep their "Never lost a set" streak alive tonight
2. China wins gold in Men's Synchro Diving
3. US gets a medal in All Around Men's Gymnastics, but not gold
4. Kitajima fails to threepeat in 200 breastroke
5. US women win 800 free relay
6. Nathan Adrian gets silver in 100 free
7. US fails to medal in women's 200 fly
8. US women beat China in Women's Volleyball
9. Someone will violate my Rule #1 Advice for Watching the Olympics tonight
What to Watch For -
1. Medal Rounds beginning soon in volleyball, soccer, water polo, etc.
2. Women's 800 freestyle relay - With Allison Schmitt winning gold and Missy Franklin missing bronze by .01, this should be about as close as the men's relay.
3. Misty and Kerri - My Volleyball Insider tells me Kerri has pink eye. What effect will that have?
4. Links to hot athletes in various stages of undress - My "Mostly Naked Content" Editor has told me I am slacking in this area. Will remedy that soon.
5. More bad betting advice - although probably not until football season.
6. A new section - My attempt to stop being a fat old man. I am hoping the possibility of public shame will keep me motivated.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Olympic Parents
Missy Franklin won her first Olympic gold medal last night in the women's 100 backstroke. Immediately after winning, the NBC cameras went to Missy's parents who were in an emotional state somewhere between crying, cheering, smiling and probably "How the (bleep) did we get here?" At her poolside post-race interview, Missy was a little weepy, saying it was because she just saw her parents.
During the girl's (sorry, but these aren't women) gymnastics qualifying, in the uneven bars, after one of the US girl's routine, NBC showed her parent's reactions during the whole routine. They were leaning left and right, backwards and forwards, almost getting up, and falling back down. In unison with each other. It was the funniest thing I had seen at this year's Olympics until yesterday afternoon (see below). They looked like a weekend hacker golfer trying to move the ball by leaning. Only they were going in at least 5 different directions. The golfers always leans in one direction. At least until the next shot.
Michael Phelps swam the 200 butterfly semifinal last night. After his swim, the cameras went right to Mama Phelps and the sisters, who looked relieved that Phelps looked more like the 23 year old who won eight gold medals in Beijing than the 15 year old who finished fifth in the 200 fly in Sydney. Mama Phelps has been on TV more than anyone other than Michael himself over the last two Olympics.
Parents are everywhere.
I have already written about my angst as a parent. How hard do you push your kids in sports and when do you start pushing? Or do you push? This is a whole new level. Missy Franklin is 17 years old and has a chance to win seven medals in this Olympics. Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania won the women's 100 breastroke. She's 15. Shiwen Ye of China won the women's 400 IM. She's 16. Phelps made his first Olympics as a 15 year old. (If you haven't seen the clips of him in 2000 in Sydney, you need to. I am sure they will show them tonight for the final of the 200 fly.) 15 is 7 years older than my oldest child. How do you know your child is good enough to even think of the Olympics? And when?
My dream as a child was to win an Olympic gold medal. Actually, that's still my dream, but I don't think I am going to be able to pull off an Olympic debut at the age of 44. My dream as a parent is to watch my kids win an Olympic gold medal. Or the Tour de France. Or the Ironman World Championships. Or the Masters. I recently heard a coach say that one of the keys in sports is to set goals. Goals are realistic benchmarks for where you want to be at a particular time. If I start swimming races again, one of my first goals will be to break a minute in a 100 yard freestyle. That is realistic. The coach said that "I want to swim in the Olympics" is not a goal, it's a dream. However, for Missy Franklin, some time in the last four years, "I want to swim in the Olympics" became a goal. Michael Phelps reached that point some time around age 13. How do you know that being one of the best in the world is a goal, and not a dream?
When I was a child I saw John Naber speak. John Naber won four gold medals and one silver at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Naber said that he was so bad in high school, he won the most improved swimmer award all four years. I have no idea if this is true, but can someone today be a mediocre high school swimmer at age 15 and an Olympic contender, much less Olympic champion, by 22? Can you do this in any sport? Or do you have to start at age 4 and specialize by age 7? I know this is a little extreme, but my oldest son is 8, and sometimes I wonder if he is running out of time.
Then there is the sacrifice question. Even if your child has the talent to make the Olympics, or be a professional in a particular sport, do you really want to sacrifice their childhood? After winning seven medals in Athens, Micheal Phelps came home, bought a Lincoln Navigator and got arrested for drunk driving. When he was 19 years old. After winning eight golds in Beijing, Phelps was photographed with a bong at a college party somewhere in North Carolina. Neither one of these is very good, but they are things some kids do. Phelps lost part of his childhood to 3 hour practices in the pool. He probably went a little crazy during the post Olympics downtime. We see this more with stars in TV and movies than athletes, but there is a risk to the development of a person if they are forced-or choose-to do adult things too fast. No matter what that adult thing may be.
I saw a Beverly Hills 90210 episode once where Brandon got involved with a figure skater. He was impressed with her dedication and work ethic, and questioned his father why he didn't start such dedication as a boy in speed skating. (Back story was he was a very good youth speed skater when they lived in Minnesota.) His father told him that he had spoken to a top coach and the coach asked him if he wanted to raise a son or a champion. And he chose a son. But are they mutually exclusive?
We all have proud moments as a parent. Many are as simple as watching our child walk into school without crying for the first time. There is the first step, first soccer game, first time swimming across the pool without stopping, first win, etc., etc., etc. I am sure watching my child win an Olympic medal would be unbelievable. But that coach is right. It's a dream. It's a dream until one of them shows the ability to make it a goal. And that will likely not happen. That is probably a good thing. We can always watch others live their dreams.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Missy Franklin. Missy is a 17 year old star in swimming. She will be the darling of the 2012 Olympics, even more so than the Fab Five Gymnasts. She already has two medals, including individual gold in the 100 backstroke. She is swimming the 200 freestyle tonight and still has two relays, the 200 backstroke and the 100 freestyle. She will finish this Olympics with at least five medals and has a chance at seven. I am predicting four golds a silver and a bronze. If she sticks with swimming for eight more years, she will become the most decorated US female Olympian and will be a household name just below Phelps and Spitz. And she is fun. She is a normal teenager who happens to have extraordinary ability. If you are looking for a superstar athlete for your child to admire and emulate, I would recommend Missy. You never know what will come in the future (see Phelps and the DUI and bong), but I have faith in Missy. She is rapidly becoming my favorite swimmer.
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 love women's volleyball. All women's volleyball. Indoor team beat Brazil. My volleyball insider told me that in US volleyball, they say "It's OK to lose. Just don't lose to Brazil." They followed that one well. The women have looked very good so far. As have the beach players. Misty and Kerri almost lost their first set last night, but managed to turn a 19-19 second set into a 21-19 win in about 32 seconds. Seriously, I don't know what happened. It was tied. Then it was over.
2. Water polo is incomprehensible, but brutal. Women won yesterday v. Hungary. Apparently in their last 15 games against Hungary, the US women were 7-7-1. Nice win.
3. Lochte finishes fourth in the 200 free. Not sure what to make of this. He said he just didn't go that fast. After getting passed in the final leg of the 400 free relay, then finishing fourth in the 200, I am a little worried about his confidence. Tonight's relay (see below) should help with that.
4. MATT GREVERS - NICK THOMAN. 1-2 in the 100 backstroke. I was a backstroker, so our continued dominance in this event is like crack to me. I need it and I need more of it. Way to go boys!! Five straight gold medals in the men's 100 backstroke (1996 - Jeff Rouse; 2000 - Lenny Krayzelburg; 2004 - Aaron Piersol; 2008 - Piersol with Grevers getting silver).
5. Saw some equestrian yesterday. I can't get into equestrian. When it first came on, I saw a horse run into some trees and never come back. The camera stayed on the trees for about 10 seconds, then went to another horse. I have no idea what happened. Then the horses apparently ran through a pond. Still, kind of confused. Then I saw the funniest thing I have ever seen at the Olympics. A 57 year old was riding a horse, they made a jump, then the guy started to slide off the horse. It happened in slow motion. He seemed to lose his balance a little, then started to slide down the left side of the horse. He tried to hang on, which just made the whole incident last longer. Finally, he slid off. It looked kind of like one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up commercials." He rolled around for a few seconds before standing up. Then he started lifting his leg like a cat that stepped in something sticky. The left knee kept shooting high up as he walked around. And he had some sort of protective vest that lifted up around his head so he looked like a five year old wearing an adult sized life jacket. All this time, the horse just ran off. Everyone was OK, so it was acceptable to laugh.
6. It's hard not to call the Men's Gymnastics Team chokers.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Matt Grevers continues US dominance in the 100 back with the gold medal - Correct
2. Lochte continues his individual run, and gets a bit of redemption, with a gold in the 200 free - WRONG
3. US gets 2 medals in women's 100 breast - Wrong - Silver for Rebecca Soni, 6th for Breeja Larson. My Baltic States Insider was pleased with the Lithuanian victory.
4. Missy Franklin gets her first individual medal, but not gold -WRONG- She will eventually be the most decorated US woman. Pending But we will have to wait 8 years fot that. - Correct
5. US Men do not match the women's silver in synchro diving - Correct - An unexpected bronze for the men.
Corrected Predictions Sum Up -
3. No one cares about Team Handball - WRONG - My Team Handball Insider has objected telling me he cares and was seeking team handball games this past weekend. According to my Insider, it is a combo of basketball, soccer, and hockey, but their are more injuries. So, you need to be indecisive and enjoy the pain of others. Yeah, sounds like my Insider.
Predictions -
1. Phelps wins 200 fly. US wins 800 Free Relay. There will be no better parlay bet in one swimming session than these two races. Phelps has looked mildly vulnerable, but he will become the first male swimmer to win the same event in three Olympics and break the record for most total medals won in an Olympic career.
2. There will be more doping rumblings after Shiwen Ye wins the 200 IM.
3. The US still wins nothing in Badmitton.
4. Rogers and Dalhausser win in efficient fashion.
5. Djokovic beats Roddickm in tennis.
6. Thunderstorms prevent me from swimming tonight.
7. US Women win Team Gymnastics Gold. Then Jordyn Weiber has someone take out Gabby Douglas's knee a la Tanya Harding. (I kid, I kid - but I still would sleep with one eye open if I were Douglas or Raisman)
What to Watch For -
1. I have selected my obscure summer sport. Stay tuned.
2. US men go for relay redemption in the 800 free relay.
3. Men's volleyball v. Germany.
4. Men's Water Polo v. Romania
5. Still lots of sailing.
6. Men's basketball v. Tunisia. The point spread is 55. Take the points.
7. And everything in the Predictions Section.
During the girl's (sorry, but these aren't women) gymnastics qualifying, in the uneven bars, after one of the US girl's routine, NBC showed her parent's reactions during the whole routine. They were leaning left and right, backwards and forwards, almost getting up, and falling back down. In unison with each other. It was the funniest thing I had seen at this year's Olympics until yesterday afternoon (see below). They looked like a weekend hacker golfer trying to move the ball by leaning. Only they were going in at least 5 different directions. The golfers always leans in one direction. At least until the next shot.
Michael Phelps swam the 200 butterfly semifinal last night. After his swim, the cameras went right to Mama Phelps and the sisters, who looked relieved that Phelps looked more like the 23 year old who won eight gold medals in Beijing than the 15 year old who finished fifth in the 200 fly in Sydney. Mama Phelps has been on TV more than anyone other than Michael himself over the last two Olympics.
Parents are everywhere.
I have already written about my angst as a parent. How hard do you push your kids in sports and when do you start pushing? Or do you push? This is a whole new level. Missy Franklin is 17 years old and has a chance to win seven medals in this Olympics. Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania won the women's 100 breastroke. She's 15. Shiwen Ye of China won the women's 400 IM. She's 16. Phelps made his first Olympics as a 15 year old. (If you haven't seen the clips of him in 2000 in Sydney, you need to. I am sure they will show them tonight for the final of the 200 fly.) 15 is 7 years older than my oldest child. How do you know your child is good enough to even think of the Olympics? And when?
My dream as a child was to win an Olympic gold medal. Actually, that's still my dream, but I don't think I am going to be able to pull off an Olympic debut at the age of 44. My dream as a parent is to watch my kids win an Olympic gold medal. Or the Tour de France. Or the Ironman World Championships. Or the Masters. I recently heard a coach say that one of the keys in sports is to set goals. Goals are realistic benchmarks for where you want to be at a particular time. If I start swimming races again, one of my first goals will be to break a minute in a 100 yard freestyle. That is realistic. The coach said that "I want to swim in the Olympics" is not a goal, it's a dream. However, for Missy Franklin, some time in the last four years, "I want to swim in the Olympics" became a goal. Michael Phelps reached that point some time around age 13. How do you know that being one of the best in the world is a goal, and not a dream?
When I was a child I saw John Naber speak. John Naber won four gold medals and one silver at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Naber said that he was so bad in high school, he won the most improved swimmer award all four years. I have no idea if this is true, but can someone today be a mediocre high school swimmer at age 15 and an Olympic contender, much less Olympic champion, by 22? Can you do this in any sport? Or do you have to start at age 4 and specialize by age 7? I know this is a little extreme, but my oldest son is 8, and sometimes I wonder if he is running out of time.
Then there is the sacrifice question. Even if your child has the talent to make the Olympics, or be a professional in a particular sport, do you really want to sacrifice their childhood? After winning seven medals in Athens, Micheal Phelps came home, bought a Lincoln Navigator and got arrested for drunk driving. When he was 19 years old. After winning eight golds in Beijing, Phelps was photographed with a bong at a college party somewhere in North Carolina. Neither one of these is very good, but they are things some kids do. Phelps lost part of his childhood to 3 hour practices in the pool. He probably went a little crazy during the post Olympics downtime. We see this more with stars in TV and movies than athletes, but there is a risk to the development of a person if they are forced-or choose-to do adult things too fast. No matter what that adult thing may be.
I saw a Beverly Hills 90210 episode once where Brandon got involved with a figure skater. He was impressed with her dedication and work ethic, and questioned his father why he didn't start such dedication as a boy in speed skating. (Back story was he was a very good youth speed skater when they lived in Minnesota.) His father told him that he had spoken to a top coach and the coach asked him if he wanted to raise a son or a champion. And he chose a son. But are they mutually exclusive?
We all have proud moments as a parent. Many are as simple as watching our child walk into school without crying for the first time. There is the first step, first soccer game, first time swimming across the pool without stopping, first win, etc., etc., etc. I am sure watching my child win an Olympic medal would be unbelievable. But that coach is right. It's a dream. It's a dream until one of them shows the ability to make it a goal. And that will likely not happen. That is probably a good thing. We can always watch others live their dreams.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Missy Franklin. Missy is a 17 year old star in swimming. She will be the darling of the 2012 Olympics, even more so than the Fab Five Gymnasts. She already has two medals, including individual gold in the 100 backstroke. She is swimming the 200 freestyle tonight and still has two relays, the 200 backstroke and the 100 freestyle. She will finish this Olympics with at least five medals and has a chance at seven. I am predicting four golds a silver and a bronze. If she sticks with swimming for eight more years, she will become the most decorated US female Olympian and will be a household name just below Phelps and Spitz. And she is fun. She is a normal teenager who happens to have extraordinary ability. If you are looking for a superstar athlete for your child to admire and emulate, I would recommend Missy. You never know what will come in the future (see Phelps and the DUI and bong), but I have faith in Missy. She is rapidly becoming my favorite swimmer.
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 love women's volleyball. All women's volleyball. Indoor team beat Brazil. My volleyball insider told me that in US volleyball, they say "It's OK to lose. Just don't lose to Brazil." They followed that one well. The women have looked very good so far. As have the beach players. Misty and Kerri almost lost their first set last night, but managed to turn a 19-19 second set into a 21-19 win in about 32 seconds. Seriously, I don't know what happened. It was tied. Then it was over.
2. Water polo is incomprehensible, but brutal. Women won yesterday v. Hungary. Apparently in their last 15 games against Hungary, the US women were 7-7-1. Nice win.
3. Lochte finishes fourth in the 200 free. Not sure what to make of this. He said he just didn't go that fast. After getting passed in the final leg of the 400 free relay, then finishing fourth in the 200, I am a little worried about his confidence. Tonight's relay (see below) should help with that.
4. MATT GREVERS - NICK THOMAN. 1-2 in the 100 backstroke. I was a backstroker, so our continued dominance in this event is like crack to me. I need it and I need more of it. Way to go boys!! Five straight gold medals in the men's 100 backstroke (1996 - Jeff Rouse; 2000 - Lenny Krayzelburg; 2004 - Aaron Piersol; 2008 - Piersol with Grevers getting silver).
5. Saw some equestrian yesterday. I can't get into equestrian. When it first came on, I saw a horse run into some trees and never come back. The camera stayed on the trees for about 10 seconds, then went to another horse. I have no idea what happened. Then the horses apparently ran through a pond. Still, kind of confused. Then I saw the funniest thing I have ever seen at the Olympics. A 57 year old was riding a horse, they made a jump, then the guy started to slide off the horse. It happened in slow motion. He seemed to lose his balance a little, then started to slide down the left side of the horse. He tried to hang on, which just made the whole incident last longer. Finally, he slid off. It looked kind of like one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up commercials." He rolled around for a few seconds before standing up. Then he started lifting his leg like a cat that stepped in something sticky. The left knee kept shooting high up as he walked around. And he had some sort of protective vest that lifted up around his head so he looked like a five year old wearing an adult sized life jacket. All this time, the horse just ran off. Everyone was OK, so it was acceptable to laugh.
6. It's hard not to call the Men's Gymnastics Team chokers.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Matt Grevers continues US dominance in the 100 back with the gold medal - Correct
2. Lochte continues his individual run, and gets a bit of redemption, with a gold in the 200 free - WRONG
3. US gets 2 medals in women's 100 breast - Wrong - Silver for Rebecca Soni, 6th for Breeja Larson. My Baltic States Insider was pleased with the Lithuanian victory.
4. Missy Franklin gets her first individual medal, but not gold -WRONG- She will eventually be the most decorated US woman. Pending But we will have to wait 8 years fot that. - Correct
5. US Men do not match the women's silver in synchro diving - Correct - An unexpected bronze for the men.
Corrected Predictions Sum Up -
3. No one cares about Team Handball - WRONG - My Team Handball Insider has objected telling me he cares and was seeking team handball games this past weekend. According to my Insider, it is a combo of basketball, soccer, and hockey, but their are more injuries. So, you need to be indecisive and enjoy the pain of others. Yeah, sounds like my Insider.
Predictions -
1. Phelps wins 200 fly. US wins 800 Free Relay. There will be no better parlay bet in one swimming session than these two races. Phelps has looked mildly vulnerable, but he will become the first male swimmer to win the same event in three Olympics and break the record for most total medals won in an Olympic career.
2. There will be more doping rumblings after Shiwen Ye wins the 200 IM.
3. The US still wins nothing in Badmitton.
4. Rogers and Dalhausser win in efficient fashion.
5. Djokovic beats Roddickm in tennis.
6. Thunderstorms prevent me from swimming tonight.
7. US Women win Team Gymnastics Gold. Then Jordyn Weiber has someone take out Gabby Douglas's knee a la Tanya Harding. (I kid, I kid - but I still would sleep with one eye open if I were Douglas or Raisman)
What to Watch For -
1. I have selected my obscure summer sport. Stay tuned.
2. US men go for relay redemption in the 800 free relay.
3. Men's volleyball v. Germany.
4. Men's Water Polo v. Romania
5. Still lots of sailing.
6. Men's basketball v. Tunisia. The point spread is 55. Take the points.
7. And everything in the Predictions Section.
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