Olympics Musings Day 13

So much has happened it's hard to recap it all. We've finished all the swimming events, with just a bit of diving and the ever mesmerizing synchronized swimming yet to come. Leading the way in the primetime excitement now are the track and field medal events which will carry us through to the closing ceremonies on Sunday. I have yet to see any table tennis yet, but that may just be because I haven't been following as closely lately as I did in the beginning. It's a good thing the Olympics are only two weeks long, because I don't think I could handle much more than that.

In Team USA news...

* The best womens beach volleyball duo of May and Walsh took home back-to-back Gold Medals for the first time Olympics history. The Gold Medal game yesterday was amazing, especially considering it was in the pouring down rain.

* USA Softball got upset for the first (and probably last) time in Olympics history, as they take the silver, with Team Japan taking the Gold.

* Women's Soccer defeated the powerhouse of Brazil in extra time to secure the Gold Medal for the 3rd time in 4 Olympics bringing their medal record in the past 4 games to (3-1-0) having medaled in every Women's Soccer event since the event began in 1996.

* Of course, in Women's Team Gymnastics, I'm sure we all saw Team USA take the silver.

* In rowing, the Women's 8 took Gold for the USA, featuring two ex-Huskies. Go Dawgs!

* Venus and Serena took the Gold in doubles tennis. But I have to say, does tennis seem to be something that has transcended the Olympics by this point? It's a mainstream sport that doesn't really seem to fit in the Olympics to me. I say the same about basketball and soccer, and the soon-to-be-removed baseball, actually. The Olympics are all about amateur sports competition, these games that really have become professional events, need not be in the Games.

* While I'm on the topic of team sports, women's water polo, in case you didn't know we had a good team, took silver.

I was thinking today, what unique, one-of-a-kind, unlike anything else events are there really in the Olympics? In case you didn't notice... these are the same games:

Soccer, Field Hockey, Handball, Water Polo, Basketball
Tennis, Table Tennis, Badminton, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball
Judo, Taekwondo, Boxing, Fencing, Wrestling
Canoeing, Kayaking, Sailing, Rowing
Cycling, Swimming, Track & Field, Triathlon

Sure they're all slightly different, but the game is the same. You've got hitting the ball into goal, hitting the ball over a net, hitting each other, racing on water, and racing other ways.

That leaves the following semi-unique events:

Archery, Shooting (different enough to be interesting)
Baseball, Softball (really, there's nothing like these)
Equestrian (definitively unique)
Gymnastics (skill)
Rhythmic Gymnastics (artistic with skill)
Synchronized Swimming (I think they invented synchronized diving to make it feel better)
Trampoline (arguably like gymnastics, but odd)
Diving (same as trampoline, odd)
Modern Pentathalon (unique only in that who would think to put those events together in the first place?)
Weightlifting (in a class by itself)

So maybe there is more uniqueness than I had first thought. Still, there's a lot of repetition. Someone should invent something really unique... like curling.

Olympics News Roundup 8/12

Today's Olympics news features "things are not what they seem to be":

* Spanish basketball team poses for offensive picture - The headline says it all. This begs the question, are these guys as "estupido" as they look?

* NBC's Big Olympics Deal: Armchair Play-by-Play - Thousands of hours of Olympics coverage over half a dozen networks. Think of each sports commentators who had to make the long flight to China, breathe the heavy smog, eat Chinese food for three weeks... oh, wait, didn't I see you last night at the Sbarro under Rockefeller Center in New York? Yes, yes I did. Much of the commentary you hear accompanying NBC's Olympics coverage is coming right from 30 Rock as they watch exactly like you do, on television.

* Olympic opening uses girl's voice, not face - In yet another attempt to make the opening ceremonies perfect, that cute girl who sang "Ode to the Motherland" during the opening ceremonies so beautifully... lip synching, but not to herself, to another girl who had laid down the tracks earlier. Apparently the girl with the beautiful voice, wasn't beautiful enough to sing it at the ceremony. In tomorrow's breaking news, confirmed reports that the spectators who thought they were in the Bird's Nest for the opening ceremony were in fact in the world's largest virtual reality simulator ever constructed!

* Olympic dream a nightmare, thanks to CBC - It only goes to show, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Apparently Canadian viewers can't stand CBC's coverage so they watch NBC instead. Maybe CBC should provide US coverage and NBC can handle the Canadian coverage, then everyone might be happy.

Olympics Musings Day 4

Plenty of excitement in today's events, especially in swimming with the Americans killing more records and raking in the medals. Team USA also starts off their Olympic Softball competition with a mercy-rule rout of Venezuela, 11-0 in a 5 inning no-hitter. Interestingly, this game being live in the early afternoon China time, the stands are all but empty. Even in the US where softball probably doesn't get so much credit, there's a loyal following of fans, but I guess they didn't make the trip to Beijing and the locals don't even want to go.

A few additional observations on Day 4 of competition:

* Michael Phelps claims his 3rd gold medal of the games in the 200m Freestyle.

* Why is it called "Freestyle" if everyone's swimming the same way? What kind of example of freedom are we setting for the world? Sounds pretty conformist to me.

* Phelps Phans close your eyes, because here comes my Michael Phelps Phailure of the Day... he has won 9 gold medals now (6 in Athens and 3 so far in Beijing), which means he's been on the medal podium 9 times, and proudly watched the Stars and Stripes rise 9 times as the Star Spangled Banner played 9 times... HE MUST KNOW THE WORDS BY NOW. Don't just stand there like a doofus, AT LEAST move your lips to the words when the national anthem is played. We get brilliant high-definition closeups of Phelps' face throughout the entire anthem, America deserves more than his glazed over look with his mouth half open. Ridiculous. At least in the 200m Free Peter Vanderkaay, who won the bronze for the US, moved his lips to the music. Thanks, Peter, maybe you could teach Michael the words for next time.

* Speaking of national anthems, very nice orchestrations the Beijing committee organized this year. I remember clearly many of the more recent Olympics using performances of the Star Spangled Banner that sounded like they were taken off of a vinyl record back in the 50s. This year's are well performed and have some very nice harmonies that are fun to listen to. Approved.

It's now 11:25pm Pacific, or 2:25pm Beijing, with Day 4's events continuing through our night.

Olympics News Roundup 8/11

A brief update on the latest Olympics news bites:

* Part of Olympic fireworks faked in broadcast - The spectacular fireworks flyover of Beijing at night was completely bogus. While the fireworks in and around the Bird's Nest stadium were real, the rest were digitally animated (using no doubt pirated CGI software) in a presentation that even Pixar would be impressed by. Now, when I initially watched this on Friday night, I thought it looked computer generated myself, though didn't think much of it. What I find more amusing is that this has become a "big story", which is probably only due to the fact that the Chinese organizers weren't forthcoming in saying it was staged. It was still pretty impressive.

* NBC Universal off to fast start with Olympic ratings - Friday night's opening ceremonies averaged 34.2 million US viewers, despite its 12-hour tape delay on the east coast (and 15-hour delay in Pacific time). The Beijing games currently have the highest viewership of any Summer games held outside the U.S. NBC's obvious attempt to increase advertising revenue by time-shifting everything to prime time is worth it to them, as they have apparently secured over $1 Billion in ad revenue (NBC payed a record $800 Million to be the US broadcasting network for the Olympics, so it seems to be paying off).

* Chinese hush up serious injury to acrobat - In what I can only describe as "an extreme case of mistaken priorities," apparently the opening ceremonies were not without injury, as one acrobat apparently fell during a rehearsal and was left for nearly an hour before receiving medical attention due to the high level of secrecy surrounding the ceremony preventing an ambulance from arriving. Insanity.

I Love the Olympics

The first of probably many posts on the Olympics and my obsession with them.

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!

Friday night were the Opening Ceremonies, which I have to admit had many moments of "WOW, that was AMAZING!" The overwhelming theme I use to describe the ceremony is "Synchronicity." I still can't believe how those synchronized light-up drums were. And the "box" people were equally amazing. Though all of them were probably a bit too long.

Then there was the Parade of Athletes. For goodness sake people, 2 hours?! That was way too long. My only observation here is that I seem to recall in previous opening ceremonies, the athletes dressed much more like, well, ATHLETES. This year our American athletes sported a wardrobe by Ralph Lauren, which made them look like they were getting ready to board a sailboat.

Overall, China definitely set the bar high with their opening ceremonies, though I wouldn't necessarily say they were the best ever.

Now in the dawn of Day 3 of competition, a few interesting observations:

* What's the deal with all these swimming world records being broken IN THE PRELIMINARIES?! Save some for the finals people! Of course, apparently they were, as in the mens 4x100 freestyle relay, the US broke the world record in the semi-finals, then proceeded to OBLITERATE the world record they just set by 3.99 seconds in the finals, along with 4 other teams which were ahead of the semi-final WR time. What a race, what a finish!

* Badminton is interesting to watch.

* Beach Volleyball is not the same in the pouring down rain. Seriously.

* There's been a lot of boxing on. I still don't get it. Just seems an odd sport for the Olympics.

* Michael Phelps is very good at posing for the cameras. I think he likes having his picture taken.

The Beijing medals are definitely unique. Though I think I like the Bronze medal the best, actually. The green jade is hard to beat.

* And finally, thank goodness for CBC's Canadian coverage of the Olympics. At least I don't have to wait 3 hours to watch things "live" on the west coast, even if it's not in HD.

More to come...

Summer Olympics Quiz ANSWERS

And now the answers to the Olympics quiz:

1) Which of these sports has never been a medal event at a Summer Olympic Games?

D. Lawn Bowling (Bocce)

Lawn Bowling or 'Bowls', was a demonstration sport in the 2nd Olympic Games in 1900 in Paris, but never has been a medal event. The early 1900s saw medals awarded in such diverse sports as Golf (1900 & 1904), Croquet (1900), Motorboat Racing (1908), and yes, even Tug of War (1900-1920).

2) The USA has won more medals at the Summer Olympics than any other nation. How many has it won?

D. 2188

894 of those have been gold medals. Incidentally, the former Soviet Union (1952-1988) still remains in 2nd place overall with 1010 medals, and Great Britain trails far behind in 3rd place with 668.

3) What is the only year that the USA did not participate in the Summer Olympic Games?

E. 1980

In response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, 61 nations joined the USA in boycotting the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow. Not to be outdone, 13 nations joined the Soviet Union in boycotting the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. The only country boycotting both the Moscow and Los Angeles games? Iran.

4) In 1956, Melbourn, Australia hosted the games, but due to Australian quarantine laws on foreign horses, the equestrian events were held 5 months earlier where?

A. Stockholm

Only the second time that events were held outside of the host nation. In the 1920 games in Antwerp, Belgium, the final races of the 12-foot dinghy sailing event were held in the Netherlands. The only two competitors were Dutch.

5) The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the final appearance of baseball and softball as Olympics events. When did each of these sports first appear as medal events?

B. 1992 & 1996

A demonstration sport as far back as 1904, baseball first was granted medal event status in Barcelona in 1992. Four years later in Atlanta, women's softball joined the ranks. Leading the medal counts in baseball, Cuba claims 3 of the 4 gold medals awarded. In softball however, the USA looks to remain undefeated in Beijing, having won every gold medal ever awarded in the event.

Summer Olympics Quiz

This Friday will be the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. In honor of this occasion, this week's quiz will be dedicated to the history of those games:

1) Which of these sports has never been a medal event at a Summer Olympic Games?

A. Golf
B. Croquet
C. Motorboat Racing
D. Lawn Bowling (Bocce)
E. Tug of War

2) The USA has won more medals at the Summer Olympics than any other nation. How many has it won?

A. 839
B. 1293
C. 1644
D. 2188
E. 2851

3) What is the only year that the USA did not participate in the Summer Olympic Games?

A. 1904
B. 1928
C. 1948
D. 1972
E. 1980

4) In 1956, Melbourn, Australia hosted the games, but due to Australian quarantine laws on foreign horses, the equestrian events were held 5 months earlier where?

A. Stockholm
B. Rome
C. Los Angeles
D. Munich
E. London

5) The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the final appearance of baseball and softball as Olympics events. When did each of these sports first appear as medal events?

A. 1936 & 2000
B. 1992 & 1996
C. 1992 & 2000
D. 1936 & 1996
E. 1996 & 2000

Torino 2006

The Olympics are finally upon us. Friday's opening ceremonies were brought to you by the bizarre Italian rendition of Cirque du Soleil, with lots of strange performances, but at least were something to keep your attention.

In the spirit of the Winter Olympics, and my own ignorance about half of the sports, I've compiled my Winter Olympics Event Lingo test. The format is simple, just match the Olympic sport up with the vocabulary term you'd find used in that sport. All of these terms were taken directly from the NBC Olympics website, and as such I take no responsibility for any inaccuracies, nor for any term that may fall into multiple sports. My answer key at the bottom is final. :)

Term	Sport
1. Blocks	a. Alpine Skiing
2. Chicane	b. Bobsled
3. Cowling	c. Curling
4. Crease	d. Figure Skating
5. Death Cookies	e. Freestyle Skiing
6. Death Spiral	f. Ice Dancing
7. Hack	g. Ice Hockey
8. Kufen	h. Luge / Skeleton
9. McTwist	i. Ski Jumping
10. Telemark	j. Snowboarding
11. Twizzle	k. Speed Skating

Wanna know what the terms mean? Look them up yourself, it'll give you something to do. :)





Answers: 1.k 2.a 3.b 4.g 5.e 6.d 7.c 8.h 9.j 10.i 11.f

What can I say?

How quickly time flies when you have nothing productive to say.

Have I had anything profound to say lately? No. Do I have anything profound to say now? No, not really. But I'm blogging anyway just so people know I still exist. Here comes the 30-second recap of everything that's happened in the past week.

Super Bowl - Yes, the Seahawks lost to the NFL Referees in Super Bowl XL. I'd rather have seen them lose on their own merits, but that's how it goes. My super bowl party went well, and I successfully proved that my apartment IS big enough to hold 8 guests with nobody needing to sit on the floor. That was pretty impressive.

Curling - Curling continues as usual. Friday night my team made me skip the game... despite my best resistance. :) [note, "skip" doesn't mean I missed the game, in curling the skip is the head of the team who calls the shots.] It was actually not bad, I curled well, and we won the match. No curling on Sunday due to the super bowl, but on Monday night I curled my normal lead position, and continued my outstanding curling. Going into Monday we were tied with one other team for first place in the league, both teams an undefeated 3-0 record. As luck would have it, we played the other team at the top of the standings. We proceeded to score 6 in the first end, and 3 more in the 2nd end, and went on to win the match by about 10-2, bringing our record to 4-0 and sole posession of 1st place. Of course, the season has I believe 6 or 7 games left, so there's plenty of time for us to fall to the bottom. :)

Work - Work is busy, yet not too bad. Trying to be productive over the course of the week and next before I go on vacation from the 17th to the 24th when Andrew is in town. That should be quite exciting, as the last real vacation I took was probably back in September. Though without a doubt I'll return to the work in a major crunch and have tons of work to catch up with. Makes me wonder how much of a vacation "vacation" really is.

Olympics - The Olympics start on Friday... opening ceremonies Friday night if you watch NBC's delayed coverage... but Friday at 10am if you watch CBC's live coverage. Thank goodness for Canadians and my DVR, I'll be able to watch the coverage in fast forward when I get home from work before I have to go curling. Other more lucky people might not have to work and be able to watch the opening ceremonies live at 10am.

I can't think of anything else important off hand... maybe next time.