August 2008
20 posts
Olympics: sympathy
Since I’m an Olympics nut, I can’t just let them go when the Closing Ceremony ends - I need a few days afterward to ramp down. So, I’ll be posting a few closing thoughts over the next few days - about the Games in general, favorite moments, NBC’s coverage, etc.
Today’s is the “downer” post. Proverbially, defeat’s agony must accompany...
Olympics highlights, Day 16
Top highlights: with not much competition left, there were still two. First, the Redeem Team (a name I said I refused to use - but, upon reflection, they earned the moniker) beat Spain for the gold medal in one of the more exciting basketball games I’ve seen in a long time. Spain ran with the US, shot the ball well, and - despite missing their starting point guard - was within 4 points...
Olympics highlights, Day 15
Top highlight: the US winning both men’s and women’s 4x400 relays. The men’s victory was a foregone conclusion, barring some freak occurence like a cramp, and they didn’t disappoint, winning in Olympic record time - Jeremy Wariner’s anchor leg was stupid-fast.
The women’s race was incredibly dramatic, with Sanya Richards catching and passing the Russian anchor...
Olympics highlights, Day 14
Top highlight: American Brian Clay winning gold to extend a strong US tradition in the decathlon. His performance in the first 9 events was so dominant (building a lead of more than 500 points) that even a last-place finish in the concluding 1500m still left him 200 points ahead of the silver medalist.
Other highlights, most of which involve US teams:
Jamaican men winning the 4x100 relay and...
Olympics highlights, Day 13
Top highlight: Definitely two of them, the first being US women winning gold in women’s soccer. I won’t claim to be a soccer expert, so I can’t refute some of the after-match reports that Brazil dominated play, but my view was that the Americans had a clear game plan which they executed well: play a very disciplined defense, and send lots of long balls forward with the notion of...
Olympics highlights, Day 12
Top highlight: in possibly the clearest “top highlight” of the Games, it’s obviously Usain Bolt’s 2nd gold and 2nd world record, coming in the 200m. In marked contrast to his showboating and suboptimal finish in the 100m, he went all-out this time, even leaning at the tape when he was leading by several meters.
Before seeing Bolt, I didn’t think Michael...
Olympics highlights, Day 11
Top highlight: seeing Natalie du Toit from South Africa, who is missing the lower half of her left leg, compete in the inaugural women’s 10km marathon open-water swim - amazing and inspiring.
Other notes/highlights:
Shawn Johnson finally winning a gold medal, on the balance beam. Of all events in gymnastics - and possibly all of sports - this may amaze me more than any other: how...
Olympics highlights, Day 10
Top highlight: the US sweep of the men’s 400m. While their dominance of the sprints has faded, the US is still the leader when it comes to the 400 distance (with or without hurdles). Hopefully, this is a prelude to better performance by US tracksters for the rest of the Games.
Other notes/highlights:
US women win their soccer semifinal 4-2 over Japan after trailing early. They’ve...
Olympics Highlights, Day 9
Top highlight: the Jamaican women sweeping the 100m dash - a powerful performance by the suddenly-dominant sprinting power. Jamaica has been a force in sprinting for several Olympics now, but this kind of performance is what we Americans used to aim for. Now, we feel lucky to have won a single bronze in the men’s and women’s 100m. Hopefully, the US team will perform better in the...
Olympics highlights, Day 8
Top highlights:
1) Seeing Phelps complete his perfect run, swimming the decisive leg in the 4x100 medley relay. It’s possible to argue that there are other athletic feats comparable to Phelps’ performance in the last eight days; it’s very difficult to argue that there any feat clearly superior to his.
2) A breathtaking sprint by Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m, breaking the...
Olympics highlights, Day 7
Top highlight: Phelps’ amazing come-from-behind victory in the 100m butterfly, which almost defies explanation. Whereas the US victory in the 4x100 free relay was incredible, this one was… well, mystifying.
Other highlights:
The US women’s soccer 2-1, extra-time quarterfinal victory over Canada. I woke at 3am Pacific to see this live, and then endured a 90-minute lightning...
Olympics highlights, Day 6
Top highlight: Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson winning gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s gymnastics individual all-around finals. Shawn was very good and Nastia was slightly better.
Other highlights:
Lochte and Piersol winning gold and silver in the men’s 200m backstroke. In a Phelps-dominated swim meet, it was nice to see Lochte earn a gold medal (and set a world...
Olympics highlights, Day 5
Top highlight: Kristin Armstrong smashing the field to win the women’s cycling road race. A special shout-out goes to Christine Thorburn, who finished 5th, only 3.2 seconds out of 3rd place - she’s a doctor for my wife Melissa.
Other highlights/notes:
Levi Leipheimer, in the men’s road race, winning the bronze
Kosuke Kitajima, defending his Olympic titles in both breaststroke...
Olympics highlights, Day 4
Top highlight: Phelps winning the 200m fly (with goggles full of water) and participating in the 4x200m relay to become the first Olympian with double-digit gold medals.
Phelps’ performance so far is superlative - the only accomplishment I can think of that’s in the same class is Jesse Owens’ four world records in 45 minutes while at Ohio State. (Phelps’ 5 gold medals...
Olympics highlights, Day 3
Top highlight is obvious: the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay. It was absolutely spectacular. If you’ve watched it, I don’t need to say any more. If you haven’t, go to the NBC Olympics video site and see it. It’s the current candidate for top event at the Olympics.
Other moments:
Several great performances in the rest of the swimming events - Phelps in the 200m...
Olympics highlights, Day 2
Top highlights:
Michael Phelps’ 400IM world record - an absolutely astounding performance. Phelps may or may not match or break Spitz’ record of 7 golds in one Olympics, but he seems highly likely to break the record for most Olympic golds in career (9). He’s the best swimmer in history.
The US/China game in men’s basketball. Notable not from a competitive perspective,...
Olympics highlights, Day 1
Top highlight: US women sweeping the sabre event in fencing. I’ll admit that I can barely follow, and certainly don’t understand, this sport. Basically, the fencers face off, then there’s a flurry of activity, then both fencers shout, and finally one of them is awarded a point. The referee even has to go to a video replay every third or fourth point to check that he made the...
Olympics highlights, Day 0
No sports today, but:
The Opening Ceremony: wow. (I’m watching the Parade of Nations as we speak.) Story, costumes, dancing, technology, fireworks - spectacular.
I loved the arrow-to-light-the-torch in Barcelona, and the ceremony in Athens 2004 had a wonderful connection to the ancient Games that no other country could replicate. For me, though, this is the most impressive opening...
Olympics highlights, Day -1
Not much to report today either, as only men’s soccer pool play was in action. The US men started off well with a 1-0 win over Japan - crucial for their medal hopes in a tough group.
The Opening Ceremony starts in a little over 7 hours. Woohoo!
Other than men’s and women’s soccer pool play, competition starts at 8:30 AM Saturday morning (Beijing time) with the women’s...
Olympics highlights, Day -2
My plan: over the next 19 days, post my personal highlights from the Beijing Olympics. I’ll freely admit bias in several areas:
Sports: swimming, combat sports, cycling, basketball, and especially athletics are great - performance sports (diving, gymnastics, synchronized swimming) not so much.
Nation: USA (without apology; I’ll generally root for Americans, and expect that citizens...