Beijing Surprise

The US Olympic team may not have fared quite as well as they would have liked these Olympic games. Of course we have all heard about the track woes, the baseball team failed to win gold in our own sport and the US failed to win a single diving medal, a sport that was dominated by the Americans up until the 1980s. However despite the lows there were also some pleasant surprises from the Americans in Beijing.

We watched as 21 yr old Henry Cejduo, son of illgeal immigrant parents, took home the gold for the Americans in freestyle wrestling. Cejudo had only been wrestling at the international level for a very short time and shocked everyone by bringing home the gold.

We also got to see 19 year old swimmer Rebecca Soni become one of the best female swimmers in the World before our eyes. Athens breaststroke hero Amanda Beard faltered, failing to reach the finals, but the 19 yr old Soni took the opportunity to show that the women's swim team was pretty good too, winning a gold and two silvers for her country.

American hurdles sprinter Dawn Harper also very unexpectedly took home the gold in the womens 100 meter hurdles. Heavy favorite Lolo Jones, stumbled on the 2nd to last hurdle, but Harper made sure it was still an American Victory.

And of course there is the Men's gymnastics team. Considered a long shot to win any medals at all after Athens all-around champion Paul Hamm decided he was not healthy enough to compete. The Americans dazzled in the team competition, taking home a bronze medal and only just missing out on a silver. Team leader Jonothan Horton followed that up with a silver medal in the high bar event.


So, while the US team may not have been perfect during these games, they still have plenty to smile about. After all they are still highly likely to finish atop the medal table once again, with well over 100 medals. We are looking forward to an even better team in London, 4 years from now.

What caused the U.S. Track and Field meltdown?

It's been a sobering 10 days for the USATF, the body that oversees the United States Track and Field team. It's been decades since the U.S. Team performed so poorly at an Olympic Games. Swept off the track in the individual sprints by the mighty Jamaicans, the U.S. sprinters hit rock bottom on Thursday when both Men's and Women's 4X100M sprint teams dropped the baton in preliminary heats and didn't even qualify for the finals. Both were expected to be strong Gold medal contenders, although that is somewhat hard to believe after watching the Jamaican women sweep the U.S. Women right out of the medals in the individual 100m (pictured).










The list of failures is long and peppered with high profile names. Tyson Gay, the defending World Champ at both 100 and 200m was injured at the trials and didn't qualify for the 200m and was eliminated in the semis of the 100m, he was also involved in the botched relay hand-off that led to the relay DQ. 1,500m World Champion, Bernard Legat also failed to qualify for the finals. There was talk of a sweep in the shot put as Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson finished 1-2 at last year's World's and Christian Cantwell had been throwing as well as anyone coming in. Instead they won just a silver by Cantwell.

I could go on and on but the story remains the same. Almost a total collapse in what is typically the stage for some of the greatest U.S. successes. USA Track and Field announced today that they will start an investigation immediately following the Games to determine what went wrong and get a new program in place immediately. But sadly, like in many other high profile sports, it seems the rest of the world has simply caught up. What we saw as an American birthright has been snatched away by hungrier, more motivated and for the time being superior athletes from overseas.

Hopefully the forthcoming changes will be successful and in 4 years things will be back to what Americans are used to seeing on the Olympic track. But for now, all most fans can do is shake their heads in disbelief.

Walsh and May-Treanor, Golden once again.

They entered the Olympics having won over 100 consecutive matches and swept through the preliminaries and the medal round with relative ease to capture Gold once again. They are arguably the greatest of all time in their sport and quite possibly the most dominant team of any kind at these Olympic Games.

No, not the U.S. Swimming Team or even the U.S. Mens Basketball, "Redeem Team". I'm talking of course about the Beach Volleyball duo of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. They won 7 strait matches without dropping a single set and without ever really looking vulnerable. In the Finals they cruised past Wang Jie and Tian Jia of China, 21-18, 21-18. They did it in a driving rainstorm that caused the cancellation of other events, including the BMX Finals.

It was the culmination of their Olympic experience that also included a meeting with President Bush and Walsh losing her wedding ring in the middle of a match. She played the rest of the match thinking it was lost forever only to be informed the next day that volunteers spent hours sifting through the sand to find her ring. They presented it to her the following morning.

The Chinese women played tough in front of their home crowd and made the match closer than expected but it seemed like Walsh and May-Treanor made every big dig and kill when it mattered and they were rewarded for their efforts with their second Gold medal. Dating back to the Athens Games in 2004 they have now won 14 consecutive matches without dropping a single set and won Gold both times. Truly the Beach Volleyball equivalent of the "Dream Team".

NBC, no more tape delays... Please!

It's become a nightly thing since the start of the Olympic Games. There has not been a single night that I haven't received a text message, instant message, email or phone call with premature Olympics results.

Even tonight while at the grocery store I couldn't avoid it. While at the checkout lane I bump into a buddy who was banging away on his Blackberry and looked up with a big smile and said, "Phelps just won his 7th Gold, man". Of course NBC wouldn't air this event in my time zone for another 2 hours. Look, I understand that when the Olympics take place on the other side of the world, it's not going to make for the best TV viewing times. But China and the IOC have bent over backwards to try and schedule key events at often strange times locally so they can be seen live in more TV markets. Almost every single big swimming final took place before lunch time in Beijing so that we Americans could watch live during our normal prime time window. The only problem with this? You only get to see it live on the east coast. Even though most of these swimming finals are happening between 6 and 8PM in the Western and Pacific times zones, those folks aren't getting to see them live. So if you have friends who live east of you or happen to check Olympic results on the computer you are bound to see news you didn't even know had happened yet.

I can hear the responses already. "You can't make everyone happy, it's not possible to show it to everything live". And for the most part, I agree. But was it really necessary to air a volleyball match that was hours old to viewers out west as Phelps was winning his record tying 7th Gold in controversial fashion, live everywhere else in the world?

We live in a world of instant gratification. Between cell phones, PDA's and wireless web access, people have almost continuous access to information. The world is an ever evolving and increasingly global environment. With DVR's and online web streams becoming more and more prevalent, people can tap into media events no matter where they happen to be. It's time to bring TV into the new age. There is more out there than the 7-10 prime time window, folks. Let us see our heroes live, even if it's not in a traditional time slot.

The internet already stands poised to steal our attention and our time away from TV if not replace it entirely in the years to come. Why give people more motivation to switch by insisting on airing things when it's convenient and more profitable for the network as opposed to letting us decide for ourselves?

Air it live, please.. If we aren't home when it happens, there is always TiVo.

Memorable Olympic Highlights. Part 5.

You hear lots of lip service during the Olympics about the "Olympic Spirit" and desire simply to participate. I always saw it as a way to make the losers feel better about themselves. Ultimately, you come to the Games to win.. Barcelona in 1992 changed all that for me.

British sprinter Derek Redmond came to Barcelona with a good chance of winning a medal in the 400m dash. He was far from the favorite, but was definitely in contention to make the podium. He had always struggled with injuries and had to pull out of the 1988 Games in Seoul just minutes before he was scheduled to run in his preliminary heat. He came into Barcelona healthy though and was ready to challenge the world's best. He performed well in the preliminary heats, posting the fastest time amongst all the competitors and eventually qualified for the semifinals.

During his semifinal heat he took off at the sound of the starter's pistol and raced down the track. Shortly after the first turn his right hamstring popped. Initially he stopped and went to his knees, but after a few moments he gets to his feet and starts hopping around the track in an attempt to finish the race. Moments later his father pushes his way past security and races onto the track to help his son. Arm in arm and with tears streaming from their eyes, father and son, cross the finish line.

It is officially listed to this day that Redmond did not finish the race. But in his eyes and the eyes of the capacity crowd that gave him a standing ovation, he finished with honor. If ever an athlete personified the true Olympic Spirit, it was Redmond.

Pretty in Silver

On Tuesday the American men shocked the gymnastics world, winning an unexpected bronze medal in the team competition without the Hamm brothers. Wednesday night it was the American girls turn. Their expectations were far different however. The defending world champions came in to Beijing expecting a gold medal, but they fell short to the Chinese and had to accept a silver. The 2nd place finish was in large part because of two major mistakes by team captain Alicia Sacramone. At the start of her balance beam routine, her right foot did not land properly on the beam and she fell, causing huge deductions. Later in floor exercise on a tumbling pass, Sacramone fell again, leaving the Americans with little chance for a gold.

The Americans were at a disadvantage from the very start in these games, as team members Chelsea Memmel and Samantha Peszek were injured before the competition began, limiting their participation. Defending World all-around champion Shawn Johnson said the Americans were still proud of their silver medals and were not disappointed. The 16 year old cutie will compete in the individual all-around competition later this week, as will her teammate Nastia Liukin. Both will have a good chance to still bring home a gold for the Americans.

Welcome Back...

Most of the hype about the U.S. Swimming Team in Beijing has centered around Michael Phelps. Some would say this is deservedly the case as he has already taken Gold in World Record fashion in all 3 events he has competed in thus far. Unfortunately the fan fare surrounding Phelps has taken some of the spotlight away from his talented teammates. Most of you probably know that Phelps won his 3rd Gold medal on Monday night(early Tuesday morning Beijing time), but you may have missed his 4 talented teammates.

Aaron Piersol and Natalie Coughlin were both Olympic Champions in the 100M backstroke in Athens. Neither had looked dominant prior to Tuesday. Coughlin won her semifinal heat on Monday but struggled to swim in a direct line, even brushing against the lane barrier at times. Piersol finished just 3rd in his semifinal and looked to be laboring at times to even keep up with his top rivals. All that changed on Tuesday morning.

Coughlin came out strong in the Women's Final and led almost from start to finish. she seemed to run out of gas in the final 15 meters but her lead was so great that no one was able to run her down. She touched in 58.96 seconds to beat out Kirsty Conventry of Zimbabwe. Her teammate Margaret Hoelzer finished 3rd to take the Bronze. On the Men's side, Piersol was even more dominant as he raced to his 2nd consecutive Gold in World Record fashion. He touched in 52.54 seconds, over half a second ahead of his closest rival, teammate Matt Grevers, who took the Silver.

It was a dominating performance all-around for the back-strokers. 2 events, 2 Gold medals, 1 Silver medal, 1 Bronze medal and 1 World Record set in the process.

Welcome back... Welcome back indeed.

U.S. Men's Volleyball Team wins one for their coach.

Playing with a heavy heart and without their head coach, The U.S. Men's Volleyball Team took the court Sunday morning to face off against Venezuela. Head Coach, Hugh McCutcheon was with his family after learning that his in-laws had been brutally attacked while visiting tourist sites in China. His father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was killed in the attack. His mother-in-law, Barbara Bachman was also seriously wounded in the attack and is in the hospital in critical condition. She underwent 8 hours of life saving surgery after being rushed to the hospital. McCutcheon's wife, Elisabeth was with her parents at the time of the attack but wasn't injured.

The last time Team USA saw their coach was as they watched him race from their practice session on Saturday afternoon. They found out about the attack hours later and have only spoken to Coach McCutcheon by phone since. It was an unsettling start for a team that came into the Games ranked 3rd in the FIVB World rankings and is considered a strong medal contender. They looked it in the first 2 games of the match as they raced out to take the first 2 games by identical scores of 25-18. Venezuela mixed it up in game 3, going to it's bench to find a rotation of players that might be able to get something going in their favor. This move seemed to give them new life as they stole game 3, 25-22 and rolled to take game 4 by a score of 25-21. That sent the match to a tiebreaker game 5. The U.S. stormed back to take game 5, 15-10 and win the match.

After the match, the players, to a man, said their poor performance in games 3 and 4 was due to relaxing after their early lead and was unrelated to the tragedy that had befallen the family of their head coach. Regardless of the cause, they have a difficult road ahead of them as they look now to their next match against Italy. It is unknown if McCutcheon will be there for that match, or any match from here on out.

Memorable Olympic Highlight of the Day. Day 4

At the Opening Ceremonies of the 1996 Games in Atlanta, one of the best kept secrets leading up to the ceremonies was the identity of the individual who would light the Olympic Cauldron that would burn throughout the Games. This is often one of the highlights of the Opening Ceremonies and each host city tries to trump it's predecessors in thinking of new and creative ways to make it happen.

As the torch entered the stadium in Atlanta, it was popular Olympic swimmer, Janet Evans. Evans was a highly successful swimmer, winning 4 golds and 1 silver between the 1988 and 1992 Games and she was also extremely popular in the United States. As she emerged from the tunnel and headed up the ramp to the cauldron, she seemed like a logical candidate to light the torch. But as she arrived at the top of the ramp, a man emerged from the shadows. It was legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali. Before his stored professional career Ali had won the Gold in the light heavyweight division of boxing at the 1960 Games in Rome.

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1984 and was visibly trembling as he walked over to the wick that would take the flame up into the cauldron that waited above. He took slow steps and looked up in awe as the flame ignited and the cheers from the amazed crowd rained down upon him. It was a breathtaking moment and one that I will never forget.

A Fencing Sweep.....

The United States Olympic team got on the medal table in a big way early Saturday morning. American Women swept the medals in the Women's individual sabre competition. Mariel Zagunis (pictured above) took home the gold medal for her country for the 2nd straight Olmypics, defeating fellow American Sada Jacobsen in the finals. Jacobsen who won the Bronze medal in Athens in 2004 had to settle for a silver to add to her collection. Becca Ward completed the sweep for the Americans winning the Bronze medal over Russian Sofia Velikaya. For now this puts the Americans atop the medal table, a place they hope to stay for the length of the Beijing games.

Obscure Olympic Event Preview : Modern Pentathalon

In looking for unknown events to feature prior to the start of the games, I came across many possibilities. However, even though Canoeing and Equestrian aren't exactly mainstream events featured in prime time, most people at least know what they are. The same cannot be said of Modern Pentathlon. I thought I knew what it was, but I was actually thinking of the Decathlon, an event calling for an individual to compete in many different aspects of Track and Field over a 2 day period. I quickly realized how wrong I was.

Modern Pentathlon is actually one of the oldest events in the Modern Olympics. It was created by the Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France, who was also the founder of the modern Olympic Games themselves. He created the Pentathlon to be an event that not only showed the athletic prowess of the competitor but also their culture and class.

The Pentathlon calls for competitors to compete in 5 events in a single day's time. The events are: epee fencing, pistol shooting, 200m freestyle swimming, a show-jumping equestrian event and culminates in a 3K run. It wasn't always a single day event but was changed to try and make it more marketable in recent years due to it's lack of worldwide popularity. To add to the drama, points are calculated throughout the first 4 events and then the participants start the 3K race staggered in order of points earned so that the winner of the race is the winner of the competition.

Men's Preview

The Men's Pentathlon has long been dominated by European Nations, with 9 of the last 10 World Champions faring from a European country. The reigning champion is Ilia Frolov(pictured left) of Russia, who won the title at the recent World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. Where the World's was held mere weeks before the start of the Beijing Games he has to be considered the favorite heading into the 2008 Games.

Eli Bremer(pictured right), the Pan-American Games Champion is the top American qualifier but after finishing just 12th at the World's he is considered a long shot for a medal in Beijing.








Women's Preview

In the Women's event the odd's on favorite has to be Amelia Caze of France who is the 2 time reigning World Champion. Her margin of victory at the 2008 Championships was only 20 points over her closest competitor, Aya Medany of Egpyt.

Both Margaux Isaksen and Sheila Taormina(pictured) will participate for the U.S. Team although neither fared well at the recent World's and neither is considered a strong medal contender.

Taormina does have an interesting story though as this is the third different Olympic event she has qualified for. She won a swimming relay Gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and then competed in the Triathlon during both the 2000 and 2004 Games. At 39 years old she will be one of the oldest athletes competing in the Pentathlon.

U.S. Boxing Team Suffers Tough Loss

One of the medal favorites for the U.S. Boxing team was forced to withdraw just days before competition begins after collapsing while trying to make weight. Gary Russell Jr., of Capitol Heights, Md, was scheduled to compete in the bantamweight division which requires fighters to be no heavier than 119 pounds at weigh in.

Russell is a 2 time American Champion, winning in both 2005 and 2006. He missed the 2007 Championships due to injury. He had also performed well against international competition, winning the Bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships while just 17 years old.

Not all hope is lost however, the U.S. squad still contains 2 reigning World Champions as both welterweight Demetrius Andrade and flyweight Rau'shee Warren won Gold at the 2007 Championships. Both will enter competition in Beijing as medal favorites.

The U.S. Team is hoping to improve on it's total of 2 medals at the Athens game. A Gold won by light heavyweight Andre Ward and a Bronze won by middleweight Andre Dirrell.

Boxing competition for the 2008 Games begins on August 9th.

Aaaand they're off.....

Though the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing don't take place until Friday Night, the Olympics officially got under way on Wednesday with several soccer matches. Both the US men and women were in action Wednesday. The US Women, once a superpower in the women's soccer world, fell to Norway 2-0. The US struggled to create goal opportunities without star Abby Wambach. It will be a tough road for them to qualify for the medal rounds.

The US Men fared much better, defeating Japan by the score of 1-0. The lone goal was by Houston Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden in the 47th minute. The win was key to the American chances for advancement to the medal rounds, as the play 2 strong teams in Nigeria and Holland in the coming days.

The Summer Olympics.... where great athletes and hot bods.... come out to play

Everyone loves the Olympics right? Every 4 years great athletes from countries all over the globe join together to compete, but for us guys..... we also get a chance to check out some new hot bods. Good looking girls seem to be abundant in Olympic competition. If you are like us and want to check out some eye candy while watching the games look for these girls.

Natalie Coughlin, Swimming

Natalie was a double Gold medalist in 2004 at the Athens games. Pictures of this cutie with her gold medal were all over the news. She will be back in Beijing looking to add to her collection.

Alicia Sacramone, Gymnastics
Alicia will be making her Olympic debut in Beijing. The 20 year old gymnast is not only a hottie, she is also an Ivy league student at Brown University.

Amanda Beard, Swimming
Probably no one made more money off their success at the Athens games than Amanda Beard. The gorgeous gold medal winning swimmer, went on to pose for playboy and numerous other publications. She will be back not only to defend her gold but also her status as top hottie in American Olympic sports.

Jennie Finch, SoftballWe have all seen Jennie before, she has been featured nearly everywhere as one of the most beautiful athletes in American sports, but who wouldn't want a chance to get another look? The ace softball hurler is back for her second Olympics, and you want want to miss her.

Anyway, we hope you enjoy these 2008 games, the competition will be intense and the ladies will be lookin' hot. Who knows what new hot bod will emerge as a new sex symbol. We know one thing though, we'll be watching girls....

Memorable Olympic Highlight of the Day. Day 2

Rulon Gardner vs. Alexander Karelin at the 2000 Games in Sydney. Karelin hadn't lost a competition match in 13 years prior to this match. He hadn't even allowed his opponent to score a single point in a match for 6 years. He is generally considered to be the best and most feared Greco-Roman Wrestler in the history of the sport.

In their only previous match, Karelin had dominated Gardner, winning 5-0 at the 1997 World Championships. It was such a huge upset that if you listen to the match commentary in the video they actually compare Gardner winning to the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" Hockey upset.

Let's be honest. It's a pretty boring match. For the most part they just stand there and jostle back and forth. But everyone likes to root for the underdog and Gardner was as big an underdog as you'll ever come across.

I think my favorite part of this clip is towards the end you hear a woman (Gardner's wife perhaps?) shouting into a cell phone "He won, he won, call everybody". That part totally gives me goosebumps even 8 years later.

To me this is what the Olympics are all about. Most of us had never seen a Greco-Roman Wrestling match in our lives prior to this event and Rulon Gardner was just another farmer from Idaho. But in 5 minutes time he captured our imagination and created a memory we can all share. That's why it's fun to watch the little events. You never know when history is going to happen.

Obscure Olympic Event Preview of the Day : Handball

Our first Olympic event preview will take a look at Handball. Handball is a fast paced and entertaining game that features lots of scoring. It is not uncommon for a game to finish with both teams scoring over 30 goals a piece as they race up and down the court to leap and fire shots on goal.

Men's Handball was first introduced at the Olympics in Berlin in 1936. It didn't catch on though and was subsequently left out of the Olympics for almost 40 years until 1972 in Munich (Apparently the Germans love their handball). It has been played at every Olympics since. Women's Handball has been contested at every Olympics since 1976 in Montreal.

Handball has never been a popular sport in the United States, largely because we suck at it. Although one could argue it's lack of popularity is the reason we suck at it. The United States has never won a medal in Handball.

The rules of Handball are somewhat similar to Basketball with the biggest difference being that players can hold the ball for 3 seconds and take up to 3 steps between dribbles. Goals are scored by throwing the ball into a 6 meter wide goal that is defended by a goalkeeper.

Games consist of 2 thirty minute period or halves. Up to 2 five minute overtime periods can be added on in the event of a tie but after that a penalty shootout determines the outcome. The penalty shootouts are similar to those in soccer or hockey where 5 players from each team get a single shot to score a goal.

Teams to watch for

In Men's handball the favorites have to be Germany. They won the last World Championships held in 2007 and won the Silver at the 2004 Games in Athens. Not to be overlooked is Croatia which has won the Gold at 2 of the last 3 Olympics.

In Women's handball the favorites, until somebody proves otherwise is Denmark. The danish ladies have won the Gold at 3 consecutive Olympics. They didn't medal at the World Championships in 2007 though. Russia won the Gold in both 2005 and 2007.

Players to watch

Men's

Ivano Balić : Balić of Croatia, is not only the best player on the planet today, but is widely considered of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is a 2 time World Player of the year and has won the MVP at 6 different International Competitions.














Women's

Gro Hammerseng of Norway.

Hammerseng is the reigning World Player of the Year and has twice been named the MVP of the European Championships.













The United States did not qualify for Men's or Women's handball for the 2008 Olympics.