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.

Confusion in Gymnastics judging rears it's ugly head once again.

It wasn't the first chin-scratching moment in the history of Olympics Gymnastics. In fact, controversy has become almost as common a theme as tumbling, vaulting and the importance of sticking landings. You simply cannot watch a Gymnastics meet without be confused about the scoring. We saw it time and time again in the team and individual finals as the Chinese seemed to consistently score better than their American counterparts despite similar performances. It reared it's ugly head once again Monday morning in Beijing.

He Kexin and Nastia Liukin both performed beautifully in the Un-even Bars Event Finals only to discover to their, and everyone else's, dismay that they had received identical, 16.725 scores. It was clear that one of them would win the Gold. What wasn't clear was who that person would be, or what criteria would be used to make the decision. Bela Karolyi, providing commentary in the NBC studio, was convinced Liukin won the tie-breaker based upon her higher qualifying score. International gymnastics federation (FIG), President Bruno Grandi, said if his group had their say they would both win Gold. But unfortunately for Nastia, Karolyi was wrong and the IOC has a policy of awarding only 1 Gold per event. He was awarded the Gold based upon a complicated tie-breaking system. Why did she win? I can't begin to explain it but here it is, He won the gold because of a lower average of form deductions from the three judges who gave each gymnast their lowest scores.

Now I'm not even sure what that means, and the FIG was still trying to explain it to confused media and long after the medals were awarded. But easy to understand or not, Liukin ended up with a Silver medal while He took the Gold. It hasn't always been like this. The IOC used to allow multiple Gold winners in the event of a tie, and it used to be somewhat commonplace in Gymnastics. Liukin's father Valeri even won Gold in such fashion at the 1988 Games, when he shared the High Bar Gold with teammate Vladimir Artemov. The IOC eliminated multiple Gold medals after the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

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.

Beijing 2008: 6 names you'll know two weeks from now...

We all know about Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant and Jennie Finch. They have proven their talent before in front of the world, but who are the future American stars? Who are the athletes that will shine during these 2008 Olympics? Who will etch their names next to the likes of Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens? Here is a list of 6 American athletes competing in the Olmypics this year that you may not know, however in a couple weeks, we think you will.

#6 Ben Askren, Freestyle Wrestling
Askren (pictured right) is a talented wrestler, winning two NCAA titles for Missouri in the 174 lb division in 2006 and 2007. Askren will be competing in the 164 lb weight division here at Beijing. He has never competed in a big international event before, but he oozes talent and has the confidence to go alogn with it. "I'm going to win a gold medal" he told the AP.


#5 Thomas Finchum, Platform Diving Finchum was named the 2007 American Diver of the year after racking up numerous medals at international events, including a bronze at the 2007 world championships. Finchum is only 18 years old and is looking like Americas best hope for a gold medal in Men's diving.


#4 Kate Zeigler, Swimming
Zeigler (pictured left) is the American Swimming newcomer to watch. The 20 year old from Virginia will be swimming in the 400 and 800 meter freestyle events. She is a nedal favorite in both, especially the 800. She holds the world record in the 1500 free, however it is not an Olympic event.


#3 Lolo Jones, Track and Field
Jones is the next great American sprinter, following in a long line of US medal success. Jones is a 3 time NCAA champion in the 100 meter hurdles and will be making her Olympic debut in Beijing. She is considered a favorite to win the Gold medal.


#2 Shawn Johnson, Gymnastics
Gymnasitcs, America's favorite Olmypic sport...... every 4 years a new hero is made, just ask Keri Strug, Paul Hamm and Shannon Miller. So this year, who will be America's sweetheart? Our guess is Shawn Johnson (pictured right), the talented young gymnast is considered a heavy favorite for the womens all-around gold medal.


#1 Tyson Gay, Track and Field
Who will be the fastest man in the world? That may depend on the health of Tyson Gay. The world-class American sprinter is battling a leg injury. however the sprinter says that won't keep him out of his first Olympics. The defending world champ will be the favorite in the 100 meters if he can get healthy on time.

Memorable Olympic highlight of the day. Day 1

Okay so starting today and throughout the upcoming Summer Olympics, we will be posting a memorable highlight from either the current Games or a past favorite.

Today's entry is the improbable vault by Keri Strug. It would have been amazing for anyone.. But she was only 18?!?! Hell, I was still sitting in the basement playing Sega Saturn when I was 18...