Olympic Tidbits

Friends,

Remember, sarcasm is just one of the many great services I offer...
It is remarkable that the U.S. is still in the lead in the overall medal count (last I checked), considering the judging in the gymnastics and diving competitions, particularly, and over the entire Olympics, in general. How many gold medals should the U.S. team have as opposed to silver or bronze...this is a good question, but it doesn't really matter, as we'll never know. I have heard of "home field advantage," but ??? -- this is ridiculous. I have never heard of the home team at a football game being spotted seven points to start, or a basketball team being given a 20-0 lead at the beginning of a game. And the worst part is that the IOC just seems to look the other way. I know, I know, the Chinese need to come out of this smelling something like a rose, but...the organization has obviously come to mean Incapable of Correction or Inconsistent on Consistency.

Being a big track and field buff, I had to feel sorry for the U.S. trackster, Lolo Jones, who had a gold medal in her grasp only to trip over the ninth of ten hurdles, lose momentum and finish 7th. One works for four years and all they have to do is get through the final...only to have it go bad. It makes a person somehow wish they could do the best two out of three (for her sake)...but, such is life. At least her teammate won, even though that doesn't ease Lolo's pain.

Whats up with the U.S. track & field team overall(?)...a lot of blown opportunities. Tyson, where did you disappear to, my friend?

Usain "Lightning" Bolt from Jamaica (what are they feeding those Jamaican kids anyway? :-) has been nearly as incredible as Michael Phelps, (only with six fewer events ;-). He not only won the men's 100 and 200 meters by a ton, he also set world records for both -- a feat not even Carl Lewis or Jesse Owens could accomplish as wondrously great as they were on the track. Unfortunately, his "showboating" has turned off a lot of people. There is the part of me that says...give him a break, he is 22, and simply showing some unbridled enthusiasm. So, even though he may be an all-time great track Olympian, hopefully he will not be known as "lightning dolt."

How can you beat Nastia Liukin (from the Metroplex...yea!) and Shawn Johnson in gymnastics? You can't...(unless you are a judge :-). They were terrific and took home a number of medals in the team and individual competitions. How could anyone not just root root root for these two, especially Shawn Johnson, the bubbly girl from Iowa. And, without the Hamm brothers, what a great story was Jonathan Horton (from Houston) stepping up to be the men's team leader and doing just a terrific job!

Finally, you go girls...gold medal in soccer. Excellent!

As for volleyball, softball, baseball, bmx, shooting, trampoline, diving, and a couple dozen other sports...maybe for another time and another place, (actually not baseball and softball...bummer). Blessings,

Don