The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. Is that not what we expect out of the Olympics? That's what American gymnast Jordyn Wieber experienced the past couple of days.
After being shut out of the individual all-around competition despite having the fourth best score, with her teammates, she attained Olympic gold. She was a big part of the gold medal-winning United States gymnastics team. Being the consummate world class athlete she is, she put personal disappointment behind her to put in a solid performance for Team USA.
American swimmer Michael Phelps became the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, capturing his 19th medal after Team USA won the 800 meter freestyle relay that he anchored. Phelps has a good chance to increase his medal count in the next few days.
Jo Willfred Tsonga and Milos Raonic put on quite a show in men's tennis, being a part of the longest match in Olympic history with Tsonga coming out on top 25-23 in the third set. Unfortunately, Tsonga must take to the court again tomorrow. History has not been kind to players coming off of a marathon match in their subsequent matches. However, since this was only best of three as opposed to best of five that is played in the Grand Slam events, the total time on court is not unmanageable.
On a tennis side note, Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are all still alive in the quest for the Golden Slam. Read more on that here.
Here's looking forward to more drama tomorrow. And in the days to come.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Olympics Thoughts 7/29/2012
The Olympic experience provides drama everyday. Today was no exception.
The men's 4 X 100 freestyle in swimming saw the team from France track down America's Ryan Lochte in the final leg to attain gold. Did the Americans make a mistake? I leave it the one of my favorite sports writes, Jennifer Floyd Engel, to provide the details here.
In women's gymnastics, Jordyn Wieber, the reigning all-around champion, was eliminated from that competition in the 2012 Olympics. It's not that she wasn't good. She was. But only two gymnasts from each country can compete in the all-around finals. Wieber was fourth best among the competitors. She was third best for the United States.
Those are the rules. Sometimes rules punish unfairly. In this case, definitely. It does not matter to me whether the slight came to a U.S. competitor or Russion, or Romanian or Chinese or any other country. When the reigning world champion and fourth best in the competition is left out because of some arbitrary rule, that is injustice.
This is meant in no way to slight the excellent performances of Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, the two Americans who outscored Wieber, but a condemnation of the system.
If the Olympics are supposed to be competition between the best of the elite, why eliminate one of the best because they happen to be from the same country as other great performers?
The men's 4 X 100 freestyle in swimming saw the team from France track down America's Ryan Lochte in the final leg to attain gold. Did the Americans make a mistake? I leave it the one of my favorite sports writes, Jennifer Floyd Engel, to provide the details here.
In women's gymnastics, Jordyn Wieber, the reigning all-around champion, was eliminated from that competition in the 2012 Olympics. It's not that she wasn't good. She was. But only two gymnasts from each country can compete in the all-around finals. Wieber was fourth best among the competitors. She was third best for the United States.
Those are the rules. Sometimes rules punish unfairly. In this case, definitely. It does not matter to me whether the slight came to a U.S. competitor or Russion, or Romanian or Chinese or any other country. When the reigning world champion and fourth best in the competition is left out because of some arbitrary rule, that is injustice.
This is meant in no way to slight the excellent performances of Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, the two Americans who outscored Wieber, but a condemnation of the system.
If the Olympics are supposed to be competition between the best of the elite, why eliminate one of the best because they happen to be from the same country as other great performers?
Saturday, July 28, 2012
NBC Olympics Coverage Fail
Yep, it's only one day after the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics and already NBC has a major gaffe. Specifically not airing the finals of the men's 400 meter individual medley live. On a weekend afternoon. On the first full day of the Olympiad. Really.
I fully understand that NBC wants to protect its primetime coverage. But airing one of the most anticipated aquatic races live would have had minimal effect on viewership. Many that were available to view it live, streamed it, as I did.
We don't live in the 70's or 80's or even the 90's when a network could control what you saw and when. Or control the dispersement of results. In the age of Twitter and facebook, I knew well before the race began that NBC would not be airing it live. I made alternative arrangements, as I'm sure many others did.
There is definitely a place for primetime coverage of an event of this magnitude, but let's not pretend that the content can be manipulated. And yes, it should be much, much more than just a highlight show, as there are many people who were not available to view an event live and want to see all the buildup and subsequent interviews following a major race/performance. But don't do this at the expense of those who are able to view the event live.
NBC, if this was your beta test, it failed miserably.
I fully understand that NBC wants to protect its primetime coverage. But airing one of the most anticipated aquatic races live would have had minimal effect on viewership. Many that were available to view it live, streamed it, as I did.
We don't live in the 70's or 80's or even the 90's when a network could control what you saw and when. Or control the dispersement of results. In the age of Twitter and facebook, I knew well before the race began that NBC would not be airing it live. I made alternative arrangements, as I'm sure many others did.
There is definitely a place for primetime coverage of an event of this magnitude, but let's not pretend that the content can be manipulated. And yes, it should be much, much more than just a highlight show, as there are many people who were not available to view an event live and want to see all the buildup and subsequent interviews following a major race/performance. But don't do this at the expense of those who are able to view the event live.
NBC, if this was your beta test, it failed miserably.
Lochte - Phelps Showdown
The much anticipated 400 meter individual medley in swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was set to be a showdown by the best at this event. Americans Michael Phelps (arguably the greatest swimmer ever) and Ryan Lochte.
This showdown turned into more of a no show. OK, that's really too harsh. These are the best swimmers in the world right now. But for Phelps, something was missing. Give credit to Lochte. He was on world record pace for 7/8 of the race.
Phelps came into the final barely qualifying in the eighth (of eight) slot. Still, this is Michael Phelps. Everybody expected him to be able to flip the switch come the final. But the switch never flipped.
Phelps finished out of the medals, a disappointing fourth place behind Lochte, Brazilian Thiago Pereira (silver) and Japan's Kosuke Hagino (bronze).
Phelps was in trouble after the first 100 meters of the race, the butterfly which is his specialty. He was in first place coming out of the butterfly, but not by nearly enough. After that, Lochte just took over the final 300 meters. It wasn't even close.
Phelps still has a chance for 6 more Olympics medals to add to his collection of 16 (14 gold). But he is no longer the most dominant swimmer in the pool.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Women's Track & Field
OK, men, admit it. This is one of the reasons we like track & field: very well toned and athletic bodies clad scantily. Same can be said for beach volleyball. Love the following track clip. She must have an internal iPod implanted. Just enjoy.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Golden Slam
Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova all have a chance to complete the career golden slam at the London Olympics. I wrote a little bit about their respective chances here.
Shameless self-promotion over.
Shameless self-promotion over.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Ichiro to the Yankees
The Seattle Mariners sent Japanese icon Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees for a couple of pitching prospects.
Ichiro is a "name". Generating plenty of headlines. Right now he's just another guy. Nothing special. Gone are the days of getting 200+ hits per year, of igniting an offense and of even hitting over .300.
It's a good move for the M's. They're going nowhere this year and need young players. Hopefully, some pan out. Nothing lost as Ichirio is in the last year of a contract and negotiations would not be pleasant for either the Mariners or Ichiro.
For the Yankees? The get a serviceable player for their depleted outfield. Maybe a change of scenery will spark Ichiro. Maybe not.
Ichiro is a "name". Generating plenty of headlines. Right now he's just another guy. Nothing special. Gone are the days of getting 200+ hits per year, of igniting an offense and of even hitting over .300.
It's a good move for the M's. They're going nowhere this year and need young players. Hopefully, some pan out. Nothing lost as Ichirio is in the last year of a contract and negotiations would not be pleasant for either the Mariners or Ichiro.
For the Yankees? The get a serviceable player for their depleted outfield. Maybe a change of scenery will spark Ichiro. Maybe not.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Bartolo Colon - MLB or Beer League Pitcher?
OK, in reality, that title is not fair. Colon has made quite a good living pitching in MLB and has done so for many years.
But after watching him pitch recently for the Oakland Athletics, wearing the yellow uniform tops, the visual really leads you to think weekend softball beer leagues. Judge for yourselves.
But after watching him pitch recently for the Oakland Athletics, wearing the yellow uniform tops, the visual really leads you to think weekend softball beer leagues. Judge for yourselves.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Nadal Pulls Out of London Olympics
Admittedly, I'm not a Rafael Nadal fan. I'm totally a Roger Federer guy. Disclaimer being made, I'm disappointed Nadal has pulled out of the Olympics.
I totally respect Nadal and am quite amazed at the level of tennis he plays. It's always more fun to have a foil for your own personal favorite.
Some have said that this opens the door for Federer. With recent results on grass - namely Fed's Wimbledon win and Nadal's second round exit - I think Fed had already opened his own door. Lest we forget, there is still Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer and Juan Martin Del Potro looming out there. And we haven't even touched on the format yet.
With all matches being best of three before the final, strange things can happen. Really, how many times have you seen one of the great players fall behind two sets to love or two sets to one only to come back and win in five? I would not be surprised to see many surprises.
With all that being said, the Olympic tennis should be entertaining, and fun to watch.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Penn State
Really, I don't want to delve too deep into the Jerry Sandusky/Joe Paterno/Penn State ordeal. There have been millions of words written by people far more knowledgeable than me.
However, with all that has gone on, I cannot ignore it completely.
I will just say, be careful who you put up on a pedestal. Be careful who you put your trust in. Be careful who you hold up as role models. Find colleagues, relatives, people in your circle of friends, people you know to admire. Football players and coaches, professional athletes of all ilk, are not role models. Just ask Charles Barkley. Sure, some really are, but don't put your trust in someone just because they are famous and appear to be good people. Your real heroes and role models are in your own neighborhood and community.
That is all.
However, with all that has gone on, I cannot ignore it completely.
I will just say, be careful who you put up on a pedestal. Be careful who you put your trust in. Be careful who you hold up as role models. Find colleagues, relatives, people in your circle of friends, people you know to admire. Football players and coaches, professional athletes of all ilk, are not role models. Just ask Charles Barkley. Sure, some really are, but don't put your trust in someone just because they are famous and appear to be good people. Your real heroes and role models are in your own neighborhood and community.
That is all.
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