Alicia Sacramone’s score is just another example of why the new gymnastics scoring system sucks
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If you fall down, you shouldn’t medal. When Alicia Sacramone fell off the beam and then had another fall on the floor, I could totally accept that she got low scores. Tonight, she completed two decent vaults. Small steps or hops on [...]
Michael Phelps Videos
In case you just can’t get enough of Michael Phelps.
Interview with Debbie Phelps
This was a great interview with Debbie Phelps. You want to know what it takes to raise an Olympic phenom? Watch this.
Olympic Medal Count 8/17
USA 19 gold, 21 silver, 25 bronze, 65 total
China 35 gold, 13 silver, 13 bronze, 61 total
Russia 7 gold, 11 silver, 12 bronze, 30 total
Australia 8 gold, 10 silver, 11 bronze, 29 total
Great Britain 11 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze, 25 total
France 4 gold, 9 silver, 12 [...]
Usain Bolt is the fastest human being on Earth
Not only did he win the 100m in world record time but, seriously, he didn’t even run the last 15m. He threw his arms out to the side (not very aerodynamic) and started celebrating WELL before he crossed the finish line. So, it would be interesting to know— how fast COULD he run, [...]
Michael Phelps Makes Olympic History– AGAIN!!
The Chinese consider the number 8 to be lucky. Well, I’m betting it must be one of Michael Phelps’ favorite numbers, as well, as he just won his 8th gold. Wow, it was a really great race, too! Close enough to be exciting, but not so close that it was uncomfortable.
I honestly [...]
I finally got to watch trampoline!
Every Olympics I get somewhat obssessed with some less popular Olympic event. This year I’ve been really interested in trampoline. I wasn’t sure I would even get to see it, as the only place that I saw it listed for viewing was on Telemundo. However, this afternoon trampoline was on NBC. [...]
Nancilea Foster is in the Olympic springboard diving finals
Last month I interviewed Nancilea Foster, who is competing in Beijing in the 3m springboard diving event. I’m happy to report that she’s in the finals, having qualified in 4th place. At one point, she was in 3rd, so a medal is not totally out of the picture. Tune in tomorrow night [...]
Funny videos about how to speak Chinese for Beijing Olympics
These were really cute videos about how to pronounce Beijing (hint: it’s a “j”, not a “zh” sound, and most newscasters are getting it wrong), how to do the official Chinese Olympic cheer and a bit about the other locations that are hosting Olympic events.
U.S. Women’s Olympic Volleyball team advances
I watched some of the U.S. women’s Olympic volleyball team’s match against China today before I turned it off because it was stressing me out. After watching the women’s gymnastics last night and biting my nails through the commentary of Michael Phelps’ races (that’s the only really tense part— listening to the commentators make [...]
What happened to Olympic track and field?
Are you wondering what has happened to all of the track and field events in this year’s Olympics? Well, they’re coming! Preliminary races have started, with Tyson Gay qualifying for the 100m, despite concerns over the injury he sustained in the Olympic Trials.
So, if you’re a fan of speed on land, don’t worry. [...]
Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson win Olympic medals in gymnastics
The American women’s gymnastics team was disappointed with a silver medal in the team competition, but the all around competition was another story, altogether. Teammates Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson won the gold and silver medals, respectively.
I watched the competition last night, and it was really great! Where the men’s competition was really [...]
North Korean shooter stripped of Beijing Olympic medals
Here’s another advantage of doing the medal count by hand. When we were adjusting the medal count this morning, we noticed that North Korea had moved DOWN in the medal count. I thought perhaps I had made a mistake, but figured I’d better check it out anyway. I didn’t see any major [...]
Beijing Olympics Medal Count 8/15
USA 14 gold, 12 silver, 18 bronze, 44 total
China 25 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze, 40 total
Australia 5 gold, 7 silver, 8 bronze, 20 total
Russia 3 gold, 8 silver, 8 bronze, 19 total
France 3 gold, 8 silver, 7 bronze, 18 total
South Korea 6 gold, 8 silver, 3 bronze, [...]
Olympic Table Tennis 101
How would a basement ping pong player fare against a real table tennis player? Watch the following video to see.
The Beijing Olympic story that would not die
I haven’t printed much about the controversy over the age of the Chinese gymnasts because, frankly, I figured it just wouldn’t matter. But it is the story that will NOT go away. A story in a Chinese newspaper again reported the age of one of the gymnasts as 13. You can read [...]
Well, that’s not really the Olympic spirit
An angry Swedish wrestler threw down his bronze medal on the podium and walked off, saying he was quitting wrestling. Ara Abrahamian was angry over officiating in an earlier bout. He said that he wanted the gold, and a bronze was a failure.
Wow, you don’t see that very often in the Olympics, do [...]