Olympics Review

As the Olympics wrap up within the next day or two, I reflect on the entire events with positive thoughts. I used to joke with my mother that if you put any game on the TV, I’ll watch it and be an expert on it within a few viewings. I’m not an expert, but I’ll give any sport a chance. The Olympics is the ultimate test of this.

Everyone can watch basketball, but try watching Judo at 2 a.m. online! Fun times. However, good things must come to an end. Here’s my review of the events, along with some attractive Olympians in them.

I was not going to include the hotties, but that’s not how I roll. I am what I am. I appreciate the athletic skills of the women, however if I find them attractive, is that a problem?

To be fair, here's something for the ladies:

Let’s keep it moving.

Archery: I didn’t really check this out as much as I wanted to. South Korea and China won the most medals, just like I predicted.

Badminton: I couldn’t get into it like I thought I would. It looks cool to watch for five minutes, but to commit to an entire match is not the most enjoyable thing, to me anyway.

Baseball: It’s the final time that we’re going to see it in the Olympics and that’s a shame. There were some good games, including the testy game between China and the US. The Americans got bronze and South Korea shocked the world by getting a gold medal over Cuba.

Basketball: The US women took care of business and got another gold. Congrats to Lisa Leslie, who is probably the most underrated American basketball player ever, men or woman. Look at her resume. She has won at every level and changed the game. Candice Parker did well, but I won’t post her picture here again because she gets enough love from me. Never, ever trust a Tennessee Volunteer.

The US men face Spain for the gold and by the time you read this, they probably took care of business. I’ll elaborate more later this week with a post specifically on this team.

Beach Volleyball: This sport is an example of what I call the “lack of uniqueness” quality. I like watching it, but I can check out NBC on a weekend evening and watch it. This limits my desire to check it out in the Olympics.

Put it this way. I’ll make more of an effort to watch handball or table tennis in the Olympics than tennis, baseball or basketball.

It was good to see both American teams take care of business, especially after the eventual men’s team winners lost the first match to Latvia. Freakin Latvia! Do they have beaches in Eastern Europe?

It was good to see Keri Walsh, aka Six Feet of Sunshine and my girl, Misty May-Treanor bring home the gold.

This has become a solid debate among guys the past few years. Misty or Keri? Do you want the tall, thin blonde or the shorter and let’s keep it PG, “curvier” brunette. The picture should tell you who I would take, even though neither one would get kicked out of bed, if you know what I’m saying! I’ll see myself out.

Boxing: As I’ve mentioned here in the past, I’m not a big fan of Olympic boxing because of the scoring system. I’ve seen guys get clean shots to the head yet not receive a point. It’s terrible.

You know what else is terrible? The United States only having one medal so far and a bronze at that. There was a time when the USA was the premier country in boxing, but how times have changed.

Canoe/Kayak: Didn’t see a moment of it, but congrats to Togo for earning it’s first ever Olympic medal.

Cycling: Congrats to the USA for getting some medals in BMX, which I’m not sure if I’m down with it being an Olympic sport. X-Games, yes. Olympics, not so sure.

Diving: Same as boxing. That lady who does the announcing annoys the heck out of me. Someone will do a nice dive, but she’ll say something like their legs were spread or they arched their back on the second rotation, small stuff like that. To her credit though, she thinks like a judge and her predictions are usually correct. I just don’t like judges.

Yes, I know that I love mixed martial arts and there are judges in that, but it’s different.

Equestrian: No interest in seeing horses.

Actually, I take that back. Check this story out: http://www.nbcolympics.com/equestrian/news/newsid=242890.html#jumping+horses+suspended+doping

Four horses getting kicked out for drugs!?! This sport just got more interesting. I may have to give it more of a chance in 2012 in London.

Fencing: Finally, a sport that the USA represented in well. Six medals overall for our Yanks, including silver from my man, Keeth Smart of my hometown, Brooklyn, N.Y.

The NYC is taking it global!

Field Hockey: I checked out the male competition, because I didn’t think that they competed in the sport until I did my preview post about a week or two ago. My bad on that one, especially since I pride myself on knowing the Olympics pretty well and this is one of the oldest sports in the games. Congrats to Germany beating Spain on the men’s side.

Props to the Dutch as well for getting the gold on the women’s side.

Gymnastics: Ah, a biggie. I actually gave this one a chance, more than normal.

First, those Chinese women aren’t 16, I’m sorry.

Second, good job by the US men and women overall.

Oh, Alicia, she had a rough go at it in the team competition. Falling on the balance beam, on the floor exercise and most likely costing your team a gold medal is not so good. However, getting a silver medal is nothing to be ashamed of.

However, the one who got screwed out of some golds is Nastia Liukin. She lost a tiebreaker for the gold medal TWICE. I don’t understand how she can have the same final score as the winner and not get a gold medal of her own. Even the commentators were unsure of the tiebreaker system.

Congrats to the US men for getting a bronze medal in the team competition without the Hamm brothers competing.

Rhythmic Gymnastics: This deserves a separate category. I watched some of this as well and I find this more entertaining than normal gymnastics. It involves ribbons, ropes, balls, rings and other props. I love props.

You know what else I love…


Yeah, when you have beautiful women like that (above is Alexandra Orlando of Canada) doing jumps in the air and having the sickest flexibility (look up some routines on You Tube if you want an idea), yeah, I’m a fan.

Handball: Such a darn cool sport. I’ve loved checking it out online.

I asked out loud in my preview why this sport wasn’t more popular in the US. It’s fast paced, includes elements of basketball, hockey, soccer and other sports that people recognize. Why no love?

I compare it to lacrosse in some way. When I was in eighth grade, our baseball team would practice on fields next to lacrosse games. My coach exclaimed to me one day, “How can someone like that sport, no defense is being played!”

Handball looks like some guys just running up and down the court throwing the ball into the net with no defense. Furthermore, when the save percentage of a good goalie is around 35%, this looks like lack of effort with the scores of games being 28-26.

We Americans like our sports to have scoring, but only to a certain point. We also don’t like too much defense. Like in football, we don’t like a 6-3 game, but don’t want a 45-42 game every time. Baseball is the same. We like the occasional 1-0 pitcher’s duel, but don’t want a 16-13 home run fest. Balance is the key.

There isn’t as much of this balance in handball.

Judo: Let me tell you how much I loved staying up till 2 a.m. every night the first week of the Olympics to watch this.

It’s convinced me to seriously consider joining a dojo and practicing it myself.

Actually, I was going to try to learn Jiu-Jitsu before the Olympics, but watching the Judo convinced me even more to explore these sports.

I like the balance of speed, strength and strategy. It’s very much a mental contest just as much as the physical. However, as someone I heard speak about it on one of the MMA internet radio shows that I listen to, the Olympic Judo is less action-packed because everyone is a black belt and so good.

Since there are no mismatches, the defense is so, so good. Many of the matches would end in a draw before extra time was needed. I’m still a fan though.

Japan got the most medals, as usual. However, congrats to Ronda Rousey for getting the USA’s lone medal, a bronze in the 70 kg.

Modern Pentathlon: Didn’t watch it, sorry.

Rowing, Sailing, Shooting: Pass, Pass, Pass

Actually, I did watch some of the rowing but didn’t dig it.

Soccer: I did check some of this out.


Congrats to the USA women, especially my girl Hope for getting gold. I wasn’t mad at her when she called out the coaches during the last World Cup. She should have played in that game and now she has redemption.

That’s Natasha Kai, my favorite player on the team. Hawaiian and rocking tats, gotta be down with that.

The USA men didn’t do badly but not great. I would have liked to see them at least make it to the medal round. Hopefully this got the guys some good experience to prepare for the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa.

Props to Argentina for getting the gold. Brazil, issues. How do you lose 3-0 to Argentina in the semifinals? Shouldn’t happen. The Nigerians made a nice run at it and hopefully this gives them momentum.

I’ve been on the Kaka train and then the Ronaldo train as being the best players in the world. However, Lionel Messi? If he was this consistent in club play with Barcelona, the debate wouldn’t be as clear. I’m still saying when all three are healthy, I’m taking Ronaldo, but Messi is making it really, really, really close.

Softball: We lost to Japan in the Gold medal game? How does this happen?

People like to throw out some hot softball athletes out there like Jennie Fitch or Taryne Mowatt, but how about this one…


Cat should get just as much love. Let’s see. She’s 6-2, dark hair, a lefty, a Texan and I’m two years older than her. She threw a no-hitter in the Olympics as well. I might have to make a trip to Houston.

Swimming: Michael Phelps, you reek of America. Everyone has spoken about him so you know about him.

The gold medals are cool, but this is even better



That’s Stephanie Rice of Australia and she won three gold medals. She also had a public breakup with her boyfriend before the Olympics. How does she celebrate after winning the medals?

By making out with our boy Phelps in the Olympic Village.

Well played, Michael, well played.

Seriously, Jason Lezak’s final leg of the 4x100 relay was one of the most thrilling sports moments I’ve ever witnessed live.

Also, let’s give props to another one of my favorites and legend of the cooking segment on the Today show, Natalie Coughlin.


She is a fantastic swimmer, as evidence in her six total medals in Beijing. However, in all of the stories about her, you see her swimming and cooking. I like sports and love food, so she’s a winner in my book.

Synchronized Swimming: Creeps me out.

Table Tennis: So awesome that this is an Olympic sport. I dig how the Asian countries take this so seriously. China dominated and South Korea notched some medals as well.

Taekwondo: Congrats to the Lopez family for getting three medals in the same Olympics, tremendous stuff.

I was kinda disappointed in it overall. It was the first time that I sat down and watched it and just couldn’t get into it. Not every sport can be a home run.

Tennis: Rafa continues his epic year. If he wins the US Open, where does that place him in the best individual tennis seasons ever?

Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams for the fellas.

Track and Field: This can be its own post, but I’ll hit you with bullet-points.

-The Jamaicans are fast and the Africans can run distance races. That’s all.

-How long before an NFL team makes a play at Usain Bolt? You have to at least give him a tryout. I know I would in a second. Even if it doesn’t work out, you get some free international pub for it.

-Bad moment for potential bench player in my top-five, LoLo Jones. She was two hurdles away from winning the 110 hurdles and then she fell. LoLo handled it like a pro in the interview but you can see how tough she took it when she was alone and crying. I felt terrible for her.



-I felt just as bad for Sonya Richards. She had the 400 meters wrapped up and then gassed to finish third. She got some redemption in the 4x400 relay and got gold. BTW, not only is she amazingly hot (her eyes are amazing), she’s engaged to Aaron Ross of the SUPER BOWL WINNING CHAMPIONS, THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS!

Well played, Aaron, well played.



-Congrats to Allyson for getting gold in that same relay.

-What happened to Bernard Lagat? He didn’t even medal in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters, races he has won world championships in. For his sake, I hope he’s injured. That sound cruel but at least it’s a legit excuse.



-Congrats to Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of our friendly neighbor to the north, Canada for placing third in the same hurdles race LoLo raced in. The only reason she’s mentioned in this post is what you already know.



-That’s Katie Goucher of the USA. She ran in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races and didn’t medal, but made some new friends. Read here: http://www.nypost.com/seven/08142008/gossip/pagesix/horny_hoopsters_124347.htm

Not well played, Carmelo, LeBron, Kobe and Jason Kidd. Let’s see, Carmelo and LeBron are in long-term relationships with their girlfriends who have children with them. Kobe, married but we know how much that means to him. That leaves Jason. He’s not married but was engaged to a model but I think they broke up. She’s married fellas.

Trampoline: No interest.

Triathlon: Didn’t check this one out.

Volleyball: Before the Games started, I was hoping that each US team could get a medal. Both teams exceeded expectations. It’s also been cool watching the live matches late, late at night. After watching a men’s match that lasted until 2 a.m., I went to work later that morning and the People’s Champion Sean Sawyer said I sounded tired. I was beat, but got my cup of coffee and grinded it out. Loved it all.

Congrats to the women for getting the silver and introducing me to my future wife, Kimberly Glass.



She’s also a model. I’m now a fan.

The men are facing Brazil at this moment and if they can pull off the win that would be sick. Great effort by those guys. If you have the chance, check out the semifinal match between the US and Russia. Thrilling match.

Water Polo: My expectations were similar to volleyball, a little higher for the women.

The ladies got silver, which is great, but the story of the men’s team is even more incredible. They came into the Games the ninth-ranked team in the world and are now in the gold medal game against two-time defending Olympic champs Hungary. The USA dismantling of Serbia in the semifinals was amazing to watch.

Congrats to both teams.

Weightlifting: I found myself watching this a lot. I love the focus that the lifters have when they approach their weights and the intensity of the coaches. They look like they are in a mental zone people rarely approach. Those men and women are strong beyond comprehension.

Wrestling: Congrats to Henry Cejudo of the USA for his gold. His reaction of tears and pure joy after winning the final match was great to see.

That’s the review kids. I’m going to get comfortable and hopefully see the USA kick the crap out of Spain for that gold medal in basketball. Good fight, good night.

My 2008 Beijing Olympics Preview (it's a long one)

The Olympics start tomorrow (or today if you’re reading this on Friday) and I’m excited about it. I love the whole Olympic experience from the opening ceremonies to watching obscure sports and everything in between. I remember my first Olympics in 1988 and seeing Carl Lewis dominate and I truly became a fan.

However, I learned to appreciate every sport from water polo to team handball.

I was talking with the People’s Champion, Sean Sawyer, today and I just started going off about all of the beefs that I have with the Americans who view the Olympics. Let me break it down…

There seems to be this general disinterest among Americans to follow sports that the US doesn’t dominate. We’ll follow swimming and gymnastics but heaven forbid if we don’t place well in archery. I really don’t care if the USA wins a competition or not, accept for basketball, which I’ll get into later.

Don’t get it twisted, I will cheer for the American athletes. However, if one of the US athletes comes in fifth place, I’m not going to get mad at them. Which brings me to point #2…

It annoys me when people put these ridiculous expectations on American athletes. I learned this directly in the 2004 Olympics when Michael Phelps “only” won six gold medals and eight overall. I actually heard people say they were disappointed in his effort.

YOU GET YOUR BUTT IN A POOL AND TRY TO WIN A GOLD MEDAL!!!!!!!!

He busted his ass and was the best swimmer in the world in six events in one short period.

That’s the other beauty/bad part of the Olympics. Its one every four years. Its not like professional sports where if you lose one year, you can just pick try again the next year. You have to train hard and hope that you can peak at this one moment unless its four more years of waiting.

I love seeing the athletes from smaller countries participating because they understand the greatness of representing your country. This is starting to sound like an anti-American article, whatever, let it be.

I understand why people are turned off by the Olympics. It’s become too corporate. The concept of an “amateur” is completely different now then its inception. Athletes are taking performance enhancing drugs, destroying the concept of fair competition. There are many others.

However, give the Olympics a fair chance.

BTW, I usually don’t try to get political on this blog, but some of you may have beef with the Olympics even being in China. I’m with you on that front, but I’m going to temper my issues with the country and just enjoy the athletics.

OK, lets have some fun. I’m going to give you a reason or two to check out each sport below with a prediction or two and maybe a video from some of the lesser acknowledged sports:

Archery: I’ve always enjoyed seeing archery or “bow and arrows” as we called it back in Brooklyn. The Americans don’t usually do well in this event. The Asian countries will dominate, especially South Korea, who will try to win the men’s individual title, men’s team, women’s individual and women’s team. Here’s some Korean archers in action:



Badminton: If you want an underrated, yet fun and actually active sport to try, give this one a chance. I’ve tried it several times and had a blast doing it. The Asian countries dominate this as well, even though the entire men’s team for the US is from Asia. There’s also a nice rivalry between China, Indonesia and South Korea. The host nation will look to win all of the events. Here’s some top rallies:



Baseball: This is the last time that this one will be in the Olympics, which is a shame. Some are saying that this and softball are being eliminated because of American domination, but that isn’t the case. The US will be lucky to medal in this event. Cuba and Japan supposedly have better team this time around. The games have been a springboard for US guys in the past like Jim Abbott and Ben Sheets to productive professional careers. The roster usually consists of minor leaguers because college kids are in school and pro ballplayers are doing their day jobs.

This time, look out for new Milwaukee Brewers farmhand Matt LaPorta who was involved in the big CC Sabathia trade earlier this year to make his presence felt. If the US gets a medal, I’m happy with that.

Basketball: This is a biggie. This is the only sport in the entire Olympics that I put on my USA hat and really, really care about getting the result.

The women’s side is actually really competitive, at least between Australia and the US. The American ladies have won the last three gold medals and nothing should change. Look out for my top-five bench player Candice Parker to do her thing.

The men’s side is a little more complicated. Team USA has made a new commitment to international basketball after some embarrassing showings in the 2004 Olympics and the last to FIBA World Championships. I like what I’m seeing, especially from the defensive end.

The US team isn’t a wrap to win this. Spain is legit with their guard play from guys like Rudy Fernandez and the Gasol brothers, especially Pau who suddenly turns into Wilt Chamberlin on the international stage. Argentina can cause major, major problems especially with Manu Ginoboli. Germany isn’t going to win a medal but Dirk can go off in any game and carry his team to a victory. Greece is ok and Russia will be decent with AK-47 and Holden at point.

Furthermore, I will be rooting some for Australia with A.J. Ogilvy (War Vanderbilt!)

But you have to imaging a team with LeBron, Carmelo, Kobe, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade and others will take it home. If not, I’m not a happy fellow.

US wins gold, Spain gets silver and Argentina beats Lithuania for the Bronze.

Crap, I almost forgot China with Yao Ming. Yau is legit and will be geeked to play in his home country and Yi is solid. The problem with China is that their guard play is poor and that’s a nice description. First US game is against China in arguably the biggest sporting event EVER in that country. Looking forward to that. Check out this Nike Ad to get hyped: http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikebasketball/2008/08/04/marvin-gaye-brings-soul-to-the-american-game

Boxing: Too many divisions to break down here, but looking at medal predictions, this looks like a weak team for the US. I think this is a commentary on US boxing in general.

Besides, I find Olympic style boxing boring with the few rounds and the whole punch scoring system. If this was mixed martial arts, then we’re in business. I guess I have to wait 16 years for this (oh, MMA will be an Olympic sport)

Canoe/Kayak: I’ve never done either one of these things and feel bad about that. No predictions here, but I do like viewing the sport. Here’s how it looks:



Cycling: Most of you think this consists of only the road course style of it like the Tour De France. Not so my friend. There are races on a small sprint track which is thrilling to watch. Look for France, Great Britain and Germany to do well in the team competions. Some highlights:



Diving: The only type of diving I know about is cannonball style. They are so graceful in the air, it’s a beauty to see. Synchronized diving is pretty recent and a sight to see.

Equestrian: I really can’t give you much here, sorry.

Fencing: I love combat sports and fencing qualifies. It’s old school fighting that would take place in a castle or something. I’m in.

Brooklyn’s own Keeth Smart is going for a medal in the individual sabre and it would be nice to see the men get a medal in the team sabre.

On the women’s side, gold is predicted for the individual and team sabre for the US. Here’s some fencing for you to enjoy:



Field Hockey: Interesting sport. Some of my Wake Forest fans out there can explain the intricacies of this sport for you. To be honest with you, I didn’t even know men played this sport until doing research for this post. I’m used to seeing American women in colleges play this sport. Watch the men give it a try, I know that I will.

Gymnastics: This is the only “mainstream” Olympic sport that I can’t cosign on. I respect the skills on display but I just don’t get too excited about it. Maybe my mother constant viewing of it when I was a kid scarred me or something, I wish I had an answer.

I do know that the Chinese take this stuff seriously and there’s a nice rivalry between the US and China on both the men’s and women’s side. So, the event being in Beijing should bring the element of drama to it with the Americans trying to win gold on enemy turf.

Its like Rocky IV, accept with flips and turns instead of punches.

Still with me folks, I hope you are…

Judo: I love Judo! If you love mixed martial arts, judo is it for you. Its all about the throws and submissions. I can watch a Judo tournament all day and love it.

It was founded in Japan by the great Kano Jigoro.

The beauty of Olympic judo is that you start seeing some countries making appearances that you wouldn’t expect. Experts are predicting people from the following countries to earn a medal: Netherlands, Mongolia (are you kidding me, Mongolia!), Cuba, Iran (cue up the Iron Sheik jokes), Hungary, Cuba, Brazil, Georgia (the country, not the state), Greece, Japan of course, Israel, France, North Korea, Portugal, and my two favorites, which I have to highlight below:

Azerbaijan and Tajikistan

You can’t make that stuff up.

Here’s a video below to show the awesomeness of this sport (can you tell I’m excited about this one?)



Rowing: I’ve never rowed a real boat, but I’ve been on a row machine or two and that’s no joke. I like seeing the team competitions.

Sailing: Not much here for me. However, the oldest Olympian, John Dane III is a young 58 and making his first Olympics after 40 years of sailing.

Shooting: We have some military officers on the US team, so that’s a good story during this “time of war” (save us Obama! Sorry, can’t get political here).

Plus, its guns! Who doesn’t love guns?

Soccer: This is always a dicey situation on the men’s side for the US. You would think that since the event is U-23, the playing field would be even for everybody. That’s not the case. The youth development of other countries is better then the US. The Americans have never won a medal in men’s soccer and it ain’t happening now. Not when you have guys like Ronaldinio playing for Brazil and Lionel Messi playing for Argentina.

The good part of it on the men’s side is that it’s two years before the World Cup so you get to see the youth in action before they step up to the senior squad. I usually go for the African nations in the Olympics because it brings flavor to the events. You get tired of seeing Brazil, Argentina and the European countries dominating. Go Ivory Coast and Nigeria!

The women’s side is always good for a storyline or two. I always go for the USA. Its going to be rough on them this time, especially without Wambach.

Softball: The USA takes care of business in this event. The team is loaded. With Jennie Fitch, Monica Abbott (boo Tennessee!), Cat Osterman and a host of others, the US should cruise to this. Keep softball in the Olympics!!!!

War Lisa Fernandez! I met her at UCLA a few years ago and it was an awesome experience.

Swimming: I really like the swimming events and there will be a ton of hype on Phelps and Dara Torres, so I’ll keep it short here. This post is to bring attention to the other sports that don’t get the attention. I do like Natalie Coughlin and Cullen Jones (NYC Represent!)

Synchronized Swimming: Same as swimming, even though all of those people in the water doing the same thing is a little creepy, and not in a good way. Its like a cult learned how to swim together, not appealing.

Table Tennis: or ping-pong as some of you call it. The Asian nations continue the dominance in these events. All of the US members are from China so it’s a homecoming for them. Here are some highlights, set to Eye of the Tiger! (Two Rocky references in one post, new record!)



Taekwondo: Same thing as Judo. Watch out for that spinning heel kick! The story of the Lopez family is worth checking it out.

Here are some sick knockouts:



Team Handball: All over this! There are no US teams in this one, which is a bummer. It looks like something that you would play in gym class. The video below has some more details about the sport. European countries do damage in this one, especially Denmark, Norway and Germany.



Tennis: Very similar to what you see in a major. Moving on…

Track and Field: Track is massive of course. Here are the following things that I’m looking forward to:

1) The men’s 100 Meter Dash. The trio of American Tyson Gay and Jamacians Usian Bolt and Asafa Powell will make this the premier event in the Olympics event to check out.

2) Men’s 400 Meter Dash. Jeremy Wariner going for his second consecutive gold medal in the Olympics for the US.

3) Men’s 1500 Meter Run. Bernard Lagut representing the US for the first time going for his first gold. He won the silver medal for Kenya in 2004.

4) All of the relay races.

5) Men’s Shot Put. My man Reese Hoffa goes for gold and the US team goes for a podium sweep.

6) Women's 200 Meter Dash. My crush and top-five bench player Allyson Felix is going for gold in this one.

7) Women's 110 Meter Hurdles: Another crush and potential top-five bench player Lolo Jones (what’s up with me crushing on female track athletes?) is the favorite to win gold for the US.

Volleyball: Beach volleyball is a good time, especially on the women’s side (I’m a dude, the women are hot, sue me). The glamour team is Misty May-Treanor and Keri Walsh and will look to repeat and get another gold medal.

However, I’m old school and like to see the indoor game. I really, really want to see the US men get a medal. Brazil, Russia and Poland are too strong though.

Water Polo: I really don’t get into this one.

Weightlifting: Similar to Judo, some unique countries make appearances like Armenia, Belarus, Latvia, Hong Kong (gotta love independence!), and wait for it Borat fans…

Kazakhstan!

Here’s a video of arguably the greatest lifter ever, Pyrros Dimas of Greece getting a bronze medal in the 2004 games in Athens. He had won the three previous gold medals in his weight class and was lifting in his home country. He missed his final lift and then took off his shoes, indicating his retirement. During the awards ceremony, he got a 15 minute standing ovation. You heard that right, a 15 minute standing ovation.

I cried when I saw that because it represented everything right about the Olympics.




And finally, Wrestling: This is the original Olympic event. Similar to Judo in my love for it. Some highlights below:



That’s my preview. Here’s some more analysis of some interesting US athletes.

Hopefully that was useful in some way. Enjoy the Games. I will after taking a nap from writing this post.

My Sunday Reflections

Here are my Sunday Reflections:

-US Swimming and Track & Field trials are over and it was thrilling television for the past week. As I stated earlier, I love the Olympics. I know it’s easy to be cynical of the Olympics with cheating, commercialism, the fact that China is hosting the events and a lot of other things in between. But let me tell you this. I saw people literally crying real tears of joy and pain trying their hardest to win a spot to represent this country. I saw a 41-year old woman out swim competitors literally half her age and set records. I saw Tyson Gay run the 100 Meter Dash in 9.68 seconds. That’s beyond sick. I thoroughly enjoyed the hammer throw. I saw Gary Hall, Jr., two-time defending Olympic champion, come out to his swim in the 50 Meter Freestyle in a cape, swim an amazing race and still finish fourth to not make the team.

That’s the crazy thing about the US Trials in these two disciplines. People were setting personal, year and American records and still not making the team. Not to be overly patriotic, but the fourth or fifth-best runner or swimmer in many of these races could make another country’s team easily. That’s what makes it crazy. Also…


That’s LoLo Jones. She won the 110 Meter Hurdles. I’m a huge fan of her now. However, she hasn’t replaced the current champion of my track and field crush desires.



Allyson Felix could get it, that’s all I got to say. She won the 200 Meter Race and I’m been a fan of hers since 2004.

OK, for the ladies and non-traditional male readers of my blog.



This guy is a freak as well. Phelps sets world records and looks pissed. His interviews with Andrea Kramer after his races were unintentional comedy as well. Kramer is a pro and asked him some good questions, but Phelps is such a competitor, he would be unhappy with his performance even though he dominated the entire field. It would come off like Phelps was a bit of a jerk, but I know that he’s a perfectionist.

I got mad at people when in 2004, Phelps won I think five gold medals and that was disappointing because he was going for seven or eight. You get in a pool and try to win a medal, any medal! That’s no joke.

I’m hyped about the Olympics and I haven’t even hit on men’s basketball or soccer yet.

-So this is our new UFC light heavyweight champion?



That’s right. Forrest beat Rampage and is now the champ. I didn’t watch the fight, so I can’t give my complete analysis of the fight yet. However, as much as I like Rampage…

War Forrest! Representing Athens, Georgia! I love it.

It’s an amazing story that I will get into in another post because I try to make these reflections short. The key word is try.

-Saw Hancock and Wanted this weekend.

I thought Hancock wasn’t bad. Solid movie. Will Smith did an excellent job of playing a superhero that has fallen on hard times. Charlize Theron puts in a solid effort.



She is definitely a candidate for the bench of my top-five. And she’s South African, respect to the motherland indeed.

Jason Bateman steals the movie though. He’s a talented actor. Also, the little kid in the movie is so cute. There was actually a potential teary eye moment or two in the movie. I don’t want to give too much away for those who want to see it. I liked it and recommend giving it a view.

Wanted was OK, not great. The concept was a little much for me. Lots of stuff gets shot, but you already knew that because it’s about assassins. The ending was a little much and left me kinda confused. I recommend giving this a view as well.

-Sorry for all of the pictures.

-I spend a few hours today on an excellent website called What White People Like. The link is here: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/. Some of the funniest stuff that I’ve read in a long time. It’s a satirical site, so if you get all uppity about race, don’t read it. But if you want a laugh, check it out.

And you know that there’s a Black version of this type of site as well. It’s called Stuff Educated Black People Like. Link here: http://www.stuffebplike.com/. There’s some funny stuff on this one as well.

Is it a bad thing that I may like more White people stuff then Black people stuff?

-I found this post interesting from another blog in relation to rock music and Black people: http://www.catsandbeer.com/music/the-top-10-rock-songs-black-people-love-a-post-written-by-a-black-person. It’s a different spin of what I was trying to say in my post: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2008/07/so-black-people-dont-listen-to-rock.html. The other post is solid, accept replace Duran Duran with Depeche Mode and throw some Bad Brains in there and then we’re getting it right.

-That’s all for now. I’m proud that I discussed all of the topics I wanted to this past week like I promised. First time. Anyway, here’s what I’ll hit on this upcoming week:

>An updated top-five list

>Five most painful sports moments of my life (one of them involves the Kentucky football team with my alma mater and happened my freshman year of college. It was a nighttime game. See if you can guess it. And another one has me secretly rooting against the California/Anaheim/whatever Angels every year as long as they keep their former weak-hitting catcher as a manager. This one involved my Mets, the playoffs and my childhood hero.

>Top five-Family Guy moments, even though I’m waiting for my favorite head of sports operations at a certain school in Nashville to give me her list. Don’t try to guess who that person is though, actually I don’t care, she knows who she is.

>Is pimping easy and if not, how can you make it work for you.

>My thoughts on the Griffin/Rampage fight and what it means for the UFC after I actually see the fight.

>Interracial dating, down with it or not? I’m a guy, so you can probably figure out my opinion on it or can you. I’m the same guy who was told by two major women family members who I love greatly to, and I quote, “don’t bring home a white girl.” If they only knew the identity of some of the girls I discuss on this blog.

One of those topics will not be discussed in a post or maybe all of them, I get bored.

Have a good week. I leave you with some Depeche Mode. The album Violator is the truth, cop that immediately.

Sunday Reflections

Another award winning edition of Sunday Reflections...

-Busy and slow weekend overall. I spend a lot of time writing for the blog. Friday night was an evening out with the boys and a lady that was detailed in a post. I spend yesterday afternoon at Green Hills Mall, which was cool. Then I spent all of last night writing my advice post, which was the most enjoyable thing that I’ve written so far. Today was a lazy day doing laundry and watching the European Championship finals. Speaking of which…

-Viva Espana! I’m so glad that Spain beat Germany today. I have no beefs against any of the European teams, so I’m completely neutral. However, I want to see open action and aggressive soccer play. Teams like Germany and Italy play in that old school, passive defensive style that turns off potential soccer fans. Those two teams have tons of international tournament success, so you can’t knock it too much.

However, I want to see progressive play get rewarded and the Spaniards winning Euro confirmed this. Spain also played solid defense in today’s final, something Espana has been weak at in the past.

When I think of Euro, I will think of how Holland played the best soccer I’ve ever seen from a national team in their first two matches and then wet the bed in the quarterfinals against Russia. I’ll think of Spain finally breaking through. I’ll think of the classic penalty kick shootout between Spain and Italy. I’ll think of the surprising Russians. I’ll think about how Portugal can have such talent and promise, yet forget how to do fundamental thinks like defensive marking against Germany and that will always be their downfall.

The main thing that I will think about however, is the Turks. Their never give up attitude was inspiring to watch. Turkey went through so many injuries and suspensions, yet kept fighting and made an excellent run. Their wins against the Czech Republic and Croatia were thrilling. Even in defeat against Germany, they tied the score late before the Germans scored in the final minute. I’m now a lifetime fan of the Turks!

-At Green Hills Mall, I saw Vanessa Williams and that was a good sight. She’s smaller and shorter then I thought she would be. It was so weird because I was just walking to the Brookstone store next the Apple store and I see her in a white dress, really no makeup, with her small daughter I’m assuming and two other women. I guess she’s in town filming a movie or something like that.

Anyway, I didn’t place her at first and then I said to myself, is that Vanessa Williams? Very attractive and you know the love I have for older women. I’m supposed to say that she could get it or CGI at this point, even though I’ve never turned down a girl. She actually may crack the bench on my top-five, speaking of which…

I recently saw this picture of Ciara and she once again confirmed why she will always be a member of the top-five. Ashley is still the GM/head coach. For old time’s sake…




I will have an updated top-five list soon.

-As sucky as the Mets have been playing lately, they are only four games out of first place. That’s the beauty of baseball, the season is so darn long. The Mets have fired a manager, the clubhouse doesn’t get along, players want to get out and they are still in contention. Good stuff. Also…

-The Rays are coming on strong and are in it for the long haul. I LOVE that the Rays are contending and are actually in first place now. I get so, so tired of hearing about the Yankees and the Red Sox all of the time. I don’t have a big beef against either team, I just get tired of the media coverage of them. Detroit is also only five games out as well. Maybe my AL West champions Seattle can recover and make a run…maybe not.

-I’ll have my updated MLB predictions/review at the All-Star game in a few weeks.

-I must tell you that I’m a sucker for the Olympics, both Winter and Summer. I’m going to elaborate on this more in a future post. For now, I was watching the trials for Track and Field as well as Swimming. I don’t know all of the athletes names right now, but I just love the competition. Tyson Gay and Michael Phelps are freaks, btw. I also checked out the gymnastics one a few weeks ago as well.

-I was driving around town over the weekend and I began to thing about my career and what I would like to do with it. It was a reflective moment and I was glad to have it.

-I recently joined a cool Facebook group called “If you remember the 90’s…” Great group and going over the information on there brought back so many memories. Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204285338

-I watched 60 Minutes today and there was a story on Will Smith in anticipation of his new movie, Hancock. Such a down to earth guy. I’m a big fan of his and Fresh Prince of Bel Air was essential viewing. In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spend most of my days…Y’all know what I’m talking about.

Here are some potential post topics for the next week (I will try to not write a post about women or dating.)

-Does this offend me, Part 3. Its coming, I promise
-Olympics
-Fourth of July memories
-So Black people don’t like rock music?

I heard this Bush song at a bar on Friday night and it brought back some memories. Actually, it was the cover band at Tin Roof. I was a HUGE fan of Bush back in the day. Have a good week.