The Gold Zone is back in action, with Australia and the USA going at each other in women's field hockey. The USA leads 2-1 with 1 minute left in the 4th.
Meanwhile, the Chinese are upset that the Olympics are not using the official Chinese flag in medal ceremonies.
The USA women get the hockey ball with one minute to go and do what I always want people to do in this situation -- they run out the clock. Good for them. The USA beat the Hockeyroos 2-1.
ReplyDeleteWater polo is back! The USA men's water polo team is in the pool against Spain. No score with 6:25 left in the 1st.
ReplyDeleteOne of our women fencers was just eliminated in the Individual Sabre competition by a woman from Russia -- a country that was just banned from the Paralympics due to massive cheating.
ReplyDeleteThat really is incredible.
DeleteAfter one quarter of water polo, Spain leads the USA 4-2.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, a women's basketball game between Spain and the USA has just tipped off.
The Gold Zone has four games going right now:
ReplyDeleteIn women's basketball, USA leads Spain 17-12 with 3 minutes left in the first.
In men's water polo, Spain leads USA 4-3 with 2:37 left in the second.
In women's individual sabre, an American woman trails 10-14.
In women's tennis, Madison Keys won the first set 7-5, but is about to go down a break in the second set.
And the American woman goes out in Individual Sabre. That was the round of 16, so she will not medal.
ReplyDeleteAnd Madison Keys is indeed down a break in the second set.
Meanwhile, Spain leads 5-4 in the water polo with 1:27 left in the 2d.
Since 1988, the USA has only one medal in men's water polo -- that was a silver in 2008.
ReplyDeleteWe're all tied at 5 in water polo with 3 seconds left in the 2d. Spain has called time.
ReplyDeleteIt's halftime at the water polo, all tied at 5. The Gold Zone has gone to the finals of men's air rifle. No Americans are in contention here.
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting the ball rolling today, Go Heath! We're celebrating First Day of Third Grade here in Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteStandings entering Day 3 of the XXXI Olympic Summer Games:
United States 3 gold, 5 silver 4 bronze
China 3, 2, 3
Australia 3, 0, 3
Italy 2, 3, 2
South Korea 2, 2, 1
Hungary 2, 0, 0
Great Britain 1, 1, 0
Sweden 1, 1, 0
Japan 1, 0, 6
Taiwan 1, 0, 1
Thailand 1, 0, 1
Argentina 1, 0, 0
Belgium 1, 0, 0
Kosovo 1, 0, 0
Netherlands 1, 0, 0
Vietnam 1, 0, 0
Canada 0, 1, 1
Kazakhstan 0, 1, 1
Brazil 0, 1, 0
Denmark 0, 1, 0
France 0, 1, 0
Indonesia 0, 1, 0
New Zealand 0, 1, 0
North Korea 0, 1, 0
Philippines 0, 1, 0
South Africa 0, 1, 0
Uzbekistan 0, 0, 2
Spain 0, 0, 1
Grace 0, 0, 1
Poland 0, 0, 1
(Russia 1, 2, 2)
Italy wins the gold medal in men's air rifle.
ReplyDelete1. USA: 3 + 5 + 4 = 12
2. ITA: 3 + 3 + 2 = 8
3. CHN: 3 + 2 + 3 = 8
The bronze in shooting, men's 10 metre air rifle, went to Croatia bronze, so it'll be good to get that flag onto the entertainment center.
DeleteThe 2012 medalists in this event were Romania, Italy and India.
Top American today was Lucas Kozeniesky, a 21-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, who attends North Carolina State University. It looks like he has been having a good time in Brazil.
Women's basketball. With 2:55 left in the 2d:
ReplyDeleteESP 30 - 47 USA
The Guardian reports that Argentina's Emiliano Grillo -- who is supposed to be competing in the Olympic Golf -- is complaining that the airline he flew to Brazil lost his clubs.
ReplyDeleteSpain beat USA 10-9 in men's water polo.
ReplyDeleteOn Channel 6: Spain's up, 10-7, on the United States in men's water polo.
ReplyDeleteOn Golf Channel (32 on my cable system): Somebody named Peter Dawson saying at a press conference, "We have a field of 60 golfers in each of the men's and women's events. The men will be playing from Thursday, the 11th of August through the 14th, and the women, from the 17th to the 20th." The men's draw will be announced today, with players organized in groups of three that will tee off starting at 7:30 a.m.
On NBC Sports Network (38): Team USA, up 58-39 on Spain in women's basketball.
On USA (42): People riding horses.
On CNBC (48): "AWAITING TRUMP ECONOMIC SPEECH."
On MSNBC (49): "FENCER IBTIHAJ MUHAMMAD MAKES HISTORY, WEARING HIJAB."
On Bravo (60): Madison Keys of Rock Island, Illinois, trailing, 5-4, in the second against Kristina Mladenovic of Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France.
Maybe I'll get back into the WNBA.
ReplyDelete74-51, Team USA now lead Spain in women's hoops through three quarters.
ReplyDeleteOK, the Huskies seem to have the women's basketball in hand, so I'm moving over to Channel 6, where Katie Ledecky is leaping live into the pool. This must be some sort of semifinal.
ReplyDeleteThis was a preliminary heat for the women's 200m freestyle, and Ledecky vaults to the top of the qualifying times for tonight's two semifinal races.
ReplyDeleteOn CNBC, Donald Trump is saying he'd cut taxes across the board and simplify taxation to three brackets: 12 percent, 25 percent and 33 percent.
ReplyDeleteTwo headlines on the Drudge Report right now:
Delete"Communist Party goes all in for Clinton"
"Amish back Trump"
In all seriousness, I may stop following politics if Matt Drudge retires.
DeleteMSNBC is now showing men's beach volleyball.
ReplyDeleteOn Bravo, it's now 1-1 in the third set between Team USA's Keys and France's Mladenovic. This is the Round of 32, and Keys is the tournament's seventh seed.
ReplyDeleteNow 2-2 in the third set.
ReplyDelete3-3.
ReplyDelete4-4.
ReplyDelete5-5
DeleteFinal score from women's basketball:
ReplyDeleteESP 63 - 103 USA
Here's what we've got on the Gold Zone:
ReplyDeleteWomen's rugby sevens
Sailing
Women's tennis
Men's beach volleyball
5-5.
ReplyDeleteMadison Keys has now been playing for three hours. She won the first set 7-5, lost the second 6-7, is tied 5-all in the third.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eric that rugby sevens looks like a lot of fun.
ReplyDelete6-6.
ReplyDeleteIt's time for the tie break. I always try to use the term "mini-break" during the tie breaks.
DeleteMeanwhile, the USA women's rugby team just broke a long, spectacular run -- it looked like Mayfield against Reidland. They and Fiji are tied at 7 with 3 minutes left.
And now 3-3 in the tie-breaker ... Keys and Mladenovic switch sides ...
ReplyDeleteThe announcers call these two "Maddie" (21-year-old Madison Keys) and "Kiki" (23-year-old Kristina Mladenovic).
ReplyDeleteKiki surges to a 5-3 lead in the tie-breaker ...
And the AMERICAN WOMEN JUST HAD ANOTHER TRY IN THE RUGBY. They're up 12-7 with 2 minutes left.
ReplyDeleteMore evidence that they could have medaled if they had been well-coached.
I really wish they would start the women's rugby sevens over again. I think if our women had another chance, they could win the whole thing.
DeleteMaddie ricochets one off the net to pull back within 4-5 ...
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's 5-all!
COME ON, MADDIE! COME ON!!!
6-5, Keys ...
ReplyDeleteMADDIE WINS! YEAH!
ReplyDeleteThat was a fantastic tennis match. Keys wins 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
ReplyDeleteAnd now the Gold Zone is off to whitewater canoeing, which is one of my favorite Olympic sports. We're always terrible at this event, which makes me think that those folks shopping at REI are a bunch of poseurs.
ReplyDeleteI've shopped at REI, and certainly I was posing when I did so.
DeleteOK, so seventh-seeded Madison Keys of Rock Island, Illinois, survives an Olympic-record-longest, 3-hour/14-minute match to advance to play ninth-seeded Carla Suárez Navarro in tomorrow's round of 16. Wikipedia says Madison Keys this year became "the first American to debut in the Top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999."
ReplyDeleteNBC has two British announcers for the whitewater canoeing.
ReplyDeleteNow we're on equestrian Team Eventing, where a lot of horses appear to be riding through Paducah's Noble Park.
ReplyDeleteI would be fine if the equestrian and beach-volleyball events disappeared and we took on kickball and ultimate Frisbee(R).
DeleteBowling and bass fishing also would be upgrades.
DeleteOn Channel 6 now: Some live men's whitewater rafting. This is a good sport to watch. I love it that they use a manufactured course as to some actual stream. I'm sure this is very dangerous, but the artificiality lulls me into thinking that everybody's totally safe and cared for--otherwise, this thing would make me too nervous to watch.
ReplyDeleteOn Golf Channel: The program is billed as "Live at the Olympics," but everybody's talking about the fact that--get this!--JIM FURYK SHOT THE FIRST-EVER 58 ON THE PGA TOUR DURING YESTERDAY'S FINAL ROUND OF THE TRAVELERS! Way to go, Jim Furyk!
On NBC Sports Network: Oh, good! Australia vs. Canada in women's rugby. Go, Canada! (Sorry, Go Heath; I love Canada.)
I'm stopping right here.
And now Australia is playing Serbia in men's basketball. The Aussies lead 22-15 with 1:40 left in the 1st.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was afraid of this. Australia looks phenomenal. Aren't Australia and New Zealand the giant rugby powers? I've got to go back and look at Go Heath's rugby posts. Anyway, we're three minutes into the seven-minute first half, and it's 7-0, Australia, which looks bigger, faster and more certain of itself than Canada. And now Canada commits a turnover.
ReplyDeleteIf Coach Haskins had spent two days with our women, we would have beaten Australia and New Zealand yesterday.
DeleteThat would certainly be fine with me, but I don't agree with you at all on this point. I thought New Zealand looked a lot, lot more talented than Team USA. I have no idea about the coaching, though my assumption would be that the United States doesn't draw on a deep pool of talent in that area either.
DeleteI did not think New Zealand looked more talented than Team USA. We absolutely should have scored at the end when they were a player down, and a score there -- with the conversion -- would have been enough for the victory.
DeleteNZL spent most of the second half just trying to run out the clock before the Americans figured out what was going on.
I thought New Zealand just looked better and unbothered that whole game/match/whatever.
DeleteWe beat Fiji 12-7 in women's rugby sevens, and will play France for fifth place.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Australia leads Canada 7-0 with 3:20 left in the first.
ReplyDeleteOK, my medal predictions in this sport are now Australia gold, New Zealand bronze and Great Britain bronze.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great sport.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying this Australia-Canada match.
ReplyDeleteHey, that was the second half, not the first. Man, those things go fast. Australia advances.
ReplyDeleteIt's like watching 21-Zip in real life.
DeleteYes! That's an excellent comparison.
DeleteMeanwhile, with 3:20 left in the 2d quarter of men's basketball:
ReplyDeleteSRB 30 - 37 AUS
I love David Letterman. I hope he's enjoying his retirement.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama should just make the NFL switch over to playing seven-on-seven rugby this season. All of the teams could just put pictures of their helmets on the front of their jerseys, and I'd be satisfied.
ReplyDeleteThey could play the season in about two weeks.
DeleteWow. They don't kid around on the rugby. Here comes the second semifinal!
ReplyDeleteHOORAY FOR SPORTS!
ReplyDeleteThere are seven linebackers who are going to be cut from NFL training camps today, and President Obama should put those seven guys on a plane to Rio tonight. Assuming there's a men's tournament, if Team USA falls behind at the half of its first game/match, the coach should put in the seven cut linebackers and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteOn the Gold Zone, Tanith White has handed things off to Andrew Siciliano. He tells us that this afternoon will be a "gold rush," with lots of medals being awarded.
ReplyDeleteBeing an NFL guy, Siciliano takes us straight to rugby, where NZL leads Britain 5-0.
Eric, who is the play-by-play guy for rugby? He sounds familiar.
He does sound familiar, but I can't place his voice.
DeleteOK, I mentioned in my analysis yesterday that New Zealand has two great players, which is twice as many as Fiji's one great player and that Great Britain was challenged by Fiji. Well, one of New Zealand's two great players just had a huge run for a touchdown. That made it 5-0 for New Zealand. Then Great Britain scored and made its conversion for a 7-5 lead. And now New Zealand's other great player made a giant run to set up a go-ahead score. It's 10-7 after another missed New Zealand conversion.
ReplyDeleteBritain fights back! They get a try of their own -- and get the conversion:
ReplyDeleteGBR 7 - 5 NZL
And there you go. Scrappy Great Britain tries to pull down the first of New Zealand's two great players, and that's a yellow card. And now scrappy Great Britain spears another New Zealand player, and that's another yellow card. And seven-on-five, New Zealand's first great player runs across for another score at the end of the first half. The conversion fails, and it's 15-7, New Zealand, after one half.
ReplyDeleteNow you can see how good the Americans really are. NZL didn't do anything like this against us.
DeleteYou would vote Zach Thomas for the Hall of Fame, wouldn't you?
DeleteIf you play Mayfield in football, and they only beat you 6-0, then you're a really good team. That's all I need to know.
DeleteNot necessarily. I watched the Dolphins for 10 years there where everybody talked about them having one of the best defenses in the league but no offense. And I watched teams take a 7-0 or 10-7 lead and then basically run the ball into the line twice and punt on third down the rest of the game because they knew Miami wouldn't be able to score, anyway. The funny thing was that if the Dolphins did luck into a fourth-quarter lead, suddenly the opposing quarterback would hit five of seven passes every possession and the opposing running back would start averaging six yards a carry.
DeleteBut women's rugby sevens isn't the NFL. NZL and AUS have been running up the score on everyone else. They would have done it to us, too, if they could have.
DeleteOK, now I'm getting worried that these two great New Zealand players are better than anyone with Australia--my medals prediction might be off kilter a bit.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the second half!
ReplyDeleteAnd there goes the first of the two great New Zealand players, for another touchdown, which they call "tries."
ReplyDelete5-0 we lost to these guys! And all we had to do was score when we had a player advantage! The conversion would have put us in the lead with less than 2 minutes to go. Oh, it just kills me.
DeleteMeanwhile, the U.S. women's volleyball team is losing to Netherlands 15-11 in the first set. This is not going to be our year for volleyball.
ReplyDeleteEric, have you noticed that on a try, they always touch the ball down on the ground. I'm pretty sure that's where the word "touchdown" comes from. It's funny that we don't actually touch the ball to the ground, but they do.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing same thing.
DeleteDoes the point where the ball is touched down determine where the conversion kick is attempted?
Yes. So you are rewarded for scoring in the middle of the field.
DeleteWith 1 minute to go:
ReplyDeleteGBR 7 - 25 NZL
NZL wins 25-7, and they will play AUS in the final.
ReplyDeleteNetherlands wins the first set 25-18 over the USA women's volleyball team, and that's probably my last comment on women's volleyball.
ReplyDeleteWith 8:20 left in the 3d quarter of men's basketball:
ReplyDeleteSRB 49 - 45 AUS
8:36 left in the 4th:
ReplyDeleteSRB 65 - 64 AUS
2:50 left in the 4th:
ReplyDeleteSRB 76 - 82 AUS
Australia beats Serbia 95-80 in men's basketball.
ReplyDeleteAustralia has 23.13 million people. Texas has 26.96 million people. I, personally, would be interested to watch an athletic competition between Australia and Texas.
2-2, Team USA and the Netherlands, in their women's volleyball preliminary ...
ReplyDeleteVersatile piece of wisdom from Channel 6's volleyball commentator: "When every hitter on your side is struggling, it's time to change the setter."
ReplyDeleteTeam USA leads, 9-4, in the fifth and deciding set ...
YEAH! Team USA beats the Netherlands, 3-2, in women's volleyball. The United States is now 2-0 in Group B pool play. Four team advance from each of two six-team pools, and then those eight teams play a single-elimination knockout tournament for the medals.
ReplyDeleteMSNBC, here's the gold-medal match in men's 73g judo: Japan vs. Azerbaijan.
ReplyDeleteWow ... well, that was even quicker than seven-on-seven rugby.
ReplyDeleteJudo: men's 73kg: Japan gold, Azerbaijan silver and Belgium and Georgia bronze.
London 2012 winners were Russia, Japan, Mongolia and France.
I'm keeping an eye on Japan. Last time they finished 6th, with 38 medals. So far they already have 9, and they are in 4th place. If Japan decided to become a sports power, that would be a really big deal.
DeleteBoxing: An American and a Russian are fighting in the Round of 16 in the men's light flyweight division. I don't think I've watched an Olympic boxing match since 1988.
ReplyDeleteSomeday, I'm going to write an article about Olympic boxing and the WTO. It will be about how unfair rules tend to distort market-based outcomes.
This is quite a violent fight. These guys just keep hurling themselves at each other,and then they keep hitting at each other in the clinches.
ReplyDeleteThe Australian announcer tells us that this was a brutal boxing match.
ReplyDeleteAnd the American has won! This was apparently a big upset. USA!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, France and USA are playing for fifth place in the women's rugby. No score with 4:20 left in the 1st half.
ReplyDeleteThe Americans just broke a long run to tie their match with France at 5-all early in the second half. Can they make the conversion?
ReplyDeleteYes! The kick is good. With 5:50 left in the game:
ReplyDeleteFRA 5 - 7 USA
And the Americans have broken ANOTHER long run. TRY! With 4 minutes to go:
ReplyDeleteFRA 5 - 12 USA
The conversion is no good, as she scored at the corner of the end zone. USA still lead 12-5.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's ANOTHER try from the Americans! THIS IS LIKE WATCHING TECMO-BOWL!
ReplyDeleteHere's the American's best play: They kick the ball high down the middle of the field. Then they go chasing after it, slapping it around and grabbing for the ball. Meanwhile, the other team is also trying to get the ball, so their defense is not organized. If the Americans can grab the ball, they're off to the races. WHAT A TEAM!
That was fantastic! What a second half performance!
ReplyDeleteFinal score:
ReplyDeleteFRA 5 - 19 USA
USA takes 5th place. Plainly should have medaled. Blew their chances yesterday with a really dumb loss to Fiji, and then a late try that killed them against Australia.
Per the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series standings for 2015-16, the right four teams made the medal round at Rio 2016. And good for Team USA, upsetting France, to punch above its weight at the Olympics!
ReplyDeleteNow the Canadians are crushing the Brits for the bronze. with 7 minutes left in the game, Canada leads 26-5.
ReplyDelete5 minutes left:
ReplyDeleteCAN 26 - 10 GBR
And hooray for Canada, which is beating Great Britain for bronze. This result aligns with the World Rugby Women's Seven Series standings (I should've looked at these standings before I made my medals predictions).
ReplyDeleteI'll back our women against Canada right now.
DeleteMeanwhile, the USA is about to play Venezuela in men's basketball.
ReplyDeleteFinal score:
ReplyDeleteCAN 33 - 10 GBR
Medal Count:
ReplyDelete1. USA: 3 + 6 + 4 = 13
2. CHN: 4 + 2 + 4 = 10
3. JPN: 3 + 0 + 7 = 10
Ah, China must've won the platform-diving event.
DeleteSo this is like Texas vs. Oklahoma for the national championship.
ReplyDeleteOne of New Zealand's two great players just scored a try.
ReplyDeleteThey're doing a medal ceremony right now, and they are still using the wrong flag for China.
ReplyDeleteI wish I would've picked New Zealand for the upset here. 5-0 after a missed conversion.
ReplyDeleteNEW ZEALAND WANTS IT, BABY!
ReplyDeleteAndrew Siciliano is showing us how to open the Gold Zone on our iPad.
ReplyDeleteYears from now, there will be people who will swear that the best Olympics coverage ever was on the Gold Zone back in 2016 -- everything has been downhill since then.
5-all.
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian thought Australia fumbled on this try.
DeleteSo did the CNBC boys.
DeleteNo, I think Australia is just going to have too much.
ReplyDeleteWith 1:30 left in the 1st half of the gold medal women's rugby game:
ReplyDeleteAUS 5 - 5 NZL
That woman Quirk who just had the ball writes a regular column for that World Rugby site.
ReplyDeleteThe second of New Zealand's great players gets sent to the penalty box, and, immediately, Australia scores a try. Conversion is no good: 10-5, Australia.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great match.
ReplyDeleteHalftime!
ReplyDeleteHalftime:
ReplyDeleteAUS 10 - 5 NZL
By the way, halftime lasts for 2 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're still not in the bathroom, because the second half starts now!
ReplyDeleteTwo-minute halftime, per Blogger.com.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the USA men's basketball team is struggling. With 1 minute left in the first quarter:
ReplyDeleteUSA 13 - 13 VEN
New Zealand wants it, baby!
ReplyDeleteOK, interesting ... That one great New Zealand player who was in the penalty box was available to re-enter the game a minute into the second half, but it had to happen during a stoppage in play. Instead, play continued unabated for about 30 seconds more, and Australia scores another try. Kick good: 17-5, Australia.
ReplyDeleteAnd Australia breaks the game open with a great drive that goes the length of the field. They're up 15-5 with only 7 minutes left.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem with rugby is that there's no good way to come from behind. You can't start passing.
Australia makes the conversion, so now they lead 17-5. The whole difference in the game is the 12 points scored while NZL was a person down.
ReplyDeleteEnd of 1st Quarter:
ReplyDeleteUSA 18 - 18 VEN
Australia again: 24-5.
ReplyDeleteCNBC: "You young girls, watching at home, how do you play rugby? You keep it in both hands!"
I just talked to my 7-year-old daughter about her interest in starting a rugby team at her elementary school. "Maybe," she said.
That means "no," by the way. She knows I'll forget.
And Australia is now up 22-5, and they are going to win the gold medal.
ReplyDeleteAnd the other great New Zealand player powers through and then speeds behind the Australia defense. Kick no good: 24-10.
ReplyDeleteAbout a minute to go in regulation ...
That great New Zealand player gets an interception, and it appears New Zealand is going to score once more--yes, by the other great New Zealand player--but it comes on the last play of the match. They're eight-minute halves, but play continues until there's a stoppage in play. New Zealand scored about 10 seconds after regulation. Final: 24-17, Australia.
ReplyDeleteFinal Score:
ReplyDeleteAUS 24 - 17 NZL
A great addition to the Olympic schedule!
Hear, hear!
DeleteMeanwhile, with 7 minutes left in the 2d quarter:
ReplyDeleteUSA 24 - 22 VEN
That is a great, great, great sport, and I am thrilled it's in the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteRugby sevens, women's: Australia gold, New Zealand silver, Canada bronze. This is the debut of rugby sevens at the Olympics, so that's 250 big, new E-BOPs for Australia.
4:32 left in the 2d quarter:
ReplyDeleteUSA 31 - 22 VEN
Carmelo Anthony, who is devastating under FIBA rules, just hit a big 3.
Carmelo Anthony is having the same career arc that Nolan Ryan had.
DeleteSo Serena Williams, the best woman tennis player in the world, is playing in the round of 16, and, seeding working as it does, you'd think this would be an easy match, right? Well, you would be wrong. Her opponent is Alize Cornet of France, and these two have split their six career meetings. Cornet, in fact, has won each of the last three meetings.
ReplyDeleteAnd, now on Bravo, she leads the first set, 5-4 ...
Cornet is two points from taking the first set, and she's already pumping her fist. Just as it did for the French woman against Venus, the crowd is rooting for the French woman against Serena.
ReplyDelete1:48 left in the 2d quarter:
ReplyDeleteUSA 43 - 24 VEN
And that's it for me -- the Gold Zone goes off at 6 P.M. Central. I'll still comment on Eric's posts.
But, no! Serena survives two set points to even the first set at five games apiece.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Serena breaks Cornet's serve, and she'll be serving for the first set!
ReplyDelete8:11 left in the 4th:
ReplyDeleteUSA 82 - 51 VEN
I would actually like to have a coach for myself. People make fun of the idea of personal coaches, but I would be better at pretty much anything if I had Coach K or Calipari coaching me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at Heath, I spent a lot of time with Coach Haskins, Coach Edwards, and Coach Bushong. They were football coaches, not nerd coaches, but they knew a lot of things about how to get young men to be more successful -- and looking back on the time I spent with them, I'm amazed at how much good they did for me.
Final score:
ReplyDeleteUSA 113 - 69 VEN
OK, we've got tape-delay men's 10m synchronized platform diving on the big Channel 6 prime-time show. I'm pretty sure the Chinese win this thing. First, Go Heath noted that China picked up a fourth gold today. And, second, China is freaking amazing at synchronized diving--all of the Chinese synchronized divers are like Torville and Dean were to ice dancing.
ReplyDeleteThrough five of six dives, a Chinese team is in first place, followed by Americans David Bourdia and S. Johnson and then a couple of guys from Great Britain. The 2012 medalists in this event were China, Mexico and then Bourdia and Nicholas McCrory for the United States.
Man, I hope Serena won while I was celebrating First Day of Third Grade at the Madisonville Dairy Queen.
ReplyDeleteSome Germans were in fourth after five dives, and they just went. And now here are a couple of Mexicans, who are in fifth.
ReplyDeleteAll of these teams come up and dive, and it's really impressive how synch they all are. Then the Chinese come up, and it's honestly like looking at a mirror image of one diver.
There go Bourdia and Johnson, and it sure seemed like they did a good job. They seem happy. They're hugging. OK, good ... score of more than 95 points. That's really good. Great! Hurrah! I think that will lock up silver--that's going to be an improvement over London 2012 performance for the Americans.
ReplyDeleteNow here are the Chinese guys, and ... WOW! ... they're just amazing. Amazing! These aren't even the same two Chinese dudes who were amazing in London.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that was actually an off dive for the Chinese guys, and they scored more than 98 points. They're previous dive got a triple-digit score.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, the Great Britain dudes were really good. Could they overtake Team USA?
ReplyDeleteNo! They get bronze. Hurrah!
ReplyDeleteDiving, men's synchronized 10 meter platform: China gold, United States silver and Great Britain bronze. It's a new Olympic record for Chen Aisen of Guangzhou and Lin Yue of Chaozhou. Meanwhile, it's a third Olympic medal for 27-year-old David Boudia of Abilene, Texas (he also got a gold in 10m platform diving at London 2012) and first for 20-year-old Steele Johnson of Indianapolis. U! S! A!
ReplyDeleteYes, Serena won!
ReplyDeleteOK, now we have four straight live swimming finals now on Channel 6 ...
ReplyDeleteSwimming, men's 200m freestyle: China gold, South Africa silver and United States bronze. Conor Dwyer of Evanston, Illinois, picks up the medal for Team USA, which failed to medal in the event at London 2012. The winners there were France for gold and both China and South Korea for silver.
ReplyDeleteNext up is women's 100m backstroke. Missy Franklin won this event for Team USA in London, with Australia and Japan capturing silver and bronze, respectively. The U.S. competitors in Rio are Kathleen Baker and Olivia Smoliga ...
ReplyDeleteHungary's Katinka Hosszu takes her second gold medal of the games. Baker of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, takes silver. The bronze goes to Canada.
ReplyDeleteMedal Count:
Delete1. USA: 3 + 7 + 5 = 15
2. CHN: 5 + 2 + 5 = 12
3. JPN: 3 + 0 + 7 = 10
That's how they rank in terms of GDP as well, although the GDP figures (in trillions of dollars) would look more like this:
1. USA: 18
2. CHN: 11
3. JPN: 4
Now we have the men's 100m backstroke. Team USA took gold and silver in this event at London 2012, with Japan taking bronze.
ReplyDeleteThis time, Team USA takes gold and bronze! YEAH!
ReplyDeleteYEAH! YEAH! YEAH!
ReplyDeleteRyan Murphy of Palos Heights, Illinois, takes gold (with an Olympic record), and David Plummer of Norman, Oklahoma, takes bronze. The silver goes to China.
ReplyDeleteMedal Count:
ReplyDelete1. USA: 4 + 7 + 6 = 17
2. CHN: 5 + 3 + 5 = 13
3. JPN: 3 + 0 + 7 = 10
Medal Count (international version):
1. CHN: 5 + 3 + 5 = 13
2. USA: 4 + 7 + 6 = 17
3. AUS: 4 + 0 + 3 = 7
Man, this is nerve-racking.
ReplyDeleteEVANSVILLE, REPRESENT!
ReplyDeleteCOME ON, LILLY KING! COME ON!
ReplyDeleteWomen's 100m breaststroke is next. The 2012 medalists were Lithuania, the United States and Japan.
ReplyDeleteNBC is surprised that the Brazilians are booing someone from a country that was just banned from the Paralypmics -- because they cheated in the Winter Paralympics. NBC may want to get out more.
ReplyDeletePlus, a lot of the people at this event are American swimming families, and I can only imagine how they feel about potentially watching their kids lose to cheaters.
Deleteyea! YEAH! YEAH!YEAH!!!!!
ReplyDeleteEVANSVILLE WEST SIDE, BABY! EVANSVILLE WEST SIDE!
ReplyDeleteMedal Count:
ReplyDelete1. USA: 5 + 7 + 7 = 19
2. CHN: 5 + 3 + 5 = 13
3. JPN: 3 + 0 + 7 = 10
Oh, my gosh, that was amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe women's 100m breaststroke gold goes to Lilly King of Evansville, Indiana; bronze goes to Katie Meili of Carrollton, Texas. Terrific, terrific performance for Team USA here.
ReplyDelete