It was another fantastic night of U.S. swimming and women's gymnastics success on Channel 6, and I decided I needed to settle down and just watch and enjoy last night.
I am so glad that it's the swimmers live and the gymnasts on tape delay. As dependable as the Team USA swimmers are, it's nerve-racking to root in real time for the swimmers through medal races that are determined by tenths of seconds--but not nearly as nerve-racking as it would be to root for the Team USA women's gymnasts in real time, as dependable as they are, because that whole sport feels like accidents waiting to happen.
Anyway, as it is, we've got a pretty good thing going--my wife, Channel 6 and me. Last night, I watched and cheered through the live swimming in prime time. When they showed the Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps medal ceremonies in prime time, I felt pretty good that the Team USA women's gymnasts must've won and they were holding out their medal ceremony for the big Bob Costas show closer at 11. Anyway, when Al Trautwig came on at 10 to talk us through the final two exercises as Team USA worked to protect its lead, I felt confident enough to roll over and doze on the couch, waking up occasionally whenever my wife or he reacted any too loudly. It all worked out fine. U! S! A!
Here are the standings going into today:
ReplyDeleteUnited States 9 gold medals, 8 silver, 9 bronze
China 8, 3, 6
Hungary 4, 1, 1
Australia 4, 0, 5
Italy 3, 4, 2
South Korea 3, 2, 1
Japan 3, 1, 10
France 2, 3, 1
Thailand 2, 1, 1
Great Britain 1, 3, 2
Germany 1, 2, 0
Sweden 1, 2, 0
Brazil 1, 1, 0
Taipei 1, 0, 2
Belgium 1, 0, 1
Greece 1, 0, 1
Netherlands 1, 0, 1
Argentina 1, 0, 0
Colombia 1, 0, 0
Croatia 1, 0, 0
Kosovo 1, 0, 0
Slovenia 1, 0, 0
Vietnam 1, 0, 0
Indonesia 0, 2, 0
New Zealand 0, 2, 0
North Korea 0, 2, 0
Canada 0, 1, 4
Kazakhstan 0, 1, 3
Ukraine 0, 1, 1
Azerbaijan 0, 1, 0
Denmark 0, 1, 0
Malaysia 0, 1, 0
Mongolia 0, 1, 0
Mongolia 0, 1, 0
Philippines 0, 1, 0
Slovakia 0, 1, 0
Turkey 0, 1, 0
Uzbekistan 0, 0, 2
Spain 0, 0, 1
Georgia 0, 0, 1
Israel 0, 0, 1
Kyrgyzstan 0, 0, 1
Poland 0, 0, 1
Portugal 0, 0, 1
Switzerland 0, 0, 1
United Arab Emirates 0, 0, 1
Now on Channel 6: Bunch of people cheering and waving U.S. flags on theToday.
ReplyDeleteNow on Golf Channel: Martin Kaymer live practicing bunker shots.
ReplyDeleteNow on NBC Sports Network: Live timed cycling. I think this is a medal race. I'll probably come back to this.
ReplyDeleteNow on USA: Netherlands, up 6-4 in the first set against Australia in women's beach volleyball.
ReplyDeleteNow on CNBC: "DISNEY BETS ON STREAMING."
ReplyDeleteLots of Disney on CNBC in the last 12 hours. Fine with me. I love Disneyworld.
Now on MSNBC: "RYAN EASILY DEFEATS PRIMARY CHALLENGER."
ReplyDeleteNow on Bravo: One of those Real Housewives programs. I've never seen any of these.
ReplyDeleteThe McDonald's commercial about healthier Chicken McNuggets and with the stripped-down version of the Cyndi Lauper song is sweet.
ReplyDeleteNBC advertises NASCAR's return to its airwaves after the Olympics, and Blake Shelton differentiates by saying that the drivers care about bragging rights (as opposed to records) and that only the winner gets on the podium (as opposed to silver and bronze winners, in addition to gold). Those are good points. I like NASCAR fine.
ReplyDeleteOK, back to the cycling on NBC Sports ... yes, this does appear to be a medal race, and the first U.S. dude to go off just wrecked! Man, that was painful to watch. He appears to be OK, and he's back to riding.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia: "Individual time trial (ITT) is an event in which cyclists race alone against the clock on flat or rolling terrain, or up a mountain road. A team time trial (TTT), including two-man team time trial, is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock. In both team and individual time trials, the cyclists start the race at different times so that each start is fair and equal. Unlike individual time trials where competitors are not permitted to 'draft' (ride in the slipstream) behind each other, in team time trials, riders in each team employ this as their main tactic, each member taking a turn at the front while team-mates 'sit in' behind. Race distances vary from a few km (typically a prologue, an individual time trial of usually less than 8 km (5 mi) before a stage race, used to determine which rider wears the leader's jersey on the first stage) to 60 and (seldomly) more than 100 km."
ReplyDeleteWikipedia is amazing. I just donated $10. That covers the three of us.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says the favorites here are Great Britain's Chris Froome, Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, Germany's Tony Martin, the Netherlands' Tom Dumoulin and Belarus's Vasil Kiryienka.
ReplyDeleteHere were the medalists at London 2012:
-- Bradley Wiggins, Great Britain, gold
-- Tony Martin, Germany, silver
-- Chris Froome, Great Britain, bronze
The leader at the moment is a fellow from Austria.
It looks so nice and overcast on this course. This is neat to watch.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of 20 medal events today.
ReplyDeleteMy wife makes a good point that it would be so awful to have the cars or motorcycles with race officials driving behind you in this race--you'd constantly worry that you'd crash and all of these people would just drive right over you.
ReplyDeleteNow a Belgian guy is leading.
ReplyDeleteThe deodorant commercial with the women in the restroom, girding to ask for a pay raise, is so fantastic that it literally brought tears to my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing people talk about Kristen (or Kiersten) Bell for years, and I finally saw who she is. And I honestly don't believe I've ever seen a picture of her. Well, anyway, she has a comedy with Ted Danson this fall on NBC. I sure loved Cheers.
ReplyDeleteShe was really good in Frozen.
DeleteOK, now I've seen that. It was good.
DeleteNow the Austrian guy is back in front. It's raining again.
ReplyDeleteOK, I mentioned this is one of 20 medal events today.
ReplyDeleteThe leader is now Tim Wellens of Belgium, followed by a guy from Poland. I'm doing my best to catch the names, Matthew, but Go Heath is right about NBC's minimalist graphics.
ReplyDeleteOne medal event has already been completed today, and--SPOILER ALERT, BOB COSTAS FANS--it has been WON! BY! TEAM! U! S! A!
ReplyDeleteWikipedia:
ReplyDeleteKristin Armstrong grew up as a military brat as her father was an officer in the US Marines.[15] Born in Memphis, Tennessee, she lived in Tennessee and California and attended high school in Havelock, North Carolina, and abroad in Okinawa, Japan, where she graduated from Kubasaki High School in 1991.[16][17] She enrolled at the University of Idaho in Moscow, where she ran track for the Vandals for a season as a walk-on and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.[3][18] Armstrong earned a bachelor's degree from UI in sports physiology in 1995, and currently lives in Boise, Idaho.[3][19]
She is often confused with Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, whose name is also Kristin. Kristin Armstrong the cyclist and Lance Armstrong are not related.[20]
Armstrong is married to Joe Savola; their son Lucas William Savola was born on September 15, 2010.[2] Four months before his birth, she gave the commencement address at her alma mater in May 2010.[21][22]
Kristin Armstrong won gold in cycling, women's time trial, at Beijing 2008 and retired. She came back to win gold in the event at London 2012 and retired. But she came back again.
ReplyDeleteLate in today's race, she trailed, and, she told NBC Sports Network, "she hurt so much." Armstrong said her coach kept asking her to decide "which color medal do you want." She said she kept reminding herself that she would have to "live with" whatever result she got today.
ReplyDeleteNBC Sports Network had footage of her crossing the finish line, stopping her bike, turning to someone on the course and asking, "Did I win?" Yes, someone told her. And then she collapsed onto the course in relief.
ReplyDeleteCycling, women's road time trial: United States gold and Netherlands bronze.
ReplyDeleteHappy 43rd birthday tomorrow, Kristin Armstrong, originally of Memphis, Tennessee, and now of Boise, Idaho.
Updated standings:
ReplyDeleteUnited States 10 gold medals, 8 silver, 9 bronze
China 8, 3, 6
Hungary 4, 1, 1
Australia 4, 0, 5
Italy 3, 4, 2
South Korea 3, 2, 1
Japan 3, 1, 10
France 2, 3, 1
Thailand 2, 1, 1
Great Britain 1, 3, 2
Germany 1, 2, 0
Sweden 1, 2, 0
Brazil 1, 1, 0
Netherlands 1, 0, 2
Taipei 1, 0, 2
Belgium 1, 0, 1
Greece 1, 0, 1
Argentina 1, 0, 0
Colombia 1, 0, 0
Croatia 1, 0, 0
Kosovo 1, 0, 0
Slovenia 1, 0, 0
Vietnam 1, 0, 0
Indonesia 0, 2, 0
New Zealand 0, 2, 0
North Korea 0, 2, 0
Canada 0, 1, 4
Kazakhstan 0, 1, 3
Ukraine 0, 1, 1
Azerbaijan 0, 1, 0
Denmark 0, 1, 0
Malaysia 0, 1, 0
Mongolia 0, 1, 0
Mongolia 0, 1, 0
Philippines 0, 1, 0
Slovakia 0, 1, 0
Turkey 0, 1, 0
Uzbekistan 0, 0, 2
Spain 0, 0, 1
Georgia 0, 0, 1
Israel 0, 0, 1
Kyrgyzstan 0, 0, 1
Poland 0, 0, 1
Portugal 0, 0, 1
Switzerland 0, 0, 1
United Arab Emirates 0, 0, 1
Here's the stuff I'm most interested in today:
ReplyDelete10 a.m.:
— Shooting, men's 50m pistol, finals
10:30 a.m.:
-- Madison Keys, United States, vs. Daria Kasatkina, Russia, women's tennis singles, quarterfinals
11:30 a.m.:
-- Fiji vs. United States, men's rugby sevens, group play
1 p.m.:
-- Serbia vs. United States, women's volleyball, group play
1:15 p.m.:
— Shooting, men's double trap, finals
— Canoe slalom, men's kayak single, finals
1:25 p.m.:
— Weightlifting, women's 69 kg, finals
1:30 p.m.:
— Diving, men's synchronized 3m springboard, finals
— Tennis, men's doubles, semifinals, United States (including Jack Sock!) vs. Romania
2 p.m.:
— Gymnastics, men's individual all-around, finals
— Judo, women's 70 kg, medal bouts
3:15 p.m.:
-- Carlos Quipo Pilataxi, Ecuador, vs. Nico Hernández, United States, in boxing, men's light fly 49 kg, quarterfinals
2:40 p.m.:
— Judo, men's 90 kg, medal bouts
5 p.m.:
— Weightlifting, men's 77 kg, finals
5:20 p.m.:
— Fencing, women's individual foil, medal matches
5:50 p.m.:
— Fencing, men's individual saber, medal matches
6:30 p.m.:
— Table tennis, women's singles, medal matches
8:03 p.m.:
— Swimming, men's 200m breaststroke, medal race
8:54 p.m.:
— Swimming, women's 200m butterfly, medal race
9:03 p.m.:
— Swimming, men's 100m freestyle, medal race
9:55 p.m.:
— Swimming, women's 4x200m freestyle relay, medal race
OK, it always takes me several days to start to figure out how to enjoy the Olympics, and that's happening on Day 5 for XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016. Feels good!
ReplyDeleteWeird. Go Heath's comments are showing in the "recent comments" pane but not in the source post here.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get to see the men's pistol post, but, based on the part of your crack on the NRA that I can see in "recent comments," it doesn't appear I missed much.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the men in this country do with all the guns they buy, but apparently they don't practice shooting them.
DeleteShooting, men's 50m pistol: South Korea gold, Vietnam silver and North Korea bronze. That's three straight gold medals in this event for 36-year-old Jin Jong-oh of Gangwon Province. Wikipedia: "Gangwon-do is known throughout Korea for its production of sundubu, a variety of soft tofu made with seawater. It is also well known for its tender beef."
DeleteOK, I was wondering where Eric was. Now I've found him. Hello, Eric!
ReplyDeleteYes, hello. I see this comment but not the others.
DeleteI had started my own thread -- my posts are over there. But now I'm abandoning that thread for this one.
DeleteThe tennis is in rain delay. I got to see the end of Serena Williams's loss on tape on Bravo, and it was sad. She looked almost sick to her stomach, presumably from her shoulder injury. My old friend Mary Carillo wondered if it would allow her to play in the U.S. Open later this month.
ReplyDeleteMedal Count:
ReplyDelete1. USA: 10 + 8 + 9 = 27
2. CHN: 8 + 3 + 6 = 17
3. JPN: 3 + 1 + 10 = 14
4. RUS: 3 + 7 + 3 = 13
The USA has won a lot of gold medals since yesterday.
Elina Svitolina, the 21-year-old who beat Serena, is from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Wikipedia: "Kharkiv was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic December 1917 - January 1935, after which the capital relocated to Kiev."
ReplyDeleteIn the rugby, NZL trails GBR 19-21 with 23 seconds left. They were down 0-21 just a few minutes ago.
ReplyDeleteWOW!
DeleteBut GBR runs out the clock -- NZL loses! What a disaster for them.
ReplyDeleteThe USA men have beaten France 6-3 in water polo.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Great Britain was ahead, 21-0, at half on New Zealand in rugby.
ReplyDeleteThis has all been so confusing in the last 15 minutes.
DeleteI'm going to be off for a little bit now, and then I'm going to resume commenting on wherever you're commenting.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to stay here.
ReplyDeleteOh, I did want to say one more thing: I love Serena Williams, who was born in Saginaw, Michigan, and who grew up in Compton, California, and West Palm Beach, Florida, and I was surprised to see how sad I was when I read that she lost yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThe Gold Zone is really great. Now I want Tanith White and Andrew Siciliano to host the NCAA Basketball Tournament with this same approach.
ReplyDeleteFabian Cancellara of Switzerland has won the men's time trial in cycling.
ReplyDeleteCycling, men's road time trial: Switzerland gold, the Netherlands silver and Great Britain bronze.
DeleteAlso, Tanith White and Andrew Siciliano could do a Red Zone for NCAA Football. That would be tremendous.
ReplyDeleteAnd now we get the medal ceremony for Kristin Armstrong. Go, Idaho!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to suggest that our civilization is in decline -- after all, we have the Gold Zone -- but having the diving pool turn green is like one of those scenes at the end of Atlas Shrugged.
ReplyDeleteOK, here's a big rugby game: Fiji v. USA. The Fijians will be heavily favored, but the USA needs a good result to reach the quarterfinals.
ReplyDeleteTanith White tells us that Fiji is ranked number one in the world.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's how we do it downtown! The USA breaks off a long run for try, and jumps out to a 5-0 lead. And the kick is good!
ReplyDeleteWith 1:46 left in the 1st half:
FIJ 0 - 7 USA
But just as the USA looks like its going in for another score, Fiji breaks out of the scrum with the ball, and goes something like 80 yards to tie the game.
ReplyDeleteAnd then, for reasons I don't understand, they kept playing for another 2 1/2 minutes after time had expired. Fiji went a man down, but still managed to score against a very poor USA defense.
At the half:
FIJ 12 - 7 USA
I'm begging USA Rugby -- PLEASE HIRE SOME COACHES!
The second half kicks off, and the USA scores a quick try -- taking advantage of a turnover by Fiji. That's more like it.
ReplyDeleteThe kick is good!
With 5:38 left:
FIJ 12 - 14 USA
That doesn't last long. There's another terrible defensive mistake by the Americans, and a guy for Fiji races untouched for about 80 yards and another try.
ReplyDeleteWith 3:45 to go:
FIJ 19 - 14 USA
And there's your ball game. Fiji, now looking like the best team in the world, quickly smothers the Americans, takes the ball, and pounds in another try.
ReplyDeleteWith 1:23 left:
FIJ 24 - 14 USA
But wait! The Americans take the kickoff, and run it back for a try!
ReplyDeleteWith 50 seconds left:
FIJ 24 - 19 USA
Fiji does not try to run out the clock, but goes charging down the field looking for another score. They are finally tackled, and the Americans have a throw-in deep in their own territory.
ReplyDeleteIt goes nowhere, and the game is over. Final score:
FIJ 24 - 19 USA
We only had 38 extra seconds at the end of the second half, and we had almost 3 minutes of extra time at the end of the first half. I'm sure there was a good reason for that.
So there were three third-place teams: Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Australia went 2-1-0, while NZL and USA both went 1-2-0, so Australia moves on to the quarter-finals. NZL outscored its opponents by 19 points, while the USA outscored its opponents by 18 points, so NZL goes to the quarters, and the USA is eliminated by one point. What a disaster.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, we should have scored more points against Brazil. Also, we collapsed at the end against Argentina.
ReplyDeleteMike Tirico's tribute to John Saunders on NBC just now was lovely and moving.
ReplyDeleteOn Bravo now: Tennis rain delay and chitchat about Serena's loss.
ReplyDeleteOn MSNBC now: Live men's trap shooting, bronze-medal match. Two guys from Great Britain are playing here, and one of them is leading the other by two.
ReplyDeleteOn USA now: France 53, Serbia 51. Third quarter in men's basketball.
ReplyDeleteOn Golf Channel: Feature on Byeong-Hun An, 24-year-old from Seoul and 2009 winner of the U.S. Amateur.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia:
Born in Seoul, South Korea, An is the son of Ahn Jae-Hyung and Jiao Zhimin, both of whom were medalists in table tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[1]
An moved to the United States in December 2005 to attend the The David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where he was also known as Ben An.[2]
In August 2009, at age 17, An became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur when he defeated Ben Martin 7 & 5 in the 36-hole final at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On NBC Sports Network: Team USA 4, Serbia 2. Women's basketball, 9:13 to go in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteOK, back to the live shooting on MSNBC ... one of the Great Britain dudes must've won the bronze. Now we have the gold-medal shoot between a guy from Kuwait and a guy from Italy. Except the guy from Kuwait is competing as an "Independent Olympic Athlete," because the IOC is at odds with Kuwait's Olympic committee. Maybe they tried to cheat in the Paralympics.
ReplyDeleteNo, the IOC claims that Kuwait's government interfered with the Kuwait Olympic Committee.
DeleteBut of course, the Russians are free to compete.
This is the men's double trap. The 2012 medalists were Great Britain, gold; Sweden, silver, and Russia, bronze.
ReplyDeleteIf the guy from Kuwait wins, I'm counting that as a medal for Kuwait.
DeleteMe, too.
DeleteFehaid Al-Deehani is a 49-year-old from Kuwait City. He won bronze in this event at Sydney 2000, and then he won bronze in trap at London 2012. These are the only Olympic medals that Kuwait ever won. Wikipedia: "In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Al-Deehani competed as an 'independent Olympic athlete' because Kuwait was banned from the Olympics by the IOC.[3] He has called for the resignation of Kuwaiti officials responsible for the dispute,[4] but refused to carry the Olympic flag in the 2016 Olympic opening ceremonies."
ReplyDeleteEvery time the Olympics rolls around, I'm convinced that there must be an alternative universe where volleyball is just a huge, huge sport. The volleyballers always act like they're a big deal, and their tournament always seems to be one of the best in the Olympics -- with lots of parity and hard feelings.
ReplyDeleteShooting, men's double trap: Kuwait gold, Italy silver and Great Britain bronze.
ReplyDeleteThe country code for Kuwait is "KUW."
ReplyDeleteIt's almost 10 p.m. in Kuwait City, so presumably they didn't have to pre-empt the soap operas for everyone to watch Fehaid Al-Deehani.
ReplyDeleteMore Wikipedia: "Kuwaiti soap operas (المسلسلات الكويتية) are the among the most-watched soap operas in the Arab world.[78] Most Khaleeji soap operas are based in Kuwait. Although usually performed in the Kuwaiti dialect, some Kuwaiti soap operas have been shown with success as far away as Tunisia."
MSNBC is celebrating its 20th birthday! Happy 20th birthday, MSNBC!
ReplyDeleteNow on MSNBC, we have a quarterfinal in fencing, men's saber, between Team USA's Daryl Homer, a 26-year-old who was born in Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and moved to the Bronx with his mom and sister when he was 5, is leading a German, 7-2 ...
ReplyDeleteLondon 2012 medal winners in men's sabre were Hungary, Italy and Russia.
ReplyDelete10-6, Homer ...
ReplyDelete12-7 ... this thing goes to 15, I think ...
ReplyDelete13-8 ... Homer thrusts both fists into the air, and the MSNBC color commentator spits, "I can tell you in fencing celebrate at 15 not 13!" ...
ReplyDelete13-10 ...
ReplyDelete14-12 ... Homer won the 2010 and 2011 NCAA sabre titles, but then he passed up his senior season at St. John's in order to get ready for London 2012 ...
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I want to note that the German fencer is yelling at the officials after every point. This guy makes Reggie Jackson look restrained.
ReplyDeleteOh, and now we've had to stop the match altogether to deal with the German guy.
Yeah, that guy was awful. The athletes who come up in the soccer countries who turn out not to act like that are really, really high-character people.
DeleteTHAT'S IT! On to the men's sabre semis for Team USA's Daryl Homer!
ReplyDeleteSomewhere, J.J. Redick is watching this and saying, "That German fencer is a bit of a whiner."
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad Homer won. That German guy was my least favorite athlete in these Olympics so far.
ReplyDeleteWhen Chuck Todd first came on MSNBC, my WKU friends used to tell me how much he and I look alike. But then he lost weight, and I lost hair, and he kept his goatee, and I've gone back and forth between full beard or none at all, and that was that. Happy 20th birthday, MSNBC!
ReplyDeleteBravo just keeps on showing the tennis matches that the Williams sisters lost. I sure hope Serena and Venus didn't set their VCRs back in Florida to tape Real Housewives reruns today.
ReplyDeleteBrazil, the United States and Japan won gold, silver and bronze, respectively, in women's volleyball at London 2012.
ReplyDeleteTeam USA beats Serbia, three sets to one. That leaves the United States as the only undefeated team in Pool B of the women's volleyball tournament. (Serbia falls to 2-1.) Brazil and Russia are both 2-0 in Pool A; Japan is also in Pool A, and it's 1-1.
ReplyDeleteOn Bravo now: Come on, Venus!
ReplyDeleteOn MSNBC now: South Korea and Mexico in men's soccer are tied at the half.
ReplyDeleteOn USA now: There's a guy riding a dancing horse, and he is somehow connected to the family of Gaston Glock, the Austrian founder of the firearms maker.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Glocks and the Springsteens hang out.
ReplyDeleteOn CNBC: Shake Shack earnings are due after the bell.
ReplyDeleteOn NBC Sports Network now: Team USA 86, Serbia 68. Women's basketball fourth quarter.
ReplyDeleteIf we want to get serious about competing in rugby and curling, we need to get the KHSAA to sponsor championships in them.
Seriously, KHSAA football is so awful, President Obama should make all of the little schools convert to rugby sevens.
ReplyDeleteNo, he should not. We should go from six classes to three, but that's a discussion for another day.
DeleteOn Golf Network: We're getting serious now, baby! We're doing a hole-by-hole tour of the Rio 2016 course. The men's tournament tees off tomorrow morning early.
ReplyDeleteIn five days of coverage, the Gold Zone has said nothing about golf.
DeleteOn NBC now: This appears to be a replay of the men's cycling race from this morning. Why are we seeing this thing? I think medal bouts in men's judo are happening right now.
ReplyDeleteAppears to be time to check out the Gold Zone ...
ReplyDeleteNyah, I'm afraid I'm going to mess myself up for watching the Bob Costas show tonight.
ReplyDeleteFinal from women's basketball:
ReplyDeleteUSA 110 - 84 SRB
Very game effort from Serbia, which I think of as the West Virginia of nations.
Nico Hernández, a 20-year-old from Wichita, Kansas, is fighting a guy from Ecuador in the men's light fly quarterfinals. Per his TeamUSA.org bio, "Nico works his father as a lube tech at a Wichita area trucking company."
ReplyDeleteRound 1 goes to the Ecuadorian, 2-1.
ReplyDeleteMy dad always said that in international boxing, you have to be the more aggressive boxer.
DeleteMedal Count:
ReplyDelete1. USA: 10 + 9 + 9 = 28
2. CHN: 9 + 3 + 7 = 19
3. JPN: 4 + 1 + 10 = 15
4. RUS: 3 + 7 + 3 = 13
Taylor Eldridge in The Wichita Eagle reports that the local Cortez Mexican Restaurant has been hosting "watch parties" for Hernández's fights.
ReplyDeleteRound 2 goes to Hernández, 2-1. Third round will decide it ...
ReplyDelete“There's so much at stake for both of these tiny, powerful men,” the NBCOlympics.com commentator says.
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian says that with 3 golds and 11 medals, the British are 9th in the medals table. But in the USA method of counting -- which goes by total medals -- the British are 5th.
ReplyDelete"They both think they've made it through to the semifinals. This is so, so, so close."
ReplyDeleteIn his previous fight, Hernández upset the second seed in this weight class. AND NOW HE WINS THIS ONE, TOO! HE'S ON TO THE SEMIFINALS!
ReplyDeleteWAY TO GO, NICO HERNANDEZ! U! S! A!
ReplyDeleteSweet from Taylor Eldridge's report in The Wichita Eagle:
ReplyDeleteLewis Hernandez, Nico’s father, has been adamant his son was capable of winning gold. But that doesn’t lessen the impact his wins have on Lewis.
“Me and my wife have both cried after the fights,” Lewis said in a phone call in Rio. “We’re so excited for him; everything that is happening is almost unreal. We’re just in awe of him. It’s something very big to even win one fight in the Olympics. A lot of big names haven’t done that and they don’t look at Nico as a big name.
“If Nico fights his fight, with talent as big as his, I really do believe he can win the gold. He’s got the tools to do it.”
Friday's semifinals in men's light flyweight will pit Cuba and Colombia in one fight and Team USA's Nico Hernández against a guy from Uzbekistan in the other. The gold-medal fight is Sunday. All four of these guys are getting medals, one way or another. The medal winners in the event at London 2012 were China, gold; Thailand, silver, and Ireland and Russia, bronze.
ReplyDeleteMan, that was excellent!
ReplyDeleteIt really was a great fight.
DeleteOK, now I'm watching the beautiful men's kayak single slalom final on delay ...
ReplyDeleteThe London 2012 medal winners in this event were Daniele Molmenti of Italy, Vavřinec Hradilek of Czech Republic and Hannes Aigner of Germany. Only Aigner is on the start list for the final, along with guys from Italy, France, Russia, New Zealand, Slovenia, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Slovakia and (hometown-favorite Pedro Da Silva) Brazil.
ReplyDeleteIt’s 19 degrees Celsius (about 66 degrees Fahrenheit) and a little windy at the Whitewater Stadium in Rio. I love it that NBCOlympics.com is playing samba music as they describe the course.
Medal Count:
ReplyDelete1. USA: 10 + 9 + 9 = 28
2. CHN: 9 + 3 + 8 = 20
3. JPN: 5 + 1 + 10 = 16
4. RUS: 3 + 7 + 3 = 13
Man, this is a great-, great-looking sport.
ReplyDeleteNo middles-schooler loved the old waterslide at Noble Park more than I did, but I just can't do them anymore--they make me dizzy and upset my stomach something fierce.
By the way, when someone explains to me why calling someone a cheater is worse than actually being a cheater, then I will understand a lot more about our society.
ReplyDeleteEvery Olympics, I find about four or five sports where I want to start following their competitions all through the year. So far, this Olympics, those sports are rugby sevens and canoeing/kayaking.
ReplyDeleteCanoeing, men's kayak single slalom: Great Britain gold, Slovenia silver and Czech Republic bronze.
ReplyDelete"A K-1 final of just extraordinary quality!" says the NBCOlympics.com commentator.
Oh, excellent, they even have the medal ceremonies on the live stream. So, thanks to Joe Clarke of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, we're about to hear "God Save the Queen."
ReplyDeleteHe's probably a big fan of Stoke City F.C. They finished 9th in the English Premier League last season, just ahead of Chelsea.
DeleteWikipedia: "Primitive Methodism was founded by Hugh Bourne, a native of Stoke-on-Trent, at a public gathering in the nearby village of Mow Cop. He originally followed the Wesleyan form of Methodism but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. He founded the first chapel in Tunstall with his brother in 1811.[79] He promoted Sunday schools as a method of improving children's education, advocated the equal treatment of women and men, and was involved in the temperance movement. It was from the Primitive Methodists that many early trade unions found their early leaders.[80]"
ReplyDeleteSomebody from the International Canoe Federation (ICF) is on hand for the Joe Clarke medal ceremony.
ReplyDelete"Staffordshire oatcakes (very different from the Scottish version and traditionally made in corner-shop style oatcake bakeries) are a much-loved local culinary speciality. They remain popular although are no longer the cheap alternative to bread. Oatcakes can be eaten cold or hot with any sweet or savoury fillings. Lobby, a stew not unlike Lancashire hotpot, is still made by local people."
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'll make oatcakes and lobby for dinner some night this week.
Well, that was all wonderful. Congratulations, Joe Clarke of Stoke-on-Trent!
ReplyDeleteThe USA women's volleyball team is coached by Karch Kiraly, who is trying to become the first man to win volleyball gold as a player and a coach. (I'm not sure the coaches actually get a gold medal, but you see the point.)
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly the sort of stuff I figured went on in the volleyball world. Somewhere there's an alternative universe where Karch Kiraly is the most famous athlete of all time, and Michael Jordan is about as famous as Karch Kiraly is in our universe.
DeleteExcept, maybe in that alternative universe, Michael Jordan is a volleyball player, and Karch Kiraly played basketball.
DeleteThis is an interesting question. I'll ask Smart Girl about it.
DeleteEarlier today, Xiang Yanmei, 24-year-old from Baojing, Hunan and a 2015 nominee for China Central Television female athlete of the year, won the women's 69kg weightlifting event. Kazakhstan and Egypt won silver and bronze, respectively. This was a good gold pickup for China, as the London 2012 medalists in this event were North Korea, Romania and Belarus.
ReplyDeleteI've decided that what they should do is have lawyers at the fencing. Each fencer would have his or her own lawyer. And then, after every point, there'd be a little argument about what happened. And then they'd rule. After watching the fencing, and seeing all the posturing that goes on, I really think this suggestion could save time.
ReplyDeleteThat'd be great!
DeleteAnd now we're getting set for the live final in men's 77kg weightlifting. "Anything is possible," says the NBCOlympics.com commentator. London 2012 winners in this event were China, China and Cuba. Lü Xiaojun of Hubei is back to defend his gold. Wikipedia: "Lü was born in a village administered by Qianjiang City, Hubei Province. His father, Lü Yuan, and the rest of his family were farmers. When he was 13 years old he joined a local sports school to be trained as a weightlifter, which was an opportunity to escape rural poverty. In 1999, to remove the financial burden on Lü's family, his coach Dengling Hu sent him to the join the provincial team. ... Lu married his long-term girlfriend Guo Xiyan, a former world class weightlifter herself, in December 2013.[4] They have one child together, born in August 2014.[5]"
ReplyDeleteHere's another idea for the fencing. Put all 32 fencers in a giant castle, with chandeliers and flags all over the place. Then they fight it out. Once the judges declare you to be dead, you have to leave the castle. In the end, there is only one fencer left, and he or she is the winner.
ReplyDeleteAnother winner!
DeleteFrom the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Official Spectator Guide for weightlifting:
ReplyDeleteIt is comprised of two events: snatch,
and clean and jerk. In the rst, competitors must lift a bar with weights above the head from the ground and sustain
it for up to two seconds. The clean and jerk movement is split: rst, the athlete raises the bar at shoulder height from
the ground and then holds it above
their head. There are three shots.
The athlete who lifts more weight
overall is the winner. Three referees observe if the athlete’s body is completely extended and if the bar is motionless
at the end of the movement. Athletes compete in 15 body weight categories:
8 for men and 7 for women. ...
Please remain seated until the competition’s interval. It is forbidden to use flash photography.
If you type in "USSR Weightlifter," the first hit on Google is Vasily Alekseyev -- as it should be.
DeleteWeightlifting, men's 77kg: Kazakhstan gold, China silver and Egypt bronze.
DeleteGood day for Egypt.
Meanwhile, the USA men's basketball team is in a rare old scrap with Matt Dellavadova (sp?) and his fellow Aussies. With 45 seconds left in the first quarter:
ReplyDeleteAUS 27 - 29 USA
After one quarter:
ReplyDeleteAUS 29 - 29 USA
At the half:
ReplyDeleteAUS 54 - 49 USA
Carmelo Anthony -- who is a beast in FIBA -- is doing his thing, with 17 points. But Cousins has already picked up 3 fouls and Durant is 2-10 from the field. For the Aussies, Andrew Bogut is 6-6 from the field with 13 points, and they have made 5-8 from three-point land.
I take it back. In any alternative universe, basketball would be a bigger deal with volleyball.
ReplyDelete2:40 left in the 3d:
ReplyDeleteAUS 65 - 67 USA
Under FIBA rules, by the way, defense is basically impossible.
The FIBA officials have been waiting for a game like this for years. They're calling fouls against the USA all over the place.
ReplyDelete1:27 left in the 3d:
AUS 67 - 67 USA
End of the 3d:
ReplyDeleteAUS 67 - 70 USA
The USA held AUS to 13 points in that quarter; that's very good defense.
9:00 left:
ReplyDeleteAUS 72 - 70 USA
Americans have gone ice cold.
Carmelo Anthony comes back to tie the game at 72, but misses the free throw.
ReplyDelete8:26 left:
ReplyDeleteAUS 72 - 72 USA
7:51 left:
ReplyDeleteAUS 72 - 72 USA
Anthony hits a three, to put the USA up 3, but AUS comes back with a quick basket.
ReplyDeleteAnd then Anthony hits another 3. He has 25 points, and the last 8 in a row.
Under FIBA rules, he is one of the best players in the world.
7:08 left:
AUS 74 - 78 USA
Aussies take a bad shot, and USA gets the rebound. But Durant, who is having a nightmare of a game, misses a three.
ReplyDeleteIrving makes a jump shot but the Dellavadova responds. 6 minutes left:
ReplyDeleteAUS 76 - 80 USA
Anthony makes another three to put the USA up 7.
ReplyDelete5 minutes left:
ReplyDeleteAUS 76 - 83 USA
Klay Thompson misses a wide open three, and the Aussies score at the other end -- but then Irving scores to put the USA up 7.
ReplyDeleteBut Patty Mills is on fire! He's got 26 points, and he hits another layup.
ReplyDelete3:57 left:
AUS 80 - 85 USA
Anthony responds with another 3! He's 9-14 from behind the arc, and the USA leads by 8.
ReplyDeleteMills misses a 3, and the USA gets the rebound.
ReplyDelete3:05 left:
AUS 80 - 88 USA
Thompson can't make anything. He misses again, and he's 2-9 in the game. Dellavadova takes advantage.
ReplyDelete2:40 left:
AUS 82 - 88 USA
But Irving responds, and the USA is back up 8. And then Thompson fouls Mills, and the Aussies are in the bonus.
ReplyDeleteMills makes both of them. With 2:11 left:
AUS 84 - 90 USA
Irving misses a runner, and Mills scores at the other end.
ReplyDelete1:45 left:
AUS 86 - 90 USA
AND IRVING HITS A THREE! USA back up by 7!
ReplyDeleteBut Dellavadova scores at the other end.
1:07 left:
AUS 88 - 93 USA
With the shot clock down to 3, Anthony throws up a 35-footer, which misses. But Paul George grabs the rebound!
ReplyDelete51.1 seconds left:
AUS 88 - 93 USA
And then Irving is trapped. He tries to throw it to Anthony, who loses it, and the Aussies will have the ball.
ReplyDelete36.3 seconds left:
AUS 88 - 93 USA
Australia shoots and misses, and Durant has the rebound.
ReplyDelete27.8 seconds left:
AUS 88 - 93 USA
They throw the ball in to Irving, who is immediately grabbed by Dellavadova. Irving goes to the line.
ReplyDeleteHe misses the first one.
He makes the second one.
27 seconds left:
AUS 88 - 94 USA
The USA has scored 24 points in the 4th quarter, and all 24 came from Anthony or Irving.
ReplyDeleteMills shoots a wild three, and there's a wild scramble for the rebound. George and Dellavadova go flying out of bounds. USA ball with 20 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteIrving is fouled with 17 seconds left.
He makes the first one.
He makes the second one.
AUS 88 - 96 USA
Another miss from Australia, and Durant is fouled with 6.5 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteHe makes the first one.
He makes the second one.
AUS 88 - 98 USA
That's your final score. What a great game!
Irving and Anthony are two of my favorite players, and they came through!
ReplyDeleteAnthony: 2-6 from 2-point range, 9-15 from 3-point range, 0-1 at the line -- 31 points and 8 rebounds.
ReplyDeleteIrving: 5-10 from 2-point range, 2-5 from 3-point range, 1-2 from the line -- 17 points and 5 assists
Durant: 2-13 from 2-point range, 2-4 from 3-point range, 2-2 from the line -- 12 points and 4 rebounds
Medal Count:
ReplyDelete1. USA: 10 + 10 + 9 = 29
2. CHN: 9 + 4 + 8 = 21
3. JPN: 6 + 1 + 10 = 17
4. RUS: 4 + 7 + 3 = 14
You're counting Russian medals now?
ReplyDeleteIt's the IOC's count, not mine. I am interested to see if Japan can hold them off.
DeleteOK, back home for the women's 200m butterfly swimming ... China, Spain and Japan medaled at London 2012 ...
ReplyDeleteThis time, it goes Spain, Australia and Japan.
DeleteNow it's the 100m mens freestyle, and Nathan Adrian of Team USA is trying to defend a London 2012 gold ...
ReplyDeleteIn the final second or three, 18-year-old Kyle Chalmers of Port Lincoln, Australia, overcomes Adrian of Bremerton, Washington, in the middle of the pool. Chalmers claims gold for Australia. Pieter Timmers of Belgium swooshes by on the outside for silver, and Adrian takes bronze for Team USA.
DeleteEarlier this evening, Kazakhstan and the United States won gold and silver, respectively, in the men's 200m breaststroke. Josh Prenot, a 23-year-old from Sedalia, Missouri (KFVS country!), got Team USA onto the podium after it failed to medal in the event in London.
ReplyDeleteGood day for Kazakhstan.
Oh, excellent! The NBC commentators just mentioned the Reitz High School Panthers. That's where my siblings went to high school in Evansville!
ReplyDelete