-- I swear. If I hear the words "swift boat" one more time, I will slip into a coma of von Bulow proportions.
-- Paul Hamm should share that gold medal. Who would want a gold medal under those circumstances? It's ikky. Sorry. Bad karma. Share the gold medal, and you'll feel like a big honkin' hero, Hamm. Hamm said something like, "I feel in my heart that I'm an Olympic hero." Yeah, well, I feel in my heart that I'm Greta Garbo, but unless this fantasy is somehow validated by my peers - then I have to accept the fact that I am a freckled redhead from Rhode Island. That's the BREAKS.
-- I watched the final 10 miles of the women's marathon on Saturday and I cried. It is for moments like that that I love the Olympics. When the "favorite" crumbles, when something unexpected happens - when you can see the overwhelming emotions of all the participants. Poor Paula Radcliffe. I FELT for her. She was obviously in agony, physically, by the time she dropped out. To have made it so far ... but her head was jerking up and down, her arm was moving awkwardly - her body obviously was screaming at her: I CAN'T DO THIS. So she had to give up - But what an "agony of defeat" moment. And Deena Kastor surging forward -- very very exciting. I have to admit I was annoyed by the Ethiopian runner's husband - who ran alongside her for what seemed like 10 freakin' miles, cheering her on. It was cute for maybe 2 seconds, and then I thought: Buddy. Your wife is an OLYMPIC ATHLETE. She can make it through the damn race without you. LET IT GO. Besides, Kastor surged past her anyway. I was concerned that the poor husband would impale himself on his own flagpole in despair. Like: his whole identity was obviously resting on his wife winning - what will he do NOW?? But still - very very exciting, I thought. I was just really moved - the people on the sidelines being so encouraging of poor Radcliffe - cheering her on - but she just could not run any longer.
-- There are more cops than civilians in NYC at this moment.
-- I'm reading Victor Davis Hanson's Carnage and Culture. He's a much better writer than he is a public speaker. (Have you ever seen him on Book Notes, or be interviewed on C-Span? Jeez, dude, please get some vocal variety before I literally die of psychological boredom. There was one of his interviews in re-play this weekend, and every time I tried to tune in, because I love the guy's writing, I ended up having to change the channel after about 20 seconds. Zzzzzzzzzzz. He needs some vocal training or something. He speaks in a persistent monotone.) Anyway - It's a very interesting book. I'm not big on military history, so it's all new to me. The battle of Salamis (I shuddered at Hanson's description of it) - the battle of Gaugemela - another horrific description. He certainly does paint a vivid picture, and for someone like myself - who doesn't know a hoplite from a hopscotch game, and wouldn't know a phalanx if it came up and bit me on the flank - I am following the stories quite well. There's a great Glossary at the end of the book, which has been very helpful.
Posted by sheila"Yeah, well, I feel in my heart that I'm Greta Garbo, but unless this fantasy is somehow validated by my peers - then I have to accept the fact that I am a freckled redhead from Rhode Island. That's the BREAKS."
Here I was thinking you were Jessica Rabbit.
VDH writes excellent history; Carnage and Caultre was exceptional.
Posted by: Dan at August 24, 2004 11:59 AMAnd yeah - VDH does write excellent history. Very impressive - it comes alive.
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 12:05 PMPaula Radcliffe pulling out of the Marathon was absolutely heart-crushing. To be the favorite and have your whole country's expectations and hopes on your shoulders and then...I just can't imagine.
Paul Hamm may be a good gymnast, but he's also a self-important whiny little prick who makes himself look worse every time he opens his mouth. He's practically as bad as the US basketball team (OK, maybe not THAT bad). OTOH, it's not his fault the judging was so fucked up, and I'm starting to agree with Bill that nothing where scoring is subjective can really be considered a sport. So Alexei Nemov did deserve a better score, but when the crowd made the judges revise it, that essentially called every score at the whole Olympics into question. And he was the one who was really showing the Olympic ideal, applauding the crowd for supporting him but then getting them to stop, since he really was the only one who could have at that point. It was definitely on the edge of no longer being about gymnastics but simply being the violent unrestrained fury of a mob: you could feel the tension building toward a riot.
Posted by: Dave J at August 24, 2004 12:14 PMYes, gymnastics/ice skating, etc., have a level of subjectivity in the judging. It's a huge problem. When you hear that the judges were "smitten" with so and so, it's like: er - is this a sport or a beauty contest?
It most definitely IS a sport - and gymnasts are some of the strongest athletes in the world, but still: the scoring system rests so much on the integrity of individual judges - Somethin' stinks in the state of Denmark.
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 12:19 PMRed, you can be Garbo if you want.
I had been thinking of you as a new Ann Margret but that wasn't working out 'cause you kept going off to dance with a guy who looked like Elvis.
I'm with you. It is sort of wearing thin.
Posted by: La Shawn at August 24, 2004 12:36 PMHi there. I happened upon your blog via a google search and stayed awhile to read some more... Nice to see you're a fan of the West of Ireland. Take it easy.
Posted by: Smoke at August 24, 2004 1:06 PM"A coma of von Bulow proportions..."
What, Sheila, you don't like hearing all this stuff about Vietnam brought up over and over and over and over and ... ?
Btw, I feel in my heart that I'm Elvis.
Posted by: Bryan at August 24, 2004 1:32 PMGymnastics is an artistic performance that requires a high degree of athletic ability, but I don't think that makes it a sport.
I don't believe in sharing Gold Medals, except in the event of an absolute tie. If they have to stage that particular event again, so be it.
Also, I just happened to pick up a book written by some guys who used to serve on, err...fast boats.
Posted by: Bill McCabe at August 24, 2004 1:50 PMzzzzzzzzz
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 1:51 PMyeah, there are cops everywhere...i couldn't find a donut to save my life.
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at August 24, 2004 1:54 PMHey, wait a minute. When did they move the Olympics to Denmark?
Posted by: michael at August 24, 2004 1:58 PMDo we need to airlift in emergency provisions from the West Coast, Mr. B? Or will you manage to find the strength to survive through the Great Doughnut Drought of '04?
Posted by: Emily at August 24, 2004 2:06 PMwa...sting...
a...way...
cough
gasp
People will be talking about this drought for years.
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 2:19 PMInteresting write-up about the gymnastics fiasco, Paul Hamm is talked about half-way through:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/olympics/2004/writers/08/24/gymnastics.judging/index.html
Hamm definitely strikes me as a wee bit whiny, but it wasn't his mistake that screwed the South Korean out of the medal.
Posted by: Curtis at August 24, 2004 2:24 PMIt seems like it's his coach who really is to blame.
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 2:25 PMThat's a great article, Curtis. Just read it - thank you!
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 2:27 PMKrispy Kreme Rescue Squad...make haste!
Posted by: Emily at August 24, 2004 2:33 PMpsst, hey bud...what's a fresh cruller worth to yah...
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at August 24, 2004 2:40 PMI think we need Bob Geldof to write a song for us in our need.
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 2:48 PM(sings in a bluesy riff)
oh i walked out this morning
went a looking for the donut man
yeah i walked out this morning
and went looking for the donut man
but all i found was the finest
um...
with the sugar on their hands
oh please mayor bloomie
won't you bring them donuts back?
i said please-please mayor bloomie
won't you bring, oh bring them donuts back
if i can't get no glazed ones
might have to get a democrat...
"feeeed New Yo-ork
Let them know it's do-nut time
Feed New Yo-ork
Let them know it's donut time again..."
"we neeeeeed our fat
we neeeeeed our sugar
there's too much space
about our waists
let's gorge again"
Come on, guys. It's amateur if you don't invoke the Children™ at some point in the song!
Posted by: Emily at August 24, 2004 3:21 PM"In the name
Of fat...
Want more in the way of fat..."
Can't ya just see Bono with those freaky glasses and a donut wailing this???
i can not find a jelly roll
on broadway
on broadway
there's not a vendor offering in sight
i hear the children cry with despair
"oh mama, it's just not fair
there ain't no munchkins anywhere"
on broadway
on broadway
hahahahahahahaha
Posted by: red at August 24, 2004 3:35 PMdamn, i think i'm missing a line in that last verse...i'm getting the strangest looks as i sit here singing to myself
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at August 24, 2004 3:38 PMI'll admit Paul Hamm comes off as whiny, but LIGHT-YEARS less so than Svetlana Khorkina, not to mention the South Koreans. Regardless, there's no way to know what would have happened if the Korean's start value had been correct. Gymnastics judging is so subjective, it's possible he could have gotten the exact same score, even with a higher start value. And even if the Korean did get a higher score for that routine, there's no way to know how both athletes and the judges would have reacted through the rest of the competition. Officiating mistakes have to be corrected at the time they happen, or not at all. If we are going to start revising history, it needs to start with that horribly blown call at first base that cost my St. Louis Cardinals a World Series title back in the 80's. ;-)
Speaking of mistakes, it also turned out that the videotape showed the Korean used an illegal combination of holds on the parallel bars during his routine, and should have had two tenths deducted from his score. Should we retroactively award him the gold medal, and then retroactively repossess it? This controversy is more about the United States being reviled around the world than it is about a sporting event.
I do think Aleksei Nemov was robbed of the gold medal in the high bar competition. When you do something that nobody else in the world even attempts, and do it almost flawlessy, you deserve the friggin' gold medal. Svetlana Khorkina, on the other hand, did not perform all that great and was not at all cheated in the all-around judging.
In the bigger picture, though, between the obviously widespread use of performance-enhancing substances and all the politics-based judging controversies, I'm starting to wonder if the Olympics or even sports in general have outlived their usefulness. If more and more sophisticated cheating and more and more nasty political fighting are what we have to look forward to, I'm afraid I'll just end up tuning out...
Posted by: MikeR at August 24, 2004 5:37 PMyes, yes mike, but what about the performance-enhancing substances that we're really concerned with here: donuts, hmmm? kinda leery to talk donuts, are we?
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at August 24, 2004 5:51 PMIf a phalanx came up and bit you in the phlank, it might mean you're in Thebes.
Posted by: tonecluster at August 24, 2004 6:59 PMwho doesn't know a hoplite from a hopscotch game
hmmm...hoplite...hopscotch...dang!
Mike, larger points aside, I also have to agree with something the commentators never quite came out and said, but did occasionally allude to: if even the most stellar Gold-medal-winning routines earn in the 9.7-9.8 range, not even 9.9, then a 10 has become a purely theoretical impossible standard. The judges in Athens would not have given Nadia a single perfect 10, let alone four of them.
Posted by: Dave J at August 25, 2004 1:09 AMYou may have stumbled onto something there, Mr. B. It might just work if we make Krispy Kreme consumption mandatory for all Olympic athletes, thereby potentially lessening the advantage derived from all the space-age steroids...
Posted by: MikeR at August 25, 2004 3:26 AMpicture if you dare an olympics composed of athletes fed soley krisy kremes...
Posted by: Mr. Bingley at August 25, 2004 7:48 AMIt's a nice idea, but I'm having a lot of trouble getting past this image of Amanda Beard turning into Rosie O'Donnell...
Posted by: MikeR at August 25, 2004 2:17 PM
