It's All Greek To Me

So one of the Greek athletes, a triple jumper by the name of Voula Papachristou, was kicked of her country's olympic team for a tweet that many found offensive.

Her offending message – which was referring to reports of mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus in her home country – read: ‘With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitoes will eat home made food!’

Here's the thing--it's not really funny, and it does deal with racial issues (I guess, anyway. She doesn't really specify Black Africans, and I don't know the racial makeup of Greece, but maybe there's some other racial thing here that I'm not getting. Anybody know?), but I'm not sure it rises to the level of sending her home.

I'm a believer in free speech, and while what she said was stupid, if countries start sending home Olympians for stupid, assholish behavior, it's going to be a really short competition.

One last point--there won't be a moment of silence to mark the murder of the '72 Israeli athletes on this anniversary. This, in my view, is a much more offensive act that a young athlete's mindless tweet.

"Dude...Is That Maui Wowie?" "No, It's Schadenfreude!"

So Kellogg's has decided not to renew Michael Phelps's contract.

Frankly, this whole thing is such bullshit. We have a president in office who has admitted to doing "blow," and the two before him have (I'm sure) smoked a little ganja themselves, inhaling or not. (Oh, and the president's half-brother was just arrested for possession.)

Kellogg's has the right to do as they see fit, but the press was being a little hypocritical by going after Phelps, while holding up Obama as a paragon of virtue.

If you ask me, anyone who smokes a bong and still manages to win 14 medals for swimming is a great spokesman for what human beings can accomplish. Remember, this is the guy that gave his one million dollar Speedo bonus to start a foundation for young swimmers, to help teach swimming safety. He's a good guy. People like Phelps, and maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think the general public sees marijuana as the "demon weed" it once was. About half the country admits to trying it, and I'll bet many of the other half lied.

Prediction? This will come back to bite Kellogg's in the ass.

("Kellogg's Ass Bites" could be the worst cereal name ever.)

Again...Dat's What I'm Talkin' Bout

Of course, everyone else did too. It was obvious that the Chinese Women's Gymnastics Team had a number of underage participants. Now the Times of London is reporting that there may be some hard evidence confirming that. Or at least enough to warrant an investigation. How thorough that will be is anyone's guess...but I wouldn't hold my breath.

An IOC official told The Times that because of "discrepancies" that have come to light about the age of He Kexin, the host nation’s darling who won gold in both team and individual events, an official inquiry has been launched that could result in the gymnast being stripped of her medals.

The investigation was triggered as a US computer expert claimed yesterday to have uncovered Chinese government documents that he says prove she is only 14 - making her ineligible to compete in the Olympics - rather than 16, as officials in Beijing insist is her age.

I guess if the Chinese are disqualified, then the Americans will win the gold?

Could Be My Shortest Post Ever

Misty and Kerry win gold. Wearing white bikinis. In the rain.

Is this Beijing...or heaven?

UPDATE: This might not be my shortest post anymore, but I was just re-reading it and realized it sounded like some kind of beach volleyball haiku.

It's a Long Drive for That Joke.

So I just finished my first fantasy football draft of the season. That started me thinking about fantasy sports in general, and then I was watching the Olympics.

So here's my fantasy team:
Alicia Sacramone - Gymnastics
Misty May-Treanor - Beach Volleyball
Kerri Walsh - Beach Volleyball
Logan Tom - Volleyball
Jen Joines - Volleyball
Stephanie Rice - Swimming
Jennie Finch - Softball

Now if I could just come up with a fantasy sports team...

The Agony of Da Feet

Well, it looks like the U.S. ladies lost the gold to the Chinese gymnasts, whose team apparently consists of a couple of infants, and possibly a zygote. I'm not saying they're young, but I'm pretty sure one of them was going through some kind of mitosis between the second and third rotations.

My heart breaks for Alicia Sacramone, and not just because she's smokin' hot. (See "The Thrill of Victory" below.) She had a few mistakes, and you could just see the anguish in her face. I don't know if the U.S. would have won if she hadn't made those errors, but she took the loss of gold on her shoulders.

Alicia, I know it was the Olympics, and at 20, I know it's probably your last, but still...you helped your team win a silver medal--doing things on a four inch beam that most people can't do on solid ground, no less. Everyone has a bad day once in a while. It reminds me of something my grandfather used to say: "sometimes you eat the b'ar, and sometimes the b'ar eats you."

The Thrill of Victory

Man, every time I watch an Olympics, I think "it just can't get any better than this." And four years later, I'm wrong.

Just a couple of quick thoughts:

The opening ceremonies? Wow. Just...amazing. I'm at a loss.

The men's 4x100m freestyle relay? It goes right up there with some of the great Olympic moments--Rulon Gardner over monster Alexander Karelin (2000); Spitz and his 7 golds/world records in '72; Kerri Strug landing on one ankle to win gold in 1996; the 1980 "miracle on ice"; and probably my favorite--Jesse Owens goes to Berlin and shoves four gold medals up Hitler's ass in 1936 in the best "fuck you and your Aryan race" ever.

The women's gymnastics? I hope they can pull it together after a somewhat disappointing opening. (Especially because I think Alicia Sacramone is a hottie!)