Reflections on the 2012 Summer Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London have come to a close.  Here are some reflections looking back at the XXX Summer Olympics.

*Like I said before, Michael Phelps was dominant.  He will go down probably as the best Olympian of this generation.  It will be a long time (if ever) that someone will match his medal total.

*Along the lines of dominant, Usain Bolt would qualify as well.  To repeat gold in sprinting is very impressive.  Definitely when you think speed, Bolt comes to mind.  It will be interesting to see if he will compete in Rio in 4 years.  I haven't heard otherwise.  So we could have the first man to three-peat winning the gold in the 100m....which would put him in line for best Olympian of this generation with Phelps.

*It was great to see an All-American final in women's beach volleyball.  Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings won their 3rd gold in a row.  They were impressive in that they only lost 1 set in their Olympic career together.  I admit that I was rooting for Jennifer Kessy and April Ross to win but in the end was happy for Misty and Kerri.  What's interesting is that Misty is retiring but Kerri is continuing on to Rio.  So she could be going for her 4th gold medal in 4 Olympics.  Something to watch for...

*The women's basketball team won their 5th consecutive Gold medal dating back to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.  It is the longest Gold medal streak in any women's sport in the Olympics.  It seemed that in this Olympics a lot of talk went to the women's soccer team and not so much to the basketball team.  But regardless, what the basketball team did was impressive and they will strive for a 6th straight Gold medal in Rio.

*On the men's side, they did their job in winning another Gold medal.  They had a tough finals against Spain and won by only 7.  A lot was made about this year's team in comparison to the '92 Dream Team but in an of themselves they were a good team.  I still don't think this year's team could beat the '08 Redeem Team, but they did win the Gold so props to them.  I hope that the pros continue to play in the Olympics because it makes it mean more.  I don't think there will be changes in 4 years but after that who knows.

*This Olympics was definitely the "Social Media" Olympics.  Twitter was still in it's infancy in '08 and was picking up steam in '10 in Vancouver but this year it was everywhere.  Coupled that with smart phones and online coverage and it seemed that everyone was talking about the Olympics in those mediums.  That coupled with the disdain for tape delay (a tradition in Olympic coverage) made for a lot of frustrating times when it came to the "primetime" events.  Part of that I said before was the '08 games had more of the "primetime" events live & not on tape delay given it was halfway around the world.  With it only being about 5 hours from East Coast to London it was just rough.  However, the next Winter & Summer games could be less of that.  I do think NBC will tweak their coverage and improve it based on the "social media" response that was given.

*Overall, London did a great job and should be commended.  It'll be interesting how Rio does in 4 years.

More Reflections on the London Olympics

*Michael Phelps ended up with 22 medals with 18 of them gold medals.  That is ridiculous.  He medaled in 22 of 24 Olympic finals.  That is a pretty good percentage right there.  Some compared his finish to that of Michael Jordan retiring (the 1998 retirement).  The crazy thing is that Ryan Lochte is older than Phelps and will be at the Rio Olympics in 2016.  So honestly, if Phelps wanted to, he could add to that total.  But given his comments, I don't think he'll go back on saying he's retiring.  There are Olympic athletes that dominate a generation.  Phelps is definitely one of those athletes.

*Usain Bolt is fast.  Anyone who watched the final of the 100m race can attest to that.  And that final had some big time names in it:  besides Bolt, there was his teammate and fellow countryman Yohan Blake, who beat Bolt at the Jamaican Olympic qualifiers and also is the reigning World Champion at 100m, Justin Gatlin, USA runner who won the gold back 2004 & was coming off of suspension, Tyson Gay another USA runner who won the World Championships in 2007.  So it was a big time race.  And Bolt came through with an Olympic record time & 2nd fastest time in the world only to himself.  It was one of those blink and you'll miss it.

A cool side story.  After the race, Bolt was being interviewed by a Spanish network.  The reporter was trying to ask questions just as the national anthem was being played for the medal ceremony for the winner of the women's 400m, American Sanya Richards-Ross.  Bolt politely stopped the interview and pointed to the medal podium and paused while the American anthem was played.  Afterwards, he finished the interview with the reporter.  Classy move and one that deserves props.

*On the flip side of that, the USA women's soccer team.  This tournament has seen them win every match so far (though there were some scares against France & recently in their semifinal matchup against Canada).  Along with that, there has been some antics they've done which has been disappointing.  After some of their goals (particularly against New Zealand) there were over the top in their celebrations.  Now I'm all for celebrations, in the heat of the moment, excited spontaneous celebrations are great.  But if you're choreographing them (especially the worm one) that's a bit too much, especially in the Olympics.  I haven't seen the women's basketball team do things like that (and they're the best in the world), neither has the women's volleyball team either (and they're undefeated so far in these games as well).  I think the soccer team should take a page from those teams and win without losing respect of other teams.

*Speaking of the USA volleyball teams (both men's and women's) both sides look dominating.  They both won their groups and are in line for a chance to both get gold.  Beach volleyball could have a USA gold medal final on the women's side with Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings vs. Jen Kessy & April Ross.  Unfortunately, on the men's side both US teams got bounced so no medals there.  That'll have to be rectified in 4 years in Rio.

*Hopefully in 4 years as well, NBC will have better coverage of the games.  This has been a bad summer games for the network as they have gotten a lot of things wrong.  Part of it I think is not updating with the times & part of it is having London be a 5 hour time difference from the East Coast.  Next summer games, it will be in Rio, which is only a 1 hour time difference.  So hopefully more live prime time events will help out.  They can get a jump start on this in 2 years with the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, which is an 8 hour time difference.

Reflections on Michael Phelps

Yesterday Michael Phelps, swimmer for Team USA, became the winningest Olympian with 19 medals.  He tied the mark for most at 18 with a silver in the 200 fly .  He broke the record with a gold in the 4x200 IM relay.  Starting in the 2004 Athens games up to this point, Phelps has 15 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze (he also raced in the 2000 Sydney games but did not medal).  He still has a few more races left in London so he could add to his medal count.

The record that he broke had stood since 1964 with Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina.  I will admit, as much of a Olympic geek as I am, I hadn't heard of her prior to Phelps being on the brink of breaking the record.  Latynina won 9 gold medals (still the only woman to hold that honor) and competed until she was 30, which is unheard of today in gymnastics.  She was on hand to watch Phelps break the record and was happy for him.

These London Olympics haven't been the best swan song for Phelps (finishing 4th in one final, not getting gold in his best event) but he has accomplished something that no Olympian has ever accomplished.  He broke a record that stood for 48 years.  It's moments like that which make sports so great to watch.  So congrats Michael Phelps, arguably the best swimmer and one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time.

Reflections on Opening Weekend of London Olympics

The Olympics are back.  The 30th Summer Olympic games have started and I'm watching as much as possible.  There were several things that stood out after this first weekend of games:

*It is one of those times where I wished I had cable or dish.  Many of the events are on live on the various networks of NBC (CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network, Bravo) and you can't see them unless you have cable.  And even in 2012 when a lot of sports events are streamed online or app, you have to have cable/dish accounts to access them.  Fail.

*For Michael Phelps, this is not Bejing.  Four years ago, he had a record medal haul.  So far, he's gotten a 4th place finish and a silver medal in relay.  It is a good reminder that one can't rest on history but have to focus on today.

*Another NBC gripe, still using tape delay when everyone can know the results through twitter or online.  No matter if you try or not, you find out.  It's 2012, you can show stuff live and still replay it later.

I'll probably blog some more about the games as they go along.  I'm enjoying watching when I can and what I can so far. 

Reflections on "The Dream Team" & Their 20 Year Anniversary

Twenty years ago this month is the anniversary of one of the greatest teams assembled in the history of basketball.  The Dream Team.  A team that was comprised of players who were Hall of Famers and arguably some of the greatest of all time on one team, playing for Team USA in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

The history of the Dream Team goes back to the previous Summer Olympics in 1988.  In those Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Team USA finished 3rd.  At the time, that was the worst showing for a USA men's basketball team in the Olympics.  Previously they had won gold in every Olympics that had basketball as a medal sport (aside from the controversial 1972 Munich games).  That coupled with the rule passed by FIBA (the international governing body) that allowed NBA players to play in international tournaments set the stage for the Dream Team.

Growing up during this time, I was a huge NBA fan.  And why not?  The players I got to see in their prime was a who's who of Hall of Famers.  So when hearing about they were going to allow NBA stars to play in the Olympics, I was super excited.  The roster was stacked to say the least:  Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner.  I remember that aside from Laettner, I was happy with the guys that made it (I personally thought that Shaquille O'Neal should've been the college representative).

I remember the buildup was huge.  There were Team USA merchendise everywhere.  I think somewhere I still have the Starting Lineup figures of the entire Dream Team roster along with the cups from McDonalds that they gave away with Extra Value Meals.

The team itself did not disappoint.  They steamrolled through the competition on the way to a gold medal.  Not only that, they made a cultural imprint on the game of basketball.  Their impact played a role in more internationals getting involved in basketball and eventually playing in the NBA.

The numbers speak for themselves.  11 of the 12 players (the lone exception being Laettner) and 3 of the 4 coaches (Chuck Daly, Lenny Wilkens & Mike Krzyzewski) are in the Basketball Hall of Fame as individuals and the team itself was enshrined in 2010.  Every Olympic team since has been compared to that team.  I don't think there will be another "Dream Team".  They were a one of a kind team.

What A Game: Men's Hockey Gold Medal Game

I was going to write a post on the USA men's hockey team. I think all that can be said is in the game that just took place. Though I'm disappointed that the team lost, I think it says a lot about how the team played. It's a much younger team than previous times and one that wasn't expected to do much. Most thought it would be Canada, Russia, Czech Republic and Sweden would be the top teams. For the U.S. to do what they did (go undefeated in pool play, get to the gold medal game, score with 24 seconds left in the 3rd period to tie the game), I think it says a lot about their heart.

It's a great lesson in playing hard and that even though they didn't win the gold, they were successful in what they accomplished. I hope the NHL allows their players to play in 2014, it makes it way more entertaining and I think showcases the NHL in more ways than if they didn't.

It definitely was a great way to close out the Olympics. Now the countdown is on for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London [and my birthday as well :)]

Great Story on an Olympic Speedskater

I can't believe that the Olympics are almost over (last day is tomorrow). It has been a great two (or so) weeks of action with lots of drama and stories to go around. I will definitely blog about the U.S. men's hockey team but that will come tomorrow or Monday.

One story that stood out to me was that of Chad Hedrick, the speedskater. I remember him from previous Olympics especially in Turin where he had great success on the ice but he kind of a rough reputation off the ice. Given the way the stories go with Olympic athletes, I didn't hear anything about him until four years later. Then I read an article at the start of the Olympics in Vancouver about how he gave his life to Christ recently and how he and his family have began walking with the Lord. It was a really cool testimony which he is vocal about how his life has been changed because of Christ. This Olympics was his last and he went out with a medal in his final race (team pursuit) with a silver medal.

He plans on sharing his story with others after hanging up the skates. I wish him the best and hope that God continues to use him in sharing Christ with others.

(Here's the article that I read, done by Tim Ellsworth, who's also the director of news and media relations at my alma mater Union University)

Reflections on the Winter Olympics (Opening Weekend)

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love the Olympics. This is even more so the case of the Winter Olympics. I was born on February 29, 1980, five days after the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid (FYI, my due date was originally the 22nd, which was the day the "Miracle on Ice" took place). I was still too young to remember the 1984 Olympics but in 1988 I remember watching the Winter Olympics that were in Calgary and really fell in love with it. It was awesome to watch both Olympics in the same year. I was disappointed when they separated the two and moved the Winter Olympics to a non-Leap Year after the 1992 Olympics.

I've had some great memories watching the Winter Olympics. One of my best memories is in 2002 when I was a senior at Union and watching the Men's Hockey Finals in the upstairs of Hurt Commons with friends. It was cool watching the U.S. and Canada play each other.

This year, the Olympics are in Vancouver. It is a beautiful city. I was there for a week back in 2005 on a mission trip. If I still lived in Seattle, I would make the trip up to go to the Olympics. If I wasn't in seminary right now, I'd definitely have done it. By the way, if you've never been to Vancouver, you should visit.

Aside from the tragedy of Friday with the death of the luger from Georgia, it has been a good start. The U.S. team has gotten 4 medals after yesterday and will hopefully add to the total. I was very happy that Poland got a silver in Ski Jumping (Normal Hill), which is one of my favorite sports in the Olympics.

I'm excited for the next two weeks to watch some Olympics. I think there will be some memorable moments and hopefully I'll have time to blog about it.

Reflections on the Sports Landscape of the 2000s

Looking back at the decade that was in sports, there were a lot of memorable moments. Time and space do not allow to cover all of them but here's the ones that register in my mind. Feel free to comment about yours:

*The Music City Miracle: I was there and I saw it live. It was considered one of the top 10 NFL plays of the decade (it was even in the top 5) and I saw it in person. To this day, I still remember the excitement and the celebration that happened when Kevin Dyson scored that TD. Hearing the radio call later by Mike Keith and Pat Ryan still gives me chills. Awesome.

*The World Series in 2001: Probably the only time in my life that I liked the Yankees. After the events of 9/11, it almost seemed fitting that the Yankees were in the World Series that year. It was something to watch that series and see all the dramatic elements that came with it. In the end, I was glad that the Diamomdbacks won but for a time, I did like the Yankees.

*Steroids at the forefront in baseball: Nothing disappointed me more than all the things that came out when steroids, HGH and performance enhancing drugs were brought to light in baseball. It's sad to know that for most of my life, especially my childhood is now tainted by the label "steroid era". If there's any good that comes out of this, I hope it cleans up the sport. But it doesn't take away (like the strike in '94) the disappointment.

*Return of football to New Orleans in 2006: I watched the first game in the reopened Superdome with the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. It had the feel of a Super Bowl and it showed. The game itself was a good one and it was really cool to watch.

*The Olympics: It was a good decade for the Olympics. With the Winter (2002, Salt Lake City, 2006 Turin, Italy) and the Summer (2000, Sydney, Austraila, 2004, Athens, Greece, 2008, Bejing, China) there was a lot of memorable performances. It'll be interesting to see how the next few Olympics turn out as well.

*Red Sox and breaking of the Curse: Obviously, the championship run by the Boston Red Sox in 2004 was memorable. To beat the Yankees four straight in the ALCS after being down 0-3 was simply sweet and then to then sweep in the World Series was icing on the cake. 86 years without a title and then finally one. Along with winning in 2007, it was a good year.

All this and more made for a memorable decade. Looking forward to the sports decade that is the 2010s

Reflections on the 2008 Olympic Games

The last day of the 2008 Summer Olympics has come. And while there are so many stories to tell, here are a few snippets of what I'll take from it.

*It was something special to see Michael Phelps achieve what he did. So many times we hear about athletes and how they are favored to win games or events but they aren't able to whether by great competitors or underachieving. Phelps was able to accomplish the feat of 8 gold medals by his talents and also through teammates in the relays. More so in the water, I was impressed by him out of the water. For 23 years old, he seemed very mature. I hope to see and hear more good things out of him.

*The Redeem Team took care of business, winning the gold medal and going 8-0 in the games. It was the first time in my mind since the first two Dream Teams (1992, 1996) where the players really respected the country in which they played for and the other countries as well. And though I never thought I'd say this, I have come to respect Kobe Bryant. I think this experience with him in the Olympics has made him a better athlete and a better person. Though I wouldn't go as far as to say I will root for the guy in the future, he has earned my respect and that's saying something.

*For as much as there was made about they Olympics being in China, there was a lot of positive stories to come out of there. Though there is a lot of negative stuff that still surrounds this country regarding civil rights and oppression of the Gospel, hopefully these past two weeks have been an opportunity that God will use to open the country up and for people both inside the country and out to see what all is available to them.

Reflections on The Redeem Team

One of the major stories coming into the 2008 Olympic Games was the U.S. Men's Basketball team. The team, made up of NBA players, has been dubbed the "Redeem Team" because of recent play by the U.S. team in recent years.

Initially, when professionals began playing for the U.S. back in 1992, they were the "Dream Team". They were the best of the best and it showed as they steamrolled over the competition as they went on to win the gold medal. They duplicated that success in 1996 and in 2000 winning gold medals in those games as well. However, the rest of the world began to catch up with the U.S. team. As more international players came to play in the NBA along with a decline in talent and teamwork on the U.S. squad, the gap closed and came to a head in 2002 at the World Championships. As the host nation, the U.S. finished a disappointing 6th place. The disappointment continued at the 2004 Olympics where the team finished with the bronze medal and at the 2006 World Championships they finished with the bronze.

For the Bejing Olympics, there was a major emphasis for the U.S. to get back to the dominance that they had for many years. They got one of the best college coaches (Mike Krzyzewski) to coach the team. They stressed more team play and less individualism. They got some of the best players both young and established (Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd). The "Redeem Team" was to go, win the gold medal, and show the U.S. as a top team in the world again.

So far, the team has not disappointed. They have went 3-0 in pool play so far beating China, Angola and Greece in convincing fashion. They have played like a team both on offense and on defense. They have even got me rooting for a team with Kobe and Coach K on it. Though there is still several games to go before the medal round, all signs are pointing to a strong run and potentially a return to the gold medal.

Michael Phelps = The Man

I've enjoyed so far watching what's taken place at the Olympics. The beach volleyball performances have been great. The "Redeem Team" (which I'll talk more on in another post) beat the host team with about a billion people watching around the world. But the coolest thing has been seeing Michael Phelps in action in swimming. He has gotten off to a great start with three gold medals so far and has produced some memorable moments in doing it.

Probably the best moment (in my opinion) was the performance that he and the U.S. 4x100 freestyle relay team did on Monday morning in Bejing (or Sunday night here). It was considered an event that the U.S. used to dominate for many years but recently had not won in the Olympics. The French were the upstart favorites and even did some trash talking saying they were going to smash the Americans. But as the old saying goes, you don't win on paper.

It was probably one of the best finishes to an event I've ever seen. To come back and win by essentially hundreths of a second is tremendous. I was jumping up and down and yelling when the finish happened. It was definitely a cool moment.

Sometimes we have people that we heavily hype up but they don't live up to the hype. Michael Phelps is a great athlete and I would not be surprised if he ended up with 8 gold medals at this Olympics. It will be worth watching to see how thing play out in the rest of the events.

Reflecting on The Olympics (Opening Weekend)

The 2008 Summer Olympics started this weekend. I love the Olympics, partly because of the world competition and partly because it falls on Leap Year (well the Summer ones do). It's one of those times I wish I had cable but at least during the weekends there's a lot on regular TV.

I love how the Olympics help to promote stories as well as events. It's so interesting to learn about the background of the athletes both of the favorites and the underdogs.

It's during the Olympics that events such as swimming, track and field, gymnastics get the main attention. It's the only time I'll root for a team with Kobe Bryant on it. It's the time when there are compelling stories about people that transcend nation and race. In some ways, it's a reflection in some way of how the church is supposed to be. The church made up of people of every nation, people group, language all coming together to celebrate and worship.

So, if you want to know what I'll be watching the next few weeks, this is it :)

Random Sports Reflections

Here's some things I've been thinking on recently:

*Brett Favre's unretirement: I don't know what I think to be honest. It's hard to "pick a side" on the issue. What I do know is this, there is a difference in media coverage today as opposed to ten years ago. When Michael Jordan retired (well the first and second times), there weren't as much media coverage as there is today. Sure ESPN was in full swing but the internet wasn't as big as it is today and there is almost the instant access of media that seems to be prevalent in society today. So while it's been in the news for months now, it was only just this week that he filed the papers to unretire. It will be interesting to see how this event looks five years from now.

*Manny Ramirez and trade rumors: There has been buzz recently about Manny being traded and with the deadline tomorrow there is serious talk about it. I even read some comments supposedly that Manny made to a reporter from ESPN Deportes (who ironically, contributed to a story about Jose Guillen and Trey Hillman which was called out both by Guillen and Hillman as being false) saying that he's ready to leave and that the Red Sox don't deserve him. Honestly, as a Red Sox fan, when I read that I was sad and disappointed in Manny. I liked Manny and yes I put up with some of the stupid stuff the did from time to time. I don't know what to think of him now. I don't think the Sox should trade him. I still think that he and David Ortiz (my favorite Sox player) make for a great 1-2 punch. I guess we'll see how this plays out.

*The Olympics: The Summer Olympics start next week (August 8th). I'm so excited about the start of the games. It's one of the great things that happens during a leap year. I still would some day like to go to an Olympic event (the closest I could have come was in 1996 in Atlanta but I was only 16 and couldn't make it down there). It'll be awesome to watch and see what stories come out of the games this year.