Here's my thing by postaldog

Been out of town travelling, so apologies to the three of you who read this blog.

Here's my thing on the Olympics so far:

What I have not liked:

The taped delay broadcasts. I know it's a twelve hour time difference, but who cares? Show the stuff when it happens and as it is announced at the time. If you're old enough to remember the days of taped-delay broadcasts of the Indy 500, that is what this reminds me of. Announcers trying to sound all surprised and genuine about an event they already know the conclusion of. weak

The gymnastics scoring. I thought we had all that subjective crap cleaned up after the Winter Olympic scandals. Apparently not. I know it comes off as "homer-ism", but both the US men and women got jobbed repeatedly in the scoring. ridiculous

What I have liked:

Michael Phelps. Seriously, how could I not? Greatest performance in my lifetime, and I was watching when Mark Spitz set the standard.

The genuine emotion on the faces of the US women gymnastics team. I know as an athlete, you have to be mentally tough, but it was nice to see that they aren't robots out there. The pressure was enormous and subsequent failures and successes showed honestly in their faces.

Misty May and Kerri Walsh. One year without losing a match? That's insane! Try playing two person beach volleyball sometime. I have. That's a lot of territory to cover. fabulous

Bela Karoli. He's got the pedigree to speak his mind and isn't afraid to do it. Don't know if Costas is prodding him to vent, but it's golden watching him slam the judging.

That Russian pole vaulter last night. Beautiful, talented, and refreshing proud of both. I've seen her called diva, but if she can back it up . . . ? Watching her napping while the other competitors struggled to make the height, she had that gold won right then.

The US men's gymnastics team. Like with the women, how great was it to see some college sports team atmosphere among those guys? High fiving, and fist pumping, again, no robots there. fun

Usain Bolt. What would the 100m record be if he kept running? What a performance. And he's loafing through the 200m as well. This might be the most effortless domination I've ever seen in Olympic competition. And he seems genuinely likable, goofing around, playful, how can you not root for the guy? What is it about Jamaica that produces these speedsters?

Gotta throw out something to the US shooting team. As a former competitive shooter, who got to try out for the team (now derailed by injuries), to see two shooters make the air pistol finals for the first time in like 50 years, great stuff. They finished fourth and fifth for the best finishes in, well like I said, it's been a while.

I'm looking forward to the balance of the games.