The olympics are over

Yep, game over a few nights ago. China rocked the world in many ways: medals, ceremonies, fireworks (fake or real), and crazy dancing things. Phelps was a one-man medal-grabbing, record-destroying machine, but no match for China's monolith. I can say I watched more TV than any other active time in my life (as opposed to inactive time in the hospital).

The best moment in my book was Cancellara's ride to bronze in the olympic road race. Most of the commentators don't realize how hard it would have been to bridge from the chase group to the leaders all by yourself, and then still finish third. Bolt's world record, one of the common picks, is my second-- only because he started celebrating before he won. That's pretty baller if you ask me.

The saddest moment was Liu Xiang dropping out of the 110m hurdles. You have to realize how important he is to China. Imagine walking through Times Square in NEw York City and every TV screen, billboard and flashy light gimmick having a picture of Liu Xiang. That's how big he is in China. I couldn't go more than 10 minutes in Beijing without seeing his picture somewhere. He's the first chinese guy to compete with the western athletes in a sport Chinese didn't think they could do.

Time to rethink Olympic Sports

The Economist has an interesting article on discontinued olympic events. After this year, there will no longer be softball and baseball. So most countries in the world don't have that sport...getting rid of it makes sense.

But hold on....where the hell is a sport like speed-walking worthwhile? If a bear is chasing you will you speed-walk away? If you're late for the bus, will you speed-walk yourb way on? Wait, even better, what if Pheidippides had speed-walked the 26.2 miles to Athens from Marathon? Athens never would have known they beat the Persians, and history would be at a nearly-infinite standstill.

What you don't hear about Pheidippides running of 'the Marathon' is that he ran 150 miles to get help from the Spartans. Think 300, they were badass. But they were on vacation, they couldn't mobilize their forces until the full moon according to law. They missed the battle, but commended the Athenians for the victory. What does this have to do with the olympics? It should have a 150 mile run, that would make more sense than speed-walking. Apparently they run a Spartathlon every year from Athens to Sparta.

We should bring back the dueling pistol and Tug-of-war. Assuming, there is an actual duel, imagine how great that would be. Each country could nominate it's most hated person. Then all of them would be gotten rid of, except one, and it would would provide entertainment for the world. Round 1, US vs. Pakistan. Bring on Hillary Clinton and Pervez Musharraf......

Ok, so maybe Hillary isn't hated that much. Instead maybe Paris Hilton, or some other Phelps could have a chance to compete in the Olympics (I hope they aren't related).

Now, imagine the tug-of-war. Each country could nominate a team. A pit would be built in the middle of the stadium, or bird's nest. You could fill the it with water, jello, or that Gak from Nickelodeon. I think that would be the best competition to show the most powerful country in the world. Maybe it could solve border disputes.

Can this guy strike a better bargain than the Sherpa? It's odd that velonews has a picture of Vince Vaughn at Boyce's favorite mall in the world. I bet he's pretty good, but then again, he has a lot of money. For those of you that don't know, the silk market is a sort of tourist mess in beijing where you can buy all kinds of fake stuff and souvenirs. Bargaining is the way to go, never pay more than half of the first price they quote you (if you look like a foreigner).

Look what 3 gold medals on the track gets you: a sweet new bike!

More hilarious antics between the British and Aussies. I think the Brits must have a great sense of humor. You can get insight into it by readin g this. Apparently they also have a lot of dumb kids. Though, I've seen Americans do the same stuff overseas....

I was bored and reading Steve Tilford's blog today. He has been wining bike races since longer than I have been alive. Only he would get away with this. "Moving turtles when racing is a different matter. You have to use common sense to decide if you have enough time to spare. Or enough energy to catch back on, depending on the situation. I’ve moved a lot of turtles during races. Most the time everyone will wait for me. It’s better to be in a break." Tilly and Turtles

Somehow I am linked under 'blog reactions to stevetilford.com' I wonder what I said.