Let's watch the Olympics, just for kicks

(pun intended)

NBC didn't cover any taekwondo on their main channel, so I had to go online to watch it. We won two bronzes, one for Terrence Jennings, who got into the sport by watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and one for Paige McPherson. Great Britain also won with a gold for Jade Jones! I'm glad the British have won lots of medals at these Olympics--it's always nice to see the host country do well, and they very often do since they have home-field/court/ring/track/etc. advantage.

I've really enjoyed Mary Carillo's coverage of these Olympics. Her interviews with athletes are always well-done, and her specials on London and the U.K. (about topics such as Welsh traditions and Shakespeare) were interesting and fun. I guess they have the best sports journalists go out into the field to interact with people and leave the odd ones (Bob Costas) in the studio.

A few words on Usain Bolt: He is certainly impressive, but I don't like him. He's unquestionably the greatest sprinter of all time, winning both the 100m and 200m in 2 consecutive Olympics (as well as some relays), but he's also very full of himself. He can't seem to stop talking about how great he is, and even after he won the 4x100m relay with the Jamaican team, he said, "I'm very happy with myself," as if his teammates didn't have much to do with it. (Contrast that with the winning US women's 4x100m relay team, who couldn't stop saying how much they loved each other.) I might also add that in a couple of his races, he actually slowed down on the last few steps when he knew he had it won. In a long distance run, that can make sense because you're exhausted to point of collapsing, but in sprinting, it's just pure arrogance. It shows that Usain doesn't care as much about doing his best as he does about winning. A true sportsman always tries his best and gives it his all, whether or not he's in the lead. Sports, especially the Olympics, are about showing people what you're made of, not simply winning every contest. The media's obsessive coverage of him also annoys me because it overshadows more inspiring athletes like Ashton Eaton, the decathlon gold medal winner.

Queens of the Sandbox

Well, Kerri Walsh and Misty May won the women's beach volleyball gold. No surprise, really. I knew they would. Misty is such an awesome digger and Kerri is a great blocker; they're basically unbeatable. They have, after all, been undefeated for over a year.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt really is a freak of nature. He won the 200m just as easily as the 100m, and broke Michael Johnson's 12-year-old world record like it was no prob.

Race walking is freaking awesome. Period. Even more so when it's raining. They're like wiggling noodles moving along down the road. The slow mo is fascinating. It seems odd that there's a racing event in which you get disqualified if you exert too much, breaking into a slight run instead of a walk, but it's also weirdly cool.

Not much else to say, really. But I'm going to mention that I really like Chris Collinsworth and Mary Carillo. Chris has done great athlete interviews as well as befriended the Phelps family. Mary has been doing a bunch of really neat cultural stories, including one on pandas and one on kites. I love their demeanors and their storytelling styles.

Speaking of neat stories, Chris did a story tonight on a South African woman who participated in the open water swimming race, and she's an amputee! Now that is amazing.