While it is difficult to shut oneself off completely from the news of the world all day in order to not hear about results from the Olympics until primetime programming, there is at least one advantage, in our opinion.
Instead of experiencing the unexpected shock and anguish of watching in tape-delay real-time the dropping of the baton by both the U.S. men’s and women’s 4x100 meter relays, we read about it this morning already so we should be well-fortified to handle the continuing meltdown of the U.S. sprint and hurdle team.
Counting the botches last night, there have been 4 major blunders now in the past 3 days. 3 nights ago Lolo Jones hit the second-to-last hurdle in the 100 meter hurdle costing her near-certain gold and 2 nights ago, Wallace Spearmon was DQ’d for running out of his lane in the finals of the men’s 200 meters costing him a bronze. Maybe it was the Jamaicans who got into the heads of the Americans in the sprints earlier in the meet or perhaps it’s the rainy weather but the track team has become a collective basket case the past few days.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tape Delay: Not so bad, afterall.
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4 comments:
Dean,
In a previous post, you pointed out how the Chinese, operating with German efficiency, were arresting people as they applied for protest permits. Happened again. Yesterday, two elderly women in their SEVENTIES were arrested and sentenced to one year of "re-education through labor." Story here.
What's Chinese for Arbeit Macht Frei?
B-Daddy, I'm not sure what it says about the two of us that I was working on that very subject when your comment came in.
Stay tuned, tomorrow... 3ish
Woke up at 6 this morning to catch what was easily the most compelling moment of the Olympic Games: The bottom of the 9th, S. Korea v. Cuba for the gold medal in baseball.
S. Korea, which has an inherent and immediate rivalry with communism, playing against a ardently communist country, in the communist country that sponsors and made possible the division of their country on the basis of communism.
Cuba, a Communist-Kool Aid society that, oh by the way, has a big chip on its shoulder about what is obviously the best-performing national baseball team in the world year in, year out.
Korea goes into the bottom of 9 leading 3-2, and the Puerto Rican home plate ump starts squeezing the strike zone so that the heretofore brilliant S. Korean pitcher walks the bases loaded with one out.
The catcher turns around on the ump and immediately gets tossed for arguing balls and strikes. The S. Korean coaches all run to home plate. The field umps all run to home plate. An interpreter runs to home plate.
It's almost as good as the '68 Chicago Convention.
4 minutes later, things calm down. And the coach goes to a new pitcher. A Kent Tekulve-esque sidewinder.
An entire new battery is inserted with 1 one and bases loaded in the Olympic Gold Medal Game.
Two pitches later, a ground ball is sent up the middle. Shortstop snags it. 2nd baseman turns it. Speedy Cuban batter is out by one step at first.
Gold medal: South Korea.
S. Korea mobs the mound. Cubans in the dugout bury their faces in their hands.
Oh, by the way, it was all live on USA Network.
By the way, something I've picked up on about the S. Koreans: They are ball-sy. I've noticed a lot of southeast asian cultures seem to be very deferential. The S. Koreans are very much in your face and hot-blooded (Enough to give Cubans, world-renowned for that trait, a run for their money). I picked up on it in S Korea's baseball team during their semi game with Japan -- much more animated. (This was after originally picking up on it during the World Cup soccer game a few years ago against the U.S. the took place in S. Korea after the Apollo Ono incident in SLC, when their team was one step away from being Larry Bowa-esque). It'd be interesting to do a compare and contrast on their collective personality with that of the North Koreans.
- Mongo Bleary From Lack of REM Sleep (Thank you, NBC)
Mongo, Thanks.
What you speak of is reminiscent of the '56 games and the water polo match between Hungary and Russia. Blood in the water.
Sometimes that whole Olympic ideal of international brotherhood and other well-intentioned, high-minded bullshit goes right out the window when faced with the reality that your country stands to get crushed by an oppressive outside force.
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