Olympics

Here's my update on the Olympics so far. Keep in mind that the commentary you get here will not be found anywhere else. So far the televised events haven't interested me too much. I've watched a few minutes here and there of volleyball, rowing, boxing, water polo, and fencing. When soccer came on I grabbed the remote in a panic and changed the channel as fast as I could lest I accidentally watch a few minutes, fall asleep, and lose half a weekend. Right now some women's swimming is on, backstroke to be specific. I found myself getting too involved though and think I'm going to have to stop. I was just watching Natalie Caughlin getting too close to the lane line and couldn't help coaching her despite the fact that the technology hasn't been invented yet to allow athletes to hear me through the television, particularly when they are on a tape delay. Yet even with that in mind I couldn't help telling her, "you're getting too close to the lane line ... move away from the lane line ... GET AWAY FROM THE LANE LINE!!!!" I began having flashbacks of my high school swimming days - hitting the lane lines and crunching my fingers. That is unpleasant let me tell you. As luck would have it, she didn't hit the lane line, but she sure came close. I think I better get some sleep. But not until after Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe square off in the 200 meter freestyle!

Of course, they claim that it's all the new super suits that provide all the unprecedented speed. For $550 it sure as hell be super fast though. Back in my day, I did it the old fashioned way - with an embarrassingly small suit. With my natural ability though, 3 or 4 super suits and maybe a bionic arm still wouldn't have helped me much.

As always, your best bet is to watch CBC for most of your Olympics needs. It's not in HD, but you'll be able to see events 12 hours before the US channels show them and win some money from your dumber friends. I am happy, however, that so far more airtime has been devoted to actual coverage rather than the typical 75% behind the scenes/human interest stories that prior Olympics have gone with. Hopefully they've finally given up on that.

***Update***
Wow, the mens 4 x 100 swimming relay was amazing. The US just barely edged out France for the gold and a new world record. Gold medal #1 for Michael Phelps. He still has a chance to get 8.