Apology...

So the YouTube Video in the post below about the Tie between Liukin and Kexin...yeah it's probably slightly inappropriate but just one of the funniest things I've ever found on YouTube so I had no choice but to post it! If anyone is not impressed...I apologize up front!

Aaron

The Infamous Tie

Ahhh, shades of Evan and Johnny at this past Nationals. What do you do in the case of a tie?

Personally, I say award two Gold Medals...but that's just what I think!

Much like figure skating, when two gymnasts tie...they don't award duplicate medals...there always has to be some kind of crazy tie-breaker situation that always seems to split things the wrong way!

Love Evan to pieces...one of my favorite skaters...no way should he have won Nationals. I was there...it was quite apparent who skated better. In the crowd where I was siting we thought Johnny had pulled it off by no less than 5-10 points. Then the scores...the tie...and Evan gets the Gold...ugh!

From St. Paul to Beijing...it's the Olympic Final on Uneven Bars. Nastia Liukin and He Kexin are dueling it out. Both have good routines...only Nastia's is better than good, it's great. The scores...the tie...Kexin gets Gold? Another crazy tie breaker.

Only in figure skating...tie breaking makes sense (most of the time). Evan won the free so he won the Gold (debatable...but understandable). For the Uneven Bar final there was this crazy if there is a tie instead of just taking the high and low scores out we'll take the high and two lowest scores and whoever has the best score then is the winner meaning (do you see how this run on sentence is just a nightmare!) that the outcome of the competition is based upon only three judges interpretation and two of the three judges has never even had an Olympic medalist in gymnastics in their country!

I'm not the biggest fan of figure skating's point system, but it certainly beats out gymnastics.

Sochi 2014 Impressed with Beijing

From BBC...

Beijing 2008: A Russian perspective

The Olympic spirit is everywhere in Beijing. Even far from the sports venues, you can still feel that the city is hosting the Games.

I'm not just talking about clean streets, new buildings, good roads and sparkling hotels. The Games add another dimension to Beijing, making it more energetic than I can ever remember and giving people here a fresh view of life. I'm sure that the same thing will happen in my native city of Sochi in 2014.

Fans of all ages have turned out to celebrate the Beijing Games I have been looking closely at Beijing life and want to share my impressions with you.

Chinese people are very friendly. This more than makes up for the occasional lack of strong English speakers. But some of the communication difficulties result in funny moments. For example, I spent 15 minutes explaining to a taxi driver that I wanted to go to the Great Wall where the cycling competitions are taking place. After getting nowhere in English, I started to speak Russian and it rescued me. The driver actually understood Russian better than English!

It is quite easy to get around Beijing during the Games. You can use buses and the underground. Moreover, it is free for members of the Olympic family. The Chinese have constructed a special underground line to Olympic venues. It's a great way to ensure you're on time and not held up in traffic, even with the dedicated Olympic lanes on roads set up for cars.

Right now in Beijing they are enforcing a traffic reduction rule: cars with an even registration number can go out on the even dates of the month and vice versa with the odd numbers. The result is simple: half the cars on the roads during the Games. But even so there are occasions when the traffic is heavy - especially when everyone heads for the Olympic Green at night, such as after Usain Bolt won that incredible 100m gold.

Road restrictions have helped to ease traffic in Beijing Recently I went with some colleagues to see one of the women's field hockey matches. Although I found the sport quite unusual, the most incredible thing about the day was seeing a group of people in the stadium wearing matching T-shirts. We found out that these people had helped to build the Olympic venues in Beijing.

I was very touched by the attitude of our Chinese hosts towards these people who had played a very important, but often overlooked role in the staging of the Olympics. We too must not forget the people who help make our Winter Games in Sochi come to life.

I also believe that the Games are reflecting Chinese culture well. The country's style and tradition is everywhere, from the opening ceremony through to the competition venues themselves. A few days ago I found a cultural showcase in the middle of the Olympic Green called "China Story", where you can learn about the history of China, local life and even try to write Chinese characters. Of course, it's difficult to learn, but it's interesting to see your name written out in Mandarin.

Naturally, I'm following the performance of Russian athletes closely and was very proud of the performance of our female tennis players, who managed a clean sweep of gold, silver and bronze in the individual competition. I was really impressed by the Russian fans who had travelled from all over our country to watch the matches in Beijing. Some guys from Novosibirsk even stretched out a big 'Russia-Novosibirsk' flag along the whole stand!

Most didn't know who to support in the final - Elena Dementieva or Dinara Safina! In the end they supported both, calling to Safina when she was losing: "Stand firm!" and when Dementieva lost form: "Lena, we are with you!" So to be at the Olympic final with that kind of atmosphere and watching two Russian athletes, was a real privilege.


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Dmitry Chernyshenko, who heads the organising committee for the Winter Olympics in Russia's Sochi in 2014, is writing for the BBC from Beijing.

The Big Question

Bob Costas asked it so I'm gonna run with it! Is Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian of all time?

Bob Costas, and very intelligently, also posed that comparing swimming to other Olympic Sports is like comparing apples to oranges. Sure, I don't think there is any question to Phelps' dominance of swimming, but of the whole Olympic spectrum, a different issue.

What we do know is that Michael has more Gold Medals than anyone else in history, but luckily for him, his sport allows for multiple medal opportunities. When you go across sports it seems less certain who is the greatest. I find myself comparing Phelps to the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. What a moment, and in that Olympics they had one shot to win a Gold Medal...not eight. How about a Figure Skater like Katarina Witt who managed to win two Olympic Gold's in a sport, where again, there aren't multiple times to win a medal at a single games. She had one shot at each Olympics and she got it done both times...that has to count for something, right?

So I guess here's the question that need be answered...Which is a truer gauge of Olympic Greatness...amassing multiple medals or answering the moment at a single medal shot?

Or perhaps this is all silly and each of us can have our own Olympic Great! For many, I'm certain Phelps fits the bill. For others, it may be the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team, or Katarina Witt, Carl Lewis, Muhamad Ali, 1992 U.S. Basketball Team, 1996 U.S. Gymnastics Team, Ian Thorpe, Michael Johnson, Dick Button, Yao Ming, 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team, I could go on forever!

Here is the answer for me...every Olympian is the greatest ever. To simply be an Olympian I think is to reach a pinnacle that few will experience. It isn't always the winners that I feel is great, sometimes it the losers that inspire the most. Success is self measured and if an athlete works hard and makes their dream of being an Olympian, despite the outcome, I think that's the greatest!

Beijing Olympics -- Live!

From Lifeskate...

For those of you in the US who don't want to wait the 12+ hours to see the Olympics on NBC (which appears to have a good Olympics site save the time delay), there are several options.

The best I've seen is a German TV network streaming live in high definition. Just watched the Americans enter the stadium around 10:30 a.m. EDT, so don't have to wait up tonight while NBC drags out their coverage.

Here's a round-up of all the live Olympics site, as well as another, lower-res streaming site. If you know of other good ways to watch the Olympics without a time delay, please post a comment.

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Skating, Politics, and Human Rights Collide

I'll take a moment to diverge from figure skating for just a moment...but I'll keep it in the skating family.

Olympic Gold Medalist Speed Skater Joey Cheek was set to go to China, of course not to compete as Speed Skating is in the Winter Olympic program, to convince the Chinese government to take notice of the genocide in Darfur. Seventy Summer Olympians (from many different nations) plan on bringing attention to this terrible situation as they compete and Joey was planning to support them in their endeavors.

It has been well documented that China is taking extreme measures to squash protesters and possible conflicts before they even have the opportunity to happen. China foresaw possible protests with Cheek's presence...so they pulled his Visa. I guess more than one way to skin a cat!

Enter Mitt Romeny...former Governor of Massachusetts, former Republican Presidential Candidate (and likely V.P. choice for John McCain), as well as saviour of the corruption-filled Salt Lake City Winter Olympic bid. It just so happens as a member of the IOC, Mitt is in Beijing. He's personally written to Chinese President Hu Jintou and Premier Wen Jiabao to restore Joey Cheek's Visa so he can come to Beijing. He asked that they do it as a personal favor to him in consideration of his support for Beijing's Olympics bid and the "numerous courtesies" he extended Chinese officials in Salt Lake City.

Wow...I'll stay on top of this one for us!

UPDATE: Monday morning, President Bush stopped by NBC Headquarters to chat with Bob Costas. Costas asked President Bush about Joey Cheek's Visa being pulled and President Bush said "Joey can rest assured I took his concerns to President Jintou myself." However, at this time, the Chinese government has not reinstated Cheek's Visa.

Pic of the Week

Well the Summer Olympics start this Friday and this Pic of the Week is pretty self explanatory. Nice that two-time Olympic Bronze Medalists Shen and Zhao of China can take part in the torch relay in their home nation.

And these two haven't ruled out another Olympic run of their own. They are keeping Vancouver 2010 in the back of their heads for sure, but there are so many other things to keep them occupied...like being newlyweds and starring in Stars on Ice! Ahhhhhh...