Rec’ing On…Beijing Olympics – Part 7

I tried staying awake to watch it live, I really did, but the Soccer match between the USA and Canada women took much too long. The 1 1/2-ish suspension in play due to lightning in the area was taxing enough, but add on the two extra time periods to that and it was more than my 22-hours-awake body could handle. I watched the return to play part of the game time-shifted. Regardless of the difficulties, this scrappy American side managed to wend their way to the semi-finals.  They have two more games to play, the next being against Japan.

What more can I say about USA softball? They are so dominating these early teams.  I can’t remember the last time the mercy rule has been put into effect.

Again…Michael Phelps…blah, blah…gold medal…world re…. wait a tic.  No world record this time. Just an Olympic Record.  Not quite Spitzian, after all. What an exciting race, though.  One-hundredth of a second. It’s not surprising that Cavic’s people petitioned, but it’s also not surprising that it was quickly rejected. The reason electronic timing was instituted was because humans aren’t objectively reliable discriminators in these circumstances. I wouldn’t be surprised to eventually find out that the pressure wave in front of a stroking swimmer’s fingers give them a minute timing advantage over the milder wave in front of a gliding swimmer’s fingers. That would be an interesting research project.

I don’t think enough can be said about the sportsmanship shown by Dara Torres.  First trying to help Sweden’s Therese Alshammar fix her torn swimsuit, and then making sure everyone delayed the race long enough so that the Swede to change into another suit. This shows a great deal of class, maturity, and understanding that being an Olympian is about more than just competition. Regardless of the medal count, Torres is the greatest Olympian of these games, so far.

Somehow, I don’t think Cavic’s people would have been quite as magnanimous.