Notes From An Asian City

The Games of the 29th Olympiad are well underway in Beijing, and I have a lot of stuff to talk about. So, let's get this party started.

First and foremost, I love the Olympics. Seeing sports you never see (water polo and handball), watching athletes' passion toward their sport, and watching history rewrite itself over and over again, who wouldn't want to watch it. Best of all, it only comes every 4 years, so you almost have to get excited about it. Moving on.

London, calm down: A London paper broke the story that the fireworks that were seen on television during the opening ceremony (which, by the way, was phenomenal) were fake. Whoop-dee frickin' do. There were fireworks that were launched at the stadium, but it would have been nearly impossible to catch the mass amounts of them on TV. So, there were computer generated fireworks. Sounds fine to me. Point of irony: London hosts the 2012 Games. Jealous much, London?

Michael Phelps: Yes, he's good. Really good. But there are more swimmers than just him, especially in the relays. Dan Hicks and his annoying counterpart can talk all they want about exclusively him during individual races. But during relays, please talk about the other swimmers too. After the 4x100, it wasn't, "America wins the gold, what a great team accomplishment." No, it was "America wins the gold, and Phelps' dream of 8 golds is still alive." While that was true, you have to give props to the anchor who swam ridiculously well to edge out the win. At least Michael, it seems, has his own head on straight, and acknowledges his teammates during the relays.

Danny Almonte in reverse: Athletes in the gymnastics competition have to be at least 16 years old. Now, call me skeptical, but China's first women's gymnast on floor exercise tonight (I think she was wearing number 329) wasn't 16. She has to be 14. It looks like she doesn't have all her teeth in yet, and should be expecting a tooth fairy visit tonight in the Olympic Village. I probably wouldn't believe myself as much if there weren't rumors about China faking their gymnasts' ages. I'll give it to her though, even if she isn't the minimum age (which, she isn't), she is ridiculous. Such a young age and that good.

Who pissed off New Zealand? In the syncronized diving competition, the New Zealand judge was constantly about one point less than all the other judges. Not really important, as his scores almost always didn't count, but it's just interesting.

Congratulations to Togo. Yes, Togo. They finally got their first olympic medal ever. The whitewater kayaker (who's name escapes me right now, and I'm way too lazy to look it up) was so excited in his celebration, he actually snapped his paddle. Good to see that kind of passion and raw emotion.

Well, I think that's all I have to say about the games so far. Except that Bob Costas should not talk as much, for the sake of America. Enjoy the olympics, and of course, USA #1.