Olympics 2008 Highlights

[Lookatmeknow!!]

That is probably what she said Tobina, I wasn't watching exactly, just kinda.  You know with kids, you don't really get to watch the whole T.V. program.  !!!!

[D Whetstone]

How about the commercials!?  The Nike commercial w/ Morgan Freeman narrating and ends with "Go World".  I love it.  I am definately cheering on the USA but love what the Olympics bring to world wide relations.

The video of China are stunning. It really is mind boggling to think about the age of that civilization and culture.

DW

[Tobina+1]

Psst... Dave... it's VISA.  Sponsor of the 2008 Olympics, and only card accepted there.

Man, I think I watch too much TV.  But I'm like a sponge and take EVERYTHING in.  I'm kind of a commercial freak, too.  No comments from the peanut section, please.

[dnalexander]

If you're not a fan of gymnastics or swimming, you'd best skip tonight's coverage. That's because NBC's cameras will be trained on Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin as they try to lead the U.S. to the women's team gold. Cheng Fei anchors a strong Chinese squad. And more attention is rained on Michael Phelps as he goes for gold in two events he holds world records in, the 200-meter butterfly and 4x200-meter freestyle relay.

DNA

[Warph]

Here's my 2 cents on the Olympics:

Late-Night Jokes about the 2008 Beijing Olympics


"The big news from China is that the adorable little girl who sang the National Anthem for the opening ceremony was lip-syncing. This is outrageous. If you can't trust an oppressive, totalitarian dictatorship..." --Craig Ferguson

"China is getting ready for the Olympics. The official motto for the Olympics is 'One World, One Dream.' Restrictions Apply. Tibet Not Included." --Jay Leno

"There's excitement in the air over the Olympics...also lead, arsenic, benzene." --David Letterman

"Beijing skies are so polluted that Chinese authorities are planning emergency measures for the Olympics. For example, protesters will now only be run over with hybrid tanks." --Jay Leno

"Now you think I'm exaggerating, but they had a practice today in Beijing for the Olympics and a javelin thrower threw the javelin up into the air and it stuck." --David Letterman

"The government of China announced that it will ban restaurants from serving dog meat during the Olympics. Which gives new meaning to the phrase, 'Hello Kitty.'" --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush arrived in Beijing earlier today. And before stepping out of the plane, he tested the air with a canary. But they got together, the Chinese, and threw a big state dinner for President Bush in his honor. They served Peking lame duck. And President Bush, he doesn't know what he's doing over there. He turned to the president of China, and he said, 'General Tso, I love your chicken.'" --David Letterman

"China has announced that during the Olympics, protesters will be allowed to assemble in designated protest areas. Yeah. Or, as they're commonly called in China, jails." --Conan O'Brien

"China is getting ready for the Olympics. The skies over Beijing are very smoggy. The government says the pollution is just a harmless mist. The made a similar statement about the treatment of prisoners - it's not torture, it's Pilates." --Craig Ferguson

"Today in Beijing, a small group of demonstrators gathered to protest China's repressive government. Funeral services will be held on Friday." --Conan O'Brien

"Everybody going to the Olympics is concerned about the air quality in China. There is a lot of smog. Friends over there tell me that the air in China looks like the air in Willie Nelson's tour bus." --David Letterman

"The Olympics start the Friday after next -- pollution permitting. For some reason, they're having them in Beijing, which means the Chinese government right now is very hard at work trying to cover up all the horrible things about their country . It's like when your mom comes to visit your dorm room." --Jimmy Kimmel

"The United States Olympic bicycle team got off the plane yesterday wearing air filter masks on their faces. They're the same masks that kids have to wear when they play with Chinese-made toys." --David Letterman

"An Ethiopian runner has dropped out of the Olympics because he thinks the pollution could damage his health. He said the air has made him so sick, he can barely not eat." --Conan O'Brien

"China has announced that they're shutting down several of their largest factories for the rest of the summer -- so that there will be less pollution for the Olympics. Chinese officials say: 'Sorry, but for the next few months, you're going to have to buy your lead-coated toys somewhere else." --Conan O'Brien

"China is upset because somebody leaked a video of the rehearsal for the Olympics Opening Ceremony on the Internet. I don't want to give away too much, but it ends with the lighting of a torch." --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush will be in China for the Olympics. He's gonna be there for the opening ceremonies, and also, while he's there, he will be searching for 'Lo Mein of Mass Destruction.'" --David Letterman

"But I think the U.S. is going to do well, particularly in swimming, I think we have a very strong swimming time this year for the Olympics, yeah, that's right. Dick Cheney in particular looks great in the freestyle waterboarding." --David Letterman

"Yesterday, President Bush gave the U.S. Olympic team a rousing send-off to the Olympics. Again, I don't think President Bush is that up on geography. Like he told the athletes to get there a couple of days early to acclimate themselves to the fact that China is upside-down" --Jay Leno

"And China says it will ban entertainers they deem a threat to the government from taking part in any activities during the Olympics. You make fun of the government, you'll be banned from the Olympics, to which Bush said, "You can do that?" --Jay Leno

"And human rights activists have sent a letter to President Bush, asking him to raise human rights issues with the Chinese government during the Olympics. Unfortunately, they also sent a letter to the Chinese government asking them to bring up human rights issues with President Bush. So, it's pretty much a wash." --Jay Leno

"The government of China has banned restaurants from serving dog meat during the Olympics. This is particularly bad news for the popular Chinese fast food chain, 'McDachsunds.' --Conan O'Brien

[sixdogsmom]

We just watched Phelps get his eigth gold medal and Torres get another silver at the age of 41. She has been a great team member in this olympics.

[dnalexander]

I saw this little story on the Olympics tonight. It caught me off guard and I had to write it down on the back of an envelope. There may be some misspellings but the story is what I could capture after the fact on the back of an envelope. I hope you all find it as compelling as I do.

The story is known as "Ping Pong Diplomacy" and occurred in the early 1970's. Glenn Cowen was a top USA table tennis player. During the World Table Tennis championships leading up to the Olympic Glenn missed his bus to the tournament. He jumped on the Chinese team bus to get him to the tournament. During this time the relations between China and the US were contentious at best. Chairman Moa's ban on contact with the West was in full effect and all Chinese athletes were forbidden to have contact with American athletes. While on the Chinese bus Cowen was ignored by the Chinese athletes. Finally Zhuang Zhe Dong the world champion of table tennis ignored Chairmain Moa's orders and engaged Cowen in conversation and gave him a beautiful silk tapestry of the Hangchow Mountains. Cowen in surprise searched his bag and returned the favor by giving him a T-shirt that said "Let it Be" an indication of the 70's in America that those of us will remember from those times well.  This exchange prompted a media explosion heard all over the world. Top Chinese officials heard of this exchange through the media and unexpectedly decided to capitalize on the event . Eventually Glenn Cowen was asked to meet personally with Premier Cho En-Lai of China. During this time Chinese and American officials had no real contact. It is said that this small event was the catalyst for renewed contact and diplomatic relations between the USA and China. The story had commentary by Henry Kissenger stating that this event led to China, a long closed society,  opening up to Western society and new diplomatic relations between the two countries. This is a heartwarming story of the power of how sports and individuals can turn a small encounter into a worldwide statement of our similarities and promote peace.

David

[dnalexander]

Phelps, 8 gold medal in one Olympics. Most total medals. Many world records. Expected but still an astonishing accomplishment. No need to day a lot . Spectacular Achievement


David

Also 8 gold medals, Olympics started 8/8/08, happened in China were 8 is the most special number.

[dnalexander]

OK George W's girls won the gold medal. Nothing like a swat on the ass by the President for good luck to work that beach volleyball mojo into a Gold Medal. Good job Misti and Kari. You two are by far the best in the world.

[Tobina+1]

Yeah for USA Beach volleyball!  Close sets but they still won in 2!
In other news, Lolo Jones, from IA, stumbled over a hurdle in the 100M hurdles and lost.  She was a favorite for gold.  But that allowed another US runner to get it!
Also, in the mens 200M, 2 guys were disqualified for running out of their lanes, including one USA guy.  So it actually allowed the 5th place runner from the US, Dix, to get Bronze.  He said, "I still lost".
BMX was last night, but I missed it.  That's an interesting addition to the games.