Going For The Gold!

     Ladies and Gentlemen the London Olympics are upon us!  To commemorate the occasion we here at the blog have traveled all the way to scenic London, England Montpelier, ID (budget cuts) to cover the festivities!  Due to the last few crazy days of moving from one house to another and traveling from state to state, sleeping on various couches, I've kind of missed a lot.  I'd usually adhered to the belief that the opening ceremonies are boring, so I didn't even attempt to watch.  I should have remembered that these Olympics are in England.  I managed to miss not only the Queen of England and James Bond jumping out of a helicopter, but also my idol singing Hey Jude as the Olympic Cauldron was lit.

How on earth did I miss this?

     But I have seen some good stuff.  Some of my favorites so far have been these stories:

Phil Dalhausser Blocks Everyone

     I've never really been one to watch beach volleyball, let alone men's beach volleyball.  But that's what was on the first time I finally got to sit down and watch, so watch I did.  There I was introduced to the bald, sunglasses wearing volleyball force of nature that is Phil Dalhausser.

     In their match against Japan, there seemed to be a common theme that repeated itself over and over again.  There would be a good volley, Japan would seem poised for what I refer to as "a mega spike," and their hopes and dreams would be shattered as Dalhausser stuffed them right at the net.

 "NOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT AGAINNNNNN!!!!!"

     Japan put up a good fight, but in the end were no match for Phil and his partner Todd Rogers.

Missy Franklin Wins Gold (And Apparently Never Needs A Break)

     I started hearing about Missy about two months ago, since she's from the same general area of CO that my family lives in.  Naturally everyone in CO has been getting pretty excited, and for good reason; this girl rules.

Missy Franklin: Hope For America

     Last night we watched as Missy swam in a qualifier event (I won't even pretend that I remember what stroke it was).  She did pretty good, but not great, barely qualifying for the final.  Then we realized why she may have been so pedestrian; she was swimming in another final in just ten minutes after!  They whisked her out of the pool and into the adjacent diving pool to keep her fresh, then after a quick commercial break she was back.  

     Now I don't know about you fellows, but I get pretty darn tired swimming at a slow rate for one length of a pool.  Not the case for Ms. Franklin.  She hopped back in that pool for the backstroke final, and took the gold.  This girl is awesome.  She's humble, doesn't act like a robot-super athlete, and just seems like a cool person.  She has even turned down major endorsements to remain an amateur, so she can finish swimming in high school and go on to swim in college.  Talk about priorities!  I'm hoping we get to keep seeing her on the podium as the Olympics move forward.

     So far I've really enjoyed the London games, and am proud of our athletes, even the sort of arrogant ones who bragged a lot and blew it in the big moments.  It should be an exciting next few...wait what's this?  I'm forgetting a great moment?  Oh yes how could I forget Japanese Coaches Buy the Silver Medal After Gymnastic Competition Is Over?

"This isn't what it looks like...I swear"

     What a great moment...England has won their first Gymnastic medal in over a century, a silver.  The home crowd, including Princes William and Harry, go bonkers, but amidst the celebration one of the Japanese coaches makes a beeline for the judging table, clutching a wad of 100s and a paper.  Before the rest of the world could even say "What is going on here?" the judges were huddled up, ultimately raising Japan's score and awarding them the silver.

     Now of course I've misrepresented the facts, they didn't buy the medal, but it sure looked like it.  I guess there's a rule about filing an appeal, that it costs money for some reason.  The judges reviewed a their last routine and decided that the score should have been higher, thus altering the end results.  Don't feel bad for England though, they were still happy with a nice shiny bronze medal.  As for Ukraine, who was in position to win bronze before the appeal...

"You have got to be kidding me"

You can definitely feel bad for them.