My Favorite Olympic Moments

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I've enjoyed watching the Olympics for the past 2 weeks. It has distracted me from the craptastic second half the A's are having, and it has allowed me to watch something other than whatever programming the networks roll out during the summer to fill time before the new fall season starts...I was really starting to question my sanity the day I caught myself watching "America's Got Talent."

Anyway, I thought I'd recap a few of my favorite moments from Olympic competiton - in no particular order...

1. The U.S. men's gymnastics team wins the bronze medal. Some Olympic athletes are not satisfied with silver or bronze (case in point - that wrestler dude who threw a fit when he won the bronze medal). Now, don't get me wrong, I can understand why someone would be disappointed with a 2nd or 3rd place finish if they busted their ass for 4 years with the intention of winning gold, but it's nice to watch athletes when they're genuinely thrilled with winning a medal - no matter what color it is. The U.S. men's gymnastics team lost their 2 best team members to injury, and they didn't let that distract them. They came out like a bunch of rowdy frat guys - thumping their chests and shouting "Sup America?" into the camera- gave it their all, and came away with a bronze medal that not many thought they could win. And they were stoked. I was thoroughly entertained watching this team.

2. Shawn Johnson's balance beam gold. She won a boat load of silvers, and she was very gracious about it. And then she does a kick-ass routine on the beam and finally wins her gold medal. Also, a shout out to Nastia Liukin for her Olympic success - as well as her classiness when she had to settle for silver on the uneven bars because a possibly-underage Chinese gymnast won the gold in some confusing tiebreaker. Why can't they give 2 golds if gymnasts get the same score again?

3. Usain Bolt. Call him a show-boater all you want, this guy can run. And he's pretty fun to watch.

4. The Redeem Team Redeems Themselves. They ate it at the 2002 World Championship, won the bronze in Athens, lost to Greece in the semis of the 2006 World Championship, and then came back to win gold in Beijing. LaBronze, you now have La Gold...

5. The men's 4x100 relay (swimming). When are people going to learn?? Don't talk smack until it's over. Alain Bernard talked smack, and when all was said and done, Jason Lezak swam the relay leg to end all relay legs, and the U.S. won the gold - keeping Michael Phelps on track to break Spitz's record. And while we're on the subject of talking smack, what was up with that British runner taunting the other runners in the 4x400 relay trials? I'm pretty sure they ended up not getting a medal in that race. Again, don't get cocky until it's over.

6. The U.S. men's (indoor) volleyball team wins gold. Coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law was murdered the day after the opening ceremony. His mother-in-law was critically injured. A few minutes after the team won, McCutcheon walked off the court for a minute or so - probably trying to gather his emotions. I'll be honest - when I saw that, I teared up. Coach, I am so sorry for your loss, but so happy you and your team won gold.

7. Dara Torres. She's 41 years old. She has some wacky training routine where people squish her muscles. She was one one-hundredths of a second away from winning gold in the 50m free. Dara, you're inspiring. You made me believe that I could win an Olympic medal when I'm 40, too. Of course, you've been swimming for decades, and the closest I've come to swimming is doggy-paddling in the pool down the street, but whatever...You're still inspiring.

8. Michael Phelps. Do I really need to say anything about this? Kid is amazing. However, I will say one thing - there were times when I really wished Phelps would pull up his swimming pants. He may have 8 gold medals, but I still don't want to see his ass crack.

"Dude, pull these up"