Rio Post Mortem, Pirates, Hearst, and Other Topics

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box.....

• The Rio Olympics ended this past Sunday amidst much pomp, ceremony, and overproduction.  Marilyn and I found ourselves watching much more of the games than we anticipated ahead of time, and we enjoyed them immensely.
• Everyone will have their own "Olympic Moments" to savor in their memories.  For me, however, the most enduring memories of these Olympics will be as follows:

• The complete domination of the sprints by Jamaica's Usain Bolt.  In particular, I will remember his anchor leg in the 4x100 event.  When he took the baton, the sprinters from Japan and the USA were almost dead even with him, and he proceeded to leave them in the dust.  Simply amazing.

• The dominance in the swimming pool, for the FOURTH OLYMPIAD, of Michael Phelps.

• The dominance in the swimming pool by Katie Ladecky, and at only 19 years of age, I suspect that she will still dominate in 2020, and quite possibly 2024.

Moving away from the Olympics....

• What do you make of the Pittsburgh Pirates?  In the month of August, they went 5-4 in a stretch against bottom feeders Atlanta, Cincinnati, and San Diego.  They then go an improbable 5-1 against the Dodgers and Giants on the West Coast, only to return home to face critical series against the Marlons and the Astros and go 1-5 and look completely impotent in doing so.  You just can't figure them out, or, as Yogi Berra once put it "In baseball, you don't know nothin'."
• The Steelers.  They are 0-2 in the practice games, have looked awful (or so I'm told; I think I've watched a total of about a half dozen plays in the two games, total).  What I think is happening is that Mike Tomlin is using these games as a coach should use them.  To look at newer and marginal players, to avoid injuries to key players (Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, to name only two key players, have not played a down), to practice.  These are PRACTICE GAMES, people.  What a concept for a coach to follow.
• Of course, this doesn't stop the Steelers and their 31 NFL lodge brothers from charging full boat for the tickets and making purchase of these tickets mandatory in all season ticket packages.  Shameful.
• I have just started reading this recently released and current best seller...

• It's hard to believe, but you pretty much have to be over fifty years old to have a first hand memory of the Patty Hearst Kidnapping and the amazing and bizarre story that followed it.  I am only about forty pages into it, but it promises to be an interesting and fascinating book.  Rest assured that The Grandstander will be providing a full review upon completion.
• My mentioning of this book on Facebook yesterday prompted some comments along the lines of "Whatever became of Steven Weed?"  Anyone under age fifty reading this know who Steven Weed is/was?  Anyway, a Google search reveals surprisingly little about him. Google will show a successful realtor in Menlo Park, CA named Steven Weed, that is about the right age, but no indication if he is THE Steven Weed.  Perhaps Toobin's book will reveal the answer.

The Happy Couple

• Speaking of Usain Bolt, look what has been turning up on various golf courses western Pennsylvania of late:

• What a legacy, huh?

The H.A. Citations - Olympics Edition

It has been some time since The Grandstander has bestowed a not-so-coveted H.A. Citation, but the soon to be completed Rio Olympics has given me ample opportunity to bestow these things left and right, so let's do it with an Olympic theme, shall we.  In case any readers may not know what "H.A." stands for this glance at the Citation should clear up all doubts...

(Photo courtesy of Dan Bonk Enterprises)

Okay, ready?  Here we go....

H.A. Citation Honorable Mention

This Honorable Mention goes out to Patrick Hickey, a 71 year old Irishman who is a member of that wonderful group of folks, the International Olympic Committee.  Mr. Hickey was arrested this past Wednesday at the IOC hotel in Rio and is facing , according to the Associated Press "charges of conspiracy, ticket scalping, and ambush marketing after allegations by Brazilian authorities that he was part of a plot to make $3 million by illegally selling Rio Games tickets above face value."  Upon his arrest, Hickey complained of chest pains and was taken to the hospital, but he has since been cleared, health-wise, and now stands before the bar of Brazilian justice.  

For helping to maintain the high (low?) standards of corruption, graft, and bribery that has characterized the true spirit of the IOC for lo these many years, this one's for you, Patrick!

Bronze Medal

This one goes out to Katinka Hosszu's Husband/Coach.  As the lovely and talented Hungarian swimmer was winning medal after medal in the Olympic swimming pool, the television viewers were treated to shot-after-sideline-shot of this guy behaving in a manner that would even embarrass SEC football coaches.  The guy was a complete and total jackass from the top if his top-knotted head down to his green t-shirt that he never appeared to change.  Why did NBC subject us to this guy?  By the way, his name is Shane Tusup, but who really cares?

Silver Medal

This one goes to the goalkeeper of the US Women's soccer team, Hope Solo, for her incredibly crass and unsportsmanlike comments against the Swedish team after the Swedes defeated and eliminated from the tournament the heavily favored American team.  You will recall that Solo called the Swedish team "cowards" for employing tactics that would help to neutralize the more talented USA squad, and defeat them, which they did.  That is called smart, not cowardly, play.  "The better team didn't win tonight", Solo groused.  Probably true, but that happens a lot in sports when smart coaches come up with a smart game plan that smart, albeit less talented, players can execute.  Combine this with Solo's  history of DUI incidents and domestic violence charges (with she being the perpetrator), and one can only hope that this is the last time we see Hope Solo on a big stage again, but I wouldn't worry about her.  There's always the WWE or MMA.

Gold Medal

To be honest with you, I thought that Hope Solo had the Gold Medal H.A. all sewed up, but you have to wait things out, as swimmer Ryan Lochte proved so well early in the second week of the Games.  Claiming that he and three fellow American swimmers were robbed at gunpoint by robbers impersonating Brazilian police, the story had a bit of a fishy ring to it from the start, and those suspicions have all been proven to be accurate.

So, why does Lochte secure the Gold? Well....

1. The alleged incident occurred at 4:00 AM.  Nothing good ever happens after midnight.
2. Lochte admitted he was drunk.  Drunk at the age of 32 while out partying with three guys ten years younger than he is.  To steal a great movie line, but "drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."
3. Lochte then flies out of Brazil to home leaving his three fellow partiers holding the bag and answering questions from the cops.
4. Several days after the fact, Lochte tweets out one of those great "Athlete Apologies", no doubt written by his agent or lawyer that had all the sincerity of a, well, an entitled athlete's apology that was written by his agent.

So there you have it.  I realize that there is still one more day of competition in Rio, but I am going to risk that no one will do anything to topple these three from the H.A. Podium.

And because the race for Gold and Silver was so close between Lochte and Solo, I bestow a special citation, the first ever DRHA (Dual River Horses Asses) Citation to the USA Olympic teammates, who revitalized the term "Ugly American".

(Photo courtesy of Bill Montrose)

Ledecky's Amazing Feat

We have really enjoyed watching the Olympics throughout the first week, especially the swimming events.  The performance of 31 year old Michael Phelps in his fifth Olympics has been nothing short of remarkable, but I think that the most astonishing single performance was watching Katie Ledecky completely demolish the field in the 800 meter freestyle race.

To that end, these may well be the most memorable images of the these Olympic games for me.

The Rio Olympics - Seven Days In

I have been watching a lot of the Olympics.  Not as much as my friend Fred Shugars has been watching, to be sure, but enough to ensure that I haven't been to bed before midnight all week, and it's killing me.

Anyway, here are some Kwick Komments from this part of The Grandstand.....

• Michael Phelps.  The guy is 31 years old and in his FIFTH Olympics.  I never would have thought that what he has done in Rio would have been possible.  It is simply amazing.

• Ryan Lochte may be one of the greatest swimmers of all time.  Wonder if he ever says to himself, "Why did MY prime have to coincide with Michael Phelps' prime?"
• When I watch Katie Ledecky swim her events, I think of Secretariat at the Belmont Stales in 1973.  Another simply amazing athlete.

• Staying in the pool, HUGE props go out to American Gold Medalist Simone Manuel for all kinds of reasons.  Hers was a landmark performance in a lot of ways.  Her emotions after winning and in post-swim interviews last night was one of the highlights of the Games.

• Allison Schmitt, the great-niece of one of our Stonebrook neighbors, Barb Meyer, won a gold medal in one of the swimming relay events the other night.  This goes with four medals that she won in London in 2012.  Here's to a little reflected glory for our little neighborhood!

• Female beach volleyball players high five and hug each other after every point.  Talk about slowing up the pace of play.
• I watched the final set of a men's beach volleyball match last night between the USA and Italy, and found it to be totally and completely compelling.
• Saw the last ten minutes of the USA-India field hockey game last night, won by the USA, 3-0.  Isn't that a sport that has historically been dominated by India in the past? (That's a serious question.)  Anyway, that USA team is now either 3-0 or 4-0 in pool play, so when did the USA become a power in field hockey?
• I am not sure if I have ever seen ten minutes of field hockey, total, in my entire life before last night, but, hey, Let's Go USA!!!!
• When Australia gave the USA men's basketball team a bit of a scare on Wednesday night, it produced the best quote of the Games so far.  Kyrie Irving said that the Aussies gave the USA a great game and forced them to "play with our backs to the ropes" all night.
• I applaud the skill sets of the female gymnasts, and I am glad that they are producing a haul of medals for the good ol' US of A, but something about watching those young girls (and, yes, they are for the most part, still girls) makes me a little uneasy.  Too many stories from the past about abusive coaches (that means you, Mr. and Mrs Karolyi) makes me squeamish.
• The maniacal husband/coach of Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu is far and away the most annoying character to emerge from these Games.  Does he ever wash that green t-shirt he's always wearing?
• Team handball.  I never see this enough to really learn the rules and the intricacies of the game.  It seems to combine basketball, hockey, and soccer all in one sport.  It seems intriguing and looks like something that I might actually like watching, if given the opportunity to learn more about it.  It doesn't seem to be a sport that is played with any great seriousness in the USA.
• Of the sports contested in this first week, I am glad that the scheduling was such that most of the final swimming events have been contested live and in prime time.  Those are the ones we have most enjoyed seeing.  I hope that the same will be true of some of the signature track and field events, which begin today.

That's it for now.  More to come in the week ahead.

The Rio Olympics Begin

After months and months of stories about bribery and corruption in high levels, a city and a country being brought to near bankruptcy over their stageing, reports of poverty and of ungodly living conditions that include water pollution that might kill you, the risk of disease carrying insects, and athletic quarters where raw sewerage is running down the walls, the 2016 Olympic Games begin tonight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Hoo-ray!

While I may not be as sour on the Olympics as Ron Cook described himself in his Post-Gazette column this morning (but to be fair, nobody can be as sour about anything as Ron Cook is about almost everything), I must admit that the magic of the Olympics has lessened for me somewhat with each passing four years, and I have come to have no illusions that the "Olympic Ideal" of Baron Pierre de Coubertin no longer exists, if it ever existed at all, in today's athletic world.

Still, I will be watching the Games themselves because they can be entertaining, compelling, and just plain fun to watch.  If that makes me a hypocrite, so be it.

These are some of the things to which I will look forward to seeing over the next 17 days:

• Men's Basketball.  Will the USA team continue it's dominance since the introduction of professional players in the Games?  Remember this: when it gets pointed out that This Country or That Country has two NBA players, or four NBA players so watch out for them, keep in mind that the USA has TWELVE NBA players, an entire team of NBA players.
• Women's Basketball.  This field may be more competitive from top to bottom than the men's field, so will the USA be able to bring home the Gold?
• Women's soccer.  Can the USA continue what they did in the Women's World Cup last year?
• Swimming.  Always fun to watch every four years in the Olympics.  Can Michael Phelps win yet another gold medal?  And will American Katie Ledecky continue her supreme dominance in this sport?
• Track and Field.  Another sport to which I only pay attention every four years.  Couldn't  name an American T&F athlete.  Wait, yes I can...Justin Gatlin and Donovan McNab's daughter.  However, somebody will emerge as an American star and capture our imaginations over the next two weeks in this sport.
• Usain Bolt.  Can he continue to be the Fastest Man in the World?
• Gymnastics.  Will the young women representing the USA actually crack a smile and appear to enjoy themselves during the course of the competition.

Someone whose name we do not know today will become a Story and a Star over the course of these games.  Will it be a male or female, from a mainstream or a niche sport, from a poverty stricken third world nation, or a world super-power?  That will be the fun of watching the Olympics.

And when the Games are over, we can then begin to start counting all of the medals that will be stripped from the winners because those winners were found to be, you know, cheaters.

Citius, Altius, Fortius.