Forsooth, It's Time for Shakespeare

     After two weeks of watching sports events and riding buses, tubes and trains, it was time to give the brain some exercise with a little Shakespeare.  And where else would one watch Shakespeare than at the Globe Theatre, where the Bard once played parts in his own plays.  The Globe has been rebuilt of course, but as true to original dimensions and construction as conceivable.  Be prepared for wooden bench seating (cushions may be rented) and the center of the more or less round structure is open in the middle so that the public may stand around the semi-circular stage.
     The play this day was Henry V, which is having a renaissance of sorts.  Executive training companies use Henry's speech to spur his army to victory as a model of management.  Here is a line you will recognize, "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."  The greatly outnumbered army under Henry routed the French at Agincourt as Henry added most of France to his empire and proceeded to woo and marry the daughter of the French King.
     Watching Shakespeare on stage really brings life to the script as actors use visual and physical expression to engage the audience and play for laughs.  Shakespeare wanted humor in his plays, but it took the actors to bring it out.
     Shakespeare's contribution to the English language cannot be overestimated.  He picked up conversation in use from the London streets to put in more general use and he often invented words and phrases to try them out.  For a humorous piece on our use of Shakespeare go to http://voices.yahoo.com/you-might-quoting-shakespeare-without-realizing-345786.html

Staying On Top the Medal Table

      Before we congratulate ourselves for the U.S. Olympic team landing atop the medal count, it is time to reflect on how long we can continue to rely on Swimming (not including Diving) and Track and Field to keep us there.  Those two sports accounted for 25 of the 46 Gold Medals by U.S. athletes and 70 of the 104 total medals.  That cannot continue.  In swimming, nine other countries won medals.  Former powers Netherlands and Australia were stung by their poor showing and vow to improve.  Germany, once the dominant country in swimming, won nary a medal.  France’s victory in the 4 x 100 men’s relay may portend the future; as does the victory of a young South African in the 200 Butterfly.

     In Track and Field, Kenya, Morocco, Algeria, and Ethiopia continue to turn out middle and long distance runners by the horde.  While U.S. men came up with surprising Silver in 10,000 meter race with Galen Rupp and just missed medaling in the 5000 with Bernard Legat (close 4^th), the middle distances are still dominated by North Africans.  Jamaica and Trinidad own the sprints.  The U.S. had to settle for Silver in both relay races, which has not happened very often.  The U.S. men contributed but three Golds.  The women doubled that with six.  Winning nine of the 34 total Gold Medal events more than any other country, but it has been a continuous decline for the U.S. in track and field.

     So, if the U.S. can no longer dominate Track and Field and Swimming, where will we turn to stay on top the medal table?  Here are some suggestions –- Rowing, Canoe Sprint, Track Cycling, and Fencing.  There are 46 possible Gold medals in those sports; the U.S. claimed only one Gold and two Silver.

     Sarasota, Florida, may have something to say about the 2016 Olympics with its new, international class rowing facility and two competitive rowing clubs.  It’s time to get serious and produce some Olympians for Rowing and Sprint Canoeing.  There are 26 Gold medals available in those two sports and a total of 78 medals.

      Other countries are not treading water.  Great Britain, flushed with exceptional success, already has committed the same level of funding for the next four years and the Rio Olympics.  Germany, stung by its poor showing in London, is committing more funding for its national sports program.  The U.S. may have to do likewise or fall off the top rung.  Here’s a thought.  Why not make competitive sports part of the healthy children program?  Eating correctly certainly is necessary, but so is exercise.  We seem to moving in the opposite direction with school boards forced to cut interscholastic sports programs.

Out of 14 events, U.S. rowers claimed one Gold and 2 Silver

In track cycle, the U.S. had 2 Silver in 10 events

A Gender Neutral Olympics

     This has been the greatest Olympics for women.  Women have been given much news coverage and fan support in sports other than swimming and gymnastics.  For the first time, every Olympic team had women athletes -- even Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other unlikely countries.  Also, for the first time, women competed in every sport, boxing being the latest male bastion to fall.  Indeed, women were some of the biggest stars of the Games.  The U.S. might not be at top of the medals table without the continuing success of our women track and field athletes.  Even women spectators gained some equality as the number of ladies' toilets outnumbered men by about 6 to 1, thereby eliminating typical queues.
     Women's free style wrestling gained an increase to four weight classes (seven for men) for 2012 and continues to gain a strong following.  As with men, there are single and double leg take downs, half nelsons, leg trips, whizzers and cradles and all the other moves you would expect to see at an NCAA wrestling championships.  Somewhat surprisingly, Japan - land of the Geisha - is a power at this sport, winning three of the four golds available.  Azerbaijan won medals in three events.  The U.S. managed a Bronze by Clarissa Kyoko Mei Ling Chun.
     One of the featured elements of women's wrestling is Japan's victory celebration which includes the jubilant wrestler body slamming her coach to the mat.  Name a sport that has such excitement for the spectators.

Ukraine's Tetyana Lazareva goes for a single-leg take down against Colombia's Jackeline Castillo.  Castillo won the bronze medal match.

Japan's Saori Yoshida, 55-kg gold medal winner, carries her coach around the mat in celebration.  This came after body slamming him to the mat.

Ole, Ole, Ole!!

     Mexico vs. Japan doesn't strike football (sorry, soccer) enthusiasts as a highly promising fixture, but this is the Olympics and this was a semi-final match to determine who would play for the Gold Medal.  Besides, Mexico has often been knocked out of the World Cup by the off and on American team that it was good to have an opportunity to root our neighbors on.  The cheers were not wasted as Mexico emerged with a well-played 3-1 victory, with the third goal coming in the closing seconds.  Mexico then went on to defeat highly-favored Brazil to claim the Gold.  It would be a true grouch to deny them the happiness of the moment.
      And yet, something was amiss.  Where was Germany?  Where was Spain?  France? England? Argentina?  And where were Messi, Renaldo and Rooney?  The eight teams qualifying for the Olympics included Senegal, Egypt and Honduras, hardly world powerhouses.  The game itself was one of the cleanest games you will ever see played in World football.  Only two yellow cards were shown and tackles were few, certainly not the crunching ones one normally sees even in the so-called "friendlies."
     Clearly football in the Olympics that we see in the World Cup or European Cup.  FIFA, the ruling body of football, keeps tight rein on the sport.  It is unlikely the best teams will ever appear in the Olympics.  FIFA has its own World Cup, which occurs in the even years between Olympic years (e.g. 2014).  During Olympic years, the Euro Cup is considered much more important.  Added to those factors, the professional teams in Europe are beginning the season and do not want their best players to risk injury in the Olympics.
      In all, good for Mexico.  Wear your medals with pride.

Japan on the attack in the game against Mexico

Mexico mid-fielder prepares to head the ball back

A Golden Night for America

     The U.S. is supposed to be losing its dominance in Track and Field, but Wednesday night in Olympic Stadium should put that to rest.  Of 12 medals up for grabs, U.S. athletes claimed 7, with 3 Gold out of four events.  In the Decathlon, Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee were 1-2 after five events, with Eaton scoring tops in 3 of the 5 events completed.  In qualifying events, there were 3 qualifying for  the Women's 800, 2 for the Women's 100, 3 in the Men's 5000, and 1 in the Men's 200.  Even the stadium announcer had to acknowledge it was a great night for Americans.
     It was an amazing night to be a sports enthusiast and be 17 rows from the stadium floor.  High jumping for the Decathlon, Long Jump final for the women, and Javelin qualifying went on throughout the evening.  Interspersed were the Men's 200 qualifying (3 races), Women's 400 Hurdle final, Women's 200 final, Men's 110 High Hurdles final, and Women's 1500 qualifying (2 races).  The last event was the 400 meter race in the Decathlon, in which Eaton and Hardee increased their overall lead.
      Medal winners:  
Men's 110 High Hurdles - Aries Merritt, Gold and Jason Richardson, Silver
Women's Long Jump - Brittney Reese, Gold and Janay DeLoach Bronze
Women's 400 Hurdles - Lashinda Demus, Silver (by .07 sec.)
Women's 200 Meter - Allyson Felix (a crowd favorite), Gold and Carmolita Jeter, Bronze
     There should be some kind of medal for doing your personal best (noted as PB in the results page on www.London2012.com) in an event.  To record your best even performance on THE day of your athletic career ought to mean something, particularly if  you finish out of the medals.  American Aries Merritt recorded a PB to win the 110 High Hurdles.  American Georganne Moline recorded a PB in the Women's 400 Hurdles while finishing fifth.  Russia's Natalya Antyukh recorded a personal best to just barely nick Demus in the same event.  Many athletes at the Olympics recorded national records for their country and still finished well behind the medal winners.
     The crowd (80,000 strong) provides amazing support for all the athletes.  Strongest cheers are for "Team GB", which is to be expected, but most of the athletes played to the crowd, asking for rhythmic applause at each attempt in field events.

The Olympic Flame

Start of Women's 1500 Qualifying Heat

Women's 1500 Qualifier

Did you know Europeans Like Beer?

Women's Long Jump Finalists

If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Diving

     The new Aquatics Arena is better appreciated from the exterior than the interior.  The heat and humidity were so high during the swimming events that spectators (most likely, British) suffered and some had to leave the arena.  Certainly the conditions were satisfactory for the U.S. and British competitors with both teams doing quite well.  Qualifications for the Men's 3-Meter springboard diving promised to be another Chinese show, but Russian, Mexico and U.S. divers put up some good numbers.  U.S. diver Troy Dumais qualified fifth with consistent dives and maintained that position in the evening finals.  Sadly, Chris Colwill totally missed his fifth of six dives and fell out of what seemed a secure qualifying position.  Shame to see athletes lose out with an ill-timed slip-up.
     The Chinese pair of divers clearly expected to win gold and silver, but had to step down and give the top spot on the platform to Russian Illya Zakharov.  

Troy Dumais with a qualifying dive

Beautiful Aquatics Arena, but too humid for many

Allez Bleu! Allez Bleu!

     University of Michigan fans were right at home in the Handball arena Monday night as chants of "Allez Bleu" rang out.  That translates as "Go Blue" to those who forgot high school French.  Les Bleus, as French teams are known in the sporting world, responded with a hard-fought win over Sweden to secure a spot in the quarter finals.  This is one sport where the small nation of Iceland is very competitive. No U.S. team qualified, if we even have a team.  It is primarily a European sport played from grade school on.
     At first blush, the handball court looks like basketball with a goal on each end, a shooting arc and perhaps a little wider.  That's where the comparison ends.  In handball you can carry the ball, run with ball, dribble once in a while, engage in physical contact, shoot from outside the arc and face a big guy trying to block your shot.  Wait a minute!  That is basketball!  No, not really.  To say that basketball and handball both have contact is to say that ballroom dancing and wrestling both have contact.
     You have to imagine a game in which the shooter always ends up on the floor, where setting a screen is to grab as many defenders as possible and the shot is thrown as a line drive.  And, oh yes, the goal is at ground level (like a small soccer goal) and guarded by some fool willing to stand in front of strong throws without any equipment.  Like many of  Olympic team sports the emphasis is on continuous play.  Substitutions are on the fly, the ball is quickly retrieved at one end and started up to the other end.
     There is no "taking a charge" in this game.  No one cares if you get splattered to the floor.  The proper defensive technique is to simply grab the opponent.  To score, the preferred technique is to launch yourself from outside the ark horizontal to the floor and fling it past the goalie just before crashing.  Very entertaining and a great spectator sport with relatively few rules to require explanation.  It gives new meaning to the American sporting expression, "No harm, no foul."

     Les Bleus score against Sweden in the group game to gain the quarter finals.  Note how much physical contact is involved.

French Player Launches Himself with Ball at Ready

No Foul Called on Play, Just Good Defense

Long Range Shot by France

Saved By The Sun - At Last

     The sun came out (and stayed out), the temperatures warmed, the rain moved off to France, and normal beach attire was the order of the day in the early evening Beach Volleyball session at the Horse Guards Parade Ground as Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings beat Italy in the quarter final match to move  on to the semi-final round.  Spectators in the 9:00 session were not as fortunate when players donned long shirts and tights.  Still, chants of "USA, USA" still rang out as Americans April Ross and Jennifer Kessy defeated a tough Czech Republic pair to also move on to the semis.  The later matches were the noisier of the two as the announcer has made a point of whipping up the crowd by encouraging to keep the Prime Minister awake late into the evening (Number 10 Downing backs onto the stands).
     Beach volleyball is fast becoming one of the most popular Olympics venues.  The court is small enough that the spectators are near to the action and the play is fast  and explosive.  An oddity as the sport developed is that having the serve is not really as advantageous as it might seem.  Aces are rare and the top teams easily handle even the hardest of serves to get the ball to a spike position.  The difference in the two matches was the experience of the American teams.  The semis are no certainty, particularly for Ross-Kessy, who face a very tough Brazilian pair.  Still, an all U.S. final is possible.

Misty Sets for Kerri

Kerri Tips a Winner

Long Rally Ends in a Point for Misty and Kerri

Say It Ain't so, Misty

     Beach volleyball tonight and word comes that with expectations of low temperatures and rain the ladies may - gasp - wear full body tights instead of bikinis.  It has already occurred in the early days of the event and the sight of Misty and Kerri in tights was disconcerting.  Beach volleyball athletes make no apologies for the fact that bikini wear has helped grow the sport, but they have a good counter.  Don't swimmers, runners and gymnasts also wear crowd-pleasing attire?  All this reminds one that beach, sand and warm weather are alien to England.  After all, didn't they have to import the sand from other countries?
     As the fellow traveler on the train said, "Enjoy our English summer," an oxymoron for sure.  When the weather person reports temperature high of 74 with a low of 58, partly sunny with chance of showers, heavy at times, it means you will experience all of those extremes two or three times during the day.  Going out to Eton Dorney for the rowing on Friday it was coat off, sweating, coat on, hood and umbrella up, umbrella down, coat off, back to sweating and concluding the day at the hockey arena huddled up with hood drawn tight to protect from a bitter northeast wind.
     How do people cope?  The secret is a backpack, which is not just for schoolchildren.  In the back pack one carries an umbrella, jacket, sweatshirt, and, possibly, a poncho.  You might even through in a few granola bars to avoid eating fish and chips in the rain.

There's No Crying in Water Polo

Subtitle - What happens under water, stays under water.

     All team sports that permit physical contact have rules that occasionally are transgressed.  Normally this is followed by arguments, tantrums, yellow cards, and much rehearsed scoring celebrations.  Not so with water polo.  The game rarely stops even for fouls.  The referee makes a call, the offender heads for the "time out" box and the play goes on.  There is no time for argument, tantrums, or hysterics over an injury.  The ball is headed in the opposite direction and the players simply have to get on with it.  No time to cry or complain and no one would listen.

     The U.S. team is very good and was undefeated until Saturday night's loss to Serbia.  A decisive match with Hungary looms on Wednesday.  Prior to the U.S. match, Italy and Spain improved their chances to get to the next level.

     Most of the U.S. players come from California where the sport is very popular.  It's a shame the sport is not played more at the collegiate level - for men and women.  It is a real spectator delight.

     Shaquille O'neal never had to worry about getting dunked under water every couple of seconds.  It can be a penalty if the defensive player doesn't let him come up for air once in a while.

     Spain scores on a long shot.  Players already are turning to head to the other end.

     A goalie in water polo would have an easier job if he could walk on water, but most are reduced to vigorously thrashing his legs to raise up as high as possible.  Here, the Greek goalie anticipates a shot by Spain as a teammate helps block a path to the goal.

     Greek goalie makes a save while his defenders occupy the Spanish forwards with the occasional dunk.

     

     Spain breaks through with a score on the way to an 11-9 win.

Great Day to Be British

    The host country always puts pressure on its athletes to win a bucket of medals and Great Britain was struggling in the early days.  On Friday at the rowing venue, Eton Dorney, the unfamiliar cries of "GB, GB" rang out as Britain took a gold and two bronze to  excite the large crowd.  The only highlight was a "smashing" victory in the women's double sculls (two oars for each rower).  Put together with some swimming successes and British dominance in the track cycling and "Team GB" moved up the medal standings.  

     

    One of the British women, Katherine Grainger, has a PhD in homicide.  That would only be a masters in the U.S.; PhD requires study in mass homicide.

     A highlight of the day of rowing was the crowd encouragement of Issaka Djibo of Niger, a swimmer who was instructed by his country to take up rowing.  That was three months ago and he came to the Olympics because Niger won the  lottery among smaller nations to have a place.  Djibo was far outclassed, but gained much fanfare for his effort.

Djibo finishes!

    Hockey is played on a carpet-like artificial known to U.S. football fans.  The big difference is that the surface is flooded to make the ball move faster and limit bounces.  A major plus is the resulting surface is more player friendly by eliminating what footballers know as "rug burns."  The colors are new for the sport - blue surface, pink boundary and yellow ball to improve visibility.  Known to the aficionado as "smurf turf", the colors are very agreeable for the spectators.  Here South Africa  and Spain go at it, ending in a Spanish victory.

     Hockey is an extremely fast sport with fluid action.  The stick blade is about the size as an umbrella and about as long.  The sport has always been considered a women's game in the U.S., but many parts of the world it is played seriously and growing as a spectator sport.

Made in China

     If you took China against the field in the Badminton mixed doubles and women's singles, you would now be at the pay window.  There were some spirited matches and the crowd lustily encouraged some of the opponents, particularly a mixed doubles team from Denmark and a pony-tailed young woman from Thailand who took their matches to three sets.  It was not to be.  The Chinese even defeated two opponents from China-Taipei and China-Hong Kong (yes, they compete as separate countries).
     It should be noted that this is not your backyard badminton.  At the Olympic level, it is extremely fast with power shots from the back line and deft drops from anywhere.  It is highly entertaining with long rallies and great athleticism.
     Interesting remark in the London press from Genna Spofforth, Britain's 100-meter Backstroke specialist.  She transferred to the University of Florida to train because there was more time to concentrate on swimming than in Britain, where she could not study and compete.
     Check out the effort of China's male partner in one of the mixed doubles matches:

What's So Bad about 4th?....Or 40th?

     Michael Phelps did a lot for U.S. diplomacy and for the Olympics when he proudly displayed the Silver Medal won in his signature event, the 200-meter Butterfly.  He was going for his third straight Gold in the event and was heavily favored.  His attitude was clear - I did my best and I am proud of the award.  Based on their interviews, Olympic athletes would not endorse Vince Lombardi's famous quote that "winning is the only thing."  There is nothing shameful about finishing second, fourth or last as long as you  have given your best effort on the day.
     The Olympics has not always been able to stay away from politics, but when things go well, you can witness real ironies.  At the Volleyball venue yesterday, Serbia played Tunisia, causing one to think how this could come off.  Former Serbian leaders are still on trial in the World Court for instigating massacres of Muslims and now here is a sporting event between the Serbs and Muslims.  No massacre ensued.  The Serbs won with superior play.  For veterans of the Cold War, the second volleyball game had Poland against Bulgaria with a Russian judge!  A big contingent kept chanting "Polska, Polska" to no avail as the Ov's prevailed over the Ski's.
     The fans have adopted some unlikely athletes.  At the Rowing event, one of the competitors in single scull is a game guy from Niger, who has been rowing for three months.  He was a swimmer, but Niger got a lottery slot in rowing, so the government told him to take up the sport.  Needless to say, it took him 30 minutes longer than anyone to finish the race.  He was roundly cheered.  At white water Canoeing today, the crowd took up the case of a Kayaker from Togo.  He actually won a medal in 2008, but missed a gate on the final run and finished out of the money.