Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Final thoughts on the London games

The USA did very well in these games, especially over the past 5 days of the games. The USA won 46 gold, the most for the USA in a non boycotted Olympics since 1908.

Compared with 2008 where the USA won 23 medals, track and field athletes won 29 medals in these games. In my opinion it was highly successful. The USA women track athletes excelled in the 200, 400, long jump and both relays with gold. The USA men did well too winning 2 silvers in the relays, gold and silver in the decathlon, gold and silver in the 110 hurdles, silver in the men's 1500M, silver in the high jump, gold and silver in the men's triple jump and silver in the men's 10,000M.

Sanya Richards Ross with 2 gold, Allyson Felix with 3 gold, and Carmelita Jeter with 3 total medals were stars for the USA as were Ashton Eaton, Christian Taylor and Aries Merritt on the men's side.
A bit dissapointing was the men's 200 where the race was swept by Jamaica. Also dissapointing was the men's 400 where the USA was not represented in the final.

Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah of Great Britain win golds in their respected events in front of the home crowd was thrilling to watch.

I think the most defining moment in track and field was double leg amputee Oscar Pistorius of South Africa running in the men's 400 and making it the semifinals. After that race the winner of that semifinals Kirani James of Grenada swapped bibs with Oscar Pistorius. It was great to see the respect Pistorius got from the world. Kirani James won gold in the men's 400.

In swimming, the USA won 30 medals, 16 of them gold. Michael Phelps and Missy Frankin were the stars for the USA winning 4 golds each. Allison Schmitt won 3 golds. Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer and Ryan Lochte also were stars winning multiple golds. The USA dominated swimming again in 2012 as they did in 2008.

The women's gymnastics team led by Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney and Aly Raisman were exceptional when they had to be. It was tough seeing Jordyn Wieber cry because of a rule that each country can only put 2 gymnasts in the all around and Wieber was 3rd in qualifying for the USA. It was amazing to see them win the team gold for the first time since 1996.

Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings won gold for the 3rd Olympics in a row, which will never be duplicated. They are probably the best beach volleyball team ever and that includes men's teams. Misty May Treanor said it was her last games so look for Kerri Walsh Jennings to find a new partner to win gold in Rio in 2016.

On the men's side it was a bit dissapointing to see Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhausser and Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal lose their matches the way they did even as I projected Dalhausser/Rogers to win gold in these games.

The USA men's and women's indoor volleyball teams faired well with the women losing to Brazil and winning silver and the men's team finishing 5th. The USA men's team was 5th in the world coming into these games. The men's loss to Russia was heartbreaking because they had a 2 sets to none lead and then they lost the last 3 sets. Then the loss for the men in straight sets to the Italians did them in. I'm assuming because of the age of the USA men's team Don Suxho, 36 probably won't be back and Reid Priddy 34, Rich Lambourne 37, may not be back, either.

In the gold medal match, the USA women's volleyball team won the first set handily, then lost the next 3 sets in a row to win silver. The USA women breezed through pool play like the men so anything short of a gold at least for the women was a formality as they were ranked first in the world in the past year.

The USA women's soccer team was great from start to finish. The heroes were Abby Wambach, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd. Each contributed in their own way. Hope Solo was great against Japan saving shots on goal. Alex Morgan heading the ball into the goal against Canada in the 123rd minute was the highlight as well as Abby Wambach scoring 5 goals this tournament and Carli Lloyd scoring both goals in the gold medal match against Japan.

The major controversy of these games besides the women's shot put doping scandal was the Chinese throwing badminton matches to get a better seed in a later round. The Chinese athletes were thrown out of the Olympics for that.

NBC's coverage of these games in my opinion, declined over 2008. I was able to see tweets of how many viewers were not happy with NBC's coverage. NBC cut short their coverage one night to show Matthew Perry's new show at 11pm instead of a usual midnight ending. On the final Saturday of these games NBC decided to show a World War II documentary in the first hour instead of showing the USA women's volleyball team's gold medal match against Brazil. I'm thinking NBC said the USA lost so lets only show parts of 2 sets. They should have shown it live on tv. Then there was the ultimate flawed concept of interrupting the closing ceremony at 11pm for another new show premiere. The Who was supposed to perform but NBC for the second time cut the closing ceremony. In 2010 NBC cut the closing ceremony for the premiere of The Marriage Ref. NBC also cut out some of Great Britain's greatest musicians like Kate Bush, Eric Idle and Muse. NBC did show the remaining closing party and a Bob Costas wrap up at midnight. I refuse to name NBC's new shows because I do not want to give those shows any mention for publicity.

I'm ok with tape delay during the evening if some short swimming and track events are shown live on tv, then again in primetime for viewers who can't see it during the day. NBC decided not to do that but did stream the events live on NBCOlympics.com. There were some streaming problems on NBCOlympics.com as well.

Overall these were great games and look forward to Sochi in 2014. Hopefully NBC's editing coverage improves by then.

As far as predictions go that I had made before the games I was off by one total medal for the USA - 104 to my prediction of 103. I predicted the USA would win 29 silver medals correctly. I also was 100% correct in predicting Great Britain's total medal count at 65. I was off on Great Britain by 2 less golds(29 actual vs. 27 that I predicted) and 2 more bronze(21 I predicted to the actual count of 19). I predicted with 100% accuracy Great Britain's total of silver medals at 17. I had predicted the first 4 slots for total medals to be the USA, China, Russia and Great Britain. The 5th country I predicted by total medal winnings was Australia and that was based on 2008 numbers. I had incorrectly predicted Australia instead of Germany. Germany came in 5th in the total medal count. Australia underpreformed as did China. I had predicted 34 gold for China and they finished with 38 but thats still way below the total of gold they won in Beijing at 51.

I also predicted correctly that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings would win a 3rd straight gold medal in beach volleyball. I also was correct in predicting that USA women's soccer, women's gymnastics and both USA men's and women's basketball teams would win gold.
I had predicted that the USA women's volleyball team would win gold when they actually won silver.

In swimming, I correctly predicted that Missy Franklin would win 4 gold. I had predicted Michael Phelps with 6 gold. He won 4. I correctly predicted Ryan Lochte would beat Phelps once. Lochte won 2 gold, I predicted 3.

In track and field, I predicted correctly winning gold: Ashton Eaton in the decathlon, Sanya Richards Ross in the women's 400M,& Allyson Felix in the women's 200M, Usain Bolt of Jamaica in the men's 100M and Mo Farah of Great Britain in the men's 5000M.
I came within 1 one hundredth of a second of predicting the time Usain Bolt would run, 9.63 seconds to my prediction of 9.62 seconds.
I had predicted the USA men's 4 by 100M relay team finishing second to Jamaica and Galen Rupp winning a medal in the men's 10000M.

I also correctly predicted that USA diver David Boudia would medal, of course he won gold.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Day 17- Closing Ceremony











Jake Varner of the USA wins gold in men's freestyle wrestling 211.5 lbs.
Valerii Andritsev of Ukraine wins silver. George Gogshelidze of Georgia and Khetag Gazyumov of Azerbaijan tied for bronze.

The USA men's basketball team wins gold by beating Spain 107-100. The USA led 59-58 at halftime and 83-82 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. The USA was led by Kevin Durant with 30 points. Lebron James had 19 points and Kobe Bryant had 17 points for the USA. Pau Gasol led Spain with 24 points. Spain wins silver. Russia beat Argentina 81-77 for bronze.

The closing ceremony consisted of several British musicians from the 1960's to the present. The bands/groups/musicians were Madness, a video of Freddie Mercury of Queen, a video of John Lennon singing Imagine, George Michael sung Freedom '90, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Mike Rutherford, Pink Floyd, Russell Brand, Kaiser Chiefs, Kate Bush, Muse, Fatboy Slim, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Taio Cruz, Beady Eye, the Spice Girls, Eric Idle, Take That and The Who.

There is a change in the final medal count after the gold medal winner in the women's shot put, Nadzeya Ostapchuk, of Belarus was disqualified for doping and stripped of her medal. This gave Russian Evgeniia Kolodko the silver instead of the bronze and Lijiao Gong of China who was originally 4th, gets the bronze. Valerie Adams of New Zealand wins gold instead of silver.

Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.

Final Medal Count

USA 46 gold 29 silver 29 bronze - 104 total
China 38 gold 27 silver 23 bronze - 88 total
Russia 24 gold 26 silver 32 bronze - 82 total
Great Britain 29 gold 17 silver 19 bronze - 65 total
Germany 11 gold 19 silver 14 bronze - 44 total

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Day 16






The USA women's volleyball team wins silver by losing to Brazil 3-1, 25-11, 17-25, 20-25 and 17-25. Brazil wins gold. Japan wins bronze.

No Americans medaled in the men's 5000M. Bernard Lagat of the USA finished 4th. Mo Farah of Great Britain wins gold.

No Americans medaled in the women's 800M. Alysia Montano of the USA finished 4th.

Brigetta Barrett of the USA wins silver in the women's high jump. Anna Chicherova of Russia wins gold. Svetlana Shkolina of Russia wins bronze.

The USA women's 4 by 400M relay team consisting of Dee Dee Trotter, Allyson Felix, Francena McCrorory and Sanya Richards Ross wins gold with a time of 3 minutes 16.87 seconds. Russia wins silver with a time of 3 minutes 20.23 seconds. Jamaica wins bronze with a time of 3 minutes 20.95 seconds.

The USA men's 4 by 100M relay team consisting of Trell Kimmons, Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin and Ryan Bailey wins silver with a American record of 37.04 seconds. Jamaica wins gold with a world record time of 36.84 seconds. Trinidad and Tobago wins bronze with a time of 38.12 seconds. Canada was originally 3rd but was disqualified.

David Boudia of the USA wins gold in the 10M platform diving competition with a total of 568.65 points. Qiu Bo of China wins silver with a total of 566.85 points. Tom Daley of Great Britain wins bronze with a total of 556.95 points.

The USA women's basketball team wins gold by beating France 86-50. France wins silver. Australia wins bronze by beating Russia. The USA was leading 37-25 at halftime. Candace Parker led team USA with 21 points.

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Medal Count after Day 16

USA 44 gold 29 silver 29 bronze - 102 total
China 38 gold 27 silver 22 bronze - 87 total
Russia 21 gold 25 silver 32 bronze - 78 total
Great Britain 28 gold 15 silver 19 bronze - 62 total
Germany 11 gold 19 silver 14 bronze - 44 total

Friday, August 10, 2012

Day 15



David Boudia and Nick McCrory both of the USA advanced to the finals of the men's 10M diving competition.

American Jordan Burroughs wins gold in men's freestyle wrestling 163lbs beating Sadegh Saeed Goudarzi of Iran 3-0. Goudarzi wins silver.

The USA men's water polo team lost to Spain 8-7 in the 5-8 classification.

The USA women's 4 by 400M relay team advanced to the finals.

The USA men's 4 by 100M relay team advanced to the finals.

The USA women's 4 by 100M relay team consisting of Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter wins gold with a world record time of 40.82 seconds. Jamaica wins silver with a time of 41.41 seconds. Ukraine wins bronze with a time of 42.04 seconds.

The USA men's 4 by 400M relay team consisting of Bryshon Nellum, Joshua Mance, Tony Mcquay and Angelo Taylor wins silver with a time of 2 minutes 57.05 seconds. The Bahamas wins gold with a time of 2 minutes 56.72 seconds. Trinidad and Tobago wins bronze with a time of 2 minutes 59.40 seconds.

No American's medaled in the women's 1500M, men's pole vault and women's 5000M.

The USA men's basketball team advanced to the gold medal game against Spain by beating Argentina 109-83. The USA was leading 47-40 at halftime. Kevin Durant led team USA with 19 points and Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony had 18 points each.

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Medal Count after Day 15

USA 41 gold 26 silver 27 bronze - 94 total
China 37 gold 25 silver 19 bronze - 81 total
Russia 15 gold 21 silver 27 bronze - 63 total
Great Britain 25 gold 15 silver 17 bronze - 57 total
Germany 10 gold 18 silver 14 bronze - 42 total

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Day 14







The USA women's volleyball team advances to the gold medal match against Brazil by beating Korea 3-0, 25-20, 25-22 and 25-22.

Alysia Montano of the USA advances to the finals of the women's 800M.

The USA women's 4 by 100 relay team advances to the finals.

The USA women's water polo team wins gold beating Spain 8-5. Spain wins silver and Australia wins bronze.

The USA women's soccer team wins gold by beating Japan 2-1. Carli Lloyd scored both goals for the USA. Canada wins bronze.

Kenya's David Rudisha set a world record in the men's 800M with a time of 1 minute 40.91 seconds while winning gold.

No American medaled in the men's 200M. Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins gold with a time of 19.32 seconds. Yohan Blake of Jamaica wins silver with a time of 19.44 seconds and Warren Weir also of Jamaica wins bronze with a time of 19.84 seconds. Wallace Spearmon of the USA finished 4th with a time of 19.90 seconds.

Christian Taylor and Will Claye, both of the USA, wins gold and silver respectively in the men's triple jump. Fabrizio Donato of Italy wins bronze.

Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee win gold and silver respectively in the Decathlon. Eaton had 8839 points. Hardee had 8671 points. Leonel Suarez of Cuba wins bronze with a total of 8523 points.

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Medal standings after Day 14

USA 39 gold 25 silver 26 bronze - 90 total
China 37 gold 24 silver 19 bronze - 80 total
Russia 12 gold 21 silver 23 bronze - 56 total
Great Britain 25 gold 13 silver 14 bronze - 52 total
Germany 10 gold 16 silver 11 bronze - 37 total

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Day 13






Brad Walker of the USA advances to the finals of the men's pole vault.

All 3 Americans, Lopez Lomong, Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp advances to the finals of the men's 5000M.

All 3 Americans, Alysia Montano, Alice Schmidt and Geena Gall advances to the semifinals of the women's 800M.

Jason Richardson and Aries Merritt, both of the USA, advances to the finals of the men's 110 hurdles.

Morgan Uceny and Shannon Rowbury, both of the USA, advances to the finals of the women's 1500M.

The USA men's volleyball team was eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing to Italy 3-0, 26-28, 20-25 and 20-25.

The USA men's water polo team lost to Serbia 8-2.

Wallace Spearmon, Jr. of the USA advances to the finals of the men's 200M.

Americans Brittney Reese and Janay Deloach win gold and bronze respectively in the women's long jump. Elena Sokolova of Russia wins silver.

Lashinda Demus of the USA wins silver in the women's 400M hurdles final. Natalya Antyukh of Russia wins gold. Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic wins bronze.

Allyson Felix (21.88) and Carmelita Jeter(22.14) both of the USA win gold and bronze respectively in the women's 200M final. Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce of Jamaica(22.09) wins silver.

Aries Merritt and Jason Richardson, both of the USA, wins gold and silver respectively in the men's 110M hurdles final. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica wins bronze.

The USA women's beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings win gold beating the USA team of Jennifer Kessy/April Ross 21-16 and 21-16. Kessy/Ross win silver. Larissa/Juliana of Brazil win bronze.

The USA men's basketball team advances to the semifinals by beating Australia 119-86. Kobe Bryant led team USA with 20 points while Deron Williams had 18.

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Medal Count after Day 13

USA 34 gold 22 silver 25 bronze - 81 total
China 36 gold 22 silver 19 bronze - 77 total
Russia 11 gold 19 silver 22 bronze - 52 total
Great Britain 22 gold 13 silver 13 bronze - 48 total
Germany 7 gold 15 silver 10 bronze - 32 total

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Day 12



Aries Merritt, Jason Richardson and Jeff Porter, all of the USA, advance to the semifinals of the men's 110 hurdles.

Americans Will Claye and Christian Taylor advance to the finals of the men's triple jump.

In the women's 5000M, Julie Culley and Molly Huddle, both of the USA, advance to the finals.

In the men's 200M, all 3 Americans, Isiah Young, Maurice Mitchell and Wallace Spearmon, JR. advance to the semifinals.

The USA women's basketball team beat Canada 91-48. Diana Taurasi lead team USA with 15 points.

Aly Raisman of the USA wins bronze on the Balance Beam with a score of 15.066. Deng Linlin of China wins gold with a score of 15.600. Sui Lu of China wins silver with a score of 15.500. Gabby Douglas of the USA finished 7th with a score of 13.633.

Aly Raisman of the USA wins gold in the Floor Exercise with a score of 15.600.
Catalina Ponor of Romania wins silver with a score of 15.200. Aliya Mustafina of Russia wins bronze with a score of 14.900. Jordyn Wieber finished 7th with a score of 14.500.

The USA women's water polo team advances to the gold medal game beating Australia in overtime 11-9.

The USA beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor/Kerri Walsh-Jennings advance to the gold medal match by beating Xue/Zhang of China 22-20 and 22-20.

The USA women's volleyball team advances to the semifinals by beating the Dominican Republic 3-0, 25-14,25-21 and 25-22.

Dawn Harper, Kellie Wells and Lolo Jones, all of the USA, advanced to the finals of the women's 100M hurdles.

Nick Symmonds and Duane Solomon, both of the USA, advanced to the finals of the men's 800M.

In the women's 200M semifinals, all 3 americans, Carmelita Jeter, Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards Ross advance to the finals.

Erik Kynard of the USA wins silver in the men's high jump. Ivan Ukhov of Russia wins gold and three athletes tied for bronze, Essa Mutaz Barshim of Quatar, Derek Drouin of Canada and Robert Grabarz of Great Britain.

Americans Brittney Reese and Janay Deloach advance to the finals of the women's long jump.

Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells of the USA wins silver and bronze respectively in the women's 100M hurdles. Sally Pearson of Australia wins gold. Lolo Jones of the USA finished 4th.

Leo Manzano of the USA wins silver in the men's 1500M. Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria wins gold. Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco wins bronze. Matt Centrowitz of the USA finished 4th.

The USA women's beach volleyball team of Jennifer Kessy/April Ross advance to the gold medal match against Americans May-Treanor/Walsh-Jennings by upsetting top seeded Larissa/Juliana of Brazil 15-21, 21-19 and 15-12.

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Medal Count after Day 12

China 34 gold 21 silver 18 bronze - 73 total
USA 30 gold 19 silver 21 bronze - 70 total
Great Britain 22 gold 13 silver 13 bronze - 48 total
Russia 10 gold 18 silver 20 bronze - 48 total
Japan 2 gold 13 silver 14 bronze - 29 total

Monday, August 6, 2012

Day 11



Kellie Wells, Dawn Harper and Lolo Jones, all of the USA, advance to the semifinals in the women's 100M hurdles.

Nick Symmonds and Duane Soloman, both of the USA, advance to the men's 800M.

Shannon Rowbury, Jenny Simpson and Morgan Uceny, all of the USA, advance to the semifinals of the women's 1500M.

Gabby Douglas of the USA finished 8th(last) in the women's gymnastics uneven bars with a score of 14.900.

The USA men's water polo team lost to Hungary 11-6.

The USA men's beach volleyball team of Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal lose to Plavins/Smedins of Latvia 21-19, 18-21 and 11-15. Gibb/Rosenthal are eliminated.

The USA men's volleyball team beat Tunisia 3-0, 25-15, 25-19 and 25-19. Clay Stanley, Reid Priddy and David Lee sat out.

The USA women's soccer team advanced to the finals beating Canada 4-3 in extra time.
Goals were scored by Megan Rapinoe(2), Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan. Alex Morgan scored in the 123rd minute by heading the ball into the goal. The USA plays Japan for gold on August 9.

Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter and Sanya Richards Ross, all of the USA, advance to the semifinals of the women's 200M.

Lashinda Demus, T'erea Brown and Georganne Moline, all of the USA, advance to the finals of the women's 400M hurdles.

Michael Tinsley of the USA wins silver in the men's 400 hurdles. Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic wins gold. Javier Culson of Puerto Rico wins bronze. Angelo Taylor of the USA finished 5th.

Jenn Suhr of the USA wins gold in the women's pole vault. Silva Yarisley of Cuba wins silver. Elena Isinbaeva of Russia wins bronze.

The USA men's basketball team beat Argentina 126-97. The USA led 60-59 at halftime and outscored Argentina 42-17 in the third quarter. Kevin Durant had 28 points and Lebron James had 18 for the USA. The USA finished pool play 5-0.

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Medal Count after Day 11

China 31 gold 19 silver 14 bronze - 64 total
USA 29 gold 15 silver 19 bronze - 63 total
Russia 7 gold 17 silver 18 bronze - 42 total
Great Britain 18 gold 11 silver 11 bronze - 40 total
Japan 2 gold 12 silver 14 bronze - 28 total

Games thoughts after 10 days..

Well, I feel the USA is having a mixed Olympics. There are really good days and some bad ones too. The best days so far were Tuesday July 31 and Wednesday August 1 followed by Friday August 3 and Saturday August 4 when the USA swim team started winning medals and the USA women's gymnastics team won gold. The first few days the USA fell behind the Chinese in medals and gold medals, then caught them and now that swimming is over, may fall behind the Chinese again. USA swimming won 30 medals, 16 of them gold.

Team USA's worst days were Saturday, July 28, Sunday July 29 and Monday July 30 where Michael Phelps failed to medal and the USA men's gymnastics team finished 5th.
On Day 10 USA men's track failed to advance anyone to the finals of the men's 400M. We would lose 3 medals alone on that event as I believe we swept that event in Beijing.

USA swimming started out slow and finished strong with Michael Phelps winning 4 gold and 2 silver medals. Missy Franklin had 4 gold and 1 bronze. Allison Schmitt had 3 gold 1 silver and 1 bronze. Ryan Lochte had 2 gold 2 silver and 1 bronze.

In my predictions earlier I estimated the Chinese would have 95 total medals, 34 of them gold. After Day 10 the Chinese already have 30 gold and 61 total medals and lead the USA 61-60 in total medals. The Chinese may win more gold than the USA but I'm confident the USA will win more total medals than China on the strength of team sports like basketball, volleyball and beach volleyball. We could pick up 4-5 gold medals that won't be decided until the last 2 days of the games.

Its hard to tell if my predictions for the USA winning 103 total medals will be correct. The USA is on a pace to win more than the 41 gold I predicted. The USA could struggle to win gold in Track and Field as evidence by the only gold out of 7 total medals the USA has won in the first 3 days of Track and Field.
Great Britain has already won 16 gold and I predicted 27 total gold and the British are well on their way to that mark and the 37 total medals won by Great Britain in the first 10 days are well on their way to the 65 total medals won that I predicted.

In the men's 100M I was off by .01 of a second as Usain Bolt won in 9.63 seconds and I predicted 9.62 seconds.

I also wanted to comment on NBC's Olympic coverage which I always thought was great until this Olympics. When NBC decides not to show a beach volleyball or indoor volleyball game during the day and decide to air it in prime time NBC cuts and pastes parts of sets together. NBC did that in the USA men's volleyball match vs. Brazil on August 2. They skipped the first 2 sets, joined midway through the third and televised the rest of the third set then skipped some of the final set and televised the last part of the set. In all NBC televised about one set out of 4 total sets.
NBC has done this in 2 beach volleyball sets involving Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings the past 2 nights. NBC tries to fool us by starting with a 0-0 score then takes a commercial and when they come back the action has progessed considerably in that set missing up to 10 points on each side. I would prefer if NBC aired these matches live in the afternoon instead of primetime so we can see the whole volleyball match instead of bits and pieces.
Also NBC has shown live studio interviews with Michael Phelps and other Olympians which is fine but when track and field gets pushed to late night as evidenced by Sanya Richards Ross gold medal ceremony tonight/this morning I feel NBC's coverage is not as balanced as it was in past Olympics. It should have aired in prime time. There was no track and field at all in late night in Beijing in 2008.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Day 10






Venus and Serena Williams of the USA win gold beating Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka of Russia 6-4, 6-4.

Lisa Raymond/Mike Bryan of the USA win bronze in the bronze medal mixed doubles match beating Sabine Lisicki/Christpher Kas of Germany 6-3, 4-6 and 10-4.

The USA women's basketball team beat China 114-66.

The USA women's beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings advance to the semifinals by beating Cicolari/Menegati of Italy 21-13 and 21-13.

In women's gymnastics, McKayla Maroney of the USA wins silver on the vault with a score of 15.083. Sandra Izbasa of Romania wins gold with a score of 15.191. Maria Paseka of Russia wins bronze with a score of 15.050.

The USA women's water polo team beat Italy 9-6.

The USA women's volleyball team beat Turkey 3-0, 27-25, 25-16 and 25-19.

T'erea Brown, Lashinda Demus and Georganne Moline, all of the USA, advance to the semifinals of the women's 400M hurdles.

In the men's 400M, no one from the USA made it to the finals.

Justin Gatlin, Ryan Bailey and Tyson Gay, all of the USA, advance to the finals of the men's 100M.

Leo Manzano and Matt Centrowitz, both of the USA, advanced to the finals of the men's 1500M.

Sanya Richards Ross of the USA wins gold in the women's 400M. Dee Dee Trotter of the USA wins bronze. Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain wins silver.

Justin Gatlin of the USA wins bronze in the men's 100M with a time of 9.79 seconds. Usain Bolt of Jamaica wins gold with a time of 9.63 seconds. Yohan Blake of Jamaica wins silver with a time of 9.75 seconds. Tyson Gay of the USA finshed 4th with a time of 9.80 seconds. It was the fastest 100M final in history.

The USA beach volleyball team of Jennifer Kessy/April Ross advance to the semifinals beating Slukova/Kolocova of CZE 25-23 and 21-18.

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Medal count after Day 10

China 30 gold 17 silver 14 bronze - 61 total
USA 28 gold 14 silver 18 bronze - 60 total
Great Britain 16 gold 11 silver 10 bronze - 37 total
Russia 4 gold 16 silver 15 bronze - 35 total
Japan 2 gold 12 silver 13 bronze - 27 total

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Day 9






Bryshon Nellum and Tony McQuay of the USA advance to the semifinals of the men's 400M. LaShawn Merritt did not finish due to bad hamstring.

Jenn Suhr and Becky Holliday, both of the USA, advance to the finals of the women's pole vault.

Emma Coburn and Bridget Franek, both of the USA, advance to the finals of the women's steeplechase.

Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey, all of the USA, advanced to the semifinals of the men's 100M.

Christina Loukas and Cassidy Krug, both of the USA, advanced to the finals of the women's 3m diving springboard.

The USA men's basketball team beat Lithuana 99-94. Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James each had 20 points.

Serena Williams of the USA wins gold in the women's singles tennis finals beating Maria Sharapova of Russia 6-0, 6-1.

Mike and Bob Bryan of the USA wins gold in men's doubles tennis beating Michael Llodra/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-4, 7-6.

The USA men's volleyball team lost to Russia 3-2, 29-27, 25-19, 24-26, 16-25 and 8-15.

In women's swimming, in the 4 by 100 medley relay, the USA team of Missy Franklin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer and Allison Schmitt wins gold. Australia wins silver and Japan wins bronze.

In men's swimming, in the 4 by 100 medley relay, the USA team of Matt Grevers, Brandan Hansen, Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian win gold. Japan wins silver and Australia wins bronze.

The USA men's water polo team lost to Serbia 11-6.

Kerron Clement, Angelo Taylor and Michael Tinsley, all of the USA, advanced to the semifinals of the men's 400 hurdles.

Carmelita Jeter, Allyson Felix and Tianna Madison, all of the USA, advanced to the women's 100M finals.

Sanya Richards Ross, Francena McCorory and Dee Dee Trotter, all of the USA, advanced to the finals of the women's 400M.

Will Claye of the USA wins bronze in the men's long jump. Greg Rutherford of Great Britain wins gold and Mitchell Watt of Australia wins silver.

Galen Rupp of the USA wins silver in the men's 10,000M. Mo Farah of Great Britain wins gold and Tariku Bekele of Eithopia wins bronze.

The USA women's beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings beat Van Iersel/Keizer of the Netherlands, 2-0, 21-13 and 21-12.

Carmelita Jeter of the USA wins silver in the women's 100M in 10.78 seconds. Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce of Jamaica wins gold in 10.75 seconds and Veronica Campbell Brown of Jamaica wins bronze in 10.81 seconds.

The USA men's beach volleyball of team of Jake Gibb/Sean Rosenthal beat Semenov/Prokopiev of Russia 2-0, 21-14 and 22-20.

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Medal totals after Day 9

USA 26 gold 13 silver 15 bronze - 54 total
China 25 gold 16 silver 12 bronze - 53 total
Great Britain 14 gold 7 silver 8 bronze - 29 total
Russia 3 gold 15 silver 10 bronze - 28 total
Japan 2 gold 10 silver 12 bronze - 24 total

Friday, August 3, 2012

Day 8







In women's swimming, in the 50 freestyle, Jessica Hardy of the USA advanced to the semifinals and finals. She finished 7th in the finals.

In men's swimming, in the 1500 freestyle, Connor Jaeger advanced to the finals. He finished 6th in the finals.

The USA advanced to the finals of the women's 4 by 100 medley relay.

The USA advanced to the finals of the men's 4 by 100 medley relay.

Missy Franklin and Elizabeth Beisel, both of the USA, win gold and bronze respectively in the women's 200 backstroke. Anastasia Zueva of Russia wins silver.

Michael Phelps of the USA wins gold in the men's 100 butterfly. Chad Le Clos of South Africa wins silver and Evgeny Korotyshkin of Russia wins bronze.

Katie Ledecky of the USA wins gold in the women's 800 freestyle. Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain wins silver. Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain wins bronze.

Cullen Jones of the USA wins silver in the men's 50 freestyle. Florent Manaudou of France wins gold. Cesar Cielo of Brazil wins bronze.

The USA women's soccer team advanced to the semifinals by beating New Zealand 2-0. Goals were scored by Abby Wambach and Sydney Leroux.

In men's track and field, in the shot put, Americans Christian Cantwell, Reese Hoffa and Ryan Whiting advanced to the finals.

In the men's 400M hurdles, Americans Michael Tinsley, Kerron Clement and Angelo Taylor advanced to the semifinals.

Kibwe Johnson of the USA advanced to the finals of the men's hammer throw.

Francena McCorory, Dee Dee Trotter and Sanya Richards Ross, all of the USA, advanced to the semifinals of the women's 400M.

Evan Jager and Donn Cabral, both of the USA, advanced to the finals of the men's steeplechase.

The USA women's beach volleyball team of Jennifer Kessy/April Ross beat Kuhn/Zumkehr of Switzerland 21-15 and 21-19.

The USA men's beach volleyball team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser lose to Nicoli/Lupo of Italy 17-21 and 19-21. Rogers/Dalhausser are eliminated.

Carmelita Jeter, Allyson Felix and Tianna Madison, all of the USA, advance to the semifinals of the women's 100M.

Leo Manzano, Andrew Wheating and Matt Centrowitz, all of the USA, advance to the semifinals of the men's 1500M.

Marquise Goodwin and Will Claye, both of the USA, advanced to the finals of the men's long jump.

Reese Hoffa of the USA wins bronze in the men's shot put. Tomasz Majewski of Poland wins gold. David Storl of Germany wins silver.

Hyleas Fountain of the USA was in 5th place after the first day in the women's heptathlon.

The USA women's water polo team beat China 7-6.

The USA women's volleyball team defeated Serbia 3-0, 25-17, 25-20 and 25-16.

The USA women's basketball team beat the Czech Republic 88-61.

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Medal Count after Day 8

USA 21 gold 10 silver 12 bronze - 43 total
China 20 gold 13 silver 9 bronze - 42 total
Russia 3 gold 12 silver 8 bronze - 23 total
Great Britain 8 gold 6 silver 8 bronze - 22 total
Japan 2 gold 8 silver 11 bronze - 21 total

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Day 7






In men's swimming, in the men's 50 freestyle, Americans Anthony Ervin and Cullen Jones advanced to the semifinals. Both advanced to the finals.

In women's swimming, Katie Ledecky of the USA advanced to the finals of the 800 freestyle.

Michael Phelps and Tyler McGill, both of the USA, both advanced to the semifinals of the men's 100 butterfly. Both advanced to the finals.

Missy Franklin and Elizabeth Beisel, both of the USA, advanced to the semifinals of the women's 200 backstroke. Both advanced to the finals.

The USA beach volleyball team of Jennifer Kessy/April Ross defeated Liliana/Baquerizo of Spain in one of the best matches of the London games 21-19, 19-21 and 19-17.

Gabby Douglas of the USA wins gold in the women's gymnastics all around final. Victoria Komova wins silver while Aliya Mustafina wins bronze. Aly Raisman of the USA finishes 4th.

The USA men's water polo team beat Great Britain 13-7.

Kayla Harrison of the USA wins gold in women's judo 78kg.

Rebecca Soni of the USA wins gold in the women's 200 breaststroke. She set a world record. Satomi Suzuki of Japan wins silver and Luliia Efimova of Russia wins bronze.

Americans Tyler Clary and Ryan Lochte win gold and bronze respectively in the men's 200 backstroke. Ryosuke Trie of Japan wins silver.

Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, both of the USA, win gold and silver respectively in the finals of the men's 200IM. Laszlo Cseh of Hungary wins bronze.

The USA men's beach volleyball team of Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhausser beat Benes/Kubala of CZE 21-13 and 21-15. Rogers/Dalhausser win pool B.

The USA men's volleyball team defeated Brazil 3-1, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19 and 25-17.

The USA men's basketball team routed Nigeria 156-73. Carmelo Anthony had 37 points in just 14 minutes. The USA broke the previous scoring mark which was 138 points in an Olympic games.

Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.

Medal count after Day 7

USA 18 gold 9 silver 10 bronze - 37 total
China 18 gold 11 silver 5 bronze - 34 total
Japan 2 gold 6 silver 11 bronze - 19 total
Germany 4 gold 8 silver 5 bronze - 17 total
Russia 3 gold 6 silver 8 bronze - 17 total