The 2012 Olympic men's beach volleyball duo's are no longer. Last week Phil Dalhausser split from Todd Rogers. This week Sean Rosenthal split from Jake Gibb.
Dalhausser and Rosenthal will form a team while Rogers has retired from International play. Gibb has yet to announce his new partner.
Dalhausser/Rogers won gold in Beijing in 2008 but finished 9th in London in 2012.
Gibb/Rosenthal had two fifth place finishes in Beijing and London.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Two USA women's national team coaching changes
Today it was announced that USA women's national volleyball assistant coach Karch Kiraly will take over the head coaching duties from Hugh McCutcheon. McCutcheon resigned as national head coach to take the head volleyball coaching job at the University of Minnesota. Kiraly had been an assistant coach under McCutcheon since 2009.
Also USA women's national soccer coach Pia Sundhage stepped down as head coach on Sept. 1. She had a 89-6-10 record since taking over the USA women's team in Nov. 2007. The USA women's team has made it to every tournament final and has won 2 gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olym;pic games under Sundhage. She also coached the 2011 world cup team to a finals loss to Japan on penalty kicks. Sundhage plans to return to her native Sweden.
Also USA women's national soccer coach Pia Sundhage stepped down as head coach on Sept. 1. She had a 89-6-10 record since taking over the USA women's team in Nov. 2007. The USA women's team has made it to every tournament final and has won 2 gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olym;pic games under Sundhage. She also coached the 2011 world cup team to a finals loss to Japan on penalty kicks. Sundhage plans to return to her native Sweden.
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.
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
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.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
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
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.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
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
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.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
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
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
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