Saturday events

What is it about the marathon that makes it so compelling? We just sat for two hours watching the men this time run around the city. The lead pack went out so fast the commentators kept telling us they would fade, but while they eventually spread out no one else ever caught them. I was totally rooting for the guy from Morocco, who kept falling behind but then somehow always managed to catch up, and then he'd pass another guy, and then another. He ended up winning silver, which was pretty exciting. The American we were told to root for came in tenth, which was still pretty great, although another American came in 9th that for some reason didn't warrant a video package.

I love the commentators for gymnastics, mostly because after three Olympics I am just used to their voices and styles of speaking. But my favorite commentator, by far, is Cynthia Potter on diving. Besides the fact that she can see every wiggle of an athletes third toe, she can also describe every tweak of a two-second dive as if it was all happening in slow motion right in front of her. Like in Spiderman when he gets into the fight in the cafeteria and he can see the punches coming at him in slow motion - that is what Cynthia Potter can do. But besides being a savant with superpowers, she also has a totally wicked sense of humor. "That entry was basically a cannonball." "They are going to have to re-fill the pool after that splash." Or, my favorite, "Look out! It's a tsunami!!"

Most of the diving events lacked much excitement, due to the fact that the Chinese were so much better than everyone else that it was a forgone conclusion that they would win. Though, how much splash can you generate when you weigh all of forty pounds? I did feel a little sad for Laura Wilkenson, but she had Sydney so she can't really complain. But they saved the best for last, when Aussie Matthew Mitcham came from behind with a near perfect final dive to win gold. He was the only competitor to show much emotion during the contest, so I was already rooting for him, but watching him be totally overwhelmed when he won was exactly what the Olympics are all about. Best overheard quote ever as a teammate walks up to him and says "Matt Mitcham just won the Olympics" and he starts crying. Also, she said it in an Australian accent which made it even better of course. Come to find out, he is the only openly gay male athlete at the Olympics. Go The Gays! I did feel a little sorry for the Chinese boy though, as this was the only diving event where China didn't win gold. Actually a lot sorry for him, cause he was totally amazing, he just missed one dive but that was enough.

Does volleyball never end? The American women win silver, but seem disappointed. I hate that.

It turns out I only like track if there are Americans competing. I fast forwarded through most of the rest. The women who won the relay were AWESOME.

Tero Pitkamaki, simply put, is dreamy. The javelin was, of course, given scant coverage (like all the cool track events that didn't involve running), and perhaps his bronze win wasn't the most exciting moment of the Olympics. But talk about eye candy. He and Lolo Jones win the gold in the looks department, hands down.

So I just have Sunday's events still to watch. Which I might not finish, because if I have to fast forward through one more commercial for that very stupid looking Christian Slater show, I might throw a shoe through the screen. Can we say overkill? (But then, you all probably aren't watching as much of this as I am, so maybe I'm just getting more than my share.)