Crosing Time

The Americans paraded 12 strong into the interview room, sliding behind the long table that served as a podium, not realizing the microphones were picking up what they were saying.

"You may not want to sit next to me, I smell like shit," Coach K said as he seated James to his right and Bryant to his left. [source]

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in "Spain." A slanty one.


Now back to coaching white guys. [sigh]


[pause]

In Beijing, six countries won their first-ever Olympic medals: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Mauritius, Sudan, Tajikistan and Togo. Mongolia won its first-ever gold medal, India its first-ever individual gold.

We could see even more parity in 2012!

36 facts about the Olympic medal count
Afghan medalist wins a house, cheers from country
Michael Phelps was the focus of more than one out of every four journo stories

Poor Richard Thompson spent four years training to finish second behind Usain Bolt in all his events.

The government closed down factories for many miles, to clear up the air. So people missed six or eight weeks of work? It was for the good of the country. [source]

I heard that after the Paralympics, factories will operate twenty-four-seven to re-coup lost production.

One rehearsal for the opening ceremonies lasted more than 50 hours.
The Olympics' Water Cube will be transformed into a water theme park with a beach, slides and wave machine.


Uhhh…photographer? HE'S 14!

Diving analyst Cynthia Potter had some outstanding foot-in-microphone moments, like when she said the divers showered after each dive because, "It's fun." And then this gem in an exchange:

Robinson, commenting about the imposing look of a Russian diver who had shaved his head: "I feel like I've seen this guy in a James Bond movie."

Potter: "I think I've seen him in some other kinds of movies."

Robinson, stunned into awkward silence: " … "

Potter, as replay of the Russian's dive rolls: "Those other movies were about violence, not anything else." [source]

A search for who designed the graphics for the universal feed of the Beijing games led to:

I never found who I was looking for, but whoever you are, please use less hideous fonts for Vancouver's graphics.


One day you're in, and the next day you're Canada.

For Every Winner on the Podium, the Losers Are Legion
A gold medal in the epilepsy event
Diego Maradona at the Olympics

At the Bird's Nest on Saturday night, long after all the action was done and dusted and the crowds gone home, stadium officials were amusing themselves by running down the home straight and posing for photos on the finish line.

I can't do that, I thought, as I watched them strike Usain archer poses on the podium. I work for the BBC. Standards of decorum must be maintained.

In retrospect, I was an idiot. [source]

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