Changes to the Olympics

This will be the last year softball will be an Olympic event. I enjoy recreational softball and although it is a bit different in women's professional softball (slow vs fast pitch) I don't want to see it go. I then do what I always do, try to think from a universal perspective. Maybe as an American... err United Statesman, I enjoy seeing highlights of my country's dominance over the other countries as they get gold every single year so this is why I am sad to see it go. I "wiki"d softball to see if it is popular internationally, and surely it is. That rules out softball being only popular in the US as a reason they are removing it. Then I come across this article: Too-good U.S. team hurt softball's future

Cat Osterman receives a high-five from fellow pitcher Jenny Finch.

We're too good for our own good. Well YEAH. The US no-hit Australians yesterday and they're the clear cut favorites. The competition is a tournament for the silver medal for other countries. Does that mean that every competition that Michael "Aquaman" Phelps swims in should be cancelled too?



Softball's big brother, baseball, will also have it's last showing in the Olympics indefinitely. I'm not exactly sure of the reason they're removing baseball from the Olympics, but I'm sure it isn't because the US is dominating. They got beat by the South Koreans 8-7 in an exciting game with a little of everything. Perhaps the introduction of the WBC (World Baseball Classic) lead to the removal of baseball. Ehh... well I don't care as much about baseball being removed because we aren't using our "finest" anyway. But then there is the Soccer *ahem* the Football World Cup and football is still and will most likely always be an Olympic sport. I'm confused.



First things first. Gymnist is spelled gymnast. I had to use a spell checker to make sure because it didn't look right. Have you ever spelled a word and it doesn't look quite right? Why do we pronounce it "gymnist" yet pronounce "gymnastics" this way?

China's age controversy of its gymnasts are all over the internet. A simple search on google about US team captain Alicia Sacramone (known for her choking during the olympics and this youtube video) or the results of the team gymnastics will somehow lead to the top story. I tried to defend China because Asians look so much older than they really are (hey I get 19-24 years old but I'm almost 31), but it seems a few of the gymnasts had different ages listed (2 years later) on their profiles a while back but on their passports their birth years showed up as 2 years earlier. I don't want to go further with this but for the moment I say China deserved the gold, but they should pursue this speculation to see if they truly deserve the gold. And I'm not just saying this as a bitter American, but to keep the integrity of the Olympics true and fair.

Team China celebrate after confirming their victory for gold.

Call me paranoid but I suspect this one might not quite be 16 years old. She also has fingers growing out of her body.

A story slightly off topic. Hungarian weightlifter Janos Baranyai dislocated his right elbow attempting to lift 148kg (~325lbs) and then having the weight fall on him. You heard right, it fell right on him crushing him and sending him to the hospital. It seems he will be alright but daaaaaamn. That's gonna leave a mark. Just look at the photos, holy crap. I've left out the more graphic ones.





Helpless Baranyai crushed by the weights.

Baranyai as the Olympic staff tend to him


Poor guy. I hope he sticks to the sport and makes an appearance in the 2012 London Olympics.

While on route to the Oakland A's game yesterday when the A's outplayed the Rays 2-1, we discussed going to the Olympics some day. I was planning on going to the Bejing Olympics as a post-graduation trip, but I wasn't on track instead graduating one semester later. Anyway my friend proposed that we buy advanced tickets for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Wow, talk about advanced commitment. I really want to but my budget isn't too flexible right now, plus it is 2 YEARS from now. Vancouver is close enough to drive to (casual 2 day drive), the beer is strong there, and it would be my first Olympics. To go or not to go?