Cross marketing or what? Pianoman wears Adidas. I bet Lang has a lucrative contract than Yuan Meng. Where is Yundi Li?
Spitz, once the star, upset over Beijing snub
The Seven Gold Medal winner is upset. Why no one has bothered to invite him to Beijing? It would be a great idea to have him on hand to present the medal to Phelps. Speaking out himself cheapens his legacy. I for one, would love to see him greeting Michael on and off the deck.
Gone nuts
I’ve gone nuts and screamed my heart out for the Men’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay, the Americans beat the French, setting new world record by 4 good long seconds. Golfer came to the room, asking if we could let him sleep. Pumpkin said appologetically, “it’s Mom ..”
Did you hear what the Frenchies were saying? Something like .. ‘oh .. The Americans? We’re going to smash them,” Alain Bernard said. “That’s what we came here for.’ .. hahaha .. The last few seconds were remarkable. Jason Lezak (a good looking dude) caught up and won – his anchor leg was a historical 46:06 seconds. Michael Phelps got his second Gold. Don’t miss out on his reaction! The roar is epic too.
I last timed myself, the 50m (25 yard x2, the short course) was something in the neigborhood of 45 seconds. Not too bad for an old bag, no? Oui.
There is something so elegant and beautiful, and gracious about the swimmers. Definitely not their nakedness. The way they create the water flow (breast stroke is excluded, sorry ..), the V shaped body .. .. It’s so mesmerizing and overwhelming.
Feeling tall
I finally got Pumpkin to play tennis with me last week. No matter where we are, when I walk into a court with her, I always feel very tall, proud and happy. It’s such a cool feeling that you’re playing with your kids, regardless what it is, they share the same passion with you!
A sour loser
I can’t believe that I’m a such sour loser. When I saw my favored swimmers being passed, I would wonder out loud if the leader or leaders is/are taking enhancing drugs. Pumpkin looked at me .. .. Do people get emotional in a multi-nation competition? I think so.
I was surprised to see Mary Carillo does some segments for NBC – gymnasts. Who would believe those babes or jumping fleas still in diaper are actually 16 years old?
Beijing Opening ceremony
Why do we have to wait for NBC to air it tonight? Go online.. NBC scheduled at 7:30pm when it’s happening in the morning. In the past, NBC or other major net works would get hammered for not broadcasting live, like French Open. That’s in the past, we had no recourse. Now it’s the Youtube era. My cousin got up at 4am in LA and is watching it online.
The Asian parents ..
Michelle Wie has just skipped a Ladies major in order to play with the boys. She has never won a title with the girls. Many people, pros or fans feel the PGA – men’s tour should have a rule to require girls have to win five Ladies’ title before she could qualify for the boy’s tour. I think that’s a good start. Before her first major win, Danica Patrick faced pressure too, but was not the same kind. There isn’t a ladies racing league. (My advice to Milka Duno .. win a race before throw in your towel !!)
People are blaming the bad advice Wie’s getting from her parents. David Remnick profiled Lang Lang for the New Yorker 8/4 issue, under the title The Olympian. In which he recounted when Lang was studying at the Curtis, his father was very controlling .. once Lang’s teacher Gary Graffman said to him that
“You are worse than a Jewish mother.” 🙂 ..
Lang came out on top. Not sure Wie would have the same fate (or luck).
Who? Ashley Harkleroad?
Heard this was coming for a while, now she’s here. I’ve never heard of Ashley Harkleroad until she posted for the Playboy. Few had predicted in the past that she would be the America’s answer to Anna K. Guess not. Posting won’t do any thing to her tennis career, but might open doors to other venues after she retires. Whatever the reason she cited, I just can’t image
any top 10 girls in tennis doing it. Maria and Ana are pretty, ..
F-1
What do golf, Formula One and US presidential race in common? Come on, you can guess that easily. Black man. Strictly speaking, mix-raced person with dark skin more then the other half. The phenomenon in the Formula One in Europe now is the 22 years old Lewis Hamilton, an English whose grandfather Davidson was from Grenada in the West Indies, mother Carmen a white.
Formula One is the top level in auto racing. Danica Patrick is the IndyCar racer, the American open wheel racing, as vs the NASCAR, the stock cars. F-1 used to be the sports for the titled Europeans. Steffi Graf dated driver Michael Bartels for seven years. He was a F-3 driver, never qualified for F-1. In the US, there are two types of auto racing (in general), Grand prix, open wheel and the stock car. I think the sport is changing too. In the past, the drivers had the air of a gentleman and cultured. Not sure that still applies today, especially when he is only 22. This isn’t to say that the younger ones won’t develop to be sophisticated adults.
Long ago, when Golfer spotted the news that Formula One was going to build a track in Zhuhai in the SEZ, he said he’ll visit China when it opens. Years late, the track relocated to Shanghai. It opened for business for a few years, but Golfer had since lost his appetite for China.
However, he did drag me to a NASCAR race in PA. The Andretti family is from Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Father Mario has all three: F-1, Indy and NASCAR. It was a gorgeous day. But each exits were so far apart in the Poconos, we failed to gauge the distance (map quest hasn’t become popular) correctly and missed the parade and the starting of the race. Once we sat down, I noticed we were the only Asians in a Pacific Ocean of large sized rednecks. They all well prepared for the race: huge coolers and chips. The sound of chip chewing was drown by the nosier, no the ear splitting cars. After the race, the party moved from the bleachers to the parking lot. Needless to say, we stranded there for another 2 more hours. Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, but I would rather be at some other place .. no telling Golfer, I’m a supportive, mute and obedient wife.
The golden boy
Sports Illustrated has Michael Phelps on the cover, projecting 8 gold medals in Beijing. Yeeeeessss, you go boy wonder. He isn’t excel just in one event, but all four strokes – butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. That, Is, Remarkable. At 6’4″ (6’7″ wing), he should be at the other end of the pool in no time, especially swims in the short course, 25 yards. I’ll be screaming for Dara too, and the Williamses ..
I hope US and China don’t compete head to head often. Will they clean out the gold medals? If not all, at least 90%. Leave whatever they don’t care to the rest of the world to fight over with. Don’t hate me, I’m pathetic, okay?!?!
