THIS WEEK’S RECAP…
Thanks to internet problems beyond my control, I was without the internet for the better part of three days. I missed TNA’s Hardcore Justice pay-per-view, the breaking news of Mitt Romney’s VP announcement, the rise and fall of Chad Johnson in Miami, the end of the 2012 Olympics online, Rory McIlroy’s dominant PGA Championship victory, and so many other tremendous stories over the weekend. In addition, it led to a delay with this week’s recap. However, I am back online (hopefully to stay) and ready to write. Here is the weekly recap of the best and worst according to me.
Superstar of the Week: Team USA including members Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Dawn Harper, Kellie Wells, Ashton Eaton, Trey Hardee, Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Jennifer Kessy, April Ross, Aly Raisman, Claressa Shields, Jordan Burroughs, Jake Varner, Team USA men’s basketball team, Team USA women’s basketball team, Team USA women’s soccer team, and the Team USA women’s water polo team
The Games of the XXX Olympiad in London have concluded. For this sports fan, one of the great joys of being a sports fan is watching the fortnight in which the greatest athletes in the world display their talents in battles with patriotism and national pride fueling them as much as the individual glory of gold, silver, and bronze medals. I love the Olympics. Any sports fan who does not love the Olympics is lying to you when he or she refers to himself or herself as a sports fan. The 2012 Olympic Games were nothing short of outstanding. Even with NBC showing a majority of the events on a tape delay, the drama and the excitement remained. Plus, on a personal note, it was so cool to watch Michelle Beadle crush life on the biggest stage of her career as an Olympic host for NBC and NBC Sports Network.
Thanks to internet problems beyond my control, I was without the internet for the better part of three days. I missed TNA’s Hardcore Justice pay-per-view, the breaking news of Mitt Romney’s VP announcement, the rise and fall of Chad Johnson in Miami, the end of the 2012 Olympics online, Rory McIlroy’s dominant PGA Championship victory, and so many other tremendous stories over the weekend. In addition, it led to a delay with this week’s recap. However, I am back online (hopefully to stay) and ready to write. Here is the weekly recap of the best and worst according to me.
Superstar of the Week: Team USA including members Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay, Dawn Harper, Kellie Wells, Ashton Eaton, Trey Hardee, Misty May-Treanor, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Jennifer Kessy, April Ross, Aly Raisman, Claressa Shields, Jordan Burroughs, Jake Varner, Team USA men’s basketball team, Team USA women’s basketball team, Team USA women’s soccer team, and the Team USA women’s water polo team
The Games of the XXX Olympiad in London have concluded. For this sports fan, one of the great joys of being a sports fan is watching the fortnight in which the greatest athletes in the world display their talents in battles with patriotism and national pride fueling them as much as the individual glory of gold, silver, and bronze medals. I love the Olympics. Any sports fan who does not love the Olympics is lying to you when he or she refers to himself or herself as a sports fan. The 2012 Olympic Games were nothing short of outstanding. Even with NBC showing a majority of the events on a tape delay, the drama and the excitement remained. Plus, on a personal note, it was so cool to watch Michelle Beadle crush life on the biggest stage of her career as an Olympic host for NBC and NBC Sports Network.
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| I love Michelle Beadle. Fact. |
I love her. But, I digress…
Despite trailing China at the end of the first week, the United States ended the Olympics with the most total medals. Team USA ended the games with 104 medals - 46 gold, 29 silver, and 29 bronze. China ended with 88 medals (38 gold) and Russia finished third in the total medal count with 82 medals (24 gold). Host nation Great Britain finished fourth in the total medal count with 65 medals (29 gold).
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| US Track & Field star Allyson Felix |
In the second week of the 2012 Olympics, Team USA was outstanding in track and field, dominant on the basketball court, achieved legendary success on the beach, and obtained redemption on the pitch. While the world watched in awe as Jamaican Usain Bolt shattered world records, Sanya Richards-Ross and Allyson Felix both won multiple gold medals for Team USA. Richards-Ross won gold in the 400m and women’s 4 x 400m relay while Felix took home gold in the 200m, women’s 4 x 100m relay, and women’s 4 x 400m relay. Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin both left with silver in the men’s 4 x 100m relay while Gatlin also earned a bronze in the 100m. Despite tons of hype for her, Team USA poster-child Lolo Jones failed miserably with a fourth in the 100m hurdles. Instead, Dawn Harper brought home silver and Kellie Wells took bronze in the same event. Among, the other big winners in track and field, Ashton Eaton won gold and Trey Hardee took silver in the men’s decathlon. The legendary beach volleyball careers of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings ended with a third consecutive gold medal after they defeated fellow Americans Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the gold medal match. In gymnastics, Aly Raisman won the women’s individual floor exercises while Team USA was successful in combative sports with Claressa Shields winning gold in middleweight boxing, Jordan Burroughs winning gold in 74kg freestyle wrestling, and Jake Varner winning gold in 96kg freestyle wrestling.
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| US Soccer star Alex Morgan |
Team USA continued their legendary domination on the basketball court with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams winning gold. LeBron James had the first triple-double in Olympic history while Kevin Durant’s star grew on an international level for the men while Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, and Diana Taurasi all won their third gold medals for the women. Hope Solo had a handful of incredible saves while Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd scored huge goals on the US Women’s Team’s way to winning gold in London. In the finals, the US women defeated Japan, 2-1, to not only earn the gold but also gain a semblance of redemption after their loss to Japan in the 2011 World Cup. In addition, the women’s water polo team won gold for the US in London.
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| US Soccer star Hope Solo |
While the Games of the XXX Olympiad are now over, many great moments in American sports took place over the last two weeks. For all of the records shattered, medals won, triumphs celebrated, and defeats mourned, one thing remained true throughout the games: there is no bigger sporting event in the world that unifies us as a people than the Olympics. I cannot wait until the winter games of Sochi, Russia in 2014.
Jerk of the Week: Kevin Nash
I met Kevin Nash in April 2003 in Roanoke, Virginia at a gas station. He was a wonderful guy. He chatted for a few minutes and was very friendly despite being in a hurry to get to the Roanoke Civic Center for a show. I say all of this because the wrestling world normally looks at Kevin Nash as one of the most egotistical jerks in the history of the business. Last week, Nash gave wrestling fans Exhibit 9,203 in the case of Fans vs. Kevin Nash with controversial remarks made in an interview with Grantland.com. While I met a nice guy in Roanoke nine years ago, I have to call the dude making these remarks a major league tool.
Kevin Nash said that the late Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were responsible for the death of the wrestling business as part of a rant on “vanilla midgets” coming from the mouth of a bitter has-been. “When (Chris) Benoit and (Eddie) Guerrero hugged (at the end of WrestleMania XX), that was the end of the business,” Nash told Grantland.com. “Has business been the same since that WrestleMania? Has it come close to the Austin era? Has it come close to the NWO or the Hogan era? You put two guys that were great workers that were the same height as the referees, and I’m sorry, man.” Nash addressed two of WWE’s current main event stars - CM Punk and Daniel Bryan - by calling them “internet heroes.” Nash added, “They are not bigger than life. I bet they could both walk through airports and not be noticed unless they have a gimmick shirt on and the belt.”
When Kevin Nash booked WCW in the late 1990s, Nash referred to small technically sound wrestlers as “vanilla midgets.” Legends like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, and Dean Malenko were among those who were “vanilla midgets” in Kevin Nash’s eyes. The reality is that Nash looks at everyone who is not 6’8” and 295 pounds as a “vanilla midget.” Nash would also say this about his friend Shawn Michaels and about legends like Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase, Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, and practically every other performer in the business that outdrew Nash in terms of revenue while outperforming Nash in terms of in-ring performance. Kevin Nash is a sad, petty man who bashes everyone smaller than him because Nash realizes that size is not everything and the smaller wrestlers all tend to have something Nash did not: talent. Kevin Nash’s time has come and gone. He now seems to live on bit roles in movies and the desire for the spotlight that he never truly deserved in 1995 thrust upon him again. While he helped Triple H kill CM Punk’s momentum and then feuded with The Game in 2011, the truth is that Kevin Nash’s mouth and jealous nature are the only things getting him a reaction in the wrestling business in 2012.
Babe of the Week: Taylor Swift
Jerk of the Week: Kevin Nash
I met Kevin Nash in April 2003 in Roanoke, Virginia at a gas station. He was a wonderful guy. He chatted for a few minutes and was very friendly despite being in a hurry to get to the Roanoke Civic Center for a show. I say all of this because the wrestling world normally looks at Kevin Nash as one of the most egotistical jerks in the history of the business. Last week, Nash gave wrestling fans Exhibit 9,203 in the case of Fans vs. Kevin Nash with controversial remarks made in an interview with Grantland.com. While I met a nice guy in Roanoke nine years ago, I have to call the dude making these remarks a major league tool.
Kevin Nash said that the late Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero were responsible for the death of the wrestling business as part of a rant on “vanilla midgets” coming from the mouth of a bitter has-been. “When (Chris) Benoit and (Eddie) Guerrero hugged (at the end of WrestleMania XX), that was the end of the business,” Nash told Grantland.com. “Has business been the same since that WrestleMania? Has it come close to the Austin era? Has it come close to the NWO or the Hogan era? You put two guys that were great workers that were the same height as the referees, and I’m sorry, man.” Nash addressed two of WWE’s current main event stars - CM Punk and Daniel Bryan - by calling them “internet heroes.” Nash added, “They are not bigger than life. I bet they could both walk through airports and not be noticed unless they have a gimmick shirt on and the belt.”
When Kevin Nash booked WCW in the late 1990s, Nash referred to small technically sound wrestlers as “vanilla midgets.” Legends like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, and Dean Malenko were among those who were “vanilla midgets” in Kevin Nash’s eyes. The reality is that Nash looks at everyone who is not 6’8” and 295 pounds as a “vanilla midget.” Nash would also say this about his friend Shawn Michaels and about legends like Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase, Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, and practically every other performer in the business that outdrew Nash in terms of revenue while outperforming Nash in terms of in-ring performance. Kevin Nash is a sad, petty man who bashes everyone smaller than him because Nash realizes that size is not everything and the smaller wrestlers all tend to have something Nash did not: talent. Kevin Nash’s time has come and gone. He now seems to live on bit roles in movies and the desire for the spotlight that he never truly deserved in 1995 thrust upon him again. While he helped Triple H kill CM Punk’s momentum and then feuded with The Game in 2011, the truth is that Kevin Nash’s mouth and jealous nature are the only things getting him a reaction in the wrestling business in 2012.
Babe of the Week: Taylor Swift
Red. October 22nd. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” Available now on iTunes. Good times are here again!
A Melancholy Happy Trails to…
- Ron Palillo, 63 - American actor best known as Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter (August 14th)
- Johnny Pesky, 92 - Legendary Boston Red Sox player/manager/front office worker and namesake of Pesky’s Pole at Fenway Park (August 13th)
- Red Bastien, 81 - Professional wrestler and legendary trainer who discovered Sting and the Ultimate Warrior (August 11th)
- Marvin Hamlisch, 68 - American composer (The Way We Were) and arranger (The Sting) (August 6th)
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