Golden Girls

No, this isn't a belated tribute to Estelle Getty (we will miss you Sophia Petrillo). The golden girls I'm referring to are Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. They just knocked off a tenacious Chinese duo to win their 108th straight match and second consecutive Olympic gold. Want to know how freakishly good these ladies are? Two straight gold medal runs without dropping a set.

After Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal the other night, I cautioned that before we start lauding his Beijing games as the greatest sporting feat of all time, we need to put it in perspective. So here's some perspective: May-Treanor and Walsh winning every single set, of every Olympic match at both Athens and Beijing is sort of like Phelps winning every single heat, semi, and final of the past two Olympics. Every time these two hit the beach, they win. Phelps is ridiculous in his own right, but even he cruises to a 3rd place in the semis every once in a while.

Of course, sometimes in swimming it makes sense to hold back in a preliminary round. And there is no benefit to dropping a set in volleyball. But what we're talking about here is dominance. The willpower to enter an athletic arena on an international stage and never submit to the competition. Does such a performance diminish Phelps' achievement? Absolutely not. But it does suggest that there are other Americans at the games putting on some truly amazing athletic performances.

Great Eight

Less than 10 minutes ago Michael Phelps became the Olympic golden boy, winning his eighth gold medal of the Beijing games. The magnitude of his accomplishment is undeniable. For this this Olympics, this week, this moment in time, there is no one better than Michael Phelps.

So let the punditry begin: Is Phelps the greatest athlete ever? Is he the most dominant athlete in a single sport? Is this the greatest Olympic accomplishment ever? Already, the questions are being asked.

What's my opinion? I think we need to be careful about what we say about the performance. We cannot diminish the magnitude of the accomplishment, nor should we call into question the enormity of other athletic feats. Lance Armstrong, 7 consecutive Tour yellow jerseys; Tiger Woods, 15 14 majors in a pro career spanning only 11 years; Michael Jordan, 2 championship three-peats with the Bulls. The list goes on. There's going to be a lot of buzz about Phelps' accomplishment being the greatest in sport. But let's use some restraint, perspective and imagination in trying to qualify the amazing display of athleticism Phelps has brought to Beijing this week.

Olympic Air Supply

I heard it on PTI the other day: "Michael Phelps is sucking all the air out of Beijing." And I thought it was just the smog. But it's a true statement. Michael Phelps' improbable run at eight gold medals has reduced the rest of the Olympics to an afterthought. For the most part, I'm OK with that. Phelps is a dominant performer in most of his events, and he conducts himself with poise and enthusiasm. He's the type of athlete you don't mind being inundated with.

However, there are athletes in other sports that are not getting the typical level of attention. Great example: Women's gymnastics. The other night, the US had two gymnasts with realistic medal hopes. Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin both had the potential to win the women's all-around. But Phelps-mania held the collective attention of the American audience and remains the big story despite Liukin and Johnson's Gold-Silver finish. But is it really all Phelps' fault? Nope.

Much of the reason that Phelps has been permitted to dominate the attention surrounding the games is that he was the only viable storyline the media chose to promote prior to the opening ceremonies. Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor are the two most dominant women's beach volleyball players in the world. They closed out the gold in the 2004 Olympics in Athens without dropping a set. But the dynamic duo didn't get much press heading into games, despite the fact that they're favored for another run to the gold. And as far as gymnastics go, most sponsors that actually sunk money into a specific athlete backed the wrong horse. Shawn Johnson was remarkably consistent, but it was Nastia Liukin who took the gold. Now the pre-games face of the US women's gymastics team isn't the winning face. Oops. Looking at track and field, we have no flamboyant speedsters like Michael Johnson to market, so another Olympic staple loses focus to the goings-on in the Water Cube.

I can't explain why Walsh and Misty-May didn't get more pre-games press, but I have a theory as to why gymnastics, track and field, and the US swimmers not named Michael Phelps don't get much play before the opening ceremonies. The reason: Competitive parity. Back in the cold war days, it was the US vs the Soviet bloc. If the Soviets didn't have a contender in a sport that the US did, nobody else was going to get in our way. But times have changed. The globalization of sport has allowed elite athletes to emerge all over the world. No longer can corporate sponsors and the media predictably crown their heroes before the games. Phelps is an exception, but in coming Olympiads, the media will be less and less likely to celebrate the achievements of an athlete before the gold is in the bag.

Wicked Fast

In my last post, I think my frustration with the Beijing games was apparent. What I really needed was a little Olympic magic to get me back on board and feeling good about the whole production. The magic arrived last night. The men's 4 x 100 freestyle relay team of Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak silenced some trash-talking French poolboys by putting together a come-from-behind, last second victory that demolished the previous world record by nearly four seconds.

In the aftermath, anchor Jason Lezak is getting much of the press for his anchor leg heroics. Trailing by a half body length deficit at the turn, Lezak found a gear somewhere between "hauling ass" and "superhuman" over the last 10 meters, outreaching Alain Bernard at the wall to snag the win. There was no mystery about the affiliation of most of the 17,000 fans at the Cube, as the place exploded following finish. It was one of those sporting moments that you can walk into with no context whatsoever and still get pumped about. Well, unless you're French.

NBC tried a little too hard following the spectacle to grant the race "instant-classic" cred, but I'm letting that slide. This was the most exciting 3 minutes and 8 seconds in recent Olympic history.

International Smackdown

Despite their underdog status, the Chinese men's basketball team kept things interesting for the first half of their eventual 101-70 loss to team USA. Watching the Chinese team keep things tight with some ridiculous perimeter shooting in the first half sort of reminded me of every NCAA game I've watched where a ridiculously overmatched 13, 14, 15 or 16 seed goes out and makes a run at a top seed. But inevitably the tide turns, as it did for the US in the 3rd quarter. What they lacked in 3 point shooting, team USA made up for with ridiculous defensive rebounds and powering through the lane like Yao Ming was a JV player. After some embarrassing losses during recent international outings, this morning's blowout was a good indicator. But there are some more serious tests before anyone with a right mind declares these guys a gold medal lock.

Some Olympic observations from the opening days of the Olympic games:
-Way to go Beijing! Disgusting air quality, filtered internet to the Olympic Village and now a tragic murder suicide involving the family of an American coach. 24 hours down and you're doing a bang-up job. And I hear those opening ceremonies were gorgeous.
-Dara Torres: Fastest leg of the women's 4x100 freestyle silver medal effort. Props to Dara for showing up the young'uns. Here's hoping she doesn't pop positive for HGH.
-Micheal Phelps: Thanks for losing the facial hair prior to competing. The gold medals are going to look a lot classier without the porn star 'stache.
-Laura Bush and Henry Kissenger: You're at the US vs China basketball game. You're getting roughly the same amount of camera time as Chris Bosh. Try to stay awake.
-George Bush: Don't restrain yourself. When Kobe drops a tomahawk dunk down on Yao's head, stand up, pop your shirt and ask the Chinese President, "whatchoo gonna say 'bout THAT, shorty?" It's only slightly less classy than how you usually behave on an international stage.