How can Usain Bolt NOT be taking Steroids??

This is getting a little ridiculous. A couple days after demolishing the field a 100m jog, Usain Bolt held nothing back in capturing the 200m gold and creating a mockery out of all other humans. Bolt finished the race in a world record 19.30 seconds.

To put that race in perspective, let's recount Michael Johnson's almost unbeatable 12-year world record of 19.32.

Nobody, including Johnson, could believe the time, which according to the IAAF's decathlon scoring tables equates to 9.72 for 100 meters. Johnson's 200m race in Atlanta is believed by many to be the single greatest track and field performance in history.
- USA Track and Field

Usain Bolt had the biggest margin of victory ever for an Olympic 200m. Before this race Bolt's personal best was a mere 19.67. Even he couldn't have predicted this superhuman result.

"I have a great feeling. It's a dream come true," Bolt said.

"I'm shocked. I am still shocked. I have been aspiring to the world record for so long.

"I never expected this. I knew the track was a fast track, but I didn't think this was possible.

"I worked so hard to become the champion and I will work harder to stay on top."

Bolt is only just turning 22. Johnson on the other hand, was 29 when he set his astounding world record. When asked before the games if Bolt could break his record, Johnson didn't believe it was possible, saying Bolt has to perfect his mechanics over the years.

If this is what imperfection is like, what will Bolt do to us come 2012?

Assuming tonight's race wasn't a fluke, Bolt should only get faster. And the rest of the field will only seem that much slower.

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Deviation in Dodger Direction

For the first time in 8 years, the Dodgers seem to be making the right moves. Since dismembering a respectable team built around Gary Sheffield and Shawn Green, the Dodgers were stuck in a cycle of questionable and disappointing signings. They brought in the ever-underachieving Jeromy Burnitz. They took a chance on two talented but injury-prone players, Milton Bradley and J.D. Drew. They wheelchaired in two has-beens clearly on the decline, Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra. They grossly overpaid Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre. They took a swing at a no-longer-on-steroids-and-thus-no-longer-effective Luis Gonzalez. And who can forget the most recent blunder, Andruw Jones. Andruw Jones...what more needs to be said? These mind-numbing acquisitions would result in almost a decade of the Blue Crew struggling just to make the post-season.

For some reason, this year is different. With a handful of young talent keeping the Dodgers neck and neck with the Diamondbacks for the NL West lead, Ned Colletti seems to have realized that a few safe additions might just push the Dodgers over the edge.

With youngster Blake DeWitt slightly lagging in big-league development, Colletti took a gamble on Casey Blake (not really a gamble, Blake is a solid bet for 20 home runs and 80 RBI every year). Then came the surprise acquisition of Manny Ramirez, who's slugging .746 in 17 games thus far with the Dodgers LOL (LOL = laughing out loud), really a no-risk no-brainer for Colletti when you consider that Manny is in the last year of his contract, and that Boston, not LA, will be responsible for the majority of Manny's remaining salary this year. Even with the Arizona acquisition of Adam Dunn, the Dodgers seemed poised to take over the NL West.

But Colletti still wasn't satisfied. In fact, he was determined to make the Dodgers 4 sizes better ('sizes,' in this sense, is spelled Cy's). Deviating away from the time-tested (time-tested for failure) strategy of gambling on injury-prone stars, Colletti decided to invest in a tank. I use the word tank reluctantly, because even tanks experience more technical and mechanical problems than Greg Maddux. In his 23-year career (let me write that out for those of you who may have misread that: TWENTY-THREE YEARS) and 22 years as a full-time starter, Maddux has notched less than 30 starts just twice, and has not ONCE notched less than 20 starts.

Even at age 43, Greg Maddux gets the job done. In his last 5 starts before coming back to the Dodgers, Maddux is 3-1 with 4 quality starts, and a 17:1 K:BB ratio. In his prime, Maddux was the greatest. At age 43, Maddux is still better than most. If only for this year, the Dodgers are destined for glory.

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US Gymnast Alicia Sacramone Knocks a Dude Out

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In China, Shaq Statue Represents Fatness

Curiously out of the LA Times today was an article by head sports Columnist Bill Plaschke. With all that is going on in the sports world, Bill Plaschke decides to write about a flippin statue??

But who am I to complain, I was quite amused, so I guess it served it's purposed. Apparently, everyone Bill Plaschke met at the statue was dumbfounded about its reason for existence.

I'll be honest, I'm not the greatest Shaq fan. In America, my dislike for Shaq often meets resistance from folks who respect his post moves and overpowering presence. Whatever. In China, at least, my opinions seems like the consensus.

"Shaq is a good player, but, look here, he is little fat," Chen said.

"I walk past him every day and I think, he is just so-so," said playground player Lei Shi, 26, as he walked to his game. "We're not sure why he's here."

"Kobe is younger, and that Shaq over there is fatter," said Tony Zhang, 24. "Kobe is today. Shaq is too old."

Young athletes pass him on their way to and from their basketball games. Almost every time, they look up at him. And almost every time, they shrug.

"One good thing about this," Minghas Li said. "Shaq can't sing in real life, and here he will not be able to sing."

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Footballs

So, football season is about to kick off. The world breathlessly awaits as we wait to see whether or not the superstars of last season can return to their world-beating form, and to see which newcomers will step up and make the jump from obscurity to A-list celebrity.

Of course, what I am referring to is the English Premier League! Not to say I am not eagerly anticipating the beginning of the NFL season (I am, but I am way more excited for College Football), but as a fan of the beautiful game, I cannot help but be psyched for the new season of the EPL, not with so many intriguing stories abound.

For all of you who haven't been paying attention (I would guess that's all of you), the offseason for soccer really wasn't an offseason, as Euro 2008 took center stage. However, a few stories have certainly dominated the headlines. Here is a quick rundown:

Liverpool, with 18 Premier League titles, leads Manchester United by only one title in their claim as being the greatest English club in history. Their last title came in 1990, 18 years ago. The risk of losing their status atop English football is simply unbearable for Liverpool's fans, and the possibility that Manchester United could tie them is leading many Liverpudlians to claim that this is their year. With the offseason addition of Irish international and former Tottanham captain Robbie Keane, Liverpool sends out a strike force as fearsome as any in all of Europe - could this be the year their wait comes to an end?

Chelsea has fully moved on from the Jose Mourinho era. After a season in limbo under the unwanted and unloved Avram Grant, the Blues appointed former Brazil and Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari to the helm, in an effort to instill the flowing, attack-minded football owner Roman Abramovic prefers. With the offseason addition of midfield magician Deco, and the retention of the mercurial Didier Drogba, could this be the season that Chelsea can finally hoist the European Championship for the first time?

Arsenal continues to sell their established players, and bring in unproven youngsters to take their turn in the Arsene Wenger factory of football superstars. New faces Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri hope to offset the undoubtedly damaging losses of Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini. Former Chelsea coach and current Inter man Jose Mourinho has ruled them out of the title hunt, but every season people write the Gunners off as being too young, Arsene Wenger is able to pull another rabbit out of the hat. Will Arsenal prove their resilience yet again, and show that last season's run at the title was not a fluke?

The story of the summer had been Cristiano Ronaldo's purported switch from Man U to Real Madrid. That noise has since died, as Ronaldo, Madrid, and Manchester United have all confirmed that the player will be staying at Manchester for at least one more season. The failed attempt at signing Tottenham want-away Dimi Berbatov has not dampened manager Alex Ferguson's outlook on the season, but with both Chelsea and Liverpool improving, and the ever dangerous Arsenal adding fresh new faces to the mix, will Manchester United be able to hold on to their spot atop the footballing world as Premier League and European Champions?

With so many story lines just among the big 4, the Premier League season, which kicked off on Saturday, is must see TV. Too bad it's only shown live if you have Setanta or special TV programming (satellite), or on replays on FSC.

Cmon American TV, get with the program! Euro 2008 was a massive success for ESPN! There's an audience for good football, so get with it!

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Surprise! Olympic Controversy

The spirit of competition in Beijing has awoken the beast of controversy throughout the various events. Whether it be about synchronized swimming costumes or a Swedish wrestler's protest to the refereeing, controversy has plagued the Olympic scene. But none has aroused more uproar than the suspect new scoring system in women's gymnastics. A system which changed the 10-point system into the sum of a difficulty and a 10-pt execution score.

In one such case, Alicia Sacramone was robbed of a bronze medal in the individual women's vault competition by China's Fei Cheng, who scored a 15.562(+.025). Sacramone's two vaults were of 6.3 and 5.8 difficulties, which she executed to get an average score of 15.537. Unfortunately, Cheng, the leader after the first vault, attempted only 6.5 difficulty jumps, giving her a .90 advantage from the get go.

And of course when a person has that kind of huge advantage from the start, one would expect that any gymnast that lands on her two feet would come out on top of Sacramone. Fei Cheng landed on her knees.

I do not know what they were thinking with this new system, but it has to go. A gymnast that completes two well-executed vaults should always outscore a gymnast who lands on her knees. The higher difficulty was a risk that Cheng took upon herself, which she proceeded to royally screw up, she should have payed a more significant price. To make it worse, she was hardly docked for her crooked entrance, low elevation, and poor aerial execution; good job judges.

In another example, all-around champion, Nastia Liukin, was subjugated to silver after tying for the highest score on the uneven bars. Liukin and China's Kexin He were tied at 16.725; but in a result of a tie, of the 4 indivudal scores, the lowest is dropped and the remaining three scores are averaged. Unfortunately for Liukin, her lowest execution score was 9.0 and He's was 8.9.

The way I see it, Liukin's scores were more consistent, proving that the judges were in agreement of a very solid performance. He's execution scores were slightly more sporadic, giving the notion that they were not too sure on how to correctly judge He's routine. One could account this to their contrasting styles, but there should have been a better way of dealing with a tie; removing the next highest execution scores would have given Liukin the gold.

What really bothers me about the uneven bars fiasco was seeing the disappointment in Nastia Liukin's eyes. She sat beside her father after her performance, eagarly awaiting her scores. There was a moment of excitement that quickly faded into a look of confusion. She looked to her father after seeing the scores light up, "Why am I in second?"

From that moment she sat arms crossed and stone faced. Her entire life she practiced to become the best and on that night, the scores said that she was. The rules said she was second. Second to a 13-year old girl who's age was IOC verified by the Chinese communist government. Hrmmm?

Amidst all this controversy, these two young women maintained their poise and integrity. I am not exactly sure how they were able to remain so calm, but then again, I'm not an Olympic athlete representing my country.

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NBA Update

There exists a small community on this expansive planet called the NBA. This small collection of ~450 people has typically been characterized as the home of the greatest basketball players in the world. However, this community is at a serious risk of being completely forgotten by an attention-whoring organization known as the IOC; led by none-other than the attention tyrant, Michael Phelps.

Phelps utilizes the destructive forces of 8 gold medals to brain-wash every employee of the NBC media company, resulting in a sweeping mania over swimming and all else related to the Olympics.

However, as the basketball-preservationist leader of the local ATA sports foundation, I took up on a journey to determine how this community was progressing (/deteriorating).

Here are the key findings from my recent journey:

• In a recent 6-player trade involving three teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers gave Joe Smith to Oklahoma City and Damon Jones to the Milwaukee Bucks to acquire Mo Williams. Oklahoma City also received city-favored Desmond Mason while the Bucks gained Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin. Williams, after averaging 17 points and 6 assists a game, is expected to significantly relieve some of Lebron's offensive burden; a task Larry Hughes previously failed to do.

• The front office of the Philadelphia 76ers have been particularly busy. They recently re-signed a budding Louis Williams (11.5 ppg) and also we're able to lock down their incumbent star, Andre Iggy Iguodala to a 6-yr $80 million extension. They also offered the shot-blocking guru, Theo Ratliff, a one year veteran minimum's salary.

• Michael Finley re-signed with the San Antonio Spurs after being courted by a number of teams such as Boston.

• The Atlanta Hawks immediately matched the Memphis Grizzlies' 5-year $58 million offer to restricted free agent, Josh Smith, showing the world that they failed in their attempts to low-ball the high-flyer. However, they also made a key acquisition in signing the talented NBA nomad, Ronald Murray.

• Brandon Roy of the Portland Trailblazers recently had successful knee surgery to repair a tear on his left meniscus. The third year star should recover in 4-6 weeks from his minor surgery, in time for the season opener.

• Josh Childress's move to Greece has truly impacted the NBA, inspiring mid-level players to also make the jump to Europe. The most recent athletes to cross are Carlos Arroyo (Israel - $2.5 million), Earl Boykins (Italy - $3.5 million), and Jannero Pargo (Russia - $3.5 million). They will be joining Childress, Jorge Garbajosa, Primoz Brezec, Juan Carlos Navarro, Carlos Delfino, Dan Dickau, and Bostjan Nachbar as NBA defectors.

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Random Ramblings: USA vs. Spain Men's Basketball

Saturday morning's are best spent with friends (& fellow ATA writers) watching USA basketball. Nothing would make this moment better than some delicious Spanish food and a ciesta(Spanish lunch nap).

• Kobe just checked Pau to the ground, I thought they were buddies. It's even more hilarious that they had a pre-game special on the bond between Pau and Kobe on the Lakers.

• What is Dwight Howard doing? He doesn't play help defense, he picks up a silly foul, and he just goal-tended a ball that Lebron James already blocked... on the other hand, that was an amazing goal-tend. (7 rows deep is not bad)

• With 3:41 left in the first, 17-year old Ricky Rubio just entered the game, all hype or is he the modern day Pistol Pete. Well, he just turned the ball over on a bad pass and now he just fouled Chris Paul on the drive. Not looking good, Ricky. Nevermind. In the last 2 possessions he just picked up fouls against Paul and Deron, hit all 4 free throws. Not bad, Ricky.

• Ricky update: 1 defensive, 1 offensive rebound, stole the ball from Lebron, and then proceeded to trash talk Lebron. Ricky, you the man, but Lebron will end your life.

• If you get your ass grabbed and fondled by a big black man (Chris Bosh) and get called for an offensive foul, I would be pissed. It's okay Rudy Fernandez, referees suck wherever you play in the world.

• Spain should stop throwing alley-oops. They have converted zero out of three in the first half. Okay wow, let me proceed to take my foot out of my mouth. Ricky Rubio just threw a sick one handed alley-oop.

• Carlos Boozer is pure trash, everyone on team USA is going to foul out, but team USA is leading 61-45 at the half. Amazing.

• Carmelo's made four 3-pointers this game, this guy is on fire. I need to stop blogging this game, Carmelo just threw up a brick.

• CP3 is by far the best point guard on the US team. He uses his speed and strength so well to break down opposing defenses, not to mention his superior passing and defensive skills.

• Marc Gasol is a pretty solid player for Spain. But he looks like a 7 foot bear hunter who should be wearing a red flannel and Wrangler jeans.

• Dwyane Wade is a walking highlight reel for Team USA. He literally cooks up dunks that would put your mama's best dish to shame. And he's literally everywhere, loose ball? D.Wade is there. Who blocked that shot? D.Wade. D.Wade D.Wade D.Wade. Without a doubt the team MVP.

• If Chris Paul and Dwight Howard were ever on an NBA team together, I would be very very scared, and so should you. Their alley-oop together was slam-dunk contest worthy, and it would score a 50 too.

• This game has been over for a long time now and I can prove it. Not only is the score 113-78, Michael Redd threw down a slam dunk, Carlos Boozer and Prince are on the court at the same time, and Prince even scored a few times. Dear lord.

• America totally destroyed Spain this game. Let's just hope that if they meet again, America continues to play suffocating defense and actually make a few 3-pointers like they did this game. And maybe one day, Kobe will actually make some shots and not be in foul trouble all game long.
  

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Lezak gets individual bronze, becomes human.

Jason Lezak, competing in his only individual final of the games, secured the bronze medal in the 100m freestyle. He finished the race in 47.67 seconds.

World champion Alain Bernard of France somewhat got revenge for losing the 4x100m relay by winning the gold with a time of 47.21 seconds. The final results of the 100m freestyle:

1. Alain Bernard (France) - 47.21 sec
2. Eamon Sullivan (Australia) - 47.32 sec
3. Jason Lezak (USA) and Cesar Cielo (Brazil) - 47.67 sec
4. Pieter van den Hoogenband (Netherlands) - 47.75 sec

This race really puts Lezaks historic relay race into perspective. Lezak dove into the water almost a full body length behind Alain Bernard, the world record holder in the 100m freestyle. At the turn Bernard still had that same lead. And when it was all said and done Lezak had overtaken Bernard for the gold finishing his anchor leg in 46.06 sec.

Sullivan currently holds the world record at 47.05 seconds. Remember Lezak swam a 46.06. He all but crushed the world record. Sadly, it doesn't count for the record because Lezak swam it as part of a relay team. Although, the leadoff leg of the relay does qualify for records because it has a traditional standing start. Rest assured, it will live on in the annals of inhuman performances.

46.06?? Gimme a break!!

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Random Ramblings: USA vs. Angola Men's Basketball

It's 5 AM here in California, and here I am, excited and up for Team USA's second game. I fully expect the game to actually be broadcasted live this time, and hope for the sakes of NBC's executive cabinet that the event actually is on. After cruising through the first fifty channels on my television (anger slightly boiling over after the absence of any Olympic coverage over the first two known Olympic channels) I was relieved to see that the game was actually playing on USA. NBC, thank you for granting my request (threat, request, tomato, tomatoe). So here goes:

• I turned on the television to see an athletic breakaway dunk and felt quite happy with myself. Turns out it was an Angolan by the name of Morais, not an American. Wow. Great way to start the day.
• Angola actually looks pretty athletic and shoots well. For a team supposed to be losing big, they aren't doing too badly through the first quarter so far.
  
• Wow, the Angolan coach just admitted that his goal for the game was to not lose by forty. Modest, mocking, or serious? Who knows, but I am sure that we better win by forty.
  
• OK, I have seen the woman referee call at least five travels within eight minutes. She has made no other call so far, so I guess that's her mission. Keep the world travel-free. Good job lady, just miss all the shoves and flops going on. Female Donaghy, I swear.
  
• They just played a flashback of the original Dream Team's first meeting with Angola. Sir Charles has been officially documented as a global-grade jackass. Man, what a bully. It's turrible.
• Kobe's really not shooting too well. I hope this not taking over too much thing doesn't carry over into the NBA season, because if I see Kobe dishing consistently to Mr. Machine and Sun Yue instead of going Black Mamba, I'll have an aneurysm.
• Look for this around the 5 minute mark of the 2nd quarter. Lebron just turned on his inner Kerri Walsh and tried to permanently implant an opponent's shot into the Beijing basketball gym floor.
  
• DWade was just called for a foul while jumping in the air on an alley oop. I don't think I've ever seen someone on the receiving end of an alley oop get called for anything before. I must admit, that was strange.
• I don't want to say it again, but COME ON NOW, PRACTICE YOUR FREE THROWS.
• At the half, they lead by 18. Not horrible, but could be a lot better. It is about half way to 40 though, so sucks for the Angolan coach.
  
• After watching a recap of the Spain vs. China game (which looked like a great game and should be watched on all accounts), I'm really starting to hope that the Lakers team doesn't get too tired out over the course of this summer. Pau and Kobe should both travel deep into this tournament, and I really hope fatigue doesn't play too much of a factor.
• I'm happy to see that the NBA on NBC theme song is still being played. John Tesh's best work, no question.
  
• I think Jason Kidd should be played alongside either Chris Paul or Deron Williams more often. Having two amazing passers on the court works wonders for the fastbreak and the overall ball movement.
• Start of the second half, and Kobe misses another three. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU DOBERMAN? Just as I've said that, I realize that the nickname Doberman sucks. Why Doberman? What's with Kobe and Animal Planet references?
  
• I'm not sexist, I swear. BUT I HATE THAT WOMAN REF. SHE IS RIDICULOUS.
• The US has come out very, very flat in the second half. And Kidd's refusal to shoot the ball is getting annoying... maybe he is getting old. Just kidding, just kidding.
  
• Kobe Bryant on fast breaks is just so beautiful. Too bad he's missed like five threes. I really don't understand where his shot is right now. Animorph into Black Mamba, Doberman isn't needed this game.
  
• It doesn't look like the USA was properly prepared for this game. The matchups that they're creating don't favor them whatsoever. Why not put in a team of Boozer, Howard, Lebron, Wade, and Paul? They would dominate rebounding while still being quick enough to run. This Angolan team is fairly physical, so push back.
• With 3:30 left in the 3rd, it looks like the USA has woken up, and Angola is finally falling apart.
• Oh man, Chris Bosh being the regular old American tourist is great. That giant man getting so excited with his camera and snapping picture after picture along the Great Wall reminds you that these guys are just normal people. Well, really talented, really rich, and really famous "normal people".
• I love the two-man game of Deron Williams and Chris Paul. There are no words for how well they seem to mesh. Either that, or they're both just so baller that its beautiful.
• The lead has ballooned to 28 after three. This game is on it's way to being what I expect from the Redeem Team.
  
• Dwayne Wade just saved the ball off of an Angolan player, and the player jumped up immediately to protest, only to be stared down by Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The Angolan stopped mid sentence and proceeded to run away. He looked like a chihuahua cowering away from a pair of rottweilers. Too bad the Doberman was on the other side of the court.
• As soon as I started being proud of them, The US team started getting sloppy. They no longer impress me.
• Morais of Angola is really impressive. Yeah, he has double digit turnovers, but that's because he has it in his hands almost 80% of the time while being hounded by Kobe and DWade.
• With a final score of 97-76, the Americans cruised to victory, albeit not up to my personal expectations. Wade was perfect in Beijing for 6 quarters still having missed only 2 shots total and Lebron has been overpowering anyone that dares come close to him. The US team is winning easily, but the blowouts just aren't what they used to be.

To conclude this game, it must be stated that the US team shot ridiculously poorly. 24% from the three and 64% from the line is horrible. Had they shot a more reasonable 43% from the arc (which is more or less a twenty foot jumper) and 80% from the line, they would have won by thirty-seven instead. And that's being generous. Kobe and Redd need to start hitting their threes with more consistency and Lebron really needs to learn how to make a freethrow. So far, Dwayne Wade has been the star of these 2008 Olympics. By far.

PRACTICE YOUR FREAKING FREETHROWS

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