Wednesday, August 17, 2016

XXXI Olympic Summer Games, Rio 2016 (Day 12)

49 comments:

  1. USA keeps plugging away. So far this morning, we've picked up a silver medal in the men's steeplechase(!) and in equestrian team jumping.

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  2. Australia pounds Lithuania 90-64 in the quarter-finals of men's basketball. This was a very disappointing tournament for Team Lithuania, which started off 3-0 and then were buried in their last three games by Spain, Croatia, and Australia.

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  3. They're showing the Team Jumping medal ceremony. The various riders are up on the podium, and their horses are standing about 10 feet behind the podium. It looks fabulous, and almost makes me wish I could have been a horse person.

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    1. The U.S. team looks resplendent in red jackets with blue collars, white pants, black boots, white shirts, white ties, and black helmets.

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    2. And here are your gold medalists from France, with navy jackets with red collars, white pants, black boots, white shirts, white ties, and black helmets. I would like to know more about the rural communities of France; I think they do a better job with their rural communities than we do.

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    3. I'm so glad to hear the horses are there, too.

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  4. Meanwhile at the regatta, they've waved a flag that tells the sailors to get out on the water. It has been too calm to start racing, and it's still calm now, but it's about the time that the wind typically picks up on the water at Rio.

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  5. "For all the noise about water quality, from what we've learned, it wasn't as bad as it was advertised," asserts the NBCOlympics.com color commentator.

    OK. There you go.

    We're getting ready for the medal race in the "women's 470 (dinghy)" event.

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  6. Through 10 races, the Great Britain team (which won silver in London 2012) is so far out in front that the gold is pretty much out of reach for anyone else. Five teams, however, are in close contention for silver and bronze: New Zealand (the 2012 gold medalist), Team USA, France, Japan and Netherlands (the 2012 bronze medalist).

    They're hoping to get this race going in at 12:10 p.m. Central.

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  7. In the semi-finals of men's football, Brazil are crushing Honduras, 3-0 after 41 minutes.

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  8. The men's 470 (dinghy) medal race is scheduled to follow the women's event. Team USA is ranked fourth through 10 races, but it appears that Croatia, Greece and Australia are strongly in medal position.

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  9. In the men's volleyball quarterfinals, the USA has won the first set against Poland by the score of 25 to 23.

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  10. There were 15 badminton medals awarded at the London 2012 Olympics. China won all five of the gold, two of the silver and one bronze, for a total of eight medals. Denmark, Japan, Malaysia, Russia and South Korea shared the remaining seven (three silver and four bronze) medals. That's domination, baby.

    Well, the first Rio 2016 badminton medals were awarded this morning. Indonesia beat Malaysia for the gold. Top-seeded Zhang and Zao of China beat China's Xu and Ma for bronze.

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  11. Brazil drills Honduras 6-0, and the hosts will play for the gold medal in men's football.

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  12. In the men's volleyball quarterfinals, the USA has won the second set against Poland by the score of 25 to 23.

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  13. In the women's golf, American Lexi Thompson has fired a 3-under par 68 and is in a tie for seventh place, two shots off the lead.

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  14. In the men's volleyball quarterfinals, the USA has defeated Poland in straight sets: 25-23, 25-23, 25-20.

    The USA had gone 3-2 in Pool A; while Poland went 4-1 in Pool B. So this was a good win for us. We will now play the winner of Italy or Iran in the semi-finals. (It will almost certainly be Italy).

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  15. So here's where we are in the team sports:

    Men's basketball: quarter-final game tonight
    Men's volleyball: into the semi-finals
    Men's water polo: eliminated in group stage

    Women's basketball: into the semi-finals
    Women's volleyball: into the semi-finals
    Women's water polo: into the semi-finals

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    1. I wonder how we're doing in team handball.

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    2. Men's handball: did not qualify
      Men's football: did not qualify
      Men's rugby sevens: eliminated in group stage

      Women's handball: did not qualify
      Women's football: eliminated in quarter-finals
      Women's rugby sevens: eliminated in quarter-finals

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    3. Men's hockey: did not qualify

      Women's hockey: eliminated in quarter-finals

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  16. It occurs to me that these Olympic tournaments will probably be the only significant golf tournaments ever played at this course. That's really odd, if you think about it.

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  17. Spain is crushing France in men's basketball. With 3 minutes left in the third quarter:

    ESP 57 - 42 FRA

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  18. So Spain is going to the semi-finals. With 8 1/2 minutes left:

    ESP 73 - 49 FRA

    This is a huge, huge statement from Spain -- especially since France only lost to the USA by three points.

    If the USA beats Argentina tonight, they will meet Spain in a knockout game for the fourth Olympics in a row.

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  19. At halftime in the semi-final of women's water polo, the United States leads Hungary 8 to 5.

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  20. At halftime in the semi-final of men's football, Germany leads Nigeria 1-0.

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  21. The USA women's water polo has reached the final! They beat Hungary 14-10.

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    1. There have been four women's water polo tournaments in the Olympics before Rio, and four different teams have won the gold medals. Team USA won in London 2012. Before that, it had won two silvers and a bronze.

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    2. I've lived in the United States for 48 years, and I have loved sports my whole life, and I have never played or seen anyone playing water polo, except on TV. Off hand, I can't think of another Summer Olympics sport for which that is true.

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    3. Yeah, there were people who played handball at the rec center at WKU--and sometimes at Ys I've been around. Good guess, though. Not much of it either.

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  22. Serbia 8 seed beats china 1 seed in women's tai kwon do.

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    1. You can't sleep on Serbia; they are the West Virginia of nations.

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    2. It makes me so happy when we all comment on the same post.

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  23. So here's where we are in the team sports:

    Men's basketball: quarter-final game tonight
    Men's football: did not qualify
    Men's volleyball: in the semi-finals
    Men's water polo: eliminated in group stages
    Men's rugby sevens: eliminated in group stages
    Men's hockey: did not qualify
    Men's handball: did not qualify

    Women's basketball: in the semi-finals
    Women's football: eliminated in quarter-finals
    Women's volleyball: in the semi-finals
    Women's water polo: in the finals
    Women's rugby sevens: eliminated in quarter-finals
    Women's hockey: eliminated in quarter-finals
    Women's handball: did not qualify

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  24. Germany beats Nigeria 2-0, so the men's football will come down to Germany v. Brazil -- as it should.

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  25. The U.S. is off to a terrible start in its game with Argentina; trails 14-7 with 5:24 left in the first.

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  26. Argentina jumped out to a 19-9 lead, but the USA is now on a 7-0 run. With 3:04 left in the first:

    USA 16 - 19 ARG

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  27. USA end the first quarter on a 16-2 run. After one:

    USA 25 - 21 ARG

    Durant leads all scorers with 13 points.

    Argentina made 58.8 percent of its shots in the first quarter.

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  28. Marv Albert said Big Cuz is a 73-percent free-throw shooter in his Kings career, and NBC showed a graphic that he was hitting 82 percent in the Olympics. And then he hit two in a row.

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  29. The United States looking very good right now. With 4 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter:

    USA 47 - 27 ARG

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  30. The United States was up 56-31, but allowed Argentina to end the half on a 9-0 run. At the half:

    USA 56 - 40 ARG

    Durant has 18 points.

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  31. I love seeing Dominique Wilkins on all these diabetes-medication commercials. He looks great!

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    1. I love it that all of the kids want to get his autograph, and I love the smooth jazz that's playing in the background.

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    2. And that's a heck of a shot from the TV table.

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  32. Durant so far: 2-4 on 2-point shots, 7-9 on 3-point shots, 2-2 from the line. 27 points and 6 rebounds.

    Cousins having his best game of the tournament. 5-7 from the field; 13 points.

    After three:

    USA 87 - 61 ARG

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  33. The final quarter is basically all garbage time. Final score:

    USA 105 - 78 ARG

    Best game of the tournament for team USA. But that semi-final against Spain will be brutal.

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  34. I missed most of the Olympics last night, but I was thrilled to catch Keri Walsh Jennings and April Ross's come-from-behind win vs. Brazil in the bronze-medal match of women's beach volleyball. That has been one of my least-favorite sports in recent Summer Olympics, but those two and the Rio crowd turned me into a fan this time.

    Also, Team USA had a strong track-and-field night, highlighted by a podium sweep in 100m hurdles and a gold/silver in women's long jump.

    I wish I had been noting more diligently each day which teams got their first Olympic medals ever, first golds ever, first medals of this Olympics, etc. Indonesia, for example, got its first gold of these games at least with its big upset in the badminton. I know almost zero about Indonesia.

    Mostly, though, I'm starting to get approaching-end-of-Olympics sadness. I hate it that NBC has started pre-empting Bob Costas the last Friday of the Olympics to debut some show they're excited about. That just stabs me in the heart every two years. I freaking love the Olympics.

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