Well, it was a long and disappointing day for John Augenstein (of Owensboro Catholic and Vandy) in the finals of the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst. After 28 holes of the 36 hole match, Augenstein was 2-up with only eight holes to play. Then the roof fell in. His opponent, Andy Ogletree of Georgia Tech, won the 29th hole thanks to a bogey by Augenstein. Then Ogletree birdied the 31st hole to tie the match. Then Augenstein bogeyed the 32d hole to go 1 down. And when Augenstein double-bogeyed the par-3 35th hole, he was 2 down with only 1 hole left, and the match was over. So Ogletree is your new U.S. Amateur Champion, and Augenstein will be left to ponder what might have been.
Another Kentuckian, however, had a much better day. Justin Thomas (of Louisville St. X and Vandy) picked up his first win of the year, and the 10th win of his career, by cruising to a three-shot win at the BMW Championship in Medinah. Thomas had a huge lead going into today's round, since he shot an 11-under par 61 yesterday. But given that Medinah was basically playing like the typical pitch and putt, you knew that other guys would have low scores today. Sure enough, Hideki Matsuyama shot a 63. Patrick Cantlay shot a 65. If Thomas had been shaky, his lead could have gotten away. Instead he shot a solid 68, and won by three shots.
From my perspective, the experiment of treating the BMW Championship like a major tournament was a failure. It had a great field, and Medinah is a great old course that has hosted numerous majors in the past. Thomas is a major-quality winner. But the barrage of birdies and eagles that we saw over the last few days made it feel like you were watching something more like the John Deere Classic than the PGA Championship. (When Brooks Koepka won the PGA at Bethpage Black earlier this year, his winning score was 8-under par.)
Next year we have the Olympics and the GOP Convention in August, so maybe there will be enough sports to get through that month. But I don't think the BMW Championship is the answer.
Oh, and neither Tiger Woods nor Jordan Spieth qualified for next week's Tour Championship. And the PGA has come up with some sort of gimmick that is supposed to create more drama, but which will make me want to turn to the channel. No matter what they try, I am never going to believe that winning the Playoffs is a bigger deal than winning a major. I wish they would accept that, but I fear that they won't.
1. J. Thomas: -25 (65+69+61+68=263)
2. P. Cantlay: -22 (66+67+68+65=266)
3. H. Matsuyama (JPN): -20 (69+63+73+63=268)
4. T. Finau: -18 (67+66+68+69=270)
T5. J. Rahm (ESP): -16 (68+69+66+69=272)
T5. B. Snedeker: -16 (66+71+67+68=272)
T7. C. Conners (CAN): -15 (69+66+69+69=273)
T7. L. Glover: -15 (66+69+69+69=273)
T9. A. Scott (AUS): -14 (67+71+69+67=274)
T9. K. Kisner: -14 (68+68+69+69=274)
Showing posts sorted by date for query "i am watching the olympics". Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query "i am watching the olympics". Sort by relevance Show all posts
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Pan Am Games Medal Count
Here's the live medal count for the top four countries at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru:
USA: 73G + 58S + 50B = 181
CAN: 25G + 42S + 38B = 105
BRA: 31G + 26S + 47B = 104
MEX: 26G + 22S + 42B = 90
I have no idea how many medals are left, but the trend looks pretty good to me. Last night I watched some of the swimming on ESPN2, and the Americans were crushing everyone. They played the national anthem about six or seven times while I was watching, and I enjoyed it every time.
I suppose the other hemisphere will show up at Tokyo for the Olympics next year, and that will make everything so much more stressful.
USA: 73G + 58S + 50B = 181
CAN: 25G + 42S + 38B = 105
BRA: 31G + 26S + 47B = 104
MEX: 26G + 22S + 42B = 90
I have no idea how many medals are left, but the trend looks pretty good to me. Last night I watched some of the swimming on ESPN2, and the Americans were crushing everyone. They played the national anthem about six or seven times while I was watching, and I enjoyed it every time.
I suppose the other hemisphere will show up at Tokyo for the Olympics next year, and that will make everything so much more stressful.
Monday, September 15, 2014
FIBA Update: The Winner Takes It All
Final (in Madrid):
United States 129 - 92 Serbia
On September 1, 2006, in Saitama, Japan, the United States lost in the semi-finals of the FIBA World Championship. The Americans were beaten 101-95 by Greece. I remember this game very well, because I woke up in the middle of the night to watch it. It was another humiliating defeat for the Americans, who had failed to reach the final of the 1998 FIBA World Championship, the 2002 FIBA World Championship (we came in sixth), or the 2004 Olympics. After those disasters, USA Basketball had been completely overhauled, with Coach K given sweeping powers to remake the team. Now he had failed. With the 2008 Olympics scheduled for China -- not exactly the Friendly Confines for the U.S. of A. -- the prognosis for USA Basketball was not good.
Here's what Coach K has done since that time.
First, the U.S. beat Argentina to win the 2006 Bronze Medal.
Then, the United States went 10-0 to win the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, thus qualifying for the 2008 Olympics.
Next, the United States went 8-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics.
Next, the United States went 9-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Next, the United States went 8-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2012 Olympics.
And now, the United States has gone 9-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2014 FIBA World Championship.
If you're keeping score at home, that's a 45-game winning streak that is now over eight years long. No country in the history of basketball has ever won back-to-back Olympic Golds and back-to-back FIBA titles at the same time.
What's even more impressive is that the Americans appear to be getting even better. This year's team won every game by at least 20 points -- something that had never happened before in the FIBA World Championship.
From late 2002 until late 2010, either Yugoslavia or Argentina was ahead of the United States on the FIBA World Rankings. We retook the world ranking after the 2010 FIBA World Championship and have kept it ever since.
When they close the book on Coach K's career, his tenure as the head coach of the United States won't get much attention, at least in this country. But he has done a phenomenal job -- one of the best coaching jobs I have ever seen. For years and years, American coaches have been frustrated and mystified both by FIBA's rules and the way in which those rules are interpreted. Basically, FIBA officials are quick to call touch fouls -- especially on big players -- which effectively outlaws the hard-nosed defensive style so common in the NBA. FIBA officials are also quick to call walks and charges (at least on Americans) -- effectively eliminating much of the one-on-one drives made famous by Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Heedless of this situation, many prior American coaches tried to win international tournaments by using their superior athleticism on defense -- the one place where it is most useless. After watching Greece light up his team for over 100 points back in 2006, Coach K bowed to reality. He built his teams around strong three-point shooting and high-powered offense.
This year, for example, the best player on the U.S. team was probably Anthony Davis. Under NBA rules -- or even NCAA rules -- he would have dominated the tournament. But the FIBA officials were not going to let him play. He fouled out in less than 20 minutes in the semi-finals, and he had three quick fouls in the first half against Serbia. (He only played 14 minutes in that game). Had the team been set up around Davis, this would have been a disaster. But Coach K was prepared -- he had loaded up with three-point shooters. The Americans went 11-15 from three-point range in the first half, ran away to a 67-41 half-time lead, and never looked back. Kyrie Irving went 6/6 from three-point range, scored 26 points, and was named the tournament MVP. Team Captain James Harden poured in 23 points on 8/11 shooting. Kenneth Faried got 12 points and 7 rebounds in only 20 minutes and made the all-tournament team. DeMarcus Cousins spelled Davis, picking up 11 points and 9 rebounds in only 17 minutes and causing all sorts of trouble for the Serbs at both ends of the court. It was a masterful, spectacular performance.
I am certain that the American press -- frustrated with such American dominance -- will push for changes to how the U.S. team is picked. There will be calls to limit ourselves to an under-22 team, or some other handicap designed to make things "more competitive." Those calls will be popular with certain owners, who don't like the chances of injury for their big stars. If these changes prevail, USA Basketball will be much less fun than it has been in recent years. Personally, I have greatly enjoyed watching these teams play. I don't like the fact that so much of the officiating seems biased, but I agree with FIBA's antipathy toward physical play and hand-checking, and it is a joy to see just how good modern players can be when they are not shackled by the American rules. In the meantime, I congratulate Coach K and his team -- especially Davis, Cousins, and Faried, all of whom played their college ball in the Commonwealth. They were outstanding.
And we'll see what happens. FIBA may stand their ground. After all, if you really want basketball to reach its potential worldwide, we need tournaments where the best take on the best. Our group this year may not have been the absolute best collection of players we could have sent, but it's hard to see how we could have fielded a better team.
One final note: Davis now has an NCAA championship, an Olympic Gold Medal, and a FIBA Gold Medal. If he wins an NBA Title, he will be the first player to win all four trophies.
United States 129 - 92 Serbia
On September 1, 2006, in Saitama, Japan, the United States lost in the semi-finals of the FIBA World Championship. The Americans were beaten 101-95 by Greece. I remember this game very well, because I woke up in the middle of the night to watch it. It was another humiliating defeat for the Americans, who had failed to reach the final of the 1998 FIBA World Championship, the 2002 FIBA World Championship (we came in sixth), or the 2004 Olympics. After those disasters, USA Basketball had been completely overhauled, with Coach K given sweeping powers to remake the team. Now he had failed. With the 2008 Olympics scheduled for China -- not exactly the Friendly Confines for the U.S. of A. -- the prognosis for USA Basketball was not good.
Here's what Coach K has done since that time.
First, the U.S. beat Argentina to win the 2006 Bronze Medal.
Then, the United States went 10-0 to win the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, thus qualifying for the 2008 Olympics.
Next, the United States went 8-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics.
Next, the United States went 9-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Next, the United States went 8-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2012 Olympics.
And now, the United States has gone 9-0 to win the Gold Medal at the 2014 FIBA World Championship.
If you're keeping score at home, that's a 45-game winning streak that is now over eight years long. No country in the history of basketball has ever won back-to-back Olympic Golds and back-to-back FIBA titles at the same time.
What's even more impressive is that the Americans appear to be getting even better. This year's team won every game by at least 20 points -- something that had never happened before in the FIBA World Championship.
From late 2002 until late 2010, either Yugoslavia or Argentina was ahead of the United States on the FIBA World Rankings. We retook the world ranking after the 2010 FIBA World Championship and have kept it ever since.
When they close the book on Coach K's career, his tenure as the head coach of the United States won't get much attention, at least in this country. But he has done a phenomenal job -- one of the best coaching jobs I have ever seen. For years and years, American coaches have been frustrated and mystified both by FIBA's rules and the way in which those rules are interpreted. Basically, FIBA officials are quick to call touch fouls -- especially on big players -- which effectively outlaws the hard-nosed defensive style so common in the NBA. FIBA officials are also quick to call walks and charges (at least on Americans) -- effectively eliminating much of the one-on-one drives made famous by Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Heedless of this situation, many prior American coaches tried to win international tournaments by using their superior athleticism on defense -- the one place where it is most useless. After watching Greece light up his team for over 100 points back in 2006, Coach K bowed to reality. He built his teams around strong three-point shooting and high-powered offense.
This year, for example, the best player on the U.S. team was probably Anthony Davis. Under NBA rules -- or even NCAA rules -- he would have dominated the tournament. But the FIBA officials were not going to let him play. He fouled out in less than 20 minutes in the semi-finals, and he had three quick fouls in the first half against Serbia. (He only played 14 minutes in that game). Had the team been set up around Davis, this would have been a disaster. But Coach K was prepared -- he had loaded up with three-point shooters. The Americans went 11-15 from three-point range in the first half, ran away to a 67-41 half-time lead, and never looked back. Kyrie Irving went 6/6 from three-point range, scored 26 points, and was named the tournament MVP. Team Captain James Harden poured in 23 points on 8/11 shooting. Kenneth Faried got 12 points and 7 rebounds in only 20 minutes and made the all-tournament team. DeMarcus Cousins spelled Davis, picking up 11 points and 9 rebounds in only 17 minutes and causing all sorts of trouble for the Serbs at both ends of the court. It was a masterful, spectacular performance.
I am certain that the American press -- frustrated with such American dominance -- will push for changes to how the U.S. team is picked. There will be calls to limit ourselves to an under-22 team, or some other handicap designed to make things "more competitive." Those calls will be popular with certain owners, who don't like the chances of injury for their big stars. If these changes prevail, USA Basketball will be much less fun than it has been in recent years. Personally, I have greatly enjoyed watching these teams play. I don't like the fact that so much of the officiating seems biased, but I agree with FIBA's antipathy toward physical play and hand-checking, and it is a joy to see just how good modern players can be when they are not shackled by the American rules. In the meantime, I congratulate Coach K and his team -- especially Davis, Cousins, and Faried, all of whom played their college ball in the Commonwealth. They were outstanding.
And we'll see what happens. FIBA may stand their ground. After all, if you really want basketball to reach its potential worldwide, we need tournaments where the best take on the best. Our group this year may not have been the absolute best collection of players we could have sent, but it's hard to see how we could have fielded a better team.
One final note: Davis now has an NCAA championship, an Olympic Gold Medal, and a FIBA Gold Medal. If he wins an NBA Title, he will be the first player to win all four trophies.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 (Day 9)
Uh, no RT @ops1994 you'r tweets are coming in faster then the video feed just wait 1 min to tweet
— Alan Abrahamson (@alanabrahamson) February 16, 2014
That Tweet--sent out by a reporter during the men's alpine skiing "Super G" final early this morning Central time--is perfectly representative of the tension in which we Olympics zealots exist during this transitional period for communications media.
There are so many different ways to follow the events of the Sochi Games. I can choose on which events I want to focus my attention, and I can even choose from among different perspectives on which I want to view them (i.e., I wonder what it's like to follow the Olympics as a Latvian). And then there are all the choices around timing. I can wait to consume what Bob Costas/Matt Lauer/Meredith Vierra want to serve me in the prime-time NBC newsreel. Or, I can get dispatches on the proceedings as they are updated and delivered to me over the course the day through various news outlets. Or, I can follow events as they happen through results recording at sites such as Sochi2014.com, live video streams at NBCOlympics.com or crowd-sourced, near-real-time documentation through social media.
But the pursuit of the most meaningful Olympics experience possible can be pretty worrisome and unsatisfying. It's easy for the whole endeavor to turn into another thing on which one feels behind (oh, yeah, I also need to get together my taxes, too). And stuff like unintended glitches with synchronicity--such as the one illustrated by the Tweet above, where someone's video-stream drama is spoiled by a stray social-media remark because of issues around packet latency--can be a real bummer.
I am a staunch believer that The Internet Is Amazing™. But I believe that it's pretty easy to flood the fun out of stuff now with choice anxiety and IT frustrations.
Yesterday, I was at Rough River State Resort Park in Falls of Rough, Ky., during the Team USA-Russia men's hockey game that the United States ended up winning in a shootout, 3-2. It was a great place to be. Amid the snow and mid-century-modern, institutional architecture, I imagined our being at an Olympic athletes village.
But there were some problems, too. The lodge's cable package does not include NBC Sports Network, so I ended up instead putting MSNBC on the TV to watch the Switzerland-Russia women's hockey game and tuning in the live stream of the men's game on my laptop. I was able to keep abreast of what was going on, for the most part. But buffering issues kept plaguing the video over the guest Wi-Fi, so it kept falling farther and farther behind the more and more enthusiastic Twitter traffic I was also following from Sochi.
This was awesome. Amazingly, indescribably awesome. Can we just stop now? #Sochi2014
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) February 15, 2014
By the time the hockey game boiled down to the shootout, I was so agitated and on edge that I limited myself to simply watching for the appearance of empty white or blacked-in dots at Sochi2014.com's page for the game. Then, when T.J. Oshie, a 27-year-old from Warroad, Minn., accounted for his fourth blacked-in dot in six shootout tries and I realized that it had actually given Team USA the win, I erupted.
And when I erupted, I erupted right along with a lot of the rest of the country and even the world. And that's a very, very neat feeling.
But you know what was an amazing feeling?
Still, there are some aspects of watching stuff like the Olympics on TV in the big-three-networks era that I need to adapt for today--something about setting myself up to just receive the good as opposed to concentrating on capturing the best. I didn't get to pay much attention to the Olympics today; I know how that Super-G skiing final came out, but, otherwise, I'm just watching the prime-time show on NBC tonight and seeing what happens.
Previous reports:
Sunday, August 12, 2012
I Am Watching the Olympics (Day 16)
Marathon winding down and through London its last couple of miles ... a man from Uganda is pulling away, ahead of two Kenyans ... an American in fifth ... Lexington's Tom Hammond on the mic ...
-- watching Day 13 and end-of-day OES (Aug. 9)
Previous reports:
-- watching opening day and the opening ceremony (July 27)
-- watching Day 1 and the men's cycling road race (July 28)
-- watching Day 4, a men's basketball update, badminton jive, "culture war" jive, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (July 31)
-- watching Day 6, men's basketball update, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 2)
-- watching Day 7, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 3)
-- watching Day 10, men's basketball update, end-of-day OES, end-of-day EOES and 2008-2012 OES comparison (Aug. 6)
-- watching Day 11, boxing sadness, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 7)
-- watching Day 12, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 8)--
-- watching Day 13 and end-of-day OES (Aug. 9)
-- watching Day 14, Isaiah 40 and end-of-day OES (Aug. 10)
-- watching Day 15 and end-of-day EOS (Aug. 11)
Saturday, August 11, 2012
I Am Watching the Olympics (Day 15)
Overnights:
Claressa Shields @Claressashields
Haaaa! I got a billboard in my city! Ain't that nice!http://instagr.am/p/OK7pEJIak_/
9:20 PM - 10 Aug 12
Vaughts' Views @vaughtsviews
And to think @AtoBoldon took time to come to Centre College in Danville in June to work with 100 kids knowing Olympics were coming up.Classy
9:56 PM - 10 Aug 12
Steve Moss @smosswkyt
Who needs the Spice Girls or Olympic closing ceremonies? It's UK and Lousiville, the Final Four game! Big Blue Encore on Sun 9-11 CWKYT!
11:44 AM - 10 Aug 12
Samuel L. Jackson @SamuelLJackson
Women's Hammer Throw! How many windups, how many spins? How do you not get Dizzy?!
12:21 AM - 11 Aug 12
Philipp Zeller @phz25
The day of the "Finale Grande" is here: Gold medal match GER-NED...Support us at the Riverbank Arena+your screen!Let's get it on!#wirfuerd
2:10 AM - 11 Aug 12
USATF @USATrack_Field
So excited to see Bryshon Nellum be selected as the closing ceremonies flag bearer for #TeamUSA
2:39 AM - 11 Aug 12
The Doctor @AccioHenryAFC
@USATrack_Field I'd have asked the man who broke his leg and still ran
2:41 AM - 11 Aug 12
London 2012 @London2012
Pic: Here's the cover of our #London2012 daily programme for Day 15, featuring a gold medal stare! pic.twitter.com/9i2C51aq
2:56 AM - 11 Aug 12
-- watching Day 13 and end-of-day OES (Aug. 9)
Claressa Shields @Claressashields
Haaaa! I got a billboard in my city! Ain't that nice!http://instagr.am/p/OK7pEJIak_/
9:20 PM - 10 Aug 12
Vaughts' Views @vaughtsviews
And to think @AtoBoldon took time to come to Centre College in Danville in June to work with 100 kids knowing Olympics were coming up.Classy
9:56 PM - 10 Aug 12
Steve Moss @smosswkyt
Who needs the Spice Girls or Olympic closing ceremonies? It's UK and Lousiville, the Final Four game! Big Blue Encore on Sun 9-11 CWKYT!
11:44 AM - 10 Aug 12
Samuel L. Jackson @SamuelLJackson
Women's Hammer Throw! How many windups, how many spins? How do you not get Dizzy?!
12:21 AM - 11 Aug 12
Philipp Zeller @phz25
The day of the "Finale Grande" is here: Gold medal match GER-NED...Support us at the Riverbank Arena+your screen!Let's get it on!#wirfuerd
2:10 AM - 11 Aug 12
USATF @USATrack_Field
So excited to see Bryshon Nellum be selected as the closing ceremonies flag bearer for #TeamUSA
2:39 AM - 11 Aug 12
The Doctor @AccioHenryAFC
@USATrack_Field I'd have asked the man who broke his leg and still ran
2:41 AM - 11 Aug 12
London 2012 @London2012
Pic: Here's the cover of our #London2012 daily programme for Day 15, featuring a gold medal stare! pic.twitter.com/9i2C51aq
2:56 AM - 11 Aug 12
Previous reports:
-- watching opening day and the opening ceremony (July 27)
-- watching Day 1 and the men's cycling road race (July 28)
-- watching Day 4, a men's basketball update, badminton jive, "culture war" jive, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (July 31)
-- watching Day 6, men's basketball update, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 2)
-- watching Day 7, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 3)
-- watching Day 10, men's basketball update, end-of-day OES, end-of-day EOES and 2008-2012 OES comparison (Aug. 6)
-- watching Day 11, boxing sadness, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 7)
-- watching Day 12, end-of-day OES and end-of-day EOES (Aug. 8)--
-- watching Day 13 and end-of-day OES (Aug. 9)
-- watching Day 14, Isaiah 40 and end-of-day OES (Aug. 10)
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