By Matt Valentine
Thanksgiving, probably my favorite holiday of them all. I get to sit at home eat, drink, and watch some good old fashioned American football.
Just one problem with Thanksgiving circa 2008…every single game was a blowout. Let’s begin with the first game on today , Detroit and Tennessee. While most of us were dining on some finger foods, chips n’ dip , and perhaps a few adult beverages we were all “treated” to watching the worst team in football take on one of the best and of course hilarity ensued.
Why are the Lions even on national TV at this point? The team is 0-11 and very likely headed for an 0-16 season. They are a complete disaster to watch and outside of Calvin Johnson have no players that inspire enthusiasm.
So basically unless you are a Titans fan the game was a complete bust to watch. In fact, I’m betting that most Titan fans didn’t even watch the entire game and witness their teams 47-10 drumming of the hapless Lions.
I moved past the tragedy that was the first game in the NFL’s Thanksgiving day lineup, filled myself up with some delicous turkey, stuffing, mashed potatos, and more adult beve’s and tuned in for the second game, the Dallas Cowboys and the Seatlle Seahawks.
Love em or hate em the Cowboys are an interesting team to watch and while the Seahawks have been pretty dismal this year I had my fingers crossed for a tight game. So much for crossing your fingers. The Cowboys scored on their first three drives, quickly ending any notion that this game would be even remotely competitive. I’d like to say that I watched the entire game but, I didn’t and it was probably for the best because 34-9 doesn’t exactly sound appealing.
Ahh, but there was hope yet, the Eagles and Cardinals we’re coming on and this game had to be a good one! I mean what are the chances of three blowouts in a row? Apparently pretty damn good! This game was pretty much over at half time and the score was surprising even to myself. The Eagles and their much malinged QB Donovan McNabb simply dominated the game leading by 24-7 at the half. I actually did stay tuned in to this game, but only because Westbrook is on my fantasy team and I’m fighting for a first round bye. Once Westbrook left the game, so did I.
The games were a bust, but at least the food and drinks we’re enough to satisfy.
U.S.A Captures 4×100 Meter Relay Gold in Dramatic Fashion
Aug 11
Posted by admin in 2008 Olympics, Gold Medal, Michael Phelps, Pro Sports, Sports, Sports Events, Sports Stars, Uncategorized, fresstyle, online sports community, relay, relays, swimming | No Comments
It’s being touted as the greatest relay race in Olympic history and if you stayed up late enough to watch there is no doubt that you would feel the same way.
It was the exact type of event that makes the Olympics so compelling to watch. There was drama, there was thrash talking, and eventually there was a Gold medal.
The drama in this instance was three fold. First, there was the French telling all who would listen that thy would “smash” the Americans in their upcoming relay heat and capture the Gold. Then there was Michael Phelps, whose quest for 8 Olympic Gold’s could have been halted before it ever even got off the ground. Lastly, there was the drama of the event itself and a finish that will go down as one of the greatest of all time in Olympic swimming competition.
Take these other factors as well, not only was the World Record broken by an astonishing 4 seconds by the Americans, but it was broken by five teams total….a time that just four years ago would have insured Olympic Gold wouldn’t even have gotten you on the medal stand last night.
The drama came to a thundering conclusion in the epic final 100 meters. With American Jason Lezak- the anchor on America’s disappointing 2000 and 2004 4×100 meter4 freestyle relay teams facing off against France’s Alain Bernard, the world-record holder in the 100-meter freestyle going into the event, and the very man who had boasted of the inevitability of a French victory. Perhaps in a moment of foreshadowing Bernard had actually lost his world-record to Australia’s Eamon Sullivan just moments earlier when he opened the relay with a 47.24 leg capturing the world record.
Phelps lead off the first leg for the Americans and established an excellent pace. Weber-Gale followed and the Americans came away from his leg with the lead. Cullen Jones was the next man in the pool for the Americans and as predicted swam the slowest leg, relinquishing the American lead and giving France a six-tenths of a second advantage entering the final leg. By the time Lezak got into the pool and made his final turn that gap had grown to .82 seconds, and the Americans were declared dead by NBC commentator Rowdy Gaines. Yet, thankfully no one told that to Jason Lezak who pulled off the fastest 100-meter split in the history of the games: 46.06 second catching Bernard in the final meters and beating him to the wall, erasing every bad memory from Olympic relays past and sealing the first Gold medal for the United States in the event since 1996.
Lezak trying to surpass French swimmer Bernard
Until 2000, the U.S. had never lost a 4×100 meter freestyle. Then came the Sydney Games, when another man, Gary Hall Jr. of Australia, made a bold proclamation saying of his Australian team, “We’ll smash them like guitars.” Hall and the Australians stayed true to their word beating the Americans by .19 seconds, mockingly playing air guitars atop the medal stand while waiting for the medals to be handed out.
Then came 2004, the lowest point for the American relay team. Not only did they not capture the gold, but finished behind both South Africa and Netherlands taking home a disappointing bronze medal.
Lezak was the anchor on both teams and turned in what many classified as sub par performances. Well, redemption thy name is gold and the U.S. has one man to thank.
Tags: advantage, Alain Bernard, America, American, anchor, Australia, Australias, commentator, competition, conclusion, Cullen Jones, doubt, drama, Eamon Sullivan, epic, event, finish, France, freestyle, Gale, gap, Gary Hall Jr., gold, gorund, heat, history, holder, ineveitablitiy, instance, Jason Lezak, Lastly, lead, Lezak, man, medal, meter, Michael Phelps, moment, NBC, Netherlands, night, Olympic, pace, pool, quest, race, record, relay, South Africa, stand, swam, swimming, Sydney, team, time, turn, type, U.S.A Captures, United States, US, Victory, way, World