Michael Phelps is getting a pass...why?

Because he is WHITE! Ok I said it. Maybe it's not that 'black and white', pun intended, but I GUARANTEE if Mr. Phelps was an African American or Latino he would NOT be getting this free pass. Don't get me wrong either, I love the kid and was glued to the TV every morning during the Olympics, but facts are facts.

Here are the excuses I am hearing:

1. I don't condone what he did but it's not that big of a deal, he is only endangering himself since he does not play a team sport.

2. He's 23 and he was never a kid, this is just a phase.

3. He has apologized profusely and has promised it won't happen again.

Ok, let's look at them.

1. Personally, if he were NOT in the public eye, I could also care less. I believe I am in the minority in my generation to say that I never experimented with weed. I have my own personal reasons but to each his own. HOWEVER, this guy IS in the public eye. What is the signal it says to the 11 year old who is being told to stay away from recreational use? I mean the dude just won EIGHT GOLD MEDALS and is sleeping with every hot chick in Hollywood --- what 11-14 year old does not want to be like Mike? If he is not a ROLE MODEL he is at least a public figure. He also has MILLIONS --- if this was his choice, why not light up in a hotel room with no cell phone cameras.

2. Give me a break! He chose the life and is reaping the rewards. Plus, I have kids and I am not looking to the 'phase' :-)

3. The apology angle ---give me a break! Four years ago Phelps was caught and arrested for a DUI. We got the same sob story...please.

So, you are thinking --- where is the race deal Gil? Let's not be naive...name for me ONE African American athlete who has been found smoking dope and the story becomes a 'feel good' one? I'll wait.

In the meantime, the world has come to Phelps' back. Even the International Swimming Federation fell for the heartfelt apology. Tell me when Roger Goddell will do that in the NFL.

Anyway, I just find it all to be intriguing and worth watching.

On a side note, this was ALL just stream of consciousness while listening to an amazing 3DD/Maroon 5 mix I put together but no I am not 'packing a bowl'.

Like a 'bolt' of lightning

I must be slipping a bit since it took me until this morning to talk about Usain Bolt, henceforth known as 'The World's Fastest Human'.

First, let me say that the title 'World's Fastest Human', in my mind, is by far the COOLEST moniker one could have. Possibly 'Ruler/King of the World' is appealing as well but I imagine you will live in constant fear of your life with that title. The 'World's Fastest Human' only has to worry about doping scandals, cheaters and guys chasing him.

If you missed either of Bolt's World Records at the Olympics you need to go to www.nbcolympics.com and find them. It was absolutely STUNNING to watch him fly around the track. What Michael Phelps was to the pool, Bolt was to land. He energized the second week of the Games and kept them relevant.

As I watched, and heard the commentators talk about how he will dominate track for the next several years, since he is only 21, I couldn't help but think what he should do, at least in my mind. The kid is 6'5" tall which is not typical for a sprinter. He also weighs almost 200 lbs. so he is no 'little guy'. If I were Bolt or his agent I would RUN, not walk, to the NFL. If he put on 15-20 pounds he would be the prototype Wide Receiver and who knows if he can catch? What I do know is the graphic on the screen that translated his 100 Meter time to a 40 yd. dash (the measurement du jour for speed in the NFL). The best times in the NFL approach 4.2 seconds in a 40 yard dash; Bolt's time translated to a 3.53! Holy Sh*t! Imagine this guy running a 'fly pattern'? Better yet, if he realty learns the game no Defensive Back could ever come close to covering 'dig routes' or 'corner routes' because they would be so afraid of his speed. There are some pretty smart and maverick Owners out there. I can only imagine that Jerry Jones in Dallas is having the same thought...

What constitutes an Olympic sport?

I had the TV to myself last night as Ilene was off at tennis practice. I got back from the gym by 7:30, had the girls down by 7:45 and had reheated my lean meat burger on the grill and turkey hot dog all before 8:00.

My plan was to fill my night with some Monday Night Football and Olympic coverage. Well, the football game sucked. From my perspective I was purely watching for fantasy football information and there was not much to see. The kid on the Giants that caught 2 TD's is a 3rd or 4th WR on that team and not much else happened except what I fear for the Browns. So I decided to turn my attention to the Olympics and boy do I wish I was a fan of The Hills because that had to have been better than last nights Olympic coverage.

I was excited to see the US women on the beach. Forget the bathing suits, I am a fan of the athleticism that is beach volleyball, and ok, I'm a sucker for a 6 pack on tall blond :)~. Unfortunately the match lasted all of 20 minutes as the US pounded the Brazilians very quickly to get to the Gold Medal Match. As I watched I thought fondly back on my week in Rio de Janeiro where I woke up to the sun rising over Ipanema Beach and all the people out playing volleyball at 6:00 AM when I went for my runs. Here's a couple great shots:















So back to the remote and what's on next at the Olympics? Back to the gymnastics venue for, wait for it, not individual finals, no...TRAMPOLINE! Really, trampo-freaking-line. No offense to any of you big 'trampers' out there but anything that constitutes a obtrusive backyard playset should NOT be an Olympic sport. It certainly looked athletic and fun, but not nearly as fun as what Adam Corolla and Jimmy Kimmel did with 'The Man Show' on Comedy Central where they had hot girls on the trampoline in very little clothing. If someone can shoot me one rule of Olympic Trampolining without google-ing it I will be very impressed.

There are some other silly Olympic sports, see badmitton, table tennis or team handball but this one took the cake for me.

Every cloud has a silver lining...

or maybe it is GOLD.

I have had a horrible case of insomnia the past 3 nights. I am falling asleep fine but sometime between 1:00 and 2:30 I am waking up and I can't fall back asleep. I have been sleepwalking through the day trying to stay focused since things are so busy and I am trying to stay on top of rehab but it is tough with 2-3 hours of sleep a night. I have been crabby, irritable and a bit immature and even a tad bit selfish and demanding...

Ok, I know most of you just read that and said, yeah, you are Gil aren't you...nice joke.

Anyway, the silver lining has been the Olympics. At least I have had something captivating to watch while I can't sleep.

Here's my routine:

- wake up from something
- lie there like I might actually drift off for 10 minutes
- quietly roll out of bed, tip toe out the door, close the bedroom doors
- slip downstairs past the girls
- trip on someone's shoes on the stairs
- set up the couch (pillows, blanket, remote, water)
- fire up the TV to one of NBC's 3 or 4 Olympic Stations

from here I veg for the next 3-4 hours until it is time to shower. This morning I rewatched the Women's Gymnastics All-Around which should really be called the Girls' Gymnastics All-Around and even TiVO'd it so the girls an watch it this weekend (massive points for Daddy). I also saw the US Softball team comeback and beat Canada. Here is a ridiculous statistic - in the last 2 Olympics the US has only allowed 2 RUNS, yes that is 2 RUNS, while scoring 80 or so. Any wonder why this sport is going away after this year?

Don't think I just watch the Olympics, during commercials I flip over to watch Big Brother After Dark on Showtime 2 :)

Back to the Olympics, Phelps won his 6th Gold and 6th Gold Medal. They ran a story about his genetics and it was just fascinating and also proves that being great is a ton of hard work but really good genetics help, here is the proof:

Phelps is 6'4" tall, however, he has a wing span of someone 6'7". On top of that his lower body is comparable to someone 6'0" tall so his lower body has great burst and power off the wall. His upper body is essentially that of someone 6'8" so he has an advantage there with his stroke length. Michael has size 14 feet, so they are like flippers. From someone who has size 13 feet, I am impressed and last but not least his hands are the size of dinner plates when he spreads his fingers out so he can funnel more water than his competitors. Add all of this to his ridiculous workout regimen and relentless spirit and heart, what do you get? Maybe the greatest athlete the Olympics has ever seen.

My hats off to Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, they were great and a lot of fun to watch and seeing their coaches enjoy the moment together was very nice.

Last night/this morning at the Olympics

It's hard to believe that Beijing is a full 12 hours ahead of us! This fact allows for a bunch of prime time events to be our morning ones AND they are swinging it so that some big time events are happening around 10:00 AM over there so we can see them live in prime time. Last night was one of those times, as a fan or just someone who loves to see young people live with passion, where I just couldn't turn off the TV.

I am a confessed sports junkie. If it is on, I will watch it and for better or worse I know way too much about it. Most of this is because my brain is a sponge where a lot gets in but know one ever takes the time to ring it out. Anyway, last night Michael Phelps, the great American swimmer, was going for his 2nd GOLD of these games. This time it was in a 4 man relay and the U.S. Men were not the favorites, it was the French. The French talked smack all week and last night they got smacked! Phelps led off the race and had the lead, the next 2 U.S. swimmers gave up the lead to the French and when the anchor leg began the U.S. was about a 1/2 length behind and the French had their best swimmer in the pool. With 15 meters left it looked like the U.S. had SILVER but the U.S. swimmer went absolutely NUTS, closed the gap and out reached the Frenchman to the wall. THe celebration that erupted for those 4 guys was SPECTACULAR! They hugged, danced and screamed like kids because they truly were excited by their accomplishment.

This morning I poured through You Tube hoping someone would have posted the race but it is not up yet. When I find it, I will post it because not only is it worth watching once, but for me, it will be something I will show the girls (yes I have it on DVR) and use it as a tool for my girls' soccer team as well as for myself when I need a reminder of how truly special this life can be.

Thanks to my good friend Jonathan Ganz, here is the video:

UPDATE - for some reason the link is no longer active, so here is a way to watch off of a YOU TUBE mix

Enjoying the Olympics

For me the Olympics will always be special. Twelve years ago, Ilene and I got to experience what very few in the world get to. Not only did we attend the Atlanta Games in 1996 but we were also volunteers in two very cool 'venues'. Ilene was a VIP Hostess in the 'Presidential Suite' at the Georgia Dome during the gymnastics competition and she would frequently come home with stories of Chelsea Clinton or this star or that one. For me it was wall to wall basketball. I was a special envoy to the DREAM TEAM. I got to spend my days with the big boys of the NBA, including one of my childhood heroes, Charles Barkley. When they were playing I was behind the bench and when they weren't I was shepherding them around Atlanta from venue to venue. My all time favorite moment was right after they won the Gold. After the ceremonies, the guys came out of the tunnel and there were hugs all around and I was in the middle of it. I have a great picture of Karl Malone and me and I AM WEARING HIS GOLD MEDAL!

This morning as I watched the 2008 version of the Dream Team I though fondly of those days 12 years ago. I watched these guys play with exuberance and childhood love of the game that has been missing since that 2000 team. It also brought back memories of the Olympic Park bombing, fortunately that was one of very few nights we were not there, and all the other craziness that surrounds hosting an Olympics.

The past 2 days we've been watching a lot of coverage here at the house and Cydney and Rachel were asking when the Olympics will come to Atlanta. It's amazing to realize that the answer to that question is truly, "not in your lifetime" (though that is not what i said). Someday, hopefully in 2016 or 2020 they will be back in the U.S. I highly recommend trying to find a way to attend something. You could not watch the Opening Ceremonies Friday night and not be moved at what the human spirit can accomplish and that is what is all about! Living the Olympic spirit may be cliche and 'old school' but it is pretty cool.