And now, a word from our guest Olympic commentator

Well, hello. I'm not broadcasting from the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube, or even the National Stadium -- all in Beijing, China. No, I'm just here at my computer in Oregon, but I have a few Olympic Observations I'd like to share with my blogging public.

First, why is it that the female gymnasts can do a double twisting layout flippy thing (I might have even seen a triple lutz thrown in there) on the balance beam, which is four inches wide, but they have such trouble with a simple full turn. Every time during the team finals when someone got to the full turn part of the program, the announcer would get a little bit hushed and then comment on the difficulty of the full turn. Really? Because when I did gymnastics in the 7th grade, my beam routine had a full turn in it. And I thought it was just about the easiest part. The floor is even worse. The Chinese girls clasp their hands to their chests like ice skaters, spin for all they're worth, and then open their eyes, gaping and wondering how far their four rotations took them, and which direction they are supposed to be facing now. A few simple instructions on the proper preparation and execution of a turn, ballet-style, would help immensely. Or maybe they should just stick to the flippy things.

One more comment about gymnastics before I move on. There is a gymnast who used to compete for the Soviet Union who now competes for Germany. Her name is Oksana Chusovitina. She is 33 years old and won the silver medal on the vault. I think it's amazing that she is still competing. She has a totally toned body and it looks much younger than she is. Then you get to her head. I saw her and thought "that is a hobbit haircut." Now that she has the silver medal, she needs one of those makeover shows. Do they have those in Germany? Let's hope so, because Oksana is a great example of strength and ability. She deserves to look the part!

What's with the oh-so-small bikini bottoms the women's beach volleyball players are wearing? I mean, I get that the sport started in the sand, on the beach, near the ocean. And people tend to wear bikinis at the beach. But I think there could be some sort of uniform standard for official Olympic play. I'm not really too concerned, but I did hear two straightforward older gentlemen on NPR commenting about how much they just LOVED watching women's beach volleyball, and I don't think they were focusing much on the sport.

I've been interested in the human interest pieces about the Chinese athletes. Their system of training seems so intense. Many leave their homes at a young age and spend years living with other athletes and being trained to represent China. Kyle has some theories about what China's been doing the past several years, since they got the bid to host, to ensure more medals. When Cheng Fei fell on the vault and then stumbled during her floor routine, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought "I hope they don't take away the house they gave her family." I doubt that tiny girl, Kexin He, who is 4 ft. 6 inches is 15 or 16. Jillian, who is 7 and a half, is 4 ft. 5 in. I hope Kexin He wasn't forced to be dishonest by the Chinese government. Apparently there was an article published a few months ago that talked about an amazing 13 year-old gymnast (Kexin He). She suddenly became 15 for the games. Hey, I can't find it or prove it, but I don't doubt it. It's too bad, really, because instead of focusing on the phenomenal abilities of these athletes, we're focused on the scandal of an athlete too young, a tie breaker that didn't go our way, a score that might not have been fair. On a more positive note, I thought the most entertaining and well-choreographed routine on the floor was by another Chinese gymnast. She looked like she was having lots of fun. Oops, I gravitated back to gymnastics.

Moving on to the women's marathon. Um, yeah. I ran a marathon. And it took me almost twice as long as it did these women. It's amazing as you watch them. They don't look like they're running that fast. And yet they run consistent miles under a 5:30 pace. Awesome. I don't think I could even dead out sprint that fast. Well, maybe, but not for long. I was sorry to see Deena Kastor leave the race. I was thrilled to see Paula Radcliffe finish, even though she wasn't having a great day. Thanks for inspiring me, ladies!

I'm sure I could think of more rants and raves, but I've got to get back to the competition. The staying up late is about killing me, but I love the Olympics and they look great in HD on our new TV.

Go Team USA!

Amy

PS -- What do you love or hate about the games? Leave a comment!