12:11 PM: The final whistle goes off. The players hug. Day 14 is done. Two more medals for Canada. Lots to look forward to as the Games draw to a close. See you in the evening!
12:08 PM: The American lead is up to 20...I think we can safely wrap this one up now. Argentina gave a valiant effort, but the Redeem Team was just too strong. An Athens repeat was not to be in Beijing.
12:03 PM: Listen to this! The Chinese fans are chanting a-gen-ting, jia you-Let's go Argentina!!! Secretly, I'm cheering for Argentina too...I mean who wants the USA to shellack everyone by 40 points?? But hopes are slim for Argentina to win this one, being down 94-79.
11:51 AM: After three quarters, the United States are up 78-64. Don't count out Argentina just yet. We can only wait and see!
11:38 AM: With 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The United States now up 16 on the Argentinians (67-51). Messy and inconsistent basketball on both sides!
11:10 AM: Half time---the United States by 9 after 3 free throws by Carmelo Anthony. 20/33 shots by the United States has been from beyond the arc. What are they doing? There is no way to predict what will happen in the second half!!
11:07 AM: Luis Scula puts one in at the net. That brings Argentina to within 6. It's 46-40. Who said this game was over after the first quarter?? Manu Ginobili is still in the locker room, nursing an injury. This has become one exciting game-for now at least.
10:58 AM: The Argentinians have gone on a hot streak, 16-3 run. Now, ARG has cut the lead to 8 without Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino! Good time out called by the United States to re-focus.
10:42 AM: Aussie pole vaulter Steve Hooker has just broke the Olympic Record of 5.95. He goes over that with a 5.96 cheered on by the crowd at Bird's Nest. Draped in the Aussie flag, Hooker does a victory lap around the stadium.
10:37 AM: Things are not looking good for Argentina-their flagbearer Manu Ginobili just went down with some pain. While he rests, the United States leads 21-4!!
10:21 AM: The tip off is right now for the United States and Argentina (men's basketball semi-final). Handshakes go around. And let's get it on!!
10:10 AM: What an anchor by Asafa Powell!! He makes it another new world record!! The Jamaicans slash the world record by 3/10ths of a second. Hands down, no competition at that finish line, Powell was a good 10 metres ahead of the silver medallists-Trinidad and Tobago. The Japanese reels in the bronze. Canada was side-by-side with the Jamaicans until the second leg. They finish 6th and China was disqualified.
10:08 AM: Hearts are thumping now for the men's 4 by 100 relay. Jamaica is in lane 5-Canada alongside in lane 6. The United States is not here as you know. Great Britain was disqualified. A medal for Canada not out of the question. The crowd is chanting jia you for China!
10:06 AM: A short while ago, the Spanish world champion basketball team advanced to the gold medal final by narrowly beating Lithuania 91-86. The United States Redeem Team will play Argentina shortly and are of course, the prohibited favs. However, Argentina has defeated Team USA before.
9:58 AM: Bryan Clay of the United States wins the Decathlon gold medal!!!! He led from event 1 to 10 and had an insurmountable lead heading into the exhausting 1500. Look at this friendship between the decathletes. They're embracing eachother, congratulating eachother. A sweet sight to see at the Olympics!!
9:57 AM: Still match point for Brazil-Italy serves-and a SPIKE does the job!!! The Brazilians celebrate. They will go to the Final. The Italians applaud them and their own effort.
9:56 AM: Match point for Brazil-and the Italians save one!
9:49 AM: Brazil is communicating better than the Italians. They are a few points away from the gold medal match, leading 18-15 in the fourth.
9:47 AM: It's nearing the end of the Lithuania v. Spain basketball game (men's semifinal). With about 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Lithuania is leading 83-79.
9:35 AM: The United States men's volleyball team advanced to the gold medal match overnight. Now, it's Brazil vs. Italy at the Capital Gymnasium. Winner moves on to face the USA, loser will fight for bronze with Russia. Brazil currently up 2 sets to 1, leading11-7 in the fourth.
9:29 AM: A short while ago, Zhang YiNing beat Wang Nan to win the gold medal of the women's singles table tennis tournament. Again it went from tough to easy as Zhang lost the first game 8-11, then stormed back to take the next 4 games 13-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3! Guo Yue won the bronze to make it a Chinese sweep!
9:16 AM: Unbelievable! The Jamaicans botch the 3rd pass, they step out of their lane and throw the entire race away. The Russians win gold, the Belgians capture silver and it was a close finish for bronze. But a amazing developmen for the Jamaicans. They mess up on the baton passing and it's just a shame to see DNF beside Jamaica.
9:12 AM: Time for some baton-passing!! The women's 4 by 100 relay is ready to go! You know who to watch for!! J-A-M-A-I-C-A!!!
9:05 AM: Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia has completed the long-distance double. She strides her way to the gold in the women's 5000 after winning the 10000 earlier in the week. It's the first time in Olympic history that's happened. How many "firsts" are we going to see in Beijing??
9:01 AM: Overnight, two more medals for Canada. Thomas Hall capturing bronze in the C1 1000 and Karine Sergerie kicked her way to silver in Women's 67 KG Taekwondo class. Adam van Koeverden finished 8th out of 9 kayakers in the K1 1000 in which he won bronze 4 years ago.
____________(Sleep)____________
12:10 AM: Everybody get on your feet!!! Here is GOLD MEDAL POINT!!!! 14-4...serve, pass, set...and DENIED BY DALHAUSSER!!!!!!!!!!! An appropriate end for the Thin Beast!! The United States makes it double gold in beach volleyball!! Terrific endurance for Rogers and Dalhausser, you could see the difference in the third set. So the Professor and the Thin Beast fly the Stars and Stripes once again in Chaoyang and proving that they are on top of the world.
12:08 AM: The Professor-Todd Rogers drops a soft landing in between the Brazilians. It's 12-3 for the Americans. Rogers/Dalhausser just look so much tougher in this third set. And playing alot smarter for gold.
12:07 AM: Marcio hits an easy serve into the net. Gives away a crucial opportunity. It's 10-2 R/D!!!
12:05 AM: And another REJECTION from Phil!!!! Three consecutive points, three consecutive blocks from Dalhausser!!! 9-1 USA!! Brazil is being choked right now by the huge stuffings.
12:04 AM: BOOM-REJECTION from Dalhausser...and again...REJECTION from Dalhausser!! The Thin Beast comes up with 2 huge blocks for Team USA and they're up 8-1.
12:02 AM: Look at this!! In a matter of 5 minutes, Rogers/Dalhausser have opened up a 6-1 lead in the third set tiebreak. The Brazilians are making silly errors and Dalhausser is serving like a big man!!
12:00 AM: As Beijing hits high noon, baseball is going at Wukesong Park. The Japanese just slapped a single in the top of the 5th. Koreans are leading 2-1...2 outs.
11:55 PM: Still set point...and a service error does the job. The Brazilians balance the weights to a set each. We will play to a third set as we should!! No body wants this spike/dig/rally/serve/block fest to end!!
11:54 PM: Stand up Brazil!!! It's 20-16 for the green and yellow....and Rogers pounds another one into the sand.
11:53 PM: Rogers has been effective in spiking the ball. Dalhausser has been shaky at the net in the last few plays.
11:51 PM: Dalhausser slams one into the net. The Brazilians have won 3 straight points. The Americans are now under pressure.
11:50 PM: It's 15 all at Chaoyang Park...and Fabio pounds one into the sand!! 16-15 Brazil. This is a sizzling match with huge saves, huge blocks, huge digs and a huge crowd.
11:47 PM: Wang Nan has just defeated Guo Yue in a 6 gamer-the all Chinese semi-final in women's singles. So it will be Zhang YiNing v. Wang Nan in the final. No surprise there.
11:43 PM: Dalhausser just STUFFED Fabio!!! Amazing air Phil is getting!!! And did you know Dalhausser was born in Switzerland? His dad is German, his mother is Swiss. He used to play baseball as well.
11:41 PM: Rogers and Dalhausser are 94-8 this season!! Not as dominant as Misty and Kerri, but you can't get much better than that!!
11:40 PM: The NBC beach volleyball commentary is very very informative and innovative! Simple yet interesting!! Superb analysis and just enough talk to keep viewers company! Two thumbs up!!
11:37 PM: Unbelievable rally!!!!! All 4 athletes were almost buried in the sand, diving and digging!! Rally of the match so far!!!
11:35 PM: The two teams had 13 ties in the first set and we're back at it again. It's 5-5 early in the second set.
11:29 PM: The Brazilians jam it into the net!! And it's a 23-21 victory in set 1 for Rogers and Dalhausser. They are a set away from gold. This is even more exciting than yesterday's women's gold medal match!! There are chants of U-S-A and of course, the "oh-le"s!!
11:27 PM: In this fast paced match, the Americans have themselves a second set point. ...and Fabio puts it over Dalhausser's outstretched hand. Commentator's line of the game: "That blue and yellow paneled ball was spinning so fast if almost turned green..."
11:26 PM: Rogers/Dalhausser can't put away set point. Marcio jams it away!!
11:25 PM: Neither teams relent. Brazil and the United States are still in a dead heat in the first set of the men's beach vball final. 19-19!
11:20 PM: While it's 15 all on the beach. The medal ceremony of men's BMX event is going on right now. It's weird seeing wild dirty boys receiving pristine Olympic medals on that elegant podium with the gorgeous ladies holding the medals.And look at this, the two Americans thought it was over before the anthem was played. But I'm sure these cyclist-adventurers will get used to the Olympic tradition.
11:12 PM: The resilience of Rogers/Dahausser guides them back into this game. It's now just 10-9 for Brazil. They've had some shimmering digs already!!
11:08 PM: The Brazilians are chanting soccer cheers! Ohhhh-leee-oh-le-oh-le-oh-le...oh-le...oh-le!!!
11:04 PM: Rogers/Dalhausser are down early 6-1 in the opening set. They've already committed 3 unforced errors. Pick it up gentlemen, this is the Olympic final!!
11:01 PM: The Thin Beast and Todd Rogers are taking to the sand in the men's beach volleyball gold medal final!! Marcio/Fabio of Brazil are their opponents and it won't be an easy one for the Americans. Fabio is 6'8", nicknamed Jaws.
10:52 PM: Zhang YiNing wins her semi. Li JiaWei will go paddle for bronze. 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8 and 11-5. It went from tough to easy for Zhang. And since the next semi-final (11 PM) will be an all Chinese one, China is guaranteed another gold and perhaps a glorious sweep.
10:47 PM: They've walked for more than 3 hours in heavy humidity. It's the men's 50 KM race walk event of course. Sounds easy? It's incredible how fast these guy stroll. But man, walking for 3 hours is quite an accomplishment itself.
10:42 PM: World Champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia pulls out the finest performance of his career to take the gold medal of the men's BMX event. Two Americans take silver and bronze. What a wild wild race!!! What a wild wild sport!!!
10:33 PM: What a race! Sam Cools crashed before the first turn and the two Frenchwomen go 1-2!!!!
10:30 PM: Here comes the fateful Final of the Women's BMX event. Canadian Sam Cools is at the starting line.
10:22 PM: In table tennis women's semifinals action, athlete oath taker Zhang YiNing is facing Li JiaWei from Singapore. Both have won a set each with Li leading 6-4 in the third.
10:10 PM: Sam Cools of Alberta has advanced to the women's BMX final. With the falls we have seen, it's anybody's race!
10:07 PM: BMX is raising alot of eyebrows and gaining alot of popularity, especially with my generation. Yea, I admit it, it is damn exciting. You really do feel the adrenaline rush, but only if it could be a little longer. With the reception BMX is receiving, I think it won't be kicked off the programme anytime soon.
9:40 PM: And it is indeed a bronze medal for Ricardo/Emanuel of Brazil. You know they want to be in that gold medal match to defend their title. But Rogers/Dalhausser have proven that they are the dominant pair on the beach now. And they're so grounded and happy with this medal. Classy athletes.
9:34 PM: It's R/E's bronze medal to lose. With this lead, they'd really have to blow up to throw this medal away. In the second set, it's 18-7 for Brazil!!!
9:28 PM: At Chaoyang Park, Brazil has opened up on a huge lead on the Georgians, leading in the second set 11-3!!!
9:26 PM: Haha, Bob Costas is a funny man. He just admitted he "knows nothing" about BMX but it's "exciting". That gave me a chuckle!
9:21 PM: The difference in that first set was the successful attacks percentage. The Brazilians were 14/21, a solid 67% while the Georgians were just 10/22, short of 50%.
9:19 PM: Second set point for Ricardo/Emanuel. No spike needed. Just a little tap over the net wins the set number one for the Brazilians.
9:16 PM: They're fighting for the bronze at Chaoyang Park. Ricardo/Emanuel vs. Geor/Gia! The Brazilian defending champs are up 18-12 in the opening set. But look at the change in weather! Beautiful, gorgeous day with the sun brightly shining.
7:05 PM: Though these Games will be coming to an end in 3 days :(...there is still lots of action to be seen. Especially on the track, where 7 gold medals will be handed out. The sprint relays will be the most exceptional ones to watch. But on the water, Canada's medal contenders are out. Adam van Koeverden in his secondary event-K1 1000 and Thomas Hall-C1 1000 are expected to make some noise. BMX will get underway after a day of delay. And the Chinese will be lovin table tennis as the women's singles crown is up for grabs. In beach volleyball, Rogers/Dalhausser draw inspiration from Misty and Kerri. And it's sudden death for many of the medal rounds in the team sports. Keep it here for a constant flurry of updates!
-D
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