A Hugely Historic Day in Beijing-Day 8

12:04 PM: Team USA 119-82 Spain!! Bosh hugs Calderon and Garbajosa. This huge Day 8 is done! It turned out like it promised to be. Phelps winning his 7th gold by 0.01 seconds, Usain Bolt smashes the World Record. Canada brings home a complete set of medals! Tomorrow is another big one!

11:44 AM: Team USA is leading Spain at the beginning of the 4th quarter, 86-63. Things are looking great for the Redeem Team!

11:38 AM: Earlier today, Li Na was defeated by Dinara Safina in the semi of the women's singles play. So, my prediction couldn't come true. But she will fight for the bronze versus Vera Zvonevera of Russia. Zheng Jie and Yan Zi also lost today. I maintain that finishing their match at 3:30 AM took a toll. They will fight for bronze versus the Bondarenko Sisters of Ukraine. The Williams Sisters will fight for gold versus the pair from Spain.

11:14 AM: Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka win the gold medal!!!!! It may not have been the gold Federer wanted, but he will hear the Swiss anthem!! Men's Doubles-Federer and Wawrinka are Olympic champions!!!

10:45 AM: Back to tennis, the Swedes have struck back for a set, now they're in the 4th set, tied 1-1 with the Suisse serving.

10:44 AM: WHAT A GREAT RACE!!! THIS IS ANOTHER MOMENT IN SPORTS HISTORY! I'M GLAD I WATCHED IT LIVE!!

10:31 AM: A NEW WORLD RECORD!!!!!!!!!! USAIN BOLT WINS GOLD FOR JAMAICA! 9.69 SECONDS WITH NO WIND. THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!!!! GO WILD, KINGSTON!! GO WILD!!!!

10:29 AM: Alright, this is it. The guys are doing their pre-race rituals. Some of them look like they're about to kill a man, some of them looking like they're at a party. The most exciting event of the Olympics, right here, right now!!

10:27 AM: Here come the world's 8 fastest. Again, Gay is not in this field. But Dix and Patton will be representing America well. Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt are no doubt the favourites. The entire population of Jamaica is probably watching this right now.

10:22 AM: It's 5-5 in the third set, the Swedes won't go away easily.

10:15 AM: Federer/Wawrinka are tied with Aspelin/Johansson in the third set. 4-4, the Suisse are just one set away from the gold medal.

10:03 AM: Wow, NBC doesn't mention a single word about the 100 M Final happening at 10:30, instead, they go right to basketball. It's as if that race isn't even happening. What if Tyson Gay had qualified? Would they be this ignorant?

9:49 AM: Canada lost to the United States in baseball last night 5-4. It was a game they really should have won, having been up 4-0 at one point. Now 1-3 in the tournament, they've got some work to do.

9:47 AM: Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer are facing the Swedish pair in the gold medal match of the men's doubles tennis tournament. La Suisse are up 2 sets to none (best of 5) and trail 2-1 in the third set.

9:45 AM: Novak Djokovic earlier capturing the bronze medal of the men's singles tournament in tennis.

9:40 AM: Six of the eight finalists in the 100 M Sprint went under the 10 second mark (in the semi-finals). I think they should get ready to re-write the history books!

9:27 AM: Lots of big things happened last night. Canada is finally on the board, and with vengeance, they've captured 3 medals in the course of about an hour. First, it was silver for David Calder and Scott Frandsen in men's pairs rowing. Then it was a surprise gold for Carol Huynh in freestyle wrestling. Finally, Tonya Verbeek completed the trifecta with a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling as well. Breaking news on the track as well-Tyson Gay-reigning world champion in the 100 M has failed to qualify for the final! That's an incredible development just because he is the world champion. Nonetheless, that 100 M race will be worth the wait!

____________(Sleep)____________

12:28 AM: Rapid firing shooting looks like a fun sport. Check it out! Anyhow, I'll be back tomorrow morning covering the tons and tons of medals being produced in the next 10 hours. Time to catch some well-deserved sleep! Enjoy!

12:07 AM: We seriously need better announcers than Jim van Horne and Warren Sawkiw for baseball. In the meanwhile, Team USA cuts the lead to 1.

11:56 PM: Hmm...I like Wukesong Baseball Stadium! Canada is up 4-2 in the bottom of the 5th. Looking good for the Canucks. Let's keep it up!!

11:52 PM: Tonya Verbeek is defeated by world champion Yochida of Japan. So she's not guaranteed a medal, but will be battling for a bronze later on tonight!

11:39 PM: FIRST MEDAL FOR CANADA GUARANTEED!!!! And it's at least a silver. In the Women's 48 KG Freestyle Wrestling semi-final, Carol Huynh of Canada has just beaten her Kazakhstani opponent to advance to the final, set to go about 4:50 AM tomorrow morning!! So the frustration ends now! Later, David Calder and Scott Frandsen will be rowing their way to gold (hopefully) at Shunyi. And now, Tonya Verbeek, Athens silver medallist in the 55 KG Freestyle class will attempt to guarantee a second medal for Canada.

11:25 PM: USA beats China in men's volleyball, a day after the American women topped the Chinese. It was an easy straight victory for the US, with Hugh McCutcheon back on the sidelines for the first time since the tragedy that struck his in-laws.

11:09 PM: At Wukesong, in baseball prelims, Canada's leading the USA 2-0 in the top of the 3rd.

11:02 PM: Dara Torres wins her semi-final and Cate Campbell, 25 years younger than Torres touches the wall right behind her. Commenting on her sportsmanship on the deck, Torres says: "In the pool, they're my competitors. Out of the pool, they're my friends." Not only is she a great athlete, she's an amazing person!

11:00 PM: Wow!!! What great sportsmanship from Dara Torres, who went over to the head official and told her about Swedish swimmer Alshammer who's suit was having a problem. So, she has the state of mind, in a big race in the Olympics to recognize another swimmer's problem and helped her. That's incredible!!!

10:57 PM: Here comes Dara Torres, the 41 year old mom...who is swimming in the semi-finals of the 50 M Free. Is there a fitter 41 year old on the face of this planet??

10:46 PM: The medal ceremony for Michael Phelps is going on right now. What a historic moment this is. Phelps hearing that Star Spangled Banner for the 7th time in Beijing, can't help it but tear up. I don't know anyone that wouldn't have tears in their eyes during a moment like that. That amazing run continues.

10:39 PM: Cesar Filho Cielo of Brazil WINS the 50 M Freestyle for the men. Bernard and Leveaux wins silver and bronze for France. Another Olympic record at the Cube. Cielo is so emotional over his win. There was no way to tell who the top 3 was...great race, perhaps an early indication of what tomorrow's 100 M Final may look like.

10:37 PM: Cavic's coach and the Serbian team is filing a protest over the finish of that incredible race.

10:32 PM: Did you know Kobe Bryant speaks Spanish??

10:31 PM: Wow, I feel sorry for the the female swimmers. Every network has ditched the Women's 800 M Freestyle Race.

10:29 PM: V Borchin of Russia wins the Race Walk. He walks 20 clicks in an hour 20 minutes. It's mind-bogglingly fast.

10:25 PM: Haha...CBC's showing the last kilometre of the 20 KM Race Walk. Man, the guys are sweating like crazy!

10:13 PM: OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cavic looked like he had the gold locked up-unbelievable!!!!!!! Phelps beat Cavic by 0.01 seconds!!!!!! YOU CAN"T GET ANY CLOSER THAN THAT!!!! 1/100th of a second!! 1/100th of a second!!! Phelps was 7th at the turn!! And he just surged back like a freight train...unbelievable!!!! But nonetheless...he's gotten the 7th GOLD!!! You will never see something like this again in your life!! Phelps 50.58, Cavic 50.59!!! Phelps has just tied Spitz by winning his 7th event, with drama no less!! The day's living up to what it promised to be!

10:09 PM: Here comes that historic swim. Michael Phelps will have to face some tough competition in the 100 M Butterfly. Here we go...a chance to tie Mark Spitz.

10:07 PM: Rogers/Dalhausser wins the match over the Suisse-15-12 in the third set...okay, let's get back to swimming.

10:05 PM: Break out the champagne in Zimbabwe!!!! Kirsty Coventry breaks the world record, winning her first gold at these Games. Margaret Hoelzer wasn't even close.

10:03 PM: Here come the women. Kirsty Coventry will compete with her college roomate Margaret Hoelzer in the 200 M Backstroke final! Coventry's already got 3 silvers in Beijing.

10:00 PM: Rogers/Dalhausser shows why they're #1. They've come storming back with an 8-2 run to tie 8-8.

9:54 PM: Todd Rogers/Phil Dalhausser are going from good to bad to ugly. Martin Laciga/Jan Schnider are gibing the Americans a ride for their money. Rogers/Dalhausser are down 21-16, 23-21 and it's 2-6 in the third and deciding set where they only play to 15. This is sudden death...loser go home.

9:49 PM: Asafa Powell's body shape reminds me of Frank Thomas. Haha...obviously, Powell is WAYYYYYYYYY faster than the Big Hurt.

9:48 PM: Wow there are alot of commercials on NBC!

9:00 PM: Have you ever watched Race Walking??? That's right, there is actually such a thing in the Olympics. The runners...I mean...walkers...go as fast as they can without losing contact with the ground. It's a 20 KM race and takes about an hour and a half...truly fast. And oh yes, race walking looks damn funny...

7:06 PM: Tonight, we'll mark the beginning of what is potentially one of the most important days in Olympic history. In the Water Cube, Michael Phelps wil be swimming for his record-tying 7th gold medal at these Games. Over at the Bird's Nest, the potential is there for a Race of the Century. Asafa Powell, Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay will line up on the track to compete for the title of "World's Fastest Man". Canadians are also in contention on Day 8. David Calder and Scott Frandsen will be in the Men's Pair finals in the wee hours of the night (Toronto time). Jessica Zelinka has a shot at the medals in the women's heptathlon. Tonya Verbeek will try to wrestle her way to the podium-a task she's familiar with. So, a HHHUUUUUUUUUUUGEEEEEEEE day in Beijing coming up. You can always keep it here for any live action!

-D