Unless you have been in a coma or an underground bomb shelter you’ve heard and seen the amazing feat that Michael Phelps has accomplished the past 8 days.
I have seen some amazing things in my life in the athletic arena. I’ve seen Michael Jordon win six NBA titles and become the greatest player in basketball history. I’ve seen Tiger Woods revolutionize the game of golf and dominate some of the most talented golfers of all time. I’ve seen Lance Armstrong win seven straight Tour de France titles and dominate in some of the most brutal circumstances any athlete has ever faced. I have seen a lot in my 27 years of life but I have never seen anything like Michael Phelps going 8 for 8 at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
He won in every way possible. He blew away the competition, he came from behind to win in the last milisecond, he led off a relay with a strong performance and cheered on a teammate when he made a late charge to beat the favored French. Tonight he swam the third leg of the medley relay (my favorite swimming event of the Olympics) and put the race out of reach. He was more than incredible. Mark Spitz called it “epic” but that word is too small to describe what Phelps did. What he did was super-human. What he did was Herculean. He could not have dominated more if he had gills and fins. He was absolute perfection.
I grew up hearing the story of my parents watching the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team defeating the Soviet Union in one of the greatest Olympic moments ever. This week has been a time that I will tell my children about. This is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It has been my pleasure and privilege to share in this moment.
I know that I’m being overly sappy and that many people do not feel the same way that I do. I’ve always been a sucker for the Olympics and I have a special place in my heart for Olympic champions. I know that the Olympics isn’t what it used to be now that professionals have taken over the games, but there is something special and maybe even magical about these events. Maybe I am too sentimental, but I don’t care. What we all saw this week was total domination. The craziest part is that he could have added at least two more events (the 400 freestyle and the 200 backstroke) and contended for gold in both.
We may see someone win 9 gold medals in a single Olympics someday. After watching Phelps I can’t honestly say it’s impossible, but I doubt I will see it in my lifetime. Way to go Michael!
So the Tigers are about to lose their sixth straight game to start the 2008 season where many predicted that they would make the World Series. I will start off by saying that I haven’t had the opportunity to watch much of the Tigers season so far, but I can gather some information as to what may be causing their problems.
It’s interesting to hear the panic and the excuses that are making the rounds on the local sports talk radio stations. I actually heard someone blame Joel Zumaya for the Tigers’ problems even though he’s on the disabled list and won’t pitch until sometime mid-season. The caller blamed the Tigers’ problems on Zumaya getting hurt off the field, which I think is maybe the stupidest thing that has ever been said about sports, ever.
The biggest reason many people favored the Tigers this season was the huge offensive potential that their batting order provided. The only potential problem they had was a shaky bullpen and a couple of question marks with their starting pitching.
The first six games have been rough all around. The pitching has not been great, especially the middle relief. The offense has been really bad and the Tigers have struggled to put any runs on the board. One problem worries me and one doesn’t.
The Tigers’ bats will come alive soon enough. Unless they sustain some major injuries or lose Magglio Ordonez or Miguel Cabrera for the whole season I don’t see them continuing to struggle scoring runs. I am concerned about the pitching though. The bullpen is not going to be good, there’s no way to sugar coat it. The starting pitching also has to improve and they have to put in quality starts to minimize the amount that the bullpen is used.
I’m not happy that they’ve started the season 0 for 6, but I’m not writing them off either. They could easily win 20 of their next 25 and be right back in the thick of things. I just hope it gets better and not worse.
I just watched the pilot episode of Friday Night Lights and I’m regretting not watching this show earlier. I’ve heard for a long time that this was the best show no one watched after Arrested Development went off the air, and after only one episode I completely agree. I was initially turned off to the show because I had seen the movie and I didn’t particularly like it. It was an okay movie but nothing special and there are far better football movies out there. So I figured the TV show would be similar to the movie and that I wouldn’t be thrilled with it.
But the show has gotten lots of “hipster cred” because of the reviews from pop culture magazines and TV shows like Best Week Ever. I figured I would see what all the fuss was about. I fired up my web browser and pointed it to hulu.com which is a new video site that NBC/Universal and Fox have developed to host TV shows and movies from both companies. I watched the pilot and I was sucked in. I’ve started the second episode and I’m sure I’ll be caught up in no time.
I’ve heard rumors that the show is in danger of being cancelled which would be a shame. I don’t watch much television anymore because there aren’t that many shows that are smart, well-written, and emotionally satisfying. I hope they bring the show back and if they do, I’ll be watching.
Today I am both excited and disappointed. Excited for the future at my beloved University of Michigan. Disappointed with how far the Lions have fallen in six weeks.
This morning the Wolverines announced Rich Rodriguez as their new head coach and I am about as happy as a fan can be. I’ve wanted them to pursue him since Lloyd Carr announced his retirement, and I was frustrated that they hadn’t even considered him more than three weeks into their coaching search. I was very excited on Friday when the news broke that Rodriguez met with Michigan officials for 6 hours. Then as the news reports continued throughout the weekend, there was no indication that Rodriguez had told the Wolverines that he wasn’t interested. Then the news broke yesterday that the deal was done.
Not only is Rodriguez bringing a dynamic spread offense with him, he may be bringing the best high school football player in the country with him. Terelle Pryor is the #1 high school football player according to rivals.com and Pryor is a big fan of ”Coach Rod”. With a versatile athlete like Pryor combined with a potent passer like current Michigan QB Ryan Mallett, the Wolverines could have a combo like the Chris Leak/Tim Tebow tandem that won a national title last year with the Florida Gators. I expect big things in years to come from Coach Rod, even if the next couple of seasons involve some growing pains. This is a major step forward for Michigan by going in a completely different direction than they’ve had for 40 years. I think the potential is there for this to be as big a moment in Michigan Wolverine history as when they hired Bo.
On the other hand, the Detroit Lions were embarassed yesterday 51-14 by the San Diego Chargers yesterday which dropped them to 6-8 on the season. They’ve lost 6 straight games since I professed my new-found confidence in them. I feel so stupid for getting sucked in by this team. I should know by now after a lifetime of cheering for the Lions that this kind of collapse was on its way. I can’t believe that I actually was talking with people about the Lions’ playoff chances just a few weeks ago. I wish I could say that I don’t care anymore, but that would be lying. I just hope that I can see a Lions team with a winning record before I have grandchildren.
The Tigers made a huge deal yesterday that could potentially win them a World Series. They traded Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller (the Tigers’ two best young prospects) and four other players for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Cabrera and Willis are both proven, all-star caliber players and, when added to the existing lineup, makes the Tigers a major contender in the American League. They now have a very solid starting pitching rotation and a devastating batting lineup. The only hole you can find with the Tigers is their bullpen, which they also addressed yesterday by aquiring Danny Bautista. I only wish it was time for spring training already. I can’t wait.