The ultimate Olympic event is the 100-meter dash. From the greatness of Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, to the ignominy of Ben Johnson--it has in many ways come to define the Olympics. This year a man with a name that comes out of central casting, a name straight out of Dickens--Usain Bolt of Jamaica, set a world record of 9.69 seconds at the Bird's Nest.

Bolt, in breaking his own world record, even slowed up at the end, pounding his chest, which has some wondering if he could have come in at 9.64, or even better. This is what the Olympics should be all about--watching athletes exceed our wildest dreams as to what is physically possible. There was just one problem with this amazing moment in sports history--it wasn't televised here in America. Instead men's basketball was being broadcast. Does anyone believe for one moment if US track star Tyson Gay had made the finals, this would have happened? In fact, unless you were following the race on a live blog you wouldn't have known a record fell at all. (And what does a "live blog" for a 10 second race look like? "The race begins." "Now it's over.")

As one poster at Washington Post.com put it, "Seriously, I'm sitting here watching the basketball team destroy Spain when I could have been watching the first person in history beak the 9.7 second mark? NBC has been dropping the ball all week on what they have been showing. They think that just because we are in America, all we want to watch are Americans." Another person called it "Shocking and disappointing." And yet another said pointedly, "Hey NBC, you SUCK."

Somehow NBC--as well as John McCain and the Republican party--hasn't gotten the memo that the cold war is over. Ivan Drago has left the building and no one wants to remake Red Dawn. We don't need to be spoonfed American athletes and US stars as if our national dignity would somehow be sullied if we watched Bolt race. The sports world has gone global. We are capable to be awed by swimmers from Zimbabwe, gymnasts from China, and yes, sprinters from Jamaica.

If Bob Costas and NBC could just remove the red, white and blue face paint for a moment, they might be shocked by what they can see.

Comments (66)

1. OK, this time you make a good point.

   They need to improve their coverage, and maybe they will.

   But it is a hard, cold fact that you cannot please everybody.

   Posted by Benchrest at 08/16/2008 @ 6:19pm

2. If the US were playing in the gold medal game, then yeah I could understand pre-empting the 100m. But for a qualifying round? Personally I think they'd have a lot more respectability if they showed every final medal competition regardless of the contestants' home country. But I'm not a programmer at NBC (nor am I watching the Games on them) so what do I know?

   Posted by yutsano at 08/16/2008 @ 6:27pm

3. Posted by yutsano at 08/16/2008 @ 6:27pm

   Hey, thanks for the reality check the other night. It had been a long day.

   Posted by Benchrest at 08/16/2008 @ 6:36pm

4. Ratings...advertising...money. Keep in mind television is a business-- not a public service (whether or not it should be). The men's Olympic BBall team is the main attraction in the U.S., so of course NBC is going to attract maximum viewership by airing it over something that less people here care about. If we're going to worry about fair coverage of events, let's forget about sports and start with politics!

   Posted by FcukReagan at 08/16/2008 @ 6:51pm

5. Can we stop with this. This is not a solely American thing. Every country shows their teams more than any other. NBC couldn't know that Usain Bolt would break the record. They know that Americans enjoy basketball. Since they are trying to keep up rating to pay for the monumental cost of the ability to broadcast the Olympics they need to keep up ratings by showing what they KNOW people will watch. They know people will watch Kobey and Lebron destroy people in basketball. TV is a business, I know I work in it. Everything is based in ratings. We don't dictate what Americans are being shown. AMERICANS dictate what they want to be shown by giving it ratings.

   Television companies NEVER think outside the box. They show what they KNOW people will watch. So stop blaming the television companies and blame yourselves. If we as Americans didn't watch the crap that we watch they wouldn't air it.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/16/2008 @ 7:45pm

6. I've been living in Spain for the last 6 years until this summer, and had forgotten how nationalistic US sports coverage is until the Olympics. Over there, I've watched them on a combination of Sky Sports and the local Spanish TV station.

   Yeah, they tend to do more little feature stuff on the national athletes, and the commentators are certainly much more engaged when a British or Spanish athlete or team is involved, but the coverage is of the Olympics, not the British or Spanish IN the Olympics.

   American coverage is disgusting.

   Incidentally, the Brits have been broadcasting (via satellite) digitally for years, and during the Olympics, when there's a lot going on, there are often as many as 10 or 12 different events covered simultaneously using only two of the 5 Sky Sports channels.

   Posted by stubearto at 08/16/2008 @ 9:11pm

7. JOMAMMA

   yeah,

   the olympics were founded by adam smith on sound business practices in the name of profit!

   "oh, look. the 200-metre* men's MBA flinging is on. i hear the chinese have a chance of winning the gold this year."

   THE THRILL OF DIVIDENDS AND THE AGONY OF RED INK!

   Posted by frosty zoom at 08/16/2008 @ 9:30pm

8. I think that some amatuer videographers tried to uplink their prize videos on YouTube. Not a single one has survived NBC's surveillance.

   If NBC missed an event, they should not be able to block others from offering for free, their videos to the public.

   NBC has dropped the ball.

   Posted by albertvil at 08/16/2008 @ 9:44pm

9. The problem is, many like me who are...a bit older, might remember the great Olympics broadcasts of the 1960's and 1970's, where there was certainly a fair bit of America-boosting, but where the network that televised the Games was expected to cover everything and did so, running events throughout the broadcast day and basically turning over most of their schedule to the task for the duration.

   What that meant was that the obscure events actually got to see an international audience once every four years. That's how I came to be a fan of Modern Pentathlon, one of the most delightfully weird events ever to grace the Olympics. In one day of competition(morning to evening), each competitor shoots a 10m pistol round, fences with the epee, swims a 200m freestyle, rides a show jumping course on horseback, and runs a 3000m race. It's a remarkable sport, derived from the qualities needed for a 19th century military courier (shoot, fence, swim, ride, and run.) But you won't even find mention of it on NBC's main schedule. If you search the website, there is a scheduled live video stream of some of the parts, but no overall coverage. This despite the fact that a U.S. athlete is about to become the only woman to compete in three different Olympic sports with her run as a U.S. pentathlete.

   It's the less glamorous or well-known sports that get laid aside by the networks these days, as they once were not. It was these small and intense sports that the Olympics is and always was about; the ones for whom this is the apotheosis of their careers, the greatest fame and adulation they will ever know for their phenomenal efforts. Is that not really the Olympic spirit as we have tried to forge it in the modern world? And if it isn't then what on earth are the Games for?

   Posted by Stwriley at 08/16/2008 @ 10:56pm

10. well zero, i tried.

    tried to download the race from cbc but all i get is the pre-race commercial.

    i was going to upload it on utoob as "grandma's bowling trip".

    i tried.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/16/2008 @ 11:07pm

11. Stwriley at 08/16/2008 @ 10:56pm ...

    That is an excellent post.

    The Olympic games are supposed to bring countries together, and exalt the camaraderie and good sportsmanship that inspires appreciation of the sheer excellence in exemplary performances from all the best athletes in the world. All the events should be covered... especially the ones that seem 'foreign' to us.

    Xenophobic patriotism... is exactly the opposite of what the games ought to inspire...

    Posted by ttr at 08/17/2008 @ 12:16am

12. the DETRACTORs, maligners and generally social nardewells of our nation.

    Posted by RedRiver_. at 08/16/2008 @ 11:28pm

    uh,

    those are narwhals, thankyouverymuch.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/17/2008 @ 12:42am

13. Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.

    <<<<<>>>>>

    You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.

    george bernard shaw.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/17/2008 @ 12:44am

14. baseball between Taiwan & China?

    Posted by 2HAPPY at 08/17/2008 @ 12:42am

    and miss jerry springer?!?!?

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/17/2008 @ 12:52am

15. Thanks for the lesson, RedRiver_. at 08/17/2008 @ 12:38am...

    I'll make a note of it.

    However... xenophobic patriotism is something quite different. Check it out sometime.

    Guns, intolerance, and flag waving do not an effective patriot make.

    Like the bumper sticker says...

    "We are making enemies faster than we can kill them"

    Posted by ttr at 08/17/2008 @ 01:12am

16. Those were not all Romanians delivering a thunderous ovation to the gold medal winner Dita in the women's marathon as she entered the Bird's Nest. THAT is what the Olympics is all about. When asked about her race, she replied, "That was a great performance." I would agree.

    Posted by Sorelish at 08/17/2008 @ 03:05am

17. America is nothing but a broke, stupid, jinogoistic nation. This is all we have left to be proud of. Not one of our three jobs each, merits any excitement in our life. But boy arent we great in sports? It's a hang over from the days 30+ years ago when we were really great.

    Posted by mrsanfran at 08/17/2008 @ 07:21am

18. What else would you expect from NBC which is owned by General Electric. Political bias is what GE is all about. Why just ask Jack Welsch about all the silly politics at GE.

    Posted by widollar at 08/17/2008 @ 08:04am

19. "Seems like NBC is doing a GREAT JOB of covering the performances of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA's Olympic Atheletes! (funny how many people still take pride in our country and its citizens accompliments!)"

    Yes, I laugh hysterically every time I think of my president's accomplishments, or I guess as you might write it, "accomplishments." Why was "telling" in quotes when you wrote it? Was I supposed to be looking for the figurative meaning of the term?

    Anyways, your definition of patriotism is telling, or more accurately, how it seems you define country within that definition of patriotism. I love this country's people and what they have accomplished. I despise these half-bright flag suckers who would buy anything as long as it had a US flag on it, and then beat their breasts proudly as if they had done something to advance human civilization. Someday those knuckles will rise from the ground.

    Posted by onthehelm at 08/17/2008 @ 10:10am

20. America is nothing but a broke, stupid, jinogoistic nation. This is all we have left to be proud of. Not one of our three jobs each, merits any excitement in our life. But boy arent we great in sports? It's a hang over from the days 30+ years ago when we were really great.

    Posted by mrsanfran at 08/17/2008 @ 07:21am

    This attitude "trickles down" from the top. I think if we elect leaders who counter this paradigm, we may eventually see some residual changes reflected among the people. The challenge is that Big Money continually cashes in on the present sentiment.

    Posted by FcukReagan at 08/17/2008 @ 10:38am

21. World records are beening made at the Olympics at an astonding rate. I want to watch the ones the Americans make, I don't care if someone from Jamaica breaks a record.

    Besides who doesn't love watching their Basketball team slaughter the competition?

    By the way it's NBC-National Broadcast Company, not the United Nations Company. They only need to show the US team.

    Posted by Redneck4Bako at 08/17/2008 @ 10:49am

22. Personally I think they'd have a lot more respectability if they showed every final medal competition regardless of the contestants' home country. Posted by yutsano at 08/16/2008 @ 6:27pm

    Rack that take. Bolt's world record performance would only have taken 10 seconds to air.

    Posted by Balrog at 08/17/2008 @ 11:37am

23. Posted by JOMAMMA at 08/17/2008 @ 11:11am

    Stuffing your face with fancy meals around the country creates sooo many jobs. What would we do without you?

    Posted by Sorelish at 08/17/2008 @ 11:51am

24. You know what this proves. Laziness. NBC is playing the Olympics on 9 different channels and ONLINE. If you want to see a specific event between two specific teams look around the television a bit. I'm watching women's handball right now between Romania vs. Norway, I just got done watching Men's Field Hockey Germany vs. Spain. Why is it that I can find non-American events but there rest you of you people complaining can't? I have seen many non American events. Hell I was just watching Japan vs. China Badminton.

    The problem is you want it all to be on Channel 4. With the 3600 hours of coverage that NBC is providing I guarantee you that they are covering every single sport you want to see. It's just most of you people complaining can't be bothered to pick your remote and go to another channel. You just want to be spoon fed and have something to complain about. Why don't you try watching 1 of the 5 channels that are playing the Olympics almost 24 hours a day. Then if you don't see coverage of the event you want then you can go to NBC.com and look it up on their website.

    It's not a jingoistic media it's you being lazy.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 12:27pm

25. Bumbaclatt !!!

    Posted by celticfenian at 08/17/2008 @ 12:36pm

26. NBC's "ownership" of our right to experience the Olympics through motion-media broadcast is the root of the problem. No corporation has the "rights" to the cathartic visual or audio experience of international events of a globally significant nature. What's next? "The Iran War, broadcast exclusively on CBS!" Posted by Zero at 08/16/2008 @ 10:47pm

    Actually they do have ownership when they are the ones shelling out over a billion dollars in order to broadcast. If they didn't shell it out then appreciate the fact that you wouldn't see it. We don't have nationalized media. Which means the people who buy the rights are the ones who own the coverage. The one who spends the money in order to cover it decides what goes on.

    "http://www.nbc.com/olympicsonthego/browse_by.shtml"

    Go there if you don't like what you are seeing and watch whatever you want.

    Lazy Lazy people. Can't take the two seconds to go online or to search the channels.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 12:37pm

27. Posted by Zero at 08/16/2008 @ 10:47pm

    Also Zero. Nationalized media is the first step to the destruction of freedom. If you want to see and example look at the media during the rise of Fascism in Germany. Private media is the way to go. If there were a nationalized media things like the Nation would not exist.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 12:39pm

28. http://www.nbc.com/olympicsonthego/subscriptions.shtml

    OH look more coverage.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 12:40pm

29. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arQ4YDqAmUA

    Oh look there is Usain Bolt.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 12:42pm

30. That took me two seconds. Why can't you do that?

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 12:44pm

31. Oh and by the way for those of you who say they didn't cover Usain Bolt because and American wasn't in the event show a lack of knowledge. An American sprinter took bronze. So they didn't not cover it because of a lack of Americans.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 12:55pm

32. Posted by JOMAMMA at 08/17/2008 @ 11:11am

    Of course! Just blame those 'at the bottom', the victims of class divisive tax policies. It's their fault for not being "savvy" enough, right?

    The money in our country's only value is in relation to it's distribution and circulation. No matter how much "across the board" tax cuts we give, it still only benefits those at the top as the dollars value only reflects the distribution. The only way to benefit the poor and middle class is through some sort of wealth distribution plan. Period.

    Obama and the socialists?

    Do you have to deal in absolutes? If it's not the very un-democratic "free-market" Friedmanistic neo-liberalism, then it must be "socialist". What bullshit. You folks will not rest until every last shred of the public sector is privatized, which would be disastrous for our nation as a whole, though it will greatly benefit the already rich.

    Posted by FcukReagan at 08/17/2008 @ 1:01pm

33. Oh and just a little perspective on all you saying that foreign news companies have been doing a much better job at showing coverage of other sports. No they haven't NBC has been doing a good job and your channels are leeching off of their coverage.

    No one but NBC is actually running television coverage of the Olympics. So EVERY sport you see if being covered by NBC. So if you are watching British television and see the Latvian long jump team it's because NBC taped it. Just a little perspective for you to realize that all you citing that in Spain or Canada they have better coverage. It's not because they have better coverage but because they are getting their coverage from NBC.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 1:10pm

34. Posted by Zero at 08/17/2008 @ 1:05pm

    If that is the case. Then why did I just watch Badminton? Or Field Hockey? Why am I watching handball? How about Cycling?

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 1:13pm

35. Posted by Zero at 08/17/2008 @ 1:08pm

    Zero read my explanation of how broadcast rights work. NBC covered the event. Eurosports paid to use NBC's coverage.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 1:13pm

36. NBC's coverage of the Olympics is no different than their political coverage. Cold war nationalism all the way! Our society needs to move on - turn the page - but is doesn't appear that our sophomoric journalists are interested in dealing with a new set of circumstances.

    Posted by BobsNotWorking at 08/17/2008 @ 1:14pm

37. Posted by Zero at 08/17/2008 @ 1:05pm

    Obviously they aren't just covering three sports. I am watching non-American teams compete in events that I don't even think Americans are competing in. I watched Softball, Soccer, Baseball, Handball, Badminton, Fencing, Track and Field, Swimming, Cycling, Gymnastics, Volleyball and some other stuff in the past 2 days. That's more than 3 sports. Also not all of those had American teams in them.

    Also if you don't watch broadcast television how can you complain about coverage? You don't know what's being covered because you aren't watching. On top of that by watching online you are still watching major networks because all the footage online is footage from major networks. That's how this stuff works. NBC owns all worldwide rights to the Olympics. Then Eurosports pays NBC to use their footage. So ANYTHING you see is something that was covered by NBC.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 1:19pm

38. Also the fact that I of all people are arguing this is funny. I am also the same person who argued with Happy about Americans needing to learn more than one language and needing to broaden their horizons. So this isn't coming from some xenophobic mouthpiece of the traditional American type. I am not saying this because like our Redneck fellow that I don't care about seeing other countries. I like seeing other countries play.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 1:24pm

39. Re Usain Bolt, the problem isn't the rabid jingoistic coverage per se, it's that NBC sees the games as theater, TV programming, and the rest of the world sees it as a sporting event. News to be experienced as it happens. Live.

    America may be the only country out of the 200 at the games viewing action tape delayed. It's hell for us folks with family overseas who want to call and celebrate, only to figure out we'll see the action oh, uh...12 hours later if we're lucky. Of course the network was able to persuade the IOC to change the schedule and have the Phelps swim finals during prime-time on the East Coast (8 a.m. in China) but that's where much of the magic ends.

    For those of us who love sport and the glorious uncertainty of not knowing what's going to happen, to be in America during the games is tragic.

    But that's show business right?

    The thing I don't get is why NBC can't do the live stuff online and promote it properly over the air if they're going to be so bull-headed about preserving prime-time.

    Posted by 3rdworldgirl at 08/17/2008 @ 3:39pm

40. But that's show business right? The thing I don't get is why NBC can't do the live stuff online and promote it properly over the air if they're going to be so bull-headed about preserving prime-time. Posted by 3rdworldgirl at 08/17/2008 @ 3:39pm

    Because most of the country is asleep when the events are going on?

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 4:04pm

41. Posted by Zero at 08/17/2008 @ 2:50pm

    That's not really a primitive US legal system, it is how television has ALWAYS worked and always will. Why is this allowed? Because the IOC is getting 40% of their Olympic budget from NBC paying for the rights. THAT is why it is the way it is. Because by having many people bid on the contract the IOC is getting a massive amount of money to make the Olympics 600 million dollars better that they wouldn't have had otherwise.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 4:14pm

42. Why does anybody actually give a shit who wins these things anyway? I like watching sports for its artistry, but why does anybody care who wins or loses or otherwise if you are not in the competition? Is your life so meaningless that you need to take pleasure in others' winning?

    Posted by onthehelm at 08/17/2008 @ 5:35pm

43. Posted by Stwriley at 08/16/2008 @ 10:56pm

    Oh an by the way there are 22 actual events in the summer Olympics. I have passed by coverage of 18. So MOST of the sports are being covered. I don't know if the Pentathlon has already happened or not. But if it hasn't actually taken place yet I would wait because it is quite possible that it will be covered also.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 8:05pm

44. Well, I hate to defend NBC, but they DID BROADCAST the race in which Bolt broke the record... I watched it. I don't know what time the race actually occured (in the Chinese time zone), but it was shown last night on NBC. I've learned to avoid the media if there is something occuring nationally or globally that I want have the illusion of seeing "live". Living on the West Coast, and having national events conclude earlier on the East Coast has taught me to avoid media that might spoil my fantasy. For example, during national elections, I make sure that my ballot is in then mail well in advance of election day, just so I can believe that my vote counts. Then, when the national television politcal analysts predict a winner before our polls have even closed, I can pretend like I actually took part in the great political process we call voting. Similarly, with the Olympics, if I'm looking forward to an event that is to be broadcast later, I avoid the newspaer and internet so I can pretend to be surpirsed... I just like the feeling of surprise and excitement. I have to say that I was disappointed to accidently see on-line that Phelps won his 7th gold before it was broadcast, but it was an exciting event to watch non-the-less. My biggest disappointment with NBC last night was watching the US men's relay at the awards ceremony. During the entire national anthem, NBC chose to hold a camera ONLY on Phelps, not showing the faces of any of his 3 teammates who helped him win his 8th gold. They all won gold too, but we didn't get to see their faces as they listened to the Star Spangled Banner and watched their flag rise in their honor. Shame on NBC for that.

    Posted by Window at 08/17/2008 @ 8:33pm

45. There's no way NBC will make everyone happy. In fact, there are millions of people who are only happy when they're unhappy (mostly liberals, I might add), so NBC is exceeding their expectations.

    I'm sure refugees in Darfur would appreciate your frame of reference.

    With so much of the world suffering, I find Zirin's bitching about NBC's coverage of the Olympics a real sad statement. I don't recall NBC saying anywhere, ever, that they were perfect.

    I have a suggestion Dave. Cough up a billion dollars and you can cover it the way you see fit. Until then, why don't you just enjoy the excellent coverage NBC is putting out there and be thankful you can sit in your livingroom, with a full stomach and watch in high definition.

    Never mind. Too much to ask. You are one clueless idiot.

    Posted by freiheit1 at 08/17/2008 @ 9:13pm

46. Yes, Dave, go to nbcolympics.com and complain about the xenophobia you detect there too!

    Hi Frank. I'm not here too often, but it is good to see you here. I wanted to tell you I hope your son is home safe and I hope you are well.

    Posted by freiheit1 at 08/17/2008 @ 9:25pm

47. Posted by 2HAPPY at 08/17/2008 @ 10:56pm

    She said she probably wouldn't be on because of her sons deployment.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/17/2008 @ 11:10pm

48. God speed, ACook & son!!

    Posted by 2HAPPY at 08/18/2008 @ 12:04am

    Good people. Always have been, always will be. A debt of gratitude is owed them.

    Posted by Benchrest at 08/18/2008 @ 12:17am

49. I have no idea whom to trust in this conversation. I went to nbcolympics.com as someone recommended. I found a video interview with Bolt, and some video commentary on the 100m event, but not film of the run itself. I can't imagine NBC not having the run if it has interviews with Bolt from right after it. And I can't imagine NBC's not showing what it has -- so maybe I just don't know how to use their search engine. Meanwhile I'm reading that they won't let anyone else broadcast the run, and that they are the sole source for all footage of any Olympic event whatever. So why can't I find the run on their own site? They have the footage; no one else has the footage; and they're showing video interviews on their site. What's going on? We have to establish what's going on before we start talking in generalities about good business, the spiritual meaning of the Olympics, and other larger topics. Does footage of the event exist? Has NBC shown it? Is it on the NBC Olympics site? If not, why not? Help!

    Posted by chessw at 08/18/2008 @ 12:33am

50. Hmm, looks like it's not true that it wasn't broadcast. I guess our writer and the other people complaining just weren't paying attention when it was.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/18/2008 @ 12:50am

51. The Jamaican sweep of the women's 100m was quite amazing. Also Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnsons performace in womn floor routine was great. I'm sure she is mad having to accept silver again when the Romanian came in to take the gold with an undeniably superior performance.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/18/2008 @ 04:19am

52. Almost as much fun as watching the Olympics is...

    Reading the neo-cons defense of the so-called "librool media".

    Buwahahahahahaha!!

    "Excellent coverage?! Yea, right!.

    Posted by crabwalk at 08/18/2008 @ 07:21am

53. Been reading DAVE ZIRAN'S columns all through these games, and I've come to the conclusion that he is THE NATION'S own little puritan: He has the haunting fear that somebody, somewhere may be successful.

    Posted by william.harry13 at 08/18/2008 @ 09:12am

54. The Jamaican sweep of the women's 100m was quite amazing. Also Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnsons performace in womn floor routine was great. I'm sure she is mad having to accept silver again when the Romanian came in to take the gold with an undeniably superior performance.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/18/2008 @ 04:19am

    Agreed. And CCC, I am with you completely on the way we have been able to watch all countries in this Olympics. I have watched as you have noted, many events with no US presence. The exciting (yes) Badminton championship event between Korea and Indonesia. How about the soccer match between Argentina and Netherlands? The Mens Lightweight Four Rowing? The US wasn't in that one either. The gold was won by Denmark. Great race!

    Because of the time difference (much like Australia), you have to get up in the middle of the night to watch many of the live events. I watch on MSNBC which begins airing the Olympics live at 2am Pacific (like you). Or you technos can record it.

    And nationalism has always been and always will be a big part of the Olympics. It is that way with and for every country entered. There is nothing wrong with National pride (unless you are on the far left it would seem).

    Posted by lvliberty1 at 08/18/2008 @ 10:49am

55. Hmm? Were you all watching the same NBC I was? We saw Bolt do his dance and pause in the 100. It was terrific! But, we'd have to go to the local bar to watch the basketball on cable. Maybe NBC has selective station by station broadcasting? We've only had one basketball game broadcast when folks are actually awake.

    Thank dog the swimming's over! ! !

    Posted by alaskadiva at 08/18/2008 @ 12:03pm

56. Posted by lvliberty1 at 08/18/2008 @ 10:49am

    Complete agreeance LVL. I generally catch the matches the next day. I ride my bike to work at 630 am I can't stay up all night.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/18/2008 @ 12:40pm

57. Hey, JOMMAMA,

    Nice 11:04 am post. Way to knock the ol' CHIP of the shoulder

    Posted by william.harry13 at 08/18/2008 @ 1:12pm

58. Sorry, off the shoulder.

    Posted by william.harry13 at 08/18/2008 @ 1:13pm

59. Ok. What's the problem? I saw the race twice. I didn't need to see it live. Even I ran track in highschool and do watch throughout the year, I wasn't upset that I didn't catch it live. they showed it again that night on NBC. What I didn't want to see was Romania and Norway play handball as well as equestrian dressage. I must admit that I watched the USA men's soccer team play (cause there was nothing else on)and I enjoyed the entire match. It was actually exciting. I might, MIGHT start watching soccer. Oh and if I see one more game of fucking field hockey I'm throwing up on the t.v. I mean really. Field hockey? My only complaint is that I'd wish they'd show the BBall games in primetime. I missed all but two games played by the US men's team. People do work during the day, ya know!

    Posted by k330k at 08/18/2008 @ 2:43pm

60. I like a good backstory, no matter what country the athlete comes from. The most amazing moments to me so far have come from the 38 year old Romanian woman who won the marathon and just kept running a couple of victory laps like she was only a bit tired. Or the former Russian (I think) gymnast who now competes for Germany because the German team's coach helped her get medical treatment for her son who has leukemia. I have appreciated the irony of Michael Phelps winning a gold medal by 1/100 of a second, and Dara Torres losing gold by the same barely measurable fraction of time. There is also good coverage of certain events, like sailing races in a howling gale, available online in videos. Tuning out the garbage makes experiencing these Olympics more palatable, even when the judged events turn out in some suspicious manner that seem politically motivated. That, too, is an Olympics tradition.

    Posted by notbuyingit at 08/18/2008 @ 3:00pm

61. Fortunately, I was able to see Bolt's magic as it occurred - on CBC, where the Olympic coverage is outstanding - more action, less hype. NBC has much to learn from our neighbors to the north.

    Posted by bridge_crosser at 08/18/2008 @ 5:45pm

62. Posted by k330k at 08/18/2008 @ 2:43pm

    football (i.e. soccer) is..........

    'scuse me, i'm getting all emotional.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/18/2008 @ 9:44pm

63. Thanks Goodness for CBC! Didn't even know I cared about Bolt until I watched him win that race over and over again.

    And how typically American that all these people don't even care that NBC's coverage is so ethnocentric, parochial and melodramatic.

    That's fine. China own 2x as many US Treasury bills as the US....

    Can you say American Yen?

    Posted by mtlborn at 08/19/2008 @ 09:37am

64. 'America is nothing but a broke, stupid, jinogoistic nation. This is all we have left to be proud of.' -- mrsanfran

    'This attitude "trickles down" from the top. I think if we elect leaders who counter this paradigm, we may eventually see some residual changes reflected among the people.' -- FcukReagan

    'For the first time in my adult life, I'm proud to be an American' -- Michelle Obama

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 08/19/2008 @ 10:05am

65. I'm a bit confused by all this back and forth, because I'm sure I watched Usain Bolt's victory replayed over and over on NBC just a few nights ago. Saw him posing for post-race photos in front of the timer, and his ecstatic mother jump over all kinds of folks in the stands to congratulate him. And pre-race there were spots on the rivalry between Bolt and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell, which created a kind of dramatic buildup to Bolt's blowout. I wasn't asleep and I don't have cable or a satellite dish, so I'm sure I didn't dream this.

    Posted by klean2 at 08/19/2008 @ 10:09am

66. Bolt is fast, but not the fastest man ever. Houston McTear is the worlds fastest man ever. If we could recognize an official adjustment to meters from yards, he's easily a 9.5 or 9.4 in the 100 meters. He ran a 9.0 in the 100 yard dash, which is only 10 yards shorter than the 100 meters dash. I'll give you .6 seconds to cover 10 yards which is way more than generous and he is still faster with a 9.60. Houston McTear is the fastest man to ever run the 100 meters or yards. We can see with absolute surety that Bolt did not cross a 100 yards mark in 9.0, he's fastest 10 meters was .09 seconds. If we use that same measurement for McTear, his time would be 9.096. I cannot believe the world record doesn't recognize Houston McTear.

    Posted by numuvs at 08/19/2008 @ 4:34pm