What Made You Smile Today?

[Doctor Hmmm?]

You know the drill.

[ClarkKent_DC]

On the other hand, I've found the second week of the Olympics this year to be more exciting than the first. Mostly because the prime-time coverage during the first week is front-loaded with swimming and gymnastics, and the second week has more track and field stuff, which I like better. I don't like as much the sports that rely on subjective scoring like diving and synchronized swimming. Give me track; either you get across the finish line first or you don't. Either you jump farther or leap higher or toss the shot or the hammer farther or you don't, and nobody can argue with that.

And this year, in the track and field events, I've seen a LOT of races where there were upsets, where there were new faces or countries that won their first medals in decades or for the first time ever, which is exciting. 

Also, one star I was happy to see return was Allyson Felix, the queen of the track, who overcame a difficult, dangerous pregnancy -- and Nike trying to cut her endorsement compensation by 70 percent BECAUSE she was pregnant -- and her daughter spending a month in the pediatric ICU after she was born by Caesarean section. Allyson Felix is wonderful. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"..they're still calling it 'Tokyo 2020.'"

On Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me today, Peter Sagel quipped they're still calling it the 2020 Olympics because of our fond memories of last year.

"Anybody yammering that Simone Biles is a quitter can go piss up a rope."

I think it was John Oliver who referred to those people as criticizing her because "she wouldn't do flips for their amusement." (Until last week, I had never ever heard of "the twisties" but, having learned more about the phenomenon, I realize how horrible it must be.) Biles should get a medal for having the courage to stand up for her own best interest. 

[ClarkKent_DC]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

"Anybody yammering that Simone Biles is a quitter can go piss up a rope."

I think it was John Oliver who referred to those people as criticizing her because "she wouldn't do flips for their amusement." (Until last week, I had never ever heard of "the twisties" but, having learned more about the phenomenon, I realize how horrible it must be.) Biles should get a medal for having the courage to stand up for her own best interest. 

Amen. You go, girl!

[Richard Willis]

The same people who criticized her would be looking for someone to blame if she hadn't pulled out and a tragedy occurred

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Clark said:

On the other hand, I've found the second week of the Olympics this year to be more exciting than the first. Mostly because the prime-time coverage during the first week is front-loaded with swimming and gymnastics, and the second week has more track and field stuff, which I like better. I don't like as much the sports that rely on subjective scoring like diving and synchronized swimming. Give me track; either you get across the finish line first or you don't. Either you jump farther or leap higher or toss the shot or the hammer farther or you don't, and nobody can argue with that.

And this year, in the track and field events, I've seen a LOT of races where there were upsets, where there were new faces or countries that won their first medals in decades or for the first time ever, which is exciting.

I'm right there with you on this part of the Olympics. I told a buddy last week, "I want to see who runs the fastest, who throws crap the farthest, and who jumps the highest or longest."

My main issue with the games this year is that I heard a lot of the results in the morning, and then they would show even that night. Kind of ruined it.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Travis Herrick (Modular Mod) said:

My main issue with the games this year is that I heard a lot of the results in the morning, and then they would show even that night. Kind of ruined it.

That's always a problem with the Olympics and the time difference between wherever they're being held and the U.S. NBC tries to schedule what it can for prime time, but most of the time that would mean the athletes competing in the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning, which isn't feasible. Like Simone Biles competing on the balance beam. Anyone could see it live if they got up at 4 a.m.

(I love Simone Biles dearly, I love her as much as the next guy, but I did not get up at 4 a.m.)

Three or four Olympics games ago, NBC took the approach that it would air events as if they were live, and not even acknowledge they happened earlier. It's silly, but what's the alternative? It's not like other news outlets are going to withhold the results until NBC puts those events on -- 

... which NBC learned after trying to get them to agree to do just that. 

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Clark said:

Three or four Olympics games ago, NBC took the approach that it would air events as if they were live, and not even acknowledge they happened earlier. It's silly, but what's the alternative? It's not like other news outlets are going to withhold the results until NBC puts those events on --

I don't know a good alternative. I know the men's basketball bronze medal game was played at 10PM Tokyo time, just so it could be shown live here as 8AM CST. That is an awfully late start time for basketball game, which means it ended around Midnight.

I think it was the London games where I was getting up real early on the weekends to watch different sports. I remember I watched a lot of rowing, which I somehow managed to miss entirely this time.

Another thing I love about the Olympics is learning what countries are good at what sports. I always knew China was great at badminton, but Denmark is really good too.  Apparently, a lot of Olympians train in Denmark. This year's gold medalist of the men's single tournament is Danish and he beat the Rio gold medalist from China. I love learning/seeing stuff like that.  

[ClarkKent_DC]

Travis Herrick (Modular Mod) said:

I think it was the London games where I was getting up real early on the weekends to watch different sports. I remember I watched a lot of rowing, which I somehow managed to miss entirely this time.

This year, I was flipping between NBC, USA, The Olympics Channel, The Golf Channel and the Olympics News Channel, so I saw more of the non-marquee sports, including a lot of rowing. I also saw weightlifting, men's and women's marathons, men's and women's race walking (which I understand is to be retired), and more of the track and field stuff like the hammer throw, men's and women's shot put, women's pole vaulting, men's long jump, and men's and women's steeplechase.

I also saw something new: mixed men's and women's 4x400 relay, which has two men and two women on each team. Also new were rock climbing and skateboarding, which, frankly, I don't think are justifiable as Olympic-level competitions. 

I also saw boxing, which I almost thought was retired. When I was a kid, the boxers were the stars of the Olympics -- Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Spinks and Leon Spinks. But now? They're practically anonymous. 

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

I just missed the mixed 4x100 relay, just the aftermath. I didn't catch any boxing, you're right Clark, you don't hear anything about it any more.

I usually watch a good amount of volleyball, as I come from a volleyball family. Both of my parents and my brother played in leagues for year.

I wish I had been able to see all of the decathlon and heptathlon, but I didn't. The guy who won the gold medal, would have also won the bronze medal in the long jump with his result in the decathlon. I thought that was awesome.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I've mentioned my doctor a few times and the great stories he has to tell (like this one or this one or this one). Well, if you've got an hour to spare, you can hear him in his own voice. He was the guest on the Tiger Gene podcast.

Hear how a man who was the youngest of 20 (!) children from humble beginnings in Kentucky became a Phi Beta Kappa scholar and one of the top doctors in Washington, D.C., but still faces ignorance from people who can't see past his skin and handles it all with grace and good humor -- and has plenty of good stories to tell.

"Episode 12: David Patterson, M.D."

[Richard Willis]

I enjoyed the podcast and re-enjoyed the three postings.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I had my annual checkup (mostly good results), but learned that my doctor moved, which was a little discomfiting; I've been going to his old office building for nearly 20 years. Even when he split with his former practice partner and went solo, he moved to another suite in the same building ... which, conveniently, is only a block away from my urologist's office. 

His new digs are in another medical building, with the latest in security: elevators that don't have buttons inside the car for you to select the floor. There's a keypad outside the elevator; inside, there's just the door open, door close and emergency stop buttons.

And, as always, he had a good story to tell. He and his wife recently attended a destination wedding in Greece. He described the newlyweds as "beyond wealthy." How so? The bride is a widow whose late first husband introduced KFC franchises to China and Australia. I didn't hear what her new husband does. 

In any event, the ceremonies were at a five-star resort, naturally, and at one point all the guests repaired to the pool for cocktails. And what's a cocktail hour by the pool at a five-star resort in Greece without mermaids? 

Yep; they had several Greek girls outfitted as mermaids to lounge around the pool.

Not only that, the vocalist for the wedding was a French opera singer who arrived via hot air balloon ... landing at the permanent wedding facility the couple paid to have built on the grounds, as they didn't find the existing accommodations suitable. (He said, "You do realize you're leaving this behind when it's over, right?")

Must be nice to have more money than you know what do to with ... but for some, it's never enough. He told me that the late first husband had had a lengthy illness, He visited the man several times before his demise, and noticed that none of his four children were ever there when he came. Our magnate left each of the four children $50 million ... and all four of them sued his estate seeking a bigger share. Even the one who lives in a yurt in the middle of nowhere.