Some things leave you slack jawed

[kandrathe]

How about the US shooter, Matt Emmons, who had a gold medal in his sites, and on his 10th and final shot -- shot the wrong target. Doh. A classic snatched from the jaws of victory scenario.

I'm a big fan of modern pentathlon, I mean who can shoot, run, jump horses, fence and swim all at an Olympic level. Now they just have to have an interest in archeology and they're Indiana Jones or Lara Croft.

I'm a little embarrassed by how the US is doing at the games. Not, the loses, but all the winning. It's like going to Christmas, and finding that you got almost all the presents. Part of the problem is the excessive amounts of money we spend helping these people to train and do nothing else from the age of three, but it still seems not fair somehow.

But, some Karma balance has occurred. The US Olympic baseball team blew the trials with Mexico, and so "our" game can be played without us. And, the "pro" packed US basketball team is struggling against "real teams" that are not just tossed together a few weeks before trials. It seems though that many nations have their niche sports as well. Fencing seems primarily dominated by Europeans, Dressage is Germany's and Judo seems solidly Asian.

My wife was skeptical when I told her I was watching the riveting Olympic Badminton and Ping Pong -- but she outright called my bluff when I described the domination of the Russians in Olympic thumb wrestling. :)

Edit: typos