Watch the Olympics With Me, vol 2

There won't be another Olympics post until next week, because I'm off to BlogHer'12 in NYC and I can't imagine I'll have a moment to spare for television.  If TBG's not around, I rarely turn it on.  So, for those of you relying on me for water-cooler-sports-patter, stock up here for the rest of the week.
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TBG and I agree that those single, double, quad and eight person sleek craft on the water should compete in a sport called Scullduggery.  It's very pretty to watch, especially the overhead shot of the oars piercing the surface at the same moment and angle. 

I'm enjoying the videography as much as the competition.
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Beach volleyball didn't hold TBG's attention, so he left me on Douglas while he showered and put away some laundry.  I muted the volume, played WordDrop on my Kindle, and screamed aloud as the Americans came back from a 3 point deficit to trounce the Czech Republic.

I will admit to a more than usual amount of fist pumping, as well. 
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I thought I had a strong upper body... and then I watched the men's gymnastics competition.  The women's events seem to emphasize lower body strength; the men's concentrate on arms and shoulders and upper back and chest.

Decry the falls and stumbles than the un-stuck landings if you must.  I am enjoying the display of muscles and the strength they create....... at least that's what I'll tell you if I think you'll judge me for an equal, maybe bigger, reason.

These guys are hot.
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bleacherreport.com

While we're on the subject, the water polo players are beefier than the swimmers and the divers, a cross between a baseball player and a synchronized swimmer. 

Watching them free style across the pool in their swim caps with the ear protectors and the bows beneath their chins is both beautiful and ridiculous at the same time. 


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The first time the Chinese replacement athlete touched the high bar was in the first round of the competition.  The man he replaced had the most awful purple arm I've seen since I looked at my own arm in February, 2011. 

The new guy never got to practise, or feel the size of the arena, before a billion people watched him be lifted up to begin his routine.  Scary?  I think so.

This leads us to one of our favorite Olympic pastimes - which sport would be the worst scariest most awful panic-inducing nightmare scenario for you if you were forced to take the field? 

The 30' diving?  Heavy weight boxing?  Any one of the ski jumps?
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Ryan Seacrest has turned out to be a better than I expected interviewer. Rowdy Gaines and Tim Dagget annoy me every time they open their mouths. 

I need more than "That was a deduction."  Perhaps you could spare a syllable or two of the energy you invest in tearing the athletes down and try to explain what we're seeing.  The movements must have names; would it hurt you to share them with us?  Should the toes be pointed or flexed on the uneven parallel bars?  Inquiring viewers would like to know.
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NBC has spent a lot of time with moms and sisters.  There are hairdos with flags, and t-shirts with flags, and signs with flags, but mostly there are gigantic smiles.

nbcolympics.com

Aly Raisman's parents are in the top spot as fans, thus far.  The camera stayed on them as they leaned and bent and raised up and over and twisted and turned in their seats, mimicking their daughter's floor exercise performance.