Beijing '08

Where to begin? The Russians in Georgia, John Edwards, Michael Phelps, the rest of the Olympics, the iPhone...

Michael Phelps: Greatest athlete ever? I am a former swimmer so I am sympathetic to the "swimming is difficult" argument. However, I am a former swimmer so I am also sympathetic to the idea that great athletes should maybe show some sense of hand-eye coordination. Then again, didn't we have this same discussion after Lance Armstrong came back from the cancer to win 7 Tours? So really, I think these "best athlete ever" arguments are fundamentally flawed. How do you compare a swimmer to a golfer to a basketball player? Shouldn't the best athlete ever be good at lots of different sports? Or is basketball a more "athletic" sport because it involves a ball? I guess more importantly, why does it really matter? Isn't it enough to dominate your sport? Why must we always try to rank everything? Some people think he is absolutely the greatest athlete ever while others think he wouldn't make a list of the top 100 athletes. The only time people really talk about swimming, track, gymnastics, ice skating, skiing and the like, is during an Olympic year. I think Michael deserves, and will get more than his 15 minutes, but I'm not sure that he will continue to remain in conversations with Tiger, Roger, Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth. Although, wouldn't it be fun if he did make swimming "cool."

But aside from all that talk about his athleticism and his actual swimming, am I the only one that wants to know what's up with his father? How come Bob Costas isn't asking about his dad? Everyone now knows he has two sisters and was diagnosed with ADHD and that he was raised by a "single mother." His mother has been getting almost as much press as her son and has given interviews about the hardships they overcame and their relationship so...doesn't this beg the question, what happened to Mr. Phelps? I mean, I'd rather hear about that than how many eggs he eats for breakfast or what size shoe he wears. But maybe this is the Ellen (my mother) in me. We're a curious people.

Which is why I'd also like my man Bob Costas to ask, how exactly does one get into fencing or canoing or trampolining for that matter? These are all just a few of the events that I happened to have caught on TV at some point. I was watching the local news, which I don't really like to make a habit of, and they had a short blurb on an Olympic fencer (I think she got the silver) who was a Yale student. But they didn't get at how that happened. "Hey, honey, how about we sign you up to sword fight instead of ballet this year?" There was also a local Connecticut girl who was competing in the shooting events. Again, how does one decide to get his or her child involved in shooting? For fun. With a real gun. Trampolining and canoing I can kind of see only because kayaking and gymnastics are so popular. But what makes you say, "you know what, I think I'd be better in a canoe?" Aren't canoes for picnicking and leisurely afternoon on British rivers? (Canoing always seems like a very British thing to do.) Presumably gymnasts practice on trampolines but what makes you say, "I'd rather not take this to the floor/beam/bars and just keep jumping." The good thing is, these less popular sports are more difficult to find although, I'm still not sure I needed to see synchronized diving and hours of beach volleyball.

But perhaps some of my favorite Olympic moments were those that involved our fearless leader. We saw he and former President Putin briefly chatting and then on less official business, him giving Misty May a very awkward pat on the back. He did make time for Bob (Costas) too and definitely seemed more comfortable talking about his love of beach volleyball, his awe of Michael Phelps and basketball than US relations with China and the Russians invading Georgia. We did learn that he and Putin were not just talking split times in the swimming stands but that he was very firm in telling Russia that their actions are unacceptable. He also seemed to suggest that it was a regional conflict and that the US didn't have much business stepping in. (Let's hope they don't start talking about WMDs.) One of his staffers though seemed to have prepped him well on the issue of China though. He kept repeating that we have to engage China, that we have deep respect for them and that our disagreements are healthy. He also reassured me and the rest of the American viewers by proclaiming that the US has no problems. Phew. And I thought I would never be accepted for a home mortgage.

I would get into John Edwards at this point but my iPhone has finally arrived and it's just begging me to start setting it up. Just think, now I can blog from anywhere. Lucky you.