Beijing 2008 wrap-up: The somewhere Big Ben is weeping sweet, sweet tears of joy edition

Day 10

Your daily Olympic wrap-up.

Notable Canadian performance: Karen Cockburn – It’s easy to make fun of the trampoline as Olympic sport. It seems a bit like they took a training apparatus from diving and decided to give out some medals. It’s also clear that it’s pretty much—like syncro diving—a TV add on, another “pretty” sport to bring in the estrogen crowd. But, you shouldn’t overlook the accomplishments of Cockburn who won her third Olympic medal today. Think of all the years that she put into a sport that barely is noticed outside of its 15 minutes each quadrennial—many of those years talking place prior to it being added to the Olympic program. When she medaled in ’00 it was easy to make the “Canada always gets medals in the new sports” joke (‘cause there is some truth to the joke), but eight years later I think it’s fair to suggest that she’s earned her respect.

Notable international performance: Elena Isinbaeva – The pole vaulter is just one of those athletes that is so far ahaed of her competition that she is really only competing with herself. Which is likely why she seemed more excited by breaking her world record with a 5.06m jump than she did by simply winning.


Maple Leaf gold: InStyle We all should be happy for grampa Miller and company, but, really. Let’s give credit where it’s due.

Maple Leaf silver:Adam Van Koeverden - Yes it wsa just a heat, but had The Great Canadian Hope blew up real good it wouldn't have been the first time TGCH did so at an Olympics. So far so good (No pressure Adam. The whole country just needs you to justify their worth).

Maple Leaf bronze: Canadian Priscilla Lopes: Lopes has shown remarkable improvement during the last four years ago to put herself into the Olympic final. The hurdles are a strange event. As Canadians learned four years ago and how China is learning today, you just never know what will happen. She probably doesn’t have enough speed to win a medal, but it wouldn’t be shocking if she did.


Maple Leaf tin medal: Tyler Christopher: By all accounts Christopher turns the old nice Canadian athlete that everyone loves cliché around. Basically, he can be a bit of an arrogant ass. So, if you were wondering why the CBC’s reaction to his blow-up in the heats was a bit muted, you’ve likely found your answer.

The WTF was the Ceeb thinking award: To an untrained eye, every trampoline routine looks the bloody same. A little more analysis in the booth during the women’s final would have made the experience of watching far more enjoyable.


Honorary Canadian award: The Australian fastball team. After all they did what Canada couldn’t—get the Canucks into the medal round where a so far frustrating and forgettable tournament can be turned around with one more win.

Canadian highlights for day 11: Alexandre Despatie – He struggled in qualifying, but something says that he has one more great performance in him today in what may well be his last dive for Canada.

International highlight for day 11:Usain Bolt. He tries to double up in the 200m. I propose a 150m race between Michael Phelps and Bolt--75m in a pool, 75 m on land—to determine the Games best athlete. They could hold it in SkyDome.

Snark break: 'Chad loses Johnson' headlines are overly obvious

Bengals wideout Chad Johnson reportedly is trying to apparently wants to legally change his last name to Ocho Cinco (eight-five, his jersey number).

You have to feel for the NFL. The boys in the boardroom probably thought they were in the clear after the XFL, which had the brainstorm to let players have a nickname instead of their actual name on the back of their jersey (Remember Rod Smart's "He Hate Me" jersey?), was laughed out of existence.

This is either a desperate plea for attention or pure genius. Here's hoping Johnson goes through with it, because then what happens if he's traded to a team where another player is already wearing No. 85. The negotating price to get the number would probably start at $1 million.

In a related story, more accomplished NFL receivers Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison respectively wish to continue being known as Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison.

More great Beijing Olympics headlines that can never be written: "Chen-anigans."

It's great how the Olympics bring out the worst in Canadians. The men's 4 x 200 freestyle relay team had just finished a, wait for it, solid fifth. Brian Johns was telling CBC Sports over and over again how "we're showing that we belong on this stage." Some wag in the newsroom shot back at the TV, "Yeah, but you just don't belong in the pool."

The hell of our Olympic swimmers are faring decently. All the finals qualified for, Canadian records and personal bests, though, hit the public with all the impact of a new phonebook.

(Right as this being written, Arturo Miranda and Alex Despatie -- who to be fair, was coming back from a broken foot -- faded to fifth in their diving event. Cue the Ceeb's commentator: "They're usually much better in practice.")

Mats Sundin is thinking about going to Fake Prom, but he might not feel like it. It's also on Friday. He can't be expected to make a decision on such short notice.

(Digression: Fake Prom? What is this North American obsession with the secondary school experience? It's 4 years during the first quarter of your life, before you figured out what person you are. Robertson Davies had it right -- you should feel sorry for people who say their time in school was the best days of their life, because it makes you wonder what they've been doing since.)

Last but not least, from the department of Tell Us Something We Didn't Know, Larry Mavety has actually admitted publicly that he will be permanent interim coach of the Kingston Frontenacs. Darren Keily, who was in Peterborough the last couple seasons, will be the assistant coach. It can't work worse than what they had last year.

Update: Check out the first two comments that have been left on the Kingston Whig-Standard's article.

Mavety talked about the feeling he had on March 14 when the Frontenacs closed their home schedule with a 9-2 rout of the Sudbury Wolves" -- (Au. note -- the worst team in the league) -- "before a crowd of 4,705.

" 'I've been around the league for 30 years and I can't recall a crowd being as boisterous or as loud as it was that night,' Mavety said."

Ah, the bliss of having a short memory.

To sum up, everyone knew this was happening, but winning 23 of 56 games after a coaching change is not a basis for bringing a coach back -- it's just an admission you couldn't get anyone qualified to coach in the OHL in 2008.

CIS Corner: Bagg sits, Zeeman spikes

Notes on our athletes/teams of interest from The 613...

Gaels: Queen's grad Rob Bagg was a healthy scratch for the Saskatchewan Roughriders last night in their game vs. B.C. Lions (CFL teams carry 46 players but only 42 can suit up). It might be worth monitoring the situation with Leron Mitchell. The 'Riders DB was carted off with a knee injury; he plays a lot of special teams so, ipso facto, that might create an opportunity for Bagg to see the field.

(UPDATE: Slotback D.J. Flick is out for the season for the 'Riders.)

(That's unfortunate for Mitchell, even if an injury to a Western grad might help out a Queen's guy. There is no begrudging a player for his alma mater or political affiliation. Duane Forde, by the way, is blowing Glenn Suitor out of the water as an analyst on TSN.)

Meantime, borrowing a page from the Bucholtz playbook, Queen's volleyball star Joren Zeeman helped Canada nail down a spot in the 2009 world junior volleyball championship, contributing 10 points in a 3-0 sweep of Mexico in the North American semi-finals down in El Salvador. Well-done. (Andrew Bucholtz really knows his volleyball; all I know is that it's hard not to feel dirty when you're trying to take photographs for the paper at a high school girls' game.)

Gee-Gees: Former U of O receiver Adam Nicolson almost had a blocked punt in the 'Riders-Lions game tonight.