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This afternoon for 48 minutes ++, I sticked my eyes to the TV and watched the Olympic Men’s basketball gold medal match between USA and Spain. The United States won the gold medal, defeating Spain 118-107. Finally, I managed to watch one basketball match during Beijing 2008 Olympics. What I can say that both teams put up a wonderful game and an very exciting one.

And you gotta know this guy - Ricky Rubio, the 17 year old Spanish point guard.

Photo Credit: SI.com

He is the youngest player to ever win an Olympic Men’s Bball medal. He can be considered as a child prodigy in basketball. At the age of 14, he played in the Spanish ACB League. In today’s match, Rubio scored six points.

Overall, I’m a little disappointed because the team I supported lost.

Imagine a smallest margin of victory of One-hundredth of a second?

Photo Credit: NY Daily News

Michael Phelps did it and won his seventh gold medal in the men’s 100m butterfly. The 23-year-old came in at 50.58sec with Milorad Cavic second in 50.59. Serbian officials protested that Cavic should share the same gold with Phelps but were turned down as the video captured shows Cavic was gliding when Phelps was stroking.

Photo Credit: http://scarlettcrusader.wordpress.com

Well before the match, Cavic had challenged Phelps. Cavic took his stand and faced the American as he took up his familiar pre-race stance alongside his block. You can see this image in this video at 0:14.

Let’s take a look at the photos:

Photo credit: The New York Times
If you noticed, Cavic on the right was gliding (see from top picture to the bottom one).

This is extracted from Cavic’s blog, after this match and he explained it all:

I did it!!! I won an Olympic medal everybody! I’m sorry to brag, but I’m sure you all will forgive me just this one time! So, allow me to clear some things up:

1. The Media’s Manipulation and Misinterpretations: It never ceases to amaze me that garbage that reporters will come up with in order to make a story. Seriously. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I’m very respectful of others. I’ll admit that I’ve got bad blood with one person in the world, but that’s really it. I would never do anything to trash my competitors with seriousness, or to belittle them. If you were there to hear my media interviews, you’d know how much respect I’ve got for Michael Phelps. For a lot of reasons though, its easy to see why many reporters would pick up on anything negative and use it to support their imaginations. Am I a bad guy? No, not even close. I’ve got no criminal record, never got in trouble in school for anything (ever), and never got into a fight. Hate me for having some disagreements about some foreign policies, or for posting up some fast times, but I’m anything but a punk. I’m cool with all of my competitors that have even met me for a second. I like to think I’m easy going and easy to talk to… don’t imagine reasons to hate on me.

2. On winning a SILVER medal: I am completely happy, and still in complete disbelief that I was able to achieve this feat! I’m not joking… It’s a tough loss, but I’m on cloud nine. I congratulated Phelps and his coach Bob Bowman. I’m just glad the race was fun to watch for everyone. It was a pleasure for me, really.

3. Filing a Protest: Yes, as you all saw, I almost won the Gold, and if you ask me, the clock does not lie. I had nothing to do with this filing, and neither did my coach Mike Bottom. This is just another attack on my coach who has done never wronged anyone in swimming, except coach foreign athletes (non-Americans) to Olympic medals. You all have to understand that any coach would have done this for their swimmer if there were any possibility of error, but I’m sorry to disappoint, it was my Olympic committee and swimming staff who did the filing. We’re not “sour grapes” and we’re not “pissed”… If you ask me, it should be accepted and we should move on. I’ve accepted defeat, and there’s nothing wrong with losing to the greatest swimmer there has ever been.

4. So what now? People, this is the greatest moment of my life. I’ve finally achieved what I’ve worked so hard, and for so long to do. Let me enjoy this for a little while. I’m going back to Belgrade for a year after the Olympics. Its time to take a break and figure out the next thing to do!

***WARNING: DISTURBING GRAPHIC IMAGES AND VIDEO BELOW***

Janos Baranyai of Hungary injured himself during his third lift at the men’s 77kg Group B snatch weightlifting competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

This is the 24-year-old Hungarian first Olympics and he ended up in an agony as he dislocated his right elbow during the Olympic weightlifting competition. Baranyai was lifting up weights 148kg, when his elbow went out of its socket. Unable to support the weight, Baranyai’s right forearm bent backwards. Officials said that there was no fracture, but added that Baranyai would not be able to lift weights again. 

Photos from Dailymail

View the video here. Note: Rather disturbing to watch.

If you do not know, Channel 5 has this programme “Today in Beijing” hosted by Mark Richmond and Jade Seah. This programme rounds up the day’s activities with exclusive interviews and reports from Beijing by on-site reporter Jason Chan.

Commotions were going on regarding one of the presenters - Jade Seah.

Jade Seah - Courtesy of MediaCorp TV

Poor Jade Seah was bombarded in forums about her presentation skills, and a Facebook group was even created to get Jade Seah off ‘Tonight in Beijing’. One of the members commented:

“Regardless of what your other formative experiences may have been, please understand that in this case, the substance matters more than the form. Please just give us the news. Please practise proper professional news delivery. Please do not preen, simper, banter, or do the equivalent of that Gatsby guy prancing around in front of the teleprompter. I don’t even follow sports, for cryin’ out loud.

There is still time for redemption. Please. Until then, Channel 5 @ 11pm is when the TV stays firmly switched off.”

Are you serious?? She couldnt be that worst, afterall she was chosen to be the presenter by Mediacorp. She must have some elements that make her to be the presenter, right? Personally, I’ve not watched “Tonight in Bei Jing” yet.. But, I will watch it today..and comment about her in my next post. =)

And ya, Jade Seah was caught saying “Err..F*ck..” on National TV. These words blurted out from her mouth when reporting about Men’s Synchro Diving and the images of Basketball showed. This is caught by BlinkyMummy.

Will she be staying as the presenter for “Tonight in Beijing”? We shall see..