On this page the following entries were made in the “Olympics” category.
Archive for “Olympics”
Seriously, Phelps Did Not Harm China
Japanese car company, and Michael Phelps sponsor, Mazda, asked their endorser to issue an apology to the Chinese public following his pot smoking incident. And he delivered one (scroll down to watch). Can someone please explain this to me? I find it utterly baffling on so many levels that my head feels like it is [...]
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No Roads Lead to Starbucks
One of the oddest things about Beijing is its bizarre scale. You can’t walk anywhere. One block is about a kilometer long. Housing complexes expand over dozens of acres. Coming from Brooklyn, where anything you want is a five-minute walk, Beijing is bizarro world.
And one of the cornerstones of Beijing’s madness is the lack of [...]
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Old Beijing Coming Back
For better or for worse, the old Beijing–June old, not Ming old–is slowing reappearing.
While the bizarre ban on outdoor seating was only fully enforced for a week or two, it now appears to be completely gone.
A friend informed me that DVD stores are now fully stocked again. He also said prices went up 25%, presumably [...]
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What I’ll Remember About the Beijing Olympics
Beach volleyball in the rain.
Forty-six boxing matches watched in person.
Four soccer games in Workers Stadium. A red card against an American in the first minute of the first game. At least one red card in every game I watched. The Belgians winning, down a man the whole game, despite the refs giving the Italians two [...]
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Text of the Day
I texted a Chinese friend asking if she or her colleagues were interested in an extra pair of tickets I have for tomorrow’s soccer finals. The reply came back at 12:25PM on a Friday:
我们在睡觉 我一会问他们。
In other words, the office is napping, I’ll ask them in a bit. I love China.
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Rogge, IOC Should Not Criticize Bolt
IOC President Jacques Rogge shot off his mouth at one of the biggest stars of the Olympics today, criticizing Jamaican Usain Bolt’s flashy finish to the 100-meter finals. Guess what Mr. Rogge: no one cares about you and everyone cares about Mr. Bolt. No one comes to the Olympics to hear about what members of [...]
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Big Olympic Fear Comes True
The Olympics have been a tremendous success and I have enjoyed them enormously. However, there is one huge fear that I have always held that seems to be coming true: this success of sports is going to be used to validate horrible public policy.
This came to light yesterday in two pieces. The first was an [...]
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Liu Xiang Critics Bring Shame to China
You did know Liu Xiang has been injured all year, right? The 2004 gold medalist in the 110 meter hurdles hasn’t been in top form in months. So why is it such a shock that, after the Chinese Team and the nation did all they could to force this poor guy to run through injury, [...]
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Where’s the Beef (or Any Food)?
I’ve been to three events now, and have had lots of fun at all of them, even though I was hugely disappointed by the US soccer team and flyweight boxer I was cheering for. The crowds are fun, the beer is dirt cheap and the Chinese fans are super friendly. One huge complaint that I’ve [...]
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My First Olympic Event and Other Observations
This morning marked my first Olympic event event ever, beach volleyball. Other than a a bit of rain, which China seems to think is a huge embarrassment (but none of the people in attendance seemed to believe), things went extremely well. We took a cab to Chaoyang Park East Gate #4, and were dropped off [...]
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