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It was a fun two weeks of watching sporting events that nobody usually cares about other then every fourth year. There was shooting, archery and oh, there might have been a little swimming mixed in there as well. The 2008 Bejiing Summer Olympics were quite the spectacle and we here at Wicked Pissa Dude Radio enjoyed every last minute of them. Including the Top 8 performances from the games.

8.) USA Men’s Volleyball Team – After starting the games on a tragic note, the victims of a violent random attack, the USA Men’s Volleyball team battled back to defeat the Brazillian team for gold in the final day of the 2008 Olympics. The team that went undefeated in Olympic play and finished off the gold medal match 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23.

7.) Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser – Funny, you wouldn’t know that men even played beach volleyball if you listened to the commentators on all of the various networks. Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser know it exist and even though they weren’t quite as dominant as their female counterparts, they still brought home the gold medal in men’s beach volleyball with a three game win over Brazil.

6.) The Greatest Athlete in the World, or so they say that’s what the person who wins the decathlon is labeled and that will be Bryan Clay’s title for the rest of his life after he brought home the gold in this grueling event. Clay became the first US Olympian to win the decathlon since the hype that was Dan O’Brien in 1996 at the Atlanta games.

5.) Usain Bolt – Ok, you know I had to be fair and balanced ;) and throw in a non-American for the top 8 performances and what better person to put in the mix then 3 time gold medalist Usain Bolt. Not only did the Lightening Bolt set a world record in the 100m with a time of 9.69 he also took home gold in the 200m and the 4x100 relay with his Jamaican teammates. The fastest man in the world might have set an even more startling pace if he had not done a little show boating at the end of the 100m.

4.) The US Men’s Basketball Team – I refuse to call this team the Redeem Team. Why? Because what are they redeeming us for, the fact that our previous teams were so ridiculously selfish that they couldn’t pull together on a national stage to win for their country? I think that’s absurd. That being said, this was one of the more dominant performances during the Olympics and taking home another gold made it very sweet. But please, don’t compare this team to the 1992 Dream Team. They will never be the Dream Team and no one will ever match that historic team’s lore and talent. They were truly originals.

3.) Nastia Liukin – After her team suffered multiple injuries and some disappointing performances to bring home a silver for the team competition, Nastia Liukin stepped up her personal game and took home the all-around Gold medal in women’s gymnastics and came inches away from winning the gold on the uneven bars. Overall, she took home five medals, a gold, three silver and a bronze, not so bad considering she was competing against a 12 year old little girl, ok maybe she was 14.

2.) Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh – DOMINATING. That is the only word that can be used to describe this duos performance on the beach. Sure they have always been dominating throughout their career, but to win the first ever back to back Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball was a feat unlike many others that have been achieved. Two women, made this one sport, relevant to millions of Americans, if at least for one moment in history. Not only did they not lose a single match in Olympic play, but they didn’t drop a set, including in the gold medal game defeating the Chinese team by a score of 21-18 and 21-18.

1.) Michael Phelps – Don’t have to be the host of a Boston sports show to know this one was going to be at the top of the list. He will now be mentioned as one of the greatest Olympians of all time, in fact, let’s put the discussion to rest, he IS the greatest Olympian of all time. After becoming the first Olympian to win 8 gold medals in a single Olympics and the Olympian with the most gold medals in history, we will all be telling our grand children that we were watching when Michael Phelps won a gold medal, literally by a finger-tips length. He will go home and play with his dog and drive his cars, but he’ll be ready for London to dominate again.

Whether they made the list or not, there were so many amazing Olympic performances in Bejiing that there were too many to list. Congratulations to all of the Olympians, especially Team USA for showing us the true beauty of sport. This was one for the ages.

adam@wickedpissadude.com