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

Labels: Bryan Clay, Kerry Walsh, Men's Volleyball, Michael Phelps, Misty May-Treanor, Nastia Liukin, NBC Olympics, Phil Dalhausser, Redeam Team, Team USA, Todd Rogers, Usain Bolt

We're back!! Another episode of Wicked Pissa Dude Radio is on and we're talking Olympics. Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, USA Gymnastics and even shooting. Check out the show.

This is the last week to sign up for the WPDRFL (Fantasy Football League.) If you want to get in, shoot us an e-mail radio@wickedpissadude.com and let us know your name, team name, where you're from and how many leagues you are currently in. League info will go out next Monday night, so get signed up now.

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Thanks for checking out the show.

adam@wickedpissadude.com

Labels: Bejiing 2008, Boston Red Sox, Dara Torres, Junior Seau, Michael Phelps, New England Patriots, Olympics, Wicked Pissa Dude Football League

Jason Lezak hails from Irvine, CA, which is just about as far away from MA as you could possibly get, but he is an honorary Masslete for his performance in the 4x100 relay that kept Michael Phelps' hopes of 8 golds alive and beat out the pesky French, who were talking smack before the race, by .8 of a second. So Mr. Lezak, you are an honorary Masslete for the day...

Taking back the title
Jason Lezak qualified for his third Olympics by finishing second in the 100m freestyle at Olympic Trials. Lezak set the American record in the event in semifinals, and his time of 47.58 sets him up as the likely anchor of the 4x100m free relay in Beijing. Lezak was a member of the first U.S. team to lose that race at the Olympics, falling to Australia in 2000, and again when the U.S. lost to South Africa in 2004. This time, the U.S. will be up against France as the top contender, led by world-record holder Alain Bernard.

Late bloomer
Lezak did not become an elite sprinting swimmer until he was 25. Now 32, he is trying to qualify for his third Olympics. Lezak won the 100m at the 2004 U.S. Trials, breaking the American record in the semifinals and posting the third-fastest time in history. He later finished as the runner-up in the 50m free to earn a second spot in Athens. Lezak, along with teammate Ian Crocker, failed to make it out of the preliminaries in the 100m free in Athens and finished fifth in the 50m free. Lezak won Olympic gold in the 4x100m medley relay and a bronze in the 4x100m free relay. Lezak also won two medals at the 2000 Sydney Games: a silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay and a gold for his prelims swim in the 4x100m medley relay.

Alone in the pool
Lezak is one of very few elite swimmers to train without a coach. He attributes his ability to coach himself to his many years with Dave Salo at Irvine Novaquatics. Lezak says he is able to make adjustments immediately based on how he feels in the pool, which is something coaches can't always do. Lezak says he has no problem motivating himself without someone yelling at him from the pool deck.

On Trials
At the 2004 Trials, Lezak was involved in a much publicized trash-talking bout with eight-time Olympic medalist Gary Hall Jr. Before their matchup in the 100m free, Hall called Lezak a "professional relay swimmer." Lezak didn't have much of a response, choosing to see what happened in the pool. In the semifinals, Lezak broke the American record (previously set by Anthony Ervin in 2001), posting a time of 48.17 -- the third-fastest of all time. Only 2000 and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Pieter van den Hoogenband had gone faster. In the final, Lezak won in 48.41 seconds, ahead of runner-up Ian Crocker and Hall, who had a terrible start and finished third. After the final, the two men shook hands in the pool. Hall, who later indicated that most of the trash talk had been for publicity's sake, got a bit of revenge two days later when he beat Lezak to the wall in the 50m free, then in Athens when Hall won the gold in the 50m free.

Anchorman
Lezak began to emerge as the top American sprinter when he won the 50m and 100m freestyles at the 2002 Summer Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He continued his strong swimming at the Pan Pacific Championships a week later, winning the 50m free and anchoring the U.S. 4x100m medley relay to a world record. That record fell one year later at the 2003 World Championships, when Lezak anchored another winning medley. Also at that meet, Lezak added a silver medal in the 4x100m free relay.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas
At age 5, Lezak joined the Irvine Novaquatics swim team and has never left. He first qualified for Nationals his senior year of high school but decided to go water skiing and gambling near Las Vegas with friends instead. That was something he used to do at least four times a year, or as much as his wallet would allow. Lezak said in 2004 that Vegas is fun when you're young, but as you get older you realize that "Vegas is bad news."

Olympic wedding
Lezak graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara in 1999 with a degree in business/economics. He married Danielle DeAlva, who represented Mexico in Athens, in April 2004. The couple went to high school together and both train in Irvine.

Sorry, coach
A 1994 high school All-American in water polo, Lezak chose to concentrate on swimming despite the requests of the UCSB water polo coach. Lezak also played basketball until the 10th grade, as well as baseball and soccer while growing up. He says the other sports were relief from swimming and prevented him from getting burned out. Lezak's younger sister Erin also graduated from UCSB and played water polo.

Info courtesy of nbcolympics.com

adam@wickedpissadude.com

Labels: Bejiing 2008, Jason Lezak, Masslete, Michael Phelps, NBC Olympics, Olympics

Click here for pictures from the opening ceremonies!!

adam@wickedpissadude.com

Labels: Bejiing 2008, Bob Costas, Dara Torres, Kerry Strug, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Olympics, USA Basketball