Well we had to blame somebody. Timmy has been without power since Friday morning. Blame CANADA. Rubba Shoes has been out of work for the last three weeks. Blame CANADA. Adam actually watched a full game of hockey. Blame CANADA.

Labels: 2010 Winter Olympics, Boston Celtics, Julia Mancuso, Lindsey Vonn, New Jersey Nets, Team USA

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

Once again we arrive at the end of an Olympic Games and unfortunately too at the end of the Summer. Congratulations to the US Olympic Team for all of their triumphs and efforts over the past couple of weeks. They have proudly represented our nation in a corner of the world where we are clearly resented and often unwelcome. Our amateur athletes largely go unheralded and that is a shame. Adam and myself felt we would be remiss to not take this opportunity to praise you all here on our little corner of the interwebs. You have made us all very proud. USA, USA, USA, USA (ad infinitum)

Labels: Olympics, Team USA, us olympic team

Today's Masslete of the Day is Manchester By The Sea native Elliot Hovey. Elliot is a rower who grew up in Mass, but trains in Alameda, CA. Check out the stuff on Elliot.

A year of firsts
Elliot Hovey not only makes his Olympic debut in Beijing in the men's double sculls, but the 2008 Olympic regatta will be his first international competition, as this is his first year on the national team. A New England native, Hovey rowed for the University of California, Berkeley, and continued the sport with the California Rowing Club after college. In 2008 he and his sculling partner West Piermarini finished fourth at the second national selection regatta and first at Olympic team trials.

From the sweep to the sculls
A member of the varsity eight at Berkeley, Hovey and his teammates won the Pac-10 Championships and the IRA Championships in 2006. Upon graduating with a degree in American Studies that same year, Hovey continued rowing at the California Rowing Club, where he learned how to scull from Australian Olympic veteran Tim McLaren; "Tim has taught me so much about how to be a rower, an athlete and a human being," Hovey said.

Teaming up
McLaren had Hovey rowing in the single sculls until Wes Piermarini arrived in the fall of 2007. Because they were of similar size and shape, the two started sculling together. "We rowed differently and Tim is always telling us to do tweak things so we'll row more similarly," Hovey said. Not having known each other for long, Hovey says they try to get together outside of practice: "We live on different sides of town, but we'll grab a pizza now and then."

Rowing tradition
Hovey started rowing ten years ago as a freshman at the Salisbury school in Connecticut. Having played football and ice hockey in the fall and winter seasons, springtime came around and he thought rowing would be fun. Drawn to the history and tradition behind rowing, he also enjoyed the camaraderie among teammates, and being out on the water. He says his passion for the sport was fortified by his high school coach, Dick Curtis.

Athletic family
Athletic since childhood, Hovey started downhill skiing when he was three years old. By the time he was eight, he was racing, and continued until he was a sophomore in high school. His older sister, Averill, 28, also skied, but was most successful as a lacrosse player at the University of Denver. She is now the head lacrosse coach at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Outside of rowing
When Hovey isn't rowing, he helps out around the rowing club, and enjoys telemark skiing, golf and fly-fishing. After the Olympics he hopes to work in finance.

adam@wickedpissadude.com

Labels: Elliot Hovey, Masslete, Olympics, Rowing, Team USA