Posts from — August 2008

Ban this guy. There’s no excuse for this kind of stupid and unsportsmanlike behavior.

From Newsweek:

Cuba’s Angel Matos deliberately kicked a referee square in the face after he was disqualified in a bronze-medal match, prompting the World Taekwondo Federation to recommend he be banned for life.

“We didn’t expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur,” said WTF secretary general Yang Jin-suk. “I am at a loss for words.”

Yang also recommended Matos’ coach be banned.

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Australia’s Matthew Mitcham just became China’s public enemy number one when he denied his hosts a clean sweep of the diving gold medals. If I am one of them Chinese authorities, I will start digging dirt on this guy to disqualify him so the gold medal will go to China.

In fact, I personally believe that this Matthew guy is is only eight years old and should therefore not be allowed to participate in the Olympics. Look at his facial hair for instance. It kinda looks fake, no? I think Australia, in its desperation to get a diving gold, pasted kangaroo hair on the face of this poor eight year old boy to make him look older. Boo Australia, you are sooo an age cheating country.

Photo credit: Jamie Squire via Beijing2008

Earlier, I wondered whether Liu Xiang’s withdrawal from the 110 meter hurdles competition will negatively affect his relationship with Nike. Thanks to this tip from snactres, we find out that Nike will continue to feature Liu in its ad campaign.

From CNBC:

Despite the disappointment of one of their biggest endorsers, Nike will salute hurt Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang tomorrow — instead of hoping that he’ll disappear.

This is the type of thing that makes Nike a leader in sports marketing. When the other sponsors privately cringe at the thought of one of their top guys going down, the folks at the Swoosh actually think, “How do we spend on this and turn it into a great human moment that appeals to people?”

The print ad, which will appear in The China Daily and a few local papers here in Beijing, will have Liu Xiang’s face and will contain the following copy (in Mandarin):

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Maris Strombergs of Latvia wins the first gold medal for his country and the second gold medal awarded for the newly introduced sport of BMX cycling. French Anne-Caroline Chausson has the distinction as the first Olympic gold medalist for the sport when she won the women’s BMX competition.
Photo credits: Adam Pretty and Phil Walter.

Forget the overhyped Michael Phelps, the real strongman in the Beijing Olympics is American decathlon gold medalist Bryan Clay. A short visit to his website made me an instant fan. I particularly like the fact that he takes time to answer questions from his fans:

Q: Bryan, best of luck, all the Hapa Kepanis peeps worldwide are pulling for you. My query is how much of an Asian influence did your mom bring to your family, e.g. did you eat a lot of Japanese food and/or get exposed to Japanese culture?

A: Japanese culture and food were a huge part of my life growing up. My mother made sure I knew who I was and where I came from.

Q: Bryan, why did you choose Azusa Pacific an NAIA school over a NCAA Division I School? Azusa Pacific has an excellent reputation in the decathlon. Most people don’t realize some of our countries greatest decathletes have come out of the NAIA. GO FOR GOLD!

A: I chose APU because I felt it was the best combiation of academics, athletics, and atmosphere. All that stuff together has allowed me to be successful.

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