South Meck grad Ricky Berens was a member of the 4x200 relay team that helped Michael Phelps to another world record and one of his eight gold medals at Beijing. We ran into his mom and first swim coach, Leslie, at church on Sunday. She was wondering what to do with Ricky when he gets back home in a few days. Great question because there's got to be a little letdown getting back into the pool to train for the next meet I would think. As for Phelps with 16 medals overall, he's within three of having the most all-time when he hits the water in London in 2012. There is speculation that Phelps could make a total of $40 million from endorsements, etc. from his eight gold medal performance.
I think it's ironic that baseball and softball will no longer be Olympic sports, but badminton and rifle shooting remain in. Granted, we send AA level baseball players and the whole world can't compete, but it is a fairly well known sport. I think anything that begins with the word "synchronized" probably shouldn't be considered a sporting event. Cirque du soleil in Las Vegas would need to be included as an Olympic training camp.
In case you were confused, it's pronounced Bay-Jing, not Bay-Zhing as Bob Costas and many on NBC's own broadcast have called it. I didn't know that until these games myself. As one expert said, we don't sing "Zhingle Bells" at Christmas time.
On to football, where the Panthers seem to have all of the components of a quality football team this year. Of course, we have to throw in the caveat "if they can stay healthy." When you look at their best teams in 1996, 2003 and 2005 that was a vital component. Not having Steve Smith for the first two games will hurt especially with so many other receivers missing time with injuries in the preseason. With Deangelo Williams leading the way, the running game looks the best it has since 2003. Jake, Julius and some of the other key contributors also seem stronger than ever.
We have three boys playing school football this season in our house. We can't afford to feed all of them anymore, so one of them is going to have to go. It's a tough choice because the little one eats as much as the big one. They start with dessert, then snack, meal, and back to dessert. I don't eat the ice cream because I catch them spooning it right out of the container. None of them clean up after themselves despite constant threats of lifetime banishment. I'm going to stop talking now because I'm starting to get on my own nerves and I don't remember once cleaning anything in our college dorm room.
