The Hardest Part of Writing this Blog is Thinking of a TITLE!

<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Main Blurb</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Did anyone else think “Breakfast at Wimbledon” this morning? I woke up just as it was starting – albeit I had woken up that early to watch gymnastics event finals on the computer. But it was still fun to watch Wimbledon for the second time in a month, with a different result.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I have watched Andy Murray in quite a few tennis matches, and they normally had the same routine: come out strong, fail in the end. All of Britain turns to the local Brit tennis player in June and July, praying that he will save them from their drought of winless men’s singles for many years. But they never come through. Even Murray, who was in the Wimbledon final just a few weeks ago, failed to take the championship away from Roger Federer. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">But this time it was Murray besting a flustered Federer on Centre Court in front of his home crowd. Home court advantage had never been so much of a, well, advantage! With the raucous crowd – a little bit more raucous than a usual Wimbledon match – Murray couldn’t be beat. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Usually when you watch tennis, you are waiting for someone to break the other’s serve. Well today, Murray broke Federer’s serve five times – four times in a row in one moment of the match. On the other hand, Murray faced break point seven times, and each time didn’t allow the point to happen. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The tennis is always fun to watch in the Olympics, because the best pro players often come out to participate for their countries. This week has been no different. Between Murray and Serena Williams and the Bryan brothers, there was quality tennis being played. I kinda wish there was more of it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mini Blurbs</b></div><div class="MsoNormal">You wanna hear today’s roundup? *Deep intake of breath* tennis, equestrian team jumping, women’s basketball, women’s triple jump, running of all kinds, women’s vault, men’s floor exercise, beach volleyball, badminton, fencing, women’s marathon, men’s field hockey, wrestling, boxing, women’s handball, women’s discus, women’s pole vault, and track cycling! WHEW! What a day!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I did indeed wake up at 7am to catch Jake Dalton and McKayla Maroney in their individual event finals. Dalton was adequate, but not able to match other gymnasts on the floor. Maroney, on the other hand, was proclaimed by the Internet announcer as “the best vaulter in the world.” Well, even the best vaulters can fall on their butts at the worst of times, and that’s exactly what happened to Maroney. All the Romanian gymnast had to do was land on her feet twice, and that’s exactly what she did. Sorry, McKayla.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The men’s steeplechase was today, with Kenyan Ezekiel Kemboi winning gold, and Frenchman Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad winning silver. Those two must know each other, because they exchanged jersey tops, and Kemboi jumped into Mekhissi-Benabbad’s arms at the end in celebration. It’s probably the most interesting celebration I’ve seen yet.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">In wrestling, you can challenge a point and ask for a video review. Well, to announce this, they throw a challenge brick. Yes – a brick. Only in wrestling would you throw a brick to challenge.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The next team event you watch, take a look at the referee/umpire’s uniform. I’ve seen quite a few interesting outfits on these guys today. In wrestling they wear a suit. In handball they wear shorts and a shirt. In water polo it looks like the refs are going to go sailing afterwards. And my favorite: field hockey. I swear it’s the first time skinny pants have been allowed as a uniform.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Don’t just watch NBC tomorrow, either. MSNBC has had some great matches – lots of non-American events, for those who are sick of the all-American NBC coverage. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you are watching on another channel – say CBC or CTV or BBC – it’s not called “track and field.” It’s called “athletics.”<br /><br />Tonight in Where in the World is Kobe Bryant? Well, I didn't see him anywhere. Probably uploading the swimming video he took last night on his leopard-print phone. Tomorrow he plays more basketball.<br /><br />And in our <b>Czech Republic Gold Medal Watch</b>, the Czech team did not get a gold today. Their women's doubles team took silver, losing to the Williams sisters. But they do have a runner who had a very good heat today in the women's 400m hurdles. We'll see how she does in the end. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">It really makes a difference to watch the online coverage. You usually get a more rounded understanding of the events, because they show all the competitors. But sometimes the Internet has its problems. After the introductions of the women’s 400m runners, the streamers decided to break for an ad! I ended up missing the start and about 100m of the race. And then in the men’s 100m, the screen decided to reload right in the middle of the race. It’s TEN SECONDS. Can’t you wait ten seconds to freeze up and misbehave? I wish the Internet would work better. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m probably waking up early tomorrow for more gymnastics finals. Are you? Good night everybody!</div>

The Hardest Part of Writing this Blog is Thinking of a TITLE!

The Main Blurb Did anyone else think “Breakfast at Wimbledon” this morning? I woke up just as it was starting – albeit I had woken up that e...

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Today's archidose #604

Here are some photos of the Moorraum Pavilion in Krumbach, Austria, by <a href="http://www.paulsteurer.at/">Paul Steurer</a> (2009). Photographs are by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/formsache/">Frank Stahl</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/formsache/7709833922/" title="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach by frank formsache, on Flickr"><img alt="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach" height="428" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7709833922_dc1b27b26d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/formsache/7709832938/" title="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach by frank formsache, on Flickr"><img alt="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach" height="428" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7709832938_997b6fd434_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/formsache/7709831328/" title="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach by frank formsache, on Flickr"><img alt="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7709831328_61580e93d2_c.jpg" width="534" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/formsache/7709831864/" title="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach by frank formsache, on Flickr"><img alt="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8007/7709831864_9aaff0b83e_c.jpg" width="535" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/formsache/7709828176/" title="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach by frank formsache, on Flickr"><img alt="Pavilion Moorraum Krumbach" height="428" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8423/7709828176_a177f9d579_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #604

Here are some photos of the Moorraum Pavilion in Krumbach, Austria, by Paul Steurer (2009). Photographs are by Frank Stahl . To contribute ...

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