After paying $900 million for the rights to broadcast the summer games, NBC’s primetime ratings have been huge and the online coverage just as strong. Nearly 25 million people have visited NBCOlympics.com, viewing 456 million pages. After the amazing U.S. comeback in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, people watched the video replay 1.7 million times.
Part of NBC’s primetime success can be attributed to the Phelps-effect. That’s right U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps has been the story of the Beijing games. What else can be said about him, Phelps is a human-performance machine.
The quest for golden history nearly ended in Phelps' second race, but teammate Jason Lezak turned in an epic performance to edge the French. Then chasing Mark Spitz’s record seven golds Phelps delivered in a legendary way.
While Phelps has been so dominant in the water, the U.S. women’s team was anything but. Katie Hoff had high Olympic hopes and was expected to pull in six medals (most ever for a female swimmer). Instead of achieving greatness, Hoff earned just three medals – one silver and two bronze.
After watching her swim, I think there was something wrong with Hoff. She faded down the stretch of nearly every race and ended up huffing for air after hitting the wall. On top of that she did not look surprised by her results. Swimming slower than her personal bests in four of five individual events, Hoff was a disappointment. Speaking of pool disappointments, what happened to Athens gold medalist Amanda Beard?
Yahoo’s Fourth-Place Medal Blog has been tackling the many mysteries of the Olympics. Staying in the Water Cube, they addressed one of the most perplexing aspects of diving. Why do divers head to the showers right after completing a dive? Fascinating answer, and it’s not to wash off the chlorine. Fourth-Place Medal also uncovered the identity of the gorgeous athlete from Paraguay, among other Olympic mysteries.
And with gorgeous mostly young athletes in top physical shape, the close quarters of the Olympic Village appears to be full of love. Olympic organizers are providing 100,000 condoms for these games, as they have distributed condoms since Barcelona in 1992. Greg Boeck examines if there’s any harm in that.
One final thought about the starlet of the Opening Ceremony, Lin Miaoke. If you actually thought the Chinese government would let a 7-year-old sing “Ode to the Motherland” live in front of 91,000 people and a worldwide TV audience, you’re a fool. It comes as no surprise here, that Lin lip-synched the song. I feel sorry for Yang Peiyi who’s crooked teeth disqualified her. But the Olympics are part of China’s coming out party, they are striving for perfection be it taped or not.
Enjoy the games!
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
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