Just a day after stating that he felt Olympic basketball players should be paid, creating a fascinating national debate about the essence of the Olympics, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade retracted his statement on Thursday, saying, “I do not want to be paid to go to the Olympics.”

But what do you think? Should Olympic US basketball stars get paid for the time they put into training camps and the extra wear and tear they put on their bodies? The consensus here is that no, it should be enough of an honor to carry your country’s colors and that money should be the last thing from an athlete’s mind, especially one as rich as an NBA player. Just because Wade took back his statement, doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel like he should be compensated, just like Ray Allen feels. And if pros want to get paid, why not replace them with amateurs, who would kill for the opportunity?

Should Olympians be compensated? Or is the experience and the camaraderie enough to last a lifetime?

Just a day after stating that he felt Olympic basketball players should be paid, creating a fascinating national debate about the essence of the Olympics, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade retracted his statement on Thursday, saying, “I do not want to be paid to go to the Olympics.”

But what do you think? Should Olympic US basketball stars get paid for the time they put into training camps and the extra wear and tear they put on their bodies? The consensus here is that no, it should be enough of an honor to carry your country’s colors and that money should be the last thing from an athlete’s mind, especially one as rich as an NBA player. Just because Wade took back his statement, doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel like he should be compensated, just like Ray Allen feels. And if pros want to get paid, why not replace them with amateurs, who would kill for the opportunity?

Should Olympians be compensated? Or is the experience and the camaraderie enough to last a lifetime?

IMOGEN REED
Guest Blogger

Many people will still remember the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, but memories of Mark Spitz winning seven gold medals in the pool, or the delight of first seeing the performances of a young Russian Gymnast named Olga Korbut, are overshadowed by the Black September attack that left one West German police officer and eleven Israeli athletes and coaches dead. From then on they knew that the level of security that would be needed to protect the participants meant that the event would never have the same sense of openness and togetherness that it had once enjoyed. After 9/11 and the attacks on London in 2005 the day after they were awarded the Games, it was obvious that security would have to be an even greater consideration, because not only could the competitors be targets for terrorist attacks, but so could the spectators and the host city.

Security in Numbers

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games take place in London during the summer, and last December the security budget for the venue alone was increased from an already enormous £282 million to a staggering £553 million, with policing costing £475 million in addition. The original number of security personnel was intended to be 10,000, but will now be in excess of 27,000, and in addition to police, there will be 13,500 reservist troops to support them. The threat of attack has been taken so seriously, that as long ago as 2010 insurance industry organizations were warning their members to prepare and encouraging business people to make sure their policies were up to date, be it buildings insurance, liability insurance, and even taxi insurance.

Preparing for the Worst

A number of exercises have taken place over the past eighteen months to test the security and emergency service response to a number of scenarios, and the most recent took place on February 22nd. Codenamed “Forward defensive”, the exercise employed the disused Aldwych station in central London as a venue for a simulated terrorist attack against the London Underground taking place at the height of the Games. Somewhere in the region of 2,500 personnel took part, including police, fire fighters, ambulance crews and paramedics, as well as staff and senior management from the Olympic organizers, and members of COBRA, the government committee that oversees national crises and emergencies.

The scenario was designed to reflect dealing with the aftermath of an attack similar to those that were launched against the British capital on July 7th 2005. It included a full scale evacuation of the station, and drew on lessons learned since that attack. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, National Olympic Security Co-ordinator told reporters that, “The initial incident will test the tactical response including evacuation of the station, rescuing injured people and managing the crime scene.” He went on to say that: “Testing and exercising is vital to getting our safety and security operations for the Games right” and that, “We need to be confident that we have the right people in the right places, that we understand how others operate and that we are talking to each other at the right levels and in the right way.” However, the purpose of the exercise goes much further than assessing the initial response, building confidence amongst and between responders, and re-assuring people that London is prepared for all eventualities and able to deal with them. The exercise is also designed to assess the wider impact on the city, and on the Games themselves, as well as the thoroughness of the investigative process, and the robustness of the command structure put in place.

Hoping for the Best

We know that such planning is necessary, but it’s still pretty scary, and it’s also very sad. The original idea of then modern games was to bring nations and peoples together, and let them see that behind the external differences such as ethnicity or language, we are all the same, and that we can compete and strive for perfection without hostility. Over the years it also provided an ideal that many young people could aspire to. Yes, to be the fastest, the strongest, the best, in their chosen field of sport, but also to be Olympian in appreciating the effort and achievement of others, and competing fairly. Not unsurprisingly, because we are human and suffer from human frailties, it is an ideal to which some have failed to live up to over the years, but many have. Some we will know, because their names are in the history books, but many we will not remember because they did not win a medal of any color. We once worried that money and ruthless ambition would be the ruin of the Olympics, and both have at times tarnished the image of the games. Today we must hope that our worst fears are not realized, and that the ring of steel with which we now feel compelled to surround the event, is not only effective, but that it does not itself undermine the spirit of the Games.

Sources: The Guardian Feb 23rd 2012, The Telegraph Feb 23rd 2012, news.sky.com Feb 22nd 2012, bbc.co.uk Feb 22nd 2012, Insurance Age july 29th 2010

On April 3, her Facebook fan page sent out an update that I found to be funny in its level of concern:

Dear fellow Yu-Na fans

??A truly disheartening situation is currently occurring on Youtube.

??Many of Yu-Na’s popular videos are being deleted. Some of these erased clips have acquired millions of hits and others have been featured in the media as well. On the other hand, clips that maliciously “defame” Yu-Na are being uploaded on a daily basis.

??The seriousness of this matter lies within the fact that these actions seem to be systematically organized. Identical clips are uploaded by different users on the same day and some reach hundreds of thousands of view hits per day. The massive and simultaneous nature of the distribution suggests that this is not an individual act.

??Furthermore, malicious clips of other skaters are uploaded by users who claim to be Yu-Na’s fans. Interestingly, these clips toward other skaters were created and uploaded in the same pattern with the malicious clips toward Yu-Na. Clearly the intention is to give a false impression that Yu-Na fans are attacking other skaters.

??Often, these malicious clips cannot be distinguished by their titles.
Although unrelated to the clips, names of other skaters are attached as tags to direct general viewers to malicious clips towards Yu-Na.

??This message is not to blame certain people, so please avoid posting emotional and aggressive comments. Responses or comments containing harsh language or profanity will be deleted without notice. (This is not to protect them, but to prevent Yu-Na’s fan page from being swept up into a rampage of blame and slander. Let’s keep her fan page clean!)

??Rather, this is to alert fans not to be deceived by the malicious clips that one may encounter on Youtube. Yu-Na is well-known for her hard work, humility and honesty. Enjoy watching the beautiful performances, off-ice clips and montages of Yu-Na on Youtube and share your comments with fellow Yu-Na fans.

Thank you.

While we’re talking about her, why not include some photos from her recent “fiesta on ice”?

His goal 7:40 minutes into overtime etched his name forever in Canadian hockey lore and sent the Canadian crowd into raptures, as they finally got the gold medal they had desired for eight years.

And with a gold medal on the line, the two teams produced one of the greatest hockey games ever played.

Canada seemed on their way to the gold after a first period goal from forward Jonathan Toews and a second period goal from forward Corey Perry gave them a 2-0 advantage.

For Toews, it was just his first goal of the Olympic tournament, but he had recorded seven assists, which was the top in the tournament. It was also the first goal given up by USA goalie Ryan Miller, who kept a shutout streak of 124 minutes and 28 seconds over four games.

And it was star American Brian Rafalski who lost control of the puck, which led to Canadian forward Mike Richards taking a shot that was parried by Miller right to Toews, who finished from an acute angle.

The second Canadian goal came after an odd man rush by the U.S.A was snuffed out, and the Canadians skated towards the opposing net with numbers of their own. Getzlaf passed the puck from the left side towards the right side, and teammate Corey Perry had a wide open shot, and he buried it past Miller.

But the Americans, who matched the Canadians physicality step for step (or skate for skate) throughout the whole game, kept attacking, and finally American forward Ryan Kesler had enough.

After starting a dash up ice from his own blue line, the Livonia, Michigan native passed the puck off to teammate Patrick Kane, who hesitated before pulling the trigger and taking a wrist shot on goal.

Kesler, who was charging at the net, got a piece of the puck, which deflected it just enough to go under the right arm of Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo and into the back of the net.

That made the score 2-1 to Canada, and it stayed that way into the third period.
The final period of regulation was a back and forth affair, with numerous scoring chances for both Canada and the U.S.A, but both squads goalies coming up big and keeping the score close.

Fans hearts were in their mouths one minute, and the next, back in their chest.

With 1:17 left in the third period, the Americans pulled their goalie, Ryan Miller, to add an extra attacker, and it paid dividends, when a loose puck was caroled by Patrick Kane, whose shot was parried by Luongo right to American Zach Parise, who slammed the puck into the net with 24.4 seconds left and tied the score at 2-2.

As fitting as it was for Crosby to end his scoring drought with the game winning goal for the Great White North, it was just as fitting that Zach Parise, the son of the famous Canadian hockey player, J.P. Parise, would be the hero for the United States.

The 2-2 score line sent the game into overtime, where the competitive and physical play that we saw throughout the first three periods continued.

But finally, after a few chances for both teams, Crosby passed to forward Jerome Iginla, who gave it back to Crosby to the left of the net.

From there Crosby took a quick shot, which slid right under the pads of Miller into the back of the net, and gave Canada a 3-2 win.

The win made gave team Canada their eighth gold medal in their history, and it was just the third time ever that the home nation had won the gold. The first two times were the USA, in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, and the famous 1980 team, in Lake Placid, NY.

After the game, both teams received their medals, the Americans, silver, and the Canadians, gold, before the raising of the Canadian, American, and Finnish flags and the playing of the national anthem of Canada, “O Canada.”

Also announced after the game, USA and Canada combined to place five of the six players on the all-star team of the tournament.

USA goalie Ryan Miller, defenseman Brian Rafalski, and forward Zach Parise made the team, as did Canadian defenseman Shea Weber, and forward Jonathan Toews.

The lone European was forward Pavol Demitra of Slovakia, who finished with 10 points on three goals and seven assists.

Miller was named Tournament MVP, as well as the best goalie. Rafalski was named top defenseman, and Toews was named the top forward.

Miller finished with just eight goals against in six games, good for a 1.35 goals against average, and a tournament best 94.56 save percentage and 139 saves, also a tournament best.

Rafalski and Parise both finished with eight points on four goals and four assists, good for third place among skaters.

And Toews seven assists lead all skaters, as was his +9 rating. In fact he was never on the ice when Canada gave up a goal.

For the Americans, as tough as this loss is to swallow, they proved to the world that you don’t need a team of superstars to win games, and that heart, emotion, and passion, as well as an amazing goalie, can help get you a medal.

More importantly, team USA’s overall performance in Vancouver got more and more people to watch a hockey game, and certainly for the immediate time revived interest in the sport.

And for the Canadians, they certainly earned it, and deserve to celebrate the gold medal that they won.

See you in four years in Sochi, Russia!

The TV schedule for the Olympics looked like this: beach volleyball, track, swimming, gymnastics. There’s 28 sets of events.

Only about five of the sports are real sports in America, and one of those sports is not gymnastics.

Basketball was the most exciting and highest anticipated event for most American sports fans by far, but none of their medal round games were broadcast at good times, and SportsCenter didn’t even seem to talk about them much.

The best coverage we had of Olympic basketball was Cris Collinsworth asking Kobe how much he hated America.

Well, now it’s over. Meet again four years in England?

We won’t have any human rights violations to speak of or redemption medals for the unpatriotic basketball team. Oh, well.

SCOTT JACOBS

Why do we love the Olympics?

Because the athletes can run faster? Jump higher? Throw harder? Swim smarter?

Why do we watch?

Because no matter where you’re from, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat tastes all the same. Because when you break it down, for two weeks athletes become people, stories, tales of what you can do when you can dream, and then work hard enough for it to come true.

Why do we care?

Because there’s a sense of pride when you watch the games. Not caring about certain sports per say, but about the letters adorning the chests of our country’s athletes. It’s not about who gets the most endorsement dollars, or who gets the most logos tattooed to their arm. No, the Olympics is about pride and believing.

It’s about achieving the unthinkable (Michael Phelps’ 8 gold medals). It’s about becoming a national darling overnight (Shawn Johnson) with a smile that exemplifies the beauty and grace of the Olympics. It’s about solidifying yourself as the best in the world (Rafeal Nadal) when your greatest rival gets taken out early.

It’s about pure jubilation even when you win something that everyone expects you to win (Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh). It’s about taking a hit, and coming back stronger then ever (Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers) to claim your spot as the best pair there is. It takes two to tango, but twelve to claim a spot at the top of the basketball mountain (U.S.A. hoops). It’s about looking your critics in the eye and daring them to doubt you now (Dwyane Wade).

It’s about running so fast you can slow down at the finish and still break a world record (Usain Bolt). It’s about a Bolt and three other guys turning a world class relay into a run away (Jamaica). It’s about age never getting in your way, and refusing to accept just being there as the accomplishment (Dara Torres).

It’s about the little guy. It’s about the women’s rowing team that claimed gold (U.S.A.). It’s about the random sports that you didn’t even know existed (trampoline) and the ones you’ve never ever watched (synchronized swimming). It’s about the sports they don’t show on TV (shooting) and the lengths that countries will go to make their athletes the best in the world.

It’s about dedication and training and ignoring the bullies that now want to shake your hand. It’s about beating the team that owned a sport, in the final year that it will be in the Olympics.

It’s about the controversy, and the angst, and the foreign commentators who sound so passionate, yet you can’t understand them. It’s about the athletes who go back to high school as national icons. It’s about one hundredth of a second, and standing on the podium as your flag is raised to the rafters.

It’s about being there, and overcoming the odds to merely medal at all.

It’s about hugging, and crying, and letting out all the emotions that built up over all those years of fighting to get to the top. It’s about running around with your country’s flag draped around your shoulders and dancing around like a kid in a candy store. It’s about rooting for your opponent in the spirit of competition, and smiling when they succeed.

It’s about breaking down barriers, regardless of belief. It’s about sport, and fair play. It’s about the only language that matters. The language of competition.

Crying sounds the same in any language. Hugging is the same in any country.

For two weeks the games brought out the best the world has to offer and China delivered a games no one will soon forget.

That’s what it’s about.

It’s about the athletes. It’s about their commitment. It’s about saying you were there.

This 29th Olympiad was indeed a smashing success.

And that, is all anyone could ask for.

SCOTT JACOBS

Jubilation. Excitement. Redemption.

No one took this for one for granted.

No one just expected it. This was a journey, a long four years coming.

“We haven’t won in eight years,” said Dwyane Wade.

No longer.

“Yes sir,” Kobe Bryant screamed as he hugged an excited Wade. The pressure is off. The dream that the Redeem Team set out to achieve has been reached. With a roster loaded with NBA elites the U.S. had a better group of players then anyone. But in Beijing they turned that incredible collection of talent into a cohesive unit.

Realizing that they weren’t feared like they once were, the U.S. men’s team took it upon themselves to do what it took to get back gold medal glory. They did the three year program.

They are all multi-millionaires, but on this day, upon receiving gold medals that weren’t a given, their was a different aura around this team. They were unfettered, refusing to lose their spot at the top in the game that their country started.

Jason Kidd claimed his second gold medal, a rare feat, but it was how this team came together that was the most impressive feat of all.

Adorned in their Nike warmup jerseys, the U.S. men’s basketball team stood together at the gold medal podium in unity. Coach K and Jerry Colangelo were decked out in medals as the players draped their coach and team architect in the classiest of ways. It was a smash hit from the get go as the U.S. over-came the hype that came with an opening game against China. Then they beat Angola. Then Greece. Then Germany. Then Argentina. And to finish it off: Spain.

Hey, you got to hand it to the men’s team. They represented. They can buy anything they want, but you can’t buy a gold medal. Only teamwork and talent, and a will to be the best gets you there.

“It means everything,” said LeBron James.

You remember those doubts?

They’re all gone now.

Cris Collinsworth asked Kobe what he thought when he first received his Olympic jersey, and Kobe said he was in awe. He said, “I had goosebumps. I just laid it across my bed and stared at it for a while. … This is the ultimate in basketball.”

Collinsworth then asked, “Where does the patriotism come from inside of you? Historically, what is it?”

Kobe said, “Well, you know it’s just our country, it’s… we believe it’s the greatest country in the world. It has given us so many great opportunities, and it’s just a sense of pride that you have; that you say ‘You know what? Our country is the best!’”

He seemed a little bit surprised, so he asked, “Is that a ‘cool’ thing to say, in this day and age? That you love your country, and that you’re fighting for the red, white and blue? It seems sort of like a day gone by.”

View the look on Collinsworth’s face when he says that in this video.

Kobe said, “No, it’s not  a cool thing for me to say. I feel great about it, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I mean, this is a tremendous honor.”

I don’t know what the point of his question was. Maybe he was prodding controversy? Maybe he really did wonder why Kobe loved this great country?

If he does have any questions about why it’s cool to love America, he ought to do some real reporting like Reuters correspondent Chris Buckley did, interviewing rural citizens in September who had come to Beijing to protest their condition. Buckley was beaten and detained for his work.

UPDATE: I’ve written a post on the situation on my media blog analyzing the question in depth. I don’t really think it was unpatriotic per se, just terribly worded.

SCOTT JACOBS

Michael Phelps is just one man. But one man can inspire many. And one man can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to do the unthinkable.

Michael Phelps is that one man. The hero of these 2008 Olympic games. The “woah, did you you just see that,” story of Beijing. The remarkable kid with unquestionable character is just one man. But you wouldn’t know it the way he dismantled the world’s best this past week.

Michael Phelps is more then a national hope. He’s the new American dream. The “be all you can be” character that seems too good too be true.

Be he isn’t. Until proven otherwise, he will be America’s hope. The definition of hard work and pure talent. Michael Phelps is just one man, but one man can transcend sport.

Michael Phelps is just some swimmer who will come back to the states on a magic carpet (or so it seems) given the way he majestically foiled all the odds, and he will quickly become the multi-million dollar face of sports in America. But he’s just one man.

Just one human fish.

But that human fish fought ADHD as a kid, and overcame the fact that he didn’t have a father to help him. It was just him , his mom, and his two sisters.

Michael Phelps is just one man.

But one inspirational man at that. One guy who may look larger then life now, but outside of his muscular physique and incredible talent looks like your average joe.

His teeth are a little crooked, and he’s a major mama’s boy. His mom has enjoyed practically the same celebrity he has, as he pummeled the field to the tune of sweet history.

Now his job is done.

He can take a break. Take in the tons of endorsement deals that will pour in, in the coming weeks and months. He can look back at his unbelievably tight schedule these last few years and smile, knowing he proved ‘em wrong.

He can ignore the kids who once bullied him, and now want to shake his hand.

Michael Phelps is just one man.

But sometimes, you would never know it.

Unbelievable American ties Spitz with gold medal number seven in crazy close race

SCOTT JACOBS

Seven for seven. And Michael Phelps has one more to go, to try to add to his impecably brilliant Olympic resume.

The human turned fish won a race that was so close you still can’t tell who touched the wall first. Milorad Cavic appeared to have him beat as he darted towards the wall, with just a meters left, and Phelps remarkable run looked like it was over. But somehow, almost as unexplainable as Phelps transformation into a near super-hero, Phelps got his hand to the wall first.

His mom holding up two fingers, thinking he had won silver, quickly found out he had won, and she crumbled to the ground in utter shock. There’s nothing shocking anymore about Phelps’ run. History be damned! Tomorrow he goes for a sacred spot in history: eight.

For the moment he shares history with the legendary Mark Spitz, who made his splash in the 1972 Munich Olympics, winning seven golds, a mark few thought would ever be touched.

There is an electronic touch system on the wall, so no matter how close the race looked Phelps did win.

It’s hard to believe he didn’t run away with it.

Having seen Phelps shatter every swimming record he’s gone for, watching him fail to break a world record in the 100 fly was almost surprising.

And so, the stage is set at the Water Cube tomorrow where Phelps will go for the last gold in an unblemished Olympics only he could have dreamed of.

A great story in 2004, Phelps has become an icon practically over-night at these games and for good reason.

He’s a likable guy, a personable guy, with a smile to light the sky. His workout regime is unbelievable, and he fights hard for everything he gets.

You just want to root for the guy, and everything he has done.

Everyone will be pulling for him tommorrow. I know I will.

A spot in unchartered waters awaits for him.

It’s only fitting for the man quickly becoming larger then life.