US Open and Nadal

US Open started airing yesterday via USA channel. Of course, Rafael Nadal is at the center of the show. For the first time, a grand slam tennis tournmanent showed Nadal's game in the first round. Yes, that's the exposure you get when you are No. 1 in the world.

I remember the date - July 8, 2007 - Nadal lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon. It was a sad bad day for Nadal. But the irony of it is that it was a joyful glorious day for Federer. That day is written in tennis history: Federer claimed his fifth Wimbledon victory.

Fast forward to now: Nadal is on top of the world -- French, Wimbledon, Olympics, and the number one ranking in the world. No one can beat that. And I'm sure it is very exhilarating and scary to be in that position. Will US Open trophy be next? Everyone is watching.

Just a Thought

I heard that Shawn Johnson's parents had to mortgage their house twice just so she could continue training for gymnastics. We never heard of any financial struggle on the part of her greatest rival, Nastia Liukin.

Nastia did not have to enrol in a program so she can develop her talent or interest in gymnastics. She didn't need to be on a scholarship, either, just so she could fulfill her dreams. No camps, no grants, no fees going to the trainer. Her father is the gym.

Shawn's Gold

Even if I knew she already won it, I had to watch it...I had to see her when she finally receive her gold.

Again, I stayed up last night to watch the women's gymnastics. I wanted to see Shawn Johnson in her victory. A young girl who has done outstandingly in this year's Olympics but never got the prize. Well, she did, but not the big one, not the one she deserves. In my mind, Shawn Johnson is a champion, gold medal or not. And I have to see it finally around her neck.

They say that the face is the mirror to someone's heart. And I believe that. With Shawn Johnson, you see youth, beauty, optimism, confidence, sunshine. See her do gymnastics, and you would see exceptional talent, dedication, mastery, purpose.

At her young age, we should learn from Shawn Johnson. Smiling it all through, no matter what the outcome of the game is. If you keep focused and keep doing your best, you will reach your goal. It may not be in the beginning or in the middle of the road but it would happen before your journey is over.

In case of Shawn, it happened in the final event. And what a way to end an Olympics.

Women's Volleyball

Today, I watched women's volleyball between USA and Italy. I thought Italy would win it because they won the first and third sets but USA made a come back, winning the fourth and fifth set. Then it struck me, I was watching a delayed telecast. It didn't occur to me until the USA team won. They won at exactly 12 noon, just the right time for the track-and-field covergae. Duh. How stupid of me. NBC would not televise it, anyway, if the USA team lost.

What an exciting sports volleyball is. I took it as a PE course back in college. I wanted to overcome my fear of the sport. When I was in high school, I thought the volleyball court was enourmous. I was a small girl (I still am) and watching the game at the sideline, the ball would always come my way and hit me. I developed a mini-phobia of volleyballs going astray. Volleyball was always the in sports in high school and only the tall pretty girls were trying out. So if you think you do not fit in the primary qualification, don't even try.

So back in college, I took volleyball as a PE just so my obscure concept and perception of it would be corrected. It did but I did not really learn how to play it. Maybe I learned the technical part. And yet watching volleyball today I realized that I already forgot how the scoring system goes. College was many many years back. Ask me on tennis or baseball and I probably could tell you.

Missing Out On Olympics Coverage

I've been missing out on Olympics because of the time frame. NBC forecasts the favorite sports-- which are mine, too-- gymnastics and swimming so late that I could not watch them. I missed Michael Phelp's Gr-eight race because of the time. But it is not NBC, it is the eleven-hour difference between China and United States.

What's more, I also missed the most part and the good part of the gymnastics coverage. I saw Alicia Sacramone being bumped out of of the top three and not bringing home a medal on the vault finals. I felt bad for her because she is really good. I don't know the whole story but I saw Bella Karolyi getting teary eyed when he was asked on his view regarding Sacramone's loss. Apparently, there was a question on judging. But again, I'm not sure as I was not able to watch the whole coverage.

It's good that we can get online to catch up with the Olympics. Everything I miss, I just read online. It's just not as exciting because the "action" part is gone. A sports is something to be watched, not read about.

I remember four years ago, there was a hurricane expected to hit Florida so I went to a friend's house just so I have company in case the worst happened. So I camped out at her living room (hers was just a one-bedroom apartment)with a mattress and a blanket. She prepared lots of food including hot meals so it was like sort of a game day. All day long while waiting for the storm, I watched the Olympics in Athens. The time difference was not as bad. I got to see the best of the best coverage while anticipating the storm (it did not come). I got to know Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, the only U.S. swimmers back then that I would remember until this year's Summer Olympcis.

Rewind that to 2000: I watched a lot of it on TV, especially gymnastics, but I did not remember any personality except for Marion Jones, the U.S. track and field superstar back then. The camera focused on her a lot that's why I remembered.

There will be many athletes I would recall now, like Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, and of course, Alicia Sacramone. The Olympics just gets interesting to me as it goes. Too bad, I'm not watching it as much.

Nastia Liukin: Claiming Her Destiny

I stayed up late last night, 1:14 AM, to watch the women's all-around competition on NBC up to the awarding ceremony. It made me cry.

Nastia Liukin deserved it. She did so well than anybody else. Shawn Johnson did her best. I like Shawn and I thought she would win it. Shawn's track record, consistency, and strength is just incomparable to no one. But last night, Nastia, stepped up to the plate. It was her moment, her stage -- the one she had been waiting for and worked for all her life. I have never seen Nastia so confident, so graceful, so precise. Last night in Beijing, Nastia claimed her rightful place in the history of gymnastics-- following the footstep of her father -- a second generation Olympic gold medalist.

Destiny took place last night and I witnessed it. I think that's what made me cry.

A Gymnast's Fiasco

It must be hard to be in the shoes of U.S. gumnast Alicia Sacramone, right now. Imagine being in the headlines because you pulled your team down. What a disappointment. You can't cry for yourself because the shame is much bigger.

Four years ago, Sacramone did not make it to Athens because she fell out of the balance beam. I saw a footage on this during the U.S. gymnastics trials. But now, it's the same balance beam that caused her to stumble. Her mount is too ambitious? I would guess so. Too crushed to perform for the floor exercise? I would think so.

The domino effect: Nastia Liukin and the ever-expolosive Shawn Johnson could not pull back the team in front of China as they both fell out of bounce of their rather stellar floor exercise routines.

Sacramone's hurdle now is how to get past the ugly memory of last night.

Hope for the US Women's Gymnastics

Sunday night I saw USA Women's Gymnastics Team compete for the finals. The impression I had for all of them is that they were all tired. I heard time and again that before the big event in Beijing, these girls have worked so hard to the extent of injuring themselves. So last Sunday, they all looked like wounded soldiers to me -- with bandages wrapped around their knees and ankles. One may even suspect they are not physically fit to do the dangerous routines that could hurt them more.

I watched the trials for the US delegation to the Olympics two months ago. It saddened me not to see some familiar faces in the team. After the trials, only the top two were selected -- Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin -- the rest had to go to the selection camp. More gruelling training over there, I'm sure.

Last Sunday, it was the first time I saw Liukin had a bad finish during a routine. And it had to be in the Olympics. This one is on the uneven bars. After what looked like landing in both feet, she fell, her back to the floor. I only saw the replay as the commentators talked about it.

Hopefully tonight, the team would have brighter faces and more sprint. It trailed by a large margin from China but one authority on gymnastics says it's okay. Because the team has no pressure coming to the finals, they would do well. Let's see.

The Grand Opening of the Olympics 2008

Summer Olympics 2008 opens last Friday in Beijing, China. It is dubbed by NBC as the 8-8-08 event. NBC got all rights to broadcast the ocassion on TV and online.

I watched the opening ceremony-- one of the grandest, elaborate, meticulous fanfare I've ever seen. I watched it while preparing supper, eating supper, and cleaning up the mess of supper. At last, I sat up to watch it with my full attention after giving my daughter a bath and brushing her teeth, catching part of the parade of nations but at 11 PM, we had to go to bed. Oh, I miss the lighting of the torch... which I wanted to see.

At 3 PM, when my daughter woke up and could not go to sleep, I took her to the living room, turned the TV on and watched the replay. I watched some of the unbelievable presentations and the parade of nations again. Still, I missed the lighting of the torch because my daughter dozed off at about 6 PM and we had to go to bed (again).

Thankfully, the next day, there were broadcasters on NBC, commenting on the previous night's event. They showed a footage of the torch lighting.

Here's what I think about the Olympics 2008 opening ceremony which is arguably more spectacular than the Y2K celebration by all nations combined:

It's too long. Hey, don't get me wrong. The performances are great: very well detailed, flawless, and entertaining. But no one can hold one's attention for a good two hours even if it is that awesome. Well, I was just watching it on TV. Maybe it's a different story if I was there. But I was not. So, it wore on me as time hours went on.

The best number for me was the one by Tai-chi Masters. As I watched it I heard the announcers say that these people know the routines by heart,learning it as a chld and as they grow. So, there is really not a need for them to have a leader in doing it. Everything is innate, second nature. There are about hundreds of them (I'm not sure what is the exact count) but they were all moving like there is a hand that is guiding them. It sure captures China's theme of harmony.

I was amused to see some delegates took photos of themselves with Kobe Bryant, a famed basketball player in United States who is also a delegate. While waiting for the other nations to march their parade (there are like 204 nations I believe but I don't confirm), athletes from other countries made a good use of their time. Well, it's Kobe Bryant, they may all be Olympians but Kobe has a name and face to match.

India, with it's population of 1.1 billion has only 56 players. I think India is more on medicine, engineering, computers, and the sciences. Sports is not the focus of the country. Well, I was thinking too that because they have clothing restrictions, it's hard to engage in sports where one has to wear scanty clothes.

I think the flag bearer of China is the one I saw on Discovery Health Channel-- a very tall man from China wanting to play basketball in the US but was having health issues. Well, I could be wrong.

Season Finale of So You Think You Can Dance

What an spectacle, it was better than the previous night. Joshua won it in the end. He is the Season 4 So You Think You Can Dance winner and claimed as America's favorite dancer. It was well-deserved.

But the highlight of the night was Mary Murphy and Nigel Lythgoe who astoundingly danced to the occasion (my usage is wrong I know but it sounds good to me). Mary have immaculate legs I should say. Yes, she is a hot tamale. And Nigel is a natural -- very entertaining and an impeccable tap dancer.

I don't really feel bad that Katee, who is my favorite, did not win. She is the top girl in the competition. What a feat when she was almost bumped out of the top 20 because of her "giving up" attitude. Her surprise prize of $50,000 sweetens her triumph. My applause to Katee.

It was an excellent season. Nearly 60 million votes is a good number. Congratulations to the production of So You Think You Can Dance.

Foxtrot Meets Hip-hop

Watching So You Think You Can Dance my husband commented, "they are not just dancing, they are acting." I told him that the songs have a story within and they have to act it out.

So You Think You Can Dance has really transcended the art of dance to a whole new meaning. My husband and I have no background nor interest with dancing but we did sat up for two hours watching the show and enjoying every minute of it. Yes, even the comments of the judges.

So You Think You Can Dance is supposedly the dance version of American Idol but singing is more of a crowd pleaser, more of an entertainment. So You Think You Can Dance is more of an education.

Every one of us listens to music whether we like it or not because our ears catch the signal regardless of what we are doing. Music is accessible; it is around us. It doesn't take time or effort to listen to a song but it does to watch a dance.

Through So You Think You Can Dance, the normal viewing public who has no inkling what a Jive is gets to know, see, and enjoy it. If someone wants to learn about dancing, she just needs to tune to the show.

Indeed, dance has its genres and their codes should never be violated. In the show, formal dancing meets street dancing but they were not mixed together. I say, foxtrot meets hip-hop though they never stepped on each other.

One observation: even if So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol have the same producers, they are not directed the same. In American Idol, it's a family affair with the camera focusing on the parents and family of the contender. Lst night, there was not a single spotlight on a family member.

So who do you think would be today's winner of So You Think You Can Dance? Is it Courtney, Katee,Joshua, or Twitch? My say is that -- WHOEVER! They are all winners because they are all in the finale. But tonight we would know who got voted No. 1.

So You Think You Can Dance Finale

I'm very excited to watch the finale of So You Think You Can Dance. It will be aired on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 with results the following day.

I can't wait to see all the dances and everything in the production. I know it will be a big great presentation and display of talent. So You Think You Can Dance is a wonderful show but I don't think it's getting the ratings it deserves. Host Cat Deely does not even announce how many votes the winners or the lossers get. I'm sure that's because it is not worth mentioning at all.

My favorites are Katee and Twitch. I hope they win but even if they don't, they are already winners having to perform in the finale of So You Think You Can Dance.

Crime Does Not Pay

In watching Cold Case Files last Saturday on A&E, I was remined of another similar case on American Justice, also on A&E, I watch some time ago.

Both stories were of the same plot. A person somehow got away with murder but the remains of the crime showed after more than 30 years. The investigators track the the person down, made a visit to his house, and questioned him. Before even going further, within 24 hours, the criminal committed suicide. Case closed.

It's like that person has been been waiting for that discovery to happen. Like it's a monster looming over his shoulder ready to attack at anytime. The discovery is the end of the saga of his long-buried secret. And his conscience has not made his life better by his escape. Living with guilt and on the edge is not the way to live at all. It's your punishment on Earth.

Safina's Two-time Win

She's really unstoppable. She won the Rogers Cup yesterday - August 3, 2008. And now, Dinara Safina is World's No.7. It was two weeks in a row, back to back, after her big win ast week. If she wins the U.S. Open, she would receive $2.5 million as prize money.

But Dinara said, she is not all about the money. She said she loves playing tennis and she wants to just play it match by match and be quiet. Her strategy has so far led her to three titles -- Berlin, Los Angeles, and Montreal.

The Kardashians

It's really amusing this family is. I've watched three episodes of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in a row last weekend on Channel E. The girls - Khloe, Kourtney, and Kim - are naturally funny. They are like other normal siblings: they wrestle, they fight, they chide, they joke, they laugh. Without the glam, they can be down-to-earth, too.

I've seen a lot on the never-been-seen-before episode of the Kardashians but what struck me was the footage where it showed how Kim could not fit into her pants because of her big butt.