i’m all for making it simpler and more measurable. but there are even too many of those ‘objective’ events, like swimming. but i like some of those team sports. it’s just one set of medals. and team sports are fun!

i also think the constestants should be naked like in the original olympics. but that’s just me.

The quintessential olympic event is the marathon. And this year’s men’s marathon was fantastic. Incredible times given the temperature. Too bad the NBC folks thought it was okay to skip the first hour because it didn’t fit neatly into their prime time.

i decided to check out how much the boats that are used in the olympics cost, and i found that they’re not, relatively speaking, that expensive. most of the smaller class boats range from $300 to $600. and they seemed to top out at about $2,000. much cheaper than those new speedo swimsuits.

so my apologies to the sailing community. maybe it’s not so expensive. however, these boats were mostly sold in the UK and the US. so buying them still requires living in a rich country.

still, i think there should be fewer classes of boats to compete for in the olympics. and i’m still not convinced of it as a sport. there’s too much dependence on the weather conditions, and the boat itself.

the more i think of it, other sports that need to leave are bmx (how did this get in?), fewer cycling events in general, fewer shooting events, and trampoline (really?).

if badminton left i wouldn’t shed any tears. but that’s definitely a democratic sport. everyone plays it. and i don’t get why beach volleyball is getting so much flack. it’s only 2 events, and there should be a variety of surfaces represented in the olympics. in this case, sand.

other than to bring baseball and softball back, the only other sports i’d okay are rugby, roller blading (we have speed skating in the winter), and parkour, which is kind of like an urban obstacle course.

Love your views on equestrian and sailing. NOTHING says pampered caucasians like these two…Except maybe golf…despite Mr. Woods.

i think that if there was an event for participating in international organizations dealing with making the world better, then iceland would be pretty high on the medal count.

you probably would have won a few yourself.

.. and on the general topic , Iceland is the first small island nation to compete in the finals in a group sport in the olympics, ever. Handball it is. It will add the fourth medal to the count tonight, it might be the first gold ever, or just a silver.