OLYMPICS/KAREN’S RANT: OLYMPICS 2016 UPDATES

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OLYMPICS 2016 UPDATES

[Note #1: I apologize in advance if this is semi-incoherent, but it’s hard to write and watch simultaneously, and while sleep-deprived, to boot!  And I had not a lot of time for editing, either.  But I have faith that you’ll get the gists.]

[Note #2: I’m also so sorry that I have not been tweeting about the Olympics that much. I think that may be because I’m always riveted to the competitors, and, when I’ve gotten a second, I’ve been writing this. But please still check me out, @MajorCelebrity, from here on out.]

Since there is over three hundred hours of coverage…a day(!), this is the first Olympics where I could not watch every single second of the Games.  But I have been watching as much as any human [possibly can, practically round the clock, sleeping just four or five hours a night!  (No worries—I know I’m insane.  An insane sports fan, that is!)

I’m not going to report the stuff you can read anywhere.  I’m here to share the observations that no one else reports.  Nor probably even notices!

And here’s one shocking revelation—none of the hosts are annoying me much so far!!!  Not even usually-inane Rebecca Lowe.  (Maybe having a baby recently made her not as goony as usual.  Or at least made me mellow towards her.)

Ryan Seacrest in his bad wardrobe. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Ryan Seacrest in his bad wardrobe. Photo by Karen Salkin.

But isn’t it about time for someone to teach poor Ryan Seacrest how to dress?  He’s the last hip attractive-enough guy ever.  I’m sure that NBC has wardrobe people, so why would they keep dressing him in combos like black pants paired with light tan suede boots?  And Members Only-type nerdy jackets.  On the beach, no less!!!  And his shirts aways let us see that his stomach is far from flat.  They dress even Al Michaels better than Ryan!  Someone there must not like him very much.

Major shocking note here:  I’m not watching the tennis on time because something had to give.  I’m just keeping an eye on the news about it.  But not on time, so none of my reports will be about it, although I am thrilled that both cocky Williams sisters are out of both their competitions, (singles and doubles,) and that Djokovic lost, as well.  Now, I just have to get rid of Rafa Nadal, and I’ll be a happy girl.  (And, of course, the official word is that Venus Williams was sick.  Yeah, right.) [Note: I predict that the Williams girls will skip the upcoming US Open, with the excuse that they’re sick. But it will really be because they don’t want to keep hearing about their Olympics failures. Mark my words. And remember—you heard it here first.]

On a side note, one of my favorite Olympics activities was watching reporter Dan Patrick’s hair change colors!  The first day, it was totally wishy-washy gray.  I pointed it out to Mr. X, saying that it totally washes him out, and ages him no end, and that someone on TV all the time should know better.  I must have not been the only one who noticed because by the next day, it was more gray than white.  But two days later, they had toyed with it so much that it was practically yellow!!!  They need to decide what they’re going for.  How do they not have anyone on the make-up staff who knows how to fix it???

FRIDAY–OPENING CEREMONY

First of all, they need to stop saying “ceremonies!’  It’s one ceremony, not multiple ones!  I don’t even know where this stupidity of pluralizing words like “ceremony” and “final” originated, but enough already.  It needs to stop.  (Nothing like beginning my Olympics coverage with a rant, eh?)

Ad why was there no oath Olympics oath issued to the body of the athletes?  They always do that.

I just learned that Roger Federer won’t be competing here, nor for the rest of the year anywhere, due to the knee injury he exacerbated during Wimbledon, and the wind went right out of my sails for the rest of the night.  (And I still feel the same all these days later.)

They really needed to pick up the pace of the “Parade of Nations.”  As Simon Cowell would say, with extra tongue emphasis—a lot!  I mean, come on—this is Rio!!!  They should have played fast samba music, and told the athletes to dance in accordingly.

SATURDAY

First gold medal winner of these games, Ginny Thrasher. Photo by Karen Salkin.

First gold medal winner of these games, Ginny Thrasher. Photo by Karen Salkin.

The rowing commentators are awful!  Part of it is because they have to fill a lot of airtime during very little action.  (People just rowing for many minutes—duh.)  But the rest is all them.  The man, Leigh Diffey, sounds just like Murray on The Flight of the Concordes, so it’s hard to take him seriously.  And the woman, Mary Whipple, is annoying all the way around.  From her chirpy voice to what she has (or not) to say.  She keeps telling us what the rowers are saying to themselves, a technique I hate to begin with, but according to her, they’re all thinking the same thing!  She attributes, “I got this!,” to all of them, no matter the country or gender!!!  I can’t take much more of them.

Even though I hate that it was for shooting, I love that the United States won the first gold medal of these games!  And Ginny Thrasher, the girl  who won it, gave the best, most adorable, very professional interview I’ve ever seen.  How could I not love her, even though she discovered her shooting talent while…shooting a deer?  Ugh.  She’s only nineteen now, and a college student, but I predict that she’ll have a wonderful future in broadcasting when and if she so chooses.

A second after Kerri Walsh won four years ago--with a differene partner!  So not nice. Photo by Karen Salkin.

A second after Kerri Walsh won four years ago–with a differene partner! So not nice. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I can’t believe they showed us this—when Kerri Walsh won her third gold medal for Beach Volleyball with her partner, Misty May, the last oLympics, she hugged April Ross, one of the pair of their American competitors, and admittedly said, “Let’s go win in Rio!”  That was so rude to Misty!  Yes, Misty had already said she was about to retire, but still…  And, how rude was it to April’s partner???  That little tale, (caught on video) is not the fun story that NBC seems to think it is; it just shows how creepy and self-centered Kerri is.  It’s hard to root for her anymore.

SUNDAY

This whole morning of Olympics-watching was disturbed by the shocking news that Arod will be playing his last game…on Friday!!!  (I can’t go through it again, so read about it here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/baseballkarens-rant-alex-rodriguezs-shocking-retirement-announcement.)

I had my first Olympics injury—I shut the bedroom door, not even particularly hard, so that poor Mr. X didn’t have to hear my constant sports on TV, and messed-up my wrist!  It’s really bad.  But, in true Olympic spirit, I’ll try my best to finish watching it all.

I don’t understand why nbc didn’t tell us of the horrific injury of a French male gymnast last night.  Poor Samir Said broke not only his tibia, but his fibula as well, yet nary a mention of it that night.  (And I know—I watch it all!)  I learned of the sadness from Daily Mail, who just loves to report ghoulish news like this.  NBC finally mentioned it today, on one of the lesser channels.  They still didn’t show it, even though they usually do for stuff like this.  But they didn’t even say anything like that they’re not showing it because it’s too gory.  Usually they use the disclaimer of that it’s hard to watch, so you might want to look away.  I guess that’s what the internet is for.

I'm not saying which Olympians' teeth these are, but trust me, they're much yellower than in this pic! Ugh. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I’m not saying which Olympians’ teeth these are, but trust me, they’re much yellower than in this pic! Ugh. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I finally may have finally found my long-lost twin!  In 2000, when Aussie swimmer Mitch Larkin was little, he broke his wrist, so was allowed to stay home from school during those two weeks that just happened to coincide with the Summer Olympics in his own country.  Up until I heard that story today, I always thought that I was the only person on earth who watched every second of the games!  So, now I love this guy!  (By the way, his mom has joked that she thinks he did it on purpose to be able to watch the Olympics.  That was my first thought when I heard the story.)

I can’t believe how many of the athletes have yellow teeth!  It’s mind-boggling in 2016.  And I’m not speaking about people from obscure countries—there are many Americans, who should definitely know better!!!  On top that they should do it for life, did they not know that they’d be on TV?  And hi-def, to boot!  Teeth whitening kits or pens should be part of their Olympics welcoming packages!  (They really need to let me be in charge of everything, don’t you think?)

MONDAY

Poor Sun Yang's teeth. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Poor Sun Yang’s teeth. Photo by Karen Salkin.

China needs to give swimmer Sun Yang enough money to fix his teeth already!

I honestly can’t believe that Michael Phelps has actually became good-looking enough.  I really used to spend time worrying for him when he was younger.  (He still needs his jaw and teeth fixed, a lot, so maybe, if he really does retire this time, he can attend to that now.)

Shame on NBC for their shoddy coverage of the team final of men’s gymnastics.  By not even beginning it until twenty minutes before their primetime show ended, we knew the US had done badly.  So, they ruined the journey for us.  But—here’s a new flash for them—gymnastics fans want to see the whole competition, not just the Americans!  That was so rude of them!  I have a feeling that most viewers did not even think to set their DVRs for the late night show, never thinking that such a glamour event would be regulated to the middle of the night!

And here’s a major head-scratcher that was never explained: In the aforementioned team final, the Ukraine team didn’t even attempt two of their routines, knowing that they’d then lose.  Al Trautwig, the gymnastics commentator, said they’d get to the bottom of the controversy, but then they never mentioned it again, not even the next day or night!  Weird.

Usain Bolt.  (Wow--three bad teeth pix in a row!  So, see what I mean?!) Photo by Karen Salkin.

Usain Bolt. (Wow–three bad teeth pix in a row! So, see what I mean?!) Photo by Karen Salkin.

TUESDAY

I absolutely love Usain Bolt, but why wouldn’t anyone tell him to fix his teeth???  How have his sponsors not made him do it!  (I met him a few years ago, and I swear—they weren’t as bad then.  You know I would have noticed!)  (Here’s a pic of us back then.  See for yourself: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/sports-meeting-usain-bolt.)

I just discovered rugby reporter, (and former NFL player,) Dhani Jones, and I instantly loved him!  He speaks perfectly, has a great voice, and explains things so intelligently.  I bet he can sing.  Where has he been all my sports-fan life? Discovering people like him is the reason I watch NBC’s auxiliary Olympics channels.

Nate Ebner. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Nate Ebner. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I can’t believe that I’m now a rugby fan!  That’s due to Clarion Isles and Nate Ebner.  I love both their stories, too.  (By the way—I had no idea that Nate was gorgeous when I was first  impressed with his story.)

I think that swimmer Nathan Adrian is really cute, but doesn’t he look like a forty-five-year-old dad nowadays?

Al Trauwig is an idiot, (as always, but I tried to overlook it this time.)  He and his cohort, Tim Daggett, kept announcing that the women’s gymnastics team competition was over before they even began!

Nathan Adrian. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Nathan Adrian. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Swimming venue interviewer Michelle Tofoya so diminished the rest of the men’s 4×200 relay team, the ones who were not Michael Phelps!  She made them just stand there, and kept saying that she’s sure they understand that Michael is speaking for them all.  Finally, after several minutes of questions to just Phelps, she finally broke down and asked them just one question each!  She barely even acknowledged them!

Ryan Locte is really cute.  And I’m digging the white hair!

Okay, now people are beginning to annoy me.  First up in American gymnast Aly Reisman.  Besides that she look like she’s about to go into the shower, with that awful hair-do and “strobing” make-up on her face that she erroneously think is good, she just kept bossing her teammates around constantly during the two team competitions.  Yes, she is the “captain,” but enough already.  They’re all equal team members, and should get to do and say what they want.

Ryan Lochte, before he made his hair more blue.  (I just did three cute guy pics in a row, to make up for the bad teeth ones.  You're welcome.) Photo by Karen Salkin.

Ryan Lochte, before he made his hair more blue. (I just did three cute guy pics in a row, to make up for the bad teeth ones. You’re welcome.) Photo by Karen Salkin.

I found my first true idiot!  Diving venue interviewer Kelli Stavast clearly said “worldwind” instead of the correct “whirlwind!”  People who don’t know that word should not have jobs as broadcasters.  ( I had to even fight with SpellCheck to leave the incorrect spelling in this paragraph!)

WEDNESDAY

My DISH system betrayed me right off the bat, which put me in a bad mood from the get-go today.

At the beginning of the evening’s telecast, I made a prediction. As soon as they began with Beach Volleyball, I knew it meant that the American men did not do well in the Gymnastics
All-Around competition, that would have led off the show if they had. Not cool, NBC.

The annoying Al Trautwig (in the center) and company. Photo by Karen Salkin.

The annoying Al Trautwig (in the center) and company. Photo by Karen Salkin.

No matter how not nice I think what Kerri Walsh did for years ago was, (see above,) I so respect and admire her for her accomplishments. And drive. She has three kids, yet still wants to do this stuff!!! I can’t imagine doing either—having kids or playing beach volleyball—at the highest level.

Good for swimmer Nathan Adrian to let inferior reporter Michelle Tofoya know her questions are so stupid.

I just realized something—I don’t recall seeing the swimmer introductions before their swims in Olympics past. It’s just weird. I don’t think they do it in any other sports here.

The America female swimmers would have never won the 4×200 freestyle relay if it had not been for Katie Ledecky. The other three sucked.

The diving venue water, which was normal just the day before! Photo by Karen Salkin.

The diving venue water, which was normal just the day before! Photo by Karen Salkin.

The green murky water at the diving venue is freaking me out. So, what is it doing to the divers? (By the way, it’s the first thing that I’ve seen that is living down to the low expectations of Rio that were heralded before the games began.

British diver Chris Mears is the cutest guy in the games!

The Men’s Synchronized Springboard Diving results choked me up more than any of them in awhile. No one ever beats the Chinese in diving, but the cute British guys won, and the also-cute Americans, (who have been a team since only April!,) got the silver! (The Chinese wound-up with the bronze.)

I just finally realized why Ryan Seacrest annoys me. I know that he speaks very well, which I like, and his voice-overs of specialty segments are good. But on camera, he makes everything about himself.

David Feherty is a fun commentator. I don’t watch golf, (yes—there are a few sports I do not watch,) so I never saw him before.

THURSDAY

I just realized that I like sports better if it’s a group going against each other, like in Track and Field and Swimming. I feel bad seeing someway win going mano y mano.

Okay, I finally have to call-out Dan Hicks for the so many mistakes he’s made while commentating on swimming. I’ve let his other errors go, but he just maligned the wrong swimmer, which someone should have corrected him on! Very unprofessional of him.

As goony as I always think that swimmer Missy Franklin is, I do admire how sweet she really is. She just said, (of the awful meet she’s having,) “I am disappointed, but I want to make sure I’m not imposing any of that disappointment on anyone else, [her teammates] so, I’m trying to stay as positive as I possibly can.” And she meant it!

Sanya Richards-Ross. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Sanya Richards-Ross. Photo by Karen Salkin.

Great Olympics runner, Sanya Richards-Ross, is now one of their Track and Field commentators, and is adorable! She looks great, and so far, has good things to say. And she’s finally someone who knows to have white teeth, great hair, and excellent attire and jewelry.

I can’t believe this interesting fact: on the same night, two girls American girls named Simone won gold medals! It was both of their first Olympics, too.

It was bad sportsmanship, not nice, and just plain dumb, of Gabby Douglas to not stand up for her two teammates who won medals in the All-Around tonight. I’m sure I’m not the only one who noticed, so it will probably be a big deal on twitter.

I love that so many female competitors made the effort to have fun nails! You go, girls!

AND LASTLY

I’m as in awe of the accomplishments of Michael Phelps as everyone is. But I do have to point something out to everyone: Yes, he has zillions of medals, more than anyone ever. But, as a swimmer, he has so many more opportunities than in other sports. Many other Olympians have to go through an entire tournament to win just one medal! Not only that, but some of those tourneys involve crazy multiple games. In table tennis, for example, you have to win the best of seven long games each round. And some of those games can go to crazy lengths. One of them went to sixty-four points this Olympics! A swimmer competes in just three rounds for each medal, and usually just for a few minutes each one. Just saying’.

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4 Comments

  1. I also noticed the yellow teeth, but I’ve been noticing them all over tv. Maybe it’s cause the tvs are so good these days, they have to Clorox their mouths daily to get them to look white. And I agree, some of the commentators suck – their grammar, their choice of questions or info, and their demeanor should be a lot more professional. Maybe they’re taking lessons from a certain male presidential candidate.

    • Hi Babs.

      I love your whole comment, from top to bottom!!! (And, of course, I love people who agree with me.)

      Karen

  2. I haven’t watched much of the Olympics. Only when I go to my break-room at work. I have noticed that the Brazilian fans are really rude – booing non-Brazilian winners. Not very nice. I felt sorry for the French pole vault winner who was reduced to tears.

  3. Pingback: OLYMPICS/KAREN’S RANT: RIO OLYMPICS 2016 WRAP-UP

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