ADVENTURE SPORTS BY WINA STURGEON 8/26
BIG BUTT PROBLEM AT OLYMPICS
No one reported on it, but NBC had a huge butt problem at the Olympics. The problem was the appearance of athlete butts in skintight shiny or wet competition suits.
For example, gymnastics fans may have noticed how quickly NBC changed its camera angle every time the rear of medal favorite Shawn Johnson came into view, and how fast they moved from full body back shots to those that only showed her from the waist up from the back.
That's because Johnson's gleaming pink suit, which tightly clung without a wrinkle, gave the unfortunate appearance of being transparent in back. The suit material was shiny on the part that um---protruded, but a trick of the light caused a black line at the part that---er, indented. It gave the illusion that viewers were seeing her bare bottom through a thin veil of transparent material. High level producers were having fits.
Gymnasts were not the only victims of this trick of the light. The barely clothed women athletes of beach volleyball, with bikini bottoms that, to put it frankly, cleaved to their butt cleavage because they were playing in the rain, also gave the impression that viewers were seeing more than they actually were. Inside reports were that NBC honchos were screaming at producers and producers were screaming at camera operators, and nobody was having a very good time.
Except, of course, the spectators. In fact, it was kind of funny to watch the contrast. The spectators, bundled up in jackets and raincoats and holding umbrellas, grinned as they watched four girls in skimpy bikinis leap around in the sand and rain.
One Chinese player was obviously embarrassed by the standard brief uniform worn in this sport. While the American sat, rested and toweled themselves dry during time outs, the embarrassed Chinese athlete quickly covered herself with a jacket or towel even before leaving the sand.
Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, who won their second consecutive Olympic gold medal, (they were gold in Athens as well), are even more dominant than Michael Phelps. Their string of victories is amazing. But why do women wear bikinis and the guys get to wear shirts and shorts?
It's not sexism. With all that sand flying around and all that diving into the sand, a tight one piece suit would catch and hold a whole lot of sand in places no woman would ever want sand. With bikinis, a quick tug on top or bottom lets the sand out. Well, most of it.
BIG BUTTHEAD PROBLEM AT OLYMPICS
The honcho at NBC who was calling the shots on BMX is being called nasty names by fans who waited in vain to see the Olympic debut. NBC, which perhaps doesn't realize there is a huge fan base for BMX, and that half the kids in the U. S. own BMX bikes, both boys and girls, showed only the men's preliminaries, not the women's. When the finals got rained out and postponed until the next day, BMX disappeared. Was it even shown? If so, no one knew when because there was no announcement, and those who checked throughout the day said they never saw the finals.
Whoever made that decision kissed off (and pissed off) the exact youthful demographic the network wants. Even the fact that BMX tickets were going for more than 10 times their face value didn't tip off the network that maybe they should pump up the volume for the sport.
Meanwhile, Britain's Shanaze Reade, who was expected to dominate at Beijing, rode too aggressively and though managing to qualify for the finals, fell when it counted and was on the ground when the winners crossed the finish. American Jill Kintner, racing with a torn ACL, took an unexpected bronze, while France dominated the women's BMX event, with Anne-Caroline Chausson winning gold and Laetitia Le Corguille taking silver.
The men's gold medalist was Maris Strombergs of Latvia, who literally rode like a bat out of hell, proving that in the Olympics, anything can happen. American Mike Day took silver, with Donny Robinson in third for the bronze.
MORE OLYMPIC WOES
The Olympic Green is like Central Park at the Games; the place where sponsors erect expensive "houses" to show off their brands, and temporary restaurants and stages with performers and bands wait to entertain the crowded throngs of spectators at every Olympics.
Except that didn't happen in Beijing. The Chinese were so scared that some protest or other action would mess up China's perfect Olympic image, that guards were not allowing spectators into the Olympic Green.
A tank was even posted at the entrance to make sure people didn't get in. The spontaneous atmosphere of the traditional Olympic Green was a source of worry to the Chinese authorities, and the sponsors who paid millions to be there are fuming.
WORLD OF SPEED COMING
Speed freaks should be at the Bonneville Salt Flats just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, September 17-20. That's when the 'World of Speed' will hit the salt, and powerful cars will go more than 400 mph (that's 400 miles an hour!) along the glistening white coat left over from a dried ocean.
Cars slow down after their 90-second run by means of parachutes. The course is open to spectators, and the drivers are more scientists than racers. The event is for anyone who feels a need for speed.
VANCE BACK, AIMS FOR 2010
Speedskater Parker Vance is---or will be---a big story for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. He trained with the guys who have been winning Olympic medals for the past several Olympics, like Joey Cheek and Kip Carpenter. But then he decided to put his career on hold and go off for two years to serve an LDS mission in Latvia. All that ice, and no skating for the missionary!
Vance returned two months ago and jumped right back into the game, training with the team at the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake. He's now 21, is getting his old champion form back, and says he is looking at 2010 as a real possibility. He even skates for transportation, using inline skates instead of a car.