1. Marathon. 
The ultimate Olympic sport.  Nothing compares to the marathon leader entering the stadium at the end of 26 miles of running.  Sport at it's most pure.

2. Alpine Downhill.
Another pure sport that has everything.  Death defying speed.  Incredible skill of the athletes.  One shot at the gold.  A 2 minute race is often decided by hundredths of a second or what amounts to a foot or two between the eventual medal winners.

3. 100 meter sprint.
A theme is developing here.  My top three sports are in there essence very pure sports.  Who's the fastest.  Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Usain Bolt.  It's all here.  And it is all over in less than 10 seconds.

4. Bobsled (4-man)
I can't explain this one.  But the fact you have four grown men pushing a sled as FAST as they freakin' can down an icy chute...well it's a thing of beauty.

5. Moguls
I'm a skier and can ski moguls pretty dang well so I identify with this one the closest of all the sports listed.  Although putting a 10 foot kicker in the middle of the hill and pulling an inverted iron cross is insane.

6. Short Track Speed skating
Who knew about this sport before Apollo Ohno.  Now that we do know about it I really like watching it.  It's so quick and over so soon and is the NASCAR of Olympic events.  If it ain't rubbin' it ain't racin'!

7. Gymnastics
I would be a terrible judge for this event.  Every single competitor would get a 10.0 from me.  Also I had like the hugest crush on Nadia Comeniche.

8. Nordic Jump
Just.Plain.Psycho.

9. Rowing (8 man shell)
Ultimate team event.  The crew has to work as a machine and perform in fluid perfection to win.  And they always leave it on the course.  These guys always looked like the most wiped out athletes in any sport at the end of their races.

10. Decathlon
I like the concept of the decathlon more than the actual event.  But the athlete that wins the decathlon (or the heptathlon) are inarguable the best athlete in the world.

Interesting that 8 of my selections are individual competitions.  And the two others are not traditionally popular team sports.  I guess the normal team sports just don't feel Olympic to me.

What do you think?  What are your favorite sports at the Olympics?

Who has the time to do something like this though?  That’s what I have to ask.

http://wwww.inbflat.net/

Go play around with it a bit.  It’s pretty cool.

The 33rd America’s Cup came to a conclusion on Valentine’s Day 2010.  BMW/Oracle won decisively with a 5 minute/2300 meter lead when she crossed the finish line.  This race was a bit more competitive than the first race last Friday.  At least to the windward mark.  Alinghi again fouled at the start by misjudging their entry into the start box, which gave BMW/Oracle a 24 sec lead off the line.  Alinghi made up some time and actually took the lead for a while on the windward leg by finding some stronger air and a favorable wind shift.  BMW/Oracle was able to gain ground and rounded the windward mark 28 seconds ahead and didn’t look back on the two reaching legs, reaching speeds of 33 knots in only 6-9 knots of wind, incredible!

The Golden Gate Yacht Club is now the holder of the oldest cup in international sports.  Rumors have begun to arise that the next challenge will offer a more level playing field.   It will be nice if they reverted to a more “one design” approach.  Hopefully a mono-hull design to facilitate the upwind tacking duels.  This cup challenge was really nothing more than a drag race between two multi-million dollar experiments.  BMW/Oracle proved herself the better, and faster boat.   Congratulations to the BMW/Oracle team!  Thanks for bringing the Cup home…

Finally, after two race postponements the 33rd Challenge for the America’s Cup got underway today in Valencia Spain.  The first time in history two multi-hulled boats are racing for the cup.  Alinghi  had a large composite main sail and BMW/Oracle was flying a huge segmented, rigid wing, two very different technologies.  With 8-10 knots of wind, each boat was averaging between 16 and 24 knots.    An incredible speed in such light conditions.  Unfortunately the race was over almost before it started.  Alinghi (SUI) fouled

BMW/Oracle (USA) before the start of the  race and earned herself a 270 degree penalty turn.  BMW/Oracle proved herself to be a faster boat that can point 3-4 degrees closer to the wind which translates into a much shorter distance to the windward mark.  By the time BMW/Oracle crossed the finish line she had opened up a 3500 meter, 15 min lead over the Swiss boat.  The next race is scheduled for Sunday in this best of three showdown.  Stronger winds have been predicted, could this give Alinghi the edge?  We’ll have to wait and see.

Arlo White has been hired to replace Kevin Calabro as the voice of Sounder FC.  Check out last years opener highlights with Arlo White.

linky

    This has to be one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while.  Who knew SCUBA divers were so aggressive.  Maybe it’s because they’re out of their natural habitat.

When the Google camera car passed they must have gotten really agitated.

They seem to be making a pretty good pace… for wearing flippers.

If you’d like to see for yourself follow the linky, or do a Google maps search for “rugdeveien 39 bergen”.  I’m sure glad we don’t have this type of vicious wildlife in the states…  Beware the Norwegian Moose bites next, they can be nasty.

After Monday’s cancellation of race one of the 2010 America’s Cup Challenge, both Alinghi and BMW Oracle were looking to get their boats out on the water today.  Unfortunately the collision of two fronts off of Valencia, Spain has caused a washing machine effect throughout the 40 mile course.  The race has again been cancelled until Friday, when hopefully both super yachts will finally get to face off against each other.  Alinghi’s sleek Catamaran vs. BMW/Oracle’s 90’ by 90’ tri have changed this race from a tactic driven tacking duel to a straight out drag race.  Twenty miles up and 20 miles back.  An alternative course for race two will be 13 miles upwind with two 13 mile legs across the wind.  Both boats are cool to look at, something out of science fiction, and are capable of speeds three times greater than the wind, but I’ll miss the upwind battles for the windward mark.  Let’s hope they can actually have a race come Friday.  Linky