The refs plain botched this. Chinese commentators during the game — one of whom was Yao Ming — speculated that maybe none of the three refs on the court — all of them staring at the play — could believe Serge Ibaka could actually do this — jump, bounce the ball, come down with it,... Read more »
You may think this an ordinary llama wearing heart-shaped sunglasses, but that’s where you’d be wrong. This is a llama that loves Liu Xiang, the hurdler. Also, it’s wearing heart-shaped sunglasses, but we may have already mentioned that. As brought to our attention by Alicia, this llama isn’t at all afraid to show its Olympic... Read more »
While it seems unlikely that Paul McCartney, 70, would ever fail to remember the words to one of his most well-known songs, why take the risk when you’re live with two billion viewers? But some lyrics, when flashed upon a small screen intended for one and broadcast to two billion, are funnier than others. BJC... Read more »
Take note, Park Tae Hwan: this is how you congratulate someone for becoming his country’s first Olympic gold-medal winner in a sport. Park, of course, said yesterday after Sun Yang’s Olympic record-setting win in the 400-meter freestyle: “I lost the race, but I am glad that it was an Asian who won. It is something we can... Read more »
Sun Yang made history last night by becoming the first Chinese man to win an Olympic swimming event, beating defending champion (and favorite) Park Tae Hwan of South Korea in the 400-meter freestyle and setting a new Olympic record of 3:40:14 (video here). After the race, he straddled a lane buoy and let out a primal scream as the CCTV announcer called him a "Chinese manly man."
NBC Universal is fascist when it comes to Olympics content -- my old YouTube got deleted for posting too many videos from live events in 2008 -- so you're in North America, you're on your own for moving pictures. For those in China, enjoy London's cauldron-lighting: 200-plus copper petals on fire, rising.
OOPS! Via Daily Mail: “North Korea’s women footballers walked off in protest before their match with Colombia yesterday when the flag of bitter rivals South Korea was mistakenly shown on the big screen in Scotland’s Hampden Park.” Manchester City just beat the incredibly popular-in-China Arsenal 2-0 in heavy rain at the Bird’s Nest today. The... Read more »
YouTube user Cassetteboy has posted a hilarious cut-up of Boris Johnson -- who we last saw on this blog trying (and failing) to operate a Sina Weibo account -- welcoming people to London for the Olympics (opening ceremony is Friday, in case you've forgotten). Some of our favorite parts:
