My Stylin' US Olympic Team

Kudos to Ralph Lauren for making our US Olympic Team look like a million bucks this winter. It's almost worth it to check out their Winter Olympics Collection of overpriced goodies.

My Derailed Olympic Bid

I was a firm opponent of the New York Olympic bid 4 years ago and couldn't be more enthused that Chicago has failed to clinch the United State's first Olympic bid since Atlanta in 1996. Reasons are simple and non-political. Granted the current economic climate, does this nation really need to pour over $10 billion dollars in for the event? Is the trade off of having an "international unity" in Chicago really worth the additional debt that city will face for a decade after the game exits?

Look at the last four Olympic hosts. Atlanta is STILL recovering economically after the 1996 games and anyone who has visited the city in the last decade can tell you it's a very slow process. Sydney's (2000) tourism actually saw a decline since their games, Athens (2004) is still struggling to come up with a solution to $7 billion euros, the remainder of their debt and well, the Chinese government would never reveal anything that would shame them so we'll probably never know what kind of hit Beijing took last year.

The granddaddy of them all? The Montreal games of 1976. They've just paid off their debt 2 years ago- three whole decades after the games.

So is it worth it?

My Peterio Awards (Part Eleven: Best Olympic Moment)

While any of Michael Phelp's narrow victories would do, it was the spectacular Opening Ceremony directed by Zhang Yimou that was overwhelmingly breathtaking to take the prize. From those drummers, to the human operated blocks, from the IMAX-size paint canvas to the final torch relay around the outer rim of the Bird's Nest, China wanted to the rest of the world to be wowed and I think it is safe to say we were more than impressed. Watch those blocks.. just watch those blocks...

Other Notable Nominees: Swimming Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay (swimming), Men's 100 Butterfly (swimming), Men's 100 race (running) & Rohullah Nikpai wins Afghanistan's first Olympic medal (taekwondo)

My Michael Phelps Publicity Tour

So what happens when you're a good looking 23 year old and you just won eight gold medals at the Olympics? Well, if you're Michael Phelps, you cash in on it. After endorsing Kellogg's cereal box instead of the traditional Wheatie's, Phelps has been offered $1.6 million in advance for his upcoming book, hosting the season premiere of 'Saturday Night Live', rallying for a new aquatic program in Brooklyn and of course, be the headline of gossip blogs as to who he's dating. Not bad for a dorky kid out of Baltimore.

UPDATE: Phelps just got booked for a cameo on HBO's 'Entourage' and will present an award at this year's VMAs. Man, his agent works fast.

My Opening Ceremony

Although I got the chance to see many events of the Olympics Games overseas, I didn't managed to watch the Opening Ceremony until this past weekend. And my, oh my, the $300 million dollar production exceeds any blockbuster film and the visuals were stimulating and emotional. My favorite part? Watching Li Ning run around the outer ring of the Bird's Nest to light the final torch to start off the games. I swear, I had tears in my eyes watching him do the acrobatics. Also, while most people are bored with the parade of nations, I usually watch the entire thing (all 3 hours of it) only to catch names of countries I've never heard of and to hear Bob Costas' tidbit trivia about random countries.

My Paul Hamm Withdrawal

Reigning Gold medalist Paul Hamm is withdrawing his name from the US Olympics gymnastics team due to the hand injury he suffered during this past World Championships. It's ashamed, because he was our country's best hope in winning gold in overall gymnastics in Beijing. At least his twin brother, Morgan, is still in it. (ESPN)

My Chinese Smog

It seems like every time the Olympics rolls into its final month of preparation, the host city scrambles to make everything complete. For Beijing, it's no exception. It appears ever since the it was awarded this summer's Olympic games, Beijing's biggest dilemma was its air pollution. And like the way many things are done within the Chinese government, they chose to hide this fact and alter results. 

But as the news of its pollution became more public, the Chinese government began to force local factories down and reduce car commute. I gotta hand it to them, if they were dealt with NYC's congestion problem, they would solve it in a heartbeat with their no nonsense attitude. Anyway, will this last ditch effort convince the World it is ready? I sure hope so, because my family and I have been anticipating the Games in China for a long time now. (AP)

My Olympic Lighting Ceremony

It surprised no one that protesters would emerged at the Olympic Lighting Ceremony this morning regarding the Tibet situation. What did surprise people was that the protesters were from a French-based media group, Reporters Without Borders. Over 1,000 police officers were called on to patrol Ancient Olympia as the ceremony began, but as Chinese Olympic Committee president Liu Qi began his commencement, the protester rushed behind Qi, wearing a the Olympic rings as handcuffs and waving a banner. Of course, the live telecast was cut away in Chinese household. This is going to long few months before the ever-doomed Olympic games in Beijing. (NYT)

My Rivalry On Ice

It appears life imitates art this time. Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek are the top American figure skaters and they couldn't be more different. One is more rough and rugged, the other more elegant and graceful. Of course this mean they are public rivals- who eerily resembles Will Ferrell and Jon Heder in 'Blades of Glory'. 

Nothing like more drama at the rink. Let's hope it doesn't get to another Tanya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan before the 2012 Winter Olympics Games at Vancouver. (NYT)

Sidenote: Guess who's the rough and rugged one and who's the elegant and graceful one in the photo. 

My Open Letter To Andy Roddick

Mr. Roddick,

I know it seems unimportant to you to partake in the upcoming Olympics, but if it's preparation for the US Open, why not play with the world's greatest players instead of mid-major players on a hard court? Please consider it before you officially withdraw from the opportunity to play for an Olympic medal. (ESPN)

Thanks,
Peter

P.S.- You're right, the fish-sticks ARE better at Friday's.