Rio Olympics on the horizon
Don鈥檛 look now but the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics is just over a week away.
Although local hopefuls Clara Santucci, Emily Zimcosky, Kaitlyn Johnson, Brad Balsley, Patrick Reagan, Coleman Scott, Marissa Kalsey and Madison Wiltrout fell shy of a trip to the largest Portuguese-speaking nation in the world, they鈥檒l be plenty of folks from the good old USA to root for.
(Then, you can catch your breath, grab a nap and gear up to watch Kevin Polish Jr. in the Summer Paralympic Games a couple weeks later!)
While you won鈥檛 have local kids or neighbors to root for in August, apparently neither will your counterparts around Russia since the track & field squad, and perhaps the entire Russian delegation, including the Paralympians, has been or will likely be banned from these Olympic Games for state-sponsored doping of athletes.
Now, I went to Catholic grade school where justice was notoriously doled out to all no matter who committed the crime (not that I鈥檓 whining or complaining, I, like many, survived and prospered), but to lay down a death knell to every Russian athlete is unfair and extreme. Ban those who used and jail those who distributed and suggested (or insisted), but to chop down an entire tree because of a few bad limbs doesn鈥檛 seem right.
And, as a word of warning, remember that adage about pointing a finger at another? There蘑菇视频 three fingers pointing back, so be forewarned.
But, I digress.
The first Summer Olympics to be held in the winter, the Rio Games have been fraught with the usual suspects 鈥� cost overruns, unstable government, perhaps sketchy security, infrastructure issues 鈥� plus the added issues of mosquito bites that transmit the Zyka virus and open water that stains white sailboats brown.
Hopefully, the competition and pageantry that is the Olympic Games (or what the Olympic Games aspire to be) will trump all the issues and allow the athletes 鈥� and their sports 鈥� to shine.
The Games actually begin on August 3 with soccer matches, but really kick off with the Opening Ceremony on August 5. (Rio de Janeiro is actually one hour ahead of Fayette-Greene-Westmoreland-Washington County time, so you鈥檒l be able to watch an extra hour before you hit the sack.)
The NBC family of networks, including NBC, Bravo, CNBC, Telemundo, Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network, NBC Universe and USA Network, will provide more coverage than even the most diehard couch potato can handle. Plus, with the proper equipment, the Games can be viewed in virtual reality for that 鈥渂eing there feeling.鈥�
New sports added are men蘑菇视频 and women蘑菇视频 golf and rugby sevens. Male boxers, for some strange reason, will fight without protective headgear.
Wondering what a gold, silver or bronze medal is worth at your local 鈥淟et me turn your unused gold into cash鈥� shop?
An Olympic gold medal is basically gold-plated with around one percent gold, 92陆 percent silver and 6.5 percent bronze (copper and tin). Melt value, depending on the commodity market, is around $600. A silver medal actually is silver, about 93 percent worth of which 30 percent is reclaimed/recycled, and seven percent copper. Melt value is about $325.
A bronze medal is 97 percent copper, 2陆 percent zinc and a trace of tin. Melt value is $5 or around 334 wheat pennies.
Of course, it蘑菇视频 more than just the hardware. In ancient Greece, the olive branch wreath was the 鈥渕edal鈥� of the day, but the prestige of an Olympian champion was praised by his hometown, sometimes to the point where the city蘑菇视频 defensive walls would be torn down because no one in their right mind would attack the home of an Olympic champion!
There aren鈥檛 many walls to be torn down these days. (Well, that depends on who become president, I guess) The real value of a medal is generally in cold, hard cash, be it from a country蘑菇视频 Olympic committee or in endorsements.
The USOC is paying out 25 grand for a gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.
At the other end of the scale is the central Asian nation, and former Soviet republic, Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has around 9.4 million people (about the size of New York City), but is paying out $510,000 for a gold medal, $255,000 for silver and $130,000 for bronze. Not too shabby. Since first competing in the 1996 Atlanta Games, Azerbaijanis have won six gold medals (4 in wrestling, 1 shooting, 1 judo), five silver medals (all in wrestling), and 15 bronze (5 wrestling, 2 shooting, 6 boxing, 1 judo).
The Games will also feature a Refugee Olympic Team of 10 athletes, from troubled areas in eastern Africa and the Middle East, competing under the Olympic banner.
As for the USA medal haul, don鈥檛 get your hopes up in badminton (not quite the picnic, backyard variety), rugby (the All Blacks, New Zealand, that is, own this sport), team handball, or weight lifting. Well, pretty much any sport outside athletics (track & field), most of the ones that use a ball (basketball, women蘑菇视频 soccer and volleyball, etc.) or water (swimming, women蘑菇视频 water polo, select rowing events, including the women蘑菇视频 eight).
But, there is a reason they play the game. No outcome is predestined (except figure skating, perhaps), so that蘑菇视频 the fun of watching. That, and catching Michael Phelps cement his legacy as an Olympic athlete.
So, sit back and enjoy. Perhaps all that running and playing will inspire you to get up off the couch and put together your own family or neighborhood Summer Olympic Games. If you do, give us a holler. That鈥檇 be cool to check out.