Despite Muggings, Rio Is Safe

Ryan Lochte and some fellow swimmers were robbed at gunpoint after a night out of celebrating.  Lochte’s description of what happened sounded like a script from a crime drama.  Having been to Rio, I am not surprised that it happened, but it likely didn’t happen on the strip but in some other part of Rio not so heavily policed.  For the most part, from my own experience, I would describe Rio as a city, not unlike NYC, that is safe during the day and fairly safe at night when common sense practices are followed. Not that the swimmers didn’t follow common sense, in fact, they did the right thing by traveling in a group and taking a taxi, but unfortunately, they may have been targeted or watched and followed.  The details are not fully known – for example, it is not clear whether their taxi was an official taxi, an Uber or some other ride-sharing  operation.  But in any case, I would guess that a Brazilian driver would know not to stop for a car unless it was reasonably clear that it was a police operation or that not stopping would result in being shot.  Lochte said there were no lights, so I am assuming it was a car that pulled them over or pulled up to them in traffic and not a situation where they were in stop-and-go traffic and some guys with badges walked up to the taxi out of nowhere.

It all seems a bit odd, but where it happened clearly matters.  If they were in a high risk crime area, maybe the driver knew that their lives were in danger and that he had no choice but to stop or be shot.  We don’t know what the driver did; whether he tried to calm the theives or advise the guys to do whatever they were being told to do.  It may turn out that the driver helped in some way to save their lives. But we may never know.

Does that mean don’t go to Rio or don’t take a taxi if you are already there.  No.  When I was there, I took city buses everywhere, which was quite an adventure and a taxi service to and from the airport.  But I also had some local intelligence from a Rio resident and friend with whom we stayed.  She rode the buses with us and set up the taxi rides from services she knows and trusts.  We went out alone at night around Copocabana, (without our friend) but walked around in well lit areas and did not stray.  We never dressed flashy or flaunted cash and jewelry.  Not to say that the swimmers did.  We actually went out of our way not to stand out – to blend.  We even spoke mostly Spanish (we don’t speak Portuguese) so as not to be mistaken for rich and naive Americans who may not know that you can haggle over anything, even that trinket on the beach.  We took many excursions during the day and felt perfectly safe.  We even took a local bus through the favelas.  Frankly, I was more concerned about misquitoes than criminals.

Admittedly, it is more difficult for Olympic athletes not to stand out, especially Ryan Lochte who is internationally known and who REALLY stands out in a crowd.  He absolutely did the right thing by ultimately not resisting the thieves but had me worried as he described his initial refusal to go down as ordered.  And according to his description, he actually never went down, and responded finally with “whatever” as he put his hands up. He really is lucky not to have been injured or worse.  Thankfully, all the guys are ok.  And as terrible as the stick up was, Rio is ok too.  In fact, it’s a great place to visit and as safe as any other big city in Latin America or the U.S. Michael Phelps concurred when he mentioned that he had been to Brazil many times and has never felt unsafe.

 

 

Olympic Medals Made Of Chocolate

What if those medals all the Olympians win were made of chocolate?  The gold medal would be made of the highest quality chocolate from Switzerland.  The silver medal, perhaps, would be of Belgian extract, although the Italian’s might take issue.  The bronze, well, nobody wants a bronze and so it wold have to be made of a common American chocolate, something like a Hershey’s Kiss, you know, a kiss for a good try, or the unheralded and quite delicious Zero bar, which apparently it still being manufactured, though it’s hard to find where I live.

Were this to come to fruition in the 2020 Toyko games, athletes would no longer have to pretend to take a bite out of their medals; in fact, they could peel off the foil and eat their medals right on the podium stand.

Steeplechase Reimagined

Here’s the thing – the Steeplechase race needs a modern twist.  Jumping over a hurdle into a pool of water is so not very challenging. It’s time for an overhaul of the event. So here are some suggestions for a new course that will surely make the steeplechase the hottest event at the summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Ok, jumping into a pool of water is pretty cool, I have to admit, but what if, right before the water pit, runners had to jump through a ring of fire?  The water would help them cool off. Now the running and hurdling are fine, but quite boring if I’m being honest, so why not have the runners also run backwards for 100 meters?  It’s harder than it looks, but fun, ask any runner. Now, the high hurdle is really not a very big deal, so why not up the stakes and require an actual high jump, followed by a triple jump and a broad jump along the way.  Of course, all the runners would be motivated to chase a gold-plated electronic steeple whizzing around the track, not unlike the bone greyhounds chase at the the races.

Are you with me?

League of Their Own Olympians

 

Photo by Ribbie (2014) atop Forte Duque de Caxias in Rio

 

In these Rio Olympic games, some stories of domination are being written. In this segment called “In a League of their Own” from the Olympic desk of Ribbie’s weblog, Ribbie comments on the competition.   Ribbie was last in Rio during the 2014 World Cup, so the reporting is almost live.

The USA men’s basketball team is in a league of their own, and is expected to win Gold again. The league of their own, of course, is called the NBA.  And while other national teams sport NBA players, team USA’s roster is made up of ONLY NBA players.  Same is true of Team USA on the women’s side – an all WNBA roster.  The women have won 42 consecutive Olympic basketball games, or is it 43?  They are 58-3 all time winning Gold in the last 2 games.  The men have won 14 of 18 Olympic Golds since 1936.  Seems unfair that professional players play teams comprised of, well, in most cases, other professional players from far less competitive leagues, right?  In their first games, the NBA All-Stars beat China by 57 points and the WNBA stars beat Senegal, Africa’s best team, by 65 points. Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing these games; the lack of competition make the NBA/WNBA players seem even better than they really are, to be honest.  I don’t care for the lopsided scores; however, which must be somewhat of an embarrassment to the other teams, though to be fair, Olympians DO like playing against the best.  That said, the Olympics should be about fair competition, in my judgement, which is why I favor a return to a competiton of amateurs only.

Chinese Diving.  Wu Minxia has won more Gold medals in diving than any other Olympic diver in history and is the oldest diver, at 30, ever to win a Gold medal.  She’s still got the golden touch  and is the gold standard in the diving world.

Team USA in women’s gymnastics is in a league of their own.  They could be the best gymnastic’s team the world has ever seen.  In the team competition, they’ve left the other nations behind in the qualifying round, way behind. Simone Biles could win multiple Gold medals in the team competition, all-around and in some of the individual events, possibly as many as 5.  The others have a chance at Gold in their individual events when not up against Biles.

Beach Volleyball – the native California Kerri Walsh with partner Mysti May-Treanor won 3 consecutive Gold medals for the USA and is back for a fourth with a new partner, April Ross.  The towering 6’2″ Walsh is in a league of her own.

Team USA soccer, or football, if you like.  The USA women’s team has won Gold in the last three Summer Olympics and look to be on their way to successfully defending their title.  With the dominant captain Carli Lloyd scoring at will, team USA is clearly in a league of their own.

USA Swimming.  Michael Phelps, whose maiden wins date back to 2004, is STILL swimming and STILL winning in the pool. He’s won so many medals, he’s lost track.  Ask him.  I bet he won’t know how many he has, most of them Gold too. Mr. Phelps is undubitably in a league all his own.

The USA has been fortunate enough to have the great sisters Serena and Venus Williams represent, who have been playing in a league of their own winning 4 Gold Medals in Olympic competition. They could repeat as doubles champs.

Others leagues of their own include Italian Fencers, German and Slovakian  Canoeists, and Danish Rowers.  And the dominant French handballers, in a sport about as silly, but not quite as silly as Water Polo, where Hungary has traditionally dominated, look to be the team to beat.

Some “sports” are not Olympic

The summer Olympics have begun in Rio where it is technically winter.  And as I watch the games, I am struck for the first time by all the sporting events that shouldn’t be in the Olympics in my judgement.  If you take issue with my commentary, know that it is somewhat tongue in check…somewhat.

• Archery – pretty cool to watch.  It might have been one of the original Greek events, so it’s in.
• Badminton – seriously?  It’s a picnic game!  If badminton is in, croquet should be too.
• Basketball – of course. Too bad there’s no longer a U.S. U.S.S.R rivalry. I’d like to see Brazil do well.  Whatever happened to Oscar, or is it Oskar? He was like the Oscar Robertson of team Brasil back in the day.  And while I love watching basketball in the games, it somehow doesn’t seem fair for NBA and WNBA players to play.  I thought the Olympics were supposed to be for amateur athletes.
• Beach Volleyball – definitely, especially in a place like Rio.
• Boxing – hell yes. Those leather helmets are classic and keep the fighters’ head on straight…literally.
• Canoe slalom and sprint- wtf?  Sailing, fine.  Rowing, ok.  Canoeing (is that how you spell it?) That’s something you do on a vacation.  Not a sport.
• BMX and Mountain cycling – nope.  That’s for the Red Bull drinking X Games crowd.
• Road and Track Cycling – ok.
• Diving –  absolutely and as long as Cynthia Potter is the analyst.
• Equestrian –  I love horses.  Actually, I’d like to see rodeo competition in the games. Bull riding and bull running would also be fun events, but I’m not a fan of bull fighting. I’m not.
• Fencing – intense.  I’d also like to see deep water diving with those cast iron helmets.
• Field Hockey – nope.  Too elite prep school for my taste.
• Golf – nope.  They already have too many tournaments – and the thing takes all day.
• Gymnastics – yep.  Lots of flips and stuff.  It’s always hit or miss.  High drama. Made for TV. But not the rhythmic thing.
• Handball – never heard of it.  Isn’t that a penalty in soccer?
• Judo and Taekwondo – yep.
• Rugby Sevens – sounds like a card game, but it’s the next best thing to American football, so I say yes to the rough and tumble sport, mate.
• Sailing – a Christopher Cross song, not a sport.  Nope.
• Shooting – shooting what, the breeze? Not a sport.
• Swimming – yes.  synchronized, no.  Might be good for a Disney show but not for the Olympics.
• Table Tennis –  you mean Ping-Pong?  Sure, why not.
• Tennis.  No. Same reason as Golf.
• Track and Field – yes all day long.
• Trampoline – no, beause with diving and gymnastics it’s redundant.
• Triatholon – ok.
• Volleyball – only beach volleyball.
• Water Polo – NO. It’s just silly, like handball or dodgeball in the water.  They should use a nerf ball in my opinion.
• Weightlifting – definitely. I especially like when they drop the dumbells in disgust.
• Wrestling – ok, but I’d like to see some tag team championship wrestling.  And why isn’t grappling an event?