World Baseball Classic Championship Picks - Can the US Win It All?

The 2013 World Baseball Classic is underway for Pools A and B, with the rest of the teams getting into the action by the weekend.

In Pool A, Japan and Cuba have jumped out in front, already winning both of their games.  Things are getting interesting in Pool B, with the Netherlands beating Korea, but losing to Chinese Taipei.  Going off of my picks from last week's WBC post, here are some predictions for the second and championship rounds.

In the second round, the winners and runners-up from Pools A and B will face off, pitting who I believe with be Japan versus the Netherlands, and Korea vs Cuba.  I think these games will be some of the best of the entire tournament... until we get to Pools C and D, that is.  These teams are deep, and have a lot of talent, even though they are lacking players than many baseball fans in the US would recognize.  I want to see the Netherlands do well here, but this grouping is a tall order to fill.  Look for Japan to take this one, with Cuba right behind them.  Korea lost early to the Netherlands in pool play, so maybe they're not the same team from the past two WBC's.

Pools C and D's second round match-ups could be 20-run affairs one day, then a 2-1 contest the next.  Ideally, the United States, Canada, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic would make it through, and those four teams are stacked.  My bias is going to show a little here, but while I think the US will make it through, I believe they'll be runners-up to the Dominican Republic.

So that brings us to the final four teams, and if all goes according to plan, the US with face Japan while the Dominican Republic takes on Cuba.  I would absolutely love to see a US-DR final, so I'm gonna say it happens.  With that game, no matter who the winner is, the WBC will earn more merit than its gotten the past two tournaments.  The games are huge in Asian countries and the Caribbean, but they have never held much weight in the US or Canada.  Hopefully with so many well-known stars playing, this year will be a big jumping point for the World Baseball Classic

Final Medal Count: Team USA is Awesome

Team USA flexed its muscles in the last few days of the 30th Olympic Games, dominating both the total medal count as well as the gold medal count.

Their two biggest events were swimming, where they won 16 golds, nine silvers and six bronzes for a total of 31, and athletics where they racked up 29 -- nine gold, 13 silver and seven bronze.

Forty-six gold medals in total, which ranks as the second highest gold medal total in a non-boycotted year behind the Soviet Union's 55 in 1988.

Highlights of the Games for me were women's beach volleyball going gold and silver, Manteo Mitchell breaking his leg and finishing a race, Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee going gold and silver in the decathlon and of course Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time.

Go USA.

Team USA's Manteo Mitchell Breaks Leg During 4x400 Relay, Runs a 46 Split

Yeah, that happened.  I think just the title enough says all I need to explain in this article.  Stay tuned, I'll be posting the video on as soon as I find it.

Manteo Mitchell finished his 400 meter leg with a time of 46.1 seconds, while running three-quarters of the race on a broken leg.

"I got out pretty slow, but I picked it up and when I got to the 100-meter mark it felt weird," Mitchell said.  "I was thinking I just didn't feel right. As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt it break. I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn't hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.

"I knew if I finished strong we could still get it around," he said of the baton. "I saw Josh Mance motioning me in for me to hand it off to him, which lifted me. I didn't want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it. It hurt so bad."

I have no words.  That is absolutely unbelievable. He felt totally fine during warm-ups and everything, felt fine during workouts, but when it came down to race time, it just completely gave out and snapped on him.  And it didn't even phase him.

Go USA.

Thursday Morning Medal Count, and the Day Ahead

A big day on the track was one of the biggest reasons that Team USA has taken the overall medal lead from China, and has opened up a pretty sizable gap in the process.

Today, China has a chance to win two gold medals in women's boxing and women's 10m platform diving.  Team USA is going for gold in those same two events, plus women's soccer and women's water polo.

A silver medal has already been obtained by Haley Anderson of Santa Clara, Calif., in the women's 10k marathon swim.  More room for improvement there, and that women's soccer final, the rematch of the World Cup just one year ago, should be one of the best games of the tournament, men's or women's.

Oh, and synchronized swimming?  Absolutely not a sport. 

How Much Faster Can Usain Bolt, Sprinters Get?

This is one of the most interesting videos I have seen in a while.  The 100-meter dash has long been regarded as the most exciting race at the Olympics.  We now know it as the race that has 20 minutes of build up for a mere 10 seconds of race time, but it wasn't always that way.

The video above shows the times of every Olympic medalist in the 100m since 1896.  Its an unbelievable gap between the 9.63 Usain Bolt ran this year and the bronze medalist from the inaugural Games.

The craziest part about the video is when they show the fastest times put up by eight to seventeen year olds.  At my peak in high school, I could run an 12.1, so it kind of sucks to see that a 15-year-old could dust me.  Either way, some pretty cool information on how the race has evolved over the years.

Tuesday Morning Medal Count, And The Day Ahead

Alright, so there were a few unexpected issues for Team USA, the most glaring of which came from Horse Guards' Parade, where both men's teams were eliminated.  And how about Great Britain's medal surge, huh?  Gotta give it up for the home town.

But don't worry, we still have plenty of track and field events left, and Team USA will not disappoint.  I would still put my money on us taking home the most gold medals overall.  Our women's soccer team just won an absolute thriller against Team Canada, and will face Japan in the gold medal match which will be a rematch of the World Cup from last year.

Men's high jump, women's 100-meter hurdles, men's discus and men's 1500-meter will all be handing out medals tomorrow in athletics.  Women's basketball moves to quarterfinal match-ups, where Team USA will look to defeat Canada a second day in a row in two sports.

Back at Horse Guards' Parade, Jen Kessy and April Ross will play a semi-final match against the top ranked Brazilian team.  And finally, the US women's volleyball team will play a quarterfinal match as the women's water polo team takes on Australia in a semi-final contest.

Usain Bolt. That Is All.

Usain Bolt once again proves that he is the fastest man in the world, running the men's 100-meter dash final in 9.63 seconds, and Olympic record, to take the gold medal.

Jamaican teammate Yohan "The Beast" Blake took silver in the event, running his personal best of 9.75 seconds, while American Justin Gatlin also ran a personal best after coming back from a four-year doping ban, clocking in a 9.79 for the bronze.

Apparently two billion people watched the most exciting event at the London Games live, and none of them were in the United States, unless you were live-streaming it.  NBC again refused to show the event live, electing to defer it until their primetime slot, when they didn't show it until nearly 10 o'clock.  I won't get into here, but NBC's coverage is making me more and more angry by the day.

Another bizarre thing about the events happened just seconds before it.  Apparently a fan tossed a green plastic bottle towards the runners, and it landed only feet behind their blocks.  Unfortunately for that idiotic fan, he was next to Dutch Judo champion Edith Bosch who smacked him in the back to knock him down before security arrived.

"I had seen the man walking around earlier and said to people around me that he was a peculiar bloke," Bosch said.  "Then he threw that bottle and in my emotion I hit him on the back with the flat of my hand.  Then he was scooped up by the security. However, he did make me miss the final, and I am very sad about that.  I just cannot understand how someone can do something like that."

Saturday Afternoon Medal Count

As Team USA and China continue to assert their dominance over all other nations, its not time for Team USA to assert its dominance over China.

The real sports, such as anything Track & Field related or any team sport are starting to inch closer to handing out medals, and China doesn't have a great shot in really anything anymore.  Sure, they can keep stacking up their badminton medals as high as they want, but ultimately, Team USA will take the overall lead and maintain their gold medal lead til the 12th.

Thursday Afternoon Medal Count - Most Gold or Most Overall?

Team USA is slowly but surely closing in on the gold medal total.  At this stage in the Olympic Games, the question always arises - which is more important, most golds overall, or most medals overall?

The age-old question.  To win a gold medal, to be the best of the best in the entire world has to be an unparalleled feeling.  It not only provides the athlete with a sense of accomplishment and pride, but the entire nation.

By the same token, earning a medal of any metal is one of the most impressive feats in sports.  When we lose the gold to China and get silver, it stings, but if we're beaten by Australia in, say, a swimming event, then I welcome that silver with equal enthusiasm and pride.

In the immortal words of Ricky Bobby, "If you're not first, you're last," but does the same ring true during the Olympic Games?  Does standing atop any position on the podium getting a medal around your neck really mean that you are last?  To be able to compete in the Olympics, and to be able to take home a medal is the ultimate dream for any athlete.

No country is going to win nothing but gold medals alone.  Winning a smattering of medals in the 302 sports is the goal of all 204 countries competing.  If you ask me, the most medals overall is far more impressive than overall golds.

The overall medal count will get dicey as badminton and table tennis draw to a close, but as the team sports close in and track and field events loom large, I think Team USA is in a good place.

Can Someone Explain What This Trumpet is About During Beach Volleyball Games?

If you've watched any Beach Volleyball at the London Olympics, which I hope you have given Team USA's dominance, you've heard this weird trumpet riff play randomly throughout the match.

 I've looked all over, and I can't find an explanation, but I'm all about it, and it gets the crowd pumped up every time it plays.  Make a point to watch the next game if you haven't heard it yet, and if you have watched a game and haven't noticed, watch the video above and it'll stick out like a sore thumb.

Go USA.

President Obama, Justin Bieber Latest to Join Olympic Twitter Nation

None of you thought we'd go a full day without talking about the Olympics and Twitter, did you?  I didn't think so.

After some dominating performances from Team USA yesterday, the Twitter world was buzzing, but this time, no disciplinary action needed to be taken.  Instead, praise was given to a few of the athletes from some unlikely sources.

Just after midnight, shortly after swimmer Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time, President Barack Obama tweeted, showing his support.

"Congrats to Michael Phelps for breaking the all-time Olympic medal record. You’ve made your country proud. –bo"

Can't beat that Twitter signature.

Phelps responded immediately, saying, "Thank you Mr. President!! It's an honor representing the #USA !! The best country in the world!"

The other impressive performance of the day belonged to the "Fab Five," the five gymnasts who won the women's team gold medal by a commanding five points.  While it didn't quite earn a tweet from our nation's president, something tells me this guy's tweet was just as important.

"CONGRATS to @McKaylaMaroney @jordynmarie2013 @kyla_ross96 @Aly_Raisman @gabrielledoug on your GOLD MEDAL. #BeliebersWinGOLD #Proud ..."

Any guesses as to who would call someone else a "Belieber?"  Canadian-born Justin Bieber, realizing his country has no chance at doing well in anything, has been following Team USA's gymnastics team, which makes sense seeing as how their average age is 17, his target audience.  Finally, a Twitter article that doesn't involved racism or disqualifications.

Monday Afternoon Medal Count

Where the hell is China getting all these golds?  Maybe they should try to compete in some real events once in a while...

Either way, the United States sits just one medal behind the leaders, with both countries pulling away from the pack.  Twelve events will be handing out medals today, so we could see some shake-ups in the top 10, but stay tuned and we'll let you know if anything interesting happens.

Dream Team My Ass

Is anyone else mad about this year's Olympic basketball team calling themselves the Dream Team?  Everyone knows that there was only one real Dream Team, back in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games.

This year's team, led by LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant will be the most flashy at the games for sure, but flash doesn't win ballgames.  When it comes down to it, whoever has the ball is always going to want to shoot it, and when they encounter real defense, who knows what'll actually happen.

Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, and David Robinson?  Should I keep going?  Karl Malone, John Stockton, Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen and Christian Laettner.

They won every game by an average of 44 points, and scored over 100 points in every contest in the Games.  There is something to be said for the level of competition going up all around the world, but even though that would most likely help the 2012 at least look better, they never will hold a candle to the Dream Team.  Eleven Hall of Famers.  Eleven.

Spain Won the Euro Cup - Now What?

Spain embarrassed Italy in the Euro Cup Final, 4-0.  Good for them.  Now that the Euro Cup is over, when will people care about soccer again?

Possibly this month?  The Olympic Games have had soccer as a discipline since 1900 for men, and since 1996 for women.  The U.S. men's team failed to even qualify for the tournament, so will anyone watch the men's U23 tournament?  Spain's probably going to win, considering their U21 team won the European Championship last season, and three players - Jordi Alba, Juan Mata and Javi Martinez - are coming off the Euro Cup Championship team.

So who else is there to care about?  Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy are two of the exemptions on Great Britain's team, and other than that... Senegal?  United Arab Emirates? Brazil?  Well yeah, maybe Brazil.

On the women's side, Team USA are going for their third straight gold medal.  Women's sports usually fall by the wayside, but I think there's plenty to watch with this team.