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The Daily Dose/August 16, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
   
Notes from around the Human Experience, including our official Faves: the Norwegian women team handball squad, the US men's volleyball team and the 1908 Cubs, plus On This Date, the Thought for the Day, Trivia and - speaking of faves - Rebecca St. James is the Column Four Foto!
START SPREADING THE NEWS: Mongolia won its first ever Olympic gold medal Friday, as Tuvshinbayar Naidan won the 100 kg judo competition. Mongoloia had won several silver and bronze medals in the past, mainly in wrestling, but also in shooting and boxing. For a country that's just south of Siberia, you'd think they'd do better in the Winter Olympics, but Mongolia has yet to medal at the Winter Games.
Oh! Canada:Mongolia's gold gives it one more gold medal - or total medals, for that matter - than Canada has earned so far. The best Canadian finished are fourth place finishes in the shot put, swimming and weight lifting. Most Canadians fall under the "did not advance" category.
This Is Not A Bulletin: It's not a surprise there have been athletes caught doping at the Beijing Games. After all, the IOC has yet to heed our call for letting athletes put whatever they want into their bodies, and until they do there will always athletes trying to buck the system.
Ready, Aim, Fire: But a shooter being DQ'd for doping? You would expect a weightlifter, or a sprinter or any one of a number of other athletes to be thrown out, but a shooter? I mean, what's the deal, does he need to be stronger to squeeze the trigger harder?
Dry, Technical Matter: Kim Jong-Su was stripped of his 50-meter air pistol silver and his 10-meter air pistol bronze medals after testing positive for the drug propranolol, which is usually used to relieve hypertension and other heart ailments, and is banned in shooting in archery because it lowers the heartbeat and prevents trembling.
Higher, Stronger, Lousier: Kim is the third positive doping test of the Games. A Vietnamese gymnast was also bounced from the Games, but she finished last, so who cares. A Spanish cyclist - go figure - was caught doping in a pre-competition test.
Ja! Go Norway! Writer's Shack faves the Norwegian women's team handball squad moved to 4-0 in pool play defeating the goddamned French 34-24. Recall it was the goddamned French who upset our All Blacks, the New Zealand national rugby team, in the Rugby World Cup last fall. We also suspect the goddamned French had something to do with our other faves, Mount Union College, losing in the NCAA Div. III football national championship game. We can't prove it, though.
Writer's Shack Jinx? What Writer's Shack Jinx? Our Norwegian ladies will close out pool play with a titanic match Sunday against Romania, who barely got by Angola 28-23. The winner will get the top seed out of Group A and play the #4 team from Group B in the quarter-finals. That will probably be Brazil, though Sweden can claim the #4 spot with a victory over Brazil Sunday and a Germany loss to Russia, who leads Group B with seven points and don't count the Germans out, because if they beat Russia and Sweden and Brazil tie, then the Germans are in because they will be tied with Brazil with four points and they defeated Brazil earlier in pool play.
Yeah, There's No Such Thing As The Writer's Shack Jinx: The US men's volleyball team, our other faves, and the only undefeated team left in Group A at 3-0 continues pool play against the Chinese Saturday and conclude it Monday against Japan. The US has already clinched a spot in the quarter-finals, though Group B is such a mess it is impossible to tell if Germany, Serbia or, get this, Egypt, will clinch the final spot.
Just Checking: The Writer's Shack is still available in China!
Thought For The Day: The tragedy of life is not that man loses, but that he almost wins. - Heywood Braun,
MINE'S BIGGER! On this date, in 1829, Chang and Eng, who were joined at the hips, entered the United States so enlightened Westerners could gawk at them. They are from Siam, and conjoined twins would come to be known as Siamese twins.
Editor's Note: To rub in the fact the Chicago Cubs haven't won the World Series in 100 years, On This Date is pleased to take a look back at the 1908 Chicago Cubs championship season.
What The Hell's Going On Here? The Cubs - showing the adorableness that make them such fan favorites over the next century, lose again, 1-0, at home, to the Phillies, their third straight loss. The Phillies get a run in the second and George McQuillan pitches a one-hitter, that a double by Cubs first baseman Solly Hofman. Cub pitcher Jack Pfiester himself pitches a three-hitter.
The damage is mitigated somewhat because the first place Pirates didn't play, but the Cubs do fall to six games back in the National League. The Giants do their part, losing two to the Cardinals in St. Louis, 6-4 and 3-2, and are three games behind the Pirates.
You Heard It Here First! Fortunately, the Pirates are about to lose seven of nine, however they follow that up by winning 17 of 20, so hold on to your hats! It will be the last time the Cubs lose consecutive games this season.
The Writer's Shack Jinx Isn't In Effect Here, Is It? No. We've covered this before. The 1908 season has already happened and there is no way a team - not even the Chicago Cubs - could blow a World Series they've already won. They can blow a pennant they're five outs away from, but not a World Series they've already won.
A Hard Day's Life: On this date in 1962 Pete Best is fired as drummer of the Beatles. He is given no reason except "the lads don't want you in the group anymore". He was replaced by Ringo Starr.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: There wasn't a trivia question last time, silly!
Today's Stumper: What country is participating in their 15th Summer Olympiad in Beijing, and has yet to win a Summer Games medal? - Answer next time!
Threats? Recipes? Trivia question answers? Email The Writer's Shack Here!
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