This morning kicks off Day 12 of 17 of the Summer Olympic Games, and so far, has been off to a great start! You’ve probably heard from friends, family and co-workers all about it. It’s safe to say Olympic fever has taken over the US, with every commercial seeing someone sporting an Olympic t shirt. In case you haven’t been following the London Olympics as close as the diehards, here’s a quick update on some memorable moments so you’ll feel apart of the conversation:

- Kim Rhode, USA skeet shooting, wins gold. She tied a world record and set an Olympic mark with 99 points – which means she only missed 1 out of 100 targets. Not only this, but she also became the first American to win medals in 5 consecutive Olympics.

- Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, USA Women’s Beach Volleyball, continue their reign of dominance throughout the competition. They actually lost a set for the first time in Olympic Beach volleyball last week, but they still have never lost a match. The other American team, Jen Kessy and April Ross, will also be in the semi-finals. If both teams win their matches today, we could have an all American gold medal match.

- Michael Phelps, USA Swimmer, swam his last race On August 4th, winning a gold medal in the Men’s 4×100 relay (which by the way, is his 18th gold medal). Phelps states his career is over, retiring after this season – but after pulling off 6 of 7 medals in this summers Olympics, I wouldn’t count him out for wearing some USA Olympic gear come 2016.

- USA Men’s Gymnastics had some highs and some low. The Men’s team finished first in qualifying, but failed to bring home any medals as they finished in fifth place. There was some good news though, Danell Leyva brought home the bronze in all-around individual. The Men will be competing in the parallel and horizontal bars later today, and hoping to bring home some more medals.

- Troy Dumais and Kristian Ipsen, USA Men’s 3-meeter Springboard, win bronze. Team USA hadn’t won a medal since the 2000 summer Olympic games, and this is 32 year-old Dumais’ first medal since he started competing three Olympic games prior.

-Oscar Pistorius, the South African double amputee who is running in the 2012 Summer Olympics is most definitely one of the greatest stories so far. Oscar who is dubbed “Blade Runner” is the first amputee to participate in the regular Olympics with prosthetic legs – making history. Oscar is humble, inspirational, and a great athlete. A favorite quote from Oscar on growing up with his brother. “My mother used to tell us, ‘Carl, put on your shoes, Oscar, put on your prosthetic legs.’ So I grew up not thinking I had a disability. I grew up thinking I had different shoes.”

And finally, in Men’s Tennis, two of the undoubtedly greatest players squared off for the gold medal; Andy Murray of Great Britain and Roger Federer of Switzerland. Many people had though that this would be a fight to the end with the caliber of these players, and I personally, wished for a grueling fight to the finish – but it was anything but that. Murray was here to play and to win in front of his home country, destroying Federer in a quick 3-0 match.

Of course, these are not all of the great moments that have happened over the last 12 days – just a taste. Here’s an update on the medal standings as of today.

There’s still time to be a part of the action with 5 solid days left until the closing ceremony. Go ahead and be sure to grab some Olympic merchandise and tune in over the next few days. If you miss some of the action, don’t worry, we’ll be sure to provide another recap of memorable moments you may have missed.

No, I’m not talking about the horror movie with Nicole Kidman and her creepy house, but rather the 2012 summer Olympics. When someone mentions the summer games, a few of our favorite sports and athletes come to mind: Team USA Basketball, swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, and women’s gymnastics.  Although great events and even better athletes, these are just three of 32 awesome sports that take place during the competition.  With all the attention focused on other events, some of the other amazingly talented athletes tend to get overlooked and forgotten.

What’s the summer without the beach and some volleyball? Two athletes to watch are Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal in Men’s Beach Volleyball.  They are going back to the Olympics, and this time they are expected to be better than ever.  What most don’t know is that the qualifying process for the Olympics takes a long (and more than likely draining) two years, earning points through an international professional tour.  These two will be accompanied by the other qualifying team of Beijing Olympics gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser.

The Men will kick off playing Saturday, July 28 at 3AM (Central Time), and will continue all the way through Thursday, August 9 where Gold and Bronze medal matches will be taking place starting at 1PM (CT).  You should expect to see one of these teams competing until the end.

Who never had the thought about being Robin Hood as a kid?  Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor – and you would get to shoot a cool bow and arrow. Well, Brady Ellison, Jake Kaminski, Jacob Wukie, and Miranda Lee, Khatuna Lorig and Jennifer Nichols are the real life ones.  These three men and three women will be representing Team USA Archery teams.  Team USA is actually kind of a big deal.  USA Archery has been named by World Archery, the sport’s international federation, as “the best nation in archery since 2008”.  You must keep a (bulls) eye on these guys!

Poor puns aside, both of the teams begin their ranking rounds on Friday, July 27 at 3AM (CT).  If you can’t stay up to see those, be sure to catch the Men’s Gold and Bronze medal matches the following day at 11:33AM (CT) and Women’s on Sunday, July 29 at the same time.

Time is running out to get your USA Olympic gear, with only about 24 days left until opening day. This summer is already proving to be a hot one, so while out and about town, be sure to throw on some SPF and grab a Team USA hat to block those rays.

Make no mistake, I’m here because of my friendship with Team USA manager Davey Johnson, and each day of this experience I’m more grateful.

Put away the perception that a Hall of Famer can’t be a fan or couldn’t be energized by the presence of a young player. Or even be a little in awe at times.

To understand what I mean, realize I retired in 1989 and was away from baseball for 10 years. Since 2000, I have spent at least a week in Phillies camp in what I call a coach-advisory role. Most of the summer, like you, I watch games on TV and listen to talk shows to formulate my opinions on today’s game and its stars.

(more…)

Hey Fans,

Baseball is here and I arrived for my two weeks at Phillies Camp today. The World Champions are in great shape to repeat, with the same nucleus that we all know, and new faces like Raul Ibanez, Marcus Giles, and Miguel Cairo. Chase Utley is 90% following hip surgery, Pedro Feliz is healing from back surgery and will be ready to open in April, and look out, Ryan Howard is 20 lbs. lighter.

(more…)