On of the most awaited episodes ever due to the ChuckandBlair-centric scenes. Heads up to Buddy TV for the recap:

Spotted: Little J ditching the raccoon eye shadow and returning to the Humphrey house for Thanksgiving.  Holiday miracles are even possible on Gossip Girl, though another one may be needed to fix Jenny’s unfortunate haircut.  The previous episode also found Bart looking into Lily’s past, Eleanor and Cyrus getting engaged, Nate’s dad turning himself in and Aaron being completely boring.  It’s nice to know Serena can look past Aaron’s charisma-free exterior and scrubby facial hair to see the snooze-inducing artist underneath.

On tonight’s episode of Gossip Girl, somebody gets horribly injured!  Sorry, it’s not Vanessa.

It’s the middle of winter on the Upper East Side, and the Snowflake Ball is the event on everyone’s minds.  B is searching for the perfect date, but of course Chuck thinks all her potential suitors are losers.  While B and C banter, Serena tells Dan that Boring Aaron (Boron) won’t be accompanying her to the ball.  He probably has to head to the 99-cent store to pick up an extra bottle of motor oil for his hair.  It looks like Lonely Boy will have to keep Serena (Blake Lively) company instead.  Could a rekindled romance be in the works?

Jenny (Taylor Momsen) asks Vanessa for help reorganizing Rufus’s records.  It’s not only a friendly gesture, but J’s futile attempt to avoid thinking about her career issues and Nate drama.  V, who is suddenly more devious than ever, somehow forgets to mention the letter she stole on Thanksgiving.  She also chooses not to open up about her daily make-out sessions with Nate, though they don’t stay hidden for long.  A nosy onlooker snaps a photo of the couple kissing on the street, and it’s only a matter of minutes before Jenny sees it on Gossip Girl.  Vanessa is so much more fun when she’s being a lying hussy.  I suggest she slut it up more often.

Lily (Kelly Rutherford) tells Rufus that she’s been avoiding Bart since learning of his Nancy Drew activities.  Nobody likes a snoop, even if the actor playing that snoop once starred as Robocop.  Bart corners Lily on the street and tries to apologize for his deceitful ways, but she’s going to have to think things over before she forgives him.

A member of the Constance Billiard girl mafia, or the Billiard Bitches as I like to call them, asks Jenny to design her a dress for the ball.  Jenny agrees, and also has a bit of an epiphany after a tense confrontation with Vanessa.  With encouragement from the Billiard Bitches, J decides to make V a very special dress for the Snowflake Ball.  Vanessa thinks Jenny is trying to be kind and make peace, but Little J has an evil trick up her sleeve.  She’s going to make Vanessa regret the day she stole Nate and his impressive man-bangs.

Much to Serena’s dismay, Boron’s ex, Lexi, is in town, and she’s just as annoying as he is.  Instead of being a soul-sucking void of charisma like Aaron, she’s overly peppy and confrontational.  In other words, she’s perfect for Dan (Penn Badgley).  They flirt a bit at the gallery while Serena convinces Aaron to take her to the dance, and eventually the two couples decide to make it a double date.  S and D constantly remind me why it’s a bad idea to stay friends with an ex.  It only leads to awkwardness.

Speaking of bad ideas, Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Blair make a deal to choose each other’s dates for the ball.  Do they really know what the other secretly desires, or will they fail miserably at choosing potential love interests?  To make the bet fair, the duo sweeten the pot.  Blair (Leighton Meester) will get to use Chuck’s limo for a month if he actually likes who she chooses, and he’ll get to borrow Dorota if B’s date goes well.  Poor Dorota may end up polishing Chuck’s shoes for a month. . .or something else.

After Boron tells Serena that Lexi is a slut who always puts out when she first meets a guy, S starts to feel weird about the double date.  She rants to B about how Dan is going to be seduced by a stranger, but Blair is more interested in the fact that Serena has yet to have sex with Aaron.  Maybe she’s repulsed by his terrible facial hair?  Either that or she’s afraid he’ll bore her to death in the middle of the act.  Despite these sensible fears, Serena later tells Aaron that she’s ready to give it up after the ball.

B tasks Dorota to find the perfect date for Chuck, but the maid’s Facebook groups fail to turn up any viable candidates.  I wonder if the fictional Dorota has a real Facebook profile out there somewhere.  While Blair threatens to bludgeon the help with a Fendi bag, Lily decides to forgive Bart long enough to attend the Snowflake Ball with him.  She calls to let him know, but cancels her plan when she finds out he’s in a meeting with his PI.  It looks like Bart hasn’t stopped snooping after all.

It’s time for the Snowflake Ball!  Vanessa (Jessica Szohr) arrives wearing the dress Jenny designed for her, Lily shows up without Bart, and Blair and Chuck come with their doppelgangers.  The people they found to be each other’s dates are basically lesser versions of themselves, as if One Tree Hill’s Lucas Scott cast them to be in Gossip Girl: The Movie, directed by James Van Der Beek.  The doppelgangers end up ditching the duo to make out in the corner, proving that the C-list versions of Blair and Chuck get more action than the A-list variety.

Serena and Dan share a dance at the ball while Aaron spends time with his ex.  They share an awkward conversation (do they ever have any other kind?) about their upcoming sexual adventures, but Dan’s enthusiasm at bedding Lexi only upsets Serena.  Again, this is why you shouldn’t be friends with an ex.  While S storms off to wash the icky idea of Dexi sex from her brain, Vanessa tells Jenny that she’s going to end things with Nate.  V approaches N and admits to stealing the letter, saying she feels absolutely terrible for coming between him and Jenny.  J starts to feel bad about her evil scheme with the dress, but it’s too late to stop her master plan.  As Vanessa walks through the middle of the room, someone shines a spotlight directly on her, revealing that her outfit is see-through.  As everyone laughs at Vanessa for flashing her bits in public, Nate (Chace Crawford) tells J that he’s appalled by her actions.

Lily pulls Rufus aside at the ball and reveals that she plans to leave her husband.  They share a touching moment where Rufus admits that he regrets letting her go, but unfortunately Chuck sees the entire thing.  He calls his father in his limo and tells him that Lily is flirting with Rufus yet again.  Bart plans to head to the ball immediately, but first he asks his PI what he discovered about Lily’s time in the sanitarium.

Nate stops Vanessa just as she’s about to hop in a cab to head to Brooklyn.  He must have liked what he saw under the spotlight, because he still wants to be with her regardless of her letter thievery.  They share a kiss while Jenny looks on, feeling sullen as usual.  The Billiard Bitches no longer want anything to do with her, but J vows that she’ll be seeing them again soon.

As Gossip Girl comes to an end, Chuck and Blair share a dance and admit that they’ll never be as openly affectionate as their doppelgangers.  Meanwhile, Dan and Serena part ways to go have sex with other people, and Lily finds out that Bart has been in a horrible accident.  Will he survive next week, or are we destined to be short one Basshole?

Happy Olympics!!!

I was tearing half the time, because I was so proud of China’s performance. I know they worked diligently to perfect every move.

You would’ve been embarrassed standing next to me because I was going crazy for each country.

I would have to say this was my favorite part about china’s performance, it was not only innovative and creative, but represents a symbol of unity!

I was so hungry after all the cheering and jumping I had to eat!
I do love the bigger portions here in the U.S.

Cuban Food from Versailles 

Tommy’s…this will be my last time eating this…

At last I’m happy!

See you later!!!

xx
AiChérie

UPDATE: I love Michael Phelps, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Lukin!!

For some reason though, this year all that changed.  I have a theory about this.  Like most of my theories it’s a half-crazed one, but one that I enjoy pondering and spouting off about.  I think it’s because we finally have an enemy again.  Back in ‘84, even though the ruskies weren’t there, they were still the enemy.  You still identified those bold C.C.C.P. initials with factory built super-machines bent on destroying the amateur “kids” we sent against them.  Then, at some point after Glasnost and Perestroika, they started to fade away, and with that fade went my interest in the Olympics.  Seoul, Barcelona, Athens – I didn’t pay but a minute’s attention to those games.

Fast forward to 2008 and we’ve got a new enemy it would seem these days.  A rising dragon if you will.  Obviously I’m talking about China and it’s new generation of factory built super-athletes, although surprisingly many of them seem rather midget like, or wisp like.  Heck, some of the time I can’t even discern the “men” from the “women” (and I use those terms lightly when discussing their “women’s” gymnastics squad).  They are the new C.C.C.P.  The new enemy we must face every 4 years and defeat in battle.  And if we don’t bring our absolute best – they look like a force to be reckoned with.  This then must be the reason I’m so addicted to this year’s Olympics.

Well, that and bikini clad female beach volleyball players playing in downpours of Beijing rain.  which might have something to do with it.

So what’s this got to do with horse racing?  Not a whole lot, really. In my typically insane fashion, I find myself looking at the Olympics through the eyes of a horseplayer.  Like I mentioned before, it’s a crime against humanity that I can’t key a trifecta ticket on Michael Phelps to win the 100 meter breaststroke with a longshot Australian and a kiwi New Zealander underneath.  Likewise, I should be able to make an exacta play keying on Jamaican speedster Usain Bolt.  Sadly, there is no (legal) way for me to do so at this point in time, more’s the pity.

So what’s a horse racing fan to do when they find themselves glued to the tube, painted in red, white, and blue and watching a cacophony of sports they’ve largely never cared about before?  Write a random blog post, of course!  What follows are my observations, musings, and random thoughts about what we’ve seen thus far at Beijing.  The few times I’ve ventured off-topic here in the past have been comical disasters, but I’ve tested the waters a bit by posting a lot of this over on blogcatalog and enjoying the back and forth banter it generated.  Here’s my top 10 thoughts on the 2008 Summer Olympics.

1. Michael Phelps is god. I now sacrifice chickens to his honor – well, to a crude paper mache replica of his likeness. I call it “Mikey.” Seriously though, why the hell would anyone talk trash to that guy to fire him up? And why can’t I key him on top of a trifecta when he races? He’s the Curlin of swimming.  No, check that, he’s the Secretariat of swimming. That finger touch victory of his for gold #7 – the highlight of the Olympics by far.

The greatest Olympic swimmer of all time - Michael Phelps

2. Misty May Treanor (U.S. women’s beach volleyball) is in love with me – she just doesn’t realize it yet.  It’s okay Misty, I understand.  I’m just heart broken that I won’t get to watch you anymore (unless you return for 2012), although I did stay up past midnight last night to watch you and Kerry Walsh crush China to win the gold! I’m usually not one to go for girls that could probably kick my ass, but in Misty’s case I make an exception.  Like a true American, I love a winner!

U.S. beach volleyball babe, and now 2-time gold medalist, Misty May Treanor

3. Ditto for Chinese beach volleyball babe Xue Chen. She just hasn’t found a way to express her love for me as she doesn’t speak English.  I can tell though…it’s the way she looks at me through the television set.  It’s like she’s saying “please, let me be your love slave.”  Sadly (for Xue), I’m already spoken for, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy watching her prance around in the sand in her bikini- and unlike Misty she ought to be back in 2012 for the London games.  It’s hard to cheer for the “enemy” – but she’s hot enough that I don’t really give a darn.  If loving Xue Chen is wrong than I don’t want to be right.

Chinese beach volleyball hottie Xue Chen

4. I’m mad as hell that I don’t get to see a Misty vs. Xue matchup in the gold medal game, but it’s all good as Misty and teammate Kerry Walsh brought a much needed gold home for the U.S.  Sadly (for me), Xue and her teammate lost to the Tian/Jang  Chinese team and Xue was forced to settle for a bronze medal after beating Brazil.  I’d have had no problem with her losing a tight one to Misty and Kerry and taking silver.  Silver looks good on her – but gold looks  a tad better on the Americans in my opinion.

5. Nastia Lukin should’ve won gold on the uneven bars.  The judges who denied her the gold should be hung, drawn, and quartered like common brigands.

6. Shawn Johnson or Nastia should’ve won gold on the vault when the Chinese gymnast Cheng Fei fell. Heck, the Chinese got so many “WTF?” scores to their benefit while our gals got screwed.  For what it’s worth – I think Shawn and Nastia kick total ass.  Way to go girls – you kept your head’s up AND brought back gold medals.  All while facing the best that the “People’s Children of China” could throw at you!  Shawn should have a bright future ahead of her as she’s got one of those infectious personalities that you simply  have to love.  Seriously, who on earth could not have been rooting for this girl?  I actually wanted her to beat Nastia for individual overall gold.

7. Chinese gymnast Cheng Fei looks like Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes.  Some won’t like it, but it’s the truth. 

Cheng Fei or Dr. Zaius? You decide

8. Speaking of the female Chinese gymnasts, there’s no way half these girls were a day past 12.  There was something deeply disturbing about watching a bunch of 12 year olds prancing around in skimpy clothing.  I know many think “so what, that means you got beat by 12 year olds!”, but the truth is that the smaller/younger a person you send out there to compete, the more of an advantage you have.  It sounds like the IOC is finally getting serious about investigating that He Keixin girl, but to be honest I thought others looked younger.

Chinese "girls" gymnastics team. Calling them "women" would be stretch in my mind

8. I don’t think Cris Collinsworth, former Cincinatti Bengals WR, is quite the right guy for the job to be discussing fencing matches and bicycle races – but at least he isn’t Bob Costas.  I don’t know what it is with Costas that sickens me.  Actually I do – it’s the hair.  Bella on the other hand – watching him on tape delay covering the gymnastics routine was exactly like sitting at a major race with a diehard horse racing fan.  That was great television.

10. I still can’t believe I live in a world where trampoline, table tennis (ping pong), and handball are sports countries can win gold medals in, yet baseball is on it’s way out and American Football is no where on the radar. I know – next let’s add laser tag! Or Pokemon! Or Magic-the Gathering!!!  Like I said last week – at least send our thoroughbreds overseas to clean house against the Chinese ponies.

All in all it’s been an amazing two weeks, and I kind of appreciate the distraction from the daily grind that the Olympics offered.  Our Equestrian team did pretty well – so there were some equine tie-ins to the whole thing.  They  just didn’t get as much television time as some of the other sports. 

So hats off to the finest in the world.  Especially our own beloved Team USA.  We OWNED the water cube (except for diving, of course), and if it weren’t for those pesky Jamaicans, we’d have owned track and field as well.  The Chinese can keep their claim to table tennis.  That’s one sport I’ll never give a rats about – bikini clad competitors or not. 

I’ll be back on topic tomorrow night with a look at the Travers – which looks like a heckuva race coming up on Saturday.

For those of you who are still skeptics of Twilight’s appearance in everything, let’s look overseas. Everyone knows all about the Beijing Olymipics, right? Well, would you believe me if I said that Twilight is in that, too? Believe it! There is an athlete from Brazil named Isabel Swan. No joke!! Also, American, all-around gymnastics gold medalist Nastia Luikin is a Twilight fan. Woah. I wonder if she ever gets distracted thinking about Edward during a floor routine or something. Haha.

Athletic greatness requires physical skill, unparalleled desire, and a mental fortitude that I don’t think most mortals are even capable of comprehending. It also requires coaching, resources, and teamwork.

Watching Nastia Lukin & Shawn Johnson haul in gymnastic medals was exciting. They epitomized cooperation and individual achievement.

Michael Phelps repeatedly outclassed his competition, but also required a strong team to win relays and set the new 8 gold medal standard. So, even as an individual, he relied on teamwork.

To see Usain Bolt completely decimate his opponents was breath-taking. His record-setting performances appeared effortless. I am sure that Bolt has the finest coaching in Jamaica, but I doubt that the facilities can compare to American Track & Field. With his talent and potential, given optimal resources, what might he achieve?!

Bolt has just turned 22, Phelps is 23, and Johnson is 16. They haven’t even peaked!

For me, however, the most triumphant performance was not that of a medalist: if ever the Olympic spirit of competitiveness was exemplified by a single performance, it was amputee Natalie du Toit of South Africa. She swam with incomprehensible courage. She may have finished 16th in the 10km open water swim, but she surely symbolizes a winner.

Six months after an accident that took her left leg, she was back in the pool. Ultimately, she reached the Olympics and swam with the best. Nine swimmer finished behind her, including am American woman.

When Nike and the other corporate sponsors look to sign-up athletes for multi-million dollar endorsements, I hope that du Toit is at the top of the list.

Du Toit, Bolt, Phelps, or whichever names you can conjure up, all represent the ability to think beyond acceptable limits, and then achieve new marks of excellence.

The rest of us should be so inspired in our daily lives.

As I have been enjoying the olympics, I cannot stand the horrible judging which has been a travesty and a sham in gymnastics.  This new two-stage judging system is worse then taking away the rights of Wisconsin Citizens voting for supreme court justices and putting it in the hands of a commission.

Nastia Lukin tonight got royally screwed over tonight and Shawn Johnson has been screwed over too.  Lukin got screwed over on this complicated tie-breaker system.  This has made me very angry that a sport people look forward watching towards in the olympics are seeing America’s top hopefuls that should be winning gold get screwed over by a cartel of judges who are acting not impartial and un-american.  These judges are nothing but what Marquette University law professor Rick Eisenberg talks about judges gone bad, an imperial and agnostic judiciary.

Maybe this is an example if we allowed Louie Butler back on the bench on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, however we can be thankful for Mike Gableman who will not legislate from the bench.  This year’s gymnastics judges could be a preview of what Obama may pick for US Supreme Court justices.  These judges in olympic gymnastics sure legislate from the bench and are activist judges.

Shawn Johnson’s floor routine in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which moved her to her to second place, winning her the Silver medal.

Stella Stella

Nasia Liukin’s floor routine that pushed her to win a Gold medal in the women’s individual gymnastics competition.

Stella Stella

Stella Stella

Bright Stars

The women’s all-around gymnastic competition was in full swing last night and I totally crashed on the coush- I fell asleep before I could see who medaled! I woke up this morning so frustrated but fortunately Fitz filled me in on what I missed- shockingly, he actually stayed awake and watched.

How amazing are Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson?! The two of them are so different (the graceful ballerina versus the dynamic powerhouse) but equally talented. Bela Karoli and Bob Costas were going berserk upon watching them perform, and I don’t totally blame them! It was an exciting moment for the U.S., and of course, for IOWA!!!

(Tribune Photo by Scott Strazzante / August 15, 2008)

Women Gymnastics 2008 – video below:

These girls are really hot!

DIrect Link to

Nastia Lukin Hot Video Footage

http://tophot-video.com/NastiaLukin

It was during the lead-up to the 1994 Winter Olympics when figure skater Tonya Harding allegedly participated in a plot to use a bar and whack the knee of rival skater Nancy Kerrigan at the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships, which served as the Olympics trials.

Kerrigan ultimately won a silver medal, but the scandal had dominated the Lillehammer Olympics because Harding was allowed to compete, adding drama that brought both record embarrassment and TV ratings to the sport.

It seems unlikely that Liukin, who is 5 feet 3 and 100 pounds, or the 4-9, 90-pound Johnson are plotting anything so dire.

Last week when Johnson was forced out of her home gym because of flooding, Liukin text messaged her, expressing concern and wishing Johnson luck. Johnson sent her thanks and signed her text, “Love, Shawn.”

Clearly, this was a man who aimed to be as good at the gymnastics of marketing as Liukin was on the beam and the uneven bars — especially with the Games looming and, depending on her performance, her window of opportunity either opening wider or narrowing abruptly and then possibly closing forever. Unlike conventional sports stars — Tiger Woods, Venus and Serena Williams, Tom Brady, to name a few — Olympians typically have a short, capricious period in which to capitalize on their names. For football, baseball or basketball stars, there is always another game or another season. But time, age and injury can cull the ranks in the four years between the Olympic Games. Only the luckiest and most gifted athletes win gold medals, and even fewer return for subsequent Games. For the rare few with championship potential, it isn’t just an athletic career that hangs in the balance but the chance to make a substantial fortune with a carefully planned campaign of commercial endorsements. So while Liukin is focused on mastering a double Yurchenko, it falls to Morgenstein to make sure that she maximizes her earning potential so that, as he puts it, “the name Naaahhhstia goes on forever.”

The average person might wonder what gymnastics, especially women’s gymnastics, has to do with Nascar, but if you are someone like Butcher, you want to link the two through your sponsorships in the hope that there is crossover appeal. This is what used to be known in the ’90s as synergy and is now known by the buzzword “integration.” A star like Liukin is used to “activate” the deals.

“Not so very long ago, sponsorships were about putting your sign on your building or property,” Butcher said. “It’s so much more than that now. Now we really are very focused on what type of unique content we can get our customers.” If you visited AT&T’s sports and culture Web site called the blue room in mid-June, for instance, you would have seen the Olympic hopefuls it sponsors featured next to a plug for Coldplay’s most recent CD, “Viva La Vida.” AT&T believes that by putting these different types of content together, it can make itself more relevant to both existing and potential customers. An exclusive interview with Liukin shown on the blue room means, according to Butcher, “I can see her, and I can’t get it anywhere else, and I can get it on my hand-held. We spend a lot more time thinking about that kind of thing than we did in the past.” (“It really is a huge honor,” Liukin said of working with AT&T. “They did a thing with Deion Sanders called ‘Home Turf’ about my life at home. It was right before I got my braces off.”) According to USA Gymnastics, there are some three million recreational gymnasts in the United States. Merging that group with millions of Nascar fans might sound like a shotgun marriage, but creating excitement with a paint job is maybe worth the stretch. And it isn’t just Liukin and AT&T that profit from the exposure, but USA Gymnastics, another partner in this particular integration. “Olympics and Nascar,” Morgenstein e-mailed me. “Nascar fans are very patriotic! Olympic fans are AT&T customers. It works. Using Nastia is a great way to merge across platforms.”

]]> http://theaffirmationspot.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/nastia-liukin-wins-gold-the-affirmation-spot-for-friday-august-15-2008/ Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:26:01 +0000 Ray Davis http://theaffirmationspot.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/nastia-liukin-wins-gold-the-affirmation-spot-for-friday-august-15-2008/

Today’s Affirmation:

“I know what achieving my goal feels like. I know what it smells like and tastes like. I know what achieving my goal looks like and sounds like. I envision my life with my goal attained.” (hear it)

 The last few days the world has seemed more like the 1980s than 2008. The United States and Russia are at odds and irresponsible threats are flying left and right. Hardline leaders in both countries seem to have forgotten the common interest they have – all of humanity has – in their getting along.

Against this backdrop, how much more symbolic of the change we need in our world could Nastia Liukin be? America’s newest female gymnastics gold medalist was born in Moscow and now resides in Parker, Texas. She is a daughter of the Russian motherland and a now proudly represents Team USA.

Her father was an Olympic men’s all-around silver medalist for the former Soviet Union at the Seoul Games in 1988. The Liukin family moved to The United States when Nastia was just two years old.

Liukin joins Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Carly Patterson (2004) as America’s only female all-around gymnastics champions. Battling fellow-American Shawn Johnson and Yang Yilin of China all night, Liukin was the most consistent in the end.

She solidified her top spot with an amazing routine on balance beam and then closed the deal with a pressure-packed and nearly flawless performance on floor exercise.

Nastia Liukin took gold in an event that everyone will remember forever. She was poised and dignified in victory. More than that she represents the hopes and dreams of two great nations. These nations should take her lead and pursue their greatness in healthy competiton rather than blustery conflict.

Stay inspired!

Ray

I don’t know about you, but when the summer Olympics come around, I get obsessed. Our lives have pretty much been revolving around what sport and event comes on at what time. Thank goodness for the DVR! My all-time favorite thing to watch is girls gymnastics and they all just about gave me a heart attack last night. Two were deemed injured moments before the competition, and some of the very best took some crazy spills and jumps out of bounds. Despite it all, the girls rebounded with some killer vaults and above average scores and still qualified in second just below China as a team. China has a definite advantage by getting to go last, knowing exactly the scores they need to win the gold, but these American girls are a team that can make history, and I believe that they will! Plus, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Lukin finished 1-2 in the individual standings and will move on to Friday’s all-around final.

As far as swimming goes, I just feel bad for any of them who’s name isn’t Michael Phelps. I’m really happy for him, but I wish some of the others would get some press, too. They’ve all worked just as hard to get there… but I know, I know… he will probably make history and that’s great that an American is doing that.

As for track and field, keep an eye out for Lolo Jones in the 100m hurdles. She is an HPCer and kick-butt athlete who could easily take the gold in that event. And while we are rooting for Christians, Allison Felix is the son of a preacher and was quoted in an article as saying that when she runs, she just hopes to make God proud. Pretty cool, eh?

What is your favorite Olympic sport to watch? Who’s your favorite Olympic athlete?