Los Angeles Enters 2024 Olympics Fray

In a story I first saw reported by the great Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune, two time Olympic host Los Angeles has formally announced it's intention to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics in a letter sent to the USOC.

L.A last bid for the 2016 Games, but lost in the final round of the US bid process to eventual overall fourth place finisher Chicago.

(Quick tangent, I watched that Chicago elimination happen in my high school cafeteria and I was completely inconsolable. People were confused.)

This announcement essentially doubles as the start of what will hopefully be a serious domestic competition to determine who will be the United States' bid city for 2024. Groups in a few cities have made overtures regarding a bid over the past few months. These cities include Boston, Baltimore/DC, Dallas and even Tulsa (I appreciate the bravado, Tulsa, but you have no chance). L.A's announcement also comes after the USOC sent letters to the mayors of 35 US cities to gauge interest on potential bids.

It's all fine and dandy when Tulsa says they're going to bid for the Olympic Games. Everybody knows they have not shot, and you just sort of wait to see what their crazy plan would have been. Even a city like Boston, which on the surface looks like a very viable host city (until you look deeper to see that the city isn't as big as you think, doesn't have the sports infrastructure you think and doesn't have the overall infrastructure you think), saying they have interest doesn't really mean all that much.

L.A bidding is a big deal. That's a city ready to host the Olympics. They have all the venues you could every want. Just off the top of my head; Staples Center, Nokia Theater, Home Depot Center (They have a Velodrome there, crazy right), L.A Convention Center, Pauley Pavilion, The Galen Center, the Rose Bowl, The LA Coliseum, LA Memorial Sports Arena. I mean, the Forum is still there and USC has a swimming stadium, although I'm not sure that's a viable spot anymore. The city also has experience hosting giant events, possesses a huge airport and, from what I can tell (although I'd love somebody from LA to actually give me a first hand view of this), decent transportation infrastructure.

Seems like a shoe-in right? Well, L.A has two problems. Well, they have more than two problems, but I don't know the area well enough to comment on things like where a Olympic Village would be or how the city would sell paying for the Olympics over fixing other problems that, once again, I'm not informed enough to analyze. With that said, the first of the two problems that I can address is manageable, but annoying. The traffic is going to be hell in Los Angeles during the Olympics. It's already horrible anyway, but the influx of all of those people in the during the two weeks will make it a total parking lot.

In addition, you know those track and field events that occur during the Olympics? Well, the City of Angels needs a place to hold them. Simply put, L.A has to find a location for a 80,000+ track stadium somewhere in an already very well developed city. As was pointed out to me on Twitter by everybody's favorite Maryland women's basketball beat writer Daniel Gallen, the recent report that the AEG football stadium plan at L.A Live may have fallen through is a very interesting development for the L.A bid team. First of all, the idea of cramming a stadium into the already cramped LA Live development was ambitious, but besides that logistical issue, there is now no defined football stadium plan in place for Los Angeles. This could be a good thing for an L.A bid. The city had signed off on the AEG deal, and they seem committed to bringing pro football back to L.A. However, there was no guarantee that the city would have signed off on that stadium and then an Olympic Stadium. Now the city can focus on building a football stadium that could also function as the track venue in 2024.

Now, while I stated that I wasn't sure if L.A would approve of two separate gigantic stadium projects, I don't really have any basis for that. The fact of the matter is, Los Angeles could handle two NFL teams, which could mean two stadiums. Furthermore, USC and UCLA are two entities that could serve as a tenant for an Olympic Stadium after the Games. The key to selling a big Olympic venue project to your own citizens, the USOC and the IOC is to have plans for it after the Games. The London organizers thought they did, and now 800 people are trying to gain the rights use the Olympic Stadium. That's not what you want if you're apart of the L.A bid team. For lack of better phrasing, it's not a good look to have that unresolved going into a competitive bid process.

Well, just writing about all this makes me very excited to see the whole US bid process play out. I'm interested to see what other cities throw their names into that hat. I'm intrigued to delve deeper into each city that enters the race, to see the advantages and disadvantages they have. I mean, I know a bit about L.A, but I've never been there and can't speak to the local issues the city will have like I did in my post about what a bid in the Baltimore/DC area could look like. Heck, I'm not even sure I went enough in depth in that piece. Well, we've got a lot of time, so bear with me, and we'll figure this out together... If you want to.

336 days until Sochi.

The Top 10 Olympic Montages: 10-8

Check this out:

Tears. Beautiful, flowing, NBA-related tears. How good is that? Just for fun, here's another one

Who doesn't want to watch Floyd Mayweather fight right now? I know I do... On Showtime!

Montages are tailor made for sports. They combine audio and video into fun, cohesive packages that are easily and enjoyably consumed.

For the Olympics, a two week event that never is at a loss for moments or narratives, the montage is a great way to open or close an event. I like them... a lot. There are times when I'll just sit and watch them. For hours. Pathetic? Maybe, but hey, to each his own.

After years montage consumption, there's really only on thing left to do; attempt to rank each one into a beautiful list. Let's just pick a random number... 10! Yes, 10 sounds like a very good number. A top 10 list of something, gotta be a first. Well, why am I still typing? I want to pour over this list as much as the seven of you do. Bring on Andre Braugher, James Earl Jones and stuff from Immediate Music!

Honorable Mention: The NBC London Opening Ceremony Intro

Look, I'm pretty average at finding videos on the internet. I'll journey to the deepest, darkest corners of YouTube to find a piece of footage, but if it's not on the big TUBE, I generally don't venture farther. As such, I can't find NBC's opening montage its coverage of the London Opening Ceremony. I really want to rank it anyway, but I just can't bring myself to put something on the list that has no clip. It's unfortunate, because that montage is a freaking classic. Ewen McGregor was involved. McKayla Maroney was involved. It really had a shot at the top three. I yelled at multiple people at my house to stop talking when it was on this summer. I turned the TV up way to loud when they didn't. I'm not apologizing.

#10: NBC's Intro to the 1996 Opening Ceremony

                        

Three words: Neil REDACTED Diamond. Seriously, "America", as cheesy as it may be, is a great song and boy does NBC use it well in this peppy montage. I have a pretty big soft spot for this video, not because I remember the Atlanta Olympics at all, but because it's sort of the first step in NBC's quest to make the perfect montage. They don't have the best music (Diamond), the best narrator (Costas) or the best clips (athletes, international city, shot of America, repeat). However, it's still enjoyable because after watching the rest of videos on this list, you'll see that it's just the beginning of a process.

Quote of the Videos: 

• "A century ago, a 29 year old Frenchman gave voice to a fragile, ambitious idea, powerful enough to unite the world. His name? Pierre De Coubertain. His idea? To restore the Olympics after an absence of 1500 years." - Bob Costas

Individual Highlights:

• Really my favorite part of the whole clip starts at 2:30 and goes till about 2:46. Neil breaks into this part where he just keeps saying "They're coming to American, TODAY" They show this weird logo, different high profile American athletes (Shannon Miller, Michael Johnson, Dominique Moceanu, Gary Hall etc) and Neil just keeps belting it out. It's gets me excited... TODAY.
• Pierre D Coubertain's mustache at 0.15. Epic.
• When Bulger's Dream starts at 2:50. Self explanatory.

FINAL RATING: 6 out of 10

#9. NBC's Closing Credits to the 2010 Winter Olympics

The No. 9 spot marks our first look at NBC"s consistently brilliant closing credits. The formula is normally picturesque views of the Olympic host city/venues followed by a montage of the Games' most iconic moments. The ones from 2006/2004/2002/2010 were pretty hard to separate, but ultimately 2010 won out. I very much enjoyed the Vancouver Games, so my personal bias about the actual competition probably separated it's closing credits from the rest of the pack. With that said, the montage is very well done and is one of the few to end with a non-US athlete. The end of the clip brings everybody's favorite Canadian, Sidney Crosby, into focus. Crosby's career has been a bit of a roller coaster since these Olympics, but in 2010, he was at the peak of his powers. There was not another athlete that could of represent the immense passion put forth by the Canadian athletes at that Olympics better than Sid the Kid. Keep in mind, Canada hosted two Olympics before Vancouver; Calgary in 1988 and Montreal in 1976. Our neighbors to the north didn't win a gold medal in either Games. As a result, there was gigantic pressure on all of the Canadian athletes in Vancouver, and they put on a show.   People hate Sidney Crosby where I live (Baltimore/DC), but you can't deny the performance of he and his fellow countrymen in 2010.

Quotes of the montage: 

• "Really all I wanted was to part of an Olympic Montage and I think I earned my sport" - Hannah Kearney describing my dreams."
• "There's no bigger stage than the Olympic Games, but the skate and the moment, means much more that the competition." - Scott Hamilton on Joannie Rochette

Individual Highlights 

• (9:19-9:50): If you remember, the 2010 Games featured two tragic events. On the day of the opening ceremony, Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a training run on the extremely fast Whistler Sliding Center course. While sliding sports continued as scheduled, the accident sparked controversy over whether the course was safe for competition. In addition, Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette's mother died just two days before the start of the Ladies Figure Skating competition. Rochette competed in her honor, winning a bronze medal and the admiration of sports fans everywhere. The section where they honor both is extremely well done and captures each story with the tone and respect it deserves.
• Start at 9:49 and go till 11:20. If that doesn't get you pumped about life, then I don't know what to tell you.

FINAL RATING: 7 out of 10



#8. NBC's Closing Credits to the 2008 Olympics

Pretty much the same format as the 2010 credits, so I won't go over that again. First off, the shots they have of China in this thing are absolutely spectacular. Before the Games, some said that the Beijing Olympics was the China's way of  "Welcoming the World" (that's called foreshadowing). With all of the picturesque shots of the country NBC presented during their coverage, I think the 2008 Games showed many Americans how beautiful of a country China is. The montage of the athletes is good, but there is not really anything that stands out to me in terms of format that you didn't already see in the 2010 credits. Just watch the video, it's excellent.

Quotes of the montage: 

• "The roar is different here, it's almost like a roar of approval." - Al Trautwig saying something by not really saying anything.
• "Thanks for coming" - Bryan Clay to his wife after winning the decathlon.

Individual Highlights: 

• (8:20) They show Alicia Sacramone's "I just fell in the Olympic team final" face and it sucks. I still feel bad for her. Nobody does creative mounts like that on beam anymore. It's alright, Alicia, you're one of realist characters that sport has ever seen. Props.
• (8:42-9:30) NBC has a section in each credits where they utilize the sounds of the sports to paint a beautiful picture that on sport can create. That section in this video is pretty spectacular.
• (9:55) The pure joy on Yelena Isinbayeva's face when she realizes she's won gold is incredible, especially for someone many describe as aloof.

FINAL RATING: 7 out of 10

That's it for now. Look for seven through five in a couple days. 

339 days until Sochi.

An Extended Period of Absence: The Old Meets the New.

It has been awhile.

Last time I posted in this virtual space, the Orioles weren't a playoff team, the Ravens still had Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb healthy, James Harden was still a member of the Thunder, Dez Wells wasn't eligible and Maryland still had an actual quarterback playing quarterback.

And that's just what happened to my favorite teams.

The point is, a lot can happen in a just a couple months. While I would love to go over every little bit of Olympics related news that has occurred since this was posted on September 13th, I simply don't have time.

With that in mind, we're (I'm) going to look a little toward the future here. Don't look now, but the Winter Olympics are rapidly approaching! Yes, it's more than a year away, but that doesn't mean I'm not excited! I mean, remember Vancouver!

Vancouver was great! Lindsey Vonn, Apolo Anton Ohno, Shaun White, Kim Yu Na and Sidney Crosby, among others, provided the star power for what was a really entertaining two weeks in Canada. 

Now the stage moves to the Russian city of Sochi. Clearly I won't be doing any type of full-fledged preview just yet, but I will be writing about the key storylines over the next year. Could you find somebody more credible? Maybe. But that's never stopped you from reading this before!

The Old Meets the New:

Mikaela Shiffrin

Lindsey Vonn

America, get ready for Lindsey Vonn overload. The 28-year-old is the greatest skier in American history, with four FIS World Cup overall championships and two Olympic medals to her name. Since her Olympic triumphs in 2010, Vonn has won two World Cups overall titles. She also became one of only eight female skiers in history to win races in all five alpine disciplines. Vonn is also as tenacious as she is talented, gutting out her Olympic medals on a bum shin. She was also linked to TEEEEBOOOOOW and isn't that what really matters. 

Needless to say, she's a star. She'll be on talk shows, she'll grace cereal boxes and be on every NBC promo you see leading up Sochi. Vonn was on the Sports Illustrated Olympic preview cover in 2010. She's gonna be everywhere come 2014.

If Vonn is the present, then Mikaela Shiffrin is the future.  At the tender age of 17, the Vail native just notched the second World Cup podium placement of her young career. For perspective, Vonn was 19 when she finished on her first podium. America loves a good phenom, and Shiffrin is one. We'll see how she progresses over this ski season, but you may be hearing the name "Mikaela", albeit a different spelling, a lot for a second straight Olympics.

Will these two go head-to-head? Well they need to actually get to the Olympics first, no guarantee considering the dangerous nature of the sport they practice. If they do both get to Sochi, they will most certainly compete against each other, but there is a caveat. In her short career as an elite skier, Shiffrin has been succeeding in slalom, historically Vonn's worst event. So unless Shiffrin makes a huge jump in another event, possible considering her enormous talent, this may be more of a "current star mentors the young up-and-comer" rather than a rivalry.

There's also Julia Mancuso, who in addition to being the most interesting personality on the US team, just happens to have the most Olympic medals of any female skier in US history. So follow this team, they're going to be something to watch leading up to Sochi.

That's all I've got for now. Hopefully that wasn't to awful as I try and get back into the swing of things in terms of blogging. Going to keep writing about summer Olympics stuff because those sports just don't go away, but obviously the focus shifts to the winter side of things.

You should also read this. I may or may not have wrote it. Follow me on Twitter and as always; #GoTerps

428 days till Sochi.

This Week in Olympic Sports: Exhibition Follies!

Ah, the great art of the exhibition. Whether it be an All-Star game or theatrical show, the goal of these cash grabs is to walk the fine line between entertaining the paying customers and preventing injury. In the world of All-Star games, there is a split between people who want the games to be competitive, and those who are just hoping their favorite player comes out unscathed. Major League Baseball shaded completely to one side of the argument, making the result of their All-Star Game decide home field for the World Series. Now, I've followed sports coherently for probably 15 of my 20 years on this planet, and I'm honestly not sure if a dumber rule has been created. Bud Selig (and his cronies?) has made it so a meaningless game decides a critical factor for the most important contests. Get out there Felix Hernandez, pitch well so that the Oakland A's can get home field in the World Series. Are you kidding me? It's even more important in baseball because there are different freaking rules depending on which team's home stadium the game is played in. Disgusting. The NBA does it right. Nobody cares, injuries are kept to a minimum and you get cool stuff like this. They keep it fun, and while All-Star Weekend has a lot of critics, I find that it's the best All-Star game format out there right now.

In the post-Olympic exhibition universe, only the concern about health comes into play. Fans will be satisfied simply by seeing the athletes do a few cool skills. They don't expect competition, so as long the show is more than Jordyn Wieber coming out and waving for three hours, they're going to go home happy. With that in mind, organizers should only have health on their minds when setting up their tours.  Whether they're one off events normally reserved for the 4:00pm Saturday time slot when a broadcast network is at a loss for programming, or 10 week nationwide tours, no one involved wants to see unnecessary injuries. That means you normally see watered down routines and "safe" skills at these events in an effort to lower the health risk. This would presumably mean that organizers would have excess padding and mats to enhance the safety of the athletes, seeing as that's the biggest priority. Right? Right!?!?

Wrong. Meet the organizers of the Tour of Gymnastics Champions!

Yeah, I don't have a picture of the organizers (it is sponsored by Kellogs!), but lets just assume they are mean-spirited people who yearn for McKayla Maroney to break her leg. Alright, let me calm down. That can't be right. They must be doing everything in their power to keep that from happening.

What the hell? McKayla's in a cast? How did this happen?

Yikes. She fell on a pretty easy move (layout flyaway dismount at 1:15), but it's pretty clear that her leg issues from London played a part in her injury. Should she have been performing? Maybe not, but it would have been nice for the organizers to put down an extra mat or something. Honestly, that mat is probably enhanced in some way, it's sort of hard to tell. Anyway, Maroney wasn't the only gymnast cut down by the dangers of exhibitions.  Water bottle endorser Aly Raisman was also injured, falling while trying to catch the bar on her Shaposhnikova (I can't claim to have identified that, thanks Blythe Lawrence). As you can see (at 1:54), she slapped her legs against a portion of the floor that did not have padding. Hey TOGC organizers, you couldn't have just splurged for one more mat? Or how about a couple more? There is a lot of exposed concrete on that floor. Do I even have to say how lame that set looks? It has nothing on this. With that said, those injuries are just a rough patch. The rest of the tour must be going swimmingly.

"[Gabby] Douglas said she will do about half of the 40 stops of the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions and then return to West Des Moines, Iowa to train" - USA Today

They can't even keep the biggest star on the road for the whole tour.  With Maroney hurt, Raisman banged up, and Kyla Ross only participating in the California shows, the Fierce Five is dropping like flies  I can see where Gabby is coming from. I would have looked at what happened to Raisman and been a little worried about suffering an unnecessary injury. Maroney's situation probably could have happened anywhere, but I don't think any of these girls have random pieces of exposed concrete sitting next to pieces of equipment in their gyms.

The lesson here? Exhibition tours are a good thing. They let fans, especially young fans, see their heroes in a decently intimate setting. It goes bad when organizers cut corners and don't look out for the safety of the athletes they are promoting. Come on, Kellogs. You are using Jordyn Wieber to sell cereal, how about you keep her safe too.

This Week in Olympic Sports: Lull in the Action

Laurent Dubrule/Reuters

Has it really been three and half weeks since the Olympics ended? With football season beginning and the Orioles in the midst of a unfathomable playoff run, I haven't really been able focus on my post-Olympics depression. The first few months after an Olympics are sort of weird. Sports like tennis and basketball transition seamlessly into the next stages of their respective season. The basketball world focuses on the start of the NBA season (!!!) and the tennis tour going straight into the pre-US Open hardcourt season. For the four year sports (track, gymnastics, equestrian etc), the situation is quite different. Many athletes take advantage of their new found relevance by going on long exhibition tours, venturing into the world of reality TV, or just finishing up their seasons. Did you know that Usain Bolt has run in meets since the Olympics? Bolt has competed at three IAAF Diamond League events since his gold medal runs in London. While the Jamaican's performances did get a smattering of US media coverage, it's obviously nothing like the treatment he received during the Olympics. Well, except for NBC, who showed his last race on tape delay this past weekend. When was the last time NBC didn't show a Usain Bolt race on tape delay? Am I right?? Anyway, Olympic things have been happening and (some of) you want to know about them! In that spirit, here's the first installment of, "THE WEEK IN OLYMPIC SPORTS." Cue some sort of music. How bout this, this or this

Gymnastics:

• The "Fierce Five" have been everywhere since the Olympics, appearing on the Today Show, multiple late night TV shows and the MTV Video Music Awards. They have even become the targets of paparazzi, with McKayla Maroney going so far as to hire a bodyguard to deter potential stalkers. The the Olympic team champs will soon be embarking on a ten week cross country tour called, "The Kellogs Tour of Gymnastics Champions." The tour will feature members of the USA men's and women's teams and other recognizable gymnastics faces such as Nastia Liukin. Now, it's confession time. I attended 2008's "World Tour of Gymnastics Superstars with noted gymnastics fan Pat Fong. We were sort of there to see gymnastics, but really there to see Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin in the flesh. We even had really good seats on the floor and even sang happy birthday to Nastia.  The exhibition was fairly impressive, with the gymnasts all performing their signature moves and routines. The tour stops in Washington DC on November 15th and I haven't ruled out going. The problem is, I don't see any music acts listed. Last time I was able to see noted MLS player-dater Jordan Pruitt and failed girl group KSM. Pruitt was good (she has talent and will apparently will be on this season of The Voice) and KSM was well, yikes. 

Track and Field:

• Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake continued their sprint dominance, both winning their last two post Olympic events. Bolt won the 200m in Lausanne, Switzerland in 19.58 and the same race in Zurich in 19.66. Blake ran a 100 meter personal best of 9.69 in Lausanne and won in Zurich in a time of 9.76. Needless to say, both guys are going to be tough to beat if they keep their current form. It will be very interesting to see if any US sprinter steps up to challenge them. All I'm gonna say is; watch out for Ryan Bailey.
• David Rudisha finally looked mortal in the 800 meters, losing to Eithiopian teen, Muhammed Aman in Zurich. Aman, who finished sixth in Beijing, ran a personal best to defeat Rudisha. The Kenyan should have just ended his season after his incredible run in London. I'm still excited about that race and it was like two and a half weeks ago.
• Dawn Harper, Carmelita Jeter and Sanya Richards-Ross have all picked up Diamond League wins since the Olympics. On the flip side, Allyson Felix and LoLo Jones have not competed since London.
• Aries Merritt destroyed Dayron Robles' 110-meter hurdles world record, running 12.80 at the Van Damme Memorial. 12.80 is a ridiculous time, and although Merritt claimed that many of sub-13 second times had multiple mistakes, I don't think even he thought the time would be that low when he finally put it all together. Lowering a world record by .07 seconds is a significant achievement, so congrats to Merritt, who is having arguably the greatest hurdle season ever. Watch the race here

Swimming: 

• Ryan Lochte's life since the Olympics has been pretty incredible to observe. Let's go through it.
• He partied in Vegas, including a race with royalty in a hotel pool.
• Signed on to make a cameo appearence on 90210.
• Was apparently considered for a spot on the next season of "The Bachelor" along with "Dancing with the Stars"
• Watched his sister apologize for an apparent racist rant, because that's what every Olympian has to deal with. 
• Said the word "Jeah" a lot.
• Other than Lochte's impromptu race with Prince Harry, there have been no important meets since the Olympics. So just enjoy Lochte's antics. Who knows what he'll do next

Soccer:

• The Olympics turned out to be the end of an era for the US Women's National Team. Pia Sundhage stepped down as head coach and signed a four-year deal to manage the Swedish national team. Sundhage ends here tenure with the USWNT a winning percentage of .890 and two Olympic titles. From all accounts, Sundhage was a classic players coach, hanging out with her players as if she was a teammate. It will be interesting to see who the US brings in to replace her. On Grantland's Men in Blazers podcast, co-host Roger Bennett said that US Soccer is trying to bring in an American woman to manage the team. Only one woman (April Heinrichs) has coached the national team in its 27 year history. 

That's pretty much it. Except for track and field and tennis, most Olympic sports end their seasons after the Olympics. This will force me to go into Winter Olympics mode pretty soon. I'm excited, aren't you?

516 days until Sochi

Top 16 Olympic Moments: Part Four

AFP Photo - Oliver Morin

#13. USA > Jamaica (This Time):

During the Olympics, the excitement I felt when I saw the Jamaican green, yellow and black turned to dismay. Keep in mind, my favorite movie is Cool Runnings. No seriously, I've watched that movie at least 30 times. Not that a movie about a bobsled team tells you everything about a country and it's culture, but it's always made me root for the Jamaican athletes. How could I, of all people, start hating on Jamaica?

Well, when the country that you care deeply about (USA! USA! USA!) loses constantly to an island nation consisting of 2.9 million people, that has somehow produced six of the ten fastest men (I'm counting Donovan Bailey) and four of the ten fastest women on the planet, you start to get a little salty. Honestly, I really have nothing to complain about. The USA consistently peforms well in the sprints (which I'm defining as the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m relay), and even though we have fallen on some hard times, many countries would kill for America's sprinting history. However, being the mega patriot that I am, it hurt my ego that we were unable to find anyone to beat this inexplicable Jamaican juggernaut. Jamaica has a very nice history in the sprints, but they have started to turn up the heat in the last four Olympic Games. Beginning in Sydney, the Jamaicans have won 24 of a possible 72 sprint medals.  They won 16 medals, no shame there, in the Olympics preceding Sydney. That's a pretty incredible improvement. Now while this may just be a "golden generation" of Jamaican sprinters, something has clearly changed in the training structure down there. Normally this would be the point where I rant about how some of these international athletes are improving at American colleges and training centers, but in regards to the Jamaicans, it's not a strong argument. While Veronica Campbell-Brown attended an American university, other Jamaican stars like Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce never competed at the NCAA level. I'm also not going to accuse the Jamaicans of doping.  Every country has athletes that are doping and until I get some solid evidence, as naive as it might be, I'm gonna give these guys and gals the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, the Jamaicans have finally figured out how to develop their immense sprinting talent, which has to be a pretty scary proposition for the rest of the world.

With all of this Jamaican dominance, Carmelita Jeter might as well have been pointing at me when she crossed the finish line in the women's 4 x 100m relay, because the US team stomped my doubts and the Jamaicans. It was such a far cry from the rest of the sprints, where after Jamaican victories in the men's and women's 100m and a sweep of the medals in the men's 200, I was starting to get a little upset. Thank God for Allyson Felix and her beautiful stride because I might have started going crazy if the Jamaicans had won all of the individual sprint golds. While the US looked to have the better team on paper going into the final, they were not heavy favorites by any means.  My celebration after that relay ranked somewhere between LeBron's three vs Spain and David Boudia's final dive in my top ten "chest beating" moments of the Games. The whole team put on great performances, including three very solid baton exchanges, an area that had plagued US teams in the past.

Jeter's, and to a lesser extent, my reaction to the victory confirmed one thing, this rivalry the USA has with Jamaica means something. It's great for USA Track and Field to have a rival like Jamaica. It will push both nations to produce great sprinters, which will in turn create great races, like the men's 100m final. This may fuel more interest in track and field, a sport trying to rise above the stigma of doping scandals. Hopefully it does, because trying to overcome the Jamaican sprint machine over the next few years is going to be really fun. Come on, who doesn't like a good rival?

What Would a Washington DC Olympics Look Like?

On August 22nd 2002, after four years of planning, fund raising and politicking, Washington DC was eliminated from consideration to be the USA's bid city for the 2012 Summer Olympics. New York would be chosen by the United States Olympic Committee, and lose in the second round of voting to Paris, Madrid and eventual host London in one of the most hotly contested Olympic bid races in history.  While New York was never considered the front runner (Paris was deemed by many to be in the lead, until London beat them out at the end), it remains the closest the United States has come to hosting a Summer Olympics since Atlanta welcomed the world for the Centennial Games in 1996. While Chicago did bid for the 2016 Games, it was eliminated in the first round of voting, with an IOC/USOC revenue sharing dispute being the much speculated reason for Chicago's quick exit.

Fast forward to 2012, and it seems that the United States is ready for another Olympics on home soil. The USOC has publicly stated that it will immediately start exploring the possibility of hosting either the 2024 Summer Olympics, or the 2026 Winter Games.  The USOC has been motivated by the improvement that host countries have seen in the medal count as a result of staging the games. Clearly, the United States doesn't need tons of help to top the medal count, but a home Olympics would strengthen fund raising for minor sports and motivate all US Olympic programs to strive for better results. Now, with the revenue sharing issue now resolved with the IOC, the USOC believes the time is now for an Olympic bid.

Speculating on what US cities would bid for a potential Summer or Winter Olympics is always an interesting game. The Olympics are a giant event, and while many US cities have the sports infrastructure to host the Olympics, other factors always play a part. Currently, the rumored Winter host cities range from early favorite Denver (who could also bid for a Summer games), Reno-Lake Tahoe, prior host Salt Lake City and Bozeman, Montana. Rumored candidate cities for the 2024 summer games include, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Tulsa (they formed an exploratory committee!) and Baltimore-Washington.

What? An Olympics in my home region? The official name of the games would most likely be Washington DC 2024, and while I don't identify at all with that city except for owning a Gilbert Arenas jersey and being a bandwagon Capitals fan every spring, that sounds pretty awesome. Olympic events in Baltimore, most of them 15 minutes away from my house, would be kind of unbelievable. However, as with any dream, there are harsh realities. Any Olympic bid costs lots of money, with no guarantee you'll even make it to the final ballot, much less actually be chosen as the host city.  The Olympics are a massive undertaking. Infrastructure has to be strong, venues have to be pristine (for the most part), security has to be tighter than tight and everything has to go off without a hitch, or at least as few as possible. An Olympics in the Baltimore/DC region is probably closer to not happening than happening, and would most likely receive some local resistance from people who don't see the Olympics as the city enhancer that many view it as.

With all that said, my job is not to dampen your spirits! An Olympics around the here would be great. Disregard all those books and papers written about how the Olympics financially hurts host cities. For me, the pride and just plain fun that an Olympics would provide trumps all of that. I'm sure others won't feel the same, but I have been planning this thing in various school notebooks for like seven years. Sorry,  but biology just wasn't as exciting as listing potential Olympic venues. Now, with a blog, a lot of free time, and a prior venue plan as a basis, I can finally reveal what my Olympics would look like. So here's the 2024 Baltimore/Washington DC Olympics, Taylor style.

Venue Plan

Athletics - New Olympic Stadium, RFK Stadium Site:

I really hate to say this, but a viable Washington DC Olympic bid could hinge on Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins, which could be a really good thing, or a really bad thing. I think the general feeling is that Snyder wants a new stadium for the Skins, and that he wants it to be spectacular. Say what you want about Snyder, but he does put a lot of money, misguided or not, into helping the Redskins become a winner. He seems like the kind of guy who wants to be considered among the elite of NFL owners and with Jerry Jones residing in his same division, Snyder has seen first-hand how a gigantic, state of the art stadium can raise the prestige of a franchise, and it's owner. If the former Six Flags Chairman were to build a stadium within the DC city limts (which seems to be the preferred location for Skins fans), the RFK Stadium site is probably the most viable place. The former home of the Redskins now hosts DC United of MLS, who have been looking for a new stadium for awhile now. I assume that at some point in the next couple years, United will get the stadium they crave, and that RFK will be without a permanent tenant. This is where an Olympic Stadium comes into play. In the original 2012 plan, the main Olympic Park would have been centered around a new Olympic Stadium on the RFK site.

Courtesy of Meticulous

I see absolutely no reason to change this. However, stadiums are expensive, and when tax payers are forced to foot the bill, things can get dicey. Getting Snyder involved could help solve a funding hurdle and get the Redskins back playing within the District again. The stadium would have clear plans after the Olympics, something that is even more important to sell to locals after white elephant stadiums in Athens and Beijing tarnished those two cities' Olympic legacies. In addition, the way stadiums are being designed these days, it would be simple to convert the stadium from track and field to football. In fact, the Redskins lease with Landover ends in 2027, so there would be a three year period for the stadium to be converted. The stadium could potentially host a USA or World Track and Field Championships between Olympic and football use and could factor in to a USA World Cup bid in the future. Is this stadium plan a bit of wishful thinking? Sure. However, you cannot tell me Dan Snyder wouldn't at least think about having a 110,000 (or smaller) seat stadium with an Olympic legacy as the home of his football team.  Jerry Jones can't say that.

Archery - Nationals Park:

This may seem like way too large of a venue to host a small sport like archery, but hear me out. I can only assume this Hunger Games thing will get bigger, so archery is bound to be like the fourth most popular sport in the US by 2024. At least over hockey. I mean, am I right Gary Bettman? Anyway, we need a place to put 15,000 screaming fans. Enter, Nationals Park.

 ESPN

How awesome would that be? They could shoot from home plate towards the outfield and the atmosphere potential is off the charts. Nationals fans would be starving to see a winner perform in their stadium after three World Series loses to Manny Machado and the Orioles (A beltway series, imagine that).  In all seriousness, while archery is not the most popular sport in the world, I think it would work in this stadium. Could the sport be overwhelmed by the largeness of the stadium, possibly, but I needed something to put in Nationals Stadium, and until baseball makes its Olympic return, that something is going to be archery.

Gymnastics - New Baltimore Arena:

Our second, "glamour sport" of the games goes to Baltimore and it's new Convention Center/Hotel/Arena combination.  If you haven't heard, Baltimore wants a new arena, and finally, it looks like we're pretty close to getting one. Check out this awesomeness.

Baltimore Business Journal

Baltimore Business Journal

Oh. My. God. You have no idea how long I've waited for a Baltimore Arena that we can be proud of. I understand that Baltimore will probably never be home to an NBA team. I'm at peace with that. The thing is, I hate First Mariner Arena with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns (thanks, Shakespeare/Fairly Oddparents), and ridding the city of that monstrosity would be a life goal reached, even if I have nothing to do with it. While the arena project still needs to find funding, an Olympic bid would get the ball rolling if construction had not already commenced.

Baltimore hosting gymnastics also works from a balance point of view. DC is going to be hosting track and swimming (more on that later), so Baltimore deserves to have one of the "big three" Olympic sports. In addition, if you're trying to find a local athlete to include in the organization of this bid, look no further than retired Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes. The Maryland native is universally loved by everyone, graduated from the greatest university in this country and is the current co-chair of President Obama's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. She's a star, plain and simple.

Basketball - Verizon Center: 

Formally known as the MCI Center, the now 15 year old arena (that's crazy to think about) is the natural host for the basketball competition. The arena revitalized DC's Chinatown and is a frequent destination for big events. It has hosted huge concerts, an NBA All Star game, the NCAA basketball tournament, the NCAA Frozen Four, a Stanley Cup Finals, the 2003 World Figure Skating Championships and numerous WWE events. I mean the place has had to deal with the hooligan Wizards and choke artist Caps for the last 15 years. The Olympics would be a walk in the park. Sorry, Washington sports fans, I kid because I love.

Boxing - DC Armory:

Located just near RFK Stadium, The DC Armory would figure into the new Olympic Park as the host for the boxing competition.  The multi-purpose venue currently has a max capacity of 10,000 and hosts everything from trade shows to concerts. The place would have to be modernized, but it looks (I've never been there) to have the potential to be an electric boxing venue. Another solution would be to tear it down, and build a new arena on the site.

Once again, boxing has a legacy in this region that could help an Olympic bid. Former five division world champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard grew up in Maryland and would be another great figurehead for an Olympic bid. I would put Leonard up there with Dominique Dawes as two of the main athletes promoting the games locally. People in this region respect both individuals, and they could be key in helping gain public support.

Beach Volleyball - Temporary Venue, Olympic Park: 

Let me just say this right now, it's going to be really tough to beat Copacabana Beach as a beach volleyball venue. That place is going to be insane in Rio. I'm so pumped for it. In fact, London's venue was incredible as well, and was apparently one of the most fun venues to visit during the London Olympics. With all that in mind, a temporary venue in the Olympic Park would be a nice way to keep beach volleyball in the center of everything. It would help provide the venue with the party like atmosphere that it has enjoyed the last two Olympics.  Alternative spots could be the Naval Academy or even Ocean City (that would never happen, I just wanted to mention it and make you think about how great it would be), but I think its in the best interest of the games to keep as many events close to DC and Baltimore as possible.  So when Misty May and Kerri Walsh go for their sixth straight gold in Women's BVB, it will play out in Olympic Park.

Beijing Temporary Venue 

Aquatics - New Aquatic Venue, Olympic Park:

I'm including water polo in aquatics, which would mean that the water polo arena would be connected to the swimming venue. The 2012 bid plan called for water polo to take place at the Arlington Aquatics Center, but not only do I have no idea where that is, I don't know if it's capable of hosting an Olympic event. With that in mind, a new venue would be constructed in the Olympic Park to host all of the indoor aquatic events. Other than the Olympic Stadium, this would be the biggest opportunity the organizing team to create a memorable design for the rest of the world marvel at. Post games, this venue would be downsized and made into a public center/training venue for local swimmers much like what is happening to London's Aquatic Center. I think there would be strong argument to place the swimming events in Baltimore because of the legacy of Michael Phelps and the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, but it just makes more sense to build this venue in the Olympic Park.

Rugby Sevens - New DC United Stadium:

If you asked my friends about my thoughts on the sport of rugby, their responses would range from, "he hates it" to, "he's mildly disgusted by it". I'm not sure what my problem is with rugby, but it probably started with being introduced to the sport by watching it at the high school level. If you ever want to show someone a sport with the aim of having them enjoy it, don't start them with high school games. Trust me, it won't work. Watching the most recent Rugby World Cup and some of the College Seven's National Championship has changed my tune on the sport a bit. Good time for that too, because Rugby debuts as an Olympic sport in 2016. The perfect venue would the New DC United Stadium, which I'm assuming will get built between now and 2024. Although, the way it's been going, the team could be in San Antonio or something by then. Here's a rendering of what a potential stadium would have looked like in Poplar Point.

It's looking like Buzzard Point is now the top choice as the site for the stadium, but as anybody who has followed this saga will tell you, it's a very fluid situation.

Volleyball - Comcast Center, University of Maryland:

Oh yeah, Terpnation! The Olympics are coming to CP, and it's bringing volleyball. If you are unfamiliar with the Comcast Center, it holds 17,950 fans and plays host to the greatest college basketball program ever (I might be biased). It also has experience hosting volleyball, although I'll admit, it's not really at the world class level (we had a long losing streak last season, not the end of the world). Anyway, the Comcast Center would be great venue for any indoor Olympic sport. While I contemplated putting the final in Baltimore, I just couldn't take it away from College Park, if only because I want the place that housed the basketball stylings of Mychal "Slash" Parker, Ekene Ibekwe, Dave Neal and Bambale Osby to host an Olympic final.

umterps.com

Tennis - William Fitzgerald Tennis Center

Located in Rock Creek Park in Washington DC, the Fitzgerald Tennis Center plays host to the Citi Open, a joint ATP/WTA tournament that's part of the US Open Series. It's really the only place to put the tennis competition, unless a new venue was built. The problem is that during the 2012 bid, residents surrounding the Center opposed the Olympics coming to the site. They cited the disturbance that the event would cause as the main reason for this. I really don't know how to rectify this complaint, but I'm going to assume that this problem would be resolved with the start of a new bid. It's no Wimbledon, but it will have to do.

ATPWorldTour.com

Sailing - United States Naval Academy/Chesapeake Bay:

This was the proposed venue for sailing in the 2012 bid, and I really see no reason to change it. Although, wouldn't it be cool if this was in Ocean City? Hell, Ocean City should just bid for the Olympics. Put the Olympic Stadium on the beach (the Dew Tour did it) and build a basketball arena on top of an Old Pro Golf Course. They could host the swimming events at my grandmother's house and canoeing at my cousins' house. How could this not be a success? I'll stop before proposing badminton on the boardwalk. Speaking of badminton...

Badminton - Charles E Smith Center:

Don't worry, George Washington University, I didn't forget about you. 4,000 seat The Smith Center was just renovated and would be a great venue for the badminton competition. Hopefully in 2024, badminton would be past it's throwing games phase.

George Washington University

Cycling - New Baltimore Velodrome/Streets of Baltimore:

In my all of my previous DC/Baltimore Olympic plans, Baltimore was to be the home of cycling, both track and road. I almost changed this plan when I heard there was interest to build a velodrome in DC near the new DC United Stadium. A city with people that actually want to build a velodrome? I wasn't sure if I could pass that up. However, I will stick with my plans of hosting both road and track cycling in the greatest city in the America. The Inner Harbor would be scenic end to the cycling road race, although, wouldn't it be cool for it to end on the beautiful Route 50 bridge in Ocean City??? Alright, I'll stop.

Golf - Congressional Country Club:

It's hosted three US Opens and one PGA Championship. Nuff said.

Shooting - Prince George Trap and Skeet Center:

This was the venue for shooting in the original plan, and I won't mess with it. I almost put shooting in Oriole Park just for fun. In fact, I almost put about eight sports in Oriole Park. I almost did a lot of things.

Soccer - Lincoln Financial Field, Metlife Stadium, FedEx Field, Soldier Field, M&T Bank Stadium (Final):

GOLAZO, GOLAZO, GOLAZO. Honestly, you could put this competition in a bunch of nearby NFL stadiums and I wouldn't have a problem with it. I would have a problem with the final being in FedEx over M&T Bank Stadium. FedEx is bigger, but it's a dump and located in an inconvenient spot. The home of the Baltimore Ravens is smaller, but is in a nicer location that is accessible through public transportation. That's what puts it over the top as a venue for the final. The atmosphere would just be superior. An alternate scenario would be holding the women's final in Baltimore and the men's final in the Olympic Stadium in DC. 

Modern Pentathlon -  PG County Sports and Learning Complex:

This was the venue that the 2012 organizers had designated for the modern pentathlon. I had never heard of this place, but it sounds pretty nice. Modern Pentathlon's weird array of sports makes it a weird sport to find a venue for. This will work.

Handball - Patriot Center:

"Restore the Roar! The sport that the USA is inexplicably awful at comes to the big TU. The beautiful Tiger Arena would be a perfect host for the handball competition. Could we find or build an arena in and around DC that could host this? Possibly, but I want Olympic events in Towson. So this is how it's going down. Doc approves." 

This is what a wrote before I realized I forgot to put an event in the 10,000 seat Patriot Center. Sorry Towson people, I'll make it up to you later. 

Equestrian - Laurel Park/Pimlico/Great Meadows:

Look, we have places to put equestrian and I'll let the people decide whether they want Laurel Park or Pimlico to host. Apparently, the 2012 organizers chose Laurel Park as the venue for the jumping and dressage events, but I really don't know why. Did they think people would still be hungover from the Preakness in Pimlico? Anyway, Great Meadows was the proposed 2012 venue for the endurance events and it looks like a pretty appropriate venue for these types of things. I've never been there (my polo skills aren't up to par yet), but it seems like a winner, so we'll just go with it and hope there's not some local uproar against it as a venue.

Field Hockey - Johnny Unitas Stadium:

There are a couple different possibilities to host the field hockey competition. Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University is a potential site, but there is a lack of room for expansion and quite frankly, I don't like it's location in Baltimore. The second potential site is UMBC Stadium, but that location is sort of out of the way. While it looks to have good expansion prospects (I haven't been there in a long time so I can't confirm), I don't really like the idea of Field Hockey sort of being out by itself. Solution? Put an Olympic competition at Towson University so I can make up for stripping them of handball! People will say that parking/congestion could be a problem around Towson, but I'm not worried about it. At this moment, I would like to formally invite the Netherlands Women's Field Hockey team to stay at my house during the 2024 Olympics. I know it's not the Olympic Village, but it's only five minutes away from TU, and I have a pool!

Canoeing - Beaverdam Reservoir: 

The reservoir, located in northern Virginia was the venue for canoeing in the 2012 bid plan. Honestly, I don't know enough about Maryland/Virginia reservoirs to justify changing this. I'll trust that the 2012 organizing committee did their due diligence on this one.

Mountain Biking - Patapsco Valley State Park:  

The 16,000 acre park is another 2012 bid venue, and after my own research, seems to be the best place to host the Mountain Biking competition. 

Taekwondo, Fencing, IBC - Walter E. Washington Convention Center:

I know everybody wants to know where Bob Costas is going to be when NBC rolls him out at age 72 in 12 years. Well that place is the nine year old Walter E. Washington Convention, which will be home to the international broadcast center, in addition to taekwondo and fencing. The place clearly has space to host major events, as it was the site of the controversial Lamont Peterson/Amir Khan world title fight in 2011. Sounds like a perfect host for the fighting that will go on in fencing, taekwondo and the media rooms.

Table Tennis, Wrestling*, Judo*, Additional Media  - Baltimore Convention Center:

Home of car shows, anime conventions and the backdrop of the occasional Indy Car race, the Baltimore Convention Center would host table tennis, wrestling and judo, along with being a secondary media hub to supplement the IBC in Washington. I put an asterisk next to wrestling and judo because I'm unsure of what the Convention Center would look like from an exhibition space perspective after the arena/hotel expansion. If the BCC couldn't host the wresting/judo combination, it would be moved to either the Howard University Arena or a temporary venue somewhere else. 

Triathlon - Inner Harbor/Streets of Baltimore: 

This site really excites me. The Inner Harbor would serve as a fantastic venue for the triathlon. It offers everything that is needed to run an effective triathlon competition, along with a great backdrop that would look good on TV. Would the water have to be cleaned up? Yes, but I'm assuming that could be done.

Marathon - Streets of Washington DC

Awesome scenery? Check. Lots of different cool spots where the race could end? Check. I think that's all we need. Site established.

Well, that's it. The venue plan for my 2024 Washington DC Olympics has been laid out for all too see. If you think I should change a venue, or just have any general thoughts on an Olympic bid in this region, leave a comment below. By the way, I would have the Olympians be housed University of Maryland dorms. No place would be more ready for energetic, partying and possibly disruptive, young people.  We've got that down.