Women roar at Olympics

There are many individual moments that can be taken from the Olympics that ended earlier this week. The opening and closing ceremonies were spectacular as London got a chance to showcase itself to the world.

Additionally, there were specific performances that grabbed our attention. The men’s basketball team sent a message to the world that the United States is still the dominant nation when it comes to this sport. Swimmer Michael Phelps climaxed his career by staking claim to the title of most prolific athlete in Olympic history. Jamaican runner Usain Bolt also reminded us that he remains the baddest man on the planet when it comes to the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

However, the biggest story (from an American point of view) has to be the performance of the women representing the United States. Women won two-thirds of the gold medals our nation brought home and were the primary reason our country won the most medals.

If it was not for the women, where would we be? Of course, it has not always been this way. Title IX legislation in the 1970s paved the way for women to get more equitable treatment when it came to sports. True, there were women’s sports before that, but their options were more limited.

Women's basketball did not become an official Olympic sport until the 1976 games in Montreal. The women’s marathon did not come until eight years later in Los Angeles. Those are two sports we take for granted now, but the opportunities were not there a generation ago.

Because of this growth, women provided some of the most memorable moments of the London games. The soccer team provided thrills by beating Canada in a controversial semi-final and then gained a measure of revenge against Japan who beat them a year before in the World Cup.

The women's basketball team was as dominant as the men's. The only negative comment I can think of regarding them is that they were coached by Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma (as a Tennessee grad, he is a little hard to swallow).

And, of course, there were the individual performances. Seventeen-year-old Missy Franklin appears on her way to becoming the new face of American swimming. She won four gold medals and one bronze. With her bubbly personality and unique style, she will likely reap a lot of publicity as the media looks for a new swimming focal point now that Michael Phelps is leaving.

Also, Gabby Douglas caught the world’s attention by becoming the first African-American to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics. Like Franklin, stardom awaits her.

The emergence of women on the global Olympic stage showed itself in other ways. As hard as this may be to believe, this is the first time all competing nations sent female athletes. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Brunei sent women athletes for the first time. For those who believe that progress is slow in the United States, consider what the women there must be going through.

We can only imagine where women in those countries could be in 40 years if their nations start showing a commitment to providing athletic opportunities for them. As stated earlier, some Olympic sports that seem common place now were put in place for women only 30 years ago.

For further perspective, I can remember going to basketball games when I was a boy and the girls still were playing the old six-on-six format. Basically, it was a three-on-three format at each end of the court. Looking back, it seems pretty weird, but that was the way it was.

Progress is being shown so let’s continue to encourage the girls and women in our communities.

Bush made right decision to go to Olympics

The debate about whether the Summer Olympics should have been held in Beijing remains a passionate one.

Despite being watered down in recent years, the Olympics remain one of the premier stages for athletes. The performances of the athletes not only say a lot about themselves, but also about the countries they represent.

As I've written before, the selection of China as the host nation was a dubious one at best. Its track record involving human rights' abuses and religious intolerance have been well documented. It remains a mystery why the International Olympic Committee would want the country to be spotlighted in such a manner.

If the Olympics are supposed to showcase the best athletics have to offer, it is reasonable to expect that the IOC would pick a government that at least tries to nurture its citizens.

China doesn't come close to doing that, but there is nothing that can be done about that now.

A recent political controversy was whether or not President George W. Bush should have attended the Games' opening ceremonies.

After all, there were plenty of reasons why he should not have gone. Personally, I went back and forth regarding this matter.

On one hand, it seemed wrong for him to go to a country where the government emphatically opposes much of the ideals for which the United States stands.

By boycotting the Games, Bush could have made a powerful statement that would have tweaked the nose of the Chinese leadership.

On the other hand, by going, Bush had the opportunity to be an ambassador of freedom and could highlight the stark differences between the United States and China.

Despite America's problems, our country remains an inspiration to many and the office of president is a symbol of that.

Because of this opportunity, I believe his decision to attend was correct.

With the world's media pointed at Beijing, everything Bush said was reported on an international stage. Prior to the Games, he made a speech critical of China's human rights' record.

Additionally, he attended a worship service. Religious intolerance is a major issue there, but Bush knew he could make a powerfully symbolic statement by publicly worshipping.

Though many of us take the right to worship for granted, Bush understood that he could make a major statement without uttering a word. His single act showcased the wide gap between America and China when it comes to worshipping God.

The Chinese may rule with an iron hand, but there was nothing they could do to interfere with Bush doing that.

Additionally, Bush's presence reminded the world that the United States has a government elected by the people. Obviously, this is an election year, and though many of us grow weary during the campaign process, our country is quite unique in how we elect officials.

Communist officials appoint Chinese leaders. Since they have little impact on how the government is operated, the Chinese people have to sit and take it.

Though the government there is trying to censor information during the Games, Bush's presence allowed a sliver of democracy to be seen in that land.

Though the sliver was small, we shouldn't underestimate the impact it could have on the country. Revolutions often take place when oppressed people get a brief glimpse at what life could be like.

Much like the Soviet Union before it, China does its best to oppress its people. The Soviet Union once appeared invincible, but its government eventually crumbled from within.

I believe that will happen someday in China.

And that will be a happy day.

IOC dropped ball on Iraq but picked it back up

We are only days away from the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and controversy continues to be a huge part of the build up for the Games.

From the moment the International Olympic Committee chose China to host the event, it seems like conflict began. Obviously, many were upset with the choice because of the country's lousy human rights' record.

There are hundreds of ways to illustrate China's abuses, but the IOC felt the time was right to give the country a world stage to present what it is all about.

I know the cornerstone of the Olympic movement is that the Games are supposed to transcend political ideology, but the choice of China is a dubious one at best.

The IOC recently made another shaky decision when it upheld a ban on the Iraqi Olympic team. Earlier this year, the Iraqi government disbanded the country's National Olympic Committee for a variety of reasons, including a power struggle between Shiites and officials from the Saddam Hussein-era Olympic Committee.

The IOC upheld the ban and criticized the Iraqi government for what it called "serious interference" with a committee that is supposed to be autonomous.

Fortunately, officials resolved the crisis so Iraq will be sending at least some of its team to Beijing.

If this resolution hadn't happened, then it would have been another black eye for the IOC.

The IOC's position that national Olympic committees should be free of governmental interference is commendable, but their punishment of the Iraqi athletes was misguided.

If ever there was a country that needed something to rally around, it is Iraq.

The power of the Olympic Games has been diminished somewhat in recent years because of the end of the Cold War.

However, for small, struggling countries like Iraq, the Olympics remain a powerful force that can unite a country.

An excellent example of this happened during the 2004 Summer Olympics when the Iraqi team received a rousing ovation from an international audience during the opening ceremony.

This was the team's first event after the fall of Hussein, and it was a glorious moment for those athletes and the nation. Remember, Iraqi Olympic athletes were tortured during Hussein's years when they did not perform well at the event.

For that one moment, all Iraqis could savor a brief moment of brotherhood that they likely had not felt in a long time.

Of course, since then, the fighting in Iraq has continued, and there have been few opportunities for citizens there to experience what they felt back in 2004.

It was not that long ago when it was America that needed to be unified and an event in the 1980 Winter Games provided just that opportunity.

At that moment, America wasn't feeling that good about itself. Our country was coming out of a decade that saw the public get splintered by events such as the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the disastrous Jimmy Carter administration.

America needed a pick me up and got it from a scrappy group of amateur hockey players. Going into those Olympics, nobody thought the American team had a chance to earn a medal much less win the gold.

However, that is exactly what happened. The "Miracle on Ice" unified Americans from all economic and ethnic backgrounds.

Iraq needs a moment like this now. Fortunately, the IOC changed its mind.

Sports becoming a vast wasteland

Like most men, I am an avid sports fan. Every season of the year provides me a sport that I can live vicariously through.

Now that summer is arriving, most of my focus will be on baseball, but it was also fun recently watching the Boston Celtics reclaim their place at the top of professional basketball royalty.

And, of course, this part of the country is deeply passionate about football on just about all levels. Even though the weather is hot, it does not take much effort to start up an intense football discussion.

Despite all the enjoyment sports provide, there has been a growing dark side to the games people play. All major sports have been tainted by serious scandals in recent years.

In the just completed professional basketball season, there was a lot of gnashing of teeth regarding the claims of former NBA referee Tim Donaghy that a playoff game was fixed.

Donaghy was the referee who got in trouble with the law for gambling on NBA games and made his allegation as part of his attempts to receive a light sentence. NBA Commissioner David Stern dismissed his allegation as a desperate attempt by a felon to avoid jail.

Stern has a point, but after all the other scandals we've seen, a sports fan can't help but be a little suspicious.

A few weeks ago the National Football League saw another dust up in the controversy involving the New England Patriots and questions about their videoing other teams in violation of league rules.

Last year, the team and its head coach received hefty fines from the league for their wrong doings. However, a former team employee was recently questioned about other possible videos the team made, but at this point, it has not resulted in more punishment.

The only result from this recent incident is that it caused more negative publicity for the league because it reminded everybody that the NFL's premiere team of this decade may have achieved its titles by cheating.

And, let's not forget about baseball. Of all the sports tainted by scandal, professional baseball is the leader of the pack.

The sport is currently exiting what will go down in record books as the "steroids era." This scandal reached a new low in recent months when legendary pitcher Roger Clemens testified before Congress regarding his alleged steroids usage.

If that isn't enough scandal, then get ready for the Summer Olympics. If track and field were more popular, then the drug scandals in that sport would have gotten much more publicity than it has.

Track star Marion Jones, who won multiple medals in the 2000 Olympics in Australia, now sits in jail because she confessed to lying to investigators when they asked about drugs in her sport.

Track and field has been infested with performance enhancing drugs for years, and this may be part of the reason the Olympics have lost some of its luster.

So what does this all mean? As an adult, I can understand that the mistakes of these people show that they are human like the rest of us. It doesn't matter how rich or famous or successful a person is, they are vulnerable to making bad decisions like the rest of us.

My main concern is for young people who are watching all this happen. Our cynical society impacts them in ways I never had to deal with when I was growing up.

Now, they have to watch their sports heroes get reduced to rubble.

It must be difficult.