This was the amazing race
How ridiculous is it that 5 teams broke the world record in this race, which means 2 countries broke the WR and did not even medal. I know virtually nothing about competitive swimming but that has to be the greatest relay race....ever.
What transpired during the final 50 meters was the stuff of Disney movies. It was the kind of thing that should land Lezak a co-starring role with Phelps on cereal boxes and network morning shows. And if Phelps does complete the great eight and pocket a $1 million Speedo bonus, he should cut a check for one-eighth of that total to the guy who kept the quest alive, Jason Lezak.
Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps and Garrett Weber-Gale set a world record (3:08.24) on their way to winning the 4x100 free relay.
"His last 50 meters were absolutely unbelievable," Phelps said.
The 32-year-old Lezak, a three-time Olympian who has been an American anchorman nearly as long as Ted Koppel, steadily closed in on Bernard. Lezak hugged the lane line, drafting off Bernard like a NASCAR driver. It was a welcome change of tactics for a guy who is accustomed to being drafted upon by trailing swimmers.
"It was an amazing thing to watch. I was saying to myself, 'If anybody in the world can pull this off, it's Jason.'"
In the final stroke, Lezak pulled it off. He thrust his right arm for the wall, desperation and determination meeting perfect timing. The lunge beat Bernard by an eye blink. Lezak somehow touched first, as the fans and his relay teammates both exploded.
Cowboys struggle
"Overall, we obviously didn't play well enough as a team," coach Wade Philips said. "But any time you have turnovers and penalties, those things are really going to hurt you.
"We're not happy with losing, but I think we can learn a lot."
The lowlights included:
■ Three pass interference penalties that contributed to three San Diego touchdowns.
■ A series of special teams miscues on returns and coverage that created field position troubles.
■ A miscommunication between Brad Johnson and Patrick Crayton that led to an interception San Diego turned into another score.
Oh yeah, there was a Major in golf this past weekend
Three weeks after playing what many believed to be the back nine of his life to win at Royal Birkdale, an exhausted Padraig Harrington was hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy and becoming the first European-born golfer since 1930 to win the PGA Championship.
That the Irishman did so while basically on fumes is the amazing thing.
Harrington was despondent on Friday after shooting 74, saying, "I'd just run out of steam. I did my best to be ready for the week, but clearly I'm not." On Sunday, he recalled, "I just couldn't get off the golf course fast enough. I was probably the only guy who finished bogey-bogey and thought he was doing pretty well.
"I was probably thinking of putting my clubs away for a week, which is something I almost never do."
Padraig Harrington shot a pair of 66s over the weekend to clinch his third major championship victory.And yet if we have learned anything about Harrington, 36, it is that he is one of the most resilient players in the game today. He is not as gifted, nor does he possess the same skills as a Tiger Woods or a Phil Mickelson or even a Sergio Garcia, who was the tough-luck loser again on Sunday.
Greatness is gone
For all the great things that he did over his career, I will always remember Isaac Hayes as "The Duke" in Escape from New York and as the voice of South Parks "Chef".
Isaac Hayes, the musician, composer and producer whose innovative sound changed the shape of pop music and whose shaved head, bejeweled outfits and regal demeanor embodied African American masculinity in the 1970s, has died. He was 65.
Family members found Hayes unresponsive Sunday afternoon next to a treadmill in a downstairs bedroom in his home just east of Memphis, Tenn., said Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.
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