Catching up

I've been a slacker when it comes to my blog, so I need to catch up. I haven't had an energy drink for over three weeks. The Beijing Olympics are over. It was cool to see Michael Phelps tear it up in the pool. Especially when the men beat France in the relay. It was a great performance to get the gold in all eight events in such a short time. Great prediction Ian Thorpe. Men's and Women's Beach Volleyball was exciting, as well as the Men's Indoor Volleyball beating Russia and Brazil to bring it home after a 20 year hiatus. Mountain biking and BMX was exciting, especially since I couldn't ride this Summer. Here is the medal count for the top five countries:
2008 Medals

Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
USA	36	38	36	110
CHN	51	21	28	100
RUS	23	21	28	72
GBR	19	13	15	47
AUS	14	15	17	46

Mike Both and I have been riding the new singletrack trails in Eagle Mountain over the last two weeks. It's great to see new trails out here. We are constantly plotting where to build the next one. I'm glad I can do some riding and hope to pull off a St. George bike trip in November.

I've also played volleyball twice in the last two weeks, and I'm better than I expected when it comes to serving with my left hand. Blocking is difficult when I only have one arm above the net, but I don't want to risk a hard shop that would injure my shoulder. I'm just glad I can play.

Chuck Liddell fought Rashad Evans in UFC 88 last night. I fully expected Liddell to win the fight, so I was shocked when Evans knocked Liddell out cold. They exchanged at the same time, but Rashad landed first and hit Chuck on the button. I've seen too many fights where Chuck keeps his hands down, and he's paid for it twice in 18 months. Quinton Jackson knocked out Chuck on Memorial Day weekend in 2007 and took the UFC Light Heavyweight title. Chuck's next fight was against Keith Jardine, and he looked like he was afraid of being knocked out. Jardine took control, pressed the fight and got the decision. Chuck bounced back and manhandled Wanderlei Silva, and it appeared The Iceman was back. Chuck looked focused and ready last night, but he made the fatal error of leaving his hands down again. I would expect a fighter at that level to master the basic skill of protecting your head and face. I really hope he can bounce back from this defeat.