The End!

I can't believe it's over. It went by so fast. Now maybe I can get something done. The one thing I will remember from these games are the stories of adversity that many of the athletes overcame to not only win, but just to compete in these games. If they can do it, so can we in whatever we are striving to do in our lives. It was the most amazing opening ceremonies I have ever seen. If you didn't get a chance to see them, I highly recommend you do. I'm sure you can find them on youtube.

I few of the most memorable.
Nastia Liukin becoming the third American woman to win the gold medal in the all-around gymnastics competition.

The Redeem Team making up for previous failures by U.S. Olympic basketball squads, defeating Spain 118-107 to secure gold for the first time since 2000. I love this picture. I assumed all the coaches received gold medals also, they do not, so each player gave theirs to Coach K. US Men win gold in beach volleyball.
Michael Phelps tying Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics by the slimmest of margins, beating out Serbia's Milorad Cavid in the 100-meter butterfly by one hundredth of a second. I remember watching the prelims for this race and thinking to myself that this race will be the biggest challenge. I was nervous and I was sitting on the couch, I can't imagine how he felt. All as I can say is INSPIRATIONAL!
It was great to finally see her get the GOLD.Natalie du Toit pulled herself onto the dock and waited for someone to bring her prosthetic leg. She stretched out the other leg, the one she didn't lose in that horrendous motorcycle accident ,

and chatted with an official about the first open water race in Olympic history.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh celebrating after becoming the first team to repeat as gold medalists in beach volleyball.The U.S. women's basketball team winning its fourth consecutive gold medal while running its winning streak in the Olympics to 33 games. U.S. swimmer Eric Shanteau swimming in the men's 200-meter breaststroke after being told by his doctors a week before the U.S. trials that he had testicular cancer.

Bryan Clay joining the likes of Bruce Jenner and Jim Thorpe as Olympic decathlon champions in an event that an American has won 12 times in 22 Olympics but only twice since 1976. Dara Torres losing gold by an agonizingly slim margin in the 50-meter freestyle. At the tender age of 41, Torres was outtouched by German sprint star Britta Steffen. U.S. men's volleyball head coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law had been stabbed to death at a popular Beijing tourist site. The team would rally in the wake of tragedy, winning a gold.Some pictures from the closing ceremonies.

See you in London 2012!

Summer Olympics

Some of my greatest memories growing up were watching the Olympic games with my family. Now that I have my own family, it has also become a tradition with my kids. I love the thrill of the competition, the human drama and the personal stories of the athletes and their families. I love rooting for the underdog and seeing people prevail over trials and pain. Where else do people come together from all different backgrounds, from all over the world pursuing and wanting the same thing? The Gold! Here are a few pictures of some great summer Olympic moments. Do you remember when?

An NCAA water polo champion, Biondi went on to become a three-time Olympic swimmer who won 11 medals -- the first coming in 1984, and his last in 1992. At the 1998 Games in Seoul alone, he struck gold five times in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle, 4x100- and 4 x 200-meter freestyle relays and the 4x100-meter medley.

Mary Lou Retton became an Olympic gymnastics idol herself when she became the first American to win the all-around title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. She also won two silver and two bronze medals at the '84 Olympics.

After posing the fastest time in the quarter-final heat of the 400-meter race at the 1992 Olympics, British runner Redmond faced disappointment in the semi-finals when he tore his hamstring about midway through. After falling to the ground in agony, his father, Jim, came to his side and helped him hobble to the finish line with a standing ovation from a crowd of 65,000.

Though he may still have a chance to break Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics in Beijing, American swimmer Phelps came close in 2004 when he struck gold six times and bronze twice. His eight-medal performance is only the second in history, following gymnast Alexander Dityatin in 1980 Kersee is one of those untouchable athletes. Regarded as the top heptathlete and long-jumper, she racked up a world-record 7,291 points in her first of two Olympic heptathlon titles in 1988. With three gold, two silver and two bronze Olympic medals to her name, it seems obvious why SI named her the top female athlete of the 20th century.

USA Softball wins their 3rd gold medal. US dominates the world.

The former boxer who many consider the top heavyweight in history had the Atlanta crowd in shock and tears as he kicks off the 1996 Olympics. Mary Decker falls on the track after tripping over the feet of Britains Zola Budd( R) at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. 8th October 1984.With an unusual stroke and small stature, Evans became a three-time gold-medalist (400- and 800-meter freestyle and the 400-meter medley) and world record-setting swimmer as a mere 17-year-old at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Earning a reputation as the mighty mite of long-distance swimming, Evans successfully defended her 800-meter freestyle gold in Barcelona, while taking the bronze in the 400 meters. SI named Lewis ''Olympian of the Century,'' and with good reason. As a long jumper, Lewis was one of only three athletes to win the same individual event at four Olympics, starting in 1984. At the Los Angeles Games, he matched Jess Owens' 1936 four-gold-medal performance in the 100- and 200-meter races, the long jump and as a member of the 4x100-meter relay team. All told, he won 10 Olympic medals -- nine gold, one silver -- as a runner and long-jumper.
With the introduction of professional players and the leadership of "Magic" Johnson, the 1992 U.S. Men's Basketball Team was comprised of arguably the greatest talent in basketball history. And it showed. Team USA plowed its way through the Games, winning the gold medal with an average margin of victory of 43.8 points per game.
The picture of U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team coach Bela Karolyi holding Strug (shown with cast) as she winced in pain will forever be inked in the minds of many. Strug's vault routine, which she accomplished with a broken ankle, led the Americans to the gold medal in the team competition at the '96 Games in Atlanta. At just 14 years old, Romanian Nadia Comaneci won the hearts of spectators and judges alike after scoring an unprecedented "perfect 10" on the uneven bars at the 1976 Games in Montreal. The scoreboards weren't equipped to display double-digit figures because the manufacturers assumed no one would ever achieve such a feat. She went on to score six more 10s in Montreal.

A former college football player, Jenner had to give up his gridiron aspirations because of a knee injury. But his back-up plan didn't turn out too bad after his football coach encouraged him to switch to athletics. Jenner worked his way to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, where he won the gold medal in the decathlon and set a world record of 8,634 points.

The face of women's soccer in America, Hamm scored more international goals in her career with the U.S. Women's National Team than any other player -- male or female -- has in the history of the sport (158). Having joined the team at only 15 years old, she went on to become a three-time Olympian, leading the American squad to two gold medals (in 1996 and 2004) and a silver (2000).

Russian Greco-Roman wrestler Aleksandr Karelin had not lost a match in 13 years nor had he given up a point in six years. But American Rulon Gardner stopped the champion in his tracks. Gardner's gold medal at the Sydney Games has since been dubbed the "Miracle on the Mat."

After gashing his head on the end of the springboard during the preliminaries, American diver Louganis -- with a concussion -- went on to capture gold in both the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform at the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Clad in gold spikes, Johnson made his goal clear when he stepped onto the track at the '96 Games in Atlanta. After breaking the 200-meter world record at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Johnson shattered his own record at the Games, clocking in at 19.32 seconds. "The Man With the Golden Shoes" also breezed to the gold medal in the 400 meters, blowing away the field by almost an entire second.