On the couch last weekend

My son-to-be-4-year-old son, Joey, has strep throat for the second time in a month and dear old dad has came down with it over the weekend, too. This strain is a doosy, I'll tell you. I've had strep before, sore throats ... I've even had mono ... but I've never had a sore throat like this. I can't eat or drink anything without a lot of pain. F-U-N, fun. Headed back to the doctor's today to make sure it isn't anything more than strep.

Even though it was gorgeous outside for the most part (70s, no humidity, sunshine) I was stuck inside on the couch this past weekend, which gave me a chance to watch more Olympic games than I might normally had. I saw men's and women's beach volleyball, men's basketball, men's rowing, bike racing, women's individual and synchro diving, women's gymnastics (no way all of the Chinese team members are the minimum 16 years old) and men's water polo.

The water polo was actually fascinating to watch. Much like curling a few years ago in the Winter Olympics, I knew nothing about water polo. I still don't understand all of the rules, but it was interesting to watch the players set up plays, the way the goaltenders defended their goals, and the way the players "dribble" the ball (apparently, they can only hold the ball with one hand). The game even has a penalty box (a roped off section of the pool) and the opposing team goes on power plays much like in ice hockey.

Pretty cool stuff ... NBC's coverage is pretty good, if not too dramatic at times. They seem to spend a lot of money on the opening montages and showing back stories of the athletes.

Finally, not for nothing, but ... at one point yesterday, Bob Costas interviewed President Bush (he's been in China for the games so far) and as I sat there chagrined listening to the interview, the same thought struck me that I have every single time I see him speak ... "I can't believe this guy is our president." Oy vey.