And of course: Dashed Hopes

Liu Xiang is injured and will not compete. He has been injured since at least May, when he had his last competition.

In China, an athlete is property of the State and to a lesser extent the People. Perhaps Liu has had enough of being a slave to the system. Perhaps he wants to walk through Chengdu at 3am, sit next to some pretty little girls and have a bowl of jian dan mian.

It worse for athletes that become celebrities, because they don't seek the light like movie stars or such -- the light seeks them because they accomplish the extra-human. I wonder if Phelps will still be able to puff down with his homies now that Bush has given him a call.

Feelin for Liu Xiang and Obama

Yeah I been criticizing Obama a lot here, I guess its cuz I was so excited and inspired by his nomination run and then to see him do the necessary shuck and jive towards the center of American politics made me lose my fiery optimism. But there is a quote in this here tale that kinda lays it down:

“All of us coming down on him and criticizing him before we give him a chance, you know, that might hurt his campaign — let’s get him in there first,” the caller said. Mr. Ballentine responded, “Brother, I would never criticize him — until he’s in the White House.”

Same can be said for the Beijing Olympics. There is a special every day on Liu Xiang, the 110 meter hurdle champ from China. Not only is he held up as a genetic anomaly by the Chinese press -- unaccustomed to "political correct discourse" on race and sports and still clinging to outdated stereotypes in order to understand things -- but he is one of the symbolic representatives of Chinese sport in the world, like Yao Ming in B-Ball and Ding Jun Hui in snooker. The Chinese tend to have one dude break into a "non-Chinese" spot, then hold that person up as the flag-bearer of China's global presence. It must be hard for them cats. Liu Xiang faces a huge challenge this year in Powell, plus he is a bit injured and his countrymen demand a gold ...

got feel for these dudes, facing the world.