2008 Olympics Closing Ceremony Review

Note to the London Olympics organizers: you HAVE to come better than this!

The 2008 Beijing Olympics ended Sunday with the Closing Ceremony, which includes the extinguishing of the flame and the handover to the next Olympic host. After the spectacular display put on during the Opening Ceremony, everyone was expecting a real show.

The Chinese delivered on their end, with another visual masterpiece, directed by the same man behing the opening show. Once again, the entire stadium was used to deliver a truly 3-dimensional experience. It was colorful, precise, and absolutely perfect. It may not have been of the same scale of the Opening Ceremony, but it was still amazing.

If only London held up the quality. To be honest, the London set was a true mess. First off, the double decker bus thing was pretty lame, even when it evolved into the stage. I also didn't really get all of the dancers and the two little girls passing off the soccer ball. The best part of the sequence was Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page performing "Whole Lotta Love", and even that was screwed up a bit. Leona looked GORGEOUS in both the super-long dress connected to the stand and the mini-dress when she came out of it. She also sounded amazing, of what we could hear of it. Unfortunately, we could barely hear her, thanks to a crappy sound system. They can make up for it by releasing the song on iTunes.

Finally, David Beckham came up from the double-decker bus with a bunch of kids and taking the aforementioned soccer ball, he kicks it into the crowd. That was it? They hyped up the appearance of David Beckham so much and all he did was kick a ball? Seriously?

Kudos to China for a spectacular Olympics experience that won't soon be forgotten. London, you've got four years to match that. If the handover ceremony was indication, you've got A LOT to work on!

Here's An Idea....Release Leona Lewis and Jimmy Page's Version of "Whole Lotta Love" as a Single!

For those who aren't aware, Leona Lewis and Led Zepplin guitarist Jimmy Page did a duet for the Closing Ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympics today. They performed the classic "Whole Lotta Love", and its REALLY good. The performance (which I'll talk about later on) was great, and it had me wondering...

Why don't they release it as a single?

As of right now, there is no Leona Lewis single right now (Forgive Me is released on October). Wouldn't it be awesome if they released this song? The fans will eat it up, and I'm sure some LZ fans will at least be curious to see how the diva interprets such an iconic song.

She wouldn't be the first to release a song from the Olympics. Whitney's "One Moment in Time" from the games in Seoul in '88 was a big success.

It would be very smart (and an easy #1) for Leona to record this song with Jimmy and release it.

Here is the video of Leona and Jimmy performing "Whole Lotta Love" (sorry for the annoying-as-hell French commentators):

Michael Phelps On The Cover of Sports Illustrated

Michael Phelps celebrates his history-making 8 gold medal performance at the Beijing Olympics by gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands tomorrow. The cover shows him standing with the 8 medals he won hanging on his neck, an update of the iconic Mark Spitz image with his 7 medals. Sunday (in Beijing time), Phelps beat Mark's record of most medals in one year.

It's very possible Phelp's issue could be one of the best selling magazine issues of the year, considering th millions who have watched his Olympic performance. It should definitely outsell the infamous People Magazine issue of Brad and Angelina's twins, which shockingly flopped.

Will you be buying it?

Picture from justjared.net

Michael Phelps Makes History With 8th Medal!

HE DID IT!

Michael Phelps has won his 8th gold medal, the most won in a single Olympic year. Yesterday, he tied Mark Spitz's record of seven.

He is now the greatest Olympian who has ever lived.

Congratulations to Michael Phelps and the entire US team!

Live at the Olympics: Serbian Team Filing Protest Against Phelps

The Serbian team is currently in the Resolution Room as I type, filing a protest against the end of the 100 m butterfly race, which Michael Phelps won within this hour.

It appeared that Serbian team member Milorad Cavic was about to win the gold, but the touchpad on the wall recorded that Phelps indeed touched the wall before him, by 1/100th of a second.

Cavic's coach is currently contesting the results.

More news as it comes via NBC.

UPDATE: The Serbian protest against the 100m butterfly race has been denied, because of sufficient evidence proclaiming Phelps as the winer, according to Don Bloom, the chairman of the Technical Committee. Michael Phelps will retain his gold medal, while Cavic keeps his silver medal.

Live at the Olympics: Michael Phelps Wins 7th Gold Medal!

Just now, Michael Phelps wins his seventh gold medal tonight (EST) in the 100m butterfly.

Beating his competition by 1/100th of a second, Phelps wins ANOTHER gold medal, tying the record set by Mark Spitz.

It's official, Michael Phelps is the greatest athlete in the world.

Plus, he may be superhuman.

Congrats to Phelps!

Congratulations Michael Phelps!

After yesterday's performance during the Beijing Olympics, US swimmer Michael Phelps is now the most decorated Olympian in history, with 11 gold medals in his career. He is trying to break Mark Spitz's record of most Gold medals in one Olympic year by trying for 8. He currently has 5 gold medals.

Congrats on the success!

Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony: The Best Ever!

Seriously, I can't even remember previous Opening Ceremonies when compared to this one.

The 2008 Summer Olympics, hosted by the city of Beijing in China, started off with a spectacular opening ceremony. Directd by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, the ceremony was a stunning piece of work, unlike anything I've ever seen at the Olympics before (my memory goes up to 1998, with the Winter Olympics in Nagano).

The truly amazing part came before the always-awesome Parade of Nations. The segment was sort of a "history lesson" on Chinese culture, taking us through both the ancient and modern times. What was impressive was how the most miniscule detail was paid attention to. When the 2008 performers were playing those drums that lit up, it was awe-inspiring to see how precise they all were. Another visual wonder were those boxes that lifted up and down, whether to show water or the Great Wall of China. It was amazing to see at the end that the boxes were being moved by people, not machines. It boggles the mind to consider how much pratice all of that took in order for everyone to be synchronized the way they were.

The Chinese people's appreciation to such detail, precision, and perfection is definitely something to be admired. That dedication helped create one of the most awe-inspiring sights I have ever witnessed. The mix of past and present, the recurring theme of peace and openness, it all came together in a ceremony that will go down in Olympic history as one of the best.

An NBC commentator described this year's Olympics, and the opening ceremony in particular, as China's "coming out" party. With one like this, China has definitely succeeded.

To watch the full ceremony, click here