The REAL. BIG. Blog

I don’t know if any of you were watching the” Shaq Vs.,” show that aired on ABC.  For those of you who didn’t, it is Shaq Vs. top athletes at their own sport. This video is the final episode which included, 14-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion swimmer Michael Phelps. This looked like a great show, I’m sorry I missed it!

Enjoy the clip!

By Apryl DeLancey

Did you watch the 2008 Olympic Games?  Did you see any of the swimming contests?  It has been difficult to escape the news of the remarkable Michael Phelps of the USA Swimming Team.  If you haven’t heard about him and his amazing swimming then you have probably been on vacation somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  Not since Mark Spitz back in 1972 has anyone dominated the sport of swimming the way Phelps has.  Spitz won seven gold medals back then in just one installment of Olympic Games.  Phelps has now won eight in Beijing.  Talk of his dominance and if he is the best Olympian ever are now everywhere.  Is he the most dominant Olympian? The most dominant athlete ever?

Over the span of the Games, we’ve learned much about this 23-year-old super human.  We know that he eats a lot of food.  In fact, we know he pretty much eats as many carbohydrates and sugar as he can possibly shovel in throughout a day.  Regardless of how much he eats, we can see just about every muscle in his body.  In fact, we can see muscles that I bet not everyone even knew existed!  In addition, we have found out that he listens to hip hop and rap in his music player.  We know that he’s really good at the butterfly stroke.  News outlets are giving us every detail of this young man’s existence.

So I hereby ask – why doesn’t he get a Fathead?  I think it’s time.  There could be one of him in the water from the side.  This could be done with or without water.  Without would be fun since then it would look like he’s swimming in your wall.  Sort of.  Better yet, how about with that celebratory look on his face that makes him look like a monster?  Nothing says you’re a champ like having your emotional moment captured and duplicated all over the place.  I’m sure he doesn’t mind!  I know I wouldn’t…

Bring on the Phelps Fathead!

BY John Fontana

The NBA ballers. James, Wade, Anthony, Paul, Williams, Howard. It will be coming of age for these young heroes. LeBron James has already guaranteed the gold. Pressure? This is going to be good.

David Oliver. The 110-meter hurdler went to Denver East High School, just five blocks from my house and where my kids will go to high school. Hometown hurdler makes good? I’m hoping so.

Taylor Phinney. Another local favorite, the 18-year-old from Boulder, Colo., has all the genes he needs to shock the cycling world in individual pursuit on the track. His dad Davis Phinney was the first American to win a stage of the Tour de France and has a bronze from the 1984 games. His mother, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, won gold in the women’s road race the same year. Taylor captured an elite national title in the men’s individual pursuit in his first-ever track race.

Dara Torres. The 41-year-old swimmer is nothing short of phenomenal.

Michael Phelps. I watched Mark Spitz set the pool on fire in 1972 to the tune of seven gold medals. This is the second chapter of fish gone human.

Asafa Powell. Staying in Jamaica to train for the 100-meters at a local dilapidated track. This is the stuff that makes legends and PBS documentaries.

Liu Xiang. The decorated Chinese hurdler is under the gaze of 1.3 billion countrymen counting on an Athens gold repeat. Anything short of No. 1 and he won’t be able to go home. Pressure is what creates special athletes.

Eccentric U.S. shot putter Reese Hoffa whose profile says his dream is to compete in a bear suit after being brought onto the track in a cage. Literally a massive pro wrestling fan, the 5-foot-11, 315 pound athlete once competed while wearing a mask, calling himself the “Unknown Shot Putter.” He also loves to feast on turkey legs after a win. I love quirky athletes. Turk Wendell is still my favorite MLB pitcher. Ever.
Roman Sebrle, the Czech decathlon athlete once caught a javelin in the shoulder confirming that decathletes may be the toughest of all.

Who are you watching? Why?