Kicking off with prime time from last night (a little inside baseball--I watched some of this last night, to avoid rushing through the daytime schedule).
Tirico throws us directly to the Women's 400m IM, which segues to the Zimmer-ish theme. Off to Men's Gymnastics (with limited commercial interruptions). Of course, it's the same footage from earlier today. We begin after the first rotation with the US Team and the Vault. To say that Tim Dagget is enthusiastic is an understatement--terms such as "lights out" are used. The inspirational video package reappears, and we continue through the rotations. We also get edited coverage of the Ukranian team, who had to train with a war going on around them--they almost landed in the medals. We also get a video package on Frederick RIchards, the only black member of the Men's team. He talks about using social media to generate interest in the sport.
Since I've already seen the gymnastics coverage, I took a few minutes to check out Peacock's "daily recap" with an AI-generated Al Michaels (don't worry, he agreed to it). I was looking for this since the games began with no success--until I learned it's only available on IOS devices and browsers. (Sorry Android and Roku). You enter your name, a few broad categories of what you're interested in (Artistic, Extreme, Viral, etc), and up pops "AI" Al, who says "Hi Mark", before introducing a slide deck of video clips. Al finishes up with a preview of tomorrow's action. It's a cute trick, but hardly ground breaking.
Back to swimming. Tirico shows his hand by previewing the Men's 200m Free final, noting that Romania's David Popovici is going for the gold, followed by a video package. Guess what? He won.
Tirico does a whiparound, and follows it up with a Biles update. She practiced normally today, despite the calf injury. She will compete in all four rotations that she qualified for. We also learn about "Champions Park", where the Opening Ceremonies ended on Friday. Medal winners stop by, and it's free for the public.
Off to the "Event of the Night" aka the final rotation of Men's Gymnastics. It ended the same way it did yesterday afternoon--a bronze for the US. "A star in the making...becoming...just a star..." We do get some family hugs out on the street afterward (which were clearly pre-arranged). Then back to swimming, the Women’s 100m Breast final, which due to a misfire on the Chyron, is ALSO the “Event of the Night”. The Women’s 200m Free final is shown again, followed by Men’s Synch Diving, and yet more swimming. The Men’s gymnasts drop by to talk to Tirico. Nedoroscik may be the geekiest QISEan ever--the Clark Kent of gymnasts.
Late Night--apparently, the Women’s B-Ballers have “drip”, per Maria Taylor, reporting from a perfume museum. Viral moments from that day, then Skateboarding and Surfing. Wacky trick names abound. Nic Fink drops by to talk to Taylor, and they do a FaceTime. Colin Jost thought he had a cushy job in Tahiti--now he’s got a coral-caused staph infection. A social media check-in, and back to the Perfume Museum with Long Jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall, featuring TMI on her “cycle”.
Medal count--US at the top with 20, although several countries have more gold.
We move to the Today Show, with the Men’s Gymnastics team and other QISEans. They announce that the Men’s Triathlon is postponed--yep, the River Seine still too polluted, despite billions spent to clean it up (the Seine has been banned from swimming for a century). Plan B? Make it a Biathlon. Meanwhile, the Bobbsey Twins try out for the Moulin Rouge, Al meets the hat-based QISE mascot, a preview of the Women’s Gymnastics Team final, and Ina Gartner is back.
Lowe welcomes us to the new day of competition, starting with Men’s Beach Volleyball. Melvin then joins Lowe, there’s a quick tennis peek, and it’s off to the swim arena for more heats--I doubt this would have aired if the men’s triathlon wasn’t delayed. NBC is scrambling. We get a report from Fareed, atop the 10m diving platform, interviewing QISEan Laura Wilkinson--and yet more swim heats. Finally, we move to Men’s Rugby, then Women’s 3x3 Basketball. I normally skip b-ball (I find it boring, especially when millionaire cheaters come to QISE), but 3x3 is chopped and channeled.
Back to review Men’s Gymnastics (again), and then Suni Lee’s journey (a well trodden path), before we FINALLY get to the actual Women’s Gymnastics team finals. I don’t like NBC commentators talking about what’s happening “this evening”--it’s clearly going on in the afternoon. We go to coverage just as USA is announced, of course. Hernandez is hyped at the mike, getting weepy as the competition wore on. Jade Carey has some sort of stomach bug, but did well. Simone and the gang had such a high level of difficulty, with only a few bobbles and one minor fall, making their gold a bit of an anticlimax. Italy gets the silver, and Brazil the bronze. There’s a lot of milling around after. Next up--the individual competition.
Back to the pool and semis--yada yada yada. Finally we get to finals--the Women’s 100m Back (Aussie win), Men’s 800m Free (Ireland win). Tirico returns for a whiparound, including Women’s Rugby, with the US grabbing a bronze at the last moment. The “Gold Zone” program is shown to kill time, then back to swimming--silver medalist Bobby Finke gets a Facetime with his sister, then more semis, and over to Kornacki with Gymnastic stats. A bit more tennis, and then back to the pool--here’s a quintessential Australian name: Zac Stubblety-Cook. Wasn’t he on McLeod’s Daughters? Anyway, after yet more semis, it’s a big one--the Men’s 4x200m Free Relay final--the Brits take the gold, with US and the Aussies right behind.
Back to 3x3 B-Ball. Quote: “They find a madman in the cut like Neosporin”. They wrap up with beach volleyball, a medal count (US is eight ahead of France), a windstorm at NBC HQ, and another whiparound with Fareed.
More tomorrow.
#vivalaqise2024