The Audacity of Dope

Kardinal Offishall sits down with Angie Martinez, DJ Enuff, and Cipha Sounds at Hot 97 in New York.  The interview happened right after Usain Bolt’s domination, and since Kardi has Jamaican roots, you know he was proud.  They also talk a little about his upcoming Not 4 Sale album and his trademark yell.  After the jump, peep Kardi talk about his favorite MC of all time.

Swiped from Shakezilla.

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swagged.

After all his breathtaking performances so far, there was never a doubt that Usain Bolt would win the 200m sprint.  The only question was would he be able to break Michael Johnson’s legendary record?  Well, after smashing the competition yet again, the answer was an emphatic yes.  Bolt ran a 19.30, edging Johnson’s 19.32, and cemented himself as the premier sprinter in the world…and perhaps all-time.

As usual, NBC’s lockdown on the video is obnoxious, but you can watch it on their site here.  International people can check out this bootleg while it’s still up.

O.O.O. (other Olympic observations) from the last few days:

• They did Spearmon and Martina dirty by disqualifying them in that 200m sprint for stepping on the lane lines.  Rules are rules I guess, but Walter Dix summed it up when his private comments got picked up by the cameras after he was awarded a medal…”I still lost.”  What a conflicted feeling.
• Taylor, Clement, and Jackson sweeping the 400m hurdles for America was a great moment.
• Heartbreak for Liu Xiang.  Even more for Lolo Jones.
• I’m glad Shawn Johnson managed to snag a gold on the balance beam.  She deserved one and it would have been a shame if she finished without the top prize.
• Why are you supposed to be 16 in gymnastics, but there are 14 and 15 year old divers?
• Did CBC really tell me that Wang Xin is 4’6″ and weighs 62 pounds?  No wonder she’s a good diver…it’s impossible for her to make a splash.
• Speaking of tiny divers, Haley Ishimatsu missing on her last attempt and failing to qualify for the finals was real sad.  Watching her try to fight tears (at the end of this clip) was damn near heartbreaking.  Andrea Kramer’s interview was cold too…very unfair to put a 15 year old through that.
• He Chong and Alexandre Despatie killed it in diving.  These Chinese gymnasts and divers are unbelievable.
• I respect water polo players, but that sport is awful to watch.  Just brutal.
• Two other sports that absolutely suck are synchronized swimming and speedwalking.  Yeah, those speedwalkers go pretty fast, but you know how they could go even faster?  By running.  GTFOH.  And these events get to stay in the Games while baseball and softball are ending after this year?  Blasphemy.
• The “Redeem Team” is playing better than I expected.  Let’s do this fellas.
• Hey, 2 days since a racist picture has surfaced.  We’re on a roll!
• Misty May-Treanor is a beast and Walsh ain’t so bad herself.  That final was intense.
• LOL @ having whitewater and flatwater rafting be broadcast next to each other.  One looks bad ass, the other looks boring as hell.
• I thought ‘table tennis’ players got all defensive when you called it ‘ping pong’?
• Matthias Steiner winning a gold for his late wife was the most tearjerking moment of the Games so far.  Well done, big man.
• Natalie du Toit competing as an amputee is incredibly inspirational.
• The man appointed the “world’s greatest athlete” by the Wall Street Journal, Roman Sebrle, is struggling in the decathlon.  I guess that title could go to your head kinda easily.  Bryan Clay from the US is killing after 3 events, but we have a ways to go.  Besides, the world’s greatest athlete is Lebron, hands down.
• One more time, say it with me people: “bei” – “jing”

If you missed Usain’s incredible 100m sprint, here’s the video. Even though it’s taken from the BBC feed, it probably won’t be online for long because NBC is being run by a bunch of morons. Enjoy the swag while you can.

I’m in the middle of a real busy weekend, but I had to take a second to post about Usain Bolt’s electrifying (yes pun) performance in the men’s 100m sprint yesterday.  It wasn’t even that he broke his own world record (from 9.72 down to 9.69), but it was how effortlessly he ran all throughout the competition.  He won every qualifying heat so easily that he actually let up with 30 meters left each time.  When the final came, everyone anticipated that he’d finally have to run the full race at top speed.

[Charlie Murphy] wrong…WRONG. [/Charlie Murphy]

From the start of the race, it was clear that Bolt was surpremely confident.  He bounced around and struck poses before getting in the blocks.  While everyone else wore hi-tech singlets, hoping to shave every possible split second off their time, Usain rocked some shorts and a normal little tank top.  Oh, and his left shoe was untied:

(are you kidding me?)

After a decent start and first 40 meters, Bolt turned it on and absolutely blew out his competition.  So much so that he let up again, this time throwing his arms out and beating his chest in celebration, a good 20 meters before the finish line:

As the 7 other fastest people on the planet strained towards the line, Bolt glided past it and continued on into his victory lap.  In between talking with his family and grabbing a Jamaican flag to show off to the world, he danced and broke out the classic ‘airplane’ move:

Again, it wasn’t just that he ran 100 meters faster than any human in history.  It’s that he did it so easily and so relaxed, almost as if it was a mere formality.  Apparently, it was.  Truly, a display for the ages and one worthy of instant inauguration to the Swag Hall of Fame.

Looking at the pictures doesn’t do it justice, but thanks to NBC’s draconian restrictions on archived video from the Games, you’ll have to watch it on their site here.  If you’re outside the US, NBC hates you and you’ll have to find it on your local Olympics carrier instead.  Their coverage has been pretty good (aside from Bob Costas repeatedly mispronouncing Beijing), but the lack of archived video is killing me.  In any case, find a way to watch the race and look out for Bolt running his real specialty in the 200m.  This dude is unreal.

Also, some guy named Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal over the weekend.  Yeah…that was kind of cool too.  The Olympics are incredible!