All about victories

107 pitches for Liriano through 5, but the Twins bullpen holds on (!) for the win, giving him his fourth victory of the season and a 1.14 ERA since his return. A little rough, but I can't complain.

Now the true test begins. Starting tonight, Minnesota will embark on their 15-day, 14-game roadtrip while the Republicans prepare their convention. I wish they were up a few games on the Chisox as opposed to down one, but it will have to do. The Angels for 4, Seattle for 3, Oakland for 4, and the Jays for 3 will be no easy task. It will be this trip that makes or breaks the season. Here's to good luck!

Usain Bolt is incredible, and I was less annoyed with him after his latest race. A 19.30s 200m dash to snatch the world record from Michael Johnson...good god. And I guess all of the grief he got after his 100m show got to him, because he was a hell of a lot more humble after the 200. He ran it out, he was visibly using all the gas in the tank, and his post-victory celebration was completely appropriate. Either he took the criticism to heart, or he just respects the 200m that much more. Either way, I was able to feel happy for him after it.

No doubt about it: Bolt is the fastest man in the world. The way I've always seen it is like this. The 100m is subtitiled "the race for the fastest man", but although that may be true, that race is mostly about a good start and acceleration. Johnson dubbed himself the fastest after his 400m, but even that I don't find completely accurate because of its distance. The 200m, however, combines acceleration with a distance that requires you to hold onto a top speed for a non-trivial time. Win that along with the 100 while establishing world records? Yeah, that's pretty convincing.

Misty May and Kerri Walsh are again Olympic champions! Is there any doubt that this duo is the best in the world? They just swept their way through the Olympics to pick up their second consecutive gold. The match last night was impressive--not only did the rainy setting add to the epicness, but the Chinese duo gave the Americans a true challenge; and I thought the match against the Belgians was intense! For May and Walsh, that makes it 108 straight victories and their 14th straight Olympic victory. That's so ridiculous that you just have to laugh. Congrats, ladies!

And hey! Even the Yankees won!