Havana Affair on Day 13

The day started off rather nicely for us. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh got their payback over Tian Jia and Wang Jie, winning the gold medal in successive 21-18 set victories. Naturally, my senile parents made it known that they were living in a different, louder era.

Meanwhile, as the USA took out Guatemala 1-0 for their first-ever win in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier in Guatemala City, Wang Chen won her fourth-round match against Kim Kyung-Ah of South Korea, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 11-9 and 11-9. Four games to three.

That Usain Bolt...does this guy have a future as an actor? He made it look as if it was something from a comedy worthy of a Razzie. Dat Jamaica mon...

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Meanwhile, Wu Xue of the Dominican Republic (seriously, what the hell is it with these countries hiring these Chinese mercenaries to play for them? Do us all a favor and develop your OWN players, you lazy island merengue maniacs!), takes out our very own Gao Jun by the same score as Chen's win over Kim.

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I am compelled to play the Ramones' "Havana Affair" over and over. We can't lift a middle finger to them in wrestling, and one of our grapplers quit. And you call yourself an Olympian, Daniel Cormier. By the blood of Rulon Gardner of Wyoming, you are a disgrace to your singlet.

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Cuba's women's volleyball team should have known that karma is a female hound from hell that bites. They swept the USA 3-0 in their round robin match before they headed into the knockout stages. They must have thought, "Oh, we beat the USA, we can take care of them again."

If these ladies thought they were going to reprise their effort, they were in for a rude awakening. Jenny Lang Ping and her crew were playing the type of game Cuba had been doing to them. They reviewed the game tape, and figured out these ladies, routing them in a sweep of their own: 25-20, 25-16 and 25-17.

Performances can turn into flukes just like that. This USA women's team will get a medal. It's just a matter of which color it will be.