Friday was Day 7 and the last day for judo competition at the 29th Olympic Games.
It started as every other day, waking up at 6 a.m., going to weigh-ins which at 7 a.m., then to the dining hall.
Today. I had to go to the judo venue early, as at 8:30 a.m., one of the head venue guys tried to plug us and judo on NBC's "Today" while they were at the judo venue doing a bit on rhythmic gymnastics. He was hoping to slip us on, but there really wasn't an opportunity.
I was glad I went, though, as I met hosts Matt Lauer and Al Roker. I wanted to say hello to Al, as he was the one to interview me on "Today" in December 1999 were I proposed to my wife, Teri. The producers, myself and Al were in on the plan, but Teri had no idea about what I was going to do. She was led to believe I was on the show to solely speak about making my fourth Olympic team, but midway through the interview I popped the question on bended knee.
Matt and Al were very pleasant, and we spoke about the 1999 show a bit and took a couple photos. I met all the behind-the-scenes people, as well, and as fortune would have it, I saw them later in the day, after the judo competition, in the International Zone of the Olympic Village.
I stopped to say hello as they were doing a bit on how many athletes use iPods. I made a joke about it being annoying as a coach as you could be trying to disseminate important information to your team and half of them didn't hear it due to the headphones hooked into iPods. They thought that was funny and did a short bit with me that is supposed air on the show.
On the mat, Dan McCormick placed ninth with a 2-2 record in the heavyweight division. He followed the game plan very well and performed at a high level, which of course bodes well for his future as well as that of USA Judo.
USA Judo Team head coach Jason Morris is also posting photos to accompany his blog in the gallery "Olympic Experience". You can view the latest photos by clicking here, or view the entire gallery by clicking here.
For more on the USA Judo Team, go to the USA Judo Web site at usjudo.org.
