In spirit of the Olympic games, another record seems to be growing momentum. For the fourth straight week in a row, "The Dark Knight" featuring Heath Ledger and Christian Bale once again tops box office as number 1 movie, beating newly released "Pineapple Express." The $26 million that "The Dark Knight" gained this week adds to its total of $441.5 million, placing it as third on the all-time domestic box office, following "Titanic" and "Star Wars", each with $600.8 million and $461 million, respectively.
The last movie that remained number 1 for four weeks was "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King." Experts say that "The Dark Knight" has opened in a way more competitive time of the year. They also predict that "The Dark Knight" should surpass "Star Wars" within the coming weekend. "The Dark Knight" has done way more than expected, with Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., saying that he would've been happy if the movie raked in $205 million.
Other box-office movies include "The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor" which is now number 3 with $16.1 million. "The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2" opened its second week with $10.8 million. The comedy "Stepbrothers" featuring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly racked in $8.9 million.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Just Can't Leave It...
With the start of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics came tons of news and reports of bombings and violence in the western XinJiang Province, where a muslim group waged war on the chinese people. The bombings began on August 4th when the terrorists attacked a border police station, killing 16 police officers. A few days ago another bombing occured, killing two civilians. And just today, reports of bombings at a shopping center, a hotel, a government building, and a local police station were under attack by homemade bombs. witnessess say that the bombs were thrown from taxis aimed at the security guards. China's Xinhua news agency has reported that ten attackers and one security guard have died. Two other police officers are injured.
The bombings realy put into perspective of how much the seclusion of the Chinese has caused and how angered the people are by the Chinese record for civil rights. The months leading up to the games were riddled with tons of news about how the Chinese were an oppressive government with a horrible history with civil rights. However, the Chinese value these games as a way to show the world that they are in fact, NOT an oppressive government. They are taking this oppurtunity to tell their side of the story, and so far, they have done a fantastic job with the opening ceremony and the games so far. But will the optimism last? Will the government just go back to the way it was after the games? We'll just have to wait and see...
The bombings realy put into perspective of how much the seclusion of the Chinese has caused and how angered the people are by the Chinese record for civil rights. The months leading up to the games were riddled with tons of news about how the Chinese were an oppressive government with a horrible history with civil rights. However, the Chinese value these games as a way to show the world that they are in fact, NOT an oppressive government. They are taking this oppurtunity to tell their side of the story, and so far, they have done a fantastic job with the opening ceremony and the games so far. But will the optimism last? Will the government just go back to the way it was after the games? We'll just have to wait and see...
Game One For The "Redeem Team"
For the Redeem Team, game one was a huge success, winning against the host nation, China, by 31 points. Unfortunately, China is just the first of many hard-fought games in a pool of the world's best. The Redeem Team has been charged with a huge job, and that is to reclaim the gold that everyone is so sure belongs to the USA. In the 2004 Athens Summer games, the United States lost to Greece, pushing them to a Bronze medal. This year, the "Redeem Team," as everybody so calls them, are looking to garuntee a gold. Backed by the Season's MVP Kobe Bryant, as well as last years MVP of the Playoffs Dwayne Wade, PLUS the 07-08 season's high scorer Lebron James, the hype is out of how this is one team that can NOT be stopped.
In game one of the number of games to come, the Redeem Team faced china and Houston Rocket's All-star Yao Ming. However, as predicted, the Chinese could do nothing to stop the force of the Redeem Team. Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade led Team USA in scoring, with 19 points under his belt. Lebron James came in second with 18 points and 3 assists and 6 rebounds. Season MVP Kobe Bryant was next with 13 points, though his shooting should have improved. He only shot 6-14 on the field and 1-7 past the three point line.
China's All-star Yao Ming shot 3-10 on the field, giving him 13 points. As well, he picked up 10 rebounds in the court, largely due to his height. Behind Yao Ming was Zhu Fangyu who shot 4-6 on the field and 3-3 behind the three point line, giving him 11 points in total. He also ended the day with 8 rebounds. Behind Zhu Fangyu is Yi Jianlian with 9 points. His shooting this game was horrible, with only 4-13 field goals and 0-4 three pointers.
In game one of the number of games to come, the Redeem Team faced china and Houston Rocket's All-star Yao Ming. However, as predicted, the Chinese could do nothing to stop the force of the Redeem Team. Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade led Team USA in scoring, with 19 points under his belt. Lebron James came in second with 18 points and 3 assists and 6 rebounds. Season MVP Kobe Bryant was next with 13 points, though his shooting should have improved. He only shot 6-14 on the field and 1-7 past the three point line.
China's All-star Yao Ming shot 3-10 on the field, giving him 13 points. As well, he picked up 10 rebounds in the court, largely due to his height. Behind Yao Ming was Zhu Fangyu who shot 4-6 on the field and 3-3 behind the three point line, giving him 11 points in total. He also ended the day with 8 rebounds. Behind Zhu Fangyu is Yi Jianlian with 9 points. His shooting this game was horrible, with only 4-13 field goals and 0-4 three pointers.
Medal Count Day 2 ~ END
The following is a list of the medals won overnight, the country the athletes represent, and the names of the athletes:
Women's 48-53 kg
Gold - Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon - Thailand
Silver - Jinhee Yoon - South Korea
Bronze - Nastassia Novikava - Belarus
Men's Trap (125 targets)
Gold - David Kostelecky - Czech Republic
Silver - Giovanni Pellielo - Italy
Bronze - Aleksey Alipov - Russia
Women's Synchromized 3-Meter Springboard
Gold - Jingjing Guo, Minxia Wu - China
Silver - Julia Pakhalina, Anastasia Pozdnyakova - Russia
Bronze - Ditte Kotzian, Heike Fischer - Germany
Women's 48-53 kg
Gold - Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon - Thailand
Silver - Jinhee Yoon - South Korea
Bronze - Nastassia Novikava - Belarus
Men's Trap (125 targets)
Gold - David Kostelecky - Czech Republic
Silver - Giovanni Pellielo - Italy
Bronze - Aleksey Alipov - Russia
Women's Synchromized 3-Meter Springboard
Gold - Jingjing Guo, Minxia Wu - China
Silver - Julia Pakhalina, Anastasia Pozdnyakova - Russia
Bronze - Ditte Kotzian, Heike Fischer - Germany
China In The Lead!
In an amazing turn of events over night, China is now leading in medal counts with 6 golds and 2 silvers, leaving them with a total of 8 medals. The United States trails behind with 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 4 bronze. Third place South Korea has a total of 5 medals, consisting of 3 gold and 2 silvers.
This turn of events is amazing for China, who, with the United States, is in a mad dash to see who can get the most medals at these games. There is tremendous pressure on the Chinese athletes to get more medals than the United States, sparking what will possibly be the greatest rivalry in sports history.
In other olympics-related news, the highly anticipated first game of Team USA basketball was played against the Chinese, with Yao Ming. Thanks to the dunks an shots by Lebron James, who scored 18 points, and Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade, who scored 19 points, team USA won 101-70. This was a very hyped up game, because it would be the first for team USA on the road to reclaiming the gold after the upsetting collapse in the 2004 Athens Games. Houston Rocket's Yao Ming scored 13 points for China.
This turn of events is amazing for China, who, with the United States, is in a mad dash to see who can get the most medals at these games. There is tremendous pressure on the Chinese athletes to get more medals than the United States, sparking what will possibly be the greatest rivalry in sports history.
In other olympics-related news, the highly anticipated first game of Team USA basketball was played against the Chinese, with Yao Ming. Thanks to the dunks an shots by Lebron James, who scored 18 points, and Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade, who scored 19 points, team USA won 101-70. This was a very hyped up game, because it would be the first for team USA on the road to reclaiming the gold after the upsetting collapse in the 2004 Athens Games. Houston Rocket's Yao Ming scored 13 points for China.
Interesting Olympic Facts
Did You Know...
1) There will be 10,708 athletes competing for 302 gold medals in Beijing this year. They represent 205 countries contending for the gold.
2) The Beijing National Stadium, AKA Bird's Nest, seats 91,000 and has taken nearly three years to build. The large steel skeleton of the project weighs 42,000 tons, with the roof and the hanging parts around it accounting for 11,200 tons.
1) There will be 10,708 athletes competing for 302 gold medals in Beijing this year. They represent 205 countries contending for the gold.
2) The Beijing National Stadium, AKA Bird's Nest, seats 91,000 and has taken nearly three years to build. The large steel skeleton of the project weighs 42,000 tons, with the roof and the hanging parts around it accounting for 11,200 tons.
Anyone Know How To Say MVP In Italian?
WHAT! I couldn't believe the news either. Apparently, the NBA 07-08 season's MVP, the beloved Kobe Bryant, is ACTUALLY thinking about his options OVERSEAS! You know what that means?! That means a Dream Team without Kobe Bryant! That means a Lakers without it's star players! AND! That means Team USA possibly playing against a former MVP! WHAT!
After reading into the article, I thought, how could I NOT blog about this! I mean, this is the "Dream Team." Without Kobe, this team wouldn't be half as good as it is this year! (Yeah Yeah I know. James and Wade can still handle the pressure and take Kobe's place, but think about it. Who can picture KOBE BRYANT playing AGAINST Team USA!?!) I know it seems almost out-of-world but it's true! In an interview with Kobe Bryant, he ACTUALLY said that he would consider his options overseas before signing a contract with the Lakers.
The world's best basketball player playing AGAINST the nation that CREATED basketball is INSANE! This is PREPOSTEROUS! Wake up the basketball nation! We gotta make sure Kobe stays here!
When asked why he wants to go, he said that many NBA stars are signing into the Euro League, who are offering 20 to 30 million dollar contracts.
For all their worth, I sure hope that the Lakers put up a good fight for Kobe. I just can't imagine Kobe speaking Italian, wearing an Italian jersey, and playing AGAINST the good ole United States
After reading into the article, I thought, how could I NOT blog about this! I mean, this is the "Dream Team." Without Kobe, this team wouldn't be half as good as it is this year! (Yeah Yeah I know. James and Wade can still handle the pressure and take Kobe's place, but think about it. Who can picture KOBE BRYANT playing AGAINST Team USA!?!) I know it seems almost out-of-world but it's true! In an interview with Kobe Bryant, he ACTUALLY said that he would consider his options overseas before signing a contract with the Lakers.
The world's best basketball player playing AGAINST the nation that CREATED basketball is INSANE! This is PREPOSTEROUS! Wake up the basketball nation! We gotta make sure Kobe stays here!
When asked why he wants to go, he said that many NBA stars are signing into the Euro League, who are offering 20 to 30 million dollar contracts.
For all their worth, I sure hope that the Lakers put up a good fight for Kobe. I just can't imagine Kobe speaking Italian, wearing an Italian jersey, and playing AGAINST the good ole United States
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