Olympics or Gasoline

What do you think Americans are more excited about: Olympic medals or lower gas prices? My money goes on the gas prices. Driving through Bridgeport Friday, I noticed gas is down to $3.66 and is expected to drop to $3.50 by the end of the month. Sixty-cents off per gallon, which will save me about $10.00 per fill-up. That's not chump-change...adds up to $40.00 in savings per month. Which is nice. Who would have guessed oil would eventually drop and the dollar would strengthen? Oh, that's right, me.

As for the Olympics, they're sometimes entertaining. There's a lot of boring sports...and a lot of sports that the United States doesn't really care about. NBC's coverage might be a little over the top and, in case I don't remember, Tiki Barber is a horrible, horrible reporter. I caught him on TV this morning and he was just absolutely horrendous. The US leads in overall medal count but the Chinese lead in gold. The track stuff is still to come though and that's where the US will probably dominate. Or they should at least. I'm not sure how much average Americans are watching...obviously NBC has spent a ton of money on this spectacle and I'll be anxious to see the final results for them. I know I'm watching more than I really want to.

In other news, we're only 2-weeks from football season for the Mountaineers. On August 30th, WVU will host the football powerhouse of Villanova. If the Mountaineers win by less than 40, it will be an upset. This should be an interesting year considering the firepower in the backfield of White and Devine. If White has some receivers and has improved his accuracy, it could be a long year for defenders. The 2 out-of-conference games against Colorado and Auburn could be huge stumbling blocks. If the stars align, it could be a special season. I'm not counting any chickens yet though...lots of tough tests before the season is over.

Lastly, keep an eye on the Georgia/Russia saga going on. For some reason, it hasn't garnered much attention but it should. If you're worried about what a hiccup in Middle East oil could do to this country, imagine making the Russians mad and them turning off the tap. Russia produces nearly 9.4 million barrels per day while Iran produces 4 million barrels per day. Of course, Russia cannot afford to lower their production as it is really their only means of keeping their economy afloat but if the US plays hardball, don't be surprised if they play the oil card. So, maybe low prices are just temporary? Sure hope not...