A FEW MORE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RIO OLYMPICS

Zika, impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, a deepening recession and an angry protest controlled by tear gas outside Maracana Stadium failed to stop the Opening Ceremonies of the Rio Olympics last night, which went off amazingly well, considering the budget crunch.

In the Parade of Nations, the USA (559 competitors) and Brazil (475, second most):

Brazil's entourage closed the show, samba-ing in to Brazil.

Gisele Bündchen (Brazil supermodel, married to Tom Brady, has been the highest paid model in the world for a dozen years now), came out of retirement for her final catwalk to The Girl from Ipanema:

These are the Green Olympics, for global warming was featured:

Each parader carried a seed and cartridge, where 207 tree species (those saplings you saw being carried) will be planted in Athlete's Forest in Radical Park, Deodoro.  Thus, there will be 11,178 trees planted. 

Other details?

• 205 countries
• 306 events in 42 disciplines
• 37 venues
• $12 billion spent, but nothing compared to London at $15 billion and $22 billion for the Sochi Winter Olympics
• 5 billion people will watch the Rio Olympics
• 6755 hours of TV time

• Broadcast networks:
• NBC 
• TELEMUNDO (Spanish language) 

• Cable channels:
  Bravo
  CNBC
  Golf Channel
  MSNBC
  NBC Sports Network (NBCSN)
  NBC UNIVERSO (Spanish language)
  USA Network
  Specialty channels (mostly Basketball and Soccer--Hawaii 1472 and 1473--in the first quarter of basketball:  USA 30 - China 10)
• Computer streaming?

Want to watch in 4K UHD?

4K UHD technology displays images at over eight million pixels (3,840 x 2,160), providing pictures with an ultra-high resolution that is roughly four times that of current HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels). Plus, High Dynamic Range (HDR), which produces a wider and richer range of colors, and Dolby Atmos, a new sound technology that allows for a more immersive audio experience.

The problem is that you will need a 4K UHD TV and live in a location where the provider will show up to 83 hours of this option.  Best city?  Chattanooga, Tennessee.  If your TV set is more than 2 years old, forget it:

Gold medal and stuff?

• mostly silver and gold plated, worth around $500 (if only gold, the value would be $21,000--pure gold medals were bestowed in 1904, 1908 and 1912)

• 812 gold medals will be awarded, and for reasons I couldn't determine, a total of 2,488 medals will be given because there will be 864 bronze medals
• any Azerbaijan gold medalist will also get $510,00 from their government (the USA provides $25,000 for a gold, while the UK rewards nothing)

• Michael Phelps has already won 18
• Aladar Gerevicht  (right) of Hungary won 6  gold medals in fencing in six different olympics
• USA has won 976
• 75 countries have never won one

• youngest individual gold medalist was Kuso Kitamura who was not yet 15 for the 1500 meter freestyle in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics
• although in the 1900 Paris Olympics, the coxswain in the winning Dutch pair oars was seven when he got a gold
• and Donna de Varona from the U.S. got a gold in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay in the 1960 Olympics at 13 years and 129 days

• Oscar Swahn of Sweden was almost 65 when he won a gold for a shooting event in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics
• although Arthur von Pongrasz was 72 when he represented Austria in dressage (equestrian event...horses) in the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Let me close with betting odds, as, for the first time, you can bet on amateurs in Las Vegas:

• Odds on the Rugby Sevens being cancelled at Rio because they run out of rugby balls:  51 to 1 odds.
• Germany winning the most golds:  51 to  1.
• What does 51 to 1 mean?  Divide the right by the left, giving you 2%. These are called fractional odds.

• Kathy Ledecky is at -1350 to win the women's 400 meter freestyle.  This betting number is known as American or Moneyline Odds, which means she has a 93% chance of winning a gold at this swimming distance.
• Ledecky is listed at -2300 for the 800 meter freestyle = 96%.  In terms of fractional odds:  23/1.
• USA Men's basketball gaining gold, -1600 or 94%.
• USA Women's basketball winning gold, -1400 = 93%.
• USA most gold medals, 2/13 or 87%.
• USA most medals, 4/7 or -175 or 58%.
• Usain Bolt winning 200 meter dash, 4/13 or -325 or 76%.

Hillary Clinton is listed at -325 to become the next president.  That is exactly the same probability as Usain Bolt.  Donald Trump?  29% chance.

OddsShark lists Bovada, BetOnline and MyBookie as American sites capable of taking your money.  According to Bovada (but click on this to review the site):

Although some of the legal issues surrounding online gambling in the US can be a bit of a grey area, the current situation is that banking transactions between financial institutions and betting sites are considered illegal. This has never been the subject of a test case because the banks pretty much all refuse to knowingly complete a gambling transaction. In addition, betting on many professional sports is not allowed in most states, though, horseracing and greyhound betting are often allowed.

At the present time, no individual American has ever been arrested, indicted or prosecuted under Federal laws for gambling online. Some states have wide open laws banning all gambling, many of which are thought to encompass online betting.

Here is the odds calculator I used above:

To use the above, you need to scroll within the box.   Try experimenting, like, say, typing in 40 in the bottom box representing 40% probability.  Then click on the Blue Convert box. The link for your computer can be found at the bottom of this insert.  I've added this gadget to my right column.

My latest two lanai meals, Japanese wagyu bento / sashimi from J-Shop and an enhanced clams linguine from 15 Craigside:

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