What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
Congratulations to Western Washington on winning the NCAA Division II men’s basketball championship.
Though there aren’t any Clark County players on the Vikings’ roster, there’s been a big local connection in Bellingham for the past 27 seasons.
Head coach Brad Jackson is a Hudson’s Bay High grad. Sunday’s 72-65 win over Montevallo, Ala., was Jackson’s 518th career victory.
Whoops.
Make that a Big Whoops.
Maria Dmitrienko won a gold medal at the 10th Arab Shooting Championship in Kuwait, stood on the podium to accept her gold medal, then waited for her home country’s national anthem to be played.
Then things got, shall we say, awkward.
Oh, there was an anthem played. But not exactly the one Dmitrienko expected to hear.
Dmitrienko is from Kazakhstan. That’s the same country comic/actor Sacha Baron Cohen made fun of in his move, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.”
Naturally, organizers at the Arab Shooting Championship downloaded Borat’s version of the national anthem.
Whoops.
With such lyrics as:
“Kazakhstan greatest country in the world
All other countries are run by little girls
Kazakhstan number one exporter of potassium
All other countries have inferior potassium.”
Those are the clean lyrics we’re allowed to print.
Dmitrienko, by the way, should receive two gold medals. She was a good sport about it. Yes, she appeared a bit uncomfortable, waiting for the wrong song to end. But she posed for photos as soon as it was over. And organizers had a do-over for the medal ceremony with the correct national anthem.
Thanks to thebiglead.com for bringing this international incident to light.
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