New Awards from the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Many of us have our own personal mental highlight reel from the Beijing 2008 Olympics. But as often is the case, many awards still await to being handed out in the now-concluded Games. Here then are my own HuffPost awards:

Biggest Disappointment If It Didn't Win Gold: USA men's basketball team.

Biggest Disappointment Because It Didn't Win Gold and Thus Had to Settle for Silver: USA women's softball team.

Bait and Switch: Chinese officials' bogus promise to the IOC that it wouldn't restrict freedom of the press and protests to take place during the Games.

Beijing Bling: Jamaican running sensation Usain Bolt's gold track shoes.

Most Likely to be Made into a Hollywood Movie: USA men's volleyball team's amazing road to gold, especially in the wake of its coach's father-in-law being stabbed to death at a Beijing tourist attraction.

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Most Emotional Moms: Team USA's swimming silver-medalist Dara Torres on the awards podium and Debbie Phelps in the stands at the Water Cube watching her son Michael rack up eight golds.

Multimillionaire Athletes Act Just Like Little Kids: USA men's basketball team celebrating after beating Spain for the gold.

There Went My Millions in New Endorsement Deals: Talented, photogenic United States world-champion hurdler Lolo Jones clips the ninth hurdle in the 100-meter race and finishes seventh.

Best Example of How to Interview a Politician: NBC's Bob Costas's grilling of IOC's dour president Jacques Rogge on questionable behavior by Chinese government officials.

Most Overplayed Replay: Michael Phelps' touching the wall in the 100 fly one-hundredth of a second ahead of Sebian swimmer Milorad Cavic.

Second Most Overplayed Replay: Gold-medal winner Usain Bolt's exuberant, chest-thumping antics right before the finish of the 100-meter dash.

Most Scrutinized Photos on the Internet: Underage members of the Chinese Women's gymnastic team.

Largest Egg Dropped in Bird's Nest Stadium: Withdrawal of Chinese national hero Liu Xiang from the 100-meter hurdles because of tendinitis in his Achilles.

Best Come-from-Behind Clutch Performance-- Australian men's high platform diver Matthew Mitcham wins the gold on his very last dive.

Oh No! Please, Not Again!-- Lauryn Williams, of USA's women's 4x100 meter track relay team, botches the baton handoff in a qualifying heat, and the team is disqualified; Williams also flubbed the handoff at the 2004 Athens Games.

Most Oddly Compelling TV Viewing: Women's Synchronized Swimming.

Most Oddly Compelling TV Viewing Which 99.9% Missed: Race walking.

Best Chinese Nickname for an American Athlete: "Little Flying Warrior" for NBA and Team USA's basketball star Kobe Bryant.

Exceeding pre-Olympics Hype: Michael Phelps.

Falling Short of pre-Olympics Hype: USA track sprinter and former world champion Tyson Gay

Russian Roulette is Not an Olympic Event: Just like he did in Athens, American shooter Matthew Emmons makes a bonehead mistake on his last shot to lose a gold medal.

She Deserves Starring Role as a Cirque de Soleill Headliner in Vegas: Chinese trampoline gold-medal winner He Wenna

Dog Ate My Homework Excuse-- Chinese officials feebly explaining that the public age-confusion regarding members of its women's gymnastic team was due solely to a paper mixup.

Next Time In London 2012, Yanks: The United States earned medals in 22 sports while getting skunked in archery, badminton, canoeing, diving, field hockey, team handball, modern pentathlon, table tennis and weight lifting.