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The Olympics Sap-o-MeterThe sap reaches a record high. Blame mom.

By Josh Levin, Derek Thompson, and Chris Wilson Posted Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008, at 10:50 AM ET

The Olympics Sap-o-Meter is now a widget. Add it to your Facebook page or blog. Check out Slate's complete coverage of the Beijing Games.

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NBC's coverage of the United States' improbable bronze medal in men's gymnastics didn't end until early Tuesday morning. Undaunted, the Sap-o-Meter stayed up late churning the treacle, and it's got a new record to show for it: an inspirational 38 Sap Points.

If you watch enough NBC, you know that there's a flag-waving mom behind every extraordinary achievement. Well, supporting last night's record-breaking performance were a remarkable 13 mothers—that is, 13 mentions of the words mom or mother. NBC also continued to dream big, with a robust six mentions for the second consecutive night.

Sappiest Line of the Day: "Back home in Colorado, a dad who was once champion of the Soviet Union sits alone and smiles with pride. His son Sasha has come through."—NBC commentator Al Trautwig, after American gymnast Sasha Artemev's bronze-clinching pommel horse routine. (Emphasis on sap words is ours.)

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adversity battled cancer challenges death dream emotion glory golden heart inspiration journey magic mom mother overcome proud sacrifice spirit

For a primer on how the Sap-o-Meter works, check out our first entry. Did we miss your favorite moment? Send your Sappiest Line of the Day suggestions to .

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Josh Levin is a Slate associate editor. You can e-mail him at . Derek Thompson is a Slate intern. Chris Wilson is an editorial assistant at Slate in Washington, D.C.

Illustration by Nina Frenkel. Interactive feature design by Matt Dodson.

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