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

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.

PRINTDISCUSSE-MAILRSSRECOMMEND...SINGLE PAGE

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

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.)

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 .

Sap-o-Meter History
(click on any bar to read that day's entry)

PRINTE-MAILRECOMMEND...RSS

FacebookMySpace Mixx Digg Reddit del.icio.us Furl Ma.gnolia SphereStumbleUponCLOSE

SPONSORED CONTENT

• The Olympics Sap-o-Meter
  The Sap-o-Meter bids a tearful farewell. Plus: the Sappiest Word of the 2008 Olympic Games.
  Josh Levin | Aug. 25, 2008
• Bad Interpretive Dancing To Be Added to 2012 Olympics Lineup
  The latest from the SlateOlympics Twitter feed.
  Aug. 25, 2008
• The 2008 Olympics
  A roundup of Slate's coverage of China and the Beijing Games.
  Aug. 24, 2008
• Search for more Five-Ring Circus articles
• Subscribe to the Five-Ring Circus RSS feed
• View our complete Five-Ring Circus archive