Dave, I hate to say this... but in the real Modern Pentathlon, the competition is all in one day, and the competitors have no choice in their mounts (they are handed out randomly). So, even though I love the plot twist with Oso, it couldn't really happen IRL.

Contestants get points for each of the first four events in the Pentathlon - shooting (10-meter air pistol), fencing (epee saber), swimming (200-meter freestyle), and riding (show jumping). The last event, running (3,000-meter cross-country race), is a staggered start, with the contestant with the most points after four events running first - and each remaining competitor starting at intervals in relation to their point totals.

Yeah, I'm a complete nerd over this, but I'd have to say Baron du Coubertin was even more of a nerd.

Well luckily whether ot not it could happen doesn't really matter. I'm just wondering why you wrote you hated to say that... it's not like you were correcting a mistake Dave made.
We are talking about a comic strip with a sarcastic, Shakira-loving duck and his lizard son who's flown to space and wrestled with bears, after all. And I figure Dave is aware of the actual facts - it just doesn't matter in a comic strip. So hooray for pug mounts and duck coaches and lizard olympians!

Speaking of which, I was - once more - amazed at the stupidity of the human race when I read the following article on BBC this morning:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7563066.stm

Um, yes, let's all try to keep up with the athletes at the olympics and be utterly amazed when we get a heart attack or something.

Oh heck, in this wonderful world of Sheldon, it matters not a whit what reality is like. Heck, General Zod is still hanging around out there.
Still - it's going to be fun to watch him squee his way to victory!

I'm just loving the amazing success of our British boys & girls! Go GB!

I don't know, I quite like the idea that the Russian gets Oso in the draw ;)

Hee hee hee hee HEEEEEE.

I saw today's (8/22) strip and thought, "Dave did this INTENTIONALLY."

Of course, he probably already had it all figured out, but either way this makes it even FUNNIER.

You know what, I think some of them would have been better off riding a pug....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/modern_pe ntathlon/7574994.stm

Should be a quick win for Flaco. He has a good horse and weights squat. No rider weight means fast times and good jumps. Plus, if Flaco can climb up a wall with sticky toes, he can sit a saddle or else just "thwip" his tongue to the saddle and hang on.

But the Romanian, ha-ha, he's got trouble. I can see him face down in the dirt with Oso doing the wild thing on one of his shinbones.

Not that Dave would even print that last part.