Be honest: The only reason you remember Mahmoud Abdul Rauf — that's Chris Jackson, for those who knew him back in Mississippi — is because he was the guy who didn't stand for the national anthem back in 1995. Some people were not entirely pleased with his act of defiance.

Carlos Delgado believed the U.S. invasion of Iraq was the "stupidest war ever," and he chose to stage a personal protest and not stand when God Bless America played in the seventh inning at ballparks. Yankees fans weren't so accepting of his decision, and on one occasion, when he lined out in the top of the seventh, New Yorkers started their "U-S-A!" chants. Patriotism at its finest.

All it takes for ESPN to cover to finally give some press to the Manhattanville women's basketball team is a player turning her back to the American flag during the national anthem. She faced the other way for her "quiet, private expression to herself of her own thoughts, her own ideas and moral judgment." The uproar wasn't as silent.

Allen Iverson's charity flag football game. (Yep.) National anthem begins to blare. Josh Howard: "Star Spangled Banner's going on right now. I don't celebrate that shit, because I'm black."

From all accounts, Carl Lewis is a perfectly patriotic gentleman. He won 10 medals, nine of them gold, for the Red, White and Blue, and after all of those times he ascended the Olympic podium, he listened to Francis Scott Key's magnum opus. Chances are, he even memorized it. If only he could have hit the notes at a 1993 NBA game. His rendition is slightly offensive, and entirely enjoyable. Who said schadenfreude was German?

According to the Associated Press, Bolt's ridiculous performance could have been even faster.

Bolt won the final at the Olympics last month in 9.69 seconds, shaving 0.03 seconds off the record he set in May.

Eriksen, a physicist at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, said he got the idea to examine how fast Bolt could have gone after hearing his coach say that Bolt could have run 9.52 seconds.

While Bolt definitely could have gone harder, he may not have wanted to just yet due to financial incentives often associated with breaking world records. Something he should be able to do in the future.

But Carl Lewis, speaking in an upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated, thinks something is fishy with Bolt's radical improvement.

"But to run 10.03 seconds one year and 9.69 the next, if you don't question that in a sport with the reputation it has right now, you're a fool. Period."

It's pretty much the status quo in Olympic sports today to suspect world record holders to be using performance enhancing substances. So the fact that Bolt is being questioned is no surprise.

If you thought Bolt cruised too easily in his 100-meter final, you should have seen the preliminary race he ran. I was actually at the Bird's Nest in Beijing to watch Bolt demolish the competition so badly that he did a light jog for the final 40 meters.

I say if you're going to be the fastest man in the world anyway, you might as well look like a badass doing it.

Calculating Lost Time By Bolt's Celebration [AP]
Carl Lewis Implies Bolt's On the Juice [Sporting Blog]
Was Bolt's Celebration Financially Motivated? [FanHouse]

Ben Johnson dramatically alleged superstar Carl Lewis was "involved" in a conspiracy to sabotage the Canadian's drug sample and bring on the biggest scandal in Olympic history. Johnson, who lost the 100m gold medal and world record after failing a drug test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, said it had taken 18 years but he now knows who spiked his drink. "I have the information on how it was done and why it was done this way and who was behind it," Johnson said yesterday.Asked whether Lewis had anything to do with the alleged sabotage, Johnson replied: "I won't say too much but . . . he's involved."

"I've been speaking to my lawyer and he wants to keep it as low (key) as possible until next June. We're trying to get some information, try to get that guy (a US footballer) to speak.''

As much as we love the idea that an American football player drugged Ben Johnson's beer in South Korea at the orders of Carl Lewis — how old was Michael Irvin then, anyway? — we must confess considerable skepticism concerning Johnson's story. Now, if the beer-poisoning perp would have been humming some rock show goodness, well, we might be swayed.

Lewis Sabotage Claim [News.com]

Well, the sainted souls at The Big Lead somehow got a hold of Carl's invitation to his 45th birthday party, and hoo boy, it sounds like some kind of party. You can download the PDF right here, but here's some highlights.

Sunday, June 25: Miami
"Lusty Lingerie." The sizzling nights of South Beach just got hotter with my steamy lingerie party. The attire ... well, less is definitely more.

Friday, June 30: Atlantic City
"Sexy Sports Night." This is my final bash, so help me cross the finish line and join in the countdown to my actual birthday (Midnight July 1). The attire is naughty sportswear, so get creative and make it HOT!!!

It's worth noting, by the way, that the birthday celebration starts on June 14 and ends June 30. We would make fun of Carl Lewis by pointing out that only Carl Lewis would think his birthday is worthwhile enough for a two-week celebration, but we're pretty sure he'd agree with us.

Crash the Many Birthday Parties Of Carl Lewis [The Big Lead]
Carl Lewis "Break It Up!" [YouTube]
Carl Lewis Birthday Bash (PDF)