ap Page 1538 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Japan's Women's Hockey Team Is The Lovable Underdog Of The Olympics
The Japanese women's hockey team made Russia work for a 2-1 win today, to the surprise of many. But Japan's played much better than predicted, losing closely in two games against much better competition. On top of that, they've been a lot of fun both on and off the ice. Let's learn more about these ...

Where Olympic NHLers Are Coming From
16 Wins has put together this animated infographic showing each NHL team's contributions to Olympic rosters. I'd prefer an interactive version that lets me actually stop and look at each nation, but I get the idea....

Japan Ties Russia With Knuckle Puck, Celebrates With Bow
The Japanese women almost had an upset brewing when they tied Russia early in the third period on this fluttering puck from the right point. Ayaka Toko floated the puck over four people, three of them Russian, before it dove down between goaltender Anna Prugova's glove and pads. It's basically an ...

Marreese Speights Dominates: The Spectacle Of The Fattish NBA Gunner
About halfway through the second quarter last night, Marreese Speights missed a step-back three. It was the first shot he'd missed all night, and it seemed to be off more because Speights got tired from bludgeoning the 76ers with their own dismembered arms and legs than because of anything Philadel...

Canadian Coach Comes To Rescue Of Russian With Broken Ski
A nice display of sportsmanship in today's cross-country skiing men's sprint semifinal, after Russian Anton Gafarov crashed early in the race and broke one ski. He awkwardly soldiered on, falling repeatedly, and it appeared as if he wouldn't be able to make it to the finish line in front of the home...

Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi Out In Cleveland
After a disastrous year capped off by a prolonged, embarrassing coaching search, the Cleveland Browns have cleaned house in the front office. CEO Joe Banner is "stepping down," and GM Michael Lombardi doesn't even get to pretend that he's leaving by choice—he's "departing the organization."...

Bill Self: Jim Boeheim Protégé
Send stories, photos, and anything else you might have to [email protected]....

Dude Purposely Ruins Mock Baseball Drafts For Our Delight
Last August, we had a laugh when a guy named Stefan picked NFL players like placekicker Aaron Pettrey first overall in mock football drafts, pissing off people who found it inconvenient to exit and join a new mock draft in five minutes. Stefan is back ruining mocks, but this time, he invaded fantasy...

Speed Skaters Have Gotten A Lot Faster Since 1924
Similar to what The New York Times did for the 100m dash in 2012, The Wall Street Journal has developed a great graphic to show just how much faster the top speed skaters have gotten over the years. The still above is part of an animation pitting every male 500m gold medalist against each other; the...


How I Accidentally Became Part Of The Anti-Russia Conspiracy
Here is a report from a Russian news site (Google translated version here) that claims I intentionally damaged my Sochi hotel room, and as a result have been stripped of my credentials to cover the Olympic games. This was news to me, because I've never been to Sochi in my life....

Your Guide To Evgeni Plushenko, Figure Skating's Old Badass
This weekend, Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko helped the Russian team win a gold medal in the new team figure skating event. Now, the 31-year-old has his sights set on a medal in the individual event. This is great news, because Evgeni Plushenko is awesome. Let us explain....

Swimsuit Issue: The Butterfinger Edition
The 50th anniversary edition of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue hit newsstands this week, which (inevitably, perhaps) evokes memories of a Golden Age when a bikini-clad blonde eating a Butterfinger was the veritable emblem of hotness....

Olympic Halfpipe Is "Garbage," Snowboarders Report
Last week, ladies' downhill skiing was halted after three runs because one jump was dangerously large and hadn't been properly tested. But at least courseworkers were able to fix it. Meanwhile, the snowboard halfpipe is in terrible shape, and according to a Yahoo report, one rider says it's "unsalva...

Too Many Bad Puns
Send stories, photos, and anything else you might have to [email protected]....

NFL Prospect Michael Sam Says He Is Gay
Former Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam is projected to be taken in this year's NFL Draft. Even if he goes undrafted and a team signs him, Sam could be the first publicly gay active player in the NFL....

Russia Is Dominant On The Ice; Can Team USA Get It Together?
After weeks of almost exclusively embarrassing reports out of Sochi, Russia finally got some good news today, when its star-studded figure skating team handily took home the gold medal in the brand new "mixed team" figure skating event, beating out Canada and the U.S. But what does this mean for the...

Estonian Biathlete Wears Some Intense Contact Lenses
[Grete Gaim of Estonia rests after finishing the women's biathlon 7.5k sprint, and among all the color she's wearing, her beautiful yet intimidating contact lenses stand out. Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP]...

Oregon Basketball Coach Says He's Victim Of ASU Student Saliva Attack
Oregon assistant basketball coach Brian Fish and athletic trainer Clay Jamieson were reportedly spit on by an Arizona State student after the Ducks' loss to the Sun Devils Saturday night, prompting the Oregon basketball staff to call out Arizona State's unique court layout....
