olympics Page 96 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
How I Tuned The Heartstrings For NBC Olympics Coverage
Ronda Rousey, in August of 2008, was 21 years old. Her home was Riverside County, California. When she was 14, she had named her new kitten Beijing because she was so certain she'd be there for the 2008 Games, as a judoka — like her mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, who had been a world champion before ...
The New Olympic Torch Is "An Expensive, Designer Cheesegrater"
Behold its elegant fluted shape, the 8,000 fine-bore holes punched in the golden chain mail of its noble aluminum frame — each orifice representing one of the good and decent runners who will course across the UK and Ireland bearing the almighty flame to its final burn site in London. The majesty of...
Some People Are Lobbying To Make Pole Dancing An Olympic "Test Sport"
Thus far, at the behest of the "Vertical Dance lobby," nearly 6,000 people "have read the Get Pole Dance Accepted into the Olympics Petition to International Olympic Committee, and I hereby sign the petition." Here's an excerpt:...
Deion Sanders May Have Found A New Football-Playing Host Upon Which He Can Attach
Your morning roundup for April 29, the day "special cookies" in zip-lock freezer bags got real....
Michael Phelps Came In Second In Something
There's some drama going 'round the professional swimming circuit, and Michael Phelps wants to use it for inspiration now that he's on an unthinkable streak of not winning everything by a lot. "Drama" in the swim world tends to be about as interesting as swimming itself (and with a DUI and a bong ph...
Looks Like We'll Have To Wait A Smidge Longer For The 2012 Olympics
On Monday evening, the London Olympic team unveiled a glimmering 500-day countdown clock in Trafalgar Square to mark the Games' impending arrival....
British Olympic Hopefuls Strip For Cash
Twelve British lady swimmers (normal and synchronized), divers and water-polo players skinny-dipped for a photo shoot "sponsored by the National Lottery and British Gas [which] is supporting more than 1,200 athletes for 2012, as well as contributing up to £2.2 billion to the Olympic venues." Seems ...
Is The London Olympic Logo A Zionist Conspiracy, Or Is It Just Lisa Simpson Giving Bart A Blowjob?
There are two dominant conspiracies behind the London Olympics logo, which, if you ask Iranians and Simpsons enthusiasts, is trying suspiciously hard to be just ugly blocky numbers spelling out the year "2012." The Lisa Simpson and "Zion" theories, as well as a swastika interpretation, emerged whe...
The IOC Was This Close To Owning Santa Claus
Saturday, the Russian Olympic Committee announced the results of voting for the 2014 Olympic mascots. (They picked a snowboarding snow leopard, and a fluffy bunny and cheerful bear. They're boring.) But one of the 10 nominees didn't even make it to voting. Ded Moroz ("Father Frost"), the Russian ver...
Are The Russians Training 17-Day-Old Babies To Be Gymnasts?
Last month, a video emerged of a woman swinging a baby around her head. Mommy blogs around the world erupted in disgust and disbelief, and the general consensus was that it had to be a hoax. Well, it's not....
Nine Chinese Figure Skaters May Not Be The Age China Said They Were
After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the IOC launched an investigation into the ages of China's women's gymnastics team, because it seemed very possible that a few members were not women at all, but actually pre-adolescent girls. The '08 gymnasts were eventually cleared, but it came out that a '00 Olymp...
Russian Olympic Mascots Aren't Horrifying, Are Confusing
The 11 candidates to be the mascot for the 2014 Sochi games aren't as soul-scarring as the London duo, but...wait, is that a dolphin on skis? Is that...Santa Claus? [via Fourth-Place Medal]...
IOC Keeps Stuffing Its Head Up Its Ass With Doping Policy
When athletes blame failed drug tests on protein supplements, I usually call bullshit. But in this story, U.S. swimmer Jessica Hardy missed the '08 Olympics because of a nutritional supplement, and now, she may also miss the London Games. This is bullshit!...
Well, This is Just Sad In Every Way: Tommie Smith To Sell His Gold Medal
Forty-two years ago, Smith set a world record in the 200 meters. On the podium, he and John Carlos raised their fists, in what would become an enduring symbol of the Olympics and the Civil Rights movement. Everything has a price....
Do You Believe In Owning A Sad, Bedridden Ex-Hockey Player's Cherished Keepsake? Yes!
A gold medal that once belonged to Mark Wells, the last player selected for the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" hockey team, now laid low by a genetic disease of the spinal cord, is going up for auction. [Puck Daddy]...
Stories That Don't Suck: USA Basketball's 12 Angry Men
From time to time, we'll select stories — old and new, sports and otherwise, relevant and merely sublime — that we urge you to read for one reason or another. Today: The 1972 Olympic team, still bitter about losing to the Soviets....
Former Aspiring Olympian Files Sex-Abuse Suit Against US Swimming, Coach
The USA Swimming sex scandal deepens, what with former Olympic hopeful Jancy Thompson talking to ABC News about filing a sexual-misconduct lawsuit. It includes accusations of being forced to wear a dog collar....
Who Is The Medal-Winning Olympian Turned Boozehound Law School Attendee?
We have your newest case here. It concerns a woman that won a medal at the 2008 Olympics. She's spent this summer boozing and shmoozing as a summer associate at Milbank Tweed. You must find her....
London Olympic Mascot Photoshop Contest: <em>Fin</em>.
A hundred entries later, and we have a winner. Congratulations Ryan, you win Doug Glanville's book. To the rest of you, you never cease to amaze us. And keep those submissions coming; we'll continue to add them to the gallery....
A Roundup Of London Olympic Mascot Photoshop Fun (UPDATES!)
You people are clearly talented, and clearly bored. Our contest will continue through tomorrow, and we'll keep adding new submissions until then, but here's a look at the early competition. (UPDATE: We have a winner!)...